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Last month, three states — Virginia, South Dakota and Connecticut — joined the ranks of more than a dozen others that have legalized marijuana — also known as cannabis — for recreational use. Yet, despite these changing laws and growing social acceptance of the drug, a new study finds that use is still lower among cancer patients. The study, published today in the journal Cancer by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center, analyzed data from nearly 20,000 people over a span of four years and found that reports of marijuana use peaked at 9% for cancer patients, compared…

Legal marijuana sales in multiple states reached record highs in mid-2020 as coronavirus spread across the nation, according a new study. To date, sales in the four states examined in the analysis—Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington—”have increased more during the COVID-19 pandemic than in the previous two years.” The study, authored by a group of health researchers, gathered pre-tax cannabis sales data from state regulatory agencies and compared those numbers over time. It found that even amid stay-at-home orders that dealt hard hits to other economic sectors, cannabis sales picked up speed. “Findings show a general increase in cannabis sales…

EAST HARTFORD — Members of the Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday discussed regulations for cannabis-related businesses. Concerns included where dispensaries and production facilities should be allowed, what permits would be required for each, and how close retailers can be to buildings such as schools and liquor stores. Members also discussed potential complications with existing zoning regulations for medical marijuana facilities. Town Planner Jeffrey Cormier said the basis for regulation of retail marijuana production and sale will be a modification of the town’s medical marijuana regulations, which have been in place since 2013. He said a draft will be presented…

Ben Kovler, founder and CEO of Green Thumb Industries Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg American cannabis firm Green Thumb Industries earlier this week reported positive net income for its fourth-straight quarter. CEO Ben Kovler told Barron’s the secret to rising sales was simple. “American consumers are choosing cannabis for well-being,” Kovler said, “and that’s driving a surge in this industry—not growth, it’s a surge.” The Chicago-based firm after the market closed on Wednesday reported second quarter net income of $22.1 million, or 10 cents a share. Analysts had been forecasting earnings of eight cents a share. Sales of $221.9 million were up…

WARWICK — A Chicago-based marijuana company bought 38 acres of former prison grounds for $3.3 million and is set to begin preparing the vacant site for a 450,000-square-foot building where it plans to grow and process weed. The future Green Thumb Industries plant in Warwick will be one of at least three cannabis-making businesses in Orange as companies race to tap the state’s newly legalized recreational pot market. PharmaCann already makes medical marijuana in Hamptonburgh and plans to expand, and Citiva Medical has partly built a greenhouse and processing facility next to where Green Thumb Industries will build in Warwick. Green Thumb hopes…

Law360 (August 12, 2021, 5:28 PM EDT) — As states move to more strictly regulate or outright ban Delta-8-THC and other psychoactive cannabinoids derived from hemp, the effort is revealing a fissure in the burgeoning industry and sparking debate about the limits of state regulators’ authority and the objectives of the 2018 Farm Bill that legalized hemp nationwide. The federal statute pegged the definition of the newly lawful crop to its concentration of Delta-9-THC, the more well-known substance in marijuana that causes a high, while remaining silent on more than 100 other compounds called cannabinoids produced by the cannabis plant….