“I’m excited to see what it will look like on the East Coast when cannabis is finally accepted into our culture, and people who use it are treated like the law-abiding citizens they are in terms of their employment, their housing, and their general right to live freely… I think that’s coming.”

— Shaleen Title, outgoing Massachusetts Cananbis Control Commissioner

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

Vermont

⭐What You Need To Know This Week: Expungement Rules Now In Effect, VT Legislature Gets Back To Work, COVID Gathering Ban Back On

⭐ Illinois Expunges Nearly Half A Million Cannabis Arrests – Four Years Ahead Of Schedule

⭐ New Hampshire Supreme Court Supports Freedom for Psychedelic Use in Religious Ceremonies

⭐ Heady Launches Free Webinars To Promote Participation in VT’s Legal Cannabis Industry

📅  RSVP Now: Petitioning Your Selectboard For A Cannabis Retail Opt-In Vote
Zoom Webinar on Thursday, January 7 at 12 p.m.

Other Vermont Cannabis + Hemp News:

• Vermont regulators began contactless records inspections for hemp businesses
• Racial Justice Advocates Want Representation in Vermont’s Pot Industry
• Vermont Hemp Store, Local Farms Join Forces
• Vermont Accepts Applications for Cannabis Control Board
• Man, woman accused of paying teen with marijuana for shoveling driveways
• Lyndon Residents To Consider Marijuana Shop Question At Town Meeting
• Newport City To Vote On Cannabis Retail Ordinance
• Bratteboro voters to get cannabis vote in March
• CBP Press Release: CBP in Vermont Seizes over 1400 pounds marijuana
• $3.8 million in weed en route from Quebec to Vermont seized at US border

More VT News:

• 10 pivotal news stories that marked 2020 in Vermont
• Burlington mayor vetoes police oversight ballot item
• Vt. officials concerned by reduced federal vaccine allocation
• Review finds rampant sexual misconduct at Vt. women’s prison
• COVID-19 takes center stage in a busy year for Montpelier
• Investigation underway into death of Vermont inmate
• Vermont deer hunters had successful 2020 season

Learn More About Hemp Fest 2021 and Register Now:

Save $30 On The New Home Chef Bundle. Shop MagicalButter Now and Get Free Shipping!

Regional

Maine

• It may be legal, but high prices and inconvenience may drive black-market pot for years
• Farmers lose hope – and money – in race to build Maine’s hemp market
• Maine’s largest cannabis company sues to open state’s MMJ market to outsiders

Massachusetts

• Recreational marijuana brought in $14.9 million in tax revenue for Mass. cities and towns as industry enters third year
• Two New Members Appointed to Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission
• Boston Globe: Q&A with outgoing cannabis commissioner Shaleen Title
• Massachusetts Medical Society reverses course on marijuana
• Marijuana home delivery set to start in 2021
• Western Mass. Cannabis Industry Preps For Neighboring Legalization

New Hampshire

⭐ NH Supreme Court Upholds Religious Freedom To Use Psychedelic Mushrooms

New York

• New York Lawmakers Prefile Eight Marijuana Bills For 2021 As State Pursues Legalization
• Marijuana legalization looms in New York as deficit balloons

🚨  Have you signed the petition yet?🚨  
Dismiss All Charges Against Bruce Prosper Jr. and Family

National

2020 In Review

⭐ Cannabis Goes From Stigmatized to Essential: 2020 in Review

⭐ 2020 Year in Review: NORML’s Top Ten Events in Marijuana

⭐ Marijuana Sales Data Reveal Americans Bought 67% More Weed to Survive 2020

⭐ 20 charts that illustrate the 2020 marijuana market

• US Cannabis Sales Approach $18 Billion, Up 67% from 2019
• Marijuana growers look back on a year that saw a pandemic, wildfires, extreme weather and more

👉   Get The Roll Up, the most important cannabis
news of the week – directly to your inbox. Sign up now.

Advocacy

• N.J. couple’s baby was taken after N.C. traffic stop. They’ve been trying for weeks to get him back.

