MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press
Growing up on the South Side of Chicago, American Rapper and Singer Vic Mensa started selling cannabis as a side hustle at 14, which not only helped fund the start of his music career but also set the blueprint for his future in the cannabis industry.
Mensa, 29, started releasing music on a global scale when he was 19 years old, and since then, he has performed worldwide. While he says music is his "passion" and "primary form of self-expression," he knew he wanted to enter the cannabis industry legally as soon as Illinois legalized it for adult-use in 2019.
"As soon as the industry began to turn and legislation began to turn in Illinois, I started focusing on entering the industry. Creating a brand has always been the sector of the industry that I am most interested in, and my personal brand and mission of who I am as a human being is always intrinsically linked with the people," he says.
And now, Mensa is building 93 Boyz, an Illinois-based, equity-focused cannabis company that aims to reinvest in and serve communities most impacted by the War on Drugs.
"The subjects that I make music about and the programs I create with my organization so often take the form of social justice, and that's because that's who I am as a human being," he says. "And in the creation of 93 Boyz, I felt that it is imperative to make it not just a self-serving venture, but to also be a vehicle for freedom because the criminalization of cannabis has stolen freedom from so many of us."
The Inception
93 Boyz did a "soft launch" on April 20—typically referred to as "4/20" amongst cannabis consumers—Mensa says, which included launching a select line of prerolls. Since then, the brand has made its way onto dispensary shelves in five storefronts in Illinois and has already expanded its product line to eighths and vape cartridges.
Coastal, a California-based retail brand, opened its Concord, Calif., adult-use storefront and delivery service on Aug. 10.
The opening was commemorated with a ribbon cutting ceremony, which was attended by Concord’s Chamber of Commerce, Mayor Dominic Aliano, and other city officials and industry leaders, according to a release. Additional launch events for Coastal’s Concord location will take place in the coming weeks, with an official grand opening planned for Sept. 1.
“We are extremely excited and honored to be one of Concord’s first adult-use retailers and to bring our first-class customer experience to the community,” said Julian Michalowski, co-founder and CEO of Coastal. “As one of the only dispensaries in the region, we take our responsibility seriously. We believe in the importance of working together as an industry and are committed to being a thoughtful, trusted and responsible community partner.”
The Concord location marks Coastal’s 12th dispensary in California and will carry brands including Caliva, Jeeter, Deli, Fun Uncle, Heavy Hitters, and more, according to the release.
Coastal will also honor the life and work of longtime Concord resident and Coastal’s late Managing Partner Keith Burks. The company will recognize March 17, his birthday, as Keith Burks Day, with the yearly celebration including in-store events, educational seminars and community service projects.
“On behalf of the City of Concord, we are excited to welcome Coastal to the community,” Aliano said. “Throughout the licensing process, Coastal demonstrated they are experienced operators and committed to bringing cannabis to our city in a safe and responsible manner. We look forward to Coastal’s continued support to our city through volunteer efforts and capital contributions.”
]]>Grön, a Portland, Ore.-based producer of cannabis-infused edibles, has built its business with a focus on minor cannabinoids and effects-based products, including its popular CBN offerings.
But its product mix may soon have to change.
Regulators in Oregon, concerned about the potential of harmful byproducts in artificially derived cannabinoids—and particularly worried about the unregulated delta-8 products that were appearing on the shelves of grocery stores and gas stations across the state—banned the sale of all synthetic cannabinoids on the open market as of July 1, 2022.
Products containing artificially derived cannabinoids may still be sold by cannabis retailers licensed through the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) until July 1, 2023, at which point the products must be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in order to remain on dispensary shelves.
Christine Smith, Grön’s founder and CEO, says that while the OLCC is likely trying to protect consumers, regulators are actually stifling innovation and hindering Oregon’s cannabis industry from achieving its full potential.
Although its headquarters are in New York City, cannabis multistate operator Ascend Wellness Holdings (AWH) is no longer going to roll the dice with a market entrance in its home state.
