MIAMI, Aug. 04, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRESS RELEASE -- Ayr Wellness Inc., a vertically integrated U.S. multi-state cannabis operator (MSO), announced that it has expanded its extensive branded-product portfolio with the award-winning flower brand, LIT.

LIT originally launched in Nevada, produced by six-time Jack Herer Cup winning cultivators Tahoe Hydroponics Company, and is now available for wholesale and retail purchase in Massachusetts. Ayr will launch LIT in additional states in the coming weeks and months.

Through LIT, Ayr is bringing the best of the West to the East Coast, with award-winning and innovative genetics cultivated by one of the country’s most respected cannabis breeders. LIT has made its name with consumers through its extensive library of well-known and unique strains with nuanced flavors and aromas, including Sour Cream, Mac Motor and LIT flagship strains Bubble Bath, WAP 27, and Temptation.

“LIT flower is a testament to our commitment to taking the best ingredients--facilities, people, genetics--and cultivating excellent cannabis at scale throughout our organization,” said Jonathan Sandelman, founder and CEO of Ayr Wellness. “Our organization has more cultivation talent than ever, including the Tahoe Hydro team that joined forces with Ayr in February of this year, which has helped lift quality across our entire footprint, as well as introduce new offerings like LIT to delight our customers.”

“Ayr has demonstrated a commitment to quality flower by building some of the most advanced cultivation facilities in the country and by infusing its organization with talent from the Tahoe Hydro team. Having the right people in place provides the perfect platform for growing the award-winning genetics we’ve bred over the past decade,” said Ray Schiavone, co-founder of LIT and Tahoe Hydro. “Every day, we’re finding new ways to create and innovate varietals for consumers to experience LIT flower and we look forward to bringing that experience to cannabis customers across the United States through Ayr’s rapidly growing footprint.”

CALGARY, Alberta, Aug. 4, 2022 - PRESS RELEASE - High Tide Inc., a retail-focused cannabis company with bricks-and-mortar as well as global e-commerce assets, is pleased to announce that further to its press release dated July 7, 2022, it completed its acquisition through Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) Proceedings, of eight operating retail cannabis stores in British Columbia and Alberta for CAD$4.2 million. The company intends to complete the acquisition of the ninth store in Niagara, Ontario, pending regulatory approvals.

RELATED: High Tide to Acquire Nine Operating Retail Cannabis Stores from Choom Holdings

The stores have the following addresses:

191 West 2nd Ave. in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Vancouver West 2nd Store is located in the trendy Mount Pleasant neighborhood, close to numerous popular restaurants and retail stores, as well as the Olympic Village and Science World.1391 Richards Street in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Vancouver Richards Store is located in downtown Vancouver's trendy and densely-populated Yaletown neighborhood.115 2nd Ave. West in Brooks, Alberta. The Brooks Store is located in the center of Brooks, close to numerous retail businesses.5308 50th Ave. in Cold Lake, Alberta. The Cold Lake 50th Avenue Store is part of a commercial district in Cold Lake South containing numerous restaurants and other businesses.1020 8th Ave. in Cold Lake, Alberta. The Cold Lake 8th Avenue Store is located on the main east-west street in Cold Lake North, close to several businesses, restaurants, and hotels.320 Centre Street in Drumheller, Alberta. The Drumheller Store is located in central Drumheller, close to various local businesses and restaurants.2719 14th Street SW in Calgary, Alberta. The Calgary Store is located on a well-trafficked road in southwest Calgary and is easily accessible for residents of nearby communities with favorable cannabis demographics, such as Bankview and South Calgary.10140 107th Street in Westlock, Alberta. The Westlock Store is located in the town's commercial center, close to numerous businesses.

 

]]>

TALLAHASSEE, Florida, Aug. 4, 2022 - PRESS RELEASE - Trulieve Cannabis Corp., a multistate cannabis operator, announced the opening of a new medical dispensary in Kissimmee, Fla. Located at 51 N. Doverplum Ave., the doors will open at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2022, with ongoing regular hours of 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. on Sunday.

