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New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham expressed frustration with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a recent phone call with an unidentified federal official, saying she was “offended” by his response to seizures of weed from licensed marijuana companies. 

At least a dozen seizures of regulated cannabis by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents have been reported at immigration checkpoints in southern New Mexico in recent weeks, despite the 2021 legalization of recreational marijuana in the state. Under federal law, CBD is authorized to establish immigration checkpoints within 100 miles of the border with Mexico.

Last week, Lujan Grisham’s director of communications Michael Coleman reported that the governor recently raised the issue with Mayorkas to help protect New Mexico’s regulated cannabis industry, which has already generated more than $1 billion in sales.

“During the conversation, the governor noted that industry operators in border states where cannabis is legal appear to be at greater risk of scrutiny and arrest by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents than those in non-border states that have legalized cannabis,” Coleman wrote in an email statement about the encounter between the two officials, according to a report from KRQE television news. 

“Secretary Mayorkas assured the governor that federal policies with respect to legalized cannabis have not changed,” Coleman continued. “Regardless, the governor and her administration are working on a strategy to protect New Mexico’s cannabis industry.”

Governor ‘Offended’ by Mayorkas’ Response

After the conversation with Mayorkas, Lujan Grisham told an unidentified federal official in a telephone call that she was unhappy with the secretary’s response to her concerns, according to a recording of the call made by an unidentified third party and posted to X by Tore Maras, who runs the website “Tore Says.”

In the recording, which Politico confirmed is authentic, the governor said that she was concerned about the seizures from licensed cannabis companies and felt “boxed in” by the federal government’s actions.

“The secretary said to me, just so you know: ‘Who cares? They make a lot of money,’” Lujan Grisham tells the official, according to a report from Politico. “I thought that was really inappropriate.”

“Well, first of all, it’s patients’ medicine,” the Democratic governor tells the unidentified official about the reported reply from Mayorkas. “So, I was really offended by that. Shame on him.”

“If [small producers] lose a load, their business goes belly up. I thought that was really inappropriate,” she added.

As the recording ends, Lujan Grisham says that she has so far “held off the press,” adding that she “can’t have” stories referring to her as “feckless” and is not willing “to let Biden walk all over” her.

“Either you have to adjust it or I have to send you a letter saying you’re persecuting the states, you are not using your discretion, you’re not working with me on immigration,” Lujan Grisham said. “And I don’t want to send that letter, but I’m boxed in.”

Despite the legality of cannabis at the state level, CBP officials note that marijuana is still illegal under federal drug laws.

“Consequently, individuals violating the Controlled Substances Act encountered while crossing the border, arriving at a U.S. port of entry, or at a Border Patrol checkpoint may be deemed inadmissible and/or subject to seizures, fines, and/or arrest,” a CBP spokesperson told Politico.

Governor’s Office Confirms Recording Is Real

The governor’s office also confirmed the authenticity of the recording in a statement to Newsweek, saying that the conversation was with a “high-level federal administration official,” without specifying for which agency.

“This unauthorized and edited recording of the governor’s private phone call reflects what she has already said publicly—that she is frustrated by federal seizures of licensed cannabis products in New Mexico, particularly those from small producers,” Coleman told Newsweek. “She has expressed the same concerns in phone calls with Secretary Mayorkas.”

The seizures of regulated cannabis from New Mexico operators are raising concerns throughout the regulated industry, even beyond the state’s borders. David Craig, chief marketing officer at Missouri licensed cannabis company Illicit Gardens, challenged the legitimacy of targeted seizures.

“Selective enforcement is counter to state laws and state constitutional provisions protecting the cannabis industry,” Craig wrote in an email to High Times. “Can you imagine any other legal industry in the US having its goods seized by the government without cause? It’s out of the question. Even with the great strides the US has made on cannabis over the last several years, unauthorized federal seizures and targeting blatantly contradictory to state law remain a constant fear for cannabis operators of any size.”

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The New Hampshire House of Representatives voted last week to approve a bill to legalize recreational marijuana, marking the second time the chamber has passed the legislation. Members of the House voted 239-136 on Thursday to pass the measure, House Bill 1633 (HB1633), which would legalize pot for adults and set the stage for tightly regulated cannabis sales.

Bills with financial elements must be passed twice under New Hampshire state law. The first time the marijuana legalization measure was up for a vote in February, the chamber advanced the bill by a vote of 239-14. The bill was then sent to the House Financial Committee so the panel could consider the financial elements of the proposal.

