Many older stoners remember low-grade brick weed, traditionally grown at enormous farms in Mexico, as a commonly available product in the U.S.. But Mexican-grown weed sold on the black market started falling out of favor decades ago as it competed with domestically-grown cannabis. NORML reports that border seizures for Mexican-grown pot at the southwest border have hit a record low.

Hydroponics, organic inputs, feminized seeds, and other improved growing methods made low-quality seeded weed grown outdoors in bulk by cartels a thing of the past. The relatively new phenomenon of state-legal adult-use cannabis, which started in 2014 put the final nail in the coffin for the trade of Mexican-grown weed in the U.S.

Seizures of Mexican-grown cannabis peaked in 2009, when U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents seized 3.3 million pounds (1.5 million kilos) of cannabis on the southwest border that year, the highest amount ever recorded. Often the low-quality weed, a brownish or dark green color, was seeded and vacuum-pressed into kilo-sized bricks, ready to be smuggled over the border. For many Americans, this type of weed was all they could get before domestically-grown, or legal cannabis came to their state.

Nowadays, border patrol agents are intercepting far less cannabis, which can no longer compete with potent pot available at adult-use cannabis retail shops in California, Arizona, and New Mexico, which all border Mexico. 

Tracing back to 2009, you can see a long, steady plunge that shows the weed-smuggling business at the southern U.S-Mexico border is a shadow of what it used to be.

Plunging Cannabis Seizure Statistics at the Border

Agents are finding only a tiny fraction of the pot they used to intercept at the border. According to data published on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website, federal law enforcement agents intercepted a record low 61,000 pounds (27,669 kilos) of cannabis at the southern border in 2023. The total represents a 29 percent decline from 2022 and a 98 percent decline in seizure activity since 2013, when the agency reported interdicting more than 2.4 million pounds of cannabis.

“When it comes to retail cannabis, the prevailing attitude is ‘Buy American,’” said NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano. “The rise of the regulated state-legal cannabis market has not only supplanted Americans’ demand for Mexican cannabis, but in many places it has also disrupted the unregulated domestic marketplace.”

According to survey data compiled by New Frontier Data and published on May 16, 2023, 52 percent of US consumers residing in legal states said that they primarily sourced their cannabis products from brick-and-mortar establishments. By contrast, only 6 percent of respondents said that they primarily purchased cannabis from “a guy” illegally.

What can also be gleaned from the latest U.S. Customs and Border Protection data is that meth is on pace to surpass cannabis as the number one drug found at the border. Meth has already surpassed cannabis at the southwest border as agents found 121,000 pounds of the drug, almost twice as much cannabis found at that border in pounds.

Weed Smuggled the Other Way, From U.S. to Mexico

Mexican cartels have, for the most part, shifted to production of other drugs—namely meth. But in some cases, cartels never stopped growing and infiltrated grow operations in the U.S. including farms in Northern California and Oregon. Trinity County Sheriff Tim Saxon told USA Today in 2023, that cartel activity in the area is high, and sometimes involves human trafficking.

If anything, pot is being smuggled in the other direction more often. High Times reported in 2016 that cannabis is now being smuggled the other way—south of the U.S.-Mexico border.

A report from KPBS suggests that people living in Tijuana with visas or dual citizenship have been driving into California, where weed has been legal for medical purposes for nearly two decades, and smuggling small amounts back home. 

Dr. Raul Palacios, clinical director at the Centro de Integración Juveníl drug rehabilitation facility in Tijuana, told KPBS that many of his patients prefer the high quality of medical cannabis they get in California to the cannabis grown in Mexico because it gets them higher. But he says that since these people have grown accustomed to lower THC levels, California-grown cannabis has a capacity to induce hallucinations and cause paranoia.

The falling numbers show that Americans prefer high-quality lab-tested cannabis versus weed that has to be pressed into bricks and smuggled over the border. The harsh smoke, earthy taste, and tell-tale red eyes have been replaced with lab-tested pot regulated in state industries.

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New Jersey Senator Cory Booker paid a visit to Natura, Sacramento on Monday to take a look at some grow rooms and talk about cannabis.

Senator Booker didn’t have long to talk but he greeted a room full of weed people with a smile and accolations for those who have taken legal and personal risks to pioneer the industry and set the standard for the rest of the states still in the early days of their legal markets.

“We’re in a weird place in our country where we’ve had this prohibition that has lasted for generations that has really punished folks,” Senator Booker said Monday. “I’m from Newark where marijuana enforcement is disproportionately focused on low income people, people of color, people who are suffering, people who are struggling. And we have this perverse reality in America where we have people with criminal convictions who are doing things that presidents and congress people and senators have admitted to doing. The hypocrisy of that is maddening.”

