Missouri could be the first state where a Republican-controlled Legislature passes an adult-use cannabis legalization measure not initiated at the ballot, but the timeline is tight.

The House Rules Committee on Legislative Oversight voted, 6-4, to advance the Cannabis Freedom Act on April 19, clearing the legislation for floor consideration by the full lower chamber. The Missouri General Assembly’s 2022 session is scheduled to end May 13.

Sponsored by Republican Rep. Ron Hicks, the legislation, House Bill 2704, aims to legalize the possession and personal use of cannabis for adults 21 and older, allowing them to purchase commercial cannabis from a licensed retailer, and to cultivate and possess no more than six mature plants for noncommercial use, according to the bill summary. Personal possession limits are not defined in the current version of the 76-page bill.

Under current Missouri laws and penalties, possessing up to 10 grams of cannabis is a misdemeanor punishable by a max fine of $500 on the first offense, and up to a year of incarceration with a max fine of $2,000 on the second offense or for the possession of 10 grams to 35 grams. Possessing more than 35 grams is a felony punishable by up to seven years of incarceration and a $10,000 max fine.

The legislation also aims to release all non-violent cannabis offenders from prison and create a system for individuals to expunge cannabis-related offenses from their records.

Republican Rep. Phil Christofanelli, who chairs the House Rules Committee, said he had “grave concerns” about the current version of the bill during Tuesday’s hearing that culminated in the 6-4 committee vote to advance the legislation, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

On April 20, more attention than usual is paid to the power of cannabis. And, already, in states like Connecticut, where an adult-use market has been given the green light by voters, cannabis gets a lot of attention.

Adult-use sales are expected to begin later this year, which will amp up the excitement. For now, though, what’s needed to get a market like that off the ground? Reporter Matt Grahn at The Bulletin put that question to regional business owners. 

Long story short: Capital is being raised, and capital is being spent to acquire real estate and get facilities up and running.

“In terms of investing in these facilities, we’re going to be pumping $10 million to $15 million into Norwich,” Jason Webski, the CEO of Sweetspot Farms, told Grahn. “That’s not just investing in the real estate; that’s local contractors. It stimulates the economy in many ancillary ways.”

The Sweetspot Farms team is seeking a cultivation license in the small city of Norwich.

Just recently, Norwich aldermen revised the city’s zoning ordinances to allow “plant-based” manufacturing—specifically paving the way for just such a business as what Sweetspot Farms brings to the table. 

Michigan regulators withdrew a proposal April15 that would allow hemp-derived THC products to be sold in the licensedcannabis market.

The proposal would have permitted hemp growers to sell plants to cannabisprocessors to extract into THC to then use in products sold in the licensedcannabis market, such as edibles, vapes, and tinctures, MLive reported. Any hemp-derived THC product sold would have beenrequired to be labeled as such.

But consumer safety concerns were the main driver to withdraw the proposal.

“After receiving a significant amount of public comment regarding safetyconcerns and the lack of scientific and public health data related to theconversion process outlined in the proposed industrial hemp rules ... theCannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) has withdrawn this request for rulemaking,” CRA officials announced Friday. CRA was formerly the Marijuana Regulatory Agency.

RELATED: Cannabis Regulatory Agency Replaces Marijuana Regulatory Agency as Michigan Cannabis Regulator

DenisePollicella, founder and managing partner at the Cannabis Attorneys of Michigan, also argued that existing producers would not be ableto compete with the out-of-state companies producing low-cost hemp to sell inthe Michigan cannabis market, MLive reported.

Minnesota growers or processors looking to cultivate hemp for the 2022 growing season must apply for a license through the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) by April 30.

RELATED: Minnesota Sees Stability in a Volatile Hemp Industry

In addition to the application, first-time applicants must undergo a background check and submit fingerprints. Individuals growing on tribal reservations that do not have an approved hemp plan must obtain a license from the tribe or USDA.

RELATED: Colorado and Montana Top Lists of Most Hemp Acres Planted and Harvested in 2021

According to Echo Press, growers and processors can also expect some changes to the 2022 program, which include:

The Louisiana House Health and Welfare Committee advanced legislation April 19 to expand medical cannabis access in the state.

