MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press

Smokable medical cannabis products are coming to Louisiana Jan. 1, 2022, and the state’s largest producer is gearing up to meet expected demand growth.

Good Day Farm, a Louisiana State University AgCenter partner, plans to pivot its operations north, from its current location in Baton Rouge to a 225,000-square-foot warehouse in Ruston later this month, The Daily Advertiser recently reported. The new site is 30 miles from the Arkansas border.

Good Day Farm President John Davis told the Advertiser the move to Ruston is intended to meet an anticipated demand increase for medical cannabis when the state’s program expands to include smokable products Jan. 1, 2022.

RELATED: Louisiana Governor Signs Smokable Medical Cannabis Bill

“It’s an exciting expansion, especially because it will create new jobs and place what has been an empty building back into commerce,” Davis said.

He said Good Day Farm’s move will initially create 50 new jobs and expects as many as 200 more jobs to be added at the Ruston location as the state’s market continues to mature.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill Oct. 8 that would have allowed cannabis businesses to advertise on highway billboards.

Lawmakers introduced the legislation following a judge’s November 2020 ruling that cannabis billboards are illegal under California’s Prop. 64, and that state regulators exceeded their authority by allowing cannabis businesses to advertise on billboards along California’s interstate highways, according to a Los Angeles Times report.

The Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC) then announced new rules for the advertisements that allowed cannabis billboards to remain on highways that are entirely within California’s borders. The regulations prohibited cannabis businesses from placing billboard advertisements on any interstate highway that crosses the state’s border, however.

Assemblyman Bill Quirk (D-Union City) then introduced the legislation to allow these advertisements in an effort to help California’s legal cannabis industry, according to the Los Angeles Times.

“We have not done enough to help the legal cannabis industry thrive,” Quirk told the news outlet. “The legal cannabis industry has a very limited and narrow set of marketing avenues available to them. Removing their ability to promote their legitimate business along hundreds of miles of roadway does nothing but help the illicit market.”

The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission announced Oct. 8 that physician assistants and nurse practitioners can now recommend medical cannabis to patients, according to an NJ.com report.

“Nurse practitioners and physician assistants are an integral part of medical practices and are involved in patient care, diagnosis, and prescribing medicine,” Cannabis Regulatory Commission Executive Director Jeff Brown told the news outlet. “We are excited to implement the process for them to participate in the program to provide greater access to patients and to make the process more efficient for care provider offices.”

The change is part of Jake Honig’s law, which expanded New Jersey’s medical cannabis program and has been rolled out over the course of the last two years.

Physician assistants and nurse practitioners participating in the program will be held to the same requirements as doctors, NJ.com reported. They must be licensed and in good standing, and they must have a practice located in New Jersey.

There are 1,311 doctors in the state who are registered to recommend medical cannabis to their patients, NJ.com reported, and the program has more than 117,000 patients and 23 operational dispensaries.

Keynesian economics is dead. Yes, I mean the economist John Maynard Keynes, the once-famous and infamous economist who has inspired the model of the western world’s monetary and fiscal policies since the end of World War II.

What does Keynesian economics, or the idea that money should be managed by the government, wherein the economy is driven by mostly aggregate demand, and that people will buy more when they have more nominal money in their pocket, have to do with cannabis? Well, cannabis, like any other industry, is facilitated by money. And the money being invested into the cannabis industry meant to protect cannabis companies from the eventual consolidation of the industry is based solely on 75 years of “easy” money policy. The result being that larger firms with access to easy money will pick off weaker, smaller firms who cannot compete with multistate operators or large tobacco, alcohol, and pharma corporations when federal legalization arrives. The only defense for smaller cannabis firms is to fortify their balance sheets with “hard” money.

What do I mean by “easy” and “hard” money? First, money has three main characteristics. One, it is a store of value. This means that what an amount of currency buys today should buy, at a minimum, the same goods in the future. Two, it is a medium of exchange, meaning you can easily use it in a marketplace that accepts it in exchange for goods or services. Three, it is a unit of account, which allows for the calculation of profits, losses, and balances.

