A recently-released #FBI report reveals the amount of #cannabis-related over #2019 declined for the first time in four years. More than 545,000 #marijuana apprehensions made up 35 percent of all drug arrests, down by over 100,000 and a proportion of 40 percent years previous. #Possession consistently made up the majority of cannabis arrests, hovering around 90 percent year after year. The new data further shows #American #law #enforcement arrested more people over marijuana alone than for #murder, burglary, fraud and #embezzlement combined. While the findings aren’t conclusive, as not all police participate in the FBI’s Uniform #Crime Reporting program, localized trends can help to explain the results. For instance, marijuana possession arrests declined in #Texas after hemp was legalized in 2018, due to difficulties in differentiating between the two plants. A #2018 Cato Institute study found state-level cannabis legalization significantly curtailed marijuana smuggling and supported the fact federal cannabis-related prosecutions declined by more than 25 percent last year. Industry analysts speculate state cannabis reform is the main factor affecting arrest numbers, and it simply took years to see its #influence.
In #finance, multistate cannabis operator #Ayr #Strategies announces upcoming deals worth 39 #million dollars, expanding the company’s footprint to 4 states. The #New #York-based business, which also operates in #Toronto, #Massachusetts, and #Nevada, will spend 18.2 million to enter #Ohio’s medical marijuana market, through the purchase of exclusive management rights over a 58,000 square foot #cultivation facility which the company describes as the largest #canopy #license in the state, as well as the addition of a smaller processing plant. Ayr has also agreed to buy an operational grow and extraction facility in #Pennsylvania for 16.7 million dollars in cash, and 2 million each in #stock and seller notes, broadening their existing presence in the state. According to #Chairman and #CEO Jon Sandelman, the company is aiming to become one of the top MSO’s in the country by building #vertically-integrated operations in limited license states with large populations. Once the recently-announced transactions close, Ayr will own seven operating cannabis stores, nine additional retail licenses, and 460,000 square feet of potential cultivation and processing space.
In #Canada, #Ontario doubles the number of cannabis retail store authorizations, in an effort to address the province’s shortage of adult-use dispensaries. At the direction of the provincial government, the #Alcohol and #Gaming Commission announced they will be increasing their approval rate from 5 to 10 shops weekly. Even at the faster pace, however, it will still be years before Ontario, with the second-lowest amount of #dispensaries per capita ahead of only Quebec, to catch up to other provinces, like #Alberta. As of last week, Ontario had 173 licensed retailers, compared to Alberta’s 500 stores serving a population roughly a third of the size. Even still, Ontario led the country in recreational cannabis sales for the month of #July, at 60.3 million Canadian dollars. Industry experts predict a further market boost as more retail stores open across the country’s most populous province.
Overseas, #Spanish authorities seize more than 77,000 pounds of #hashish derived from cannabis during the country’s largest drug bust at sea. Nine #Bulgarians and two #Russian nationals were arrested after police found the hash, estimated to be worth over 70 million dollars, aboard 4 #luxury sailboats. The raid was the result of a 6-month investigation involving EU law enforcement agency #Europol, the international Maritime Analysis and Operation Centre, as well as officials from various #European countries such as the #U.K., #Greece and #Italy. The ten individuals are suspected of being part of a massive Bulgarian criminal organization dedicated to hash smuggling from #Morocco through the Spanish island of #Majorca. Earlier this year, approximately 10,000 pounds of hash was confiscated from two sailboats owned by the same drug trafficking group near Spain’s Balearic Islands.
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