The new year is off to a profitable start in Illinois, where the state's marijuana shops brought in nearly $3.2 million on the first day of legal sales. The sales come after Governor J.B. Pritzker delivered on a top campaign promise in June, when he signed legislation to legalize small amounts of marijuana for recreational use at the start of 2020.
BOISE – An Idaho lawmaker plans to introduce legislation that will make hemp legal in the state.
Republican Rep. Dorothy Moon told the Idaho Press the legislation will align Idaho with federal law.
Lawmakers begin meeting Monday. Previous attempts to legalize hemp have failed over concerns it could be used to hide marijuana.
More legalization in more states. More product liability risks. More regulations. More M&A.
More of many things is what insurance professionals involved in the cannabis industry can expect in 2020.
Insurance Journal asked four experts watching the cannabis and insurance space – an expert from an insurance advisory organization, an attorney who represents insurers, a marijuana legalization advocate and a wholesale broker – for their top three predictions for the year ahead.
The most important prediction as far as IJ readers are concerned?
Republicans have been conservative about cannabis. However, cannabis legalization is a popular discussion topic among Democrats. In the past, the bills and reforms were Democrats’ initiatives. Republicans oppose some of the reforms even in states where cannabis is legal. However, there could be some support from Republicans regarding marijuana.
In 2019, legal cannabis sales jumped 32% since 2018, Illinois became the first state to legalize cannabis via legislation and the U.S. House of Representatives passed the SAFE Banking Act, a first step toward opening banking services for the industry.
Of course, the news wasn’t all rosy. Stock prices fluctuated and a cash crunch hampered growth and expansion. New York and New Jersey failed to lift prohibition. But these can be viewed as growing pains for an emerging industry. As we head into 2020, here’s a look at what’s ahead for the industry.
Recreational marijuana use became legal in just one more state, Illinois, with the start of the New Year on Wednesday. More states could follow suit in 2020, with several states set to put recreational marijuana on the ballot. Cannabis is still considered an illegal substance at the federal level.
As California enters its third year of legal recreational cannabis sales, many expect upcoming new laws, high-profile court cases and major criminal justice reforms to shake up the industry.
Don't think for a second that just because many marijuana stocks performed miserably in 2019 that there weren't any big winners. One key to finding those winners is to focus on U.S.-based stocks rather than on the stocks of Canadian cannabis producers.
The three best U.S. marijuana stocks of 2019 delivered gains of 45% or more. Here's which stocks ranked at the top -- and whether they're smart picks to buy now.