A long time advocate of legal cannabis, Senator Booker recently introduced the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act with Senator Chuck Schumer of New York and Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon. If passed, this bit of legislation would essentially end federal cannabis prohibition by removing cannabis from the list of controlled substances entirely.

“Thousands of people have suffered at the hands of our broken cannabis laws, and the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act would finally dismantle the outdated federal marijuana prohibition, expunge past convictions for people with low-level cannabis offenses, and ensure restorative justice for communities impacted by the War on Drugs,” Senator Booker said in a press release. “These common-sense policies will ensure a more equitable criminal justice system and promote public safety.”

The announcement of the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act came almost directly after an announcement by the DEA to reschedule cannabis from Schedule 1 alongside drugs like heroin and LSD to Schedule 3, alongside drugs like Xanax, Codeine and Ketamine. While rescheduling certainly represents a step forward with regard to the federal laws regarding cannabis, it would not necessarily do anything for people serving prison time for federal cannabis infractions. It’s also unclear how rescheduling would affect existing state cannabis markets, though speculation has run rampant to that end since rescheduling was announced.

The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act contains provisions to create uniform federal regulations for cannabis through the establishment of a federal regulatory commission for cannabis as well as directions for the FDA to establish standards for labeling of cannabis products. The act would also secure additional funding for substance abuse recovery programs, establish grant programs to help individual states combat black market cannabis operations, and direct the Department of Transportation to collect data on cannabis-impaired driving. There are provisions in the act to, among other things, do away with tax burdens on legal cannabis businesses, remove cannabis from federal drug testing, provide automatic expungement for non-violent cannabis crimes, and require various federal agencies to spend money studying cannabis. The bill is co-sponsored by 15 additional Democratic senators and the full text can be found here. 

“It’s past time for the federal government to catch up to the attitudes of the American people when it comes to cannabis,” Leader Schumer said in a press release. “We have more work to do to address decades of over-criminalization, particularly in communities of color, but today’s reintroduction shows the movement is growing, and I will keep working until we achieve meaningful change.”

This is not the first time Senator Booker has attempted to push legislation to decriminalize cannabis production. He said Monday that when he made his first attempt to do so as a congressman, he was laughed at by his fellow senators.

“I’ve been in the trenches on this. When I first got to the senate 11 years ago, I put forth a major piece of legislation called the Marijuana Justice Act, and I’m not joking I literally got laughed at by senators saying that we shouldn’t do that or it’s a career ender to come out like that,” Senator Booker said. “But now the world has changed in over a decade. The red states and blue states all around America, some partisan issue, have come forward and say, no. This is ridiculous. I’ve had law enforcement officers say ‘Gosh, if there was a drug I’d want to ban it would be alcohol not marijuana.’”

Senator Booker’s visit to Natura was brief but served as yet another indicator that the times are a-changing in Washington and cannabis is moving away from its long-time status as the poster child of the drug war and moving toward a much more realistic and less harmful spot in the eyes of our national legislators. Senator Booker expressed his admiration for the people who have been willing to work in the cannabis industry while it goes through its post-prohibition growing pains.

“I came here to, not learn, but connect with these people that are part of a larger movement in America for justice and I’ve just seen that each and every one of you are willing to work in an industry that’s not easy, but also wants to be in a country where freedom’s never been easy,” Senator Booker said. “Justice has never been easy but we need people like us to stand up for it. It’s what makes it possible.”

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After officially legalizing cannabis for adult use in New York, the journey that followed has been fairly tumultuous as multiple roadblocks have delayed shop licensure and hindered the legal industry’s full potential.

A number of lawsuits and a change in gubernatorial leadership delayed dispensary licensure and openings, in turn allowing the illicit market to flourish with those shops drastically outnumbering the amount of legal dispensaries in the state.

As New York growers, business owners and myriad cannabis professionals continue to wait for their licenses to be approved, some New York lawmakers are embracing a different approach (that would likely extend the wait for industry hopefuls even longer).

Namely, Queens Community Board 9 Chairwoman Sherry Algredo argued that New York should refrain from adding any licensed cannabis shops to her district until authorities are able to shut down those operating illegally, according to a New York Post report. Community Board 9 covers the neighborhoods Key Gardens, Richmond Hill, Ozone Park and Woodhaven.

Ongoing Concerns About New York’s Bustling Illicit Weed Market

“The Board received numerous concerns from residents regarding the proliferation of illegal smoke shops already operating in our district and the negative impact these establishments have had on our community,” Algredo said in a recent letter. “Consequently, the Board will not support any new applications until these illegal operations are shut down.”

