The Pennsylvania Cannabis Coalition (PCC) announced Oct. 24 that the trade organization has released the results of a candidate survey aimed at gauging elected officials’ stance on cannabis policy ahead of the November election.

RELATED: Pennsylvania Cannabis Coalition Releases Candidate Survey to Gauge Elected Officials’ Stance on Cannabis Policy

The questionnaire, sent to the candidates in all 228 legislative races on the ballot, addressed the current issues faced by Pennsylvania’s roughly 816,000 registered medical cannabis patients, caregivers and businesses, according to a press release from the PCC. These issues include medical cannabis accessibility, as well as adult-use legalization.

“As the national conversation about fully legalizing cannabis amplifies, it’s crucial that Pennsylvania cannabis voters use their voice and vote with their feet on medical marijuana patient access and potential legalization,” PCC Executive Director Meredith Buettner said in a public statement.

The survey’s results reveal that 16 Democrat and 10 Republican Senate candidates support medical cannabis, with eight Democratic candidates signaling support for adult-use cannabis legalization.

Multistate cannabis operator Curaleaf will pay out another $100,000 over mislabeled products that the company released in Oregon last year.

The multistate operator already settled 10 lawsuits in January and agreed in August to a $130,000 fine and 23-day license suspension in Oregon, according to an OregonLive report. Now, Curaleaf will pay an additional $100,000 to settle a separate class-action lawsuit stemming from the blunder.

RELATED: Oregon Cannabis Customers Can Collect $200 Per Claim Over Select Brand’s Mislabeled Product Settlement

The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) issued a recall in September 2021 for a product produced by Cura CS, LLC and sold under Curaleaf’s Select brand. The product was labeled as a hemp-derived CBD tincture but actually contained “undisclosed levels of THC,” according to an OLCC press release announcing the recall.

The OLCC then expanded the initial recall a few days later to include a Select tincture that was labeled as containing 1,000 mg of THC because the drops did not actually contain any detectable THC.

The transformative deal is expected to connect Flora Growth’s Colombian-grown cannabis directly with German-based pharmaceutical and medical cannabis distribution.The deal would establish a foothold in Germany for medical cannabis sales across 1,200 pharmacies and the distribution of pharmaceutical products across 28 countries. This deal would provide additional upside to Flora should Germany proceed with the legalization of adult-use cannabis.Franchise Global Health reported revenue of approximately CA$30.1million (US$23.4 million) for the six months ended June 30, 2022. Total aggregated reported revenues of Flora Growth and Franchise Global Health Inc. for the six months ended June 30, 2022, were US$38.6 million.The proposed all-stock acquisition of Franchise Global Health Inc. will result in the indirect acquisition of its subsidiaries, including the Hilzingen-based Phatebo GmbH, a leading distributor of export pharmaceuticals and medical cannabis products to the European Union and ACA Müller ADAG Pharma Vertriebs GmbH (ACA Müller), which holds the first German medical cannabis import and distribution license, granted in 2017.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. & TORONTO, Oct 24, 2022 – PRESS RELEASE – Flora Growth Corp., a leading all-outdoor cultivator, manufacturer and distributor of global cannabis products and brands, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of Franchise Global Health Inc. (FGH), a multinational operator in the medical cannabis and pharmaceutical industry, with principal operations in Germany.

“Through this proposed acquisition, we are connecting our commercial infrastructure and medical cannabis product portfolio to the German and EU medical markets, while gaining direct access to European pharmaceutical distributions,” said Luis Merchan, chairman and CEO of Flora Growth. “We believe Franchise will significantly increase our commercial international revenue and provide essential distribution to German pharmacies and a growing wholesale market.”

FGH’s German reportable segment achieved revenues of CA$30.1 million, gross profit of CA$2.1 million and net income of CA$0.4 million in the first half of 2022. FGH’s German businesses operate primarily in the export pharmaceutical and medical cannabis import and distribution markets, servicing 1,200 pharmacies in Germany and providing non-cannabis medical products to 28 additional countries.