On April 2, the Financial Committee voted 19-6 to recommend passage of a revised version of the legislation. Democratic Representative Chuck Grassie wrote a statement in support of the bill.

“The legalization of cannabis will move production and sales from the underground, sometimes dangerous, illicit market to legal businesses, allowing for appropriate regulations and control,” he said at the time, the Concord Monitor reported.

Before the vote on Thursday, Republican state Representative Erica Layon, the sponsor of the measure, called on her colleagues in the House to pass the bill. She argued that many people in New Hampshire already have access to marijuana, either by growing their own, purchasing it in other states, or buying weed from the unregulated market. New Hampshire is an outlier in New England, being the only state in the region that has not yet legalized cannabis for adults.

“What this bill would change is that you could have regulated, tested products that are free of contaminants and are not mixed with other drugs,” Layon said, according to a separate report from the Concord Monitor.

Bill Permits 15 Pot Shops Statewide

If passed by the state Senate and signed into law by Republican Governor Chris Sununu, the bill would legalize marijuana for adults aged 21 and older, who would be permitted to possess up to four ounces of weed. The measure also legalizes the commercial production and sale of cannabis products under a tightly regulated model overseen by the New Hampshire Liquor Commission. The bill only allows for 15 retail cannabis dispensaries to operate statewide to serve a population of nearly 1.4 million people.

Opponents of the bill argued that marijuana legalization would harm young people, pose a safety risk on the state’s roadways and would not reduce unregulated sales of weed. Supporters of the arguments countered that such outcomes have not been documented in states that have legalized recreational weed.

Republican Representative Kenneth Weyler encouraged his fellow representatives to vote “no” on the bill, saying that other states that have legalized cannabis have had public safety issues after the reforms were enacted.

“We now have the examples of many other states that have legalized this substance over the past few years,” he said. “Have any of them bragged about how much money they made? Have any of them seen a reduction in petty crime?”

Bill Now Heads to State Senate

Following its passage in the House last week, HB 1633 now heads to the New Hampshire Senate for consideration by a legislative committee and the full body. If the Senate passes the bill, it will head to Sununu for consideration. 

After years of opposition to legalizing recreational weed, the governor said last year he would sign a bill that does so in a tightly controlled manner. However, the legislation does not fulfill the conditions he set at the time, including a proposal that would only allow cannabis sales at state-run dispensaries. If Sununu gets the bill, he will have the option of vetoing the legislation or signing it into law.

Cannabis policy advocates hailed the House’s passage of the recreational marijuana bill by lawmakers in the Granite State. Jen Flanagan, director of regulatory policy for cannabis and psychedelics law firm Vicente LLP, said she gives “the New Hampshire House of Representatives a lot of credit for their hard work in passing the adult-use cannabis legalization legislation.”

“As with every other state that has legalized cannabis, New Hampshire must work out the details that work for their state and I hope the Senate takes this opportunity to see that safe and legal products are best for the public health and public safety of communities,” Flanagan wrote in an email to High Times.

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Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro this week called on state lawmakers to legalize and regulate recreational marijuana, saying “It’s time to catch up” with neighboring states that have already taken the step. The governor made his plea on Tuesday during an annual budget address to unveil a $48.3 billion spending plan for the state.

“I ask you to come together and send to my desk a bill that legalizes marijuana,” Shapiro told state lawmakers in his address. “But that bill should ensure the industry is regulated and taxed responsibly.”

Although the Democratic governor’s budget proposal does not include a specific cannabis legalization plan, it does call on lawmakers to pass a 20% tax on recreational marijuana. The proposal assumes a January 2025 start date for adult-use cannabis sales and estimates that the state would bring in $14.8 million in tax revenue during the first year. Shapiro added that he expects Pennsylvania’s taxes on recreational marijuana to increase to approximately $250 million per year once the regulated industry is firmly established.

“We’re losing out on an industry that, once fully implemented, would bring in more than $250 million in annual revenue,” Shapiro said. “And our failure to legalize and regulate this only fuels the black market and drains much-needed resources for law enforcement. It’s time to catch up.”