After resolving a monthslong legal battle over a definitive acquisition agreement with MedMen New York (MMNY) in May—with the two companies finally agreeing to an $88-million deal—Ascend founder and CEO Abner Kurtin said this week his company is no longer interested in closing the transaction.
RELATED: Ascend Wellness, MedMen Resolve M&A Lawsuit With $88-Million Deal
Kurtin told investors during a second quarter 2022 earnings call Aug. 15 that due to concerns about the status of MMNY’s assets, “which have deteriorated materially” since Dec. 31, Ascend is no longer moving forward with the transaction.
“We have been engaged in negotiations with MedMen for 17 months and because of the state of MedMen’s assets, it is time for all of us to move on,” Kurtin said. “Because we will not be moving forward with the MedMen transaction, we have $70 million of unencumbered cash at a time when cash is dear.”
Ascend had already paid $4 million to MMNY as a deposit toward the $74-million closing consideration at the time of the settlement in May. Also in the settlement, Ascend was to make a subsequent payment of $14 million upon the first sale of adult-use cannabis in an MMNY dispensary.
New York’s Cannabis Control Board (CCB) brought the state a few steps closer to launching adult-use sales Aug. 15 when regulators issued additional business licenses, approved testing regulations and appointed a director of policy to the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM).
Officials issued 15 adult-use cannabis processor licenses Monday, according to a WROC report, as well as 19 new conditional cultivation licenses, bringing the total number of licensed growers to 242.
To qualify for a processor license, applicants must have a Cannabinoid Hemp Processor license, the news outlet reported, and once awarded a license, businesses must participate in a mentorship program that aims to provide entrepreneurship opportunities, establish environmentally sustainable practices in the industry and ensure those with cannabis-related convictions can participate in the market.
“New York is launching our cannabis industry the right way, and our cannabis processors are an integral part of that,” OCM Executive Director Chris Alexander said in a statement, according to WROC. “These processors aren’t just expanding their own businesses, they are committed to also mentoring the next generation of cannabis processors. They’ll be teaching vital manufacturing skills to those with a passion for cannabis who will take our state’s industry to the next level. New York’s entire cannabis ecosystem will create opportunities for those who have been shut out of jobs and industry, and will bring those skills to communities across the state.”
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Aug. 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRESS RELEASE -- Delta 9 Cannabis Inc. has announced that today it has entered into an asset purchase agreement with 10552763 Canada Corp. to acquire all or substantially all of the vendor’s assets relating to the operation of three Garden Variety branded retail cannabis stores located in Manitoba, two in Winnipeg and one in Brandon.
“We are pleased to announce another strategic retail acquisition to grow our market share across the Canadian prairies,” said John Arbuthnot, CEO of Delta 9. “On closing of this transaction Delta 9 will operate 38 stores, positioning us as one of Canada’s largest vertically integrated cannabis retailers.”
The purchase price to be paid by the company relating to the transaction will be $3,250,000, subject to customary adjustments. $2,925,000 of the purchase price will be satisfied through the issuance of such number of common shares in the capital stock of the company (each a common share) equal to the deemed price of the 10 day volume weighted average price of the common shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange (the TSX) on the date immediately preceding the closing date of the transaction (the common share price). $325,000 of the purchase price will be satisfied through the issuance of such number of common shares equal to the common share price, which will remain held in escrow for a period of approximately six months.
The Garden Variety retail cannabis stores have demonstrated significant revenue, EBITDA, and earnings growth over 2020 and 2021. The company expects the transaction to be accretive in 2022 and 2023 before synergies. The acquisition represents an attractive revenue multiple of approximately 0.41x annualized revenue. The combination of the Garden Variety cannabis stores and Delta 9’s existing store network will make Delta 9 a leading retailer of cannabis products in Manitoba.
The purchase agreement includes several customary conditions in favour of the company, including due diligence and the approval of the TSX. The closing of the transaction remains subject to the approval of the TSX.
There are now five states where voters will cast ballots on adult-use cannabis legalization this November.
