MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press
Advocates behind Florida’s 2024 adult-use cannabis ballot initiative are hoping to avoid the same fate as a pair of 2022 measures: rejection from the state’s Supreme Court.
In both cases, the state’s justices ruled in 5-2 decisions that the attempts to legalize adult-use cannabis were misleading to voters and were not sufficient to appear on this November’s ballot.
On the heels of those judicial hiccups, Tallahassee-based multistate operator Trulieve and country music duo The Bellamy Brothers have teamed up to back the 2024 “Adult Personal Use of Marijuana” petition via the Smart & Safe Florida political committee. David Bellamy chairs the committee, and Trulieve is driving it financially through $10 million in contributions so far.
RELATED: Trulieve Deposits Another $5 Million Into Florida 2024 Initiative
But what’s stopping the Florida Supreme Court from shutting down the pipeline to the ballot yet again? The secret is in simplicity, Jonathan Robbins, chair of Akerman LLP’s national cannabis practice, told Cannabis Business Times.
“I think they kept it very simple for that reason,” said Robbins, whose Florida-based firm represents Trulieve and many other of the state’s 22 Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers (MMTCs), as well as other companies hoping to gain access to the state’s medical program. MMTC is the overarching term for a vertically integrated business in Florida.
Northampton, Massachusetts – Sept. 29, 2022 – PRESS RELEASE – The Source+, an award-winning cannabis company with five dispensaries across Nevada and Northampton, Mass., has announced Brett Sprau as its director of Massachusetts. In this role, Sprau brings nearly a decade of cannabis industry experience to bring the company’s first East Coast dispensary to life.
“We are very fortunate to welcome Brett as our director and for his leadership in expanding our footprint to Massachusetts,” said CEO of The Source+, Steve Haffer. “His dedication to innovative ideas in the cannabis industry is unprecedented and we are confident that he will be a driving force in the company’s future.”
Sprau joined The Source+ in 2018, having established himself as an entrepreneur and leader in cannabis throughout Colorado, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Sprau founded the first wholesale cannabis cultivation center in Southern Colorado, Colorado Leaf, in 2014; and designed one of the most popular turn-key cannabis greenhouse models in the world, now sold as the Nexus 420 hybrid greenhouse. Sprau has been recognized by numerous cannabis publications, including Marijuana Venture Magazine, for his knowledge and experience with greenhouse growing and LED fixtures.
“I am thankful to join this incredible team at The Source+, helping the company to further expand its East Coast footprint,” said Sprau. “The Source+ is committed to providing top-quality cannabis products in an inclusive atmosphere for its customers and I’m thrilled to help bring these to the Western Massachusetts market at accessible prices.”
In addition to overseeing operations and his vital insights in bringing the company’s first East Coast dispensary to life, Sprau is responsible for executing marketing plans, placing orders, setting prices and monitoring sales analytics. He also oversees all legal and compliance components for The Source+ in Massachusetts, as well as supporting community outreach initiatives. Sprau holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing and management from Pennsylvania State University and a juris doctorate from the Widener University School of Law, with a certificate of focus in business. He is committed to making The Source+ a market leader with brand recognition throughout the East Coast.
A new study has revealed that adult-use cannabis legalization could give Arkansas’ economy a major boost as voters prepare to make their voices heard on a legalization measure that will appear on the state’s November ballot.
The study, prepared by the Arkansas Economic Development Institute for Responsible Growth Arkansas, the group behind the ballot measure, projects annual adult-use sales averaging as high as $681.7 million.
Total cannabis sales in the state, including medical sales, could reach $984 million by 2027, according to the report, with state and local tax revenue increasing by $460 million within the same timeframe.
RELATED: Arkansas Medical Cannabis Sales Top $23 Million in August
“That includes both the indirect effects that are based on the business buying from suppliers, paying employees … and then the induced effects where the employees who are now earning income spend money in the rest of the markets," Michael Pakko, the chief economist for the Arkansas Economic Development Institute, said during a Sept. 28 news conference, according to a KUAR report. "So, it has a ripple effect throughout the economy.”
