MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press

The Fluence by OSRAM research team is proud to announce the results of its latest research trials exploring the impact of spectra on cannabis yield and secondary metabolite production. During this session, David Hawley, Ph.D., will present the triple-replicate studies conducted in collaboration with Wageningen University under supplemental lighting and Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation with sole-source lighting. Each trial tested three cannabis cultivars under four different spectra ranging from broad, white light, to narrow-band, purple light, aligning with industry standards for greenhouse and sole-source lighting. The analysis revealed interesting findings regarding yield as well as cannabinoid and terpene concentrations. Join this session to hear the latest in cannabis research and learn how selecting the optimal light spectra can help you meet your commercial facility’s business and cultivation goals.

Aphria has closed its acquisition of SweetWater Brewing Company, a U.S.-based independent craft brewer, in a deal that Aphria CEO and Chairman Irwin Simon said will give the Canadian licensed producer an opportunity to build brand awareness in the U.S. ahead of federal legalization.

Aphria plans to introduce its adult-use cannabis brands, such as Broken Coast, Riff, Soleil and Good Supply, to the U.S. market as cannabis-free beverages through SweetWater products and harness SweetWater’s expertise in what Simon said is the growing, $29-billion craft beer market in the U.S.

“The beer and cannabis industry have been tied closely in recent years, as both industries are ripe for a cross-over audience,” Simon said in an email to Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary. “SweetWater Brewing Co. has a ready-made brand and fan base that is closely aligned with a cannabis lifestyle. Aphria sees a huge opportunity to pre-seed our cannabis brands in the U.S. through SweetWater in advance of U.S. legalization. As well, its distribution in 27 states and Washington, D.C. provided Aphria a recognizable foothold and infrastructure in the U.S. with long-term potential.”

In addition to establishing its own brands and growing its U.S. presence, Aphria will also introduce SweetWater’s beer and hard seltzer products to Canada.

Aphria and SweetWater share a strong focus on R&D and innovation, Simon said, and SweetWater is no stranger to the cannabis market—in 2018, the company introduced a beer with plant-derived terpenes that mimic the smell of cannabis. With growing legalization in the U.S., Simon said Aphria plans to introduce a CBD- or THC-infused canned seltzer in both the U.S. and Canadian markets.

Chicago, IL and Denver, CO, December 3, 2020 - PRESS RELEASE - Hub International Limited (HUB), a leading global insurance brokerage, has announced that is has chosen Simplifya, a provider of operational and regulatory compliance software for the cannabis industry, to provide ongoing cannabis license verification in order to help identify and support valid cannabis operators with insurance coverage.

Licensing for cannabis businesses in the U.S. is particularly complicated. Compliance requirements vary by state, by the type of business, and by the physical location of the operation. And, licensing requires proper due diligence in order for cannabis businesses to operate legally and maintain compliance.

“Proof of insurance shows operational maturity and is an essential step for cannabis cultivators, manufacturers, transporters and distributors to keep growing their business,” said Jay Virdi, chief sales officer for Cannabis Specialty Practice, HUB International. “With Simplifya, HUB can more efficiently protect legitimate cannabis operators by ensuring their licensures are complete, valid, and active – all of which are non-negotiable necessities for securing proper insurance coverage.” 

HUB’s Cannabis Specialty has more than 130 members servicing over 400 cannabis-related recreational and medical clients. HUB clients include companies across the cannabis spectrum throughout North America, including cultivating and harvesting, transportation, retail/dispensaries, manufacturing and laboratories, as well as wholesale and distribution centers. HUB understands the complexity of the cannabis industry and the many unique insurance coverage limitations and exclusions that can leave businesses exposed to risks. Noneof which can be secured without proper proof of licensure.

The Simplifya Verified platform currently monitors real-time cannabis license data for 34 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and all Canadian provinces. While each of these jurisdictions makes cannabis license information available; the format in which they provide it differs from state to state and by province, making manual monitoring both time and labor-intensive. Simplifya’s in-house legal team has completed the data collection of more than 35,000 license records and will provide HUB with an efficient and comprehensive view of client and prospect licensure status.

Maryland-based vertically integrated cannabis operator Curio Wellness has announced a new funding program that will provide $30 million in startup capital to up to 50 minority business owners to allow them to open a Curio franchise in one of multiple states.

