ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Feb. 23, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRESS RELEASE -- The New Mexico Supreme Court has determined medical cannabis purchases should be treated like any other medication and not have been subject to New Mexico Gross Receipts Tax. Ultra Health, a New Mexico cannabis company, submitted an Amicus Brief to the New Mexico Supreme Court last year to demonstrate the legal basis for medical cannabis to be untaxed exactly like any other prescription in the state.

“WHEREAS, having considered the petition, response, and briefs of the parties, the judgment of the Court is that the writ shall be quashed as improvidently granted,” the New Mexico Supreme Court’s Feb. 23, 2022, order states.

Issues are dismissed as improvidently granted when the Court acknowledges it should not have accepted the case. Now, the New Mexico Court of Appeals ruling stands as the determining order that previous cannabis purchases by medical cannabis patients should have never been subject to New Mexico Gross Receipts Tax.

“To paraphrase, the Compassionate Use Act was intended to make medical [cannabis] accessible to those with debilitating medical conditions who might benefit from the use thereof,” Judge M. Monica Zomara stated in the Court of Appeals opinion. “It is reasonably self-evident that the deduction from gross receipts for prescription drugs was similarly intended to make medical treatment more accessible, by lessening the expense to those who require it. These statutes should be read harmoniously, to give effect to their commonality of purpose.”

Ultra Health will receive a $7.4 million refund plus interest following the New Mexico Supreme Court’s decision.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has signed legislation to help jumpstart the state’s forthcoming adult-use cannabis market.

Signed into law on Feb. 23, Senate Bill S8084 will allow hemp farmers to apply for a new Conditional Adult-Use Cannabis Cultivator license to grow cannabis during the 2022 growing season to supply the adult-use market.

RELATED: New York Legislature Approves Proposal to Allow Hemp Businesses to Grow, Process Adult-Use Cannabis

Once conditionally licensed, hemp growers must meet certain requirements outlined in the law, including safe, sustainable and environmentally friendly cultivation practices; participation in a social equity mentorship program; and engagement in a labor peace agreement with a bona fide labor organization, according to a press release announcing the bill signing.

“I am proud to sign this bill, which positions New York's farmers to be the first to grow cannabis and jumpstart the safe, equitable and inclusive new industry we are building,” Hochul said in a public statement. “New York State will continue to lead the way in delivering on our commitment to bring economic opportunity and growth to every New Yorker in every corner of our great state.”

California’s adult-use retail market had its best year on record, netting more than $5.2 billion in sales in 2021, according to year-end data released Feb. 23 by the state’s Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA).

The $5.2-billion benchmark represents a 17.1% year-over-year increase from 2020’s $4.4 billion in sales.

Overall, nearly $1.3 billion in total tax revenue was generated in 2021, which includes excise, cultivation and sales taxes. Specifically, California collected $163.2 million in cultivation taxes in 2021, at a time when that tax is currently on the chopping block.

RELATED: New California Bill Proposes an End to the Cannabis Cultivation Tax

The cultivation tax “makes absolutely no sense,” Graham Farrar, co-founder and president of Glass House Brands, told Cannabis Business Times last month after Gov. Gavin Newsom called for cannabis tax reform in his budget proposal. Glass House’s Santa Barbara-based operation encompasses more than a half a million square feet of sustainably grown, craft-at-scale cannabis.

“It’s weight-based, which means it goes up as a percentage as prices compress, and [it] hits outdoor farmers the hardest,” Farrar said of the cultivation tax.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Feb. 22, 2022 – PRESS RELEASES – Trulieve Cannabis Corp., a leading and top-performing cannabis company in the U.S., announced an exclusive partnership with multiplatinum-selling, GRAMMY Award and Golden Globe Award-nominated recording artist Wiz Khalifa's brand, Khalifa Kush. Through the agreement, Trulieve becomes the exclusive producer, processor and retailer of Khalifa Kush branded products in Florida and other northeast markets, beginning this summer.

"We're excited to partner with the undisputed leader in the Florida market," Wiz Khalifa said. "Trulieve’s dedication to working with the community and creating an amazing customer experience perfectly lines up with our brand values, making them a great fit for our first expansion to the East Coast."

Valda Coryat, chief marketing officer of Trulieve, said, "Trulieve is committed to delivering a broad selection of the highest-quality cannabis brands to better serve our patient communities. Khalifa Kush is a respected brand known for top-tier genetics among cannabis connoisseurs. We look forward to becoming the exclusive home of the brand's premium products in Florida and eventually in other markets."

