March Cannabis Roundup

Thursday, March 11, 2021

Colorado Weed Delivery

While delivery is legal in Colorado for recreational and medical marijuana, fewer than a handful of municipalities have opted into the service.

The Colorado Legislature legalized marijuana delivery in 2019, with a staggered rollout for medical marijuana in 2020 and recreational marijuana in 2021. However, only Superior and Aurora have opted into recreational delivery, and Longmont and Boulder allow medical marijuana delivery.

The City of Denver is considering a proposal to opt in to weed delivery as well as loosening restrictions on cannabis consumption at licensed businesses.

However, a bill from House Representative Marc Snyder (D-El Paso) proposes changes to the marijuana delivery program that would add additional hurdles for marijuana businesses. If the bill were successfully passed, it would require a minimum number of days and hours of in-store operation—at least five days a week and five hours a day. The bill would also prohibit dispensaries from allowing customers to use pre-paid accounts.

The bill currently doesn’t have any co-sponsors.

 

Mexico Passes Bill to Legalize Marijuana

Mexico is one step closer to ending marijuana prohibition after lawmakers approved a bill that would legalize cannabis for recreational, medical, and scientific uses.

Mexico’s lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, approved the bill by a 316-to-129 vote. Next, the bill will head to the Senate, where it’s expected to pass before being sent to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who is likely to sign the legislation.

If marijuana is legalized in Mexico, it will enable adults 18 and older to purchase and possess up to 28 grams of marijuana and cultivate up to six plants. Small farmers and commercial growers could apply for a license to cultivate and sell marijuana.

 

Record employment in cannabis as the marijuana industry grows

According to the 2021 Leafly Jobs Report, the cannabis industry now supports more than 321,000 full-time jobs.

According to the report, there are “more legal cannabis workers than electrical engineers. There are more legal cannabis workers than EMTs and paramedics. There are more than twice as many legal cannabis workers as dentists.”

More than 77,000 jobs were added in 2020—a doubling of the previous year’s job growth–but the report states that diversity in cannabis is still an issue.

While Black Americans represent 13% of the population, only 1.2% to 1.7% of cannabis companies have Black ownership.

The pandemic has been hard on the U.S. economy and jobs. Outside of the cannabis industry, the economy shrank by 3.5%, and the unemployment rate almost doubled, leaving nearly 10 million Americans without work.

The pandemic has also affected marijuana sales. In 2020, Americans purchased $18.3 billion worth of cannabis products, a 71% increase over 2019.