“This is an industry that has been built on relationships and one of the barriers to entry we see with the true social equity applicants is not having a seat at the right tables… We aren’t looking for handouts, but more so demanding the equitable opportunity to do the work and prove ourselves.”

— Candace Clark, co-founder of LinkUp and CCRO of Social Equity Empowerment Network

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

Vermont

⭐State Officials Clarify Ban on Social Gatherings, Urge Vigilance

⭐ How Vermont’s Election Results Will Shape Cannabis In 2021 And Beyond

⭐ As COVID-19 Cases Rise, Gov. Phil Scott Announces New Mitigation Measures

⭐Newest Gallup Poll Shows Record Support for Making Cannabis Legal

⭐ LISTEN: Trey Anastasio Band’s ‘Burn It Down’

⭐ Delta-8 THC: Is It Legal in Vermont?

⭐ Event Highlights: Small Business Saturday + NECANN-VT and Hemp Fest Signups

Vermont COVID-19 News:

• Vermont COVID program to help with utility bills expands to water, sewer
• Thousands of frontline Vermont workers to begin receiving hazard pay
• Downtown Burlington restaurants to close after new COVID rules
• Banner: The Checkup for Nov. 22: Vermont reports 174 new COVID-19 Cases
• Scott singles out COVID skeptics as case counts spike
• Vermont’s Covid pandemic expected to surge 50% in next six weeks
• Vermont COVID death toll hits 60
• Will new rules hurt winter tourism businesses in Vermont?

Other VT News

• Police searching for men impersonating Vermont Fish and Wildlife officers
• Woolf: Despite low jobless figure, Vermont economy is still in slow recovery mode
• Vermont officials roll out all-payer health care reboot plan
• Vermont to issue free hunting and fishing licenses to Native Americans
• New mountain bike trail link will help connect Vermont
• Albany College of Pharmacy closing Vermont campus
• ‘Just unconscionable’: Law firm report says not enough was done to help dying VT inmate
• Amtrak considers new station in Vermont town of Brattleboro
• Vermont officials: snowmobilers must follow COVID-19 rules
• As cases surge, Vermont National Guard hurries to rebuild field hospital
• VT Biz Mag: News Briefs From October 2020

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Regional

Maine

• Maine medical dispensary converts to recreational
• Wellness Connection to open adult-use cannabis shop in South Portland
• Chamber celebrates Sanford cannabis dispensary’s one-year anniversary
• First Recreational Cannabis Shop Opens in Lincoln County
• Disabled Veteran Makes First Purchase at Haverhill’s Second Pot Store To Send a Message

Massachusetts

• First Worcester Economic Empowerment Pot Store To Open In 2021
• NETA launches grant program to award $25,000 to economic empowerment or social equity cannabis businesses
• Springfield marijuana applications delayed due to coronavirus pandemic
• Ashby’s first cannabis establishment to open ‘soon’
• Northampton adding to pot shop roster
• Boston Media Telling People to Travel To Vermont  😡
  Want to travel outside Mass.? HI, VT are low-risk choices for COVID-19, per travel order

New Hampshire

• Ending pot prohibition in New Hampshire unlikely after GOP election win

New York

• National Law Review: New York Announces CBD Product Guidelines
• Cannabis Legalization in New York: Déjà vu All Over Again?
• New York Might Be Late To Legalization, But It Can Still Lead
• Can farming hemp help fight climate change?

National

DID YOU KNOW: We now have only six U.S. states where cannabis remains outright illegal.

⭐ After 25 years in prison for selling 3lbs of pot, Michael Thompson receives parole hearing

⭐ US News: Americans Across Party Lines, Regions Embrace Marijuana

⭐ Fresh Toast: Could Marijuana Legalization Unite A Divided Country?

⭐ $6 billion question: Which states are likely to legalize recreational pot in 2021?