While Algredo’s statement reads as fairly definitive, the boards’ recommendations are advisory to state regulators, though they can still influence final policy decisions. The law that legalized cannabis in New York also mandates that applicants for cannabis licenses must notify the community board within the vicinity they plan to operate and appear before it prior to opening their businesses.

The conversation surrounding illicit cannabis shops in New York has been ongoing, though Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and other lawmakers have consistently touted their efforts to mitigate theses problems.

In April, the governor unveiled new initiatives aimed to shut down illicit cannabis operations and protect the legal cannabis marketplace. The plan allows the Office of Cannabis Management and local municipalities new authority to take action against illicit shops. 

“Unlicensed dispensaries have littered New York neighborhoods, blatantly circumventing our laws and selling potentially dangerous products,” Hochul said in a statement. “Enough is enough. I promised to protect our communities and hard-working, legal cannabis licensees by expediting the closure of illicit storefronts. I’m proud to stand up and say we got it done.”

Nurturing the Legal Industry While Combating the Illicit One

Last month also marked the opening of the 100th adult-use store in the state. New York legalized adult-use cannabis on March 31, 2021. It also looks like that number should increase soon, as the New York State Cannabis Control Board (CCB) shared last month that it approved an additional 101 adult-use cannabis licenses with more than 400 total approved sites in 2024. 

Conversely, it’s estimated that New York City alone has about 2,000 illicit cannabis stores currently operating.

The state is still working to do what it can to fix the issues with the legal industry rollout. Lawmakers recently passed another resolution that gives the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) the ability to issue provisional licenses, which the CCB hopes will speed up the licensing process. 

“This measure aims to provide provisional license holders with opportunities to begin operations swiftly while adhering to regulatory requirements, fostering a dynamic and competitive marketplace,” the CCB explained.

Still, it’s clear that closing illicit pot shops in the state will not be an easy task. Many illicit shops immediately reopened after raids and temporary shutdown orders under the prior rules, and it’s not yet clear how effective the newly announced laws to close illegal shops will be in practice.

Because of that, closing all illicit shops before allowing new ones to open, even in a single district, may be tougher in reality than in theory. Still, some lawmakers are standing by the need to close unlicensed shops before adding more licensed ones.

“We have 32 illegal cannabis shops. We are not going to entertain any applications for legal cannabis shops until the unlicensed stores are shut down,” CB 9 District Manager James McClelland told The Post.

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Regulated marijuana sales in the United States are expected to exceed $31 billion this year, according to a recent economic forecast from a firm specializing in cannabis and hemp business consulting, data, and economic research. 

The projection from Portland, Oregon-based Whitney Economics estimates that legal sales of medical marijuana and adult-use cannabis will total $31.4 in 2024. The forecasted amount is an increase of $2.6 billion from 2023, representing a growth rate of 9.14% year over year.

The projection notes that legal sales of cannabis have been suppressed since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, citing changes in consumer purchasing power, higher interest rates and delayed implementation of regulations in new markets as challenges facing the industry. Despite these factors, overall cannabis growth has remained positive. Legal cannabis sales declined in 10 states, however, an indication that new markets are needed for the industry to continue to grow.

Beau Whitney, chief economist at Whitney Economics, said that the new projection builds on a similar market analysis completed by the company last year.

“We are quite proud of our predictive analytics that resulted in last year’s forecast versus actuals being 98.3% accurate,” Whitney said in a statement about the new projection. “Although there are uncertainties in the near-term outlook, demand for legal cannabis in the U.S. will remain strong throughout the decade, with growth coming from newer markets.”

Regulatory Changes Needed For Continued Growth

The forecast projecting continued growth of regulated cannabis sales was welcomed by executives in the cannabis industry. Some noted, however, that the industry’s continued growth will depend on regulatory changes that permit cannabis businesses to operate like those in any other sector, including engaging in interstate commerce and access to banking services.

David Craig, chief marketing officer of Missouri licensed cannabis producer Illicit Gardens, said “It should be clear by now that cannabis isn’t going anywhere.”

“If the federal government is going to drag its feet on descheduling, then it’s up for the states to take the lead in removing regulatory hurdles to operators, especially multi-state ones,” Craig wrote in an email. “What most outside the industry don’t realize is the extreme burden operating without uniform standards across legal states.”

“It’s time for a coalition of states to come together and standardize the basics: packaging and labeling requirements, compliance fundamentals, marketing, and other restrictions,” he added. “Operating even in two contiguous states right now is practically the same as operating in two different countries. Resolving those disparities is an easy win for business and government alike.”

Sarah Carter, communications director at Symple Seeds, said that it is “fantastic to see the continued growth of the legal cannabis industry.” 

