New York crosses $4 billion cannabis sales

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“When New York legalized adult-use cannabis, we made a promise to build an industry that is safe, fair and creates real opportunity for the communities hit hardest by decades of failed drug policies,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement touting the state crossing $4 billion in legal cannabis sold since sales began in December of 2022.

“Topping $4 billion in sales shows that promise is a reality. Hundreds of licensed dispensaries are now open across the state, most licenses have gone to equity entrepreneurs, and cannabis revenue is going back to communities that need it most.” 

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The DEA launched a webpage Wednesday for a daily-updated list of state-licensed medical cannabis businesses that applied for expedited registration after April’s partial rescheduling, broken out by state and business type. The list hasn't been posted yet. 

Cannabis executives and consultants gave at least $71,500 to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ joint fundraising committee in the week around a September 2 Capitol Hill fundraiser, Marijuana Moment reported from FEC records. Executives at Green Thumb, Verano, Proper and Story each gave $8,500, and Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers gave $5,000. $GTBIF $VRNOF $TRLV

Flower prices have fallen 50% since 2019, and Las Vegas-area Assemblymember Danielle Gallant has floated scrapping the 15% wholesale tax and raising the 10% retail excise tax to as much as 15%. The idea hasn’t yet cleared committee, and no tax increase is before lawmakers.

The Question 8 campaign to end recreational sales has drawn more than $3.7 million, almost all of its money, from SAM Action, a Virginia-based nonprofit. Industry-backed opponents have spent more than $2.8 million, pushing Question 8 past the all-party primary question as the most expensive on the ballot.

A quick thought bubble on this deeply reported CBC News story on how cannabis grown legally in Canada is being smuggled into Europe: The EU could simply legalize cannabis, and this wouldn’t be an issue.

An official in Brussels blamed “Canadian policies,” like the choice to legalize cannabis for the problem they’re facing. The official said “320 million Europeans” have the money to purchase cannabis. So instead of blaming Canada, like the old South Park song, just let them buy legally. 

In other words, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

-JB

Census tracts with a dispensary saw property crime drop by about 3 to 4.5 incidents per 10,000 residents relative to tracts without one after Ohio’s August 2024 recreational launch, driven mostly by fewer larcenies, according to a statewide study of 92 dispensary tracts in the Journal of Criminal Justice. The authors found no spillover into neighboring tracts and point to Ohio’s mandatory security and surveillance rules, a result that undercuts the roughly 137 local moratoriums still on the books.

Could cannabis be fueling the rise in strokes in young adults? | National Geographic