Activists in Florida have gathered 148,418 valid petition signatures in their bid to put an adult-use cannabis legalization question to voters next year, CBS News Miami reports. The Smart & Safe Florida committee would need to submit a total of 891,589 signatures to get the issue on 2024 ballots.
The campaign would also need to submit 222,898 signatures to trigger a Florida Supreme Court review of the proposal’s wording on the ballot.
All valid signatures must be submitted by February 1, 2024.
The measure, “Adult Personal Use of Marijuana” would allow individuals 21 and older “to possess, purchase, or use marijuana products and marijuana accessories for non-medical personal consumption by smoking, ingestion, or otherwise,” according to measure language submitted to the state Division of Elections.
Trulieve, the state’s largest medical cannabis company, has donated $15 million to the campaign and is its largest donor. The Smart & Safe Florida campaign is chaired by David Bellamy of the country music duo The Bellamy Brothers.
Florida voters in 2016 approved a constitutional amendment to legalize cannabis for medical use with 71% of the vote. Past attempts to legalize cannabis for adult use in Florida have failed legal challenges with the state Supreme Court due to the state’s single-subject rule for initiatives.
In a settlement with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Massachusetts cannabis company Trulieve will pay a $14,502 fine over the death of Lorna McMurrey, a worker at the company’s Holyoke facility who died in early 2022.
In their report following the incident, OSHA said McMurrey, 27, died after inhaling “ground cannabis dust” while filling pre-rolls.
In a Dec. 22, 2022 press release, Trulieve described the agreement with OSHA as “voluntary.” Initially, Trulieve was fined $35,219. Under the agreement, OSHA withdrew two of the “serious” items in the citation, including items involving having a “safety data sheet” and providing training under OSHA’s hazard communication standard. The remaining citation, identifying the standard for listing “hazardous chemicals,” was replaced with a citation about conducting a hazard analysis.
Additionally, Trulieve will evaluate a series of actions that may include:
Engaging a health professional to develop a program that gives workers guidance on how to manage potential health impacts resulting from potential reactions to ground cannabis dust.
Making employees more aware of job transfer options, if available.
Making permanent the temporary information and training program.
Investigating options to better limit access and exposure to the areas where commercial grinding of cannabis occurs.
Establishing policies that increase the presence of workers available who are trained in first aid.
In a statement, Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers said the company is “pleased” to have entered into the agreement with OSHA.
“We are proud of the many protections we have already put in place for our workers. However, as an industry leader in what is still a relatively new manufacturing business, we want to continue to establish best practices, so our workers can have the health and safety assurances they need.” — Rivers in a statement
The agreement will also require Trulieve to conduct a study to determine whether ground cannabis dust is required to be classified as a “hazardous chemical” in the occupational setting, according to OSHA regulations. Work on the study is to be completed by May 29, 2023.
“Increased-scale manufacturing in our industry is a relatively new endeavor,” Rivers said, “and we are determined to continually ask questions and seek answers to make our workplace the safest and healthiest it can possibly be.”
There is an incredible synergy between chocolate and cannabis. Both contain the “bliss molecule” anandamide that signals the brain to feel joy. Coda Signature, founded in Colorado in 2015, is a brand of chef-crafted cannabis confections capturing this synergy. Coda’s flagship line of chocolate bars is joined by pates de fruit made with all-natural ingredients and dusted in aromatic sugars and spices. Each product is crafted with intention, using quality ingredients to build a flavor profile that goes deeper than simply tasting good. But they do, in fact, taste good.
Co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer Chef Lauren Gockley, the mind behind Coda Signature, sat down to speak with Ganjapreneur about the brand, developing new flavors, and her plans for the future. “Chocolate not only spoke to the science side of my brain but also the creativity side of my brain, it kind of struck this really beautiful balance where chocolate has very clear guidelines but it’s an incredible medium to work with as a craftsman,” Gockley said. “Chocolate not only is a phenomenal ingredient, it has a very rich history from the Mayans and the Aztecs, it can be molded in so many form factors, and kind of at its core, it’s something that brings joy to almost everyone. Chocolate became my love language.”
The chef’s interest in food developed early alongside her grandmother in the kitchen but before pursuing a career as a chef, she explored a profession in music. Music wasn’t the right fit, and Gockley transitioned into pastry where she appreciated the defined rules of baking science. She began working as a raw Vegan chocolatier, using medicinal herbs and ingredients that weren’t traditionally accepted as tasting “good”— chocolate was her preferred medium for self-expression. The experience of crafting tasty confections with medicinal herbs gave her confidence with cannabis as an ingredient that she could embrace rather than try to hide its natural flavor. Strong, engaging flavors became a mission for Coda, and the team began to develop the brand.
Music has always been a presence in Gockley’s life, and it became the language of the brand. If you look closely you’ll find small nods to music theory in the branding. “It’s an intimate connector the same way the culture of cannabis is — we’re sharing a joint and experiencing a high together. The music helps me and the team to communicate,” Gockley said.
Each edible flavor is built to communicate an experience to the consumer, like Coffee + Donuts which Gockley formulated to bring you right back to your neighborhood donut shop’s hard-backed booth with a squeaky vinyl cushion, where you’d enjoy a pink sprinkle and a cup of hot black coffee. The chocolate bar doesn’t contain donuts; instead, she takes a concept (like coffee and donuts), breaks it apart, and puts it back together using layered flavors to bring the consumer into a moment. Rather than just adding nuts to milk chocolate, she ventures to add an element of surprise, something that has deepened the consumer relationship with the product.
It takes a village to taste test and build new innovative flavors, starting with non-medicated taste testing for a wide swath of their team, friends, and trusted advisors. Once they tweak that recipe, they introduce cannabis sourced from trusted extractors. Originally, Coda set out to do all extraction in-house but as the industry developed and the brand grew into new markets, it was necessary to find an extraction artist to take the reins of that portion of the work. “We are great at making confection so let’s let the brilliant craftsmen and the extractors shine in what they do,” Gockley said. From cannabis to chocolate, every ingredient in Coda edibles is intentional and finely sourced, and Gockley’s culinary network came in handy as they sought out a chocolate partner.
