Missouri marijuana sales top $102 million during first month of adult-use market

Officials were 'blown away' by first-month sales, driven by years of pent-up demand.

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Oklahoma Activists Prepare for Recreational Pot Legalization Vote

Voters in Oklahoma will head to the polls on Tuesday to decide on State Question 820, a ballot measure that would legalize recreational marijuana statewide. If passed, the initiative would legalize the possession of cannabis for adults 21 and older and establish a framework to govern the recreational marijuana industry in the state.

Cannabis activists had hoped that State Question 820 (SQ 820) would appear before voters during the 2022 general election, but delays in certifying the measure prevented the initiative from appearing on the ballot last November. In October, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt announced that voters would go to the polls on March 7 to decide the fate of the measure.

As activists prepare for Tuesday’s election, Michelle Tilley, campaign director for the Yes on 820 campaign, says that the cannabis legalization measure gives voters “a chance to reject the ‘Reefer Madness’ style scare tactics being pushed by our opponents and choose instead to support a reform that will make our state more prosperous, more just and more safe.”

“We are working down to the wire to get every last ‘yes’ vote in the state on the phone, on the doorstep, or in the media,” Tilley wrote in an email to High Times. “We are confident that, if Oklahomans turn out to vote, the majority supporting commonsense legalization will prevail.” 

Vote On SQ 820 Delayed By Oklahoma Supreme Court

In July, the group Oklahomans for Sensible Marijuana Laws submitted petitions with signatures from more than 164,000 voters in favor of the legalization initiative, far exceeding the number required to qualify for the ballot. But the secretary of state’s office, which used a new system to verify signatures, took far longer to certify the signatures than in previous elections, leaving too little time to include the question on the November ballot, according to election officials.

The campaign for SQ 820 challenged the decision to delay the vote on the initiative, arguing the group had met all guidance from the government and complied with deadlines for submitting the proposal to state officials. But last month, the state Supreme Court affirmed the decision by election officials and ruled that the measure would not be included on the ballot for the midterm election next month.

“There is no way to mandate the inclusion of SQ820 on the November 2022 general election ballot,” Justice Douglas Combs wrote in the majority opinion. “SQ820 will be voted upon by the people of Oklahoma, albeit either at the next general election following November 8, 2022, or at a special election set by the Governor or the Legislature.”

Special Election Announced In October

In October, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt announced that he was calling a special election for SQ 820 to be held on March 7, setting the stage to finally give the state’s voters the opportunity to decide on the recreational marijuana legalization measure. Since that time, activists have been busy preparing for the vote with public appeals to gain support for the measure. On February 27, retired Army officer Jay Williams asked voters to approve the ballot initiative, saying that SQ 820 would help military veterans cope with the persistent negative effects of their service.

“I proudly served this country to protect our freedom,” Williams said in an ad for the campaign. “But for many veterans, that pride comes with a cost: PTSD. Oklahoma veterans can’t access medical marijuana through the VA, so they suffer or risk harsh punishment, even jail. That’s wrong. Yes on 820 means improved access to medical marijuana for Oklahoma veterans and it reduces punishment for minor marijuana offenses and increases drug treatment to turn lives around.”

If voters approve SQ 820 on Tuesday, the ballot measure would legalize cannabis for adults 21 and older. The initiative would task the state’s existing Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority with drafting and implementing rules to regulate the new recreational cannabis industry. The measure also includes provisions to allow those with past convictions for some marijuana offenses to petition the courts to have their criminal record expunged.

SQ 820 would set a 15% tax on sales of recreational marijuana, more than double the 7% tax rate levied on sales of medical cannabis. Taxes generated by the sale of recreational pot would be divided among the state’s General Revenue Fund, local governments that allow licensed adult-use cannabis businesses to operate in their jurisdiction, the state court system, school districts, and drug treatment programs.

The post Oklahoma Activists Prepare for Recreational Pot Legalization Vote appeared first on High Times.

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America’s best dispensary for outdoor cannabis 2023

Inside the grand opening of Solful in San Francisco.

The post America’s best dispensary for outdoor cannabis 2023 appeared first on Leafly.

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How to apply for a Biden weed pardon

After months of waiting, the federal marijuana pardon application is finally available. Here's how to get yours.

The post How to apply for a Biden weed pardon appeared first on Leafly.

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What’s new to do on Leafly for March 2023?

News, strains, and weed for even better delivery.

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Announcing the High Times Cannabis Cup SoCal: People’s Choice Edition 2023

Earlier this month, we announced the launch of the High Times Cannabis Cup People’s Edition in Michigan, but now we’re hyping up the West Coast for the return of its own People’s Choice Awards! Welcome to the High Times Cannabis Cup SoCal: People’s Choice Edition 2023, a recreational-only competition celebrating some of the best cannabis products in the region.

The SoCal Cannabis Cup was first introduced in 2015, where it thrived as an in-person event between 2015-2019. Back in 2015, strains like Flower Bomb Kush, True OG, and Amnesia Haze were the cream of the crop, and categories like “Best Booth” and “Best Glass” were still commonplace. The pandemic may have put a halt to in-person events, but the People’s Choice has taken the nation by storm, with a People’s Choice competition held for SoCal in both 2020 (with winners announced in 2021) and 2022. In 2021, huge favorites like Biscotti, Gelonade, and Lemon Sponge Cake took first place, among a varied selection of pre-rolls, edibles, and more. Our 2022 SoCal: People’s Choice Edition was one of the biggest cups so far, with winners such as Top Shelf Cultivation’s Whoa Si Whoa, Sense’s Pink Certz Flower, Wizard Trees’s Studio 54, and Team Elite Genetics’s Pearadise Flower—just a few of the amazing strains that won over our judges.

