New Jersey is poised to legalize adult-use marijuana within weeks, after Gov. Phil Murphy and state legislative leaders reportedly reached a tentative agreement on how to regulate and tax the program.
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Missouri gets 400-plus applications for medical cannabis business permits
Business interest in Missouri’s medical marijuana program remains strong, with the state receiving more than 400 applications for retail, cultivation and processor licenses. The state reported that 418 business application forms have been...
Congress urged to allow legal marijuana businesses access to bank services
Bank officials and others urged Congress on Wednesday to fully open the doors of the U.S. banking system to the state-legal marijuana industry, a change supporters say would reduce the risk of crime and resolve a litany of challenges for cannabis companies, from...
Effort in Arkansas to add nearly 40 medical marijuana conditions falls short
An Arkansas legislative committee shelved an effort to more than triple the conditions that would qualify patients to use medical cannabis, a move that likely would have resulted in a more robust market. The proposal to expand the conditions list from 18 to 57 did not...
Oklahoma medical cannabis sales surge to $4 million in January
The nascent Oklahoma medical marijuana program continues to post strong initial numbers, with retail sales topping $4.3 million in January, a fourfold increase from the previous month, according to state Tax Commission figures. That jump is for a program that was...
Congressional hearing on marijuana banking boosts industry hopes for reform, but passage far from assured
Major issues facing the cannabis industry, such as limited access to banking services, have stalled in Congress without even getting a hearing, much less a floor vote. That will change Wednesday, when a subcommittee of the now-Democratic-controlled House Financial Services Committee hears testimony on the difficulty legal cannabis businesses have opening and maintaining bank accounts.
Connecticut billboard pointing to legal marijuana sales across border sparks squabble
A highway billboard in Connecticut that reads “Weed is legal in 60 miles,” meaning cannabis is legally for sale via businesses that sit just across the border in Massachusetts, has prompted a community stir, Rocky Hill TV station WFSB...
Former House Speaker Boehner gets behind marijuana lobbying group
Former U.S. House Speaker John Boehner announced a new, industry-funded group to lobby for marijuana reform in banking, taxes and research, a move that will put a political heavyweight behind the MJ industry's efforts to overhaul federal cannabis policy. The National...
Marijuana business sues Louisiana after state nixes its testing lab application
A New Orleans-based company is suing the state of Louisiana, claiming that its application to be an independent medical cannabis testing laboratory was improperly rejected. The lack of an independent testing lab is the latest development to delay Louisiana’s medical...
AR licenses 32 dispensaries; medical cannabis sales possible around April
The 32 businesses that an Arkansas panel approved to sell medical marijuana in the state have been formally awarded their licenses, with sales expected to start as soon as April. The businesses received their licenses after paying a $15,000...
Arbiters award 4Front Advisors $8.7M in dispute with Nevada cannabis firms
4Front Advisors, part of the Arizona-based multistate marijuana firm 4Front Holdings, won an $8.7 million arbitration award against Nevada-based CWNevada and NuVeda for breach of contract in failing to pay fees for services provided. Kris Krane, 4Front Holdings'...
Multistate cannabis firm expands into Massachusetts with $30 million-plus deal
Chicago-based, multistate marijuana operator Verano Holdings announced it is moving into another state through the acquisition of a Massachusetts marijuana business. Verano said in a news release it has acquired 100% of Four Daughters Compassionate Care of Sharon,...











