It’s not an exaggeration to say that the only consistent thing in the past few American elections has been support for cannabis legalization. Democrats, Republicans, and independents in red, blue, and purple states all seem ready to decriminalize and legalize cannabis. 2020 was no different; voters approved cannabis legalization measures in every state offering them on the ballot.
Read MoreIt is hard to underestimate the impact that the coronavirus and its related fallout—economic and otherwise—will have on the cannabis industry. Some of that impact will be decidedly negative. For instance, as we wrote about recently, cash is harder to come by for cannabis companies right now.
Read MoreIn November, we wrote about a lawsuit filed against Amazon by a New Jersey man claiming he was wrongfully terminated due to a failed marijuana drug test despite being a patient in the state’s medical marijuana program. Now, New Jersey state lawmakers have advanced a bill that would require workers’ compensation to cover medical marijuana.
Read MoreNew Jersey is often mentioned among the states that may legalize recreational marijuana in 2020. And for good reason. The state has taken several steps over the past year to reform its cannabis laws, including creating the New Jersey Industrial Hemp Pilot Program and overhauling its medical marijuana program to address supply problems, relax quantity restrictions, permit home delivery, and add workplace protections for card holders.
Read MoreThe majority of U.S. states have legalized medical marijuana. Yet many of those same states do not have laws on the books regarding testing for marijuana in the workplace, and in the absence of such laws, many companies continue to test employees for marijuana and take adverse action based on positive tests.
Read MoreIn September, many in the marijuana industry were buoyed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s efforts to coordinate with his counterparts in New Jersey (Phil Murphy) and Connecticut (Ned Lamont) on recreational marijuana legalization.
Read MoreThe cannabis-related job market continues to expand according to a PoliticoPro report (subscription required) that analyzed data from Indeed.com, an employment search engine. In May 2016, cannabis job postings accounted for 231 per million total job postings. By May 2019, that number has increased nearly four-fold to 915 postings per million.
Read MoreEarlier this year, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut failed to pass legislation for legalized recreational marijuana despite what appeared to be overwhelming support for such measures. As we discussed here, early optimism gave way to legislative frustration as representatives struggled to put together bills sufficient to garner enough votes.
Read MoreNew Jersey wants more of its citizens to have access to medical marijuana, and the state is prepared to issue new licenses to make sure it happens. On June 3, 2019, the New Jersey Department of Health announced its plans to issue up to 108 new licenses for “Alternative Treatment Centers” where New Jersey citizens can obtain medical marijuana.
Read MoreThe news for legalization proponents has been consistently good for the past several years, but recent developments in the Northeast should perhaps take the optimism down a notch. Recreational legalization proposals in the deep-blue states of New York, New Jersey, and Vermont all appear destined to fail in 2019, raising new questions regarding the path forward for recreational use.
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