MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press
As cannabis policy reform continues to sweep the country, groups in several states are launching grassroots efforts to put decriminalization and legalization measures in front of voters in the November 2022 election.
This week, we’ve rounded up headlines on campaigns celebrating important milestones in the ballot initiative process—and those that have run into setbacks—as well as news on licensing lottery winners in Illinois, lawsuits to note in California and Oklahoma, and more.
On the ballot initiative front, Wyoming Secretary of State Ed Buchanan has conditionally approved two cannabis-related measures for the state’s 2022 ballot, allowing the local organizations supporting the initiatives to begin gathering signatures. One measure would legalize medical cannabis, while the other would decriminalize cannabis for personal use. Read more
Idaho cannabis advocates are also trying to get a medical cannabis legalization initiative and a decriminalization measure before voters next year in what Idaho Citizens for Coalition for Cannabis Spokesperson Russ Belville calls “the most hostile state” toward policy reform. Both initiatives must gather 64,946 signatures by May 1, 2022, to make the ballot. Read more
A push to get an adult-use legalization proposal before lawmakers in Ohio could be in trouble after Attorney General Dave Yost ruled that a summary of the initiative petition was not a “fair and truthful statement of the proposed law.” Read more
BOCA RATON, Florida, August 5, 2021—PRESS RELEASE--Jushi Holdings Inc., a vertically integrated, multi-state cannabis operator, announced a series of upcoming launches of branded cannabis products in the Commonwealth of Virginia, beginning with the debut of its brand, The Lab, in the form of .5g and .3g vaporizable cartridges. The company is expected to launch the brand, Tasteology, beginning with its chewables line in the coming weeks. With Virginia set to start flower sales in late Q3 or early Q4, Jushi also plans to launch two of its flower brands, The Bank and Sèche, to help meet growing patient demands. Jushi's brands will be available for purchase at BEYOND / HELLO Manassas, additional BEYOND / HELLO locations once opened, as well as at partner dispensaries across Virginia.
"In December 2020, we completed the initial build-out of the vertically integrated facility operated by Dalitso LLC, our 100% owned pharmaceutical processor permit holder, and officially began serving patients in-store at our BEYOND / HELLO Manassas dispensary, the first of six BEYOND / HELLO locations to be opened in Virginia," said Jim Cacioppo, Jushi chief executive officer, chairman and founder.
"After completing the initial build-out of the facility, our focus shifted to cultivation, manufacturing and processing to improve product availability and diversity of products for medical cannabis patients in Virginia," Cacioppo added. "As we begin to roll out our full suite of products and brands in the commonwealth, we mark the moment when Virginia—'the sleeping giant' of cannabis markets—has awoken."
Vapes & Concentrates: The Lab
Famous for high-quality, precision vaporization products, Jushi's award-winning brand, The Lab, brings a wide selection of vaporization cartridges and disposables to Virginia, and will be available for purchase at BEYOND / HELLO Manassas, partner dispensaries across Virginia and at additional BEYOND / HELLO locations once opened. Through cutting-edge technology and equipment, The Lab continues to lead the way in bringing the unique experience of flower to new, modern mediums. The Lab is also available at dispensaries across Nevada and Pennsylvania, including Pennsylvania's BEYOND / HELLO locations.
Chewables: Tasteology
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) issued 55 cannabis dispensary licenses Aug. 5 in the second of three licensing lotteries, which will ultimately license a total of 185 new retail businesses.
The license winners were chosen from a pool of 589 applicants who qualified under the state’s social equity program and scored 85% or higher.
“Social equity and justice are the heart and soul of the Adult-Use Cannabis Program in Illinois,” said Toi Hutchinson, Senior Advisor to the Governor for Cannabis, in a public statement. “Today’s results open the door to increasing the diversity of the industry and continue building on our successes in expunging convictions and investing in communities disproportionately harmed by the failed war on drugs.”
The full list of licensees can be found here.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office announced the series of three lotteries last month to award the 185 new cannabis retail licenses.
There is one cannabis question that is regularly searched across a variety of Internet platforms: How many states have legalized adult recreational use of cannabis as of today? As a cannabis law professor and a legal analyst for emerging cannabis businesses, I often am asked that very question. My response is always the same, no matter the date or the year: “It depends on how legalization is defined.”
State-based cannabis legalization can happen in two ways.
One way is evidenced by those states which permit voters to place topics on the ballot for a vote. The other way is through the legislature, when a state’s assembly writes and passes legalization legislation which is ultimately signed off by that state’s chief executive.
When defined like that, Connecticut became the 19th U.S. state to legalize adult recreational use when, on June 22, 2021, Connecticut governor Ned Lamont signed into law a bill passed by the Connecticut legislature.
This does not mean, however, that Connecticut’s already existing medical cannabis program morphed or expanded into an adult recreational system overnight. Rather, by the terms of the 184 pages of legislative analysis for the law entitled “AN ACT CONCERNING RESPONSIBLE AND EQUITABLE REGULATION OF ADULT-USE CANNABIS,” as of July 1, 2021, possession of small amounts of cannabis would be decriminalized. Also placed in motion, and announced by Connecticut’s administration, regulated adult recreational sales by dispensaries would begin the following year. Connecticut’s new law also has social justice and equity components to include an automatic expungement of drug conviction provision which will commence in the near future.
Six weeks before Connecticut, New Mexico legalized adult recreational use on April 12, when New Mexico’s governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law previously passed recreational legislation. New Mexico’s legislation authorized adult-use retail sales to begin no later than April 1, 2022.
An Ohio coalition’s push to legalize adult-use cannabis got the wind knocked out of it Thursday.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost ruled that the summary of a 45-page initiative petition was not a “fair and truthful statement of the proposed law,” essentially grounding the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol’s push to collect the necessary signatures to put its petition before the Ohio Legislature.
The Ohio Supreme Court has defined “summary” relative to an initiated petition as “a short, concise summing up,” which properly advises potential signers of a proposed measure’s character without the necessity of pursuing it at length.
“Having reviewed the submission, I am unable to certify the proposed summary as a fair and truthful summing up of the proposed chapter,” Yost said in his written decision.
The initiative petition, “An Act to Control and Regulate Adult-Use Cannabis,” does not seek to enact a single law, rather, it seeks to add an entire chapter to the Ohio Revised Code, according to Yost, who said his only obligation is to determine whether the submitted summary is fair and truthful.
Overall, Yost’s office identified seven items in the 45-page petition that were omitted from the summary, which were outlined in the written decision.
Idaho cannabis advocates are working to place medical and decriminalization measures on the 2022 ballot in what Russ Belville, spokesperson for the Idaho Citizens Coalition for Cannabis, calls “the most hostile state” toward policy reform.
Belville’s organization is in the process of collecting the 64,946 signatures required to place the Personal Adult Marijuana Decriminalization Act of 2022 (PAMDA) on Idaho’s 2022 ballot. The initiative aims to end arrests for the personal possession of 3 ounces of cannabis or less in private by adults 21 and older.
PAMDA would not create a commercial adult-use cannabis industry in the state and maintains the criminality of cannabis possession, use and sales in public, as well as all cannabis cultivation and driving under the influence.
The Idaho Citizens Coalition for Cannabis has partnered with Kind Idaho, which is also working to collect 64,946 signatures to place the Idaho Medical Marijuana Act for 2022 (IMMA) on next year’s ballot.
IMMA would legalize the possession of up to 4 ounces of cannabis for medical purposes, as well as the home cultivation of up to six plants for patients with a “hardship waiver.” The measure would also create a system of dispensaries to sell medical cannabis to qualified patients.
Illinois adult-use cannabis sales have hit yet another record, reaching $127.8 million in July, about a $12.3 million increase from June, which reported over $115.5 million in recreational sales.
According to a monthly report by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, over $85.4 million of those sales came from in-state residents, while more than $42.3 million came from out-of-state residents.
In July, the sales from out-of-state residents hit a record-high and showed a $10 million increase from the previous month, which reported over $36.3 million in sales from out-of-state residents.
