420 with CNW — NAACP Reaffirms Support for Cannabis Legalization, Urges for Protection of Industry Employees

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has reaffirmed its support for cannabis reform at the federal level and is calling on cannabis industry regulators to protect employee rights in the sector. During its 114th National Convention in late July, the civil rights organization adopted a resolution renewing its support for federal cannabis legalization.

Although America is home to an incredibly lucrative state-legal cannabis industry that is spread across dozens of states, federal law still classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug alongside narcotics like heroin and cocaine. While the industry has managed to grow into a global behemoth valued at billions of dollars, marijuana’s federal classification causes a myriad of issues for players in America’s marijuana sector.

These issues include limited access to banking services, capital and federal assistance even though the cannabis industry collectively generated more t han $15 billion in taxes last year alone. Federal prohibition also prevents marijuana businesses from accessing crucial financial services and forces them to operate on a cash-only basis, which significantly increases the risk of experiencing violent robberies.

NAACP also took a position on labor agreements on worker protections in the marijuana sector, stating that most people in the industry will be “workers rather than owners” and that employees throughout the cannabis supply chain have the right to a fair and safe workplace as well as a living wage. The civil rights organization noted that granting marijuana workers access to union representation, apprenticeship and training will ensure a wide pool of workers benefit from the lucrative cannabis industry.

Protecting employee rights in the cannabis sector will be especially beneficial for individuals from communities that were disproportionately affected by marijuana prohibition during the failed drug war. As it stands, the challenges presented by marijuana’s federal status make it much harder for social-equity applicants to survive, much less thrive, in the industry because they often lack the capital and connections needed to be successful in America’s overly bureaucratic cannabis sector.

According to the NAACP’s resolution, the organization supports descheduling cannabis and legalizing it at the federal level. The resolution also reaffirmed the association’s prior resolutions on marijuana, decriminalization, cannabis industries and equity in the sector. Furthermore, the NAACP expressed that it intended to advocate for cannabis measures that make labor peace agreements a condition for receiving licenses.

The civil rights organization adopted the measure without any discussion by members during the session.

The United Foods and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) praised the NAACP’s resolution and called it a crucial step toward ensuring legislators and employees understand just how profoundly a worker-friendly marijuana industry would benefit people of color.

If these calls for the federal legalization of marijuana are acted upon, new markets are set to open up for various companies such as Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX) as demand for marijuana could explode and those supplying cannabis companies with the products they need will benefit too.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/ACTX

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CNW420 spotlights the latest developments in the rapidly evolving cannabis industry through the release of two informative articles each business day. Our concise, informative content serves as a gateway for investors interested in the legalized cannabis sector and provides updates on how regulatory developments may impact financial markets. Articles are released each business day at 4:20 a.m. and 4:20 p.m. Eastern – our tribute to the time synonymous with cannabis culture. If marijuana and the burgeoning industry surrounding it are on your radar, CNW420 is for you! Check back daily to stay up-to-date on the latest milestones in the fast -changing world of cannabis.

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Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (NASDAQ: LEXX) Announces Strategic Updates Concerning Patented DehydraTECH(TM) Technology

Lexaria’s human oral nicotine study, NIC-H22-1, comparing world-leading brands and the company’s DehydraTECH(TM)-Nicotine tobacco-free pouch, reported positive results, including higher pleasurable effects and reduced negative effects
A new patent has been granted to Lexaria and is strategically important to the company’s oral nicotine sector research and development efforts
Lexaria continues to research diabetes control and weight loss with its DehydraTECH(TM)-CBD, announcing favorable animal study results and the intent to develop a human clinical study

Lexaria Bioscience (NASDAQ: LEXX, LEXXW), a global innovator in drug delivery platforms, has announced updates regarding its patented DehydraTECH(TM) technology – which improves the way that active pharmaceutical ingredients (“APIs”) enter the bloodstream by promoting healthier oral ingestion methods and increasing the effectiveness of fat-soluble active molecules. Lexaria’s primary focus for DehydraTECH research and development includes advancements of product candidates across key segments, including nicotine replacement, diabetes control and weight loss, and hypertension.