“At its root, it was born of an interest in making a statement about diversity,” Jerel Registre, managing director of the Curio WMBE Fund, told Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary.

Curio CEO Michael Bronfein started thinking about ways to support diversity in the industry back in 2018, Registre said, and worked with one of the company’s key investors to move beyond Curio’s focus on a diverse employee base to create business ownership opportunities for women, minorities and disabled veterans.

RELATED: More Than Medicine: How Curio Wellness is Redefining Its Marketplace

Access to capital is a key challenge for many prospective business owners, Registre said, due to the cannabis industry’s limited access to banking, as well as diverse communities historically having a more difficult time accessing capital to build businesses.

Toronto, CANADA - December 4, 2020 — PRESS RELEASE — Greentank Technologies Corp. announced today it has received Health Canada approval for a cannabis research license. This marks the first time a cannabis research license has been granted to any vape hardware manufacturer globally, and opens up the opportunity for Greentank to take an industry leadership role in the advancement of vape reliability, performance and safety.

Under the research license, Greentank can handle up to 10,000 grams of dried cannabis flower or 2,500 grams of cannabis extract for research purposes at the company’s headquarters in Toronto, Canada. This allows the company to comprehensively test its partners’ extracts in house for viscosity, fluidity, constituents, emissions and the various ways those extracts interact with different materials and hardware technologies to determine the best fits for each brand's formulations.

The research license also allows Greentank to import cannabis from legal foreign suppliers and conduct focus-group studies with its brand partners. This data will provide consumer feedback around taste, performance and user experience, as well as critical data surrounding vape emissions and interactions with various materials. Greentank expects its newly expanded research mandate will drastically shorten design cycles and accelerate product development by allowing the company to validate new hardware technologies more efficiently than ever before.

“In an industry that is on the cusp of some major regulatory changes, this research license is a huge milestone achievement for Greentank,” says Greentank CEO Dustin Koffler. “As the only vape hardware manufacturer in the world able to legally conduct formulation testing and research, Greentank is uniquely positioned to lead the way in regulatory compliance adoption. As a trusted advisor to brands we can facilitate first mover advantage in the adoption of new standards surrounding vape safety, reliability and performance by using science and data to validate the entire process.”

The announcement coincides with Greentank’s construction of its third vape device lab, a state-of-the-art product engineering and development hub operated under the stewardship of Greentank chief engineer and former Dyson engineering manager Pete Duckett.

Licensed cannabis companies pay more than their fair share of taxes thanks to the business deduction restrictions placed on them by IRS Tax Code Section 280E. That tax law prevents cannabis producers from taking any deduction or credit unrelated to the cost of goods sold (COGS). With some well-thought-out corporate structure, however, cannabis cultivators can find ways to reduce their overall tax burden.

The Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit is one such vehicle that potentially is available to cultivators, according to Jonathan Storper and Daren Shaver, attorneys with California-based Hanson Bridgett.

“What the R&D credit is designed to do is reward innovation and problem-solving. And there's really no industry limitation,” Shaver tells Cannabis Business Times and Hemp Grower. “Any business that is eliminating technical uncertainty in the development of products or experimenting and relying on science to really develop a product [is] a very good candidate for an R&D credit.”

Expenses relating to breeding programs, equipment modification and/or design, and developing novel or innovative consumer products can all be used to apply for an R&D tax credit, the attorneys say, as long as the corporate structure separates the plant-touching business from the R&D business. “The corporate structure is extremely important in this kind of thing,” Storper stresses.

Having multiple corporate entities is not new to the cannabis industry and is highly common in other industries. For example, some cannabis companies have created separate corporate entities under which real estate assets are held. That real estate company, which leases the property to the cultivation operation, can then take deductions (as it is a federally legal business) that would not have been available if the cultivation operation held those assets. Thus, that structure lowers the overall tax burden for the cultivation business.

The same idea applies to the R&D credit, the attorneys say.

PRESS RELEASE - The enactment of statewide laws legalizing and regulating the use and sale of marijuana by adults are not independently associated with an uptick in cannabis use by young people, according to data published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

Commenting on the study’s findings, NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said, “These latest findings add to the growing body of scientific literature showing that legalization policies can be implemented in a manner that provides access for adults while simultaneously limiting youth access and misuse. Furthermore, these findings stand in sharp contrast to the sensational claims often made by legalization opponents, claims that thus far have proven to be baseless.”

