The Isle of Man has approved its first medical cannabis business license, according to BBC News.

The island’s Gambling Supervision Commission, which oversees the industry, has awarded GrowLab Organics (GLO) a conditional license to cultivate, extract, manufacture, import and export medical cannabis, the news outlet reported.

Enterprise Minister Tim Crookall told BBC News that the license approval “represents the dawn of a new economic sector” in the country that will result in “high-value economic diversification.” He said the industry will provide new jobs and training opportunities, and “encourage inward investment.”

GLO co-founder and CEO Alex Fray told BBC News that the company expects to create more than 50 jobs within the next three years.

The Gambling Supervision Commission opened the medical cannabis business license application process in June 2021, the news outlet reported.

SANTA CRUZ, California, June 30, 2022 - PRESS RELEASE - SC Labs recently announced its new partnership with Agricor and Botanacor Laboratories in Colorado. As part of the company’s new corporate leadership, long-time operating executive Jeff Journey will serve as the company’s new CEO. Under the SC Labs brand, the new multi-state lab will service cannabis and hemp brands in Oregon, California, and Colorado and will soon announce a new partnership with Can-Lab in Michigan.

Journey previously served as vice president and general manager for a $1B+ Biosciences business unit of Thermo Fisher Scientific and brings experience in lab business intelligence and operations to the new role. His breadth of experience across regulated industries, including leading teams across strategy, R&D, product management, marketing, sales, and customer success, will serve to guide SC Labs’ growth strategy as the company aims to be the leader in cannabis and hemp science.

“It’s an honor to join this new company based on the foundation of three leading labs that have partnered to provide the industry with the highest level of scientific knowledge and technology in cannabis and hemp,” Journey said. “This new company will be about so much more than testing and R&D. We’re looking forward to partnering with cannabis and hemp brands at every stage of the supply chain to share our innovative and forward-thinking scientific expertise so they can deliver safe products to the marketplace.”

In this new role, Journey joins the expanded SC Labs leadership team, including Jeff Gray as chief innovation officer, Josh Wurzer as chief operating officer, Brendon Firestone as chief commercial officer, Grant Gooder as chief financial officer and Richard Strong as senior vice president of IT and Digital Experience. The new company is poised to lead the cannabis and hemp testing market in client service through a broader range of testing resources, improved data delivery, innovative science, instrument redundancy and increased testing capacity, and improved operations to accelerate turnaround times.

“As cannabis legalization expands across the country, the testing industry is rapidly shifting and scaling to meet both market and regulatory demands,” according to Journey. “The most important assets we can offer as a multi-state operator are scientific expertise, financial stability, and unquestionable integrity, the principles on which SC Labs has long stood for and will continue to provide to our valued customers.”

Earlier this month, the Los Angeles City Council approved the “Emblem Program for Authorized Cannabis Stores” to protect cannabis consumers from untested and unregulated products at unlicensed retailers that continue to operate in California’s still-thriving illicit cannabis market.

The program, which required the Los Angeles City Attorney’s office to draft an ordinance to implement it, allows licensed retailers to apply for an emblem that can be displayed on their storefronts to help differentiate legal and illegal dispensaries.

The Los Angeles City Council voted June 29 to approve the ordinance, which will require licensed cannabis business to display a placard to indicate that they are operating legally and in compliance with public health regulations, according to CBS Los Angeles.

The placards are intended to show both the public and law enforcement that the business is operating legally, the news outlet reported. They are expected to be displayed at licensed retailers later this year.

“Unfortunately, unlicensed commercial cannabis activity continues to undermine the legal commercial cannabis industry and threaten the health and safety of Los Angeles residents,” City Councilman Paul Koretz said in a statement, according to CBS Los Angeles. “I have been working on getting this emblem program designed and implemented for the past few years and I'm incredibly grateful for the Department of Cannabis Regulation's steadfast work.”

June is a month-long celebration for the LGBTQ+ community, and each year, many companies saturate their social media pages and marketing efforts with rainbow colors and icons to show recognition.

