This Week in Cannabis News: February 24, 2023

Welcome to Episode 30 of This Week in Cannabis News.
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Cannabis news: week of February 23, 2023

Brittney Griner will return to WNBA

Some very good news on the cannabis and basketball fronts this week as Brittney Griner announced she’s going to be returning to the WNBA after her detention, and subsequent release, from Russian prison. Recall that Griner was detained in Russia for allegedly possessing vape cartridges while travelling—and playing—in a Russian professional basketball league.

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Brittney Griner is among the best basketball players in the world. In her last season in the WNBA, she averaged over 20 points and almost 10 rebounds per game. So, get your WNBA tickets ASAP and welcome Brittney Griner back to the show.

North Carolina medical cannabis moving forward

For the first time in the 30 episodes of This Week in Cannabis News, North Carolina is making an appearance.

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The Judiciary Committee in North Carolina’s State Senate passed the medical cannabis measure and it’s now heading for a hearing in the Senate Finance Committee. More on this effort from the News & Observer linked below - welcome to This Week in Cannabis News North Carolina.

Minnesota’s cannabis legalization efforts and misdemeanor expungements

One state we have talked a lot about a lot recently is Minnesota, where the legislature there has been working quickly following last year’s election to legalize cannabis through legislative action. And one component of legalization could be the automatic expungement of 60,000 misdemeanor cannabis charges. The Star Tribune in Minnesota took a look at what these expungements could mean.

Twitter advertising for cannabis gets their first active advertiser approved

Last week, we talked about the news that Twitter was accepting cannabis advertisements in legal jurisdictions. And it didn’t take long for the first cannabis company to announce that they had been certified with an active advertiser account. Specifically, Cantrip Seltzer announced to Mary Magazine that they had received such Twitter certification... let’s call it the green check mark.

70% of Republican voters support states rights on cannabis legalization

A new poll from an organization called Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education, and Regulation suggests that 70% of likely Republic voters and caucus goers would like the federal government to legalize cannabis so that states can do what they want. We shall see how this resonates with the House of Representatives under new leadership - but a positive step among some historically less-supportive voters.

Featured expert: Lindsay Robinson, Executive Director, CCIA

This week, our cannabis expert is Lindsay Robinson, the Executive Director of the California Cannabis Industry Association. On Wednesday, Dutchie held a webinar looking at the year ahead for dispensary owners and operators in that state.

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We were lucky enough to have Robinson join us to share the CCIA's top legislative priorities for the year. This is a portion of that webinar segment from Wednesday.

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