Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what's happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, we have an update on Ohio, where legislators are re-writing the cannabis initiative language. We check in on Alabama, to see how medical marijuana licensing is going. Then, we travel overseas to Germany, where there seems to be a delay in legalization. We bring to your attention that Chris Palmese has a speaking engagement coming up. And finally, we have a celebrity who *is* endorsing CBD.
OHIO
Last month, voters in Ohio voted to legalize cannabis for adult-use. If you haven't followed the fate of ballot initiatives very closely in the past, you may have thought, "well now that's settled." Those of us who write weekly cannabis blogs know the vote is often not the end of the story. And so it is here in the Buckeye State. As we noted a couple of weeks ago, many of the state's politicians, including the Governor, were opposed to legalization, and we wondered how they would go about writing a law. Well, with the deadline to do so fast approaching (by the time you read this, the deadline will have passed), the legislature has been busy. A Senate committee proposed a law that would have, among other things, delayed retail sales for a year, but now that same panel has reversed that decision and, again among other things, looks to approve retails sales in as soon as 90 days. The state's House still needs to vote on this – we'll let you know how it all shakes out next week!
ALABAMA
Another week, another update on medical cannabis licensing in Alabama. Last week, we saw applicants go before the state's cannabis commission for the third time. And, again for the third time, we now note that the state has issued licenses. Applicants have until mid-month to submit their licensing fees. Let's hope this marks the end of this story, because the blogging community is running out of adages (third time's the charm!) to describe this situation.
GERMANY
Cannabis legalization is not only an American story. Countries in Europe are working their way through this process as well. Take Germany, for example. The country has the largest economy in Europe, and legalization would be a major step for the international cannabis industry. There have been different bills proposed; the one that's currently under discussion would go into effect in April 2024. The latest news is that a vote that was planned for this month will now be put off until next year. Advocates of the legislation believe this will still allow enough time to meet the April date, provided the vote takes place in January. Further bulletins as events warrant.
SEYFARTH ATTORNEY TO SPEAK
If you'll be attending Bisnow's Tri-State Cannabis & Real Estate Conference in New York City on December 14, check out our own Chris Palmese's panel on "Managing Retail, Site Selection & Creating Compliant Spaces." The discussion will center around the challenges and opportunities in finding the right space to set up shop.
AND FINALLY
We've reported pretty often on cannabis companies faking celebrity endorsements for their products. We take a dim view of this practice – if your product is good, you don't need to lie about who uses it. Today, we're highlighting a celebrity who is all in on CBD. If you're thinking it's Snoop Dogg, you're close! It's Martha Stewart, who has a new line of CBD gummies available.
Be well and we'll see you next week!
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