MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press

September 8, 2020, Frederick, MD – PRESS RELEASE – A2LA is pleased to announce the accreditation of Viridis Laboratories to ISO/IEC 17025:2017 for cannabis testing. Viridis, based in Lansing, Mich., is A2LA’s first cannabis testing laboratory accredited in the state of Michigan. 

“Our company is incredibly proud of achieving this milestone of ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation through A2LA’s rigorous assessment program,” said Greg Michaud, Viridis Laboratories’ CEO. “The choice to partner with A2LA was a simple one due to their international reputation as a global leader in accreditation programs. Additionally, their partnership and certification program through the American’s for Safe Access strengthens our accreditation further and helps solidify Viridis as Michigan’s premier cannabis testing laboratory. “

“We congratulate Viridis Laboratories on achieving accreditation through A2LA”, said Chris Gunning, A2LA General Manager.  “A2LA is excited to see the continued growth of our cannabis program into another state.  This addition further promotes the value that accreditation adds in ensuring quality products in this emerging industry.  We look forward to our continued relationship with Viridis Laboratories in serving their accreditation needs.”

Achieving ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation by A2LA is the pinnacle in third-party laboratory accreditation, as it confirms that laboratories have management, quality, and technical systems in place to ensure accurate and reliable analyses, as well as proper administrative processes to ensure that all aspects related to the sample, the analysis, and the reporting are standardized, measured, and monitored.

About A2LA
A2LA is a non-profit, non-governmental, third-party accreditation body, offering internationally recognized accreditation services to testing and calibration laboratories, inspection bodies, sole-sampling organizations, proficiency testing providers, reference material producers and product certifier.

About Viridis Laboratories
Our company’s roots start from decades of experience gained within the Michigan State Police forensic science laboratories. Our 75+ years of analytical knowhow ensures daily, that the highest quality and most ethical testing is being achieved, resulting in bringing maximum confidence to the consumer. We consider ourselves fortunate in keeping true to our mission of bringing health and safety to Michigan’s citizens.

]]>

EDMONTON, AB, Sept. 8, 2020 /CNW/ - PRESS RELEASE - Aurora Cannabis today announced that Miguel Martin has been appointed Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Martin, a 25-year consumer packaged goods industry veteran who joined Aurora in July 2020 as chief commercial officer, was previously CEO of Reliva. 

Michael Singer, who has served as Interim CEO since February 2020, has stepped down from his temporary role and will remain executive chairman. 

This week, the Nebraska Supreme Court heard arguments to determine whether a ballot initiative to legalize medical cannabis can go before voters in November after opponents challenged the secretary of state’s decision to approve the measure for the ballot. Elsewhere, in Nevada, a judge ruled that the state can proceed with its cannabis licensing process after a two-year legal battle between the state and companies that were denied dispensary licenses in December 2018.

Here, we’ve rounded up the 10 headlines you need to know before this week is over.