The company’s most recent announcement reported results from its 2023 human oral nicotine study NIC-H22-1, comparing Lexaria’s DehydraTECH(TM)-Nicotine tobacco-free pouch to world-leading brands ZYN(R) and on!. Using measurements to determine the median time required to reach comparable nicotine concentrations within the bloodstream (“Tmax”), Lexaria exhibited higher levels of certain pleasurable effects over the competition. DehydraTECH also provided the lowest frequency of unwanted negative effects, including moderate to severe nausea, demonstrating benefits from Lexaria’s formulation.

In addition to the announcement of favorable results from its NIC-H22-1 study, the company was recently granted a strategically important new patent in the oral nicotine sector by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, US Patent #11,700,875 Compositions and Methods for Sublingual Delivery of Nicotine. This new patent builds upon the company’s growing portfolio of 35 granted patents, with several more pending worldwide – spanning Lexaria’s research and development focus.

“We’ve always had an overwhelming determination and fierce conviction that we can make the world a better place and reduce the carnage caused by smoked cigarettes, and now we have human study data that demonstrates advantages of DehydraTECH processed nicotine relative to the competitive landscape,” said Chris Bunka, CEO of Lexaria (https://cnw.fm/8CwPl).

Separately, Lexaria also intends to conduct a human clinical study to examine its DehydraTECH-CBD formulation for diabetes control and weight loss. This intent comes after positive results were released in early August regarding its DIAB-A22-1 study in obese diabetic-conditioned animals, which achieved the following:

Lowered blood glucose levels by 19.9% (p<0.05)
Lowered overall body weight by 7% sustained over eight weeks
Witnessed a statistically significant increase in locomotor activity (p<0.05)
Lowered triglyceride levels by more than 25% (p<0.007)
Lowered blood urea nitrogen levels by 27.9% (p<0.001)

These successful pre-clinical results have the company determined to undertake a human study to investigate whether these improvements are also evidenced in humans. The study design is currently underway and will be submitted to an independent review board for approval.

As the company continues to grow and explore maximizing the potential of its DehydraTECH technology, a new wholly-owned subsidiary under the name Lexaria Nutraceutical Corp. (“LEXX Nutra”) has been formed. LEXX Nutra has been granted an exclusive, perpetual license entitling it to use DehydraTECH, or sublicense the use of DehydraTECH, to create consumer packaged goods and/or intermediate ingredients composed of any molecule except those associated with cannabis or nicotine. LEXX Nutra is also prohibited from using its licensing to manufacture any pharmaceutical product.

Lexaria Pharmaceutical Corp.’s licensing was also amended, ensuring it would only focus on manufacturing pharmaceutical products–excluding nicotine-associated molecules. The formation of Lexaria’s wholly-owned subsidiaries draws a distinct line in the sand for Lexaria, ensuring that proper research and development efforts for key indications are being diverted to the appropriate subsidiary.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.LexariaBioscience.com.

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420 with CNW — AMA Study Finds Marijuana Smoking Viewed as Safer Than Cigarette Smoking

According to a recent AMA study, people are beginning to perceive marijuana smoking or being around marijuana smoke as being less harmful than smoking or being around tobacco smoke. Researchers asked 5,035 American adults three times — in 2021, 2020 and 2017 — about their opinions of the hazards associated with both substances. They discovered a significant change over time, with more participants saying they thought marijuana smoke was typically safer than tobacco smoke.

Published in the “Journal of the American Medical Association” (JAMA) Substance Use and Addiction, the survey asked respondents whether they believed that smoking one joint of marijuana daily was significantly less safe than smoking one cigarette daily, significantly less safe, about the same amount of safety or much safer. The study authors noted that people believed using marijuana regularly to be safer than using tobacco. Moreover, this perception became progressively more favorable toward marijuana as the years went by.

For instance, 33.7% of respondents in 2017 indicated that smoking cannabis once a day was either substantially or slightly riskier than smoking a cigarette, compared to 36.6% who believed cannabis was safer. About 30% claimed that they posed similar hazards. Only 25.5% of people still held this belief in 2021, whereas 44.3% of people, a 21% rise from 2017, thought cannabis was less risky than cigarettes.

