More than 40 U.S. states could allow some form of legal marijuana by the end of 2020, including deep red Mississippi and South Dakota — and they’re doing it with the help of some conservatives.
State lawmakers are teeing up their bills as legislative sessions kick off around the country, and advocates pushing ballot measures are racing to collect and certify signatures to meet deadlines for getting their questions to voters.
Citing concerns about a suspected connection between cannabis and psychosis, a group of Washington state lawmakers wants to slash the allowed potency of all non-medical cannabis concentrates, limiting THC levels to no more than 10%.
In just one year, marijuana stocks went from being a cash machine for investors to a vacuum looking to suck their investment capital dry.
CBD is the hemp flavor of the hour, getting the most attention because it’s where many farmers have made money on hemp today. But Marshall Custer, an attorney specializing in cannabis at Husch Blackwell Law Firm, says he sees the marketplace poised for change. Custer addressed the Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City on Thursday, Jan. 16, about the expanding hemp marketplace.
High Times, the venerable marijuana-focused magazine that’s undergone major diversification the past two years, is taking a big step beyond its media roots with plans to open stores in Los Angeles and Las Vegas that actually sell the stuff.
The company also named cannabis retail veteran Paul Henderson as president and interim CFO, charged with heading the dispensary initiative. Stormy Simon, a former president of Overstock.com, was recently named High Times CEO, and will focus on digital initiatives.
A Capitol Hill hearing on cannabis legislation Wednesday underscored the regulatory straitjacket that restricts research and scheduling of cannabis in the United States.
Cannabis stocks were beaten down badly last year with most of them losing more than half of their value. A slew of disappointing earnings, and a U.S. Food and Drug Administration warning that cannabidiol can cause liver injury and other damage took the sheen away from the industry.
The green rush in the global cannabis market continued in 2019, with sales doubling in seven U.S. states as well as Canada, and you can expect that trend to continue this year, a report out on Thursday shows.
The report from Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics shows global cannabis sales rose 48% to $15 billion in 2019.
The figures, which are still preliminary and may get revised as more data comes in, were bolstered by states where cannabis has recently become legal for adult or medicinal use.