“This significant increase of $2.6 billion from the previous year underscores the momentum and potential within the market.” Carter wrote in an email to High Times. “However, amidst this success, it’s crucial to acknowledge the persistent challenge of limited access to banking for cannabis businesses. This obstacle not only hinders the industry’s ability to operate efficiently but also poses risks in terms of safety and transparency.”

Legislation that would allow businesses in the regulated cannabis industry to access traditional banking services has been passed in the U.S. House of Representatives more than half a dozen times in recent years. An updated version of the bill, known as the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation Act is pending before the U.S. Senate. In a statement last fall, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said that he intends “to bring the SAFER Banking Act to the Senate floor with all due speed.”

“Addressing this banking issue is paramount for unlocking the full potential of the cannabis sector,” said Carter. “With proper access to banking services, businesses can streamline operations, improve financial transparency, and foster greater investor confidence. Moreover, it would facilitate responsible business practices and compliance with regulatory requirements.”

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New York’s rollout of legal weed shops has been a mess, to say the least. Designed to revolutionize the legal weed marketplace, New York has instead fallen short either by design or outside factors, including numerous lawsuits. 

One of the most significant ripple effects in this series of shortcomings is the immense impact on New York’s licensed growers. Farmers are sitting on one to two seasons worth of product, equaling an estimated 240,000-pound surplus. The situation has become so dire that many New York growers report living on dire straits, with some resorting to selling essential equipment to cover costs. 

New York’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) approved a grower’s showcase in July 2023 to help alleviate the issue. The following month saw the rollout of its first showcase. In total, 48 events took place. Forty-six licensed events are ongoing, providing legal access to New Yorkers—with most open one or more days weekly until the current permit ends on December 31, 2023. A possible extension was in play until recently, and remained undetermined. 

The Manhattan-Brooklyn Experience

New York’s Grower Showcases stretch across the state, from the five boroughs to the Finger Lakes to Buffalo and beyond. Saratoga Springs, a town 40 minutes north of the capital Albany and roughly an hour west from legal weed state Vermont did around $70,000 in sales during its first two days on September 3rd and 5th. The event gained popularity in the ensuing weeks before going on hiatus for a month in October to move indoors. The showcase reopened on November 11. 

Positive sales and foot traffic have been reported across many of the showcases. But that hasn’t been the case at every location. In Manhattan, the Hell’s Kitchen Cannabis Collective, a farmers market inside a retail space, struggled to attract clientele while remaining compliant with state law. With minimal signage options allowed, spotting the HKCC’s side street location among the sea of shops and restaurants was challenging. 

At the same time, it is easy to walk in any direction nearby and find bodegas and unlicensed boof shops selling their unlicensed pot. While the HKCC remains barely noticeable, the illegal competition is out and proud with LED lights, bold signs, and everything else that is synonymous with New York weed shops at this point. HKCC Founder Patrick Conlin told me in early November that the shop made door signs highlighting their licensed status. Otherwise, the shop is limited with legal marketing options. 

“We’re tucked away off the street, which is great for the community board,” said Conlin, who added, “Just putting letters on our door isn’t cutting it.”

When you find the location, it can be a welcome destination for enthusiasts and newcomers alike. Featuring several strains, edibles, and extracts from local small cultivators and producers, shoppers can get an idea of what New York small growers, including many minority-owned ventures practicing organic growing methods, have to offer. The location featured several growers events over the past few months, allowing buyers to interact with the featured cultivators. 

A potential saving grace for the HKCC could be its downstairs event space, which successfully hosted an industry gathering in November. If more events were to occur, the destination could find itself with a needed additional revenue stream. Another standout positive is HKCC’s small but dedicated staff. Speaking more about effects and terp profiles rather than industry sales jargon, the team provided an educated, refreshing tone more legal shops should look into adopting. 

A similar experience took place at Good Grades on Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn. The Black-owned Good Grades was warm in spirit but minimal in shoppers. Granted, it was Wednesday around 11 in the morning when I visited. Like in Manhattan, the limited signage made the shop blend into the string of retail stores along the block. Inside, the dispensary was large with lots of room, filled with a few art pieces and a wall showcasing various iconic hip-hop albums. The sales counter had two friendly, plant-passionate budtenders. When I arrived, an elderly couple and their budtender eagerly swapped edible recipes.

My assigned budtender and I talked about effects and a little about indica and sativa, which I could have done without. I hate hearing about that, but I get why it continues to be used. It’s often easier to explain a rather binary concept than terps or whole plant profiles to a newcomer. And most existing consumers use the terminology, so why rock the boat? That aside, I enjoyed the shop, but it didn’t leave any lasting impressions. Good Grades has since closed its Brooklyn location as part of its soft launch plan, and now operates a Jamaica, Queens location, the first legal dispensary in the borough. 

