Licensing

The Maine Cannabis Coalition is suing the state over its recent decision to remove residency requirements for cannabis licensees.

Recent data released by the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission shows that just 10 percent of the state’s cannabis industry investors are people of color.

Florida’s medical cannabis marketplace is based on the vertical integration of participating companies; this can be good for regulators and tax dollars, but very bad for patients and consumers.

Missouri lawmakers have approved a measure giving medical cannabis regulators in the state the ability to access the FBI’s national fingerprint and background check database; the bill also aims to ban kid-friendly cannabis edibles shapes.

Lawmakers in Missouri’s House of Representatives have approved legislation to remove the state’s medical cannabis licensing cap; the proposal would allow any qualifying business owner to secure a license.

A whistleblower complaint has sparked an investigation into the Missouri medical cannabis licensing process.

In light of the coronavirus pandemic, Illinois Gov. Pritzker has indefinitely pushed back the date for awarding the state’s social equity cannabis licenses.

The Social Equity and Workers Association is suing Los Angeles over the city’s first-come, first-served cannabis licensing process.

Denver officials have approved rules establishing a new research and development business license for the cannabis space.

Texas regulators issued the state’s first industrial hemp license this week; Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said it was “just the beginning.”

The USDA approved state hemp program plans for Georgia and South Carolina this week.

Two of Iowa’s five licensed medical cannabis dispensaries were abruptly shut down without explanation from their operator nor state health officials, who said they will work to license two new retailers.

Maine cannabis company Wellness Connection has filed suit over the state’s residency requirement, claiming the rule violates the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution.

City officials in San Francisco could consider a freeze on new cannabis permits amid plummeting sales at individual dispensaries and a flourishing unregulated marketplace.

The launch of Maine’s adult-use cannabis marketplace has been delayed for likely several months, with some officials predicting the first shop will open its doors in June.

Hundreds of rejected medical cannabis applicants in Missouri have filed appeals against the state’s cannabis licensing process.

The head of the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission said he plants to cut the wait time for cannabis licenses in half for next year, from an average of 121 days to just 60.

The city of Cambridge, Massachusetts is petitioning to block a previous court ruling that would force officials to license non-equity cannabis businesses.

The Louisiana Alcohol and Tobacco Control Board has licensed some 1,500 businesses in the state to sell CBD products under the state’s industrial hemp rules.

Weedmaps is no longer allowing unlicensed Michigan cannabis businesses to list or advertise on its platform.

Some critics in Pasadena, California believe that local regulators violated their own rules when awarding six cannabis business licenses last year.

Activists in Chicago are pushing for the city to allow for cannabis “peddler’s permits,” which would enable cannabis sales in a similar manner to street food vendors.

An on-site consumption plan by Illinois Supply and Provisions in Springfield, Illinois has been approved by the city council; it’s the first time in the state that on-site cannabis consumption was approved by a municipality.

High Times has signed a deal to purchase dispensary licenses in Los Angeles and Las Vegas; the company plans to open two flagship stores that will sell local Cannabis Cup award-winning strains.