MEDICAL CANNABIS UPDATES

Washington DC Medical Expansion

Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration has been favorable to medical marijuana with a focus on patients and expanded access through the acceptance of more out-of-state medical cannabis cards. Cards from over two dozen states are now recognized at local dispensaries, which means DC now has medical reciprocity with over 26 states, up from 19 states before. D.C. officials were also reviewing four other states’ eligibility. The newly included states are: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, and Vermont. The four states being considered for inclusion as of August 8 were Louisiana, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and West Virginia. In May 2019, Bowser introduced legislation through Chairman Mendelson that would allow recreational cannabis sales and taxation in the city. The bill has yet to receive any hearings.

New Jersey Medical Expansion – Second Round Deadline Closed

Earlier this year, A 20 was signed into law and expanded the NJ Medical program to new patients, as well as greater accessibility. New Jersey previously had only 6 Alternative Treatment Centers, the state’s terminology for medical cannabis providers, for nearly 50,000 patients state-wide. Final applications closed on August 22, 2019, after opening the first week of July, 2019.

Highlights of the 2nd Round Application

• New Jersey Department of Health requested applications for up to 24 additional Alternative Treatment Centers (ATCs)
  • Up to 8 in the northern region of the state
  • Up to 8 in the central region
  • Up to 7 in the southern region
  • Up to 1 “at-large” –  to be determined during the award process.
• Three types of permits/endorsements were available
  • Cultivation (5)
  • Dispensing (15)
  • Vertically integrated (4)
    • Vertically integrated permits include 1 cultivation endorsement, 1 manufacturing endorsement and 1 dispensary endorsement  
• Applicants may seek up to 3 endorsements total, and may only submit one application per region, defined by the application as North, Central, and South Jersey. However, applicants for vertically integrated permits may only submit one application total.  

First Round Missouri Medical Licenses Application Deadline Closed

After Medical Cannabis passed via ballot amendment in 2018 with 66% of the vote, Missouri regulators have received approximately 2,100 applications for 348 medical cannabis licenses. State officials extended the application deadline until August 19, 2019 due to the response. Regulators must approve or deny an application within 150 days of the submission date.

The State Expansion Highlights

• 60 cultivation centers, 192 dispensaries, 86 processing sites and 10 testing labs licenses distributed.
• Program projections of approximately $20 million in annual sales within several years of the launch.
• An independent evaluator for applications stripped of identifying information