Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. This week, we have a look at Delaware’s licensing lottery, We note that New York’s cannabis crackdown may be unconstitutional. We have an update on the Nebraska ballot initiative situation. We see that the First Circuit will be ruling on cannabis. And finally, Rick Steves weighed in on Florida’s ballot question.

DELAWARE

Delaware continues to award cannabis licenses, most recently for cultivators and manufacturers. Late last week, the state awarded 21 of each type of license in each of Delaware’s three counties. Social equity retail licenses were part of the process as well. A lottery for retail licenses will take place later this month; medical marijuana dispensaries have already been awarded adult-use licenses.

NEW YORK

New York has been cracking down on illegal cannabis shops, as we reported a couple of months ago. Part of the drive to shutter these stores involves padlocking the entrances. Now, a Queens judge, Judge Kevin J. Kerrigan, has ruled that padlocking stores where illegal sales are suspected is unconstitutional. The city has appealed the ruling, so we’ve not heard the last of this.

NEBRASKA

We’ve spent a lot of time recently in the Cornhusker State, most recently two weeks ago, when we noted that a judge would decide if two cannabis initiatives would appear on the ballot or not. Trial is now underway, and so is voting. If the initiatives are deemed invalid, and assuming new ballots couldn’t be printed in time for Tuesday’s election, one assumes Nebraska would be in an Arkansas situation – the measures are on the ballot, but the votes wouldn’t count. Stay tuned!

FIRST CIRCUIT

File this under “Coming Attractions.” The First Circuit Court of Appeals has scheduled oral argument for December 5 in a case seeking to overturn the federal government’s marijuana prohibition. Like most legal matters, it’s complicated. The gist of the argument is that, because the federal government has not been actively attempting to shut down state-legal cannabis operations, the inclusion of cannabis on the Controlled Substances schedule is unconstitutional. This would have repercussions for moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III, and for the federal government’s ability to regulate cannabis. Could this go to the Supreme Court? It could. What would happen there? Who knows! Again, stay tuned.

AND FINALLY

Florida has an adult-use cannabis legalization question on its ballot. Some big names have gotten involved on both sides of the issue. Former President Trump (R) has indicated he will vote for it. Governor Ron DeSantis (R) has spent a lot of money fighting against it. It’s hard to tell whether the measure will pass or not, as Florida requires a 60% majority for initiatives to pass. Celebrities have also weighed in, including travel author and TV host, Rick Steves.

For me, ‘high’ is a place. And sometimes, I just want to go to that place.

Be well everyone – we’ll see you next week!