MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press
Minority Cannabis Business Association Elects New President and Vice President to Board of Directors
WASHINGTON, May 11, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE – Members of the board of directors for Minority Cannabis Business Association (MCBA), the largest trade association dedicated to serving the needs of minority cannabis businesses and minority communities, held their annual election last month to fill four open board seats and elect the association’s board officers.
New board members include: Mario Guzman, owner of cannabis brand Sherbinskis, who is best known as the breeder behind legendary strains such as Sunset Sherbert and Gelato; Cedric Haynes, who currently serves as the director of emerging marketplaces for WeedMaps; Willie Mack, a brand marketing executive who has worked for clients including Absolut Vodka, Estee Lauder, GQ, Microsoft, Obama Administration, Vanity Fair and Wired Magazine (he now serves as CEO and co-founder of Think BIG and Frank White); and Kika Keith, founder and CEO of Life Development Group, and co-founder and president of Social Equity Owners and Workers Association.
“I could not be more proud to represent minorities in the cannabis space. It’s always been in my heart to help people, now I have a tribe of like-minded people that I can join arms with and help make much-needed changes in our community. Thank you MCBA for the honor of being able to serve on this board,” Guzman said.
“It’s an honor and privilege to serve on the MCBA Board of Directors, and I’m excited to offer my public policy experience in furtherance of the mission. I look forward to working with MCBA leadership, staff, members and partners to create equal access for minority-owned cannabis businesses and advance economic empowerment for communities of color,” Haynes said.
“The team at MCBA has been vital to Think BIG’s education around cannabis legalization. I am grateful and honored to be joining the board as it will allow me to continue as a resource and representative of the Black and Queer communities’ fight for cannabis industry access, funding and legalization,” Mack said.
In addition to adding four new board members, MCBA’s board also elected Kaliko Castille, an industry veteran and co-founder of ThndrStrm Strategies, as its president and Jazmin Aguiar, president of The Working Group, as its vice president.
Trulieve Cannabis Corp., the largest fully licensed medical cannabis company in Florida, announced May 10 its definitive arrangement agreement for the acquisition of Arizona-based Harvest Health and Recreation Inc., in a $2.1-billion deal.
Primarily a vertically integrated “seed-to-sale” company, Trulieve touted the all-stock transaction as one that creates the most profitable multistate operator in the U.S. Harvest Health and Recreation, a multistate operator in its own right, has a retail and wholesale footprint that recorded continued growth over the past decade.
The handshake was not surprising as far as merger-and-acquisition activity in the cannabis space, which has been hot and heavy since the November 2020 election, but the whopping price tag attached to the deal was a head-turner, said Jonathan Havens, a partner at Saul, Ewing, Arnstein and Lehr’s Philadelphia-based law firm. He counsels clients on transactional matters in the cannabis industry.
“This is a big deal. The price tag is obviously quite notable,” Havens said. “But look, the M&A, the deal activity in the cannabis space, has been hot for a while and I think will continue to be hot. The price tag here is big. Trulieve is a very strong operator with a strong balance sheet, which gives them the opportunity to go out and make acquisitions like this.”
RELATED: M&A Uptick Expected to Continue in 2021
The Trulieve-Harvest deal shows that the cannabis industry is maturing and pursuing more targeted, strategic acquisitions rather than the land grab of early 2019, said Sander C. Zagzebski, a member at Clark Hill, a multidisciplinary, international law firm. Based in California, Zagzebski represents clients in mergers, acquisitions, dispositions and other change-of-control transactions.
MINNEAPOLIS, May 5, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE – Cannabis retailers have a new tool to enhance legal compliance, fight fraud, protect their staff and be certain of their ID checks. Veridocs Inc., a leader in solutions for ID authentication and identity management, is introducing the Veridocs BrightTower Retail Safety and Security System. This affordable, modular system automates the age verification process with technology far more advanced than a barcode scan and can also check internal and external watch lists according to state and local regulations. With ID readers, software, training, and additional options and integrations, BrightTower Retail delivers a flexible tool that outperforms standard ID verification systems and helps cannabis retailers maintain strict compliance.
BrightTower Retail’s ID authentication starts when a customer or staff member inserts an ID into the reader. It is quickly compared against a global database to confirm the presence of security features such as UV and other specialized inks, plus other electronic features present in the document. The technology confirms a match between the encoded data (such as barcodes and chips) with the data printed on the front of the document. This helps retailers easily spot barcode forgeries, which are increasingly common on fake IDs.