Japan may soon allow the import and use of medicinal cannabis products.
A Japanese health ministry panel on Thursday recommended amending the country’s drug laws in an effort to meet both citizens’ medical needs as well as evolving international standards, the committee said in a report. Under the recommended revision, medical cannabis products would be subject to the same safety and efficacy laws governing medical and pharmaceutical standards.
While cultivating, importing, selling, and possessing cannabis are all currently criminal offenses in Japan, consumption is legal. CBD products produced from stalk or seeds, specifically, are also legal.
The panel also noted in its report that only 1.4% of Japanese citizens had ever consumed cannabis, compared to 20-40% in Western countries. A Gallup Poll published in August indicated nearly half (48%) of U.S. adults report ever having tried cannabis.
RELATED: With 209 Million Cannabis Users Worldwide, UN Drug Report Delves Into Legalization Impacts
While Japan may consider medical cannabis legislation, its stance towards adult-use cannabis remains strict. Japanese authorities made 5,482 cannabis-related arrests in 2021, more than triple the amount of cannabis arrests made in 2014, according to Statista.
SALINAS, Calif., Sept. 29, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRESS RELEASE -- Lowell Farms Inc., a California-born innovator in cannabis cultivation and maker of the iconic Lowell Smokes brand, is announcing the commercial availability of its much anticipated: Lowell 35’s, available at select dispensaries across California.
“We see the 35’s as putting an end to the compromise between convenience and quality within cannabis,” said George Allen, Chairman. “The 35’s are made for people who love to smoke. These new prerolls rival the taste and flavor of raw flower while also matching the convenience of a vape pen.”
The packaging for Lowell’s new 35’s is innovative and responsible–paper based–small, lightweight, and is easy to fit into a pocket.
Lowell 35’s preroll will hit retailers throughout California beginning at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 29. To celebrate the launch, participating dispensaries will be selling 35’s for just $1 to the first 100 customers at each location. A full list of locations can be found here.
More information about Lowell Farms Inc. brands can be found at lowellfarms.com.
The possibilities of being one of New York’s first adult-use cannabis retail operators attracted the likes of 903 applicants seeking to enter the forthcoming market, the state’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) announced Sept. 28.
The conditional adult-use retail dispensary (CAURD) licenses will “create countless opportunities for our communities and future,” OCM posted on social media Wednesday.
The 903 applications were submitted during a one-time, one-month window that closed Sept. 26, with OCM officials planning to approve up to 150 CAURD licenses they plan to distribute to 14 regions throughout the state. The number of licenses in each region is based on population.
RELATED: New York Announces Number of Conditional Adult-Use Dispensary Licenses, Separated by Region
The CAURD licenses are reserved for businesses owned by justice-involved individuals “at the bedrock of New York’s adult-use cannabis market,” according to OCM. Specifically, applications were limited to those criminalized under prohibition or those who have a direct family member convicted of a cannabis-related offense prior to March 31, 2021 (the date former Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act into law).
OCM officials are also limiting CAURD licenses to those who have experience owning and operating a successful business in the state.
In the weeks following her appointment as chair of the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC), Shannon O’Brien’s personal and financial stake in a state-licensed cannabis business has come to light.
As the Boston Herald reported Sept. 28, O’Brien is listed as “owner/partner” of Greenfield Greenery in that company’s 2020 application for a cultivation license. Greenfield, a city in western Massachusetts, held a zoning board meeting in June 2021, at which O’Brien represented herself as CEO of the business.
Greenfield Greenery holds a provisional license from the state. But the decision to award Greenfield Greenery with a final license rests on an upcoming inspection of the operations, and a vote by the CCC, the very regulatory body now helmed by O’Brien.
Furthermore, O’Brien is listed as an “adviser” on Charlemont FarmWorks’ cultivation business license application. That company, too, holds a provisional license as of September 2022.
O’Brien arrives as the chair of the CCC following her tenure as former state treasurer (1999-2003), former state senator (1993-1995) and former state representative (1987-1993). She lost the 2002 gubernatorial election to Mitt Romney.
As chair of the CCC, O’Brien’s salary is listed at $181,722.