A team of investigators affiliated with Boston College analyzed marijuana use data from a nationally representative sample of more than one million high-school students over an 18-year period.

Authors “found no evidence that RML [recreational marijuana legalization] was associated with [an] increased likelihood or level of marijuana use among adolescents. Rather, among adolescents who reported any use of marijuana in the past month, the frequency of use declined by 16 percent after RML.”

Data compiled last week by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the number of adolescents admitted to drug treatment programs for marijuana-related issues has fallen precipitously in states that have legalized and regulated its adult-use.

Washington, DC - PRESS RELEASE: Members of the House Rules Committee have advanced the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act, H.R. 3884, which removes marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act, thereby eliminating the existing conflict between state and federal marijuana laws. The legislation is expected to be considered on the floor of the House of Representatives later this week.

“The historic nature of today's progress cannot be overstated,” said NORML Political Director Justin Strekal. “For the first time in American history, the public will see the ‘People's House’ vote to end the senseless, cruel and racist policy of marijuana criminalization and prohibition.

“We give our thanks to the leadership of Rules Committee Chairman, Jim McGovern, and to the hundreds of other members of Congress, their staffs and other advocates and allies who worked diligently to ensure that we made it to this moment,” Strekal concluded.

Editor's note: This is an updating story.

The United Nations Commission for Narcotic Drugs (CND) voted narrowly Dec. 2 to remove medicinal cannabis from Schedule IV of a 1961 treaty on narcotic drugs.

The CND, an organization based in Vienna with members from 53 different countries, voted on six different cannabis-related recommendations presented by the World Health Organization (WHO). Those recommendations outlined protocol for internationally regulating the medical use of different parts of the plant, including cannabis as a whole, cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). (Kenzi Riboulet-Zemouli, a Barcelona-based independent researcher and cannabis advocate, has a breakdown of what each recommendation would do on his blog.) 

During its meeting Dec. 2, the CND also voted not to approve a recommendation from WHO to schedule medical CBD, leaving it outside of treaty controls. 

However, the vote to classify cannabis remained the main topic of the meeting. The CND voted 27-25 to reclassify both cannabis and cannabis resin for medicinal purposes from Schedule IV to Schedule I, removing them from being regulated like some of the world’s most dangerous drugs, the New York Times reports. (The CND’s scheduling system works in an opposite sequence when compared to the U.S. Controlled Substances Act.)

Experts say this move could not only improve accessibility to medical cannabis across the world, but also affirms international support of scientific evidence on cannabis as a medicine.

BOCA RATON, Fla., Dec. 02, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRESS RELEASE -- Jushi Holdings Inc., a vertically integrated, multi-state cannabis operator, announced it completed the acquisition of the remaining 21% of the issued and outstanding equity of Dalitso LLC, a Virginia-based pharmaceutical processor permit holder. The company now owns 100% of the issued and outstanding equity of Dalitso.

Dalitso is one of only five applicants to have received conditional approval for a pharmaceutical processor permit issued by the Virginia Board of Pharmacy, and one of only four to have received final approval and permit issuance in the Commonwealth. Dalitso’s permit allows Dalitso to cultivate, process, dispense and deliver medical cannabis to registered patients in Virginia. The designated area for Dalitso to operate is Health Service Area II, in Northern Virginia, which includes two of Virginia's most densely populated counties, Fairfax and Prince William, and has a population of approximately 2.5 million people or nearly 30% of the state's total population according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Dalitso has completed the initial build-out of its cultivation, manufacturing and processing footprint, while also prefabricating the remaining 90,000-square-foot facility in Prince William County, Va., to allow for efficient scaling as patient demand increases. On Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020, BEYOND / HELLO Manassas, located at 8100 Albertstone Circle, Manassas, officially began serving patients in-store with consultations bookable online through beyond-hello.com.

Jim Cacioppo, chief executive officer, chairman and founder of Jushi, said, “I am thrilled to announce that Jushi completed the acquisition of the remaining equity interests of Dalitso. Since the recent opening of BEYOND / HELLO Manassas, we have received positive feedback for providing a patient-focused retail experience delivered by our expertly trained pharmaceutical staff. We look forward to continuing to build out Dalitso’s vertically integrated cultivation, manufacturing, processing, and retail footprint to better serve medical patients in Virginia.”

