NEW YORK LAWSUIT
Judge rejects New York challenge to suit that’s delaying cannabis store openings
MJ Biz Daily reports that a federal judge rejected New York’s effort to toss a lawsuit that’s been delaying the opening of recreational cannabis stores across the state, including in Brooklyn – continuing the wait for the issuance of 63 of the state’s planned 150 adult-use retail licenses.
Kenneth Gay sued the state Office of Cannabis Management on behalf of his company, Variscite – alleging that the requirement that cannabis retail applicants have both a “significant presence” in New York and a criminal record for a cannabis-related conviction under state law creates irreparable damage to the company.
The publication has suggested that New York is likely to appeal the challenge to its adult-use cannabis regulations at the federal Circuit Court of Appeals.
CANNABIS REFORM
Schumer, Booker and other senators to meet and discuss cannabis legislation, Senate sources say
Marijuana Moment reports that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and several other key Democratic senators met Wednesday afternoon to discuss cannabis legislation, two Senate sources have confirmed to Marijuana Moment.
The publication suggests the meeting may focus on the SAFE Plus package of cannabis banking and expungements legislation, with ens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) suggesting that ongoing banking issues under prohibition amount to a “cannabis crisis”.
He said: “I think that Senator Schumer and I and Wyden last Congress announced a vision for cannabis reform, and this was a discussion about how do we make progress in this Congress. We were realistic. You know, we’ve got a divided Congress, but we’ve got to work on something that can get done.”
MALTA CANNABIS FRAMEWORK
Malta’s pioneering legal cannabis club framework announced
BusinessCann reports that the Maltese Authority for the Responsible Use of Cannabis (ARUC) has laid out the requirements its social clubs will have to meet before they are licensed to legally sell cannabis.
However, critics fear it could end up ‘facilitating the black market’ and fail in its commitment to being non-profit based.
Critics argue that the fees for these Cannabis Harm Reduction Associations (CHRAs), due to open on February 28, 2023, threaten to undermine the project’s goals. The CHRAs, which can have a maximum of 500 members, will need to pay an initial application fee of €1000, whether they are successful or not. They will subsequently be required to pay a minimum licence fee (50 members) of €8750
Andrew Bonello, President of pro-cannabis reform group ReLeaf Malta, said: “As an NGO founded on human rights and civil liberties, particularly for people who have been for decades incriminated for the sole crime of consuming or cultivating a plant, we continue to be very worried about developments related to cannabis associations in Malta.”
