WASHINGTON, D.C., November 17, 2021 - PRESS RELEASE - The District of Columbia Marijuana Justice (DCMJ) will present a carefully vetted amendment to the D.C. Council at a public hearing Friday. The amendment's focus is on opening D.C. farmers' markets to adult-use cannabis sales and licensing sales by D.C. craft cultivators and cottage industry entrepreneurs.

"Combining criminal justice reforms and economic innovation, the amendment would guarantee D.C. implements a profitable, equitable, affordable and transparent system of adult-use cannabis sales, testing and cultivation," said Nikolas Schiller, Cottage Industry Amendment author and Initiative 71 co-author.

The amendment establishes a "Cottage Industry License" for adult residents and a "Farmers Market Endorsement" license that would allow sales by local craft cultivators and entrepreneurs, molding social equity and decriminalization into a new, necessary and innovative revenue stream. The amendment includes enforceable rules and regulations for anyone issued either license.

The amendment states, "A cottage industry license shall authorize the licensee to grow and produce medicinal and/or recreational marijuana within their residence for sale and delivery at wholesale directly to manufacturers, testing facilities, retailers and farmers markets."

The amendment continues, "A Farmers Market Endorsement is a license issued to Cottage Industry Licensees or Micro Business Licensees that authorizes the licensee to sell the cannabis at Farmers Markets in the District of Columbia."

Click here for the complete amendment. 

DENVER, Nov. 16, 2021 /CNW/ - PRESS RELEASE - Schwazze has announced that it has signed definitive documents to acquire MCG, LLC (Emerald Fields). Emerald Fields owns and operates two retail cannabis dispensaries, located in Manitou Springs and Glendale, Colo. This acquisition is part of the company's continuing retail expansion plan in Colorado bringing the total number of dispensaries including announced acquisitions to 22.

Total consideration for the acquisition will be $29 million and will be paid as 60% cash and 40% Schwazze common stock upon closing. The acquisition is targeted to close in the next 75 days, subject to closing conditions and covenants customary for this type of transaction, including, without limitation, obtaining Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division and local licensing approval.

"Our team is delighted to add the Emerald Fields Cannaboutiques to our growing portfolio of dispensaries and are eager to welcome the team to Schwazze. Manitou Springs and Glendale are attractive locations and are valuable assets to our overall acquisitions plans as we continue to build out Colorado. Our team is excited to add another store brand to our house of brands," said Justin Dye, Schwazze's CEO.

Oklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action is facing a potential legal setback in its quest to get an adult-use cannabis legalization measure on the state’s 2022 ballot.

The group filed an initiative petition last month to get the issue before voters next year.

The proposal would allow adults 21 and older to grow, purchase, transport, receive, prepare and consume cannabis, and would levy a 15% tax on adult-use cannabis sales.

The measure would also allow those serving time for cannabis-related convictions to ask the court for resentencing or dismissal.

Paul Tay, a gubernatorial candidate and former Tulsa mayoral candidate who is currently incarcerated, has challenged the constitutionality of the proposal in court, according to a local KFOR report.

Indiana Democrats plan to push for medical and adult-use cannabis legalization during next year’s legislative session.

The party expressed its support for policy reform Nov. 15, ahead of Organizational Day for legislators on Nov. 16, according to a WTHR report.

“Hoosiers have seen the impact that recreational and medicinal cannabis use has made on the states around us, and not only are they contributing to neighboring states’ economies, [but] Indiana is now on the verge of losing out altogether,” Mike Schmuhl, Chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party, told the news outlet. “The Republican supermajority at the Statehouse is losing its economic common sense if they do not join Democrats this session in making this opportunity a winner for the Hoosier State."

Nearly 80% of Indiana residents support legalizing cannabis for medical purposes, adult-use or both, the news outlet reported. However, those convicted of cannabis possession in the state could face a 180-day jail sentence or a $1,000 fine under current law.

