Licensing

Maryland officials have released the state’s social equity applicant criteria, including an interactive map to define what qualifies as Disproportionately Impacted Areas.

The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission on Thursday issued an administrative stay on its medical cannabis licensing process. The move comes after the state has already twice bungled the cannabis licensing process.

A New York Supreme Court Judge on Tuesday reversed their decision to partly lift an injunction that would have let 30 cannabis businesses move forward with their opening plans, reimposing a hold on all cannabis licensing activity.

Alabama cannabis regulators said they will “start back at square one” in the medical cannabis licensing process after a lawsuit claimed the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission had violated the state’s Open Meetings Act.

A New York judge partly lifted the injunction against state regulators issuing new cannabis licenses, allowing 30 licensees who have been deemed ready by the Cannabis Control Board to move forward; however, 400 cannabis licenses remain in limbo.

Following litigation related to its voiding and revoking of medical cannabis licenses two weeks ago, the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission was hit with another lawsuit claiming the agency had no right to revoke the licenses in the first place.

A New York judge extended the statewide injunction against licensing new cannabis dispensaries pending the outcome of a hearing later this week; the licensing process was halted earlier this month after several veterans claimed in a lawsuit that the state failed to follow its own social equity rules.

Alabama’s medical cannabis licensing process was paused, again, after a judge granted a temporary restraining order on Thursday after several cannabis companies claimed that regulators had violated the state’s open meetings law.

The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission has awarded new cannabis industry licenses after voiding all previously awarded licenses, explaining that errors in the scoring and evaluation of first-round licensees led to the new permits.

A New York Supreme Court justice this week temporarily blocked the issuing of new retail cannabis licenses following a lawsuit by veterans who claim that officials have failed to follow social equity provisions in the state’s cannabis legalization law.

A lawsuit filed by New York-based military veterans claims that cannabis regulators are failing to follow the social equity provisions included in the state’s cannabis legalization law.

Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice John Kane heard arguments on Tuesday in a case challenging a recently passed law that hikes medical cannabis licensing fees in the state.

The New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department filed a petition seeking a preliminary injunction against Sawmill Sweet Leaf, LLC, alleging the company has been diverting cannabis out of state and manufacturing concentrate without a permit.

One of Connecticut’s four licensed cannabis producers, Theraplant, was sold last week to NewCo, a subsidiary of New York-based DXR Holdco.

Nevada regulators this week awarded the state’s first conditional license for a stand-alone cannabis consumption lounge to La Lounge, LLC.

Two Black farmers in Florida have received licenses to grow, process, and sell medical cannabis. The licensing ends a six-year process of aligning the state with the federal Pigford v. Glickman settlement under the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which prohibits government discrimination against minority farmers.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has signed into law a bill to issue medical cannabis cultivation licenses to Black farmers. The new law also expands telehealth renewals for medical cannabis patients.

A recent report by Whitney Economics found that just 24.4% of U.S. cannabis companies currently turn a profit, down 42% from the year prior.

Alabama medical cannabis regulators on Friday voted to pause further issuing of medical cannabis licenses in the state after having discovered “potential inconsistencies in the tabulation of scoring data.”

New York regulators on Thursday shut down multiple unlicensed cannabis shops in Ithaca, Binghamton, and New York City. The companies now face fines of up to $10,000 per day they were operating without a license.

Maryland medical cannabis regulators temporarily shut down a Cookies dispensary license, citing multiple violations including a video advertisement that “appeared to show large plumes of medical cannabis smoke being blown from a large gun apparatus into the mouths of persons outside the dispensary.”

Alabama regulators this week licensed the state’s first medical cannabis businesses, issuing four cultivation licenses, four processing licenses, four retailer licenses, five licenses for integrated facilities, three transport licenses, and one testing lab license.

The San Francisco, California Board of Supervisors voted unanimously this week to enact a three-year moratorium on the awarding of new cannabis business licenses.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill last week to extend the state’s provisional cannabis cultivation and processing licenses in response to the continued delays of New York’s adult-use marketplace.