As the leading medical cannabis provider in Florida, the second-largest medical cannabis market in the U.S., Trulieve offers the largest selection of THC and CBD products in a variety of delivery methods, including edibles, smokable flower, concentrates, tinctures, topical creams, vaporizers and more. Trulieve also offers statewide home delivery, convenient online ordering, and in-store pickup.

For more information, please visit khalifakush.com and www.Trulieve.com.

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Guy Rocourt, co-founder and CEO of Papa & Barkley.

When I think of Black History Month, I think of looking to our past to inform our future. We need to know our history in order to learn from it and not make the same mistakes. In fact, our mistakes of the past can become blessings for our future, but only if we are courageous enough to face them, learn from them, understand them, and ultimately grow from them.

As a black American who has dedicated the last 20 years of my life to fighting cannabis prohibition, I have lived the realities of our history on both the race front and the cannabis legalization front, and I believe both have a great deal to teach us. Unfortunately, we continue to ignore it and or deny it. This is true of both the black American experience and of cannabis probation in this nation.

My personal story started in Bronx, N.Y., circa November 1971. My parents emigrated from Haiti to the U.S. in the mid 60’s. This, at times, made me both “African American” and also “a foreigner.” While not often discussed, Caribbean Americans grow up with a very different culture than African American culture. Consequently, I didn’t fit in the “African American” box either.

Growing up, I remember feeling like a minority many times over. This feeling pushed me to grab on to the only thing I was taught was available to every American—the American Dream. I truly believed that as long as we were willing to work for it, the right for each and every American to pursue life, liberty, and happiness in a fair and equitable way was possible. I was very pro-American in my youth. The strong images of our “cowboy” President Ronald Regan and movies like Top Gun convinced me that joining the military was a sure way to earn my place in the American Dream. I was ready to “pull myself up by my bootstraps,” serve the nation, and reap the rewards of capitalism.

Being born in New York City, however, did not prepare me for my military experience. NYC is a true melting pot of world cultures and, even back in the 80’s, I believed the United States to be a very diverse country. My first day in boot camp showed me how ignorant my big city life had left me. The facts were that most of the guys in my boot camp class were white and from the Midwest, and most of them had never met a person of color. My first roommate after boot camp had gone to a segregated high school–and this was 1987. My worldview certainly took a hit, but I was still gung-ho on the American Dream. The military came through for me in my pursuit. I received an ROTC scholarship and was able to go to college.

MedMen Enterprises Inc., a multistate cannabis retailer, will withdraw accusations previously filed against Ascend Wellness Holdings Inc. executives in an ongoing New York lawsuit.

The forthcoming legal record adjustment is the latest in Ascend’s legal battle with MedMen, which stems from a roughly $73-million definitive investment agreement between the two companies on Feb. 25, 2021. Ascend is a multistate, vertically integrated operator that still wants the deal to go through, with plans to secure one of New York’s 10 medical cannabis licenses.

While Ascend intended to acquire MedMen’s subsidiary operations in New York through the agreement, MedMen backed out of the deal, announcing Jan. 3, 2022, its decision to terminate the arrangement.

RELATED: Ascend Wellness Files Amended Complaint Against MedMen

After Ascend filed a suit in the New York Supreme Court last month, seeking to enforce MedMen’s “contractual obligations,” MedMen responded by filing counterclaims that Ascend exerted political pressure on Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration to help obtain regulatory approval for the transaction. 

Specifically, the counterclaim alleged that one Ascend executive attended a fundraiser for Hochul on Dec. 8, 2021, and that Ascend founder and CEO Abner Kurtin met with the governor’s senior staff on Dec. 10, 2021.

Alberta’s online cannabis market will change overnight March 8, shifting government responsibilities to more than 700 licensed cannabis retailers in the private sector.

Currently, the province’s only legal, non-medical online cannabis store is operated through a website run by government-owned cannabis wholesaler and regulator Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC).

But under a legal change passed by the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in last year, the online orders section of the website will be shut down permanently next month.

“Starting March 8, 2022, licensed cannabis retailers in Alberta will be able to offer online sales of cannabis products,” AGLC stated on its website. “Licensed cannabis retailers will continue to offer choices in legal, high-quality products for consumers. With over 700 licensed cannabis retailers there is sure to be one close to you.”

AGLC generated roughly CA$200,000 per year in government revenue through the website’s cannabis sales, according to Legislative Assembly member Sarah Hoffman.

