New local opportunities for cannabis retail licensing has emerged in long-standing markets like California and Colorado, where additional towns are opting into the states' adult-use programs. Meanwhile, New Mexico's governor is pushing for cannabis legalization and South Dakota is moving forward with implementing their voter-approved medical cannabis program -- check out the latest!
NATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
Congress Re-Introduces The SAFE Cannabis Banking Act
Last week, congress re-introduced the SAFE Banking Act along with introducing the Clarifying Law Around Insurance of Marijuana (CLAIM) Act to push for cannabis law reform on a federal level. The bills would allow banks and insurance companies to work with cannabis businesses without the fear of federal prosecution. The SAFE Banking Act was passed by the House in 2019, but stalled in the Senate. Congress is more optimistic about it's outcome this year as more and more states are allowing cannabis legalization - and using it to drive social equity programs. (Cannabis Wire)
STATEWIDE CHATTER
California
A few California cities are currently accepting applications for cannabis retailers including Palm Springs, Antioch, and Arcata. California boasted $4.4 billion in adult-use sales in 2020, and is estimated to surpass $7.2 billion in annual cannabis sales in 2024. The long-standing market is continuously expanding. Last November, another 31 towns voted to allow adult-use cannabis sales, setting the stage for additional retail opportunities later this year. You can view a list of cities currently accepting cannabis license applications here.
Colorado
Cannabis retail opportunities are coming to Broomfield, Fort Lupton, Paonia, Cedaredge, and Romeo. The towns voted in favor of allowing cannabis sales last November and are currently setting up the rules and regulations to license and govern cannabis businesses. In Cedaredge, regulations have been finalized and will take effect on April 2. A town board meeting was held on March 18 to discuss a timeline regarding the application process. Colorado surpassed $2 billion in annual cannabis sales for 2020, setting a new record for the state. Growth is only expected to continue as these additional towns begin opening retail stores. (Westword)
Michigan
On March 1, an eligibility restriction that required an adult-use cannabis license applicant to hold an active medical cannabis license was removed. Now any interested applicant may apply, and the Marijuana Regulatory Agency will accept applications with no deadline for submission. Competition for retail licenses lies on a local level in Michigan, as cities and counties are able to regulate cannabis businesses within their borders. The cities of Detroit and Saginaw began accepting applications for licenses in January. (Marijuana Regulatory Agency)
New Mexico
New Mexico lawmakers have been considering a bill to legalize adult-use cannabis in the state. The bill, HB12, easily passed out of the House of Representatives last month. The measure is favored by cannabis reform advocates because of its strong social equity provisions. However, the bill became delayed in the Senate as lawmakers pushed to make amendments to the nearly 200-page bill. In order to make the legislative deadline on the night of March 20, the full Senate would have needed to vote and pass the measure back to the House to sign off on changes. Since this wasn’t attainable, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has announced she plans to call a special session “in a week or so” to continue the discussion and give lawmakers another opportunity to pass the legislation. (Marijuana Moment)
Oklahoma
The Oklahoma House passed a bill that would limit the number of cannabis business licenses in the state. The cap would be the number of active licenses as of September 1, 2021 and the cap would be lifted again on September 1, 2023. The bill still needs to be approved by the Senate before it’s sent to the governor for a signature into law. It would aim to eventually have no more than 8,000 cannabis licenses in the state – 2,000 reserved for dispensaries, 5,000 reserved for growers, and 1,000 reserved for processors. Currently, there are more than 10,000 cannabis licenses throughout the state. If you're seeking to apply for a dispensary license or you're an existing dispensary owner, it's time to grow your business, ensure you're in compliance, and take it to the next level. (KGOU)
South Dakota
South Dakota’s voter-approved medical cannabis program will most likely be implemented as scheduled after efforts to delay the program failed. While Gov. Kristi Noem and the majority of lawmakers wanted to postpone the launch, they couldn’t agree on a compromise measure to do so before the end of the legislative session. Therefore, the medical cannabis market should launch on July 1, 2022, as outlined in the voter-approved measure. The measure also requires the Department of Health to write specific rules and regulations for the program by October 29, 2021. We expect applications for medical cannabis business licenses to become available shortly after regulations are drafted. (Marijuana Business Daily).
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