Category: Social Equity
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MD hits over $10M in sales during first legal weekend; D.C. closes first social equity license round; VA Gov. still refusing to set up legal cannabis market
/*! elementor – v3.13.3 – 28-05-2023 */ .elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px} Catch the Smoke: July 10, 2023 D.C. processes first social equity licenses The total number of applicants that applied for D.C.’s first round of social equity licenses under the medical cannabis expansion will be made public this Thursday. According to ABCA,…
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D.C. social equity cannabis licenses round one closes, Maryland legal market launches, Virginia hemp bans go into effect
/*! elementor – v3.13.3 – 28-05-2023 */ .elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px} Catch the Smoke: July 3, 2023 Maryland opens legal rec Maryland swept headlines as the recreational market opened. The market is already bracing for product shortages, but the hope is for it to set a national example as a profitable, equitable…
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Q&A: Terrence White to Lead I-71 Committee, a Business Coalition in D.C.’s Cannabis Gray Market
The I-71 Committee has had a busy year of advocacy. Amid a push over the last year by D.C. government to more closely regulate and inspect recreational cannabis “gifting” businesses and bolster the city’s medical cannabis market, it’s been a time for gray market business operators to “come out of the shadows,” says Terrence White,…
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Preliminary D.C. Budget Creates Cannabis Social Equity Fund To Boost Minority Entrepreneurs
D.C.’s preliminary budget for the upcoming fiscal year includes a provision that would redirect tax dollars from medical cannabis sales towards a new “social equity fund” to help minority entrepreneurs get weed businesses off the ground. The “Medical Cannabis Social Equity Fund” would be jointly administered by D.C.’s Department of Small and Local Business Development…
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The Federal Cannabis Trial You Should Be Watching In Maryland
Maybe you saw the ad in The Washington Post: “Who will be the last person incarcerated for marijuana in the United States?” Or you heard about the man from one of the many publications that have highlighted his detention. Jonathan William Wall is a Maryland native whose federal cannabis distribution indictment and upcoming court trial…
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Mendelson Says MSOs Are Financing D.C.’s ‘Illegal’ Cannabis Gifting Market
D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson suffered a stinging loss early last week when the council narrowly rejected his emergency bill to crack down on unregulated cannabis businesses. The “no” vote put a serious damper on Mendelson’s crusade to shut down D.C.’s gray market for weed, where storefronts and delivery services “gift” cannabis with the purchase…
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Maryland House Judiciary Committee Kicks Off the Legalization Discussion
After a quiet first month for cannabis policy in the Maryland legislature, lawmakers gave some overdue love on Valentine’s Day to a pair of legalization bills during a marathon House Judiciary Committee hearing. The committee, chaired by Del. Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore), heard the full gamut of testimony Monday on two bills Clippinger has sponsored to…
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Legalization Framework Bills Formally Introduced in Maryland House, Senate
Several weeks after Maryland’s legislative session began, three state lawmakers have introduced separate bills that would create a framework for adult-use legalization in the state. Del. Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore) and Sen. Jill Carter (D-Baltimore) formally introduced their respective proposals late last week, and Sen. Brian Feldman (D-Montgomery County) introduced another measure on Monday, setting the…
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Virginia Lawmakers Hit Impasse Over Releasing Cannabis Prisoners After Legalization
In Virginia, the fate of people incarcerated for cannabis-related crimes is still up in the air. On Monday, Virginia’s Cannabis Oversight Commission, a panel of lawmakers charged with making legislative recommendations for this year’s session, proposed speeding up the launch of recreational weed sales by one full year to 2023. But the 10-member commission couldn’t…
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Virginia: Republicans Propose To Scrap Social Equity Fund, Undo Other Cannabis Reforms
As Virginia’s new legislative session gets under way, Republicans – emboldened after taking back the governor’s mansion and the House of Delegates – are taking aim at cannabis reforms passed by the General Assembly last year. GOP state lawmakers have pre-filed several measures that would roll back provisions from last year’s legalization bill, zeroing in…
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Maryland Senator To File Cannabis Legalization Bill Prioritizing Social Equity And Allowing Home Cultivation
A progressive Maryland state senator plans to file legislation next week to fully legalize recreational cannabis, leading with a framework geared toward social equity and criminal justice reform. Sen. Jill Carter (D-Baltimore), who is drafting the bill in partnership with the ACLU of Maryland, wants to allow households to grow their own cannabis, direct more…
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Virginia: Youngkin Says Legal Weed Possession Is Here To Stay But Takes Aim At Retail Sales
Virginia Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin says he won’t mess with a recently enacted law that legalized cannabis possession when he takes office later this month, though he has reservations about the launch of a regulated market for recreational weed. “I will not seek to overturn the law on personal possession,” he told Virginia Business in an…