MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press
Florida Sen. Randolph Bracy announced Dec. 8 that he will introduce a bill during the 2021 legislative session to make it easier for people to clear misdemeanor convictions involving the possession and distribution of less than 20 grams of cannabis, according to an Orlando Sentinel report.
The legislation would not automatically expunge records, the news outlet reported, but it would allow thousands of people to clear their criminal records and waive all court fees to do so.
Bracy said he expects bipartisan support of the bill, according to the Orlando Sentinel, and said that if the legislation passes, he wants to see lawmakers continue to work on broader criminal justice reforms, which could potentially include the expungement of cannabis-related felony convictions.
EUREKA, CA - PRESS RELEASE - Northern California’s cannabis industry will become the focus of a pioneering study examining the economic impact of industry upon the region. The Humboldt Community Business Development Center (HCBDC) has partnered with the California Center for Rural Policy at Humboldt State University and Sonoma State University for a comprehensive look into the impact of cannabis farming, manufacturing, distribution and retail sales on the overall economy of a research area which includes the legendary Emerald Triangle (Humboldt, Trinity, and Mendocino counties). The HCBDC will develop the study through a grant from the California Bureau of Cannabis Control.
“It is widely understood that cannabis is a significant economic driver in rural northern California, yet four years into the regulation, legalization and taxation of California’s cannabis industry, we still do not have real, data-driven research and analysis on what is the true economic impact of the cannabis industry,” says Natalynne DeLapp, HCBDC Executive Director. “This grant will provide resources to answer long-standing questions, will help establish a baseline by which to measure the economic health of the cannabis industry, and by which public policies can be evaluated for efficacy for years to come.”
A chief cash crop in the area for decades, there has never been a thorough analysis of the role of cannabis to the local economy of rural Northern California. The study, which also encompasses Del Norte and Sonoma counties, will begin to harvest data in early 2021 on such issues as the impact of cannabis on the private and the public sectors, cannabis prices on the licensed and unlicensed markets, job creation, and taxes and government and administrative costs. Some of the questions this study will seek to address include:
How much cannabis is produced by the North Coast cannabis community?How much is the region contributing to California’s GDP?How long have businesses been in the community and how much do they contribute to state and local taxes?How many people are employed; how much is paid in wages?How much are cannabis businesses paying in licenses, permits and fees?“This proposal helps policymakers, advocates, private business, and local residents understand the economics and business aspects of the cannabis business as a combination of agriculture and manufacturing with supply-chain partners to deliver goods to retail and customers,” says economics professor Robert Eyler, Dean, Sonoma State University’s School of Extended and International Education, who will be leading the study. “This framing gets us away from the conversation of illegality and about how these businesses (similar to the wine or craft brew industries) harvest a crop that becomes a manufactured product.”
"For decades, rural northern California counties have incorporated the cannabis economy as an unplanned economic development strategy. This research will help these jurisdictions formulate long-term strategies to incorporate a significant, previously illegible, sector of their economies into a more sustainable, resilient future for their communities," says Dominic Corva, Co-Director, Humboldt Interdisciplinary Institute for Marijuana Research (HIIMR), Humboldt State University.
George Weiblen, a professor in the College of Biological Sciences at the University of Minnesota and the science director and curator of plants at the Bell Museum, has been working since 2002 to discover the genetic differences between hemp and marijuana.
He’s recently cracked a major component of the code.
A research team led by the Weiblen Lab has developed a genetic test that can predict whether cannabis will produce mostly cannabidiol (CBD) or tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), having broad implications on both cannabis and hemp industries.
The team’s findings were recently published in the American Journal of Botany.
While Weiblen acknowledges that other similar tests have been developed, the University of Minnesota’s research and test delve deeper into the biology and mechanisms behind why the test works. In other words, they’ve discovered on the molecular level why certain cannabis produces more CBD and vice versa for THC.
“We are looking at the genes that are ultimately responsible for the pattern we see,” Weiblen tells Cannabis Business Times and Hemp Grower. “What we’ve done is proven our model across lots of different kinds of cannabis, from industrial hemp to medicinal cannabis to feral ditchweed [wild hemp].”
REDMOND, Ore., Dec. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- PRESS RELEASE -- Dakine 420, a seven-year-old nutrient company, is partnering with Rexius to expand capacity for manufacturing and distribution of grow media across the nation.