In a written explanation of the $48.3 billion state budget, Shapiro administration officials wrote that some tax revenue from the regulated adult-use cannabis industry should be used for “restorative justice initiatives” to address decades of inequities in the enforcement of marijuana prohibition laws. Among the initiatives, the governor specifically called on lawmakers to pass legislation to expunge the records of those convicted of possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Additional funds from the state’s adult-use cannabis program would go to the Department of Agriculture and the Pennsylvania State Police. The remaining revenue would be directed to the state’s general fund.

Most Pennsylvania Voters Support Legalizing Weed

In his address, the governor noted that legalizing adult-use cannabis is supported by a majority of Pennsylvania voters and that five out of six of the Keystone State’s neighbors have already ended the prohibition of marijuana for adults.

“Last year, 57 percent of voters in Ohio supported an initiative to legalize recreational marijuana,” Shapiro said. “And now, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland – practically all of our neighbors – have legalized marijuana.”

Ben Kovler, Founder, CEO and chairman at Green Thumb Industries, a multistate cannabis company that operates 18 RISE medical marijuana dispensaries in Pennsylvania, praised Shapiro’s plan to legalize adult-use cannabis.

“We applaud Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro for prioritizing adult-use cannabis legalization this year, including a clear, definitive launch date for sales. This call for change signals continued progress in the Northeast toward ending Prohibition 2.0 and the devastating impact it has inflicted on communities,” Kovler said in a statement to High Times. “The team at Green Thumb is ready to support the people of Pennsylvania on their journey to well-being by providing access to safe, high-quality cannabis.”

Pennsylvania legalized the medicinal use of cannabis in 2016 with the passage of the Medical Marijuana Act. Under the state program, patients with one or more specified serious medical conditions are allowed to purchase and use medical marijuana. Qualifying conditions for the use of medical marijuana in Pennsylvania include cancer, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, terminal illness and others.

A total of 134 licensed medical marijuana dispensaries were in operation as of last year, according to state data. Since the program’s inception, more than 1.3 million patients have been certified as medical marijuana patients in Pennsylvania, Spotlight PA reported in December.

Legalizing recreational marijuana is popular with some lawmakers in Pennsylvania, especially among Democrats. In December, Democratic Senator Sharif Street and Senator Camera Bartolotta, a Republican, introduced bipartisan legislation to legalize adult-use cannabis.

Getting the bill through the Pennsylvania Senate, however, may prove difficult. Senator Kim Ward, the Senate majority leader, has said she will not support the legalization of recreational marijuana until the federal government ends cannabis prohibition, according to a report from PA Spotlight.

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Aspiring entrepreneurs and workers in Ohio’s upcoming legal recreational marijuana market have a new path to success with the launch of cannabis certification courses at Kent State University. Designed to give students a solid educational footing in the ins and outs of regulated adult-use cannabis, the first classes in Kent State’s cannabis certification program began this month.

Ohio voters legalized recreational marijuana late last year with the passage of Question 2, a ballot measure that passed with 57% of the vote. State lawmakers are currently debating how and when adult-use cannabis sales will begin in the state, with some legislators calling for a quick launch of recreational weed sales at existing medical marijuana dispensaries.

Kent State is offering the new cannabis certification program to prepare workers and potential business owners to fill job openings and open new businesses as the industry expands to serve a recreational market. The program was developed in collaboration with Green Flower, a California-based company that specializes in developing cannabis education programs. 

“This is an important opportunity for Kent State University to collaborate with a recognized private education provider for training related to the emerging cannabis industry,” Peggy Shadduck, Kent State’s vice president for regional campuses and dean of the College of Applied and Technical Studies, said in a statement from the university. “These on-demand online certificate programs will enable individuals to develop specialized knowledge and skills related to the cannabis industry at their own pace.”

“Trained professionals are needed to fill the jobs that are being created now and that will be created in the future,” Shadduck added.

Kent State’s cannabis training includes four different non-credit certification programs, each consisting of about six months of instruction. All classes are asynchronous and held online.

The Cannabis Healthcare and Medicine Certificate educates healthcare professionals and retail workers so that they can give accurate and helpful information to medical marijuana patients. The Cannabis Agriculture and Horticulture Certificate trainers students who wish to gain employment in weed cultivation.

The Business of Cannabis Certificate gives aspiring business owners and employees knowledge about the particulars of operating an enterprise in the regulated cannabis industry. The Cannabis Compliance and Risk Management Certificate is designed to train regulatory compliance professionals, who are responsible for ensuring businesses follow all relevant laws and regulations. Each program costs $2,950, with enrollment in the programs available online.

