MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press
The Washington, D.C. City Council unanimously approved a bill this week that would protect employees who use medical and adult-use cannabis.
The Cannabis Employment Protections and Amendment Act of 2022 would prohibit employers from firing workers for failed cannabis tests, as well as bar employers from firing or refusing to hire workers due to their use of medical or adult-use cannabis, according to NPR.
The legislation carves out exceptions for employers acting under federal guidelines, as well as for employees who consume cannabis at work or while performing work-related duties, the news outlet reported.
In addition, the bill does not cover employees in “safety-sensitive” occupations, including police, security guards, construction workers, those operating heave machinery and health care workers, as well as those who work for power and gas companies, according to NPR.
The legislation also exempts employees of the federal government and D.C.’s courts, although other D.C. government employees would be protected under the bill, the news outlet reported.
Hemp-derived THC could soon be allowed in food and beverage products in Minnesota, while the sale of inhalable products containing more than 0.3% THC could be prohibited.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is expected to sign legislation recently passed by the state Legislature that would regulate and create prohibitions for cannabinoid and hemp-derived THC products currently sold in the state.
According to Hellmuth & Johnson (HJ) Law Firm, this measure would allow for the use of CBD, CBG and THC in food and beverage products for adults 21 years and older. However, THC added to a food or beverage product must “contain no more than 5 mg of THC in a single serving and [a] total of 50 mg per package, and the food product cannot contain more than 0.3% weight by volume of any THC,” the law firm reported.
However, the measure also defines products containing more than 0.3% THC as an adulterated drug, which would “prohibit THC vape cartridges and flower, including delta-8 and delta-10 products, from being sold in Minnesota,” HJ Law Firm reported.
The measure also includes a list of labeling and packaging restrictions for CBD and THC products. Edibles would need to be sold in child-resistant packaging and include the statement “Keep this product out of reach of children” on the label. The serving size would also need to be clearly listed on the label, StarTribune reported.
In addition, product packaging would be prohibited from containing any characteristics or designs that could be appealing to children.
On May 5, the Delaware House voted, 26-14, to pass legislation that would allow adults 21 and older to legally possess up to 1 ounce of cannabis.
On June 7, that same chamber voted, 20-20, on the same legislation.
The only thing that changed between those two votes was Democratic Gov. John Carney’s veto, which was enough to sway six representatives from honoring what most Delawareans support. That legislation, House Bill 371, and the hopes for broader reform via a regulated and taxed industry are now dead for the year.
The Delaware General Assembly is scheduled to adjourn June 30 without a meaningful path forward on cannabis reform, a defeat that comes after the bicameral Legislature originally sent H.B. 371 to Carney’s desk with supermajority support in both chambers—the Senate passed the bill on a 13-7 vote on May 12.
House Assembly members who voted no on June 7, after previously voting yes on May 5, include Democratic Reps. Andria Bennett, William Carson and Sean Matthews, and Republican Reps. Michael Ramone and Jeffrey Spiegelman.
Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Valerie Longhurst did not vote June 7, after previously voting yes. And Democratic Rep. Stephanie Bolden voted no June 7, after previously not voting.
Competition with the illicit market remains one of the largest obstacles for California’s cannabis businesses, prompting the Los Angeles City Council to take action to protect consumers from untested and unregulated products at unlicensed retailers.
City Council members approved the "Emblem Program for Authorized Cannabis Stores" June 7 to allow licensed retailers to apply for an emblem that can be displayed on their storefronts to help differentiate legal and illegal dispensaries, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.
Licensed cannabis dispensaries and delivery services are eligible to apply for the emblem, and after a requisite inspection, the businesses can place the emblem on their premises so it is visible from outside the building, the news outlet reported.
“The item we have before us today is an important step towards making it easier to differentiate between legal and illegal dispensaries, but there’s a lot more to it than that because the conversation is often couched in terms of dispensaries simply operating as unpermitted or illegal without considerations of the larger issues, which are health and safety impacts that come from these illegal operations,” Councilman Paul Koretz, who co-introduced the motion with Councilman Curren Price, said during Tuesday’s City Council meeting, according to the Los Angeles Daily News.