There was much to enjoy about the Manhattan and Brooklyn growers showcases. But the retail locations and city prices left me feeling underwhelmed and longing for a true farmers market experience. I don’t blame either shop here. They worked within the confines of what they were dealt. 

The price-quality comparison wasn’t ideal. At HKCC, I got two eighths from two different growers for roughly $110 after tax. With the idea being a small business showcase, I naively thought there would be better deals. Maybe that’s on me, but usually, two eighths of long-unsold weed running a similar cost to a fresh half ounce is not going to win over many buyers. But, living in New York City comes at a premium, which applies to weed as well. So, here we are. 

I was excited by the aroma of a Lilac Diesel GMO I picked up. Unfortunately, the smoke was one of the more abrasive on the throat I can remember in recent memory. The Humboldt Headband from Bud + Boro was fine enough. I wish I could’ve tried more, but economic times are tight. The prices were a bit better at Good Grades, and the quality was equal or slightly more enjoyable than my HKCC picks. Two eighths cost a little more than $80 after three rounds of taxes applied. The Trainwreck by Alchemy Pure was fine and got me high with a smooth enough smoke. The Guava Jam from Rolling Green had a pleasant, fruity aroma and smoked well. 

Overall, the Manhattan and Brooklyn showcases felt like a 3 out of 5 star experience, with passionate people and decent enough flower. But city prices, minimal nature in the city, and strict marketing rules made the experience feel more like classic retail than the farmers market I had been hoping to find. 

New Paltz Provides a Refreshing Alternative 

Wanting more of a farmer’s market experience, I turned to New Paltz, a two-hour and change train ride away from New York City. New Paltz was the site of the first legal cannabis grower showcase in August 2023. Numerous New York weed buddies and sources referred the quaint college town to me, with a few essentially calling it the ideal showcase experience. After visiting in November, I largely agree.

Nestled inside the town’s municipal building for the cold months, the showcase featured several tables with numerous brands. Shoppers could buy usual items like flower, pre-rolls, edibles and a small number of concentrates from six or so vendors. Refreshingly, and much like the city showcases, these sellers waxed on more about consuming pot than hawking a brand. 

One of the top standout differences at New Paltz, besides the cool autumn air and nature, was menu transparency. Before even getting to the check-in desk, I was given a two-sided sales sheet featuring all of the products available and taxed and pre-tax prices.

Once outside New York City, the prices decline. That was the case in New Paltz, where several eighths went for $30 pre-tax. The most expensive item I picked up on my $258 tab was a $50 2g hash hole made by Luci. On the low end of the pickups, I snagged two glass pre-filled chillum pipes from Jane West at $10 a piece after tax. Patrick, the veteran behind the sales desk, won me over with his passion for the plant and the idea of picking up two reusable glass pipes for trips. I’m a sucker for reusable packaging. 

When it comes to drawbacks, New Paltz wasn’t without its faults. Like the other showcases, the flower quality varied and didn’t stack up to numerous unlicensed sources. Much of the New Paltz flower was extremely dry, which is sad because some of these strains probably smelled great when they were supposed to hit dispensary shelves. 

Unlike New York City, the price is justified or close to where it should be. A $30 price tag for a dry but still aromatic enough strain of Hella Jelly from Rize isn’t all that bad. Would I pick the $30 Hella Jelly over a fresh Strawberry Jelly from the Bronx’s New Roots Garden for double or more the price? Absolutely not. But after a year of aging on the shelf, Rize’s flower still provided a good smoke and a pleasant flavor. It may not win any Cannabis Cups, but I bet it would satisfy the cannabis curious, newcomers and those without deep understanding of how the plant can taste and smell. Is that ideal? No, but it’s a good intro point to finding fresh bud from these brands or other growers in the future. 

Farmers Showcase is a Solid But Far-From Perfect Effort

The New York Growers Showcase appeared to be a largely successful endeavor. Despite the positive feedback, its future remained in doubt just three weeks until the program’s end date on December 31, 2023. With the showcase always intended to be a stopgap sales pipeline for small state growers, uncertainty grew as the state approved existing medical operators and plans to approve hundreds more applicants in early 2024. The recent news followed New York settling its most glaring court case in late November. The state also opened its application window to non-equity applicants in early October. 

As additional dispensaries hit the market, the need for the grower showcase came further in doubt. But with three weeks left, many advocates, operators and lawmakers hoped to see an extension of some kind. Instead, on December 12, New York’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) announced the program’s termination at the end of 2023. The decision appears to have been abrupt and out of left field, as state Assembly Agriculture Committee Chair and Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo said she had assumed the program would be extended. 

