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Industry Thought Leaders Weigh In On Midterm Marijuana Results

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Voters in Maryland, Arkansas, Missouri, and North and South Dakota used their vote to make a decision about legalizing marijuana for recreational use. With most of the results in, it is clear that a majority of voters in Maryland and Missouri have given the greenlight to adult-use cannabis, while voters in the other three states have decided the contrary.

With these two additional states, the total number of states that will have legalized recreational cannabis will be 21 plus the District of Columbia.

About 12 million more adult Americans will soon be able to enjoy recreational weed, even though federal cannabis laws remain unchanged. Here are some views from key thought leaders regarding the mid-term election results.

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Photo by Element5 Digital via Unsplash

Maryland Midterm Elections 

Maryland has officially become the latest state to legalize adult-use cannabis, and I am thrilled to see this state take steps toward social equity through cannabis legalization. Though this initiative’s framework is relatively bare-bones, I look forward to seeing how Maryland will structure their legislature for full adult-use cannabis legalization, and hopefully, they do so with social equity in mind.”

  • Jeffrey M. Zucker, Vice Chair, Marijuana Policy Project Board of Directors and President of Green Lion Partners.

Missouri Midterm Elections

“Congratulations to the citizens of Missouri for taking it upon yourselves to bring the important question of adult-use cannabis to the ballot and showing up in droves to pass such important legislation. Missouri continues down the path of normalizing cannabis consumption and we celebrate the Herculean effort that went into today’s victory.”

  • Justin Kahn, CEO and Co-founder of Reepher.

Arkansas Midterm Elections

“I am disappointed by Arkansas’ failure to pass any adult-use cannabis initiatives this election season. This state has a long way to go in its efforts to right the wrongs of the war on drugs, but I believe in the cannabis activists working in Arkansas. I look forward to cheering on their progress in the future.”

  • Jeffrey M. Zucker, Vice Chair, Marijuana Policy Project Board of Directors and President of Green Lion Partners.
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Photo by FatCamera/Getty Images

North Dakota Midterm Elections 

“It’s unfortunate that North Dakotans will not have access to recreational cannabis for a little while longer. However, the success that New Approach North Dakota had in collecting signatures shows that there is significant support for recreational cannabis in the state. We look forward to a day when the shadow of the War on Drugs lifts over North Dakota.”

“It is disappointing that North Dakota has failed to legalize adult-use cannabis this election season. Despite this setback, cannabis activists have made massive.”

  • Jeffrey M. Zucker, Vice Chair, Marijuana Policy Project Board of Directors and President of Green Lion Partners.

South Dakota Midterm Elections 

“We commiserate with the people of South Dakota over the failure of this recent legalization initiative. It’s unfortunate that it did not succeed and even more unfortunate that the matter was once again put to a vote after the success of 2020’s initiatives. This defeat is not the end and we believe that South Dakota will soon join the ranks of states that have legalized cannabis.”

“It’s a disappointment that South Dakota has — once again — failed to legalize adult-use cannabis. If there’s anything that these past election cycles have proven, it’s that cannabis activists in South Dakota don’t give up easily. I maintain hope for an adult-use industry in South Dakota’s future, and I know activists in the state will continue to do all they can to make this happen.”

  • Jeffrey M. Zucker, Vice Chair, Marijuana Policy Project Board of Directors and President of Green Lion Partners.

Source: https://thefreshtoast.com/marijuana-legislation/industry-thought-leaders-weigh-in-on-midterm-marijuana-results/

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New Mexico cannabis operator fined, loses license for alleged BioTrack fraud

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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:

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/

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Marijuana companies suing US attorney general in federal prohibition challenge

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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.”

Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/marijuana-companies-suing-us-attorney-general-to-overturn-federal-prohibition/

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Alabama to make another attempt Dec. 1 to award medical cannabis licenses

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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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