This week, Maine’s Office of Marijuana Policy unveiled new details on its planned launch of adult-use sales, announcing that retail sales can launch Oct. 9. Elsewhere, in Vermont, lawmakers are revisiting legislation that would tax and regulate adult-use sales in that state.
Here, we’ve rounded up the 10 headlines you need to know before this week is over.
Federal: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is moving forward with plans to understand and oversee the booming CBD industry. A new call for bids is seeking a contractor to collect and assess samples of products containing CBD and other cannabinoids (outside of the state-legal cannabis market). Read moreThe Cannabis Certification Council plans to release a draft of its Organically Grown Cannabis (OG) Standard for public comment. The draft standard is available via request and via the organization’s website, and it is set to be published this fall. Read moreMaine: The Office of Marijuana Policy has unveiled plans for the issuance of Maine’s first active licenses for adult-use marijuana establishments. The Office intends to issue the first active licenses to recreational cannabis businesses on Sept. 8, and retail sales to consumers 21 years of age or older will be permitted starting on Oct. 9. Read moreA federal judge has ruled that Portland cannot prioritize local cannabis businesses in its adult-use licensing process. U.S. District Judge Nancy Torreson sided with Wellness Connection of Maine in the cannabis operator’s lawsuit over the city’s residency requirement, which Wellness Connection called “unconstitutional” and “discriminatory” to non-local businesses. Read moreColorado: The Department of Agriculture has added six products to the list of approved pesticides that can be used on cannabis. Captain Jack's Neem Oil Ready to Use, Heligen, Magic Flower Bud Finisher & Pest Control, Pride Lands Defense, Protection Plus and Seican can now be used without violating the Pesticide Applicators’ Act. Read moreCalifornia: Cities across California are creating and expanding equity programs with the help of grant funding from the state. While some of the $40 million flowed as far south as Coachella, Palm Springs and Long Beach, one of the locales it reached wasn’t very far from the state government, as Sacramento received more than $5 million of the funds distributed by the BCC and Go-Biz. Read moreOregon: Actor and comedian Jim Belushi has made his way back to the silver screen—this time by documenting the trials and tribulations of owning and operating his state-legal cannabis farm in Oregon in the new reality series “Growing Belushi” on Discovery Channel. The series, airing on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET, will provide a snapshot into the daily life of Belushi and his “ragtag team of farmers” as they “follow their passion and find success in something they believe in,” according to a Discovery Channel press release. Read moreGov. Kate Brown received recommendations this week from the Vaping Public Health Work Group to address the epidemic of vaping-related illness and youth vaping in Oregon. A ban on flavored products and harmful additives, increased prices, tobacco retail licensure, and banning online sales are among the top recommendations to address vaping-related illness and the youth vaping epidemic. Read moreVermont: Earlier this year, the Vermont House and Senate approved separate versions of S.54, legislation that would establish a taxed-and-regulated system for legal cannabis sales, but the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic kept lawmakers from working out the differences in their proposals before sending a final bill to Gov. Phil Scott. Now, the bill is again moving forward in the legislature, as the House and Senate started a meeting in a Committee of Conference this week to reconcile the differences in their versions of the bill. Read moreNevada: Clark County has approved a new zoning ordinance that allows cannabis dispensaries to create drive-thrus. The change will take effect Sept. 3 and apply to both medical and adult-use retailers. Read more