Author: News Room

“It is imperative that the microbusiness program operate as the voter-approved law was intended.” By Rebecca Rivas, Missouri Independent Missouri’s Division of Cannabis Regulation said last week that it’s “become aware” that some people who recently received small-scale cannabis business licenses—which are meant to boost opportunities for businesses in disadvantaged communities—are now trying to sell them. On October 2, the state issued 48 licenses to the winners of a lottery that determined who gets to participate in Missouri’s microbusiness program. The division warned in a guidance issued on October 10 that if winners try to sell the licenses, the businesses must…

A majority of Americans—55 percent—say they want Congress to pass legislation allowing cannabis businesses to have access to banking services in states where marijuana is legal, according to a new survey commissioned by the American Bankers Association (ABA). Conducted last month by Morning Consult, the poll asked 2,211 U.S. adults their opinions on a range of banking matters, most of which centered on consumer issues such as overdraft fees and customer service. But one question plumbed public opinion on banking reform around state-legal marijuana, which remains a top priority for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and other lawmakers. The…

“Since market conditions seem to be pushing products toward cannabinoid profiles that appeal to adult-use customers, where does this leave patients who make up a smaller component of demand?” By: Chelsea Boyd, R Street Institute  Changes may be coming to cannabis regulation. After many attempts, the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act is out of committee and headed to the full Senate for consideration. If passed, the SAFER Banking Act will give cannabis businesses better access to financial institutions, allowing them to stop operating as cash-only businesses. In turn, this could make operating cannabis medical and adult-use businesses much less…

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI), members of which last month voted to legalize adult-use cannabis, began issuing its first medical marijuana patient cards last week. It’s a major milestone for the program, which was passed by the Tribal Council in 2021 but has yet to see a single sale as the result of numerous delays. It’s still not clear when registered patients will actually be able to shop in the tribe’s dispensary on the 57,000-acre Qualla Boundary—technically the only place within North Carolina where cannabis is legal in any form as a medical marijuana bill continues to stall…

An Alaska Airlines technician in Washington State who was fired over a positive marijuana test had his termination reversed earlier this month after formally challenging the decision, insisting he did not knowingly use cannabis and was unaware of how THC would have gotten into his system. The worker, whose name was redacted from an arbitration decision provided by a lawyer for his union, was given a random drug test in July, 2022. The level of THC metabolites came back above a minimum threshold, and he was immediately fired given the safety-sensitive nature of his lead aircraft maintenance technician (AMT) role.…

New safety guidelines for CBD in the UK are spooking major retailers and could devastate the entire sector, stakeholders have warned following announcement of the changes last week. The retailers say they intend to follow guidance from the Food Standards Agency (FSA), and will remove some CBD products in light of the updated recommendations, which drastically reduced the suggested total daily intake of CBD from 70mg per day to 10 mg per day. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said its members would “follow any and all FSA advice on the sale of products containing CBD oil, and take their obligations…

You’ve been trying your hand at cannabis cultivation over the past year or so, and now you’ve done it. You’ve finally harvested a batch of homegrown buds you can truly be proud of and can’t wait to start smoking. One thing, though, that was only half the work. Now it’s time for post-production, drying, trimming, and curing, the processes, methods, and techniques that will take your freshly grown flowers to their highest level in terms of quality, taste, and smokability. The steps growers take after the plant is harvested, whether you’re a cannabis company or a modest ganja grower, are…

As early voting in Ohio kicked off this week, Republican state senators passed a resolution urging residents to reject an adult-use marijuana legalization initiative on the November ballot. But if the cannabis reform measure passes, Senate President Matt Huffman (R) also warned that GOP lawmakers may seek to scuttle some of its core components. If Ohio voters approve Issue 2, he said during a speech on the Senate floor this week, “this initiated statute is coming right back before this body.” “We’re going to have a mental health crisis on our hands,” if legalization becomes law, Huffman cautioned. “We are…

Driving north along California’s Highway 12 to visit a cannabis farm, the scenery gives way to rows of established old vine wine grapes cast against a backdrop of low undulating golden hills. When I pull off the highway and arrive near my destination, Esensia Gardens, a Cooper’s hawk flies into a patch of oak woodlands moments before Marley Lovell cruises up on a Subaru UTV. His dad is also a bird watcher, he says with a wide welcoming smile, as he directs me to follow him along a short dirt road past a small herd of spotted brown and white…

German lawmakers say that initial consideration of a bill to legalize marijuana will be delayed until at least next week due to the ongoing conflict in Israel that’s shifted international attention—though one legislator outlined a revised schedule that still puts the country on track to enact the first part of the government’s legal cannabis plan by early next year. While Germany’s federal parliament, called the Bundestag, was scheduled to take up the cannabis reform legislation for a first reading on Friday, the scheduled debate has been postponed until next week, according to Carmen Wegge and Dirk Heidenblut of the Social…