2021 in Review: The Year in Cannabis

Sen. Chuck Schumer speaks to a crowd at the NYC Cannabis Parade & Rally on May 1, one month after the state legislature passed the Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act.

 

January

4 - Steve DeAngleo splits from Harborside Health Center.

6 - On the day insurrectionists assaulted Congress, cannabis activists lit up in the Capitol.

11 - Pot prisoner Andrew Cox released in California.

12 - Dr. Carl Hart's Drug Use for Grown-Ups book released.

20 - On his last day in office, Pres. Trump commutes the sentences of 12 pot prisoners.

WEIRD NEWS: The Cocaine Hippos of Colombia

28 - Pot prisoner Michael Thompson released in Michigan. 

 

February

5 - What's the deal with Delta-8 THC?

8 - TV travel host Rick Steves takes over as board chair at NORML.

8 - South Dakota judge overturns Amendment A adult-use initiative passed the previous November.

22 - Marijuana legalization in New Jersey, passed in 2020, becomes official.

 

March

6 - Seth Rogen's Houseplant launches in California.

WEIRD NEWS: Elizabeth Banks to Helm "Cocaine Bear" Movie

13 - Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts says cannabis kills kids.

24 - White House staffers fired for previous pot use.

25 - Live cannabis events start taking place again.

31 - New York State legalizes it!

 

April

7 - Rapper Xhibit's Napalm cannabis brand charged with being anti-Asian.

9 - Rep. Matt Gaetz and associates in the Florida cannabis industry implicated in a wide-ranging scandal.

12 - New Mexico legalizes it!

DEATH: Steve Fox

22 - Virginia legalizes it!

29 - Willie Nelson turns 88.

 

May

1 - Sen. Chuck Schumer speaks at the NYC Cannabis Parade & Rally.

DEATH: Fate Winslow

14 - Mississippi judge overturns MMJ Initiative 65 passed the previous November.

17 - Alabama legalizes medical marijuana

19 - Florida court blocks Make It Legal adult-use campaign for 2022.

20 - Whoopi Goldberg returns with Emma & Clyde.

24 - Tommy Chong turns 83.

 

June

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17 - The War on Drugs turns 50

22 - Connecticut legalizes it!

 

July

1 - Sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson banned from participating in Summer Games after positive THC test.

8 - Rapper Lil Baby busted for weed as James Harden looks on at Paris fashion show.

13 - Sacha Baron Cohen sues cannabis company.

DEATH: Frenchy Cannoli

 

August

DEATH: Wayward Bill Chengelis

10 - Tegridy Farms cannabis brand announced.

DEATH: Eddy Lepp

19 - Brooklyn Net Kevin Durant partners with Weedmaps.

 

September

1 - Dr. Ethan Russo releases results of his Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome research.

 

October

1 - The Stone Age exhibit opens in New York.

4 - Justin Bieber's Peaches strain hits the market in L.A.

13 - Dopesick starts streaming on Hulu.

20 - Snoop Dogg turns 50.

 

November

10 - Ricky Williams rebrands as Highsman.

17 - Mayor-elect Eric Adams gifts Stephen Colbert two packs of rolling papers and a faux bag of weed.

WEIRD NEWS: Where to Watch a 4:20 Sunset

 

December

15 - Toi Hutchinson hired as CEO at Marijuana Policy Project.

WEIRD NEWS: 850-Pound Brownie Sets New Record

19 - Dr. Sanjay Gupta hosts "Weed 6" about cannabis and autism on CNN.

24 - Jennifer Lawrence smokes a pot pot pipe in "Don't Look Up."

 

2022 Predictions

There will be no significant federal movement to end cannabis prohibition in 2022. States will continue to lead the way. Arkansas, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma and Rhode Island might join the 18 other adult-use states. More celebrity brands will hit the market. (Look for Woody Harrelson and Bill Maher to open a dispensary in the L.A. area.) Delta-8 THC will be replaced by the latest hot cannabinoid - THC-009, anyone? Cannabis organizations will continue to diversify while MSOs dominate the market. The runaway train of legal weed is predicted to hit $30 billion in sales. That's a lot of ganja. Just hope Covid gradually fades and business can get back to usual. Oh, and Willie Nelson will turn 89.

 

More 2021 Lists

Top 63 Stoner Movies & Miniseries 

The CelebStoner Top 21

Deaths in Music from A-Z

11 Celebrity Drug Busts 

 

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Steve Bloom

Steve Bloom

Publisher of CelebStoner.com, former editor of High Times and Freedom Leaf and co-author of Pot Culture and Reefer Movie Madness.