Perhaps the record-high number of sales from out-of-state residents was driven by regular summer tourism and Lollapalooza, the state's annual four-day musical festival held in Grant Park.
According to Quad-City Times, Lollapalooza was launched 30 years ago in 1991 and made its way to Illinois in 2005. Since then, the music festival has brought in hundreds of thousands of guests each year, infusing millions of dollars into the state’s economy.
Jane, an e-commerce cannabis platform, also reported a boost in recreational cannabis sales according to Quad-City Times, reporting that 18 Chicago dispensaries saw a 6% increase in sales over Lollapalooza weekend, compared to the four weekends prior. Additionally, Jane reported that pre-rolls had the highest growth in sales, increasing 27.5%, even though smoking is prohibited in Grant Park.
After graduating with a marking degree from Howard University, Tahir Johnson spent several years working as a financial adviser for firms such as PNC, SunTrust Banks and Morgan Stanley. But for the past three years, Tahir Johnson has turned his focus to cannabis business and policy, working in a variety of roles, including as business development and diversity and inclusion manager at the National Cannabis Industry Association. In April, the U.S. Cannabis Council, a coalition of industry businesses, advocacy organizations and associations, announced Johnson’s appointment as director of social equity and inclusion, where he will lead social equity initiatives at the state and federal level, as well as working to improve diversity at cannabis businesses across the country. Johnson will also continue to host his Cannabis Diversity Report podcast, featuring interviews with people of color who work in a various industry roles. Johnson spoke with Cannabis Business Times about his priorities in his new role and how he plans to help and hold companies with social equity goals accountable.
Editor’s Note: This is an extended version of an interview that was published in the August 2021 issue of Cannabis Business Times.
Michelle Simakis: What is one of the most important aspects of your role and your priority at the U.S. Cannabis Council (USCC)?
Tahir Johnson: One of the great parts about my role is that I'm also dually employed with the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), and it really allows me to have that grassroots approach because MPP is really actively involved in cannabis state policy and a number of things. So what that does is give me the opportunity to work together with our policy teams and have a great impact across a number of areas and to make sure that social equity is always at the forefront of our agenda.
I think one of the things that's important is to make sure that with any legalization measure, a bill or whatever we move forward with, it's important that equity is included and is a part of the conversation, to make sure that we have that story of economic justice. That’s something we need to always keep sight of as we end prohibition.
MS: Tell me about your work with cannabis businesses specifically that are members of the USCC. What social equity programs do you envision helping launch at companies?
TJ: I want to pilot programs with historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) because I believe that can be a pipeline for careers and economic opportunity in the industry. I would like to bring in traditional social justice and civil rights organizations and really unify the social equity community to be able to push our agenda for social equity … and [organize] a social equity summit. I really want to enforce accountability, so making sure that we have tools to hold our members accountable and educate them on social equity and to make sure that, not just from a policy standpoint, but internally within our membership, we're making sure that our companies have best practices for social equity.
MS: What would holding members accountable look like?
TJ: It’s tracking diversity metrics across organizations, and then also programs. We have some great members that have great social responsibility programs focused on social equity, so to be able to replicate those examples across the industry … we think that those are models that we can show the good that can be done to companies.
Also when I think of corporate social responsibility plans, the Eaze (a USCC member) Momentum program in particular [has] more resources and training, and they actually give grants to operators and access to capital, [which is] one of the most difficult problems for startup businesses. That is a program that I really admire.
DENVER (August 3, 2021) – PRESS RELEASE – Wana Brands, an edibles manufacturer, is partnering with The Green Solution (TGS), one of the first recreational cannabis brands in the nation, and the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE) to host COVID-19 vaccination clinics during Summer of Quick Tour at key Denver metro TGS dispensaries during the month of August.
“With the resurgence of the Delta variant, it’s more important than ever to provide access to the COVID-19 vaccine,” said Nancy Whiteman, CEO of Wana Brands. “The Summer of Quick Tour events support efforts by CDPHE to provide easy and quick access to vaccines, and we hope that this can allow even more Coloradans to get vaccinated as we work together to defeat this virus."