This acquisition is expected to accelerate Flora’s expansion into the European cannabis and pharmaceutical markets with prescription medicines and would provide the company with immediate access to a wealth of knowledge and intellectual property that FGH has developed, including 41 registered cannabis strains in Colombia and the first registered cannabis seed bank in Copenhagen, Denmark, housing 286 strains. The proposed acquisition would further allow Flora to expand its CBD business in Europe by utilizing FGH’s distribution and logistics capabilities.

The combination of Flora and FGH is expected to deliver at least US$3 million of annualized cost synergies within the first year following the completion of the acquisition, primarily in the areas of reduced corporate administrative expenses.

After serving roughly two and a half years as the cannabis program supervisor in Portland, Ore.’s Office of Community & Civic Life, Dasheeda Dawson, who has more than a decade of development, strategic management and brand marketing experience, has returned to her home state—and home city—to serve as the director of Cannabis NYC, New York City’s initiative aimed at supporting the burgeoning adult-use cannabis industry.

RELATED: Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition Chair Dasheeda Dawson Appointed Founding Director of Cannabis NYC

Housed within the NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS), Cannabis NYC will work to support the creation of jobs, small businesses and economic opportunity through strategic outreach, public engagement, business services and advocacy efforts—all while trying to address the harms of the war on drugs.

Dawson admits that she has her work cut out for her in her new role, which will not only support cannabis businesses, but also consumers who are transitioning from the illicit, or legacy, market to the legal one.

“When we talk about transitioning [from] legacy to legal, I think sometimes people automatically go to the operators, the growers and the sellers, and they are important, but for every one grower or one seller, there [are] anywhere from 25 to 100 consumers,” Dawson says. “So, when we talk about legacy to legal, we’re also talking about getting those consumers to transition. That is the business case we need to solve for, and I don’t think any other regulatory market has ever attempted to do so. New York City, to me, with the amount of consumers we feel we have here in the unregulated market, it’s imperative that we do that to be a successful industry.”

This is a developing story. The Florida Department of Health has not yet responded to Cannabis Business Times’ request for comment.

Following Green Thumb Industries (GTI) and Circle K’s partnership announcement last week, Florida Department of Health officials told the Washington Examiner the state has yet to approve allowing consumers to purchase cannabis at gas stations and that the stores “remain subject to regulatory approval.”

“Florida has never approved a Medical Marijuana Treatment Center to operate out of a gas station,” a spokesperson from the Department of Health told the Washington Examiner.

The partnership would allow GTI, owner of RISE Dispensaries, to open 10 “RISE Express” dispensary locations adjacent to Circle K stores throughout Florida, Cannabis Business Times previously reported.

However, state health officials said, “the opening of RISE Express stores remains subject to regulatory approval, and sales will be exclusively to Florida patients with a valid medical marijuana identification card.”

WAKEFIELD, Mass., Oct. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- PRESS RELEASE -- Curaleaf Holdings, Inc., an international provider of consumer products in cannabis, today announced the launch of Find, a cannabis flower brand designed to provide consumers with high-quality cannabis flower at an accessible price point. The company's latest product offering is now on shelves at dispensaries in Massachusetts and will expand to Arizona, Illinois, Maine, Missouri, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania in the coming months.

Find offers a variety of affordable, high-quality everyday flower products for cannabis consumers. At launch, customers will have access to the brand's strain-specific pre-rolls and whole flower. Available in bulk quantities, those who prefer to roll their own can also choose from a selection of small flower and pre-ground offerings. Find is currently available in the following formats:

"We're excited to welcome Find into our brand portfolio as the medical and adult-use flower markets continue to mature," said Matt Darin, CEO of Curaleaf. "With Find, we're expanding our reach by providing affordable, high quality flower for patients and customers at all stages of their cannabis journey."

