MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) announced Sept. 26 that a medical cannabis testing facility passed its commencement inspection, according to a press release.

Now that a testing facility has received final approval, the state’s medical cannabis supply chain is fully operational with cultivation, dispensary and testing facilities.

“We appreciate how hard these businesses have worked to become operational,” DHSS Director of the Section for Medical Marijuana Regulation Lyndall Fraker said in a public statement. “These facilities have made it through a demanding review, and we look forward to their success in providing safe access to medical marijuana in Missouri.”

Medical cannabis sales are expected to launch soon, according to the announcement.

“The implementation of this program has been efficient yet thorough,” DHSS Director Dr. Randall Williams said in a public statement. “Much has been said in recent months of how rigorous our compliance processes are, and Missourians should be assured that this industry will be well-regulated, just as Article XIV and Missouri voters envisioned."

The New Jersey Legislature has approved a bill that would allow doctors to use telemedicine to recommend medical cannabis to their patients, according to a Cape May County Herald report.

The bill, A-1635/S-619, cleared the Assembly in a 68-6-3 vote Sept. 24 after previously passing the Senate in a 36-1 vote, the news outlet reported.

The legislation would allow certain patients with limited access to in-office consultations to receive medical cannabis recommendations from their doctors via telemedicine, according to the Cape May County Herald. Other patients would be required to attend one in-office consultation but could then have future recommendations renewed using telemedicine, the news outlet reported.

“The pain relief, muscle relaxation, nausea prevention and anxiety reduction of medical marijuana are too important to the people suffering from severe medical conditions to be hindered by in-person doctor visitation requirements,” the bill’s sponsors, Assemblywomen Pamela Lampitt (D-6th) and Joann Downey (D-11th) said in a public statement. “This bill will utilize today’s technology to help provide easier access to this beneficial medication on behalf of the people who need it the most."

A legislative committee in Washington is considering changes to the state’s cannabis regulations, according to The Spokesman-Review, including altering the rules regarding product labeling and how to track the research supported by cannabis tax revenue.

The House Commerce and Gaming Committee held a recent “work session” while the legislature is adjourned, the news outlet reported, and discussed whether to increase the amount of information included on cannabis product labels.

The committee also discussed how to keep track of the increasing number of cannabis research studies that are supported by a portion of the tax revenue generated from legal cannabis sales, including a range of studies conducted by Washington State University, according to The Spokesman-Review.

In addition, the legislature could take up a bill next year to limit cannabis concentrates to 10% THC, and the state’s current potency limits for cannabis products were also considered at the recent work session, the news outlet reported.

The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) agreed on a framework for cannabis delivery regulations Sept. 24, according to a MassLive.com report.

The proposal would create two types of delivery licenses, the news outlet reported, as well as establish a timeline to implement the new regulations.

The first license type, a “limited delivery license,” would allow a licensee to charge a fee to deliver from licensed cannabis dispensaries, according to MassLive.com. The second license type, a “wholesale delivery license,” would allow a licensee to buy cannabis wholesale from licensed cultivators and manufacturers, store it in a warehouse and sell it to consumers, the news outlet reported.

The draft regulations set a $1,500 application fee for both license types, as well as a $5,000 annual license fee for limited delivery licenses and a $10,000 annual license fee for wholesale delivery licenses, according to MassLive.com, although the CCC will waive the application fee and first-year license fee for limited delivery licenses and reduce the fees by half in the second year.

The delivery licenses will be available only to Social Equity Program applicants and certified economic empowerment applicants for the first three years, the news outlet reported.

With just over 30 days until Election Day, the cannabis industry is surely wondering what impact the results of the 2020 election could have on cannabis policy reform efforts, particularly when it comes to the presidential race between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

“The industry has two choices, like the rest of the country—more of the same or change,” Mark Alderman, chairman of Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies, tells Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary. “More of the same looks like where we are now [with Trump] in the White House and [Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell in the Senate. As we’ve seen in the past four years and as I would expect to see the next four years if they win, … the prospects for federal action on cannabis would be minimal.”