Over the prior two months, in three independently negotiated transactions with distinct minority owners of Dalitso, Jushi consolidated its ownership position from 61.765% to 100% by issuing a total of only 4.2 million shares or share equivalent, of which approximately half is subject to indemnification provisions and trading restrictions for a year.

VANCOUVER, Dec. 2, 2020 /CNW/ - PRESS RELEASE - C21 Investments Inc., a vertically integrated cannabis company, today announced the planned expansion of its licensed cultivation and production facility in Nevada.

Expansion Highlights (All currency is in U.S. dollars):

CEO and President Sonny Newman said, "With our recently announced debt restructuring and debenture backstop now complete, we are excited to move into this next phase of growth. This expansion will give us significant economies of scale and the ability to deliver even stronger margins. Cultivation expansion supports our plan to increase the degree of vertical integration for in-house products, as well as take advantage of wholesale opportunities in the state for premium indoor flower. Most importantly, this positions us well for accretive expansion of our retail footprint in Nevada."

The company expects the expansion to be funded internally at a cost of approximately $6 million. Plans for its licensed Nevada facility are subject to local building permit approvals and the xcompany anticipates completion of the project in the second half of 2021.

Release Date of Third Quarter Financial Results:

CHICAGO– December 1, 2020 — PRESS RELEASE — Cresco Labs, one of the largest vertically integrated multistate cannabis operators in the United States, announced today the launch of Wonder Wellness Co., the newest brand to join its expanding portfolio of national cannabis brands. Wonder addresses the direct needs of the large segment of consumers who are accepting of cannabis but have yet to enter the category. Created to take the guesswork out of cannabis, the portfolio offers low-dose, approachable forms that are simple to use with packaging that is easy to understand, so newcomers can explore the plant and control their experience with confidence. The brand debuts in Illinois with Wonder Minis, a line of 3 mg hard sweets focused on effects-driven benefits.

“A top priority of our business is to build the most important and trusted portfolio of national cannabis brands that appeals to and supports a variety of consumers,” said Greg Butler, chief commercial officer at Cresco Labs. “Cannabis acceptance in Illinois is now mainstream and consumption is growing; however, there are still 38% of adults aged 21 and older who are not currently consuming cannabis but are open to it. This is a sizable audience who could benefit from the plant if offered products that met their direct needs. With Wonder, our goal is to drive continued wholesale growth through approachable, low-dose effects-driven products that newcomers can confidently consume to find the right balance and satisfy a desired experience.”

Wonder Minis are the first low-dose (3 mg THC or less), effects-driven hard sweets to arrive in the Illinois market. Each of the three Wonder Minis has a distinct blend of botanically derived terpene formulas, containing a total of 3 mg of cannabinoids per hard sweet. Laugh (Tangerine flavor) offers 3 mg THC; Sleep (Plum flavor) has 2 mg THC and 1 mg CBD; and Relax (Blueberry flavor) provides 1 mg THC and 2 mg CBD. Wonder Minis also represent the first dry blended and pressed product to enter Cresco’s House of Brands. The development of Wonder Minis involved new manufacturing and infusion processes to obtain low doses per serving, along with new tablet pressing and tablet packaging lines.

“It is our obligation as a leader in the industry to invest in solutions that will appeal to the needs of the broader audience who isn’t a consumer but is interested in cannabis,” said Cory Rothschild, SVP of Brand Marketing at Cresco Labs. “When you think about the needs of cannabis newcomers, their needs look quite different than experienced consumers. They might feel intimidated or worry that only an expert can enter a category filled with intimidating forms, potencies and packaging. It was clear to our company that we needed a brand that would speak directly to this group and offer products that would meet their preferences and ease their hesitations. We’ve developed Wonder to be a trusted and guided source for education so that new consumers can start their cannabis journey with confidence.”

Cresco Labs is the largest wholesaler of branded products in the industry with $90.5 million in wholesale revenue. The launch of Wonder grows Cresco’s portfolio to eight cannabis brands—Cresco, Mindy’s Chef Led Artisanal Edibles, Remedi, Cresco Reserve, High Supply, Good News, FloraCal and Wonder Wellness Co.—all developed with differentiated positionings and products to meet the diverse needs of different consumers.

