Each week, we seem to come tantalizingly close to adding another state to the map of legal U.S. adult-use cannabis markets. 

This week is no different—but it feels different.

Rhode Island legislators are rounding the bend on a bill to legalize adult-use cannabis production and sales, which, if they can cross the finish line next week, would give us the 19th state to pass such a law. If that happens, expect sales to begin at the end of this year.

And keep an eye on Delaware, while you’re at it: The Delaware House missed a chance to advance a cannabis legalization bill just by sheer bad timing, but there’s an opportunity to recast the vote next month.

Rhode Island and Delaware both fall on the low end of state populations (No. 43 and 44, respectively), but the passage of those bills would add some serious heft to the Mid-Atlantic and New England cannabis market in the aggregate.

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

Associate Editor Tony Lange has the latest on Rhode Island. Read moreIllinois has officially started the process of issuing craft grow cannabis licenses that were held up in court until March, when a judge lifted an injunction to allow state officials to proceed with awarding the 60 licenses. Read more A bill to legalize a commercial adult-use cannabis industry in Delaware gained majority support among House lawmakers May 19 but came one vote shy of the supermajority it needed to pass amidst a key supporter’s absence. Read more The Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors voted May 17 against altering the current taxation system, which is based on the self-reported dollar value of the crops. Read more Lawmakers in the Minnesota Senate blocked a vote on an adult-use cannabis legalization bill May 18 when they voted against a procedural motion that would have pulled the legislation from committee and brought it to the floor for a vote. Read more 

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

Bloomberg: “Amid Federal Delays, Can Marijuana Companies Break Their Slump?” Read more KESQ: “Indio, Calif., has become the latest Coachella Valley city to allow cannabis retail.” Read more The Coast News: In California, “the Encinitas City Council recently adopted a resolution to endorse sponsoring a ballot measure allowing voters to consider a tax increase on the city’s fledgling cannabis industry.” Read more FOX4KC: “John Mueller, CEO of Greenlight Dispensary in Independence, Missouri, … has figured out a novel way to make money in Missouri’s hyper competitive marijuana market.” Read more Spectrum Local News: “Ricky Williams and his business mentor, Chris Ball, hope shared interest in cannabis “cultivates a culture” that other businesses will follow. The former All-Pro NFL running back is finding his footing as a cannabis company owner. Williams is leaning on Ball’s experiences as a successful business owner and messaging that aligns with his own.” Read more ]]>