Marijuana Business Magazine January 2020

Colorado Random tests for mold and yeast at more than two dozen Denver-area cannabis dispensaries resulted in 20 stores being ordered to hold or quarantine their cannabis flower, shake or pre-rolled joints. The Denver Department of Public Health and Environment conducted 25 tests over a two-day period in September, according to alt-weekly newspaper Westword, which analyzed the results. The failure rate amounted to 80% of the dispensaries that underwent testing. Connecticut State lawmakers approved an additional five conditions for treatment with medical cannabis, bringing the total to 36. The General Assembly’s Regulations Review Committee voted to add the conditions, which include Tourette syndrome and intractable neuropathic pain for adult patients and those younger than 18. The other new conditions include interstitial cystitis, median arcuate ligament syndrome, vulvodynia and vulvar burning. Florida Two bills introduced in the Florida Legislature could break up the state’s vertically integrated medical cannabis regulatory structure. State Bill 212 would prohibit physicians and caregivers from having an economic interest in a medical marijuana retail facility and prohibit MMJ retailers from making their own products. State Rep. Anthony Sabatini, who introduced House Bill 149, said the measure “eliminates the vertically integrated business model in Florida’s medical marijuana law and also the cap on the number of licenses.” Illinois Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot proposed in her 2020 budget that the city impose the maximum local tax of 3% on recreational marijuana sales, a levy that would come on top of a state sales tax and a retail tax based on product potency and type. Marijuana Policy Project calculated that the total retail marijuana tax paid by consumers in Illinois will range from 19.55% to 34.75%; cannabis products also will be subject to a wholesale tax of 7%. In other news, Illinois awarded three additional medical marijuana retailers licenses to sell recreational cannabis. There are now 14 medical marijuana dispensaries in Illinois that can sell recreational cannabis when legal sales begin Jan. 1. Iowa The Iowa Medical Cannabidiol Board approved post-traumatic stress disorder and intellectual disability with aggression as conditions allowed to be treated with medical cannabis but rejected opioid dependency and Alzheimer’s disease. The Iowa Board of Medicine must concur before the two are added as qualifying conditions for medical cannabis. Industry Developments | International & State