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To understand how rapidly New York overhauled its marijuana laws, look no further than its impact on the criminal justice system.

Fewer and fewer people are being arrested on marijuana offenses in New York, underscoring the major effect of the drug’s decriminalization in 2019 and, ultimately, its legalization this past March.

From April through October of this year, just 116 people statewide were arrested on a top-level misdemeanor or felony charge related to marijuana possession or sale in New York, data compiled by the state Division of Criminal Justice Services shows.

The drop-off in marijuana arrests has been stark as state lawmakers and then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo reshaped the state’s laws related to the drug.

In 2020, after New York lawmakers took steps to decrease marijuana penalties but before they legalized certain amounts of the substance, there were 2,720 misdemeanor or felony marijuana arrests. Compare that to 2017, when there were 28,239 misdemeanor marijuana arrests alone, according to a study by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Pharmacy chains will be appealing the verdict that they created a public nuisance by contributing the Ohio’s opioid crisis.

A federal jury in Ohio on Tuesday found that pharmacy giants Walgreens, CVS and Walmart contributed to the opioid crisis in that state, a verdict that could serve as a bellwether for thousands of similar cases pending from coast to coast. The decision is the first verdict returned by a jury that holds a pharmacy retailer responsible for its role in the devastating epidemic of opioid overdoses that has plagued the United States for decades.

In the lawsuit, Lake and Trumbell Counties in northeastern Ohio maintained that the pharmacy retailers had recklessly distributed more than 100 million opioid pain pills in the counties, leading to addiction, death and a strain on public services. Between 2012 and 2016, more than 80 million prescriptions painkillers were dispensed in Trumbull County alone, or about 400 pills for every resident. During the same period, approximately 61 million opioid painkillers were dispensed in Lake County.

“For decades, pharmacy chains have watched as the pills flowing out of their doors cause harm and failed to take action as required by law,” a committee of attorneys representing local governments in federal opioid lawsuits said in a statement. “Instead, these companies responded by opening up more locations, flooding communities with pills, and facilitating the flow of opioids into an illegal, secondary market.”

Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued that the actions of the pharmacies amounted to a public nuisance that cost the counties about $1 billion each to address. Mark Lanier, an attorney representing the counties, said that the pharmacies failed to hire or train enough employees and implement systems to prevent suspicious orders from being filled.

“The law requires pharmacies to be diligent in dealing drugs,” Lanier said. “This case should be a wake-up call that failure will not be accepted.” 

Small-holder farmers meant to benefit from South Africa’s new cannabis dispensation to unlock a potentially huge economic sector may be left out in the cold because of stringent regulatory requirements. 

At the end of October, the Agriculture Land Reform and Rural Development Department announced the opening of applications for hemp cultivation permits, a move welcomed by 

organisations that have been waiting to kick-start this new economic sector. This followed the declaration of hemp as an agricultural crop under the Plant Improvement Act, which allows its importation, exportation, cultivation, sale and research.

Both hemp and marijuana are from the cannabis plant, but marijuana is associated with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which causes the “high”, and hemp with cannabidiol (CBD), which is associated with health benefits. 

People in many rural parts of South Africa have been cultivating cannabis for hundreds of years, but studies show that this was predominantly for recreational consumption by an adult marijuana market.

Now in Illinois the smell of marijuana does not give probable cause for officers to do a warrantless search during traffic stops.

On Friday Whiteside County court Judge Daniel P. Dalton made the ruling.

Local law enforcement officials say this could cause issues when officers try to stop people who have recently smoked the drug.

“In Illinois, you can transport legally cannabis as long as it's on odorless container well that right there on its face means that you shouldn’t be able to smell it,” said Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell.

He said this will only create more problems for law enforcement trying to stop those driving while impaired.

To understand how rapidly New York overhauled its marijuana laws, look no further than its impact on the criminal justice system.

Fewer and fewer people are being arrested on marijuana offenses in New York, underscoring the major effect of the drug’s decriminalization in 2019 and, ultimately, its legalization this past March. 

