MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press
Following through on a quick legalization-to-sale turnaround, Rhode Island will commence its commercial adult-use cannabis retail program Dec. 1, Gov. Dan McKee and the state’s Office of Cannabis Regulation (OCR) announced Tuesday.
The expanded program will launch with five existing medical operators, called compassion centers in the state, that have received approval for hybrid licenses:
While Rhode Island was the 19th state to legalize adult-use cannabis in the U.S. when McKee signed the Rhode Island Cannabis Act on May 25, 2022, it will now become the 16th state to implement a retail program.
“This milestone is the result of a carefully executed process to ensure that our state’s entry into this emerging market was done in a safe, controlled and equitable manner,” McKee said in the Nov. 22 announcement. “It is also a win for our statewide economy and our strong, locally based cannabis supply chain, which consists of nearly 70 licensed cultivators, processors and manufacturers in addition to our licensed compassion centers. Finally, I thank the leadership of the General Assembly for passing this practical implementation framework in the Rhode Island Cannabis Act, and I look forward to continuing our work together on this issue.”
While the approved legislation included a provision for municipal authority, allowing local government officials to opt-in or put a referendum before their voters, the state’s medical cannabis dispensaries, as well as existing cultivators, manufacturers and testing facilities, were grandfathered in and will now be the first to serve the state’s expanded market.
In addition to the five dispensaries, there are 48 licensed cultivators approved for hybrid licenses to grow cannabis for both the adult-use and medical marketplaces as of Nov. 22, according to the state’s Department of Business Regulation, which the OCR operates under.
Oregon cannabis regulators approved a final rule Nov. 17 to address gaps in the regulated laboratory testing sector that have drawn licensee complaints about THC potency numbers in the competitive state environment.
Under the new rule, the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) may require a licensee to submit samples identified by the commission to a laboratory of the commission’s choosing to be tested in order to determine whether a licensee is in compliance with the cannabis testing.
Despite a push by some industry players to offer education on terpenes and minor cannabinoids, and how those compounds embody the benefits and effects of the cannabis plant, consumer demand trends continue to gravitate toward THC potency. In turn, producers and processors fighting for shelf space have driven lab testing business by shopping around in many state-legal markets.
In Oregon, where state regulators implemented a cannabis licensing moratorium earlier this year in response to a “crowded marketplace,” OLCC officials took action last week to address the validity of cannabis test results, especially for THC content, and to fill the voids that have led to lab shopping.
“There’s a lot of voices that don’t want THC to be the sole factor, and the skewed THC is something the consumer fixates on, and it’s not fair,” OLCC Commissioner Matt Maletis said in a news release.
WAKEFIELD, Mass., Nov. 22, 2022 – PRESS RELEASE – Curaleaf Holdings Inc., a leading international provider of consumer cannabis products, announced the opening of two new Florida dispensaries, Orlando International Drive and Miami South Beach. The new locations are Curaleaf's 53rd and 54th locations to open in the Sunshine State and 144th nationwide.
Located at 6600 International Drive, east of Interstate 4 and near several resorts and entertainment attractions, Curaleaf Orlando International Drive is the company's fourth dispensary in metro Orlando and conveniently stationed for patients on-the-go.
Curaleaf Miami South Beach, located at 550 Collins Ave., is centrally positioned to serve patients in the heart of Miami's vibrant South Beach neighborhood and brings the company's Miami footprint to seven locations.
The new locations offer a broad selection of premium cannabis products, including high-quality flower and prerolls, BlueKudu Chocolate, Select Squeeze, Select X-Bites, Select Elite, Elite Live and Live Rosin vape cartridges, as well as other concentrates by Curaleaf.
"We are thrilled to welcome Florida's diverse and rapidly-growing medical cannabis community to these new locations on International Drive in Orlando and Collins Avenue in the heart of South Beach, Miami," Curaleaf CEO Matt Darin said. "We look forward to serving new and returning patients from across the Sunshine State with the quality, trusted products they rely on, along with an unrivaled retail experience."
Curaleaf Orlando International Drive began serving patients on Nov. 19 and will host a grand opening event on Dec. 2. The celebration will kick off with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9 a.m. and the Select arcade truck will be on-site from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., along with promotional coupons, swag giveaways, music and complimentary food.
Michigan’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) issued a bulletin Nov. 21 to notify the state’s licensed cannabis businesses of increased criminal activity.
RELATED: Michigan Regulators Warn Cannabis Licensees of Increased Fraudulent Activity
There have been 117 break-ins reported between April and November 2022, according to the bulletin, with the majority of incidents occurring at adult-use cannabis storefronts.