“The Colorado community has been an incredible source of inspiration throughout the pandemic, from our essential employees at our dispensaries and retail outlets to the vital work of our healthcare professionals,” said Steve Lopez, CEO of The Green Solution. “We’re proud to work with Wana Brands and CDPHE to create these vaccination sites at TGS dispensaries around Denver, which will offer an opportunity to help move the state further along in our recovery from this difficult time. Our hope is that those who have yet to get the vaccine will take advantage of TGS creating easier access to this life-saving vaccine.”
On July 2, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis announced that 70% of the state’s residents had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, which places the state in one of the highest vaccination rates in the country. But the remaining 30% of Coloradans remain at risk for the illness and the deadly Delta variant that is spreading rapidly across the country, resulting in large increases in infections among the unvaccinated. The partnership between CDPHE, Wana Brands and TGS is part of the ongoing effort to raise the state’s vaccination rate even higher to protect against further outbreaks and deaths.
The vaccination clinics will be held during Wana’s Summer of Quick Tour to celebrate summer as the company rolls out its Wana Quick Fast-Acting Gummies in more markets across North America. Locations and times include:
Saturday, Aug. 7 from 4:00-6:00 p.m.South Dakota made history last year when voters approved medical and adult-use cannabis legalization on the same ballot, but now, lawmakers are considering changes to the state’s medical cannabis law.
The Legislature’s Medical Marijuana Study Subcommittee met Aug. 4 to review the proposed rules for South Dakota’s medical cannabis program, and KELO reported that members of the panel are working privately on potential changes to Initiated Measure 26, the measure voters passed in November to legalize medical cannabis.
Sen. Bryan Breitling, chairman of the subcommittee, said legislation to tweak the state’s medical cannabis law could be considered Nov. 9, when lawmakers meet for a special session that is held every 10 years to draw boundaries for the Legislature’s 35 districts, according to KELO.
Lawmakers could also submit proposals of their own, Breitling told the news outlet, and some, including Reps. Fred Deutsch and Carl Perry, have indicated that they have changes in mind that they plan to pursue either during the special session on Nov. 9 or when lawmakers reconvene in January for the 2022 legislative session.
The Medical Marijuana Study Subcommittee’s workgroups have been charged with issuing recommendations on medical cannabis issues, establishments and law enforcement, KELO reported, and the panel must issue its final recommendations at its next meeting on Sept. 1.
A new state regime for legal cannabis brings with it a new group of investigators and enforcers. New licensees may face state officials who are still learning and interpreting the regulations, have an abundance of investigatory resources with very few targets, and an eagerness to demonstrate they can effectively police the industry. As a result, a new licensee can face repeated audits and inspections until eventually it hits a tripwire that leads to a full-blown investigation.
A state investigation can involve document requests, employee interviews, product testing, and, in the event of a negative finding, lead to a possible suspension of product shipments or license revocation. Depending on the allegations, companies must also stay attentive to federal criminal exposure if information is shared with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).
This explainer unpacks how to protect your company and navigate an investigation to a favorable (and profitable) long-term outcome.
The Legal Gray Area of the Initial Grow
Between the time a state votes to legalize and the time consumers can buy the product off a shelf, a lot has to happen, resulting in a year or more of lag time between “legalization” and “open for business.”
What happens in between?
CHICAGO, Illinois, Aug. 04, 2021 -- PRESS RELEASE -- Lowell Farms Inc., a California-born innovator in cannabis cultivation and maker of the brand Lowell Smokes and Ascend Wellness Holdings Inc, a multi-state vertically-integrated cannabis operator, announced the long-awaited debut of Lowell Smokes in Illinois on Aug. 5. The iconic Lowell Smokes pre-roll pack will initially be available to consumers at eight retail locations throughout Illinois:Ascend by MOCA dispensaries in Logan Square and River North in Chicago;Midway Dispensary locations in Chicago and Chicago Ridge; andAscend dispensaries in Springfield, Collinsville and Fairview Heights.
