Legal marijuana in Illinois saw “unprecedented growth” in fiscal year 2023, says a new annual report from the state’s Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), with the opening of 28 new retailers and more than $1.5 billion in total retail sales. Total tax revenue from the industry dropped in fiscal year 2023, however, falling […]
Author: Eric Sheetz
Cannabis Companies, Breast Cancer Organizations Join Forces for Breast Cancer Awareness
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 240,000 women and 2,100 men are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. Of that number, an estimated 42,000 women and 500 men lose their lives to the disease. There are many factors that contribute to a person’s diagnosis, including older age, genetic mutations, or having […]
Nearly $37M of Illegal Weed Found in Oakland, California Warehouse
Last weekend, officials descended upon a warehouse in Oakland, California, allegedly full of illegal cannabis plants, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). Not only cannabis opponents, but also law-abiding operators are not fans of illegal cannabis operations that they must compete with. The department said that it’s one of the largest […]
More Than 150 Oklahoma Dispensaries Face New State Fines
More than 150 Oklahoma medical marijuana dispensaries have received letters from state regulators notifying owners that they owe thousands of dollars in fines for transactions that do not comply with the state’s medical cannabis regulations. Some providers could also lose their licenses for selling too much medical marijuana in a single transaction, according to a […]
New Mexico Adult-Use Marijuana Sales Cross Half-Billion-Dollar Mark As Latest Monthly Sales Narrowly Miss Record
New Mexico’s legal marijuana retailers sold more than $47 million of combined adult-use and medical marijuana products in September, according to new data from the New Mexico Regulation & Licensing Department (RLD). While that marks a slight decline from the state’s $48 million monthly sales record set in August, the state has now reached the […]
New Jersey Cannabis Funds Used for Hospital-Based Intervention Services
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin announced in a press release that $5.5 million in cannabis tax funds will be going toward New Jersey Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program (NJHVIP). The money comes directly from the state’s Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Fund. According to state law, cannabis tax […]
India Carves Out Its Own Lane in the Shroom Boom
The first mushroom festival in India took place September 15-18 in the verdant and fungally diverse tropical forests of Wayanad in the southern state of Kerala. The inaugural Shroom Sabha attracted mycophiles from all corners of the subcontinent, and struck an acute balance between professionalism and playfulness that brought out the best of each quality. […]
From the Archives: A Lifetime Supply of Peyote Magic (1977)
By J. F. Burke Most of my life it’s been boo, booze and blow. I didn’t get into trips until I was 42, in 1957, when a friend of mine in Santa Fe introduced me to peyote. A Taos Indian had given a dozen peyote buttons to each of several persons in Santa Fe’s art […]
Ukrainian Immigrants Open Dispensary in West Virginia
Ukrainian immigrants looking for a better future are turning to opportunities in medical cannabis in multiple states. The Herald-Dispatch reports that a pair of Ukrainian immigrants are owners of a new dispensary opening up in Huntington, West Virginia. While one of the operators emigrated to the U.S. decades ago, they are proudly supporting their home […]
Two Amendments Relating to Cannabis, Psychedelic Research Added to Defense Bill
The House Rules Committee recently cleared two cannabis and psychedelic-related amendments on Sept. 23 to be discussed on the floor. Days later on Sept. 27, the House approved the two amendments—Amendment No. 48 and Amendment No. 137—to be included in H.R. 4365, or the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2024. Amendment No. 48, supported by […]