Similar patterns were seen when respondents were questioned about the relative risks of being exposed to cigarette and cannabis smoke. In 2017, 35.1% of respondents believed that exposure to cigarette smoke was more hazardous than exposure to secondhand marijuana smoking, while 29.2% disagreed. Another 35.6 percent disagreed, claiming that neither was less risky nor safer. In 2021, four years later, 25.5% of respondents claimed that marijuana smoke in close proximity to others was worse than cigarette smoke, while 40.1% disagreed.

Participants were also asked to rank the relative safety of tobacco smoke and marijuana smoke for various demographics. Among adults, 12.6% thought cannabis was mostly or entirely safe, compared to 2.4% who thought the same about tobacco. Compared to cigarettes, which had a response of 1.8%, cannabis had a response of 4.8% that it was entirely or somewhat safe for youngsters. And compared to cigarettes, cannabis smoke was deemed to be usually safe for pregnant women by 5.3% of respondents, versus 1.4% for cigarettes.

The authors noted that the legalization of cannabis in the participant’s state of residence was not a standalone predictor of change over time. This shows that the rising view of marijuana safety may be a more widespread, nationwide trend rather than a trend limited to places where cannabis use is allowed.

This finding appears to partially conflict with the authors’ prediction that if more states legalize cannabis, risk perception may decline even further, which may be related to increased cannabis intake and exposure to secondhand marijuana smoke.

The authors express concern about the shift in public perceptions regarding marijuana’s relative safety and suggest that public health initiatives may be required to inform the public about potential risks and stop the rising social acceptance of marijuana smoke exposure.

This new study’s release coincides with a recent Gallup poll revealing that almost one-half of Americans have tried marijuana and that more individuals currently smoke marijuana than tobacco cigarettes. The majority also expresses no particular concern about the consequences of adult marijuana use.

Given that many people use marijuana for medicinal purposes, one way to reduce any possible harms from smoking the substance is by switching to any FDA-approved cannabis medicines that manufacturers such as IGC Pharma Inc. (NYSE American: IGC) offer to address chronic pain and other symptoms.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to IGC Pharma Inc. (NYSE American: IGC) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/IGC

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420 with CNW — New Paltz, NY Farmers’ Market Draws Marijuana Enthusiasts

In an unprecedented move, New York made history by making marijuana legally available for purchase at a special farmers’ market for adults only in Ulster County. The main goal of this creative move was to address the oversupply situation that many marijuana growers are currently in.

While stringent security measures ensured that only those with verified IDs could enter the farmer-market space, the scene within the event resembled that of a conventional farmers’ market, complete with sprawling tents, neatly arranged tables, inquisitive consumers and well-informed farmers.

The event, held in New Paltz, was New York’s first attempt at staging a pop-up market solely for cannabis. Despite the continuous rain, eager consumers formed queues as four cannabis farms prepared to engrave their names in history.

According to the stipulations set by the state, licensed dispensaries were mandated to oversee the sales process at such pop-up events. The Marijuana Growers Showcase took place just outside the former New Paltz courthouse, which has seen countless people sentenced for petty marijuana possession violations in the past.

The intention behind these pop-up ventures is to extend a helping hand to New York’s farmers, who now find themselves grappling with an abundance of harvested cannabis. CBS New York’s visit to Hepworth Farms in June showcased the predicament faced by more than a hundred cannabis farms that are burdened with copious unsold inventory due to the sluggish establishment of retail outlets under the intricate state licensing framework.

Rick Weissman from High Falls Canna noted, “Despite the state’s well-meaning intentions, the issuance of licensed dispensaries has been painfully slow. We have 290 cultivators but only 21 dispensaries.”

Last year’s cultivation efforts were undertaken with the understanding that there would be around 70 open dispensaries by this point, illustrating the discrepancy between projections and reality.