Cannabis retailers also have the option of incorporating watch list checks, automatically comparing the data on the ID document to databases as required by any state and local regulations. An option for facial matching compares the ID photo to a live image of the person presenting the ID, giving staff a useful tool to flag customers “borrowing” an older sibling or friend’s ID. Retailers can also use the technology to keep audit trails of ID scans for future reference and enforcement concerns.
BrightTower Retail includes on-demand training modules designed by experts in organizational safety and security. With this training, retailers can easily onboard staff members and help them make the right decisions when a fake ID is flagged, or a security concern arises.
Additional options such as security cameras with covert triggers are available for users to add extra layers of protection customized for their environments. BrightTower’s security experts—veterans of safety, security and fraud prevention—are also available for custom consulting and on-site assessments and trainings.
“BrightTower Retail was designed to help eliminate staff guesswork in spotting fake or ‘borrowed’ IDs,” Veridocs President and CEO Joe Oprosko said. “We’re giving retailers the tools—in both technology and training—to be certain they’re protecting themselves against fines, possible threats and fraud.”
]]>The legalization and taxation of recreational marijuana remains one of the hottest trends in state taxation. Currently, 16 states (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont, and Washington) and the District of Columbia have passed bills or approved ballot measures that allow for the sale of recreational marijuana, and more states are poised to pass legislation this session. In total, actual recreational marijuana sales are happening in 11 states.
The Virginia legislature now has passed a bill that would legalize sales starting in 2024; legislators are currently working with Gov. Ralph Northam (D) to amend and finalize legislation. New Mexico lawmakers are very likely to pass legislation during an ongoing special session.
Voters in four states approved ballot measures in November, but only one state (Arizona) has established an operational marketplace. Vermont, which passed legalization back in 2018, has finally approved legislation, and the state plans to be operational starting in 2022. Recreational sales are delayed due to pending legal action in South Dakota and federal prohibition in the District of Columbia, although change is on the horizon in DC.
The unique legal framework under which marijuana use and sales operate—that of differing state and federal legality—means that every state market is essentially a siloed market. Marijuana products cannot cross state borders, so the entire process (seed to smoke, so to speak) must occur within state borders. This unusual situation, along with the novelty of legalization, has resulted in a wide variety of tax designs.
The following map highlights the states that have legal markets and levy taxes on recreational marijuana.
While the governor has not yet signed the bill (as of Friday), Alabama looks to be the latest state to pass a medical cannabis bill. It’s a good reminder that there’s much progress to be made for cannabis patients in the U.S.—even as a wave of adult-use legalization measures cruises across the country this year.
“Passing the Compassion Act will allow seriously ill patients to finally get the relief they deserve,” said Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies at MPP. “Alabama is one of only 14 states in the country that continues to criminalize the medical use of cannabis, and while this bill is more restrictive than is ideal, it is a dramatic improvement from the status quo and would improve the lives of thousands of Alabamians. We urge Gov. Ivey to sign it into law.”
We’ve rounded up some of the key cannabis headlines from the week right here.
As GrowGeneration zips through a series of acquisitions in the garden supply center world, we caught up with CEO Darren Lampert to learn about the strategy behind the transaction spree. Read more
As adult-use cannabis sales are on pace to break $1 billion this year in Illinois, plans to roll out 110 new retail licenses are adding fuel to the hot, hot market. Read more
Assistant Editor Andriana Ruscitto reports on the Texas House of Representatives approving three legislative proposals, which would expand the state's medical cannabis program, reduce penalties for concentrates and decriminalize possession. Read more
Contributor Chris Kudialis brings us the latest from Las Vegas, where on-site consumptions lounges are coming soon. Read more
And elsewhere on the web, here are the stories we’ve been reading this week:
Syracuse.com: “With recreational marijuana now legal in New York, Syracuse University is launching a new set of courses to prepare workers for careers in a new and somewhat complicated new field.” Read moreSpectrum News 1: “The tribal council for the Cherokee in western North Carolina voted Thursday to legalize medical marijuana on tribal lands. The tribal land will be the first area in the state with legal possession of pot.” Read more
Westword: “The tribal council for the Cherokee in western North Carolina voted Thursday to legalize medical marijuana on tribal lands. The tribal land will be the first area in the state with legal possession of pot.” Read more
WXYZ: “The Holistic Industries' consumption lounge will be adjacent to their retail dispensary, Liberty Ann Arbor, which has already been operating on Ashley Street.” Read more
Nevada Current: “As the Nevada Legislature debates a variety of cannabis-related measures, dissension among dispensary owners could impede efforts to take Nevada’s fledgling weed industry to the next level, says Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom.” Read more
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Kansas took its first step toward legalizing medical cannabis on May 6, when the House of Representatives advanced House Substitute for Senate Bill 158 in a 79-42 vote.
