North American News

First Legal NY State Licensed Recreational Cannabis Dispensary Opens In Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls finally gets its first NY state-licensed recreational cannabis dispensary, Upstate Exotics. Located at 9200 Niagara Falls Blvd, Upstate Exotics now opens the New York State recreational cannabis market for the Niagara region. With its convenient location near the falls, Upstate Exotics is sure to attract locals and tourists alike looking to experience legal cannabis in New York. Whether visitors are looking to relax and enjoy the sights of the falls or simply unwind

New Florida Poll Shows Support For Cannabis Legalization

A statewide poll of Florida has been conducted by news agency Fox in which 66% of participants have indicated support for the legalization of cannabis for adult recreational use. The majority of the 1,000 surveyed indicated support of the constitutional amendment appearing on the 2024 ballot that could legalize cannabis for adults ages 21 and over. Source: Fox News Official Polls When the results of this study are broken down by political affiliation, 57% of Republicans,

Ohio's Recreational Cannabis Sales Set To Begin Soon As State Opens Applications

Ohio’s Recreational Cannabis Sales Begin Soon As State Opens Applications

The first legal sale of recreational marijuana in Ohio is just around the corner. On Friday, Ohio will begin accepting applications for recreational cannabis licenses from medical dispensaries, with the anticipation of having sales follow shortly after. Caveh Azadeh, co-owner of a medical marijuana cultivation facility in Ohio, says, “They’re hoping for a week or less of turnaround.” It’s an ambitious timeline for the state as it prepares for its recreational cannabis market launch.

This State Now Sells More Legal Weed Than California

Michigan is now the state with the largest legal cannabis market, according to a new investigation. Michigan’s legal adult recreational use market has usurped that of California. Analytics firm BDSA studied the of point of sale data from each state, determining that Michigan sold 22 million cannabis products in March, while California only sold 21.3 million. A “product” in this context is defined to be a single packaged unit of cannabis product, paraphernalia not included.

Curaleaf Acquires Northern Green Canada For $16M, Expands European Presence

Cannabis industry mogul, Curaleaf Holdings Inc. has finalized its acquisition of Northern Green Canada. The international cannabis company purchased NGC for $16 million following a March 2024 announcement of the planned procurement. NGC is one of a small number of Canadian cannabis companies to hold EU-GMP accreditation, meaning the brand can sell its products throughout Europe. This makes further growth in Europe and expansion into Australia and Asia a reality for Curaleaf. The brand already

DEA reclassifies cannabis as schedule 3 from schedule 1 narcotic

DEA Reclassifies Cannabis From Schedule 1 To Schedule 3

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has made a historic decision to reschedule cannabis from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3 under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). This move comes following a recommendation from health agencies directed by President Biden. The rescheduling of cannabis is a significant step towards recognizing its potential medical benefits and reducing the stigma associated with its use. Formerly, cannabis was classified as a Schedule 1 narcotic. Substances, or chemicals, classified as Schedule

The Connecticut Cannabis Council Chapstick Crisis: What You Need To Know

The Connecticut Social Equity Council has come under fire for the alleged misappropriation of funds. Andréa Comer’s concerns reached the office of Connecticut Governor, Ned Lamont, when the chair of the SEC’s finance committee declared her resignation, due to what she perceived to be frivolous and potentially unethical spending by the organization. According to a statement on the State of Connecticut’s official website, the “Social Equity Council was developed in order to make sure the adult-use

Head of FDA Urges “No More Delays” In Rescheduling of Cannabis

A Thursday hearing before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee included dialogue relating to the rescheduling of cannabis. During these remarks, the head of the FDA stated that there is no reason to delay the decision on the rescheduling of cannabis any longer. Robert M. Califf, head of the United States FDA (Food and Drug Administration), remarked the the speed at which federal cannabis reclassification happens is in the hands of the DEA (Drug Enforcement

Dispensary Fined After Selling Dumpster Cannabis

Far & Dotter, a Maryland medical and recreational adult-use dispensary has received a fine amounting to $26,000.00 after reports of unhygienic distribution practices. Footage obtained from security cameras revealed three dispensary employees retrieving packages of cannabis products from an outside dumpster where they had been disposed of 41 hours and nine minutes prior. The Maryland Cannabis Administration has executed a Consent Order in which serious breaches in “Sanitary Storage of Medical Cannabis” were addressed amongst

Jesse Ventura, Ex-Minnesota Gov, To Launch Edible Company

Former Minnesota governor Jesse “The Body” Ventura is launching an edible company. Ventura is partnering with Retro Bakery, a suburban Minneapolis-based company that makes THC sweets derived from hemp. Ventura’s product line is to be called Ventura Farms. Ventura declared in a video released on Wednesday, “Ventura Farms is my foray into the world of cannabis!” as rock music played in the background. https://youtu.be/T2OVBzHEkYA?list=TLGGbkkiQjwiPBcwNjA0MjAyNA Jesse Ventura, Ventura Farms Official Launch Statement “I’m a huge supporter of

Vice President Harris, Rapper Fat Joe Discuss Easing Cannabis Penalties

At a White House discussion on reducing marijuana penalties on Friday, rapper Fat Joe and Vice President Kamala Harris took center stage. Harris denounced it “absurd” that the federal government continues to perceive cannabis as more dangerous than fentanyl. Harris also objected to the federal government’s designation of cannabis as “patently unfair.” Harris asked that the government expedite the examination of its cannabis classification system, which is presently underway. U.S. regulators are currently debating the

New York Dispensaries Gain Momentum As More Open

Over the past several weeks, New York dispensaries saw an increase in numbers, despite a slow start. New York may have legalized cannabis in 2021. However, with many delays, the retail market was slow to gain momentum, seeing its first round of adult-use recreational dispensaries by early 2023. Now, in 2024, the state has issued around 275 provisional licenses for recreational dispensaries, of which only around 90 are currently in operation. Governor Hochul has been