Animals

• The evolving relationship between cannabis and veterinary medicine

Arts/Entertainment

• Director of BET’s New Doc ‘Smoke’ Explores The Impact Of Pot On Black America
• SXSW wants you to vote on weed and psychedelics panels for 2021 event
• WATCH: Kiss The Ground, a documentary on Netflix about regenerative agriculture
• Rapper Wiz Khalifa and former football player Michael Strahan are being sued by one of the co-owners of their cannabis company Khalifa Kush
• Tommy Chong: “We’re going back to the future with cannabis.”

Banking

• New US Senate panel chair could boost prospects for cannabis banking reform
• Pot banking could get new life on Toomey-led Senate panel

Business

• Partnerships Are Particularly Crucial and Complicated in the Cannabis Industry
• How the Cannabis Industry Can Address Sustainability Concerns
• Here Are Some of the Wild Innovations Happening in the Cannabis Industry Right Now
• Marijuana MSO Curaleaf posts record revenues, discloses CEO change
• Marijuana Use Dominates Positive Drug Testing Rates of Commercial Drivers
• Two California Entrepreneurs Launch CBD And THC Ice Cream
• Red Light Holland Corp. and Halo Labs Inc. signed a non-binding letter of intent to create a joint venture to become a licensed psilocybin manufacturer in Oregon

CBD

• ‘Far from normal’: CBD businesses cling to customers as office workers stay away
• CBD not a narcotic, EU court says, potentially opening new market

Coronavirus/COVID-19

• “COVID Commencers” Add 9 Million New Users to US CBD Market During Pandemic
• Coronavirus and weed: The pandemic changed how we get high
• Dozens of workers at Brookline marijuana dispensary forced to quarantine, limiting orders

Culture

• LISTEN: Trey Anastasio Band’s ‘Burn It Down’
• Marijuana Activist Ed “NJWeedman” Forchion Wages His Own War On Drugs
• OMB Peezy Talks Cannabis And POC Entrepreneurship: ‘We Can Be Moguls’
• Mike Adams’ Sometimes Controversial Take On Cannabis

Education

• New Mexico Highlands University approves industrial hemp certificate program
• UCLA receives $6.4 million to fund cannabis research
• CSU Dominguez Hills Gets Grant To Study Cannabis, Examine Inequities

Federal

⭐ FDA details challenges, research gaps in regulating cannabis-derived products

• As FDA reviews CBD implications for women, industry watches anxiously
• What’s the Position of the FDA on Psychedelics?
• Senate Appropriators Pressure Agencies on Hemp, CBD Regulations

Food & Bev

• The Ongoing Cannabis Drink Boom & Its Crossover With Top Beverage Corporations

Growing and Making

• Secrets to Crafting Cannabis and CBD Drinks at Home
• Recipe: Cannabis-Infused Maple Syrup
• Recipe: Cozy Infused Pomegranate Mulled Cider
• Causes of Cannabis Plant Stretching and How to Control It
• Growing Cannabis In Space: Experimenting With Microgravity
• How Climate-Positive Cultivation Is Growing Greener Cannabis

Health and Wellness

• Boomers Favorite New Meds? Cannabis and CBD
• How Cannabis Vaporizer Brands Market Products to Young Women on IG
• Why Getting Your Medical Marijuana Card Has Never Been So Easy

Hemp

⭐ Can the Hemp Business Survive?

⭐ Hemp Industry Daily Exclusive: Best practices to optimize a hemp supply chain

⭐ Hemp & Native American Sovereignty

• CSGA Establishes Guidelines for Pedigreed Feminized Hemp
• NIHC Receives Funding For Hemp Export Market Development
• Vitamin Shoppe Launches CBD Line Using US-Grown Hemp
• Hemp Car: A Better Way To Travel?
• New research could mean wonders for industrial hemp growers
• PURA Launches Hemp Farming Co-Op Campaign

HEMP FACTS

For every ton of hemp produced, 1.63 tons of carbon is removed from the air.

