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New Mexico gets ready for recreational cannabis sales

by Travis C | Mar 23, 2022 | Blog, Cannabis Business, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Cannabis News, Industry News, Legalization

New Mexico recreational cannabis sales are set to start on April 1. While retailers aren’t too concerned about meeting the demands on opening day, nerves are still running high.

Hundreds of retail dispensaries will be opening their doors on April 1, and the excitement is palpable.

“We really expect that first day of business to be filled with excitement,” said Kristen Thomson, director of the Cannabis Control Division of the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department.

Some business owners have expressed concerns about whether supply will be able to meet demand in early days of legal sales. Thomson said she is certain cannabis growers have enough products to keep stores stocked.

“We do not have concerns about lack of product,” she said. “As with any new gadget or restaurant or something opening, some products may come up short, but we do not anticipate a massive statewide shortage of product on opening day.”

In addition to the medical cannabis dispensaries that have been in operation for years already, over 220 recreational dispensaries have been approved to open. However it is unclear exactly how many will be open for business on day one. Many of these licenses also include integrated licenses for businesses that produce, manufacture, deliver and sell cannabis products.

Thomson added that the biggest hurdle retailers are facing prior to opening day is getting approved for zoning in their specific municipalities. Other businesses that will be open on the first of legal sales don’t share the same optimism as Thomson regarding supply.

Read Original Story from Santa Fe New Mexican

Illinois cannabis sales bring in billions, while leaving hundreds of license holders in limbo

by Travis C | Mar 23, 2022 | 420 News, Cannabis Business, Cannabis Law, Legalization, Politics

It is easy to look at the massive profits of the Illinois legal cannabis industry and think it’s been a huge success. But to nearly 200 cannabis dispensary license holders who have been put on hold, the industry isn’t meeting the promises made when the state legalized.

Since legalizing cannabis sales for adult use in 2020, Illinois has brought in over $2 billion in revenue. However a major aspect that made the Illinois cannabis legalization bill stand out was its claims of social equity.

The bill included multiple stipulations that would help minority and disproportionately impacted communities get first dibs on licenses. In one sense, they came through on that promise.

However getting a license and opening a business are two separate things. And 185 dispensary license holders — including minority license holders — have been waiting to open their businesses for two years.

For others like Akele Parnell, an attorney on the board of Chicago’s NORML chapter, they were able to open a grow facility, but with no dispensary to shelve the finished product. This has led to financial struggles for many who don’t have the partnerships or financial backing to stay afloat while waiting to be approved to open their business.

Read Full Story on CBS News

NY Gov. Hochul signs conditional cannabis cultivation bill

by The Real Dirt | Feb 22, 2022 | Blog, Business, Cannabis Business, Cannabis Law, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Cannabis News, Growing, Hemp, Industry News, Legalization

New York passes conditional cannabis cultivation licenses

With this legislation, NY is creating a new Conditional Adult-use Cannabis Cultivator license, allowing hemp farmers to grow cannabis in the 2022 growing season.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed new legislation on Tuesday that will allow hemp farmers in the state to apply for a conditional license to grow cannabis.

With this legislation, New York is creating a new Conditional Adult-use Cannabis Cultivator license, allowing hemp farmers to grow cannabis in the 2022 growing season. Conditionally licensed cannabis farmers must hit certain requirements under this law.

According to the governor’s office, some of the requirements include, “safe, sustainable and environmentally friendly cultivation practices, participation in a social equity mentorship program, and engagement in a labor peace agreement with a bona fide labor organization.”

“I am proud to sign this bill, which positions New York’s farmers to be the first to grow cannabis and jumpstart the safe, equitable and inclusive new industry we are building,” Hochul said. “New York State will continue to lead the way in delivering on our commitment to bring economic opportunity and growth to every New Yorker in every corner of our great state.”

Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes added, “Last year, after many years of fighting, we finally enacted the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, and are beginning to undo the devastating impacts over 90 years of unequal enforcement of marijuana prohibition had on too many lives and communities. MRTA ensures that the legal adult-use market will be centered on equity and economic justice for communities of color and individuals that have been harmed most by the War on Drugs in the State of New York. With the passage of this bill, we have the opportunity to create a responsible start to the adult-use cannabis industry by authorizing temporary conditional cultivator and processor licenses to current New York hemp farmers. This authority will help secure enough safe, regulated, and environmentally conscious cannabis products to meet the demand of the adult-use cannabis market when retail dispensaries open. Importantly, this legislation calls for a Social Equity Mentorship Program, which will create a viable and inclusive path for social and economic equity partners interested in cannabis cultivation and processing to gain invaluable knowledge and experience in this emerging industry. The temporary conditional licenses authorized by this bill will ultimately help realize the vision and goals of the MRTA.”