Students who complete the program will receive a digital certificate and badge, as well as membership in a cannabis industry employer network. Benefits of membership in the network include virtual career events, priority for new job postings, and other networking opportunities, according to a release from the university cited by the Akron Beacon Journal. 

Ohio’s Growing Weed Industry

Ohio’s medical marijuana program currently has about 179,000 patients, according to data from state cannabis regulators. According to the Vangst 2023 Jobs Report, which tracks cannabis industry employment trends by state and nationwide, Ohio’s legal medical marijuana industry grew by 24% last year, creating more than 1,300 new jobs in the state.

“Even before legalization even took place, Kent State said this is an industry they wanted to help develop the new workforce,” said Max Simon, CEO of Green Flower.

“If you want to play a role as an entrepreneur, a manager, or if you want to play a role servicing these businesses,” Simon told local news media. “I think the timing is perfect for this Kent State program. It’s six months, entirely online. And they will allow people to have an enormous leg up when this industry shapes up, which is planned for next summer.”

Daniel Kalef, chief growth officer at Green Flower, said Kent State is one of the first nonprofit universities in Ohio to offer a cannabis certification program.

“There’s been a tremendous response already,” he said. “More than 40 students have enrolled already after launching two weeks ago. We talked to a lot of schools. Kent State was tremendous. They understood it could be controversial, but they understood the need in the industry.”

Kalef noted that with cannabis still a federally illegal substance, businesses are not allowed to order products produced outside of Ohio. Because of the ban on interstate cannabis commerce, production availability and selection may be limited when the regulated recreational market opens in the state.

“If I sell anything in a dispensary in Ohio, I have to have everything grown and made in Ohio,” he said. “I can’t get marijuana from Kentucky or gummies from Illinois. … It’s a complicated process to take a plant to turn it into something else.”

Last year’s passage of Question 2 made Ohio the 24th state to legalize recreational marijuana for adults. And as more states take the same step, the regulated cannabis industry will continue to grow.

“There are over half a million people working in legal cannabis today [nationwide],” Kalef said. “With the state of Ohio, this will grow even more.”

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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine last week called on state lawmakers to pass legislation to ban hemp products with psychotropic cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC, saying that the intoxicating products pose a risk to children. The legislature reconvenes this month, with lawmakers already planning to consider new legislation to regulate recreational marijuana, which was legalized by the state’s voters in November. 

The House of Representatives is expected to return to the Ohio Statehouse on Wednesday, two weeks earlier than planned. The Senate will also return to session later this month, with cannabis regulation one of the top priorities for the state’s lawmakers.

Ohio voters legalized recreational marijuana with the passage of Question 2 in the 2023 off-year election. The initiative legalizes cannabis for use by adults and sets the stage for regulated sales of recreational marijuana.

The legislature’s Republican majority is planning to pass legislation to more closely regulate adult-use cannabis in the state. And at a press conference on January 3, the Republican governor called on lawmakers to pass legislation banning intoxicating hemp products including delta-8 THC and hemp-derived delta-9 THC, the cannabinoid largely responsible for the “high” experienced when smoking marijuana. 

“It is intoxicating, it is something that needs to be banned, and again, the legislature could ban it,” DeWine said in a statement cited by local media. “These hemp products can be sold anywhere in the state of Ohio, and we have no jurisdiction, we have no laws to prohibit that, we can do absolutely nothing.”

DeWine and GOP leaders in the legislature had originally hoped to pass a bill restricting some provisions of Question 2 before the initiative went into effect on December 7. After failing to reach a consensus, however, lawmakers delayed work on the legislation until the new legislative session. 

House Reconvenes This Week

The House is returning early to attempt to override DeWine’s veto of a bill limiting gender-affirming healthcare for children. In his remarks last week, the governor said the early return would allow lawmakers to revisit cannabis regulation, noting that he is concerned the lack of regulation will encourage unregulated marijuana sales. 

“I will just say that since the house is coming back next week, this might be a good time to take up and deal again, something they did not do, which is to deal with the marijuana issue,” said DeWine. “We still have a situation in Ohio every single day where people can use marijuana, they can possess marijuana, they can even plant marijuana, grow it, but they can’t buy the seeds, legally they can’t buy marijuana.”

The governor added that if the House is unable to pass legislation to regulate marijuana, he hopes that lawmakers will shift their focus to regulating intoxicating hemp products.