Now that City Council has approved the motion, the Los Angeles City Attorney's office must draft an ordinance to implement the emblem program, which will launch later this year upon final adoption of the ordinance, the news outlet reported.
The North Carolina Senate signed off on a medical cannabis legalization bill June 6, sending the proposal to the House for consideration.
Senate Bill 711, called the Compassionate Care Act, passed the Senate in a 35-10 vote last week, but the chamber was required to take a second vote Monday before the legislation could advance to the House.
The measure cleared its final hurdle in the Senate with a bipartisan vote of 36-7, the Associated Press reported.
S.B. 711 will likely face more opposition in the House, where Speaker Tim Moore has said the issue may have to wait until next year, according to AP.
The legislation has already been postponed once; S.B. 711 was initially introduced in April 2021 and cleared several Senate committees last summer before lawmakers ultimately decided to hold off on a full floor vote until 2022.
The Virginia General Assemblypassed a two-year state budget proposal June 1, which includes regulations onhemp-derived THC products, like delta-8.
Senate members passed theirversion of the budget bill in a 32-4 vote, while the House voted 88-7 ontheirs, WHSV reported.
The proposal, which nowawaits Gov. Glenn Youngkin's approval, includes language that would implementregulations for hemp-derived THC products.
The budget would restrict thesales of such products to individuals 21 years and older and would placerestrictions on product packaging, which lawmakers claim is appealing tochildren, ABC 13News reported.
The proposal would requirepackaging to state that the product "cannot be sold to anyone under theage of 21, and [the label must] include a list of ingredients and the amount ofTHC," ABC 13News reported.
Del. Sam Rasoul (D) told thenews outlet that while these restrictions are a good first step, he thinksthere needs to be further regulations on the actual products inside thepackaging.
Angela Pih cites herself as a "data-led marketer." With decades of experience in the cannabis, retail and consumer packaged goods space, Pih has helped accelerate brands to the next level.
Pih previously served as the chief marketing officer for California-based cannabis companies Papa & Barkley and CannaCraft. Most recently, she was named the vice president of marketing for Harborside, a California-based vertically integrated cannabis company with 16 retail locations and eight brands.
In this Q&A, Pih provides her top insights into how businesses can implement marketing trends and use them to boost their bottom line.
Editor's note: Angela Pih will speak at Cannabis Conference from 1:30 p.m. to 2:20 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 24 on the "How to Use Today's Marketing Trends To Boost Your Bottom Line" session alongside LOWD Founder Jesce Horton. In this session, experts will provide their top lessons learned, share regulatory considerations and explain how to evaluate the success of any marketing campaign. Visit www.CannabisConference.com for more information and to register.
Andriana Ruscitto: What are some of the best strategies businesses can implement to stay on top of marketing trends?
The application window to be a White House intern this fall opened June 6 and will close June 24, but prior cannabis use—even under state-legal circumstances—is a likely disqualifier.
Under the frequently asked questions section of the White House’s application website, President Joe Biden’s administration offers some insight for potential candidates: What are the eligibility requirements for the program?
The answer: Information requested on a Standard Form (SF) 86 that could affect security eligibility requirements “includes, but is not limited to, an applicant’s … prior drug use (including marijuana, regardless of whether the marijuana use was permitted under state law).”
Applicants who advance to further stages of the intern vetting process are required to complete the SF 86, which also instructs candidates to disclose their connections to foreign governments, criminal history, and financial debts and tax compliance, among other items on Biden’s security clearance checklist.
The president’s anti-cannabis use stance for interns is a continuation of his employment policies that came under the scope last year, following alleged reports that dozens of young White House staffers were suspended or asked to resign due to past cannabis use.
In addition, the Biden administration released new employee conduct guidelines earlier this year, which stated that individuals who have invested in cannabis companies—including stocks or business ventures—can also be denied security clearance.
Researchers involved in a federally funded review of scientific literature on the effectiveness of cannabis products to treat chronic pain found evidence to support short-term benefits.
