This week in the cannabis industry, federal legislators introduced The Medical Cannabis Research Act to ease the way for medicinal cannabis research, Maine lawmakers voted to override Gov. Paul LePage’s veto of a bill to establish regulations for the legal marijuana market in the state, California regulators extended provisional cannabis permits for another 90 days and more.
Federal: A bipartisan group of legislators led by Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz (R) brought the Medical Cannabis Research Act of 2018 to Capitol Hill April 26. The measure would ensure that academic and medical institutions are not at risk of losing grants if they wish to conduct cannabis research, allowing for more collaboration between researchers and the private sector as well as increasing the number of research-grade cannabis producers from one to three. Read more
Utah: University of Utah researchers will soon be looking into how marijuana impacts the brain and whether the medical benefits outweigh the risks to shed light on some mysteries surrounding medical cannabis. “We have so much that we don't know yet about exactly what happens in the brain,” said Jeffrey Anderson, a Professor of Radiology and Imaging Service at University of Utah. Read more
Arkansas: The Arkansas Supreme Court has agreed to speed up its review of a ruling that has halted the issuance of the state's first medical-marijuana growing licenses. Arkansas appealed Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen's order that ruled in favor of the unsuccessful permit applicant Naturalis Health LLC, which has stopped the Medical Marijuana Commission's review of more than 220 medical marijuana dispensary applications. Read more
Vermont: A move by the Vermont Legislature to reconsider a bill to tax and regulate recreational marijuana was killed April 27 in the House. A coalition of House lawmakers had been pushing for legislation that would create a market for commercial marijuana sales. Read more
California: California regulators are extending provisional cannabis permits for another 90 days as they also consider whether to extend a grace period that gives operators extra time to comply with strict new industry standards. The state hasn’t issued any full annual licenses yet, and the first approvals are likely still at least four weeks out. Read more
Missouri: The Missouri House approved a measure May 1 that would allow patients with long-term illnesses to access smokeless forms of medical marijuana. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jim Neely (R-Cameron), said the measure is intended to ease the pain of people who are about to die, but it also covers patients suffering from debilitating conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder and epilepsy. Read more
Colorado: Denver hearing officer Suzanne Fasing recommended that Sweet Leaf Marijuana Centers be stripped of its 26 retail, cultivation and manufacturing licenses after being shut down in December when a police sting found the company was pocketing millions from an illicit “looping” scheme that allowed customers to purchase the maximum amount of marijuana multiple times per day. Ashley Kilroy, the city's director of marijuana policy, will have the final say on Sweet Leaf's fate, following a 10-day period for objections and a five-day period for a response. Read more
A Colorado bill that would allow licensed marijuana “tasting rooms” was sent to Gov. John Hickenlooper May 3. The legislation allows adults at current recreational marijuana retailers to consume small amounts through edibles or by vaping. Read more
Maine: Maine lawmakers voted May 2 to override Gov. Paul LePage’s veto of a bill that would establish regulations for the legal adult-use cannabis market in the state. The legislation creates the rules for licensing and regulating marijuana producers, processors and retail establishments and sets the tax rates for adult-use marijuana but does not implement the portion of the voter-approved initiative that calls for social consumption lounges. Read more
Michigan: Michigan cannabis businesses that do not receive a formal license from the state by June 15 will be advised to halt operations at that time, according to a new bulletin issued by the state that reasserts the June 15 deadline for medical marijuana business licenses. The announcement comes amid concerns that the state isn’t processing medical marijuana applications quickly enough—more than 300 businesses filed applications with the state by the Feb. 15 deadline, and so far, not a single business has received a license. Read more
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