ALABAMA LEGALIZES MEDICAL CANNABIS AS MISSISSIPPI RESCINDS THEIR VOTER-APPROVED BALLOT MEASURE
Welcome to another installment of the Unity Rd. Chronicles, brought to you by U.S. cannabis dispensary franchise Unity Rd.
While Alabama signs a medical cannabis bill into law and Colorado is looking forward to new licensing opportunities in its biggest city, the Mississippi Supreme Court is overturning the state's voter-approved ballot initiative to legalize medical cannabis -- check out the latest!
NATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
Cannabis Has a Growing Impact on the U.S. Economy
The cannabis industry has a large - and growing - impact on the broader economy in the United States. It's effects are apparent from job creation to tax revenue to commercial real estate and beyond. The total U.S. economic impact from marijuana sales is expected to reach $92 billion in 2021 - up more than 30% from last year. By 2025, that number will reach upwards of $160 billion, according to analysis from the newly published MJBizFactbook. (Marijuana Business Daily)
STATEWIDE CHATTER
Alabama
Yesterday, Gov. Kay Ivey signed a bill that was sent to her desk earlier this month to legalize medical cannabis in the state. The new law will allow people with certain qualifying conditions to access cannabis in the form of capsules, lozenges, oils, suppositories, and topical patches - raw cannabis, smoking, vaping, and candy or baked edibles would be prohibited. A new Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission will be tasked with licensing businesses and regulating the program. The commission will need to license at least four cultivators, up to four processors, up to four dispensaries which may have up to three locations each, and up to five vertically integrated facilities. Applications for medical cannabis businesses are to start being accepted on September 1, 2022. (Marijuana Moment)
Colorado
The city of Denver will have new cannabis business licensing opportunities after Mayor Michael Hancock signed two bills to overhaul the city’s cannabis licensing and hospitality programs, while also creating a new cannabis delivery program. The Denver Department of Excise and Licenses held two public meetings on May 4 and May 6 to help prospective cannabis licensees learn about the new initiatives. Most notably, the initiatives remove the cap on retail store and cultivation facility locations within Denver’s borders. Social equity applicants will have exclusive access to most cannabis licenses for six years, along with waived application fees and reduced license fees. The Department will need some time to update its application process and forms in line with the new law, therefore they anticipate opening applications in June. (Westword)
Minnesota
A bill to legalize adult-use cannabis in Minnesota successfully passed out of the House on Friday after being reviewed and voted on by twelve committees over the recent months. However, it stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate over the weekend, effectively killing the chances of sending the bill to the governor’s desk before the legislative session ended on Monday. While there is a special session planned to pass the state budget, it’s extremely unlikely that the legalization bill will be taken up for consideration during that time. Although state senators are opposed to adult-use legalization, they are supportive of expanding the state’s medical cannabis program. The Minnesota legislature effectively passed a bill over the weekend to allow smokable medical cannabis flower for adults 21 and older, as the states program currently prohibits it. The governor is expected to sign the bill into law. (Marijuana Moment)
Mississippi
The voter-approved ballot initiative to legalize a comprehensive medical cannabis program in Mississippi has been overturned by the state Supreme Court. On Friday, the court ruled in favor of a Mississippi mayor who filed a legal challenge against the ballot measure, nullifying its certification by the Secretary of State. The lawsuit was unrelated to the language of the cannabis reform proposal itself – instead, plaintiffs were able to successfully argue that the constitutional amendment violated procedural rules for getting measures on the state ballot. The court acknowledged that a “strong, if not overwhelming, majority of voters of Mississippi approved Initiative 65” to legalize medical cannabis in the state. Matt Schweich, deputy director of the Marijuana Policy Project, called on Mississippi’s legislature to honor voter will by enacting the referendum through the legislative process. (Marijuana Moment)
EXPLORE THE UNITY RD. FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITY
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