Call for Papers on the Economics of Marijuana and Drug Policy

Economic Inquiry, a peer-reviewed economics journal, has issued a call for papers on the economics of marijuana and drug policy. Submissions are due March 1, 2018. Interested authors can find out more about the CFP here.

Posted by mikosra on December 30, 2017 in News, call for papers, cannabis, economic inquiry, economics, marihuana, marijuana, policy

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Is Small Marijuana Doomed?

FiveThirtyEight has just published an article detailing some interesting trends in the marijuana market in Washington state. I found two statistics particularly striking. First, the average retail price of a gram of flower has dropped 77 percent from July 2014 to December 2017. The average price is now $7.45 versus $32.48 when stores first opened…

Posted by mikosra on December 29, 2017 in News, Updates, cannabis, concentration, consolidation, industry, marihuana, marijuana, Washington

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Cases to Watch: Lawsuit Challenges Florida Restriction on Smokable Marijuana

In fall 2016, Florida voters approved an initiative (Amendment 2) to legalize the “medical use” of marijuana. In June 2017, the Florida legislature passed a bill to implement Amendment 2. One provision of that bill defined permissible “medical use” to exclude the use of marijuana “in a form for smoking . . .” Fla. Stat….

Posted by mikosra on December 20, 2017 in News, Updates, amend, amendment, Amendment 2, cannabis, Florida, initiative, John Morgan, legislature, marihuana, marijuana, New York, People United, referenda, smokable, smoke, smoking

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Cases to Watch: Applicant Sues to Block Ohio from Using Racial Preferences in the Award of Commercial Marijuana Licenses

In the book, I discuss the lack of racial diversity in the state-licensed commercial marijuana industry, as well as the measures states have adopted to boost minority participation in that industry (pages 454, 520-25). There are several steps states could take to improve diversity, but one of the most direct is to employ some form…

Posted by mikosra on December 15, 2017 in News, Updates, affirmative action, cannabis, cultivation, cultivator, license, licensing, marihuana, marijuana, maryland, Ohio, race, racial preferences

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It’s Getting Easier for Marijuana Companies to Open Bank Accounts

Stateline has a nice article today (posted here) suggesting that marijuana suppliers are increasingly able to obtain financial services from banks and credit unions. The article notes that as of June 2017, roughly 400 banks and credit unions reported providing services to marijuana-related businesses. It suggests that some states (like Washington) have facilitated access by helping these banks comply with the Treasury…

Posted by mikosra on December 6, 2017 in News, Updates, bank, banking, cannabis, credit union, FinCen, Hawaii, marihuana, marijuana, Treasury, Washington

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Massachusetts Medical Society Launches New Cannabis Curriculum

As I discussed in this earlier post and in the book (pages 616-618), many physicians remain reluctant to recommend marijuana to their patients because they never received training concerning the drug. To remedy that lack of training, the Massachusetts Medical Society has just launched an interesting new Cannabis Curriculum for Continuing Medical Education. The Society’s website describes…

Posted by mikosra on December 4, 2017 in News, Updates, cannabis, continuing medical education, marihuana, marijuana, Massachusetts, Massachusetts Medical Society, physicians, training

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Do (Should) State Marijuana Reforms Apply Retroactively?

Suppose that Danica violates her state’s marijuana prohibition. If the state later repeals that prohibition, does (and should) the repeal apply retroactively to Danica’s offense? To date, most states have failed to explicitly address this question. But California and Colorado have recently begun offering relief for some marijuana offenses that pre-date their respective reforms. California’s…

Posted by mikosra on December 2, 2017 in News, Updates, Amendment 64, Boyd, California, cannabis, Colorado, expunge, expungement, marihuana, marijuana, pre-date, prior conviction, Proposition 64, retroactive, retroactively, seal

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