Hoffman spoke in opposition to the change during last year’s legislative session, equating that money to the salaries of two teachers.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a law to establish a regulated medical cannabis program in 2019, but three years later, the state’s registered patients are still waiting for legal access to the low-THC oil they were promised.

State Rep. Alan Powell’s (R-Hartwell) House Bill 1400 could help jumpstart the state’s medical cannabis program and get the oil, which can contain no more than 5% THC, into the hands of patients, according to a WABE report.

After years of regulatory limbo that allowed registered patients in Georgia to possess—but not purchase—the low-THC cannabis oil, the Legislature passed House Bill 324 in the spring of 2019 to legalize the production and sale of the oil in the state.

The Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission then licensed six companies in July 2021 to produce and sell the oil to the state’s patient base, but the licensing process was challenged by 16 unsuccessful applicants.

RELATED: Georgia’s Small Farmers Shut Out During ‘Secretive’ Cannabis Licensing Process, Advocate Says

Is Arizona doing enough to promote social equity in its adult-use cannabis market?

According to plaintiffs in a recently dismissed lawsuit, the answer is no.

Proposition 207, the 2020 voter-approved initiative that legalized adult-use cannabis in Arizona, mandates that 26 of 169 total adult-use cannabis retail licenses be awarded to applicants impacted by prohibition, leaving leeway in the actual implementation of a social equity program.

The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) has since announced that the 26 social equity dispensary licenses will be awarded to applicants who meet three of four qualifying criteria, which focus on household income, adverse impacts from the war on drugs and residency requirements.

In October, ADHS announced that applicants who have recently lived within 87 qualifying ZIP codes, which appear heavily focused on or near Native American reservations in the state, would meet the residency criteria for the licenses.

MIAMI,Feb. 22, 2022 – PRESS RELEASE – Ayr Wellness Inc., a leading verticallyintegrated multistate cannabis operator, announced the launch of Changing Legacies, a series of recordexpungement clinics scheduled to take place Feb. 27, 2022.

Aspart of the series, Ayr has partnered with numerous not-for-profit andcommunity organizations with expertise in social justice and legal and criminaljustice reform. The company and its partners specifically designed each clinicto assist individuals in expunging cannabis and other nonviolent crimes fromtheir records, allowing an opportunity for a fresh start.

“Despitethe legalization of [medical] cannabis across 35-plus states—two-thirds of theU.S. population—the criminal justice system still grapples with a host ofissues related to the war on drugs, which continues to disproportionatelyimpact Black and Brown Americans,” said Jonathan Sandelman, founder, chairmanand CEO of Ayr. “We believe it is critical to be part of the solution to theseissues, addressing the harms of the past and creating opportunity for thefuture. The main objective of our Changing Legacies program is to create anecosystem of support, partnership and hope for that better future. We thank ourpartnering organizations for making an event like this possible.”

Ayrwill host these expungement events in conjunction with local community partnersin multiple states across the country, including Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey,Illinois and Nevada. These events will serve as models for similar events goingforward, expressing Ayr’s ongoing commitment to righting harms of the past andcreating opportunities for the future.

Communitypartners play an essential role in promoting equity and fairness in cannabis inAmerica, and Ayr is actively seeking more partnership opportunities for similarevents in the future. If you are interested in collaborating with Ayr, pleasereach out to socialimpact@ayrwellness.com.

Moreinformation regarding Ayr’s ChangingLegacies events, along with Ayr’s latest social impact activations,can be found on the Ayr Wellness Social Impact Instagram page, @ayrsocialimpact.

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Anthony Winston, P.E., P.Eng, owner of Winston Engineering, visiting a cultivation facility.

Mary Jane, weed, reefer, marijuana, cannabis; whatever you call it, it has become a big money maker for states and for entrepreneurs that decide to take a gamble and start a cannabis business.

Colorado became the first state to legalize adult-use almost a decade ago and to date, 19 states have legalized adult-use cannabis. It is estimated that by 2030, states may generate $12 billion in cannabis tax revenue annually, according to Barclays strategists.

Legalization is bittersweet, as the war on drugs in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s destroyed the lives of many, primarily African Americans, who sold cannabis illegally. Decades later, harsh sentencing that intentionally targeted minorities still impacts those same communities today. Legal cannabis states have attempted to create social equity programs to try to right the wrongs of the war on drugs, but unfortunately these programs are not making as big of an impact. According to the 2022 MCBA National Cannabis Equity Report, African Americans comprise less than 2% of cannabis business owners, and of the 36 states that have legalized medical or adult use, only 15 states have social equity programs.