STONEHAM, Mass., Sept. 29, 2022 – PRESS RELEASE – Theory Wellness announced plans to enter the Vermont adult-use cannabis market with a retail location in Brattleboro. The announcement comes on the eve of adult-use cannabis sales, expected to begin as early as Oct. 1. Vermont will soon become the fourth East Coast state to offer adult-use cannabis sales, joining the likes of Massachusetts, Maine and New Jersey.
RELATED: 3 Vermont Dispensaries to Begin Adult-Use Sales at Their Discretion
Theory is no stranger to emerging adult-use cannabis markets, being one of the first in Massachusetts and opening on day one of adult-use cannabis sales in Maine. However, unlike in the other states, the company intends to focus on retail, a pivot from its vertically integrated models in surrounding markets.
"Vermont is one of the most interesting regulatory models on the East Coast for cannabis. The emphasis on streamlined licensing for craft farmers will allow for a terrific mix of top-quality products in our dispensary,” Theory CEO Brandon Pollock said. “By focusing on retail, we look forward to showcasing to our customers this unique network of local cultivators, many of which have been producing high-quality flower for years.”
As of today, the Vermont Cannabis Control Board has approved over 200 licenses for cultivation sites across the State. Theory looks forward to serving customers with its location at 768 Putney Road, currently under construction. The location will add new jobs to the town in addition to contributions relating to the 14% in excise taxes on sales.
While there is no official opening date for their Brattleboro dispensary, the company expects to be operational this fall. Its progress and status of the retail location can be found on the company’s website.
]]>A Las Vegas-based cannabis testing facility with a history of allegedly inflating THC potencies and manipulating microbial and heavy metal test results is now facing a $62,500 fine and a nearly 10-year ban from the industry for violations dating back to 2019.
Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board (CCB) members unanimously voted during their regular meeting Sept. 27 to deny two motions by Cannex Nevada LLC (now doing business as LettuceTest LCC) to dismiss disciplinary action against the company.
In a 44-page complaint CCB filed in January 2021, state regulators claimed that Cannex failed to fix “systemic issues cited over multiple years of inspections, several of them repeat offenses.”
Specifically, regulators detailed 22 violations found during a December 2019 investigation and the continued review of laboratory records. Among those violations, Cannex was allegedly engaging in practices designed to inflate THC potency for select clients—a “repeat violation” from December 2017, when Cannex had its license suspended. Cannex last renewed its state license in July 2020 as both a medical cannabis and adult-use cannabis testing facility in Nevada.
On behalf of LettuceTest/Cannex, attorney Kimberly Maxson-Rushton, a partner at Cooper Levenson, argued during a CCB special meeting Sept. 15 that every one of the testing facility’s alleged violations in question occurred in 2019, when the Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) was the state’s regulatory body for the industry (before the CCB’s formation).
Maxson-Rushton said the testing facility demonstrated compliance and met a statutory standard via a corrective action plan with MED officials, and therefore the CCB members should dismiss their current complaints—made in 2021—because they mirror what was already corrected.
One hemp industry organization is hopeful that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) most recent hire could lead the federal agency to regulate CBD.
FDA named Norman Birenbaum as senior public health advisor at the agency’s Center for Regulatory Programs Sept. 26.
U.S. Hemp Roundtable (USHR) General Counsel Jonathan Miller said that the FDA’s appointment of Birenbaum leads the USHR to be hopeful that it “signals a positive step forward for the regulation of hemp-derived cannabinoids such as CBD.”
From 2016 to 2019, Birenbaum acted as the “Cannabis Czar” for Rhode Island, where he oversaw the state’s medical cannabis and hemp programs, as well as created the state’s Office of Cannabis Regulation. In December 2019, he was appointed as the director of Cannabis Programs for New York State, where he supervised the regulation and policy development of the state’s medical cannabis and hemp programs.
Birenbaum is also the founding president of the Cannabis Regulators Association, which is a non-profit national organization of cannabis regulators “that provides policymakers and regulatory agencies with the resources to make informed decisions when considering whether and how to legalize and regulate cannabis.”
