Illinois Bar & Dispensary
On Wednesday, the first combined alcohol bar and cannabis dispensary opened up in Illinois. The cafe with its bar is separate from the cannabis sales area. The owners hope someday to add a cannabis consumption area. The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group, which operates the bakery/bar, and with their social equity partners plan to open two more Okay Cannabis locations, in West Town and Evanston, in the coming months. This is just another example of how the stigma around cannabis is changing which will cause the consumption patterns to also change over time.
Vermont Cannabis Sales Hault.
The Vermont Cannabis Control Board halted sales of cannabis produced by Holland Cannabis on Thursday due to reports of consumers getting sick. The consumer reported a headache, a stomach ache, and some nausea, all symptoms of a fungicide. After the consumer provided a sample of the cannabis, testing revealed that it came from Holland Cannabis, which is not registered with the Cannabis Control Board, and the board is trying to determine how it made its way onto store shelves. “It’s a very common black market (fungicide) that almost every black market cultivator has used at one point in their life,” Pepper said. “If you’ve ever used this in your sprayer, the residuals will show up, even if you’re not using it today. Anyone who is using their equipment from when they used to be a black-market grower is likely to test positive for this.” Legalization is the best way to regulate the use and quality for this industry.
California Black Market.
Last week, authorities seized over 30,000 marijuana plants, 2,720 pounds of marijuana at an illegal cannabis-growing operation in Oakland, according to the Department of Cannabis Control. The agency estimated that the illegal cannabis was worth over $33.9 million. On Jan. 10, authorities seized over $3 million in cannabis at a Livermore warehouse. And in 2021, authorities dismantled what they called the largest illegal cannabis-growing operation in Bay Area history, with $42 million worth of plants and millions of dollars in cash seized in San Leandro. The black market in California can only be rivaled by New York, which creates a massive headwind for legal operators in their respected states.