Find is now available at dispensaries across Massachusetts and will expand to Arizona, Illinois, Maine, Missouri, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania in the coming months. For more information on product availability, please visit www.findyourflower.com.

Another wave of cannabis policy reform is expected next month as voters in five states—Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota—will make their voices heard on adult-use legalization on Election Day, Nov. 8.

It’s been a long road up to this point, with court challenges threatening to knock the cannabis measures off the ballot in Arkansas and Missouri, and South Dakota advocates paring down their initiative after the state’s Supreme Court overturned an adult-use legalization measure that passed in the 2020 election.

Adult-use legalization campaigns in three other states—Ohio, Oklahoma and Nebraska—tried and failed to land their initiatives on the 2022 ballot and are now looking to future elections.

RELATED: Five States Will See Voters Address Cannabis Legalization, But Three States Failed in Landing on the Ballot This Year. Why?

Here, we take a look at the five measures that are set to go before voters next month.

Arkansas (adult use):

Measure: Issue 4

Washington, D.C. residents 21 and older can self-certify as medical cannabis patients in the district and now, tourists can, too.

Mayor Muriel Bowser signed the Medical Marijuana Patient Access Extension Second Emergency Amendment Act of 2022 into law Oct. 17 to amend the district’s medical cannabis program to allow non-residents 21 and older to self-certify for temporary medical cannabis recommendations.

The move follows legislation that Bowser signed into law in July that allows D.C. residents 21 and older to self-certify their eligibility for the district’s medical cannabis program.

RELATED: D.C. Council Approves Bill to Allow All Residents 21+ to Self-Certify as Medical Cannabis Patients

Non-residents can now access an online medical cannabis recommendation application through the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) here.

This is a developing story. The defendants have not yet responded to Cannabis Business Times’ requests for comment.

A class action lawsuit alleges that DreamFields Brands Inc. and Med For America Inc., which “make, sell, and market the ‘Jeeter’ brand of ‘prerolls,’” have labeled products as having higher THC percentages than those products contain.

The law firm Dovel & Luner represents plaintiffs Jasper Centeno and Blake Wilson, who the complaint states both purchased mislabeled Jeeter products at California dispensaries.

The lawsuit refers to a report by industry publication WeedWeek published in September, which states that two diamond-infused prerolls tested by the news outlet had “implied THC inflation” of 70% to 100% and 28% to 42%, respectively. These were two of nine prerolls tested by independent labs that have been vocal about the issue of potency inflation in the cannabis industry. Jeeter was one of two companies that agreed to a second test by WeedWeek and reimbursed its editor and publisher, Alex Halperin, for the cost of the products.

The complaint points to WeedWeek’s findings that both Jeeter prerolls tested had allegedly contained THC percentages that fall outside of the 10% margin of error permitted by California Department of Cannabis Control regulations.

The complaint states: “For example, the Baby Jeeter Fire OG Diamond Infused 5-Pack Preroll was listed as having 46% THC on the label. Independent lab testing showed, however, that the actual THC content of the product was substantially lower, between 23-27% THC. Thus, the THC content was overstated by 70-100%—substantially more than the 10% margin of error allowed under the California regulations.”

A poll by USA Today/Ipsos conducted Oct. 7-9 shows that two-thirds of American adults aged 18 years and older support President Joe Biden’s three-step cannabis reform plan.  

Biden announced his three-step cannabis reform plan Oct. 6, which includes pardoning all federal offenses for simple cannabis possession, requesting a review of how cannabis is scheduled under the Controlled Substances Act, and urging governors to pardon state-level offenses of simple cannabis possession.

Ipsos interviewed 283 Republicans, 325 Democrats, and 315 independents online across the U.S., Alaska and Hawaii for the study. The results show the average percentage among all respondents and individual percentages for Republicans, Democrats and independents. 

Nearly three-quarters (72%) of total respondents support changing how cannabis is classified under federal law and removing it as a Schedule I drug, while roughly two-thirds (67%) of total respondents support pardoning or forgiving all prior federal convictions for cannabis possession.

