Marijuana Business Magazine August 2019

Marijuana Business Magazine | August 2019 36 New Hampshire Physician assistants are allowed to recommend medical marijuana in the state after Gov. Chris Sununu signed House Bill 350 into law. However, Sununu vetoed legislation that would have opened the state’s MMJ industry to for-profit businesses, saying the bill would have provided an incentive for out-of-state entities to buy a stake in New Hampshire’s MMJ industry. Currently, the state’s vertically integrated MMJ businesses must operate as nonprofits. New Jersey The state health department will issue up to 24 new business licenses in its medical cannabis program. But the number, which includes four vertically integrated permits, is far fewer than the 108 licenses that the state said in June it would issue. Previously, the state had issued 12 vertically integrated permits in two rounds of licensing. Application forms will be due Aug. 21 for dispensary applications and Aug. 22 for the others. Applicants may seek up to three permits in total but may submit only one application per region. Applicants for a vertically integrated permit may submit only one application. New Mexico The state Department of Health published a proposal to limit medical cannabis cultivation to 1,750 mature plants per licensed producer. Immature seedlings shorter than 8 inches won’t count toward the limit, allowing producers to experiment with cannabis strains. The production cap could increase starting in June 2021 if demand outstrips supply. In March, New Mexico regulators enacted an emergency rule that increased the medical marijuana plant count limit to 2,500 per grower. That emergency rule was in response to a November court ruling in which a district judge struck down the state’s 450-plant limit as being arbitrary. New York A last-ditch effort to legalize a commercial adult-use market during this legislative session failed. Sticking points included tax revenue issues, whether municipalities could have opt-in or opt-out provisions and whether low-level marijuana convictions would be expunged. It’s unclear whether the Legislature will want to take up the issue during the 2020 election year. The silver lining for cannabis businesses is that the state might instead expand its medical marijuana program. Industry Developments | International & United States