The review, which will be updated on an ongoing basis, was conducted by researchers from the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and published June 6 in the Annals of Internal Medicine. It was funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, one of 12 agencies within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Specifically, OHSU reviewers found evidence to support that two FDA-approved synthetic products made of 100% THC provided interim benefits in treating neuropathic pain—caused by damage to peripheral nerves, such as diabetic neuropathy resulting in pain described as burning and tingling, according to an OHSU news release. Those products were dronabinol (under the trade name Marinol) and nabilone (Cesamet).
Dronabinol and nabilone are used to treat nausea and vomiting caused by cancer chemotherapy, according to the National Institute of Health (NIH).
Another product, nabiximols, which was approved in 2010 as a botanical drug in the United Kingdom (and is not available in the U.S.), also showed evidence of some clinical benefits for neuropathic pain, according to OHSU reviewers. Nabiximols (Sativex) is an extract sold as a mouth spray and contains a 1-to-1 ratio of THC and CBD. It’s used for treatment of neuropathic pain from multiple sclerosis and for intractable cancer pain, according to NIH.
Nabiximols was developed by GW Pharmaceuticals, a manufacturer that also developed Epidiolex. When Epidiolex was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in June 2018 for the treatment of seizures associated with two rare forms of epilepsy that affect young children, it became the first plant-derived cannabinoid prescription medicine.
Mississippi launched its online medical cannabis licensing portal for patients, physicians and businesses June 1, and already, the platform has more than 1,800 users.
Roughly 85% of those who have registered for accounts on the new portal are patients looking to enroll in Mississippi’s medical cannabis program, according to Mississippi Today. Fifteen businesses and nine medical practitioners have also signed up, the news outlet reported, and a dozen people have submitted applications for work permits, which the state requires for those seeking work in the medical cannabis industry.
Mississippi’s medical cannabis program is expected to launch later this year, Mississippi Today reported, and creating an account in the state’s licensing portal is the first step for patients, physicians, businesses and workers to participate in the industry.
“I know everyone would love for it to be up in running,” Jim Craig, director of the Office of Health Protection, told Mississippi Today. “It looks like it will be the end of the year that we see products.”
The portal allows businesses to submit applications for medical cannabis cultivation, processing and testing licenses, but it does not handle the applications from those seeking dispensary licenses. The Mississippi Department of Revenue will oversee the retail segment of the market, Mississippi Today reported, and those applications will be accepted starting on July 1.
Traverse City, Mich., officials are moving forward on plans to opt into the state’s adult-use cannabis program and allow up to 24 dispensaries to operate in their municipality. Commercial adult-use cannabis sales first launched in Michigan in December 2019.
The city of roughly 16,000 people in the northwestern part of the state will have adult-use cannabis retail applications available beginning June 13, and officials will accept those applications from Aug. 22-26, 2022, according to a press release from the Traverse City Clerk’s Office. The online application will be required to be submitted electronically.
The announcement comes two months after the city’s planning commission reviewed policy proposals to allow adult-use retailers in nine commercially zoned districts.
RELATED: Traverse City Drawing Up Zoning Plans For Adult-Use Cannabis Retail
The municipality’s adult-use cannabis licensing and zoning ordinance, as well as a scoring rubric for its limited license structure, were approved by city commissioners at their May 16 regular meeting. The ordinance includes an overlay district of subareas throughout Traverse City, which allows for a maximum number of licenses in each subarea, with the total number of retail licenses not to exceed 24.
If Traverse City regulators license the maximum in the ordinance, Michigan’s cannabis retail footprint would grow by roughly 5% from the 500 active adult-use retail licenses in the state as of April 30, according to Michigan’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA).
LEAMINGTON,Ontario, June 07, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRESS RELEASE--Tilray Brands, Inc.(Nasdaq: TLRY; TSX: TLRY), a global cannabis and consumer packaged goods company, todayannounced that its medical cannabis brand, Aphria, has launched CBN Night Oil, the brand’sfirst CBN oil medical product formulated for patients’ nighttime use.