North Dakota is the latest to join the initiative push, with Secretary of State Al Jaeger announcing Aug. 15 that he certified New Approach ND’s statutory measure aiming to regulate a licensed industry and allow those 21 and older to purchase, possess and use cannabis.
With that certification, North Dakota joins the likes of Maryland, Missouri, South Dakota and Arkansas in an effort to reform prohibition laws this election cycle. Arkansas’ initiative effort comes with an asterisk, however, as voters await a future Supreme Court ruling on the validity of the constitutional amendment’s title.
Initiative organizers from New Approach ND submitted 26,048 signatures to Jaeger’s office on July 11, leaving a safe buffer for the 15,582 valid signatures required—or 2% of the state’s population—to be placed on the ballot.
Only 2,680 of the submitted signatures (about 10%) were rejected, meaning the group crossed the finish line in excess of nearly 7,800 valid signatures, according to Jaeger’s office.
The possibility of effectuating policy change comes as North Dakota has long had one of the highest cannabis arrests rates in the nation, despite having among the lowest reported marijuana use of any state, NORML Executive Director Erik Altieri said in a new release Aug. 15.
Maryland Secretary of State John Wobensmith officially certified an adult-use cannabis legalization measure for the state’s November ballot Aug. 2.
Elections officials finalized the language for the referendum, as well as issued a formal summary of the proposal, which was initiated by the General Assembly earlier this year.
The Maryland House and Senate approved a constitutional amendment for the ballot via House Bill 1, asking the state’s constituency if it favors the legalization of cannabis use by those 21 and older by July 1, 2023.
Separately, the General Assembly also passed House Bill 837 during this year’s legislative session to allow adults 21 and older to purchase and possess up to 1.5 ounces of cannabis, 12 grams of concentrate, 750 milligrams of delta-9 THC or two plants for personal use. H.B. 837 also decriminalized the possession of up to 2.5 ounces as a civil offense rather than a misdemeanor.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan let both pieces of legislation become law without his signature.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) issued the state’s third set of conditional adult-use cannabis dispensary licenses Aug. 12, bringing the total number of licenses issued to 182, according to a press release announcing the news.
The latest awardees join 149 conditional licensees that were announced July 22 and 28 that were announced the following week, on July 29.
All of the businesses awarded conditional licenses qualify as Social Equity Applicants as defined in Illinois’ Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, which passed in 2019 to legalize adult-use cannabis in the state.
A full list of the awardees can be found here.
Forty-one percent of the businesses awarded conditional licenses are majority Black-owned, 7% are majority white-owned and 4% are majority Latino-owned. Thirty-eight percent of awardees did not disclose the race of their owners, according to the press release.
A recent report from cannabis data and research company Headset indicates that employee retention is a challenge inthe cannabis retail space.
The report, which examined real-time employee sales data in nine states and four Canadian provinces from June 2021 through May 2022, found that about 55% of dispensary employees, typically referred to as “budtenders,” will resign within a given year. The report also found that approximately 25% of newly hired budtenders quit their job within the first month.
Cannabis Business Times caught up with Kevin Hart, the founder and CEO of Green Check Verified, a Florida-based software company solutions provider of cannabis banking and expert advisory services for financial institutions, to better understand what factors may be contributing to the high turnover rate and what businesses owners should actively be doing to improve employee retention.
Andriana Ruscitto: A recent report from cannabis data and research company Headset found, on average, 55% of budtenders in North America will resign within a given year. What key factors do you think lead to that turnover rate?
Kevin Hart: As part of my background in different technology companies, we had CPG (consumer packaged goods) experience. I have a lot of experience in CPG, retail, operations, etc., across different product lines. With as many businesses as we have on the platform, we get to meet a lot of these clients and go [visit] them. I think the retail experience of cannabis is no different than the retail experience of anybody else. It comes down to what that experience is and what that expectation would be, and if that expectation isn’t defined, the experience is never going to be delivered in that. I saw that you wrote about Planet 13. ... As a consumer, your expectations [of Planet 13] are set in the parking lot, and then they only get enhanced when you walk through the door.
