Author: Chris Roberts
[ad_1] New York won’t issue any more adult-use cannabis retail licenses for at least another two weeks as the latest legal challenge to the state’s tortuous marijuana legalization experiment is resolved. After hearing arguments on Friday from state cannabis regulators and attorneys representing a group of military veterans shut out from applying for a retail license, New York Supreme Court Justice Kevin Bryant gave both parties two weeks to work out an arrangement. If they cannot, the parties will appear again in court in late August, Bryant ruled. “I need some reasonable minds with some good ideas that can make…
[ad_1] For the second time this summer, Alabama regulators issued a batch of licenses meant to launch the state’s medical marijuana industry. However, ongoing litigation means it’s still doubtful whether the first products will appear on retail store shelves before the end of the year. The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission in June chose 21 MMJ businesses to license. Those licenses were never issued, and they were voided on Thursday, AL.com reported. In their place, 24 new licenses were granted, including 19 to businesses that were among those chosen for permits in June. In addition to five Integrated Facility permits, which…
[ad_1] Adult-use marijuana legalization will appear on Ohio voters’ ballots in November. The Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol campaign qualified a legalization initiative for the upcoming election, the organizers announced late Wednesday. If voters approve the measure, Ohio would be the third state to legalize marijuana in 2023, following in the footsteps of Delaware and Minnesota. Both states legalized via the legislative process. “We are grateful to the thousands of Ohioans who helped us get to this point and are excited to bring our proposal to regulate marijuana like alcohol before Ohio voters this coming Election Day,” campaign spokesperson Tom Haren said…
[ad_1] A federal court challenge to Arkansas’ ban on products containing hemp-derived, intoxicating cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC should be dismissed in part because state law supersedes federal law – including the 2018 Farm Bill. At least, that’s the argument Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin made in court filings last week. Arkansas, which has a legal medical marijuana industry, banned the sale of products containing hemp-derived delta-8 THC as well as delta-9 THC and other synthetic isomers of THC in May when Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed Act 629 into law. But on July 31, the day before the law…
[ad_1] Missouri’s elected auditor began investigating the state’s oft-controversial cannabis industry earlier this month. First-term Auditor Ryan Fitzpatrick, a Republican, confirmed to the Missouri Independent that his office is looking into the various state and local agencies involved in awarding marijuana business licenses to ensure the estimated $1 billion industry is being regulated “in a manner that is efficient, accountable and transparent.” Auditors from Fitzpatrick’s office first met with officials at the Department of Health and Senior Services on Aug. 2, the news outlet reported. The audit fulfills a campaign promise Fitzpatrick made last year when he said he opposed…
[ad_1] A group of suburban Stamford, Connecticut, homeowners who are upset about marijuana legalization are suing to shut down local cannabis sales. But the Stamford Neighborhoods Coalition’s lawsuit, filed Aug. 9, asks a judge to go bigger and block the cannabis industry throughout the entire state, the CTNewsJunkie reported. Connecticut legalized a medical marijuana program in 2012. Then, in 2021, the state approved an adult-use market under what’s considered one of the strictest regulatory regimes in the country. State law also gives localities considerable regulatory power. Last month, Stamford officials tightened the regulations that apply to smoke shops as well…