MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press

Cannabis industry members, consumers, and enthusiasts are among those who will gather in-person and virtually to celebrate 4/20, engaging in product deals or purchases, attending rallies, and participating in seshes.

The diversity in celebrations points to the growing appeal of cannabis to people from all walks of life, said Brian MacIver, senior insights manager at Brightfield Group.

“Brands and companies are trying to reach consumers of all ages, of all backgrounds, wherever they’re at, and delivering experiences that best meet their needs, whether that’s retailers or brands putting together some 4/20 deals, artists—the top cannabis artists, like Snoop Dogg, Berner, Cypress Hill, I’m sure are putting on 4/20 … concerts,” MacIver said.

At home, others will consume cannabis to relax before bed, which pairs with the need state of sedation that MacIver said informs many retail cannabis purchases.

A new report from Brightfield, “The Biggest Cannabis Day of the Year: How consumers spend 4/20,” outlines some of the data and trends surrounding April 20 in the U.S.

Consumers Searching for Deals

Of cannabis consumers who responded to a Brightfield survey, 40% plan to visit a dispensary for 4/20 deals, according to the new report.

As roughly 20,000 medical cannabis patients await a low-THC oil program rollout in Georgia, a key personnel change was made to the commission that’s in charge of regulating the program.

Gov. Brian Kemp announced April 18 that he appointed Sid Johnson to chair the seven-member Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission, which is tasked with overseeing the state’s regulated licensing, cultivation, production, manufacturing and sale of low-THC oil (containing a maximum of 5%), as well as dispensing to registered patients.

Johnson is a former state Administrative Services commissioner and a current University of Georgia faculty member. He replaces outgoing medical cannabis commission chair Dr. Christopher Edwards, whose departure remains unclear as to whether it came voluntarily, FOX 5 Atlanta reported.

Kemp thanked Edwards for his “dedicated service at the helm of the commission,” in a press release announcing the change.

“[Edwards] helped institute many policies and procedures that will allow the commission to continue its critically important work, and we wish him well as he continues his distinguished medical career,” Kemp said.

The commission, which was established in 2019, includes a chair and two members appointed by the governor, two members appointed by the lieutenant governor, and two members appointed by the state speaker of the house.

Workers at a cannabis retail facility in Battle Creek, Mich., haven’t even opened their doors to the public yet, but they already voted to form a union with support from their store owner.

Heritage Provisioning employees will host a grand opening April 20 for their new facility in the southwest part of the state—about 20 miles east of Kalamazoo—but they decided to celebrate early with a unionization announcement on April 18.

Heritage has two other provisioning center locations, in East Tawas and Manistee, but the Battle Creek workers agreed to authorize the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 951 for union representation, according to a UFCW press release.

“I’m really excited to be a part of something bigger than just myself,” Riley Boles, a worker at Heritage Provisioning, said in the release. “My dad is a union member and I’m proud to not only become one also, but to make history as the first UFCW 951 organized cannabis facility.”

Workers at the dispensary unanimously signed up to join the Local 951 and will form a committee that will soon start to bargain for their first contract they hope represents a lasting career in the industry, according to the release.

The UFCW 951 labor union represents more than 28,000 workers across Michigan in a variety of industries, including grocery, retail, food processing and pharmacy. Those workers are employed at companies such as Meijer, Kroger, Rite Aid and many others.

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. – April 18, 2022 – PRESS RELEASE – The Source+ will debut the award-winning cannabis company’s first East Coast dispensary in Northampton, Mass. on cannabis industry holiday, 4/20. Located at 58 Pleasant St., The Source+ will celebrate its grand opening with live music, karaoke, merchandise raffles and more starting Tuesday, April 19, through Wednesday, April 20.

“We are thrilled to bring The Source+ to Northampton, where we look forward to cultivating a new cannabis community,” said Simon Nankervis, CEO of The Source+. “We chose Northampton because the city and its residents have been leaders in de-stigmatizing cannabis and enabling its community to participate in all of the benefits our products have to provide to patients and customers. We are excited to expand our Source+ community to Massachusetts.”