But what substantive actions can companies take to make real progress and show advocacy for LGBTQ+ people, people of color, and other marginalized individuals?

In honor of Pride Month 2022, Cannabis Business Times spoke with Jushi Holdings Executive Vice President of Retail Operations Brendon Lynch, also a member of the LGBTQ+ community, to discuss how cannabis companies can promote equity and inclusion within the industry vs. “rainbow washing.”

Andriana Ruscitto (AR): What is the connection between the LGBTQ+ movement and cannabis legalization?

Brendon Lynch (BL): The connection between the cannabis and LGBTQ+ reform movements can be traced back decades. The LGBTQ+ community in San Francisco started the initial push for medical marijuana legalization in the U.S. in response to the AIDS epidemic in California.

One of the first major pieces of legislation decriminalizing medical marijuana was passed in large part thanks to Harvey Milk, the country’s first openly gay man to hold public office. While there have been significant accomplishments in the cannabis and LGBTQ+ movements, there is still much work to be done, and I am humbled to be part of it.

Thousands of Virginians waiting to access the state’s medical cannabis program will no longer have to endure a two-month waiting period to receive their registration cards under new legislation that takes effect July 1.

The law, House Bill 933, signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin on April 11, does away with the requirement that medical cannabis patients—or parents/legal guardians of patients—register with the state’s Board of Pharmacy. Instead, medical cannabis patients will only need a written certification from a registered practitioner along with a government-issued ID to obtain medical cannabis products at a state-licensed dispensary.

Showing proof of registration with the Board of Pharmacy (a medical cannabis card) will no longer be required.

RELATED: Virginia Governor Signs Bill Eliminating Cannabis Patient Registry Requirement

At the time of Youngkin’s signing, there were more than 47,000 program registrations with an estimated 8,000 applicants still awaiting approval from the Board of Pharmacy, according to reform group NORML.

As of June 29, there were 52,810 registered medical cannabis patients registered with the Board of Pharmacy and roughly 4,900 applications that required additional information or were waiting in the backlog for initial review, ABC-affiliate WRIC reported.

The list for pesticides that can be used on cannabis without being a violation of the Pesticide Applicators' Act has been updated. Please note the following products have been added:

To view the updated list, click here for a pdf or click here for an Excel form. For questions regarding this change, contact Jolynn Morris at (303) 869-9060 or email jolynn.morris@state.co.us.

The Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) is currently reviewing pesticide labels upon request and maintaining a list of products whose label it has reviewed that it believes could be used on marijuana without violating 35-10-117(1)(i), as long as the applicator follows the label directions.

Please be sure to review the list; pesticide products may be removed from the allowed products list if the registrant has not renewed their pesticide product with the department. Use of unregistered pesticides on Cannabis would be a violation of the Pesticide Applicators' Act.

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MIAMI andBOSTON, June 29, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --PRESS RELEASE-- Ayr Wellness Inc. (CSE: AYR.A, OTCQX: AYRWF), a vertically integrated U.S. multi-state cannabis operator,announced the opening of AYR in Back Bay, the company’s flagship dispensary inBoston. Sales begin on Saturday, July 2nd at 10am ET, representingthe company’s first adult-use retail sales in Massachusetts.

Located at 827Boylston St. in the heart of Boston’s famous Back Bay neighborhood, directlynext to the Apple Store and across from the Prudential Center, the dispensaryis expected to benefit from the significant shopping, dining and culturalactivities the Back Bay is known for, and will feature a wide range of cannabisbrands and products, including Ayr’s own Kynd premium flower, Secret Orchard vapes,Wicked edibles, Levia THC infused seltzer, and HAZE concentrates, to addressexperienced consumers as well as those newer to cannabis.