Supporters say legalization would generate tax revenue and create jobs, in turn boosting the state’s economy, and the issue seems to have bipartisan support, according to WTHR.

WAKEFIELD, Mass., Nov. 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- PRESS RELEASE -- Curaleaf Holdings, Inc., an international provider of consumer CBD and hemp products, today announced that it has signed a national distribution agreement with Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits, a distributor of beverage alcohol. The agreement will bring Curaleaf's lineup of products from their eponymous Hemp and Select CBD product lines into Southern Glazer's distribution network.

The distribution relationship combines Curaleaf's expertise in creating high-quality non-psychoactive hemp products with Southern Glazer's national scale, route-to-market capabilities, state-of-the-market sales team and its Proof e-commerce platform, bringing operating efficiencies that will drive growth within Curaleaf's family of CBD products.

Curaleaf Hemp and Select currently offer a broad range of CBD products with consumer-friendly formats and price points. The brands look forward to introducing new innovations to both ancillary lines with confections and beverages that feature minor cannabinoids like CBN and CBG, allowing consumers to personalize their CBD experiences as they continue to learn which products will work best for their unique needs.

"At Curaleaf, we are as committed to innovation and setting the highest possible standards for product quality as we are committed to customer accessibility--and our success lies not only in our ability to provide exceptional CBD-infused products, but to distribute them to the finest retail stores for safe, easy and reliable access to consumers around the country," said Patrick Larkin, SVP of Sales at Curaleaf.

"We are delighted to be joining forces with a world leading beverage distributor that shares our values around responsible distribution and pioneering a well regulated industry," said Joseph Gennaro, VP of CBD, Health & Wellness at Curaleaf. "We value Southern Glazer's expertise, efficiency and extensive network, particularly as we aim to open the consumer awareness funnel and fuel growth within our CBD business."

Curaleaf recently announced the pending acquisition of Tryke Companies, which owns Reef Dispensaries, a $286-million deal that will expand the multistate operator’s footprint in several Western U.S. markets.

The Reef Dispensaries portfolio includes two locations in Arizona and four in Nevada.

“This strategically and financially compelling transaction will expand our U.S. presence by bringing additional premium products to our consumers and retailers in Nevada, Arizona and Utah, all while yielding meaningful benefits for all of our stakeholders,” said Boris Jordan, founder and executive chairman of Curaleaf.

Tryke’s presence in Utah includes cultivation and processing.

“The deal includes $40 million in cash at closing,” according to Marketwatch, “plus $75 million in cash in equal installments over the next three years, as well as up to 18 million subordinate voting shares of Curaleaf.”  

A county in Southern Oregon is seeking funding from the state to crack down on illegal cannabis grows in the area.

Jackson County officials plan to ask the state for more than $7 million for 37 new employees, including Sherriff’s Office detectives, code enforcement officers and additional staff for the Jackson County District Attorney’s Office, according to an AP News report.

The move comes after hemp field inspections conducted over the summer in southern Oregon revealed that more than half of the registered hemp farms tested are actually growing THC-rich cannabis for the still-thriving illicit market.

RELATED: Hemp Field Inspections in Southern Oregon Reveal Staggering Number of Illicit Cannabis Operations

Following this discovery, Jackson County declared a state of emergency last month, saying that law enforcement officers and regulators are overwhelmed by the number of illegal cannabis farms in the area and that county officials need help from the state Legislature and governor to eliminate the illegal grows.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker wants the state’s cannabis laws updated to crack down on impaired driving, according to a local WWLP report.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Baker filed legislation that would suspend the license of individuals suspected to be operating under the influence of cannabis, the news outlet reported, but the bill stalled while lawmakers focused on the public health crisis.

Now, Baker is expressing disappointment that the Legislature has not yet put a framework in place to tackle the issue in the five years since Massachusetts legalized adult-use cannabis, according to WWLP.

