January’s come and gone and with it came lots of cannabis news. Didn’t keep up at the end? We’ve rounded up some of the top news from this week to keep you in the know before the weekend.
The people have spoken. Lawmakers in Washington State took testimony this Thursday on a bill that would finally legalize personal-use cultivation over a decade after the state legalized recreational cannabis. Two other bills were open for public comment: one banning the sale of cannabis concentrates with more than 35 percent THC, and another raising taxes on high-potency products up to 65 percent. Under the proposed bills, purchasers of recreational concentrates would also need to be over the age of twenty-five. Nothing has been voted on yet.
Watch below: Bethany Rondeaux of Washington brand Falcanna provides public statement at house hearing
Maryland’s making moves. Months after voters approved recreational cannabis in the state and ahead of the law taking effect July 1st, House and Senate lawmakers launched a bill to tax and regulate the plant. The proposals would tax cannabis at 6 percent for the first fiscal year, increasing by one percent each year until maxing out at 10 percent by 2028. Additionally, the state would put 30 percent of its marijuana tax revenue toward a community reinvestment fund for at least one decade.
Wait, they can do that? History was made in Illinois this week when OKAY Cannabis, the first store to offer licensed cannabis sales alongside West Town Bakery, which serves alcohol and baked goods, launched in Wheeling. How’d they do it? Charles Mayfield, majority owner of the company and one of the first social equity dispensary owners in the state, formed a partnership with West Town Bakery to move cannabis products under their roof. The bar and cafe is separate from the cannabis sales area.
Surprise! Recreational sales are on in Missouri. Everyone was waiting patiently for the state to flip to recreational sales on Monday, but Missouri moved fast and issued its first licenses today. Any medical dispensary in good standing with the state is eligible for a recreational license, and officials are currently only doling licenses out to already existing establishments.
Love is in the air and on brands’ minds. Massachusetts-based Insa cannabis just launched its limited-edition line of Valentine’s products, including red velvet chocolate truffles, cosmopolitan drops, and a red velvet cake vaporizer. I don’t know about you, but I’m sold.