The bill would permit patients with qualifying conditions to register to receive a medical cannabis card as long as they have a recommendation from a doctor whom they've been treated by for at least six months, with the exception of military veterans. The measure would also set up a licensing process for growers and dispensary owners, as well as permit the sale of medical cannabis tinctures, oils, patches or edibles, but not flower or additional smoking and vaping products, The Associated Press reported.
Before the bill entered the House, it received backlash, according to the article. Several law enforcement groups argued that there is not enough evidence to prove that medical cannabis can treat conditions like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and Parkinson's disease.
But cannabis advocates proclaimed that it's challenging to get data on medical cannabis and its treatment due to legal status in the U.S., the article states.
During Thursday's debate, the majority of Democrats and some Republican lawmakers supported the bill; however, some Republican House members argued that legalizing medical cannabis would be the first step to adult-use legalization, while others classified cannabis as a "gateway" drug, the article states.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures website, Kansas is one of few states that does not have an established medical or adult-use cannabis program. Some lawmakers in favor of the bill said the state shouldn’t wait for the federal government to act, as “Kansans are tired of waiting on Kansas being last or falling behind other states on major issues such as this,” said Republican Rep. Adam Thomas.
Medical cannabis legislation was first introduced in the Alabama House of Representatives two decades ago. Eight years ago, it was the laughingstock of the lower chamber. Now, a medical cannabis bill has supermajority support.
After a nearly 10-hour filibuster Tuesday, House lawmakers reconvened Thursday and considered several floor amendments before passing the Senate-originated bill, 68-34, which would allow registered patients diagnosed with qualifying conditions to access cannabis. The legislation returned to the Senate for final consideration Thursday night, when the upper chamber voted, 20-9, to concur with the House changes.
The legislation, Senate Bill 46, now heads to Republican Gov. Kay Ivey’s desk. In a statement from Ivey’s office Thursday night, press secretary Gina Maiola said the governor looks forward to thoroughly reviewing the bill and providing the diligence it deserves, but did not say whether she would sign it.
If Ivey provides the ink, Alabama will become the 37th medical cannabis state, joining the likes of nearby Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi, according to reform organization Marijuana Policy Project (MPP).
“Passing the compassion act will allow seriously ill patients to finally get the relief they deserve,” said Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies at MPP. “Alabama is one of only 14 states in the country that continues to criminalize the medical use of cannabis, and while this bill is more restrictive than is ideal, it is a dramatic improvement from the status quo and would improve the lives of thousands of Alabamians. We urge … Gov. Ivey to sign it into law.”
The Alabama Senate has passed medical cannabis bills three years in a row, but this is the first time the House has passed legislation. Last year, pandemic-related circumstances derailed the lower chamber’s possibility of a vote.
GrowGeneration Corp. recently announced its acquisition of Downriver Hydroponics, a Michigan-based indoor garden supply center. The headline news was the latest in a long string of garden supply center acquisitions that has seen GrowGen take a growing claim to the market segment.
It was the ninth acquisition for GrowGren this year alone, and an opportunity that the company took to raise its 2021 revenue guidance to $415-$430 million.
CEO Darren Lampert spoke with Cannabis Business Times about the company’s acquisition spree, noting that these transactions have been a pillar of the company’s growth. GrowGen has targeted “best-in-breed” supply centers that mesh with the company’s outlook and corporate culture.
He said this growth is a symptom of a maturing cannabis industry, even while a hefty portion of the business involves hemp, fruits and vegetables. A wave of legalization is sweeping across the U.S., and cultivation resource needs are increasing. Budgets are increasing, too.
“In order to properly represent these big, large grows around the country, you need stores that can handle it. The product mix is enormous. We carry 10,000 SKUs, usually at least 3,000 SKUs in our stores. You need distribution. The big growers are just too large—the multi-state operators, the single-state operators. So, we saw this evolution. We saw the sea change switch. And what GrowGen did was we started small.”
