NJ Green-Lights Weed Consumption Sites, Cops Nab $8M In Cannabis, France Wants In On $2.6B Hemp Market

New Jersey Regulators Approve Rules For Marijuana Consumption Rules

New Jersey consumers are a step closer to enjoying cannabis consumption in public areas as regulators approved a set of rules on Friday for businesses seeking to operate them, reported Heady NJ.

Besides requirements for areas where users will be able to legally consume recreational weed, the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) also approved fees for those interested in running them, as well as over 120 new cannabis license applications.

While the standard license will cost about $5,000, those interested in a micro-business license would need to set aside $1,000.

“This rule proposed balances both equity and safety,” executive director Jeff Brown said. “This gives new entrances for businesses and consumers,”

He added that additional changes to the proposal are possible within a 60-day comment period, depending on the feedback that regulators get.

While alcohol and tobacco use would not be allowed, food would be permitted, as long as it’s not sold within cannabis consumption areas.

Canada Police Seizes Over $8M Worth Of Cannabis

Canadian law enforcement seized more than $8 million worth of cannabis and production equipment last week, according to a release from Le Service de Police de Laval (SPL).

Cops found more than 2,200 cannabis plants, nearly 70 kg of cannabis resin, and 1,314 kg of dried cannabis on two cannabis plantations in Laval, Quebec, and arrested three men.

Initially operating under the permit from Health Canada, those in charge at plantations didn’t follow guidelines, in addition to surpassing cannabis production limits, according to the SPL’s investigation.

France Inches Toward Setting Up CBD Market

French lawmakers are expecting that hemp production could bring between €1.5 ($1.58 billion) to €2.5 billion in annual turnover, resulting in 18,000 to 20,000 jobs, reported Hemp Today.

Following the passage of the resolution, which would align hemp with the EU’s Common Agriculture Policy, as well as set up a strategy for the industry, and come up with regulations for the CBD sector, Guillaume Gontard, president of the Senate environmental group said that “industrial outlets (for hemp) are considerable but largely under-exploited.”

The Council of State is expected to come up with a final decision on the CBD framework early next year, following the issuance of a first summary judgment on the resolution. Still, France will have to wait at least until 2024 to get the green light from the European Commission, Ludovic Rachou, president of UIVEC, an extracts trade group, said.

Rachou’s group is now in discussions with authorities to set up a temporary framework for marketing CBD as a food ingredient in the following year.

Earlier this year, 31 senators co-signed a letter published in the Le Monde exploring several options for cannabis legalization in France.

Photo: Courtesy of EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA by Pexels