The committee approved Rep. Joe Marino’s House Bill 758, which would expand the number of medical cannabis pharmacy licenses in the state from 10 to 25, according to the Associated Press. The legislation would set aside 30% of the new licenses for minority- and women-owned businesses, the news outlet reported.

H.B. 758 would also give preference to Louisiana pharmacists for the new licenses, according to a News Star report.

RELATED: Louisiana Legislature Considers Bills to Expand State’s Medical Cannabis Program

A separate proposal from Marino, House Bill 135, would allow patients from other states to access medical cannabis at Louisiana’s pharmacies, the news outlet reported.

As Senate leadership from both sides of the aisle has continued to hold cannabis banking reform hostage since September 2019, one of the loudest reform voices in Washington sent a letter urging those in the driver’s seat to act.

Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo., who first authored and introduced the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act in July 2013 with former congressman Denny Heck, D-Wash., addressed the letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.

“The SAFE Banking Act is an immediate solution to get cash off our streets and ensure state-legal, legitimate businesses can operate like any other type of business, particularly small and minority-owned cannabis businesses who have been disproportionately impacted by the lack of banking services,” Perlmutter wrote.

The letter, sent April 19, comes after the U.S. House has passed SAFE Banking six times, including twice as a standalone bill via a 321-103 vote on Sept. 25, 2019, and by a 321-101 vote on April 19, 2021. Most recently, SAFE Banking passed the House as an amendment to the America COMPETES (Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology) Act on Feb. 3, 2022.

RELATED: Rep. Perlmutter Makes Final Push on SAFE Banking

Despite bipartisan support for the legislation, SAFE Banking has never seen the light of day in the Senate because former Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., never acted on calendaring it for floor debate in the upper chamber the first three times the House passed it. Now, Schumer and his Democratic colleagues have handcuffed advancing the reform effort in the latter three House passages.

RALEIGH, N.C., April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- PRESS RELEASE -- West Town Bank & Trust, a bank with a mission to make financial services more accessible to emerging and underserved industries, announces the launch of its dedicated cannabis banking program. The program provides the cannabis industry with secure, convenient, and modern financial tools, enabling businesses to operate more efficiently and reduce the risks associated with operating a cash-intensive business.

Due to federal regulations, cannabis businesses currently have difficulties accessing reliable financial products, forcing many businesses to operate without bank accounts or electronic payments. Others go to third-party intermediaries who partner with FDIC-insured banks behind closed doors. The lack of dependable financial services stunts the industry's potential for growth, profitability, and increased consumer trust.

"As one of the first banks to roll out a hemp banking program after the 2018 Farm Bill, we witnessed first-hand the role dedicated banking programs played in advancing the entire industry," says Ross Sloan, West Town Bank & Trust Senior Vice President of Hemp & Cannabis Banking, "We're excited to do the same for cannabis businesses, offering them the banking services they need to fuel not only their growth, but the growth of the entire cannabis industry."

The banking program at West Town Bank & Trust offers a full suite of financial service products to cannabis businesses and their ancillary partners. Cannabis businesses will have access to business checking accounts, electronic payment options, and more. With an in-house team entirely comprised of Certified Cannabis Bankers, regulatory compliance is a key cornerstone of the Bank's cannabis banking program.

Mel Barnes, Hemp & Cannabis Program Director at West Town Bank & Trust, believes the Bank's existing framework and successful track record in the hemp space will raise the standard for cannabis financial services, "Legal cannabis businesses should be able to access the same financial services as other industries. Using our in-house industry expertise, along with leveraging technology partners such as RiskScout, we've built a robust online onboarding and due diligence infrastructure that allows customers to access the services they need while feeling secure in their financial partner. This same infrastructure provided the opportunity to effectively scale our hemp program and we are excited to have the support from our Board of Directors and Executive Management Team to make a full commitment to serve the cannabis market."

The cannabis banking program at West Town Bank & Trust is now accepting applications at www.westtownbank.com/cannabis-banking.

As an industry still in its early stages, hemp is a crop that still needs development in nearly all parts of its supply chain to reach maturity.

A new research initiative spanning federal governmental agencies, universities, and private companies is attempting to help facilitate connections to bolster that development.

The Hemp Research Consortium is a new initiative coordinated by the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR), a federal organization founded by the 2014 Farm Bill to connect funders, researchers, and farmers to support agricultural projects.