The company began with four stores in Pueblo, Colo.: 2,000 square feet apiece, $1 million in business. By 2018, GrowGen was pulling in $30 million in annual business, still a far cry from the latest 2021 guidance.
WINDSOR, Ontario, May 6, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE – All-Risks Insurance Brokers Ltd., a full-service insurance brokerage, and cannabis insurance broker Fady Kamel announce a partnership with Senses Cannabis Group to launch a market-leading retail cannabis store insurance product through Burns & Wilcox, a globally recognized leader in wholesale insurance brokerage and underwriting. Senses Cannabis Group powers the largest network of cannabis stores in Ontario by providing group savings, distribution of retail displays, as well as technology and marketing consultations.
Along with the many current benefits, Senses Cannabis Group members can now take advantage of the insurance expertise of Fady Kamel, from the Erin Mills Branch of All-Risks, who has helped insure large cannabis licensed producers, processors, consultants, brands and countless retailers. This partnership will support existing retailers in Ontario and Alberta, and allow new potential retailers in those provinces to transition into a fully functional operation with greater ease, all while receiving preferred insurance policy pricing.
All-Risks Insurance Brokers Ltd., along with Senses Cannabis Group, is dedicated to protecting retailers and helping them succeed with the launch of this much-needed integral solution to the cannabis retail space.
“We are excited to be partnering with Senses Cannabis Group to provide members with a tailored insurance product,” Kamel said. “The Senses retail network is the first of its kind in many ways, including free access for all members. Opening a cannabis store has many challenges and costs. To receive the highest level of service offerings free of charge, all while saving money, is unheard of in the cannabis industry. Insurance policies will be underwritten through Burns & Wilcox, a globally recognized insurance industry leader, and together with our underwriting expertise and great value-added services we look forward to continue leading the way in the cannabis industry.”
Visit www.sensescannabis.ca/join to become a member today, or retailcannabisinsurance.com/senses-members for more info.
]]>CINCINNATI, OH, May 4, 2021 — Apeks Supercritical, Delta Separations, Nexus Greenhouse Systems, Rough Brothers, Inc. (RBI), Tetra and ThermoEnergy Solutions (TES), all part of the greenhouse and custom growing and processing group of Gibraltar Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROCK), today announced these brands have combined under a new brand, Prospiant. To provide a more seamless experience for customers, and better align organizational structures, equipment and system product lines, these Gibraltar heritage brands are unifying to provide complete ecosystems for controlled environment agriculture (CEA) and extraction technologies.
The Gibraltar growing and processing brands that are transitioning to Prospiant include the following:
Apeks Supercritical, industry-leading CO2 extraction technologies.Delta Separations, innovative ethanol and solventless extraction, recovery and distillation technologies.Nexus Greenhouse Systems, leading cannabis and commercial greenhouse solutions. Rough Brothers, Inc., climate-controlled structures and growing solutions for research, retail and commercial applications.Tetra, commercial indoor cultivation systems.ThermoEnergy Solutions, complete large-scale commercial greenhouse solutions, including design, engineering and installation of turnkey projects.RBI Structures Inc., Linx, National Greenhouse, Delta T Solutions, XS Smith and Golden Pacific Structures are also combining.As one unified team, Prospiant is now the leading U.S.-based provider of turnkey CEA solutions for growing fruits and vegetables, as well as a leading supplier of custom greenhouses for research, education and retail. It is also the only provider of soil-to-oil cannabis ecosystems globally with technologies for the cultivation, extraction and refinement of cannabinoids.
“As Prospiant, a complete solutions provider in controlled environment agriculture technology, we are now in the position to better help businesses, research and educational institutions grow through more streamlined operations and consolidated industry expertise,” said Mark Dunson, group president of Prospiant. “By combining and leveraging our deep knowledge and extensive cross-industry expertise, our specialists can provide customers with a turnkey package, from plant to product, to mitigate risks and maximize return on investment.”
The company will build upon the same industry-leading innovative technologies and services its customers have come to rely on for growing and processing applications by leveraging combined strengths, technical expertise and a 185-year combined heritage of delivering best-in-class services across markets.
The new brand was launched May 4. To learn more, visit Prospiant.com.
]]>The Alabama Senate has passed medical cannabis bills three years in a row, but the state’s House of Representatives continued to stall those efforts late Tuesday night.
Republican opponents filibustered the Senate-passed legislation during nearly 10 hours of debate on the floor of the lower chamber, before the House adjourned shortly before midnight without a vote, according to the Associated Press. The House is scheduled to reconvene at 8 a.m. May 6, when the bill is expected to return to the chamber’s floor.