Hypocrisy, Prevarication, and Outright Lies

• Mitch McConnell Press Release: Dems Triple Down On Liberal Wishlist Demands

Insurance

• This past fall, the cannabis and hemp industries watched while thousands of people’s livelihoods went up in smoke
• The implications of medical marijuana in workers’ comp

Law Enforcement

• Multi-state investigation into black market marijuana operations results in raids of 27 Washington homes
• FBI raid of Navajo Nation destroys 250,000 illegal cannabis plants posed as hemp
• National District Attorneys Association is hosting a webinar on marijuana legalization’s “adverse impacts on youth” on December 9

Legalization

⭐Legalization of Recreational Cannabis Finds Success at the State Ballot Box in 2020

 

• Decriminalization could help ease the nation’s drug epidemic – but the devil is in the details
• Could the success of ballot measures to legalize marijuana add pressure for federal legalization?
• Federal Government To Blame For More States Legalizing

Military/Vets

• Receptra Naturals offers 50% Off CBD Products as Military Appreciation Program
• A Military Veteran Was Fired For Medical Marijuana Use, And People Are Upset
• Veterans with PTSD Are Struggling in the Pandemic. Could Cannabis Help?
• At the forefront of transforming CBD accessibility among the Military Community

Podcasts

• Shawn Gold: Encouraging Creativity with Cannabis
• John Fetterman and Legal Recreational Marijuana in PA
• Cannabis and Indigenous Communities
• Healing Hearts Podcast to Feature PA Cannabis Growers New Series of Seven Episodes Coming Soon for Patients
• Cannabis strain names don’t mean much, give ‘false sense of diversity’
• The Roll-up #172: Free the Old Guy, Part II: He’s Coming Home

Politics

⭐ Kamala Harris Promises ‘No Incrementalism’ in Marijuana Reform

⭐ Biden’s Pot Decriminalization Plan Is ‘Not Enough,’ Cory Booker Says In New Documentary

• Did T****’s Failure To Embrace Marijuana Legalization Cost Him Votes? (Op-Ed)

Psychedelics

⭐ High Times: Exploring the Potential Impact of the Psychedelic Medicine

• Psychedelics Get $50000 Boost from Navy SEAL Foundation
• Fans Of Psychedelics Will Soon Have A Hotline They Can Use To Help Them Navigate And Process Their Trips
• California lawmaker pushing to decriminalize psychedelic drugs
• Breaking Barriers So Psychedelic Experiences Can Become Mainstream
• Could DMT-Assisted Therapy Help Treat Mental Health Disorders?
• Jewish psychedelics advocate working to turn drug into legal medicine
• Psychedelics advocate wants to turn club drug into legal med

Social Justice

⭐‘Longest-Serving Cannabis Offender’ to Be Released Early From 90-Year Prison Sentence

⭐ Candace Clark: Empowering Social Equity Applicants Nationwide

⭐ Marijuana Dispensary Owner Details What Black People Face When They Enter The Business

• N.J. filmmaker’s documentary examines cannabis legalization and its impact on Black Americans
• NBA Champion Matt Barnes To Launch Eaze’s Social Equity Cannabis Business Incubator Nationally

• Cannabis Ballot Wins Pave The Way For Social Justice Action By States And Companies

Sports

• NBA star Larry Hughes teams up with Al Harrington to launch Missouri dispensaries
• Mike Tyson vs Roy Jones Jr drugs testing reportedly doesn’t include marijuana [a]

Studies and Surveys

⭐Women Are More Likely To Ditch Prescription Drugs For Pot

• Study: Cannabis THC Levels Have Increased Around the World
• Federal Report: Pot Treatment Admissions Among Youth Decline Sharply In Legalized States
• Study Examines How Cannabis Use Affects Heart Disease
• review examined “compelling pre‐clinical evidence supporting the therapeutic potential of [cannabinoids] to improve wound healing by modulating key molecular pathways.”
• Psychedelic drug triggers growth of new brain cells in mice

Travel/Tourism

• Fly with Cannabis – Which Countries Let You Do It?

