The East Coast Gets Ready for Legal Weed
There’s a new green monster in town: Legal recreational marijuana sales are about to hit the East Coast for the first time -- a possible tipping point for the surging, multi-billion dollar weed industry.
There’s a new green monster in town: Legal recreational marijuana sales are about to hit the East Coast for the first time -- a possible tipping point for the surging, multi-billion dollar weed industry.
Despite its name, hippie reputation and liberal spirit, Vermont hasn’t always been kind to pot smokers. Now, as the state moves to legalize weed beyond medical use, those punished in the past for marijuana misdemeanors are seeking forgiveness.
On July 1, Vermont will become the ninth state, along with Washington, D.C., to legalize recreational marijuana. It will not set up a system to tax or regulate production, but adults will be able to possess an ounce of marijuana, two mature plants and four immature plants.
With recreational marijuana now legal in California, a growing number of celebrities are trying to cash in on the green – including former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson.
Tyson has long been an advocate of using cannabis for medical issues and Thursday night he celebrated the launch of Tyson Ranch. It’s his own 40-acre pot farm in the Mojave Desert which aims to be a cannabis resort for growers and enthusiasts.
“I’ve been fighting for over 20 years and I have so many aches and pains,” said Tyson. “If I didn’t have cannabis I don’t know what would happen.”
California canna-businesses may be finally be getting a chance to open bank accounts in the near future, thanks to a new bill that just cleared the state Senate. This week, state senators voted to approve SB 930, a bill that would establish limited state charter banks and credit unions specifically for the use of licensed cannabis companies. The bill passed the state Senate with a bipartisan 29-6 vote, and will move from there to the state Assembly, where it awaits assignment to a committee.
The marijuana industry has continued its explosive growth in 2018, and a new report has quantified just how explosive.
Sales of legal marijuana in the United States could hit $10 billion this year and skyrocket to $22 billion by 2022, according to the 2018 Marijuana Business Factbook released by Marijuana Business Daily. That’s big growth year-over-year, with last year’s figure for both recreational and medical marijuana hitting about $6.2 billion.
Here are some of the factors driving projections.
California Gold
As co-founder of Oakland-based Hood Incubator, Ifedigbo sees the launch of a new legal cannabis industry as a “perfect opportunity” to build economic and political power in black and brown communities.
California cannabis consumers and industry operators could enjoy a safer, more regulated legalized industry in the future, thanks to the passage of a bill to create the world’s first marijuana-focused bank.
Senate Bill 930 to set up a state charter bank for the cannabis industry survived a crucial floor vote in the California Senate Thursday. Friday is the deadline for all California bills this year to clear their house of origin.
In states that allow it, legal weed has boosted industries from security guards to growers while creating new challenges for regulators, police and neighborhood activists opposed to sales near them. As the 10th state to legalize marijuana for adults, New Jersey could see changes in its economy, popular culture and public safety. Changes seen in other states include:
Three journalists. Two states. One goal: To try to figure out how this whole 'legal weed' thing works and what life is like in states that already have it.
The USA TODAY NETWORK / New Jersey sent three journalists to Colorado and California to get a first-hand look, smell and taste at what the future holds for the Garden State if marijuana is legalized.
They visited dispensaries. They got to know the people intimately involved with the cannabis industry, from entrepreneurs to regulators to local officials.
So far, the sale of legal marijuana in California isn't bringing in the green stuff.
Broad legal sales kicked off on Jan. 1. State officials had estimated California would bank $175 million from excise and cultivation taxes by the end of June.
But estimates released Tuesday by the state Legislative Analyst's Office show just $34 million came in between January and March.
Seth Kerstein, an economist with the office, says tax collections are expected to pick up significantly but it's unlikely California will reap $175 million by midyear.
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