Grand opening festivities throughout the day at the new dispensary will include numerous partner giveaways, music, food trucks, deals and specials, and all registered patients will receive a 25% discount. Trulieve also offers statewide home delivery, convenient online ordering, and in-store pickup. As always, all first-time guests are eligible for a 50% new customer discount at any Florida-based location.

"Trulieve is proud to continue being at the forefront of expanding access to medical marijuana for Florida's patient population," said Trulieve's Chief Executive Officer Kim Rivers. "Trulieve is committed to investing in the Kissimmee community, as well as offering patients access to high-quality products and providing exceptional customer experiences."

Trulieve's retail employees are trained to provide personalized patient care and support individuals at every stage of their cannabis journeys. Trulieve dispensaries throughout Florida offer on-site consultations to help patients obtain appropriate medical products and dosages to ensure optimal cannabis experiences.

Trulieve patients across Florida can choose from a large selection of THC and CBD products available in various consumption methods, including smokable flower, concentrates, edibles, capsules, syringes, tinctures, topical creams, vaporizers, and more.

Designed to meet every patient's needs, our portfolio of in-house brands includes Alchemy, Co2lors, Cultivar Collection, Modern Flower, Momenta, Muse, Roll One, and Sweet Talk. Patients also have access to beloved brands such as Bellamy Brothers, Bhang, Binske, Blue River, Black Tuna, DeLisioso, Love's Oven, Miami Mango, O.pen, and Sunshine Cannabis, all available exclusively at Trulieve in Florida.

]]>

Prosecutors in Russia are seeking a 9 ½ year prison sentence for American basketball star Brittney Griner, who has been detained in Russia since Feb. 17.

Griner is currently being held on charges of possessing a cannabis vape cartridge while traveling through Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow, Russia. Her trial began on July 1, and closing arguments are set to take place Thursday, according to the Associated Press. Griner is currently facing up to 10 years in prison.

Fewer than 1% of defendants in Russian criminal cases are acquitted and, unlike the U.S., acquittals can be overturned, according to The Washington Post. There remains no clear timeline on a verdict.

In late July, the Biden administration offered Russia a prisoner swap, with the U.S. offering to free notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout in exchange for Russia freeing Griner and fellow American Paul Whelan.

A few weeks before that, during the Fourth of July weekend, Griner wrote a letter to President Biden pleading for her freedom from Russian detention.

“I realize you are dealing with so much, but please don’t forget about me and the other American Detainees,” Griner wrote. “Please do all you can to bring us home. I voted for the first time in 2020 and I voted for you. I believe in you. I still have so much good to do with my freedom that you can help restore. I miss my wife! I miss my family! I miss my teammates! It kills me to know they are suffering so much right now. I am grateful for whatever you can do at this moment to get me home.”

]]>

Americans owe an estimated $195 billion in medical debt and that number only continues to grow by the day. It’s a unique disparity among Americans, mainly plaguing the lower class and minorities. Medical debt prevents many Americans from getting the medical treatment they need.

“Medical debt is a huge burden on Americans,” said Daniel Lempert, VP of Communications at RIP Medical Debt, a non-profit organization that helps alleviate medical debt for patients with outstanding medical debt. “People are choosing to pay rent or put food on the table. There’s also a mental health anguish that comes along with it. The stress of all that can actually make people sicker. We are also seeing people avoid going to the doctor, especially if they already owe medical debt, even though they might need to go back. People will seriously reconsider getting the healthcare they need for fear of having more debt.”

RIP Medical Debt has partnered with Wellgreens and Pacific Stone to help medical patients around California with medical debt. The partnership’s goal is to abolish $3 million of medical debt for people in California. “When I think of cannabis having started on the medical side, this is a really interesting way to go full circle and tie it all together with this collaboration,” said Skip Motsenbocker, CEO of Pacific Stone.