“We areincredibly excited to open our first adult-use store in Massachusetts,particularly in the enviable location of Boston’s Back Bay. We appreciate thewarm welcome that we’ve received by the City of Boston, the Back BayAssociation, the Neighborhood Association of Back Bay, and all of thesurrounding businesses and community groups. We look forward to further actingon our commitment of being a force for good throughout Back Bay and the localcommunities,” said Jonathan Sandelman, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Ayr. “Ourteam has cultivated a welcoming environment for all that adds to the integrityof this historic neighborhood and adds new jobs and community investment, andwe’re excited to welcome each of you to come visit.”

“Between thePrudential Center and the surrounding destination bars and restaurants, ourBack Bay store is in one of the busiest parts of Boston, and we believe thiswill be one of the best located dispensaries in the state of Massachusetts.”

Two-time Olympic gold medalist and WNBA star Brittney Griner is set to go to trial in Russia  Friday July 1. Griner was detained Feb. 17 at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow, Russia, for having vape cartridges that contained cannabis oil, according to The Washington Post. Griner has been in custody for more than four months now.

Because cannabis is illegal in Russia, Griner could face up to ten years in prison on the drug charges.

Many experts, according to The Washington Post, speculate that Griner’s trial will most likely have a result of a prison sentence and a guilty verdict. An article from Insider states, “This case is already decided.”

“According to the Associated Press, fewer than 1 percent of defendants in Russian criminal cases are acquitted, and acquittals can be overturned,” according to The Washington Post.

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak signed legislation last summer to legalize cannabis consumption lounges, and now, a year later, state officials have signed off on regulations to govern them.

The Cannabis Compliance Board approved the rules June 28, paving the way for bar-like establishments where people can consume cannabis, according to The Nevada Independent.

Board members held 15 public meetings to develop the regulations, the news outlet reported, and despite public comment suggesting sweeping changes to the rules that were initially proposed, the board approved the regulations Tuesday with only minor verbiage tweaks.

One change removed a paragraph on how to determine whether a cannabis consumption lounge is located an adequate distance from schools and casinos, The Nevada Independent reported, while another removed the word “continually” from a requirement that lounge staff monitor surveillance footage of the premises.

“I would not be in favor of pulling the regs for those changes, given the amount of time we’ve had,” Cannabis Compliance Board member Riana Durrett said, according to The Nevada Independent. “We're not going to be able to continue to keep putting these on agendas and then wait for more ideas and more ideas when I think so much work was put into these, and most requests were accommodated.”

Las Vegas – June 29, 2022 --PRESS RELEASE-- The Source+, one of the state’s top cannabis companies since opening in 2015, will open its sixth location on Saturday, July 16, at 2370 Homestead Rd. in Pahrump, Nevada. This will be the company’s sixth dispensary and the first Source+ location to offer a drive-thru pickup service.

“Bringing The Source+ to Pahrump and Nye County has been very exciting for our team, and we’re thrilled to share exclusive products and hospitality with the community,” said CEO of The Source+, Steve Haffer. “In a town that prides itself on independence, our mission is to always make sure we provide a safe and respectful environment where our patients and customers can easily and affordably obtain a host of wellness products and services.”

The new 3,400-square-foot showroom will display and offer a wide selection of brands, including CAMP, Onederful and 8|Fold. The Source+ also features a variety of edibles, concentrates, tinctures, and other cannabis products that its customers have come to love and know over the past seven years.

Other locations for The Source+ include the original at 2550 S. Rainbow Blvd. at the corner of Sahara Avenue in Las Vegas, the Henderson location at 9480 S. Eastern Ave., the Reno location at 5270 Longley Ln., Suite 103, the North Las Vegas location at 420 E Deer Springs Way, and the company’s first store on the East Coast located at 58 Pleasant St. in Northampton, Massachusetts.

As a community-driven company, The Source+ has prioritized giving back to its communities since its inception, supporting local partners by donating more than $700,000 to local nonprofits, including Opportunity Village, Helping Hands of Las Vegas, Community Counseling Centers of Southern Nevada, The Cupcake Girls, Mondays Dark and more. 

Washington, D.C., residents have been legally able to possess, consume, home cultivate and gift cannabis since the district’s voters approved Initiative 71 in the November 2014 election to legalize adult-use cannabis.

