The New York Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) announced its final list of applicants who will be issued the first retail cannabis licenses in the state. Thirty-six applicants were announced on Nov. 20, which were chosen out of a pool of 903 applicants.

“BREAKING: In a historic decision, the #NYCCB has approved the first round of CAURD [Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary] licensees. 28 Justice-involved individuals & 8 Nonprofit organizations will make the first adult use-sales by New York farmers and bring countless opportunities to our communities. #NYCCB” the OCM wrote on Twitter on Nov. 21. The regions with the most CAURD licenses include Manhattan (22), Long Islands (20), Brooklyn (19), Mid-Hudson (19), and Queens (16).

According to The New York Times, a majority of the finalists are owned by people who have been previously convicted of a cannabis offense, or have a close family member who have been convicted. There are eight non-profit organizations, (such as Housing Works, The Doe Fund, and LIFE Camp), which are also included in the final list.

In addition to the finalist announcement, the OCM also released a 282-page document detailing the state’s draft regulations. “The #NYCCB has voted to advance OCM’s largest adult-use cannabis regulation package since the MRTA [Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act] passed to public comment. These regulations are intended to establish rules for a safe, equitable, consumer-driven market focused on small businesses,” the agency wrote, inviting the public to submit comments to regulations@ocm.ny.gov (which will be open for 60 days).

The OCM has previously stated that it aims to have some retail dispensaries open before the end of 2022. “We’re excited about granting the first adult-use cannabis licenses today,” said OCM spokesperson Trivette Knowles. “New York is ready for adult-use cannabis sales and we’re still working towards the goal of having the first sales begin this calendar year.” Eventually, an estimated 150 retail licenses are expected to be awarded across the state.

This expectation aligns with an earlier statement from New York from Gov. Kathy Hochul in October as well. “We expect the first 20 dispensaries to be open by the end of this year,” Hochul said. “And then every month or so, another 20. So, we’re not going to just jam it out there. It’s going to work and be successful.”

Recent reports state that New York has over $750 million worth of cannabis harvested and stockpiled, but nowhere for it to go without licensed dispensaries to sell them.

According to New York-based Hudson Cannabis farm CEO Melany Dobson, they’ve just been waiting for the OCM to greenlight license approval. “It’s an unclear path to market. We’ve been told again and again that dispensaries will open before the end of the year,” Dobson told Bloomberg. “I’ve acted as though that’s our single source of proof, so we’re prepared for that.”

Cannabis begins to deteriorate when it begins to age, both in color as well as quality. “Old cannabis starts to have a brownish glow,” Dobson explained. While Hudson Cannabis’s operation allows it to store cannabis to prevent degradation for about 12 months, other farms may not be able to preserve their cannabis for long before it becomes unusable.

Recently a judge issued a temporary injunction that prevents New York regulators from issuing retail licenses in five regions of the state. According to a statement from David C. Holland, a partner of the law firm Prince Lobel, this injunction could expand to include other regions of New York as well. “This could have a wider impact across the entire state as the same state-specific contact and conviction requirements were imposed in 14 regions in New York, which are designated to set up a CAURD dispensary and may have prevented justice-involved individuals from other states from applying for a conditional license because of the state’s efforts to protect and promote its emerging cannabis industry,” Holland stated.

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told a group of reporters on August 23 that medical cannabis license holders in the state need to pay more for their license application and renewal fees. But operators in the state say that raising application and renewal fees could spell the end for some struggling businesses.

State officials “should charge these people more,” DeSantis said.

“I mean, these are very valuable licenses,” the governor continued. “I would charge them an arm and a leg. I mean, everybody wants these licenses.”

CBS News Miami reports that whether or not the governor was referring to existing license holders or future license holders remains to be seen.

But Florida’s license and renewal rates already exceed fees seen in other states. That could be because Florida’s licensing system requires operators to cultivate, process and sell marijuana and derivative products without limiting the number of retail locations, and lawyers say this makes the state’s licenses more valuable.

After stepping into his role as governor in January 2019, one of DeSantis’ primary promises is to provide a boost to Florida’s economy.

Gov. DeSantis pushed to repeal Florida’s ban on smokable flower. Voters in Florida passed a constitutional amendment legalizing medical cannabis in 2016, but regulations that ban smokable cannabis were passed by the legislature and signed into law by former Gov. Rick Scott.

