Colorado’s Online Cannabis Market, Florida’s Legalization Push, & a Psilocybin Drug Under Development

Colorado is boldly moving to bring cannabis sales online, Florida’s attorney general put a damper on the state’s legalization push, and a Massachusetts biotech company began developing a psilocybin-based drug.

Let’s dive into this week’s canna-news.

Colorado’s Online Cannabis Revolution

Colorado is bringing its wildly popular cannabis industry online! Last week, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill to legalize online sales of cannabis.

Online sales are restricted to individuals 21 and up and must be picked up in person. At pick-up, retailers are required to verify the identification and age of the purchaser match up with the person picking up. Retailers must also provide digital versions of all their warnings and educational content for shoppers to read through before purchasing.

Colorado lawmakers hope the new law will help reduce the cannabis industry’s reliance on cash transactions. In Colorado and other legal states, cash surpluses in dispensaries have made them prime targets for robbery.

What do you think about Colorado bringing their cannabis industry online? Would you like to see something like this in your own state? Let us know in the comments!

Florida Sets Stage for 2024 Cannabis Face-off

A cannabis legalization initiative backed by cannabis company Trulieve is making its way to Florida’s 2024 ballot! Late last month, Florida’s Division of Elections confirmed that 967,528 signatures had been gathered in support of the initiative. The number surpassed the 891,523 signatures needed to put it on the ballot. Unfortunately, the initiative still has several hurdles to jump through before it can get to the ballots.

To start, Florida’s Attorney General Ashely Moody has initiated a legal challenge against the proposed measure. Moody argues that the initiative violates the state constitution’s “single subject” rule for ballot measures. This same rule was used by the Supreme Court to invalidate a legalization measure proposed in 2022.

If the legalization is able to make it to the ballot, however, this is what voters can expect. The measure would allow medical cannabis businesses to sell cannabis to all adults over 21. Adults would be allowed to purchase and possess up to 3 ounces of cannabis or 5 grams of concentrate for personal use.

Other than that, the proposed initiative is relatively bare bones. It includes no provisions for home cultivation, expungement of records, or any social equity measures. While this may seem odd, it should help the measure avoid breaking the “single subject” law that doomed its predecessor.

What do you think of the proposed ballot measure? Do you think it will finally make legal cannabis a reality in Florida? Let us know in the comments!

Psilocybin-based Medicine Under Development

Massachusetts-based biotech company Enteric Biosciences is looking to become a leader in psilocybin medicine. The company recently received a patent for its psilocybin-based drug currently under development.

The company is partnering with Avance Clinical out of Australia to conduct its studies. Enteric Biosciences hopes the drug will provide folks with anxiety, depression, and addiction disorders a more effective treatment option.