Legislative and Licensing Update: October 28, 2021

Updates to cannabis regulations, continued medical marijuana negotiations, and plans for new adult-use programs from the Mid-Atlantic to Middle America to the Deep South and out West.

 

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D) signed a bill to ease restrictions on owning and investing in minority, women, and veteran-owned medical cannabis businesses.

 

Mississippi senator Kevin Blackwell (R) is circulating a revised draft of medical cannabis legislation highlighting tax restructuring, removing a maximum limit of the size of a cultivation facility, and placing responsibility to the Mississippi State Health Department to regulate and issue licenses for most of the program.

 

South Dakota’s Adult-Use Marijuana Study Subcommittee approved a bill to legalize recreational cannabis in an 8-2 vote.

 

Former Arkansas House minority leader Eddie Armstrong announced a plan to put a marijuana legalization initiative on the state’s 2022 ballot.

 

Nevada regulators proposed rules on cannabis weighing and measuring.

 

Louisiana regulators proposed changes to medical cannabis cultivation rules covering items like that of compliance, inspections, and testing. The text can be found on page 1,540 of the Louisiana Register.

 

Rhode Island lawmakers are nearing a deal on a marijuana legalization bill that could pass in a special session this fall. While the number of marijuana business licenses are still being negotiated, a range from 30 to 40 was given as a likely compromise.

Regulators will also hold a long-delayed lottery for five medical cannabis dispensary licenses on Friday, October 29 at 10:00 AM EST.

 

Pennsylvania regulators are accepting applications for permits to grow or process hemp in 2022 and this serves as another example of growth in the hemp industry.

 

Massachusetts’s treasurer made five new appointments to the Cannabis Advisory Board, further strengthening the qualifications of the Board to regulate cannabis.

 

Illinois regulators proposed changes that would allow the relocation of an early approval adult use dispensing organization and the text can be found on page 13,444 of the Illinois Register.