MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) has determined that a doctor’s credentials were stolen and used to fraudulently certify patients for medical cannabis, according to a KMAland.com report.
The DHSS launched an investigation last month after roughly 600 patients submitted physician certification forms with unauthorized signatures.
The credentials of a doctor who is registered with the state to certify patients for medical cannabis were being used without that doctor’s knowledge to certify the affected patients, primarily through telemedicine visits, KMAland.com reported.
A department spokesperson told the news outlet that an involved party informed the state of the fraudulent certifications, and the DHSS has worked to find additional patients who might be affected.
The state is notifying all affected patients and issuing a deadline for them to submit a valid medical cannabis certification, KMAland.com reported. If they are unable to submit a valid certification by the deadline, they will lose their medical cannabis cards.
Austin Chief of Police Brian Manley issued a memo July 2 indicating that the police department will no longer prosecute misdemeanor cannabis possession offenses unless there is an immediate safety threat or it is part of a separate felony-level investigation, as reported by KVUE.com.
“At some point the state of Texas needs to step up and do their part and legalize it so it can be properly taxed and regulated,” Greg Casar, an Austin councilmember, told the news outlet. “But for now, not having the police wasting their time on these personal marijuana cases … is the right policy and we’ve been fighting to achieve this for many years.”
Manley indicated in his memo that enforcing misdemeanor cannabis offenses has never been a priority for the department, and in January, Austin City Council passed a resolution barring city funds and personnel from being used to test cannabis to determine whether it meets the legal definition of hemp under state law, except in felony-level investigations, KVUE.com reported.
EDMONTON, Alberta, July 6, 2020 /CNW/ -PRESS RELEASE- Aurora Cannabis Inc., a major Canadian cannabis company, today announced that Miguel Martin, president of Aurora USA and head of Reliva LLC, has been appointed chief commercial officer of Aurora. Martin will replace Darren Karasiuk, who held the position at Aurora since February 2019.
"This appointment allows us to take full advantage of Miguel's depth of international CPG experience to drive Aurora's revenues and brand strength in our global core markets," said Michael Singer, executive chairman and interim CEO of Aurora. "Miguel has a proven track record of running profitable global sales and marketing teams in complex, highly regulated industries that are adjacent to cannabis. His new role at Aurora is indicative of our commitment to combining sales and marketing excellence with driving profitability in our core businesses."
Reliva, where Martin serves as president and CEO, is an American producer of hemp-derived CBD. In May 2020 Reliva, based in Massachusetts, was purchased by Aurora Cannabis in what Aurora called its strategic expansion into the U.S.
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The glacial pace at which the federal government has implemented cannabis policy–particularly in light of the rapid evolution of cannabis laws at the state level–is at the same time predictable and frustrating to those seeking a measure of certainty. And it begs the question: Will Congress act soon to bring a measure of common sense to this country’s cannabis policy? What about the states?
Mark Twain wrote that “[p]rophesy is a good line of business, but it is full of risks.” With those risks in mind–and a plate of crow in the warming drawer–I offer the following three predictions about cannabis policy, and its implications, for the remainder of 2020.
Prediction No. 1: None of the current “big fix” proposals will pass Congress before the election.
Congress is unlikely to pass major cannabis legislation before the presidential election. At least three such bills are currently pending in Congress: (1) the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act; (2) the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) Act; and the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act.
This week, Canopy Growth and Acreage Holdings announced amended terms for their merger deal, which has fallen in value from $3.4 billion to roughly $843 million. Elsewhere, in California, regulators extended cannabis license fee deferrals to businesses with licenses expiring in July and August to provide assistance to those impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here, we’ve rounded up the 10 headlines you need to know before this week is over.
