Recreational / adult use cannabis industry news coverage from the USA, Canada, and around the world. Keep informed about the latest news affecting cannabis brands in markets that have legalized for adult use.
Wed / Jul 21st
A Colorado criminal justice report showed a 68% decline in cannabis-related arrests since legalization, but arrest rates for Black people are still more than double those of white people.
Wed / Jul 21st
Police officers in New York airports are no longer seizing cannabis products or issuing tickets for cases of low-level possession.
Wed / Jul 21st
A New York adult-use dispensary that received a cease-and-desist letter earlier this month will be allowed to remain open under a recent Mohawk Tribal Court ruling.
Wed / Jul 21st
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) appointed five individuals to the state’s Cannabis Control Authority.
Tue / Jul 20th
States that enacted cannabis legalization saw a six-month decline in opioid-related ER visits, according to a recent study.
Tue / Jul 20th
Michigan’s DTE Energy Music Theater has entered an agreement to make Lume its official cannabis brand and sell Lume products for consumption during events.
Tue / Jul 20th
Two competing advocacy groups in Missouri are seeking to put an adult-use question to voters in the 2022 election.
Mon / Jul 19th
California last week consolidated its three agencies for regulating cannabis into a single entity: the Department of Cannabis Control.
Fri / Jul 16th
A Springfield, Illinois community center is using cannabis-derived tax funds for educational and job training programs for 30 formerly incarcerated people.
Fri / Jul 16th
Washington State-based Jones Soda is planning a cannabis-infused sodas and edibles line and seeks to raise $10 million for the venture.
Thu / Jul 15th
Home prices in states with adult-use cannabis laws grew an average of $17,113 more over four years than in states where cannabis remained prohibited.
Thu / Jul 15th
The Cannabis Control Division of the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department on Monday increased the plant cap on licensed producers from 4,500 plants to 10,000.
Thu / Jul 15th
Adults aged 18-23-years-old that reside near cannabis retailers are no more likely to be interested in cannabis or tobacco than those who do not, suggests a new study.
Wed / Jul 14th
Democratic senators unveiled the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act today, which seeks to federally legalize cannabis and contains social justice elements aimed at undoing the harms of prohibition.
Tue / Jul 13th
Hip-hop artist Travis Scott last week launched Cactus Farms in partnership with Connected Cannabis in California and Arizona.
Tue / Jul 13th
Virginia Republican Del. Glenn Davis described the state’s cannabis law and social equity licensing provisions as “asinine” and “insanity run amok.”
Mon / Jul 12th
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said it cannot reconsider the suspension of Sha’Carri Richardson for her cannabis use but the agency sympathizes “with the circumstances” of the case.
Mon / Jul 12th
The group behind South Dakota’s initiative to legalize cannabis is gearing up for another adult-use proposal while waiting for the Supreme Court to decide whether the state’s successful 2020 bid was constitutional.
Mon / Jul 12th
Many standalone dispensaries in D.C. are direct competitors with their suppliers, which is causing product shortages for retailers who aren’t vertically integrated.
Fri / Jul 9th
California’s legal outdoor cannabis farms use about the same amount of water as other crops and may not use as much water as previously thought, a new study suggests.
Fri / Jul 9th
Los Angeles County, California authorities announced their largest-ever cannabis bust worth an estimated $1 billion in street value.
Wed / Jul 7th
The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe has filed civil actions in Tribal Court against businesses they claim opened illegally to sell adult-use cannabis without permission from the tribe.
Wed / Jul 7th
Eliza Muse, a state cannabis education program manager within the state Health Department, has been appointed to the Marijuana Control Board’s Public Health seat by Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
Tue / Jul 6th
Connecticut launched a website on Monday to provide information on the adult-use cannabis laws that are currently in effect and the state’s medical cannabis program.
So far, in the United States, there is no law at the federal level that makes cannabis accessible to adults nationwide. There are, however, states that have independently legalized the plant for adults to possess and consume recreationally. Some of the most prominent states that have done so include:
For a full list of states that have enacted such measures, click here.
In most markets that have legalized for adult use (i.e. recreational use), there was already a preexisting market for medical cannabis that was established by advocates and activists in order to serve patients within the state who benefit from cannabis therapy.
When adult use markets are established, there has typically been a major impact on the existing medical market, often resulting in patients not being able to find a reliable source for the medicine that they had relied upon previously. Not all cannabis is created equal, and when the objective for producers is focused on profit as opposed to producing the best-quality medicine, those who remain focused on cultivating medicinal-grade cannabis are often unable to grow at a large enough scale to compete in the market (if they are able to acquire a license at all).
Similarly, products intended for medical use may not be as easy to sell in an adult-use dispensary, so brands tend not to focus on them. This means certain types of products that are in high-demand by medical patients, such as suppositories, tinctures, and RSO, may not even be available at dispensaries near where a patient lives.
When creating infrastructure and market regulations for an adult use industry, lawmakers and regulators should take into account the impact that the system is likely to have on patients. Concerns about competition between medical and adult use businesses should be set aside in favor of creating an accessible market for consumers.
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