In April, Lowell Farms entered into a strategic licensing agreement with AWH to bring the iconic Lowell Smokes brand to Illinois. The collaboration designates AWH, a distinguished pre-roll producer, as Lowell Farms’ wholesale partner. Sold in six-packs of pre-rolls, Lowell Smokes will be available for wholesale purchase and sale at dispensaries throughout Illinois in late August 2021.
“Almost overnight, Illinois has become an incredibly vibrant and exciting cannabis market with some truly exceptional product. We are glad to be partnered with Ascend and their cultivation team to bring Lowell to life in this great state,” says Lowell Farms Inc. Chairman George Allen. “Legalization has been a long time coming in Illinois, and we cannot imagine a place we would rather be this summer to celebrate all those that made it happen.”
The relationship advances AWH’s goal of bringing popular West Coast brands to its markets east of the Mississippi River. It also marks the first time Lowell Farms’ products are available outside the state of California.
“Lowell is an iconic brand that we think is an ideal fit with our capabilities in Illinois,” added Abner Kurtin, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of AWH. “We’re thrilled to expand our offering in Illinois with Lowell Smokes’ award-winning pre-rolls.”
Lowell pre-rolls will be available to Ascenders Rewards Club members on Wednesday, August 4th. Upon official launch to the public on August 5th, Illinois consumers will be able to order Lowell Smokes products online at letsascend.com. For more information on Lowell Farms Inc. brands, please visit lowellfarms.com.
]]>A bill to decriminalizecannabis in Louisiana went into effect on Aug. 1.
House Bill 652, which Gov. John Bel Edwards signed into law on June 15,removes the threat of jail time and reduces the maximum penalty to a $100 finefor first-time offenders who possess up to 14 grams of cannabis.
As previously reported by Cannabis Business Times, underthe state's previous legislation, individuals who possessed an ounce of cannabis or lesscould be charged with 15 days in jail and a $300 fine for the first conviction.Following that, penalties would increase for the second, third and fourthconvictions.
RELATED: Louisiana Gov.John Bel Edwards Signs Cannabis Decriminalization Bill Into Law
Now, Louisiana has joinedseveral other states that have implemented decriminalization bills, and madehistory by becoming one of few Southern states to pass similar legislation, LafourcheGazette reported.
State Rep. Cedric Glover, whosponsored the bill, said, "When I saw two city council members in myhometown of Shreveport—one conservative and one progressive—find the commonground needed to come together and find the way to decriminalize personal-usemarijuana possession there, I knew it was time to take this reform to the statelevel. Criminalizing marijuana possession is harmful to the people of Louisianain so many ways, but it's been particularly harmful for black and browncommunities, lower-income folks, and young people. My fervent hope is that thisnew law will finally bring some relief and a feeling of freedom to thosecommunities."
Wyoming Secretary of State Ed Buchanan has conditionally certified two cannabis-related ballot initiatives for the state’s 2022 ballot, according to an Oil City News report.
One measure would legalize medical cannabis, while the other would decriminalize cannabis for personal use.
With Buchanan’s conditional approval, the local organizations supporting the initiatives can now begin gathering signatures to get the measures before voters next year, Oil City News reported.
Wyoming requires ballot initiative campaigns to gather signatures from “15% of those who voted in the preceding general election,” which equates to 41,776 total signatures, according to the news outlet.
VANCOUVER, Wash., July 29, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE – Hawthorne Gardening Company announced plans for an industry-leading brand to join the Hawthorne portfolio. The company signed an agreement to acquire HydroLogic on a target date of Aug. 27. This move will expand Hawthorne’s product portfolio and create even more opportunities to provide its customers, retailers and partners with a comprehensive approach that meets their needs.
The target date to complete the HydroLogic acquisition is Aug. 27, at which time it would become part of Hawthorne. After that date, Hawthorne would become the exclusive provider of the HydroLogic and HyperLogic brands in the United States. Select distributor partners serving the U.S. and Canadian markets will remain in place.
