TG Branfalt

Two lawsuits filed against the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management aim to delay the state’s social equity licensing lottery after the agency denied about two-thirds of the social equity applicants.

In a letter last week, sixty-six members of Congress asked President Joe Biden (D) to use his clemency powers to “address longstanding injustices” in the U.S. legal system during the final months of his presidency.

Kentucky is set to open medical cannabis patient certifications on December 1 in preparation for launching the state’s medical cannabis program next year.

Minnesota officials this week denied about 1,200 cannabis social equity applicants, two-thirds of those who applied, for issues ranging from inadequate paperwork to “flooding” the application pool in an attempt to improve the odds of receiving a license.

The average price of cannabis flower in Michigan dropped to $74 per ounce in October, down almost $20 from September.

Data shows that millennials made about 45% of the cannabis industry’s pre-roll purchases from 2023 to mid-2024.

An appellate judges panel in Missouri recently ruled that local governments cannot stack cannabis sales taxes, overturning a lower court’s decision from May.

Nearly one-third (32%) of medical cannabis patients cite chronic pain as their primary condition for medical cannabis use, with anxiety the second most common (26.8%) followed by insomnia (18.5%).

The Cannabis Research Institute, a collaboration between the University of Illinois and Discovery Partners Institute backed by the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago, officially launched last week.

New York cannabis regulators expect to see $800 million in retail cannabis taxes by the end of the year, far short of the $5 billion estimated by the state when it legalized adult-use cannabis.

The majority of women surveyed by YouGov indicated they would try cannabis products if there were perceived health benefits, with most (16%) saying they were interested in sleep quality improvements.

A study published this month in the American Journal of Public Health found that U.S. food service and accommodation industry workers have the highest rates of cannabis consumption.

Seven cannabis transportation companies in Illinois are suing the state Department of Agriculture claiming the agency’s licensing process favors larger, white- and male-owned companies.

Arizona-based DIZPOT was recently granted a U.S. patent for a child-resistant, biodegradable paper tube for packaging cannabis products.

The district attorney for Los Angeles County recently launched a public service campaign warning teenagers against the underage use of cannabis.

Massachusetts voters rejected the state’s medical psychedelics legalization ballot initiative with 57% opposed and 43% in favor. The proposal sought to legalize the medical use of psilocybin, psilocin, dimethyltryptamine (DMT), ibogaine, and mescaline for patients aged 21+.

Voters in North Dakota rejected adult-use cannabis reforms in the state for the third time in six years, with 53% opposed and 47% in favor.

Nebraska’s two medical cannabis initiatives — one seeking to legalize medical cannabis and another to establish a regulated medical cannabis marketplace — were approved on Tuesday with 71% and 67% voter support, respectively. There remains a legal challenge to the initiatives, however, that could stymie the results.

A recent Gallup poll found that 15% of Americans said they smoke cannabis, a slight increase from the 14% average found by the pollster in 2021-2022.

Licensed adult-use cannabis retailers in Ohio have sold nearly $132 million worth of cannabis products, according to recent data from the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Cannabis Control.

Virginia regulators have tabbed Metrc to be the official seed-to-sale tracking software for the state’s medical cannabis industry.