Each week on This Week in Cannabis Retail, we share the most important stories impacting and affecting cannabis retail, we connect with an expert—either someone here at Dutchie or someone working in some facet of cannabis retail—along with a glimpse of what’s happening at Dutchie in the following weeks.

If you want to watch This Week in Cannabis Retail live (or view past episodes), follow us on LinkedIn.

Below is the full episode of July 29th's This Week in Cannabis Retail wrap-up:

Here's what you need to know this week

The latest market updates:

• Illinois’ Department of Financial & Professional Regulation granted 149 licenses this week. Now, the applicants that have been granted licenses have 180 days to open—or get an extension. If you're one of these licensees, join us on August 25th for an Illinois-focused webinar. 
• Days after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer introduced his legalization bill in the US Senate, he headed back to his home state to talk about social equity at the The Bronx Cannabis Hub that will serve as a resource center for budding entrepreneurs in that state.
• It seems like Missouri’s ballot measure for recreational cannabis may not have received enough signatures to qualify for November’s ballot. 
• New Hampshire is the last hold out in New England to move to legalize adult-use recreational cannabis.

There are two stories this week at the intersection of cannabis and sports: 

• Brittney Griner is still in prison in Russia on charges that she was traveling with vape cartridges, but it seems that the Biden administration is looking for a prisoner swap to free Brittany Griner and another American, Paul Whelan.
• And, the most beloved Red Sox player of all time, David Ortiz, was inducted into the Hall of Fame this week and quickly thereafter launched his own cannabis brand: Papi Cannabis.

Featured guest: Erica Woods, Director of Government Relations & Regulatory Affairs at Dutchie

Our expert on This Week in Cannabis Retail was Erica Woods, Director of Government Relations & Regulatory Affairs at Dutchie. We wanted to have Erica on to talk about some of the latest happenings in Washington DC and how Dutchie thinks about these important legislative issues. Watch the full conversation with Erica Woods: