Earlier this year, the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) suspended expiration dates on patients’ medical cannabis registration cards due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but this temporary extension is set to expire on Sept. 30, according to an ArkLaTexHomepage.com report.

Cards with an expiration date on or before Sept. 30 will expire on that date, and patients must complete a renewal application by Sept. 11 to allow for processing time, the news outlet reported.

Physicians will still be allowed to certify patients via telemedicine until further notice, according to ArkLaTexHomepage.com.

Arkansas has reported that medical cannabis sales have reached $131 million, with the state’s dispensaries selling more than 20,000 pounds of product since the program launched in May 2019, according to the Arkansas Times.

Sales in the last two weeks alone have averaged $590,000 per day, the news outlet reported.

The state has nearly 76,000 registered patients and 28 operational dispensaries, according to the Arkansas Times, with nine more retailers expected to open.

JEFFERSON CITY, MO – PRESS RELEASE – On Nov. 6, 2018, Missouri voters passed Article XIV of the Missouri Constitution, establishing a medical marijuana program in Missouri. Article XIV requires the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) to protect the trade secrets of medical marijuana businesses as well as patients’ information by keeping that information confidential.

Article XIV Section 1.3.(5) of the Missouri Constitution states, “The Department shall maintain the confidentiality of reports or other information obtained from an applicant or license containing any individualized data, information, or records related to the licensee or its operation, including sales information, financial records, tax returns, credit reports, cultivation information, testing results, and security information and plans, or revealing any patient information, or any other records that are exempt from public inspection pursuant to state or federal law…”

The Administrative Hearing Commission, the administrative agency charged with hearing the medical marijuana licensing appeals, recently ruled that the confidentiality provision in Article XIV did not prevent litigants from compelling DHSS to disclose trade secrets or other proprietary information submitted by other businesses.

“As most people know, there were many more applicants than there were medical marijuana facility licenses,” said Lyndall Fraker, Director of the Section for Medical Marijuana Regulation. “Some of those applicants are now pursuing their competitors’ business and proprietary secrets through the appeal process. It’s our responsibility to implement the Constitution, and we want to be sure we’re doing exactly that.”

DHSS initiated an action in Cole County Circuit Court seeking a judicial order regarding whether it should continue protecting the confidentiality of business and trade secrets.

Director Fraker further stated, “The Section for Medical Marijuana Regulation is committed to implementing the Missouri Constitution, whether to meet the strict timelines it set out for issuing medical marijuana licenses or protecting confidentiality. Our constitutional obligation leads us today to request the courts help provide clarity as to whether Missouri businesses and patients can expect their information to remain confidential.”

For more information about Missouri’s medical marijuana program, visit medicalmarijuana.mo.gov.

This week, Maine’s Office of Marijuana Policy unveiled new details on its planned launch of adult-use sales, announcing that retail sales can launch Oct. 9. Elsewhere, in Vermont, lawmakers are revisiting legislation that would tax and regulate adult-use sales in that state.

Here, we’ve rounded up the 10 headlines you need to know before this week is over.

• Federal: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is moving forward with plans to understand and oversee the booming CBD industry. A new call for bids is seeking a contractor to collect and assess samples of products containing CBD and other cannabinoids (outside of the state-legal cannabis market). Read more
• The Cannabis Certification Council plans to release a draft of its Organically Grown Cannabis (OG) Standard for public comment. The draft standard is available via request and via the organization’s website, and it is set to be published this fall. Read more
• Maine: The Office of Marijuana Policy has unveiled plans for the issuance of Maine’s first active licenses for adult-use marijuana establishments. The Office intends to issue the first active licenses to recreational cannabis businesses on Sept. 8, and retail sales to consumers 21 years of age or older will be permitted starting on Oct. 9. Read more
• A federal judge has ruled that Portland cannot prioritize local cannabis businesses in its adult-use licensing process. U.S. District Judge Nancy Torreson sided with Wellness Connection of Maine in the cannabis operator’s lawsuit over the city’s residency requirement, which Wellness Connection called “unconstitutional” and “discriminatory” to non-local businesses. Read more
• Colorado: The Department of Agriculture has added six products to the list of approved pesticides that can be used on cannabis. Captain Jack's Neem Oil Ready to Use, Heligen, Magic Flower Bud Finisher & Pest Control, Pride Lands Defense, Protection Plus and Seican can now be used without violating the Pesticide Applicators’ Act. Read more
• California: Cities across California are creating and expanding equity programs with the help of grant funding from the state. While some of the $40 million flowed as far south as Coachella, Palm Springs and Long Beach, one of the locales it reached wasn’t very far from the state government, as Sacramento received more than $5 million of the funds distributed by the BCC and Go-Biz. Read more
• Oregon: Actor and comedian Jim Belushi has made his way back to the silver screen—this time by documenting the trials and tribulations of owning and operating his state-legal cannabis farm in Oregon in the new reality series “Growing Belushi” on Discovery Channel. The series, airing on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET, will provide a snapshot into the daily life of Belushi and his “ragtag team of farmers” as they “follow their passion and find success in something they believe in,” according to a Discovery Channel press release. Read more
• Gov. Kate Brown received recommendations this week from the Vaping Public Health Work Group to address the epidemic of vaping-related illness and youth vaping in Oregon. A ban on flavored products and harmful additives, increased prices, tobacco retail licensure, and banning online sales are among the top recommendations to address vaping-related illness and the youth vaping epidemic. Read more
• Vermont: Earlier this year, the Vermont House and Senate approved separate versions of S.54, legislation that would establish a taxed-and-regulated system for legal cannabis sales, but the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic kept lawmakers from working out the differences in their proposals before sending a final bill to Gov. Phil Scott. Now, the bill is again moving forward in the legislature, as the House and Senate started a meeting in a Committee of Conference this week to reconcile the differences in their versions of the bill. Read more
• Nevada: Clark County has approved a new zoning ordinance that allows cannabis dispensaries to create drive-thrus. The change will take effect Sept. 3 and apply to both medical and adult-use retailers. Read more