During her culinary career, Gockley worked with French chocolate brand Valhrona who recommended Coda work with Ecuadorian chocolate company Republica de Cacao. Both Coda and Republica de Cacao were in their infancy. Before settling on their chocolate partner, Gockley visited the factory, their cacao fields, and the farm in the Andes mountains where cows are milked by hand. Now, six years later, the company has built a chocolate specifically for the cannabis brand that matches their preferred flavor profiles- highlighting the cinnamon, hazelnut, and butterscotch in the milk chocolate and earthy dark chocolate that compliments the flavor of cannabis.
The Colorado-born brand learned as it expanded that each market has a particular palate. In Colorado, Coda sunsetted products that played with sweetness and spice like Pineapple Jalapeño and Fire and Orange, but consumers elsewhere loved the spicy chocolates. Cream and Crumble, a new white chocolate bar that plays on flavors of a lemon cheesecake, caters to Coloradans’ sweet tooth. The bar features a tang of sour cream with the crunch of a cinnamon streusel, layering a flavor experience that always evokes noticeably joyous surprise, and watching people enjoy that crescendo simply tickles Gockley: “That’s worth a million bucks.”
As Coda enters new markets — as it did most recently in Massachusetts, and as it plans to do in Illinois later in 2023 — Gockley is proud that the brand has maintained its mission of crafting fine confections, “That was a priority when we were starting the company, this was going to be a flavor-driven brand with quality ingredients with chocolate at the forefront.” And they’ve done exactly that.
Law enforcement officers in California searched teenagers that were perceived to be Black at nearly six times the rate of teens they perceived to be white during vehicle and pedestrian stops in 2021, according to an annual report by California’s Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board outlined by the Associated Press. The board’s report includes data on vehicle and pedestrian stops by officers from 58 California law enforcement agencies, including the 23 largest departments in the state, in 2021.
The report found that the individual was perceived to be Hispanic or Latino in more than 42% of the 3.1 million stops by those law enforcement agencies in 2021, while more than 30% were perceived to be white and 15% were believed to be Black. Statewide, though, 2021 Census estimates say Black or African American people made up just 6.5% of the California population, while white people comprised about 35%, and Hispanic or Latino people made up about 40% of the state’s population.
“The data show that racial and identity disparities persist year after year. The Board remains committed to analyzing and highlighting these disparities to compel evidence-driven strategies for reforming policing and eliminating racial and identity profiling in California.” — California Racial and Identity Profiling Advisory Board, Annual Report 2023
The report says that police handcuffed, searched, or detained – either in a patrol car or curbside – individuals they believed to be Black youths between 15- and 17-years-old at a higher rate than any other combination of perceived race or ethnicity age group and that officers searched people they perceived to be Black at 2.2 times the rate of people they believed to be white.
The report includes data from 40 more agencies than the 2020 report, meaning it analyzed an additional 246,000 stops. Of the 18 agencies that collected data during both years, 13 made fewer stops in 2021, which the report said may have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) vetoed three cannabis-related bills as 2022 ended, including a measure that would have amended state law to make it easier to transfer medical cannabis products from one facility to another, Michigan Advance reports.
In a statement announcing the vetoes, Whitmer said the bills were “rushed through a lame duck session,” according to an MLive report.
Whitmer also vetoed legislation that would have changed some language and definitions in the state’s Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act, including updating the title for the recently renamed Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA). Another vetoed proposal would have prevented the CRA from denying a person a cannabis license based on their spouse’s job, including if the spouse works for the state or federal government. Bill sponsor Rep. Pat Outman (R), said in June when testifying to his legislation that the change would bring “much needed clarity to Michigan’s adult-use marijuana laws,” according to MLive.
In her veto statement, Whitmer did not specifically address the cannabis-related measures, saying that she looks “forward to working with the new Legislature in January on priorities that will continue our economic momentum, help lower costs, and expand education supports for Michigan students.”
“It is time to be serious about solving problems and getting things done that will make working families’ lives better right now.” — Whitmer, in the veto message, via Michigan Advance.
All of the vetoed bills were introduced by Republican lawmakers and during the 2022 midterm elections, Democrats flipped both chambers of the state Legislature.
Democratic lawmakers in Kentucky are taking a three-tiered approach to cannabis legalization during the 2023 legislative session, including legislation, executive action, and a proposed constitutional amendment, LinkNKY reports. The push follows an executive order last year from Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, which took effect January 1.
On the first day of session, Rep. Rachel Roberts (D) filed a near duplicate of the bill she filed last year which aims to fully legalize adult-use cannabis in the state. The measure, L.E.T.T.’s Grow Cannabis, would legalize sales, expunge low-level possession crimes, allow medical cannabis sales and use, and tax sales.
Roberts told LinkNKY that including a swath of reforms in one bill may “be best” for lawmakers “and then to break that into other bills that may be more digestible at moments in time.”
“…That could be the building blocks that get us to that ultimate goal,” she said, which she described as “seed to sale.”
“We are still incarcerating people in Kentucky for low-level cannabis offenses, including reincarcerating people for parole violations. So this is an economic issue for us. It’s a criminal justice issue for us.” — Roberts to LinkNKY
The proposal from Rep. Nima Kulkarni (D) would decriminalize personal use possession via a 2024 constitutional amendment. The proposed amendment would appear on ballots as: “Do you want to decriminalize possession of cannabis up to an ounce and cultivation of five plants for adults 21 and over in the Commonwealth?”
“I do not want to have the legalization conversation without full decriminalization measures,” Kulkarni said in the report.
Beshear’s 2022 executive order did not legalize medical cannabis sales, but rather provides protections for Kentuckians with a medical provider’s statement to possess up to eight ounces of cannabis for medical purposes if purchased legally in another state. Beshear has admitted that the system doesn’t “make it convenient for anyone” but it was his response to the state Senate twice refusing to act on House-passed medical cannabis legislation.
