Millions Of Dollars For Cannabis Research, Marijuana On The Ballot In Florida & More Pot Reg Updates

Florida Marijuana Activists Closer To Getting Legalization On The Ballot

• Cannabis groups and legislators pushing for policy reform have tried and failed to legalize marijuana for recreational adult use in Florida, but the most recently filed, industry-backed campaign has garnered 841,130 signatures as of the end of April, accounting for roughly 94% of what’s required to place the initiative on the ballot, reported Marijuana Moment.
• According to the Florida Division of Elections data, the Smart & Safe Florida campaign crossed the 420,000 valid signatures milestone in March.
• The measure was filed past summer and would allow already-existing medical marijuana (MMJ) companies to begin selling recreational cannabis statewide.

UCLA Gets Millions Of Dollars From DCC To Fund Cannabis Research

• Meanwhile, the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) has garnered some $9.5 million from the California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) to fund cannabis research, including the potency and effects of cannabis products on the financial health of the state’s cannabis market, reported UCLA Health.
• The two-year grants awarded to UCLA researchers come from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and UCLA's Anderson School of Management.

MMJ Caregivers In Maine Witness ‘Mass Exodus’

• A recent report from the Maine Office of Cannabis Policy has found that over one-fourth of those who dispensed medical cannabis have closed their store over the past couple of years, reported The Portland Press Herald.
• The findings from state regulators suggested that roughly 1,350 of those registered with the state to supply medical-use cannabis for patients were subject to the “mass exodus” from 2021 to 2023.

Michigan To Get State Marijuana Testing Labs

• Michigan Legislature is poised to green-light the state budget this month, which includes $4.4 million set for the state Cannabis Regulatory Agency to create, and kick off operations at its new reference marijuana testing lab, reported Green Market Report.
• The move addresses the rising trend of untested illicit products ending up in legal dispensaries. Earlier this year, the regulatory body suspended both recreational and medical marijuana licenses of Lansing-based processor TAS Asset Holdings LLC for sourcing cannabis from unregulated, illegal warehouses.

Montana Gov. Gianforte To Weigh In On Rec Marijuana Tax Bill

• Senate Bill 442, which seeks to regulate how $50 million of recreational marijuana taxes are distributed in Montana, is heading to  Gov. Greg Gianforte’s desk, reported Montana Free Press.
• The measure from Sen. Mike Lang, R-Malta passed the Legislature on Monday and would address both the state’s wildlife and the people who call Montana home “from our strongest to our weakest,” said the bill’s sponsor.

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