Here are some of the benefits for our partners, customers and retailers:
Access to best-in-class water filtration brands. From off-the-shelf hobbyist solutions to large custom-designed commercial water filtration systems, the HydroLogic and HyperLogic brands are the standard in the industry for quality and performance.More marketing and sales support. You’ll see increased marketing and sales efforts around these brands. Both of these brands will enter Hawthorne’s Signature lineup and support the Hawthorne 360 Total Solution approach.Hydro-Logic Purification Systems Inc., based in Santa Cruz, Calif., is a leading provider of products, accessories and systems for water filtration and purification in the cannabis industry.
“We continue to build and expand our industry-leading portfolio of best-in-class brands that benefit from leveraging our unique capabilities in R&D, marketing, sales and supply chain efficiency,” Hawthorne President Chris Hagedorn said. “We’ve had tremendous partnerships with HydroLogic over the years and look forward to taking these brands to an entirely new level, further integrating them into our comprehensive product portfolio. Our focus is on serving the industry at a scale unparalleled by others.”
The Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) has issued 69 adult-use cannabis licenses, including 32 craft grow licenses, 28 infuser licenses and 9 transporter licenses.
The licenses were established under the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act that legalized adult-use cannabis in the state, and were awarded to social equity applicants.
“As part of the administration's ongoing work to establish a legal cannabis industry that reflects the diversity of Illinois, the state has created multiple avenues to entry to encourage participation in the industry," said Toi Hutchinson, Senior Advisor to the Governor for Cannabis, in a public statement. “With the issuance of these first licenses, Illinois is expanding access to people and communities that were previously shut out. We look forward to seeing businesses get off the ground in the months ahead.”
The full list of licensees is available here.
Additional applicants that received a Notice of Award for Craft Grow and Infuser licenses have requested and received an extension from the IDOA to submit their licensing fee and other documentation, and will receive their licenses after submitting the required paperwork.
EUREKA, Calif., Aug. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- PRESS RELEASE -- Papa & Barkley, a cannabis wellness company for topicals and tinctures in California, announced today the appointment of Bo Becker as its new chief marketing officer. Becker joined in mid-July as part of an expansion plan to accelerate product innovation and increase national brand awareness. Becker will own the full end-to-end consumer journey, inclusive of branding, direct-to-consumer strategy, and a significant focus on scaling earned media value.
Becker has spent 16 years in marketing, holding several executive roles at CPG nutrition and wellness companies. Most recently, Becker served as vice president of marketing at Charlotte's Web, where he played a critical role in scaling the company's CBD business nationally. Becker's proven track record in the cannabis industry and deep experience in digital-first branding, will catapult Papa & Barkley into its next stage of growth, beginning with the launch of its Sleep Releaf Collection this summer.
Evelyn Wang, CEO of Papa & Barkley says, "Papa & Barkley has always stood out amongst the competitive set of cannabis brands as the gold standard for trust and efficacy. Now the task at hand is to get out the loudspeaker and announce to consumers that our products, crafted using our whole plant solventless infusion process, deliver the most effective results. This is where Bo comes in; I'm confident in his ability to significantly scale the brand's awareness and reach a broad base of consumers, including those who may not have previously considered a cannabis solution for wellness. His curiosity and commitment to unlocking consumer insights will drive transformational messaging."
Recently Papa & Barkley tapped Cassie Perlman, VP of brand marketing and strategy, Anne-Sophie Roumilhac, VP of e-commerce, Jaclyn Sepulveda, director of social media and influencers, and Shelly Nghiem, director of e-commerce to join its team of experienced cannabis marketers. They bring robust experience in consumer packaged goods, performance marketing, direct-to-consumer, and brand strategy.
"I am a firm believer in the wellness potential of the cannabis plant. As a leading brand, the broader our reach and the bolder our marketing efforts, the more lives we can transform." says Becker. "We've gone through immense internal growth this year and I am excited to lead such a talented and passionate group of changemakers. We couldn't be more prepared to champion the brand and support our consumers along their wellness journeys."
