“I think we should legalize, regulate and tax marijuana like we do alcohol and tobacco. There is simply no medical reason to lock people up over this issue. In essence, this is about common sense.”

– Jaime Harrison, South Carolina Democratic challenger to Lindsey Graham

Welcome To The Weekly Roll Up
A Compendium of The Week’s Cannabis News

Vermont

Uncharted Roads: Businesses Navigate Amid COVID and Economic Uncertainty

Vermont COVID-19 Update: New Gathering Sizes, Cross State Travel Map

COVID-19 Timeline

Vermont extending state of emergency to mid-August

Coronavirus: Vermont schools prepare for hybrid learning – what state guidelines require

Vermont receives 10 times the mail-in ballot requests as ’16

City, Chittenden County organizations declare racism a public health emergency

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All donations go directly to The Bail Project.

New England

Maine

• A Snapshot Of America’s Medical Marijuana Markets: Maine
• Conservative Presque Isle wants a piece of the recreational marijuana industry
• Top executive leaves Maine’s biggest marijuana company 
• Maine adult use cannabis purveyors still await launch plans from the state
• Retail marijuana finds a home
• Curaleaf’s Select Brand Completes Expansion into Maine’s Medical Market
• Wellness Connection of Maine CEO Takes New Position with Parent Company, Acreage Holdings

Massachusetts

• Black-owned businesses to support in Boston
• 3 Massachusetts marijuana dispensaries fined $800,000
• Regulators, advocates press Legislature to follow through on promise of MJ equity
• The Pass Brings Cannabis to Berkshires with Adult-Use Dispensary: The Starting Line
• Hull residents divided over proposed marijuana facility
• Massachusetts Approves $550K Cannabis Settlement
• Marijuana in Mass: Could fines and donations support the state’s equity program?
• Mass. Mayor’s Cannabis Extortion Trial Delayed Until 2021

New Jersey

• New Jersey governor touts benefits of marijuana legalization amid recession
• New Jersey Lowers Medical Cannabis Sales Tax
• New Jersey Is Finally Getting Medical Cannabis Delivery
• Medical marijuana in Waretown? New ordinance could bring first dispensary to Ocean County

New York

• City of Arvin votes on the possibility of a cannabis ordinance
• New Wellness Store in White Plains Offers CBD Products

New Merch in the Heady Store! Explore the Green Goddess Collection in collab with Nikki Laxar, Justice + Equity merch to benefit The Bail Project, and more. Shop now

National

Advocacy

• Cannabis Legalization Brings ‘Radical Transformation’ – Q&A With Steven Hawkins
• Cannabis activists say legalization is critical to reforming police – Business Insider
• NORML Publishes Open Letter To Presidential Candidates 

Animals

• Demystifying Hemp and CBDs in the Horse – Horse Illustrated
• Vet warns pet owners after husky poisoned by cannabis and possibly cocaine

Arts/Entertainment

• Seth Rogen Says Racist Cannabis Policing Harms Blacks, But Expungement Can Help
• Miley Cyrus quits marijuana | Arts & Entertainment
• Tommy Chong Says Now is the Right Time for Cheech & Chong Cannabis Dispensaries
• Dr. Oz Claims DEA And FDA Blame Each Other For Keeping Marijuana Illegal

Banking

• The Cost Of Cash For Unbanked Cannabis Businesses

Business

• Gen Z Marketing Dos and Don’ts in the Cannabis Industry
• The Cannabis Tax Experiment
• The Cannabis Industry Still Lacks Credible Market Analysis And Insight
• Improvements in production of cannabis for medical and industrial uses and their protection

Cannabis

• High Times hosting Cannabis Cup in Illinois this summer — and you can be a judge

CBD

• CBD Is A ‘Promising’ Therapy In Treating Cocaine Misuse 

Coronavirus/COVID-19

• Brick & Order – The Pandemic Transforms Cannabis Shops Into E-Commerce Hubs

What Cannabis Businesses Need to Do to Adapt to COVID-19

Culture

• The New Book, High On Design, Examines Current Cannabis Culture
• Cannabis culture: a Latin American perspective
• Marijuana vs. Cannabis: Why Your Language Matters

Dispensary

• Annual sales of legal marijuana hit $13 billion nationwide

Education

• Medical Marijuana Platform Offering Scholarships For Cannabis Research
• Pharmacy School First in Colorado to Offer Graduate-level Cannabis Education
• Long Beach City College to offer 1st cannabis industry class in school’s history