“What it will ensure is that they’re not a criminal,” Beshear told Kentucky Health News earlier this month. “I don’t want them to have to drive to Illinois, but that takes an act of the legislature. I want our people to be able to get it close to home.”
During the first day of the session, Senate President Robert Stivers (R) told LinkNKY that while he is not opposed to medical cannabis, the reforms need to be accomplished in an appropriate way – through additional research. He added that it would come to the chamber for a vote “if there are the votes in the caucus.”
Editor’s note: This editorial was contributed by Johnny Green, Media and Content Director for the International Cannabis Business Conference.
As historians look back on 2022 from a cannabis policy and industry perspective, they will no doubt consider it to be a monumental year. Arguably the most noteworthy item from 2022 was the adult-use cannabis legalization presentation in October to Germany’s federal cabinet by the nation’s Health Minister Karl Lauterbach.
The presentation to the federal cabinet came roughly a year after Germany’s voters elected a new governing coalition dubbed the ‘Traffic Light Coalition,’ which included several members who participated in a historic discussion about cannabis reforms at the 2021 International Cannabis Business Conference in Berlin. During that discussion, which was the first of its kind for cannabis policy in Germany, candidates made it clear they would pursue legalization if elected. The October 2022 presentation by Minister Lauterbach provided the first meaningful glimpse into what German legalization will likely involve after months of the international cannabis community sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for details to emerge.
Part of the proposed legalization plan involves removing cannabis from the nation’s narcotics law. That policy change alone would have a dramatic impact on nearly every facet of Germany’s current approach to cannabis regulation and enforcement, including medical cannabis and research efforts. Adult consumers would be able to possess up to 30 grams of cannabis according to the plan and cultivate up to 3 plants in their homes. The plan also involves the launch of a regulated adult-use industry, and that last component is likely where the heavy political lifting will be focused in 2023, both within and beyond Germany’s borders.
Lobbying The European Union
During his presentation to the federal cabinet, Minister Lauterbach indicated he would first seek approval from the European Union prior to formally introducing a legalization measure for lawmakers to consider. In an ideal scenario, the European Union would grant its blessing for Germany to proceed with legalization, if only to help mitigate legal challenges by other European Union member nations. Other nations could certainly still pursue legal challenges but getting prior approval from the European Union would preemptively throw a considerable amount of metaphorical cold water on any of those pursuits.
Unfortunately, after roughly two months of Minister Lauterbach making his case to the European Union, there doesn’t appear to be much traction being made. Minister Lauterbach previously announced that he would be incorporating an ‘expert opinion’ to help with the push at the EU level, which was subsequently met with cannabis opponents indicating that they too would be incorporating an ‘expert opinion’ into their own strategies.
Meanwhile, pro-cannabis lawmakers in Germany are growing impatient and starting to apply pressure on Minister Lauterbach to proceed with introducing a legalization measure regardless of what the EU has to say about it. At the end of 2022, members of the Traffic Light Coalition blocked funding that had been earmarked for the Health Ministry’s public relations efforts, citing delays in introducing cannabis legalization as the reason for withholding the government funds. Clearly, any perceived foot-dragging on the part of the Health Ministry will not be tolerated by the governing coalition and there will be ramifications for continued delays.
Is An Intercontinental Showdown Brewing?
The effort to obtain EU sign-off on Germany’s legalization plan will take one of two paths in 2023.
The first path is that the EU will grant its approval for Germany to proceed. Given that the expressed desire for German legalization by lawmakers is not new and the EU has yet to grant its blessing, it’s likely that EU approval will not happen in early 2023.
The second path is, of course, that Germany will proceed without the EU’s prior approval. As previously mentioned, domestic ramifications have already occurred due to delays in introducing a legalization measure, and that pressure will presumably grow with every passing week in 2023 until a measure is formally submitted. Even lawmakers who are currently letting the process play out between Germany and the EU will eventually grow impatient and join their colleagues in calling for the country to proceed with deciding its own domestic cannabis policies.
If/when the measure is introduced in 2023, it will almost certainly change the tone of any ongoing discussions and negotiations. It’s easy for the EU to slowplay the process and act as if it is still considering Germany’s proposal in an indefinite fashion. After all, that’s a standard tactic at every level of politics, especially when it comes to maintaining the status quo of cannabis prohibition. But, the second that Germany formally introduces its measure, such tactics get tossed out the window with the EU being forced to move in one direction or another, for better or worse.
The International Cannabis Business Conference in Berlin this June is also sure to spark further interest in Germany’s legalization prospects, and the emerging EU cannabis industry in general.
It’s likely that an intercontinental showdown will occur in 2023 regarding Germany’s legalization pursuits and while prohibition dinosaurs at the EU will no doubt do everything that they can to thwart legalization in Germany and beyond, eventually the walls of prohibition will crumble. Whether that happens in 2023 in Germany or not is something that we will all have to wait and see, however, one thing that everyone can count on is that pro-cannabis lawmakers in Germany are going to continue doing everything that they can to make 2023 a big year for cannabis reforms.
Oregon’s psilocybin mushroom therapy reforms took effect on January 1, two years after voters approved a measure to allow therapy using the psychedelic fungi. The delay was due to lawmakers who were tasked with creating the regulatory framework for the production and sale of the mushrooms, the New York Times reports.
Psilocybin mushrooms have shown promise in treating severe depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, end-of-life anxiety among the terminally ill, and other mental health conditions. A study published last year in JAMA Psychiatry found two doses of mushroom therapy paired with psychotherapy led to an 83% decline in heavy drinking among participants; individuals given a placebo reduced their alcohol use by 51%.
Measure 109 authorized the creation of psilocybin service centers where anyone over 21 can consume the mushrooms in a supervised setting. The law required a state-certified facilitator to be present during sessions, which can last five or six hours. Oregon will not allow the retail sale of psilocybin mushrooms. Following the success of the initiative, 25 of the state’s 36 counties opted out of the program.
Sam Chapman, executive director of the Healing Advocacy Fund, an organization that backed Measure 109 and has been working to guide the implementation of the program, told the Times that “Psychedelic medicine is starting to transcend partisan politics in a way that few issues have.”
