Retail

Since its launch about three weeks ago, the New York task force assigned to shutting down illegally operating cannabis dispensaries has closed 114 storefronts.

With the number of New York cannabis dispensaries on the rise, data from cannabis tech company Weedmaps suggests that New Yorkers are buying 50% more cannabis than the national average.

The Tribal Council for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina last week voted to allow adult-use cannabis sales to anyone aged 21 or older.

Michigan sold more cannabis products in March this year than any other state, dethroning the California cannabis industry for the first time in total monthly sales.

Ohio medical cannabis dispensaries can now apply for special permits allowing early adult-use cannabis sales ahead of the recreational program’s anticipated launch later this month.

A key Delaware House committee has advanced a proposal to allow early adult-use cannabis sales by letting medical dispensaries service adult-use customers; some industry advocates say the move would be giving certain businesses an unfair advantage.

The owner of seven unlicensed New York cannabis shops has been fined $15.2 million, including $7 million in disgorgement fines and $8.2 million in penalties for operating without a license, ignoring multiple notices by officials, and selling cannabis to underage customers.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday that city officials will take action across the city against illegally operating cannabis shops as part of an enforcement effort called “Operation Padlock to Protect.”

Cannabis retailers in New Jersey set a new quarterly sales record of $201 million during the first three months of 2024, but the quarter-over-quarter growth rate (4.4%) is the state’s lowest on record since the market launch.

The cannabis multistate operator MedMen filed for bankruptcy last week with the company’s Los Angeles-based subsidiary entering receivership with more than $410 million in liabilities owed.

The first medical cannabis dispensary in North Carolina opened for business on 4/20, serving patients registered with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ Cannabis Control Board and cardholders from other state or tribal programs.

Combined medical and adult-use cannabis sales totaled just under $125 million in March, setting a new monthly cannabis sales record for the state.

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.

Virginia’s Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin has vetoed the state’s proposal to legalize adult-use cannabis sales, extending the illicit market’s monopoly on cannabis sales for at least another year.

Arizona cannabis retailers sold $1.43 billion worth of product last year including $1.1 billion in adult-use sales and $348 million under the state’s medical cannabis program.

A recent CBD Oracle report found that hemp products being sold on Amazon — despite the platform’s policy banning hemp-derived cannabinoids — are deceptively labeled with 30% containing undeclared CBD and 36% containing no hemp at all.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes ruled that hemp-derived delta-8 THC cannabis products cannot be sold by companies that do not hold an adult-use cannabis license.

As the Minnesota cannabis industry awaits a possible launch in 2025, officials have warned hemp product retailers that inspectors will begin examining their hemp flower products to make sure they do not exceed the 0.3% delta-9 THC potency limits.

New Jersey’s cannabis sales have reached over $2 billion since 2018, with a significant boost from the adult-use market launched two years ago, as reported by the state’s top cannabis regulator to lawmakers.