Next steps remain unclear. A compromise with OCM could take place. So too could a state bill, though it’s unclear if Governor Kathy Hochul would sign the measure. While the uncertainty looms, the fate of the thousands of remaining pounds of overstock sit, wasting away. By the time this article posts, some may be on their final days of freshness. And with that overstock dying, I suppose the state could further justify jettisoning the program. 

Whatever happens from here, I hope the state program has a place for some type of farmers market, especially in outdoor communal spaces where people can mingle, smoke and get to know their neighbors and the plant. But after the latest OCM decision, I can’t say I have much faith. I don’t know if it’s OCM or New York politics at-large, but something stinks. It stunk when the state failed the formerly incarcerated. It stunk when the state failed minority applicants. And now it stinks when the state fails the farmers one more time. 

Whether they be OGs, tryhards, chads or whatever, these growers got dealt a bad hand by the state. Then, while gasping for their metaphorical last breaths before drowning, they get thrown a lifeline, only to watch the rescue boat sail away with the inflatable ring skipping across the top of the ocean until fading into the horizon. 

Here’s hoping the future involves legal farmers markets, providing ongoing platforms for New York’s small pot growers and craft enthusiasts. And if not, here’s hoping the underground market continues its similar endeavors. Someone has to do it, right? 

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States that have legalized recreational marijuana use for adults have also seen a drop in mental health treatment admissions, according to newly published research.

The findings, which came in a study published last month in the journal Health Economics, were based on data from ten states that have legalized adult-use cannabis. 

“Recreational marijuana laws (RMLs) continue to grow in popularity, but the effects on mental health treatment are unclear,” wrote Alberto Ortega, a professor at O’Neill School of Public Health at Indiana University and the author of the study.

In the abstract, Ortega said that the study “uses an event-study within a difference-in-differences framework to study the short-run impact of state RMLs on admissions into mental health treatment facilities.” 

“The results indicate that shortly after a state adopts an RML, they experience a decrease in the average number of mental health treatment admissions,” Ortega wrote. “The findings are driven by white, Black, and Medicaid-funded admissions and are consistent for both male and female admissions. The results are robust to alternative specifications and sensitivity analysis.”

Ortega said “there is a clear, immediate, statistically significant decrease in total admissions” after a state adopts recreational marijuana laws, and that the “effect becomes more pronounced as time goes on and remains negative through event year four.”

Overall, Ortega estimates that, in the early years following their passage, recreational marijuana laws “led to a roughly 37% decrease in total mental health treatment admissions or about 92 fewer admissions per 10,000 individuals in a state.”

“The results are driven by those under 65, Black, and white individuals. There is also a significant decrease in Medicaid-funded treatment admissions, with a much smaller statistically insignificant effect for non-Medicaid admissions,” he said.

The findings, though compelling, do also present a mystery. 

“Due to data limitations, it is difficult to identify the mechanisms leading to the decrease in mental health treatment found above,” Ortega acknowledged. “One possibility is that [recreational marijuana laws] increase marijuana use and that this improves mental health.”

Another possibility, Ortega said, was “that individuals needing mental health treatment can more readily substitute or self-medicate with marijuana, post-[recreational marijuana law].”

Researchers continue to track the effects of marijuana legalization in the United States, a trend that is still in its historical infancy.

A policy paper released last year found that youth marijuana consumption had not seen an increase in states that ended pot prohibition.

In May, a survey found that more than half of marijuana consumers in legal states got their pot from the store.

The findings, which came from a research firm called New Frontier Data, showed that “52% of current consumers say their primary source is a brick-and-mortar dispensary and only 6% say their primary source is a dealer” in states that have legalized adult-use pot.

According to the survey, “43% of [all] current consumers say that a brick-and-mortar dispensary is their primary source of cannabis, compared to 34% in 2022.” Ten percent of current weed consumers said “their primary source is a dealer, down from 13% in 2022,” the survey said.

“Interestingly, 29% of current consumers in illicit markets say that their primary source is also a brick-and-mortar dispensary compared to 17% who say they use dealers. This means that, even in illicit markets, consumers are travelling (sic) across state lines to obtain cannabis from a regulated source, as 42% of consumers say they have sourced cannabis from out of state,” said Dr. Amanda Reiman, the chief knowledge officer at New Frontier Data.

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Cannabis sales in Arizona exceeded $1 billion dollars in 2022 as the state’s recreational marijuana market experienced strong growth in its second year of sales. Total weed sales came to $1.4 billion last year, according to data from the Arizona Department of Revenue, an amount roughly equal to the cannabis sales recorded in 2021.