RELATED: Pacific Stone Partners with RIP Medical Debt to Alleviate Medical Debt

This partnership between these brands was an almost-natural collaboration.. Motsenbocker said  Wellgreens was Pacific Stone’s number one vendor  in San Diego leading to the eventual store takeover with all three companies involved. RIP Medical debt fit right in when Wellgreens and Pacific Stone decided they wanted to collaborate with a nonprofit to help their communities.

“It’s a great way to say to the rest of the world ‘hey, cannabis isn’t a bad thing,” Motsenbocker said are out trying to do good things, not trying to say buy more drugs. Everybody should have some sort of an affiliation with an organization that figures out unique ways to give back to the community.”

Law enforcement has seized more than 34,000 illicit cannabis plants from a licensed hemp farm in San Jacinto, Calif.

The Riverside County Cannabis Regulation Task Force (CRTF), led by the District Attorney’s Bureau of Investigation, served a search warrant on the hemp farm July 28, according to a press release.

RELATED: 165,000+ Illicit Cannabis Plants Seized in Mendocino County

In addition to the 34,000 plants, the CRTF also found more than 4,600 pounds of processed illicit cannabis, greenhouses, and a ghost handgun.

The task force served another search warrant July 29 to the home of the permit holder of the farm and found more pounds of cannabis and additional evidence; however, the investigation is still ongoing, and no one has been arrested or charged yet, according to the release.

]]>

Successfully navigating the U.S. cannabis industry is a tall task for any operator, but the challenge is heightened when operating in multiple states with often varying regulations and specifications.

Grown Rogue, an Oregon-based multistate cannabis operator founded in 2016, expanded operations to Michigan in 2020 and has seen both markets mature at different paces and in different ways in recent years.

Obie and Sarah Strickler, the husband and wife duo and co-owners of Grown Rogue, joined Cannabis Business Times for this exclusive interview to shed light on what’s new at the company, why community involvement is so important in cannabis, their favorite current cultivars, and what Cannabis Conference attendees can expect to learn from them during their panel session, “How to Launch a Cultivation Business.”

Editor's note: Grown Rogue’s Obie and Sarah Strickler will be speaking on the panel session “How to Launch a Cultivation Business” from 11:20 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Aug. 23 at Cannabis Conference, taking place at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino. In this session, experienced and successful cannabis business leaders will share essential considerations when mapping out your start-up, along with some of the key lessons they’ve learned along the way. Visit www.CannabisConference.com for more information and to register.

Zach Mentz: What’s new at Grown Rogue in 2022, and what are you currently working on that you’re most excited about?

Obie Strickler, co-founder and CEO, Grown Rogue

Obie Strickler: The biggest things in 2022 that we’re focused on are increasing our genetic portfolio as we really focus on what the consumer's looking for–that's where our niche sits. We're a craft, not a boutique, but a craft grower understanding what the right scale in each market is. And when you really want to win the hearts and minds of the consumer, the genetic lineup is really, really critical. We've made tremendous improvements in that category or that focus of the business.

Seattle, Wash. – August 3, 2022 --PRESS RELEASE-- PayNW, a provider of human capital management (HCM) software and services, has announced that it is now serving cannabis-related businesses (CRBs) throughout the United States. With this step, CRBs can now prioritize compliance with evolving regulations while supporting employees and accessing traditional banking services with PayNW’s payroll and HR solutions.

PayNW’s team of HCM experts offers reliable and compliant solutions for cannabis businesses, including: 

Paperless hiring and onboarding of employees Banking relationships to support direct deposit Federal, state, and local tax filing and remittance Automated time tracking for workforce managementOne-on-one customer service aimed at addressing unique needs 

As a company that understands the strict guidelines impacting financial operations of cannabis businesses, PayNW will help process payroll by complying with Anti-Money Laundering and Bank Secrecy Act regulations, as well as follow regulations set by the Department of Treasury, Financial Crimes Enforcement network and other regulatory bodies. PayNW can also connect CRBs with banks skilled in cannabis business account management.

