Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana. New York released updated cannabis industry data. The Congressional Cannabis Caucus has new leadership. Wisconsin’s governor calls for a ballot initiative on adult-use. The DEA faces charges of improper conduct surrounding re-scheduling. And finally, Cher reflects on Sonny’s anti-marijuana stance.

NEW YORK

As 2024 drew to a close, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the cannabis industry had hit a major milestone: $1 billion in sales. And considering the travails the industry has suffered in the Empire State, this is quite an accomplishment. But, how does that stack up against other states? Well, it’s okay. Among other state markets that have launched retail sales since 2022, New York ranks fourth, behind Missouri, Maryland and New Jersey, all of which have smaller populations.

CANNABIS CAUCUS

A new Congress brings new leadership to the Congressional Cannabis Caucus. Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Barbara Lee (D-CA) both retired at the end of the 118th Congress, so who’s heading up the group now? Reps. Dina Titus (D-NV) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) are the new co-chairs. Both come from states where adult-use is legal, and both have been supporters of federal cannabis legislation. They face an uphill battle on issues like cannabis banking or federal legalization in a Congress where cannabis will probably not be anyone’s top priority, but when has that not been the case?

WISCONSIN

As regular readers know well, one of the ways many states have legalized cannabis is through ballot initiatives. When legislatures don’t take up the issue, or bills fail to pass, the voters can legalize medical or adult-use cannabis themselves. One state that has no provision for ballot initiatives is Wisconsin, and Governor Tony Evers (D) would like to change that. The Badger State’s laws on cannabis are pretty strict. CBD oil is allowed with a prescription, but nothing else. Simple possession can result in jail time. Having seen no movement in the legislature to legalize either adult-use or medical marijuana, Evers has proposed in his 2025-2027 budget to allow ballot initiatives. The thinking is that the voters will act where the legislature has not. Of course, the legislature would have to vote to allow ballot initiatives, so you may not want to state collecting signatures just yet…

RE-SCHEDULING

The last time we talked about the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) re-scheduling hearing, we noted there was litigation. Because this is cannabis, and where’s there’s weed, there’s lawsuits. Well, now there’s more litigation! Several groups that support re-scheduling are now saying the DEA actually opposes the move from Schedule I to Schedule III, and has had improper communications with anti-legalization groups. DEA Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) John Mulrooney set a deadline of next week for the agency to respond to the allegations. Stay tuned…

AND FINALLY

Cher has written a memoir, the first part of which was released in November. In it, she details Sonny’s anti-marijuana message, which she believes was the cause of their fall from stardom.

His anti-drug stance seriously backfired, because our record sales dropped almost immediately, and offers began to dwindle.

For those of you too young to remember, many years ago, Cher was married to Sonny Bono. After their divorce, he went on to have a political career, becoming the mayor of Palm Springs, CA and then a U.S. Congressman.

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