As far as Biden, while the former vice president was largely a prohibitionist during his time as a senator, some industry stakeholders say that he, like much of the American public, has evolved quite a bit on the issue since then.

“Biden’s history as a senator, by and large, was pretty terrible on this issue,” says Kris Krane, founder and president of 4Front Ventures, the parent company of Mission Dispensaries. “When I was working professionally in Washington, D.C. on the reform side of this issue, we had two major opponents on the Democratic side of the aisle and that was Dianne Feinstein and Joe Biden. He was always a drug warrior. He was never supportive of reform. He was arguably one of the worst Democrats in the Senate on this issue, so it gives me a little bit of pause about him being a real advocate for any kind of reform, given that he’s always been a pretty staunch prohibitionist.”

Still, Krane acknowledges that Biden now supports decriminalization and expungement, as well as allowing states to set their own cannabis policies.

This week, the Vermont Legislature sent a proposal to tax and regulate cannabis sales to Gov. Phil Scott for his consideration. Elsewhere, in Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced that cannabis dispensary applicants will have a second chance to qualify for a licensing lottery for the 75 available licenses.

Here, we’ve rounded up the 10 headlines you need to know before this week is over.

Federal: A new bill in Congress would allow cannabis businesses to access federal disaster relief programs. Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Peter DeFazio (D-OR) introduced the Small Business Disaster Relief Equity Act Sept. 24 to bar federal agencies from denying disaster relief to state-legal cannabis businesses solely because of their cannabis related activities. Read moreVermont: The Vermont House approved a deal on a bill to tax and regulate cannabis sales in the state, sending it to the Senate for a final vote. The House and Senate agreed on the compromise proposal Sept. 15 to create a legal cannabis market in the state. Read moreThe Vermont Senate then voted Sept. 22 to approve the compromise proposal to legalize cannabis sales, sending the final bill to Gov. Phil Scott for consideration. Scott said at a Sept. 18 press conference that lawmakers have addressed many of his concerns about a legal cannabis marketplace and have “come a long ways” in creating legislation to allow legal sales. Read moreOklahoma: The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) has signed a contract with Metrc to implement a statewide seed-to-sale system to track cannabis plants and products in the state’s medical cannabis market. The system will track medical cannabis plants and products from a plant’s growth stage through the sale to patients, and is part of OMMA’s broader efforts to ensure accountability and safety in the state’s medical cannabis market. Read moreIllinois: Gov. J.B. Pritzker has announced that cannabis dispensary applicants will get a second chance to qualify for the state’s licensing lottery following backlash over the licensing process. Applicants who did not receive the maximum score of 252 points will be able to amend their applications or challenge their scores, and the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation issue final scores for each application before moving forward with the licensing lottery. Read moreCresco Labs has announced the approval and the location of its tenth Illinois dispensary in Naperville. The adult-use dispensary is located in one of the busiest shopping areas in Naperville, the third largest city in Illinois with approximately 150,000 residents. Read moreMaryland: Ethos Cannabis, a multi-state operator with operations and investment interests in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Florida and Arizona, has officially acquired the right to manage and ultimately purchase Maryland medical cannabis dispensaries of 4Front Ventures Corp., which are currently operated under the Mission brand. Ethos is acquiring the rights to manage and ultimately own three operational dispensary licenses in Rockville, Catonsville and Hampden, Md., which are all in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. areas. Read moreMichigan: The Michigan Legislature gave final approval this week on legislation that would automatically expunge cannabis-related convictions, sending the bills to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Included in the bipartisan package of six “clean-slate” bills are provisions that would launch an automated expungement process in roughly two and a half years. Read morePuerto Rico: Tropizen announced earlier this month the completion of its first commercial cannabis harvest grown in its recently added 10,000-square-foot outdoor cultivation facilities. The new harvest, destined for both flower sales and the manufacture of infused medicinal products, arrives as patient demand for cannabis flower in Puerto Rico continues to surpass available market supply. Read moreInternational: Marlborough-based Puro has received a license to grow New Zealand’s largest medical cannabis crop to date. The license, granted by the Ministry of Health, allows Puro to grow up to 90,000 low-THC cannabis plants, which will be exported internationally. Read more

Roseland, NJ – September 25, 2020 – PRESS RELEASE – After keeping New Jersey residents quarantined for months, the coronavirus is impacting what voters think about legalizing cannabis for recreational use, according to a new poll conducted by the Cannabis Law Practice of the New Jersey law firm Brach Eichler LLC.  One out of five likely voters said their opinions on cannabis have changed, due to the pandemic that has disrupted everyday life.