One example of “easy” money is the fiat or paper and coin currency issued by central banks and made legal tender by governments around the world. It is “easy” because money can be printed at will and there is no cap as to its issuance. On the other hand, “hard” money is not easy to produce and there is a cap, or at least a very low level of issuance regardless of the economic demand for it. Gold is an example of a historical hard currency.

To put it into econo-speak, “hard” money creation is inelastic to any price or demand signals. (In that regard, gold is an imperfect example as an increase in demand (leading to a price increase) would eventually lead to more gold-mining activity (increase in supply) to meet that demand and capitalize on the price increase.)

The Problem With “Easy” Money

When the government prints fiat money, it dramatically reduces that currency’s usefulness as a store of value. Who hasn’t heard their parents or grandparents say, “When I was a kid, you could go to the movies for 25 cents?” Now, movies cost $10 or more. The quarter obviously didn’t keep its store of value.

A number of advocacy groups and state legislative committees are gathering either signatures or intel on opportunities to legalize cannabis in 2022—for medical or adult use, depending on the individual state’s place in the great timeline of reform. See below for some of these recent stories.

We’re working on a feature that will take a close look at those attempts and suss out the likelihood of certain efforts.

But we’re curious about your perspectives, too. Is your U.S. state or country preparing to legalize cannabis to one degree or another next year? What are you doing to prepare for that?

Let us know. Feel free to send an email with your insights and your thoughts on the wave of reform—and whether you think you’ll catch it in 2022.

This process is ongoing, and it’s one reason why we put together the Startup and Expansion Guide in our August 2021 issue. 

We’ve rounded up some of the key cannabis headlines from the week right here.

The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) is working with a local vendor to implement a cannabis analytic tracking system for when adult-use sales begin in the state next year.

RELATED: UPDATE: Gov. Ned Lamont Signs Adult-Use Cannabis Legislation

The electronic tracking system will capture and maintain records of all legal adult-use cannabis in Connecticut from seed to sale and monitor licensee activity, according to recent regulations released from the DCP.

"The system will create a barcode-like identifier for each cannabis product on the market, and producers, delivery companies, and retailers will have to enter into the system every time the product is transported, and eventually sold, creating a documented chain of custody," the Hartford Business Journal reported.

According to the regulations, all licensed cannabis businesses will have an account within the platform; however, companies can use an alternative tracking platform if it complies with Connecticut's system.

The Ontario government introduced the Supporting People and Businesses Act Thursday to provide continued support to citizens throughout the COVID-19 pandemic by modifying or reducing specific standards and regulations. 

Part of the wide-ranging bill is a proposal to enable cannabis retail stores to offer delivery services and curbside pickup permanently.

According to the Ontario government website, the proposal would allow "retailers to continue supporting physical distancing and general public health directives."

High Tide, a Canada-based retail-focused cannabis company, announced its support of the government's proposal.

"Along with many other businesses, legal cannabis retailers have seen their bottom lines impacted by the pandemic," said Raj Grover, High Tide president and CEO, in a press release. "As lockdowns were put in place, the government of Ontario listened to legal cannabis businesses and allowed us to offer curbside pickup and delivery services to our customers on a temporary basis. This decision helped many smaller cannabis retailers stay afloat and limit layoffs, while providing the sector with an important tool to combat illicit market operators, many of whom began ramping up their unregulated delivery services as the pandemic hit.”

"I am pleased that the Ontario government has now decided to make the delivery allowance permanent," Grover added. "Through the pandemic, licensed cannabis retailers have proven that we can operate home delivery in a safe and secure manner that allows adults to have timely access to the regulated and quality-controlled products that they want, while ensuring that, unlike illicit market operators, access to youth is strictly forbidden."

Michigan’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA) will oversee the sale of all cannabis-derived THC products in the state starting Oct. 11.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation in July to regulate delta-8 THC, which has been sold by gas stations, online vendors and other retailers outside of Michigan’s regulated cannabis market without the licensing, testing and other regulations that govern Michigan’s licensed cannabis businesses.

