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A ribbon-cutting was held in Schenectady on Friday to mark the opening of the first adult-use cannabis dispensary in the Capital Region.

Upstate Canna Co. is located at 1613 Union Street. It officially opens on Saturday, but was packed at its soft opening on Friday.

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This comes as Gov. Kathy Hochul has made many promises to advance New York’s goals of equity in cannabis licensing, with a specific goal of providing licenses to people with a cannabis conviction or a close relative with one.

Hear from the shop’s owner – a Schenectady native – about what it means to him to be able to open the shop by watching the video of Tiffany Payton’s story.

A ribbon-cutting was held at Upstate Canna Co. in Schenectady on Friday to mark the opening of the first adult-use cannabis dispensary in the Capital Region.

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Recreational marijuana is taking root in Sanford with a groundbreaking set for April 20 (aka Weed Day) at 2023 N. Meridian Road. 

The business is expected to open this fall.

Sanford’s RCL Construction is breaking ground on the 2,100 square-foot dispensary, said Sadler & Son LLC/LaBonville Properties’ owner Sue LaBonville

“I want to serve the needs of the canna-curious to connoisseur,” LaBonville said.

From a 2021 idea by Sanford resident Sue LaBonville to generate revenue comes a pot dispensary ground breaking this month

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LaBonville, known for her business expertise, plans to offer a full range of products at varying prices. She currently is busying herself with researching merchandise and building business relationships.

The Sanford Village Council approved LaBonville’s 159-page application on July 11. Since then, she has taken necessary steps to open a cannabis business in the village, including licensing from the state.

The village voted to allow only one such business.

LaBonville approached the idea of allowing marijuana in the village in 2021, in hopes of generating revenue for the hard-hit area following the dam breach. She did the heavy lifting to get recreational marijuana passed by the planning commission and the council, offering facts

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WARWICK — Rhode Island’s seventh marijuana dispensary opened Friday, selling products for medical-marijuana patients and recreational-use customers. 

Solar Therapeutics Rhode Island Inc., doing business as Solar Cannabis Co., held a grand opening at its new store at 65 Meadow St.

The event came just a day after the company opened another dispensary in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, said company spokesman Derek Gould. 

The two new stores bring the number of retail locations the company has in the region to four. The Warwick retail store will sell marijuana and marijuana-infused products grown by more than 20 Rhode Island-licensed cultivators, said Gould. 

“I’m really nervous about undoing the people’s will. That really concerns me.”

By Max Savage Levenson, Montana Free Press

On Thursday, one day after an impassioned hearing on Senate Bill 546, the Senate Business, Labor and Economic Affairs Committee voted 6-4 to table the bill.

SB 546, sponsored by Sen. Keith Regier, R-Kalispell, would have dramatically altered and essentially dismantled the state’s marijuana industry. It primarily sought to eliminate all adult-use dispensaries in Montana. Furthermore, it would have raised the state tax on medical marijuana from 4 percent to 20 percent and put significant limits on medical marijuana potency and allowable amounts for possession. While the bill prohibited non-medical marijuana sales, it did not re-criminalize marijuana possession for adults. It also halved the number of plants an adult can grow at home from two mature plants to one.

On Thursday, three Republican committee members—Senate President Jason Ellsworth, Committee Chair Jason Small and Sen. Walt Sales—joined with all three Democratic members to oppose the bill. The committee subsequently tabled the bill unanimously.

During Wednesday’s hearing and Thursday’s committee meeting, proponents of the bill highlighted their concerns with marijuana potency and youth access.

SB 546 would have lowered the allowable amount of the active compound THC

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State officials have suspended the license of an Athol dispensary after the owner — following regulatory violations and the resignations of some of his staff — threatened former employees in an Instagram video, at one point saying, “you touch my business, I will kill you.”

The Cannabis Control Commission suspended the license of the Athol dispensary Elev8 on March 24, a day after owner Oluwaseun Adedeji posted a video on his Instagram account in which he appeared to threaten violence against his former staff.

Adedeji did not respond to requests for comment by email or text. A phone call to his dispensary went unanswered.

According to the CCC, the state’s regulatory agency for the cannabis industry, officials notified Elev8 in February that the business had made “substantial” violations of regulations for the sale of marijuana, which it would need to correct or risk a license suspension.

Read more: Cannabis festival Extravaganja will return for 1st time since pandemic

The CCC said that notice prompted Adedeji to fire two employees. He later also dismissed one of his top executives, leading some of Elev8′s staff to resign in protest.