The War on Drugs

In 1971, President Richard Nixon declared a “war on drugs” with the specific goal to eradicate the production, sale, and use of addictive narcotics by the American public. Despite spending an estimated $47 billion annually on such policies and initiatives, five decades later, there is little proof that the prohibition on drugs and harsh enforcement of its use have provided much relief to ailing communities. In fact, many scholars have pointed out the gross inequities that exist in drug enforcement. Most notably, Michelle Alexander describes the harsh realities of the U.S. legal system and the rise of mass incarceration as a new type of “racial caste system,” more popularly referred to as The New Jim Crow.

Despite research that indicates similar rates of drug use for black and white communities, this system has traditionally targeted and disenfranchised black people, amounting to what Alexander refers to as a "hidden underworld of legalized discrimination and permanent social exclusion."

A New Mexico medical cannabis provider that runs 25-plus dispensaries in the state is seeking confirmation from insurance providers and state officials that cannabis will be covered as a behavior health service.

New Mexico Top Organics-Ultra Health, the provider, recently sent a letter to several of the state’s prominent health insurance companies, asking them to affirm they’ll be making payments for medical cannabis.

Ultra Health is a vertically integrated and minority-owned company with expansion plans to have a total of 35 store locations in the state by the end of the first quarter of 2022.

The letter also requested information from the insurers in regard to how they intend to pay for medical cannabis without any cost sharing for patients enrolled through their programs. It was sent to representatives from Presbyterian Healthcare Services, Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico, Western Sky Community Care, Molina Healthcare of New Mexico, Office of the Superintendent of Insurance, New Mexico Federation of Labor, and the New Mexico State Personnel Office.

“Ultra Health acknowledges that the idea of health insurers paying for medical cannabis may seem novel at first blush,” the six-page letter states. “However, as Ultra Health will discuss below, it is actually a rational, reasonable notion when considered in light of other New Mexico law. New Mexico already requires workers compensation insurers to pay for medical cannabis, and New Mexico already treats medical cannabis the same as conventional prescription medications. The fact that health insurers should—and will—pay for medical cannabis is not revolutionary at this point. It is the next logical step, and it is a small step, not a giant leap.”

Ultra Health claims to have New Mexico law on its side through Senate Bill 317, legislation that expanded the definition of behavior health services to cover several treatment options. Becoming effective on Jan. 1, 2022, the legislation intends to make mental and behavioral health services more affordable for New Mexicans by eliminating all cost-sharing and any out-of-pocket costs for those services and accompanying medications.

An adult-use cannabis legalization bill could receive a House vote in Delaware.

The House Appropriations Committee has released House Bill 305 for further consideration, according to a Delaware Business Now report.

The legislation, a modified version of last year’s adult-use legislation, cleared the House Health & Human Development Committee last month.

H.B. 305 would create a legal framework for the sale and possession of cannabis in Delaware, as well as establish a business licensing structure. The legislation would require regulators to issue up to 30 cannabis retail licenses within 16 months of the bill being signed into law.

Last year’s adult-use cannabis legalization proposal, House Bill 150, also passed the House Health & Human Development Committee before it ultimately stalled due to a debate over a social equity fund included in the legislation.

Connecticut has increased its monthly allotments for patients enrolled in the state’s medical cannabis program.

The Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) Drug Control Division’s Medical Marijuana Program has increased the allotments for qualified patients from 3 ounces to 3.5 ounces of cannabis per month, according to a department press release.

The increase is based on DCP’s evaluation of Connecticut’s medical cannabis market and is an effort to increase patient access, according to the press release.

Under the new rules, patients can purchase up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis per transaction but can purchase a total of 3.5 ounces each month.

DCP will continue to evaluate Connecticut’s medical cannabis market to determine whether additional increases to patient allotments are needed, according to the press release.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Feb. 21, 2022 – PRESS RELEASE – Trulieve Cannabis Corp., a leading and top-performing cannabis company in the U.S., is excited to announce that it is hosting a Listening and Education Tour to exchange ideas with local community leaders. The programs center around the medical, economic, agricultural and expungement opportunities presented by the medical cannabis industry in Georgia. The first in-person event takes place at noon Feb. 25 at the Carolyn Harris Performing Arts Center in Adel.

In July 2021, the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission announced its intent to award Trulieve a Class 1 production license. 