Individuals or groups have been breaking into—or attempting to break into—cannabis retail locations at night, and the break-ins have the following in common, according to the bulletin:
Usually, the individuals are in multiple vehicles and park in the outer portions of the parking lot or across the street from the licensed business.One individual will approach the business and gain entry through a rear door using a tool of some type (crowbar, hammer, etc.).Once the rear door has been opened, the remaining individuals will exit the vehicles and enter the store. The individuals will take whatever they can find in a short amount of time and leave the business, often before law enforcement can respond to an alarm.Regulators noted in the bulletin that “a significant number” of the break-ins have happened in Allegan, Barry, Van Buren, Kalamazoo, Calhoun, Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph and Branch counties.
The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) issued a statement Nov. 3 to clarify its stance on synthetic and derivative cannabinoids found in the state’s hemp and medical cannabis products.
“Cannabinoids, such as delta-9 THC and CBD, are generally regarded as the primary active ingredients in hemp and cannabis products,” department officials said. “Because delta-9-THC, CBD, and a few other cannabinoids that are more abundant in cannabis plants have been used by humans for thousands of years, the potential of these cannabinoids to directly harm those who use them is generally considered to be low. However, other cannabinoids which are not generally present or are less abundant in cannabis plants, do not have the same history supporting their safety. While the health effects of these minor cannabinoids are unknown, some negative health outcomes have been reported.”
RELATED: Utah Cannabinoid Product Board Takes Stance Against Delta-8 THC
Producers in Utah can obtain these minor cannabinoids in greater quantities through “selective genetic techniques or semi-synthetic/synthetic production,” regulators said. They warn that these synthetic cannabinoids “have not been sufficiently used or researched and are considered poorly categorized,” which is concerning to UDAF officials.
As a result, regulators said that the UDAF has taken steps to prevent products that contain these cannabinoids from being sold to the public as hemp products on the open market.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown is taking executive action to answer President Joe Biden’s call to pardon state-level offenses of simple cannabis possession.
The Democrat, who took office three months after Oregon voters approved adult-use cannabis legalization in the November 2014 election, announced Nov. 21 that she is granting a mass pardon that will impact roughly 45,000 people across the state and forgive more than $14,000 in associated fines.
Brown’s executive action comes six weeks after Biden urged all 50 governors to do the same while announcing his own three-step plan for cannabis reform.
Brown’s pardon will eliminate barriers to employment, housing and education for the thousands of Oregonians whose convictions are for possession of 1 ounce or less of cannabis, have no other charges attached, and where there were no victims associated with the conviction.
“No one deserves to be forever saddled with the impacts of a conviction for simple possession of marijuana—a crime that is no longer on the books in Oregon,” Brown said in a press release explaining the pardon.
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and other plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging federal laws governing medical cannabis and firearms aren’t ready to give up their fight just yet.
A U.S. district judge dismissed the case earlier this month, but Fried and the other plaintiffs—including medical cannabis patients and a gun owner—have filed an appeal, according to a WUSF report.
Fried announced her plan to sue the Biden administration in April in a lawsuit that takes aim at a conflict between state and federal law. While Florida’s 2016 medical cannabis law allows registered patients to legally purchase and use cannabis in the state, it remains illegal at the federal level, and federal laws prohibit those who use illegal drugs from purchasing and possessing firearms.
The plaintiffs argue that the current regulations violate medical cannabis patients’ Second Amendment rights, but in U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor’s decision to dismiss the case, he said cannabis is still federally illegal, despite Florida’s medical cannabis laws.
The notice of appeal did not provide detailed arguments that will be made in the appeals court, WUSF reported.
Kaya Shack, a vertically integrated cannabis operator in Oregon, will sell its Salem dispensary by Feb. 1, 2023, as part of a sale-surrender settlement for two violations stemming from 2019, according to the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC).
Kaya Shack is owned and operated by Kaya Holdings Inc., the first fully reporting public company to own and operate a seed-to-sale legal cannabis business.
For roughly a year—from February 2019 to February 2020—Kaya Shack allegedly sold adulterated prerolls and cannabis flower to consumers or transferred to other licensees. The products were exposed to broken glass from dropped jars, which the retailer “more likely than not had attempted to sift out,” according to an OLCC investigation.
Kaya Shack issued a response statement to those allegations: “The company had previously confirmed with the OLCC the appropriate procedures for destroying and disposing of glass contaminated product and subsequently documented the company’s compliance with these procedures (including video and pictures of said disposal).”