Cannabis advocates sued, claiming the ban violated the amendment passed by voters. A state court agreed and declared the rule invalid, but it remained in place as an appeal from Scott’s administration made its way through the courts. However, when Gov. DeSantis took office, he said if the ban was not repealed his administration would abandon the appeal of the court ruling.

The ban on smokable cannabis was officially repealed on March 18, with Gov. Ron DeSantis signing a compromise bill that was passed by legislators. Smokable flower is, unsurprisingly, by far the most popular menu item at Florida’s over 460 medical cannabis dispensaries.

An earlier 2014 allowed low-THC products for certain patients. Then, medical cannabis companies part of an initial group of applicants in 2015 paid over $60,000 in order to be able to sell low-THC cannabis.

Then Florida’s 2016 constitutional amendment established more of what is thought of as a mature medical cannabis market with a variety of approved products.

Florida law requires legislative approval of rules if cost of compliance for those businesses exceeds $200,000 in one year or $1 million over the course of five years.

Jacking up application and renewal fees “would be unfortunate,” Brady Cobb, a lawyer and founder and CEO of Green Sentry told CBS News. “If it happens, it happens,” said Cobb. Cobb added that Florida could make more money by taxing cannabis products or allowing operators to wholesale products to each other and taxing those sales instead.

Black Farmer License Fees Also Too High in Florida

The state charged a higher fee in a recent round of applications for a license set aside in Florida’s 2017 law for a Black cannabis farmer. Under rules laid out by the Department of Health, applicants had to pay a $146,000 fee to compete for the Black farmer license which was over twice the fee from the application process in 2015.

“Black farmers are required to shell out $146,000 merely to apply for a license to grow medical marijuana,” the Miami New Times reports.

Last year, Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried called the high fees for the Black farmer license “discriminatory.”

The department accepted a dozen applications for the Black farmer license, but has not announced the winner of the license. A new round of license applications will launch again after the Black farmer license is issued, but the state hasn’t laid out a timeline. At least 150 applicants are expected to apply.

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Arkansas state officials announced last week that a proposed ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana has received enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. Activists with the group Responsible Growth Arkansas, which is headed by former Arkansas Democratic House minority leader Eddie Armstrong, submitted the petitions to the secretary of state’s office last month, saying at the time they had collected more than twice as many signatures necessary to qualify the proposal for this year’s general election.

Kevin Niehaus, a spokesman for the Arkansas secretary of state’s office, said after signature counters reached 90,000 verified signatures on Thursday night they notified the Responsible Growth Arkansas campaign that the constitutional amendment initiative had been approved for the November ballot. State officials will now concentrate their efforts on verifying signatures for a separate measure to amend Arkansas’ casino gambling statute.

“Because of the time frame to get this done, they stopped at 90,000 verified signatures and now have moved on to the casino petition,” Niehaus said on Friday. “Knowing how many signatures they still had left to go and with it already reaching 90,000 signatures, they felt comfortable saying they made it.”

Arkansas Initiative Would Legalize Recreational Weed

If the initiative is successful at the polls in November, it would legalize cannabis for use by adults 21 and over. The proposal would also allow the state’s existing medical pot growers and dispensaries to apply for adult-use cannabis licenses. Another 40 licenses, to be awarded through a lottery system, would also be issued for recreational marijuana operations. The total number of licenses statewide would be limited to 20 cultivation and 120 dispensary licenses, including those for existing medical marijuana businesses.

In July, Responsible Growth Arkansas submitted petitions containing 192,828 signatures of voters supporting the legalization amendment. Under state law, the group needed 10% of the number of votes cast in the last gubernatorial election, or 89,151 signatures, to qualify for this year’s ballot. Officials with the campaign said that support for the initiative effort was strong across the state.

“It was across the entire state, and it really shows a broad level of support geographically,” said Steve Lancaster, counsel for Responsible Growth Arkansas. “To get that many signatures from Arkansans it can’t be all Democrats, or all Republicans, or all Independents. You need a large swath of Arkansans to get that many signatures. The people want to vote on this and make this decision themselves.”

“We are really grateful for the voters who signed our petitions and appreciative to the secretary of state’s office for verifying our signatures,” Lancaster added.

Before the measure is officially approved for the ballot, the proposal’s ballot title and popular name must be approved by the Arkansas Board of Election Commissioners. Lancaster said that a meeting of the panel is expected to take place on Wednesday.