From April through October of this year, just 116 people statewide were arrested on a top-level misdemeanor or felony charge related to marijuana possession or sale in New York, data compiled by the state Division of Criminal Justice Services shows.

And as of early October, 11 people remained incarcerated in state prisons with a top crime of either criminal sale or possession of marijuana in the first-, second- or third-degree, according to the state Department of Correction and Community Supervision. 

A top charge is the most severe offense someone is arrested for.

U.K. officers standing in street below have no problem spotting earthbound cannabis before collecting it.

Make it rain took on a whole new meaning when a U.K. man reportedly tossed a large amount of illegal cannabis from the window of his flat while patient police officers and bemused onlookers watched the clumsy evasion attempt from below.

Fittingly, the window is located above a store called Swag Emporium, with a tag line that possibly starts with “High Fashion,” though the grainy video does not display the full sign.Later in the video, four officers are seen on the street as two cops scramble to collect the fallen bud.

The person apparently taking the video says of the apartment dweller: “He threw a box straight out of the window,” as the video shows two officers, gloved and one with a broom, putting the weed into a clear bag.

Taking, carrying, making, selling, dealing or sharing drugs, including cannabis, is illegal throughout the U.K., the government reports. For a Class B drug like cannabis, possessing it can result in as long as five years in prison while supplying or producing it can spur a maximum 14-year sentence. Unlimited fines, or both prison time and these penalties, are also options for U.K. courts.

Stores hit by groups of thieves in Walnut Creek, SF, San Jose, Hayward; ‘roving caravans’ target pot dispensaries, pharmacies in Oakland

Bay Area law enforcement authorities and retail officials expressed shock and concern Monday after a string of brash public robberies over the weekend saw groups of people — as many as 80 in one case — swarm stores, grab merchandise and flee while the holiday shopping season is in full swing.

In Oakland, roving caravans of armed robbers hit marijuana dispensaries and other retail shops and pharmacies across the city, often forcing their way in by gunfire, according to police Chief LeRonne Armstrong.

Thieves also struck the Nordstrom store in Walnut Creek, a jewelry store at a Hayward mall, retailers in San Francisco’s Union Square, and a high end clothing store and a sunglasses shop in San Jose. Authorities were looking for any possible links between the cases.

A San Jose police spokesman said the targeting Sunday of a Lululemon shop at Santana Row was “organized robbery.”

An executive board has adopted a report from a committee dispatched by the Legislature to study draft legislation on medical and adult-use cannabis.

A South Dakota legislative board has adopted a report from a committee dispatched by the Legislature to study draft legislation on medical and adult-use cannabis in the state.

The committee drafted nearly two dozen bills that would change South Dakota’s medical cannabis program, according to The Globe, as well as an adult-use legalization bill that committee chairman Bryan Breitling told the news outlet would be a “fail-safe” if the state’s Supreme Court upholds a lower court injunction against South Dakota’s voter-approved Amendment A.

The Legislature’s 15-member executive board voted to accept the committee’s report, although the vote does not represent endorsement of any of the draft bills, The Globe reported. The legislation will likely surface during the state’s upcoming legislative session, according to the news outlet.

South Dakota’s cannabis study committee broke into two separate panels, one on adult-use and one on medical cannabis, and received testimony from legal and health experts, cannabis advocates, and local leaders, The Globe reported.

South Dakota kicks off its 2022 legislative session Jan. 11.

If the group gathers 133,000 signatures, the Ohio Legislature would have four months to consider the group’s initiated statute.

The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol has collected nearly enough signatures to advance its adult-use cannabis legalization proposal in Ohio, according to the Ohio Capital Journal.

Thomas Haren, an Ohio-based attorney and a spokesperson for the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, told the news outlet that he expects the group to gather the 133,000 required signatures by the end of the month.

The proposal would allow adults 21 and older to possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis or 15 grams of cannabis extract. Adults would also be permitted to purchase cannabis at dispensaries or grow up to two plants at home for personal use.

If lawmakers fail to pass the statute, the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol can collect an additional 130,000 signatures to place its proposed law before voters on Ohio’s November 2022 ballot.