“It’s our responsibility to create a golden standard that’s worthy of wider implementation.” — Chapman to the Times
In 2018, the federal Food and Drug Administration granted psilocybin mushrooms “breakthrough therapy” status for major depressive disorder, which paved the way for clinical trials. Psilocybin mushrooms remain outlawed federally.
Portions of Maryland’s voter-approved adult-use cannabis law are now in effect, including reduced fines and penalties, WMAR 2 News reports. The law, which is in a ‘transitional’ period, will be in full force starting July 1.
Individuals caught with up to an ounce of cannabis will face no charges but those caught with an ounce and a half face a civil offense and a maximum fine of $100. Those found possessing between one and a half ounces and two ounces will face a $250 fine. Individuals caught with any amount over two ounces will be charged with a misdemeanor and face up to six months in jail and up to a $1,000 fine.
Individuals with criminal charges for cannabis may now also ask the courts to expunge their sentence once they have completed it. Prior to the reforms, individuals had to wait up to four years to seek relief. Under the law, all possession charges in the state have to be removed from court listings by July 1, 2024, the report says.
Also beginning this year, the state’s medical cannabis industry will be regulated by Maryland’s Alcohol and Tobacco Commission, the state announced last month. The change was included under the voter-backed adult-use legalization initiative.
The alleged “straw” owner of the Oklahoma medical cannabis farm where a quadruple homicide occurred last November has been arrested, KFOR reports. According to court documents, Richard Ignacio, 35, agreed to be the straw owner of the farm for $2,000 a month.
According to the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics (OBN), a “straw” or “ghost” owner is a person whose name is listed as the 75% owner of an Oklahoma medical marijuana operation but isn’t involved in running it – a crime in the state.
Ignacio was charged last week with felony conspiracy against the state, accused of “falsely and fraudulently obtain[ing] the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority License and Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics Registration necessary to manufacture marijuana by falsely claiming 75% ownership in Liu & Chen Inc., in order to meet the residency ownership requirements for licensing and manufacturing pursuant to Oklahoma law,” according to court documents outlined by KFOR.
In November, police in Miami Beach, Florida arrested Wu Chen who is suspected of carrying out the execution-style killings of four people at the Oklahoma medical cannabis farm. The victims included three men and one woman, all Chinese citizens.
Ignacio is accused of agreeing to be listed as 75% owner of the farm then turning it over to YiFei Lin, a Chinese national, who, on paper, owned 25% of the farm. Authorities allege Ignacio lent his name to six different Oklahoma medical cannabis farms and made more than $100,000 over the last two years in the scheme.
Lin, 44, was also injured during the November attack and subsequently arrested in December, the Associated Press reports. OBN ultimately seized the Oklahoma property. Lin is accused of conspiring to commit fraud against the state and illegally manufacturing and trafficking marijuana.
Two medical cannabis bills have been pre-filed in the South Carolina House for the upcoming 2023 session. Both measures would effectively legalize full-plant medical cannabis use in the state which currently only allows low-THC, CBD products.
The Put Patients First Act, pre-filed by Minority Leader J. Todd Rutherford (D) would allow physicians to authorize patients for medical cannabis use and establish a system of caregivers. The law includes language to protect patients, caregivers, and physicians from criminal liability. The law would also allow a system of medical cannabis dispensaries. The measure was referred to the House Committee on Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs.
Separately, the South Carolina Compassionate Care Act was pre-filed by Republican Reps. Bill Herbkersman, Jerry Carter, and Bill Taylor. The measure would also authorize dispensaries – but not caregivers – and would allow access by patients with “debilitating medical conditions who are under the care of a physician,” according to the summary of the pre-filed bill. The proposal would set up a Medical Cannabis Program Fund to provide for the program’s operations. The law would also create criminal penalties for use of cannabis while driving. The measure was also referred to the chamber’s Committee on Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs.
The state’s 2023 legislative session begins on January 10.
The U.S. Virgin Islands is poised to become the latest U.S. region to legalize adult-use cannabis after senators passed a comprehensive cannabis reforms bill and sent the measure to Gov. Albert Bryan (D), who is expected to sign the reforms into law, the Virgin Islands Consortium reports. Once fully implemented, the reforms would allow residents and visitors to purchase medical and/or recreational cannabis products from licensed dispensaries.
Lawmakers, who worked over the Christmas holiday to sort out concerns with the legalization bill, also approved a proposal to automatically expunge cannabis possession charges in the territory, the report said. The reforms were proposed in the Senate by Sens. Janelle Sarauw (I) and Angel Bolques Jr. (D).
The territory passed medical cannabis reforms four years ago but officials have yet to establish rules and regulations for the program, leaving patients and providers stuck in a multi-year limbo with no legal path to medical cannabis access. Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs Commissioner Richard Evangelista said in the report it will likely be another 18-24 months before the government can stand up the program.
Sarauw said that even now, with adult-use reforms now heading to the governor’s desk, “we have done absolutely nothing to move cannabis forward.”
“Rules and regs haven’t been promulgated, no seed-to-sale system, nothing has moved with this industry. So don’t ask for something and it come, and you don’t move on it. We’ve got to get the ball moving and put your money where your mouth is.” — Sarauw, via the Consortium
The possession of up to an ounce of cannabis is currently decriminalized in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Kentucky medical cannabis reforms implemented via an executive order by Gov. Andy Beshear (D) took effect January 1, allowing individuals with a medical provider’s statement to possess up to eight ounces of cannabis for medical purposes if purchased legally in another state, Kentucky Health News reports.
Kentucky borders three states with medical cannabis programs – Illinois, Ohio, and West Virginia – but neither Ohio nor West Virginia allow medical cannabis access to non-residents. During his end-of-the-year press conference, Beshear admitted the executive order wasn’t “going to make it convenient for anyone.”
“What it will ensure is that they’re not a criminal. … I don’t want them to have to drive to Illinois, but that takes an act of the legislature. I want our people to be able to get it close to home.” – Beshear via Kentucky Health News
The state Senate has twice refused to act on medical cannabis bills passed by the House, which prompted the governor to issue the executive order. The state’s upcoming legislative session is just 30 days, giving lawmakers a smaller window to pass legislation.
