MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press
Students at Mercer County Community College (MCCC) interested in entering the New Jersey cannabis industry after graduation can now receive industry training and education while in school.
Back by popular demand, MCCC announced on March 22, it would offer a second medical cannabis training course in May.
Sarah Trent, CEO of Valley Wellness, a medical cannabis dispensary, designed the course to educate, train and prepare individuals for entry-level positions in the cannabis industry.
"Working in the cannabis industry isn't just about knowing how to work in a grow or knowing how to be patient-facing in a dispensary," Trent said. "Really, the best staff members, even for entry-level positions, have a well-rounded education, and so I developed a class that is made to make that well-rounded employee."
The course was initially only offered at Raritan Valley Community College (RCVV) in New Jersey but recently expanded to MCCC as enrollment and demand began to increase, Trent said.
"I ran the program three times in 2020 with about 50 students each, and after the ballot initiative passed, we saw numbers really increase," Trent said. "So, we just started running the class at Mercer and ran the first class starting Jan. 25, 2021, where we had roughly 70 people enrolled in that class. And right now, I'm currently running a March class at Raritan Valley, and we have over 80 students."
BLOOMINGTON, Ind., March 23, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- PRESS RELEASE -- A research team comprised of Byers Scientific, Iowa State University and Texas-based odor experts report isolation and identification of the volatile chemical which appears to be primarily responsible for the downwind skunky-like environmental odor complaints which have been commonly reported for commercial cannabis and industrial hemp growing operations.
By employing a triangulation approach of analytical chemistry (i.e., SPME fiber, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry and GC-Olfactometry analysis), leaf enclosure study and field observation, the team of researchers were able to isolate, identify, measure and ultimately conclude that the compound 3-methyl-2-butene-1-thiol (i.e., 321 MBT), is the primary source of the traditionally objectionable odor of cannabis.
The compound is also the same odorous volatile chemical which has previously been reported to carry responsibility for the skunky-like aroma and flavor defect in light-struck beer.
Historically, the objectionable odor of cannabis has often been tied to terpenes (i.e., unspecified members from among the vast array of naturally occurring volatile hydrocarbons which are more commonly associated with the familiar aromas of citrus and other fruits, eucalyptus leaves and hydrocarbon solvents, etc.). This reported discovery of the actual link between 'skunky' cannabis and 321 MBT supports the more persuasive expectation of a sulfur component within the chemical profile of the cannabis plant emission. In retrospect, the relationship between 'skunky' beer and cannabis should probably not be surprising since the 'skunky' beer odor comes from hops which are in the same plant family (Cannabaceae) as cannabis and hemp. Perhaps more surprising; however, previous odorant prioritization efforts by the collaborative consultants have also shown MBT to represent an odor impact priority for actual skunk oil, as extracted from skunk musk gland. In these prior investigations, MBT was adjudged as second in odor impact priority, second only to E-2-butene-1-thiol.
While this discovery is exciting and represents true progress in the scientific understanding of the source of the distinctive and divisive odor of cannabis, the researchers caution that this is only the first critical step in fully researching this issue. Leaf enclosure studies reveal other thiols present in the plant emissions and, more importantly, other compounds in the plant's gas-phase emissions and atmospheric reactions may significantly affect the perception and measurement of 321 MBT. Efforts are currently underway to further evaluate the odor and the most appropriate manner of mitigation.
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On Feb. 22, 2021 Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law the Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act, which established the framework for a legal, adult-use cannabis industry in New Jersey. By some estimates, recreational cannabis may grow to be a billion-dollar industry in the state over the next few years. Many have worried that much of this growing economic pie may be grabbed by large, well-capitalized cannabis companies from out of state that have already established themselves in those other markets where recreational cannabis was legalized earlier than New Jersey.
Enter the microbusiness license.
Per New Jersey’s cannabis licensing laws, a microbusiness is a cannabis business with strong established connections with New Jersey that is subject to certain size and operational limitations. A significant number of licenses to operate in the cannabis industry will be earmarked solely for such microbusinesses. As such, microbusinesses will only need to compete against one another during the application process, rather than needing to compete directly with larger, more established businesses. This potentially gives entrepreneurial start-up companies seeking to delve into the cannabis industry a path forward without getting pushed aside by multi-state operators (MSOs) in the frenzy once New Jersey begins accepting applications.