For the cannabis industry, Q3 2020 marked somewhat of a return to normalcy. Most multi-state operators (MSOs) saw an increase in both net and gross revenue, while also reigning in costs. And while a Democratic victory in November’s election is bringing some optimism to the field, experts and industry execs agree there is still a long road ahead to market maturity.

Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary spoke with leadership at the industry’s largest companies for a snapshot of this quarter’s results and the industry’s position as a whole moving into the final quarter of 2020.

Green Thumb Industries (GTI)

Chicago, Ill.

Q3 Revenue: $157.1 million (131.1% year-over-year increase) 

Net Income: $9.6 million adjusted net income

Highlights:

MANASSAS, Va. – PRESS RELEASE – The Virginia Medical Cannabis Coalition (VMCC) has announced that BEYOND / HELLO, located in Manassas, has officially opened its dispensary to registered patients seeking medical cannabis products. BEYOND / HELLO is the third medical cannabis processor to open in the Commonwealth.

BEYOND / HELLO is the trade name for Dalitso, LLC. Dalitso holds the pharmaceutical processor permit for Health Service Area II, which covers Loudoun, Fairfax, Arlington, Alexandria and Prince William Counties.  Starting Dec. 1, medical cannabis patients will be able access Board of Pharmacy-approved medicinal cannabis products at BEYOND / HELLO’s 8100 Albertstone Circle, Manassas location.

“We are looking forward to providing best-in-class care to medical cannabis patients in the Commonwealth,” said Farzana Kennedy, Pharmacist-in-Charge at BEYOND / HELLO and President of VMCC. “We believe in going above and beyond to deliver exceptional service, top quality medical cannabis products and the best patient experience possible."

Even though BEYOND / HELLO is located in Manassas, any registered patient in the state can visit the facility to purchase their cannabis medicine.

“We are honored to share the news that BEYOND / HELLO is open to serve medical cannabis patients in Virginia,” said Adam Goers, chairman of VMCC. “With our third member-processor open, Virginia’s medical cannabis patients have another option to access this important alternative therapy.”

RICHMOND, Va. – PRESS RELEASE – The Virginia Medical Cannabis Coalition has announced that Green Leaf Medical of Virginia, located in Richmond, is officially open to patients seeking medical cannabis treatment. Green Leaf Medical of Virginia (gLeaf) is the second medical cannabis processor to open in the commonwealth.

RELATED: Dharma Pharmaceuticals' First Day of Sales Marks Opening of Virginia Medical Cannabis Market

gLeaf provides a variety of high-quality medical cannabis treatments to registered patients. On Friday, Nov. 27, 2020, registered patients will be able to visit gLeaf and speak to a pharmacist to determine the best treatment options for their specific conditions. A mid-December Grand Opening is planned. Please visit the gLeaf website for more information.

“We are excited to bring not only relief to patients but also a boost to the Richmond area economy through our local hires and commitment to growth,” said Joy Strand, executive vice president of Green Leaf Medical and vice president of VMCC. “Green Leaf Medical has been working to provide the highest quality of product available to our patients and have the knowledge and expertise to do it well.”

Though Green Leaf Medical is located in Richmond, any registered patient from across the state can visit the facility to receive treatment.

The Virginia Marijuana Legalization Work Group, which was tasked with studying the impact of adult-use legalization in the state, released its recommendations Nov. 30, according to a WTVR.com report.

The group, which was made up of community leaders, healthcare professionals, policy experts and members of Gov. Ralph Northam’s administration, was created by lawmakers as part of a cannabis decriminalization bill that became law earlier this year, the news outlet reported.

RELATED: Virginia Will Decriminalize Cannabis on July 1

The roughly 400-page report outlines guidelines for taxation, banking, criminal justice, licensing, regulation and consumer safety, according to WTVR.com, and includes recommendations on five key principles that Northam wants to see in a final legalization bill: social, racial and economic equity; public health; protections for youth; upholding the Virginia Indoor Clean Air Act; and data collection.