Federal: Canopy Growth and Acreage Holdings have amended the terms of their merger deal, which, when originally announced in April 2019, was worth $3.4 billion. Under the new arrangement, Canopy will provide an up-front payment of $37.5 million to Acreage, and the total value of the deal has fallen to roughly $843 million. Read moreCalifornia: The three state cannabis licensing authorities announced this week that businesses with state commercial cannabis licenses expiring between July 1, 2020 and Aug. 31, 2020 may request 60-day deferrals of their license fee payments. The license fee deferrals are intended to provide immediate financial assistance to state cannabis licensees impacted by COVID-19. Read moreThe Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved new rules for cannabis licensing under the city’s social equity program July 1 amid backlash surrounding the rollout of the program. The program aims to ensure that those disproportionately impacted by prohibition benefit from legalization, and has largely targeted applicants who have cannabis-related convictions or have resided in areas with disproportionate arrests for cannabis crimes, but it has been criticized for not adequately representing Black entrepreneurs. Read moreWest Virginia: The Office of Medical Cannabis will reopen the application process for medical testing labs with plans to accept applications indefinitely and issue an unlimited number of licenses. The application process originally spanned two months and closed on Feb. 18, but only one lab applied for a license during that period. Read moreColorado: Gov. Jared Polis signed legislation June 29 that allows him to pardon past cannabis-related convictions that involve the possession of two ounces or less of cannabis. The new law takes effect Sept. 14, 90 days after the final adjournment of the legislature. Read moreIowa: Gov. Kim Reynolds signed legislation this week that changes the THC cap in the state’s medical cannabis program. The new law, which cleared the House in March and the Senate earlier this month, replaces the current 3% THC limit for medical cannabis products with a limit of 4.5 grams of THC in a 90-day period. Read moreIllinois: In the latest in a series of cannabis licensing delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Illinois has delayed issuing craft grow, infuser and transporter licenses. The Department of Agriculture planned to issue 40 craft grow licenses, 40 infuser licenses and an undetermined number of transporter licenses July 1, but Gov. J.B. Pritzker instead issued an executive order to delay the permits, without specifying when they would be issued. Read moreArkansas: After some debate, the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission voted this week to expand the number of licensed cultivators and dispensaries in the state. Regulators released two remaining cultivation licenses, expanding the number of cultivators in the state from six to eight, and also approved the release of four additional dispensary licenses. Read moreTennessee: Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk announced July 1 that, effective immediately, his office will no longer prosecute minor cannabis possession offenses that involve less than half an ounce of cannabis. “Marijuana charges do little to promote public health, and even less to promote public safety,” Funk’s office told the Tennessean, adding that low-level cannabis charges disproportionately impact minorities. Read moreArizona: Smart and Safe Arizona submitted roughly 420,000 signatures July 1 to place its adult-use cannabis legalization measure on the state’s 2020 ballot. If approved by voters this fall, the statutory measure would allow adults 21 and older to purchase and possess up to one ounce of cannabis, as well as grow up to six plants at home for personal use. Read moreThe Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved new rules for cannabis licensing under the city’s social equity program July 1 amid backlash surrounding the rollout of the program, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The program aims to ensure that those disproportionately impacted by prohibition benefit from legalization, and has largely targeted applicants who have cannabis-related convictions or have resided in areas with disproportionate arrests for cannabis crimes, the news outlet reported, but it has been criticized for not adequately representing Black entrepreneurs.
While Los Angeles previously designated the areas most disproportionately impacted by cannabis-related arrests by zip codes, the city is now narrowing the eligible areas to police reporting districts, the Los Angeles Times reported, in an effort to better target affected areas.
The city is also changing the licensing process for the next round of cannabis dispensaries, according to the news outlet.
For its last licensing round, the Department of Cannabis Regulation planned to issue 100 cannabis retail licenses to social equity applicants in a first-come, first serve process that was marred by controversy after some stakeholders alleged that some applicants gained early access to the online application system while others were locked out due to slow internet speeds.
More than a year after Nevada’s 2019 legislative session ended, several new state laws took effect July 1, including one that creates a new cannabis regulatory board to oversee the industry, according to The Nevada Independent.