As one of the first medical dispensaries to open in Nevada in 2015, The Source+ has remained a leader in the state, now with recreational sales, and was the first company to introduce solventless cannabis products to Nevada with the launch of internal product line CAMP.

The Source+ will enter the East Coast with its new location, which spans 5,280 square feet. The modern, welcoming showroom displays and offers more than 39 strains of cannabis and a wide selection of brands, including a variety of edibles, concentrates, tinctures and other cannabis products.

The Source+ will host a “4/20 Eve” karaoke party at local bar, The Majestic Saloon, from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Tuesday, April 19. The dispensary will ignite the anticipated grand opening and 4/20 celebration from 5 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, April 20, with product promotions, live jazz-inspired music from Lemon Street Band, tarot card readings and bites from The Majestic Saloon.

Laura Jayne Foley and her husband, Daniel Lyons, hemp cultivators and founders of Wild Atlantic Hemp, use natural methods on their farm in Ireland. While much of the farmland in the region is poor quality, Foley says she noticed major improvements in their crops after adding biochar and homemade microbial tea to the soil—both natural methods of improving the soil’s nutrient density and production capacity.

Made from worm castings and seaweed, the tea increases microbial life in the soil, while biochar provides a home for microbes.

“On one side of the field, the hemp was patchy and short,” explains Foley. “But on the other side where we used the biochar, it was a completely different story. It was ridiculously obvious that something had been done to the soil.”

Foley, who holds a master’s degree in agriculture from the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG), is acutely aware of soil degradation in the world today. As a hemp farmer who has witnessed the plant’s benefits on the environment firsthand, she was inspired to seek out ways she could expand her grow practices to help other farmers in her region, where she says much of the soil is poor quality peat soil, damaged by the overuse of artificial fertilizers.

A few months after testing biochar and microbial tea on her land, Foley helped launch Hemp4Soil, a project run by local community group Loop Head Together. The one-year project will explore how local farmers growing hemp in the area could affect—and potentially improve—the quality of the soil and benefit local diversity.

If the project is successful, it could not only improve the soil and change the farming practices in Foley’s local Clare County, but also help influence the European Union’s (EU) policy on hemp and dairy farming, in line with its FOOD 2030 Initiative.

In the early years of Montana's hemp program, most farmers had their sights set on cultivating hemp for CBD. Now, farmers' focuses are transitioning to the fiber and grain industries.

Let's take it back to the beginning.

Hemp plants first hit Montana's soil in 2017 under the state's pilot program. There were 17 licensed growers at the time, many of whom had high hopes for the crop.

Montana Department of Agriculture (MDA) Director Christy Clark says hemp program officials spent "countless hours" that year building the commodity program. "Many, many hours were spent in a conference room with all hands on deck. We had marketing; we had research; we had the lab; we had everybody—even the accountants in there trying to figure out how this is going to work. [It] took a tremendous amount of manpower."

Since then, the number of licensed hemp growers and total acres planted has drastically changed each year.

In 2019, following the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, those numbers skyrocketed. There were 197 licensed growers and 48,930 total acres planted—including those on tribal reservations. Forty-thousand acres were grown for CBD, 8,500 acres were grown for grain, 30 acres were grown for fiber, and 400 acres were grown for fiber and grain.

A new bill in California would bar employers from discriminating against workers for using cannabis, which has been legal for adults 21 and older since 2018.

Assembly Bill 2188, sponsored by Assemblyman Bill Quirk, would prohibit employers from discrimination in hiring, termination or other conditions of employment based on employees’ off-duty cannabis use, according to a Bloomberg Law report.

Since THC can stay in a person’s system after they are no longer impaired, A.B. 2188 specifically states that employers should use tests that “measure an individual employee against their own baseline performance and tests that identify the presence of THC in an individual’s bodily fluids,” Bloomberg Law reported.

The bill allows exceptions for construction trade employees, according to the news outlet, and would not preempt state or federal laws that require employees to submit to drug testing.

The legislation is scheduled for a hearing April 20 in the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee, Bloomberg Law reported.

Fifty-two hemp farmers will get the first crack at supplying New York’s forthcoming adult-use cannabis market.