“This scenario has a dual perspective,” mused Jens Verhaegh of Supernaturals NY. “Not only has the state recognized the substantial revenue potential that it missed out on due to the gradual rollout, but it also underscores the significance of expediting the process.”

With an established tax rate of 13%, New York projects a revenue inflow exceeding $1 billion from legal cannabis sales by 2028. Anticipated in the upcoming months is the emergence of cannabis markets across various locations in New York. The pop-up market is set to operate every week until Dec. 30, 2023, marking a unique and evolving chapter in the state’s history.

If the pop-markets serve their stop-gap role of helping growers sell the bulk of their stockpiled marijuana, other cultivation companies may also enjoy the impetus they need to get modern cultivation equipment from various manufacturers such as Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX) to scale up their operations as more retailers are licensed by the state.

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420 with CNW — LA Mayor to Announce Head of City Marijuana Agency

Los Angles Mayor Karen Bass is expected to announce a new official to head the city’s marijuana regulatory agency. Bass is changing leadership in a myriad of city agencies and recently listed the position of executive director of Los Angeles’ Department of Cannabis Regulation (DCR) on the city employment site.

Interested candidates have until 4 p.m. on Aug. 18, 2023, to submit their applications for the DCR executive director position. With an annual salary of $155,681 to $276,075, the DCR executive director will oversee an agency of 55 employees and a recreational cannabis market that sells roughly $1 billion worth of cannabis products every year, a feat that equals states with older adult-use cannabis markets.

The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration states that Los Angeles’ recreational marijuana program generated $236,871,994 in taxable revenue during the first quarter of the year. With California being home to what is arguably the largest marijuana market in the world, it’s no surprise that the state’s most populous city has an adult-use market that rivals established markets in entire states.

Experts predict that California will see close to $5.9 billion in medical and recreational cannabis sales this year followed by Michigan with an estimated combined sales of $3.1 billion. Although LA hasn’t officially stated whether current DCR executive director Michelle Garakian will step down, the listing on the city’s employment website has raised speculation that she is on her way out.

Officials did not respond to inquiries on the executive director’s future with the cannabis agency and the currently-open director position. Garakian was a former aide to Los Angeles’ previous mayor Eric Garcetti and accepted the position of DCR’s executive director in March 2022, replacing Cat Packer who was instrumental in the issuance of more than 1,200 cannabis-related licenses.

She inherited a cannabis industry mired in bureaucracy, red tape and delays amid claims that the regulatory agency had been given an almost impossible task and complaints from cannabis business owners.

As the interim executive director, Garakian planned on boosting communications with applicants and operators while eliminating the bureaucratic red tape that caused major delays and encouraged the growth of the illicit cannabis market. Shortly after taking the position, Agrarian said in an interview that the regulatory agency had also changed verification protocols for social-equity applicants.

These changes included using police reporting districts to prove residency, the presence of a cannabis-related conviction, or living in an area that was disproportionately affected by the war on drugs.

The surging sales of marijuana have created opportunities for enterprises such as IGC Pharma Inc. (NYSE American: IGC) to start taking cannabis drug products through the clinical development process so that patients can access those medicines through the conventional medical system as products gain FDA approval.

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420 with CNW — Three States in the Northeast Set July Cannabis Sales Records

Cannabis retailers in the northeast sold a record number of products in July, achieving new sales records and generating millions of dollars. State data shows that cannabis sales in Rhode Island, Maine and Massachusetts are booming, with Maine selling $20.8 million worth of cannabis products in July alone and breaking cannabis sales records for the third month in a row.

Marijuana businesses in Maine saw more than $118 million in cannabis sales over the first half of 2022 and are on track to end the year at a record $159 million in sales. The Cannabis Control Commission reported that recreational cannabis sales in Massachusetts reached $136 million in March while medical marijuana purchases were at $18.7 million, adding up to a total of $154.7 million in cannabis sales. July was the third consecutive record-setting month of cannabis sales in Massachusetts and surpassed the $152.9 million worth of cannabis sold in June.