In a second violation, OLCC officials allege that on multiple occasions from approximately February 2019 to May 2020, Kaya Shack Chairman and CEO Craig Frank and Senior VP of Operations Chad Craig (“and/or licensee’s employees, agents, or representatives”) asked or encouraged employees to conceal potential evidence of state violations “by telling them not to speak directly to the OLCC and/or by threatening employees with termination or lawsuits if they were to report issues of concern” to state regulators.
New York’s Cannabis Control Board (CCB) took steps to jumpstart the state’s forthcoming adult-use cannabis industry at its Nov. 21 meeting, where regulators approved the first 36 Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) licenses and voted to advance comprehensive regulations for the state’s adult-use cannabis program.
The CCB approved 36 total retail licenses—28 for qualifying individuals and eight for nonprofits—from a pool of over 900 applications.
At least one CAURD license was granted in each available region of the state, according to a CCB press release.
A list of the 36 CAURD licensees can be found here.
“Today is a monumental day for New York’s nascent cannabis industry,” CCB Chair Tremaine Wright said in a public statement. “With the first adult-use retail dispensary licenses in the hands of businesses and eligible nonprofits, we’ve ensured the first sales will be made at dispensaries operated by those impacted by the unjust enforcement of cannabis prohibition. This is just the start; we will continue to work to build an industry that is open to anyone who wants to participate. Many thanks to Gov. Kathy Hochul and her unwavering support as we all work to make sure New York has the most equitable and inclusive cannabis industry in the nation.”
The New York Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) has shared its proposed adult-use cannabis regulations ahead of the Cannabis Control Board’s (CCB) Nov. 21 meeting, where the board plans to consider the proposed rules and issue the state’s first adult-use dispensary licenses.
If the draft regulations are approved by the CCB on Monday, the proposal, which covers license types, rules for enforcement and more, will enter a 60-day public comment period, according to an OCM press release.
RELATED: New York Regulators Issue Guidance for Adult-Use Cannabis Dispensaries
The proposed rules center on the activities authorized under seven adult-use cannabis license types, including cultivation, nursery, processing, distribution, retail dispensary, microbusiness and cannabis collective (co-op).
The licenses are outlined as follows, according to the press release:
California’s 2022 adult-use cannabis retail market is on track to shrink for the first time since the state launched commercial sales in 2018.
State-licensed dispensaries reported $1.27 billion in taxable adult-use sales for the third quarter 2022—a nine-quarter low going back to the second quarter of 2020—according to data released Nov. 18 from the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA).
Editor’s note: The “taxable sales” figures include sales of cannabis, cannabis products, and other retail sales of tangible personal property reported on sales and use tax returns.
Through the third quarter of this year, California retailers have reported just more than $4 billion in adult-use taxable sales, representing a 7.5% decrease compared to the first three quarter of 2021. However, taxable sales figures provided by CDTFA are fluid and subject to change based on amended and late returns and other tax return adjustments.
For instance, when CDTFA officials first reported full 2021 figures, taxable sales weighed in at $5.2 billion for the year. Since then, CDTFA officials have adjusted 2021 figures to reflect nearly $5.8 billion in taxable sales—more than $568,000 in sales that weren’t previously reported.
Based on current data available, California’s adult-use retailers have sold nearly $19.3 billion in cannabis and products since launching commercial sales in 2018.
When Calvin Johnson Jr. and Rob Sims retired from the NFL at ages 30 and 31, respectively, they both had their entire lives still ahead of them.
But the bumps and bruises from playing nine years in the NFL still remained.
Johnson retired after the 2015 season as one of the most decorated players in NFL history, twice leading the league in receiving yards (including an NFL record 1,964 yards in 2012) and once leading the league in catches, along with six Pro Bowl appearances in nine seasons with the Detroit Lions. The No. 2 overall selection in the 2007 NFL Draft, Johnson finished his career with 731 catches for 11,619 yards and 83 touchdowns in 135 career games.
Sims, meanwhile, also played nine years in the NFL, his last five as Johnson’s teammate with the Lions. A former Ohio State standout in college, Sims was a stalwart of consistency in the NFL, playing 80 consecutive games during his time in Detroit.
But where football left off, healing began. Johnson and Sims are both open about their cannabis use during their playing days, but it wasn’t until retirement that they realized cannabis was more than just a coping medicine.
“I feel like [cannabis] helped me get through a couple of challenging things in my career, as well as keep me on the field,” Sims says. “I was able to play 80 straight games [and] use cannabis almost every day—not on game days—just to help relax my body.”