City Council members have their hands tied when it comes to regulating and taxing commercial adult-use sales in the district, however, due to a rider introduced by U.S. Rep. Andy Harris in 2015 that stripped D.C.’s power to oversee a retail industry. Commonly referred to as the Harris rider, the provision has been in place ever since.

RELATED: D.C. Remains on Cannabis Sales Sideline in New Omnibus Bill

City Council does have the authority to regulate medical cannabis in the district, however, and has used that power to untangle some of the industry’s complexities.

Councilmembers unanimously voted June 28 to pass the Medical Marijuana Self-Certification Emergency Amendment Act of 2022 to allow residents 21 and older to self-certify their eligibility for medical cannabis without requiring a healthcare practitioner’s recommendation.

A retailer is suing Kansas officials over the state’s policy on delta-8 THC.

Murray Dines, the owner of Topeka-based Guardian MMJ, filed a lawsuit June 24 in U.S. District Court that claims Kansas’ policy violates federal law, according to The Topeka Capital-Journal.

Dines’ shop was raided by Shawnee County law enforcement April 20, the news outlet reported. Authorities seized $120,000 worth of product during the raid, according to the lawsuit, which challenges an opinion issued by Attorney General Derek Schmidt last year, according to The Topeka Capital-Journal.

While delta-8 products are legal in Kansas, Schmidt’s opinion said they must be derived from hemp and the THC levels must not exceed 0.3%, the news outlet reported.

Schmidt’s opinion also stated that some delta-8 products, including cigars, dips and teas, are illegal under Kansas’ controlled substances act, the news outlet reported.

NORWOOD, Massachusetts, June 29, 2022 - PRESS RELEASE - MariMed, Inc., a multi-state cannabis operator, announced a licensing agreement with East Coast Cannabis Company, a Maine-based cannabis producer and distributor. The licensing agreement allows for the distribution of MariMed’s brand, Betty’s Eddies full-spectrum fruit chews and the other successful SKUs in the line-up, including Bedtime Betty’s, into Maine’s adult-use market. The long-term intention is to roll out other edibles brands in MariMed’s portfolio, including Bubby’s Baked soft and chewy baked goods and Vibations: High + Energy powder energy drink mix. 

The licensing deal aligns with the company’s strategic growth plan to distribute its brands in legal cannabis states. The company anticipates Betty’s Eddies will be available to Maine’s residents and seasonal adult-use customers in the coming months.

“We are thrilled to partner with East Coast Cannabis Company for the production and distribution of our award-winning Betty’s Eddies branded products in the Maine adult-use cannabis market,” said Ryan Crandall, MariMed chief revenue officer. “Maine is an underappreciated adult-use cannabis market. While the state’s population is just over one million, Maine attracts as many as 37 million tourists annually, rivaling that of the Las Vegas Strip.”

LEAMINGTON,Ontario, June 29, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --PRESS RELEASE-- Tilray Brands, Inc.(Nasdaq: TLRY; TSX: TLRY), a global cannabis-lifestyle and consumer packaged goods company todayannounced that its medical cannabis division, Tilray Medical, has expanded itsmedical cannabis offerings in the United Kingdom. Tilray Medical now offers thebroadest portfolio of cannabis flower in the UK market today, including adifferentiated range of high THC products, cultivated at its EU-GMP-certifiedfacility in Portugal.

DeniseFaltischek, Tilray’s Chief Strategy Officer, and Head of InternationalBusiness, said, “The demand for medical cannabis in the UK is growing rapidly.We are incredibly proud to provide patients in the UK with high-quality,consistent medical cannabis products they can rely on and are accessible tothem.”

Tilray Medicalnow offers an extensive selection of medical cannabis products including amarket leading portfolio of cannabis flowers with THC potencies that span from10% to 25% and offer a range of different ratios. Tilray Medical’sportfolio in the UK is underpinned by a breadth of cultivars, each with aunique profile of cannabinoids and terpenes, that have been selected to ensurepatients can receive both the highest product quality as well as consistencywhen it comes to supply of their medicinal cannabis products. By offering sucha broad range of cannabis flower products in the UK, Tilray Medical hopes toexpand the range of treatment options available to patients and ensureprescribers and patients are provided with a safe and reliable choice as theyembark on their medical cannabis journey.