“Whether you’re a retailer, grower, or any other legitimate business in the cannabis industry, you can now process payroll confidently using PayNW’s fully compliant software and services,” said PayNW CEO Lori Brown. “We understand the complexities of this industry and are proud to present solutions suited for whatever your unique situation is.”

PayNW’s unified payroll, time tracking, and human resources information system (HRIS) software and services provide simple, effective solutions to managing a workforce, bringing peace of mind to 1,000+ businesses throughout the United States by offering the depth and breadth needed to manage and engage their workforce more efficiently and productively.

]]>

Maryland’s Medical Cannabis Commission voted unanimously July 29 to reduce the cost for patients looking to access medical cannabis in the state, according to a WYPR report.

The changes approved by the commission will decrease the cost of patients’ medical cannabis ID cards from $50 to $25 and extend the expiration date from three years to six years, the news outlet reported.

Commissioners said the cost to produce the cards has decreased in the past five years since Maryland launched its medical cannabis market, according to WYPR, and the changes also aim to address patients’ complaints about the process to enroll in the program.

Doctors are required to submit an annual certification for patients in addition to the renewal process for patient registration, the news outlet reported.

“We have a sizable older patient population and have received consistent feedback that having registration that needs to be renewed as well as certification pretty regularly is confusing,” Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission Executive Director Will Tilburg told WYPR. “We’re not trying to make revenue off patients.”

California’s Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) closed public comment Aug. 2 on a regulatory package aimed at resolving the issue of inaccurate cannabis lab test results.

But there’s a problem with the DCC’s approach, say California cannabis lab managers.

At least six commenters in an Aug. 1 public hearing on the package stated that the issues with fraudulent lab tests will not be addressed by the proposed regulations. Some said the regulations will hurt the industry and consumers if labs are required to spend time and money to comply with new regulations while potency inflation continues.

The DCC issued the proposed regulations following the passage of California Senate Bill 544, which requires the agency “on or before January 1, 2023, to establish one or more standardized cannabinoids test methods to be used by all testing laboratories.” The proposed regulations outline that cannabis testing labs must use high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) systems and test for nine cannabinoids, among other methods.

Evelyn Alvarez, director of quality assurance at Encore Labs in Pasadena, said the issue of potency inflation is occurring because the labs that inflate numbers are “not being held accountable. They’re not being investigated. They’re not in fear of losing their license.” (A DCC spokesperson recently told CBT that the department has been taking action on potency inflation.)

“What’s being seen is that total THC numbers, in particular, are being inflated in order for labs to gain clientele,” Alvarez said. “These increased numbers are not because of method variability. They are intentional efforts on behalf of dishonest, fraudulent labs.”

TALLAHASSEE, Florida, Aug. 3, 2022 - PRESS RELEASE - Trulieve Cannabis Corp., a multi-state cannabis operator, announced the opening of its first Trulieve-branded dispensary in Arizona. Located at 1007 N. 7th St., the doors open at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 2, with ongoing hours of 8 a.m. – 10 p.m., seven days a week. This is the first cannabis dispensary in the Roosevelt Row neighborhood in downtown Phoenix.

On Friday, Aug. 5, Trulieve Founder and CEO Kim Rivers and Trulieve President, formerly Harvest Founder and CEO, Steve White will attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. Customers are invited to join the celebration, which includes an onsite DJ, food trucks, special discounts, and partner giveaways. After 6 p.m., the celebration will continue with the First Friday Art Walk. Trulieve is a proud sponsor of the event, which welcomes residents, visitors, vendors, artists, and musicians to enjoy downtown Phoenix and its eclectic mix of bars, restaurants, food trucks, galleries, and other art-related venues.