Blair MacNeil,President, Tilray Canada, said, "Tilray Medical is committed to providingpatients in Canada and around the globe with safe, high-qualitycannabinoid-based medicine. We are pleased to add a dedicated night oil to theAphria medical portfolio and broaden our offering of effective medical cannabisproducts to patients with a wider range of needs.”
CBN, orcannabinol, is derived from THC and is known to help improve the duration andquality of sleep. Aphria’s CBN-dominant oil is carefully formulatedwith 30mg CBN per mL and 10mg THC per mL (in a 50mL bottle) and is composed ofbroad-spectrum cannabis distillate. Designed to be used in conjunction with anighttime routine.
]]>DENVER, June 6, 2022 /CNW/ --PRESS RELEASE-- BellRock Brands Inc. (CNSX: BRCK.U), a cannabis multi-state house of brands announced today several key changes to management.
BellRock announced that Kavi Bhai, BellRock's Chief Financial Officer, is leaving the company. He has agreed to provide consulting services to the company during the next few months to ensure a smooth transition for his replacement.
As a result of the change, BellRock has engaged West 4th Holdings, LLC. Founded by Zachary Venegas and Scott Ogur. West 4th Holdings is a management consulting firm focused on improving operational productivity for small to mid-size companies. Venegas' most recent cannabis venture was his role as founder and CEO of Helix Technologies, which he successfully exited to Forian (NASDAQ: FORA).
Scott Ogur has been appointed as the interim Chief Financial Officer effective immediately. Scott is a financial leader and has over 20 years of finance, public company reporting, asset management and M&A experience. He has streamlined operations, grown, and successfully exited numerous ventures, including a recent tenure as a director and CFO of Helix Technologies. In prior years, he served as managing director of Spruce Investment Advisors, CFO and Chief Investment Officer of Scimitar, and Vice President at JP Morgan Private Bank. He started his career at Price Waterhouse as a staff auditor.
"We are very excited to engage West 4th and add Scott and Zac to BellRock's management team. Scott's seasoned background in finance, operations and his knowledge of the cannabis industry will help ensure BellRock's success for the future. One of BellRock's primary goals is to have its cease trade order revoked as soon as possible. Appointing Scott will be an integral part to accomplishing this," said Brian Jansen, BellRock's President and CEO. "In addition, the experiences and guidance of Zac will expedite BellRock's path to free cash flow positive."
]]>Louisiana lawmakers passed legislation June 5 that paves way to more than triple the number of medical cannabis dispensaries in the state, giving preference to existing license holders to open additional retail facilities.
The Senate passed an amended version of the legislation, House Bill 697, by a 22-12 vote on June 2, before House lawmakers concurred, 83-17, without debate on Sunday.
Currently, there are nine medical cannabis retail operators in Louisiana. Under the proposed law, nine regions would be established for each of those license holders, and the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy would be required to issue a 10th license to the region with the highest population density as of Aug. 1, 2022—likely in the New Orleans region.
In addition, H.B. 697 would allow existing retailers in each region to open up to two additional dispensaries in their respective regions upon meeting defined patient counts:
If a license holder declines to open a third retail facility in its region, then the Board of Pharmacy may issue an additional cannabis license in that region to a new licensee in lieu of the original licensee opting out.
The proposed law stipulates that, in total, no more than 30 medical cannabis dispensaries may be approved by the board.
OAKLAND, Calif. and TORONTO, June 6, 2022 - PRESS RELEASE - Harborside Inc., a California-focused, vertically integrated cannabis enterprise, announced the expansion of its leadership team appointing Kavi Bhai as vice president of financial planning and analysis and Angela Pih as vice president of marketing.
Bhai has over 11 years of relevant experience, having previously worked for BellRock Brands, where he served as chief financial officer. Prior to BellRock, he served as chief financial officer at Mary's Medicinals and led audit and advisory engagements at Frazier & Deeter, LLC. In his current role, Bhai will be responsible for planning, forecasting, budgeting and analysis to support the execution of the company's strategic plan.