The newest Brach Eichler Cannabis Poll also revealed that overall support for the legalization of cannabis in New Jersey remained solid, with 65% supporting it, 29% opposing and 6% unsure. That is statistically similar from the two previous Brach Eichler Cannabis Polls, in July and August. Voter awareness remained strong, with 70% reporting they knew that the question of legalization would be on the ballot this November and 30% saying they were not aware.

Other views on the scope of the legal cannabis marketplace appear somewhat uncertain, however. Support for consumption lounges remains mixed, while voters remain virtually split on whether communities should be able to block sales within their borders. Voters also indicated they were starting to see ads, both for and against the ballot initiative, reflecting the high interest that the cannabis marketplace is attracting.

The Brach Eichler Cannabis Poll questioned 501 registered New Jersey voters from Sept. 8 to Sept. 16, 2020, who said they were likely to vote this November. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.4 percentage points. Brach Eichler, a recognized thought leader in cannabis law, was one of the first New Jersey law firms to form a dedicated cannabis law practice committed to providing advice and counsel to businesses and individuals seeking to understand the complex laws surrounding cannabis.

“The Brach Eichler Cannabis Poll shows that the isolation of quarantining and stress of the pandemic has changed some minds on the recreational use of cannabis,” said John D. Fanburg, co-chair of the Cannabis Law Practice at Brach Eichler. Of those surveyed, 21% said the Covid-19 pandemic has affected how they view recreational cannabis, while 79% said it has not.  Of those impacted, 13.5% said they now supported legalization and 7.5% said they now opposed it. The majority of those who said they now favored it identified themselves as either Republicans  or Conservatives.

A new bill in Congress would allow cannabis businesses to access federal disaster relief programs, according to a press release from the office of U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), one of the bill’s primary sponsors.

Merkley, along with Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Peter DeFazio (D-OR) introduced the Small Business Disaster Relief Equity Act Sept. 24 to bar federal agencies from denying disaster relief to state-legal cannabis businesses solely because of their cannabis related activities.

The move for relief comes as wildfires continue to burn out west, threatening state-legal cannabis businesses that have historically been excluded from federal disaster relief programs due to cannabis’s Schedule I status.

“Cannabis businesses in Oregon hurt by the blazing wildfires or any other disaster shouldn’t be shut out from federal relief simply because the federal government is stuck in yesteryear,” Wyden said in a public statement. “These legal small businesses employ thousands of workers and support our struggling economy. If they need federal support, they should get it. Full stop.”

“Whether you’re for or against state-legal cannabis, we can all agree that families in all of our communities are struggling to keep the lights on and stay afloat during this turbulent time—and that they need and deserve support,” said Merkley, also in a public statement. “That includes thousands of small business owners, workers and their families who rely on state-legal cannabis businesses for their livelihoods. We have to make sure those families won’t be shut out from critical assistance that can make a real difference.”

The Michigan Legislature gave final approval Sept. 24 on legislation that would automatically expunge cannabis-related convictions, according to a FOX 2 Detroit report.

Included in a bipartisan package of six “clean-slate” bills are provisions that would launch an automated expungement process in roughly two and a half years, the news outlet reported. Those convicted of expungable crimes would have their convictions automatically cleared seven years after their misdemeanor sentence and 10 years after their felony sentence or the completion of their prison term, whichever is most recent.