The first full (versus conditional) adult-use cannabis dispensary licenses for social equity applicants have been issued in Illinois.
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) issued the licenses to cannabis retailers Ivy Hall and Green Rose, both located in Chicago, according to a press release. Ivy Hall, located at N. Damen Ave., is 61% African American owned, and Green Rose, located at North Wells Street, is 15% Latino-owned and 2.5% African American owned.
“In the coming months, Illinois is set to more than double the number of cannabis dispensaries, with every single new license holder being a social equity applicant,” Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement. “With equity as our north star, today marks the first step for retail cannabis operations to begin repairing the devastating harm caused by the failed War on Drugs on communities of color. Congratulations to Green Rose and Ivy Hall – and we look forward to welcoming many more social equity-owned dispensaries to our great state.”
“This is but the first two of almost 200 new full dispensary licenses IDFPR anticipates issuing in the coming months, and we’re proud to welcome Green Rose and Ivy Hall to the most equitable cannabis market of any state in the country,” IDFPR Secretary Mario Treto, Jr. stated. “IDFPR is committed to ensuring a diverse and well-regulated cannabis industry in Illinois, and we look forward to welcoming even more entrepreneurs in the time ahead.”
The federally illegal cannabis industry has long been denied services provided by the Small Business Administration (SBA), but that could change under legislation that U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., introduced this week.
The Fair Access for Cannabis Small Business Act, introduced Nov. 17, would ensure state-legal cannabis businesses can access loans and programs provided by the SBA, which currently excludes all small businesses with direct or indirect products or services that aid the use, growth or enhancement of cannabis from accessing its services.
“The unfair barriers to basic federal support and resources have hurt our state’s legally-operating cannabis small businesses,” Rosen said in a public statement. “This legislation will level the playing field so that cannabis small businesses—including those owned by people of color, women, and veterans—have access to the same federal resources and loans that other legal businesses are entitled to.”
Specifically, the bill would ensure that cannabis businesses have access to SBA’s 7(a) loans, disaster loans, microloans, the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program, and SBA’s resource partners, which include SCORE, Veterans Business Outreach Centers and Women’s Business Centers.
“For Black and brown communities that have been ravaged by the war on drugs for decades, there is a light at the end of the tunnel as the end of cannabis prohibition comes near,” Khadijah Tribble, CEO of the U.S. Cannabis Council, said in a public statement. “But without access to capital through financing tools like SBA loans, most Black and brown cannabis entrepreneurs won’t get the chance to profit from an industry that was once used to stigmatize them—even in states where the plant has been legalized.
Hemp Innovations Foundation (HIF), a nonprofit sister organization of the National Hemp Association (NHA), has awarded a grant to fund the Hemp Recycles research project.
The goal of the project is to determine the viability and sustainability of using hemp fibers for paper making versus traditional wood paper pulp, and to create “regional hemp fiber and pulp supply chains with local farmers, thereby invigorating the domestic economy from field to sheet,” according to a press release.
Hemp Recycles is conducting the project in partnership with Western Michigan University (WMU) through its Paper Pilot Plant, a large-scale recycling facility.
RELATED: Hemp Pilot Part of USDA Grant to Remediate Soil in Illinois
“This is an exciting and timely investigation into the potential benefits of an alternate fiber source (hemp),” said Lon Pschigoda, WMU’s Paper Pilot Plants director. “We are honored to be the chosen technical partner for this study and very much look forward to the execution of the study as well [as] the sharing of the results. Non-wood pulps are continuing to grow in popularity, but there is still much we can better understand.”
Researchers will test various wood pulps and hemp pulp provided by Hemp Press, a hemp paper company, to determine the number of cycles each can withstand. The research results will provide “scientific data regarding the durability of hemp fiber pulp for paper and the implications of its recyclability on the environment at large,” according to the release.
The Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) is now accepting hemp grower and processor/handler applications and renewals for the 2023 season.
Individuals applying for a cultivation license or renewing their license must apply by March 15, 2023. Processor/handler license renewals must be completed by Dec. 31; however, new processor/handler license applications can be submitted year-round, according to a KDA press release.
The KDA issued 240 cultivation and 93 processor/handler licenses in 2022. The department licensed the 240 growers to cultivate up to 5,530 acres; however, only 70 licensees planted hemp this year—growing a little over 1,300 acres, according to the release.
Kentucky’s declining hemp production numbers this year align with national trends, according to the release.