Under the plan, law enforcement officers in the state will be given a card instructing them how to handle cases in which they find eight ounces or less of cannabis possessed by someone allowed to possess it under the order.
The 21 qualifying conditions include cancer, HIV or AIDS, multiple scleroisis, muscular dystrophy, epilepsy, intractable seizures, intractable pain, severe and chronic pain, severe arthritis, neuropathy, Parkinson’s disease, fibromyalgia, glaucoma, Crohn’s disease, sickle-cell anemia, post-traumatic stress disorder, hepatitis C, cachexia (wasting syndrome), Huntington’s disease, amytrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease) or other terminal illnesses.
Medical cannabis sales in Iowa reached more than $10 million in 2022, according to Iowa Cannabidiol Board data outlined by the Des Moines Register. By November there were nearly 15,000 active patient cardholders in the state, while the number of registered caregivers rose to 2,300.
The majority of patients – about 10,000 – were registered for a qualifying medical condition while more than 2,800 were registered for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Last August, medical cannabis sales in the state topped the $1 million mark for the first time; comparatively, sales in December 2021 were $587,000. In all of 2021, the state reported $6.2 million in sales, up from the more than $3.5 million in sales in 2020. In 2019, the first year of the program, there were just over $2 million in sales, the report says.
As of November 2022, there were 1,920 medical practitioners authorized to recommend patients for the program.
In their year-end report, the Cannabidiol Board recommended excluding medical cannabis products from the state’s sales tax. The board said eliminating the tax would reflect the standard practice for medications and “reduce the cost burden of medical cannabidiol products on patients.” The board also recommended decoupling Iowa’s tax rule from federal rules for businesses that sell Schedule I or II drugs.
The board also called for the state to license more dispensaries as, currently, there are just five operational.
Legendary rapper and cannabis industry entrepreneur and investor Snoop Dogg, legal name Calvin Broadus, announced he is launching a new cannabis brand, HipHopDX reports. The brand is linked to the Death Row Records music label which Snoop Dogg acquired in early 2022.
The announcement was made on the Death Row Records Instagram page on Thursday:
Death Row Records cannabis products will become available in California in early January with the products coming first to select dispensaries operated by Cookies, founded by rapper Berner. The brand will initially be offering flower products but plans to later release diamond-infused cannabis pre-rolls.
Death Row Records holds a historic role in cannabis culture history as the record label was behind the release of Dr. Dre’s The Chronic and Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle, the report said.
Although the Death Row Records cannabis brand is unrelated to his previous cannabis ventures, Snoop Dogg was one of the earliest celebrities to enter the legal cannabis industry with the launch of Leafs By Snoop, a Colorado cannabis brand. He is also a partial owner of Casa Verde Capital, a cannabis venture capital fund that pulled $94.7 million in 2020 during its second round of investment funding.
There were more than 4,300 scientific papers covering cannabis published in 2022, the most ever recorded in a single year, according to a report by cannabis advocacy group NORML.
This year’s expansion of peer-reviewed cannabis studies means that researchers have published more than 30,000 such studies since 2010, the report said, while there were fewer than 3,000 cannabis studies in the 1990s and fewer than 2,000 studies during the 1980s. The majority of modern cannabis research has looked to investigate the plant’s therapeutic properties.
“Despite claims by some that marijuana has yet to be subject to adequate scientific scrutiny, scientists’ interest in studying cannabis has increased exponentially in recent years, as has our understanding of the plant, its active constituents, their mechanisms of action, and their effects on both the user and upon society. It is time for politicians and others to stop assessing cannabis through the lens of ‘what we don’t know’ and instead start engaging in evidence-based discussions about marijuana and marijuana reform policies that are indicative of all that we do know.” — Paul Armentano, NORML’s Deputy Director, in a statement
U.S.-based cannabis researchers received a boon in early December when President Joe Biden (D) signed into law the Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act, which will allow researchers to more easily investigate the medicinal properties of cannabis. That proposal — sponsored in the House by Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Andy Harris (R-MD), and in the Senate by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) — was the first-ever standalone cannabis reform bill approved by Congress.
I recently got the opportunity to check out and use the all-in-one home grow kit by BudClub USA. It arrived in a discreet plain box on a Thursday afternoon —unexpected, I might add. It was an awesome surprise!
Although I’ve been growing a medical cannabis garden at home for a while now — complete with all of its ups and downs and challenges — the BudClub USA kit included a few items I did not have.
For one, the five-gallon grow bag was really nice. I went ahead and put a plant that was ready to be transplanted into the bag along with some homemade organic soil mix to make room for the included auto flower seeds, which I will be growing soon. I have used larger cloth bags, 20-gallon cloth bags from the grocery store on an outdoor grow, before, and they really help with root growth. But this bag is much more durable and is made specifically for growing. So far, the plant has loved its new container and is just about ready to put into flower.
The kit also included commercial-grade trimmers, a bug trap (if needed), and three types of veg and bud-boosting nutrient packs. Add in the rubber gloves for trimming and limb ties, and this kit covers all the bases when it comes to a do-it-yourself cannabis grow kit.
Lastly, something I’m really excited about is the above-mentioned three Gnome Automatics auto-flower seeds that came with the box. I have not grown auto flowers before and am looking forward to trying my hand at growing their Forge strain. I’ll be starting these as soon as there is room in my growing area.
But you don’t have to wait for the daylight to get just right or for space in a grow room like me. According to BudClub, their kit allows you to grow cannabis anywhere with no tent. The auto flowers planted directly in the cloth bag really would make that possible — a powerful LED bulb on an 18 on, 6 off cycle or a well-lit, discreet window should give great results. Or outside this summer, but I will report back on how my indoor attempt goes in the coming months.