• Donate to the GoFundMe Campaign

• Millions Bear the Stigma of a Marijuana Conviction — It’s Time to Expunge Them
• What Trump’s Pardon Means For This Man Who Served 13 Years In Prison For Marijuana
• 2020 NORML Victories

Animals

• Animal Feed Might Just Go to Pot — And That’s a Good Thing

Arts/Entertainment

⭐ Killer Mike says Black people deserve a “big stake” in the cannabis industry

• Comedian Joe Rogan’s podcast signs advertising deal with cbdMD
• Snoop Dogg’s Casa Verde Capital Closes on $100 million as the Cannabis Industry Bounces Back
• Japanese actor Yusuke Iseya given suspended term for cannabis possession
• Rapper T.I. joins Viola as social justice and reform ambassador

Banking

• Exclusion of the Safe Banking Act in Coronavirus Relief Doesn’t Mean It Won’t Pass in 2021

Business

⭐ Multi-State Marijuana Regulators Association Expands And Sets Policy Priorities

⭐ What Industries are Set to Boom with the Increased Legalisation of Cannabis

• SPACs pump hundreds of millions of dollars into US cannabis industry through acquisitions
• Lack of standards, dubious business practices threaten to upend cannabis testing industry
• Cannabis Industry Spotlight: Leaders Share Predictions For 2021
• Cannabis M&A activity intensifies as investor sentiment brightens since November election
• Marijuana MSO MedMen fights to turn around finances, but challenges linger

CBD & Hemp

⭐ Legal Hemp, Notably CBD, Generates Astonishing Revenues. So Why Is The Industry Struggling So Hard?

⭐ HIA: Higher THC limit a ‘prerequisite’ for hemp industry stability

⭐ US hemp industry continues to face problems of oversupply, murky regulation

• Eye drops, inhalers targeted in latest round of FDA CBD warnings
• Midwest Hemp Is Still Getting Its Footing, But Growers Aren’t Giving Up Yet
• Making the Case for CBD in Convenience Stores
• Canopy Growth Says GW Pharma Infringed On CBD Extraction Patent In Federal Lawsuit

Coronavirus/COVID-19

• How the pandemic has intensified our connection to the outdoors
• Can Cannabis help ease the mind in the age of COVID-19?
• COVID Is Killing the Cocaine Market, But People Are Smoking More Weed

Culture

• Connie Chung Unloads on Donald Trump, Dan Rather, Dave Letterman and TV’s Most Competitive Women
• Study: Folklore structure reveals how conspiracy theories emerge, fall apart
• Cannabiscapes: Exploring Cannabis Culture Through Flower-Based Art
• 15 Weed Books That Illuminate, Demystify, and Celebrate Cannabis
• What if I want to enjoy weed, but just can’t?
• The History of Blunts

Education

⭐ Congressional Package Repeals Ban on Student Aid to Those With Past Drug Convictions

• Education and Cannabis: The Great Unifiers
• Higher education now offers pathways into marijuana industry
• FIU Offers Online Course on Hallucinogens and Psychedelic Drugs

Federal

• FDA & FTC Begin Crackdown Over CBD Marketing Claims
• IRS Official Notes Pot Legalization’s Momentum In Tax Compliance Industry Webinar
• DEA might start issuing cannabis cultivation permits in early 2021
• Pot Research Bill Would Have Little Impact On Federal Budget, Analysts Say
• Congressional Ban On Mailing E-Cigarettes Appears To Cover Marijuana Vapes

Growing and Making

• How to Set up Your Own Cannabis Grow Room
• What Is Hydroponic Gardening?
• How to make a cannabis-infused Extra Green Matcha Latte
• Small-Batch Anti-Anxiety CBD Cookies

Health and Wellness

• Medical Marijuana Not Always An Affordable Alternative To Prescription Drugs

Hypocrisy, Prevarication, and Outright Lies

• Scare Tactics Used Against Marijuana Legalization Have All Gone Up In Smoke

Legalization

⭐ How state marijuana legalization became a boon for corruption

⭐ These States Are The Most Likely To Legalize Marijuana In 2021

⭐ Pot Advocates Raise Alarm Over Social Equity Problem In House-Passed Legalization Bill

• New Jersey Adult-Use Legalization Puts Pressure on Neighboring States
• United Nations Removes Cannabis from Schedule I, is the United States next?
• Why The US Has Made A Complete Mess Of Partial Marijuana Legalization (So Far)
• Mississippi And South Dakota Officials Defend Marijuana Ballot Measures Against Legal Challenges