RELATED: Cannabis Industry, Lawmakers React to Biden's Federal Cannabis Policy Reform Efforts

Forty-four percent of Republicans responded in favor of governors pardoning or forgiving state-level convictions for cannabis possession compared to Democrats at 83% and independents at 71%. Eighty-one percent of Democrats support releasing individuals in federal jail who are serving time for using or possessing cannabis, similar to independents at 72% and nearly double compared to Republicans at 42%

Pennsylvania regulators voted Oct. 20 to approve final rules for the state’s six-year-old medical cannabis program, which was passed into law in 2016 and has been operating under temporary regulations since sales launched in early 2018.

The Independent Regulatory Review Commission voted 4-0 Thursday to approve the final regulations after hours of debating a controversial testing provision, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The testing rules require medical cannabis cultivators to have their material tested twice by two different labs, once when the plants are harvested and a second time after the cannabis has been processed into finished products, the news outlet reported.

While trade groups have opposed the provision, arguing that testing twice is meaningless, officials from the Pennsylvania Department of Health claimed that the rule would prevent growers from using labs that provide inaccurate or purposely altered results, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

RELATED: UPDATE: Lab Shopping, Purposely Altered Test Results Hurt Cannabis Industry, Lab Executives Say

South Dakota voters will get a second chance to make their voices heard on adult-use cannabis legalization two years after they approved an adult-use measure in the 2020 election that was ultimately overturned by the state’s Supreme Court.

South Dakota made history in 2020 when voters approved medical and adult-use cannabis legalization on the same ballot.

“We passed Amendment A and Measure 26 back in 2020 with 54% and 74% of the vote, respectively,” Matthew Schweich, deputy director for the Marijuana Policy Project and deputy director for South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws (SDBML), told Cannabis Business Times. “Since then, we’ve had to fight to defend both laws. On the medical side, we’ve been successful. There have been efforts in the past two legislative sessions to severely delay implementation of the medical cannabis law, and then this year, there were a whole bunch of efforts to erode the program—make it more difficult for patients to access, make it more difficult for operators to operate. We were successful in defeating those efforts.”

RELATED: Unity Rd. Opens First Medical Cannabis Establishment in South Dakota

Efforts to defend Amendment A, the constitutional amendment to legalize cannabis for adults 21 and older, were less successful; a lawsuit brought by law enforcement and backed by Gov. Kristi Noem challenged the voter-approved initiative on the grounds that it violated South Dakota’s one-subject rule.

The Washington State Legislature established the Social Equity in Cannabis Task Force in an effort to reduce barriers to entry to the cannabis industry for individuals and communities most impacted by the war on drugs.

The Task Force will allow approximately 40 additional cannabis retail licenses to be issued for social equity purposes, according to a release. Those licenses will replace the approximately 40 licenses that were canceled, forfeited, revoked or never issued in specific jurisdictions across Washington.

Separately, the Washington Department of Commerce partnered with the state’s Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) and Make Green Go!, a cannabis business development consulting company, to create the Social Equity in Cannabis Technical Assistance Program.

RELATED: Seattle Mayor Signs Legislative Package to Increase Social Equity in City’s Cannabis Industry

The program includes one-on-one mentoring for social equity applicants seeking retail licenses, as well as an online learning module to help educate operators on a range of business development topics such as accounting, finance, market research, strategies and more.

“The Technical Assistance Mentorship Program will help bolster applicants’ preparations for the Liquor and Cannabis Board’s social equity licensing process and help ensure they are positioned for success,” said Alison Beason, a Commerce Department representative for the Social Equity Task Force. . “The program will provide applicants with industry-specific business education, direct mentorship, and assistance developing business and finance plans while offering valuable insight and guidance navigating the myriad of complexities in establishing a retail cannabis business.”

Detroit has received 90 applications for 60 available adult-use cannabis licenses as the city navigates a three-phase licensing process.

