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A Montana judge struck down a state law imposing higher fees on cannabis dispensaries, ruling in favor of a group of dispensary owners who argued that the increased costs threatened their businesses.

Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Mike Menahan issued the order last week, effectively halting the enforcement and collection of the new fee structure passed by the state legislature, according to the Daily Montanan.

The ruling is a significant blow to the state’s efforts to raise regulatory revenue from the industry.

Under the law, dispensaries faced a cumulative fee increase for each additional location they operated. The second location would incur a $10,000 fee, a third $15,000, and so on. That marked a departure from the previous flat fee of $5,000 per dispensary, regardless of the number of locations owned.

Granite Peak Holdings, TSB Montana, and MariMint, all Montana-based cannabis businesses, argued that the heightened costs were not just burdensome but also illegal, as they exceeded what was necessary for the state’s regulation of the industry. They added that such high fees could lead to the closure of multiple dispensary locations and layoffs.

The state defended the fee increase, arguing that the vast expanse of Montana necessitated more

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A Lewis and Clark County district court judge has struck down a new state law that dramatically increased the licensing fees for marijuana dispensaries with multiple locations,reports Montana Free Press.

Under House Bill 903, a dispensary would have had to pay $5,000 to renew a license for its first shop, and then a cumulatively additional $5,000 for each additional location. Under the new law it would have cost marijuana retailers $10,000 to renew a license for a second store, $15,000 to renew a license for a third store, and so on. Previously, the Montana Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act required dispensaries to pay a flat $5,000 renewal fee for each location. State law requires that dispensary licenses be renewed annually.

After the bill was signed into law last year, three marijuana businesses, Granite Peak Holdings, Inc., TSB Montana and MariMint LLC, sued the state, arguing that the new law was unconstitutional and that licensing fees gathered by the Montana Department of Revenue were more than enough to cover the state’s costs of administering its adult-use marijuana program.

According to court documents, under the new fee structure, TSB would be assessed a $600,000 dispensary renewal fee, as opposed to the $75,000 fee it

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LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — Arkansas’ medical marijuana industry is continuing to reach new highs in the state as sales reached a record-breaking $283 million last year.

According to the Department of Finance and Administration, the industry beat the record revenue of $276 million it saw in 2022.

The millions of dollars in sales this year were brought in with distribution of 62,227 pounds purchased from the state’s 38 dispensaries, the department said.

Of the dispensaries, Suite 443 in Hot Springs sold the most marijuana in 2023 with 6,279 pounds.

“In late 2023, Arkansas’ medical marijuana industry surpassed $1 billion in total sales since the first dispensary opened for business,” said department spokesperson Scott Hardin. “From $31 million in sales in 2019 to $283 million in 2023, the industry has grown each year. The $25.6 million spent in December was the largest monthly amount in 2023.”

Hardin said more than $120 million in sales tax has been generated since the industry began four years ago.

The DFA reported that the state added 7,519 new medical marijuana patients last year, bringing the total of active patient cards to 97,374.

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State-licensed, homegrown cannabis is budding in the Bronx.

Legal dispensary ConBud will open its doors next month at 2412 Third Avenue in Mott Haven, the New York Business Journal first reported. 

ConBud will be operated by Michael Montas’ Summit Canna, which signed a 10-year lease for about 3,000 square feet on the ground floor of the three-story commercial building, according to Alfredo Angueira, who co-founded ConBud and owns the property. 

Asking rent was $72 per square foot, Angueira said.

ConBud opened its first dispensary at 85 Delancey Street on the Lower East Side in October. 

To date, co-founders Angueira and Junior Martinez have raised $1.3 million from investors to launch the two dispensaries, according to Angueira, who grew up in the Bronx and first partnered with Martinez in 2016 to launch their restaurant and catering group, Hoodspitality.

The pair saw an opportunity when New York legalized recreational cannabis in 2021 and purchased the Mott Haven building that year for $3.2 million. 

Now, it will be home to ConBud’s second location, and they brought Montas on board to operate it. 

Running a licensed cannabis shop is a new venture for Montas, who owns Yonkers autobody shop All in One Motor Sports.

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A judge in Helena last week struck down a newly passed cumulative fee on marijuana dispensaries in Montana that a group of dispensaries sued over last year.

Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Mike Menahan issued the order Jan. 5 to permanently enjoin the state from enforcing or collecting on the new fees passed by the state Legislature this spring, which were challenged by Granite Peak Holdings, TSB Montana and MariMint – all Montana marijuana businesses.

Attorneys for the three dispensaries and the state had agreed in November to a 60-day preliminary injunction that kept the state from collecting the new fees, as the businesses argued they would be forced to close several locations and lay off workers if they were enforced.

Republicans passed the cumulative fee structure in the final two weeks of the session through an amendment to House Bill 903. Previously, each dispensary site carried a license fee of $5,000 no matter how many sites the business owned.