Founded in 2013, Oregon-based Dakine 420 began with a passionate commitment to advocacy and a vision to bring a new level of nutrient quality and real-time customer support to the cannabis and hemp growing industry. As marijuana legalization has taken hold in state after state, the company has established a solid market presence. Innovative, award-winning branding has made the Dakine 420 "Mad Scientist" theme an industry icon.
Nebraska Sen. Anna Wishart is planning an adult-use cannabis ballot initiative for 2022, according to a KOLN report.
Wishart is working on language to legalize adult-use cannabis that will be added to a medical cannabis legalization initiative that is planned for the state’s 2022 ballot, the news outlet reported.
Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana filed new petition language with Secretary of State Robert Evnen in September to qualify a medical cannabis legalization initiative for the 2022 ballot, after the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that the group’s 2020 initiative could not go before voters in the 2020 election.
Evnen certified the group’s initiative in August after Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana collected the required number of signatures needed to qualify the measure for the 2020 ballot. Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner then challenged the initiative in court, and the Supreme Court sided with Wagner, finding that as written, the measure’s language violated the single subject rule as outlined in the state constitution.
While Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana continues its efforts to get medical cannabis legalization before voters in 2022, Wishart plans to introduce her language in January to legalize adult-use, according to a Dec. 5 Facebook post.
New Jersey lawmakers have reached a deal on legislation to implement an adult-use cannabis program in the state, according to an NJ.com report.
State Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D-Union) introduced a bill just days after voters approved adult-use legalization on Election Day, but lawmakers have since debated the legislation’s social equity provisions, which have been criticized by social justice advocates.
RELATED: Advocates, Lawmakers Battle for New Jersey Cannabis Equity
The compromise bill, which lawmakers agreed on Dec. 4, allows the state to issue 37 cannabis cultivation licenses during the first two years of adult-use sales, NJ.com reported, but this limit does not apply to microlicenses, which will be issued to businesses with 10 employees or less.
The legislation also directs 70% of cannabis sales tax revenue, as well as all of the revenue raised by a tax on cultivators, to fund programs for legal aid, health care and mentoring in minority communities disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs, according to NJ.com.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published in the July 2020 issue of Cannabis Business Times as part of the "Ask the Experts" special advertising section.
1. What is the biggest challenge growers face with indoor growing climate control?
Geoff Brown: By its very nature, HVAC design isn’t something that can be figured out on the fly. Long equipment lead times, high-voltage electrical connections that require hiring an engineer, city or state permitting—they’re all factors that need to be accounted for ahead of time. And it’s even more complicated, and critical, when scaling up to facilities 10,000 sq. ft. or more. It can be overwhelming without the right help.
2. How does HVAC planning change as your facility grows?
Aaron Hook: Scaling up is not as simple as adding more of everything. Traditional HVAC is not built for plants; it’s built for people. Minor gaps in performance that could be patched with a Band-Aid in a small space can become catastrophic fail points in a larger one. That’s why investing in purpose-built HVAC—the first time around—needs to be a commercial grower’s top priority. It has proven to pay dividends far down the road. We’re here to help growers find a solution designed to do just that.
Brown: HVAC can’t be an afterthought, but rather a holistic, facility-level conversation. It should be as—maybe even more—important than your lighting decision.
3. What should growers consider before making a buying decision?
Brown: Supplementing a cooling-only HVAC system with standalone dehumidification works well in rooms with less dehumidification demand—veg rooms, for instance—where systems don’t fight each other as much. But these solutions can struggle to keep up in a commercial facility.
Editor’s Note: This article has been adapted from Chapter 10: Mistakes That Can Jeopardize Your Project from Getting Grow Rooms Right, written by Geoff Brown, Quest’s VP of Technical Solutions, and Dan Dettmers, Quest’s Applications Engineer.
Unlike many other subjects in the construction field, information is scarce when it comes to grow room designs and control practices. As a result, there are common mistakes that can be made by almost anyone—mistakes that hold the potential to limit your grow room project’s success. The consequences of these oversights vary, but in all cases, they could possibly damage your long-term viability by reducing your business effectiveness, increasing your operating expenses, reducing your crop output and quality or posing various other problems.
Here, we review some of the most serious errors and how you can avoid them in your cannabis grow room project.
1. Not Understanding and Articulating Your Desires
Many problems that can happen in a project trickle down from the fact that people involved in the project are not entirely clear on what kind of results the grower is seeking.
