What is clear is that MSOs like Cresco Labs and groups like the Illinois Environmental Council are each doing their part to create an equitable and environmentally conscious industry.
Cary Shepherd: We worked with the University of Chicago Abrams Environmental Law Clinic to do a policy and law review on sustainable cannabis growth to help us draft language that was reflective of the priorities and concerns of the network.
Yet as an industry we have failed to address the intersections between the environment and equity, now it is our opportunity to connect sustainability plans to a broader normalization agenda.
Building a space out, for example, with the intention of sustainability and efficiency can be much cheaper than retrofitting, for example.
We want to advocate for future legislative change such as allowing for open field secured production, that in and of itself would reduce the carbon footprint associated with a gram of THC produced.
We need environmental stakeholders to understand the absence of traditional business banking and access to capital alongside the unpredictable nature of the burgeoning industry.
JN: I do believe there are elements of cannabis production, through hemp farming applications, that have great potential to address environmental harm.
We surely make recommendations, and they are typically environmentally enlightened operators that are open to learning how to own and operate in ways that save money and protect the environment.
The state’s legislative chambers overcame differences to pass a compromise bill on Feb.
Following the legislature’s passage, Jenn Michelle Pedini, Virginia’s executive director for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws , said that timeline wasn’t good enough and she hoped to continue working to accelerate specific facets of legalization.
As a result, adults 21 years and older will be allowed to possess up to 1 ounce of cannabis and grow up to four plants per household starting July 1, 2021—speeding up the timeline 2 1/2 years.
“As of July 1, 2021—who’s counting, but 71 days from now—Virginia will no longer police adults for possessing small amounts of marijuana,” Northam said during his signing ceremony Wednesday.
The social equity implications of ending prohibition were mentioned by everyone who spoke during the governor’s signing ceremony, including Democratic Sens.
Representing the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as the governor’s lead deputy chief diversity officer, Alaysia Black Hackett said, “This law establishes social equity as a pillar and major priority.
When Democrats flipped both chambers in 2019, they gained control of both the legislature and governor’s office for the first time in more than two decades.
2, 2021, by Christopher Newport University’s Watson Center for Civic Leadership showed that 68% of registered voters in Virginia, including majorities of Democrats and Republicans, support adult-use cannabis legalization.
The five-member board of directors will institute the number of licensees, which cannot exceed 400 retailers, 25 wholesalers, 450 cultivators and 60 product manufacturers.
Many of the provisions in the roughly 300-page bill are subject to a reenactment, meaning a second review and vote by members of the General Assembly in 2022.
“Over the past two months, I have answered more times than I can count, ‘How did Virginia just legalize cannabis?’” said Pedini, who also serves as NORML’s development director.
“I’ve also mentioned countless times how Virginia is the single most prepared state to ever undertake a legalization effort.
The new daily sales average is nearly a 30% increase from the previous 23-day reporting period that ended on March 11, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
According to Herald-Mail Media, the new rules come after the Maryland General Assembly suggested legalizing adult-use cannabis in Maryland.
“I live just outside of Chicago, and as I like to say, the city is just starting to turn back on as far as folks coming from a destination standpoint that doesn’t live here,” Butler said.
The spike in sales affected the dispensary and wholesale side of things.
“We are lucky in that we were able to fulfill orders for the most part, but when you have spikes in demand that are that high, we definitely felt it at the facility level.
“I’m really proud of what we have done as a collaborative team to be able to manage the scheduling of these deliveries,” Butler said.
“Our sales overall have been very strong month over month, but March was exceptional,” Butler said.
“It’s looking great thus far,” Butler said.