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NATIONAL NEWS
Legal Cannabis sales are spiking nationally as folks stock up on weed amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to March sales data. Sales are up in California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, according to Headset, a Cannabis data company. Recreational marijuana is legal in all five of those states. Sales were a whopping 75 percent higher than average in Oregon, with the spike registered on March 16, reports The Hill.
Headset also found the average “basket size” - that is the amount of weed people were buying at one time - was 29 percent higher in Colorado, as many states began closing businesses and asking people to stay in their homes to lower rates of COVID-19 transmission. Several cities, including New York, San Francisco and Palm Springs, California, have wisely labeled Cannabis businesses “essential,” according to the Associated Press. This means pot shops can remain open despite orders locking down the area. SALES ARE UP IN CALIFORNIA, COLORADO, NEVADA, OREGON AND WASHINGTON.
midwest T A MAJOR SHORTAGE OF LEGAL WEED FOR CANNABIS TO MOVE BETWEEN STATES, IT WOULD NEED EITHER A CHANGE IN THE LAW, OR A FRIENDLY OFFICIAL STANCE FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE. he limited supply of legal recreational Cannabis in Illinois’ adult-use marijuana market, while not surprising, is nonetheless frustrating for consumers. Weed smokers in the state have complained to local dispensaries, but cultivators can only grow more product so fast, reports the Quad City Times. Interstate commerce in weed would help the problem, especially with states like Oregon experiencing an oversupply. For Cannabis to move between states, it would need either a change in the law, or a friendly official stance from the U.S. Department of Justice to allow such trade. Since the railways are under federal jurisdiction, marijuana could be transported via train through states where recreational Cannabis is illegal, according to proponents of interstate pot commerce.
But that is unlikely to happen under a Trump administration, according to Matt Stern, the owner and CEO of Nature’s Treatment of Illinois, a Cannabis dispensary in Milan.
CONVICTIONS FOR MARIJUANA POSSESSION THAT OCCURRED BEFORE OCT. 1, 2014, WOULD NOT BE VIEWABLE ON THE MARYLAND JUDICIARY CASE SEARCH.
EAST COAST The Maryland Legislature approved a bill on March 18 that would prevent almost 200,000 prior marijuana convictions from being viewed on a public database, reports Marijuana Moment. The legislation, sponsored by Democratic Del. David Moon, now heads to the desk of Republican Gov. Larry Hogan. If he signs it, the bill would make it so that convictions for marijuana possession that occurred before Oct. 1, 2014, would not be viewable on the Maryland Judiciary Case Search. Reform advocates celebrated the development, and said automatic expungements of such convictions would be included in legalization legislation they’ll be pushing for in the upcoming legislative session.\ BILL TO SHIELD 200K CANNABIS CONVICTIONS HEADS TO MARYLAND GOVERNOR’S DESK
anic buying includes Cannabis, in Washington, and that has moved the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board to announce changes to marijuana regulations on March 17, reports the Tacoma News Tribune.
Changes include curbside pickup for medical marijuana cardholders, limits on the number of customers inside a pot shop at once, and stricter standards on sanitation to curb the spread of coronavirus and to
protect medical users, according to Brian Smith, LCB spokesman. The Board had already reminded some vendors to support social distancing by limiting their customer capacity to 50 people. Many shops are reportedly strictly enforcing the capacity limit and sanitizing all surfaces at least every hour.
Seattle weed retailers are also encouraging customers to use their online ordering systems more often, according to Aaron Varner, director of Dockside Cannabis, reports Cannabis Business Daily. P MANY SHOPS ARE REPORTEDLY STRICTLY ENFORCING THE CAPACITY LIMIT AND SANITIZING ALL SURFACES AT LEAST EVERY HOUR.
he right to apply exclusively for a number of revoked Cannabis licenses was granted to social equity applicants for marijuana businesses in Washington state by the legislature on March 17, reports Marijuana Business Daily. The bill is aimed at increasing participation of minorities in the Cannabis industry.
A total of 34 such licenses will become available to members of the minority community, according to the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board. Minorities have been disproportionately impacted by “the enforcement of Cannabis-related laws” during marijuana prohibition in Washington, according to the bill.
Gov. Jay Inslee was planning to sign the bill into law at press time. T WASHINGTON STATE TO ALLOW SOCIAL EQUITY APPLICANTS EXCLUSIVE ACCESS TO REVOKED CANNABIS LICENSES
3hour waits were experienced by PA MMJ patients as sales surged due to the possibility of a pandemic related shutdown.
4.2 percent of seniors 65 and older reported using Cannabis products over the past year in a 2018 survey.
19 pounds of Cannabis were seized in a Bakersfield, California traffic stop in March.
37 pending applications to grow Cannabis for research are currently being reviewed by the Drug Enforcement Agency.
44 of Ohio’s 88 counties are required to submit signatures to qualify a marijuana legalization bill for the November ballot.
75 percent was the amount by which Cannabis sales rose in Oregon during a spike related to the coronavirus pandemic.
130k signatures would be required to get a Nebraska medical Cannabis initiative on the November ballot.
SMALL BATCH CRAFT CANNABIS