Two Initiative Proposals Vying for Voters’ Attention

The effort by Responsible Growth Arkansas is one of two proposals to legalize adult-use cannabis in the state. A separate measure from activists to qualify the Arkansas Adult Use and Expungement Marijuana Amendment for the ballot has been pushed back until 2024. Under that proposal, the number of business licenses would be set as a proportion of the state’s population. The proposal also includes provisions for the home cultivation of cannabis, expungement of past pot-related convictions, and assistance for low-income medical cannabis patients.

Patient advocate Melissa Fults, who opposes the Responsible Growth Arkansas measure, hopes that voters will wait until 2024 to legalize recreational pot. She is also skeptical of the number of signatures submitted by the campaign.

“It’s kind of strange,” she said. “We were told by supposedly very reliable sources they only had 79,000 signatures at the start of June. In 30 days they got 120,000 signatures during one of the hottest summers around. I am really concerned about how valid those signatures are.”

But Niehaus noted that the secretary of state’s office uses software that goes through the submitted petitions page by page to verify the number of signatures.

“It verifies if they are a registered voter and makes sure they didn’t accidentally sign a petition two or three times,” Niehuas said.

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State officials in Oklahoma have put a moratorium on issuing new licenses for medical marijuana businesses in a bid to allow the state’s cannabis regulators to catch up with oversight of a burgeoning medicinal cannabis industry. Under the moratorium, which was passed by state lawmakers earlier this year, no new licenses for medical growers, processors or dispensaries will be issued by the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) for a period of at least two years.

Oklahoma voters legalized the use and sale of medical pot with the approval of State Question 788 in 2018, a ballot measure that created the least tightly regulated legal cannabis market in the nation. Corbin Wyatt, owner of Likewise Dispensary, said that the state’s medical marijuana law included few barriers to entry for entrepreneurs seeking opportunities in cannabis.

“It was easy,” Wyatt told local media. “You pay $2,500 and you can open your business pretty much anywhere.”

In May, Oklahoma lawmakers passed House Bill 3208, which puts a two-year pause on issuing new licenses for medical cannabis businesses. The new restrictions under the measure were originally scheduled to become effective on August 1, but bills must go into effect at least 90 days after passage unless they gain a two-thirds majority vote in the legislature. The bill was signed by Governor Kevin Stitt on May 26, making it effective on August 26 under state law.

Applications for new medical cannabis businesses submitted before the moratorium goes into effect will be processed by the OMMA. But applications that are denied or received after the deadline will not be considered until 2024 at the earliest.

Mark Woodward, public information officer for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics (OBN), said the state already has over 2,200 medical dispensaries, making oversight of the businesses by state regulators a logistical challenge.

“That’s a tremendous amount of dispensaries,” Woodward told a Tulsa television news crew. “It’s more than California, Oregon, Alaska, Washington, Nevada and New Mexico combined.”

Unlicensed Businesses Are Operating Outside the Law

Woodward said that many of the businesses that have been operating in the state, even some that have been licensed by the OMMA, have been producing cannabis for shipment out of Oklahoma illegally. He added that some of the state’s 8,500 medical weed cultivators have ties to organized crime organizations from the United States, Mexico, and China that have moved into the state, many during the COVID-19 pandemic, to take advantage of Oklahoma’s inexpensive licensing fees and relatively lax cannabis regulations.

“We’ve talked to our law enforcement partners from New York to Florida, and they say we are the number one supplier of black market marijuana on the East Coast,” he said.

Woodward said that some of the state’s licensed medical dispensaries are selling cannabis that has been produced by illicit growers and processors. He added that the pause in new businesses will give regulators and the OBN an opportunity to regulate the state’s medical marijuana supply chain more closely.

“This moratorium will allow us to focus on those we already have in place and make sure they’re either following the law or going after those bad actors,” he explained.

Matt Boyd, the owner of the Green Cross Meds cannabis dispensary in Tulsa, said that the state’s saturated market has caused profits from his business to drop by two-thirds.

“In the last year, I’m not the only dispensary owner that has felt a decline in business, and it’s not because of anything we’ve done different,” he explained. “It’s just because there’s been so many dispensaries that have opened up. Just the limit of ‘no more new dispensaries’ coming into business is gonna help all of us existing dispensary owners now.”