Researchers from Cornell University, North Carolina State University, and the University of Kentucky are leading the charge on research projects that will help address some of the industry’s most pressing issues, including genetic development, agricultural production systems, product development, and more.

As part of its requirement to match every public dollar spent on research with a dollar of private funding, the FFAR has secured $5 million for the research project, half of which was funded through private investments, while the FFAR matched the other half using public funds.

Leaders of the research project hope that investment is just the beginning.

How is your business celebrating 4/20 this year? 

When Chris Chiari first saw Denver’s historic Patterson Inn in 2011, he immediately saw its potential to be a cannabis consumption lounge—especially with its address, 420 East 11th Ave.

“The first time I saw the house, I literally looked up at the house and I said, ‘I want to turn you in to a marijuana bed and breakfast,’” Chiari, who purchased the Patterson Inn four years ago, told Cannabis Business Times. “It seemed like the perfect place to start telling this next chapter of the story of cannabis legalization.”

The previous owners had turned the Denver landmark into a luxury hotel, which has been operating for nearly a decade.

Now, Chiari has launched The 420 Hotels as a separate entity that will ultimately become a cannabis consumption space in the hotel’s carriage house.

Chiari views on-site cannabis consumption as the “final mile of legalization” that will further destigmatize and help normalize the plant, and he plans to unveil his consumption space at the Patterson Inn as a unique hotel amenity.

Coloradans will soon be able to enjoy a new bar-and-lounge atmosphere but without the alcohol.

JAD’s Mile High Smoke plans to open its bar-themed cannabis consumption lounge April 22 on Washington Street, on Denver’s north side, where adults 21 and older will be able to purchase cannabis products as well as smoke, eat and drink on-site.

Josh Davis, the lounge’s owner, has spent the last four-plus years helping other Colorado cannabis businesses get their feet under them as the CEO and founder of Legacy 64 LLC, a Denver-based management consulting firm specializing in compliance, applications and licensing, facility build-outs and inspections, risk management, standard operating procedure writing, and sales and marketing.

With that background and experience, Davis told The Denver Post that he’s the appropriate person to trailblaze a path for consumption lounges in the cannabis sales and hospitality business sector of the industry.

“I am giving recreational users a safe place to come in and consume marijuana,” he told the news outlet. “A safe place to come and get high, be relaxed, stay as long as you want or you have to, because I’m not going to let you leave inebriated.”

JAD’s 4,000-square-foot facility will offer a place for customers to purchase and consume/use cannabis flower, prerolls, dabs, vape cartridges, single-use vape pens and edibles, including THC-infused sparkling water, soda and non-alcoholic beer on tap at its bar, the Denver Post reported.

Cannabis industry members, consumers, and enthusiasts are among those who will gather in-person and virtually to celebrate 4/20, engaging in product deals or purchases, attending rallies, and participating in seshes.

The diversity in celebrations points to the growing appeal of cannabis to people from all walks of life, said Brian MacIver, senior insights manager at Brightfield Group.

“Brands and companies are trying to reach consumers of all ages, of all backgrounds, wherever they’re at, and delivering experiences that best meet their needs, whether that’s retailers or brands putting together some 4/20 deals, artists—the top cannabis artists, like Snoop Dogg, Berner, Cypress Hill, I’m sure are putting on 4/20 … concerts,” MacIver said.

At home, others will consume cannabis to relax before bed, which pairs with the need state of sedation that MacIver said informs many retail cannabis purchases.

A new report from Brightfield, “The Biggest Cannabis Day of the Year: How consumers spend 4/20,” outlines some of the data and trends surrounding April 20 in the U.S.

Consumers Searching for Deals

Of cannabis consumers who responded to a Brightfield survey, 40% plan to visit a dispensary for 4/20 deals, according to the new report.

As roughly 20,000 medical cannabis patients await a low-THC oil program rollout in Georgia, a key personnel change was made to the commission that’s in charge of regulating the program.

Gov. Brian Kemp announced April 18 that he appointed Sid Johnson to chair the seven-member Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission, which is tasked with overseeing the state’s regulated licensing, cultivation, production, manufacturing and sale of low-THC oil (containing a maximum of 5%), as well as dispensing to registered patients.

Johnson is a former state Administrative Services commissioner and a current University of Georgia faculty member. He replaces outgoing medical cannabis commission chair Dr. Christopher Edwards, whose departure remains unclear as to whether it came voluntarily, FOX 5 Atlanta reported.