Miller said the USHR enjoyed working with Birenbaum on developing the regulatory framework for New York’s hemp program and that the organization looks forward to “working closely with him on the development of regulatory framework for CBD products to ensure consumer safety and product quality across the country.”
]]>Various government agencies in Washington, D.C., are inspecting cannabis businesses this month to verify compliance with the district’s laws, meaning that unlicensed cannabis retailers could soon face enforcement action.
RELATED: D.C.’s Joint Cannabis Task Force Will Inspect Businesses Starting in September
However, recently released survey results reveal that the majority of D.C. voters oppose City Council’s decision to shut down the cannabis “gifting” shops.
The i-71 Committee, a coalition of citizens, industry leaders and stakeholders focused on passing legislation to provide cannabis access in the district, released new public opinion polling Sept. 22 that shows that 66% of likely D.C. voters support Initiative 71, the district’s adult-use cannabis legalization measure, and its current implementation, including cannabis gifting.
Twenty-seven percent of respondents oppose Initiative 71 and its implementation, according to the poll results, while 72% support cannabis legalization across the city and 23% oppose it.
In July 2022, plaintiffs purporting to represent every medical marijuana patient in Arkansas filed a lawsuit against a cannabis testing company, a group of cannabis cultivation facilities, and John Does who are “the law firms, accountants and financial entities who have assisted Defendants,” according to the suit. The complaint alleges that the defendants conspired to sell underdosed cannabis products at premium prices. The plaintiffs asserted their claim under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), a type of specialized anti-conspiracy statute that provides criminal penalties for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization.
While somewhat different than prior cases, this lawsuit is not the first time plaintiffs across the U.S. have tried to deploy the RICO statute against the state-legal cannabis industry.
RICO cases against cannabis businesses share broadly similar facts. The plaintiffs typically reside in the vicinity of a cannabis cultivation operation and generally oppose cannabis legalization, then sue a group of businesses and individuals involved in a neighboring cannabis business. The plaintiffs allege that those involved in the cannabis business are engaged in a criminal enterprise to violate the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) by cultivating and selling cannabis.
For members of the state-legal cannabis industry—and their investors, advisors and other purported “co-conspirators”—this trend might be alarming. Presently, however, there is little cause for concern. To date, none of these cases have resulted in a judgment for the plaintiff(s), and in most of the cases, the RICO claim gets dismissed early on.
Civil RICO and Cannabis Businesses
RICO, which Congress originally passed in 1970, was intended to be a tool for prosecutors to target crime organizations like the Mafia, according to The Wall Street Journal. While RICO is primarily criminal, it also vests private citizens with rights to avoid “injur[ies]” to their businesses or property caused by racketeering activity (e.g. running an illegal business/organization) by explicitly allowing those private citizens to file lawsuits against those participating in racketeering.
Last week, the hemp building industry scored a victory when the International Code Council (ICC) approved hemp-lime (hempcrete) insulation in the model U.S. residential building code at a public hearing in Louisville, Ky.
The U.S. Hemp Building Association (USHBA) submitted Proposal RB316-22 in January to receive certification for hemp-lime insulation in U.S. building codes. The ICC officially closed the public comment period last week.
RELATED: Advancing the Hemp Building Industry: Q&A With the U.S. Hemp Building Association
"The new code will be published in 2023 with Hemp-Lime (Hempcrete) appearing as 'Appendix BA' in the upcoming 2024 International Residential Code (IRC)," which is the foundation for residential code in 49 out of 50 states (aside from Wisconsin) and applies to one- and two-family townhouses and dwellings, according to a press release from the USHBA.
The approval allows hempcrete, "a mixture of hemp hurds or 'shiv' (made from hemp stalks) and a lime binder, [that] creates a long-lasting fibrous insulation for wall assemblies," to be used as a standard material in residential construction in low seismic risk areas without required engineer design beginning 2024. High seismic areas will require engineered design, according to the release.
Editor's Note: A seismic zone "is used to describe an area where earthquakes tend to focus; for example, the New Madrid Seismic Zone in the Central United States," according to the United States Geological Survey.