"We are thrilled to open our first Trulieve dispensary in this vibrant area of downtown Phoenix," Rivers said. "We look forward to serving the community with our high-quality products and customer-centric approach to cannabis."

The new location will offer a variety of products, including Trulieve brands such as Alchemy, Avenue, Co2lors, loveli, Modern Flower, Muse, and Roll One. Customers can also choose from a broad assortment of products from partner brands, including Alien Labs, Connected, and El Blunto.

"I am particularly excited to see Trulieve bring its world-class approach to delivering exceptional customer experiences to the Arizona market," White said. "Medical patients and adult use consumers can benefit from the collective experience of Harvest and Trulieve, two long-time operators and pioneers in the industry."

Trulieve entered the Arizona market in October 2021 through the acquisition of Harvest Health & Recreation. Over the next year, existing Harvest locations will be rebranded to Trulieve. Harvest and Trulieve-affiliated dispensaries in Arizona are located in Avondale, Casa Grande, Chandler, Cottonwood, Glendale, Guadalupe, Lake Havasu, Mesa, Peoria, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe, and Tucson.

Alyza Brevard-Rodriguez, the first Black, Latinx, female, LGBTQ and disabled veteran cannabis operator in New Jersey, says “it’s been quite a journey” to launch her retail business, The Other Side Dispensary, in the state’s adult-use market.

And she hasn’t even broken ground on the dispensary yet.

Jersey City’s Cannabis Control Board (CCB) approved Brevard-Rodriguez’s application to open her storefront in the Heights section of Jersey City last month, advancing her mission to expand her existing wellness brand, SW3AT, to include cannabis.

Brevard-Rodriguez and her business partner—who owns a 25% stake in the company—bifurcated their application with the city to also apply for a consumption lounge license in what will be a two-story space when the facility is built out. The city is currently awaiting consumption lounge rules from the state before it drafts an ordinance to regulate the businesses within its jurisdiction, but Brevard-Rodriguez is optimistic that the dispensary and consumption lounge will open together in early 2023.

Brevard-Rodriguez served 10 years as a military police officer before founding The Other Side Dispensary.

Brevard-Rodriguez, who did not qualify for official social equity status in New Jersey due to income requirements, initially planned to open her business in Hoboken—her wife’s hometown—but zoning restrictions ultimately sent them elsewhere.

The list for pesticides that can be used on cannabis without being a violation of the Pesticide Applicators' Act has been updated. Please note the following products have been added:
Essentria IC ProPower SiSocoroTheia Fungicide

To view the updated list, click here for a pdf or click here for an Excel form. For questions regarding this change, contact Jolynn Morris at (303) 869-9060 or email [email protected].

We are currently reviewing pesticide labels upon request and maintaining a list of products whose label we have reviewed that we believe could be used on marijuana without violating 35-10-117(1)(i), as long as the applicator follows the label directions.

Please be sure to review the list; pesticide products may be removed from the allowed products list if the registrant has not renewed their pesticide product with the Department. Use of unregistered pesticides on Cannabis would be a violation of the Pesticide Applicators' Act.

 

Stay Informed

After nearly a month of negotiations, the Massachusetts House and Senate passed a compromise bill July 31 to help increase equity in the state’s cannabis industry, according to The Lowell Sun.

S. 3096 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, the news outlet reported.

The legislation, which now heads to the governor’s desk, would set aside 15% of the money in the Marijuana Regulation Fund—which houses the revenue generated from the state’s cannabis excise tax, application and licensing fees, and industry penalties—into a newly created Social Equity Trust Fund, according to The Lowell Sun.

The new fund would provide grants and loans to help those disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs participate in Massachusetts’ cannabis industry, the news outlet reported.