The state’s Cannabis Control Board members unanimously approved 50 conditional adult-use cannabis cultivation licenses for existing hemp farmers, and separately approved two more after member Adam Perry recused himself, during their regulatory meeting April 14.

The resolution to approve the issuance of those licenses came nearly two months after Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation to allow hemp businesses to grow cannabis to help jumpstart the adult-use market and ensure there’s adequate supply when commercial sales possibly launch later this year.

“New York’s farms have been the backbone of our state’s economy since before the American Revolution, and now, New York’s farms will be at the center of the most equitable cannabis industry in the nation,” Gov. Hochul said in a press release announcing the approved licenses. 

She added: “I’m proud to announce the first adult-use cannabis cultivation licenses in the state, and I’m proud of the work the Office of Cannabis Management and the Cannabis Control Board are doing to get adult-use cannabis sales up and running as fast as possible without compromising our mission to uplift communities and individuals most impacted by the past century of cannabis prohibition.”

The first batch of licenses will be issued to hemp businesses in 25 of New York’s 62 counties, including six in Dutchess County, and four each in Schoharie and Washington counties.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced in February that he and his colleagues would formally introduce the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA) in April to federally decriminalize cannabis, but now Schumer is rethinking this timeline.

Schumer said in a statement April 14 that he and the bill’s co-sponsors, Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Ron Wyden, D.-Ore., now plan to file the legislation before recess in August, according to The Hill.

Schumer said he is proud of the progress he and his colleagues have made toward “bringing this vital bill closer to its official introduction,” the news outlet reported.

The CAOA, which Schumer, Booker and Wyden unveiled in draft form in July 2021, would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, tax and regulate cannabis at the federal level, and grant states the power to keep or administer their own oversight programs.

Many Republicans remain opposed to cannabis legalization, which could decrease the legislation’s chances of clearing the 50-50 split Senate, The Hill reported. To ensure passage, the CAOA would need the support of all Democrats in the chamber and at least 10 Republicans, and some Democrats have already voiced concerns about adult-use cannabis legalization, according to the news outlet.

Cannabis delivery and curbside pickup could soon become a reality in Maine.

On April 13, the Maine Senate advanced House Bill 1827 in a 19-14 vote—sponsored by Rep. Joseph Perry—which would allow certain licensed cannabis retailers to deliver adult-use products to residential buildings. In addition, the measure would also allow licensed cannabis retailers to engage in curbside pickup.

The legislation now heads to Gov. Janet Mills’ desk for approval.

The launch of New Jersey’s long-awaited adult-use cannabis market is set for April 21, Gov. Phil Murphy announced April 14 on Twitter.

“Starting on April 21st, adults ages 21+ will be able to legally purchase cannabis and cannabis products without a medical card,” Murphy tweeted. “This is a historic step in our work to create a new cannabis industry.”

Murphy’s announcement came just three days after the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) approved seven medical cannabis dispensaries to serve the adult-use market.

Those seven retailers—Acreage, Curaleaf, Columbia Care, Verano, Ascend Wellness, GTI and TerrAscend—had to agree that the surge of adult-use customers would not interrupt access for medical cannabis patients, according to the Associated Press, and they must reserve parking spaces and maintain operating hours specifically for patients.

The dispensaries must also meet social equity standards outlined in New Jersey’s cannabis law, the news outlet reported, such as providing technical knowledge to new cannabis businesses, especially social equity applicants, which are defined as those located in economically disadvantaged parts of the state and those with past cannabis-related offenses.

Charleston, S.C., April 18, 2022 – To drive the impact of a circular economy, driven by cutting-edge research, financial equity, and cooperation, BrightMa Farms will break ground on The BrightMa Innovation Center (“The BIC”) in Orangeburg, S.C., on April 29, 2022. The center is the result of a new collaboration between two industrial hemp pioneers, BrightMa Farms and Puregene AG, to pave the way to greater diversity and sustainability on a global scale and creating a space where science, technology, community, and education truly combine to impact the realization of end-product application. Rooted in history, infused with rich culture and propelled by scientific discovery, with large-scale technological backing, The BIC (the name which signifies the venture led by BrightMa and supported by Puregene) is establishing a world where literally anything is possible.

