1. Utah: State’s First Medical Cannabis Dispensary Opens

Thursday, 05 March 2020

Salt Lake City, UT: The first of Utah’s fourteen licensed medical cannabis retail providers opened for business this week, just one day after Republican Gov. Gary Herbert signed legislation finalizing regulations for the state’s nascent access program.

  • Maine: Medical Cannabis Is Now State’s Third Largest Economic Market

Thursday, 05 March 2020

Augusta, Maine: Patients purchased an estimated $112 million worth of medical cannabis-related products in 2019, according to newly released Maine tax data. The annual revenues related to medical cannabis are more than the total revenues generated by the sales of blueberries, maple syrup, apples, herring, and oysters combined. Only the state’s lobster industry and potato industry bring in more annual revenue.

  • Study: Cannabinoids Effective at Reducing Bacteria Associated with Dental Plaque

Thursday, 12 March 2020

Mortsel, Belgium: Cannabinoids possess more potent anti-bacterial activity than do commercially marketed oral care products in the treatment of dental plaque, according to preclinical data published in the journal Cureus. A pair of Belgian researchers compared the efficacy of oral care products and cannabinoids (cannabidiol, cannabichromene, cannabinol, and cannabigerol) in reducing the bacterial content of dental plaques. Plaque samples were collected from human subjects and incubated in a petri dish.

  • New Jersey: Supreme Court Affirms Employee Cannot Be Discriminated Against Solely for Off-The-Job Medical Cannabis Use

Thursday, 12 March 2020

Trenton, NJ: An employer may not discriminate against a medical cannabis patient who consumes the substance while away from the job, according to a ruling handed down Tuesday by the state’s Supreme Court. The Court’s opinion affirms a 2019 ruling by the state’s Appellate Court.

  • House Committee Advances Marijuana Protections for Veterans

Thursday, 12 March 2020

Washington, DC: Members of the House Veterans Affairs Committee (HVAC) passed two separate pieces of legislation today pertaining to cannabis policy. “Our veterans put their lives on the line to defend our country, the absolute least we owe them is to ensure they are taken care of when they return to civilian life,” stated NORML Executive Director Erik Altieri. “It is imperative that we approve legislation such as the Veterans Equal Access Act so that the countless vets suffering from post-traumatic stress and other debilitating disorders have access to the safe and effective option of medical marijuana treatment.” The first bill, HR 712, known as the VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act of 2019, directs Veterans Administration to conduct research on marijuana in regard to a wide variety of ailments commonly associated with service-related issues.

  • Florida: Lawmakers Reject Proposed THC Cap

Thursday, 19 March 2020

Tallahassee, FL: Language initially passed by members of the House to impose a cap on the potency of THC available in products marketed to certain medical cannabis patients is dead for the 2020 legislative session. Members of the Florida Senate stripped the language out of a broader bill before sending it back to the House. Representatives ultimately re-approved the measure without the provision. Florida was one of a handful of states where lawmakers this year have proposed imposing thresholds on permissible amounts of THC. [NOTE: This past month Utah did set a THC potency cap on their program]

  • NFL Liberalizes Cannabis Policies

Thursday, 19 March 2020

New York, NY: The National Football League (NFL) will no longer issue suspensions to players who test positive for past cannabis exposure. Changes finalized in the NFL’s new collective bargaining agreement amend the league’s longstanding marijuana policies. Under the new guidelines, players will only be subject to testing during a two-week period at the start of training camp. The threshold required to trigger a positive marijuana test will be raised, and positive test results will be subject to an internal review rather than an automatic game suspension.

  • Study: Housing Values Positively Impacted Following Marijuana Legalization

Thursday, 19 March 2020

Norman, OK: The enactment of statewide policies regulating adult-use marijuana sales is associated with rising home values, according to data published by a team of University of Oklahoma economists. Investigators assessed the relationship between cannabis legalization and regional home values. They identified “a large positive spillover effect on the housing market following legalization.” Specifically, they reported “a five percent appreciation in home prices following the passage of RML (recreational marijuana laws) and an 11 percent appreciation once sales of marijuana products begin.”

  • Maryland: Lawmakers Approve Bill Permitting Medical Cannabis Access on School Grounds

Thursday, 26 March 2020

Annapolis, MD: House and Senate lawmakers have advanced legislation to the Governor’s desk to permit qualified patients access to certain medical cannabis products while on school grounds.

House Bill 617 permits either designated caregivers or designated school personnel to administer medical cannabis to students while they are either on school property, participating in school-sponsored activities, or on a school bus. More explicit guidelines regulating medical cannabis administration must be finalized by December 31, 2020.

  1. Federal Agency Affirms That State-licensed Cannabis Entities Are Ineligible for Economic Relief

Thursday, 26 March 2020

Washington, DC: Representatives with the United States Small Business Administration (SBA) reaffirmed publicly this week that state-licensed cannabis businesses remain ineligible for financial aid opportunities because marijuana remains classified as a Schedule I controlled substance. In an effort to help offset many businesses’ recent economic losses because of the COVID-19 outbreak, the SBA announced that it would be infusing capital and liquidity to businesses adversely impacted by the pandemic. Though on April 2nd, a coalition of US Senators are urging leadership to permit licensed cannabis operators to qualify for loans and other forms economic assistance available from the Small Business Administration (SBA).