Under the changes in HB 903, a first dispensary location cost a business a $5,000 annual fee, but each additional business carried a cumulative increase of $5,000, meaning a second would cost $10,000 and a third $15,000. The final version of the bill passed

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CHESTER, Vt. – In September 2023, owners Andi Goldman, Meredith Milliken, and Scott Blair of Down To The Roots Cannabis Retail Store opened their doors with the mission to create a welcoming experience in a knowledgeable, wellness-focused environment with high-quality products for both beginners and legacy consumers.

Down to the Roots is housed in this barn-like building in Chester. Photo by Joe Milliken

Located at 7 Pineview Drive in Chester (the former 103 Artisans marketplace art gallery), it is a beautiful, quintessential Vermont barn, featuring a stone fireplace, vaulted ceilings, and barn wood interiors, complemented by unique impressionistic photos by world-renowned artist Angelo Musco, creating a full spectrum, high quality Vermont “destination dispensary” experience.

Down To The Roots offers a wide selection of locally grown, craft cannabis flower, edibles, drinks, tinctures, vapes, capsules, and hash rosin products that contain THC, plus an array of CBD-only products, including pet treats.

In this fast-moving cannabis retail space, Down To The Roots proudly separates themselves from other shops as the first adult-use store in Vermont to offer free, in-person consultation sessions with a registered nurse and Certified Ganjier, Jessilyn Dolan, for those interested in learning more about cannabis or CBD from a medical

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Having state-run dispensaries for medical marijuana in Wisconsin as proposed by Assembly Republicans is a “nonstarter” in the Senate, but there’s still the possibility of reaching a compromise that could pass, the Senate GOP leader said Thursday.

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said at a WisPolitics.com event that the “challenge” for the Assembly bill is that many GOP senators are opposed to having the state operate the dispensaries.

“It’s a nonstarter for a lot of our caucus members,” LeMahieu said. “Why would we let government grow the size of government?”

The highly restrictive bill unveiled this week by Assembly Republicans would limit medical marijuana only to severely ill people with chronic diseases such as cancer and allow for it to be dispensed at just five state-run locations. Smokable marijuana would not be allowed.

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LeMahieu said creating a new office within the Department of Health Services to handle medical marijuana “seems like overkill.”

Still, LeMahieu didn’t rule out the possibility of reaching a compromise that could result in legalizing medical marijuana.

“I think there could be a way to do it,” he

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A Lewis and Clark County district court judge has struck down a new state law that dramatically increased the licensing fees for marijuana dispensaries with multiple locations. 

Under House Bill 903, a dispensary would have had to pay $5,000 to renew a license for its first shop, and then a cumulatively additional $5,000 for each additional location. Under the new law it would have cost marijuana retailers $10,000 to renew a license for a second store, $15,000 to renew a license for a third store, and so on. Previously, the Montana Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act required dispensaries to pay a flat $5,000 renewal fee for each location. State law requires that dispensary licenses be renewed annually.

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A judge in Helena last week struck down a newly passed cumulative fee on marijuana dispensaries in Montana that a group of dispensaries sued over last year.

Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Mike Menahan issued the order Jan. 5 to permanently enjoin the state from enforcing or collecting on the new fees passed by the state Legislature this spring, which were challenged by Granite Peak Holdings, TSB Montana and MariMint – all Montana marijuana businesses.

Attorneys for the three dispensaries and the state had agreed in November to a 60-day preliminary injunction that kept the state from collecting the new fees, as the businesses argued they would be forced to close several locations and lay off workers if they were enforced.

Republicans passed the cumulative fee structure in the final two weeks of the session through an amendment to House Bill 903. Previously, each dispensary site carried a license fee of $5,000 no matter how many sites the business owned.

Under the changes in HB 903, a first dispensary location cost a business a $5,000 annual fee, but each additional business carried a cumulative increase of $5,000, meaning a second would cost $10,000 and a third $15,000. The

Read More Here...

A company approved last year to open Elgin’s first recreational cannabis dispensary only to have its plan end in a lease dispute has returned with a new proposal to set up shop at the Clock Tower Plaza strip mall.

High Haven LLC, a minority- and woman-owned enterprise, presented its new plans to — and won the recommendation of — the Elgin Planning and Zoning Commission Monday, nine months after receiving Elgin City Council approval to open in a storefront on Randall Road.

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When the owners weren’t “able to come to terms to finalize the lease agreement … they had to find a new location,” Senior Planner Damir Latinovic said at the commission meeting.

High Haven has a signed a lease for a 2,627-square-foot space at National Street and South Grove Avenue in the strip mall anchored by a Butera Market grocery store and owned by Paul and Carol Butera.

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Clock Tower Plaza, site of the former Elgin National Watch Co., also includes a Dunkin’, Subway, Family Dollar, Rent-A-Center and several other businesses.

“We’re excited to be able to find another location to propose to the city of Elgin,” said Mahjabeen Sulemanjee Bortocek, High Haven founder and CEO. “It’s our intention to make sure we can

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