Oklahoma: Supporters of an adult-use cannabis legalization initiative have withdrawn their petition, saying that gathering the 177,958 signatures required to get the issue before voters is unlikely due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The coronavirus crisis delayed the petition process for State Question 807, and by the time it advanced to the signature-gathering phase, it was already too late to qualify the measure for the 2020 ballot. Read moreVirginia: The Virginia Senate has approved legislation that would prohibit police stops based on cannabis odor in an effort to combat racial disparities in cannabis-related arrests. Senate Bill 5029 would outlaw search and seizures based on the small of cannabis alone, and now heads to the House of Delegates for consideration. Read moreMassachusetts: The Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) has voted to expand cannabis delivery in the state. Among the approved changes to the delivery license model, the CCC unanimously voted to divide the delivery licenses into two categories, which sets the stage for a courier-style license and a separate delivery license that would allow for the wholesaling and warehousing of product. Read moreMaine: Portland has received 38 applications for 20 available cannabis dispensary licenses, and after a recent court ruling declared the city’s scoring matrix unconstitutional, it is unclear how officials will decide who ultimately gets the licenses. Applicants had an Aug. 31 deadline to submit applications to operate medical and adult-use dispensaries within the city; four applicants are seeking medical cannabis retail licenses, while the rest would operate in the adult-use market, which is expected to launch Oct. 9. Read moreCalifornia: Since mid-August, wildfires have burned through more than 1 million acres of California land, another echo of a recurring environmental catastrophe in a state that more than 5,000 licensed cannabis growers call home. We spoke with Kaela Peterson, who’s family runs Sweet Creek Farm in the hills above Santa Rosa, about her experience and her tips for growers hoping to guard against the oppressive force of wildfire. Read moreA new lawsuit filed in federal court alleges that Los Angeles created new issues and inequities when it amended its cannabis regulations as part of a separate legal settlement earlier this summer. Three companies that share the same founder and that applied for cannabis dispensary licenses in the city—ARMLA One Inc., ARMLA Two Inc. and Gompers SocEq, Inc—filed the lawsuit Aug. 31, claiming that changes to the original rules favored certain social equity applicants over others. Read moreMississippi: California-based FM3 Research recently conducted a survey in Mississippi that revealed that 81% of the state’s voters support medical cannabis legalization. Mississippi voters will have the chance to vote on two competing medical cannabis measures on the November ballot after Mississippians for Compassionate Care succeeded in qualifying Initiative 65 for the ballot this summer and state legislators have introduced a competing measure, Alternative 65A. Read moreNebraska: The Nebraska Supreme Court heard arguments this week to determine whether a ballot initiative to legalize medical cannabis can go before voters this November. Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen approved the measure for the state’s ballot Aug. 28, but that same day, Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner challenged the measure, arguing that it violates state rules that mandate that ballot initiatives must focus on a single question. Read moreNevada: Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez ruled this week that Nevada can proceed with its cannabis licensing process after a two-year battle between the state and companies that were denied dispensary licenses in December 2018. The decision will allow some new retailers to open and some applications to be reviewed again by state officials, but some companies will still be denied licenses, and Gonzalez said she expects her ruling to be appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court. Read moreIllinois: Regulators announced this week that the long-delayed next round of cannabis dispensary licenses will be awarded later this month, when 21 social equity applicants will be included in a lottery to win the 75 licenses. Some of the applicants that qualified for the lottery share the same owners, and the system has drawn some criticism from those who have been denied access to the lottery. Read more

Illinois regulators announced Sept. 3 that the long-delayed next round of cannabis dispensary licenses will be awarded later this month, when 21 social equity applicants will be included in a lottery to win the 75 licenses, according to a Chicago Sun-Times report.

The 21 applicants, chosen from 1,667 total applications submitted, all received perfect scores and all qualify as social equity applicants, the news outlet reported.

Seventeen of the applicants included in the lottery have at least one minority owner, 13 are majority owned by people of color and 16 have at least one female owner, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Roughly two-thirds of the applicants qualified because at least one person listed on the application has lived in an area disproportionately impacted by prohibition for five of the last 10 years, the news outlet reported, and the remaining applicants met other qualifications, such as being majority owned by individuals who have been arrested for or convicted of an expungable cannabis-related offense.

Those awarded licenses will be able to open up to 10 dispensary locations, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Green Thumb Industries (GTI) is one of the world’s largest cannabis companies. In two quarters of 2020, business has already doubled since last year. In May, GTI announced first quarter revenues surpassing $102 million, making them the first U.S.-based firm to reach nine figures in a single quarter.

CEO Ben Kovler, who founded the company in 2014, credits their large numbers and success to a relatively small focus.

“We start with the consumer. The business is built for the American consumer. That’s where we stick, and that’s where we see a ton of momentum,” Kovler said in a phone interview.

The American consumer is certainly responding well in the company’s home state of Illinois, where recreational cannabis brought in $100 million in sales in its first three months. Now, despite a rocky year ending with a massively important election, GTI is ready to expand in both its patient service and contributions to correcting the notorious unfairness of the industry.

Eye on Nevada: Essence Acquisition & Partnership With Cookies

Last summer, Green Thumb announced it had closed on the acquisition of Integral Associates, the parent company behind the Essence cannabis brand. Essence owns eight licenses in the state of Nevada, including the only licensed dispensary on the Las Vegas Strip. As part of the deal, GTI also gained control of Cannabiotix, a 41,000-square-foot cultivation and processing facility.

“We had three stores and are now up to five in Las Vegas. It’s gone really well,” Kovler said of the acquisition. Essence opened two new retail stores during Q2. But GTI’s crown jewel in Vegas is yet to come: In August they announced a partnership with Berner’s high-end Cookies brand that famously claims responsibility for the original Girl Scout Cookies strain.

Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez ruled Sept. 3 that Nevada can proceed with its cannabis licensing process after a two-year battle between the state and companies that were denied dispensary licenses in December 2018, the Las Vegas Sun reported.

The decision will allow some new retailers to open and some applications to be reviewed again by state officials, but some companies will still be denied licenses, the news outlet report.