BudClub USA is currently wrapping up its holiday season give-one, get-one special. Surprise a home grower you know and love with one of these grow kits — check out the selection of bundles at the BudClub USA website.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) ratified the state’s voter-approved psilocybin legalization measure this week, making Colorado the latest state to end the prohibition of magic mushrooms and other psychedelics, KDVR reports.
Proposition 122, which voters passed last month with 54% approval, will allow Coloradoans aged 21 or older to grow, forage, possess, consume, and share psilocybin, DMT, ibogaine, and mescaline in the state. The commercial distribution of psychedelics remains prohibited.
Josh Kappel, the co-author and campaign leader for Proposition 122, said the measure “puts the wellbeing of patients and communities first, removing harsh criminal penalties for personal possession and employing a multi-phase implementation process that will allow time to develop an appropriate safety and regulatory structure.”
“Our goals include creating an accessible and balanced facilitator training system, an effective equity program, a first-of-its-kind ESG screen, and safe access to natural psychedelic therapies. In the meantime, adults in Colorado can begin to have more open and honest conversations about these medicines with their doctors. Adults who can benefit from these substances will finally be able to engage in psychedelic therapies without fear of arrest and prosecution.” — Kappel, in a statement via KDVR
Colorado is only the second state to pass a psychedelics decriminalization measure, following in the footsteps of Oregon where voters approved the legalization of medicinal psychedelics in 2020.
New York’s first licensed cannabis dispensary will be opening its doors to customers for the very first time today at 4:20 pm local time, CBS New York reports.
Housing Works is a charitable nonprofit located in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. In addition to selling adult-use cannabis products, the company will continue to offer nonprofit services to individuals experiencing homelessness as well the formerly incarcerated and/or justice-involved individuals.
Even more shops will be opening next year — 36 retail licenses have already been issued for the state’s adult-use industry and regulators are set to start issuing cannabis delivery licenses next month, the report said. The state prioritized applicants with social equity status for the first round of cannabis retail licensing.
New York’s first adult-use cannabis dispensary is coming!
— NYS Office of Cannabis Management (@nys_cannabis) December 28, 2022
“The opening of the first legal dispensary in our state right here in New York City is more than just a promising step for this budding industry — it represents a new chapter for those most harmed by the failed policies of the past,” said NYC Mayor Eric Adams in a statement celebrating the opening. “The legal cannabis market has the potential to be a major boon to New York’s economic recovery — creating new jobs, building wealth in historically underserved communities, and increasing state and local tax revenue.”
Housing Works’ store manager Sasha Nutgent said previously the launch was a “once-in-a-lifetime moment,” and that the nonprofit was “eager to take the lead as a social equity model for America’s cannabis industry, specifically with our hiring practices and continued support of individuals and communities disproportionately impacted by the unjust War on Drugs.”
Welcome to the fourth and final piece of our 2023 Cannabis Industry Predictions series, this time featuring the voices and opinions of industry experts in cannabis finance, policy, international markets, real estate, and more.
Over the course of this month, we have released predictions and expectations from experts representing every corner of the industry — from cultivation to investing, from hemp and cannabis CPGs to psychedelics, from hiring and employment strategies to data analysis — so we’d like to extend an enormous thank you to the individuals featured in this series who agreed to share their time and expertise with our audience. If you missed them, be sure to check out the first, second, and third installments of our year-capping series!
And lastly, happy New Year! We can’t wait to see what 2023 brings.
Finance
Giadha A. DeCarcer – CEO of CTrust & founder of New Frontier Data
“For the first time since the industry’s birth, we see signs of potential market contraction – decreasing consumption, misalignment between supply and demand, lack of capital access, and consequent increasing business failures. While we await potential regulatory improvements to help the industry mature, the best way to positively and immediately support U.S. and global cannabis markets is with more equitable and cost-effective capital flow. That requires quantifiable, verifiable, systematic, and ultimately trusted visibility into cannabis businesses’ performance. The time for true transparency is now and today is the day we must embrace sophisticated business credit scoring allowing mature access to capital.” Visit website
Patrick Rea – Managing Director of Poseidon Garden Ventures
“A lame duck vote in the Senate on SAFE+ could have the biggest impact on cannabis investment activity in 2023. Inaction in D.C. on federal legalization has suppressed investor interest in cannabis in the last few years, leaving many founders scrambling to raise new funds from a smaller pool of capital allocators. If SAFE+ doesn’t pass, one can reasonably expect the status quo – a capital constrained industry where flat, down, and more structured rounds persist. While advantageous for investors with capital like Poseidon, entrepreneurs are wise to think about creating a path to profitability sooner, rather than later, when going out to raise new rounds.” Visit website
FinTech
Julia Germaine, Operating Partner at Kind Ventures
“The next 12 months will most likely remain a challenge for cannabis businesses to create sustainable profits, without the channels of new investor capital and (non-distressed) M&A activity. To succeed operators must continue to innovate and find more paths to profitability, especially retailers who can finally take advantage of digital payments and consumer subscriptions. These innovations increase average basket sizes and bring a deeper form of customer loyalty. Retailers should break away from the technology stack of yesterday and have an open mind towards higher-ROI options that are blazing the trail towards profitability.” Visit website
Policy
Courtney Davis – Executive Director Marijuana Matters
“The cannabis industry will continue to grow next year and as a part of this maturation process, we can expect more pressure on the federal government to reverse harmful prohibition laws and embrace thoughtful and restorative policies to move the industry forward. Equity advocates will continue to raise awareness about the nuances of legalization and how to expand the social equity ecosystem. I anticipate that equity conversations will be focused on licensing and beyond.” Visit website
International Policy
Anna-Sophia Kouparanis – Bloomwell Group Co-founder
“One of the most positive aspects of the German government’s current legislative proposal for adult-use cannabis is that businesses will have equal opportunities to apply for licenses with minimal limitations. Other positive points in the proposal include the omission of THC limits (at least for consumers over age 21, though potentially for those ages 18-21) and that this proposal would provide amnesty to those who have been convicted of prior cannabis offenses. However, the legislation could be improved even more if it included provisions to assist illicit operators in transitioning into the legal adult-use market.” Visit website