In addition, S. 3096 would grant the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) the authority to review and approve host community agreements—the contracts that cannabis operators are required to sign with the municipalities they operate in—before the businesses obtain their final licenses, according to The Lowell Sun.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug.2, 2022--PRESS RELEASE-- Columbia Care Inc.(NEO: CCHW) (CSE: CCHW) (OTCQX: CCHWF) (FSE: 3LP) announced today that itsnational cannabis shopping and loyalty mobile app, Stash Cash, is now available on the AppleStore in 14 of its markets, and across its retail brands, including Cannabist,Columbia Care, The Green Solution and Project Cannabis. Stash Cash is aneasy-to-use platform for patients and customers to build loyalty rewards, orderremotely and discover new products through its integration with Forage, where available. 

“Our commitment tocreating a seamless and approachable shopping experience for every patient andcustomer, and generating the data that will help us better serve them, has beenthe driving force behind our innovation engine since we started Columbia Care.It is this passion that led to Forage, our proprietary cannabis discovery tool,as well as Cannabist, our award-winning retail brand. We have created ameaningful customer experience through the app that serves as a bridge acrossour retail ecosystem and empowers the user on their cannabis journey – fromdiscovery to purchase to experience,” said Jesse Channon, Chief Growth Officer,Columbia Care. “This loyalty program also helps us to better understand ourcustomers, so that we can more efficiently understand their needs and introducenew products that fit with their preference profile. We’re proud of the entireteam that brought this to life and coordinated its launch across 14 markets, 68dispensaries and six retail brands. Coordinating the broadest industry launchof a loyalty app is yet another testament to the expertise and dedication thatthe Columbia Care team brings to serving our patients and customers andnormalizing cannabis across the country." 

The mobileapplication is the new digital hub for the entire shopping experience.Customers and patients in participating markets can place orders; discover newproducts through Forage; build a profile; earn and redeem rewards, wherepermitted, throughout the entire Columbia Care dispensary network; receivedeals, discounts and/or other updates from their dispensary; and interact withsocial platforms. 

]]>

BRIDGTON, Maine, August 2, 2022 - PRESS RELEASE - Sweet Dirt, a Maine-based, vertically integrated cannabis company, today announced the grand opening of its Bridgton, Maine adult-use cannabis store. Located at 1 Beaver Creek Farm Road, the new store will open its doors at 9 a.m. ET, Friday, Aug. 5. The refinished 2,500-square-foot retail location is the company’s third adult-use cannabis store and its second store in Cumberland County.

Only 40 minutes from North Conway, N.H., and an hour west of Portland, Maine, Bridgton is part of Maine’s Lake Region and is bordered by Long Lake, Highland Lake, Moose Pond, Sebago Lake, and the nearby Naples Causeway. Bridgton is also home to Pleasant Mountain, southern Maine’s tallest mountain, known for its extensive trail system and Shawnee Peak ski resort. Strategically located near the intersection of Routes 117 and 302, Sweet Dirt Bridgton will proudly serve the greater Bridgton community plus guests visiting the areas 33 lakes and ponds, mountains and trails, and Bridgton’s shops and galleries.

Sweet Dirt Bridgton will feature a thoughtfully curated mix of Maine-grown and Maine-made products including flower, prerolls, edibles, concentrates, hemp, CBD, and ancillary products. Sweet Dirt will also offer its own brands and its organically-grown cannabis certified clean by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA).

Sweet Dirt has hired more than two dozen employees to support the new location including a dozen retail staff in and around Bridgton and additional cultivation and manufacturing employees at the company’s nine-acre campus in Eliot, Maine.

“With summer in full-swing, we are thrilled to be opening our Bridgton location and eager to become part of the Bridgton community,” says Jim Henry, chief executive officer of Sweet Dirt. “Bridgton - with its abundance of natural beauty, year-round outdoor recreation opportunities, and appreciation for the arts - is an ideal location to introduce our Sweet Dirt retail model and in-house brands to Mainers and visitors alike.”

Sweet Dirt Bridgton will be open daily, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., for adults aged 21 and older. Online ordering is available at https://shop.sweetdirt.com.

