TG Branfalt

Montana lawmakers have rejected a $1.35 million budget proposal for implementing the state’s voter-approved adult-use cannabis industry; the move could spell delays for the program’s implementation.

The State Bar of South Dakota said in its latest newsletter that attorneys in the state are not allowed to provide legal services to cannabis industry clients.

Heeding the requests of Gov. Phil Murphy — who said he would not sign the state’s legalization law without it — lawmakers in New Jersey have introduced a bill containing penalties for underage cannabis possession.

Veterinarians in Michigan are now allowed to discuss the use of cannabis and industrial hemp products with clients under a bill that was signed into law last week.

Combined adult-use and medical cannabis sales in Illinois surpassed $1 billion during 2020. The state’s adult-use market launched last January.

The UFCW California chapter and Have-a-Heart dispensaries in Oakland and Santa Cruz have reached a back pay settlement of $75,000 for workers who missed out on union raises.

Republican Missouri State Rep. Shamed Dogan has proposed a constitutional amendment to legalize and regulate cannabis; the proposal would leave the legalization question up to voters during the 2022 election.

A New Mexico district court judge has ruled in favor of a cannabis patient who argued he should be allowed to use his doctor-recommended medical cannabis while in state custody.

The Illinois State Police and Gov. J.B. Pritzker together cleared over 500,000 cannabis-related criminal records on New Year’s Eve.

Activists with Montco NORML have started using old newspaper bins to distribute pardon applications for cannabis convictions throughout Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

K-12 students at next year’s Pennsylvania Farm Show will learn about plastics made from sustainable materials including hemp. The “Cultivating Tomorrow”-themed show will be held virtually from January 9-16.

An Illinois judge has ruled against an effort by the Illinois Craft Cannabis Association to force the licensing of craft cannabis businesses in the state after many months of delay from the coronavirus pandemic.

Pennsylvania has awarded a $2 million grant to Pure Penn, a cannabis brand owned by Florida’s Trulieve, to expand its facility in McKeesport.

Adult-use cannabis sales could commence in Arizona by March with existing medical cannabis dispensaries getting the first licenses, followed by 26 social equity licenses.

Will County in Illinois this week approved the expungement of 1,653 cannabis possession misdemeanors. There are likely about 7,000 similar cases remaining in the state.

Montana’s commissioner of political practices is ordering the North Fund, a group who donated millions to the state’s cannabis legalization efforts, to reveal the source of their funding.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) is delaying his signature on the state’s pending legalization and decriminalization bills due to a technical issue that shields minors from cannabis-related penalties.

The cannabis-focused real estate investment trust AFC Gamma in West Palm Beach, Florida has submitted a filing for going public on the Nasdaq.

A new Marijuana Diversion Program in Linn County, Iowa aims to prevent criminal records for first-time offenders caught with “a user quantity amount” of cannabis.

The FTC and FDA have launched “Operation CBDeceit,” sending fines and warning letters to CBD companies who allegedly made false or misleading health claims about their products.

A condo association in Aspen, Colorado is asking their landlord to evict a cannabis dispensary from one of its commercial units.

The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe in New York has agreed to lease about 20 acres of tribal land to MMJ BioPharma Cultivation Inc. to grow cannabis that will be sold to researchers.

A recent study funded by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment found that patients suffering from PTSD who used medical cannabis reported a greater decrease in symptoms than a control group.

U.S. cannabis sales increased 67 percent in 2020 to $17.9 billion, which is $7.2 billion more than last year’s total.