“Unfortunately. our road safety laws have not caught up to the current public safety landscape with respect to impaired driving,” he told the news outlet, adding that he is urging lawmakers to revisit the issue.

As industry patience wanes for Sen. Chuck Schumer and company to formally file a Democratic-led bill to end federal cannabis prohibition, a new player in the reform discussion emerged with alternative legislation Monday afternoon.

South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, a rookie U.S. House member who assumed office at the beginning of the year, unveiled the States Reform Act (SRA) during a during a press conference along with stakeholders, veterans and law enforcement members on Nov. 15 at the U.S. Capitol. The legislation is cosponsored by Reps. Ken Buck, R-Colo., Brian Mast, R-Fla., Tom McClintock, R-Calif., Peter Meijer, R-Mich., and Don Young, R-Alaska.

The federal reform effort comes at a time when 69% of Americans support legalizing adult-use cannabis, according to an April 2021 poll from Quinnipiac University, and when 91% of U.S. adults support federal legalization of medical cannabis, according to an April 2021 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center.

“Today, only three states lack some form of legal cannabis,” Mace said in a release ahead of Monday’s press conference. “My home state of South Carolina permits CBD, Florida allows medical marijuana, California and others have full recreational use, for example. Every state is different. Cannabis reform at the federal level must take all of this into account. And it’s past time federal law codifies this reality.”

Mace’s 131-page draft bill offers an alternative to other federal reform efforts put forth by her colleagues on the other side of the aisle. Specifically, SRA proposes a 3% federal cannabis excise tax and would give state governments the power to regulate cannabis products through health-and-safety oversights of their choosing. But no state would be forced to change its current cannabis policies.

The 3% tax on cannabis products comes with a 10-year moratorium on excise tax increases to ensure “competitive footing” in the market, according to the bill’s text. The tax revenue would fund law enforcement, small businesses and veterans’ mental health initiatives, according to Mace’s office.

Trulieve Cannabis Corp., a vertically integrated multistate cannabis company, opened Trulieve Morgantown Nov. 12, the first dispensary in West Virginia to sell medical cannabis to patients.

The opening of Trulieve Morgantown comes nearly four years after Gov. Jim Justice signed the state's medical cannabis bill into law.

"We're thrilled to be first to market in West Virginia and to continue building the foundation for the West Virginia's emerging medical cannabis market," Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers said in a press release. "Our team is especially eager to leverage our first-mover advantage to bolster local economies by creating sustainable jobs and investing in marginalized communities."

According to the release, Trulieve secured four dispensary permits from the West Virginia Office of Medical Cannabis in February, and the company is set to open its second dispensary in Weston, W.Va Nov. 15. 

Trulieve Morgantown, located at 1397 Earl Core Road., will be open Thursday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Trulieve Weston, located at 137 Staunton Drive, will be open on Monday's and Tuesday's from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

With the recent opening of two out of four locations, the company plans to open additional storefronts across the state this year. 

After a three-year freeze on Oregon cannabis business license applications, the state has resumed the task this month.

The Oregon Liquor & Cannabis Commission (OLCC) originally hit the “pause” button on June 15, 2018, citing a backlog in paperwork and an oversupply of cannabis products in the market. At the time, concerns over diversion and out-of-state trafficking were emanating from the U.S. district attorney’s office. 

It was unclear how long the pause would last—until this fall.

“Since [June 2018], the OLCC has made significant changes to streamline licensing and renewal processes that generally accelerates the licensing process,” according to a recently published state bulleting. “With these changes in place, the OLCC is now able to shift licensing staff back to processing new license applications.”

For those business who submitted retailer, wholesaler and processor applications on or after June 15, 2018, the state will be contacting applicants to get a sense of whether they are ready to move forward at this point.

Prospective cannabis growers, however, remain in a state of limbo for now. A law that invalidated all producer license applications submitted after June 15, 2018, is set to be repealed in January 2022. No new producer license applications are being accepted until then.