“At the very least, if they can’t do that, I would hope they can deal with something that is very real across the state of Ohio and that is intoxicating hemp,” said DeWine. “I can take you, if you drive from here to the governor’s residence, we can take you to a place right there where kids, 12, 13, 14, any age can walk in and buy it.”

Republican Senator Huffman is currently working on a bill to regulate intoxicating hemp products that is based on language contained in the state Senate’s proposal to regulate marijuana. Huffman said he wants to ensure that the legislation is balanced with concerns from the state’s hemp retailers, who say that a bill that is too restrictive could harm the industry. 

“There are some really good CBD products out there, but there’s others that are manufactured in a way that are intoxicating and not safe,” Huffman said in an interview with Statehouse News Bureau, noting that language in a state budget proposal to regulate delta-8 THC and delta-9 THC was removed from the proposal last summer.

In his comments last week, DeWine acknowledged Huffman’s efforts, noting that it might take a separate hemp cannabinoid regulation bill to pass muster with lawmakers in the state House of Representatives.

“I know that the House has said they don’t want to take up marijuana in the same bill that they do intoxicating hemp,” said DeWine. “So, what Senator Huffman has started to do, and I just want to congratulate him and thank him for that, he is now drafting a separate bill.”

The governor emphasized that state lawmakers should move quickly on regulating hemp cannabinoids in the interest of protecting children in Ohio.

“If we want to talk about protecting kids, dealing with intoxicating hemp is something we need to deal with,” the governor said.

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Rep. Chuck Edwards, who represents a district in western North Carolina, unveiled the “Stop Pot Act” on Friday, saying that the bill “will withhold 10 percent of federal highway funds for governments that violate federal law under the Controlled Substances Act, which prohibits recreational marijuana and classifies it as a Schedule I drug.”

The legislation “does not apply to jurisdictions that authorize medical use of marijuana when prescribed by a licensed medical professional,” the congressman’s office said in a press release.

“The laws of any government should not infringe on the overall laws of our nation, and federal funds should not be awarded to jurisdictions that willfully ignore federal law,” Edwards said in a statement.

“During a time when our communities are seeing unprecedented crime, drug addiction, and mental illness, the Stop Pot Act will help prevent even greater access to drugs and ease the strain placed on our local law enforcement and mental health professionals who are already stretched thin.”

Edwards’ bill is being introduced amid a sea-change in marijuana policy across the United States. Twenty-three states have legalized recreational cannabis for adults. Recreational pot has also been made legal in the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. As local news station ABC11 reported, Edwards’ bill also “comes as the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is set for a referendum election next week that has a question about whether to legalize the sale and use of recreational marijuana on tribal lands.”

If the referendum passes when the vote is held on Thursday, “the Qualla Boundary will be the only place in North Carolina to buy marijuana legally for recreational use,” Edwards’ office said.

But marijuana remains illegal on the federal level due to its status under the Controlled Substances Act.

In the press release for the bill on Friday, Edwards’ office noted that the measure has been endorsed by “Smart Approaches to Marijuana Action,” a coalition that aims to create a society “where marijuana policies are aligned with the scientific understanding of marijuana’s harms, and the commercialization and normalization of marijuana are no more,” and the Christian Action League.

“Today’s marijuana isn’t Woodstock Weed. It is a highly engineered drug that’s often wrapped in kid-friendly packaging, with potencies of up to 99 percent. The legalization movement has worsened America’s mental health and addiction crisis by preying on communities of color and young people. Today’s commercial marijuana products are associated with depression, suicidality, IQ loss and most recently psychosis and schizophrenia, especially for young people,” Smart Approaches president and CEO Dr. Kevin Sabet said in a statement.

“Federal law is clear – sales of marijuana and THC drugs are illegal. Congressman Edwards’ ‘Stop Pot Act’ holds states accountable for violating federal law and undermining the authority of the FDA and the DEA. In states across the country, we’ve seen marijuana and THC drug legalization lead to increases in marijuana-related driving crashes and deaths. As CBS News reported just today, a recent study found that in states where cannabis is legal, cannabis-related DUIs happen 32 percent more than in states where the drugs are not legal. By following the model used to raise the legal drinking age to 21 and making highway funding conditional upon responsible marijuana policy, this bill will improve roadway safety. That’s good news for everyone.”

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians have been preparing for a multi-million dollar dispensary for months, although the project has hit snags along the way.

