TG Branfalt

Federal prosecutors are seeking an 11-year sentence for the former mayor of Fall River, Massachusetts, Jasiel Correia, after he was found guilty of extorting cannabis businesses.

Medical cannabis dispensaries in Minnesota are partnering with volunteer attorneys from St. Paul’s Mitchell Hamline School of Law to host expungement clinics and help people clear their records of nonviolent cannabis charges.

The Chicago, Illinois City Council Zoning Committee approved a plan by Mayor Lori Lightfoot to eliminate the city’s cannabis zones and allow more retail cannabis dispensaries in downtown Chicago.

Park Strategies, a New York-based lobbying firm that specializes in highly regulated industries, is launching a division to focus on cannabis legalization and other industry issues.

The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission is asking state lawmakers to revise the medical cannabis law passed earlier this year to let cultivators get licensed sooner with the goal of having products for patients by the fall of 2022.

From mid-July through August, Arkansans spent $33 million to purchase 5,038 pounds of medical cannabis at dispensaries in the state, an increase of $6.5 million in sales compared to earlier figures.

The South Dakota Supreme Court updated the state’s professional conduct rules to allow attorneys to advise cannabis industry clients.

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) Chapter at Iowa State University (ISU) is collecting signatures for a letter supporting adult-use cannabis legalization in the state.

There were just eight cannabis-related arrests in New York City during the second quarter of 2021, representing a 95% decrease in arrests from the year prior.

Cresco Labs last week completed its $90 million takeover of Massachusetts’ Cultivate, acquiring three operational dispensaries and 42,000 square feet of cannabis flower canopy.

Cannabis sales in Maine set yet another record in August, topping $10 million in one month for the first time.

Illinois is holding another cannabis license lottery to include applicants that were erroneously denied opportunities in previous rounds due to what has been described as a clerical oversight.

A proposal in Michigan would eliminate the state’s “moral character” clause in its adult-use cannabis law, which can block industry participation based on “integrity, moral character, and reputation” or if the applicant has prior cannabis offenses.

Brooklyn, New York’s Medgar Evers College is the first City University of New York campus to offer a cannabis minor degree program.

A program by Ohio cannabis firm Riviera Creek and social justice advocacy group United Returning Citizens is teaching formerly incarcerated individuals how to grow cannabis for commercial purposes.

South Dakota lawmakers recommended changing the state’s voter-approved medical cannabis law to prohibit home cultivation and let local governments ban dispensaries.

TerrAscend Corp. is set to acquire Michigan-based Gage Growth Corp. in a $545 million all-stock deal. The combined business will have operations in five states and Canada.

Thailand legalized the possession and sale of Kratom, which has historically been a part of daily life for Thai people.

A Massachusetts cannabis dispensary won the right to operate for-profit after the state Supreme Court ruled that the town of Mansfield’s bylaws were preempted by the state’s legalization law.

Panama lawmakers voted unanimously to legalize medical cannabis but home cultivation and cannabis advertising remain illegal.

Richard Wershe Jr., aka “White Boy Rick,” who was sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for cocaine possession, is launching his own cannabis brand called “The 8th.”

The adult-use cannabis ordinance approved by the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians Tribal Council took effect yesterday, allowing the tribes to regulate the commercial cultivation, processing, and distribution of cannabis.

Advocates in Missouri have filed a ballot initiative to legalize cannabis for adults in the state. They must now collect 175,000 signatures to secure the issue on next year’s midterm ballots.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating whether illegal influence played a role in how the state’s cannabis licenses were awarded after unsuccessful applicants accused successful applicants of corruption.