Federal Court Ruling Paves Way For Cannabis Interstate Commerce; Costa Rica Plans To Legalize Marijuana & More Industry News

Maine Court Ruling Paves Way For Interstate Commerce

A federal appellate court ruling in Maine may lead to interstate cannabis commerce, Marijuana Moment reported.

The court's resolution, which stemmed from the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution, was revealed on Wednesday. The 2-1  decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit found Maine's law prohibiting non-residents from owning medical cannabis businesses is in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

According to the Maine Medical Use of Marijuana Act, "all [the] officers or directors of a [cannabis dispensary] must be residents of [Maine]."

However, the Constitution's Dormant Commerce Clause gives Congress "[the] [p]ower . . . [t]o regulate Commerce . . . among the several States," while restricting states from enacting laws that would burden interstate commerce.

The court concluded that the "dormant implication of the Commerce Clause" prohibits Maine's residency requirement from being given legal effect."

Costa Rica's President Says Rec Cannabis Bill Will Soon Reach Congress

Costa Rica legalized marijuana in March after former president Carlos Alvarado Quesada signed a law previously passed by Congress.

While Quesada's stance on medical marijuana was unclear, given his initial opposition to the parts of the measure to legalize it, the newly elected President Rodrigo Chaves is willing to approve its recreational use.

During the commemoration of the first 100 days of his administration, Chaves said that an initiative to legalize the adult use of cannabis would be sent to Congress for review, reported Tico Times.

 He also announced that the regulation on medical cannabis would be published soon as well.

"We have prepared the regulation of industrial hemp for medicinal use, and we will promote the bill for the legalization of marihuana for recreational use," said President Chaves.

Michigan Hits Another Monthly Cannabis Sales Record

Michigan recreational cannabis sales broke a monthly record in July, bringing in nearly $210 million, topping June sales of $149 million, reported the state's Marijuana Regulatory Agency.

Recreational sales totaled $188,818,744, while Michiganders spent a total of $21,121,711 for medical cannabis.

The Agency further disclosed that flower was the best-selling product category with 46,777 pounds of recreational marijuana sold in July worth roughly $91 million, followed by vape cartridges and edibles.

Moreover, the report said that out of 1.34 million active plants for July, growers destroyed 159,226 and harvested 188,252 plnats.

Florida Marijuana Reform To Split Into Two Measures

Florida Division of Elections recently introduced a new Marijuana Legalization Initiative that would be part of the 2024 ballot. To power the campaign, Trulieve Cannabis Corp. TRUL TCNNF agreed to provide initial seed capital to the tune of $5 million.

However, the initiative from Smart & Safe Florida doesn't include other legalization aspects such as home grow and promotion of social equity.

To address the issue, Moriah Barnhart, an activist with the Women's Initiative for a Safe and Equitable Florida, intends to create a separate political action committee that would place a home cultivation initiative on the ballot.

"With an adult use initiative launching with $5 million backing, it only makes sense to file home grow parallel to it," Barnhart told Marijuana Moment.

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