MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press
Maryland lawmakers are following through on their plan to send an adult-use cannabis legalization question to voters in November before adopting the final rules to regulate a state program next year.
The Maryland House voted, 94-39, on April 1 to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot via House Bill 1, asking the state’s constituency if it favors legalization of cannabis use by those 21 and older by July 1, 2023. That vote concurred with Senate amendments to the bill.
Separately, the General Assembly also passed House Bill 837, companion legislation that would 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. The legislation would also decriminalize the possession of up to 2.5 ounces as a civil offense rather than a misdemeanor.
The Senate passed H.B. 837, 30-15, on March 31, before the House concurred in an 89-41 vote on April 1, sending the legislation to Republican Gov. Larry Hogan in time to override a possible veto, should Hogan reject the measure, before lawmakers adjourn from their 90-day session on April 11.
Under current Maryland laws and penalties, possession of 10 grams to 50 pounds of cannabis is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 1 year of incarceration and a $1,000 fine, according to NORML.
Both pieces of legislation are sponsored by Del. Luke Clippinger, a Democrat from Baltimore City who chairs the Judiciary Committee.
The New Hampshire House is once again considering adult-use cannabis legalization and, this time, lawmakers want to allow state-run liquor stores to serve the market.
House Bill 1598, sponsored by Rep. Daryl Abbas, R-Salem, would allow liquor stores to sell cannabis flower, but not other products, such as THC-infused edibles, according to a WCAX report.
“I think the state in the next couple years will realize that we can’t miss out on this market,” Rep. Tim Egan, D-Sugar Hill, told the news outlet, adding, “It’s a different model. It is sort of the first step.”
H.B. 1598 would authorize the New Hampshire Liquor Commission to regulate and oversee the cultivation, manufacturing, testing and sale of adult-use cannabis to adults 21 and older, according to the Concord Monitor.
The legislation would allow municipalities to limit or prohibit adult-use cannabis businesses within their jurisdictions, the news outlet reported.
The newest adult-use cannabis retail market is off and running.
New Mexico dispensaries participating during the state’s opening day on April 1 recorded $1.96 million in adult-use sales in 24 hours, according to the state’s Cannabis Control Division (CCD).
With that launch, New Mexico became the 13th state to offer commercial adult-use cannabis sales in the U.S.
RELATED: Ready or Not, New Mexico Adult-Use Sales Coming
R. Greenleaf, a Schwazze subsidiary, made its first adult-use cannabis retail transaction at 12:01 a.m. Friday at its Las Cruces location in the southern part of the state, according to a Schwazze press release. A licensed medical cannabis provider with 10 dispensaries, four cultivation facilities and one manufacturing location in New Mexico, R. Greenleaf is one of many established retailers making the transition to adult use.
Sales continued to take off at 7 a.m. in Santa Fe and at 10 a.m. in Albuquerque. The state’s largest city, Albuquerque officials have already approved 69 locations for licensed retailers to open shop.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla., April 4, 2022 – PRESS RELEASE – Trulieve Cannabis Corp., a leading and top-performing cannabis company in the United States, announced an exclusive partnership in Florida with DeLisioso LLC, a cannabis marketing and consulting company specializing in high-end adult-use and medical cannabis products. Through the agreement, Trulieve becomes the exclusive producer, processor and retailer of DeLisioso branded products throughout the state, with Flamingo Kush by DeLisioso pre-rolls launching on April 15.
DeLisioso is a Florida-based cannabis brand founded by Richard DeLisi and his son Rick. The elder DeLisi is one of the longest-serving nonviolent cannabis prisoners in United States history, having served 32 years of a 90-year sentence. The DeLisioso brand is committed to donating a portion of its profits to nonprofits including www.FreeDeLisi.com and The Last Prisoner Project, an organization that was instrumental in securing DeLisi's release in December 2020.
"We're thrilled to add the DeLisioso brand to our selection of high-quality medical products throughout Florida," Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers said. "Richard's personal story of injustice and how he uses his platform to benefit others is an inspiration. Couple that with the brand's premium flower and it excites us to bring these products to patients in the communities we serve in Florida."
Available at all of Trulieve's Florida dispensaries upon launch, Flamingo Kush by DeLisioso pre-rolls is an indica-dominant strain with minty, spicy and lemony tones. Flamingo Kush, which is a Kush Mints variant phenotype cultivated with Trulieve genetics, will also be available in whole flower offerings in the weeks following the initial product launch.