A.B. 533 transfers the responsibilities of cannabis regulation from the Department of Taxation to a new, five-member Cannabis Compliance Board, which is modeled off the Nevada Gaming Control Board, the news outlet reported.
The board will be charged with the law enforcement, regulation and compliance duties associated with the cannabis industry, and is expected to approve rules later this month to outline how it will regulate cannabis differently than the Department of Taxation, according to The Nevada Independent, including increasing penalties for certain violations and streamlining the license renewal process.
Smart and Safe Arizona submitted roughly 420,000 signatures July 1 to place its adult-use cannabis legalization measure on the state’s 2020 ballot, according to the Daily Independent.
The group needed 237,645 valid signatures to get the issue before voters this fall, the news outlet reported.
If approved, the statutory measure would allow adults 21 and older to purchase and possess up to one ounce of cannabis, as well as grow up to six plants at home for personal use.
Voters shot down a similar adult-use legalization initiative by roughly 4 percentage points in 2016, the Daily Independent reported, and the Arizona Chamber of Commerce has expressed opposition to this year’s measure.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (July 1, 2020) -PRESS RELEASE- Kaycha Labs, a national cannabis and hemp testing technology company, is excited to announce that both their Davie and Gainesville, Flordia labs have been awarded the Florida Department of Health’s Certified Marijuana Testing Laboratory (CTML) status.
This is the first time the Florida Department of Health has awarded CMTL certifications and by doing so, it now means that state-mandated testing requirements will go into effect. These requirements specify that all retail products containing marijuana can be randomly sampled and tested.
“It’s a testament to our team that has worked so hard to get to where we are,” John Schwartz, chief operating officer of Kaycha Labs, said. “We are excited to receive this distinction in our home state. Our investment in people and technology has and will continue to serve the people of Florida.”
Both the Davie and Gainesville labs are ISO 17025 accredited and perform marijuana and hemp product testing for clients to help ensure that Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers remain compliant with all state and federal regulations. Kaycha Labs provides fast and accurate full panel testing for potency, homogeneity, heavy metals, microbial contamination, mycotoxins, residual solvents, terpenes, pesticides, and more.
Kaycha has the ability to implement over 500 procedures and methods to test cannabis and hemp products. These procedures and methods comply with standards set by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), International Standards Organization (ISO), United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Services, and Association of Analytical Communities (AOAC).
]]>Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk announced July 1 that, effective immediately, his office will no longer prosecute minor cannabis possession offenses that involve less than half an ounce of cannabis, according to the Tennessean.
“Marijuana charges do little to promote public health, and even less to promote public safety,” Funk’s office told the news outlet, adding that low-level cannabis charges disproportionately impact minorities.
While the policy change will not be retroactively applied to previous cases, Funk told the Tennessean that his office is willing to consider expunging eligible convictions that are brought by defense attorneys or defendants.
Even with a global pandemic shuttering municipal offices around the U.S., the team at Exclusive Brands found new ways to work with local officials to open an outdoor cultivation site in Arlington, Mich., in June.
Narmin Jarrous, executive vice president of business development and director of social equity at Exclusive Brands, says that the sudden whirlwind brought on by the coronavirus pandemic turned the prospects upside-down. But, like so many other twists in the cannabis industry, it helps to be nimble.
“You can plan and plan and plan and then you have things like COVID jump out at you, and you’re not really quite sure what to do,” Jarrous says. “We had to pivot our strategy.” The late June opening was only a few weeks off from the company’s original plans.
Most of the disconnect came from the springtime shuttering of municipal offices. Local inspections took longer to set up—and even then they happened virtually. The Exclusive team set up FaceTime calls to give inspectors a close look at the new outdoor site. That was a challenge for all the obvious reasons, but it also stuck a wrench in the company’s intent to form meaningful relationships with regulators off the bat.