KINGSTON, New York, September 28, 2022 - PRESS RELEASE - The BOD of the U.S. Hemp Building Association (USHBA) voted to appoint Henry Gage Jr. as president and Ryan Doherty as vice president Sept. 2.
RELATED: '2023 is the Year': Q&A With U.S. Hemp Building Association President Henry Gage Jr.
“It was an honor to serve as director of certifications and work with the team as we prepared and supported Proposal RB316-22, our hemp-lime proposal before the International Code Council in April. I am humbled to receive this vote of confidence from my peers as we accelerate our work with legislators, industry leaders, and members to establish hemp-lime as a new material in U.S. construction. By working with universities and industry representatives, members are creating new products and services,” Gage said.
]]>OEG Retail Cannabis (OEGRC), which holds a portfolio of brands in sports and entertainment, retail cannabis, and hospitality, announced plans Sept. 27 to acquire dispensaries and the Tokyo Smoke brand from Canopy Growth Corporation.
The company will acquire 23 of Canopy’s Tweed and Tokyo Smoke stores in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador, according to the press release.
When the transaction closes, OEGRC will be the sole owner of the Tokyo Smoke brand and trademark, and all the Tweed dispensary locations acquired will be rebranded. The company will retain all current customer-facing retail employees at the stores, according to the announcement.
“We believe this is the start of something special for the retail cannabis industry,” OEG Inc. CEO Jürgen Schreiber said in a public statement. “With this acquisition, OEG Retail Cannabis and the Tokyo Smoke brand are positioned as outright leaders in Canadian retail cannabis, and we are committed to doing everything we can to lead in customer experience, product quality and safety for years to come as the country’s cannabis industry continues to evolve and mature.”
In Canopy’s announcement of the acquisition, it said the “decision supports the company’s strategic objectives including streamlining Canadian operations, achieving profitability, and advancing a premium brand-driven portfolio for consumers.”
DENVER, Sept. 28, 2022 /CNW/ - PRESS RELEASE - Schwazze, a vertically integrated, multi-state operating cannabis company with assets in Colorado and New Mexico, announces the grand opening of its adult-use dispensary, R.Greenleaf, located in the heart of Ruidoso, N.M. The new store, located at 360 Sudderth Drive in Ruidoso, officially opened its doors for business at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24. Normal store operating hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday.
This store opening kicks off Schwazze's deliberate expansion throughout the state of New Mexico. This new store in Ruidoso brings R.Greenleaf's number of New Mexico retail dispensaries to 11. All locations serve the needs of medical patients as well as recreational adult-use consumers.
"Schwazze is excited to add to our retail footprint in New Mexico with our latest store opening in Ruidoso. Our team is thrilled to be opening our first new store since adult recreational cannabis was legalized in New Mexico on April 1," said Steve Pear, New Mexico Division President for Schwazze. "We feel honored to service the Ruidoso community with top-notch, knowledgeable staff and a wide variety of quality products."
Grand opening product specials and promotions are already in full swing with multiple flower pack offers, prerolls, gummies, chocolates and distillate vaporizer cartridges. Bundled kits or cannabis product starter packs will be offered for sale as well to provide patients and recreational customers a variety of product forms and consumption methods based on individual needs and preferences.
A grand opening celebration will be held on Saturday, Oct. 8, beginning at 10 a.m. and running until 3 p.m. Swag bags containing limited edition holographic stickers, t-shirts and beanies will be available while supplies last. Music will accompany a food truck offering free burritos and tacos to the first 75 customers making a purchase.
Ruidoso Store Location
Ascend Wellness Holdings (AWH) founder and now former CEO Abner Kurtin hasn’t even had his arraignment hearing yet—after a domestic battery charge earlier this month—but the multistate cannabis operator is already shuffling its leadership team.
Kurtin, 55, was arrested Sept. 6 on a misdemeanor battery charge in Southern Florida, according to the Miami-Dade County Clerk of the Courts. His court date is set for Sept. 30.
RELATED: Ascend Wellness CEO Arrested, Charged With Domestic Battery
But Ascend isn’t waiting any longer to find out the results of Kurtin’s arraignment.
