Cannabis Briefs for July 23, 2024
July 23, 2024•On July 17, Delaware governor John Carney signed legislation to create a path for medical cannabis dispensaries to enter the adult-use market. The bill, House Bill 408, will give existing medical dispensaries the chance to get temporary conversion licenses, creating a path for medical facilities to go full retail, which did not exist under the adult-use law as originally passed. The move will allow Delaware’s adult-use market to hit the ground running, with established companies leading the way. As it stands, Delaware has six medical cannabis companies operating 12 dispensaries. To move into the adult-use market, the companies would have to pay $100,000 for retail, testing, and manufacturing licenses and $200,000 for cultivation permits. These fees would be used to assist social equity applicants. Delaware’s adult-use market comes online March 1, 2025 and, with the HB 408 passed, the state expects to see adult-use retail up and running by April, 2025.
•The state of Ohio has issued the first licenses for adult-use cannabis businesses, preparing the state for the beginning of legal sales. The state’s Department of Cannabis Control has issued certificates of operation for four cannabis cultivators and six processors, holding off on issuing retail or testing certificates to ensure that the state has enough supply to meet both adult-use and medical demand. There’s still no firm date when sales will begin, with the state’s Department of Cannabis Control issuing the needed certificates on an ongoing basis and allowing individual businesses to choose when their supplies are high enough to begin sales.
•A new industry report indicates that a federal rescheduling of cannabis could create up to 50,000 jobs by 2030 and that a failure to do so could cause a major contraction in the cannabis industry, with small and minority-owned businesses bearing the brunt of the challenges. The report was created by Whitney Economics and submitted to the DEA by the Minority Cannabis Business Association during the government’s period of public comment on rescheduling. The report surveyed 206 licensees across 32 states and reported that only 27% of businesses were profitable, with 41% breaking even, and 36% that are in the red. Over 80% of respondents said that tax and finance issues were to blame for the challenges, citing their inability to take tax deductions barred by the IRS’s 280E code.
•Tilray Brands, through subsidiary Aphria RX, has received its cannabis cultivation license for Germany’s medical market. According to Tilray, their license is the first to be issued under Germany’s new cannabis laws, which went into effect April 1. Under the new law, Tilray will be able to market and distribute their own cannabis while subject to inspections by the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices. The license will allow Tilray/Aphria to substantially increase production, with the company planning to expand its offerings from three strains to over 30.
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