Federal

• Lawmaker Revises Misleading Comments On Marijuana Protections In Congressional Report
• Reconsider Firing Workers For Marijuana, Congress Tells Federal Agencies 

Food & Bev

• Mike Tyson Will Print (Yes, Print) Cannabis Beverages
• You know what else has sold well during the pandemic? Weed edibles.
• Oat milk, marijuana pens and non-alcoholic spirits could be the breakthrough products about to go mainstream

Growing and Making

• CBD drink recipe: Refreshing CBD Arnold Palmers
• Cannabis Infused Peaches and Biscuit Recipe

Health and Wellness

• I Tried THC Makeup, Because 2020 Is *A Lot*

Hemp

• USDA Approves Hemp Plan For Minnesota, Tennessee and Puerto Rico
• Hemp Bill Could Direct FDA to Regulate CBD

Hypocrisy, Prevarication, and Outright Lies

• WATCH: Unhinged Cop Turns to Camera and Smiles before Choking, Beating Man

Insurance

• Can Marijuana Workers Receive Unemployment?

Law Enforcement

• Why Are Black Arrest Rates for Marijuana Rising in Los Angeles?
• Cannabis taxes fund the police. Here’s how to change that

Legalization

• Federal cannabis reform a matter of common sense, influential congressional chair says
• How the US states have learned from each other to create more comprehensive medical cannabis policies

Media

• Former ‘High Times’ Staffers to Launch Monthly Print Magazine ‘Northeast Leaf’

Medical

• Health Care Professionals Vary in Their Beliefs About Medicinal Cannabis Use

Military/Vets

• Cannabis advocates troubled by veteran’s 5-year sentence for medical marijuana
• VA mental health commission recommends federal cannabis research

Podcasts

• Dan Fogler using podcast to test stoner conspiracy theories about mind-bending drugs
• 5 hilarious podcasts for stoners to listen to when smoking weed
• Nelson Interview Leads Off Season Two of ”On Something”

Politics

• Lindsey Graham Challenger Jaime Harrison Backs Legalizing Marijuana

Presidential Campaign 

• Biden v. Trump: Who is the more cannabis-friendly presidential candidate?
• Baked Goods: Giving Away the Election
• BofA: Cannabis Legalization A Key Issue In 2020 US Presidential Election
• Biden And Trump Must Back Marijuana Legalization Before Election, NORML Petition Demands

Psychedelics

• Psychedelics For Anxiety, Depression, Spirituality & Fun
• Scientific American: The Power of Psychedelics
• Therapists Petition Gov For Permission To Dose Themselves To Better Treat Patients
• Activists seek to decriminalize ‘magic’ mushrooms in DC
• GOP Congressman Withdraws Amendment To Block DC Psychedelics Drecrim
• Oregon measure to legalize magic mushrooms qualifies for November ballot

Seniors

• Psychedelics For Seniors: A New Sublingual Option
• Elderly man’s bumper dope haul ‘purely for personal use’

Social Justice

• Justice Reimagined: How Cannabis Has Been Used as Tool for Oppression
• It’s finally time to defund the drug war – Business Insider
• Last Prisoner Project Aims to Free People Jailed for Nonviolent Cannabis Offenses
• ‘We’re talking about restorative justice;’ Marijuana business applicants, advocates call out for more equity
• Black cannabis business executives suggest solutions to address racism and create a more inclusive industry
• If weed is legal, why are so many people still being arrested and locked up for it?
• Rooting Out Racial Disparities In The Legal Cannabis Industry
• Communities of color need access to the cannabis economy

Social Responsibility

• Report: Indoor Cannabis Cultivation Has Major Environmental Impact

Sports

• Ex-NBA star Al Harrington on why marijuana policy change is essential to police reform
• Taiwanese basketball star in trouble after getting caught with a cannabis vape
• MLS set to allow CBD sponsorships, says report
• How Much Marijuana Will NBA Players Need in the Bubble?
• NBA Players Are Smoking A Bunch Of Marijuana In The Playoff Bubble