It’s very important that you nail down early in the project exactly what it is you’re looking for, why you’re looking for that, and communicate it clearly. Grower expectations can vary quite a bit depending on the type of facility and intended final use of the product. What is needed for fine bud may not be the same as what is required for oil extracts. As a result, key design factors such as the type and intensity of lighting and temperatures/humidity levels for each room must be agreed upon by all involved parties. These operating conditions form the basis for all other aspects of the design as well as the capital, operating and maintenance costs of equipment required to maintain desired conditions.
This week, the cannabis industry celebrated two major votes as the U.S. House approved the MORE Act to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, and the UN voted to remove medicinal cannabis from Schedule IV of a 1961 treaty on narcotic drugs.
Here, we’ve rounded up the 10 headlines you need to know before this week is over.
Federal: The enactment of statewide laws legalizing and regulating the use and sale of marijuana by adults are not independently associated with an uptick in cannabis use by young people, according to data published in the Journal of Adolescent Health. A team of investigators affiliated with Boston College analyzed marijuana use data from a nationally representative sample of more than one million high-school students over an 18-year period. Read moreAphria has closed its acquisition of SweetWater Brewing Company, a U.S.-based independent craft brewer, and now plans to introduce its adult-use cannabis brands, such as Broken Coast, Riff, Soleil and Good Supply, to the U.S. market as cannabis-free beverages through SweetWater products. In addition to establishing its own brands and growing its U.S. presence, Aphria will also introduce SweetWater’s beer and hard seltzer products to Canada. Read moreThe U.S. House of Representatives has passed the MORE Act, H.R. 3884, to remove cannabis from the U.S. Controlled Substances Act. It passed the House 228-164, and will now go to the U.S. Senate, where Congress members expect it will not pass. Read moreNew Jersey: A state appellate court has ruled that the state wrongly rejected applicants when it awarded six additional licenses in 2018, and the Department of Health must now establish a new scoring system. While the decision will not revoke the licenses of the state’s current medical cannabis operators, it could give other applicants a second chance at licensing in the future, as well as create a more transparent licensing process going forward. Read moreNew Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal has directed prosecutors to halt possession charges for small amounts of cannabis as the state’s lawmakers work on legislation to implement an adult-use cannabis program. Guidance distributed by Grewal on instructs all municipal, county and state prosecutors to put a hold on cases until at least Jan. 25, 2021, although the directive does not cover driving under the influence or order police to stop arresting people for the possession of small amounts of cannabis. Read moreCalifornia: CanBreed, an Israeli cannabis genetics seed company, announced this week its acquisition of a 3.5-acre hemp farm in San Diego. The company is part of the Smart-Agro R&D Partnership, a publicly traded firm on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Read moreMichigan: Detroit City Council has formally approved a plan to allow adult-use cannabis sales within the city after previously joining the 1,400 or so municipalities that had opted out of an adult-use cannabis market approved by voters in 2018. The new ordinance will give licensing priority to longtime residents who have lived in Detroit for 15, 13 or 10 of the past 30 years, and these residents will have the first crack at half of the 75 retail licenses. Read moreMassachusetts: The Cannabis Control Commission approved delivery regulations this week that create a legal framework for home delivery in the state’s adult-use cannabis market with two new license types that are expected to launch next year. The new rules create “Marijuana Courier” and “Marijuana Delivery Operator” licenses, which will be available only to social equity applicants for the first three years. Read moreVirginia: The Virginia Marijuana Legalization Work Group, which was tasked with studying the impact of adult-use legalization in the state, released its recommendations this week. The roughly 400-page report outlines guidelines for taxation, banking, criminal justice, licensing, regulation and consumer safety, and includes recommendations on five key principles that Gov. Ralph Northam wants to see in a final legalization bill: social, racial and economic equity; public health; protections for youth; upholding the Virginia Indoor Clean Air Act; and data collection. Read moreInternational: In a historic vote, the United Nations Commission for Narcotic Drugs (CND) voted narrowly Dec. 2 to remove medicinal cannabis from Schedule IV of a 1961 treaty on narcotic drugs. The CND, a commission based in Vienna with members from 53 different countries, voted on six different cannabis-related recommendations presented by the World Health Organization (WHO), which outlined protocol for internationally regulating the medical use of different parts of the plant, including cannabis as a whole, CBD and THC. Read moreThe U.S. House of Representatives has passed the MORE Act, H.R. 3884, to remove cannabis from the U.S. Controlled Substances Act.
The bill will now go to the U.S. Senate, where Congress members expect it will be voted down.