The company announced Sept. 28 that it named Chief Financial Officer Daniel Neville and President and co-founder Frank Perullo as interim co-CEOs, effective immediately, in what’s being called a “leadership transition plan.” That plan includes Kurtin’s transition to executive chairman of the board.
The plan also includes Neville and Perullo overseeing the company’s day-to-day operations while the company’s board—now chaired by Kurtin—commences a search for a new CEO to “support [its] next phase of growth.” The board retained Russell Reynolds, an executive search firm, to support the effort.
Cookies is crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
With an exclusive licensing agreement now on the books, Cookies genetics will be grown, harvested and sold as medical cannabis products by Akanda Corp., a cultivation and manufacturing firm based in Portugal.
Summing up the news, Akanda CEO Tej Virk said, “Akanda has secured one of the most prized cannabis assets in Europe.”
Virk’s company boasts a 20,000-sq.-ft. indoor cultivation site (located in Sintra, Portugal, with a capacity of 2,000 kg of harvested cannabis per year) and a mixed outdoor-greenhouse site (located in Aljustrel). It was the Sintra facility that really grabbed the attention of Cookies executives. Across the fledgling medical cannabis markets of Europe, indoor cultivation is a rare breed. Virk ballparked his company’s flower supply above the 20% THC threshold. “We’re trying to lead the charge here in quality and innovation,” he said.
With the Cookies deal, Akanda will have a high-profile opportunity to prove itself to Europe. At the heart of this deal is a connection to the roots of the global cannabis industry—in California. Virk said that demand is strong for California cultivars and for Cookies’ extensive genetics library. This licensing agreement bridges a considerable gap between European medical cannabis patients and the California market.
“The cannabis industry is still a people business,” Virk said, noting Akanda had acquired its cultivation facilities from Holigen earlier this year. The Holigen team had a preexisting relationship with Cookies that helped pave the way to this month’s exclusive deal.
While Oct. 1 is the tentative date for adult-use cannabis retailers to launch commercial sales in Vermont, nothing is stopping three licensees from opening their doors earlier if they so choose.
Once businesses have their licenses fully issued—meaning they received local permits where applicable, met any outstanding contingencies on their license and paid associated fees—they may begin operations, Nellie Marvel, outreach and education manager for the Vermont Cannabis Control Board (CCB), told Cannabis Business Times.
There are three businesses that have been approved for retail sales across the state at this point, she said.
RELATED: Vermont Issues First Cannabis Retail Licenses
At its Sept. 14 board meeting, the CCB issued those adult-use retail licenses to Mountain Girl Cannabis in Rutland, FLORA Cannabis in Middlebury, and CeresMED—formerly Champlain Valley Dispensary—an existing medical cannabis operator in South Burlington.
“There’s nothing specifically saying that businesses must wait until Oct. 1 to begin sales, if they’re licensed,” Marvel said. “They may opt to do so, as that’s the date everyone is familiar with, but they do not necessarily have to. Others may opt to wait until the supply chain becomes more established—this is a decision every business owner will have to make for themselves.”
The California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) is seeking $128 million in penalties from illegal cannabis businesses that regulators say produced and sold products in the state for more than a year without a license.
Regulators argue that “undisputed evidence” was revealed during the course of litigation and that the four business entities and three individual owners named as defendants in the case admitted to the illegal activity, which occurred for roughly a year and a half, Law360 reported.
"Both the admissions of the defendants and independent evidence gathered by the DCC support that the seven defendants 'engaged in unlicensed commercial cannabis activity' in the State of California for 527 days," the department told the court, according to Law360. "There is no triable issue as to this fact when determining the civil penalty that should be assessed in this case."
Regulators went on to argue that the department “should be granted summary since there were no contested issues left as to whether the defendants broke the law or what the civil penalties should be,” Law360 reported.
The California Bureau of Cannabis Control, the regulatory body that has since been replaced by the DCC, and the California Department of Public Health filed the lawsuit nearly two years ago, according to Law360. State officials accused the defendants of “flooding the regulated market with $64 million worth of cannabis gummies,” which were manufactured without a state license, the outlet reported.
