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Pew analysis finds most Americans live in a county with at least one cannabis shop.
The Pew Research Center published a new analysis last week that found that 79% of Americans live in a county with “at least one cannabis dispensary.”
Pew counted more than 15,000 dispensaries, with California having by far the highest number (3,659 when the analysis was conducted). Oklahoma, however, has more cannabis shops per capita than any other state (36 for every 100,000 residents).
The analysis also found that cannabis shops in legal states tend to “cluster” on borders of conservative states with less cannabis access.
Note: the methodology for the analysis is a little fuzzy. For example, while NORML and Census data were used, Pew doesn’t clearly note whether they’re referring to licensed shops. Further, in a map of locations of cannabis dispensaries, Pew wrote that it “includes dispensaries that sell for both recreational and medical purposes, as well as those selling cannabis products containing low amounts of THC or CBD-only products.”
Two Congress members are trying to stop a tribe from selling cannabis.
As the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and Qualla Enterprise LLC prepare to open the first cannabis shop in North Carolina next month, two Republican Congress members who represent the state have written to the U.S. Department of Justice to stop it.
U.S. Senators Thom Tillis and Ted Budd wrote (not only to the DOJ, but to the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Interior, FinCen, and the National Indian Gaming Commission, among others) to argue all the ways in which such an operation would violate state and federal laws.
They pose 19 questions in the letter, ranging from “Are federally recognized tribes immune from the Controlled Substance Act?” to “Are federally recognized tribes immune from transporting marijuana across state lines?”
Back in September, as Cannabis Wire reported in this newsletter at the time, the tribe voted in favor of adult use legalization.
Hawaii’s Senate, again, advances adult use. What will the House do?
Hawaii’s Senate voted this week to pass SB 3335, an adult use legalization bill with its roots in a draft put forth by the state’s Attorney General.
As Cannabis Wire reported in January, AG Anne Lopez drafted a bill and a report outlining priorities and concerns with legalization. While making clear her office does not support legalization, she noted that they “acknowledge that with changing public perception in recent years, the odds that the Legislature may pass legislation legalizing adult-use cannabis have increased substantially.”
The Senate passed an adult use bill last year, too, SB 669, as Cannabis Wire reported at the time. However, the bill stalled once it reached the House. And, it remains unclear whether the House will be warmer this time around (or, perhaps, share Lopez’s view on the inevitability of legalization).
The Hawaiʻi Alliance for Cannabis Reform, which includes groups like the ACLU of Hawai’i, the Last Prisoner Project, and the Marijuana Policy Project, is pushing for further amendments to reduce what they say is a “punitive approach” in the bill.
“Although this is an imperfect bill that still contains far too many elements of criminalization, it’s welcome news to have a viable adult-use legalization bill that can be improved upon when it reaches the House,” said Nikos Leverenz, of the Drug Policy Forum of Hawai’i, which is part of the Alliance, after the Senate vote.
