March 4, 2022 (Burlington Free Press) Almost 70 Vermont communities have opted in to allow cannabis retail sales within their borders just months before the state's first retail businesses are expected to open. 

February 3, 2022 (The NY Post) Mississippi became the 37th state to legalize the medical use of marijuana on Wednesday – enabling a new form of pain treatment for residents suffering a number of severe, debilitating health conditions.

The legalization of medical marijuana in Mississippi comes after voters in the state overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure to establish a medical cannabis program in November 2020.

January 25, 2022 (Forbes): The freshman representative from South Carolina introduced an Americans for Prosperity-endorsed bill to end federal pot prohibition and says legalization is an issue that unites America—“just like apple pie.”

January 19, 2020 (Ganjapreneur) Congressional Democrats are planning to take on numerous cannabis reform proposals during the upcoming legislative session, including banking, expungement, decriminalization, and social equity considerations.

January 19, 2022 (Cannabis Business Times): He anticipates that the cannabis market could see increased investment and relief on banking.

CBT caught up with Sklar, who has been involved in national, state, and local politics, and serves on the California Fish and Game Commission, to discuss his cannabis industry predictions for this year—from M&A to banking to possible California tax abatements.

January 7, 2022 (Cannabis Business Times): The state also set a new record in December, when adult-use sales hit $138 million.

Illinois’ adult-use cannabis retailers sold $1.38 billion worth of products in 2021 and set a new record in December, when adult-use sales hit $138 million, according to the Chicago Tribune.

2021’s sales were more than double those in 2020, when Illinois launched its first adult-use sales and logged $669 million in total sales, the news outlet reported.

Illinois’ 110 adult-use dispensaries sold more than 30 million products in 2021, according to the Chicago Tribune.

January 5, 2022, (Hightimes Magazine): Montana is bringing in serious money through recreational cannabis just in the first days that it has been officially legal.

Montana was one of four states where voters approved legalization proposals at the ballot in 2020, joining Arizona, South Dakota and New Jersey. 

Dec 29, 2020 The year 2020 dawned with thousands of people lined up, some overnight, waiting to be among the first to buy legal recreational marijuana in Illinois.

As the long, strange year comes to an end, people are lined up at food banks, to get coronavirus nasal swabs and in some cases, to be among the first to receive a vaccine that may mark the beginning of the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

December 15, 2021 (nj.com): The Murphy Administration began accepting applications from cannabis growers, product manufacturers and testing labs on Wednesday — the first step that will usher in the legitimate marijuana industry New Jersey voters endorsed in a referendum 13 months ago.

November 15, 2021 (MJBiz Daily): Connecticut’s projected $750 million recreational marijuana market is unlikely to match the size of neighboring New York’s, but it’s poised to launch first and might turn out to have as strong – if not stronger – of a social equity program, industry experts agreed.

August 25, 2021 - (NY Post) Gov. Kathy Hochul vowed that getting New York’s budding marijuana sales program off the ground will be a high priority

August 20, 2021 (nj.com): New Jersey’s commission to regulate the sale of cannabis announced its first set of rules Thursday afternoon, bringing the state one step closer to opening dispensary doors for legal weed sales.

August 19, 2021 (Marijuana Moment): It’s been nearly a year since New Jersey voters passed a referendum to legalize marijuana—and on Thursday, regulators approved initial rules for the program that will set up the state’s retail market.

July 22, 2021, Cambridge, MA: The enactment of state-level, adult-use marijuana legalization laws is not associated with increases in either drug treatment admissions, violent crime, or overdose deaths, according to a comprehensive analysis published by the National Bureau of Economic Research. 

June 17, 2021 (Hartford Courant): The Connecticut Senate on Thursday gave final legislative approval to a bill that allows for the cultivation and sale of marijuana in the state.

Connecticut is now the 19th state plus the District of Columbia to legalize cannabis for nonmedical use.

June 4, 2021 (Reuters): Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) said on Tuesday it supports a proposed U.S. legislation to legalize cannabis at the federal level, and would drop weed-testing requirements for some recruitments.

May 28, 2021 (Motley Fool):  The bill is relaunched in the House of Representatives, but its prospects in the Senate look iffy at best.

A key marijuana legalization bill has returned to Congress. In the House of Representatives on Friday, Rep. Jerry Nadler, chairman of the Judiciary Committee, reintroduced the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment & Expungement Act (or MORE Act for short). If passed into law, this bill would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, decriminalizing it on the federal level.

May 28, 2021 (NORML): The enactment of statewide adult-use legalization laws is not associated with any nationwide changes in either the use of cannabis by young people or its availability, according to data published by the National Center for Education Statistics. 