In the UK,patients may obtain prescriptions for medical cannabis through their specialistdoctor. Tilray Medical supplies the UK and the rest of our internationalbusiness with EU-GMP certified medical cannabis from our state-of-the-artfacilities in Portugal, providing patients with safe and reliable access tohigh-quality medical cannabis.

BOCA RATON,Fla., June 29, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --PRESS RELEASE-- JushiHoldings Inc.(CSE: JUSH) (OTCQX:JUSHF),a vertically integrated, multi-state cannabis operator, debuted its first lineof concentrates made using hydrocarbon extraction by its brand The Lab™, famous for delivering high-quality, precisionvape products and concentrates. The Lab™ Live Resin is the second of severalsingle-source concentrate product lines to be launched by Jushi. Last month, the company launched its first line of solventless live rosin extracts.

Initially, Jushiwill exclusively carry The Lab™ Live Resin 500mg full-spectrum 0.5 gram 510cartridges at Beyond Hello™ retail locations in Pennsylvania. The company plansto roll out its hydrocarbon-extracted line at partner dispensaries across the commonwealth in the coming months, as well as in additional states such asMassachusetts, Virginia and Nevada. The company also plans to launch a 300mgrechargeable, all-in-one 0.3g vape and a variety of 1 gram jarred curedconcentrates in the coming months, pending regulatory approval.

The newhydrocarbon extract products are rich in THC, cannabinoids, terpenes andflavonoids, and include roughly 90% of the plant’s original cannabinoids. TheLab™ Live Resin is produced using Jushi’s next-generation hydrocarbonextraction process utilizing high quality fresh frozen cannabis flower. Thisextraction process allows for the delicate make-up of the cannabis plant to bemaintained so that the strain specific cannabinoids and terpene propertiesremain fully intact.

“We arethrilled to bring patients some of the purest, high-quality hydrocarbonextracts available in Pennsylvania,” said Jushi Chief Executive Officer,Chairman, and Founder Jim Cacioppo. “As we continue to innovate and roll out someof the best products for a wide range of preferences at accessible pricepoints, we look forward to taking a differentiated approach that delivers anexceptional customer experience.”

As cannabismarkets mature and more states come online, the demand for extracted productscontinues to accelerate. According to leading cannabis market research firm BDSA,the cannabis extract market size was estimated at US$9.24B in 2021 and isprojected to increase nearly fivefold, to reach US$42.89 billion by 2030.

From seed to harvest, cannabis plants take roughly four months to complete their lifecycles, followed by another two months, or more, for drying, curing and packaging before any end products are ready for commercial sale.

That cultivation and processing period is going to hold up the progression of rolling out South Dakota’s medical cannabis program: While state voters approved a medical legalization ballot measure in the November 2020 election, a growing list of qualified patients won’t have legal access until, at the earliest, this fall—and perhaps not until the beginning of 2023.

As of June 27, there were 1,195 patients approved by the state, after receiving their recommendations from the 106 physicians who are qualified to do so, according to the South Dakota Department of Health (DOH).

That patient list is teed up to expand at a greater rate beginning July 1, when the 106 physicians will be joined by physician assistants and advanced practice nurses in their ability to sign off on written certifications for medical cannabis patient eligibility. Gov. Kristi Noem provided her ink to that change in late March via Senate Bill 26.

RELATED: South Dakota Governor Signs Medical Cannabis Bills

In addition to the nearly 1,200 patients, South Dakota now has a list of 70 certified dispensaries, 25 certified cultivation establishments, 10 manufacturing establishments and one testing lab for its medical cannabis program, according to DOH.

As regular cannabis use has increased worldwide, so too has the proportion of people with psychiatric disorders and suicides associated with that regular use, according to the United Nations. The number of hospitalizations is up too.