Detroit officials plan to issue 40 retail, 10 microbusiness and 10 consumption lounge licenses in the first phase, according to a Detroit Free Press report.

The application period opened Sept 1 and closed Oct. 1.

The city will issue a total of 160 licenses over the three phases, with half the licenses awarded to social equity applicants. To qualify as a social equity applicant, the business must be at least 51% owned by Detroit residents or individuals who live in other communities disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs.

Forty of the 90 applications received during the first phase qualify as social equity, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Unintentional loopholes in the 2018 Farm Bill have allowed intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids to create a “wild west” of unregulated products, the head of a major California cannabis trade group claimed this week.

In a white paper released Oct. 19 by Sacramento-based California Cannabis Industry Association (CCIA), the group’s members call for urgent reform as they claim the “dangers” associated with intoxicating products being sold as hemp continue to pose a widespread threat to public health.

CCIA represents hundreds of state-legal California cannabis businesses and works to promote the growth of a responsible and legitimate industry.

“Policymakers have inadvertently created a wild west of hemp-derived intoxicants that are putting the health of consumers across the country at risk,” CCIA Board President Pamela Epstein said in the white paper. “The proliferation of these unregulated and untested synthetic cannabinoids is a public health crisis, and we are calling for immediate action to protect public safety.”

In September 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a warning statement, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a health advisory statement cautioning potential consumers about the adverse effects associated with hemp-derived products containing delta-8 THC, which can be synthesized from CBD. Those effects range from vomiting, hallucinations, trouble standing and loss of consciousness, to deep sedation, slowed breathing, irregular heart rates and decreased blood pressure, according to the two federal agencies.

RELATED: Delta-8 THC Has ‘Serious Health Risks’ Warns Two Federal Agencies

The Vermont Cannabis Control Board issued nine new adult-use cannabis licenses at its Oct. 19 meeting, including one cultivation, four manufacturing and four retail licenses.

Regulators awarded the licenses to the following businesses, according to a Heady Vermont report:

A full list of Vermont’s adult-use cannabis licensees can be found here.

The state’s first three adult-use dispensaries opened to serve consumers on Oct. 1.

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) Secretary Russell Redding is looking to boost sales, export markets, and consumer awareness of hemp products through funding research projects.

In an Oct. 17 press release from the PDA, Russell called for proposals for projects from nonprofit marketing and promotion organizations, announcing the PDA will award up to $200,000 in matching funds to aid research projects, with a minimum award of $1,000.

"Hemp has presented a unique opportunity to grow an industry from the ground up, supplying seemingly limitless sustainable construction materials, fiber and food products," Redding said. "These grants will feed a new industry that was once a staple of Pennsylvania's economy and is again presenting opportunities for farm income and jobs as well as new possibilities for climate-friendly, environmentally beneficial products."

The purpose of the grant funding is to reimburse up to 50% of the cost of research projects that are focused on:

According to the Pennsylvania Bulletin, the PDA will grant funds once the project is completed. In addition, the grant money should be used for one or more of the following purposes:

Interested nonprofits must apply by 5 p.m. Dec. 2. All projects must have started on or after July 1 and must be completed by June 30, 2023, according to the release.

Flower One Holdings, the publicly traded Canadian parent company of Nevada’s Flower One, has obtained an order under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), a federal statute that governs financial restructuring for insolvent businesses. The move comes ahead of executive plans to take Flower One Holdings private by the end of the year.

“The decision to commence CCAA proceedings was made after careful consideration of the Canadian company’s financial position and significant consultation with certain key creditors of Flower One,” according to a press release issued by the company. “The CCAA proceedings are intended to facilitate a restructuring of the Canadian Company’s balance sheet and the injection of additional capital, with a view of Flower One going private by the end of the 2022 calendar year, thereby eliminating the administrative burden and significant expense associated with being a publicly listed company.”