Under the new law, all cannabis-derived THC products will be covered by state law and regulated by MRA beginning Monday, and the products will only be sold through licensed cannabis retailers after proper testing and approvals, according to a local 9 & 10 News report.

Regulators will review and analyze all “intoxicating substances,” including delta-8 THC and THC-O-acetate, under the new law to determine whether they need to be safety tested through MRA’s statewide monitoring system and tracked through Michigan’s seed-to-sale tracking system, 9 & 10 News reported.

“Michigan’s approach to cannabis is a model for the nation in regard to protecting its residents and making sure that those who consume these products do so in a safe manner,” MRA Executive Director Andrew Brisbo told the news outlet. “Moving forward, these intoxicating products will be removed from the unregulated marketplace and placed in a well-regulated and licensed system, restricted to adults, and monitored for safety."

Kentucky Rep. Jason Nemes is working on a revised version of his medical cannabis legalization bill, which he believes has the support it needs to clear the General Assembly if it comes up for a vote during the 2022 legislative session, according to a WDRB report.

RELATED: Medical Cannabis Legalization in Kentucky Faces an Uphill Battle

An earlier version of the bill passed the House in a 65-30 vote during the 2020 session before stalling in the Senate, the news outlet reported.

The legislation allows four qualifying conditions: chronic pain, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and nausea. It also bars patients from smoking medical cannabis.

Nemes told WDRB that some provisions previously included in the bill have been changed to increase its chance of passage, including more restrictions on who can grow, sell and prescribe medical cannabis.

Oklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action filed two initiative petitions Oct. 7 to bring cannabis policy reform measures to the state’s 2022 ballot.

One initiative petition would legalize adult-use cannabis, The Oklahoman reported, while the other makes changes to the state’s existing medical cannabis laws.

The adult-use measure would allow adults 21 and older to grow, purchase, transport, receive, prepare and consume cannabis, according to the news outlet. The proposal levies a 15% tax on adult-use cannabis sales and phases out the 7% tax on medical cannabis sales over the course of a year, The Oklahoman reported.

The adult-use proposal also allows those serving time for cannabis-related convictions to ask the court for resentencing or dismissal.

“Until we pass recreational [marijuana legalization] we will not be able to truly bring stability to our program,” Jed Green, who heads Oklahomans for Responsible Cannabis Action and who backed the state’s medical cannabis initiative, State Question 788, told The Oklahoman. “Legalization prevents diversion. Folks have been and are going to use marijuana. Have been for decades. It is in the best interest of our state to get ahead of the curve on this issue. We must put this issue to rest.”

The cannabis committee at ASTM International, a century-old organization that has released more than 12,000 global standards for a wide range of industries, has turned its attention to sustainability standards.

The cannabis committee, D37, has published auditing and security standards in the past, and recently launched a subcommittee on sustainability to develop standards aligned with United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

RELATED: Standardizing the Cannabis Industry: A Look at ASTM International’s Process for Writing Standards

The standards will create consistency in an industry that has historically been regulated through a patchwork of state rules, according to Shawn Cooney, chair of D37’s subcommittee on sustainability.

“[The cannabis industry can] wait for [regulators] to even off the differences state by state, or the industry could stand up through the utilization of something like ASTM and get what the industry sees as standards into view, and then let the regulatory agencies mirror what the industry is basically saying the regulations should be,” Cooney told Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary.

CHICAGO and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 7, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE – Green Thumb Industries Inc., a leading national cannabis consumer packaged goods company and owner of Rise Dispensaries, announced it will host a grand reopening for its newly expanded retail store, Rise Mundelein, on Oct. 16 in Mundelein, Ill. A patient and guest appreciation event will be held from 8-11 a.m. that day and will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 8:30 a.m. Mundelein Mayor Steve Lentz will be in attendance.

"Rise Mundelein has been an important part of the Green Thumb story since opening as Illinois' first medical dispensary in 2015. On Jan. 1, 2020, we were one of the first stores in the state to serve adult-use consumers,” Green Thumb founder and CEO Ben Kovler said. “Americans are overwhelmingly choosing cannabis for well-being, and we look forward to enhancing our patient and customer experience at Rise Mundelein for today and the future."

