MJBiz - October 2023 - 29

INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS
Ohio
Adult-use marijuana legalization will appear on Ohio voters' ballots in November.
The Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol campaign qualified a legalization initiative for the upcoming
election, the organizers announced.
If voters approve the measure, Ohio would be the third state to legalize marijuana in 2023, following
in the footsteps of Delaware and Minnesota, which legalized via the legislative process.
Additionally, Ohio dispensaries granted medical marijuana retail licenses that haven't yet opened for
business won't lose their permits as long as they open before the end of the year. The extension will
be especially valuable if Ohio voters approve the adult-use legalization initiative in November.
Oregon
The Oregon Court of Appeals called for a temporary halt to a new marijuana lab-testing requirement
for aspergillus, a type of mold that has led to recalls in several legal cannabis markets.
Oregon marijuana cultivators warned that if the state's new " zero-tolerance " mandate for
aspergillus went into force, it would put them out of business.
The court wrote in its ruling that state regulators should have looked for a more flexible way of
regulating the mold.
The ruling will remain in place until a lawsuit filed in July by cultivators against the Oregon Health
Authority is settled.
South Dakota
A group of South Dakota lawmakers, regulators and law enforcement officials are raising concerns that
the state has issued too many medical marijuana cards for patients.
Jennifer Seale, the state's MMJ program administrator, told the Legislature's Medical Marijuana
Oversight Committee that the program has issued nearly 12,000 patient cards, double initial
projections for this time.
The strong demand led some lawmakers on the committee to question the legitimacy of the MMJ
card approval process and recommend stricter monitoring, including requiring approval from a primary
doctor or board-certified specialist.
Virginia
State authorities are cracking down on stores selling unauthorized hemp-derived products under a
new law and handing out significant fines in the enforcement push.
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services had issued five noncompliance letters
to businesses as of late July, with fines ranging from $13,000 to $97,500, local news outlets reported.
The fines could be reduced to $10,000 if business owners " agree to bring their stores into compliance
and meet other conditions. "
The store that faced the largest fine reportedly sold some hemp products containing more than
the 0.3% legal limit of THC and others that contained synthetic THC as well as goods that looked like
mainstream snacks. All the fined businesses failed to submit required paperwork disclosing the sale of
edible hemp products.
Note: Entries sourced from MJBizDaily and other international, national and local news outlets. These developments
occurred before this magazine's publication deadline, so some situations might have changed.
mjbizdaily.com | October 2023 29

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MJBiz - October 2023

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