Gonzalez expects her decision to be appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court, according to the Las Vegas Sun.

The licensing process began in September 2018, when 462 businesses applied for 64 new dispensary licenses. Sixty-one licenses were awarded in December, based on local zoning regulations, bringing the total number of adult-use cannabis retailers statewide to 125, the news outlet reported.

Gonzalez’s ruling does not order a do-over of this licensing process, and winning applicants with plans to reopen their dispensaries are allowed to do so pending background checks on their executive officers, according to the Las Vegas Sun.

The Nebraska Supreme Court heard arguments Sept. 3 to determine whether a ballot initiative to legalize medical cannabis can go before voters this November, according to a Lincoln Journal Star report.

Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen approved the measure for the state’s ballot Aug. 28, after Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana submitted enough signatures in July to place the issue before voters this fall.

That same day, Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner challenged the measure, arguing that it violates state rules that mandate that ballot initiatives must focus on a single question.

Wagner’s attorney, Mark Fahleson, argued during the Sept. 3 hearing that the ballot question is “confusing” and could create “voter doubt,” the Lincoln Journal Star reported.

The initiative’s sponsors argued that the its provisions “share a natural and necessary connection with the measure’s purpose,” which is to provide Nebraskans legal access to medical cannabis for serious medical conditions in cases approved by a doctor or nurse practitioner, according to the news outlet.

A new lawsuit filed in federal court alleges that Los Angeles created new issues and inequities when it amended its cannabis regulations as part of a separate legal settlement earlier this summer, according to Law360.

Three companies that share the same founder and that applied for cannabis dispensary licenses in the city—ARMLA One Inc., ARMLA Two Inc. and Gompers SocEq, Inc—filed the lawsuit Aug. 31, claiming that changes to the original rules favored certain social equity applicants over others. The lawsuit also alleges that the city’s Department of Cannabis Regulation and its executive director, Cat Packer, colluded with certain applicants and awarded them licenses even though they had deficiencies in their application or code violations, according to Law360.

The plaintiffs claim that Packer revoked ARMLA One’s winning application because its dispensary would be located too close to a preschool that was set to open, but the preschool had not yet received a license at the time the application was submitted.

The Social Equity Owners and Workers Association and one of its members filed a separate lawsuit in April, arguing that Los Angeles’ licensing process was “flawed." The plaintiffs asked the court to force the city to vet all the dispensary license applications it received under its controversial first-come, first-served process that was initiated last fall.

As part of a settlement agreement, regulators amended the rules for its licensing process, and the lawsuit was dropped.

California-based FM3 Research recently conducted a survey in Mississippi that revealed that 81% of the state’s voters support medical cannabis legalization, according to a local WLBT report.

The research company conducted telephone surveys with 600 Mississippians likely to vote in the November election, the news outlet reported, and four in five said they support doctors being able to recommend medical cannabis to patients with medical conditions and serious illnesses.

Mississippi voters will have the chance to vote on two competing medical cannabis measures on the November ballot. Mississippians for Compassionate Care succeeded in qualifying Initiative 65 for the ballot this summer, while state legislators have introduced a competing measure, Alternative 65A.

According to FM3 Research’s survey, voters favor Initiative 65, WLBT reported.

Despite a global pandemic keeping consumers at home and hurting stock prices already tamped down by the economic strain, North American cannabis companies had an overall solid Q2. Yet big questions remain about corporate cannabis performance for the balance of 2020, with physical retail sales likely to be impacted until 2021—possibly beyond.   

Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary spoke with leadership at three of the industry’s largest companies for a snapshot of this quarter’s results and the industry’s position as a whole moving into the second half of an unprecedented year.

Green Thumb Industries (GTI)

Chicago, Ill.

Q2 Revenue: $119.6 million (167.5% year-over-year increase)

Net Income: $12.9 million adjusted net loss 

Highlights:

PRESS RELEASE - The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) recently released the modified proposed regulations for the OCal Program, a statewide certification program that will establish and enforce comparable-to-organic cannabis standards. The release of these modified regulations marks the official start of the 15-day public comment period provided under California law. All interested parties are encouraged to submit comments about the proposed cannabis regulations by 11:59 pm on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020.

The OCal Program will ensure that cannabis products bearing the OCal seal have been certified to consistent, uniform standards comparable to the National Organic Program.

