Welcome to our wrap-up of Episode 17 of This Week in Cannabis News.

Here’s what you need to know this week

Midterm elections recap

This week was all about elections. Five states went to the ballot to vote on adult use recreational cannabis—and while the results for all Congressional races throughout the country aren’t yet in, the cannabis races were decided on election night. Here’s the run down of how the elections turned out.

• Maryland and Missouri voters approved those states’ legalization elections.
• Legalization ballot measures in Arkansas, North Dakota, and South Dakota all failed.

The Dutchie team recently hosted a webinar wherein we reviewed each state’s election results and next steps: Watch the recording here!

And while the results of US Congressional races are still being tabulated - and therefore the balance of power in the US House and US Senate - there WILL be a cannabis hearing next week in the the House Oversight Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Subcommittee. The meeting is titled: “Developments in State Cannabis Laws and Bipartisan Cannabis Reforms at the Federal Level” and will take place next Tuesday - just as the cannabis industry descends on Las Vegas for MJBizCon. All this, according to a story in Marijuana Moment.

It isn’t just in D.C. where conversations about cannabis legalization are happening.

• Minnesota had some political shuffling of power during Tuesday’s election—and now Democrats are in control of the House, Senate, and Governor’s office there. And no sooner did all the votes get counted that the issue of cannabis legalization came up. It looks like the issue will progress on the legislative agenda in the coming year. For a deep dive into Minnesota’s unique laws right now, check out our conversation with Jason Tarasek of Minnesota Cannabis Law.
• In Wisconsin, re-elected Governor Tony Evers promised to include legalization is his next budget. One day after the election, he said this about cannabis legalization, “At some point in time, the will of the people will become the law of the land…” This according to Marijuana Moment.

Diddy breaks into cannabis

Yet another major cultural figure is getting into the cannabis business: Sean Combs (AKA Diddy) is purchasing assets of Cresco and Columbia Care in New York, Massachusetts, and Illinois. In a deal worth $185 million, Combs is setting up to be the worlds largest black-owned cannabis company.

Featured cannabis expert: Erica Woods, Director of Government Relations at Dutchie

On November 10, Dutchie held a webinar about the impact of the 2022 elections on the cannabis industry. As part of that event, we host an amazing panel with Bo Bryant from the US Cannabis Council, Dave Metz from the leading polling firm F3M Research, and our own Erica Woods, Dutchie’s Director of Government Relations. The conversation touched on the 2022 elections, the lame duck Congress and SAFE Banking, as well as the shifting political tides of cannabis legalization in the US. I thought it was a good segment to run right now to end-cap a very busy political week in the US - to help frame what’s next for cannabis on the policy and political front.