States are continuing to post high sales marks and Maine is finally coming online after legalizing adult-use four years ago. Check out the latest!
NATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
Senator Touts New Marijuana Legalization Bill In Floor Speech On Racial Justice
Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) talked up her new marijuana legalization bill during a speech on racial justice that she delivered on the Senate floor last week. The senator, whose “Substance Regulation and Safety Act” was introduced late last month, said that ending cannabis prohibition could help law enforcement devote more resources to serious crimes, rather than continue to criminalize people in a racially disparate manner. The senator also called on Congress to pass a separate reform bill that she’s cosponsored: the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act. The legislation would address the devastating impact of the war on drugs by expunging marijuana-related convictions and then reinvesting in community. (Marijuana Moment)
STATEWIDE CHATTER
Illinois
Cannabis sales are soaring in Illinois, and the pandemic is helping. Stores selling cannabis were deemed essential businesses by the state, new dispensaries have opened and product introductions continue. People are taking the money they would have spent on restaurant meals and nights out and using it to buy cannabis. Roll all that together and it totals recreational weed sales of more than $300 million so far in 2020, including $61 million in July, the most of any month since sales started. Experts say those numbers exceeded expectations, and cannabis business owners are pleasantly surprised. The state also collected $66.8 million in tax revenues from the first seven months of sales — a bright spot as the pandemic continues to scar the state’s finances. (Chicago Tribune)
Maine
Maine’s potential $300 million a year adult-use marijuana program now is expected to launch sales by the end of the year, according to state officials. That would be more than four years after Mainers legalized adult use, with recent delays stemming from the coronavirus pandemic. The launch date is based on the first group of grow, processing and testing facilities operating by the end of September, the Portland Press Herald reported, citing state regulators. (Marijuana Business Daily)
Ohio
Ohioans have bought $100 million worth of medical marijuana so far this year, almost doubling what was spent in all of the program's first year, and the nascent industry has added nearly 600 jobs despite the coronavirus pandemic. Licensed dispensaries had sold more than $156.5 million worth of dried plant and processed cannabis extracts through July 20 since the first sales in January 2019, the Medical Marijuana Control Program reported, up from a cumulative $56 million as of December. The industry has also created 2,100 jobs statewide as of last month, a 21% increase since February as more facilities got the OK to open. (Columbus Business First)
Rhode Island
Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo will continue trying to legalize adult-use marijuana in the state. She sees legal recreational sales as a possible revenue generator, she told Cranston TV station WJAR on Friday morning. The Democratic governor floated the idea of adult-use legalization in late 2018, arguing that the state is losing business opportunities and revenue to neighboring states such as Massachusetts. Raimondo included tax revenue from adult-use legalization in her budget earlier this year. (Marijuana Business Daily)
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