Lentz added: “Green Thumb and Rise Mundelein have been outstanding community partners since entering Mundelein in 2015. I look forward to celebrating the grand reopening of Rise and celebrating with our neighbors.”

Designed by acclaimed interior design firm Sasha Adler Design, the expanded space provides guests and patients with an open concept bar for individualized consultations, interactive product displays and pop-up shops, increased points of sale and additional educational spaces. Rise Mundelein will also offer legal on-site purchase and consumption of cannabis by reservation only. As part of the expansion, Rise Mundelein is the first store in Illinois to offer roll-thru car service for medical cannabis patients to pick up orders. Orders and reservations may be made at www.risecannabis.com.

NEW YORK, Oct. 7, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE – Columbia Care Inc., one of the largest and most experienced cultivators, manufacturers and providers of cannabis products in the U.S., announced the first Cannabist dispensary in Missouri, located in Hermann, is now open. This marks the ninth Cannabist location and the 75th active Columbia Care dispensary in the U.S. Cannabist Hermann is located at 2060 Village Lane.

The Cannabist name is part of Columbia Care’s national retail rebrand, which launched last month in Florida.

RELATED: Columbia Care Turns Its Attention to Florida in Effort to Launch Cannabist Retail Brand

“We are proud to bring the Cannabist experience to medical patients in Missouri,” said Jesse Channon, chief growth officer of Columbia Care. “We are seeing accelerating growth and a clear appetite for high-quality products and services among an increasing number of patients in Missouri’s young medical market. We’re incredibly thankful to the Department of Health and Senior Services, local regulators and our business partners who have helped make this a reality as we bring the Cannabist experience to new communities across the country.”

The dispensary boasts seven points of sale and a drive-thru service window. Columbia Care will also open a manufacturing facility in nearby Columbia, which will produce vapes, edibles, tinctures, tablets and pre-rolls. Missouri’s cumulative medical cannabis sales reached more than $113 million in September, since launching in October 2020. There are approximately 150,000 registered medical patients in the state. Hermann is located between Kansas City and St. Louis, the two largest population centers in the state.

SEATTLE, Washington, October 7, 2021 - PRESS RELEASE -  Headset, a provider of data and analytics to the cannabis industry, announced the launch of its competitive intelligence tool, Headset Insights, in Arizona, Illinois and Maryland. With the expansion, Headset's retail-derived cannabis market reports based on aggregated point of sale data at the receipt level are now available in 15 markets across the U.S. and Canada. Headset Insights is currently available in California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts, Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Pennsylvania and most recently, Michigan.

The expansion of Headset Insights into Arizona, Illinois and Maryland will provide the rapidly expanding U.S. cannabis industry with even more valuable consumer trend insights and real-time market data. The platform enables local businesses to gain a comprehensive understanding of shifts within the market, proactively identify emerging retail opportunities and develop data-driven strategies to stay competitive. In 2020, both Arizona and Illinois surpassed $500 million in full-year cannabis sales, with Arizona being the 8th top-selling state and Illinois being the 10th top-selling state in the country. Medical sales in Maryland grew by 40% in 2020, increasing from $34 million in monthly sales in April 2020 to $48.1 million in 2021.

"We are thrilled to expand Headset Insights further into the Southwestern, Midwestern and Eastern U.S.," said Cy Scott, founder and CEO of Headset. "Data from these markets will contribute to a comprehensive profile of the U.S. market as a whole and give new and existing businesses in Arizona, Illinois and Maryland the information they need to thrive. Data from these markets will also likely influence business and investing behaviors of neighboring states that are on the cusp of legalizing adult-use products or already have a thriving medical industry."