Alabama’s Senate Bill 46, which was amended and cleared by two House committees last month, would allow registered patients diagnosed with a qualifying condition to access cannabis, making it the 37th medical cannabis state if passed, according to Marijuana Policy Project.
The Senate’s effort to enact medical cannabis laws collided with COVID-19 last year when pandemic-related circumstance derailed the possibility of a vote in the House. The House has until May 30 to act this year—when the state’s legislature adjourns out of session.
Sponsored by Republican Sen. Tim Melson, S.B. 46 proposes implementing a medical program that would open the application process for potential patients by Sept. 1, 2022.
In addition, the legislation would create an Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission, which would determine the maximum daily dosages of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that caregivers could provide patients with each of more than a dozen qualifying conditions. Some of the conditions include: cancer, terminal illness, depression, epilepsy, anxiety or panic disorder, chronic pain, spasticity, autism, Tourette syndrome and post-traumatic stress disorder.
NEW YORK, May 3, 2021 - PRESS RELEASE - Acreage Holdings Inc., a vertically integrated, multistate operator of cannabis licenses and assets in the U.S., announced its subsidiary, Universal Hemp LLC, reached an agreement with Medterra CBD, a cannabidiol (CBD) company. This partnership will allow Acreage Holdings to tap into Medterra’s innovation pipeline, high-quality CBD and significant e-commerce platform for immediate nationwide distribution. Five Farms CBD, a subsidiary of Medterra, will develop a full-spectrum CBD collection under The Botanist, an Acreage Holdings brand. This partnership makes this a first in the cannabis industry for a CBD and a publicly traded cannabis brand to collaborate.
As adult-use cannabis sales are on pace to break $1 billion this year in Illinois, plans to roll out 110 new retail licenses are expected to be introduced this week.
The state banked a record $114,961,668 in cannabis sales last month, bringing its total to roughly $393.7 million for 2021, according to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation’s monthly sales figures.
But since Illinois started cashing in on the cannabis industry at the beginning of 2020, licensing disputes—for both retail and cultivation—have led lawmakers to try, and try again, to enact changes that would end the “monopoly” of the industry in the state, as Rep. La Shawn Ford called it.
An African American Democrat from Chicago, Ford introduced legislation Feb. 3 that would create up to 110 additional retail licenses, 35 of which would be reserved as social equity licenses for those affected most by prohibition. Plans for rolling out those new licenses are expected this week, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Those 110 new licenses are in addition to 75 original retail licenses that are currently pending, but were previously delayed and held up in legal disputes after regulators announced in September that only 21 social equity applicants would be included in a lottery to win those licenses.
The first 75 licenses were awarded in a lottery for businesses with perfect applications scores. The 110 new licenses would include two more lotteries—75 licenses specified for businesses scoring 85% or better on their applications, and 35 licenses intended for primarily Black and Latino entrepreneurs, according to the Chicago Tribune.
BOULDER, Colo., May 04, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE – Surna Inc. (OTCQB: SRNA), a leader in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) systems engineering and technologies, is excited to announce the company’s updated organic growth strategy. This revised strategy expands the company’s products and services within the indoor cannabis cultivation market and also brings these offerings to the rapidly growing indoor food production environments.
“Today we are announcing substantial changes to our organic growth strategy, which can be summarized as new markets, new products and services, and new trade name,” Surna Chairman and CEO Tony McDonald said. “New markets is who we seek to serve, including the broader CEA market. New products and services is what we will bring to our customers, which will now include most of the technical infrastructure and services required in an indoor cultivation facility. And our new trade name brands us more accurately and makes us easier to find.
“We are confident these initiatives will allow us to better serve our customers, accelerate the growth we have experienced in the recent past and position us to continue our organic growth. We look forward to serving more customers in the future, as well as to achieving profitable growth of the company.”
The major components of the updated strategy include:
New Markets: Surna will continue to serve its cannabis cultivation customers while also bringing its products and services to the broader CEA market, including the rapidly growing vertical farming market. The company’s existing expertise and equipment offerings can be readily applied in these facilities, and Surna has previously served several such facilities. In the first quarter of 2021 the company entered into a contract with a non-cannabis CEA facility, and the company’s reputation and brand recognition is such that developers of these facilities reach out to Surna directly.
