Cannabis Consumption Lounges Coming Soon To This City, Weed Policing In MO & Other Regulatory Updates

A New Approach To Cannabis Consumption Lounges In Missouri

The Kansas City metro area will soon enjoy a new entertainment district that will include cannabis consumption areas along with a state-of-the-art amphitheater, two indoor entertainment venues and festival grounds, to name a few.

The proposed Smokey River Entertainment District in the Kansas City suburb of River Bend is a vision of Besa Hospitality Group (BHG) in partnership with BesaMe Wellness, reported Green Market Report.

Located in downtown Kansas City, the new multi-use space will be open for business next year.

“We have an opportunity to showcase cannabis and the acceptance of cannabis in our everyday lives,” Joey Pintozzi, vice president of operations and marketing, said. “This is an entertainment venue, first and foremost. Cannabis just happens to be part of that experience.”

Marijuana Legalization & Policing: A Hot Topic In Missouri

Missouri voters legalized adult-use cannabis by approving an initiative known as Amendment 3 last week. The amendment expands the current medical marijuana business program by allowing existing licensees to serve both medical and non-medical purchasers.

With the new legislation, Missouri became the first state where voters initiated an automatic expungement program for prior cannabis convictions.

While Missouri’s State Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) released draft regulations for the adult-use market and opened a public comment period shortly after, attorneys and police say it’s unclear what the legalization of cannabis means for police departments, officers and residents, reported St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Attorneys pointed out that an increase in marijuana use will result in more driving-while-intoxicated infractions.

“It will be interesting because (attorneys) have complained for some time that law enforcement will use the smell of marijuana as an excuse to get into somebody’s car,” said Jill Schaefer, a defense attorney based in Clayton.

California Votes To Expand Marijuana Retail Market

Though results from the midterms are still coming in, we do know that California voters green-lighted 12 local ballot measures, reported Marijuana Business Daily.

Under the measures, a dozen municipalities will see retail cannabis markets either expanded or set up.

While residents in six municipalities voted against pro-cannabis measures, Los Angeles and San Diego counties will benefit the most from over 70 new retail licenses and additional business opportunities for plant-touching and ancillary companies.

Voters in L.A. County passed a measure setting a 6% tax on gross retail receipts, which could create 25 retail licenses. In San Diego, a tax measure that will lead to more than 20 new retail licenses also got the green light from voters.

Thailand Further Amends Cannabis Rules In Anticipation Of New Bill

In September, Thailand lawmakers decided to withdraw a piece of legislation regulating the broader use of cannabis, sending the bill back to the committee for further revision.

That move came some three months after Thailand became the first South-East Asian country to decriminalize marijuana by removing it from the banned Category Five narcotics list and allowing legal home cultivation and sale.

Now, the lawmakers amended the rules on the sale and use of cannabis as a “controlled herb,” reported Bloomberg.

According to the revised rules revealed on Friday as part of a Health Ministry notice, only cannabis buds will be designated as a controlled herb.

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