Licensing Blog

On May 11th, 2023, Arizona’s Governor signed Senate Bill 1720 into law, setting forth state funding of psilocybin research in the Copper State. Rather than enact a standalone psychedelics bill such as House Bill 2486, the Governor and state lawmakers agreed to incorporate the proposal into a general appropriations bill. Although it set a lower funding level compared to the …

California’s cannabis businesses may take on an “Amsterdam cannabis café style-approach” in the near future if Governor Newsom signs Assembly Bill 374 into law. In summary, Assembly Bill 374 would authorize a local jurisdiction to allow the preparation or sale of non-cannabis food or beverage products by a licensed retailer or microbusiness in an area where the consumption of cannabis …

As marijuana legalization continues to blaze through the nation, a new movement has garnered significant traction due to latest research discoveries on its ability to combat the national mental health crisis – psychedelics. Psychedelic plants have been used by non-Western cultures for sacramental purposes for thousands of years. It wasn’t until 1940 that psychedelic drugs were beginning to be rediscovered …

After existing Maryland medical cannabis businesses elected to convert their licenses by July 1st to be authorized to cultivate, manufacture, or dispense cannabis or cannabis products for adults twenty-one (21) years or older, the Maryland Cannabis Administration (“MCA”) has been hard at work striving to implement a prompt timeline to begin accepting applications for the 1st round of licenses, which …

On September 7th, 2023, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians passed a referendum in favor of legalizing marijuana for adults twenty-one (21) years and older – the only jurisdiction in the “Tar Heel State” to commit to such marijuana reform. The passage of adult-use comes just two (2) years after the tribe approved medical marijuana, as well as decriminalization of …

On August 16th, 2023, the Ohio Secretary of State, Frank LaRose, announced that Issue 2 – “An Act to Control and Regulate Adult Use Cannabis” – received enough signatures from all eighty-eight (88) counties to be placed on the November 2023 ballot. If the majority of the voters vote “yes” in November, Ohio will become the 24th state to legalize …

After the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (“AMCC”) issued its stay on its issuance of licenses at their July 12th, 2023, meeting, commission members worked diligently with the third-party evaluator, KPMG, to ensure all “potential inconsistencies in the tabulation of scoring data” were reviewed and corrected. Two (2) months later, the AMCC held a meeting on August 10th, 2023, to void …

Since the enactment of section 381.986(8)(a)2.b., Florida Statutes, there have been numerous issues surrounding its verbiage and the ability to carry out such provision in line with the Florida Legislature’s intent. Such issues and concerns were further validated through the Florida Department of Health, Office of Medical Marijuana Use’s (“OMMU” or “Department”) handling of the Pigford/BFL license application round as …

House Bill 611 was signed into law by the Republican Governor of New Hampshire, Chris Sununu, bringing hope to legalization reform in the Granite State in the very near future. Sponsored by Democratic representatives Suzanne Vail, Christina Seibert, and Wendy Thomas, this new law not only addresses modifications to the qualifying medical conditions under the state’s Therapeutic Cannabis Program (“TCP”), …