In the meantime, State Reps. Casey Weinstein and Terrance Upchurch introduced an adult-use cannabis legalization bill in the House over the summer, while Rep. Jamie Callendar introduced his own adult-use legislation last month.

Fresh off of news that California is set to raise the cannabis cultivation tax despite projections of a $31 billion surplus, one marijuana entrepreneur is calling for a potential tax revolt this summer. Michael “Mikey” Steinmetz, co-founder of the company that makes the Flow Kana cannabis brand, is threatening to withhold his taxes unless Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature adjust state marijuana regulations July 1, 2022. He is calling on other CEOs to join him in this effort. Steinmetz issued the declaration in an op-ed on Medium, published Monday.

He criticized the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration’s plans to increase the cultivation tax this January, writing “We simply reply: We’re not going to pay.”

Retail marijuana is taxed three times in California: an excise tax paid by buyers, sales tax paid by customers and the cultivation tax that growers pay. Growers wants changes to the cultivation tax because they pay it before they make a sale. California’s current cannabis cultivation tax is $9.65 per dry weight ounce for cannabis flower, $2.87 per dry weight ounce for leaves and $1.35 per dry weight ounce for cannabis plants. That will increase to $10.08 for flower, $3 for leaves and $1.41 for plants beginning Jan. 1. The increased rates “reflect as an adjustment for inflation as required by the Cannabis Tax Law,” according to the department.

The proposed increase has drawn condemnation from cannabis advocates, including California NORML, whose director Dale Gieringer said in a statement, “The legal industry is already so burdened by excessive taxes and regulation that it cannot compete with unlicensed marketers. California needs to be reducing, not increasing cannabis taxes to make the legal market more competitive.”

WHAT FLOW KANA WANTS

The Village of Greenport could vote to prohibit the sale of retail marijuana following a public hearing next week.

New York passed legislation earlier this year legalizing recreational marijuana use for adults 21 and over. Municipalities have until Dec. 31 to opt out of allowing on-site consumption and/or retail dispensaries from locating and operating within their boundaries. Although an opt-out can be repealed later, localities may not opt out of the legislation after that date.

Village trustees briefly discussed the vote at a work session on Thursday night, including the possibility of a permissive referendum if the board votes to opt-out. 

According to the New York Conference of Mayors, residents seeking a permissive referendum must file a valid petition signed by at least 20% of registered voters in the village with the office of the village clerk within 30 days of the law’s passage. If no petition is filed, then the local law or resolution goes into effect. 

“Because we have permissive referendum included, we would need to vote at this month’s meeting,” said village clerk Sylvia Pirillo. The village has prepared resolutions to opt-out.

Indian police said on Saturday they had charged senior executives of Amazon's local unit under narcotics laws in a case of alleged marijuana smuggling via the online retailer. Police in the central Madhya Pradesh state arrested two men with 20 kilograms of marijuana on November 14 and found they were using the Amazon India website to order and further smuggle the substance in the guise of stevia leaves, a natural sweetener, to other Indian states.

State police said in a statement that executive directors of Amazon India were being named as accused under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act due to differences in answers in documents provided by the company in response to police questions and facts unearthed by discussion.

Police did not disclose how many executives were charged.

The police, who had previously summoned and spoken to Amazon executives in the case, estimate that about 1,000 kg of marijuana, worth roughly $148,000, was sold via Amazon.

In a statement to Insider an Amazon spokesperson said: "Amazon, as a matter of company policy, extends full cooperation to law enforcement agencies in the event of any bad actor operating on the Amazon.in marketplace. We have shared, and will continue to share information that law enforcement needs in their investigation of this case."

Mace says she turned to cannabis for relief after a traumatic life event

Defence asks that the accused be dismissed from the Canadian Armed Forces and demoted to the rank of private.

The defence and prosecution have made final submissions in the sentencing of Chelsea Cogswell, a bombardier who dosed soldiers with cannabis-infused cupcakes during a live-fire exercise in 2018. Cogswell, 28, was found guilty on nine charges in August , including one count of behaving in a disgraceful manner, which carries a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment.

