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In this week\u2019s cannabis news round-up, Minnesota legalizes adult use cannabis\u2014including Delta-8 THC products; New York announces plans for cannabis farmers\u2019 markets and medical cannabis could be on the cards for Iceland.<\/p>\n The governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, has signed into law a bill that allows the adult use of cannabis. This makes Minnesota the 23rd state in the country to end the plant\u2019s prohibition.<\/p>\n After a long process of discussing and voting in committees, Governor Tim Walz signed the bill<\/a>, known as HF 100, on Tuesday. Starting from August 1, Minnesota residents aged 21 and over can possess and grow cannabis at home without breaking the law. However, it will take about 12 to 18 months for the government to set up a retail system.<\/p>\n \u201cThis has been a long journey with a lot of folks involved,\u201d Walz said. \u201cWhat we know right now is prohibition doesn\u2019t work. We\u2019ve criminalized a lot of folks who are going to start the expungement process on those records. It\u2019s going to take us a bit of time to get this up and going. We\u2019ll be getting some people into the positions to be able to run this, but I assure Minnesotans that a lot of thought has gone into this. A lot of the things learned in other states are incorporated into how we do this and the thoughtfulness around this legislation gives us a good guiding principle.\u201d<\/p>\n Democratic Rep. Zack Stephenson, the House sponsor, said that \u201cwhile Minnesota might be the 23rd state to legalize cannabis, I think we\u2019ve passed the best bill in the country that Minnesotans can be proud of. We\u2019ve built a model that will work for Minnesota specifically and I think Minnesotans will be really pleased with the results of that work.\u201d<\/p>\n Jesse Ventura, the former governor of Minnesota (and celebrity wrestler), who has been a strong advocate for the law change, attended the signing ceremony. He spoke passionately during the legislative hearings about his personal experience of illegally obtaining medical marijuana to treat his wife\u2019s severe epilepsy.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was a huge day in our family\u2019s life because prohibition will now end. It\u2019s gone on longer than I\u2019ve been alive, the prohibition of a plant made by God,\u201d Ventura said. \u201cWe were always told everything was here for us to use. Now in Minnesota, we will be able to use this plant after years of prohibition. We didn\u2019t want any families to go through what the first lady and I went through,\u201d he said. \u201cNow, today, they will never have to because prohibition will end today on cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n One interesting addition is that Minnesota will stand out as an exception by embracing hemp-derived cannabinoids, such as the debated Delta-8 THC<\/a>, within the state\u2019s legal cannabis industry. In contrast, 14 other states, including those with well-established cannabis markets that perceive hemp-derived products as a significant challenge, have either banned or implemented strict regulations on such products sourced from hemp.<\/p>\n State regulators in New York announced plans to introduce cannabis farmers\u2019 markets in the state, potentially within a month. During a virtual town hall meeting, John Kagia, the director of policy at the New York Office of Cannabis Management, shared details about the proposed model called the \u201cNew York Cannabis Growers Showcase<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe solution we\u2019re working on right now \u2026 are what we\u2019re calling the New York Cannabis Growers Showcase,\u201d Kagia said.<\/p>\n The idea is to create a farmers\u2019 market-like setup where licensed growers can come together and organize events in partnership with a retailer. A minimum of three growers and a retailer would collaborate to host these markets. However, there are a couple of requirements for setting up and running such markets. Firstly, the local town or city where the event is planned must approve it; secondly, a retailer must be involved to facilitate the actual sales.<\/p>\n One of the main motivations behind this initiative is to enable growers to sell their remaining inventory from last year\u2019s harvest. Currently, there are only 13 operational retailers in the state, creating a significant bottleneck for approximately 200 farmers who cultivated outdoor cannabis in 2022. These farmers have been eagerly waiting to bring their products to the market.<\/p>\n According to Kagia, if growers have a farm or any other suitable location where they want to organize an event, the office will provide support. Additionally, they are open to the idea of collaborating with existing events such as concerts, festivals, or agricultural gatherings, allowing cannabis vendors to participate.<\/p>\n While an exact timeline for launching cannabis farmers markets remains uncertain, Damian Fagon, the Chief Equity Officer of the Office of Cannabis Management, expressed optimism about making the markets operational within a month after the meeting. He emphasized that the responsibility for organizing these markets will largely rest with the farmers themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of this is going to be on you guys to organize, to self-organize,\u201d Fagon said to the farmers. \u201cA lot of what we want to do here is to create guidelines for this pilot and see what you do with it, let you run with it.\u201d<\/p>\n Fagon reassured farmers that they can be confident about maintaining their current ability to ship their cannabis, even though it\u2019s a temporary arrangement that\u2019s set to expire on June 1. If the deadline is not extended, it could disrupt the entire cannabis supply chain in the state.<\/p>\n To address this concern, Fagon mentioned that Assembly Bill A7430 is anticipated to be passed by state lawmakers before the end of the month. This bill is crucial in resolving the issue. \u201cIt\u2019s a must-pass bill,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s been communicated.\u201d<\/p>\n The proposed measure, sponsored by Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, aims to extend the temporary distributor license expirations for farmers and processors by a full year, moving the deadline to June 1, 2024.<\/p>\n After a recent debate in the Al\u00feingi (Icelandic parliament), officials have put forward a proposal<\/a> for a four-year pilot project that would allow the use of medical cannabis, as well as the cultivation, production and distribution of cannabis-based medicinal products.<\/p>\n If the proposal is approved, the country\u2019s Ministry of Health will collaborate with the Minister of Culture and Trade to establish a working group. This group will be responsible for preparing a bill that would enable companies to apply for licenses to produce and distribute cannabis medicines. To proceed with the pilot program, the ministry must present the bill by December 31. It\u2019s expected that the four-year program will commence on January 1, 2024.<\/p>\n Currently, the only legally prescribed cannabis-based medicine in Iceland is Sativex. Sativex contains CBD and THC in isolated forms and is used to treat side effects associated with multiple sclerosis (MS) and muscular dystrophy. However, access to Sativex is highly regulated and only licensed neurologists can prescribe it. CBD products without THC are already legal in Iceland.<\/p>\n Documents released by Al\u00feingi reveal that the proposed project will adopt a structure like the one implemented in Denmark in 2018. The primary objectives of this model are to enhance understanding of the impacts of cannabinoids and to ensure that patients don\u2019t have to resort to obtaining cannabis products through illegal means. By following this approach, the project aims to promote safe and legal access to cannabis-based products while advancing research and knowledge on the plant\u2019s potential.<\/p>\n The post Week in Review: Minnesota Legalizes Adult Use Cannabis<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
In this week\u2019s cannabis news round-up, Minnesota legalizes adult use cannabis\u2014including Delta-8 THC products; New York announces plans for cannabis farmers\u2019 markets and medical cannabis could be on the cards for Iceland. Minnesota State Capitol. PHOTO Ferrer Photography\u00a0 Minnesota Legalizes Adult Use Cannabis The governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, hasContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":65697,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[50,216,5290,80,1726,687,4552,2478,6170,65,139,884,208,3584],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65696"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65696"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65696\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65698,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65696\/revisions\/65698"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cannabisnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/MI-Capitol-Building.jpg\")
<\/a>Minnesota Legalizes Adult Use Cannabis<\/strong><\/h4>\n
<\/a>Cannabis Farmers Markets Coming to New York<\/strong><\/h4>\n
<\/a>Proposed Pilot Project Could Legalize Medical Cannabis in Iceland<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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\nRead More: Week in Review: Minnesota Legalizes Adult Use Cannabis<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"