“[Vermont] is a state to watch. They’re starting with small cultivators and social equity. Small business exemptions for the more onerous requirements. And a limit of ONE license of each type! Keep an eye on VT…”
— Shaleen Title on Twitter, May 2, 2022 

 In a hurry? Look for the star ⭐ on our top news items 

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

Vermont

⭐ LICENSING UPDATE: Control Board ‘On The Cusp’ of Issuing First Licenses

⭐ With no Integrated License applications in, VT will likely not see retail cannabis in May

⭐ Check out this review of Trap Haus VT’s Greasy Runtz

⭐ The 2022 Headies Cup was a huge success!

More Heady headlines:

⭐ Op-Ed: House Seeks to Prohibit Cannabis Concentrates From the Adult-Use Market

⭐ CCB approves the social equity status of eight cultivator applications

• Steep Hill Enters License Agreement For a Licensed Lab in Vermont

• Strain Review: Runtz Muffins by Tall Truck

• Strain Review: Pig Pen by Off Piste Farm

⭐   Bored? Looking for something to do? Our events page is stacked!

Get hyped for springtime with VT NORML and come strut your stuff! 

NECANN: Vermont Cannabis and Hemp Convention in Essex Junction

An update today from VT Cannabis Control Board member @juliehulburd. This is a state to watch. They’re starting with small cultivators and social equity. Small business exemptions for the more onerous requirements. And a limit of ONE license of each type! Keep an eye on VT… https://t.co/w3puxPfT0k

— Shaleen Title (@shaleentitle) May 2, 2022

Brattleboro Reformer: Wilmington approves retail cannabis sales, again 

• Reformer: Pot cultivation, sales to be allowed in many town zoning districts

• Reformer: As close to the plant as you can get’: Guilford hemp farm ‘experiments’ with marijuana

• Bennington Banner: Cannabis Control Board deals with licensing delays

• Vermont cannabis board to push off deadline to issue licenses to small growers

• Reformer: Before re-vote, Wilmington leafs through retail cannabis question 

• Rutland Herald: DePoy fails to talk aldermen out of cannabis control board

• Castleton Spartan: Castleton retail cannabis revote fails

• VT Control Board Misses May 1 Deadline to Begin Issuing Adult-Use Cannabis Licenses

• Banner: Pownal gets inquiries, one application for marijuana businesses

• Banner: Vermont reacts to possible overturn of Roe v. Wade

• Manchester Journal: Select Board hears proposed cannabis zoning changes

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Regional

Connecticut

• Applications for retail licenses in Connecticut are ‘flooding in.’

• New CT legislation closes loophole for ‘marijuana gifting parties.’

• CT’s quasi-public venture capital arm invests $1.25M into Colorado cannabis company moving to the state

Maine

• Claiming the current law discriminates against out-of-staters, it is highly likely The First District Court of Maine is going to strike this down.

•     New legislation in Maine provides protections for caregivers, home delivery, and increased efforts to prioritize social equity.

Massachusetts

• MA Senate unanimously passed a bill that will decrease the ‘exorbitant’ fees expected of licensed cannabis businesses in the state.

New Hampshire

• NH Senate rejects bill that would have legalized recreational cannabis sales in state-run storefronts

New York

• The Cannabis Control Board of NY approved 36 conditional cultivator licenses; expects to review an additional 100 applications.

• While cannabis regulators in NY drag their feet, the illicit market continues to thrive

• NY Supreme Court ruled that a $600M lawsuit against a multi-state cannabis company may proceed 

 UNLOCK SAVINGS, EXCLUSIVE ACCESS AND MORE 
Become a Heady Vermont member today.

National

⭐ Collectively, states with adult use cannabis have generated more than $3.7 billion in revenue

• Reaching $72.9M in the first quarter, latest revenue report out of Montana reports cannabis sales are exceeding projections

• D.C. Mayoral debate neglected to address cannabis despite it being a major topic of recent debate in the District’s politics

Acquisitions & Mergers

• Multistate operator MariMed recently locked down two new acquisitions: Kind Therapeutics, in Maryland, and Green Growth, in Illinois.

