Cannabis Countdown: Top 10 Marijuana Industry News Stories of the Week

Welcome to the Cannabis Countdown. In this week’s rendition, we’ll recap and countdown the top 10 marijuana industry news stories for the week of December 9th – 15th, 2019.

Without further ado, let’s get started.

10. MLB Removes Cannabis From ‘Drugs of Abuse’ List

Major League Baseball to Also Tests for Opioids Following Player Death This Summer

MLB will now treat Marijuana like alcohol under the league’s new treatment-based approach. The new drug policy even received praise from President Trump‘s team at the White House.

READ FULL MLB CANNABIS ARTICLE

9. Leafly Investigation: Inside the Billion-Dollar Race to Patent Cannabis

Can You Really Patent a Plant? Yes. It’s Already Happening with Cannabis Strains

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has already issued several patents for specific kinds of cannabis (most recently one for a variety of high-CBD hemp), and for more wide-ranging “utility patents,”  but so far they’ve gone unenforced and even unnoticed. That won’t continue much longer.

READ FULL CANNABIS PATENT ARTICLE

8. Top NFL Owner and Player Expect Marijuana Policy Change Following MLB Action

Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones and New England Patriots Tom Brady Touch on the NFL’s Cannabis Policy

A top National Football League (NFL) team owner and a star player said this week that they’re expecting changes to the league’s marijuana policy after the MLB announced it is removing cannabis from the banned substances list for baseball players.

READ FULL NFL CANNABIS ARTICLE

7. Ontario Expects to Start Selling Edibles on January 6, 2020

Canada’s Largest Weed Market Will Have to Wait Until After the Holidays for Cannabis 2.0 Products

The Ontario Cannabis Store will begin selling Cannabis 2.0 products in the new year. The government store confirmed edibles, extracts, vapes and topicals “should start to appear in stores beginning January 6, 2020.”

READ FULL ONTARIO EDIBLES ARTICLE

6. Federal Officials Identify Vape Cartridge Brands Associated with Illness Outbreak

Agencies Name 3 Vape Brands That Were Most Commonly Reported By Patients

Federal health officials have released the names of a handful of vape cartridge brands that patients diagnosed with lung injuries reported the most in the latest update in the U.S. Vape Crisis.

READ FULL VAPE BRANDS ARTICLE

5. Hemp Sales Could Increase by More Than $100 Million by 2022, USDA Predicts

The Agency Points to 3 Drivers of Growth for U.S. Hemp Sales

U.S. hemp sales could increase as much as $25 million in 2020 and by more than $100 million by 2022, according to new estimates by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

READ FULL HEMP SALES ARTICLE

4. New Jersey Lawmakers Take First Steps to Put Marijuana Legalization on the 2020 Ballot

The Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee Debated the Legislation at a Morning Hearing

New Jersey Assembly and Senate committees held hearings on Thursday to discuss a resolution that would put the question of marijuana legalization before voters on the 2020 ballot.

READ FULL NEW JERSEY ARTICLE

3. GOP Shows Support for Legalizing Medical Cannabis in Wisconsin

GOP Lawmakers Hope to Begin Hearings on Medical Cannabis Bill Next Month

For more than a decade, the Wisconsin Legislature has been where marijuana reform bills go to die. But a new bill to legalize some forms of medical marijuana, introduced by a pair of Republican lawmakers instead of the usual cohort of Democrats, may fare differently.

READ FULL WISCONSIN MMJ ARTICLE

2. Recreational Marijuana Sales in Michigan Exceed $1.6 Million in First 8 Days

3 Pot Shops Either Sold Out or Had Limited Supplies of Cannabis Following Surge in Opening Week Sales

In Michigan‘s first eight days of legal cannabis sales, $1.6 million of recreational marijuana was sold at the five retail shops open around the state.

READ FULL MICHIGAN SALES ARTICLE

1. Canadians Drop Nearly $1 Billion on Legal Pot, Ontario to Scrap Botched Retail System

Ontario Set to Remove Cap on Number of Private Retail Cannabis Stores in Nation’s Largest Province

Ontario led all provinces selling $217 million worth of recreational Cannabis in Canada‘s first year of legal sales. The provinces of Alberta and Quebec finished a close second and third respectively.

READ FULL CANADA CANNABIS ARTICLE

Image Sourced from Pixabay