The measures would also allow those with misdemeanor cannabis convictions to apply to expunge their records sooner if their offenses would not have been considered crimes after Michigan voters legalized adult-use cannabis in 2018, according to FOX 2 Detroit.

The legislation cleared the Senate Sept. 23 before passing the House the next day, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is expected to sign the bills into law, FOX 2 Detroit reported. Once signed, the law would take effect in late March or early April, according to the news outlet.

[PRESS RELEASE] Tropizen announced on Sept. 1 the completion of its first commercial cannabis harvest grown in its recently added 10,000 square foot outdoor cultivation facilities. The new harvest, destined for both flower sales and the manufacture of infused medicinal products, arrives as patient demand for cannabis flower in Puerto Rico continues to surpass available market supply.

“This harvest represents an important milestone for our company as we continue to expand to meet patient demand for high-quality flower,” said Tropizen co-founder Marni Meistrell. “We are growing cannabis near the base of El Yunque tropical rainforest, following cultivation best practices as we conduct research and test new strains that thrive in this location.”

An additional 7,000 square feet of outdoor cultivation will be added before the end of the year, according to Meistrell. Tropizen recently expanded its cannabis flower production to 400% of original capacity, at an investment of over $1 million. The expansion project included the construction of the new outdoor cultivation space.

READ MORE: Tropizen Finds Success in Puerto Rico’s Cannabis Market 

The new harvest is comprised of five of the company’s best performing strains. Tropizen rotates 50 primary strains with 5 secondary strains, including Brian Berry Cough, Ogiesel and Agent Orange, all exclusive to Tropizen in Puerto Rico. One of the company’s priorities going forward is the cropping of rare tropical cultivars as part of its ongoing research and development process.

Meistrell said the company is working on the introduction of a new packaging and grading system for its cannabis flower, incorporating a new pre-packaged midgrade flower product that will be more accessible to patients in terms of price, while offering the same effectiveness as the premium flower.

In early September, a sudden frost stretched across portions of Colorado and neighboring states, causing alarm for hemp farmers just weeks out from harvest. In some cases, highs dropped to around the freezing point; lows hovered in the 20s.

In ideal conditions, hemp is harvest before any frost hits the farm. The crop tends to be somewhat “frost-tolerant,” as the University of Vermont’s 2018 Hemp Cold Tolerance Trial lays out, but farmers should certainly watch out for related changes in moisture levels and even more unusual effects, like branches snapping under the weight of attendant snow. 

We spoke with Derek Thomas, vice president of business development at Veritas Farms, a Pueblo, Colo.-based hemp operation, to get a sense of how his company monitors the twists and turns of weather patterns in late summer and early fall. In Pueblo, Veritas got away from the early frost with its 140 acres of hemp fairly unscathed.

But this wasn’t the first time a sudden temperature drop has affected the farm, and lessons abound for all farmers eager to adjust their pre-harvest protocol.

Eric Sandy: What was early September like for Veritas Farms? And what sort of weather monitoring system is in place for the company?

Derek Thomas: It’s such an important topic, especially for a fully vertically integrated brand, because ultimately our crop is our commodity. It's our lifeblood. So, we’re very cautious. We're very considerate and we're always monitoring. We have a number of SOPs implemented at the farm, which help us mitigate any severe weather concerns, both from a monitoring perspective and an action item standpoint. So, we knew that [this early frost] was coming, unfortunately, and we prepped the best we could and we took action immediately after.

And the damage was pretty negligible this year. We really kind of came out of it unscathed. Where we are, the temperature of the day before was a nice 80 degrees, and the snow really melted before the end of the day. So, the ground stayed nice and warm, and the roots of the plants stayed pretty warm. We were pretty fortunate, at least in our neck of the woods, that no real damage was done.

ES: What are some of the red flags or warning signs that farmers might want to watch out for when we're talking about those colder temperatures and snowy situations?

DT: You know, it's definitely going to depend where you're at in your growing cycle. When we're coming into late summer and early fall, that's obviously when a lot of plants are pretty far along in the process. You’re really monitoring humidity levels and ground temperature, but anything that trends toward freezing is when we start to monitor and engage— anything in the low 50s, in the 40s, that's when we're starting to pay attention. The closer we get to freezing, that's where more of our thresholds are triggered in terms of additional monitoring or even action items. So, it's really the temperature that we're monitoring the hardest.