Kemp thanked Edwards for his “dedicated service at the helm of the commission,” in a press release announcing the change.

“[Edwards] helped institute many policies and procedures that will allow the commission to continue its critically important work, and we wish him well as he continues his distinguished medical career,” Kemp said.

The commission, which was established in 2019, includes a chair and two members appointed by the governor, two members appointed by the lieutenant governor, and two members appointed by the state speaker of the house.

Workers at a cannabis retail facility in Battle Creek, Mich., haven’t even opened their doors to the public yet, but they already voted to form a union with support from their store owner.

Heritage Provisioning employees will host a grand opening April 20 for their new facility in the southwest part of the state—about 20 miles east of Kalamazoo—but they decided to celebrate early with a unionization announcement on April 18.

Heritage has two other provisioning center locations, in East Tawas and Manistee, but the Battle Creek workers agreed to authorize the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 951 for union representation, according to a UFCW press release.

“I’m really excited to be a part of something bigger than just myself,” Riley Boles, a worker at Heritage Provisioning, said in the release. “My dad is a union member and I’m proud to not only become one also, but to make history as the first UFCW 951 organized cannabis facility.”

Workers at the dispensary unanimously signed up to join the Local 951 and will form a committee that will soon start to bargain for their first contract they hope represents a lasting career in the industry, according to the release.

The UFCW 951 labor union represents more than 28,000 workers across Michigan in a variety of industries, including grocery, retail, food processing and pharmacy. Those workers are employed at companies such as Meijer, Kroger, Rite Aid and many others.

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – April 18, 2022 – PRESS RELEASE – The Source+ will debut the award-winning cannabis company’s first East Coast dispensary in Northampton, Mass. on cannabis industry holiday, 4/20. Located at 58 Pleasant St., The Source+ will celebrate its grand opening with live music, karaoke, merchandise raffles and more starting Tuesday, April 19, through Wednesday, April 20.

“We are thrilled to bring The Source+ to Northampton, where we look forward to cultivating a new cannabis community,” said Simon Nankervis, CEO of The Source+. “We chose Northampton because the city and its residents have been leaders in de-stigmatizing cannabis and enabling its community to participate in all of the benefits our products have to provide to patients and customers. We are excited to expand our Source+ community to Massachusetts.”

As one of the first medical dispensaries to open in Nevada in 2015, The Source+ has remained a leader in the state, now with recreational sales, and was the first company to introduce solventless cannabis products to Nevada with the launch of internal product line CAMP.

The Source+ will enter the East Coast with its new location, which spans 5,280 square feet. The modern, welcoming showroom displays and offers more than 39 strains of cannabis and a wide selection of brands, including a variety of edibles, concentrates, tinctures and other cannabis products.

The Source+ will host a “4/20 Eve” karaoke party at local bar, The Majestic Saloon, from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Tuesday, April 19. The dispensary will ignite the anticipated grand opening and 4/20 celebration from 5 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, April 20, with product promotions, live jazz-inspired music from Lemon Street Band, tarot card readings and bites from The Majestic Saloon.

Laura Jayne Foley and her husband, Daniel Lyons, hemp cultivators and founders of Wild Atlantic Hemp, use natural methods on their farm in Ireland. While much of the farmland in the region is poor quality, Foley says she noticed major improvements in their crops after adding biochar and homemade microbial tea to the soil—both natural methods of improving the soil’s nutrient density and production capacity.

Made from worm castings and seaweed, the tea increases microbial life in the soil, while biochar provides a home for microbes.

“On one side of the field, the hemp was patchy and short,” explains Foley. “But on the other side where we used the biochar, it was a completely different story. It was ridiculously obvious that something had been done to the soil.”

Foley, who holds a master’s degree in agriculture from the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG), is acutely aware of soil degradation in the world today. As a hemp farmer who has witnessed the plant’s benefits on the environment firsthand, she was inspired to seek out ways she could expand her grow practices to help other farmers in her region, where she says much of the soil is poor quality peat soil, damaged by the overuse of artificial fertilizers.

A few months after testing biochar and microbial tea on her land, Foley helped launch Hemp4Soil, a project run by local community group Loop Head Together. The one-year project will explore how local farmers growing hemp in the area could affect—and potentially improve—the quality of the soil and benefit local diversity.

