AMERICANS SPEND MORE ON MARIJUANA THAN CHOCOLATE

Americans now spend more on legal marijuana products than they do on chocolate. The USA reached this milestone as a nation last year, according to MJBizDaily.

United States residents spent about $30 billion on legal Cannabis in 2022. That compares with roughly $20 billion spent on chocolate. Almost two-dozen states now allow sales of weed for adult use, with 19 more states allowing Cannabis for medicinal use.

Americans also spent more on marijuana than they did on opioid medications ($22.8 billion) and topical pain medications ($2.8 billion) combined. However, legal weed sales are still dwarfed by sales of tobacco products. In 2022, tobacco sales totaled about $53 billion – but those sales are steadily dropping, whereas Cannabis sales are rising.

By 2028, according to MJBizDaily, sales of legal weed could reach $57 billion.

Maryland Sets Rules For Marijuana Sales

Maryland lawmakers expedited getting marijuana regulatory legislation in place before the state’s voter-approved adult-use legalization law takes effect July 1. Now the plan will go before Governor Wes Moore, who has indicated he will sign it into law. Under the new rules, people who are 21 and older will be able to buy recreational Cannabis in Maryland July 1.

“Under the new rules, people who are 21 and older will be able to buy recreational Cannabis in Maryland July 1.”

OKLAHOMA AUTHORITIES SEIZE 7,000 LBS. OF WEED

THE OKLAHOMA Bureau of Narcotics recently seized more than 7,000 pounds of untaxed marijuana amid an investigation into a black market operation, reports KOCO.

On April 14, the Bureau seized the Cannabis from a semi trailer, saying it shut down a black market marijuana warehouse distribution center in Oklahoma City as part of an ongoing investigation. Officials said the investigation has identified multiple farms transporting marijuana to the warehouse. The product was then repackaged into “camera equipment” boxes and shipped to New York and New Jersey. They also said the people orchestrating the operation had ties to Oklahoma consulting groups.

Texas House Expands List Of Mmj Conditions

A BILL approved by the Texas House in April would expand the list of conditions that qualify for the state’s medical marijuana program.

House Bill 1805, sponsored by Public Health Committee Chair Stephanie Klick, a Republican from Fort Worth, passed the House 127-19 and now heads to the Senate, reports Axios

The bipartisan legislation would expand the state’s 2015 Compassionate Use Law. That law allows physicians to prescribe low-THC Cannabis to treat symptoms of epilepsy, cancer and posttraumatic stress disorder, among other conditions.

The new bill would allow doctors to prescribe up to 10 milligrams of Cannabis for chronic pain cases that might normally warrant an opioid prescription.

New Hampshire House Votes For Legalization

The bill also addresses commerce-related issues such as the number and types of Cannabis business licenses available, reports CBS Baltimore.

It sets the amount of sales tax those businesses must charge at 9 percent, the The Baltimore Banner reports. Medical Cannabis will be exempt from sales tax. The legislation comes after voters passed a ballot referendum that legalized Cannabis in Maryland’s constitution in November.