Cannabis' removal from the U.S.' list of controlled substances, said U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) in a Dec. 2 Rules Committee hearing, "means that going forward, individuals could no longer be prosecuted federally for marijuana offenses. This does not mean that marijuana would now be legal in the entire United States—a very important point. It will simply remove the federal government from the business of prosecuting marijuana cases and will leave the question of legality to the individual states."
RELATED: UPDATE: UN Votes to Remove Cannabis From List of Most Dangerous Drugs
In addition to descheduling and decriminalizing cannabis, the MORE Act creates a "Criminal Justice Office," which will, among other things, create a grant program to provide job training and reentry services; and provide legal aid, including for the "expungement of cannabis convictions."
The act places a 5% federal tax on the sale of cannabis products; that tax will then increase by 1% each year and cap at 8%, according to Congress members who spoke during the Dec. 4 full-floor U.S. House debate.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published in the November 2020 State of the Lighting Market, produced by Cannabis Business Times and made possible with support from Fluence by OSRAM. Read the full report in the November issue of CBT.
As chief scientist for LivWell, Andrew Alfred’s priorities include testing any potential facility update or growing change before implementing it at scale.
For the past seven years, one of the inputs Alfred has researched extensively is lighting. Alfred was interested specifically in light-emitting diode (LED) technology for its energy-saving potential, but before considering a widespread change for the vertically integrated company’s 2-acre canopy in its flagship cultivation facility in Denver, he wanted to be sure plant performance wouldn’t suffer.
“Seven years ago, one of the LEDs that we had in our flower rooms looked like a car engine. It weighed 80 pounds,” Alfred says. “We didn’t know how to use the LED light. We didn’t know that you had to raise the temperatures in your room to account for the loss of radiant heat.”
Another common mistake cultivators made in the early days was simply swapping out one grow light for an LED light without calculating lighting density, which was “a growing pain that the industry had to reconcile.”
However, both LED technology and cultivator knowledge have improved dramatically and quickly, Alfred says, and that includes everything from the lights to the mounting hardware. Working with nearly 20 North American and European LED lighting manufacturers, LivWell has conducted multiple cannabis trials over the years, adjusting environmental conditions to optimize plant performance.
Because of the improvements in yield and energy savings, for the past five years, the company has been incrementally converting its entire Denver facility to LED lighting and has almost completed the transition.
The Fluence by OSRAM research team is proud to announce the results of its latest research trials exploring the impact of spectra on cannabis yield and secondary metabolite production. During this session, David Hawley, Ph.D., will present the triple-replicate studies conducted in collaboration with Wageningen University under supplemental lighting and Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation with sole-source lighting. Each trial tested three cannabis cultivars under four different spectra ranging from broad, white light, to narrow-band, purple light, aligning with industry standards for greenhouse and sole-source lighting. The analysis revealed interesting findings regarding yield as well as cannabinoid and terpene concentrations. Join this session to hear the latest in cannabis research and learn how selecting the optimal light spectra can help you meet your commercial facility’s business and cultivation goals.
Aphria has closed its acquisition of SweetWater Brewing Company, a U.S.-based independent craft brewer, in a deal that Aphria CEO and Chairman Irwin Simon said will give the Canadian licensed producer an opportunity to build brand awareness in the U.S. ahead of federal legalization.
Aphria plans to introduce its adult-use cannabis brands, such as Broken Coast, Riff, Soleil and Good Supply, to the U.S. market as cannabis-free beverages through SweetWater products and harness SweetWater’s expertise in what Simon said is the growing, $29-billion craft beer market in the U.S.
“The beer and cannabis industry have been tied closely in recent years, as both industries are ripe for a cross-over audience,” Simon said in an email to Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary. “SweetWater Brewing Co. has a ready-made brand and fan base that is closely aligned with a cannabis lifestyle. Aphria sees a huge opportunity to pre-seed our cannabis brands in the U.S. through SweetWater in advance of U.S. legalization. As well, its distribution in 27 states and Washington, D.C. provided Aphria a recognizable foothold and infrastructure in the U.S. with long-term potential.”
In addition to establishing its own brands and growing its U.S. presence, Aphria will also introduce SweetWater’s beer and hard seltzer products to Canada.
Aphria and SweetWater share a strong focus on R&D and innovation, Simon said, and SweetWater is no stranger to the cannabis market—in 2018, the company introduced a beer with plant-derived terpenes that mimic the smell of cannabis. With growing legalization in the U.S., Simon said Aphria plans to introduce a CBD- or THC-infused canned seltzer in both the U.S. and Canadian markets.