In May, Richard Sneed, the principal chief of the tribe, said that he “vetoed the Tribal Council’s recent approval of the final $64 million for the project because the original proposal said the entire project would be completed for $50 million.”

“The fact that this project’s original cost for an outdoor grow, an indoor grow and an indoor dispensary was $50m, and we are now being told it is $95m, demonstrates that there is an immediate need for a full accounting of the money that has been expended to date,” Sneed wrote in a Facebook post at the time.

The tribe has been working to convert an old bingo hall into a marijuana superstore, which would be the only dispensary (medical or recreational) in the state of North Carolina.

Last fall, the tribe announced that it was beginning to grow its inaugural cannabis crop after a 2021 vote to legalize medical marijuana on its land.

“The Council’s approval of a medical marijuana ordinance is a testament to the changing attitudes toward legal marijuana and a recognition of the growing body of evidence that supports cannabis as medicine, particularly for those with debilitating conditions like cancer and chronic pain,” Sneed said in 2021 following the vote.

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The US Open is not played on grass, but there was apparently still plenty of green on Monday as the year’s final tennis grand slam began in New York. 

On the women’s side, the eighth-seeded Maria Sakkari lost in an opening round upset to the unseeded Spaniard Rebeka Masarova in straight sets –– a match that the Greek Sakkari let slip away.

Leading 4-1 over Masarova in the first set, Sakkari reportedly complained to the chair umpire about a distinct smell that lingered over the court.

“It was weed,” Sakkari said after the match, as quoted by the Associated Press.

Sakkari never won another game in that set, ultimately losing in straights, 6-4, 6-4, to Masarova.

“The smell, oh my gosh,” Sakkari said. “I think it’s from the park.”

The US Open, held annually in Flushing, Queens, unfolds in a very different setting than most tennis tournaments. Nearby subway trains can be clearly heard inside the venues, and the area –– also home to the New York Mets’ stadium and a park –– attracts plenty of revelers. 

Since 2021, when recreational marijuana was legalized in New York, the familiar odor of cannabis has also become part of the US Open experience. 

At last year’s Open, Australian men’s player Nick Kyrgios also noted the aroma during his second-round match.

“You don’t want to remind anyone not to do it or anything?” Kyrgios said to the umpire in the match, which he won in four sets.

After the match, Kyrgios said that the smell is a hindrance for him on the court.

“People don’t know that I’m a heavy asthmatic so when I’m running side to side and struggling to breathe already, it’s probably not something I want to be breathing in between points,” Kyrgios said at the time.

CNN reported at the time that the umpire in Kyrgios’ match “reminded fans to refrain from smoking around the court as play got back underway.”

Sakkari, for her part, did not have many complaints about the smell, and downplayed its role in her loss on Monday.

“You don’t really think about it, because all you care is just to win the match,” Sakkari said, as quoted by the Associated Press. “I smelled it, but that was it. Like, it wasn’t something that I paid attention to.”

“Sometimes you smell food, sometimes you smell cigarettes, sometimes you smell weed,” she added. “I mean, it’s something we cannot control, because we’re in an open space. There’s a park behind. People can do whatever they want.”

The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, which plays host to the US Open every year, has a strict policy against smoking on the grounds.

“Refrain from smoking, as this is a smoke free environment,”  reads the venue’s code of conduct.

Adult-use marijuana was made legal in the Empire State in 2021, when then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill into law ending the prohibition. The law immediately enabled adults aged 21 and older to toke up wherever smoking is prohibited. 

But Cuomo’s successor, current New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, signed a bill into law last year that limits where New Yorkers can get high.

The bill explicitly prohibited smoking “in all state-owned beaches, boardwalks, marinas, playgrounds, recreation centers, and group camps.” 

“Smoking is a dangerous habit that affects not only the smoker but everyone around them, including families and children enjoying our state’s great public places,” Hochul said in a statement after signing the bill. “I’m proud to sign this legislation that will protect New Yorkers’ health and help reduce litter in public parks and beaches across the state.”

Hochul’s office explained at the time that many “municipalities and local governments already have restrictions or bans on smoking in public spaces. This additional penalty will enforce a statewide prohibition and includes a fine that will be collected by localities,” 

“In addition to the health risks posed by secondhand smoke, cigarette butts are a major environmental hazard due to the non-biodegradable filters that are discarded. They are the leading item found during cleanup projects. Through this prohibition, parks and beaches will be kept cleaner and safer as will our local ecosystems,” the governor’s office explained in the press release issued at the time.