]]>

At the beginning of 2020, there were about a dozen states with either medical or adult-use cannabis legalization ballot initiatives, in various stages, in the works. However, the coronavirus pandemic proved challenging for organizations trying to collect thousands of signatures to qualify their ballot initiatives, and some campaigns had to call it quits. The landscape looks very different than it did just a month ago, and now, five states will vote on some form of cannabis legalization this November. One state, Nebraska, still hangs in the balance roughly 60 days before Election Day. 

NEBRASKA: Close, but Challenges to Medical Initiative Continue

Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana received news Aug. 26 that the organization had collected enough signatures to qualify for a medical cannabis amendment on the November ballot.

“We crushed the 122,000 voter signatures needed statewide — and we qualified in 48 counties!” the group posted on Facebook. The organization collected more than 182,000 signatures, and enough were verified to move forward. “The ballot isn’t certified yet, so we’re still waiting to hear the final word from Secretary of State Bob Evnen. But there’s no doubt that we met the constitutional requirements for signature collection.”

Two days later, Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen approved the medical cannabis legalization measure, according to an Associated Press News report, despite opponents urging Evnen to reject the proposal, arguing that the measure violates the state constitution.

Evnen said opponents raised “several valid points” about issues with the initiative’s language, AP News reported, but he ultimately decided that the measure met all the necessary legal requirements to go before voters.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf called for adult-use cannabis legalization last week as part of a broader plan to help combat the economic fallout of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in a move that has been met with both optimism and skepticism from some industry stakeholders.

“I think it’s got more of a real shot now than it ever has,” Joshua Horn, partner and co-chair of the Cannabis Law Practice at Fox Rothschild, told Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary.

While adult-use legalization has strong support from Wolf, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman and the public, the issue has historically lacked the backing it needs from key lawmakers in the state’s Republican-controlled legislature.

RELATED: Will Pennsylvania’s Legislative Leadership Consider Adult-Use Cannabis Proposals This Year?: Legalization Watch

For Chris Visco, president and CEO of TerraVida Holistic Centers, one of Pennsylvania’s licensed medical cannabis operators, the legislature’s opposition to legalization means the issue will stall unless Democrats and Republicans can come together to work out their differences.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO) announced plans Sept. 1 to increase the number of new dispensary approvals that can be issued each month.

The AGCO began issuing up to 20 Retail Store Authorizations (RSAs) per month in April and has issued 164 retail store authorizations to date. Currently, 150 dispensaries are open in the province.

Now, the agency will move to double the pace of new dispensary approvals this fall, according to its recent announcement.

Since mid-August, wildfires have burned through more than 1 million acres of California land. It’s another echo of a recurring environmental catastrophe in a state that more than 5,000 licensed cannabis growers call home. 

The firebreaks on the Sweet Creek property helped soften the impact of the Lnu Lightning Complex fires.

For Keala Peterson, whose family runs a farmstead in the hills above Santa Rosa, the Lnu Lightning Complex fires have brought swift devastation to her property, Sweet Creek Farm. When we spoke with her on Aug. 25, she said that some 95% of the property had been torched by the fast-moving fires.

At Sweet Creek, Peterson’s family had been growing Hawaiian sativa cultivars and other hybrids (among their many vegetable crops, as well). The cannabis buds hadn’t set when we spoke with Peterson, and she was hopeful that perhaps the smoke and ash of the blaze hadn’t settled on the flowers themselves. “We’re not holding our breath, but that’s a little bit of a silver lining,” she said.

On Aug. 19, Peterson was in Santa Rosa, where she lives with her husband, paying close attention to what was happening up on the ridgelines.

“I was watching the camera that faces kind of directly over the property, and I saw this glowing fire wall,” she said. “It was unbelievable.” She spoke with her mother, who was already packing the bags, and decided to head up the mountain to meet her family.

The property was pretty well safeguarded against certain kinds of fire. Peterson’s father is a retired firefighter and a vocal proponent of good fire safety practices. By nightfall, the scope of the wildfire in the hills was clear.

Harvest is the most exciting and also the most stressful time of the entire outdoor grow cycle. Six or more months of hard work and a whole year’s income ride on this small window of time, and it can make or break your operation. Here are some of the most important things to do before harvest to ensure success and avoid common mistakes.

1. Make sure your drying space is ready.

Clean and sanitize your drying area. Post-harvest contamination is a huge issue in regulated markets, so you want to have a good, clean start. Pull out your fans and dehumidifiers, clean them and test them to make sure they work. Acquire more if you do not have enough. Make sure you have a lot of ventilation and airflow to prevent post-harvest fungal issues. Buy a humidity monitor for your drying area and try to keep it as close to 50% relative humidity (RH)  as possible. Especially after the first day.