Podcasts

• USDA Podcast: Hemp Crop Insurance–A New Frontier
• Ganjapreneur: Kenny Wright: How Smoke Shops Adapt to Cannabis Reforms
• Canadian Hemp & Cutting Edge CBD Research
• Enhance Your Life Podcast – Dial A Cannabis Nurse: How A Free Hotline Answers All Your Weed Questions

Politics

⭐ Marijuana banking excluded from $900 billion coronavirus relief package

⭐Congressional Democrats Tout Marijuana Legalization Vote as Key Civil Rights Win in 2020

⭐ Congressional Funding Bill Restores Financial Aid For Students With Drug Convictions, Other Pot Provisions

• McConnell blocks Democrats’ bid to bring bill for $2,000 checks
• Sen. Rand Paul Files Bill to Bolster US Hemp Industry
• Pot Legalization Could Advance Even Under McConnell, Top Senate Democrat Says
• Mitch McConnell Cheers Lack Of Marijuana Banking Protections In New COVID Bill
• President Trump pardons a handful of additional people for pot and other drug offenses

Psychedelics

⭐ 2020: A Year In Review For The Psychedelic Renaissance

⭐ Best Music Playlists For Psychedelic Therapy Are Explored In New Johns Hopkins Study

• Charles Wininger: Why We Should Listen To Ecstasy and Other Psychedelics
• The Potential (and Peril) of Legalizing Psychedelics
• What psychedelics taught me about healing trauma
• From adaptogens to psychedelics: What’s next for wellness’ mushroom obsession
• Big pharma is about to tune in to the potential of psychedelics

Social Justice

⭐ So, You’ve OK’d Shrooms and Defunded the Police. Now What?

⭐ Killer Mike Challenges Joe Biden To Adopt Bernie Sanders’s Legalization Plan

⭐ Celebrities, cash and questions: A new force roils the cannabis prisoner-release movement

• What a Decade as an African American in the Cannabis Business Has Taught Me
• A Look at BIPOC’s Ability to Access Capital and Income
• Kim Foxx’s vision: Automatically erase more serious convictions for weed dealing, expunge drug dealer convictions
• COVID is pushing thousands of Chinese immigrant workers into the cannabis industry, sometimes leading to exploitation
• Op-ed: Illinois’ booming cannabis business is leaving people of color behind
• Washington Social Equity Task Force Votes to Center Anti-Black Racism

Sports

• How Decriminalizing Marijuana At Federal Level Could Boost Interstate Sports Betting Compacts
• Halftime Report | Retired athletes jumping high into the cannabis industry
• NBA’s cannabis testing halt could lead to end of prohibition
• NBA Could Permanently End Marijuana Tests So It Doesn’t Become ‘Big Brother,’ Commissioner Says
• The Evolution of the MLB’s Policy on CBD and Cannabis
• Baseball is changing marijuana testing, too late for some

Studies and Surveys

⭐ Just one psychedelic experience may help reduce racial injustice-related trauma

• A study found that “cannabinoids can enhance the regenerative capacity of two major sources of stem cells.“
• study found that cannabis oil extract “possesses remarkable in vivo and in vitro anti-inflammatory activities.”
• A study found that Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid “markedly alleviates liver fibrosis and inflammation in mice.”
• A study found that “chronic cannabis use can significantly dampen stress reactivity in female rats.”
• A review demonstrated “potential therapeutic benefit with minimal physical and neurocognitive risk for the use of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy in [treatment-resistant] PTSD.”

Women

⭐ Boston Globe: Q&A with outgoing cannabis commissioner Shaleen Title

⭐ Radha Blank Explores Art, Racism, Midlife Crisis and More in ‘The Forty-Year-Old Version’

• ‘Miss Representation’: Stoner Women On Film And TV
• Cindy De La Vega: Operating a Community-Focused Social Equity Retailer
• Healing Our Communities With Psychedelic Solutions

Save $30 On The New Home Chef Bundle. Shop MagicalButter Now and Get Free Shipping!

States

Arizona

• Arizona Adult-Use Sales Could Begin in March
• Flying off the shelves at $8,000 per pound: Premium pot growers find niche in Arizona
• Do AZ Cities That Ban Marijuana Still Get Tax Revenue from Statewide Sales?