• 3 Oregon cannabis trade associations come together to form the Cannabis Industry Alliance of Oregon 

Banking

⭐ Politico: Cannabis crime wave boosts banking prospects on Capitol Hill

•  Senate Leadership urged by Bankers Associations from all 50 states to pass SAFE Banking Act

• West Town Bank & Trust launches a comprehensive banking program for cannabis businesses 

The War on Drugs has been a war on people—particularly people of color
I stood with organizers and advocates to ensure NY legalized Marijuana in a way that would help undo the damage of the War on Drugs
I’ll keep working to end the federal prohibitionhttps://t.co/9AEsgy7UCV

— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) April 14, 2021

Business

⭐ Cannabis Excise tax already outpacing alcohol in multiple legal states

• Cannabis Operator Curaleaf Names Matt Darin as CEO

CBD & Hemp

• What does retail cannabis mean for CBD retailers?

• Denim company partners with hemp processing firm BastCore to create first-of-its-kind denim made from hemp

COVID-19

⭐ Lab study finds that COVID infection can be prevented by certain cannabis compounds

Cultivation & Production

• Worcester warehouse slated for cannabis cultivation sells for $2 million

Consumption & Culture

• Prolific cannabis YouTube channel mysteriously removed by YouTube without explanation

• Part of an annual “Agricultural History and Creativity” schoolchildren in Florida are invited to brainstorm new uses for hemp in an essay contest

Hypocrisy, Prevarication and Outright Lies

• Antley: THC cannabis concentrate (op-ed, Rutland Herald)

Labor & Unions

⭐Employees at Green Dragon in Denver are unionizing to combat poor working conditions and overall mistreatment

Rather than bombing Mexico, US should end the ‘war on drugs’- a failure by any measure. Decriminalize drugs, addiction is an illness, set up easy access methadone treatment centers to help addicts wean from dangerous drugs to controlled substance. Cartels will go out of business

— Mia Farrow (@MiaFarrow) May 6, 2022

Legalization & Politics

⭐ Kentucky Governor continues to push for legalization of medical cannabis, intends to employ executive action

• Delaware House passed ‘historic’ legislation that would eliminate all penalties for adults 21+ who were found possessing up to an ounce of cannabis 

Media & Advertising

• Strict advertising-related bill passes through CT House, awaiting Senate approval

• MG Retailer: A Solution for the Cannabis Advertising Obstacle

Medical Cannabis

• Medical cannabis bill was shot down in South Carolina House

• Nebraska Medical advocacy group loses two top donors, proceeds with grassroots efforts regardless

Podcasts

• KNOW YOUR BREEDER SERIES: Jimmy Toucans From Blackbird Preservations

Psychedelics

⭐ Psychedelic use for therapeutic reasons becomes increasingly accepted

• DMT paired with talk therapy shows promising results for patients with major depressive disorders

Social Equity

⭐ NY has begun its search for a SE Fund manager – the state has pledged $200M to   the fund

• San Francisco has received $4.5M from the state of California to augment its Cannabis Equity Grant Program

Sports

⭐ American Basketball Star Brittney Griner ‘Wrongfully Detained’ Over Cannabis in Russia

Studies and Surveys

⭐ 61% of recent survey respondents stated they are more likely to vote for a political candidate    who supports cannabis legalization

• Survey data indicates that patients with MS frequently turn to cannabis for symptomatic relief

• Subjects in new insomnia study report ‘significant benefits’ from cannabis use

Women

⭐ The Black women redefining California’s cannabis market – one curated store at a time

• Women in Weed Are Breaking the ‘Stoner Guy’ Stereotype: Women Who Travel Podcasts

International 

⭐  Medical cannabis reform now a national priority in Argentina

⭐  Is Recreational Cannabis Reform Coming to Ecuador?

⭐  Germany Speeds Up The Process To Legalize Recreational Cannabis

• Should German Cannabis Legalization Include Social Equity Set-Asides?

• Thailand Giving Away A Million Cannabis Plants for Home Cultivation

• Inside one of the first licensed medical cannabis labs in Britain

• South Africa welcomes its first medical dispensary in Glenanda, Johanssenburg