September 23th, 2020 - Maryland. - PRESS RELEASE - Ethos Cannabis, a multi-state operator with operations and investment interests in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Florida and Arizona, has officially acquired the right to manage and ultimately purchase Maryland medical cannabis dispensaries of 4Front Ventures Corp., which are currently operated under the Mission brand. Ethos is acquiring the rights to manage and ultimately own three operational dispensary licenses in Rockville, Catonsville and Hampden, Md., which are all in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. areas.

RELATED: Ethos Cannabis to Acquire Seven of 4Front Ventures’ Mission Dispensaries

Ethos is focused on serving mainstream consumers and further developing the health and wellness market to help individuals feel and live better through their experiences with cannabis. The transaction for the rights to manage and ultimately own the Maryland dispensaries had been pending final regulatory approval from the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission, which is now complete. All existing locations will be rebranded from “Mission” to “Ethos.”

The transaction regarding the Maryland dispensaries comes following the raising of over $50 million in debt and equity completed by Ethos. To date, the company has raised approximately $90 million of capital predominantly from investors based in the Philadelphia area. Ethos has a strong focus on the strategic deployment of capital with prioritization of execution and the development of its platform in several core markets, including Maryland.

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The Vermont Senate voted Sept. 22 to approve a deal on legislation that would tax and regulate cannabis sales in the state, according to a Seven Days report.

The House and Senate agreed on a compromise proposal earlier this month that would create a legal cannabis market, and the House approved the legislative conference committee report last week in a 92-56 vote.

The Senate’s 23-6 vote to accept the report sends the final bill to Gov. Phil Scott for consideration, Seven Days reported.

Sen. Dick Sears (D-Bennington) said the legislation is a good compromise that he hopes Scott will sign into law, according to the news outlet.

“I would be surprised if he didn’t, quite frankly,” Sears said. “In many cases, the conference committee kept his positions in mind.”

CHICAGO – September 22, 2020 — PRESS RELEASE — Cresco Labs, one of the largest vertically integrated multistate cannabis operators in the United States, has announced the approval and the location of its tenth Illinois dispensary in Naperville. The adult-use dispensary is located in one of the busiest shopping areas in Naperville, the third largest city in Illinois with approximately 150,000 residents.

“We have been consistent in choosing locations for our dispensaries in Illinois, focusing on high traffic areas in traditional retail enivronments. Sunnyside* Schaumburg, which is adjacent to Illinois’ busiest mall and our new Naperville dispensary, which shares a block with Costco, Walmart and Starbucks, are great examples of this strategy,” said Charlie Bachtell, Cresco Labs’ CEO and co-founder. “Our approach of meeting the consumer where they are and providing a normalized cannabis shopping experience is allowing our dispensaries in Illinois and all Sunnyside stores nationwide to outperform industry averages.”

Upon final approval from the State of Illinois for the Naperville location, Cresco will operate the maximum allowed ten dispensaries in Illinois. Cresco’s dispensaries are located in some of Illinois’ biggest cities, busiest shopping areas and most strategic locations to introduce new customers to normalized and professionalized cannabis and take an outsized share of the Illinois market. Total Illinois cannabis retail sales were $95 million in August, while total sales through the first eight months of 2020 were $600 million in the state.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has announced that cannabis dispensary applicants will get a second chance to qualify for the state’s licensing lottery following backlash over the licensing process, according to a CBS Chicago report.

Earlier this month, regulators announced that 21 social equity applicants would be included in a lottery to win the 75 dispensary licenses.

The 21 applicants were chosen from 1,667 total applications submitted and all received perfect scores, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Shortly after the winning applicants were announced, a group of companies behind some of the unsuccessful bids filed a federal lawsuit, alleging political motivation behind the businesses chosen to advance in the process.