May 12, 2021  (NORML): Representatives David Joyce and Don Young have introduced legislation to remove marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act, thereby repealing the federal prohibition of cannabis and making states the primary regulators of the plant.

The bill, entitled the ‘‘Common Sense Cannabis Reform for Veterans, Small Businesses, and Medical Professionals Act,’’ deschedules marijuana from the CSA and creates explicit safe harbors so that licensed cannabis businesses can bank with financial institutions. The introduction of this legislation marks the first Republican-led effort to repeal federal marijuana laws.

April 20, 2021: (Cannabis Dispensary Magazine) - Illinois' monthly adult-use cannabis sales surpassed $100 million for the first time in March.

The new sales record, reported by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), tops February sales by nearly $28.4 million. According to the report, Illinois sold nearly 2.3 million cannabis items worth roughly $109.1 million in March.

April 13, 2021  SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed legislation Monday legalizing recreational marijuana use within months and kicking off sales next year, making it the seventh state since November to put an end to pot prohibition.The Associated Press. All rights reserved..

April 12, 2021, (NJ.com): The commission that will launch New Jersey’s legal cannabis market met Monday for the first time, kicking off the next step in the long process of making legal weed sales a reality.

April 2, 2021 Three state attorneys general and the top prosecutor for Washington, D.C. sent a letter to congressional leaders on Thursday, reiterating their support for legislation that would protect banks that service state-legal marijuana markets from being penalized by federal regulators.

April 1, 2021. Things are moving rather quickly for the national movement to legalize cannabis.

The New Mexico state legislature voted to do so on Wednesday night, and once Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signs the legislation as expected, the state will become the 16th in the nation to legalize cannabis for recreational use. New Mexico is the second state to vote to legalize the drug in 24 hours. Earlier on Wednesday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a legalization bill, which the state’s legislature had passed Tuesday night.

March 31, 2021  Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill into law Wednesday, legalizing adult-use of marijuana.

But creating a system to get marijuana sales up and running statewide will take some time. Here’s what you can do now that the law is passed:

Mar 3, 2021 The coronavirus was good for some industries and ruinous for others. For cannabis, 2020 was a breakout year. Legal sales across the U.S.—14 states allow adult use, 36 allow for medical sales—hit a record of $17.5 billion, a 46% increase from 2019, according to a new report.

Feb 27, 2021 Virginia is the 16th U.S. state to pass an adult-use marijuana legalization law, though sales would not start until 2024.

The Virginia Legislature approved adult-use marijuana legalization Saturday in a historic vote marking the first state in the Old South to embrace full legalization.

Feb 23, 2021 Following New Jersey voters’ approval of a constitutional amendment to legalize adult-use cannabis last fall, Gov. Phil Murphy today signed legislation to do just that. The Feb. 22 signing of three separate bills came after weeks of back-and-forth in the state legislature, and, ultimately, after years of debate in New Jersey over how to accomplish this goal.

Feb 17, 2021 The new year is already shaping up to be a big one for marijuana reform. And activists and lawmakers are finding allies in governors across the country, with numerous State of the State addresses and budget speeches including calls for legalization.

From New York to New Mexico, top policymakers have signaled that cannabis policy reform is a legislative priority for 2021. To date, at least 11 governors have proactively brought up marijuana in their formal addresses, budget plans or press briefings so far, with more expected to come.  Read More . . .

Feb 10, 2021: (Forbes) - With his startup, Parallel, the chewing gum heir is not just banking on getting consumers high. He believes marijuana can be a life saver.

In 2017, when billionaire William “Beau” Wrigley Jr. was pitched cannabis as a new investment opportunity by his family office’s managing director, Jay Holmes, he shut it down immediately. “Are you kidding me?” he said. “I’m not excited about wearing orange and possibly ending up in prison.” 

Jan 29, 2021: (Forbes) - As experts release more data from the year 2020, it shows a silver-lining for the cannabis industry despite challenges including federal prohibition amid a pandemic.

Dec 20, 2020 The American cannabis industry is ending 2020 on a high note, with strong growth, easier access to equity and debt capital and expanding opportunities as more states legalize. There are now 9 multi-state operators with market caps above $1 billion, with more on the way through newly public companies that will begin trading in Q1. Investors are excited by the growth, and we are already seeing several companies use M&A to supplement strong organic growth.

Dec 14, 2020 The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on a package of bills set to reform New Jersey’s marijuana laws: one to launch a marijuana industry (S21), another to lessen penalties for possessing magic mushrooms (S3256) and a third that would allow investors to put money into licenses for minorities, women and disabled veterans (S2875).