This past week in weed saw some major moves, as Ohio opened its adult use market off in a big way. Speaking of adult use, Florida’s upcoming ballot initiative continues to cause debate, and North Dakota appears set to vote on legalization in November as well. Meanwhile, on the other end of the world, Thailand appears set to recriminalize adult use.
All that and a ton more on another wild week in weed.
Monday August 12
- North Dakota’s Secretary of State’s Office announced that recreational cannabis will be on the ballot this November.
- Missouri banned intoxicating hemp-derived THC products in liquor-licensed stores, leading to pushback from several hemp industry leaders.
- MJBiz reports that rescheduling and the Farm Bill are leading to a surge in cannabis lobbying.
- Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz, a long-time legalization proponent, said he won’t vote for the state’s recreational legalization initiative, citing opposition to the issue being handled as a constitutional amendment.
Tuesday August 13
- Tilray acquired four craft beer brands from Molson Coors
- Early into adult use sales, and Ohio is ‘exceeding expectations.’
- California celebrated the seizure of over 2.2 million packages with forged state seals found in Los Angeles’ Toy District
- Thailand now appears likely to recriminalize adult use cannabis by the end of the year.
- The New Jersey Civil Service Commission overturned the termination of Mackenzie Reilly, a Jersey City police officer fired for a positive cannabis test.
Wednesday August 14
- Delaware will begin taking adult use business applications on Monday August 19, two weeks ahead of schedule.
- In his ongoing fight against adult use legalization, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis called Trulieve, the MSO leading the legalization movement in the Sunshine State and the state’s most prominent operator, “some Canadian marijuana company.”
- The Vermont Cannabis Control Board introduced a new cultivation permit and pre-roll production guidelines.
Thursday August 15
- AP broke down several of Vice President Kamala Harris’ policy shifts over the years, including cannabis.
- Ohio sold $11.5 million in the first five days of legal rec sales.
- Swing state voters appear to support legalization and banking access for pot businesses.
- An erroneously delivered summons allowed a Queen convenience store accused of unlicensed cannabis sales, causing concern over potentially more rulings like this.
Friday August 16
- The Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency has accused processor One Love Labs of importing cannabis from Oregon.
- A second wave of recalls reportedly has the Missouri market ‘scrambling.’
- Boxing legend and cannabis entrepreneur Mike Tyson is the latest to urge Floridians to vote ‘yes’ on the state’s adult use legalization ballot initiative.
- Despite strong first-week sales from neighbor Ohio, Michigan dispensaries along the border aren’t fretting just yet.
That’s a bit of what happened in weed last week. Did we miss anything? Send us a message, and we’ll do our best to round up all the essentials next week.