Chicago, IL and Denver, CO, December 3, 2020 - PRESS RELEASE - Hub International Limited (HUB), a leading global insurance brokerage, has announced that is has chosen Simplifya, a provider of operational and regulatory compliance software for the cannabis industry, to provide ongoing cannabis license verification in order to help identify and support valid cannabis operators with insurance coverage.
Licensing for cannabis businesses in the U.S. is particularly complicated. Compliance requirements vary by state, by the type of business, and by the physical location of the operation. And, licensing requires proper due diligence in order for cannabis businesses to operate legally and maintain compliance.
“Proof of insurance shows operational maturity and is an essential step for cannabis cultivators, manufacturers, transporters and distributors to keep growing their business,” said Jay Virdi, chief sales officer for Cannabis Specialty Practice, HUB International. “With Simplifya, HUB can more efficiently protect legitimate cannabis operators by ensuring their licensures are complete, valid, and active – all of which are non-negotiable necessities for securing proper insurance coverage.”
HUB’s Cannabis Specialty has more than 130 members servicing over 400 cannabis-related recreational and medical clients. HUB clients include companies across the cannabis spectrum throughout North America, including cultivating and harvesting, transportation, retail/dispensaries, manufacturing and laboratories, as well as wholesale and distribution centers. HUB understands the complexity of the cannabis industry and the many unique insurance coverage limitations and exclusions that can leave businesses exposed to risks. Noneof which can be secured without proper proof of licensure.
The Simplifya Verified platform currently monitors real-time cannabis license data for 34 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and all Canadian provinces. While each of these jurisdictions makes cannabis license information available; the format in which they provide it differs from state to state and by province, making manual monitoring both time and labor-intensive. Simplifya’s in-house legal team has completed the data collection of more than 35,000 license records and will provide HUB with an efficient and comprehensive view of client and prospect licensure status.
Maryland-based vertically integrated cannabis operator Curio Wellness has announced a new funding program that will provide $30 million in startup capital to up to 50 minority business owners to allow them to open a Curio franchise in one of multiple states.
“At its root, it was born of an interest in making a statement about diversity,” Jerel Registre, managing director of the Curio WMBE Fund, told Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary.
Curio CEO Michael Bronfein started thinking about ways to support diversity in the industry back in 2018, Registre said, and worked with one of the company’s key investors to move beyond Curio’s focus on a diverse employee base to create business ownership opportunities for women, minorities and disabled veterans.
RELATED: More Than Medicine: How Curio Wellness is Redefining Its Marketplace
Access to capital is a key challenge for many prospective business owners, Registre said, due to the cannabis industry’s limited access to banking, as well as diverse communities historically having a more difficult time accessing capital to build businesses.
Toronto, CANADA - December 4, 2020 — PRESS RELEASE — Greentank Technologies Corp. announced today it has received Health Canada approval for a cannabis research license. This marks the first time a cannabis research license has been granted to any vape hardware manufacturer globally, and opens up the opportunity for Greentank to take an industry leadership role in the advancement of vape reliability, performance and safety.
Under the research license, Greentank can handle up to 10,000 grams of dried cannabis flower or 2,500 grams of cannabis extract for research purposes at the company’s headquarters in Toronto, Canada. This allows the company to comprehensively test its partners’ extracts in house for viscosity, fluidity, constituents, emissions and the various ways those extracts interact with different materials and hardware technologies to determine the best fits for each brand's formulations.
The research license also allows Greentank to import cannabis from legal foreign suppliers and conduct focus-group studies with its brand partners. This data will provide consumer feedback around taste, performance and user experience, as well as critical data surrounding vape emissions and interactions with various materials. Greentank expects its newly expanded research mandate will drastically shorten design cycles and accelerate product development by allowing the company to validate new hardware technologies more efficiently than ever before.
“In an industry that is on the cusp of some major regulatory changes, this research license is a huge milestone achievement for Greentank,” says Greentank CEO Dustin Koffler. “As the only vape hardware manufacturer in the world able to legally conduct formulation testing and research, Greentank is uniquely positioned to lead the way in regulatory compliance adoption. As a trusted advisor to brands we can facilitate first mover advantage in the adoption of new standards surrounding vape safety, reliability and performance by using science and data to validate the entire process.”
The announcement coincides with Greentank’s construction of its third vape device lab, a state-of-the-art product engineering and development hub operated under the stewardship of Greentank chief engineer and former Dyson engineering manager Pete Duckett.