Colorado officials announced stricter rules for medical cannabis purchases Nov. 9 in an attempt to limit minors’ access, according to the Denver Post.

Mark Ferrandino, executive director of the Colorado Department of Revenue and a former speaker of the state’s House of Representatives, unveiled the new regulations, which were created with input from cannabis enforcement officials and a task force comprised of parents, health professionals and cannabis industry stakeholders, the news outlet reported.

Legislation passed earlier this year, House Bill 21-1317, established the task force to tighten Colorado’s cannabis laws to limit minors’ access to high-THC concentrates like shatter and wax, according to the Denver Post.

The new rules, which take effect Jan. 1, 2022, will limit the daily purchase of medical cannabis to 2 ounces of flower for all patients. Patients aged 21 and older will be able to purchase a maximum of 8 grams of cannabis concentrate per day, and the daily limit for younger medical patients between the ages of 18 and 20 will be 2 grams of concentrate per day, the Denver Post reported.

Dispensaries are required to enforce the new daily purchase limits by inputting the ID numbers found on patients’ medical cannabis cards, according to the news outlet. Sales must be refused to patients who seek to exceed their purchase limit.

The New Mexico Cannabis Control Division (CCD) recently announced that more than 1,500 prospective business owners have thrown their hats in the ring for an adult-use business license. The vast majority reportedly seek a microbusiness license, a cultivation tier that caps the number of plants at 200. 

It’s an early sign of a business boom in New Mexico, which has no plans to limit the number of licenses that will be issued in this market. Similar to Oklahoma’s sprawling medical cannabis market, New Mexico regulators are taking a free-market approach to the licensing process.

“I don’t know that we could have anticipated what the demand was going to be other than knowing there really seems to be a great excitement across the state,” John Blair, deputy superintendent for the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department, told KRQE in a fairly expansive feature on the state of the industry in New Mexico right now. “If a million New Mexicans want to get a license, we would license a million people.”

Approval or rejection is meant to occur within 90 days of a submitted application.

Sales are expected to begin by April 1, giving the market a tight timeline right off the bat. And yet: Licensing is not yet on the table for retailers, transporters or product manufacturers; those rules need to be finalized by Jan. 1, according to the state law.

Aside from the short on-ramp ahead of adult-use sales, entrepreneurs are attuned to the high level of competition that is expected in this market. Applicant A.J. Sullins told the news station that his home state will likely follow the trends seen in other markets, where larger players spend freely to acquire small businesses and expand their footprint. “There’s going to be quite a few people who have received licensure and their costs are outweighing their revenue because they didn’t plan for a low-cost production. And they’re going to start to get consolidated or washed out within a three-year period,” he said.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, November 15, 2021 - PRESS RELEASE - Village Farms International, Inc. (Village Farms) announced it has acquired 70% ownership of privately-held, Québec-based ROSE LifeScience (ROSE), a vertically integrated branded cannabis producer, supplier and commercialization expert in the Province of Québec. The transaction is valued at up to $46.7 million. ROSE becomes the Québec operational unit of Village Farms' Canadian cannabis business segment, with ROSE's headquarters and the existing team remaining in Québec.

ROSE is a third-party cannabis products commercialization expert in the Province of Québec, acting as the exclusive, direct-to-retail sales, marketing and distribution entity for Entourage Health, Sundial, Tilray and The Flowr Corporation and 10 Québec micro and craft growers throughout Québec. ROSE also distributes to Québec retail its brand of high-quality cannabis products. Tam Tams is grown and processed at ROSE's Québec-based, Health Canada-licensed 55,000-square-foot controlled environment agriculture (CEA), purpose-built facility in Huntingdon, which was commissioned in 2020. ROSE also enables a platform for commercialization in the market for several Québec-based micro-producers under its DLYS brand.

