It’s been about a year since an adult-use legalization bill was enacted into law, and regulators have spent months preparing for implementation.
Meanwhile, regulators also advanced a rule last month to make it so people with prior marijuana convictions, or whose family members have been harmed by criminalization, will get the first round of adult-use marijuana retailer licenses—ahead of existing medical cannabis businesses.
Advocates are separately encouraged by the approval of a new revised rule providing a home grow option for medical marijuana patients.
In general, the rule would allow registered patients and caregivers to grow up to six plants, only three of which could be mature.
But with input from the public, regulators made certain changes in the latest iteration, initiating a new 45-day public comment period.
As it stands, adults 21 and older can possess and publicly consume cannabis, as well as gift marijuana to other adults as long as they aren’t being compensated.
The governor released a State of the State book in January that called for the creation of a $200 million public-private fund to specifically help promote social equity in the state’s burgeoning marijuana market.