Rhode Island, on the other hand, set a sales record at $6.8 million worth of recreational cannabis products in July. The state has consistently set recreational marijuana sales records since launching the adult-use market last December. Consumers in Rhode Island also spent $2.7 million on medical cannabis, bringing the state’s total cannabis sales to a record $9.5 million.

While Rhode Island’s sales numbers may seem quite tame when compared to Massachusetts, Rhode Island has one of the youngest cannabis markets in the northeast while Massachusetts has the most mature market.

Consumers in the northeast are clamoring to buy cannabis, and other states in the region will most likely experience high demand if they choose to legalize cannabis sales. Connecticut still hasn’t released its July sales numbers, but like the other states in the region, Connecticut set sales records in June. Generally, cannabis has enjoyed significant demand across most states with legal markets.

Multitudes look to cannabis as an alternative treatment for conditions such as chronic pain while multitudes more prefer cannabis to alcohol as their social drug of choice. Consumers in Midwestern state Illinois spent $140 million on recreational cannabis products in July, setting a sales record for the year as well as the second-highest monthly sales since Illinois began recreational cannabis sales in 2020.

Maryland also enjoyed record sales in July as retailers sold $87.4 million worth of recreational cannabis in their first month of sales while Missouri has averaged around $4 million in daily recreational cannabis sales since it launched an adult-use market in February.

These glowing sales figures show that many more companies, such as Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX), are benefiting from the boom in cannabis sales since there is an entire ecosystem of interconnected industries making it possible for marijuana companies to serve their customers.

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420 with CNW — Gallup Poll Finds Highest Ever Support for Cannabis Legalization Among Republicans

A recent examination of survey data from Gallup shows that Republican backing for cannabis legalization has reached an unprecedented peak on a nationwide scale. However, a deepening partisan schism has emerged over the last couple of decades, with Democrats having swiftly and more openly embraced this cause. Most Democrats and Independents leaning toward the Democratic Party (amounting to 83%) and also Republicans and Independents with an inclination toward the GOP (accounting for 55%) are in favor of dismantling the ban on cannabis.

These insights, extracted from Gallup’s 2022 survey data, illustrate a disparity of 28% in opinion on the matter of cannabis reform between these political factions. The divergence is now broader compared to the scenario two decades ago when backing from both sides was less than 50%.

According to the most recent research, Democrats have demonstrated a more positive attitude toward marijuana legalization than Republicans since 2003. The data continues by revealing that between 2013 and 2022, there was a synchronized increase in the number of each political party’s supporters of legalizing marijuana. However, Democratic group growth has exceeded Republican faction growth. This has caused the political gap on this matter to be slightly more apparent in the most recent measuring year compared to two decades ago.

Marijuana legalization is one of nine issues out of the 24 analyzed by Gallup, where both political parties are typically in agreement with the majority opposition or support at different levels. The closest comparison to the marijuana debate is same-sex marriage, with a 28%-point political margin; it is supported by 57% of Republicans and 85% of Democrats.

“Political polarization continues to be a critically important feature of the American political landscape,” the report states. “On all 24 of the subjects examined in this analysis, there are now major — and in some cases, enormous — partisan disparities in opinion. This affirms the essential tenet of any American political analysis, which holds that people’s political identities are strongly connected with their opinions on policy and social problems giving rise to significant variations in those opinions among political segments.”

A number of other analyses issued this year support the idea that a majority of Americans, regardless of party affiliation, are willing to reform federal cannabis laws. However, while the majority of states have approved some kind of medical marijuana and 23 states have already passed legislation legalizing cannabis for recreational use, efforts to adopt federal changes have lagged well behind public sentiment.

This lag between public sentiment and actions in Congress suggest that it may take a while for federal marijuana policy to be overhauled. Despite this gloomy possibility, companies such as IGC Pharma Inc. (NYSE American: IGC) are on course to thrive as sellers of federally approved cannabis-based treatments if their R&D programs yield successful outcomes.

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420 with CNW — Court Order Halts NY Marijuana Dispensary Openings

A New York court has blocked the official launch of marijuana dispensaries in the state following a decision by a judge to halt the retail licensing process. The court sided with a lawsuit filed by disabled veterans who argued that New York’s licensing policy, which prioritizes entrepreneurs who were harmed by cannabis criminalization, is unconstitutional.

