From Our Writers

Luxury Leaf, Missouri’s first Black-owned medical cannabis dispensary, is ready to open in January 2022.

Democratic Iowa state senators have called for a constitutional amendment to legalize adult-use cannabis. Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds opposes the plan.

A Michigan judge denied the Michigan Marijuana Regulation Agency’s request to reverse a ruling that limited the cannabis product recall tied to Viridis Laboratories earlier this month.

Toi Hutchinson, who was Illinois’ top cannabis official as senior advisor to Gov. J.B. Pritzker, joined the Marijuana Policy Project last week as the organization’s new president and CEO.

Cannabis legalization advocates in Ohio have collected enough signatures to make lawmakers consider the proposed reforms, which include cannabis possession and personal cultivation.

The Utah Department of Health will accelerate plans to increase patient access to the medical cannabis program and to allow additional healthcare providers to recommend medical cannabis.

The University of Arizona has partnered with cannabis education company Green Flower to offer three eight-week, online courses for certificates in the Business of Cannabis, Cannabis Law and Policy, and Cannabis Healthcare and Medicine.

Nearly 30 California cannabis companies have raised the alarm to warn Gov. Gavin Newsome and legislative leaders that the state’s legal cannabis industry “is collapsing” due to excessive taxes and regulations.

New Mexico’s adult-use cannabis system is now “officially up and running” having issued its first three adult-use cannabis licenses.

Malta President George Vella signed the country’s national cannabis legalization bill into law in the face of opposition from Malta’s conservative party and more than 50 religious organizations.

Former MLB pitcher Matt Garza has received approval to open a retail cannabis dispensary while a company co-owner is facing felony charges for his involvement in an alleged, unrelated scam.

Illinois will attribute another $45 million derived from cannabis taxes toward community grants for communities most impacted by the war on drugs.

Arizona has received more than 1,500 applications for the state’s 26 cannabis social equity licenses, each worth potentially near $10 million. The licenses will be awarded in a random lottery selection next spring.

Some 24% of New York municipalities have now opted out of allowing adult-use cannabis operations.

Washington state’s migration from its previous seed-to-sale Leaf Data Systems to the state-run Central Reporting System has so far been challenging, costing licensees thousands of dollars in revenue in extra employee hours.

Pfizer is making its move into the cannabis space with the acquisition of Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in a $6 billion, all-cash deal.

The government-funded Monitoring the Future survey — which is an annual check-in with eighth, 10th, and 12th-graders around the U.S. — found adolescent cannabis use plummeted this year despite the proliferation of new state-legal cannabis markets.

San Diego officials are gathering feedback on a proposal to eliminate certain zoning rules that could increase the number of cannabis dispensaries in the city by up to 40%.

The Colorado Department of Revenue Average Market Rate report for rates effective January 2022 saw prices fall across five cannabis categories.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved Virginia’s plan for continuing to regulate the state’s industrial hemp industry.

Lawmakers in Malta have approved the country’s cannabis legalization proposal, making it the first EU member nation to legalize adult-use cannabis.

A recent study found that the incidence of epileptic seizures in children decreased an average of 86% when treated with whole-plant cannabis.

St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones signed a law to decriminalize the possession of cannabis, up to two ounces, and to prevent warrantless searches by police due to cannabis odor.

The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe of New York awarded its first cannabis industry conditional cultivation licenses.