California

• 2020: An Essential Year for the Cannabis Industry
• California’s next Senator Alex Padilla did a PSA with Cheech Marin
• The Emerald Triangle in California, explained
• California’s marijuana tax money used to combat impaired driving
• Nearly 60 Los Angeles cannabis businesses poised to lose licenses on New Year’s Day
• New San Diego cannabis bureau aims to foster growing industry

Colorado

• Pandemic Fertilizes Record Pot Sales in Colorado
• The Push to Diversify Colorado’s Cannabis Industry
• Pot delivery, social equity reform and other Colorado cannabis trends to watch in 2021
• Schwazze acquires six Colorado cannabis stores for $37 million

Florida

• Legalize marijuana campaigns in Florida move ahead. But will politicians back recreational pot?
• Florida man tries to chew weed and get rid of evidence to avoid arrest
• Dustin ‘Mr. Cannabis Law’ Robinson, The Attorney Advocating For Psychedelics Reform In Florida

Georgia

• Georgia’s Election Might Determine the Future of Marijuana
• Georgia Senate Candidate Pitches Marijuana Legalization Plan To Young Voters On TikTok

Idaho

• Idaho Activists Want Recreational Marijuana Legalization On 2022 Ballot, In Addition To Medical Cannabis

Illinois

• First year of legal marijuana in Illinois generated big bucks but no new minority license holders
• Judge rules against pot grower applicants seeking licenses
• Illinois judge upholds state craft grow license delay

Iowa

• Iowa’s Chuck Grassley advances a boon for medical marijuana
• Pivotal year for pot, even in prohibitionist Iowa
• Iowa County Starts Program to Prevent Criminal Records for Cannabis Users

Kentucky

• Rand Paul Complains About Pot Edibles Study In Annual Festivus Grievances List

Maryland

• Maryland Lawmaker Files Marijuana Legalization Bill Ahead of 2021 Session
• Maryland-based cannabis firm Green Leaf Medical to be acquired

Michigan

• Michigan’s cannabis reforms and commutations are a good first step, but advocates say more work must be done
• Marijuana and Muslim religion clash as 2nd dispensary slips into Michigan town
• Decades-Long Prison Sentence For Marijuana Cut Short By MI Gov’s Commutation
• Gov. Whitmer grants clemency to four Michigan prisoners
• Veterinarians Can Consult On Marijuana And CBD Therapy For Pets
• What will cannabis consumption lounges look like in Michigan?

Minnesota

• Minnesota House Committee Urges Marijuana Decriminalization And Expungements As Racial Justice Moves For 2021

Missouri

• Missouri Lawmaker’s New Bill Would Put Marijuana Legalization On 2022 Ballot
• Kansas City dispensaries finally got marijuana gummies. But they’re already all gone
• Missouri judge throws out challenge to marijuana cultivation license limits

Montana

• Major Funder Of Montana Marijuana Legalization Initiative Could Be Prosecuted For Campaign Finance Violations

Nebraska

• Recreational Marijuana Could Be On The 2022 Ballot In Nebraska

New Jersey

• The Garden State Plants East Coast Adult-Use Cannabis
• The Fight Over Who Gets to Sell Weed in New Jersey
• New Jersey Mayors Surveyed About Pot As State Prepares To Implement Legalization
• N.J.’s pot industry is set to take off. Who can play? What do employers need to know?
• New Jersey Pot Bills Hit Snag Over Underage Penalties As Enactment Date Nears
• Murphy wants tickets with fines for underage weed use before he’ll sign legalization bill

New Mexico

• NM cannabis industry group gives priorities for a legalization bill
• Legalization advocates optimistic for next year

North Carolina

• NJ couple fights for custody of baby after out-of-state North Carolina arrest

Ohio

• Medical marijuana patients go to third-party websites for information

Oklahoma

• Oklahoma leads nation in marijuana cultivation licenses issued in 2020

Oregon

• One of the architects of Oregon’s bid to legalize psychedelic mushrooms, Sheri Eckert, has died

Pennsylvania

• Why medical marijuana in Pennsylvania is some of the most costly in the U.S.
• PA Courts Issue Several Decisions Clarifying Employee Rights for Medical Cannabis Patients
• Pennsylvania K-12 Students Will Learn About Hemp As A Sustainable Material, State Announces
• Cannabis workers in Pennsylvania ratify UFCW union contract