Those were a couple of notable convictions in the five-booklet 2022 World Drug Report released June 27 by the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). 

Highlighted in the booklet on cannabis and opioids, cannabis remains the most widely used drug worldwide, with more than 4% of the global population aged 15-64—roughly 209 million people—having used cannabis in 2020, a 23% increase from the 170 million people in 2010. The global population increased roughly 13% during that decade.

Some 40% of countries worldwide—notably in Africa and South and Central America—report cannabis as the substance related to the greatest number of drug-use disorders, according to the report.

As cannabis use and THC potencies have increased, there has been a “notable increase” in related treatment admissions and psychiatric comorbidities, per the report.

“Between 2010 and 2019, in the European Union, the rate of people entering treatment with cannabis as their primary drug increased from 27 to 35 per 100,000 of the adult population,” the report states. “In 2019, around 35 percent of all people who entered specialized drug treatment services in the European Union were for treatment of cannabis use. More than half of first-time clients were using the drug daily.”

The dispensary is based in Polk County, the fastest growing county by population in Florida, with a population of 753,520Verano’s active operations span 13 states, comprised of 101 dispensaries and 13 cultivation and processing facilities with more than 1 million square feet of cultivation capacity

CHICAGO, June 28, 2022 – PRESS RELEASE – Verano Holdings Corp., a leading multistate cannabis company, announced the opening of MÜV Winter Haven on June 29, the company’s 48th Florida dispensary and 101st nationwide. MÜV Winter Haven, located at 6900 Cypress Garden Boulevard, is open 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sundays.

MÜV Winter Haven is located in Polk County, the fastest growing county by population in Florida and the seventh fastest growing county by population in the country. The county experienced growth of 3% from 2020 to 2021.

“We are excited to open our 48th MÜV location in Florida, MÜV Winter Haven, where our compassionate and dedicated team will have the opportunity to serve Florida’s growing medical cannabis patient community,” said John Tipton, president of Verano. “Given Winter Haven and the surrounding Polk County region’s booming population growth, we are excited to add a second MÜV dispensary in the area to provide its growing patient base with access to our premium cannabis products.”

As a demonstration of their commitment to provide a convenient and reliable experience for Florida patients, MÜV dispensaries feature online menus for effortless browsing of their extensive, award-winning product selection, including the company’s signature Verano Reserve flower line. For additional convenience and accessibility, patients can choose to order ahead at muvfl.com or through the MÜV mobile application available in the Google Play and Apple App stores for express in-store pickup.

MÜV offers one-on-one virtual and in-store consultations at no cost to the patient. MÜV’s comprehensive product selection includes edibles, chocolates and lozenges, flower, pre-rolls, an array of vaporizer pens, concentrates, metered-dose inhalers, topicals and oral sprays; along with patented encapsulation formulations in its EnCaps capsules, tinctures, 72-hour transdermal patches and transdermal gels.

High taxes have long burdened California’s legal cannabis operators, and Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers are considering legislative relief for the industry through the Democratic governor’s budget proposal, as well as a new budget trailer bill that the Legislature will vote on later this summer.

The budget trailer bill would eliminate the cannabis cultivation tax paid by licensed growers and would shift the 15% excise tax from distributors to retailers, according to The Sacramento Bee.

The excise tax would remain at 15% for at least three years under the proposal, the news outlet reported. At that time, the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, in collaboration with the Department of Finance and the Department of Cannabis Control, would have the authority to increase the excise tax to “capture revenues equivalent to the cultivation tax,” according to The Sacramento Bee.

The tax cut will not impact the youth services and childcare programs that receive funding from cannabis tax revenue, the news outlet reported. Instead, the proposal establishes a baseline of funding at $670 million and allocates $150 million in general fund dollars to make up for any loss in revenue.

The budget trailer bill also includes “additional enforcement tools against the illicit cannabis market,” as well as worker protections that cover the enforcement of labor peace agreements, according to The Sacramento Bee.