For example, recent data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency show there are 21,879 reported acres of hemp planted this year as of Nov. 1. That number is down 38% from 2021 (35,364 acres) and down 85% from 2019 (146,780 acres).
“Regulatory inaction toward cannabinoids by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to hamper the nation’s hemp industry,” Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles, Ph.D., said. “As we enter the 10th growing season, we still believe this could one day be a valuable crop for Kentucky farmers, but we also encourage all hemp growers and processors to carefully consider all of the factors in this industry."
The Maine Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP) released guidance last month limiting the sale of medical cannabis prerolls and liquid concentrates, but Attorney General Aaron Fry said this week that he will not enforce the rules.
Regulators clarified in October that medical cannabis caregivers without a storefront cannot sell prerolls or liquid concentrates, while dispensaries must treat them like tobacco products that can be sold to adults 21 and older.
Former OCP Director Erik Gundersen issued the guidance before leaving his role to launch a cannabis consulting firm. Previously, prerolls and liquid concentrates could be sold to registered medical cannabis patients 18 and older with no such restrictions.
Fry announced Nov. 16 that the existing law is ambiguous, according to the Associated Press, and he said he will not prosecute registered caregivers for selling the products.
Instead, Fry urged the Maine Legislature to provide clarity on the policy when lawmakers reconvene for the 2023 legislative session, AP reported.
A former naval officer with a law background is the next leader of Florida’s medical cannabis regulatory agency.
Gov. Ron DeSantis named Christopher Kimball as the director of the state’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use (OMMU), the oversight authority within the Florida Department of Health (DOH), the News Service of Florida first reported Nov. 16.
According to his LinkedIn page, Kimball served as a U.S. Navy surface warfare officer from 2001-2008, earned his law school degree in 2008 and served in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. for nearly 14 years. He will lead the OMMU team after serving as a policy adviser to Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration, News Service of Florida reported.
Kimball succeeds Chris Ferguson, who served as director since 2019 and has transitioned into the role of statewide services administrator for county health systems, according to the news outlet.
Taking over the directorship role, Kimball will oversee a program that includes 22 Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers (MMTCs), 494 dispensaries and 770,041 qualified patients, according to a Nov. 18 weekly update from the OMMU.
Kimball’s appointment comes on the heels of being admitted to the Florida Bar, where he is a member of the Young Lawyers, Government Lawyers and Administrative Law divisions, Florida Politics reported.
Weedmaps named Randa McMinn as the company’s new chief marketing officer.
McMinn joins Weedmaps after previously serving as chief marketing officer for Reali, a real estate and financial technology startup.
In her new role, McMinn will be responsible for leading Weedmaps’ marketing team, including brand and product marketing, global partnerships, corporate communications and public relations, lifestyle and events, and user acquisition. She will also work with the company’s executive team to advance Weedmaps and Weedmaps for Business, a set of compliance software solutions for cannabis brands and retailers.
“Randa brings an immense wealth of experience to Weedmaps, and her leadership will be critical as we work to further enhance our marketplace experience for consumers while also building innovative and critical technology solutions for our retail and brand partners,” said Doug Francis, co-founder and executive chair of Weedmaps. “I am confident that the value Randa will bring to our organization will only propel us forward as the cannabis industry enters a critical phase of growth.”
McMinn joins Weedmaps with more than two decades of marketing leadership experience, according to a press release. She has an MBA from the University of Texas at Dallas, and a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
“I could not be more thrilled to join the team at Weedmaps, and I look forward to working in partnership with the executive team as we navigate this still-burgeoning industry and the inevitable change ahead of us,” McMinn said. “Like so many others, I am incredibly encouraged by the shift in perspectives on the utility of cannabis and joining Weedmaps—the market leader and pioneer for access and legalization since 2008—made the decision even easier."
From President Joe Biden’s October announcement on federal cannabis policy reform to voters in Maryland and Missouri approving adult-use legalization in the Nov. 8 election, the industry continues to face rapid change, and it can be difficult to discern the opportunities and obstacles ahead.
So, what’s next for the cannabis industry following the midterm elections?
Election Day Victories
The passage of adult-use cannabis legalization ballot measures in Maryland and Missouri was perhaps the most obvious win for the industry this election cycle.
While both states already have medical cannabis programs in place, officials have plenty of work ahead to draft adult-use regulations and launch a business licensing process.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), which currently oversees the state’s medical cannabis market, released draft rules for the expanded industry Nov. 10—less than 48 hours after voters approved Amendment 3. Officials plan to launch the adult-use market as early as February, and both cannabis programs are now being managed within the department’s Division of Cannabis Regulation.
