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As He Exits Congress, Blumenauer Wants His Party to Embrace Pot Legalization

The long-serving congressman from Portland, who has become the top marijuana advocate on Capitol Hill, believes the issue could boost President Biden’s support with young voters. As a 23-year-old serving his first term in the Oregon state legislature, Representative Earl Blumenauer cosponsored the first bill in the country to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana. More than 50 years later, the…

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Recreational marijuana backers can gather signatures for North Dakota ballot initiative

A North Dakota ballot initiative group can gather signatures to put a proposal legalizing recreational marijuana to a statewide vote in the fall, the state’s top election official said Thursday, in the latest legalization effort in the conservative state. The New Economic Frontier needs to submit 15,582 valid signatures to Secretary of State Michael Howe by July 8 to make the November general…

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Ohio’s medical marijuana dispensaries prep for adult-use green light

Ohioans will likely be able to buy recreational marijuana as soon as mid-June, earlier than the timeline outlined by the initiated statute they voted to pass last fall, and existing medical marijuana dispensaries say they plan to be prepared for the state’s non-medical green light. The state’s joint committee on agency rule review (JCARR) meets May 13, when it’s scheduled to vote on its first…

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Hawaii Senate Kills ‘De Facto’ Weed Legalization

A bill to increase the amount of marijuana a person can possess before facing stiff criminal penalties failed 15-9 in the Hawaii Senate on Monday. It was the second defeat of a measure at the Legislature this session to allow more people to possess pot. A bill to allow recreational use of marijuana for people 21 years and older died earlier this month. The reasons for shelving Senate Bill 2487,…

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Kentucky’s Medical Cannabis Program Undergoes Dramatic Transformation: Navigating HB 829 and the Emergency Licensing Regulations

By Hannah King and Arin Aragona Plans for Kentucky’s medical cannabis program took a significant turn last week with the passage of House Bill 829 and the implementation of emergency regulations related to licensing. They create limited licenses, a lottery system, a truncated timeline for licensing, restrictions on vertical integration and other limitations. The implications are substantial,…

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Patchwork Regulation of CBD Products Continues Despite Rise in Demand

By Courtney A. Hunter and Jessalyn H. Zeigler Demand for cannabidiol (CBD) products continues to climb, and the market has risen to the occasion. There is now a robust array of foods, oils, lotions, capsules and cosmetics containing CBD for consumer use. But with this wide selection also comes the concern that not all of the products in the market are of comparable quality, and the risk that…

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How Private Equity Trumped Social Equity in State Cannabis Deal

Confidential documents obtained by THE CITY reveal how Chicago Atlantic Group became one of the biggest beneficiaries of the state’s legalization program. Last June, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that a much anticipated deal had finally been reached to fund a $200 million public-private fund that would finance cannabis dispensaries run by the people who have been the most impacted by the war on…

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Tech glitch on 4/20 caused Missouri cannabis businesses to lose sales

April 20 is a day recognized globally for celebrating cannabis culture, but it’s also like the cannabis industry’s Black Friday. Dispensaries offer deals designed to inspire people to flood their stores to stock up. However on Saturday, dispensaries across the state using an inventory platform called Dutchie were hamstrung for hours by technical challenges, which caused many of their registers to…

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Japan’s cannabis market growing rapidly amid regulatory shift

Japan’s cannabis market expanded sixfold over four years to ¥24 billion ($154 million) in 2023, a trend that is expected to accelerate with the amendment in December of cannabis laws, market research firm Euromonitor International said in a recent report. The growing sales of products using CBD (cannabidiol), a compound found in marijuana, are attributed to the rising demand for products that…

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Ispire Leads with a Focus on Safety and Innovation

Los Angeles-based Ispire Technologies (NASDAQ: ISPR) is a three-year-old company built on the foundation (and reputation) of a global enterprise with many years of experience as an ODM (original design manufacturer) of premium all-in-one disposable, 510 cartridge and pod system vaporizers. As such, when it came time to target the cannabis industry, the goal of the newcomer was to take the…

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Sacramento is ’cannabis capital of California,’ study says. What makes it a top weed city?

Sacramento is one of the best cities in the nation for cannabis fans, according to a new study. Real Estate Witch and Leafly, an online cannabis guide and marketplace, analyzed 50 of the largest metropolitan cities in the United States and ranked them as the best — and worst — cities for weed. Denver topped the list of the Best 15 Weed Cities in first place, followed by Portland, Oregon, in…

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Two years after first legal cannabis sales, New Jerseyans still seek home cultivation

For the last two years, people have been able to stroll into New Jersey dispensaries to buy weed. But growing your own cannabis plant remains a third-degree felony. Despite a growing number of nearby states legalizing the growing of marijuana plants at home, bills to do the same in New Jersey have languished every session since cannabis was legalized. A state senator and chief sponsor of a bill…

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A Holiday for Weed Fans, Complete With Sponsors

In the culture of cannabis, April 20 is a holiday when those who partake light up in enjoyment and in protest of prohibition. Although the origins of “4/20” are debated — according to popular lore, a group of California high school students in the 1970s met after school at 4:20 p.m. to smoke weed — the day has been globally celebrated for years. Until recently in New York, celebrations carried…

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Budget deal ends marijuana potency tax and targets illegal shops in New York

The state budget that’s expected to be adopted in the coming days calls for repealing the potency tax on marijuana products as well as new regulations intended to give local municipalities, including New York City, the ability to more easily inspect and shut down unlicensed cannabis stores. The enforcement actions, which include provisions to seize illicit marijuana products, will be limited to…

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4/20 grew from humble roots to marijuana’s high holiday

SEATTLE (AP) — Saturday marks marijuana culture’s high holiday, 4/20, when college students gather — at 4:20 p.m. — in clouds of smoke on campus quads and pot shops in legal-weed states thank their customers with discounts. This year’s edition provides an occasion for activists to reflect on how far their movement has come, with recreational pot now allowed in nearly half the states and the…

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Black market marijuana tied to Chinese criminal networks infiltrates Maine

Maine is the newest frontier for the illicit marijuana trade, with potentially hundreds of suspected unlicensed grow houses operating in the state, a CBS News investigation has found. It’s part of a larger phenomenon nationwide. Thousands of illegal marijuana farms have been cropping up in states like Oklahoma, California and Colorado, according to Raymond Donovan, the former chief of operations…

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Foreign Investment in U.S. Cannabis: Five Key Considerations

By Griffen Thorne, Attorney at Harris Sliwoski Cannabis investments are difficult enough when the investor is a U.S.-based person or entity. But things can get immensely more complicated when foreign investment is on the table. Today I want to highlight some of the top considerations for foreign investors and U.S. cannabis companies alike. 1. Legality could cause serious headaches To this day,…