Boyd said that the two-year moratorium on new retailer licenses will slow the impact on existing retailers.

“It’s time to allow a market that’s brand new, a brand-new grassroots industry in our state, to kinda have some balance, y’know?” Boyd said. “And that’s just what it’s gonna take.”

Oklahoma lawmakers recently passed a total of 12 bills to tighten regulations on the state’s medical cannabis industry, including a requirement that new dispensaries and cultivation operations be located at least 1,000 ft. from schools. The moratorium on the issuance of new licenses is scheduled to be in effect until August 1, 2024, or until the medical marijuana authority catches up on the backlog of pending applications. But some business owners believe that may never happen.

“Until the OMMA either feels that they are able to control everything and it’s an opportune time to issue new licenses, but most people are saying that won’t ever come,” Wyatt said.

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Illinois Governor JB Pritzker announced on Friday that the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) has issued 149 conditional state licenses for adult-use cannabis retailers to applicants selected in three lotteries held earlier this summer. All of the selected businesses qualify as social equity applicants under the state’s Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, the 2019 bill that legalized recreational pot for adults statewide.

“Illinois is leading the way in addressing the War on Drugs as no state has before, and dispensary ownership that reflects our state’s diversity is a product of that commitment,” Pritzker said on Friday in a statement from the governor’s office. “These licenses represent a significant step toward accountability for the decades of injustice preceding cannabis legalization. Illinois will continue to deliver on the promises of putting equity at the forefront of this process.”

Retail Sales Began in Illinois Two Years Ago

Illinois’ Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act was the first adult-use cannabis legalization measure in the United States to be passed by a state legislature, rather than through a ballot initiative approved by voters. Sales of adult-use cannabis began at existing medical dispensaries in 2020.

But licensing adult-use cannabis retailers has been marked by setbacks and legal challenges over the state’s system to license recreational cannabis businesses. Much of the controversy has centered on the state’s efforts to ensure that members of communities negatively impacted by prohibition and enforcement policies have a path to business ownership in the newly legal adult-use cannabis industry. The first 75 licenses were originally slated to be awarded in May 2020, but lawsuits have delayed progress several times.

“Since 2019, we have worked diligently to ensure communities disproportionately harmed by cannabis prohibition and discriminatory law enforcement are included in the adult-use cannabis industry,” said Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford. “With the release of 149 Conditional Adult Use Dispensing Organization Licenses, Illinois has become a frontrunner in cannabis minority ownership and will continue to drive social equity, social justice and inclusion into the marketplace.”

Among the conditional use licensees selected through the lottery process,  41% are majority Black-owned, 7% are majority white-owned, and 4% are majority Latino-owned, while 38% of awardees did not disclose the race of their owners. State officials noted that “Illinois has made and executed the greatest commitment of adult use cannabis tax revenue to community reinvestment, expunged the most criminal history records involving cannabis, and has the highest rate of minority ownership of any state reporting/collecting ownership demographic data in the country.”

Licensees Have Six Months To Receive Final Approval

Applicants now have 180 days to secure their business location and receive final approval for licensing from state regulators. If conditional licensees are unable to secure a suitable business location within that time, they are permitted to file for a 180-day extension to complete the process.

“The release of these licenses means a transformation of the retail side of Illinois’ cannabis industry, creating more opportunities for individuals from all backgrounds to reap the benefits of legalization as employees and ancillary service providers,” said Mario Treto, Jr., Secretary of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. “These licensees continue to lay the groundwork for a cannabis industry more diverse and equitable than any other in the country. I am extremely proud of our team for their work over the past two years and look forward to working with these new businesses [sic] owners throughout the next stages of licensure.”

Many of the business owners selected as conditional adult-use retailer licensees are likely to face challenges obtaining capital to secure a site and get their operation up and running. Through a separate program administered by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), the state offers low-interest loans to qualified licensed companies through its Social Equity Cannabis Loan Program. 

The first round of social equity license applicants are expected to finalize loan agreements directly with DCEO’s participating lenders in the coming weeks, with the next phase of the loan program launching in the near future. Additional information about the Social Equity Cannabis Loan Program is available online. DCEO also funds free licensing and post-licensing technical assistance through their partners at Oakton Community College, The Trep School, the Women’s Business Development Center, and the University of Illinois Chicago Law School. Additional information on these resources and how to access them can be found on the program website.