If the project is successful, it could not only improve the soil and change the farming practices in Foley’s local Clare County, but also help influence the European Union’s (EU) policy on hemp and dairy farming, in line with its FOOD 2030 Initiative.

In the early years of Montana's hemp program, most farmers had their sights set on cultivating hemp for CBD. Now, farmers' focuses are transitioning to the fiber and grain industries.

Let's take it back to the beginning.

Hemp plants first hit Montana's soil in 2017 under the state's pilot program. There were 17 licensed growers at the time, many of whom had high hopes for the crop.

Montana Department of Agriculture (MDA) Director Christy Clark says hemp program officials spent "countless hours" that year building the commodity program. "Many, many hours were spent in a conference room with all hands on deck. We had marketing; we had research; we had the lab; we had everybody—even the accountants in there trying to figure out how this is going to work. [It] took a tremendous amount of manpower."

Since then, the number of licensed hemp growers and total acres planted has drastically changed each year.

In 2019, following the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, those numbers skyrocketed. There were 197 licensed growers and 48,930 total acres planted—including those on tribal reservations. Forty-thousand acres were grown for CBD, 8,500 acres were grown for grain, 30 acres were grown for fiber, and 400 acres were grown for fiber and grain.

A new bill in California would bar employers from discriminating against workers for using cannabis, which has been legal for adults 21 and older since 2018.

Assembly Bill 2188, sponsored by Assemblyman Bill Quirk, would prohibit employers from discrimination in hiring, termination or other conditions of employment based on employees’ off-duty cannabis use, according to a Bloomberg Law report.

Since THC can stay in a person’s system after they are no longer impaired, A.B. 2188 specifically states that employers should use tests that “measure an individual employee against their own baseline performance and tests that identify the presence of THC in an individual’s bodily fluids,” Bloomberg Law reported.

The bill allows exceptions for construction trade employees, according to the news outlet, and would not preempt state or federal laws that require employees to submit to drug testing.

The legislation is scheduled for a hearing April 20 in the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee, Bloomberg Law reported.

Fifty-two hemp farmers will get the first crack at supplying New York’s forthcoming adult-use cannabis market.

The state’s Cannabis Control Board members unanimously approved 50 conditional adult-use cannabis cultivation licenses for existing hemp farmers, and separately approved two more after member Adam Perry recused himself, during their regulatory meeting April 14.

The resolution to approve the issuance of those licenses came nearly two months after Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation to allow hemp businesses to grow cannabis to help jumpstart the adult-use market and ensure there’s adequate supply when commercial sales possibly launch later this year.

“New York’s farms have been the backbone of our state’s economy since before the American Revolution, and now, New York’s farms will be at the center of the most equitable cannabis industry in the nation,” Gov. Hochul said in a press release announcing the approved licenses. 

She added: “I’m proud to announce the first adult-use cannabis cultivation licenses in the state, and I’m proud of the work the Office of Cannabis Management and the Cannabis Control Board are doing to get adult-use cannabis sales up and running as fast as possible without compromising our mission to uplift communities and individuals most impacted by the past century of cannabis prohibition.”

The first batch of licenses will be issued to hemp businesses in 25 of New York’s 62 counties, including six in Dutchess County, and four each in Schoharie and Washington counties.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced in February that he and his colleagues would formally introduce the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA) in April to federally decriminalize cannabis, but now Schumer is rethinking this timeline.

Schumer said in a statement April 14 that he and the bill’s co-sponsors, Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Ron Wyden, D.-Ore., now plan to file the legislation before recess in August, according to The Hill.

Schumer said he is proud of the progress he and his colleagues have made toward “bringing this vital bill closer to its official introduction,” the news outlet reported.

The CAOA, which Schumer, Booker and Wyden unveiled in draft form in July 2021, would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, tax and regulate cannabis at the federal level, and grant states the power to keep or administer their own oversight programs.

Many Republicans remain opposed to cannabis legalization, which could decrease the legislation’s chances of clearing the 50-50 split Senate, The Hill reported. To ensure passage, the CAOA would need the support of all Democrats in the chamber and at least 10 Republicans, and some Democrats have already voiced concerns about adult-use cannabis legalization, according to the news outlet.