Women

⭐Mother’s love: Three Indonesian women want cannabis legalized to help their children

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States & Territories

Alaska

• ‘It’s an oversight’: marijuana businesses unable to do curbside pick up

Arizona

• New Arizona law prompts Pima County prosecutors to drop some marijuana cases
• Arizona may see a marijuana shortage after legalization

California

• Judge nixes lawsuit challenging California home pot delivery
• Industry reacts to California cannabis delivery lawsuit outcome: ‘It’s not a win’
• California Universities Receive $30 Million to Study Cannabis
• California’s first cannabis chief to leave state agency in December
• More marijuana shops coming to California post-election
• Regulatory maze, money prevent craft marijuana farmers in California from offering own brands
• ‘The war on drugs failed’: California lawmaker will push to decriminalize psychedelics

Colorado

• Black Cannabis Equity Initiative Discusses Opportunity, New Colorado Laws
• How Will More States Legalizing Cannabis Affect Colorado?
• Colorado Marijuana Dispensaries to Remain Open
• Scarface of Colorado Marijuana Scott Pack’s Rise and Fall
• Colorado summer cannabis sales thrive despite collapse of state’s tourism industry
• Marijuana Delivery One Step Closer to Reality in Aurora
• Colorado extraction company taps cannabis veteran to lead expansion into Europe, South America

Connecticut

• There’s A ’50-50 Chance Connecticut Will Legalize Marijuana In 2021, New House Speaker Says
• A 2021 Legislative Session Via Zoom? Legal Cannabis?
• Vermont Added To Connecticut’s COVID Travel Advisory List

Florida

• Florida Cannabis Company Sues Former CEO Over New CBD Venture
• Take heed, Florida pols. Even Trumpy states just legalized weed
• Florida mom accused of giving toddler son THC through vaping pen

Georgia

• Meet the candidates in Georgia’s US Senate runoff races

Guam

• Licensing restrictions dominate public testimony on proposed cannabis rules

Hawaii

• Lu-wow! Hawaii Just Launched a New Medical Marijuana Program for Visitors

Illinois

• Gov. JB Prtizker’s pot legalization law interpretation, blocking shops relocation, costing Illinois $135mil
• Illinois cannabis industry seeks end to MMJ-recreational retail relocation rule
• Cannabis taxes save 350 jobs in Chicago
• New Leaf Illinois offers help to wipe marijuana charges from record
• Pot firm tied to fading Illinois political dynasty claims it lost out after state mishandled its application

Indiana

• Indiana lawmakers working on 2021 marijuana legislation

Iowa

• Iowa marijuana regulators consider DEA waiver, ‘food truck’ model for distribution

Kentucky

• Kentucky Ag Department Taking Hemp Program Applications
• Kentucky tobacco company buys stake in Texas hemp cigarette maker
• Division Of Air Quality Responds to Vertical Complaints
• UK to host Virtual Hemp Field Day

Michigan

• Michigan hopes to teach others as nation moves closer to full marijuana legalization
• Michigan cannabis firm to expand footprint to four states after $45M raise

Minnesota

• Growing a Cannabis Economy on White Earth
• Minnesota lawmakers ask for streamlining of hemp rules

Mississippi

• Mississippi Supreme Court to Hear Anti-Medical Cannabis Challenge

Missouri

• Basketball star Hughes opens Missouri’s only black-owned cannabis shop

Montana

• Montana medical marijuana providers cautiously optimistic about legalization
• Montana Gets Ready to License the Recreational Cannabis Industry

Nevada

• Nevada marijuana workers can’t get permits amid backlog

New Jersey

• How ‘Magic’ Mushrooms Caused a Snag in NJ’s Marijuana Legalization
• New Jersey recreational cannabis bill advances, but differences remain
• N.J. Black leaders: Levy a cannabis tax to repair the harm done by the drug war
• Marijuana Mom Petitions NJ Gov For Rec License, Fears Small Businesses Will Be Overlooked

New Mexico

• NM Might Increase Medical Marijuana Purchase Limit to 15 ounces
• As war on drugs winds down, New Mexico at a crossroads

