Today in cannabis news: Cannabis sales hit record highs in Illinois, Maine, Michigan and Missouri; Ohio activists resubmit an updated version for cannabis legalization to be on the 2022 ballot after the first version was turned down; and after the refusal by the FDA to add hemp extracts that contain CBD as a dietary supplement, the CRN calls on Congress to act.
It’s Tuesday, August 17 and this is your TRICHOMES Morning Buzz.
First up: Cannabis sales hit record highs in the month of July for Illinois, Maine, Michigan and Missouri. This can be attributed to the vast growth and maturity of the cannabis industry as it continues to thrive throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
Illinois hit a state record when 2,802,124 individual products were purchased last month generating almost $128 million in sales. For the first time last quarter the state received more tax dollars from cannabis than it had from alcohol with $86,537,000 in adult use revenue versus the $72,281,000 from liquor sales.
Maine experienced a 45% increase in cannabis sales hitting $9.4 million in July. The Portland Press Herald reported that cannabis business owners on the ground credited the spike in sales to Fourth of July and tourism.
Then Michigan comes in topping it’s previous records by having $171 million dollars in cannabis sales which broke down to $128 million for adult use and $43 million for medical cannabis sales. In June the state had $107 million for adult use and 42 million for medical use.
And lastly, for the first time ever, Missoiri’s medical cannabis sales exceeded over $20 million which analysts say is “largely attributed to a combination of new dispensaries opening and growing patient enrollment in the state’s medical marijuana programs.” Activists in the state are currently working to get four separate reform initiatives on the 2022 state ballot.
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/four-states-report-record-breaking-marijuana-sales-in-july/
Next up: After the state of Ohio rejected a previous version of a cannabis legalization petition for the 2022 ballot, activists have submitted a revised version. The attorney general deemed the first version to be “misleading” after the Coalition to Regulate Maraijuana like Alcohol or CTRMLA turned in a measure with more than 1,000 requisite signatures.
Activists went back and made changes to the seven parts within the summary that the Attorney General deemed to be questionable on if it was fair and truthful. Dave Yost now had an additional 10 days to look over and review the newest version.
The new initiative is statutory versus a constitutional proposal which makes it different from past versions. “If supporters collect 132,887 valid signatures from registered voters, the legislature will then have four months to adopt the measure, reject it or adopt an amended version. If lawmakers do not pass the proposal, organizers will then need to collect an additional 132,887 signatures to place the proposal before voters on the ballot in 2022.”
Last up: After the FDA rejected new dietary ingredient notifications for hemp extract containing CBD, the Council for Responsible Nutrition or CRN has denounced the rejection and called on congress to act. In a statement the CRN stated that the “FDA has wrongly mischaracterized these products as the same article as a prescription drug and has ignored, dismissed, and downplayed ample evidence that these full-spectrum hemp products can be marketed in a manner that is reasonably expected to be safe.”
The FDA is seen to be “failing American hemp farmers, supplement manufacturers, retailers and most importantly – 170 supplement users” by refusing to not create a legal pathway for CBD to be marketed as a dietary supplement. By not creating regulations for the CBD market the FDA is allowing for products to be manufactured poorly and being illegally marketed.
The CRN announced that it “has publicly endorsed HR 841, the Hemp and Hemp-Derived CBD Consumer Protection and Market Stabilization Act of 2021 and is actively lobbying Congress to do what FDA has refused to do”
That was today’s buzz! Thanks for listening…for more cannabis news and insights from industry professionals, and a place to discuss these stories and others, visit TRICHOMES.com
And be sure to catch up with all of our other cannabis industry related “potcasts” like Hash it Out, Tech in Cannabis, or The International Cannabis Conversation wherever you get your podcasts!
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