During this process, the U.S.-based operations of Flower One are expected to continue “in the ordinary course and without interruption.”

A court hearing to lay out the restructuring terms is scheduled for Oct. 25. PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. will monitor the CCAA process for Flower One Holdings.

ORANGE COUNTY, California, Oct. 20, 2022 - PRESS RELEASE – TYSON 2.0 boxer, entrepreneur, and advocate Mike Tyson’s cannabis company, announced the launch of an online global marketplace in partnership with LGNDS LLC., a market-leading hemp company, to expand its product portfolio with three new hemp-derived verticals: delta-8 THC, delta-9 THC, and CBD.

TYSON 2.0’s strategic partnership with LGNDS, a Miami-based hemp company known for its global reach and cutting-edge product innovations, marks the company’s first entry into the hemp industry, projected to grow a whopping 22% from $4.9 billion to $18.6 billion by 2027. With hockey-stick-like sales for fan-favored products, this partnership will allow TYSON 2.0 to bring Mike Tyson tested and approved plant-based products to mainstream consumers through an e-commerce site with global shipping capabilities. TYSON 2.0’s delta-8, delta-9 and CBD will meet consumer demand, especially in state markets where adult use of cannabis is still illicit.

“Excited to ring in a whole new line-up of plant-based TYSON 2.0 products that help lift people up,” Tyson said. “I’ve personally tested and approved each and every product, so that my fans can also experience the same safe and effective medicines that I stand behind. Soon folks from coast to coast will be able to join the TYSON tribe.”

Starting in Q4 2022, TYSON 2.0’s hemp-based products will be available across large, small, and C-stores. The first of the new series to launch will be the delta-8 collection starting with Mike Bites delta-8 edibles available in Black Eye Berry, Watermelon, and Sour Apple Punch flavors. Handcrafted in the same manner as the original THC Mike Bites, the new Mike Bites delta-8 edibles will be available nationwide at www.tyson20global.com and at select retail stores based on individual state regulations.

Launched in October 2021, TYSON 2.0 brings innovative, high-quality cannabis products known for purity consistency and wide accessibility to consumers nationwide. Co-founded by Mike Tyson and Chad Bronstein, chairman and president, and led by Adam Wilks, CEO, the company partners with world-class cannabis operators to provide a suite of products designed to appeal to and reach consumers in legal markets. Through licensing, cultivation and agreements, TYSON 2.0 products are available across dispensaries and retail locations in 24 states and select provinces across Canada.

“We are proud to partner with TYSON 2.0 to bring delta 8, delta 9, and CBD products to markets nationwide and around the world-from large and small format retail stores to your local convenience store or gas station,” said the LGNDS team. “With the TYSON 2.0 name behind products, consumers can feel confident they are getting access to the safest, most efficacious CBD and Delta products that have gone through the most rigorous safety standards and quality testing protocols.”

Editor’s note: This is an ongoing article. CBT’s original reporting on Trulieve’s Holyoke, Mass., cannabis cultivation and processing facility can be viewed here.

Trulieve issued a statement Oct. 20 in response to what company officials called “incorrect information” that has circulated about its Holyoke, Mass., cannabis cultivation and processing facility in the wake of a worker’s death.

According to the Tallahassee, Fla.-based multistate operator, that incorrect information includes media reports about personal protective equipment (PPE) and other health protections offered to more than 175 workers at the Holyoke facility. That facility’s health and safety standards have been in question since national media recently learned of Lorna McMurrey’s death. The 27-year-old collapsed Jan. 4 at the company’s Holyoke location and died three days later.

“Unfortunately, some incorrect information has been distributed about Trulieve’s facility in Holyoke and its response to Ms. McMurrey’s collapse on January 4, 2022,” according to the Trulieve statement. “To correct these errors, Trulieve is providing the following information about its facility and the events surrounding Ms. McMurrey’s tragic death.”

The following record is according to Trulieve’s Oct. 20 statement:

Air Quality