The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation in the state of Illinois has revealed that legal cannabis sales in July 2021 broke the state’s record, with more than $125 million in gross recreational receipts. This figure is about $10 million higher than the state’s prior sales record, which was set in May of this year. This shows that despite the…
With more than 16 states already allowing the sale and consumption of recreational cannabis within their borders, Connecticut has now taken the first tentative steps towards establishing a legal recreational cannabis market. Last week, the state’s Judiciary Committee approved a bill that would legalize recreational cannabis with a 22 to 16 vote. Backed by Governor Ned Lamont, the legislation would…
Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York State, signed a bill legalizing recreational marijuana last week. This was a few hours after legislators had sent the draft law to his office after both chambers passed it the day before. Speaking after enacting the law, Gov. Cuomo said that the signing was a historic event, a day on which harsh sentences…
After months of restricting access to its recreational cannabis industry, Michigan has loosened a key restriction that kept many from acquiring a recreational cannabis license. Beginning on March 1, 2021, applicants for five types of recreational cannabis licenses will not be required to have an active medical marijuana license to qualify. The state initially put this policy in place to…
Virginia’s Legislature recently passed a measure that would legalize adult-use cannabis in the state. The Senate passed the initiative in a 20–19 vote while the House approved it in a 48–43 vote, making Virginia the only state in the Old South to allow legalization. It should be noted that not one Republican in either chamber voted for the measure. Democratic…
Earlier this week, Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey signed three legislations into law, which decriminalized small amounts of cannabis possession and made adult use cannabis legal in the state. After the bills were approved, state officials moved to end arrests and dismiss any pending cannabis charges. This makes New Jersey the 13th state in the United States to legalize…
On Nov. 3, 2020, Montanans voted in favor of two legislations that would make the possession of cannabis in the state legal. The first, Initiative 190, legalized the possession and sale of small amounts of cannabis and levied a 20% tax on recreational cannabis sales. The second, Constitutional Initiative 118, would amend the constitution to allow either voters or state…
A legislator from Missouri is calling for the legalization of recreational cannabis as a way to generate revenue for the state of Missouri while also eliminating the cannabis black market. This is the first time a Missouri Republican representative is calling for the legalization of recreational cannabis. If the proposed amendment is approved, it would also expunge the records of…
In the last two years, the debate over the legalization of cannabis for adult use has dragged on in New York State. However, this may take a turn for the better next year as the state’s legislature goes back to Albany, despite the Democrats being divided on various aspects on the issue, which may make negotiations a tad bit difficult.…
Cannabis was one of the clear winners in the November 2020 ballot, with voters in five states approving legislation that allowed some form of cannabis use. Arizona was one of those states. Before to the elections, the traditionally red state had some of the most punitive cannabis policies in the country, with possession of even small amounts of marijuana classified…
A group that was campaigning for the medical cannabis initiative on the November ballot in Nebraska is now planning to seek a vote on legalizing the use of recreational cannabis in the state. While their earlier initiative was unsuccessful, officials with Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana stated recently that in January 2021 they would be introducing the ballot language for the…
In January of this year, activists behind the Make It Legal Florida campaign announced that they would postpone their pursuit of cannabis legalization in the state until 2022. The campaign had raised and spent more than $8 million, ultimately collecting 555,000 valid signatures. However, this was more than 200,000 signatures shy of the required 766,000 signatures, and the marijuana legalization…