The vaping crisis is making some lawmakers in Minnesota reluctant to support recreational marijuana legalization in the state. Cannabis opponents latched on to the outbreak as a reason for the state to slow down legalizing adult-use marijuana, according to the Star Tribune. The outbreak came at nearly the same time that marijuana advocates were rolling […]
Read MoreVaping Crisis
Week in Review: USDA issues hemp rules, Mexican recreational cannabis vote delayed, spring rollout for Michigan’s rec market & more
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) unveils its hotly anticipated hemp regulations, Mexico’s bid to legalize recreational marijuana is delayed, sales of adult-use MJ in Michigan won’t begin until March or April at the earliest – and more of the week’s top cannabis business news. USDA rolls out hemp rules The USDA released 160 pages of […]
Read More
Massachusetts plans marijuana, tobacco vape financial impact estimate
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration on Friday plans to file a statement estimating the financial impact to small-business owners from the statewide ban on all vaping products. The Republican governor also plans a Nov. 22 public hearing on the statewide ban, which was the first in the nation. In September, Massachusetts banned the sale of […]
Read More
Maine cannabis retailers see spike in vaporizer sales after Massachusetts vape ban
Cannabis retailers in Maine are seeing a spike in sales of vape cartridges, likely a result of the ban on sales of vaping products in neighboring Massachusetts. The ban appears to have spurred Massachusetts cannabis consumers to trek north to purchase vape merchandise across the border, although it is illegal for people to take marijuana […]
Read More
Missouri cannabis group seeks vape rules
The Missouri Medical Cannabis Trade Association wants the state’s health officials to issue strict vaping regulations. The association, in a letter to the Department of Health and Senior Services, asked for rules on vaping additives, testing and labeling before legal medical marijuana sales begin in Missouri in 2020, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Nationwide, […]
Read More
Sales of marijuana edibles up in at least four states in wake of vape health scare
The vaping health crisis apparently has been good for the marijuana edibles sector, a sign that consumers are funneling more money into infused products instead of vaporizers. Since the first vape-related death was reported in August, retail sales of edibles have climbed steadily in four states while those of vaping products have declined, though the […]
Read More
Massachusetts keeps ban on marijuana vape products but allows use of crushed flower
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker on Friday maintained the statewide retail ban on the sale of all vaping products after securing approval from the Public Health Council for an emergency regulation, but at the same time a local judge allowed medical cannabis patients to purchase crushed flower for use in vaporizers. The emergency regulation, to be […]
Read More
Gallup survey: Most Americans support legal marijuana despite vape crisis
The vaping crisis hasn’t dimmed Americans’ support to legalize marijuana, according to a Gallup poll released Wednesday. Roughly 66% of those polled continue to support legalizing marijuana, based on Gallup’s annual crime survey, conducted earlier this month. Since late August, the nationwide vaping crisis has claimed 33 lives and made almost 1,500 people sick, according […]
Read More
Cannabis vaporizer company Pax Labs cuts 25% of workers after missing revenue projections
California-based Pax Labs, one of the leading vape pen companies in the cannabis industry, disclosed Monday it laid off 65 workers, or 25% of its workforce, after missing its revenue projections. The layoffs come amid a health crisis that has shaken the vaporizing industry. The San Francisco company – which originally had ties to the […]
Read More
Massachusetts judge lets marijuana, tobacco vaping ban stand
A state judge allowed Massachusetts’ four-month ban on the sale of all vaping products to stand as a legal challenge makes its way through the courts. Suffolk Superior Court Judge Douglas Wilkins wrote in a 32-page decision on Monday that lifting the ban as requested by the vaping industry “would contravene the public interest.” Republican […]
Read More
Montana judge blocks temporary ban of flavored marijuana vapes, e-cigarettes
A judge in Montana halted a temporary ban on flavored vaping products, including medical cannabis, which was scheduled to go into effect Oct. 22. Ravalli County District Judge Jennifer Lint signed a temporary restraining order Friday that prohibits Gov. Steve Bullock and state health officials from enforcing emergency rules on flavored vaping products. Lint was […]
Read More
Northeast governors take big step toward regional cannabis coordination
Democratic governors from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut took a landmark step Thursday toward coordinating recreational marijuana legalization efforts, agreeing on basic principles involving market regulation, taxation and social equity. They also focused on the vaping crisis, agreeing that states should either ban flavored vaporizer products or regulate them to reduce their attractiveness […]
Read More
Business can expect new markets, fresh opportunities - and more pitfalls.