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Washington counties bordering Idaho had some of the highest cannabis spending per capita.

Cannabis sales in Washington continue to grow year over year, according to annual data released last month by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board. Consumers in Washington spent $1.49 billion on cannabis in the fiscal year ended June 30, up from $1.27 billion in fiscal 2020. This continues an upward trend in the revenue numbers, which topped $1 billion for the first time in 2019. Fiscal 2021 sales generated a record $533.9 million in tax revenue for the state.

Spokane County continues to be among the leaders in revenue produced overall and revenue produced per capita. Rounding up, $164 million was spent on retail cannabis in Spokane County over the past fiscal year, generating $60.6 million in tax revenue. That puts Spokane County third in the state, behind only King and Pierce counties. King and Pierce are the state's first and second most-populated counties, while Spokane County ranks fourth in population.

This is where things get interesting.

Looking at the county-by-county data there's a pretty clear correlation with bigger counties amounting to larger sums of money spent on cannabis. More people, more money — makes sense. But, if you break it down per capita, that correlation falls apart. Take Asotin County, for example. Located in the southeast corner of Washington, Asotin County is home to just 22,820 residents, according to the most recent Census Bureau estimate, but generated $15.3 million in cannabis sales in fiscal 2021. That averages out to $672.50 per resident. The state average is $197.13 per resident.

So, is Asotin County just high out of its mind? Or, does it happen to border a state where cannabis remains illegal?

The latter seems to be true. Spokane County ranks second in per capita spending at $310.03 per resident. Whitman County, which also borders Idaho, was third in per capita spending each of the past two years. This year it's fourth, by less than a dollar behind Grays Harbor County, at $266.79. Three of the top four counties in Washington, based on per-capita spending on cannabis, border Idaho, a state where cannabis remains entirely illegal. It appears non-residents are pumping up border-county stats.

With each passing year, older adults have been getting more and more into marijuana. With that said, there are some potential issues to be aware of.

Thanks for marijuana legalization, the herb has been going through a phase of reevaluation. People of all ages are more open to trying it, whether for recreational or medicinal purposes, especially when faced with the side effects of prescription medications. One of the fastest growing demographics are Baby Boomers.

A survey conducted on adults over the age of 55 between 2016 and 2018 found that men are increasing the amount of marijuana they consume, particularly those between the ages of 60-64. There are many reasons why this could be happening, among them, the fact that the drug has lower stigma, making it more likely for people to be honest with their answers, that there are more options and drug availability, and more.

Photo by Westend61/Getty Images

Other contributing factors include a global leaning towards more natural medicines. This is especially effective for older adults looking for pain relief and sleep aids, preferably those that don’t come with significant side effects.

Reactions with medication

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The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority continues to stay busy accommodating new licensed businesses, addressing a growing trend of THC "analogs" on dispensary shelves and adapting to new emergency rules now in effect, agency Director Adria Berry said Tuesday.  

The additional rules became active on Monday, with an intention to give the authority more power to act and enforce its own rules while also adding clarifications for operators from how long records must be kept to requirements for packaging of pre-rolled joints. 

Outside of the emergency rules, which are now in the public comment period and on track to become permanent in the next year, the authority has made 30 hires in the past month, filling 12 inspector positions. 

"One of the glaring issues we had was just not getting out and inspecting across the state, that's really the biggest thing we've been hearing," Berry said. 

Berry says in addition to the new hires a renewed focus on inspections and a replacement of the agency's compliance director are driving the agency forward. 

The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE: SMG) reported full-year financial results as sales dropped 17%  in the fourth quarter to $737.8 million. Still, this topped the Yahoo Finance average analyst estimate for sales of $689 million. Scott’s reported a GAAP loss in the quarter of $0.87 per share compared with earnings last year of $0.07 per diluted share. The adjusted loss in the quarter was $0.82 per share compared with earnings of $0.06 per diluted share a year ago. The estimate was for a loss of $0.84.

Twice last year a federal grand jury demanded the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services turn over records pertaining to the medical marijuana program. 

The pair of subpoenas, issued by the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri in September 2020, were redacted by the department at the request of the federal government before being turned over to The Independent, obfuscating the records being sought by federal law enforcement. 

A third subpoena, from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, was received by the department in July 2021. The records being sought were also redacted. 

The existence of the subpoenas was first reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jack Suntrup.

They follow a 2019 subpoena from a federal grand jury demanding all records pertaining to medical marijuana license applications of four individuals. The identity of those individuals was redacted from the copy of the subpoena first reported by the Kansas City Star. 

Former NFL running back Ricky Williams and Canadian screen actor and writer Seth Rogen are pursuing fresh efforts in the cannabis space, as celebrities leverage their fame to launch marijuana-themed businesses, with mixed results thus far.

Entertainment and sports stars have been routinely flexing their entrepreneurial muscles in response to the legal cannabis business rolling out of late in states such as New York and New Jersey. Federal legalization remains a possibility in the future, as well.

DENVER — Charlotte’s Web on Oct. 27 introduced a new full-spectrum hemp extract treat targeting dogs with skin and allergy concerns. The company’s Skin Health & Allergy Support Chews are formulated to support sensitive skin and seasonal allergies.

