Market & legal data of the cannabis sector in North America

17th May 2024: US - Federal: The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has officially initiated the formal rulemaking process to move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The proposed rule, which will soon be published in the Federal Register and undergo a mandatory 60-day public comment period, would move marijuana, marijuana extracts and naturally derived delta-9 THC to Schedule III. The rule would explicitly not affect synthetic THC (which would remain in Schedule I) or anything meeting the federal definition of hemp (which would remain unscheduled). The move to Schedule III – which was predicted by CannIntelligence in 2022 – recognises that marijuana has accepted medical use, while its potential for abuse is lower than that of other drugs in Schedules I and II.
16th May 2024: US - Tennessee: Senate Bill (SB) 2427 has been signed into law by governor Bill Lee. SB 2427 allows any entity with a beer permit to “sell at retail any hemp-based product for which all required licenses, permits, or certificates have been obtained authorizing the sale of such product within this state”.
14th May 2024: US - Connecticut: House Bill (HB) 5150 has been signed into law by governor Ned Lamont. HB 5150 makes several amendments to Connecticut’s cannabis law, including prohibiting hemp-derived beverages from containing more than 2.5 mg of total THC (which includes all THC isomers) in a container of 12 oz or more.
14th May 2024: US - Massachusetts: The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) has issued a cease-and-desist letter to a hemp company demanding that it stop producing and distributing products containing tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), press reports. MDAR contends that THCV is being produced via a semi-synthetic process, which hemp licensees are prohibited from using.
14th May 2024: US - Ohio: The Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR) passed rules to regulate recreational cannabis, thus clearing the final legislative hurdle for sales to begin, press reports. Licences for medical cannabis dispensaries to begin distributing recreational cannabis will be made available by 7th June, and recreational sales could begin later in June.
13th May 2024: US - Alaska: House Bill (HB) 119 has been passed by the House and now heads to the Senate. HB 119 would change how recreational cannabis is taxed, moving from a $50 per oz wholesale tax to a 7% sales tax.
13th May 2024: US - Vermont: House Bill (HB) 612 was passed by the Senate and now heads to the governor for final approval. HB 612 would make several amendments to the state's cannabis law, including adding ulcerative colitis to the list of qualifying conditions for medical cannabis, removing THC caps on cannabis flower and concentrates for medical cannabis, and allowing the Cannabis Control Board to deem some hemp products prohibited or as cannabis products.
10th May 2024: US - Colorado: Senate Bill (SB) 24-76 has been passed by the House and now heads to the governor for final approval. SB 24-76 would make several amendments to the state's cannabis laws, including allowing cannabis operators to renew their permits every two years instead of annually and allowing cannabis dispensaries to sell hemp products and food. However, food sales must not account for more than 20% of the dispensary's revenue, and tobacco and alcohol sales would remain prohibited.
9th May 2024: US - Connecticut: House Bill (HB) 5235 has been passed by the Senate and heads to the governor for final approval. HB 5235 would prohibit synthetic cannabinoids by placing them in Schedule I of the controlled substances list and prohibit them from being in cannabis products. The definition of synthetic cannabinoids would include substances chemically converted to create a cannabinoid or cannabinoid-like substance but would exclude cannabinoids that are naturally produced or converted through decarboxylation.
9th May 2024: US - Connecticut: House Bill (HB) 5150 has been passed by the Senate and heads to the governor for final approval. HB 5150 would make several amendments to Connecticut’s cannabis law, including prohibiting hemp-derived beverages from containing more than 2.5 mg of total THC (which includes all THC isomers) in a container of 12 oz or more.
9th May 2024: US - South Dakota: Advocates have turned in more than 29,000 signatures to place an initiative on the November 2024 ballot to legalise recreational cannabis, press reports. The secretary of state must now verify that there are at least 17,508 valid signatures for it to reach the ballot. The same advocates put initiatives on the ballot twice before, once in 2020 – which was approved by voters but later overturned by the courts – and again in 2022, when voters rejected it. Advocates hope that higher voter turnout in a presidential election year could lead to results more similar to 2020 than 2022.

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