"It's a dream come true to announce our partnership with Trulieve and bring the DeLisioso brand to cannabis connoisseurs in my home state," DeLisi said. "After serving over 32 years in jail for a nonviolent cannabis conviction, this agreement marks a monumental and full-circle moment for myself and DeLisioso to be able to legally sell cannabis. Our purpose is not only to provide exceptional cannabis products but to also aid families around the world who have been affected by the war on drugs with each of our sales. We are grateful for Trulieve's support since they are Florida's largest cannabis company and share a similar mission to bring cannabis for all."
As the leading medical cannabis provider in Florida, Trulieve offers the largest selection of THC and CBD products in a variety of delivery methods, including edibles, smokable flower, concentrates, tinctures, topical creams, vaporizers and more. Trulieve also offers statewide home delivery, online ordering and in-store pickup.
]]>Far fewer states have launched commercial adult-use cannabis sales than medical cannabis sales, but those that have made the recreational jump are raking in the dough.
In 2021, there were 11 states with fully operational adult-use retail programs, and those programs were responsible for more than half of all legal cannabis sales in the U.S. Overall, legal adult-use and medical cannabis sales combined for $24 billion in the U.S. last year, according to BDSA’s rolling market forecast from March.
Specifically, eight of those states tracked adult-use sales figures separately from medical sales: Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan and Oregon. That octet accounted for more than $12.8 billion in adult-use sales in 2021, according to data collected by Cannabis Business Times.
SEE BELOW FOR STATE-BY-STATE SALES BREAKDOWNS
Washington ($1.47 billion) and Nevada ($1.04 billion) did not separate adult-use and medical sales in their 2021 state databases. And a public records official from Alaska’s Department of Revenue told CBT that the state does not tax sales to end users and therefore does not keep records pertaining to those transactions.
While Alaska had the smallest population among the 11 adult-use states with operational retail programs in 2021, it’s a state that has been becoming increasingly competitive with the most cannabis retail shops per capita (20 per 100,000 residents) in the western U.S., Alaska Public Media reported.
Connecticut legalized adult-use cannabis last June, and now the state is moving forward to make the market equitable and inclusive.
Written in the adult-use legalization bill is the State Bond Commission’s permission to issue up to $50 million in bonds for co-use by the Department of Economic and Community Development and Social Equity Council to fund social equity applicants, municipalities or organizations, the cannabis accelerator program, and workforce training programs developed by the Social Equity Council.
During the State Bond Commission’s March 31 meeting, the organization released the first $10 million in low-interest funds for social equity applicants looking to open or maintain a cannabis business, according to the meeting agenda.
In February, the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) began accepting adult-use license applications for Disproportionately Impacted Area Cultivator and Retailer licenses.
]]>Crimes targeting dispensaries, such as break-ins and thefts, are seemingly rising across the U.S., and one New Mexico cannabis retailer faced a break-in last Friday, right ahead of its grand opening.
With adult-use cannabis sales launching April 1 in New Mexico, Xtracts cannabis dispensary was preparing to serve additional customers in Albuquerque, KOB 4 reported.
RELATED: Ready or Not, New Mexico Adult-Use Sales Coming
David White, the founder of Xtracts and Organtica, a New Mexico-based medical cannabis dispensary, said it’s “not the first time” this has happened.
“We got broken into, which is never a good time, but I’ve got to tell you, we’ve had worse,” White told KOB 4.
According to the news outlet, White expressed that the dispensary followed strict security measures, as it had cameras surrounding the premises, motion detectors, and alarms.
Oregon cannabis retailers can now sell THC-infused edibles that are twice as potent following a new rule that went into effect April 1.
Edibles sold through Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) licensed dispensaries can now contain packages up to 100 milligrams of THC and 10 milligrams of THC per serving, commission officials recently announced. The previous limits were 50 milligrams and 5 milligrams, respectively.
The increased amounts means that consumers need to know their limits, OLCC advised in a news release.
“Cannabis consumers in Oregon shopping for THC-infused edibles will soon find some products available for purchase that are more potent than previously allowed,” the release states. “Consumers should take notice of the increased amount of THC per serving in these products so they can choose a product that gives them a desired effect without unwanted side effects.”
The change aligns more closely with potency allowances in most other states where commercial sales of adult-use cannabis products are legal. Under the OLCC rules, edibles containing lower THC amounts remain available by licensed retailers.
In an effort to promote consumer safety, solid edibles that exceed 55 milligrams of THC in the package must now be scored to help determine serving sizes, such as a chocolate bar having 10 notched squares.