Arizona has shown strong year-over-year (YoY) growth, growing 62% YoY in August to $138 million in total cannabis sales (medical and recreational). As of August, Illinois has $1.1 billion in total cannabis sales and is only $400,000 away from surpassing Michigan as the third-largest cannabis market in sales in the U.S. Maryland is the smallest U.S. market being tracked by Headset, with $370 million in total cannabis sales, and sales have been fairly steady month to month, ranging from $42 million to $48 million per month from January through August. Looking at category sales shares in Arizona, Illinois and Maryland, flower is the largest category capturing 46.2% of the Arizona market, 43.2% of the Illinois market and 50.0% of the Maryland market.

To learn more about Headset Insights, please click here. For more Illinois and Maryland market insights, please read the recent industry reports, "A high-level overview of the Illinois cannabis market" and "A high-level overview of the Maryland cannabis market." Keep an eye out for the Arizona market report in the coming weeks.

More than six months after New York legalized adult-use cannabis through the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA), the state’s Cannabis Control Board (CCB) held its first public meeting Oct. 5.

Inaction by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in appointing a CCB chairperson as well as an executive director for the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) held up the process. It took current Gov. Kathy Hochul nine days after assuming the governor’s office Aug. 24 to call an executive session to make those appointments.

RELATED: New York Governor Nominates Cannabis Regulatory Heads; Senate Confirms

So, what was the five-member board’s first order of business during its inaugural meeting this week? To expand New York’s medical cannabis program to include the use of whole flower.

CCB Chairwoman Tremaine Wright—Hochul’s appointee who was confirmed by the state Senate on Sept. 2—provided some detail about the “enhancements.”

“I am excited to announce that we are directing the OCM to work with the Department of Health (DOH) to execute the expansion of the medical cannabis program pursuant to the MRTA,” she said. “The Department of Health and our OCM team are actively working on several changes, which will take effect immediately.”

Cannabis policy reform has a long and storied history in Nebraska.

Last year, Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana collected enough valid signatures to get a medical cannabis legalization measure on the state’s 2020 ballot, only to have the Nebraska Supreme Court overturn the initiative, which opponents claimed violated the state’s single subject rule.

From the ashes, a new strategy emerged, and Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana filed two separate medical cannabis initiatives with the Secretary of State Sept. 8.

RELATED: Advocates Try Again to Place Medical Cannabis Legalization Measure on Nebraska’s Ballot

The setback also inspired John Cartier, who was one of the ballot committee members working for the 2020 initiative and is still involved in the Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana campaign, and his colleague Michael Johnson to launch a cannabis trade group in the state to organize industry stakeholders around policy reform efforts.

With a 26-15 vote, the House Judiciary Committee passed the MORE Act Thursday evening, giving a major boost to the comprehensive cannabis reform legislation first introduced in 2019.

Marijuana Moment first reported the news shortly after the vote. 

While the U.S. House has passed this bill before, in a December 2020 vote, that version ultimately got nowhere in the U.S. Senate. U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-NY, refiled the bill earlier this year.

"I have long believed that the criminalization of marijuana has been a mistake," Nadler wrote. "The racially disparate enforcement of marijuana laws has only made it worse, with serious consequences, particularly for communities of color."

The MORE Act would deschedule cannabis and retroactively expunge past cannabis convictions at the federal level. It would impose a 5% tax on the retail sales of cannabis to go to the Opportunity Trust Fund, a rate that would increase to 8% over three years. The bill also includes social equity provisions (including the development of the Office of Cannabis Justice and the distribution of grants) and ongoing research components.

“Never before has public support from every corner of the political spectrum been so aligned as to demand that Congress take action to end the shameful experiment with marijuana prohibition,” said NORML Political Director Justin Strekal in a public statement. “The continued criminalization of marijuana by the federal government is an affront to our professed ideals of freedom, liberty, and justice. By advancing the MORE Act, the House will demonstrate that the majority of our political leaders are ready to correct this injustice and enact cannabis policy reform that undoes the harms that have been inflicted upon millions of otherwise law-abiding citizens.” 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation into law to expand end-of-life treatment and pain relief options for “terminally-ill” patients. 