Adult-use cannabis sales for 2022 reached $950 million, soaring to 70% of the state’s total marijuana sales for the year. Sales of medical marijuana were down significantly over the previous year, however, dropping to just over $500 million in 2022. 

Arizona’s recreational marijuana retailers closed 2022 with the strongest month of the year in December, ringing up about $86.6 in adult-use cannabis sales, up slightly from the $85.8 million recorded the month before. Sales of medical marijuana continued the downward trajectory prompted by the legalization of recreational cannabis, dropping slightly from $31.9 million in November to $31.1 million for the last month of 2022.

Arizona legalized recreational marijuana in 2020 with the passage of Proposition 207. Known as the Smart and Safe Act, the ballot measure was approved by 60% of the state’s voters. Licensed sales of recreational marijuana began in the state on January 21, 2021, less than three months after the ballot measure succeeded at the polls.

A separate ballot measure, Proposition 203, legalized the medicinal use of cannabis in Arizona in 2010 with just over 50% of the vote. The first licensed medical marijuana dispensary in the state began serving patients on December 6, 2012. Combined, the state’s medical marijuana and adult-use cannabis retailers have sold a total of $2.9 billion since recreational marijuana sales began two years ago.

More Reforms Still Needed in Arizona

Cannabis advocates in Arizona say that the state has made significant strides in reforming the state’s marijuana policy. But while sales have been strong the first two years of recreational marijuana sales, continued reform at the state and federal levels will be needed for the cannabis industry to become a major contributor to the state’s economy.

“We don’t see SWAT teams busting in the doors of dispensaries,” Aaron Smith, CEO of the National Cannabis Industry Association, said late last year. “But we do have problems with not being able to take tax deductions like a normal industry, or being able to have interstate commerce, which really creates a barrier to entry for a lot of folks.”

Despite the challenges, Smith says that Arizona is becoming a model for successfully transitioning to a regulated cannabis economy.

“Cannabis is used across demographics, boomers and millennials, and Gen Z, people over 21 are using responsibly and we’re glad to see that,” Smith said. “Arizona law is by and large working well.”

Legal Weed Brings New Tax Revenue

The legalization of cannabis has marked the creation of a new stream of tax revenue for the state’s coffers in Arizona. Tax revenue in December alone totaled nearly $23 million, bringing the total marijuana taxes collected by the state in 2022 to almost $270 million.

The state collects a 16% tax on recreational marijuana sales in addition to approximately 6% in sales tax. Medical marijuana patients pay only sales tax on their cannabis purchases. Local jurisdictions add additional taxes of about 2% to marijuana sales.

About a third of cannabis tax revenue collected in Arizona is reserved for community college and provisional community college districts, while 31% is dedicated to police, fire departments, fire districts and other first responders. A quarter of state marijuana taxes go to the Arizona Highway User Revenue Fund, while 10% is reserved for the justice reinvestment fund, which supports public health services, counseling, job training and other social services for communities that have been adversely affected and disproportionately impacted by decades of marijuana prohibition.

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In a surprising twist, legal cannabis sales went live in Missouri on Friday, with state regulators issuing retail licenses days earlier than expected. 

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that industry expectations “had been that the licenses required to sell non-medical cannabis would not be issued by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services until Monday … the department threw a curve Thursday afternoon, announcing that it would issue licenses on Friday to the dispensaries that qualified for them.”

And receipt of a license means that a dispensary can begin selling to customers right away.

“Recreational-use marijuana will initially be sold only at already-existing medical-use dispensaries. State health department spokeswoman Lisa Cox said at least 170 of these dispensaries statewide are eligible for licenses Friday, which will be given to any store in good standing with the department,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

“Good standing means the license is not suspended, revoked, or otherwise inactive at the time the request is made,” Cox said, as quoted by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Voters in Missouri legalized recreational cannabis for adults when they approved Amendment 3 in last year’s election by a vote of 53% to 47%. 

The amendment changed the state constitution to permit the sale, possession, consumption, delivery, and manufacturing of marijuana. As in other states that have ended the prohibition on pot, Missouri’s new cannabis law also includes a social justice component enabling individuals who have been previously convicted of a pot-related offense to have their records expunged. 

The amendment was formally added to the Missouri constitution in December. 

Since its passage by voters in November, regulators with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services have been finalizing rules for the new legal cannabis market. 

Last month, the department said that rules “were filed today for Missouri’s adult-use cannabis program with the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office, making program rules effective on Feb. 3.”

“Per Missouri voter-approved Amendment 3, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) is the agency assigned with regulatory authority over the program just as it has led the state’s medical marijuana program since 2018. The Division of Cannabis Regulation within DHSS has published three sets of draft rules to gather public feedback since the amendment passed in November 2022,” the department said in a bulletin last month. 

