Author: Chris Roberts

[ad_1] Congress must act to solve the nationwide “health and safety crisis” posed by the growing intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids industry, a bipartisan group of 20 state attorneys general wrote in a letter to the leaders of the House and Senate agriculture committees. The state attorneys general – 10 Democrats and 10 Republicans – were trying to prod Congress into addressing “the glaring vagueness created in the 2018 Farm Bill that has led to the proliferation of intoxicating hemp products across the nation and challenges to the ability for states and localities to respond to the resulting health and safety crisis.”…

[ad_1] Seriously ill people in Kansas would be able to access nonsmokable medical cannabis from pharmacies if a bill introduced in the state Senate becomes law. Kansas is one of only 10 states in the United States without either medical or adult-use marijuana legalization. Previous efforts to legalize medical cannabis in Kansas have been blocked in the state Senate, where a committee introduced Senate Bill 555 on Monday. If passed, SB 555 would create a five-year pilot program with medical marijuana access for people with one of 16 serious medical conditions, the Topeka Capital Journal reported. Smokable flower, vaporizer cartridges and…

[ad_1] Large cash transactions by marijuana businesses should not automatically be reported as suspicious, according to new IRS guidance. The tax agency’s guidance is an apparent attempt to clarify the federal Bank Secrecy Act, which requires businesses – including banks – that receive $10,000 or more in cash to file Form 8300 within 15 days. Those forms allow the filer to report such a transaction as “suspicious,” information later used by the IRS and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to investigate possible criminal activity. But marking a cash transaction from a legal cannabis business as suspicious “defensively” is “an…

[ad_1] Cresco Labs posted a $180 million loss in 2023 as the Chicago-based cannabis multistate operator exited two state markets and saw its high-profile merger collapse. The company’s strategy “to do more with less” also means preparing for future opportunities offered by adult-use legalization in Ohio and the hope that legalization in Florida and Pennsylvania will follow, Cresco executives said Wednesday during a quarterly earnings call. “We’re making investments ahead of those expected conversions,” CEO Charlie Bachtell said. Cresco shares were trading at $1.68 on Wednesday morning, down from an early 2024 peak of $2.57 and still far off the…

[ad_1] A Native American tribe is accusing North Carolina’s two Republican U.S. senators of launching an “inflammatory… frontal attack” on tribal sovereignty after the politicians contacted federal and state law enforcement about the Natives’ impending marijuana store. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians are planning to open the Great Smoky Cannabis Co. on April 20 on the Qualla Boundary, a 57,000-acre tract of land west of Asheville. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (ECBI) legalized medical marijuana in 2021 and then approved adult use last year. The tribe said in October it was ready to issue MMJ patient cards. All…

[ad_1] President Joe Biden’s mention of ongoing marijuana reform efforts during his annual State of the Union address is considered a landmark achievement for MJ policy by political observers as well as stakeholders in the $34 billion U.S. cannabis industry. But those keen to know exactly when the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will issue its highly anticipated response to health regulators’ revolutionary 2023 recommendation to move marijuana from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3 of the Controlled Substances Act remain frustrated. “Anyone who says they know is full of it,” Andrew Kline, a Denver-based senior counsel for Perkins Coie who co-chairs…

[ad_1] Virginia’s 60-day General Assembly session adjourned Saturday without the state’s Republican governor signing into law a bill finally legalizing adult-use marijuana sales. That’s partly because the Democratic-controlled General Assembly has yet to formally send Gov. Glenn Youngkin the bill, according to the Virginia Mercury. But it’s also because Democratic opposition to a Youngkin pet project – a publicly financed basketball and hockey arena in a Washington DC suburb – is ending hopes of bipartisan cooperation on other issues, including recreational cannabis sales. This latest conflict with Youngkin means marijuana sales in Virgina is “up in smoke,” state Delegate Paul…

[ad_1] Marijuana reform garnered only a brief mention during President Joe Biden’s annual State of the Union address on Thursday night. But after many fruitless years in Washington DC, even a name-check was enough to encourage and energize the U.S. cannabis industry. “This was an historic moment,” David Culver, the senior vice president of public affairs at the U.S. Cannabis Council, which represents major marijuana industry interests on Capitol Hill, told MJBizDaily on Friday. “(Biden) decided to mention his efforts on cannabis reform on a national stage. That, first and foremost, is the most important thing in my mind.” The…

[ad_1] The 2024 Emerald Cup, the Northern California sun-grown cannabis celebration now in its 20th year, has been pushed from May until August. “Due to a huge response, the 20th Anniversary of the Emerald Cup is expanding its programming to create the best attendee experience ever and postponing our Festival and Awards show from May 4th and 5th to the weekend of Aug 17th and 18th 2024,” organizers wrote in an email announcing the change. Tim Blake, the Emerald Cup’s founder and co-producer, did not immediately respond to an MJBizDaily request for comment. Once a small convocation of like-minded Emerald…

[ad_1] With $2 billion in medical cannabis sales projected this year, Florida is one of the country’s biggest marijuana markets – and that’s true whether or not adult-use legalization appears on the November ballot. But, regardless of legalization, a new industry trade group plans to lobby for policies favorable to the state’s marijuana sector, representatives told MJBizDaily. Headed by two former state officials and comprised of the major multistate operators active in Florida – with one notable exception – the Florida Medical Marijuana Trade Association (FMMTA) was formed over concerns about a proposed THC potency cap. The potency cap was…

[ad_1] Claiming new rules governing hemp-derived cannabinoid products cost them “millions of dollars in losses,” state-licensed hemp companies in New York are suing the Office of Cannabis Management in federal court. Enforcement of revised hemp regulations released in November, coupled with raids meant to crack down on the state’s illicit cannabis market, have had an “immediate and catastrophic effect,” 10 companies claim in a lawsuit filed March 1 in the Southern District of New York. The suit names as defendants: The New York Cannabis Control Board (CCB). CCB Chair Tremaine Wright. The Office of Cannabis Management (OCM). OCM Executive Director Chris…

[ad_1] Rejected for a coveted cannabis retail license in an affluent California wine country town, a small marijuana retail chain is alleging in a lawsuit that political contributions from competing applicants “tainted” the process. Mercy Wellness’ legal claims against the Healdsburg City Council and Councilor Ariel Kelley come as Kelley is in a competitive three-way race for a California state Assembly seat. But the situation also highlights the inherent complications with “limited-license” jurisdictions, where elected officials in communities that cap the number of MJ businesses allowed can choose who enters the $34 billion U.S. marijuana industry. Cities or counties with…