A poll conducted by The Hill and Emerson College has revealed that Alabama residents are split on the issue of adult-use cannabis legalization, according to a CBS 42 report.
The poll found that 47% of Alabamians oppose legalization, while 42% support it, the news outlet reported.
“There’s still a lot of controversy about marijuana in Alabama,” Emerson College Polling Executive Director Spencer Kimball told CBS 42.
This controversy was recently highlighted when Tim James, a leading gubernatorial candidate in Alabama, claimed during a town hall forum that state officials want to create a “drug cartel” in implementing the state’s medical cannabis program.
“This is nothing but a bait and switch to desensitize and get recreational use started,” James said. “Their dream is recreational pot and that is where they are going.”
U.S. House lawmakers passed federal legislation to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act on April 1, marking the second time broad reform has received majority support in the chamber.
In addition to ending the federal prohibition of cannabis, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act would provide expungements for those with cannabis offenses and impose a federal tax on cannabis to fund programs for those adversely affected by the drug war.
House members voted, 220-204, almost entirely along party lines, to pass the bill.
Sponsored by U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., the legislation, House Bill 3617, was first introduced in July 2019 and was passed by the full lower chamber via a 228-164 vote in December 2020.
In his opening remarks Friday on the House floor, Nadler said legislation to reverse decades of failed federal policies based on the criminalization of cannabis is long overdue. He also pointed out that 37 states have legalized medical cannabis, while 18 states and Washington, D.C., have legalized adult-use cannabis.
“It is long past time for the federal government to recognize that legalization has been a resounding success, that the conflict with federal law has become untenable,” he said. “Criminal penalties for marijuana offenses and the resulting collateral consequences are unjust and harmful to our society. The MORE Act comprehensively addresses these injustices.”
Several companies have been claiming that their CBD products can cure, treat, or prevent COVID-19, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says they are wrong.
Seven companies—Cureganics, Heaven’s Organics LLC, Functional Remedies LLC, Greenway Herbal Products LLC, CBD Social, UPSY LLC and Nature’s Highway—received warning letters from the FDA in conjunction with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on March 28, according to a Miami Herald report.
The FDA and FTC are issuing warning letters to businesses that they say are “selling fraudulent products with claims to prevent, treat, mitigate, diagnose, or cure coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19),” according to the FDA’s website.
For example, in its letter to CBD Social, the FDA claims it “has observed that your website offers cannabidiol (CBD) products for sale in the United States and that these products are intended to mitigate, prevent, treat, diagnose, or cure COVID-19 in people. Based on our review, these products are unapproved new drugs sold in violation of section 505(a) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), 21 U.S.C. § 355(a). Furthermore, these products are misbranded drugs under section 502 of the FD&C Act, 21 U.S.C. § 352. The introduction or delivery for introduction of these products into interstate commerce is prohibited under sections 301(a) and (d) of the FD&C Act, 21 U.S.C. § 331(a) and (d).”
The warning letter says that CBD Social cited studies on its website to “misleadingly represent” its products “as safe and/or effective for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19,” including a 2021 National Institute of Health (NIH) study, a 2022 University of Chicago study, and a 2022 study from the American Chemical Society and American Society of Pharmacognosy.
A South Carolina House committee plans to hold a public hearing April 4 on legislation to legalize medical cannabis.
A small group of House members made changes to the bill March 31, according to the Associated Press, and more discussion is expected next week at the full Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee hearing.
S. 150, titled the SC Compassionate Care Act, is sponsored by Sen. Tom Davis, R-Beaufort, who has been advocating for medical cannabis policy reform in South Carolina for years.
The legislation outlines 13 qualifying conditions, including cancer, multiple sclerosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic medical conditions causing serious muscle spasms, and any chronic or debilitating condition for which an opioid is prescribed.
Nearly seven years ago, Bruce Dietzen had an idea: attempting to make a lighter, stronger car using hemp.
Tennessee lawmakers debated a dual measure March 30 that would ban the sale or possession of hemp-derived products containing more than 0.3% THC on a dry-weight basis.
During a subcommittee hearing Wednesday, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. William Lamberth, said regulation for these products needs to be clear-cut, News Channel 9 reported.
“I am not banning delta-8 THC or any other type of THC in this bill. We’re just setting an upper limit of 0.3% [THC],” William said.
But Sam O’Sullivan, with the Tennessee Health Alternatives Association, disagreed. “If this bill were to pass, I know it just says it’s 0.3 percent, but that is a ban,” O’Sullivan said.
