[author: Susan Ryan]

Welcome back to The Week in Weed, your Friday look at what’s happening in the world of legalized marijuana.

We have an update on New York’s cannabis agencies. Illinois has problems with their lottery (not a surprise). South Dakota says no to medical cannabis home grow. Nevada will open cannabis lounges in 2022. The DEA would like to increase the production quota for marijuana used for research. And finally, Sacha Baron Cohen is suing a cannabis company for copyright infringement.

NEW YORK

We mentioned last week that New York’s new governor appointed members to the Office of Cannabis Management and Cannabis Control Board. The state Senate confirmed them immediately. We’re still looking at a 2022 rollout of adult-use sales.

ILLINOIS

We’ve described the Illinois cannabis licensing problems as a never-ending saga, and with good reason. Today’s installment brings us news of a “corrective” lottery that will make up for the errors in the previous three lotteries. You just can’t make this stuff up.

SOUTH DAKOTA

It’s been a while since we visited the Mount Rushmore State – let’s see what they’ve been up to in the last few weeks. A legislative subcommittee recommended that the state’s medical cannabis regulations prohibit home grow. In case you’re wondering where adult-use marijuana stands, the state Supreme Court has yet to issue a ruling in the legal challenge.

NEVADA

If you’re planning a trip to Nevada, you may want to wait until 2022. Under a new state law, lounges allowing consumption of cannabis should be up and running next year. The state’s tourists currently have no place to consume their marijuana purchases, as public consumption is against the law. Soon, however, that problem will be a thing of the past.

RESEARCH

The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) called for an increase in marijuana production. They need to ramp up research to aid in the development of new FDA-approved drugs. More research means a lot more product. The agency would like to produce 2 million grams of cannabis, an increase of 500,000 grams over its initial quota for this year. Talk about Reefer Madness…

AND FINALLY

We’ve said this time and time again: do not say that celebrities are endorsing your cannabis product if they are not. Sacha Baron Cohen is the latest famous person to go to court over phony endorsements.