Greenlight CEO talks access to capital in Blizzy cover storyBLIZZY MAGAZINE, a monthly publication targeting the African American cannabis consumer, features Greenlight Distribution CEO Dennis O’Carroll on the cover of its November 2020 edition. O’Carroll is also the CEO of Suite 420 Solutions.Suite 420 Solutions is the only Colorado-based direct lender to the cannabis industry. Suite 420 provides working capital to cannabis businesses to drive growth and valuation. Most importantly, it allows entrepreneur-owners to retain their maximum ownership and profit.Blizzy Magazine notes Suite 420's leadership in the cannabis industry:"Suite 420 Solutions is a trailblazer in providing funds for this new and burgeoning niche market. As the only Colorado-based direct lender in the marketplace, the firm is poised to quickly become a game-changer; specifically, for minority entrepreneurs."The company provides much needed capital designed to aid in driving growth and enhancing market valuation. More critically, however, it provides the freedom for the business owner to focus on operations and business growth."“Our non-dilutive capital provides the cannabis business owner with the option to leverage company growth and drive valuation while not compromising ownership share,” O’Carroll told the magazine."Our goal is to give back to those communities that have been adversely impacted by marijuana laws in the past. We want to play a role in leveling the playing field by providing that ever-elusive access to capital they need to compete."- Dennis O'Carroll, CEO
Licensed cannabis companies pay more than their fair share of taxes thanks to the business deduction restrictions placed on them by IRS Tax Code Section 280E. That tax law prevents cannabis producers from taking any deduction or credit unrelated to the cost of goods sold (COGS). With some well-thought-out corporate structure, however, cannabis cultivators can find ways to reduce their overall tax burden.
The Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit is one such vehicle that potentially is available to cultivators, according to Jonathan Storper and Daren Shaver, attorneys with California-based Hanson Bridgett.
“What the R&D credit is designed to do is reward innovation and problem-solving. And there's really no industry limitation,” Shaver tells Cannabis Business Times and Hemp Grower. “Any business that is eliminating technical uncertainty in the development of products or experimenting and relying on science to really develop a product [is] a very good candidate for an R&D credit.”
Expenses relating to breeding programs, equipment modification and/or design, and developing novel or innovative consumer products can all be used to apply for an R&D tax credit, the attorneys say, as long as the corporate structure separates the plant-touching business from the R&D business. “The corporate structure is extremely important in this kind of thing,” Storper stresses.
Having multiple corporate entities is not new to the cannabis industry and is highly common in other industries. For example, some cannabis companies have created separate corporate entities under which real estate assets are held. That real estate company, which leases the property to the cultivation operation, can then take deductions (as it is a federally legal business) that would not have been available if the cultivation operation held those assets. Thus, that structure lowers the overall tax burden for the cultivation business.
The same idea applies to the R&D credit, the attorneys say.
PRESS RELEASE - The enactment of statewide laws legalizing and regulating the use and sale of marijuana by adults are not independently associated with an uptick in cannabis use by young people, according to data published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
Commenting on the study’s findings, NORML’s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said, “These latest findings add to the growing body of scientific literature showing that legalization policies can be implemented in a manner that provides access for adults while simultaneously limiting youth access and misuse. Furthermore, these findings stand in sharp contrast to the sensational claims often made by legalization opponents, claims that thus far have proven to be baseless.”
A team of investigators affiliated with Boston College analyzed marijuana use data from a nationally representative sample of more than one million high-school students over an 18-year period.
Authors “found no evidence that RML [recreational marijuana legalization] was associated with [an] increased likelihood or level of marijuana use among adolescents. Rather, among adolescents who reported any use of marijuana in the past month, the frequency of use declined by 16 percent after RML.”
Data compiled last week by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the number of adolescents admitted to drug treatment programs for marijuana-related issues has fallen precipitously in states that have legalized and regulated its adult-use.
Washington, DC - PRESS RELEASE: Members of the House Rules Committee have advanced the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act, H.R. 3884, which removes marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act, thereby eliminating the existing conflict between state and federal marijuana laws. The legislation is expected to be considered on the floor of the House of Representatives later this week.
“The historic nature of today's progress cannot be overstated,” said NORML Political Director Justin Strekal. “For the first time in American history, the public will see the ‘People's House’ vote to end the senseless, cruel and racist policy of marijuana criminalization and prohibition.
“We give our thanks to the leadership of Rules Committee Chairman, Jim McGovern, and to the hundreds of other members of Congress, their staffs and other advocates and allies who worked diligently to ensure that we made it to this moment,” Strekal concluded.