New York’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) announced Aug. 11 that regulators will start accepting adult-use cannabis dispensary license applications Aug. 25, with applicants with prior cannabis-related convictions first in line to receive conditional licenses.
Those who have a close relative with a cannabis-related conviction will also be prioritized in the licensing process, and applicants are also required to have experience owning and operating a "qualifying" business.
“Today’s announcement brings us to the precipice of legal, licensed cannabis sales in New York State,” Cannabis Control Board (CCB) Chair Tremaine Wright said in a public statement. “With the Seeding Opportunity Initiative, New York has affirmed our commitment to making sure the first sales are conducted by those harmed by prohibition. We’re writing a new playbook for what an equitable launch of a cannabis industry looks like, and hope future states follow our lead.”
The OCM has published a resources page on its website to help applicants begin preparing their documentation.
AUGUSTA – PRESS RELEASE – The Maine Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP) today announced the formation of the Metrc User Workgroup, an 18-member panel tasked with review of the state’s existing, cloud-based tracking software, and with recommending improvements that will make the process of tracking cannabis products more efficient for Maine’s adult-use market.
“Effective inventory tracking is the hallmark of a well-regulated cannabis market,” said OCP Director Erik Gundersen. “We know that the rollout of Maine’s adult-use program has been a success, but we have to keep working to improve it all the time. We are grateful for the leadership and participation of this experienced group of invested stakeholders.”
The members of the Workgroup, along with their Track and Trace Administrators, represent all sectors of the Adult Use Cannabis Program in Maine, and offer a diversity of backgrounds, geography, and type of licensee:
Zach Allen, Cultivation, Nova Farms Eddie Benjamin, Vertically Integrated, Theory Wellness Genevieve Bickford, Vertically Integrated, NPG/Wellness Peter Franklin, Retail, Maine Plant-Based Therapy Elliot Lee, Manufacturing, East Coast Cannabis Alison Miller, Manufacturing, The Hashery Rebecca O'Connor, Vertically Integrated, Rugged Roots, Coast to Coast, Sinsemilla Ryan Parker, Cultivation, Stoner & Co. Hilary Reeder, Vertically Integrated, Highbrow Justice Rines, Vertically Integrated, Sweet Dirt Steve Rusnack, Manufacturing, Full Bloom Mitchel Samuelson, Cultivation, Seed and Soil Keri-Jon Wilson, Manufacturing, Pot and Pan Jake Wisdom, Vertically Integrated, Blue Sky & Kender FarmsAdditional members include organizations’ track-and-trace administrators, in addition to the principals above:
Jake Daku, Vertically Integrated, Blue Sky & Kender Farms J. Matthew Judge, PhD., Cultivation, Theory Wellness Rebecca Matz, Cultivation, Stoner & Co. Kristin McIntyre, Vertically Integrated, NPG/Wellness“We recognize both the importance of the data and safeguards Metrc provides,” continued Gundersen. “But it’s important to present a product and workflow that works for everyone involved in ensuring a bright future for Maine’s cannabis businesses. We look forward to engaging in an honest dialogue with these representatives to better understand how we can strike that balance.”
The legal defense team for imprisoned WNBA star Brittney Griner is filing an appeal against her conviction of cannabis possession in Russia.
The appeal comes less than two weeks after Griner was found guilty on cannabis possession charges in a Russian court on Aug. 4. She was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison and fined 1 million rubles ($16,950) by Judge Anna Sotnikova.
RELATED: Brittney Griner Convicted, Sentenced to 9 Years on Cannabis Possession Charges in Russia
Griner was charged with possessing cannabis vape cartridges while traveling through Sheremetyevo International Airport in February near Moscow. Her trial began on July 1 and lasted more than a month before her conviction and sentencing.
Griner, who pleaded guilty to the charges, maintains she made an “honest mistake,” according to NBC News, in traveling through Russia with cannabis products.
Since Griner’s sentencing, U.S. and Russian officials have been discussing potential prisoner swaps, with the U.S. also seeking to free Paul Whelan, a Canadian-born former U.S. Marine who was arrested in 2018 and is being held on espionage charges with a 16-year sentence in Russia.