"As we continue to learn more about the science of allergies in our dogs, we are finding it often requires a multimodal approach – combining traditional and alternative therapies for the best outcome," said Kwane Stewart, DVM, a veterinary media personality and web brand ambassador for Charlotte’s Web.

BOSTON — While recreational marijuana sales have soared in 2021 as Massachusetts emerges from the pandemic, business complications and governmental actions have slowed the pace of the industry's growth, cannabis advocates say.

Massachusetts legalized marijuana in 2016, becoming the seventh state to do so, but only licensed sales in 2018.

“Right out of the gate, the Legislature delayed everything by six months to rewrite the initiatives,” said Jim Borghesani, the communications director of “Yes on 4” in 2016. Massachusetts was the only state to rewrite the law passed by voters on marijuana legalization.

Oregon authorities are trying to shut down any illicit cannabis grows with ties to Mexican cartels.

Law enforcement officers and other authorities in southern Oregon say that a rash of illegal marijuana cultivation operations in the area are linked to Mexican drug cartels intent on overwhelming local resources as a strategy to maximize profits. 

In Jackson County, officials declared a state of emergency last month and said that the proliferation of illicit pot farms had strained local law enforcement and other resources. In a letter to Oregon Governor Kate Brown and state lawmakers, the Jackson County Board Commissioners called for more funding and personnel to support law enforcement and code compliance efforts in the area. 

Jackson County Commissioner Rick Dyer told reporters that other illegal activities including human trafficking, forced labor and unsafe living conditions for workers are tied to the unregulated marijuana cultivation in Oregon, where cannabis commerce is legal for licensed businesses. He added that illegal operators intimidate and abuse their workers, who are often minors or the parents of young children.

Officials in Jackson County hope that their counterparts in neighboring Klamath and Josephine Counties will declare a similar state of emergency so that the region sends a unified message to state leaders.

“It’s harder to ignore when it’s a regional declaration of an emergency,” Dyer said. “And the more of a united front we present it will make it harder to ignore. It is a regional problem, and it could be a regional solution.”

New Mexico might implement new laws that would limit recreational cannabis tourism. Officials claim these limits would ensure public safety.

Regulators in New Mexico held a public hearing this week to discuss rules for the state’s forthcoming recreational cannabis market. 

The state’s Regulation and Licensing Department, as well as its Cannabis Control Division, fielded questions and comments from the public during last Thursday’s hearing over the rules that will govern cannabis retailers and manufacturers.

According to the local website NM Political Report, the comments at the hearing “varied from proposed regulations for packaging requirements, general business practices to cannabis deliveries to both businesses and residences.”

“Requiring all manufacturers to prove water rights for their application, I think, is unreasonably burdensome, because it’s just not going to be a factor for a number of them,” Duhigg said, as quoted by NM Political Report. 

Lawmakers in New Mexico passed a bill legalizing recreational pot use for adults during a special legislative session in the spring. The legislation was signed into law in April by Democratic Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. This means big things for New Mexico, as for the first time ever, they will finally have a legal cannabis industry. 

For Christopher Fevry, the CEO and co-founder of cannabis delivery company Your Green Package, October has brought a milestone of crossing 2,500 deliveries.

A group that failed to get a recreational marijuana amendment on the ballot four years ago and sued the attorney general over procedural issues hopes to give Arkansas voters a chance to legalize recreational marijuana next year.

Arkansas True Grass, a group of marijuana advocates and volunteers, is gathering signatures for a constitutional amendment that would allow Arkansans aged 21 and over to purchase up to four ounces of marijuana a day and grow up to 12 plants of their own. The group needs 89,151 verified signatures to make the November 2022 ballot. The deadline to submit petitions is July 8, 2022.

The new measure would also expand the number of businesses allowed to sell marijuana. The amendment allows for an unlimited number of business licenses, which spokeswoman Briana Boling said would be “affordable” and would be administered by the state Department of Agriculture. Under the state’s medical marijuana program, the Medical Marijuana Commission licenses dispensaries and cultivators, while the Alcoholic Beverage Control division regulates those businesses. The state Department of Health issues cards to qualified patients.

While the amendment would not change the framework of the state medical marijuana program,  it would increase competition and drive down prices, Boling said.

The Arkansas True Grass proposal would also expunge convictions for some marijuana offenses. Under the amendment, anyone incarcerated or serving parole or probation for a violation of the Arkansas Uniformed Controlled Substances Act and whose current and only conviction is for a marijuana-related offense would be released. All criminal records of such convictions before the passage of the amendment would be expunged.

Marijuana activists in California managed to achieve a couple of legislative victories last week. Two bills were put before the governor, the first being the removal of the ban on smokable hemp flower. The second was a measure requiring hospitals to allow qualifying patients access to medical marijuana.

Medical marijuana in California hospitals?

Sen. Ben Hueso (D) has been lobbying for terminally ill patient’s right to use medical marijuana in hospitals and medical facilities. The senator recently sent a letter to the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services seeking clarification on whether the policy change could potentially affect funding for those facilities.

