[author: Susan Ryan]

Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana.  There’s lots of news to cover this week, so let’s jump right in.

New Jersey is talking about decriminalizing marijuana.  Regular readers will doubtless recall that legalization failed earlier this year  and that lawmakers are considering a ballot initiative.  Now, Governor Phil Murphy is pushing for statewide decriminalization, as a stop-gap measure.

In other state news, Michigan‘s sales of recreational cannabis began on Sunday, amid long lines of customers.  Illinois‘s day in the sun is not far off; sales begin there on January 1.

Meanwhile, Minnesota has expanded the number of conditions eligible for medical marijuana.  Chronic pain and age-related macular degeneration are on the list.  Patients will be allowed to use new delivery methods, and more centers will open in August 2020.

And in Wisconsin, Governor Tony Evers signed legislation making the state’s pilot hemp program permanent. Also, its rules now align with the 2018 farm bill.

On the federal level, the Food and Drug Administration sent some reminder notices to companies selling CBD products illegally.  For our take on that correspondence, see here.

In banking news, the Federal Reserve released guidance this week allowing banks to work with the hemp industry.  Financial institutions will no longer have to file suspicious activity reports on customers operating a hemp business.

Turning to overseas news, Barbados is moving towards legalizing medical cannabis.  So is Brazil.  New Zealand is looking at legislation that would enforce recreational marijuana laws, if the voters choose to legalize next year.  And in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the governor is hoping the tax revenue from legalization would help shore up the government employee pension plan.

Finally, if you’re in the market for a Christmas tree, you might want to do your shopping sooner rather than later.  Some farmers are abandoning trees for hemp, causing shortages in the market.

See you next week!