Regulations

The Los Angeles city council has unanimously approved new regulations that will tighten up the cannabis social equity program and create rules for licensing new dispensaries in city neighborhoods that have already reached their cap.

San Diego is the latest California city to establish a city-specific agency dedicated to licensing and regulating businesses in the cannabis space.

While there are more U.S. farmers this year who are licensed to grow hemp, total hemp acreage is down 9% from 2019.

Louisiana Gov. Edwards signed legislation this week that regulates hemp and CBD products, including a ban on selling hemp products “for inhalation” except for hemp-based rolling papers.

Ohio’s State Medical Board last week added cachexia, or wasting syndrome, to its qualifying conditions list for medical cannabis. Regulators, however, rejected anxiety and autism spectrum disorder.

Health Canada says the cannabis industry has a generally high rate of compliance, having ordered just 15 product recalls — all due to mislabeled CBD and THC content — since legalizing in 2018.

Iowa’s Senate has approved expansions to the state’s medical cannabis program; the bill is now headed to the governor’s desk, where it is expected to be signed into law.

Washington cannabis regulators have adopted emergency rules banning vitamin E acetate in cannabis vapor products and aim to expand cannabis testing requirements.

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.

Officials in Portland, Maine have decided to keep the city’s cannabis residency regulations in place for licensees despite the state having dropped similar rules under legal pressure.

An explosive fire that rocked Los Angeles over the weekend and left 12 firefighters hospitalized has been tied to Smoke Tokes, a wholesale distributor of butane and other vape supply items.

Maine cannabis regulators, pressured by out-of-state operators, have removed the state’s residency requirements for its adult-use cannabis industry.

Massachusetts cannabis regulators are expected to open the application period for adult-use delivery services later this month.

Andi Novick and Brian Farmer are board members for New York Small Farma, a cannabis community group lobbying for regenerative and sustainable cannabis farming in the state of New York.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture has unveiled its proposal for certifying organic cannabis products where the federal government, due to prohibition, cannot.

Mexico’s legalization proposal includes cannabis possession/cultivation for people 18+, a 12 percent tax rate, public consumption rules, and personal possession up to 1 ounce.

Ontario’s cannabis wholesaler has announced plans for new craft cannabis regulations and to allow on-site cannabis shops for licensed growers.

Pamela Althoff is the Executive Director of the Cannabis Business Association of Illinois, the state’s top cannabis industry trade organization, and a former state senator.

Less than a month after allowing cannabis caregivers to transfer their supply to the adult-use market, Michigan regulators have backtracked on that decision and say they will not authorize any additional transfers.

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

Colorado’s emergency pandemic rules allow for the online purchase of adult-use cannabis products, but only via pick-up — recreational delivery services are still not available throughout the state.

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

The USDA has approved Iowa’s proposed industrial hemp plan; state officials, however, have specified that the program does not legalize the CBD industry.

A bill signed by Utah Gov. Hary Herbert (R) will allow cannabis patients to use a letter from their physician to purchase medical cannabis products until the Department of Health issues ID cards at the end of the year.