Highlights of the Acquisition

"The acquisition of ROSE, by far the most successful Québec-based cannabis operator in our view, is a prudent and strategic means by which to enter and rapidly ramp sales in one of Canada's largest provincial cannabis markets," said Michael DeGiglio, Village Farms CEO. "ROSE adds an exceptional group of Québec-based experts to our Canadian cannabis operations. The team has a proven track record of success, and shares our belief in the importance of cultivation excellence, as well as the advantage of innovation and continuous improvement. We look forward to building on ROSE's strong foundation in the Québec market, with a long-term commitment to the company's Québec heritage."

"ROSE immediately expands our reach to more than 90% of all Canadian retail cannabis sales and represents a major step forward in Pure Sunfarms' strategy to become the leading national supplier of cannabis in Canada, with at least a 20% market share in the dried flower category," said Mandesh Dosanjh, Pure Sunfarms president and CEO. "ROSE is very well respected in the Québec cannabis industry, with a reputation for leadership and brand strategy success that we have come to know well and respect. We look forward to pursuing the new opportunities, both near-term and long-term, created by the addition of ROSE as our Québec-based cannabis operational unit."

"We have long admired the success of Village Farms and Pure Sunfarms in the Canadian cannabis industry. We are proud to join forces with them to accelerate our successes and seize this opportunity to further evolve the industry in our home province of Québec," said Davide Zaffino, ROSE co-founder, president and CEO. "We cherish our Québec roots and deeply believe in our province's culture and values. As always, we remain committed to ensuring that Québec benefits from the responsible production, sale and consumption of cannabis. As part of the outstanding family of cannabis businesses within Village Farms, we are even better positioned to continue playing this leading role in the Québec landscape."

In Texas, the back-and-forth legal debate over delta-8 THC has become quite the source of confusion, especially with the recent news that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has clarified that the compound is not a Schedule-I substance. What’s a hemp product manufacturer to do in Texas?

This week, Veterans Day threw the issue into stark relief.

“There are a lot of veterans in Texas, and veterans are consistently the people that respond to us saying, ‘Hey, these products are amazing. They've changed my life. They allow me to go outside without anxiety and other stuff, they help with our PTSD,’” Hometown Hero CEO Lukas Gilkey told the Austin American-Statesman. “Almost every single one of the testimonials we receive references somebody's cancer, their chemotherapy, their sleeping issues, their eating issues or their PTSD.” 

This has been a consistent point of contention all year, with hemp businesses in many U.S. states finding little choice in the matter. Demand for delta-8 THC products is so great, it would be difficult not to get into the market.  

And yet. In an industry as tightly regulated as hemp—to say nothing of state-licensed cannabis landscape—no one wants to run afoul of the law, even if it’s changing from day to day.

We’ve rounded up some of the key cannabis headlines from the week right here.

Jushi Holdings Inc., a multistate operator and owner of cannabis retail, cultivation and processing licenses based in Boca Raton, Fla., announced the opening of its 26th store nationwide and second BEYOND / HELLO retail location in Sterling, Va.

BEYOND / HELLO Sterling will serve and provide registered agents and medical cannabis patients "an efficient, accessible and safe experience that goes beyond the traditional cannabis retail environment," according to a recent press release. 

Here, Brendon Lynch, Jushi executive vice president of retail, shares insight into the company's expansion and what consumers can expect, as well as offers a glimpse into Jushi's plan when adult-use sales go online in Virginia.

Andriana Ruscitto: Can you talk a little bit about Jushi's opening of its second BEYOND / HELLO retail location in Virginia and the different features the dispensary will have?

Brendon Lynch: So, we opened our second location in northern Virginia just last week, and the Virginia medical patients can expect a typical customer-centric BEYOND / HELLO retail experience, coupled with online ordering through beyond-hello.com and convenient in-store express pickup. Also, due to the rising demand, as well as improving accessibility for northern Virginia patients, we've expanded our delivery program to be in the Sterling location [and] the Manassas location. 