Miles Worne – President of Curaleaf International
“2023 will see players line up on the starting grid for the German recreational legalisation race, due to start in early 2024. Expected to be worth $10B in a few years’ time, Germany is the number one global cannabis opportunity which everyone is watching closely, including other European countries keen not to lose out to their big neighbour.” Visit website
Photo credit: Detlef Gottwald
Niklas Kouparanis – Bloomwell Group CEO and Co-founder
“Germany is making historic progress moving forward with adult-use legalization, and I expect the market to come online by the first quarter of 2024. However, we will have our work cut out for us this coming year during the approval process. But, once Germany’s market does come online, it will become the largest market in the world, as Germany has more than 82 million inhabitants – more than California and Canada. The future language for cannabis will be German, and this will be the planet’s flagship market. Entrepreneurs and investors alike are quite bullish on the market’s potential.” Visit website
Real Estate
Holly Dupart – Founder of Realty Smarts
“Get Little! The cannabis space is wide open and it can be tempting to go big. Consider scaling down instead of up. Refine your niche and grow a quality brand by consistently delivering superior products and service excellence.” Visit website
Darrin Chandler – Director of Cannabis Real Estate at RIPCO Real Estate “Cannabis real estate has been a hot topic in the New Jersey and New York markets in 2022 due to the various obstacles in obtaining the right property. 2023 all eyes are on the moves that the federal government will make in support of the cannabis industry. With the Safe Banking Act gaining real traction and cannabis possibly becoming a rescheduled drug, the government has an opportunity to help alleviate 2 main issues in the cannabis industry: access to capital and access to real estate. Rescheduling cannabis will allow operators to treat cannabis real estate like a traditional real estate transaction. If small businesses and startups have banking, access to loans, and the various options a traditional real estate transaction affords, the cannabis market will be more equitable and competitive.” Visit website
Bryan McLaren – Chief Executive Officer and Chairman at Zoned Properties, Inc. “By the end of 2023, we predict the cannabis industry will begin to see mass entry from traditional service professionals looking to provide goods and services to the regulated cannabis market. Mainstream entry suggests the industry is evolving out of the early adopter category and into the early majority category, which will require massive education and noise reduction efforts as new entrants find their footing. This transformation will signify that regulated cannabis has graduated to become a cornerstone of commerce in our community marketplaces.” Visit website
Rob Sechrist – President of Pelorus Equity Group “In 2023, real estate will remain the cannabis sector’s most stable, valuable asset. At Pelorus, we’re as close as you can be to a pure real estate lender, while our peers use either a BDC or sales-leaseback model. With the BDC model, lenders require significant financial covenants, which can hamstring company growth. In a sales-leaseback, typically a 15-20 year agreement, a borrower gives up their most valuable asset and hampers their optionality. While our peers are struggling to deploy capital and having borrowers default on payments, we continue to capture market share and lend at attractive rates for investors.” Visit website
Editor’s note: This editorial was contributed by Tony Ham, the SEO Account Manager for NisonCo, a top-rated cannabis, CBD, and hemp industry PR firm.
The cannabis industry is a fascinating market. Cannabis has always been associated chiefly with counterculture, but in recent years, the United States industry hit $12.4 billion in 2021 and is poised to continue growing. However, the language consumers use to search for and connect with cannabis brands remains firmly countercultural, despite the cannabis industry’s attempts to adopt more professional terms.
This discrepancy leaves cannabis search engine optimization (SEO) professionals with some interesting problems. Do we stay professional and use politically-correct terms like “cannabis?” Or do we use stigmatized but commonly-searched terms like “pot” and “weed” to actually show up on high-traffic SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages)? How do we balance professionalism, brand voice, and consumer accessibility while navigating SEO requirements?
As an account manager at a cannabis SEO and PR firm, I’ve learned a few things about effectively using stigmatized, taboo keywords in a search engine strategy. Read on for my three biggest cannabis SEO tips and how to implement them.
1. Organic traffic is a cannabis SEO strategist’s best friend
It’s notoriously difficult to run paid ads for a cannabis-centric business. You risk having your advertising abilities revoked if your site includes cannabis keywords or content. Though some companies take an all-or-nothing approach and purchase paid ads until they get flagged, it’s usually more reliable to capitalize on organic traffic. In stigmatized industries like cannabis, maximizing organic traffic is more straightforward and less risky than other methods.
To attract as much organic traffic as possible, you’ll want to do your research and tailor your keywords to match what consumers are searching for regularly. Feel free to include other keywords elsewhere in your website content, but the most impactful sections should focus on conversational, real-life search terms.
Optimizing your website with other SEO strategies is also essential — ensuring your site is fast-loading and easy to navigate will go a long way toward retaining prospective customers.
2. Know which cannabis keywords your audience is searching for
Studies have shown that different age brackets refer to cannabis using disparate terms. Millennials are most likely to use words like “weed,” while Gen-Xers use words like “pot” and “marijuana.” Industry professionals usually try to avoid slang terms and default to “cannabis,” so the prevalence of stigmatized keywords like these puts SEO professionals in a difficult situation.
When most consumers search for cannabis products, they use words the cannabis industry tries to avoid. The most commonly-searched term for the cannabis plant in the U.S. is “weed,” followed by “marijuana.” The industry-preferred term, “cannabis,” trails behind in third place, and there are countless other words that different groups or consumers prefer to use. SEO professionals must execute a tricky equation: attract customers using stigmatized but effective keywords while remaining aligned with brand identity and professionalism in the cannabis industry.
The equation gets even more complicated when we consider generational buying power. Generation X consumes the second-most cannabis, just after millennials. Gen Xers generally have more buying power and a greater interest in more refined cannabis experiences, but they use the least industry-accepted terminology. Despite this, most high-end luxury cannabis brands use keywords like “cannabis” that consumers with the most disposable income are unfamiliar with.
However, this doesn’t mean that top-of-the-line vaporizers retailing for hundreds of dollars should begin referring to themselves as “marijuana bongs” for the sake of SEO. It all depends on the SEO strategy of the specific brand, its target audience, and how comfortably they use stigmatized keywords. It’s essential to consider which groups you’re targeting and the language they use to refer to cannabis in conversational searches.