“All of our employees know the state workers and the inspectors,” Jarrous says, “because we think the more transparent we are with them and the more familiar they are with us, the more comfortable they’ll be with the process.”
In Arlington, Exclusive has plans to make the most of six cultivation licenses (for a total of 9,000 plants across 30 acres). Jarrous points to flower sales remaining high throughout the strange 2020 sales year and also references rising edibles trends as more people stay at home. She says that adding an outdoor site like this one will help fortify an adult-use market that’s very much in the developing stages. Adult-use sales began in earnest in Michigan at the start of this year.
Editor’s Note: Cannabis Business Times follows Associated Press Style and now capitalizes the “b” in “Black” when referring to people in the context of race, culture or ethnicity.”
On June 26, Minorities 4 Medical Marijuana (M4MM) and the Minority Cannabis Business Association (MCBA) co-hosted a Facebook Live event titled More than a Moment: Dismantling Systemic Racism in the Cannabis Industry: A Call to Action at 8:46 p.m. Eastern Time, calling for 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence for event participants. A clock ticked down between numerous clips: an image of the mural of George Floyd at Cup Foods in Minneapolis, right near where he lost his pulse; music, including Todrick Hall’s “Water Guns” and Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come;” and video of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech.
The moment of silence continued for roughly the length of time on May 25 that Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin held his knee on Floyd’s neck as three more officers stood by, murdering him in the second degree, according to prosecutors.
The organizers then showed the names and photos of people of color who died from police violence and at the hands of others, such as white men claiming to be protecting their neighborhoods. The victims include Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Ahmaud Arbery, Sandra Bland, John Crawford III and Stephon Clark. “say their names!!!” someone commented, echoing the calls from protesters who are marching in streets across the U.S. and the world.
What followed was a diverse group of speakers expressing a range of emotions over systemic racism that continues to pervade American society, including in disproportionate marijuana arrests and sentencing. They shared stories about overcoming challenges in the cannabis market, supporting Black and brown communities and actively fighting racism. The roughly hour-and-a-half-long event used the hashtags #youcandomore and #wecandomore.
“We need true partners”
Ilera Holistic Healthcare, Louisiana’s second licensed medical cannabis cultivator, is preparing to sell products from its first harvest to the state’s medical cannabis pharmacies this week, according to DailyComet.com.
Ilera, which holds the contract to grow medical cannabis for Baton Rouge’s Southern University, has harvested 2,300 plants that have passed state testing through the Department of Forestry and Agriculture, the news outlet reported.
The company now plans to sell its tinctures and topicals to the state’s licensed pharmacies for sale to patients.
After some debate, the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission voted June 30 to expand the number of licensed cultivators and dispensaries in the state, according to a Talk Business & Politics report.
In a 3-2 vote, regulators released the two remaining cultivation licenses, the news outlet reported, expanding the number of cultivators in the state from six to eight, although only three growers are operational at this time.
The two new cultivators, River Valley Relief and New Day Cultivation, will be located in Sebastian and Garland Counties, respectively, according to Talk Business & Politics.
In a 4-1 vote, the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission also approved the release of four additional dispensary licenses, the news outlet reported.
Regulators approved Natural Root Wellness in Fayetteville, Green Gross Cannabis in Highland, MissCo Cannabis Dispensary in Osceola and Native Green Wellness in Little Rock.
In the latest in a series of cannabis licensing delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Illinois has delayed issuing craft grow, infuser and transporter licenses, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The Department of Agriculture planned to issue 40 craft grow licenses, 40 infuser licenses and an undetermined number of transporter licenses July 1, the news outlet reported, but Gov. J.B. Pritzker instead issued an executive order to delay the permits, without specifying when they would be issued.
The new grow licenses will be the first opportunity for those not already operating in the state’s medical cannabis market—as well as many social equity applicants—to participate in the adult-use industry, and the transporter and infuser licenses create new categories of businesses that have not yet existed in Illinois’ cannabis market, the Chicago Tribune reported.
