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Two States Stick the Landing on Cannabis Legalization: Week in Review

Cheers to New York and New Mexico—and to what lies ahead in this industry.

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In what was arguably the busiest week in cannabis legalization history, both New York and New Mexico pushed their bills across the finish line and became the 17th and 18th states, respectively, to greenlight an adult-use market. What comes next is a great deal of regulatory planning, but the excitement in the industry is tremendous right now—as it should be.

And it doesn’t seem like that political momentum is slowing down at all.

Other states on the road to legalization include: Connecticut, Delaware and Pennsylvania. We’re eager to see how state legislatures approach the question.

We’ve rounded up some of the key cannabis headlines from the week right here.

  • After years of debate, sudden and swift action in the legislature made New York the 17th state to legalize adult-use cannabis. Read more 
  • The New Mexico House and Senate members worked into the evening hours Wednesday to amend the adult-use legalization bill during a special session called by the governor—and ultimately passed it. Read more 
  • Oklahoma’s medical cannabis legislation and regulation is still a work in progress, despite the state legalizing medical cannabis nearly three years ago. Changes are coming. Read more 
  • The SAFE Banking Act is back in Congress, and political momentum is swinging in favor of the cannabis industry’s need to normalize its relations with financial institutions. We spoke with Safe Harbor Services Vice President Amanda McComb about some of the recent trends and changes that she’s seen in banking the cannabis industry. Read more 

And elsewhere on the web, here are the stories we’ve been reading this week:

  • Frederick News-Post: “Green Goods is the retail brand of Vireo, a cannabis grower and wholesaler with more than 100,000 square feet of greenhouse space in Maryland,” and its next opening is the city Frederick. Read more 
  • Bloomberg: “Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is pushing the Senate toward lifting the federal prohibition on marijuana with legislation that would represent the biggest overhaul of federal drug policy in decades.” Read more 
  • CNN: Cannabis legalization is expected soon in Mexico, where the president has signaled support for the move. Read more 
  • Marketwatch: “A key force in Wednesday’s [stock market] action was retail interest in MSOS, reflected in the monster trading volume on the ETF, which was well over its daily average and significantly higher than the sector.” Read more
  • Forbes: “Latino entrepreneurs interested in opportunities in the cannabis industry have a new resource with last week’s launch of the National Hispanic Cannabis Council. The new nonprofit aims to promote participation and leadership in the legal cannabis industry by Hispanics while addressing the community’s underrepresentation in the sector.” Read more  
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