Under the new law, which applies both to smoking tobacco and cannabis, violators will be subject to a fine of $50.

New York’s legal cannabis market officially launched late last year, with the opening of a dispensary in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan.

Under the state’s marijuana law, the first 100-200 dispensary license holders will be individuals with prior pot-related convictions. 

“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 last year. “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.”

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Montana lawmakers on Monday passed a bill to allocate revenue from taxes on recreational marijuana, sending the bill to the desk of Republican Governor Greg Gianforte for his consideration. The legislation, Senate Bill 442, was approved in a final vote by the Montana Senate on Monday after the state House of Representatives passed an amended version of the bill last week.

Montana voters legalized recreational marijuana in 2020 with the passage of Initiative 190, a ballot measure that passed with nearly 57% of the vote. Under the initiative, a tax of 20% was levied on recreational marijuana products, with revenue generated by the tax reserved for Habitat Montana, a 30-year-old wildlife habitat acquisition initiative often described as Montana’s “premiere habitat program,” according to a report from the Montana Free Press.

Governor Sought Reallocation Of Cannabis Taxes

Before the start of this year’s legislative session, the governor revealed his desire to reallocate the state’s recreational marijuana taxes away from habitat purchases and instead spend the money on law enforcement resources related to legalizing marijuana. Lawmakers responded with several new proposals, arguing that reallocating recreational marijuana taxes would allow the state to meet other pressing budgetary needs and give the legislature more control of the revenue.

In the original version of Senate Bill 442, which was introduced in February by Republican state Senator Mike Lang, a portion of cannabis tax revenue was diverted away from the habitat fund and instead allocated to funding for county roads. Supporters of the proposal maintained that the bill would support access to rural areas and open spaces. But wildlife advocates balked at the proposal, claiming it defied the will of the voters as expressed through Initiative 190.

Lang then amended the bill to divide the bulk of cannabis tax revenue among the state’s general fund, funding for county roads and a new Habitat Legacy Account, which would be used for wildlife improvements on public and private land. Smaller allocations would also be made to fund substance misuse programs, veterans services and funding for state parks and trails.

“I think we’ve made some pretty smart changes here that are intended to invest in rural Montana’s roads, lands and hunting opportunities while providing support for our veterans and a growing need for drug treatment,” Lang said after revising the bill. “At the end of the day we want to give our local counties and local people the tools and resources they need to improve the conditions of the land and be good stewards of Montana.” 

The amended bill received support from state lawmakers and groups representing business interests including the Montana Stockgrowers Association and the Montana Petroleum Association, and conservation organizations such as Wild Montana, Helena Hunters and Anglers and the Citizen’s Elk Management Coalition, all registered support for the proposal. Many county commissioners and the Montana Association of Counties also indicated their approval of the measure.

“Our county roads are being used more than ever now,” said Roman Zylawy, president of the Montana Association. “Recreation and agriculture are part of our Montana way of life and this bill recognizes the importance of — and the need for — integration of all through an investment in our county roads. … The Montana Association of Counties thanks you all and we encourage, with the utmost respect, Gov. Gianforte to sign SB 442 and provide ongoing investment in our county roads.”

Competing Bill Dies In Senate

A separate bill that would have directed all cannabis tax revenue to the state’s general fund passed in the House of Representatives last month. Proponents of the measure, House Bill 669 from Representative Bill Mercer, argued that lawmakers would be able to control the allocation of tax revenue and direct it to state budget priorities.

“Under 669, it would simply say that that revenue should go to the general fund and the Legislature as a whole should decide how it wishes to spend that revenue,” Mercer told members of the House Appropriations Committee last month. “One of the reasons that I wanted to bring this bill is that I fear that, when you essentially begin to earmark dollars for special revenue accounts, they evade review on an ongoing basis. Every time we have a diversion into a special revenue account, I worry that it doesn’t get the same sort of scrutiny that it does in the general fund.”

But Jim Vashro, president of Flathead Wildlife Inc said that the will of Montana voters as expressed in the 2020 ballot measure legalizing recreational marijuana should prevail.

“We would hope that the Legislature would listen to the voice of the people,” Vashro said. “We are trying to protect the Habitat Montana funding, which was the stated intent of Initiative 190.”