New Products and Services: Surna has historically provided best-in-class environmental control engineering and equipment to its customers. Since 2018 the company has expanded the range of heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and dehumidification (HVACD) products it offers to meet a wider range of customer requirements, and this has been a successful initiative with 100% of its new projects including products developed since that time. Surna will now expand its service and product offerings to encompass many of the key AgTech components required in a cultivation facility, to include the continued expansion of its software-based control technology, SentryIQ. Surna will also continue to add recurring revenue through its preventive maintenance services. Some of these new products and services are provided now, and others will be added in the near future. The company believes that by expanding its offerings it will improve customer success by providing the most complete engineering of the key infrastructure technologies required for a successful operation. Surna’s position will be as an engineer helping the customer to evaluate technical alternatives and providing products from a curated set of technologies. Surna believes this positioning will contribute to the company’s customer acquisition success by bringing itself into the customer relationship at the earliest possible moment.
Last week was eventful for cannabis reform in Texas, as the House of Representatives approved three legislative proposals, which would expand the state's medical cannabis program, reduce penalties for concentrates and decriminalize possession.
The state's current medical cannabis program is limited to patients with the qualifying conditions: intractable epilepsy, terminal cancer, seizure disorders, multiple sclerosis, spasticity, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, autism or an incurable neurodegenerative disease; however, the House approved House Bill 1535 in a 134-12 vote on April 28, which would expand the qualifying conditions in the program to include cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic pain, The Texas Tribune reported.
The bill would also permit the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to add additional qualifying conditions through administrative rulemaking, The Texas Tribune reported.
The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) recognizes Texas' current program as a “medical cannabidiol (CBD) program” rather than a proper medical cannabis program due to the program's emphasis on utilizing CBD over tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) for medicinal use, according to The Texas Tribune.
But H.B. 1535 would also raise the THC limit in medical cannabis from 0.5% to 5% and make it possible for those in the program to access higher doses than what is currently available.
Heather Fazio, director of Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy, said while increasing the THC limit in medical cannabis is "a step in the right direction," it still hinders doctors from prescribing proper patient doses.
CHICAGO, April 30, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE – The Cannabis Business Association of Illinois (CBAI) believes social equity licenses must be issued as soon as possible and the General Assembly should focus on ensuring any change to cannabis law puts awards for social equity applicants at the forefront. This is no time for distractions. We have made clear that any negotiations on the law should occur between the General Assembly and the social equity applicants who have had their lives on hold waiting for licenses to be awarded.
CBAI has taken decisive action to ensure that social equity applicants have the best chance of success entering the marketplace:
The CBAI Minority Access Committee, wholly comprised of social equity applicants, is negotiating with members of the General Assembly and other social equity groups on the association’s behalf for legislation that advances the interests of minority applicants.CBAI prioritizes issuing licenses to social equity applicants above all other changes in cannabis law and continues to call on Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration to focus its efforts on getting licenses into the hands of those the law was designed to help.
CBAI has called for Illinois to reimburse social equity applicants for costs associated with the delay in awarding licenses.
CBAI incubates, coaches and mentors social equity applicants, and established the Minority Business Associate Membership to give minorities a stronger voice in our association and in the industry statewide.
From the moment the cannabis bill became law, CBAI has advocated for policies that provide greater ownership opportunities for minority cannabis entrepreneurs, including set-aside licenses, innovative incubation and co-location programs, and omnibus legislative packages that would move the state forward on awarding social equity licenses.
]]>BOSTON, May 3, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE – Former Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commissioner Jennifer Flanagan joined national cannabis law firm Vicente Sederberg LLP on Monday as director of regulatory policy, a newly developed role at the firm.
Flanagan was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 2005, then to the state Senate in 2009, where she served two terms. In 2017, Gov. Charlie Baker appointed her to serve as the first public health representative on the newly formed Cannabis Control Commission. During her time as a commissioner, she led efforts to protect public health and patients’ rights, including the award-winning “More About Marijuana” public education campaign.
“Jennifer devoted 25 years to public service in Massachusetts, and we are honored to welcome her to Vicente Sederberg,” said Adam Fine, managing partner of the firm’s Boston office. “Her experience as both an elected official and regulator, combined with her career-spanning advocacy work, offers her a unique perspective on cannabis policy. She will be an invaluable asset to our clients and to government officials across the country as they work to develop and implement responsible cannabis and hemp regulations.”
