Regulations

Las Vegas city officials this week voted 5-1 in favor of allowing cannabis consumption lounges within city limits.

Denver city officials are set to consider making cannabis delivery licenses permanently exclusive to social equity applicants.

While 19 states have opted to legalize adult-use cannabis, those states still cannot guarantee regular access to safe and regulated cannabis products thanks to controversial industry opt-out clauses for municipalities, towns, and counties.

The West Virginia Medical Cannabis Advisory Board declined to institute a cap on THC potency during their last meeting, stating that they need additional information before making a decision. 

The Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency recently issued eight cannabis industry fines totaling $116,000 over the firms’ failure to submit financial reports by a deadline.

A group of New York state lawmakers sent a letter last week urging New York City Mayor Eric Adams to “move swiftly” in clamping down on illegal cannabis sales.

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.

Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried is seeking to overturn new medical cannabis dosage limits that took effect last month, calling the regulatory changes harmful to patients.

Seven cannabis companies received 54 citations from the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission from January 2020 to April 2022 over allegations including failing to register patients in the medical cannabis registry, security violations, and mold.

Emily Gant is a cannabis and alcohol beverage attorney for Foster Garvey PC based in Washington state.

Denver Packaging Co. must pay a $15,000 fine for displaying products at its booth during the city’s Mile High 420 festival last April while regulators hold an additional $30,000 fine in suspension for a year, in case of future violations.

Cannabis businesses operating in DC are not sure what to expect from the increased regulatory oversight. One business owner said, “This doesn’t seem like they’re working to bring us into conversations. It does follow a similar trend, that they are trying to crush small businesses.”

New medical cannabis prescription limits took effect in Florida on Monday, in some cases limiting patients to one-third of their previous maximum amounts.

In the last 13 months, California’s Department of Cannabis Control has executed 232 search warrants, seized more than half a million pounds of unregulated cannabis, and eradicated more than 1.4 million illegal cannabis plants.

The FTC is issuing product refunds for customers who bought CBD products from Kushly Industries LLC after the company made unsubstantiated treatment claims regarding CBD’s effects on ailments ranging from acne to cancer.

The Trucking Alliance is seeking permission from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to change its drug testing protocols from standard urine tests to hair tests to gain a more accurate representation of when drugs were consumed by drivers.

Students in Worcester County Public Schools in Maryland will now be able to access their medical cannabis during school hours.

The New York City Police Department seized 19 vehicles after complaints that the owners were selling cannabis without a permit in Times Square.

Washington D.C. residents aged 21+ who apply for medical cannabis access will now receive a temporary authorization card while their application is being reviewed that will give immediate access to the District’s licensed dispensaries.

Josh Wurzer is Chief Operating Officer and Co-founder of SC Labs, a cannabis testing laboratory chain operating in California, Colorado, Michigan, and Oregon.

Curaleaf pulled thousands of cannabis products from New York dispensary shelves after the company switched to a new and still unapproved method of product potency labeling.

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.

The U.S. House Agriculture Committee held a hearing last week to discuss the state of the hemp industry and how the government can continue to support the crop.

Officials in Massachusetts passed a package of cannabis reforms including the reduction of ‘impact fees’ charged to cannabis businesses, the retooling of the state’s expungement process, and more.