S.B. 311, also known as “Ryan’s Law,” defines “terminally-ill patients” as individuals with “a medical condition resulting in a prognosis of life of one year or less, if the disease follows its natural course.”

“It is inconceivable to me that, in a state where medical cannabis was legalized more than 25 years ago, those in deepest suffering receiving treatment in our state’s healthcare facilities cannot access this proven, effective, and prescribed treatment,” said Sen. Ben Hueso in a press release. “Instead, terminally-ill patients in California healthcare facilities are given heavy opiates that rob them of their precious last moments with family and friends. This is a simple, yet critical, move that will provide relief, compassion and dignity to terminally-ill Californians.”

Under the legislation, California hospitals and specific medical facilities must allow terminally ill patients to use medical cannabis for pain relief or treatment, according to the release.

Healthcare facilities are not required to dispense medical cannabis from the pharmacy, nor are they required to provide it for patients; however, to ensure guests, patients, and employees' safety, they must restrict and monitor how patients store and consume the medical cannabis, the law states.

While terminally ill patients can consume medical cannabis, smoking or vaping in the hospital is strictly prohibited.

STRATHROY,Ontario, Sept. 30, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE – Eve & Co Inc. announced thatJeannette VanderMarel has joined its board of directors.

Anearly entrepreneur in the cannabis industry, VanderMarel was the co-founder andpresident of Good & Green, a cannabis company committed to setting a newstandard for product quality and reliability as well as corporate socialresponsibility. Previously, VanderMarel co-founded The Green Organic Dutchman,one of Canada’s early Health Canada licensed producers of medical cannabis. Inspiredby her personal experience, including her career as a critical care andpediatric intensive care nurse as well as her daughter’s battle with Dravet syndrome,VanderMarel has a strong passion for and commitment to the cannabis industry,recognizing the opportunity cannabis presents to improve patients’ lives,combat the growing reliance on opioids, and improve wellness and health byoffering new and innovative treatment alternatives. VanderMarel was a registerednurse and a Certified Nurse in Critical Care – Pediatrics and previously servedas chair of the Family Advisory Council at McMaster Children’s Hospital and wasthe co-founder and inaugural chair of the Ontario Lavender Association.

VanderMarelreplaces Yasir Naqvi on the board of directors. Naqvi resigned as a result ofhis election as a member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre in the recent federalelection.

TheEve & Co Board has also appointed Kim Arnel as interim chief financial officerto replace Rory Taylor. Arnel previously served as the company’s controller andhas almost 20 years of experience in senior financial roles in the agriculturaland greenhouse industries.

Additionally,Eve & Co also welcomes David Hackett as financial consultant to the company.Hackett brings over 25 years of public company experience recently with 48NorthCannabis Corp., a vertically integrated Canadian cannabis company where hesuccessfully assisted in its go-public transaction, financings of $64 million,a number of acquisitions and annualized revenue growth from zero to $30million in three years. He has overseen the growth of a number of start-upcompanies, including dealing with operations, technology, regulatory reportingin Canada and the U.S., corporate governance, public financingin Canada and the U.S. and M&A activity. David is a CPA and CAand holds an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at WesternUniversity.

Theboard of directors thanks Naqvi and Taylor for their valuable contributions tothe company. “We wish Yasir all the best in his newly elected role of member ofParliament and representative of Ottawa Central. We also would like to thankRory for his contributions as interim CFO,” said Melinda Rombouts, CEO andDirector of Eve & Co.

Earlier this month, the California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) proposed an emergency rulemaking action to consolidate the state’s three sets of cannabis regulations into one.

According to a recent press release from the DCC, the emergency regulations have been approved and are now in effect.

“The regulations create consistent standards for cannabis licensees across all license types, by aligning application requirements, unifying terminology, and clarifying ownership and financial interest requirements,” the release states.

The new rules also establish requirements for trade samples between businesses, which was previously authorized by Assembly Bill 141. 

As previously reported by Cannabis Business Times, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed A.B. 141 into law earlier this year.

RELATED: California Cannabis Players Endorse ‘No’ Vote on Gubernatorial Recall Election