RELATED: South Carolina Grower BrightMa Farms Builds Genetics Partnership With Swiss Hemp and Cannabis Research Company Puregene AG

Puregene has been able to harness the power of the adaptive range of hemp. In fact, hemp`s ability to grow from the arctic circle to the tropics is simultaneously one of its biggest challenges and its biggest strength. To date, global breeding programs have only existed in a few small locations, and current elite varieties are not broadly adapted to multiple climate zones or latitudes. By testing genetically diverse material in diverse environments, Puregene can rapidly select and incorporate highly beneficial environmental response traits into future varieties. With genomic prediction, breeding is literally flipped on its head, as diverse material is tested directly where it will be produced by stakeholders. Ultimately, the realization of breeding advances in real time benefits both producers and stakeholders.

BrightMa Farms is working for the immediate benefit of minority farmers, and ultimately, the industry at large. The aim was to expand territories and bridge the gap for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) talent to be engaged with deliverable supply chains using industrial hemp. The unique positioning of HBCUs offers an opportunity to rapidly accelerate Black economic mobility. The support from BrightMa and the 1890 Research Extensions has increased the impact of the HBCU footprint substantially. In addition, the first-of-its-kind initiative of BrightMa and Puregene increases its scientific significance and magnifies its scope dramatically. Puregene, a Swiss company that performs genomic-based predictive breeding, are adding its extensive expertise and ground-breaking technological advancements to amplify the venture to new levels of realization, as it accelerates hemp applications by implementing its proper vertical integration strategy. Every stage of the production process is optimized, ensuring innovation is directly implemented in the market.

RELATED: How BrightMa Farms is Striving to Create Opportunities in Hemp

Cannabis retailers in Michigan found out on a whim last week that certain gummies and vape products in their inventory were put on a do-not-sell list by state regulators.

The products in question are from processor Sky Labs, a Mount Morris-based company that specializes in making edibles, MLive.com reported.

Certain gummies and vaping products sold under a brand often produced by Sky Labs were placed on administrative hold April 14 by the Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA), formerly the Marijuana Regulatory Agency, rebranded last week under an executive order.

A CRA spokesperson told MLive the agency could not comment on or confirm the investigation—no products were place on recall—but licensed retailers continued to receive updates to the do-not-sell list throughout the day on April 15, including blue-raspberry gummies and other flavors of THC-infused edibles from Sky Labs.

Denise Pollicella, a founder and managing partner of Cannabis Attorneys of Michigan, who represents Sky Labs, told MLive the administrative hold was placed on more than $5 million worth of the company’s products with no explanation from state regulators.

“At 4 p.m. [April 14] they received a call from a client and literally all of their product started going on administrative hold,” she said. The CRA “said it’s related to an investigation. It does not appear to be a public health or safety matter, but I’m speculating, because they didn’t issue a recall.”

Good Feels is releasing its line of cannabis-infused seltzers in dispensaries throughout Massachusetts.

The company will offer four different cannabis-infused seltzers—Black Cherry, Blood Orange, Grapefruit, and Raspberry Apple—and will also offer two beverage enhancers (flavorless and lemon-lime). Each 12-ounce seltzer contains a blend of 3 milligrams of THC and 2 milligrams of CBD while the beverage enhancers contain 4.5 milligrams of THC and 3 milligrams of CBD per serving (20 servings, 150mg total), according to the company.

Good Feels says all its products are manufactured with infinitely recyclable glass bottles in a carbon-neutral facility powered by 100% renewable energy. Furthermore, the minority-owned cannabis brand says it purchases 25% of its materials from cannabis businesses with social equity or economic empowerment license types.

“I started this company because there was no solution to my problem,” said Jason Reposa, founder and CEO of Good Feels. “I had to create my own solution. We took an aggressive approach to launch these products as quickly as possible so that people can have access to them. They really are revolutionary in that the innovation didn’t exist, so we had to create it. I needed to create something for myself, and I knew if I did, others would love it as well.”