A Department of Justice whistleblower has testified that U.S. Attorney General William Barr was motivated by his personal dislike of the cannabis industry when he launched multiple Antitrust Division merger investigations into nearly a dozen cannabis deals last year.
John Elias, a career employee at the DOJ, testified June 24 before the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, alleging that 10 Antitrust Division probes involving cannabis companies—which accounted for 29% of the Antitrust Division’s total merger investigations in 2019—were not bona fide antitrust investigations, as they did not meet the standard internal requirements for proceeding with a Second Request subpoena, which the DOJ must file to formally object to a merger.
Instead, Elias alleged that Barr ordered the investigations because of his personal animosity toward the cannabis industry.
For Matt Karnes, founder of cannabis-focused advisory firm GreenWave Advisors, cannabis’s federally illegal status, coupled with the fact that the industry is still in its infancy, should have prohibited the DOJ from launching these antitrust investigations in the first place.
“It’s very nascent, so it’s like beating up a toddler,” he said. “It doesn’t make any sense in any way, shape or form. If it’s illegal, don’t look at this from an antitrust perspective when they still say banking is not permitted, … [and] even if it was legal, it would be too early to scrutinize anything because it’s not even nationwide yet.”
After closing a deal with U.S.-based Front Range Biosciences and Tesoro Genetics to sell its Panakeia hemp variety in December, Spanish company Hemp Trading is partnering with Cannabis Orchards to bring the high-CBG, zero-THC genetic to the Canadian hemp market.
The partnership, officially announced on June 25, will make Ottawa-based Cannabis Orchards the first Canadian company to bring to the hemp market a genetic that is THC-free, has a high CBG content (testing reports from Hemp Trading show Panakeia testing at 18% CBG) and that also is feminized.
“Through partnership with Hemp Trading, we will be introducing the first THC-free and CBG variety onto the list of approved cultivars of Health Canada, expected in fall 2020,” said Cannabis Orchard’s CEO Jamie Ghossein in a statement.
With an advertised cannabinoid content of 18% CBG and 0.00% THC, “Panakeia will be groundbreaking for the majority of cannabis users seeking health benefits,” Ghosseing continued. “In fact, according to government data, we know most Canadians are using cannabis for medicinal purposes. Yet, the Canadian offering of medicinal cannabis varieties with high CBD or CBG content is very poor.”
Hemp Trading markets Panakeia as a variety that will “never fail a field compliance test.” If that claim holds true, it may well present a solution to a problem that has plagued the hemp industry. In an email to Cannabis Business Times and Hemp Grower, Hemp Trading explained that it “made different screenings with some hemp varieties from different parts of the world,” before identifying “an anomalous individual with chemotype which produced big amounts of CBG with no CBD and THC.”
Hemp Trading also gene-tested its variety and “the results confirm this plant [does not have] the genes of [neither] CBD synthase [or] THC synthase. And that’s why Panakeia doesn’t produce any of these cannabinoids and accumulates CBG.”
Washington, D.C., June 30, 2020 -PRESS RELEASE- Beginning July 1, Virginia’s cannabis decriminalization law will officially go into effect. In May, Gov. Ralph Northam (D) signed the decriminalization bill (SB 2/ HB 972) into law, making Virginia the 27th state to decriminalize simple possession. The law reclassifies possession of one ounce or less of cannabis to a civil penalty punishable by a fine of up to $25, the lowest fine of any decriminalization law in the country.
The bill also creates a work group to study legalization in Virginia which is to make recommendations by Nov. 30, 2020. Last week, the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus pledged to introduce legislation to legalize cannabis during a special session set for August, among other criminal justice and policing reforms.
“Decriminalizing cannabis will save thousands of Virginians from the trauma of arrest and the stigma of a criminal conviction,” said Steve Hawkins, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP). “However, Virginia lawmakers should continue to work towards broader cannabis policy reform. As the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus has recognized, full legalization is needed. While decriminalization is long overdue, legalization is necessary to dramatically reduce police-civilian interactions and remove the pretext for countless police stops.”
