The weed world once again experienced a flurry of news, data, and movements sure, including:

• Lots of programs and application windows opening July 1.
• Market-shaking regulatory movements happening near and far, stretching across much of the US and into South America. 
• Maryland continues its progressive restorative justice efforts.
• Investigative reports seem to have shaken up California’s product safety enforcement. 
• Teens in Colorado are using pot at record lows
• The Cannabis-COVID connection continues to be investigated.

All that and a ton more from last week. Let’s catch up on some of the cannabis news from last week before another wild week kicks off.

Monday, June 24, 2024

• Minnesota opened its adult use licensing process today, July 1, 2024
• No official launch date is set, but Ohio has informed 62 existing medical business licensees that they qualify for adult-use operations but must complete a few steps to get there.  
• NPR is the latest to explore the spread of illegal American grow ops funded and staffed by Chinese backers, with this profile focusing on the issue in New Mexico.  
• A new study found that cannabis use may increase the risk of COVID complications, marking the latest in the back-and-forth studies surrounding pot and COVID-19. 

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

• The NCAA removed cannabis from its banned substances list while also lifting any existing punishments for players who previously tested positive.  
• After being alerted months ago, California recently recalled a West Coast Cure brand vape over its use of the insecticide chlorfenapyr.
• With a reported 40% of fatal car accidents in 2023, Hawai’i law enforcement recently took part in cannabis impaired driving detection courses.
• A former employee overseeing the federal contracts of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe filed suit against the tribe, claiming his dismissal was reprisal for voicing concerns over getting into the cannabis business. 

Wednesday, June 26, 2024

Thursday, June 27, 2024 

• At least 80% of Thai residents support rolling cannabis back to Category Five status next year.  
• Like Minnesota and Washington State, Kentucky opens its windows to weed on July 1 with the launch of medical marijuana business applications. 
• Michigan moved to ban a vape diluting agent, while Alabama took steps to prohibit Delta-8 THC. Meanwhile, Ohio lawmakers won’t return to Columbus early to discuss Delta-8.
• After pardoning 175,000 pot convictions last week, Maryland Governor Wes Moore’s administration launched a Cannabis Workforce Development Program, billed as a first-of-its-kind initiative in the US.    
• Not satisfied with sending just one pot bill to Governor Carney this week, the Delaware Senate sent a House-passed bill allowing existing medical operators to start sales early. 
• Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said that drug screenings for truckers will not be affected by rescheduling cannabis. 
• A new survey found that less than 13% of Colorado high schoolers used cannabis in the past 30 days, marking the lowest total since at least 2013. 
• A SF Gate report into safety enforcement issues has seemingly led to an uptick in California cannabis product recalls, with more than 20 products identified as unsafe for consumption in the past six months. 

Friday, June 28, 2024

• New York State launched its Illegal Cannabis Buyback program, offering perks to anyone who shows proof of membership at an illicit operator. Good luck with that one, New York. 
• Organizers claim that Nebraska’s medical petition drive needs more signatures to succeed.
• And one last pot program launches on July 1. In this case, we’re talking about an Oregon law aimed at grow ops using hemp licenses as a workaround. 

That’s a bit of what went down in weed last week. Did we miss anything? Send us a message, and we’ll do our best to round up all the essentials next week.