Licensing

Costa Rica will make its hemp licenses free for businesses and individuals interested in importing and/or exporting hemp derivatives as health, food, and industrial products.

The Executive Director of New York’s Office of Cannabis Management said that applications for cannabis cultivation, processing, and other industry activities will be delayed until the middle of 2023.

Illinois has awarded 185 conditional adult-use cannabis retail licenses, closing out its first round of the social equity license lottery.

Two lawsuits challenging Detroit’s adult-use cannabis licensing ordinance were dismissed by a Michigan judge in Wayne County who said the city has provided a fair licensing process.

New York has opened the application process for conditional social equity retail licenses and nonprofit organizations that assist justice-involved individuals. 

New Mexico has awarded more than 1,000 cannabis industry licenses but about 70% of the licenses so far were issued to companies controlled by men.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) launched Cannabis NYC this week, which will provide services and licensing assistance to the city’s cannabis social equity applicants.

Maine’s First Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down the requirement that a dispensary must be owned by state residents.

The first 15 conditional processor license applications were approved in New York this week, allowing the selected companies to begin designing, manufacturing, and packaging cannabis products.

Washington state officials are considering a points-based social equity licensing model that is preferential to individuals who were previously convicted of cannabis-related crimes.

Members of the Crow Tribe are looking to open the first cannabis dispensary on tribal land in Montana but approval has been delayed by the tribe and Big Horn County. 

The two-year moratorium on new Oklahoma medical cannabis licenses is set to begin on August 26; the moratorium does not affect license transfers, license renewals, or patient licenses.

New York officials shut down a private cannabis consumption club in Cheektowaga for operating without a license but the company says no license exists for its business model.

Proof of U.S. residency is no longer a requirement for owning a cannabis business in Denver, Colorado.

Illinois issued 149 conditional adult-use cannabis licenses on Sunday to social equity applicants; the licensees were selected through a lottery.

Guam is set to begin accepting adult-use cannabis license applications on August 29.

Oregon’s price-per-pound for cannabis has dropped nearly $1,000 from $5,433 to $4,536 since July, 2021.

Connecticut has awarded 16 recipients the state’s first social equity commercial cannabis licenses; the licensees still have to pay a $3 million fee and pass a background check before receiving their final licenses. 

Connecticut had received more than 37,000 cannabis business applications for just 56 licenses by the time the application window closed last week.

Two Oklahoma attorneys have been charged with falsifying records, cultivation of a dangerous substance, and multiple counts of conspiracy after allegedly putting their legal assistants’ names on more than 400 cannabis cultivation applications.

A recent letter by the director of Montana’s Department of Revenue revealed that tribes in the state are restricted to the lowest tier of cannabis cultivation license.

Missouri companies Archimedes Medical Holdings, FUJM, and Holistic Health Capital must destroy medical cannabis products and relinquish their licenses as per an agreement with regulators following accusations of “pervasive irregularities.”

The first month of regulated cannabis sales in New Jersey reached $24 million with 13 dispensaries averaging about $5 million in sales per week.

Former Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove submitted an application this week for a medical cannabis testing facility license.