As New York prepares the launch of its adult-use marijuana market, the state Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) announced on Monday a significant expansion of the existing medical cannabis program. Now doctors will be able to issue medical marijuana recommendations to people for any condition that they feel could be treated by cannabis, rather than rely on a list of specific eligible maladies. Physicians were granted that discretion through the state’s recreational marijuana law that was enacted last year. The expansion is being made possible as part of OCM’s new Medical Cannabis Program certification and registration system. “It is terrific to see the Medical Cannabis Program expand so vastly with the launch of the new certification and registration program and the ability of practitioners to determine qualifying conditions as included in the MRTA,” Cannabis Control Board (CCB) Chair Tremaine Wright said in a press release. “The new cannabis industry is taking shape as we continue to implement the MRTA and provide greater access for New Yorkers to a medicine that we’re learning more about every day,” Wright said. “We’re continuing to move forward swiftly and today’s system launch follows our achievements that already include adding whole flower medical product sales, permanently waiving $50 patient fees, and advancing home cultivation regulations, among others.”

Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 01/24/2022 15:23:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/new-york-doctors-can-now-recommend-medical-marijuana-to-patients-for-any-condition-they-see-fit/

Colorado officials announced on Monday that the state has achieved a “wildly important goal” of increasing diversity in the legal marijuana industry—but the data shows there’s still a way to go before cannabis business ownership is on par with the state’s population demographics. Nearly 17 percent of the state’s cannabis businesses are now minority-owned as of January 1, the Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) reported. Colorado had set a goal of at least 16.8 percent minority ownership in the cannabis sector by June 30, 2022, and that’s already been narrowly exceeded by the beginning of the year. When data on licensee demographics started to be collected in July 2021, there was 15.2 percent minority ownership in the marijuana market. Now it’s up to 16.8 percent.s of January 1, the state has also approved 50 social equity licenses for communities disproportionately impacted by prohibition. As one of the first states to legalize marijuana for adult use, there’s been significant pressure on Colorado to ensure that the industry is equitable, benefitting those who have been most impacted under criminalization.

Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 01/24/2022 13:53:00

Open article: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/colorado-meets-marijuana-industry-diversity-goal-ahead-of-schedule/

several businesses, trade groups, and social organizations announced the formation of a coalition on Monday opposing the legalization of recreational marijuana in Minnesota as the measure’s supporters signal another push for the issue ahead of the start of the legislative session next week. The proposal passed in the Democratic-controlled House last session with several Republican votes after picking up support from some GOP lawmakers during its trek through a dozen committees, making it the first time either chamber had voted on the issue. The bill would legalize marijuana use for adults, as well as expunge minor cannabis convictions in an effort to remedy inequities in marijuana arrests and convictions among white and Black residents despite similar usage rates. The coalition, called Minnesotans Against Marijuana Legalization, consists of the Minnesota Trucking Association, the state’s police and peace officers association, and the Minnesota Catholic Conference, a policy arm of the Catholic Church of Minnesota, among others.

Mmp News Author, Medical Marijuana Program Connection, 01/24/2022 19:02:00

Open article: https://mmpconnect.com/minnesota-groups-unite-to-oppose-marijuana-legalization-minnesota/

Operating in the legal cannabis space is no mean feat. Due to the plant’s federal status as a controlled substance, marijuana businesses have to deal with a lot of issues that players in other industries don’t even have to think of. For starters, most banks refuse to work with marijuana businesses in fear of federal reprisals, forcing the businesses to operate on a largely cash-only basis. This makes accounting and filing taxes extremely cumbersome and makes the business prime targets for criminals. For quite a while, industry stakeholders have argued for some kind of policy or regulation that would allow these companies to access banking services. The only lawmaker who heeded the call was Rep. Ed Perlmutter, who introduced the Secure and Fair Enforcement (“SAFE”) Banking Act to the House of Representatives in March 2019. The legislation would prohibit federal banking regulators from penalizing banks that provided financial services to legal cannabis businesses. Despite the potential benefits it could provide to the industry, the SAFE Banking Act did not gain the traction it needed to advance. While the House has approved some form of the SAFE Banking Act, it failed to advance past the Senate in any form even when the Democrats had majority votes. Perlmutter, who recently announced that he would be retiring from Congress come next election, says this has left him “pretty irritated.” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has consistently stood in the way of his bipartisan legislation. Schumer has been working on a federal legalization bill with federal lawmakers for some time now, and he does not want banking legislation before comprehensive cannabis reform is enacted.

CannabisNewsWire, 01/24/2022 16:20:00

Open article: https://www.cannabisnewswire.com/420-with-cnw-safe-banking-act-sponsor-vows-to-see-bill-passed-before-he-retires/