Legislative & Licensing Update: August 25, 2022
New York CAURD Application Action and Mixed Ballot Initiative Progress
Time for CAURD action in New York. Consumption lounge updates in Nevada. Good news/bad news on the November ballot front. Local ballot initiatives in Wisconsin and California. Action in Maryland and Missouri could indicate that ballot initiatives are expected to pass there. Plus, legalization progress in Costa Rica and Switzerland.
States with Active Cannabis License Processes
New York City police seized about 20 vehicles they say were involved in illegal cannabis sales. The New York Office of Cannabis Management released the number of CAURD licenses that will be awarded in each region of the state. And, the Erie County, New York district attorney and public defendants are hosting marijuana conviction expungement clinics this month and next month
The Clark County, Nevada Commission voted to delay consideration of rules for marijuana consumption lounges. And, Nevada regulators considered changes to marijuana business rules this past Tuesday, the 23rd:
- Rule updates/changes: Consumption lounge application submission, lack of local ordinance means no limit on consumption lounge licenses, updated security measures for cultivators, and cultivation locations must allow local law enforcement response.
Cannabis Ballot Initiatives
The Superior, Wisconsin City Council voted to place a nonbinding marijuana legalization advisory question on the November ballot.
Florida activists are planning a 2024 marijuana home grow ballot initiative they hope will run parallel to a recently filed cannabis sales measure being backed by the industry.
Idaho activists filed a proposed medical cannabis initiative that they hope to qualify for the 2024 ballot.
The San Diego County, California Board of Supervisors approved the language of a November ballot measure to tax marijuana businesses in unincorporated areas.
The Nebraska Secretary of State announced that the Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana ballot initiative did not meet the minimum qualifications of verified signatures to end up on the November ballot.
The Oklahoma Secretary of State certified that activists collected enough signatures to put a marijuana legalization initiative before voters. But it may not end up on November’s ballot, because there are still additional formalities it needs to go through as deadlines to print voting materials approach.
In Arkansas, a proposed state constitutional amendment that would allow adults 21 and older to purchase and possess up to an ounce of cannabis, but with no home grow and no expungement was determined to be “misleading” by the Board of Elections Commissioners.
Places to Watch for Cannabis Business Opportunity
The Maryland Senate President said he expects the legislature to focus on implementing marijuana legalization next session if voters approve a referendum on the policy change in November.
Missouri regulators are taking steps to “begin planning” for possible voter approval of a marijuana legalization initiative on the ballot in November. They’re asking for public comment on “how the new law should be implemented.
However, cannabis prohibitionists have filed legal challenges that attempt to prevent Missouri and Arkansas voters from having a chance to legalize cannabis in November. Yet another data point showing that the courts are being used more often to block voters in legalization efforts.
General Cannabis Legalization News
Washington State’s Social Equity in Cannabis Task Force will meet on Tuesday, August 30.
Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves announced he will be proposing legislation to legalize marijuana.
Switzerland’s Basel-Stadt region to launch a 2.5-year-long test run legalizing cannabis.