Social equity has been a key aspect in many state marijuana programs in the United States, with most programs including provisions meant to reinvest in individuals and communities that were disproportionately affected by the war on drugs. Individuals from Black and Brown communities were and still are significantly more likely to be arrested for cannabis.

Marijuana enforcement caused significant long-term harm to these communities, and social equity policies are designed to allow these communities to profit from the lucrative cannabis industry. In New York, these provisions included providing prioritized licensing access to individuals who were harmed by the failed drug war.

However, the lawsuit against cannabis regulators claimed that prioritized access to licensing is unconstitutional and asked the court to halt the retail license issuing process. New York Supreme Court Justice Kevin Bryan ruled in favor of the disabled veterans, stating in his order that the licensing program could cause “irreparable injury, loss, or damage” if it moved forward.

This licensing program would have given certain victims of the drug war and nonprofit organizations that serve former convicts priority access to the first retail dispensary licenses. The state also created a special program to pair entrepreneurs with prior convictions with capital and real estate. However, close to two and a half years after New York legalized cannabis, less than 20 businesses started through the program are open.

Even though the state prioritized people with past cannabis convictions or family members of those individuals, the 2021 cannabis legalization law defined social and economic equity applicants as women-owned businesses, service-disabled businesses and minority-owned businesses, as well as individuals from communities that bore the brunt of the war on drugs.

This isn’t the first time cannabis regulators in New York have faced a lawsuit. A similar lawsuit filed by a coalition of medical cannabis businesses in March claimed that the state overstepped its authority by making the first pool of licenses available only to people with cannabis convictions or their relatives. The memo filed with the suit claimed that the New York Office of Cannabis Management and the Cannabis Control Board along with their top officials “overstepped their rule-making authority.”

Another suit from November caused a judge to temporarily halt the issuing of cannabis dispensary licenses in Brooklyn and certain parts of New York.

All these legal bottlenecks are hamstringing many companies, including ancillary ones such as Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX), that would in one way or the other tap into the opportunities presented by a thriving cannabis industry in New York State.

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420 with CNW — Cannabis Industry Lobbying Increases as Looming Government Shutdown Leaves SAFE Banking in Balance

The U.S. marijuana sector persists in allocating substantial financial resources toward influential advocates, aiming to sway senators into endorsing marijuana reform. Nonetheless, this endeavor faces a potential impediment in the form of an imminent government shutdown, capable of profoundly disrupting the legislative schedule of Congress.

During the first six months of 2023, marijuana enterprises and industry coalitions invested more than $2.4 million in lobbying efforts directed at the Senate, according to the latest disclosures in federal lobbying records. This falls short of the $2.9 million expended during the latter half of 2022, including the session following the general election, when the prospects of marijuana banking reform appeared remarkably promising.

While certain corporations have trimmed their expenses or completely revoked contracts due to economic challenges facing the sector, other entities have come to terms with the reality that lobbying expenditures are an essential investment for their survival.

However, the outcomes of those efforts so far bear a frustrating resemblance to the past: well-received and long-anticipated reforms, such as guaranteed access to banking services and more ambitious objectives such as rescheduling, persist as tantalizingly close yet unattainable. As lawmakers disperse for the August recess, the possibility of the SAFE Banking Act being ratified within President Joe Biden’s inaugural term remains viable, albeit subject to change.

Yet, the likelihood of success will gradually diminish without the passage of critical spending bills, as indicated by congressional staff members and lobbyists on Capitol Hill.

Following the resumption of sessions on Sept. 5, 2023, Congress’s principal focus will be on ratifying the essential spending legislation to prevent a government shutdown on Oct. 1. A government shutdown is set off when Congress fails to pass the necessary funding bills, resulting in substantial disruption, a scenario that is currently foreseeable, as recently pointed out by the Brookings Institution, a think tank situated in Washington, DC.

