MJBiz - July 2023 - 21

INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS
Illinois
Thirteen marijuana delivery service providers in central Illinois filed a complaint against state
regulators, alleging that they are allowing unlicensed operators to transport cannabis.
The lawsuit, filed in the Circuit Court of Sangamon County, claims the Illinois Department of
Agriculture and its director, Jerry Costello, are not enforcing provisions laid out in the Illinois Cannabis
Regulation and Tax Act, or CRTA, which paved the way for the state's adult-use sales program that
launched in January 2020.
The plaintiffs allege that the agriculture department is " knowingly and willfully " allowing operators
to illegally perform cannabis transports in Illinois.
" As a result, illegal cannabis transporters are acting with impunity, jeopardizing the safety of the
Illinois public and essentially blocking licensed Illinois transporters, like plaintiffs, from participating in
the Illinois cannabis industry, " the lawsuit notes.
Kentucky
Gov. Andy Beshear signed a bill legalizing medical marijuana in the state.
The new market is slated to launch no sooner than Jan. 1, 2025.
Considered a relatively restrictive bill-the list of qualifying conditions is short, there is no home
cultivation and patients are barred from smoking cannabis-legal medical marijuana is nonetheless
seen as a significant political achievement.
Kentucky's new MMJ law has no license caps and permits cultivation with canopy ranging from
2,500 to 50,000 square feet.
Beshear's signature also follows an executive order he issued last fall that allowed Kentucky
residents to legally possess MMJ products, with proof of legal purchase, obtained in other states.
In previous years, medical marijuana legalization cleared the Kentucky Senate before stalling out in
the state House.
Maryland
Adult-use marijuana sales in Maryland are set to begin July 1 after the governor signed a bill into law
establishing regulations for the new market.
A recreational cannabis market was set in motion last November, when 67% of Maryland voters
approved a legalization bill and elected Wes Moore governor on the same ballot.
Maryland currently has 102 licensed MMJ dispensaries, according to state data, and the new law
allows up to 300 new retail outlets.
Licenses won't be awarded until January.
Michigan
Former state House Speaker Rick Johnson and three others pleaded guilty to participating in a bribery
scheme designed to connect hopeful medical marijuana operators with licenses.
Johnson chaired a Michigan medical marijuana licensing board from 2017 to 2019.
Lobbyist Brian Pierce said he gave at least $42,000 in bribes to a company controlled by Johnson to
help with cannabis license applications.
Johnson earlier pleaded guilty to accepting more than $100,000 in bribes from would-be cannabis
business operators in exchange for help obtaining licenses.
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MJBiz - July 2023

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