Rhode Island

• As Rhode Island Moves To Legalize Marijuana In 2021, State Leaders Back Private Sales Model
• 45 companies seek to open a cannabis dispensary in Rhode Island
• Rhode Island gets 45 applications for medical cannabis dispensary licenses

South Dakota

• Sides make their points on whether South Dakota’s marijuana amendment was valid
• Arguments Filed in South Dakota Cannabis Suit

Tennessee

• Nashville Bomber Was Arrested for Marijuana in 1978

Texas

• High aspirations: Marijuana bills look to push Texas toward decriminalization, legalization in 2021
• Advocates hope to change Texas’ restrictive medical marijuana program

Virginia

• 2 medical cannabis companies serving Virginia to merge
• Report: Cannabis Legalization Could Generate $1.2B In Economic Activity for Virginia

Washington

• Black-owned pot shops are rare in WA. Can a task force fix that?
• Shawn Kemp called himself Seattle’s first Black cannabis shop owner. But is he?
• Seattle Times: End federal barrier to researching marijuana
• Seattle Times: Executives no longer spooked by cannabis jobs

Washington, D.C.

• D.C. Decriminalizes Possession Of Drug Paraphernalia And Promotes Harm Reduction

West Virginia

• New year rings in new laws in West Virginia
• Harrison County Commission to Discuss Medical Cannabis Facility

Wisconsin

• Wisconsin Governor Floats Marijuana Legalization In 2021 Budget To Boost Economy
• Madison to Wisconsin: We’re Doing Cannabis Laws Our Way
• Illinois weed: Wisconsin police monitoring recreational marijuana across state line but see no major impacts yet

👉   Enjoying yourself? Subscribe to The Roll Up now.

International

Africa

• New appetite for cannabis economy in stark contrast to South Africa’s earlier stance
• Reps mull imprisonment for farmers, sellers, smokers of Indian Hemp in Nigeria

Asia

• Dept pushing for cannabis use in Thai traditional medicines
• Decriminalization of Narcotics Clarified by Thailand’s Ministry
• Cannabis gets closer to public medical use in Thailand
• Guam cannabis board chair: Where is data behind tourism fears?
• Goa, India govt’s law dept gives nod for marijuana cultivation for medicinal purposes
• ‘Not interested’: Goa CM scuttles proposal to allow cannabis cultivation
• Hong Kong drugs chief rules out legalization of cannabis

Australia

• Australia weighs wide-ranging medical cannabis reforms
• Australia is Getting Over-the-Counter CBD in 2021…But Not Much

Canada

• Medical cannabis registrations surge in Canada amid pandemic
• How Canada’s legal pot rules could change in 2021
• One in seven Canadian cannabis users grow their own pot: Study
• Global Pot Entrepreneurs Lured by Canada
• Canopy, Aphria cited for ‘critical’ cannabis regulatory breaches in 2018, new Health Canada report shows

Caribbean

• Rastafari ‘slighted’ in Barbados cannabis plan rollout

Europe

• Switzerland moves to allow production, marketing of hemp seeds
• The Crisis of Marijuana Criminalization in Italy
• EU drug agency flags CBD market issues in report on low-THC cannabis products
• The European Union Is Going To Be A Major Driving Force for CBD in 2021
• European Medical Cannabis Sector, Mapped For The First Time
• Most Germans Still Oppose Cannabis Legalization

Israel

• Israeli supermarket giant to sell low-cost medical cannabis
• Mobilizing marijuana: Israel’s cannabis industry prepares to go legit

Mexico

• Mexico Set to Become World’s Largest Legal Cannabis Market
• Prosecutor: Legalizing marijuana will double number of addicts in Mexico

New Zealand

• Hemp tea recalled, found to have too much THC and CBD

South America

• Australia’s Creso Pharma cleared to sell CBD pet product line in Uruguay
• Higher Standards, Kaya’s Cannabis Retail Experience In Uruguay Is A Feast For The Senses
• Uruguayan Cannabis Co. Fotmer Life Sciences Signs Supply Agreement With Israel-Based Canndoc

UK

• EU Nations Can’t Honor UK Cannabis Prescriptions After Brexit
• U.K. regulatory agency warns CBD users about possible ‘adverse drug reactions’
• Families still paying thousands for medicinal cannabis two years after legalisation