Germany goes backwards 👀

GERMANY
New German Chancellor wants to revoke cannabis legalization

What happened: German Conservative leader Friedrich Merz won a shaky victory in Sunday’s national election. 

Merz has his work cut out for him: His party won 28.5% support, and will need to form a coalition with other parties, including, potentially, the far-right Alternative for Germany. 

But for the purposes of this newsletter, Merz’ stance on cannabis is far more important. He wants to reverse Germany’s brand-new cannabis legalization.

Let’s back up for a second: Cannabis legalization went into effect last April in Germany. 

But the country pursued a far different legalization model than Canada and US states like California in New York. Possession of up to 25 grams of cannabis for adults over the age of 18 is legal in public, and up to 50 grams in private. 

Adults can grow up to three plants at home, and can purchase cannabis via nonprofit ‘member’s clubs,’ rather than through for-profit dispensaries.

What’s next: Though the cannabis club model isn’t as large of an opportunity as the retail model in the US and Canada, some publicly traded Canadian cannabis companies have signed lucrative partnership agreements to supply the German medical market, with eyes on supplying the larger consumer market. 

Those agreements are now in jeopardy. 

And, at this time last year, it seemed like Europe was reaching a ‘tipping point’ on legalization — as Germany is the biggest economy in the region, and joined Malta, another European Union country in legalizing. The Netherlands and Czechia have also made strides toward legalization.

But Germany taking a step back would certainly be a step backward. 

-JB

Mold in Massachusetts 🌿

In February, Massachusetts state regulators pulled a number of cannabis products off store shelves. But many in the state’s industry say the concerns of tainted cannabis products are far more widespread — and much more should be done to protect consumers, reports Boston.com. This story comes just days after MCR Labs, a testing lab, sued eight rival labs over alleged testing failures. 

New Jersey establishes new cannabis testing regulations 👀

New Jersey has updated its cannabis testing rules to improve safety, accuracy, and transparency, including smaller batch sizes, stricter contamination checks, and expanded labeling of cannabinoids. Testing labs must follow the new sampling rules by March 19, 2025, and update their testing methods by May 23, 2025. You can view the full regulations here.

Arkansas signs bill to use cannabis tax revenue for school breakfasts 🤝

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a bill on Friday that would use revenue from the state’s medical cannabis industry to fund free breakfast for schoolchildren. It’s a great idea — and should push other states that need extra revenue to look at legalization as a source.

Cannabis industry public relations firm Mattio Communications is seeking a Social Media Director with a salary of up to $150,000. Check out the job description.

The Midwest is leading the pack in new cannabis licenses awarded last year, per a report from Cannabiz Media. That should continue in 2025, as Minnesota is set to award licenses in May or June. You can download the full report:

Cannabis testing lab fraud can be curbed if industry is ‘part of the solution’ | MJBizDaily

Delta Extraction loses appeal of its revoked license following Missouri cannabis recall | Missouri Independent