Original Story from WGRZ 2

No limit on New Mexico cannabis licenses leads to hundreds of applications

by The Real Dirt | Feb 17, 2022 | Blog, Business, Cannabis Business, Cannabis Law, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Cannabis News, Industry News, Legalization

New Mexico cannabis licenses are being applied for by the hundreds

You’re starting to see them pop up across New Mexico and they can’t even open yet.

More than a hundred applications are in — some already approved — to turn established medical marijuana shops, smoke shops, an old strip club and plenty of other closed businesses into recreational cannabis shops.

The Cannabis Control Division received the first retail applications on Monday, December 6, 2021. Entrepreneurs can open their doors on April 1, 2022, with an approved license.

“There’s no limit to the amount of licenses that can be issued as long as they’re able to meet the law in the Cannabis Regulation Act and the rules and requirements set forth by the Division and the Department,” explained Victor Reyes, Deputy Superintendent of the Regulation & Licensing Department.

No limit means the Cannabis Control Division can approve countless retail licenses and New Mexicans could theoretically see pot shops on every street across the state. “We have so much interest in our in, in folks who are applying to be part of this industry,” Reyes said. “And that’s because it’s an industry like none other.”

Going off the state’s website, KRQE plotted every address in Albuquerque where retail license applicants are hoping to open a shop come April 1. So far, there are more than 80 of them.

While a lot of people see the new industry as a positive for New Mexico, not everyone wants it moving in next door. “I’m not really for the recreational,” Laurel Kehoe said. And, she has her reasons. Her family’s optical clinic butts up to a shopping center on Montgomery that used to house a medical marijuana shop. She said it had its problem.

“They kept getting broken into,” Kehoe explained. “They also got held at gunpoint.” That prompted the Kehoes to take extra security measures for their employees and patients. She said they are always armed and even installed a gate around the perimeter.

The shop closed a while back, but now there’s an application in to turn the vacant business into a recreational cannabis shop. Kehoe said they’re “not thrilled,” but she’s aware they don’t have a choice. “We have no control over what’s going to go in next to us,” she commented.

The Cannabis Regulation Act gives every local government the discretion to choose where a pot shop can be located. Specific to Albuquerque, recreational cannabis can’t be sold within 300 feet of a school or daycare and shops have to be 600 feet apart from each other.

“We don’t want concentrations of certain businesses in certain places,” Albuquerque City Councilor Isaac Benton said. He explained the City has that rule for liquor stores too. But looking through applications, KRQE found several addresses close together which may violate that rule. Benton just introduced a resolution to Council clarifying that the first applicant gets dibs.

Read Full Story on KRQE

Connecticut cannabis business applications now open

by The Real Dirt | Feb 4, 2022 | Blog, Business, Cannabis Business, Cannabis Law, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Cannabis News, Industry News, Legalization

Connecticut’s first application window for businesses aiming to participate in the recreational cannabis market opened Thursday.

An educational webinar for businesses, the first of several planned as part of technical assistance aimed at helping social equity applicants, also streamed Thursday.

Non-lottery applications for cultivators in disproportionately impacted areas and lottery applications for recreational retailers are available.

Medical producers and dispensaries will also be allowed to convert to expanded licenses that allow them to participate in the medical and recreational markets. Applications for expanded producers and hybrid retailers are open.

Equity joint venture applications are also open. Equity joint ventures allow business entities to partner with applicants who meet certain social equity criteria.

Social equity status is determined by income and residency. The Social Equity Council, which is organizing technical assistance to aid businesses through the application process, is charged with ensuring the market benefits those who have been most impacted by the war on drugs.

All members of a household, regardless of relationship, will need to submit information on income for social equity applicants to meet the criteria, said Ginne-Rae Clay, interim director for the council.

This includes roommates, Clay said.

Half of all lottery licenses will go to social equity applicants. Application windows for more license types are set to open on a rolling basis over the next couple of months.

The state anticipates another lottery round in the second half of the year. Businesses that wish to participate will have to reapply for that round if they’re not selected in the first round, according to a state Department of Consumer Protection press release.