MJBIZ - November/December - 34

INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENTS State by State
New Jersey
Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill to limit the manufacture and sale of hemp products to businesses
already licensed by the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission.
The new law includes a provision to eventually allow licensed liquor stores to sell infused
beverages, said attorney Michael McQueeny, co-chair of the cannabis practice at law firm
Foley Hoag. But the lawful sale of intoxicating hemp products at liquor stores won't happen
until rules are finalized by the state regulators.
" The status quo poses an immediate risk to health and safety, as these unregulated intoxicating
hemp products are widely available to minors, " Murphy told the news media. " The
wiser course is to sign the bill now and commit to working with the Legislature to address the
technical issues and other challenges in separate legislation. "
The law also empowers state and local law enforcement to seize products from businesses.
Two days before the Oct. 12 deadline for businesses to remove hemp products from their
shelves, U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi ruled that the state cannot label a product as
" intoxicating " and restrict its sale if it complies with the laws in the state where it was made.
Adam Terry, CEO and co-founder of Massachusetts-based, hemp-derived beverage company
Cantrip, which filed a suit against the state, called the court order " a win for hemp. "
New York
Marijuana regulators have issued 1,342 adult-use cannabis licenses, with nearly 55% awarded
to Social and Economic Equity (SEE)-eligible applicants, according to a 102-page report
released by New York's Office of Cannabis Management (OCM).
According to the latest state data, 208 recreational retailers are operational and 205 conditional
adult-use cultivation and processing licenses have been issued.
Retailers generated $429.9 million in sales from January through August, when weekly sales
surpassed $20 million for the first time.
John Kagia, the OCM's deputy director of policy, said it was " within the realm of plausibility "
that state regulated marijuana sales could pass $1 billion by Dec. 31; recreational stores
generated $653.9 million in revenue in 2023.
" (W)e always knew that, with enough time and with enough effort, we would get this market
operational, " Kagia said.
Ohio
Recreational marijuana sales topped $50 million during the first month adult-use cannabis
products were available in the regulated market. The state's 123 licensed marijuana retailers
sold $54.5 million worth of products between Aug. 6 and Sept. 7, according to the state's Division
of Cannabis Control.
Recreational marijuana sales included 6,179 pounds of flower and 840,141 units of manufactured
products such as beverages, edibles, topicals and vapes. Although regulators don't track
the number of consumers from outside of Ohio, Cincinnati appears to be drawing customers
from Kentucky and Indiana.
Between Aug. 6 and Sept. 7, prices dropped from an average of $9.40 to $8.95 per gram of
flower and from $31.06 to $30.51 for manufactured products, according to state data. Purchases
are capped at 1 ounce of flower, 10 units of oil to vape (each containing 590 milligrams
of THC) or 10 packages of edibles totaling no more than 1,100 milligrams of THC.
Recreational cannabis consumers can purchase only products permitted under the medical
marijuana program, which does not include pre-rolled joints or concentrates with more than
70% THC. Those products likely will be available in the future.
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.
34 November-December 2024 | MJBizMagazine

MJBIZ - November/December

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