Moderated by Trulieve Georgia Chief Diversity Officer and Pro Football Hall of Famer Champ Bailey, the programs will feature numerous industry experts:

Adel Mayor Luther "Buddy" DukeAdel-Cook County Chamber of Commerce President Heather GreenCook County Judge Chase DaughtreyMorehouse School of Medicine Research Leader Dr. James LillardTrulieve Director of State Expansion Jim Wernick

"As a Georgia native and current resident, I am thrilled to meet and inform others about the positive impacts that medical cannabis may provide," Bailey said. "At each tour stop, Trulieve will seek to discover ways the company can work with community stakeholders [to] make an impact on local support programs, as well as educate local leaders about the benefits of the medical cannabis industry."

Expected in attendance will be state representatives, local government officials, and religious and nonprofit leaders. The community at large is encouraged to attend and submit questions in advance via email at listening.tours@trulieve.com. Following each session, the outcomes will be evaluated to determine the best way for Trulieve to make a positive impact on the community. Other locations and dates will be announced.

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Had he known his hands would be cuffed behind his back for possession and the intent to sell $80 worth of cannabis, maybe Tucky Blunt would have thought twice about stepping out onto the street that day.

Knowing today how fate would have it, maybe he still would have.

The owner and CEO of Blunts and Moore in Oakland, Calif., Alphonso “Tucky” Blunt Jr. opened the first cannabis dispensary licensed under the city’s Cannabis Equity Program when his storefront became operational in November 2018. 

“I got arrested in ’05 for being snitched on, and that being snitched on allowed me to qualify to open a f---ing dispensary. How does that happen?” Blunt questioned during a recent interview with Cannabis Business Times. “It was generally meant for me to be in this space, and I never knew. I just kept doing what I thought would get me here.”

Family Heritage

Blunt is a fifth-generation Oakland native who began selling cannabis in 1996, all while maintaining a 4.0 GPA and a full-time job in high school.

As yet another round of snowfall blankets the Cannabis Business Times offices, we’re reminded of how far we are from the splendor of spring.

But, of course, we know too that time moves pretty fast in the cannabis space. There is no such thing as an off-season, per se, especially for those growers working in indoor environments. The show must go on! Everyone I’ve talked to recently—from growers to attorneys to executives at multistate operations—is hard at work, preparing for the suite of challenges emerging this year: supply chain hurdles, labor shortages, wholesale price drops, and much more.

I mention that only because the cannabis market continues to grow at a rapid clip even under those economic and social pressures. You’ll see in the links below and all over our website that more states are preparing to open the door to medical and adult-use cannabis sales.

As ever, the industry is a work in progress—regardless of how long you’ve been contributing to its development. That’s the beauty of this space.

We’ve rounded up some of the key cannabis headlines from the week right here.

The South Dakota legalization saga is far from over, but progress has been made. As voters prepare to pass an adult-use cannabis ballot measure a second time, state lawmakers advanced a bill Feb. 17 that may save voters from their ongoing battle to be heard. Read more “LETT’s Grow!” So says a new bill introduced in Kentucky. The clever legislative acronym stands for “Legalize, Expunge, Treat and Tax.” Associate Editor Tony Lange has the story. Read more The New York Legislature has approved a proposal to allow hemp businesses in the state to grow and process adult-use cannabis to help get product on dispensary shelves when adult-use sales launch. Read more Will California cut its cultivation tax this year? A new bill proposes just that, but the matter of tax reform is complicated. Read more From Senior Digital Editor Melissa Schiller: Oregon’s cities and counties can currently levy a maximum local cannabis sales tax of 3%, but after some municipalities lobbied for higher taxes, the state Legislature is considering a bill that would allow local governments to raise the cannabis sales tax to 10%. Read more 

And elsewhere on the web, here are the stories we’ve been reading this week:

Marijuana Moment: “A top Wells Fargo analyst says that there’s one main reason for rising costs and worker shortages in the transportation sector: federal marijuana criminalization and resulting drug testing mandates that persist even as more states enact legalization.” Read more NJ.com: Interest in unionization is high among New Jersey’s cannabis workers on the threshold of the state’s adult-use market. Read more Bridge Michigan: “305 Farms is licensed to grow up to 80,000 plants a year in a 350,000 square foot facility that will be more than double the average size of a Walmart.” This is happening in Lawrence, a small town in southwestern Michigan. Read more KRQE: New Mexico is gearing up for its April 1 start date for adult-use cannabis sales. Business license applications are rolling in. Read more New York Times: “New Jersey’s cannabis law was partly designed to remedy wrongs in a criminal justice system that disproportionately ensnares Black and Latino people. But the hurdles for small-business owners are high.” Read more]]>

In honor of Valentine’s Day, Planet 13 began hosting vow renewals and wedding ceremonies earlier this month to allow couples to celebrate their love with cannabis.