2. Decide how you are going to harvest, dry and separate buds from plants, and calculate how much space you will need to do this.

Not having enough drying space is one of the most common mistakes new farmers make. This choice can also affect drying time and ultimately the quality of finished flower. Options include:

Harvest, hang and dry whole plants and handle sorting later.Harvest and break down plants into individual branches and hang. Remove buds wet, and then dry the flower on screens.

Post-harvest contamination is a huge issue in regulated markets, so you want to have a good, clean start. Puffin Farm's drying area is cleaned and sanitized before harvest begins. Photo by David Goodman. 

3. Scout plants for botrytis and fungal issues frequently.

As harvest approaches, depending on your location, the weather may be getting cooler and wetter. Any infected buds need to be removed daily, or the fungus can spread rapidly. After harvest, continue to check drying material, as mold can take hold in the drying area and destroy your harvest.

4. Watch the weather and be prepared to harvest early due to ongoing rain or extended temperatures below 25 degrees F.

Your beautiful crop can turn to mush quickly if the weather does not cooperate. An early harvested crop can still make high-quality concentrates. You may get less for it, but better than nothing if your crop is destroyed. The plants can handle temperatures lower than you would think, so do not panic and harvest if the weather is 26 to28 degrees F at night. The plants can freeze and thaw quite a bit without harm. It is extended freezing that is an issue. Do not panic if it rains a little, as well. It is constant, ongoing rain that is a problem.

Portland, Maine has received 30 applications for 20 available cannabis dispensary licenses, and after a recent court ruling declared the city’s scoring matrix unconstitutional, it is unclear how officials will decide who ultimately gets the licenses, according to a Portland Press Herald report.

Applicants had an Aug. 31 deadline to submit applications to operate medical and adult-use dispensaries within the city; four applicants are seeking medical cannabis retail licenses, the Portland Press Herald reported, while the rest would operate in the adult-use market, which is expected to launch Oct. 9.

Portland City Council spent a year developing its cannabis zoning and licensing regulations, which included a scoring matrix to determine who would get a retail license if the city received more than 20 applications, according to the news outlet.

Although the city approved its local cannabis ordinance in May, its residency bonus for license applicants who lived in Maine for at least four years was challenged in court by Wellness Connection of Maine, a non-local cannabis operator, and a federal judge ruled last month that Portland cannot prioritize local businesses in its licensing process.

The city is still trying to decide how to respond to the court ruling, the Portland Press Herald reported, but in the meantime, residents will vote on a cannabis referendum in November that could eliminate the licensing cap on dispensaries, which would also eliminate the need to narrow down the applications.

Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner has challenged Nebraska’s medical cannabis initiative in court, according to an AP News report.

Wagner filed the challenge Aug. 28, following Secretary of State Bob Evnen’s ruling that the medical cannabis legalization measure can proceed to the November ballot.

Opponents of the measure argue that it violates state rules that mandate ballot initiatives must focus on a single question, but Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana, the measure’s organizers, say they are confident that the initiative will stand up to the legal scrutiny, AP News reported.

The Nebraska Supreme Court will now have the final say in whether the issue goes before voters this fall.

The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) voted Aug. 28 to expand cannabis delivery in the state, according to the Worcester Business Journal.

Among the approved changes to the delivery license model, the CCC unanimously voted to divide the delivery licenses into two categories, the news outlet reported, which sets the stage for a courier-style license and a separate delivery license that would allow for the wholesaling and warehousing of product.

Previously, the CCC planned to license only courier-style delivery businesses, where drivers could deliver cannabis products to consumers, but could not store any merchandise when not working, according to the Worcester Business Journal. The new licensing model aims to allow prospective business owners to operate delivery-only business models without brick-and-mortar locations by allowing delivery businesses to purchase cannabis products directly from cultivation and manufacturing facilities and warehouse those products for delivery, the news outlet reported.

Applications for delivery licenses became available in May and are available only to economic empowerment applicants and participants in Massachusetts’ social equity program. Initially, non-economic empowerment and social equity applicants could apply for the licenses after two years, but the CCC voted Aug. 28 to extend this to three years, according to the Worcester Business Journal.

The Virginia Senate approved legislation Aug. 28 that would prohibit police stops based on cannabis odor, according to a WDVM report.

Senate Bill 5029 would outlaw search and seizures based on the smell of cannabis alone, the news outlet reported, in an effort to combat racial disparities in cannabis-related arrests.

The bill now heads to the House of Delegates for consideration.