Pih is charged with expanding Harborside's market share by strengthening the company's brands and sales capabilities. She was previously chief marketing officer at Papa & Barkley, a category leader in cannabis products for health and wellness, and at CannaCraft, a house of brands in California across recreational and wellness cannabis products. Considered a technology "first mover," Pih is a 3x Clio Award winner and was named by The Drum as a Top Female Talent of Color in 2018. She brings 25 years of experience in cannabis, retail and consumer packaged goods.
"As we embark upon the next phase of growth in creating a leading, vertically integrated cannabis enterprise, we are filling the final two critical positions in our senior executive team," said Ed Schmults, Harborside CEO. "The addition of Kavi, with his track record of navigating companies toward financial growth following internal overhaul, and Angela, with her proven marketing experience across retail and CPG brands, is hugely beneficial to Harborside as we further establish a leadership role in the California market."
]]>As emerging companies experience significant growth, they also experience more challenges, including increased exposure to risk, new compliance requirements, and adapting processes and procedures. Companies may not realize these issues as challenges until some triggering activity occurs, such as fraudulent activity or a system breakdown, or when they decide they want to prepare for listing on a public exchange.
To be listed on a U.S. stock exchange, companies have to become U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registrants and must comply with certain requirements, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). Being publicly listed isn’t the only reason companies become SEC registrants, though. Among other reasons, it helps raise capital, teeing up potential expansion opportunities, and provides credibility to the company, which inspires confidence from investors.
Regardless of why a company registers with the SEC, it still must comply with SOX. Becoming SOX-compliant can be challenging and time-consuming for many companies by nature of its complexity and multifaceted requirements. The requirements are meant to ensure the company has the appropriate internal controls and processes in place to prepare accurate financial statements and disclosures.
SOX is a bipartisan bill created in response to the large number of financial scandals from public companies that happened around the early 2000s. The bill demanded transparency and corporate responsibility and created several layers of oversight for public companies to protect investors and to prevent Enron-size scandals from happening again, and it has proven to work.
Not All Challenges Are Built the Same, Especially for Cannabis Companies
Startups in any industry generally feel overwhelmed with SOX compliance because they usually have a lean back-office staff, in which people are wearing multiple hats and may not be used to the rigorous control environment requirements.
What these companies may not realize is SOX compliance is the responsibility of the entire company, not just the accounting function. Operational process owners may have to refresh or establish processes to accommodate the new requirements.
The Vermont Cannabis Control Board issued seven more adult-use cannabis business licenses May 31 as the state prepares to launch the first retail sales in October.
The latest round of licenses went to social equity or economic empowerment applicants, according to a VT Digger report.
The new licensees are Arcadia Cannabis Company, an indoor grower in Essex; Snowbird Botanicals, a small indoor and outdoor grower in Barnet; Epona Farms, an indoor grower in Salisbury; Family Tree, an indoor and outdoor grower in Sheldon; Great Brook Homestead, a small outdoor grower in Middlesex; Valley Organics, a small indoor grower in Jeffersonville; and DP Holdings/VT Cannabis Organics, a small indoor and outdoor grower in Danville.
To date, the Cannabis Control Board has received 208 applications, VT Digger reported, and it is required to consider applications from social equity or economic empowerment first. Once the board makes a decision on those applicants, it can consider the next group, which consists of applicants seeking licenses to grow cannabis outdoors this summer, according to the news outlet.
“We hear the urgency on outdoors,” Pepper told VT Digger. He added that the board’s executive director, Brynn Hare, is interviewing potential staff members to process the licenses, and that the board will likely review the next round of applications next week.
Legislation to legalize medical cannabis stalled this year in Kansas, but Gov. Laura Kelly signed a bill into law last week that allows patients to use cannabis-derived medication that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)—even if not much of this medication currently exists.
Kelly signed House Bill 2540 into law June 2 to amend the definition of “marijuana” in Kansas’ Uniform Controlled Substances Act to exempt FDA-approved drugs that contain cannabis compounds, according to Forbes.
As the news outlet points out, Epidiolex remains one of the only cannabis-derived medications that has been approved by the FDA to treat seizure disorders in children.