House Bill 669 was tabled by a Senate committee late last month. Senate Bill 442 has been sent to the governor’s desk and awaits action from Gianforte. On Monday, a spokesperson for Gianforte said that the governor “has substantial concerns” about Senate Bill 442 but did not provide further details on his position. 

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The Minnesota Senate last week voted to approve a bill to legalize recreational marijuana, only days after the House of Representatives passed a companion adult-use cannabis legalization measure. The bill, Senate File 73, was approved by the Senate on Friday with a vote of 34-33 that saw all senators from the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) voting in favor of the bill and all Republicans opposed.

The bill would legalize the possession and use of cannabis by adults aged 21 and older and establish a regulatory framework for the production and sale of recreational marijuana. Adults would be permitted to purchase up to two ounces of cannabis, 8 grams of cannabis concentrates or edibles with up to 800 milligrams of THC. Home cultivation of marijuana would also be allowed, with adults permitted to grow up to eight cannabis plants at home.

DFL Senator Lindsey Port, the lead sponsor of the bill, said that it is time to change Minnesota’s marijuana policy.

“The prohibition of cannabis is a failed system that has not achieved the desired goals and has had incredible costs for our communities, especially for communities of color,” she said in a statement quoted by the Associated Press.

With the bill, Port said that lawmakers have an “opportunity to undo some of the harm that has been done and create a unique system of regulation that works for Minnesota consumers and businesses, while ensuring an opportunity in this new market for communities that have been most affected by prohibition.”

Port added that the measure was considered carefully by lawmakers, who made several amendments to the legislation as it worked its way through the legislative process.

“Minnesotans are ready. Attitudes are changing,” she told Minnesota Public Radio. “Now is our time to undo decades of ineffective and damaging prohibition.”

After the bill was passed by the state Senate, Democratic Governor Tim Walz said that he would approve the legislation, which would make Minnesota the 23rd state in the nation to end the prohibition of marijuana.

“Legalizing adult-use cannabis and expunging cannabis convictions is good for our economy and the right move for Minnesota,” Walz wrote on Twitter on Friday. “When the bill reaches my desk, I’ll be proud to sign it into law.”

The bill also includes measures to address the harms caused by decades of cannabis prohibition, including a provision to expunge convictions for many marijuana-related offenses. DFL Senator Claire Oumou Verbeten said that the legislation is needed to end the racial disparity repeatedly seen in the enforcement of the nation’s drug laws.

“We owe this to the people who have been impacted the most by this prohibition. It’s our communities of color. It’s Black Minnesotans, especially Black men,” said DFL Senator Claire Oumou Verbeten. “We owe this to them. We can legalize this. We can regulate it. We can expunge,” she said. “Because we have to and because it’s a racial justice issue.”

Minnesota House Also Passes Legalization Bill

Also last week, a companion bill to the Senate measure was passed by the Minnesota House of Representatives, setting the stage for a conference committee to rectify inconsistencies between the two pieces of legislation. After the conference committee resolves differences between the bills, the House and Senate will vote on the final version of the bill. 

Key differences between the separate versions of the legislation include a possession limit of two pounds of cannabis in the House bill, while the Senate version allows adults to possess up to five pounds of marijuana, including no more than two pounds from a source other than home cultivation. The Senate bill allows local governments to cap the number of cannabis retailers. The House bill does not include such limits, although both versions do not allow cities and counties to enact an outright ban on dispensaries. Additionally, the Senate version levies a tax on cannabis products of 10%, while the House version sets the tax rate at 8%.

Both bills establish an Office of Cannabis Management to oversee the licensing and regulation of cannabis companies. Ryan Winkler of the MN is Ready coalition, a group that has advocated for the legislation and assisted in its development, said that there could be “a few bumps in the road” as regulations to enact the legislation are drafted by the new agency.

“As we’ve seen in every other marketplace – and I suspect any market where you’re creating a new product and there’s large consumer demand – it’s difficult to match supply and demand initially and there typically is a market shakeout after the initial exuberance happens,” Winkler said. “We’re seeing that in other states as well. There’s been a lot of consolidation of cannabis companies in other states. So we are anticipating the challenges.”

All 33 Senate Republicans voted against the bill, with senators citing concerns over public safety, substance abuse and controlling the illicit marijuana market. 

“What we’ve come down to after our analysis is this bill simply isn’t enough – not enough public safety, not enough or not enough for public health,” said Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson. “And our local governments are really, really at the bottom of the stick of this.”

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