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In an August 2 op-ed, Ken Griffin, the billionaire investor and CEO of Florida-based Citadel Hedge Fund, announced he donated $20 million in support of candidates that oppose the proposed adult-use cannabis constitutional amendment.  In the op-ed, Updated by the Miami Herald, Griffin called the proposal “a terrible plan to create the nation’s most expansive and destructive marijuana laws.”       “Passage of Amendment 3 would create a monopoly for large marijuana dispensaries and permit pot use in public and private areas throughout Florida. That will help no one other than special interests – and it will hurt us all, especially…

A three-year implementation report by the New York Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) and Cannabis Control Board (CCB) documenting the state’s adult-use cannabis reforms process was released on Thursday, highlighting industry trends, the successes and shortcomings of the state’s equity program, and more. According to the report, 1,342 adult-use cannabis licenses have been issued, including more than 200 retailers, and 67% of New York-based cannabis consumers reported having purchased from a legal source. Additionally, the state-wide adult-use market generated $653.9 million in revenue in 2023. The report also noted that 54.7% of the adult-use licenses have been awarded to applicants…

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday tabbed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) as her running mate. Walz, 60, pushed for cannabis legalization in his home state and signed the reforms into law last year.  Walz has earned an A rating from NORML after ordering state agencies to begin preparing for adult-use cannabis reforms in 2019 – sales began last August.   During the bill signing, Walz called legalization “the right move for Minnesota.” Walz has publicly supported cannabis reforms since 2017. During his time in the House of Representatives, Walz co-sponsored the VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act…

Delaware’s Office of the Marijuana Commissioner has received more than 1,260 adult-use cannabis business applications ahead of the September 30 deadline, the Delaware News Journal reports. The state made more than $4 million from application fees as open application fees cost $5,000, microbusiness fees run $3,000 and social equity fees cost $1,000.  The state will hold a lottery to deal out the licenses, the first round, for cultivation licenses, is set for October 24. The applications will first be reviewed by regulators.  More than half of the applications were for “Open Retailer” and social equity retail licenses. Open licenses are…

Cannabis use among U.S. high schoolers has declined significantly over the last 10 years, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) outlined in a recent NORML report. The data was pulled from the CDC’s latest report, Youth Risk Behavior Survey: Data Summary & Trends Report 2013-2023, which highlighted “ten-year trends” of improvements in adolescent health and well-being. Specifically regarding cannabis, the report found that the percentage of high school students who identify as cannabis consumers fell 26% between 2013 and 2023. Notably, the country’s first states to legalize adult-use cannabis — Colorado and Washington —…

Eaze Technologies Inc., the San Francisco-based cannabis technology giant that was once valued at more than $700 million, is laying off more than 500 workers and closing down later this year, SF Gate reports. The company launched in 2014 and offers on-demand delivery services in California and Michigan. Eaze CEO Cory Azzalino said in a LinkedIn post on Monday that the company sold its assets at auction in early August and had begun “winding down operations” with plans to be shuttered completely by December 31. “As we proceed with the transfer of the company’s assets, we will provide more clarity…

The ballot initiative to legalize adult-use cannabis in North Dakota has qualified for the November election, the Associated Press reports. Advocates with New Economic Frontier, the group sponsoring the legalization proposal measure, submitted more than 22,000 signatures in July. On Monday, Secretary of State Michael Howe said that officials verified nearly 19,000 signatures — more than enough to qualify the initiative for voter consideration. If approved by voters, the proposal would legalize the personal use, possession, and cultivation of cannabis by adults aged 21 and older. The policy would also set purchasing and possession caps at one ounce of dried…

A cannabis store employee has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder after turning himself in following a deadly shooting at La Mota in North Portland, according to news outlet KGW. Jason Steiner, a Gresham resident and employee of the cannabis retailer, surrendered to detectives on Wednesday. Steiner pleaded not guilty to the charges and filed a notice for self-defense the next day, according to KPTV. An Oregon Live report stated that police indicated Steiner was working at the dispensary when the incident took place. The incident occurred on Oct. 3 when police responded to reports of a shooting…

With tons of research backing its nutritional potential, you’d be crazy not to consider adding hemp seeds or hemp oil to your daily diet. Hemp packs a punch when it comes to health benefits. Not only is is full of vitamins and minerals like magnesium, zinc, phosphorous and vitamin E, but it’s one of the only perfect plant-based proteins containing all 20 amino acids. According to nutritionists, it also hosts one of the best ratios of Omegas 3 and 6 found in nature. That said, hemp is perfect if you’re looking to add an extra health kick to your meals.…

Newly published research on the psychiatric effects of psilocybin suggests a complicated, potentially bidirectional relationship between the psychedelic’s therapeutic effects and sleep. Taking psilocybin not only appears to reduce sleep disturbances in patients for up to four weeks, the study says, but sleep itself may actually modulate the substance’s benefits in a “complex yet prominent” way. “Using our own preliminary-data, we demonstrated that both depressive-symptoms and sleep-disturbances decreased significantly following psilocybin use, though sleep improvements were smaller compared to depressive symptoms,” authors explained in the new paper, published last month in the journal Current Psychiatry Reports. “More severe sleep-disturbances at…