The Sterling location operates out of an 8,000-square-foot anchor position in a newly constructed 16,000-square-foot building. [It] brings Virginia patients our suite of high-quality brands, including The Lab, Tasteology and, most recently, our two in-house flower brands: The Bank and Sèche. 

A Republican-sponsored medical cannabis expansion bill in Ohio intends to give licensed physicians the power to determine qualifying conditions on a case-by-case basis.

State Sen. Steve Huffman, who represents a Dayton-area district in Southwest Ohio, introduced Senate Bill 261 Nov. 9.

While the 66-page legislation would expand the list of qualifying conditions for medical cannabis to include autism spectrum disorder, arthritis, migraines and terminal illness, it ultimately would include “any other medical condition” determined by a licensed physician.

Since the inception of Ohio’s medical cannabis program in 2016, and its implementation in 2019, Huffman has worked alongside medical providers, the state’s Board of Pharmacy and the Department of Commerce to identify ways to improve the program to better serve patients, according to a news release from his office.

“As a medical doctor and a state senator, I am committed to the quality of life of the people I serve,” Huffman said in the release. “The provisions in this bill are about improving the treatment options for patients.”

The bill would allow for medical cannabis to be processed and dispensed in additional forms so that a patient can be treated through a variety of methods. Curbside and drive-thru dispensing, which Ohio and many other states OK’d as COVID-19 safety measures, would be continued.

Adult-use cannabis sales are one step closer to becoming a reality in New Jersey.

After the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) missed its deadline to start accepting business license applications in September, the commission has finally announced applications for growers, producers and testing laboratories will open Dec. 15. Adult-use license applications for retailers will open March 15, 2022, and applications will be accepted on a rolling basis, NJ.com reported.

According to JD Supra, CRC will prioritize reviewing, scoring and approving applications in the following order:

Additionally, “priority will be given to conditional license applications over annual license applications, and microbusiness applications will be prioritized over standard cannabis business applications in every category,” the article states.

As Cannabis Business Times previously reported, the CRC is not permitted to approve more than 37 cultivation licenses between February 2021 and February 2023—excluding microbusinesses and expanded alternative treatment centers. However, during that time, the CRC may accept and review additional licenses as long as the issued license number does not exceed 37.

Looking Ahead

MIAMI, Florida, November 12, 2021 — PRESS RELEASE —  Ayr Wellness Inc. (Ayr), a vertically integrated cannabis multistate operator (MSO), announced the opening of Ayr Wellness Montgomeryville, the company's seventh affiliated dispensary operating in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

"We continue to appreciate the warm reception that we've received from Pennsylvania's patient community, a particularly discerning group with a keen understanding of quality," said Jonathan Sandelman, Ayr founder, chairman and CEO. "We consistently strive to deliver the best quality product at an accessible price. And now, with a seven-store footprint and robust wholesale operation, we look forward to introducing more Pennsylvania patients to the Ayr way."

The Montgomeryville dispensary is located at the "Five Points" junction, a popular shopping area in Montgomeryville, Pa. The 8,400-square-foot store continues the rapid expansion of the Ayr organization's presence in Pennsylvania's burgeoning medical cannabis market.

Montgomeryville is a northern suburb of Philadelphia, located in Montgomery County, the third most populous county in Pennsylvania, with over 850,000 residents according to the 2020 Census.

The new location features a curated selection of high-quality medical cannabis products, including Ayr-owned brands, Origyn Extracts, Seven Hills flower and Revel flower, and products sourced from third-party brands throughout the state. The store has 12 point of sale (POS) stations and 46 parking spaces.

Pennsylvania has a robust and growing medical cannabis market with over 633,000 patients, 132 licensed dispensaries and 29 operational licensed cultivators and processors. Annual industry-wide statewide cannabis sales in Pennsylvania are expected to surpass $1 billion by 2024, according to BDSA.