The progressive bill codifies that hospitals will have the power to allow certain patients to use medical marijuana while in their care. On Thursday, the bill was cleared by the Assembly in a 57-1 vote. On Friday, the Senate signed off on the chamber’s other amendments in a 36-1 vote.

“For many Californians, particularly terminally-ill patients, medicinal cannabis is a preferred alternative to other drugs, providing therapeutic relief without the caveats that may come with other medicines. The bill marks an opportunity for California to continue to lead the way in cannabis regulation and reform,”  Eddie Franco, legislative and regulatory affairs manager at CCIA, told Marijuana Moment.

PHOENIX – An MMA event at Celebrity Theatre is not unusual. Pairing that competition with a cannabis expo is.

That was the case Saturday when promoter RUF 44 hosted “RUF, Puff & Rumble, the first time the two industries have collided in the Valley.

Marijuana and sports have often had a precarious relationship. Within combat fighting, various state commissions have looked down on the plant in years past, handing out suspensions of up to five years for repeated positive tests of THC, the psychoactive property within marijuana. Times have changed however, as the Arizona State Boxing & MMA commission adopted the UFC model of testing, allowing fighters to consume marijuana freely until fight day, making more events like RUF 44 possible.

Dr. Joel Lopez, the CEO and Founder of RUF Nation, first thought of teaming MMA and marijuana two years ago but his vision finally came into fruition once Trap Culture Promotions, a local organization promoting cannabis-related events, reached out to Lopez. From there, the two sides met and turned what was once an idea into a reality.

“So I went to their office. First we passed around a good smoke. Alright, what’s up? And they’re like, `We got an idea,’” Lopez said. “This is what we do. We go to social events, mainstream events, and we provide an event itself. They go to like arcades and just provide full consumption areas. I’m like, what? Holy crap. I got it: RUF, Puff & Rumble.”

Drive-thru windows to purchase cannabis likely won’t be allowed in Manteca once marijuana dispensaries are legal.

A representative of marijuana retailers pitched the possibility of drive-thru windows saying it would be an effective marketing tool for a Manteca dispensary located near Highway 99. He noted curbside service for orders placed online had been effective and without problem at a number of dispensaries when pandemic lockdown rules were stringent.

The suggestion was made during Wednesday’s City Council workshop on ordinance that would allow marijuana dispensaries and possibly other cannabis related businesses to open in Manteca as early as 2022.

Several council members quickly batted the idea down.

“We don’t want to create another (Chick-fil-A),” said Manteca Mayor Ben Cantu in reference to the fast food restaurant that often has its drive-thru lane traffic back up onto Yosemite Avenue and even the nearby southbound Highway 99 off-ramp.

The council was open to a suggestion that dispensaries be allowed in commercial mixed use zones that allow apartments and similar residences after it was pointed out the designation covered most of the Yosemite Avenue and Main Street corridors. As such, it would exclude almost all likely locations for dispensaries to open in existing buildings in Manteca.

PORTLAND, Maine - Two sheriff's deputies accepted new cars and an ownership stake in an operation that illegally sold more than $13 million in pot grown for Maine’s medical marijuana program, federal prosecutors said.

Two other law enforcement officers and a prosecutor aided the operation by providing intelligence and tipping off participants, prosecutors said.

Federal documents unsealed Wednesday when one of the defendants pleaded guilty revealed an elaborate program in which marijuana that was grown in western Maine for registered caregivers was sold outside the program, with profits being laundered through a corporate structure.

Twelve people were charged in the 14-count complaint, including a Rangeley select board member, an assistant district attorney, two Franklin County sheriff's deputies, an Oxford County sheriff's deputy and a Wilton police officer.

Halloween is almost here. As costumed revelers prepare for a weekend of celebrations, the cannabis industry readies for the beginning of the holiday shopping season just around the corner.

Article originally appeared on Benzinga. Green Wednesday, Black Friday and December holiday shopping sales dominate the collective minds of business operators. However, Halloween is a time to possibly see sales spike around edibles, but also as a moment to look back at the industry's tricks and treats so far.

The latest data on national drug use and health shows that an encouraging trend took place among America’s younger demographic in 2020: pre-teens and teens showed far less interest in using inebriating substances like cannabis, alcohol, and other drugs.

According to data provided by the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) published earlier this week in the latest National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the use of cannabis among young people fell significantly between 2019 and 2020.

There is plenty of data to show that the rate of cannabis use among youth has fallen consistently as more states legalize cannabis, so the continued drop in use doesn’t come as a surprise. Rates of underage drinking also fell in 2020, as did rates of illicit drug use, including the use of illicit drugs like hallucinogens and cocaine, and the misuse of prescription drugs.

Breaking Down The Numbers: Cannabis

When it comes to cannabis, lifetime use among youth aged 12 to 17 dropped from 15.8 percent in 2019 to 12.4 percent in 2020, while past year use fell 25 percent, from 13.2 percent to 10.1 percent. The same age group also saw a 20-percent reduction in past month use compared to 2019.