Studies and Surveys

• More Potent Than CBD, THC: Dr. Raphael Mechoulam Explains His Latest Discovery
• Adults With Pain at Increased Risk For Cannabis Use Disorder
• CBD Use Boosts Athletes Sports Performance: New Research Surfaces
• More B.C. cannabis consumers choosing legal suppliers over black market: poll
• New Study: Elderly Cannabis Consumers Lead More Active Lifestyle
• Does cannabis really affect memory? Here’s what research currently says
• CBD Use Boosts Athletes Sports Performance: New Research Surfaces
• Survey: Majority of Health Care Professionals Endorse Cannabis Use Instead of Opioids
• CBD may help avert lung destruction in COVID-19
• Lifetime Marijuana Use Not Linked To Middle-Age Heart Health

Travel/Tourism

• 2nd Annual New Heights Canna-Tourism Summit Goes Virtual

Women

• Building on Portland’s Vision of Equity: Q&A w/ Cannabis Program’s Dasheeda Dawson
• Putting Their Money Where Their Mouths Are: Meet 6 Ladies Behind This Women-Only Cannabis Fund
• Jane Fonda’s First Campaign With Uncle Bud’s Hemp & CBD Launches for National Hemp Month
• The Interview: Catching Up with Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers

States 

Alabama

• A disabled black veteran drove through Alabama with medical marijuana. Now he faces five years in prison.
• Disabled Veteran Sentenced to Prison Time in Alabama for Legally-Obtained Cannabis 

GoFundMe and Change.org Petition for Sean Worsley, the disabled black veteran arrested in Alabama for medical marijuana that he legally obtained in his home state of Arizona.

Arizona

• Arizona’s Elected Officials Get Graded on Their “Marijuana Friendliness”

Arkansas

• Lawsuit challenges additional marijuana cultivation permits
• Additional local medical marijuana dispensary license approved

California

• Report: Pot arrests still fall heavily on Hispanics, Blacks
• Lemon Grove moves forward on taxing cannabis dispensaries
• San Diego OKs streamlined permit renewals for cannabis dispensaries
• Green space: Lompoc cannabis dispensary transforms downtown vacant lot into gathering spot
• Cannabis tax rates to be decided at ballot in Calaveras County

Colorado

• Legal cannabis sales in Colorado reach all-time high in May
• Colorado Pharmacy School Offering Grad School Education in Cannabis
• Colorado Forms New Cannabis Equity Workgroup
• New Pesticides Approved for Colorado Cannabis Industry
• Gardner Says He’s an Ally of Immigrants and the Cannabis Industry. But What’s He Accomplished? 

Florida

• Southwest Florida medical marijuana dispensary hosts first-ever wedding
• Florida Supreme Court asks for a rare second round of arguments on medical marijuana
• Medical Marijuana Business Booming in Florida During Pandemic
• South Florida company to open 8 medical marijuana dispensaries by end of 2020
• Liberty Health Sciences Will Open Medical Cannabis Dispensary in Jacksonville Beach

Georgia

• Hemp bill leaves some cops unable to enforce marijuana laws in Georgia

Hawaii

• Hawaii Could Soon Allow the Sale of Medical Cannabis Edibles

Idaho

• Idaho group pushing for medical marijuana offers state ultimatum, threatens lawsuit

Illinois

• Deadline for Illinois’ first marijuana social equity grants is July 20
• Illinois creates grants with money from cannabis sales
• Cannabis Dispensaries In Lake Forest, Lake Bluff: Take Our Survey

Michigan 

• City looks to emphasize social equity in cannabis industry
• Company set to open second West Mich. recreational cannabis dispensary
• Fast-growing Michigan recreational cannabis market faces tight supply, few municipal opt-ins
• Michigan marijuana industry licensed to grow over 500,000 plants
• Michigan social equity regulations help cannabis applicants get started but lack continued support
• First recreational marijuana dispensary opens in Ypsilanti

Minnesota

• Duluth’s Canal Park home to new cannabis store

Missouri

• Kansas City Mayor Talks Marijuana And Broader Drug Policy Reform After Local Decriminalization Vote
• Missouri Medical Cannabis Program Director Says Sales Could Launch This Fall
• After Unsuccessful 2020 Signature Campaign to Legalize Adult-Use Cannabis in Missouri, Group Looks to 2022

Montana

• Marijuana Legalization Proceeds in Montana amid COVID-19

Nebraska

• Nebraska’s first internationally certified cannabis testing lab opens at Doane

Nevada

• From Criminal Justice Reform To A Cannabis Compliance Board, New Nevada Laws Took Effect On July 1