One of the selected conditional applicants, Akele Parnell, a co-owner of Marigrow, plans to open a dispensary in the Chicago neighborhood of Lincoln Park. The business has already raised the necessary capital and is ready to move on to the next step in the process.

“We have our financing,” Parnell told Crain Chicago. “Now we have to go through rezoning.”

“It was quite the wait. It’s a relief now to have the license in hand,” Parnell added. “There’s a lot of work ahead.”

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A week from today, medical cannabis patients in Virginia will no longer need to present a card at a dispensary in order to obtain their prescribed products.

That is thanks to a bill that was signed into law in April that lifted the requirement “for patients to register with the state’s Board of Pharmacy for a license,” according to local news outlet WRIC.

But, per the text of the legislation, the new law still maintains “the requirement that patients obtain written certification from a health care provider for medical cannabis,” while also directing the Board of Pharmacy to “promulgate numerous regulations related to pharmaceutical processors.”

The new law, which officially takes effect on July 1, is aimed at improving the efficiency of the process for patients to obtain medical cannabis in Virginia.

Once it takes effect next week, those patients will be able to obtain their cannabis products from stores as soon as they get a written certificate from a health care provider.

Along with “letting them avoid waiting for a license from the board, a process that can take months, the law will also allow patients to not have to pay a $50 application fee,” WRIC reported.

The measure was signed into law more than two months ago by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican serving in his first term.

In addition to removing the registration requirement, the law also “amends the definition of ‘cannabis oil’ by removing the requirement that only oil from industrial hemp be used in the formulation of cannabis oil.”

Cannabis advocates celebrate the bill becoming law in April, saying it will provide a needed remedy for thousands of Virginia medical weed patients. According to WRIC, data from “Virginia’s Board of Pharmacy shows nearly 47,000 total registered patients and thousands of pending applications, a backlog that has forced the board to hire new workers.”

“These legislative improvements will bring great relief to the thousands of Virginians waiting to access the medical cannabis program,” said JM Pedini, NORML’s Development Director and the Executive Director of Virginia NORML. “We hear from dozens of Virginians each week who are struggling with the registration process and frustrated by the 60-day wait to receive their approval from the Board of Pharmacy.”

Virginia’s medical cannabis law began in 2017, although it initially only permitted “patients suffering from intractable epilepsy to use some types of cannabis oil with a doctor’s certification,” according to the Marijuana Policy Project.

The program has since expanded to include other cannabis products such as edibles and bud.

Last year, Virginia went a step further when it legalized recreational cannabis use for adults, becoming the first state in the southern U.S. to do so.

But that law took effect under a Democratic governor and a Democratic-controlled legislature, and it also launched without a regulated market for cannabis sales in place.

As WRIC put it, that meant that “the commonwealth’s medical cannabis program became the only legal market for people.”

Youngkin took office earlier this year, saying that he had no intention of overturning the law that allowed personal possession, but the outlook for retail sales still appears uncertain.

“When it comes to commercialization, I think there is a lot of work to be done. I’m not against it, but there’s a lot of work to be done,” Youngkin said in an interview not long before he took office. “There are some nonstarters, including the forced unionization that’s in the current bill. There have been concerns expressed by law enforcement in how the gap in the laws can actually be enforced. Finally, there’s a real need to make sure that we aren’t promoting an anti-competitive industry. I do understand that there are preferences to make sure that all participants in the industry are qualified to do the industry well.”

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Native American tribes in Montana have been reluctant to apply for cannabis licenses set aside for them by the state’s marijuana regulation bill after a government regulator placed restrictions on the size of cultivation operations allowed by the permits.

In 2020, Montana voters passed Initiative 90, a measure to legalize pot for use by adults and allow for the production and sale of cannabis. The following year, state lawmakers passed House Bill 701 to establish a regulatory framework for commercial cannabis production and retail sales. HB 701 set aside cannabis licenses for the state’s Native American tribes, with each tribe automatically allocated a single combined-use license to cultivate and sell cannabis. Under the provisions of the measure, the facilities authorized by the licenses must not be on tribal land, and the cultivation and retail operations must be in the same location.