“My consent was stripped from me,” wrote Lyann Lechman, per the Canadian Press . “As a person, our consent is one thing that we have to protect our well-being and to know that someone blatantly disrespected and abused that is horrifying. After this incident I find myself questioning the intent of my peers.”

Liam Jarbeau said the incident broke his trust in the chain of command at the school.

Several citizens spoke at the Nov. 9 meeting of the Essex Planning & Zoning Commission as its members continue to juggle two proposals related to cannabis facilities in town.

The first proposal is from an Essex resident, Roger Kern, whose text amendment would ban any type of cannabis facility. The second proposal has been developed by the commission for a temporary, six-month moratorium where no application would be considered, nor would any zoning permits be issued, related to cannabis.

No action was taken on either application, with the commission extending public hearings on both proposals to its Thursday, Dec. 9 meeting.

“It’s going to become the law of the land that we’re allowed to do this in the State of Connecticut,” said Steven Everly of Ivoryton. “If we want to push economic development elsewhere, I think that’s a mistake for the town.”There were mixed opinions from citizens regarding Kern’s proposal to ban cannabis in town. The commission received three pieces of correspondence in favor of his proposal while those attending the public hearing spoke against it.

Everly added that he does not support a moratorium.

A new bill introduced by a House Republican and strong earnings are causing big moves.

The U.S. cannabis industry remains one of the most interesting investing opportunities today. Although the companies still operate in a technically illegal business, most U.S. states have legalized cannabis, at least on a medical basis, and over two-thirds of U.S. citizens are pro-legalization.

Those numbers make it seem as if federal prohibition will be repealed at some point. Yet while many had thought action would occur earlier this year, cannabis legalization measures have stalled in Congress. With hot money pouring into U.S. cannabis stocks after Democrats took control of Congress in January, that money has since grown impatient and left the space throughout the spring and summer. No wonder the AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (NYSEMKT:MSOS), an ETF that owns most of the leading U.S. multistate operators (MSOs), is down 14.9% on the year and a stunning 42.6% from all-time highs set back in February.

But after a long slump, could these stocks be in for liftoff once again? Many cannabis stocks have surged this month, with MSOS up 14.6% just through the first two weeks of November.

A Republican legalization bill surfaces

But on Nov. 5, Marijuana Moment picked up on a scoop that Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) was circulating a draft of her own legislation. Cannabis stocks climbed by double digits on the news, as the prospect for Republicans to join the congressional effort led to optimism over legalization.

But the unveiling of the bill was a "sell the news" event

Yet after a huge run in which several leading pot stocks were up 20%, 30%, or even 40% on the news of the proposal, most sold off when Mace's bill was unveiled two weeks later.

Ontario’s Durham Region Police Service (DRPS) is still on the hunt for the sticky-fingered thief who absconded with cannabis products last month. The DRPS is hoping the public can provide a helpful assist in identifying the culprit.

 Rolling up on what the police describe as “a little red BMX bike,” the thief broke into the shop in Courtice, Ont. at around 3 a.m. after throwing a rock through the storefront window.

Slipping into the store, the man described as thin and in his 20s made off with “numerous items,” the police say.

The owner and employee at smoke shops in Westchester are facing charges after being busted by investigators selling to minors during an undercover investigation, police announced.

On Thursday, Nov. 11, members of the Greenburgh Drug and Alcohol Task Force and Street Crime Unit launched an investigation into the underage sale of tobacco and concentrated cannabis to underage shoppers at Hartsdale Tobacco on East Hartsdale Avenue.

The investigation led to the arrest of 29-year-old Muhemmed Abisse, the owner of the store, who was issued a desk appearance ticket for selling concentrated cannabis and tobacco products to a minor.A second bust at The Smoke Shop on Saw Mill River Road in Elmsford led to charges for an employee, 19-year-old Rylee-Ann Domogma, was also cited and scheduled to appear in court for selling tobacco to a minor, police said.

Both Abisse and Domogma are scheduled to return to the Greenburgh Town Court on Friday, Dec. 17 to answer the charges.