Virginia’s decriminalization law goes into effect as cannabis policy reform continues to gain momentum in the southern U.S. Mississippi and North Carolina have had decriminalization laws on the books since the 1970s. According to Civiq, a majority of voters in every state in the South support cannabis legalization.
Recently, the governor of Louisiana signed a bill (HB 819) to expand the state’s medical cannabis program, and lawmakers in Georgia included a cannabis decriminalization provision in the Georgia Justice Act — a broad measure that has been introduced to address police brutality and racism. In November, voters in Mississippi will decide on medical cannabis legalization. Arkansas, Louisiana, and Florida already have comprehensive medical cannabis laws on the books, and Virginia has a more limited medical cannabis law, which the legislature and governor expanded this year.
“Twenty-seven states have now decriminalized cannabis, and Virginia’s decriminalization law is the strongest among them. Once the law is in effect, it will prevent Virginians from being criminalized and having their lives derailed for simple cannabis possession,” Olivia Naugle, a legislative analyst for MPP, said.
]]>The U.S. House will include legislative language from the SAFE Banking Act in the next relief bill aimed at economic relief amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Thus far in the current economic crisis, cannabis businesses have been largely excluded from such relief. The ongoing Schedule-I status of the plant has barred any federal stimulus aid or small business loans from hitting the industry—even as cannabis business around the U.S. have been deemed “essential” in this difficult moment.
The SAFE Banking Act was passed by the House last fall, but the Senate has not yet taken any action on the measure. In short, the bill (formally titled the Secure and Fair Enforcement of Banking Act) would allow banks to work with cannabis businesses and prevent any federal banking regulator from intervening or punishing those banks.
“Cannabis businesses are dealing with the same hardships as other small business without the same critical financial tools and reliable banking services. Providing access to banking services removes some of the shackles that are holding back the full potential of the fastest growing sector of the US economy,” said Saphira Galoob, executive director of the National Cannabis Roundtable, said in a public staetment. “NCR applauds the House for acknowledging the legitimacy of cannabis businesses, and especially the work of Congressman Perlmutter who has been a tireless champion for the industry and its thousands of small businesses and workers.”
Despite the silence from the U.S. Senate as a governing body on this question, the SAFE Banking Act has picked up fairly broad support. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin trumpeted the fundamental need for some sort of solution last year. Governors around the country have signaled support for the federal measure, as well.
Justin Strekal, political director of NORML, said in a public statement today: “The inclusion of the SAFE Banking Act in the CARES 2 package is a positive development, but one that’s akin to applying a band-aid to a gaping wound. In the majority of states, these cannabis businesses have been deemed essential during this pandemic. But at the federal level, they are being cast aside by Congress. Those small cannabis businesses facing tough economic times are essentially being told by Congress to shutter their doors and fire their employees.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has stalled several ballot initiative campaigns in Ohio, including one to place adult-use cannabis legalization in front of voters this fall, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
The Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol campaign has temporarily suspended its effort as the state responds to the coronavirus. The Ohio Attorney General’s Office rejected summary language of the ballot initiative March 10, and the campaign has struggled to find its footing as Ohio responds to the COVID-19 pandemic.
RELATED: New Petitions Filed to Launch Adult-Use Program in Ohio: Legalization Watch: UPDATE
“We made the decision early on that the health of our volunteers, supporters, medical marijuana patients and the general public would be our primary concern,” Tom Haren, a spokesman for the campaign, told The Columbus Dispatch. “As Ohio begins the process of re-opening, we are evaluating our options and hope to have more to share soon.”
Campaigns to qualify ballot initiatives on voting rights, increased minimum wage and others are also in limbo until Ohio’s stay-at-home orders are lifted, according to the news outlet.
