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5 Things To Make Us Optimistic About Weed In Early 2023
Among other things, Missouri will likely have a fully-functioning, legal adult use marijuana market this year; and proponents continue their push to make Florida another conservative-leaning state with liberal marijuana laws.
As we step into 2023, we are also walking into lots of uncertainty. The state of the world and its economy are on the minds of many, and it can be easy to feel a bit apprehensive about the new year. But though there is some uneasiness about these cloudy prospects in the future, there are also many rays of light piercing through those clouds.
While the start of 2023 has not ushered in the era of federal marijuana legalization as some had hoped, it has certainly started off with some glimmers of optimism. From red states legalizing adult use marijuana, to major ballot initiatives, and even growing support for legalized marijuana, there are all sorts of reasons for cannabis users to be smiling this year. Here are five things to look forward to as we charge forward into 2023.
New York Officially Opens Doors to Thriving Weed Industry
New York legalized marijuana last year, and now the state has opened the floodgates to allow recreational dispensary purchases, as we have reported. In fact, New York is likely to become one of the top cannabis-selling states very quickly.
In fact, Matt Hawkins, the founder and managing partner of Entourage Effect told The Fresh Toast, “New York recently kicked off its adult-use market, and as the state is expected to become the second largest in terms of sales (after California), the revenue it generates will support broader industry growth for years to come.” So this is exciting news for all cannabis enthusiasts, especially those living in the Northeast.
Florida’s Marijuana Ballot Initiative
Florida has a booming medical marijuana market, but a ballot initiative is trying to move the Sunshine State from a medical marijuana state to a recreational one. The ballot measure requires signature collecting and support from the majority of Floridian’s, as it requires a minimum of 891,589 signatures by the start of February, 2024, according Ballotpedia.
According to the ballot’s summary, the amendment “allows adults 21 years or older to possess, purchase, or use marijuana products and marijuana accessories for non-medical personal consumption by smoking, ingestion, or otherwise.”
This proposed amendment aims to take effect in 2024. But in order for that to happen, lots of hard work will have to occur this year. So look to Florida throughout 2023 for new developments as proponents push to make Florida another conservative-leaning state with liberal marijuana laws.
Missouri Roll’s Out Recreational Marijuana
Conservative-leaning Missouri will become the latest red state to sell recreational adult use marijuana. The dispensaries can open their doors as early as February 6, depending on how quickly the establishments obtain approval.
According to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services website, “Once approved, comprehensive facilities will be allowed to sell marijuana to patient ID cardholders, primary caregiver ID cardholders and adults over the age of 21.”
There are several steps in the adult use process in Missouri, but by the end of 2023, the state will likely have a fully-functioning, legal adult use marijuana market.
Marijuana Continues to Gain Mainstream Support
Polling continues to show that Americans are warming up more and more to the idea of legalized marijuana. In fact, some of the latest numbers show almost 90% of Americans believe marijuana should be available in some form.
According to Pew Research, “An overwhelming share of U.S. adults (88%) say either that marijuana should be legal for medical and recreational use by adults (59%) or that it should be legal for medical use only (30%).” The same Pew Research article goes on to say that just one in ten people polled said they believe marijuana should not be legal.
These numbers show that U.S. citizens have come a long way when it comes to thoughts on marijuana in the mainstream. With more states loosening restrictions each year, marijuana use continues to become more normalized in many aspects of society.
Cannabis Sales Looking Relatively “Recession Proof”
Whispers of a recession have become more common, and many are bracing for a potential economic downturn in 2023. But not all industries are likely to feel the effects of a recession equally. As we have previously reported, marijuana might not be completely recession proof, but it is very resilient, and sales continued to grow even during the pandemic.
Sales as of late are still strong. Kyle Shenfeld, president of Rainbow Realty Group, told The Fresh Toast, “Our clients saw a steady boost in sales during the holiday season and we expect continued growth in the new year.” So while tough economic times might still lie ahead, marijuana sales are likely to remain strong for now.
Source: https://thefreshtoast.com/news/5-things-to-make-us-optimistic-about-weed-in-early-2023/
New Mexico regulators fined a cannabis operator nearly $300,000 and revoked its license after the company allegedly created fake reports in the state’s traceability software.
The New Mexico Cannabis Control Division (CCD) accused marijuana manufacturer and retailer Golden Roots of 11 violations, according to Albuquerque Business First.
Golden Roots operates the The Cannabis Revolution Dispensary.
The majority of the violations are related to the Albuquerque company’s improper use of BioTrack, which has been New Mexico’s track-and-trace vendor since 2015.
The CCD alleges Golden Roots reported marijuana production only two months after it had received its vertically integrated license, according to Albuquerque Business First.
Because cannabis takes longer than two months to be cultivated, the CCD was suspicious of the report.
