[author: Susan Ryan]
Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, we follow up on three stories: the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ vote on cannabis sales; the situation in New York; and the situation in Alabama. And finally, we see Paul McCartney and the late Jimmy Buffett collaborated on a song about cannabis gummies.
EASTERN BAND OF CHEROKEE INDIANS
We reported last week that the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) were about to vote on whether to allow cannabis sales on their tribal lands, which are in North Carolina. They voted in favor, and the question will now go to the Tribal Council. If the Council approves the measure, it would create the only place within North Carolina where cannabis could be purchased for adult-use.
NEW YORK
The Empire State legalized cannabis for adult-use in March 2021. That’s two and a half years ago. You might have assumed a fully functional dispensary system would be up and running by now, but you know what happens when you assume…
The latest development is the opening of the New York market to multi-state and existing medical cannabis operators. Currently, only those who have been directly affected by a marijuana conviction can apply for a license. Except that even those licenses are not being issued right now due to a lawsuit. So the illicit market flourishes, and small business owners face financial hardship because they can’t get their dispensaries open. Here’s hoping the situation gets resolved soon.
ALABAMA
We also have an update on the Alabama medical marijuana licensing saga. Previously, we reported that the process was the subject of a lawsuit claiming a violation of the state’s Open Meetings Act. Well, now there’s another lawsuit in the mix – this time, one of the applicants is suing for defamation. The applicant claims the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (the state’s licensing body) falsely indicated that one of the companies’ owners or directors has a criminal record.
AND FINALLY
Attention Parrotheads – a new Jimmy Buffett album is scheduled for release in November. One of the songs on the album is entitled “My Gummie Just Kicked In,” and it features Paul McCartney on bass. Have a listen here.
Be well and we’ll see you next week.