Following the 2021 legislative session, the Economic Affairs Interim Committee attempted to confirm with the Department of Revenue that the licenses, while defined in state statute as tier 1 licenses limited to 1,000 square feet, could be eventually upgraded to a license allowing for a larger cultivation operation. But in a reply letter sent to the committee on June 2, Brendan Beatty, director of the Department of Revenue, wrote that tribes are not permitted to expand beyond the cultivation space permitted by tier 1 license.

Montana Lawmakers Dispute Restriction

But lawmakers including state Sen. Jason Small, a member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe, say the restriction to tier 1 grows, the state’s smallest permitted facilities, will limit the tribes’ success and serve as a barrier to entry into Montana’s regulated cannabis industry.

“During the last legislative session, a lot of the tribes and the legislators saw this as an opportunity, finally, for the tribes to get in on equal footing on the ground floor of the marijuana industry, and start bringing in additional revenue for themselves,” the lawmaker told the Montana Free Press.

Small was a supporter of including the automatic combined-use licenses in House Bill 701. Since the legislation passed, he has been advising other members of the Northern Cheyenne community who are considering a foray into the legal cannabis industry. So far, none of Montana’s tribes have applied for the licenses reserved for them by House Bill 701. Small believes that the restriction to tier 1 licenses is at least partly responsible for the tribes’ hesitancy.

“Unfortunately, it seems the Department of Revenue has been trying to hamstring our efforts,” he said. “I’ve had conversations with a couple of different tribes that say, ‘Why even bother if they’re handicapping us here?’”

In his letter, Beatty cites language from HB 701 stipulating that “a combined-use marijuana license consists of one tier 1 canopy license and one dispensary license allowing for the operation of a dispensary.” He added that the restriction limits the licenses set aside for the tribes to a cultivation operation of no more than 1,000 square feet.

“Regardless of this committee’s stated desire to allow combined use licensees to increase beyond a tier one, the statute is clear and unambiguous and limits a combined use licensee to a single tier one canopy license,” he writes.

State Sen. Shane Morigeau, a member of the Economic Affairs Interim Committee, also supports the licenses for tribes and collaborated with the Department of Revenue to clarify HB 701. He says that the restriction Beatty is calling for is not consistent with the intent of the bill.

“Obviously tier 1 is the entry point, not the ceiling,” said Morigeau. “Among Democrats and Republicans alike on the committee, we’ve agreed that’s not what the bill language says and [the restriction to tier 1] is not what we wanted.”

Morigeau believes that an administrative rule approved after HB 701’s passage clarifies the lawmakers’ intent, noting it says that the licenses reserved for Native American tribes “are subject to the marijuana laws” that govern all of the state’s cannabis licenses.

“The rule anticipated what the Legislature wanted,” said Morigeau. “The Economic Affairs Interim Committee has been very clear about it.”

Regulators’ Views Inconsistent

During a meeting of the Economic Affairs Interim Committee in April, Kristan Barbour, the administrator of the Department of Revenue’s Cannabis Control Division, acknowledged lawmakers’ desire to allow the licenses to expand in the future.

“We’ve been given direction by this body that you would like to treat this license like other licenses,” said Barbour.

But Beatty argues that Barbour’s position is not consistent with HB 701.

“Ms. Barbour’s testimony attempted to navigate what she understands this committee would like to see happen with combined use licensees, versus what is codified in statute,” Beatty wrote. “During her testimony, Ms. Barbour may have mistakenly led this [committee] to believe that combined use licensees operate like any other license.”

Although the restrictions put in place by the Department of Revenue are impacting the licenses set aside for tribes by the legislature, they do not permanently block Native American communities from participating in Montana’s regulated cannabis industry. When the state moratorium on new cannabis licenses expires on July 1, 2023, members of tribal communities will be allowed to apply for licenses that do not include the revenue department’s limitations.

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Regulators in Missouri have suspended four medical weed licenses and ordered products to be destroyed over alleged irregularities at the cannabis operators. The suspensions, which were revealed by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Thursday, are part of a compromise agreement that marks the end of a dispute between the licensees and state regulators over reported violations at the facilities.

The agreement reached between the director of Missouri’s medical cannabis program and the four businesses directs the licensees to transfer operational management of the facilities to a third-party management firm by June 30. The current licensees will then have until November 30 to find a buyer and exit Missouri’s regulated medical weed industry.

“The primary owners of these licenses will not be eligible to own licenses in the future,” said Lisa Cox, spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

Cox added that the agreement “resolves the investigation” into the licensees’ operations.

