Licensing

The general cannabis licensing window in New York opens today amid an ongoing injunction on the state’s Conditional Adult-Use Retail program. The 60-day licensing window is available for hopeful cannabis cultivators, processors, distributors, retailers, and micro operators.

The New York Office of Cannabis Management has removed a video from its YouTube channel that contained heated criticisms of the state’s adult-use cannabis program roll-out. Regulators said they are planning to re-upload the video.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court declined to hear a lawsuit that challenges medical cannabis business fee hikes in the state, arguing that the licensing fees — despite the lawsuit’s claims — are not considered an illegal tax.

Chicago, Illinois City Council members are considering a proposal to only allow businesses that hold a state-issued cannabis license to sell products containing hemp-derived THC, including delta-8, delta-10, and THC-O.

In the third lawsuit brought against the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission over its handling of the medical cannabis application process, Medella LLC is accusing the agency of wrongfully implying that one of the company’s owners or senior directors had a criminal record.

New York officials are planning to open general cannabis industry applications starting October 4; the official licensing window will follow a lawsuit-ridden and largely unsuccessful social equity licensing process.

Maryland officials have released the state’s social equity applicant criteria, including an interactive map to define what qualifies as Disproportionately Impacted Areas.

The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission on Thursday issued an administrative stay on its medical cannabis licensing process. The move comes after the state has already twice bungled the cannabis licensing process.

A New York Supreme Court Judge on Tuesday reversed their decision to partly lift an injunction that would have let 30 cannabis businesses move forward with their opening plans, reimposing a hold on all cannabis licensing activity.

Alabama cannabis regulators said they will “start back at square one” in the medical cannabis licensing process after a lawsuit claimed the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission had violated the state’s Open Meetings Act.

A New York judge partly lifted the injunction against state regulators issuing new cannabis licenses, allowing 30 licensees who have been deemed ready by the Cannabis Control Board to move forward; however, 400 cannabis licenses remain in limbo.

Following litigation related to its voiding and revoking of medical cannabis licenses two weeks ago, the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission was hit with another lawsuit claiming the agency had no right to revoke the licenses in the first place.

A New York judge extended the statewide injunction against licensing new cannabis dispensaries pending the outcome of a hearing later this week; the licensing process was halted earlier this month after several veterans claimed in a lawsuit that the state failed to follow its own social equity rules.

Alabama’s medical cannabis licensing process was paused, again, after a judge granted a temporary restraining order on Thursday after several cannabis companies claimed that regulators had violated the state’s open meetings law.

The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission has awarded new cannabis industry licenses after voiding all previously awarded licenses, explaining that errors in the scoring and evaluation of first-round licensees led to the new permits.

A New York Supreme Court justice this week temporarily blocked the issuing of new retail cannabis licenses following a lawsuit by veterans who claim that officials have failed to follow social equity provisions in the state’s cannabis legalization law.

A lawsuit filed by New York-based military veterans claims that cannabis regulators are failing to follow the social equity provisions included in the state’s cannabis legalization law.

Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice John Kane heard arguments on Tuesday in a case challenging a recently passed law that hikes medical cannabis licensing fees in the state.

The New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department filed a petition seeking a preliminary injunction against Sawmill Sweet Leaf, LLC, alleging the company has been diverting cannabis out of state and manufacturing concentrate without a permit.

One of Connecticut’s four licensed cannabis producers, Theraplant, was sold last week to NewCo, a subsidiary of New York-based DXR Holdco.

Nevada regulators this week awarded the state’s first conditional license for a stand-alone cannabis consumption lounge to La Lounge, LLC.

Two Black farmers in Florida have received licenses to grow, process, and sell medical cannabis. The licensing ends a six-year process of aligning the state with the federal Pigford v. Glickman settlement under the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which prohibits government discrimination against minority farmers.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has signed into law a bill to issue medical cannabis cultivation licenses to Black farmers. The new law also expands telehealth renewals for medical cannabis patients.

A recent report by Whitney Economics found that just 24.4% of U.S. cannabis companies currently turn a profit, down 42% from the year prior.