Marijuana Business Magazine January 2020

Marijuana Business Magazine | January 2020 34 Montana Ravalli County District Judge Jennifer Lint signed a temporary restraining order prohibiting Gov. Steve Bullock and state health officials from enforcing emergency rules on flavored vaping products. Lint was acting in response to a lawsuit filed by three vape shops and an e-cigarette industry group. The suit claims the 120-day ban is an overly restrictive reaction to a national outbreak of vaping-related illnesses and deaths. Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak created a multiagency task force to “root out corruption or criminal influences” in the state’s legal cannabis market. The move came after a federal indictment detailed a failed attempt by a group with foreign ties to win a retail marijuana license in Nevada by donating money to the political campaigns of two state officials. Sisolak said he also wants the task force to investigate “ongoing issues” such as “serious allegations of manipulated lab results” and the state’s licensing process. Based on a recommendation by the task force, the state Department of Taxation said it won’t process license-transfer or change-of- ownership applications until a review is conducted. New Hampshire In the latest setback to legalize the sale of adult-use cannabis in New Hampshire, a state Senate Judiciary Committee recommended by a 4-0 vote to not move forward on a legalization bill that needs to be “fixed,” according to state Sen. Harold French, a Republican who has been an ardent supporter of legalization in the past. The full Senate will consider the recommendation in January. New Mexico Proceeds from recreational marijuana sales would be used to provide low-interest loans to small MJ businesses and eliminate taxes on medical cannabis under a legalization proposal from an expert panel appointed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. The recommendations from a 23-member bipartisan task force sets the stage for a new push to authorize the sale of recreational marijuana when the state Legislature convenes this month. Ohio State officials banned vitamin E acetate in vaping devices after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) pinpointed the chemical as a likely culprit causing the vaping-related lung illnesses. Singling out this one additive, which is commonly used as a cutting agent in vape cartridges, could work in the legal cannabis industry’s favor, since the CDC has made a connection between vitamin E acetate and vape cartridges from the illicit market. Industry Developments | International & State