After inspecting the company’s premises, the CCD alleged Golden Roots reported cultivation, transportation and sales in BioTrack but wasn’t able to provide officers who inspected the site evidence that the operator was cultivating cannabis.
In April, the CCD revoked Golden Roots’ license and issued a $10,000 fine, according to the news outlet.
The company requested a hearing, which the regulator scheduled for Sept. 1.
At the hearing, the CCD testified that the company’s dried-cannabis weights in BioTrack were suspicious because they didn’t seem to accurately reflect how much weight marijuana loses as it dries.
Company employees also poorly accounted for why they were making adjustments in the system of up to 24 pounds of cannabis, making comments such as “bad” or “mistake” in the software, Albuquerque Business First reported.
Golden Roots was fined $298,972.05 – the amount regulators allege the company made selling products that weren’t properly accounted for in BioTrack.
The CCD has been cracking down on cannabis operators accused of selling products procured from out-of-state or not grown legally:
- Regulators alleged in August that Albuquerque dispensary Sawmill Sweet Leaf sold out-of-state products and didn’t have a license for extraction.
- Paradise Exotics Distro lost its license in July after regulators alleged the company sold products made in California.
Golden Roots was the first alleged rulebreaker in New Mexico to be asked to pay a large fine.
Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/new-mexico-cannabis-operator-fined-loses-license-for-alleged-biotrack-fraud/
Four marijuana companies, including a multistate operator, have filed a lawsuit against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in which they allege the federal MJ prohibition under the Controlled Substances Act is no longer constitutional.
According to the complaint, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, retailer Canna Provisions, Treevit delivery service CEO Gyasi Sellers, cultivator Wiseacre Farm and MSO Verano Holdings Corp. are all harmed by “the federal government’s unconstitutional ban on cultivating, manufacturing, distributing, or possessing intrastate marijuana.”
Verano is headquartered in Chicago but has operations in Massachusetts; the other three operators are based in Massachusetts.
The lawsuit seeks a ruling that the “Controlled Substances Act is unconstitutional as applied to the intrastate cultivation, manufacture, possession, and distribution of marijuana pursuant to state law.”
The companies want the case to go before the U.S. Supreme Court.
They hired prominent law firm Boies Schiller Flexner to represent them.
The New York-based firm’s principal is David Boies, whose former clients include Microsoft, former presidential candidate Al Gore and Elizabeth Holmes’ disgraced startup Theranos.
Similar challenges to the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) have failed.
One such challenge led to a landmark Supreme Court decision in 2005.
In Gonzalez vs. Raich, the highest court in the United States ruled in a 6-3 decision that the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution gave Congress the power to outlaw marijuana federally, even though state laws allow the cultivation and sale of cannabis.
In the 18 years since that ruling, 23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized adult-use marijuana and the federal government has allowed a multibillion-dollar cannabis industry to thrive.
Since both Congress and the U.S. Department of Justice, currently headed by Garland, have declined to intervene in state-licensed marijuana markets, the key facts that led to the Supreme Court’s 2005 ruling “no longer apply,” Boies said in a statement Thursday.
“The Supreme Court has since made clear that the federal government lacks the authority to regulate purely intrastate commerce,” Boies said.
“Moreover, the facts on which those precedents are based are no longer true.”
Verano President Darren Weiss said in a statement the company is “prepared to bring this case all the way to the Supreme Court in order to align federal law with how Congress has acted for years.”
While the Biden administration’s push to reschedule marijuana would help solve marijuana operators’ federal tax woes, neither rescheduling nor modest Congressional reforms such as the SAFER Banking Act “solve the fundamental issue,” Weiss added.
“The application of the CSA to lawful state-run cannabis business is an unconstitutional overreach on state sovereignty that has led to decades of harm, failed businesses, lost jobs, and unsafe working conditions.”
Alabama regulators are targeting Dec. 1 to award the first batch of medical cannabis business licenses after the agency’s first two attempts were scrapped because of scoring errors and litigation.
The first licenses will be awarded to individual cultivators, delivery providers, processors, dispensaries and state testing labs, according to the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC).
Then, on Dec. 12, the AMCC will award licenses for vertically integrated operations, a designation set primarily for multistate operators.
Licenses are expected to be handed out 28 days after they have been awarded, so MMJ production could begin in early January, according to the Alabama Daily News.
That means MMJ products could be available for patients around early March, an AMCC spokesperson told the media outlet.
Regulators initially awarded 21 business licenses in June, only to void them after applicants alleged inconsistencies with how the applications were scored.
Then, in August, the state awarded 24 different licenses – 19 went to June recipients – only to reverse themselves again and scratch those licenses after spurned applicants filed lawsuits.
A state judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Chicago-based MSO Verano Holdings Corp., but another lawsuit is pending.
Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/alabama-plans-to-award-medical-cannabis-licenses-dec-1/
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