Fast forward to this year’s High Times Cannabis Cup SoCal: People’s Choice Edition 2023, and we’re expecting another exciting collection of products to experience. With that in mind, here’s the schedule for this year: Product submissions will be dropped off at the Moxie Lynwood facility between May 8-10. Then our official intake partner, Moxie, will build the judge kits and then we’ll transport the kits to all participating High Times and Have a Heart retailers. On May 20, judge kits will officially go on sale! Judges will have between May 21 to July 10 to test out their goodies, submitting their thoughts on product differentiators such as aesthetics, aroma/scent, taste/flavor, effects/effectiveness, and so much more.

According to High Times Director of Competitions Mark Kaz, 2021 was a record-breaking year in terms of participation. “Twenty-one Cups, 339 brands, 1,389 batches of entries, all judged by about 15,000 judges who helped crown 249 award-winners for best products in their state,” Kaz said. “Our industry is going through a tough recession, restrictive regulations, and plenty of other woes, but one thing that’s for certain is that people want to find out who has the best weed, and we’re here to help.”

For companies who want to submit products for this year’s competition, please refer to the following rules.

Entry Categories:

1. Indica Flower (2 entries max per company) 
2. Sativa Flower (2 entries max per company)  
3. Hybrid Flower (2 entries max per company) 
4. Pre-Rolls (2 entries max per company) 
5. Infused Pre-Rolls (1 entry max per company) 
6. Solvent Concentrates (2 entries max per company) 
7. Non-Solvent Concentrates (2 entries max per company) 
8. Vape Pens & Cartridges (2 entries max per company)
9. Edibles: Gummies & Fruit Chews (3 entries max per company)
10. Edibles: Chocolates & Non-Gummies (3 entries max per company)
11. Edibles: Beverages (2 entries max per company)
12. Sublinguals, Capsules, Tinctures + Topicals (3 entries max per company)

Entry Requirements:

• Flower: (228) 1-gram samples. We will not accept any 3.5-gram entries. 
• Pre-Rolls & Infused Pre-Rolls: (228) samples: Pre-Rolls will be capped at 2g flower-only each; Infused Pre-Rolls will be capped at 3g flower equivalency or 1g concentrate equivalency each.
• Concentrates & Vape Pens: (228) .5-gram samples. We will not accept any 1-gram entries. Batteries required for Carts.
• Edibles: (100) samples with 100mg THC max.
• Beverages: must be a max of 16 fluid ounces, non-glass containers preferred. 
• Sublinguals, Capsules, Tinctures + Topicals: (60) samples with 500mg THC max

In terms of submission pricing, competitors should note the entry fees depending on how many products they submit. While one entry is $250, and two entries is $100 per entry (both non-refundable), submissions of three or more entries is a $100 refundable deposit per entry held, which is refunded when all entries are successfully submitted. Finally, if you’d like to sponsor this year’s High Times Cannabis Cup SoCal: People’s Choice Edition 2023 then all entry fees are waived. We also offer multiple tiers of sponsorship, including General, Bronze, Silver, and Presenting Sponsorships.

That sums up the details of our event this year but check out our High Times Cannabis Cup website to view all of the details.

A special thank you to:

Moxie – Official Intake Partner

Have a Heart – Official Retailer Partner

High Times Dispensaries – Official Retailer Partner

The post Announcing the High Times Cannabis Cup SoCal: People’s Choice Edition 2023 appeared first on High Times.

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BREAKING – New York Expands CAURD License Program

New York’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) and Cannabis Control Board (CCB) made a significant announcement during the CCB’s board meeting on March 2, 2023: the Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary License (CAURD) program is expanding the number of CAURD licenses to 300, doubling the previous allotment of 150 CAURD licenses.

As a brief refresher, this is a conditional license that is limited to individuals who have suffered from New York’s needless and damaging war on cannabis: licenses are limited to applicants with a marijuana-related offense conviction that occurred prior to the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA) being passed on March 31, 2021, or a parent, legal guardian, child, spouse or dependent with a pre-MRTA marijuana-related offense conviction in the State of New York. The CAURD application window actually closed on September 26, 2022, with the OCM having received over 900 applications.

As to why the OCM and CCB are now expanding the CAURD program, here’s what Chief Equity Officer Damian Fagon had to say about the reasoning: “More stores means more locations for New York farmers to sell their harvests, more convenience for consumers to make the right decisions and purchase safer product, and twice as many opportunities for New Yorkers harmed by over-policing during cannabis prohibition.”

We also suspect that the ongoing Variscite case and the current injunction played a role in the OCM and CCB’s decision. The OCM has been prevented from issuing any licenses in 5 geographic regions, which includes Brooklyn. In that litigation, the OCM produced its scoring matrix as part of arguing that the plaintiff would not have been issued a license even if the underlying conviction was in New York. It is possible that by expanding the number of licenses for the plaintiff’s first ranked region, the plaintiff would be issued a license, potentially rendering the ongoing litigation moot (and, accordingly, lifting the injunction).

It will also be interesting to see if or how this affects the overall roll out of adult-use licenses (a topic we recently wrote about!). With more retail dispensaries open, it is possible that the OCM and CCB will be under less pressure to issue non-conditional retail dispensary licenses, but we’ll have to see how that plays out. Stay tuned to the Canna Law Blog for more CAURD program and other New York cannabis updates!

The post BREAKING – New York Expands CAURD License Program appeared first on Harris Bricken Sliwoski LLP.

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