The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC) approved rules Aug. 11 that will govern the medical cannabis business licensing process, according to an AL.com report.
Those seeking cultivation, processing, testing, transportation and retail licenses can request the applications starting Sept. 1, the news outlet reported.
The AMCC then plans to start accepting the applications Oct. 31, with an application deadline of Dec. 30, according to AL.com.
The commission will begin awarding business licenses in June 2023, the news outlet reported, and medical cannabis products are expected to hit dispensary shelves in late 2023 or early 2024.
RELATED: Alabama Regulators Release Draft Rules for Medical Cannabis Industry
A large portion of cannabis shoppers today continue to make purchases based solely on product THC percentage.
Beginning in July, New York medical cannabis patrons may (or may not) have been enticed to buy multistate operator Curaleaf’s products based on that consumer trend. After making an internal labeling switch, the Massachusetts-based company had higher listed THC potencies than competing products at retail in New York.
That’s because Curaleaf began using dry-weight THC testing measurements for its product labels last month—a method that results in significantly higher potency than “wet-weight” THC testing—without approval from the New York Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), NY Cannabis Insider first reported.
But the company has temporality abandoned that labeling switch.
According to an Aug. 12 statement from Curaleaf officials provided to Cannabis Business Times by Stephanie Cunha, the company’s regional director of public relations, the multistate operator voluntarily discontinued including dry-weight testing measurements on product labels until the OCM permits doing so in New York.
As a result, Curaleaf voluntarily removed thousands of products from medical cannabis dispensary shelves in New York, Cunha confirmed with CBT. A full count of what’s been removed from the market has not yet been made public.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed legislation Aug. 11 aimed at increasing diversity in the state’s cannabis industry.
The Senate unanimously approved its version of the bill in April, and the House passed its version in a 153-2 vote in May. Both chambers then passed compromise legislation, S. 3096, last month, sending it to the governor’s desk.
The sprawling cannabis regulatory reform bill aims to promote greater diversity in the market, increase oversight on host community agreements and establish a framework for municipalities to allow cannabis consumption lounges in their jurisdictions.
Baker approved almost all the legislation’s provisions Thursday, according to The Berkshire Eagle, but struck down a single section that would have required state agencies to examine ways to allow K-12 students to possess and use medical cannabis on school grounds.
“By no means am I saying that this single piece of legislation will solve every issue that’s facing the cannabis industry, but it is a massive step,” Cannabis Control Commissioner Ava Callender Concepcion said during the commission’s Aug. 11 meeting, a few hours before Baker signed the bill into law. “This is monumental.”
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Aug. 9 to put a measure before voters this November that would impose a business tax on cannabis businesses in unincorporated areas once they are allowed to open.
Currently, cannabis businesses are not permitted in unincorporated LA County; However, the Board of Supervisors passed a motion in February directing the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs’ Office of Cannabis Management to implement a cannabis licensing program in unincorporated areas, according to LACounty.gov.
RELATED: Sacramento County Board of Supervisors Reject Cannabis Tax Initiative
The proposed measure will be placed on the Nov. 8 ballot and will require a majority vote to pass. If passed, it would set a 4% tax “for gross receipts for retail operations, 3% for manufacturing and distribution, $4 per square foot for mixed light cultivation, and $7 per square foot for indoor cultivation” on cannabis operations in unincorporated LA county once they are permitted, ABC 7 reported.
According to the news outlet, the county is still developing regulations for a commercial cannabis program in unincorporated areas, which may allow up to 25 retail, 25 delivery, 10 cultivation, 10 manufacturing, 10 distribution, and 10 testing licenses.
The Board of Supervisors is expected to vote on proposed regulations sometime next year, ABC 7 reported.
]]>A recent study suggests that cannabis consumers hospitalized for COVID-19 have better outcomes than non-users.
The study, titled “Cannabis consumption is associated with lower COVID-19 severity among hospitalized patients: a retrospective cohort analysis,” was published Aug. 5 in the Journal of Cannabis Research.
