NY City Council member proposes cannabis complaint line.
New York City Council Member Gale Brewer, who as Cannabis Wire has reported, is perhaps the most outspoken city official when it comes to unlicensed shops, proposed new legislation at last week’s City Council meeting that would “require the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications to create a specific 311 category for complaints related to unlicensed cannabis retailers. These complaints would be routed to the agency responsible for resolving the issue.”
Georgia issues first medical cannabis shop licenses.
The Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission announced during its public meeting last week week that it would award five medical cannabis retail licenses to two companies: Botanical Sciences LLC and Trulieve GA Inc.
The Commission can issue more licenses as the number of patients increases. Currently, it could award up to six shop licenses to each of these entities, as the state has more than 27,000 patients.
Both companies hold Class 1 production licenses, which allows them up to 100,000 square feet of indoor cultivation. Currently, a lawsuit has halted the awarding of Class 2 licenses, which would’ve gone to FFD GA Holdings LLC, Theratrue Georgia LLC, Natures GA LLC, and Treevana Remedy Inc.
Trulieve moved quickly, as it already held its grand opening in Macon.
+ More: Trulieve has been lobbying in Georgia for years, as Cannabis Wire first reported on the company’s lobbying activities in the state in 2019.
Shakeup at USCC.
The takeaways:
New executive director: Edward Conklin, who formerly held government relations roles at Curaleaf and McDonald’s; he replaced interim CEO Khadijah Tribble.
New member companies added to the board: Green Thumb Industries VP of Government Strategy Rebecca Brown and Verano Executive Vice President for Legal, Regulatory & Government Affairs James Leventis.
Prior members added to the board: Canopy CEO David Klein and CuraleafVP of Government Relations Matt Harrell.
New vice chair of the board: Schwazze Chief Policy and Regulatory Affairs Officer and former Colorado State Representative Dan Pabon.
New SVP of public affairs: David Culver, who recently stepped down as Canopy’s VP of Government Relations.
Clinical trial will examine heavy cannabis consumption and stress responses.
Yale University researchers will conduct a clinical trial that will examine “heavy cannabis use” and whether people who “use more cannabis are more likely to want to use cannabis when they encounter daily life stress.”
Researchers will conduct smartphone-delivered surveys and saliva testing and heart rate monitor data to explore the links between “psychological and biological stress responses and cannabis use.”
“The team will examine if self-reported cannabis use predicts how an individual responds, both biological and psychological, to a stressor when they encounter it their daily life,” according to the clinical trial notice. “Results from this study can help us develop treatments that help individuals who use cannabis heavily better cope with stress.”