Opponents of the bill also argue that the measure would significantly impact businesses selling such products and hinder individuals who use these products for medicinal benefits.
“Nobody is dying from delta-8,” Ted Terry, a delta-8 user, told News Channel 9. “People are dying from alcoholism every day.”
As the federal push to provide safe banking to the cannabis industry has repeatedly stalled in Washington, D.C., some state lawmakers are now trying to take the matter upon themselves.
Most recently, Pennsylvania legislation that aims to authorize financial institutions and insurers to provide services to the state’s medical cannabis business found unanimous support in the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee March 30.
The legislation, Senate Bill 1167, is sponsored by Republican Sen. John DiSanto and has 13 bipartisan co-sponsors. DiSanto serves as the chair of the Banking and Insurance Committee.
“Access to financial and insurance services is essential for operating any business and it is against the public interest to relegate a multibillion-dollar industry to deal in piles of cash,” DiSanto said in a press release. “Banking this cash safely in Pennsylvania provides certainty for businesses, is a huge opportunity to grow our economy, and should ultimately lower costs for medical cannabis consumers.”
Pennsylvania is one of 37 states to legalize medical cannabis, while 18 states and Washington, D.C., have legalized adult-use cannabis.
While some cannabis businesses utilize local and regional banking in the U.S., options are limited with the plant still illegal under federal law. By and large, the cannabis industry operates in cash without federal clarity providing safe harbor to financial institutions servicing cannabis clients.
A Minnesota lawmaker wants to double the number of licensed medical cannabis operators in the state.
Sen. Mark Koran, R-North Branch, introduced legislation March 29 that would allow the Minnesota Department of Health to license at least two more vertically integrated companies in the state, according to a 5 Eyewitness News report.
Currently, Minnesota has two licensed cannabis operators: LeafLine Labs and Vireo Health, which does business as Green Goods in the state.
Koran told 5 Eyewitness News that his proposal could help increase medical cannabis production, promote more competition and drive prices down for patients.
“There could be a lot of benefits to adding two more medical cannabis producers by 2024,” Koran said. “More competition can lead to better prices for patients and then we have to ask ourselves, ‘What does success look like?’ so that we are careful to not dilute the market.”
Federal legislation to end cannabis prohibition is expected to advance to the House floor April 1 after Rules Committee members voted 9-4 in favor of attaching four amendments to the bill on Wednesday evening.
Overall, the committee entertained 22 amendments to the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which aims to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, provide expungements for cannabis offenses and impose a federal tax on cannabis that would help fund programs for those adversely affected by the drug war.
Sponsored by U.S. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., the legislation, House Bill 3617, was first introduced in July 2019 and was passed by the full lower chamber via a 228-164 vote in December 2020. That marked the first time a full body of Congress voted on a broad cannabis decriminalization bill.
RELATED: U.S. House Passes MORE Act
“I was proud to introduce this long overdue legislation to reverse decades of failed federal policies based on the criminalization of marijuana,” Nadler said during his opening remarks before the Rules Committee on Wednesday.
“It would also take steps to address the heavy toll these policies have taken across the country, particularly among communities of color,” he said. “Last time, the House voted on a bipartisan basis to address this issue. Unfortunately, the Senate failed to act, so I’m pleased that we’re moving forward again.”
Dubbing it one of the “most significant transactions for a women-owned business in cannabis history,” Etain Health, one of 10 cannabis companies that operates in New York’s medical market, announced March 30 it had penned an agreement with RIV Capital, which will be assuming ownership and control of the family-owned, vertically integrated business.
The $247 million deal is still pending regulatory approvals from the New York Cannabis Control Board and the New York State Office of Cannabis Management, according to a press release by RIV Capital, an investment firm that is the Hawthorne Collective’s, a ScottsMiracle-Gro subsidiary, “preferred vehicle for cannabis-related investments.” The Hawthorne Collective will advance an additional $25 million to RIV Capital concurrently with the transaction, according to the announcement.
The payment terms include $212 million in cash and $35 million in Class A common shares in RIV Capital, according to RIV’s press release. Etain CEO Amy Peckham will join RIV Capital’s Board of Directors, and Peckham, along with her daughters Hillary Peckham, COO, and Keeley Peckham, chief horticultural officer, will “be integrated into RIV Capital as core leaders in the future of the Etain brand,” Etain noted in its announcement. The mother-daughter team established the company, the only non-multistate operator in New York, in 2015.