Last week, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) announced plans to “review questions” raised about the licensing process before setting a date for the cannabis dispensary license lottery, which was initially scheduled for a to-be-determined date this month.

The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) has announced that it has signed a contract with Metrc to implement a statewide seed-to-sale system to track cannabis plants and products in the state’s medical cannabis market.

“The seed-to-sale system will greatly expand our compliance capabilities and improve the effectiveness and speed of any future recall efforts,” OMMA Interim Director Dr. Kelly Williams said in a public statement. “It will also allow us to detect unusual patterns that may indicate product diversion.”

The system will track medical cannabis plants and products from a plant’s growth stage through the sale to patients, and is part of OMMA’s broader efforts to ensure accountability and safety in the state’s medical cannabis market, according to the announcement.

Metrc is a national company with a presence in 14 U.S. states, and offers integration features with many seed-to-sale software systems already in use by individual cannabis licensees. All Oklahoma licensees must now either integrate with Metrc or input their information into the new system.

Full implementation of the system is expected to take up to six months, according to OMMA’s announcement.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA:  A national hemp trade association and a South Carolina-based hemp company have filed a federal lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement Administration, challenging a rule the agency implemented last month that could have far-reaching consequences for the U.S. hemp industry. The petition filed Friday afternoon in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit asks the Read the full article...

MASSACHUSETTS: The Cannabis Control Commission (Commission) is proud to again partner with the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and City Awake as part of their 2020 Fierce Urgency of Now (FUN) Festival by hosting a virtual panel titled “Cannabis x Equity” on Friday, September 18 at 1:00 p.m. Interested individuals—especially those who have been disproportionately Read the full article...

DENVER, Colo. - September 21, 2020 - PRESS RELEASE - The Colorado Department of Revenue (CDOR) today released the Average Market Rates (AMR) for retail marijuana effective Oct. 1, 2020 until Dec. 31, 2020.

Three of the seven AMR categories increased this quarter, specifically bud ($1,316), trim ($350) and seed ($8). Three of the seven AMR categories decreased this quarter, specifically bud allocated for extraction ($502), trim allocated for extraction ($175) and wet whole plant ($175). The immature plant rate ($9) stayed the same.

The AMR is the median market price of each category of unprocessed retail marijuana that is sold or transferred from retail marijuana cultivation facilities to retail marijuana product manufacturing facilities or retail marijuana stores. CDOR’s Office of Research and Analysis, in coordination with the Taxation Division and the Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED), calculates AMRs quarterly for use in levying the excise tax as required by Colorado statute.

The Oct. 1 AMR was calculated based on retail marijuana transactions from June 1, 2020 through Aug. 31, 2020 in MED’s marijuana inventory tracking system. AMR is an estimate of the typical prices of each category of unprocessed retail marijuana that is sold or transferred from marijuana grows to product manufacturers or stores.

Visit the Taxation Division’s website for more information, including the methodology of the AMR calculations and current and prior AMRs: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/tax/marijuana-AMR.

ome people like flower, some people like extracts. Some people like to mix them for combined effects.

The latter group makes up the audience that Scott Sundvor and Libby Cooper, the founders of Space Coyote, are trying to reach with their extract-infused prerolls.

Space Coyote’s website doesn’t mince words: these products will get you “glazed.” “Gone are the days of tasteless prerolls and mediocre highs,” it reads.

“We both consider ourselves stoners,” Sundvor told Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary. “Libby has really emphasized being proud of using that terminology and embracing that heritage culture in the market.”

But there’s also a science behind the stoniness—data to which Cooper paid attention in her last job at Eaze. The numbers showed customers’ purchasing behaviors reflected the value of “price-to-THC ratio,” she told CBT and CD. She also noticed that the preroll segment continues to grow, but these products are often made with trim or shake, and turn off some more experienced users.

“There was a disconnect between people who considered themselves connoisseurs, or stoners that really enjoyed strain-specific flavors, [and people] buying prerolls,” Cooper said. “Prerolls were for more of the canna-curious, the newer to the weed scene.”