New Mexico

• NM cannabis producer challenges new DOH rules

North Carolina

• Asheville, N.C., Approves Steps Toward Reparations For Black Residents

North Dakota

• ND Pro Marijuana Group Makes Final Push to Get Signatures For Petition

Ohio

• In Ohio, $133M of medical pot sold in first year as pandemic legitimized industry
• As medical marijuana industry matures, sales rising substantially

Oklahoma

• Up to 180 pounds of weed found floating down creek in Oklahoma
• Cann American to invest in an Oklahoma cannabis production facility

Oregon

• Oregon cannabis grower leads the way onto ‘CrowdFarming’ platform
• More hemp farms making transition to organic 

Pennsylvania

• Pennsylvania May End Zero-Tolerance Driving Restrictions for Cannabis Patients
• Pennsylvania: Lt. Gov. Fetterman Urges Cannabis Legalization

Puerto Rico

• Feds Approve Puerto Rico Hemp Production Plan
• Against the Wind: Tropizen Finds Success in Puerto Rico’s Cannabis Market

Rhode Island

• Providence mayor launches reparations process

South Carolina

• Lindsey Graham Challenger Jaime Harrison Backs Legalizing Marijuana

Texas

• Austin decriminalizing marijuana possession sets standard 
• Medical Marijuana Dispensary Setting Up Temporary Shop in Plano
• How High? April Watson Weeds Out the Truth About CBD

Virginia

• We Heard Your Questions on Virginia’s Marijuana Policies. Here’s What You Need to Know.
• Virginia Medical Cannabis Sales Set to Commence Within Two Months
• Farmer Brings Hemp Healing to Shore

Washington

• Cannabis Industry NOW HIRING: Advanced Nutrients Job Fair – Saturday

Wyoming

• Wyoming Cops Accuse Hemp Advocates Of Illegally Growing

International  

• The World Health Organization Says Reschedule Cannabis: Will The UN Agree?

Argentina

• Argentina to Allow Cannabis Sales and Home Grow

Australia

• More Australians back legalising cannabis, 57% support pill testing, survey shows
• Shh. Australia is growing a medical cannabis crop… and it’s a secret
• Outdoor MMJ trial crop in Victoria hoped to provide affordable access for those in need

Canada

• People are Finally Buying Legal Cannabis in British Columbia
• Canadians invited to join online cannabis study
• Brand Awareness Elusive for Canada Pot Growers: Cannabis Weekly
• Canada’s Northwest Territories cuts cannabis prices to fight illegal market

Ecuador

• Ecuador Legalises Medical Cannabis and Hemp Cultivation

Eswatini

• Eswatini cannabis growers want revenge as they threaten to burn cane fields, forests in retaliation

Europe

• Brit tourists watch as brazen smugglers land drugs on beach in Spain
• Medical cannabis tests to start in January in France
• Netherlands clarifies application process to grow adult-use cannabis
• Colombian cannabis producer Clever Leaves granted EU GMP certification

Ireland

• Irish potato chip company apologizes for fun uncle’s weed farm

Israel

• Israel overtakes Germany as largest importer of medicinal cannabis flower
• Israel: Cannabis Powerhouse
• Israeli Researchers Say Microdosing Marijuana Provides Most Effective Pain Relief

Jamaica

• Jamaica Unveils New Cannabis Standards, With an Eye Toward the Global Industry
• Trelawny farmers taking up leases for old cane lands

Mexico

• Mexico’s Cannabis Legalization Languishes as Narco-Wars Escalate
• 420 Pot Plants Reportedly Found Growing Next to Mexico’s Senate

New Zealand

• Research to help inform Māori decisions ahead of cannabis referendum
• Where Judith Collins stands on cannabis, same-sex marriage, abortion and euthanasia
• Minimum pricing and potency caps should be part of New Zealand cannabis rules
• Kiwi Kush? New Zealand Might Be The Next Country To Legalize Weed

Scotland

• Westminster urged to cut red tape and give kids cannabis medicine they desperately need

Switzerland

• MAPS: Where Switzerland’s heaviest drinkers and smokers live

UK

• Medicinal cannabis case leads to new UK wide advisory service
• My son needs medical cannabis — but the UK approach remains a national disgrace
• UK cannabinoid industry spots opportunity as EC considers classifying CBD a narcotic
• Cannabis Epilepsy Drug Rescheduled: What Does this Mean?

Uzbekistan

• Industrial Cannabis: Uzbek-French Company to Launch Cultivation Project