Now in its 11th year of operation, Vicente Sederberg continues to grow in its service offerings and geographical reach as cannabis policy reform spreads across the U.S. and around the globe.
“Throughout my four years with the commission, I watched the Vicente Sederberg team passionately and effectively advocate not only for their clients, but also for thoughtful public policy and the collective welfare of the regulated cannabis industry,” Flanagan said. “I’m grateful for this opportunity to take on a new role that ties together my cannabis regulatory experience with my commitment to public health advocacy. I look forward to working with VS and other cannabis industry leaders on matters that advance the industry in a responsible, inclusive, and compliant manner.”
]]>If the headline looks familiar, well, that’s because it is.
Cannabis lounges, where patrons can smoke a joint, rip a bong, vaporize a dab or do just about anything else you can think of with the plant, appeared to be a certainty as part of a Las Vegas ordinance back in 2017—and then again in 2019. They’ve been talked about for over four years in the entertainment capital of America.
But this time around, after years of setbacks and political meddling from the rival gaming industry, a bill at the Nevada State Legislature is on track to settle the score once and for all.
Assembly Bill 341 would pave the way for an unlimited number of lounges to open across the state, in counties where local governments allow cannabis businesses to operate. That includes in Sin City, where over 40 million tourists visited each year before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This would really open the floodgates for something marijuana users have wanted for a long time,” said Assemblyman Steve Yeager, a Democrat from Las Vegas who sponsored the bill. “And there’s a social equity part to it where we’re not restricting this just to licensed dispensary owners.”
Yeager, in his third term at the state’s biennial legislature, has felt the frustration himself. Long considered the heir apparent to former State Sen. Tick Segerblom, who was known as Nevada’s “Godfather of Marijuana,” Yeager watched as the fledgling industry offered all of its spoils to a tiny group of anointed business owners, most of whom were lawyers, doctors, casino operators, lobbyists and former public officials.
It’s good to remind ourselves that we’re in the early days of the legal cannabis space. It’s obvious, but too often our day-to-day work (and the fast pace of the industry from the jump) can insulate us from that fact. We’re in the thick of it, and our passions drive our goals.
But even in the pioneering marketplaces like Denver, Colo., there is much to revisit and much to reconsider. The city recently passed its first major policy overhaul, allowing delivery and hospitality businesses to set up shop as soon as this summer. It’s a good example of local legislators working diligently to fine-tune regulations in a city that was on the vanguard of legal cannabis seven years ago—a lifetime ago in our concept of time.
Assistant Editor Andriana Ruscitto has the story in the links below. And don’t miss Associate Editor Tony Lange’s report on unionization efforts in the cannabis space.
We’ve rounded up some of the key cannabis headlines from the week right here.
Cultivation and dispensary employees from Massachusetts and Rhode Island join UFCW union as part of a national labor organizing wave. Read more Cannabis deliveries and hospitality locations will be allowed under the proposed changes to Denver’s cannabis laws. Read more Adult-use cannabis legalization remains uncertain in South Dakota, where the state’s Supreme Court heard arguments April 28 on the constitutionality of a voter-approved amendment from the November 2020 election. Read more The Louisiana House Criminal Justice Committee advanced House Bill 524, which would establish the regulatory framework for adult-use cannabis in the state. Read more Vessel Brand, a community-led company focused on uplifting the cannabis consumption experience, announced a new partnership with GAIACA Waste Revitalization in an effort to combat the ongoing waste issue facing the cannabis vape industry. Read moreAnd elsewhere on the web, here are the stories we’ve been reading this week:
Politico: “As more and more states legalize marijuana, companies are facing new pressure from lawmakers across the country—and Capitol Hill—to limit the strength of their products.” Read more Taos News: “Now that a regulatory committee is being formed and rules are being drafted [in New Mexico], the citizens and the government of Taos are preparing for a potential influx of cannabis businesses.” Read more The Denver Channel: “New Mexico's legal marijuana market could cut off a huge line of revenue for Colorado dispensaries at the border. Cities like Trinidad, which sits just north of the border with New Mexico, boasts dozens of dispensaries and has come to rely on the ‘border model’ to survive.” Read moreBangor Daily News: “As with any evolving industry, we should remain flexible moving forward. However, lawmakers should understand that the forthcoming oversight measures are part of a much-needed upgrade for medical cannabis in Maine.” Read more Benzinga: “Vertically integrated cannabis company Ascend Wellness Holdings has opened a new store in downtown Boston.” Read more