The agreement also calls for the destruction of some cannabis products now held by the facilities or that have been transferred to other licensees. Some medical pot products, however, will be processed into compliant merchandise under the terms of the agreement.

“The Department’s approval of the change of ownership or transfer of the licenses is contingent upon Licensees divesting themselves of all product currently in their possession,” the agreement reads.

The medical cannabis operators that agreed to the compromise include Archimedes Medical Holdings, a company that has used the brand name Solhaus and holds two cultivation licenses. Another cultivator, FUJM, and Holistic Health, a medical marijuana products manufacturer, are also included in the agreement. All four licenses were issued for operations in Perryville, Missouri.

Suspensions Ordered Over Alleged Violations

The order to cease operations at one of the medical weed companies lists details of the reported irregularities, including a claim that “the licensee has left medical marijuana product unattended, unsecured, and in unsanitary conditions.”

“Licensees disagree with the Department’s position,” the agreement said, according to a copy provided to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch by the Department of Health and Senior Services.

The settlement between regulators and the facility was reached to “resolve the Department’s allegations” and notes that the agreement “shall not be construed as an admission of liability or wrongdoing by any Party.”

The suspension order for two of the cultivation operations includes allegations that the facilities’ “employees are using and applying pesticides without proper training or proper Personal Protective Equipment.”

The four licensees will also be required to transfer the operations to a new owner by November 30. According to the agreement, “Licensees shall submit change of ownership or transfer of license change requests to the Department” for the four suspended licenses.

“If Licensees fail to submit a timely change request, … that license will be deemed to have been surrendered to the Department, effective December 1, 2022,” the agreement continues.

In April, a medical weed company based in Kansas City filed suit against Archimedes, claiming state regulators had determined that the cultivator had trafficked cannabis into Missouri from out of state and that $1.7 million worth of inventory had been frozen. However, orders to suspend operations issued by the state last year do not include references to any such violations.

Tanner Rolfes, attorney for the licensees, wrote in an email that “Archimedes, along with individuals harmed by false accusations, will continue to seek legal action against any and all unscrupulous entities or individuals that opportunistically made and pursued false and defamatory claims.”

“My clients are pleased with the settlement agreement and looking forward to the future,” Rolfes added. “Most importantly, the settlement confirms that Archimedes et al, as well as any affiliated entities or individuals, were not involved in any unlawful conduct.”

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New York unveiled a pioneering new plan earlier this month as it prepares to launch its new adult-use cannabis program later this year, with the first round of retail licenses reserved for individuals previously convicted of a pot-related charge, or who have relatives with a cannabis conviction.

But while many social justice advocates applauded the measure, a majority of the state’s voters are not on board.

A poll out this week from Siena College found that 54 percent of voters in the Empire State “oppose ensuring that early licenses for marijuana retail stores go to those previously convicted of marijuana-related crimes, or their family members.” Only 33 percent are in favor of the proposal.

The opposition is most pronounced among New York Republicans, 72 percent of whom told the pollsters that they are against the idea. Only 19 percent of Republicans said they back it.

Among Democrats, the proposal produced a near-even split: 45 percent said they support the idea, while 43 percent oppose. A majority of New York state independents, 55 percent, also said they are against the proposal.

“Giving first dibs on marijuana licenses to those previously convicted divides Democrats and New York City voters. Strong majorities of Republicans, independents, voters outside New York City, and white voters give it a thumbs down,” Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said in the survey’s analysis. “Latino voters support it by 12 points and Black voters by 11 points.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, announced the “the first-in-the-nation Seeding Opportunity Initiative” earlier this month, which her office said would ensure “an early investment into communities most impacted by the disproportionate enforcement of cannabis prohibition.”

Under the initiative, the first 100-200 licenses for adult-use pot dispensaries would be awarded to either an individual previously convicted of a weed-related offense, or a parent, guardian, child, spouse or dependent of an individual with a pot conviction.

“New York State is making history, launching a first-of-its-kind approach to the cannabis industry that takes a major step forward in righting the wrongs of the past,” Hochul said in a statement at the time. “The regulations advanced by the Cannabis Control Board today will prioritize local farmers and entrepreneurs, creating jobs and opportunity for communities that have been left out and left behind. I’m proud New York will be a national model for the safe, equitable and inclusive industry we are now building.”

