With conservative judge Brett Kavanaugh announced as President Trump’s pick for the ninth Supreme Court justice, the cannabis industry is sharing perspectives on how the judicial route to legalization may have changed. Elsewhere, in Arkansas, the first round of medical cannabis cultivation licenses breaks a legal stalemate that held up the industry’s progress for too long.
Here, we present 10 headlines you need to know before this week is done.
Federal: President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, doesn’t have a record on cannabis-related issues, but the tilt toward a more conservative bench is raising debates among the industry: What would happen if a case like Washington v. Sessions were taken up by SCOTUS? Read more
Colorado: The state’s industry stakeholders joined recent working groups on new rules, which include a temporary prohibition on products like nasal sprays. Three more working group meetings are planned through September. Read more
Arkansas: After a protracted legal snafu, the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission has begun issuing cannabis cultivation licenses. Read more
Massachusetts: With adult-use sales looming, the U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts said that his office will pull back on marijuana as a prosecution priority. Opioid use, the attorney said, is the office’s main target. Read more
Oklahoma: With newly minted medical cannabis rules prohibiting smokable forms of marijuana, patient advocacy groups are pushing back against the state’s handling of the recently approved voter initiative. Read more
Hawaii: Hawaii Gov. David Ige vetoed a bill that would have allowed patients access to medical marijuana in lieu of opioid medication. Read more
Florida: The state’s medical marijuana regulators have withdrawn a proposed “supplemental licensing fee” that would have added nearly $175,000 to businesses’ bills. Read more
Canada: Statistics Canada is asking cannabis customers to share how much they’re paying for certain quantities of cannabis, like an eighth of flower. The data is being compiled as part of a broader cannabis statistics “hub,” organized by the government. Read more
British Columbia is aiming to put 150 different strains of cannabis into its wholesale inventory when recreational weed becomes legal Oct. 17, the agency said Wednesday, and that is only a start. According to the Vancouver Sun, the goal, said LDB spokeswoman Viviana Zanocco, was to have the “right mix” of cannabis quality and selection at prices that users will be accustomed to once legal recreational sales get under way. Read more
Israel: According to the Jewish News Syndicate, Israeli lawmakers are set to decriminalize cannabis use for the first three times someone is caught using the drug for personal use. The move comes at a time when Israel, a global leader in cannabis research, is inching closer to legalization. Read more
Top photo courtesy of Adobe Stock
