Licensing

Minnesota House lawmakers last week passed social equity cannabis licensing provisions and other adjustments to the state’s upcoming adult-use cannabis program.

Kentucky will hold a lottery for the state’s initial medical cannabis business licenses in October, keeping the state on track for the medical cannabis program’s anticipated launch on January 1, 2025.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey awarded grants totaling $2,350,000 to 50 cannabis social equity businesses in the state through the state’s Cannabis Social Equity Trust Fund.

New York cannabis regulators have issued more than 400 adult-use licenses this year in an effort to counteract the state’s rampant unlicensed sales amid the slow roll-out of its cannabis program.

Ohio is one step closer to launching its adult-use cannabis marketplace after state regulators last week released their latest draft rules for the industry, which cover retail-focused provisions including online sales and curbside pick-up and industry-wide mandatory waste disposal practices.

Alabama lawmakers could increase the number of medical cannabis licenses in the state under a new bill seeking to end the legal disputes that have plagued the licensing process since the first licenses were awarded last June.

New York cannabis regulators voted last week to approve 114 new cannabis industry licenses and waive the licensing fees for all conditional cannabis cultivators for the next two years.

Michigan cannabis regulators say that a Lansing-based cannabis process that utilized unregulated THCa powder to create products that were sold in the legal market is permanently losing its license.

Maryland officials announced they will hold a lottery for social equity cannabis licenses this week despite multiple lawsuits targeting the equity provision, including one that claims technical difficulties blocked entry.

Canada is raising regulatory fees for cannabis operators to align with the nation’s 4.4% inflation rate, impacting various license application and annual fees to support the regulation of its legal cannabis market.

In a recent report prefacing the state’s upcoming adult-use cannabis market, Minnesota officials said they will need to license at least 381 cannabis dispensaries to satisfy the state’s legalization law.

New Mexico cannabis regulators this week revoked the licenses of two adult-use cannabis cultivators for allegedly exceeding the legal plant count limits and failing to properly utilize the state’s mandatory track-and-trace system.

Earlier this month, Alabama announced the winners of the state’s integrated medical cannabis licenses, making national headlines via their decision to award Trulieve — a publicly-traded company founded in Florida — the sole license reserved for “minority-owned” businesses. Other applicants are now suing the state, citing irregularities with the application scoring process.