RELATED: Virginia Medical Cannabis Coalition Hopes State Builds on Existing Medical Program to Launch Adult-Use Market: Legalization Watch

The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) approved delivery regulations Nov. 30 that create a legal framework for home delivery in the state’s adult-use cannabis market with two new license types that are expected to launch next year, according to an NBC Boston report.

The new rules create “Marijuana Courier” and “Marijuana Delivery Operator” licenses, which will be available only to social equity applicants for the first three years.

The CCC initially agreed on a framework for cannabis delivery regulations in September and approved a set of policy changes to the draft rules last month.

The regulations have faced pushback from some of the state’s lawmakers, who said in an October letter to the CCC that the Marijuana Delivery Operator License, previously referred to as a “Wholesale Delivery License,” is not supported by Massachusetts’ cannabis law.

Last month, a group of the state’s existing cannabis retailers threatened to sue over the delivery rules, which they say unfairly shut them out of the market.

In late November, Detroit City Council formally approved a plan to allow adult-use cannabis sales within the city. Until then, the largest city in Michigan had joined the 1,400 or so municipalities that had opted out of an adult-use cannabis market approved by voters in 2018.

The new ordinance will give licensing priority to longtime residents who have lived in Detroit for 15,13 or 10 of the past 30 years (with other qualifying factors, such as living in a low-income household or holding a past cannabis conviction), according to the Detroit Free Press. Those residents will have the first crack at half of the 75 retail licenses.

Councilman James Tate has been out in front of this cause for the past year, insisting that a legal cannabis market represents an opportunity to broaden the scope of social equity in the city’s commercial landscape.

"This is an industry that is in its infancy in Detroit, and we have to make sure that we nurture it properly and make sure that it grows strong, not reckless, and is a bridge to generational wealth that has been out of reach for so many families in our city," he said in October.

Since the first day of adult-use sales, on Dec. 1, 2019, one year ago today, Michigan has recorded $439 million in cannabis sales (and $73 million in tax revenue). 

CanBreed, an Israeli cannabis genetics seed company, announced this week its acquisition of a 3.5-acre hemp farm in San Diego. The company is part of the Smart-Agro R&D Partnership, a publicly traded firm on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

Construction of new facilities and greenhouses on the San Diego site is expected to begin early in the new year, with CanBreed selling stable genetics into the market by the end of 2021. Initial output, according to the company, is estimated at 12.5 million seeds annually. CanBreed’s goal runs up to 50 million seeds annually.

In September, CanBreed secured a licensing agreement for foundational CRISPR-Cas9 patents held by Corteva Biosciences (MIT) and Broad Institute (Harvard) allowing the company to selectively edit its cannabis plants’ genetic material. In November, the company announced that its genome editing research had led it to a powdery mildew-resistant chemotype.

“We want to be world leaders in using CRISPR technology for cannabis,” CERO Ido Margalit told the Times of Israel after signing the CRISPR-Cas9 agreement. “The idea is to sell stable enhanced cannabis seeds to the entire global market.”

Two years ago, the European Union declared that CRISPR-edited crops are deemed genetically modified organisms (GMOs), making them illegal to sell. In the U.S., however, shortly after the EU decision, the federal government stepped aside to allow for more product innovation in the agricultural space.  

“While these crops do not require regulatory oversight, we do have an important role to play in protecting plant health by evaluating products developed using modern biotechnology,” U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said at the time.  

New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal has directed prosecutors to halt possession charges for small amounts of cannabis as the state’s lawmakers work on legislation to implement an adult-use cannabis program, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Guidance distributed by Grewal on Nov. 25 instructs all municipal, county and state prosecutors to put a hold on cases until at least Jan. 25, 2021, the news outlet reported, although the directive does not cover driving under the influence or order police to stop arresting people for the possession of small amounts of cannabis.

A decriminalization bill stalled in the New Jersey Assembly earlier this month after the Senate approved a version of the legislation that included an amendment to lessen the penalty for the possession of up to one ounce of psilocybin, or psychedelic mushrooms.

Also pending in the legislature is legislation that would roll out an adult-use cannabis program in the state, following voters’ approval of legalization on Election Day. Lawmakers passed two different versions of the bill earlier this month and must now agree on a unified proposal before the legislation can receive floor votes.

Lawmakers are expected to take up the bill again on Dec. 7, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.