As the interval without a spending debate increases, the time allocated on legislative calendars for other legislative actions decreases. This encompasses the consideration of the SAFE Banking Bill, which is slated to undergo a comprehensive markup hearing in the Senate Banking Committee, a precursor to the final Senate floor vote. The procedure advocated for this year experienced a major milestone when the bill obtained an informational hearing in mid-May.

However, a markup hearing, a session involving the introduction and debate of amendments to potentially modify the bill, was initially promised for the summer months, first in June and then in July. However, disagreements between bipartisan representatives regarding the final form of the bill, coupled with the aim of securing additional Republican endorsements to ensure the bill’s passage, prompted the Senate to adjourn for the August recess without holding this hearing. Additionally, complications have arisen from requests by companies that have existing bank accounts.

Nonetheless, observers in Washington broadly concur that significant hurdles persist for this proposal, primarily concerning antimoney laundering provisions and the ability to garner adequate Republican support to ensure passage in the full Senate. Lobbying records substantiate the evidence: while rescheduling and the potential establishment of a nationwide legalized marijuana industry akin to Canada’s aspirations endure as long-term goals, the SAFE Banking Bill remains the paramount priority of the marijuana sector.

For some companies that have chosen a pharmaceutical path to cannabis product development, such as IGC Pharma Inc. (NYSE American: IGC), access to banking services isn’t an issue because they engage in a federally accepted business, unlike mainstream marijuana companies which are only state approved.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to IGC Pharma Inc. (NYSE American: IGC) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/IGC

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420 with CNW — Ohio Campaigners Submit 6,500 Extra Signatures to Put Recreational Marijuana on Ballot

The organization spearheading the campaign for the legalization and oversight of marijuana in Ohio recently stated it has amassed nearly tenfold the requisite additional signatures to present the matter to the public for consideration this November. Tom Haren of the CTRMLA conveyed that the group’s collective efforts garnered an additional 6,545 signatures.

During the initial days of July, the group formally submitted well over 222,000 signatures to Frank LaRose, the Ohio secretary of state. That number was a substantial surplus in comparison to the stipulated 124,046 necessary for the proposition’s eligibility on the November 2024 general election ballot.

However, the revelation emerged three weeks later that only slightly more than 123,000 of these signatures were substantiated. This revelation compelled LaRose to remark that the recorded verification outcomes signified an “inadequate count of valid endorsements.” Additionally, he made it explicit that there remained a 10-day window for the campaign to secure and submit the requisite supplementary endorsements.

With the recent deposition of 6,545 endorsements, proponents are confident that they’ve bridged the gap with a notable surplus. Articulating the coalition’s sentiment, Haren stated confidently, “This presentation affirms our continuous assertion: the regulation of marijuana finds favor amongst the populace of Ohio.”

Subsequently, LaRose’s office undertakes the task of verifying these endorsements. Should at least 679 of them be verified, the instigated statute will earn a place on the ballot this November, sharing space with a constitutional amendment aimed at safeguarding access to reproductive healthcare, contraception and abortion.

The proposed ballot measure advances the notion of permitting individuals aged 21 years of age and above to purchase and possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana, along with the allowance to cultivate plants at their residences. In addition, a 10% tax allocation would be directed toward administrative expenses, addiction rehabilitation, municipalities housing dispensaries and initiatives promoting social fairness and employment.

If ratified, Ohio would assume the status of the 24th state to legalize recreational marijuana. The verdict of a dedicated election scheduled for Aug. 8, 2023, weighing the elevation of prerequisites for future constitutional amendments, holds no bearing on the marijuana inquiry, considering its advancement through the avenue of citizen-initiated statute progression.

Ohio initially legalized medical cannabis in 2016 via the legislature, culminating in the inauguration of regulated dispensaries in 2019. A precursor endeavor to legalize recreational marijuana in 2015 was included in the ballot but met defeat, opposed by a majority of more than 65% of Ohio’s voters.

If these additional signatures are certified by the state, Ohio could be on its way to licensing marijuana companies. Those companies will, in turn, create a bigger market for other enterprises such as Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX), whose niche is in supplying cultivation equipment, including for marijuana cultivation.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/ACTX

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