The “problem” for which Reposa sought a solution was his own personal health challenges. Reposa says he developed temporomandibular joint disorder—otherwise known as lockjaw—in 2019 due to stress from selling his former company at the time, combined with other life events.

“I was on a liquid diet, basically. I couldn’t open my mouth an inch,” Reposa said. “Typically, it’s attributed to a lot of inflammation, and the mechanics of my jaw just weren’t working correctly. I went to the doctors, went to the dentists, [and] I got a needle in my head—they were squirting into my temple to relieve all the inflammation—and it wasn’t really working. And like many people in my situation, as a last resort, I was like, there’s got to be a different way.

The regulation of Michigan’s cannabis and hemp industries has been consolidated under the Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA), effective April 13, according to a WLUC report.

The new regulatory body officially replaced the Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA), which previously oversaw Michigan’s medical and adult-use cannabis markets.

Hemp regulation previously fell under the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD), and while the department will continue to oversee hemp cultivation in the state, the CRA will regulate the processing, distribution and sale of hemp going forward, according to WLUC.

“Given the multiple scenarios where hemp processing crosses over to the regulatory authority of the CRA, this move certainly makes sense, particularly for cannabinoid production,” MDARD Industrial Hemp Program Manager Molly Mott told the news outlet. “The majority of Michigan’s licensed hemp processors perform cannabinoid extraction and have no route to handle temporarily concentrated THC and residual THC. CRA has the staff and expertise to help address those issues.”

The CRA now also has authority over Michigan’s hemp processors and handlers under the Industrial Hemp Research and Development Act, the news outlet reported.

Dubbed “highway robberies,” sheriff’s deputies in San Bernardino County, Calif., performed two traffic stops of armored vehicles last year that led to the federal seizure of roughly $1.1 million in licensed cannabis proceeds.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) agreed April 13 to return that money to Denver-based Empyreal Logistics, the cash management company whose vehicles were targeted Nov. 16 and Dec. 9 in San Bernardino, according to an Institute for Justice press release.

Providing cash logistics solutions in 28 states, Empyreal transports bank deposits for state-licensed medical cannabis businesses as a financial infrastructure for those businesses. Large sums of cash are often related to the lack of safe banking for the cannabis industry.

As a result of the settlement, Empyreal Logistics will drop its federal lawsuit against the DOJ, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and FBI that alleged the government entities acted beyond their legal authority, which plaintiffs claimed is limited by the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment.

Named after former U.S. Reps. Dana Rohrabacher and Sam Farr, both of California, the amendment was an appropriations rider that prohibits the DOJ from spending funds to interfere with the implementation of state medical cannabis laws. It became law in December 2014 after six previously failed attempts.

The Empyreal lawsuit also alleged that the San Bernardino County Sheriff and federal law enforcement agencies violated Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

New York Sen. Jeremy Cooney introduced the first of two bills April 12 that are meant to address banking in the state’s cannabis industry.

S8758, the Cannabis Banking and Disclosure Act, would authorize the New York Office of Cannabis Management to share information about an applicant or licensee with a financial institution that is interested in providing banking services to the industry, according to a Syracuse.com report.

“Allowing financial institutions access to verified information will improve efficiency and compliance in cannabis banking assisting with ‘Know Your Client’ and reporting requirements,” Cooney’s office told the news outlet.

Cooney previously told Syracuse.com that he was working with U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter to identify a banking solution for New York’s cannabis industry and financial institutions. Perlmutter’s SAFE Banking Act cleared the U.S. House for the sixth time via an en bloc amendment package to the America COMPETES Act in February, although the legislation has failed to make any meaningful progress in the Senate.

RELATED: UPDATE: Rep. Perlmutter Makes Final Push on SAFE Banking

A trio of U.S. Representatives introduced bipartisan legislation April 14 to prepare for the federal legalization of cannabis.

The Preparing Regulators Effectively for a Post-Prohibition Adult Use Regulated Environment (PREPARE) Act, introduced by Reps. Dave Joyce (OH-14), Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08) and Brian Mast (FL-18), aims to set up a “fair, honest and publicly transparent process for the federal government to establish effective regulation to be enacted upon the termination of its 85-year prohibition of cannabis,” according to a press release from Joyce’s office.