“Once rules are effective, DHSS will begin approving or denying requests from licensed medical marijuana facilities to convert to comprehensive facilities, which can serve both medical and adult-use consumers. After conversion, sales to adult-use consumers may begin as soon as comprehensive dispensary facilities are ready to commence operating under their new authority. Also per Amendment 3 to Article XIV, DHSS will begin accepting applications for consumer personal cultivation by Feb. 6. Once approved, this will allow authorized persons, who are at least 21 years of age, to grow plants for personal, non-commercial use within an enclosed locked facility at their residence.”

In some ways, getting Amendment 3 on last November’s ballot represented an achievement. As the deadline approached for signatures, there were growing doubts that the group pushing the amendment, Legal Missouri 2022, would meet the threshold. 

But in August, much to the relief of advocates, Missouri’s secretary of state announced that Amendment 3 had indeed qualified for the ballot.

“Our statewide coalition of activists, business owners, medical marijuana patients and criminal justice reform advocates has worked tirelessly to reach this point, and deserves all the credit,” John Payne, campaign manager of Legal Missouri 2022, said after the amendment qualified. “Our campaign volunteers collected 100,000 signatures, on top of paid signature collection. That outpouring of grassroots support among Missourians who want to legalize, tax and regulate cannabis made all the difference. We look forward to engaging with voters across the state in the coming weeks and months. Missourians are more than ready to end the senseless and costly prohibition of marijuana.”

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Italy is turning to its military to help make its legal medical marijuana program self-sufficient. 

DefenseNews reports that the Italian army intends to produce “700 kilograms (1,543 pounds) of top-grade cannabis to cover nearly half of the 1,500 kilograms (3,307 pounds) required annually in the country for those in need of pain relief, such as people with cancer or Parkinson’s disease.” 

“The next step is self-sufficiency — that’s our ambition,” Nicola Latorre, who leads the Italian agency overseeing the operation, told DefenseNews.

According to the outlet, Italy imports cannabis that is not grown by the army from Holland, Canada, Denmark and Germany, but that the military is “ramping up at an anonymous-looking Army facility on the edge of Florence.”

DefenseNews explains that the facility near Florence was opened in 2014 and it “managed 50 kilograms in 2020 before rising to 300 kilograms in 2022.” 

In order to meet its goal of roughly 1,500 pounds in 2023, “technicians are perfecting lighting, watering, temperature and ventilation, and they are using a blend of secret nutrients developed in-house that are mixed in with the hydroponic irrigation.” 

The Italian army’s role in medical cannabis production is nothing new. 

The country announced back in 2014 that “the army would help increase the production of medical marijuana, with the first secure growing facility unveiled in Florence” in April of 2015, according to The Independent. 

The Independent reported in 2016 that the country’s army began “growing large crops of cannabis in order to force the price of the drug down to about €8 per gram.” 

“It is hoped the sterile chamber [in Florence] will produce up to 100kg of cannabis every year, strictly for use by cancer patients, multiple sclerosis sufferers and those with other medical conditions which could be alleviated by the drug,” The Independent reported at the time. 

Colonel Antonio Medica, who was overseeing the cannabis production by the Italian army, said that “the army had been entrusted with the task due to the guarantee of tight security and because it has been involved in pharmaceutical matters since the 1800s, providing medicines and treatments for injured soldiers.”

Italy legalized medical cannabis nearly a decade ago, but it has long depended on imports of the crop in order to satisfy the demand within its borders. 

Col. Gabriele Picchioni, who is overseeing the cannabis facility in Florence for the Italian Army, told DefenseNews that the lab “aims to produce cannabis-infused olive oil, which users can take in drop form.” 

“What we can do in Florence is produce a highly standardized product so the dosage is unvaried, at the same price as we are now paying for imports,” Picchioni said. 

The reasons for tasking the country’s army with the cannabis production are two-fold: “to produce cannabis at a secure facility, and because the armed service has been in the pharmaceutical business for decades, turning out chemical warfare antidotes and malaria pills for soldiers.”

The army also “manufactures so-called orphan drugs — medicines for rare diseases or conditions that big companies ignore because of the low production rates,” making “four such drugs to supply 3,000 people in Italy.”

“As cannabis production ramps up, the Army has registered two types of marijuana it harvests as brands: FM1 and FM2, which stand for ‘Farmaceutico Militare’ (or ‘Military Pharmaceutical’ in English). Each contains a different level of tetrahydrocannabinol, the compound that gives pot its high,” DefenseNews said.

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Meet four of New York’s first weed store owners, and learn why the state called them the cream of the crop among 900 license applicants.

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