U.S. News Updates

Alaska

Alaska’s first commercial cannabis harvests are underway. The first official legal crop comes from Greatland Ganja, a small cultivator on the Kenai Peninsula. Greatland has harvested about 75 pounds of cannabis so far, of an expected total of about 100 pounds consisting of 10 different strains. Unfortunately, however, the first harvest may not have anywhere to go. Distribution and sales are stalled until state-licensed testing laboratories are up and running. At the moment two labs are nearing completion in Anchorage: CannTest hopes to open by mid-October and AK Green Labs aims to be online by early November.

Arkansas

The push to legalize marijuana is in full force and a look at just how swiftly attitudes are changing nationwide is nearly enough to make anyone start buying pot penny stocks left and right. Though there has been both disappointing and encouraging signs from the federal government in regard to eventual reclassification or legalization of cannabis, we’re still seeing a state-by-state domino effect take place.

Although it seemed possible that an Oklahoma initiative aimed at legalizing a statewide medical marijuana program was headed for the ballot this November, a report from the Associated Press suggests that this proposal is not likely to appear before the voters in 2016 because of some changes being made to the ballot title sent down by Attorney General Scott Pruitt.

It looks much less likely a proposed constitutional amendment to legalize medical marijuana in Oklahoma will appear on the ballot this fall.

On Thursday Attorney General Scott Pruitt submitted a revised ballot title for State Question 788. The ballot title explains what’s at stake to voters, and the group Oklahomans for Health argues Pruitt’s language is misleading and political, The Tulsa World’s Barbara Hoebrock reports:

Historically a state with severe and excessive marijuana laws, Oklahoma has finally made its voice heard through a petition for medical marijuana. Oklahoma Secretary of State, Chris Benge, announced yesterday that his office finished counting the signatures on Initiative Petition 412 — great news for Oklahoma patients — in just 90 days the petition exceeded the 65,987 signatures required to put the issue on an election ballot!

Supporters of Oklahoma medical marijuana who want to let voters decide the issue in November delivered thousands of signatures Thursday but say they aren’t sure if they gathered enough to qualify the petition for the ballot.

“It’s going to be close, but we’re cautiously optimistic,” said Joe Dorman, a former Democratic legislator and candidate for governor who spearheaded the effort. “We had a bunch of people show up at the end who delivered signatures.”