Oklahoma has pushed back the start date for the moratorium on medical cannabis licenses to Aug. 26.

Gov. Kevin Stitt signed House Bill 3208 into law May 26, which “implements a two-year moratorium on medical cannabis licensing, prohibiting regulators from issuing new cultivation, processing and retail licenses from August 2022 to August 2024,” Cannabis Business Times previously reported.

The moratorium was expected to start Aug. 1, but has been pushed back to Aug. 26. The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) said in a press release that it made a mistake in interpreting the effective date of the legislation.

“The language in the bill states the moratorium begins Aug. 1, but the bill itself did not earn enough votes in the Oklahoma Legislature to take effect until Aug. 26—the state has a two-thirds vote requirement for bills to take effect sooner than 90 days after adjournment. As a result, the moratorium cannot begin until the legislation takes effect,” the OMMA said.

The moratorium does not apply to existing grower, processor, or dispensary licenses. Existing license holders can apply to renew their licenses at any time, according to the release.

OMMA Executive Director Adria Berry said the organization originally interpreted the bill without considering the vote count.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) issued the state’s second round of conditional adult-use cannabis dispensary licenses July 29, adding to the first batch of licenses that were awarded the week before.

Officials granted the most recent set of licenses to 28 applicants that were selected in a series of three lotteries held last summer to issue 185 total adult-use retail licenses, according to a press release from Pritzker’s office.

Friday’s awardees bring the total number of conditional licenses issued to 177.

The full list of awardees can be found here.

Of the applicants selected for licenses, 41% are majority Black-owned, 7% are majority white-owned and 4% are majority Latino-owned, according to the release. Thirty-eight percent of awardees did not disclose the race of their owners, but all the businesses issued conditional licenses qualify as Social Equity Applicants under the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act that legalized adult-use cannabis in Illinois.

The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) and the National Industrial Hemp Council (NIHC) are hosting a free webinar at 11 a.m. CT Aug. 9 to address the challenges and steps needed to gain approval for hemp as an animal feed ingredient.

The webinar, titled “Why Isn’t Hemp in Animal Feed? A Discussion on Overcoming Challenges & Gaining Approval,” will feature 15 industry professionals from the “feed manufacturing, hemp production, scientific research and regulatory oversight” industries who will cover the following topics: scientific research and data; ingredients review and approval; and interests and concerns everyone is facing, according to the webinar description.

According to Pet Food Processing, the three-part panel discussion will take place as follows: 

“Scientific Research and Data” will be held from 11:15 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. CT/12:15 to 1:20 p.m. ET“Ingredient Review and Approval” will be held from 12:30 to 1:35 p.m. CT/1:30 to 2:35 p.m. ET“Interests and Concerns Everyone is Facing” will be held from 1:45 to 2:50 p.m. CT/2:45 to 3:50 p.m. ET

The goal of the webinar is to “connect with industry peers and share meaningful dialog around overcoming the challenges and moving forward together so hemp can become a safe and beneficial feed ingredient,” the webinar description states.

Register for the webinar here.

 

]]>

The laws approved during Louisiana’s 2022 legislative session take effect Aug. 1, and among the changes are tweaks to the state’s cannabis laws.

Effective Monday, law enforcement cannot use the odor of cannabis as grounds to conduct warrantless searches of homes, the Associated Press reported.

Another change transfers oversight of Louisiana’s medical cannabis program from the Department of Agriculture and Forestry to the Department of Health, according to the news outlet, while another new law expands the number of dispensaries in the state.

RELATED: Louisiana Lawmakers Pass Medical Cannabis Expansion Bill

There are currently nine medical cannabis retailers in the state, but legislation passed earlier this year creates nine regions for each of those license holders and requires the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy to issue a 10th license to the region with the highest population density as of Aug. 1. The law also allows existing retailers in each region to open up to two additional dispensary locations in their respective regions upon meeting specified patient counts.