Marinol is also FDA-approved, Forbes reported, but it contains a synthetic form of THC.
H.B. 2540 also updates the Kansas’ criminal code to reflect the legality of CBD under federal law, according to the news outlet.
A second lawsuit has been filed to challenge Detroit’s revised adult-use cannabis ordinance, which City Council members approved in April.
Medical cannabis company JARS Cannabis filed the lawsuit in Wayne County Circuit Court June 3, arguing that the ordinance violates Michigan law, according to the Detroit Free Press.
JARS, which operates two medical cannabis dispensaries in Detroit and other medical and adult-use dispensaries elsewhere in Michigan, is asking the court to block the city from moving ahead with its ordinance, the news outlet reported.
“Detroit has created a schematic to give preferential treatment to its residents, violate MRTMA (the state's legal and regulatory framework for legally growing and selling recreational marijuana) and eradicate existing operators,” the lawsuit alleges, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Michigan launched adult-use cannabis sales in December 2019. Detroit City Council’s approval of a revised adult-use ordinance in April came nearly 10 months after U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman issued a 19-page injunction to block the city’s previous attempt to license adult-use cannabis dispensaries within its jurisdiction.
BOCA RATON, Fla., June 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --PRESS RELEASE-- After acquiring Nevada-based vertically integrated operator NuLeaf, Inc., together with its subsidiaries and affiliated companies, Jushi Holdings Inc. (CSE: JUSH) (OTCQX: JUSHF), a vertically integrated, multi-state cannabis operator, announced that it is expanding its retail presence with the opening of its 33rd dispensary nationally and fourth dispensary in the Silver State: NuLeaf Las Vegas The Strip. Following the opening of NuLeaf Las Vegas The Strip, Jushi’s operations in Nevada will consist of three adult-use and medical dispensaries in Las Vegas, an adult-use and medical dispensary in Lake Tahoe, and approximately 47,000 sq. ft. of cultivation and manufacturing space.
NuLeaf Las Vegas The Strip, located at 1600 Las Vegas Blvd South, Suite 140, will officially open and begin serving consumers and medical cannabis patients on Wednesday, June 8th at 9:00 a.m. Along with providing a customer-centric retail experience, the store features an option for online ordering through NuLeaf Las Vegas The Strip. The 3,200 sq. ft. dispensary is located at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and W. Wyoming Avenue. It is also next door to the 18b Las Vegas Arts District, which straddles West Charleston and is home to the city’s art-related galleries, studios, boutiques, stores, bars, restaurants, and other venues. Approximately 29,000 cars pass by the store each day on S. Las Vegas Boulevard, while W. Wyoming Avenue sees about 19,000 cars per day.
“NuLeaf Las Vegas The Strip has a fresh, new elevated design and look that is reflective of its location on the Strip,” said Jim Cacioppo, Chief Executive Officer, Chairman, and Founder of Jushi Holdings Inc. “It is incredibly well-positioned to serve the tens of thousands of global visitors who attend monthly First Friday events and visit Vegas to see the neighborhood's amazing public art and murals, all of which are accessible via short, walkable urban blocks. Also, we look forward to expanding our product selection at our four operating stores to include our own brands and growing our wholesale business in one of the largest cannabis markets in the U.S.”
NuLeaf Las Vegas The Strip will carry top cannabis brands and products, including flower, concentrates, vaporization products, tinctures, edibles, topicals, capsules, and various ancillary products such as approved rigs, batteries, merchandise and other devices, including Jushi and NuLeaf cannabis lines as well as an expanded line of NuLeaf merchandise and accessories. The retail location provides an efficient, accessible, and safe experience that goes beyond the traditional cannabis retail environment. As part of the company’s commitment to exceeding customer expectations, experienced, well-trained staff will also be on-site to help dispense products, answer questions and provide exceptional service. In addition, NuLeaf Las Vegas The Strip is handicap accessible, LGBTQIA+ friendly, and offers a standing 10% discount to anyone 65 years or older and a 20% discount to veterans and active military personnel with identification.
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