The legislation is meant to provide lawmakers an opportunity to engage in federal cannabis policy reform, “paving the way for more comprehensive reform down the road,” according to the release.

“With 91% of Americans supporting either medical or recreational cannabis legalization, it’s time for the federal government to respect the will of our voters—both Democrat and Republican alike—and begin a serious conversation about what a post-prohibition America should look like,” Joyce said in a public statement. “No matter their opinion on descheduling, most lawmakers agree that the federal government cannot continue to interfere with the rights of the 48 states that have legalized cannabis to some degree. The PREPARE Act will give my colleagues on both sides of the aisle the answers they need to effectively engage on cannabis reform so that Congress can develop a federal regulatory framework that ensures not only a responsible end to prohibition, but also a safe future for our communities.”

The PREPARE Act would direct the U.S. attorney general to establish a new commission, called the Commission on the Federal Regulation of Cannabis, which would be tasked with advising on the development of a regulatory framework for cannabis based on the federal and state regulations that govern alcohol.

The Pennsylvania Senate approved legislation April 13 that would authorize financial institutions and insurers to provide services to the state’s medical cannabis businesses.

Senate Bill 1167, introduced by Sens. John DiSanto and Sharif Street, would allow, but not require, banks and insurance providers to serve Pennsylvania’s state-legal cannabis businesses.

The legislation would protect financial institutions and insurers that provide services to the cannabis industry from state penalties, essentially codifying the state’s existing climate of regulatory nonenforcement.

RELATED: Pennsylvania Cannabis Banking Bill Receives Unanimous Committee Support

“Improved access to financial and insurance services is vital for protecting public safety and is essential to operate any legal business,” DiSanto said in a public statement. “Banking this cash safely in Pennsylvania will grow our economy and lower costs for medical cannabis consumers.”

Ahead of 4/20, new cannabis products are hitting the market for an eager and growing consumer base. That includes new, intriguing entrants in all product categories—but also new product delivery methods, like Helmand Valley Growers Co.’s new refillable glass prerolls in California. 

Consider this new product line a prepacked twist on the classic chillum. Helmand Valley’s glass prerolls come with a half-gram of diamond-infused cannabis flower and artful designs that turn the glassware into a bit of a collector’s item. The idea is to provide a discreet and low-stakes option for those customers wishing to take their flower consumption on the go.

Bryan Buckley, president and CEO of Helmand Valley Growers Co., which is based in San Diego, says that the idea came from an auspicious meeting at Hall of Flowers in 2021. He met the team from Pre-Packs, a company based in Massachusetts which had been eyeing a launch in California. Buckley says the two teams really connected and found a set of shared values between them. The Pre-Packs team had identified Helmand Valley Growers Co. as the company with just the right sort of ethos to help along a launch in the biggest cannabis market in the world. 

“It's a very conveniently sized product,” Buckley says. “You can stash it in your pocket. And we just like how it's recyclable and reusable and made in America. It just made sense.” Helmand Valley Growers Co. has strong roots in the veteran community. Its name derives from Buckley’s time serving as a U.S. Marine Raider. He served in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan; Raiders who’ve also served in the province will know the sense of unity that came from the Helmand Valley Gun Club: HVGC. Each Raider who served in the province was a member of that group, and each one has an HVGC tattoo. “We really wanted to pay a tribute to those who went there,” he says.

The new preroll product line has made such a splash among the Helmand Valley team that fellow Marine veteran Joe Brennan, owner of MindRight, a dispensary business in Michigan, is planning to launch them in that marketplace by summer. What makes the refillable glass preroll launch all the more timely is that profits from sales will be funneled toward the company’s charitable foundation, Battle Brothers. 

It is through Battle Brothers that Buckley and his team have secured approval to launch a study on the use of medical cannabis to help combat PTSD in veterans. Better yet: Battle Brothers will be allowed to use Helmand Valley Growers Co.’s own cannabis—rather than obtaining plant material through the National Institute of Drug Abuse and the University of Mississippi.