“We partnered with a group in town. Their focus is cannabis weddings, and it’s always something that we’ve really toyed around with, creating a wedding venue,” Planet 13 VP of Sales and Marketing David Farris told Cannabis Business Times.

As some of Nevada’s COVID-19 mandates begin to lift, the company’s Las Vegas dispensary has made wedding offerings a priority.

Earlier this month, Planet 13 announced it would act as a wedding venue, and the company has already hosted a handful of vow renewals. Farris said the company also has larger weddings planned for the coming months.

A third-party company sets the wedding packages, works with the couples directly to plan the events, and even provides an ordained minister to perform the ceremonies.

VANCOUVER – CANNAMERICA BRANDS CORP. ("CannAmerica Brands" or the "Company") (CSE:CANA) (CNSX:CANA.CN) (OTC:CNNXF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Vincent E. Norment to the company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”).

Norment is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and the founder and chief executive officer of the Marijuana Hall of Fame, an organization that is focused on the promotion of cannabis businesses and pioneers who have individually made an impact on the legalization of cannabis, innovation in cannabis products or processes, or have contributed to the large-scale normalization of cannabis use for medicinal or adult use. The Marijuana Hall of Fame is founded in Illinois and has plans to open museums in all states in which cannabis products are legal.

Norment brings a large network of relationships to the Board, having established successful business combinations in multiple states, and is a known figure for his promotion of social equity in the cannabis industry. He is associated with multiple companies that have been awarded licenses in the state of Illinois, including Helios Labs, Parkway Dispensary, and Highwaymen security, acting as the marketing and business development officer for these successful license holders. Currently, Norment is a director of Hemptensils, a company that produces and distributes a line of hemp-based products for the restaurant industry as a replacement for plastic utensils and straws, reducing the number of plastics damaging the environment. Prior to his cannabis career, Norment worked as a marketing expert with AndroidTapp, Fingerweights, and DBANDS, and was a member of the 2016 Chicago Olympic summer games bid Committee.

Dan Anglin, president and chief executive officer, commented “I am extremely proud to have Mr. Norment join the Board. Mr. Norment’s vision to bring social equity to the cannabis industry is aligned with the company’s actions to partner with underrepresented owners across the country to bring CannAmerica’s brands to new markets. Mr. Norment’s expertise and extensive knowledge of not only cannabis as a product, but also his network of operators, innovators and pioneers across the nation will provide CannAmerica with a broad opportunity to increase the company’s presence across America.”

Norment stated, “I’m excited to be working with CannAmerica Brands, because its mission goes beyond cannabis as a business and has an additional focus of promoting diversity and inclusion in the industry. I’m also proud to be working closely with the company’s founder and CEO Dan Anglin, who is also a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, as our shared experience in the most respected military service in the world has already forged a strong relationship that will help us guide this company into the future together.”

In Colorado, effective Jan. 1, 2022, the company began managing the operations of its licensed partner Arsenal Oils and Extracts, LLC. (“Arsenal”), in accordance with the series of agreements related to the merger and acquisition of Arsenal announced on December 16 and December 22, 2021. Since taking over the management of Arsenal sales have increased by 7% over January 2021. The company continues to increase staff and production to meet the increased demand for CannAmerica’s edible and vaporization products in Colorado.

Legislation that would have made changes to New Mexico’s adult-use cannabis law died at the close of the state’s 30-day legislative session, which ended Feb. 17.

Senate Bill 100 was overshadowed by legislation addressing crime and voting rights, according to NM Political Report.

The bill, sponsored by State Sen. Linda Lopez (D-Albuquerque) and Rep. Andrea Romero (D-Santa Fe), would have increased cannabis production limits for licensed microbusinesses from 200 to 1,000 mature plants, as well as allow microbusinesses to wholesale products.

Last month, an emergency rule went into effect to allow New Mexico’s licensed cannabis producers to double their plant count from 10,000 to 20,000 mature plants, but the limit for microbusinesses must be increased legislatively since it is set in statute in the state’s adult-use cannabis law.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved S.B. 100 Feb 13 after Sen. Cliff Pirtle (R-Roswell) added an amendment to eliminate a requirement that cannabis license applicants must show proof of water rights in order to secure a license.