After initially telling the CCC on March 22 that the dispensary was closed and “fully compliant” with state regulations,

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State and local officials were on hand to celebrate the opening of Fort Pierre’s newest business.

Fort Pierre Development Corporation held a ribbon cutting for Yellowstone Cannabis Wednesday afternoon, marking the third dispensary to open in Fort Pierre. According to city ordinance, no more than three cannabis cultivating facilities are allowed to operate in Ft. Pierre at any given time.

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The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) voted on Wednesday, March 29, approving an emergency rule proposal to extend the application window for social equity in cannabis (SEIC) retail licenses. The application window has been extended from March 30, 2023, to 5:00 p.m. April 27, 2023. The rule will have the effect of amending the “30-day” application window language contained in WAC 314-55-570(3)(a), (b), and (c).

The WSLCB said in its release announcing the vote last week, that the Secretary of State’s office is backlogged processing business entity applications. The backlogs have limited the state’s ability to timely process new business entity applications of SEIC applicants.

This is sure to be a relief for many who have made timely efforts to apply for the SEIC license, and who would not have been able to apply with the prerequisite business entity information but for the state’s backlog issues. Hopefully, the extended window affords enough time for all deserving candidates to apply.

To read more about Washington’s SEIC program, check out the following posts:

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A federal court in New York on Tuesday cleared the way for state regulators to begin issuing adult-use cannabis dispensary licenses to prospective business owners in Brooklyn and elsewhere. 

The New York Times reports that the the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Manhattan “lifted part of an injunction that prevented cannabis regulators from issuing licenses for recreational dispensaries in some parts of New York, removing a major obstacle for the state’s rollout.”

“The court’s decision allows regulators to issue 108 dispensary licenses in the regions that are no longer under the injunction: Central New York, Western New York, Mid-Hudson and Brooklyn. But 18 licenses in the Finger Lakes region remain tied up in the lawsuit,” the Times explains.

“New licenses could be approved as soon as Monday, April 3, when the Cannabis Control Board holds its monthly meeting. At least 18 licenses in the affected regions have been ready for approval since November, the Office of Cannabis Management said at the time.”

New York launched its regulated adult-use cannabis market late last year with the opening of a licensed retailer in Manhattan’s East Village neighborhood. 

Two more have opened in Manhattan since then, while the first cannabis

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Cannabist Huntington is Company’s 84th Active Dispensary Nationwide

NEW YORK, March 31, 2023–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Columbia Care Inc. (NEO: CCHW) (CSE: CCHW) (OTCQX: CCHWF) (FSE: 3LP) (“Columbia Care” or the “Company”), one of the largest and most experienced cultivators, manufacturers and retailers of cannabis products in the U.S., today announced it has opened its fifth dispensary in West Virginia. This is also the Company’s 34th Cannabist location in the U.S. Cannabist Huntington is located at 917 3rd Avenue and is now serving registered medical patients.

“We are thrilled to welcome patients to Cannabist Huntington, our fifth dispensary in West Virginia,” said Andrew Bayly, Director of Operations – Midwest, Columbia Care. “Since we opened our first dispensary, a little over a year ago, our local team has hustled and worked diligently to bring the Cannabist experience across all of our West Virginia retail locations. They’ve worked throughout these communities to educate about cannabis and also give back; we are proud of what we are building in West Virginia and look forward to serving the growing patient base. We are also grateful for all of the support we received along the way from local officials and the Office of Medical Cannabis.”

Cannabist Huntington will sell Columbia Care

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At Cannabis of Worcester, a new dispensary opening next month at 62 Millbrook St., cannabis products are simply the start of what you’ll find there.

Steve Bowman, the company’s COO, said he wants the dispensary to be a community space where customers can find not just cannabis but work by local artists, products from local businesses and more.

“It’s kind of a Worcester base and everything that we do is focused around what’s there,” Bowman said.

Cannabis of Worcester is planning to open in the next two weeks, once it receives its final approval from the state Cannabis Control Commission. Once the doors are open, Bowman hopes to have a different local business come to do a pop-up in their space, and plans to reach out to local artists to show their work and commission a mural in the entryway of Worcester-related imagery.

Read more: In a white dominated cannabis industry, Worcester’s Major Bloom dispensary uplifts Black voices

“We really want to be an experience. We want you to walk in the door and never know what to expect,” Bowman said. “One day you walk in and there’s a coffee roaster and they’re giving out samples or promoting their product. And another day, it’s a

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