RELATED: Q&A With Etain’s COO Hillary Peckham on Adult-Use Legalization in New York
Mark Sims, former SVP of Strategy and M&A for ScottsMiracle-Gro, was also named CEO and president of RIV Capital, and will lead the company’s efforts in New York as the state continues to build its framework for adult-use cannabis sales.
In addition to its Chestertown cultivation and manufacturing facility, where expansion is underway, Etain operates four dispensaries in the state, including its flagship location in Manhattan and stores in Kingston, Syracuse, and Yonkers. RIV Capital noted its plans to expand operations in New York, investing “additional capital and resources into four new dispensaries, and to support the construction of a new, state-of-the-art flagship indoor cultivation facility.”
MIAMI BEACH, Florida, March 31, 2022 - PRESS RELEASE - IND HEMP and Hempitecture announced the coordinated supply chain partnership to produce and manufacture natural hemp fibers for Hempitecture's nonwoven Hempwool insulation in the western United States. IND HEMP coordinates genetics, agronomy, and contracting production acres of industrial hemp fiber in Montana, Oregon, Washington, and now Idaho.
"Hempitecture's partnership with IND HEMP represents more than just a critical supply chain solution. It represents the restoration of American manufacturing, the empowerment of rural economies, and forward-thinking innovation in sustainable materials. We look forward to innovating the building products of the future with IND HEMP's processed hemp fiber," shares Hempitecture Co-Founder and CEO Mattie Mead.
The two companies share values and a strong commitment to sustainability and doing better for the planet. The companies are aligned and working together with other stakeholders to present industrial hemp and its use in products to compete in the XPRIZE Carbon Removal Challenge. The Elon Musk Foundation funds the challenge with $100 Million in prize rewards to spur innovation in technologies and products to remove and sequester CO² from the atmosphere, with modeled plans to scale to a gigaton of CO² removed annually.
"IND HEMP is dedicated to supporting rural economies and providing sustainable solutions to industry. We are excited about Hempitecture's products and [the] use of natural fiber in construction materials. This continues to showcase how IND HEMP's products and sustainability benefits can be adopted successfully across a wide range of applications," said Trey Riddle, IND HEMP chief strategy officer.
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TORONTO and DETROIT, March 31, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRESS RELEASE -- Red White & Bloom Brands Inc., a multi-state cannabis operator and house of premium brands, and its RWB Michigan, LLC wholly owned subsidiary, announce the debut of Platinum Vape (PV) Live Resin in Michigan. Previously only available in California and Oklahoma, PV Live Resin will soon be in the nearly 400 Michigan dispensaries that now carry Platinum products. PV Live Resin offers consumers a compact product with multiple consumption options that packs all the benefits of flower and the 80+ cannabinoids that work in synergy to bring the plant’s unique therapeutic qualities to life.
“As promised, the Red White & Bloom team is introducing a steady stream of new products and consumption options to satisfy consumer demand in the rapidly growing Michigan cannabis market,” stated Brad Rogers, Red White & Bloom's chairman and CEO. “In the U.S., live resin sales grew 86% since 2020, as reported by Greentank. We believe this is just the tip of the iceberg for the live resin opportunity, since so many new cannabis consumers are totally unfamiliar with live resin and migrate to it once they learn more about cannabis and discover live resins’ many advantages.”
PV Live Resin captures and preserves the trichomes and terpenes of RWB’s premium cannabis strains to deliver a lush flavor profile and high potency experience for maximum enjoyment. RWB anticipates PV Live Resin will be extremely popular with customers because they know and trust the PV brand and can appreciate that PV now offers a new convenient and economical way to enjoy its pure, high quality cannabis’ full entourage effect.
Rogers added, “With our newly acquired cultivation, manufacturing and distribution centers in Michigan, we are streamlining our entire seed to sale processes and expediting the development and go-to-market timelines for new products. We’ve already begun expanding distribution of our PV branded products, including the new Live Resin line. Our PV line is now carried in nearly 400 of Michigan’s 460+ dispensaries.”
Although most frequently recognized as a leading, award-winning vape brand, RWB’s expanded Platinum Vape portfolio includes live resin, gummies, chocolates and premium cannabis flower that have proven to be very popular in California and other areas. The PV brand is extremely strong in Michigan, with ArcView/Greentank's 2021 Q3 Industry Vape Report naming Platinum Vape as the No. 1 brand vape cartridge in Michigan, LeafLink naming it a Biggest Brand in Michigan, and winning a Thrillist “Best of 2020” Edible Award for its Baked Apple Pie Gummies and a Farmer’s Cup 2nd place for its Raspberry Cheesecake Chocolate Bar.