3. Don’t be afraid of using the “wrong” cannabis keyword
Usually, cannabis industry professionals try to stay away from words like “weed” and “marijuana” for a good reason. Terms like “marijuana” have been historically weaponized and slang words like “weed,” “pot,” and even “ganja” undercut the professionalism of the cannabis industry. No matter how we feel about these words as cannabis professionals, they are still valuable keywords in our SEO arsenals.
Successful SEO is about meeting your target audience where they are. Most cannabis consumers use words like “weed” and “marijuana,” so effective SEO strategies also need to use these keywords. Don’t feel like you have to use these words exclusively, though. Consider using higher-value but less-professional keywords like “pot” and “marijuana” in titles and headers and defaulting to the industry standard “cannabis” in the body text of your optimized web pages.
If you’re still uncomfortable using these keywords, remember most other cannabis professionals share your feelings on the topic. Generally speaking, stigmatized cannabis keywords get more impressions. These stigmatized keywords are also usually slightly easier to rank for because most cannabis professionals are wary about incorporating them into strategy.
Engage consumers first, then provide education
Ultimately, connecting with consumers is critical to enabling, destigmatizing, and legitimizing work in the cannabis industry. You’ll likely have to use stigmatized keywords to catch the attention of those consumers. Once you’ve captured consumers, there will always be room for education and activism. To change the narrative, you have to be part of that narrative. To be a part of that narrative, you might have to take advantage of some of the cannabis SEO keywords the industry would rather leave behind.
Police in Hays, Kansas raided the hospital room of a terminally ill cancer patient on December 16 to bust him for possessing cannabis products, the Kansas City Star reports. Kansas is one of just three U.S. states to have maintained a complete ban on cannabis with no exceptions, not even for doctor-recommended medical products.
The patient, 69-year-old Greg Bretz, had been using a THC-infused edible paste and a vape pen to ease his pain while hospitalized for his final days. Bretz said his physician had told him he should do anything he wanted for the pain, as there was nothing doctors could offer to treat or ease his condition beyond hospice care.
But someone at the hospital reported Bretz’s activity to law enforcement and, on December 16, police officers visited his room. They confiscated his THC paste and vape pen, cited him for drug possession, and set a court date for January 2 to cover the case. Bretz — who cannot stand unassisted and is spending the final days of his life in the hospital suffering from inoperable, terminal cancer — would not be able to attend his day in court.
The ticket and court summons were soon dropped by police but the message that Kansas‘ harsh cannabis policies are grossly outdated was made perfectly clear.
Following the hospital incident and disgruntled responses from concerned citizens and cannabis advocates alike, Kansas Democrats in the state Legislature have renewed their calls to legalize medical cannabis, Marijuana Moment reports.
House Dems are committed to legalizing access to medical marijuana. #MMJ is available to ill patients in dozens of states across the country.
Kansans shouldn’t be forced to choose between quality, safe health care and abiding by the law. #ksleghttps://t.co/RhVDMJY5mz
“House Dems are committed to legalizing access to medical marijuana,” the party said on Twitter. “[Medical cannabis] is available to ill patients in dozens of states across the country. Kansans shouldn’t be forced to choose between quality, safe health care and abiding by the law.”
The Kansas House previously advanced a bipartisan medical cannabis proposal but that bill died in the GOP-controlled Senate.
The deadline for business applications for Alabama’s medical cannabis program is on Friday, December 30, but officials say very few individuals have actually submitted an application, CBS 42 reports.
Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission Director John McMillan said that as of late last week, the agency had received just one application. The number has since increased but there were still fewer than 10 submitted applications as of Monday.
“Frankly, we feel like they’re coming in a little slow, but you never know. The requests came in a big bunch of them at the very end of the deadline, too, so I guess that’s just the way most of us function.” — McMillan, via CBS 42
Officials said they received 607 application requests for the state’s 25 total medical cannabis licenses, which will include:
12 licenses for medical cannabis cultivators
4 medical cannabis processor licenses
4 medical cannabis dispensary licenses
5 licenses for integrated medical cannabis facilities
Officials will take several months to deliberate after the deadline, with licenses expected to be formally issued starting June 12, the report said.
Alabama’s medical cannabis program was approved by lawmakers and signed into law in May. The program does not allow for the smoking or vaping of cannabis products but will let patients access “tablets, capsules, tinctures, or gel cubes for oral use; gels, oils or creams for topical use, or suppositories, transdermal patches, nebulizers, or liquids or oils for use in an inhaler.” The possession limit for patients will be limited to up to “70 daily dosages” of medical cannabis.
Meanwhile, an October poll found that a nearly 80% supermajority of Alabama voters supported the medical cannabis reforms.
Google has announced it will end its ban on hemp and CBD product advertisements in select parts of the U.S. starting next month, Marijuana Moment reports. The internet and technology company updated its “Dangerous Products and Services and Healthcare and Medicines” to reflect the changes, which will start out in California, Colorado, and Puerto Rico.
“On January 20, 2023, the Dangerous Products and Services and Healthcare and Medicines Google Ads policies will be updated to allow for the promotion of FDA-approved pharmaceuticals containing cannabidiol (CBD) and topical, hemp-derived CBD products with THC content of 0.3% or less in California, Colorado, and Puerto Rico.” — Excerpt from Google’s update
In order to advertise hemp and CBD products on the massive online platform, interested companies will need to apply for eligibility from LegitScript, a third-party payments processing company working with Google. “Certification will require that products sought to be advertised: (1) provide samples of their product to test for compliance with legal THC limits; and (2) provide LegitScript a third-party Certificate of Analysis,” the company said.
Companies can begin “immediately” on the application process but LegitScript will be charging a fee for “processing and monitoring applicants.”
There is no obvious reason why Google is lifting the ban only for only U.S. states and territories since CBD and other hemp-based cannabinoids are fully legal throughout the U.S. under the 2018 Farm Bill, the report said.