A group of cannabis advocates in Ohio has launched efforts to “regulate marijuana like alcohol” in the Buckeye State after the COVID-19 pandemic stalled the campaign’s push to place adult-use legalization on the state’s 2020 ballot.
The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol submitted summary language of an initiated statute to legalize and regulate adult-use cannabis to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office last week, and will find out whether the language is approved by Aug. 5.
The proposed law would legalize and regulate adult-use cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, testing and sales to adults 21 and older, as well as allow adults to grow six plants at home for personal use, with a maximum of 12 plants per household.
The proposal would levy a 10% tax on adult-use cannabis sales, on top of regular state and local sales taxes. The tax revenue generated would be allocated to very specific areas, including:
36% for a Social Equity and Jobs Fund to create a program to support social equity applicants in the adult-use business licensing process;36% for a Host Community Cannabis Fund, to support communities that host adult-use dispensaries;25% for a Substance Abuse and Addiction Fund, to support substance abuse education and treatment; and3% for a Division of Cannabis Control, which would oversee the adult-use cannabis industry.It replaces prohibition with a sensible framework for regulation and taxation,” Tom Haren, a spokesman for the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, told Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary, adding that the proposed law will generate an estimated $400 million in new tax revenue. “It utilizes the existing medical marijuana infrastructure to provide a quick path to legal sales to adults that will provide an alternative for Ohio consumers to the unregulated market or spending their money out of state.”
NEW YORK, Aug. 3, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE – MATTIO Communications, one of the longest-running and largest cannabis marketing services firm, launched "High Priority," a new podcast that examines the lasting impact of cannabis prohibition and how public and private social equity measures are shaping the future of the industry.
Weekly episodes hosted by Alexis Dionne and Chelsea, two PR professionals and women of color in cannabis, feature interviews with industry experts, including impact brand founders, policy advocates, investors and historians, about the most pressing social equity issues today. Upcoming interviews include conversations with 40 Tons, Marijuana Policy Project, Lantern, Our Academy and other brands and organizations committed to creating a more equitable business community.
"High Priority" is part of the company's larger MATTIO Voices initiative, which aims to broaden existing perceptions of what it means to be a cannabis professional by spotlighting industry stakeholders who are BIPOC, LGBTQIA and disabled. The initiative consists of three pillars: a pro bono program which offers at least one quarter of PR services to entrepreneurs of color or social equity licensees; High Priority, a free platform that enables brands and reputable nonprofits to reach wider audiences; and ongoing fundraising for nonprofits focused on addressing the harm perpetuated by the war on drugs, including the Last Prisoner Project.
"As the largest cannabis agency in the country, we have a unique responsibility to leverage our reach to not only educate other industry leaders, but also support underrepresented entrepreneurs and advocates who are at the forefront of creating a truly inclusive and next-generation sector," said Rosie Mattio, founder and CEO of MATTIO Communications.
New episodes of High Priority are available every Tuesday and can be found on Apple, Spotify and all major podcast platforms. For more information, please visit www.mattio.com/high-priority-podcast.
]]>Montana’s medical cannabis licensees will soon be subject to new advertising limitations and requirements.
The Montana Department of Revenue announced proposed rule changes for advertising last month and plans to hold a public hearing Aug. 13 to consider the adoption of the rules, which are slated to take effect Jan. 1, 2022—coinciding with the start of adult-use sales.
Some of the notable provisions proposed by the department include:
As passed under provisions of Initiative 190—the state’s voter-approved ballot measure to legalize adult-use cannabis—the Department of Revenue is now responsible for administering the entirety of Montana’s cannabis regulatory framework for both medical and adult use.
On the heels of the voter-approved measure, the Montana Legislature passed House Bill 249, which allowed medical cannabis businesses to engage in some electronic advertising activity that was previously prohibited, such as by website, as long as they didn’t show cannabis use, make health claims or target under-age consumers.
According to the notice of proposed rule changes released by the Department of Revenue last month, “H.B. 249 also confirms the Legislature’s desire to severely curtail forms of advertising pertaining to the sale, cultivation or manufacture of marijuana.”