According to the study, researchers analyzed 1,831 patients with COVID-19 across two hospitals in Southern California. “The authors’ methodology used a retrospective analysis of patient data, which included comparing NIH Covid-19 Severity Scores, the need for supplemental oxygen, intensive care unit admission, mechanical ventilation, length of hospitalization, and in-hospital death for cannabis users and non-users,” Forbes reported.
Of the 1,831 patients analyzed, only 4% (69 individuals) said they were active cannabis consumers. Researchers found that the active cannabis consumers were typically younger (under 44 years of age), frequent tobacco smokers, less diabetic, and had lower levels of inflammatory markers upon admission to the hospital compared to non-consumers, according to the study.
The study also found that the cannabis consumers had lower NIH scores, shorter hospitalization, lower ICD admission rates, and less need for ventilation than non-consumers. “Using propensity matching, differences in overall survival were not statistically significant between cannabis users and non-users, nevertheless ICU admission was 12 percentage points lower (p = 0.018) and intubation rates were 6 percentage points lower (p = 0.017) in cannabis users,” the study states.
While the study suggests cannabis consumers diagnosed with COVID-19 had shorter hospitalization rates than non-consumers, the researchers state that the results should be “interpreted with caution given the limitations of a retrospective analysis.”
For many companies, bringing a new product to market is a standalone project with a distinct beginning and end. But for Jordon Musser, chief operating officer and chief product officer at Fluence, product research and development doesn’t have start and stop dates—product teams never stop evolving.
In the case of RAPTR, a newly introduced high-performance, high-output top light, the idea for the lighting solution started with customers sharing their needs, gaps in lighting options, and cultivation insights. The concept first took form in 2020 as the Fluence team identified hurdles facing cultivation facilities in the switch from HPS lighting to LEDs.
“With energy prices continuing to go up, we saw a need to possibly reduce the customer’s operating expenses through less power input without losing photons, but also—with cannabis especially—promote the opportunity to increase yield with more PPFD,” Musser explains.
Ongoing Fluence research had already proven the industry hadn’t yet reached a saturation point for photons in cannabis. There was no question that more power and higher light intensities equate to higher yields, but the team was also aware that many growers considering HPS replacement had existing infrastructure to support about 1,000 watts per fixture at most. However, retrofitting outside that range involved more than just replacing HPS lights with LEDs.
Musser explains that focusing on what existing infrastructures were built to accept allowed for the generation of a true 1:1 HPS replacement that became RAPTR. It also eliminated costly infrastructure upgrades to support the increased light intensity that RAPTR brings. Put simply: Musser found a way to engineer using the same infrastructure to deliver more light.
“The goal is to maximize fixture output while staying below the energy consumption of what we’re replacing to ensure the wiring and switchgear and the rest of the electrical infrastructure can remain in place,” Musser says. In addition, the RAPTR line utilizes standard Weiland RST input connectors, which allows growers to retain their current facility cordage.
As director of cultivation for Maryland-based Holistic Industries, Nick Denney oversees seven cultivation facilities—soon to be eight—in as many states.
The company’s all-indoor grows range from 15,000 to 30,000 square feet of flowering canopy each and reside in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, D.C., Michigan, Missouri, West Virginia, and soon-to-be New Jersey.
Denney started his career in South Florida. After undergraduate studies in economics and a graduate degree in agronomy, he spent several years in the hydroponic specialty produce industry.
Then cannabis called in 2018. Denney joined Holistic’s Maryland location as assistant cultivation manager. As he advanced to oversee cultivation nationwide, he watched Holistic grow from 40 or so employees to more than 700.
HPS Beginnings
When Denney first started with Holistic, the company used high-intensity discharge (HID) lighting, opting for high-pressure sodium (HPS) for flower and ceramic metal halide (CMH) for veg. Though Denney wasn’t part of the decision-making that chose HPS, he expects it was simply because that was the standard for flowering at the time.
“That’s what people knew, and they knew it worked,” he says. People understood HPS temperature and HVAC requirements, so a certain comfort level was there. In comparison, Denney says LEDs were still considered unproven in cannabis.