North Carolina

• Decriminalize Pot + Study Legalization, NC Governor’s Racial Equity Task Force Says
• In the weeds: Greg Atkinson navigates the changing markets for hemp products

Ohio

• Ohio Cannabis Regulators Update Advisory Committee on MMJ Program
• Buyers start to pick up Ohio medical marijuana dispensaries after first year of operation

Oregon

• How will Oregon’s new psilocybin therapy program work?
• Oregon grower lends cannabis scent to a Dr. Bronner’s fund-raising soap

Pennsylvania

• Meet Pennsylvania’s anger translator, and Donald Trump’s Worst Nightmare
• Pennsylvania Lawmakers Target Lieutenant Governor’s Pot and LGBT Flags With Budget Amendment
• John Fetterman and How Legal Recreational Marijuana in Pennsylvania Would Impact the Hemp Industry

Rhode Island

• The New Jersey Effect? Rhode Island Committee Hears Cannabis Legalization
• Legal marijuana in Rhode Island? What a difference a massive budget deficit can make

South Dakota

• Eye on KELOLAND: What’s next for marijuana in South Dakota
• What will it take to sell legal pot in South Dakota?
• Bracing For Cannabis

Texas

• Texas Democrats Say Marijuana Can Help The Economy, But Republicans May Stand In The Way
• New TX Weed Reform Laws Face Stiff Foe in Patrick
• Texas lawmaker understands path ahead for marijuana legalization
• In economic crisis, Texas Democrats push to legalize marijuana
• Weed Law: The Bills Before the Texas House on Marijuana

Utah

• Utah Lawmakers Considering Medical Cannabis Program
• Audit finds free spending and cronyism by ex-state agency head
• More Utah doctors will be able to recommend medical cannabis under new bill

Virginia

• Virginia Governor Calls For Marijuana Legalization In 2021
• Northam: ‘We are going to move forward with legalizing marijuana in Virginia’
• 8 big decisions facing Virginia lawmakers as they debate legalization

Washington

• Shawn Kemp’s 5% Stake in Shawn Kemp Cannabis Highlights How Far Seattle Is from an “Equitable Industry”
• WA regulators to hear public comment on cannabis pesticide testing rules
• Washington Joins National Cannabis Regulatory Organization

West Virginia

• Office of Medical Cannabis approves dispensary applications

Wisconsin

• Madison decriminalizes cannabis
• Lawmakers In Wisconsin Capital Vote To Allow Cannabis Use

Wyoming

• Wyoming holding out as other states legalize marijuana

International

⭐ Mexico to become the world’s largest regulated cannabis market

Australia

• Israel’s first commercial medical cannabis export lands in Australia
• More Than 100,000 Jobs Could Be Created In Australia If Cannabis Was Legalised
• Women found unconscious cautioned for lockdown breach after eating cannabis cookies

Canada

• Canada Is Allowing People With Depression to Do Psychedelic Mushrooms
• Canadian Officials Respond To Psychedelics Decriminalization Petition, Saying No Legal Changes Needed
• Report: Canadian cannabis firms received millions in pandemic subsidies
• Medical marijuana grow licences exploited by criminals to sell weed on the illegal market, police say

Europe

• EU top court rules that CBD is not a narcotic drug
• Italians Love Cannabis Light. What Is It?
• Can The U.S. Break Down Trade Barriers To Enter Europe’s CBD Food Market?

Israel

• The Israeli Government Plans to Legalize Marijuana
• Israel Is Looking To Use The Canadian Cannabis Industry Framework To Roll Out Legalized Market
• With legalization on the horizon, Israeli cannabis firms start thinking big
• Nissenkorn publishes draft cannabis legalization bill for public comments

Mexico

• Merry Xmas! Mexico could definitely legalize marijuana by Dec 15
• Mexican Senate approves cannabis legalization bill, ending monthslong delay

New Zealand

• NZ Cannabis Advocacy Group Calls For Broader Amnesty
• New Zealand Voted NO to Cannabis Legalization

UK

• UK on the Brink of a Psychedelic Therapy Revolution