In the announcement earlier this month, Hochul’s office said the initiative would be comprised of three different programs: the Equity Owners Lead Program, which will provide “a Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary License to eligible equity-entrepreneur applicants, putting them at the front-end of the adult-use market”; the Farmers First Program, which provides “an Adult-Use Conditional Cultivator License to eligible New York cannabinoid hemp farmers, giving them the first chance to grow cannabis for New York’s adult-use market”; and the New York Social Equity Cannabis Investment Program, a $200 million program proposed in Hochul’s budget that would “make funding available for equity entrepreneurs at the forefront of the adult-use cannabis market.”

Hochul, who took over as New York governor following the resignation of Andrew Cuomo in August, has made it a priority to jumpstart the state’s recreational cannabis program. In September, she completed appointments to the state’s Office of Cannabis Management shortly after taking office.

The state expects recreational pot sales to begin by the end of the year, and all signs are pointing to a lucrative industry. According to a budget projection from Hochul’s office in January, New York expects to collect $1.25 billion in tax revenue from recreational pot sales over the next six years.

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A whirlwind of conspiracy stretching across several states indicates a plot to alter elections and illegally obtain cannabis licenses in Nevada and other locations.

According to an indictment, which was unsealed for the public by the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York on March 14, a Russian oligarch colluded with American officials to allegedly score a cannabis license illegally in Nevada. According to federal prosecutors, the actions amount to illegal political campaign contributions.

Andrey Muraviev—who happens to be a Russian oligarch—was charged with violating federal campaign finance laws in 2018. Muraviev is accused of illegally funneling donations to former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt—with the perk of winning an adult-use cannabis business license in Nevada. Laxalt has been accused of bribery before.

The news arrives at a time when businesses of all types are cutting ties with Russian oligarchs, albeit for a different reason, as the Ukraine conflict brews up.

Muraviev is charged with conspiring with Lev Parnas, Ukrainian-born Andrey Kukushkin and Igor Fruman and others—all of whom were convicted at trial or have pleaded guilty to related crimes. 

The five are charged with concocting a plot to get $1 million from Muraviev, and then give donations to political campaigns to back-scratch political candidates who could in turn pull strings to help Muraviev and co-conspirators obtain licenses.

A representative of the Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board (CCB) told High Times that they just discussed this particular issue at a recent board meeting that took place last December. “Muraviev was a lender and creditor, and it is the Board’s responsibility to know where funds go,” Chair Dennis Neilander said at a December 14 Cannabis Compliance Board meeting. “In this case, the funds came from an individual who is known to have associated with some other individuals that committed serious crimes.” Most members of the Board agreed.

Miami Herald reports that the plot involved securing cannabis licenses in several states, but it ultimately fizzled out after Parnas and Fruman and two other associates failed to submit the required paperwork on time to obtain licenses in Nevada and elsewhere.

Muraviev gained wealth as the CEO of a Russian cement company and through his holdings in the Russian online payment company QIWI. He had already invested in several California-based cannabis operations before he connected with Parnas and Fruman.

Muraviev is believed to be in Russia and remains at large, prosecutors said.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/press-release/file/1483151/download

Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Michael J. Driscoll, the Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), announced the unsealing in a press release.

“As alleged, Andrey Muraviev, a Russian national, attempted to influence the 2018 elections by conspiring to push a million dollars of his foreign funds to candidates and campaigns,” FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael J. Driscoll said. “He attempted to corrupt our political system to advance his business interests. The Southern District of New York is committed to rooting out efforts by foreigners to interfere with our elections.”

The actions show that federal prosecutors will not tolerate illegal donations that are intended to alter elections.

FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Michael J. Driscoll agreed, saying “as alleged, Muraviev, a Russian foreign national, made illegal political contributions and conspired with Parnas, Kukushkin and Fruman to obscure their true source. The money Muraviev injected into our political system, as alleged, was directed to politicians with views favorable to his business interests and those of his co-conspirators. As today’s action demonstrates, we will continue to aggressively pursue all those who seek to illegally affect our nation’s elections.”

The Nevada Independent reports that Parnas was found guilty last October on six counts related to funneling money into U.S. campaigns, and Laxalt testified at the trial, saying Parnas promised to hold a fundraiser that never took place. 

Fruman pleaded guilty to illegal foreign campaign contributions in September last year.

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