To qualify as a microbusiness, the business must meet the following criteria:
All of the owners of the business must be current New Jersey residents, and must have resided in New Jersey for the past two consecutive years.At least 51% of the owners, directors, officers, and employees must be residents of the municipality where the business will be located (or at least an adjoining municipality).The business can have no more than 10 employees.The business operating space can be no more than 2,500 square feet (and in the case of cultivators, can have a height of no more than 24 feet).There are various limitations on the monthly volume of cannabis that the business can be involved in, which vary somewhat depending on the type of license being applied for (in some cases limits of 1,000 cannabis plants per month, or limits of 1,000 pounds of usable cannabis per month or other cannabis products or resin, or other similar restrictions).Conversely, no owner, director, officer, or other person with a financial interest and decision-making authority in any other cannabis business (whether that business is a microbusiness or not) is permitted to have any financial interest in a microbusiness.These are not insignificant restrictions, but companies that can plan to fit within the regulations may ease their path to obtaining a license to operate a cannabis business. According to the law, at least 25% of all New Jersey cannabis licenses will be granted solely to microbusinesses (and at least 10% of each class of licenses must go to microbusinesses). In addition, while the legislation provides that no more than 37 cannabis cultivator licenses will be issued in New Jersey during the first two years after enactment, that cap does not apply to microbusinesses.
The law provides for six different types of licenses that businesses may seek in connection with the recreational cannabis market:
Reliable heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment can cost upward of $300,000 or more for a 5,000-square-foot growing facility in the cannabis space. Proper lighting might cost just as much.
But those environmental controls become less effective for an ideal harvest if they are not complemented by the intelligent application of air distribution through engineered ductwork, which isn’t overly complicated nor expensive in the grand scheme of a productive room, according to Geoff Brown, vice president of technical solutions for Quest.
Often an afterthought, airflow is currently the biggest hump for growers in relation to environmental controls, but it doesn’t have to be, Brown said. Through Quest’s partnership with Hawthorne Gardening Company, growers now have access to the Airflow Mapping service, a computer-aided analysis that calculates or predicts where a diffuser’s air will travel. In turn, growers have access to custom solutions to their specific facilities without making major changes to those facilities.
Featured here, Brown shares more about Airflow Mapping, the importance of intelligent air distribution, working with manufacturers, return on investment and other pertinent knowledge to help avoid oversights associated with environment controls.
Q: Why is airflow so important in cannabis cultivation?
A: Ultimately it just comes down to building productive plants. TIP 1 Good air circulation at the leaf is what allows the leaf to breathe, to get rid of the oxygen around the leaf and to absorb more CO2 to make sure that the transpiration is happening and that you don’t have a locally deficient vapor pressure deficit (VPD). It’s really how the system needs to work. In my opinion, airflow is the single most overlooked thing in cannabis right now, or at least it is the next hump to get over.
Reliable heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment can cost upward of $300,000 or more for a 5,000-square-foot growing facility in the cannabis space. Proper lighting might cost just as much.
But those environmental controls become less effective for an ideal harvest if they are not complemented by the intelligent application of air distribution through engineered ductwork, which isn’t overly complicated nor expensive in the grand scheme of a productive room, according to Geoff Brown, vice president of technical solutions for Quest.
Often an afterthought, airflow is currently the biggest hump for growers in relation to environmental controls, but it doesn’t have to be, Brown said. Through Quest’s partnership with Hawthorne Gardening Company, growers now have access to the Airflow Mapping service, a computer-aided analysis that calculates or predicts where a diffuser’s air will travel. In turn, growers have access to custom solutions to their specific facilities without making major changes to those facilities.
Featured here, Brown shares more about Airflow Mapping, the importance of intelligent air distribution, working with manufacturers, return on investment and other pertinent knowledge to help avoid oversights associated with environment controls.
Q: Why is airflow so important in cannabis cultivation?
A: Ultimately it just comes down to building productive plants. Good air circulation at the leaf is what allows the leaf to breathe, to get rid of the oxygen around the leaf and to absorb more CO2 to make sure that the transpiration is happening and that you don’t have a locally deficient vapor pressure deficit (VPD). It’s really how the system needs to work. In my opinion, airflow is the single most overlooked thing in cannabis right now, or at least it is the next hump to get over.
Thirty U.S. senators attached their names to the Secure And Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act of 2021, legislation that was reintroduced March 23 in the upper chamber of Congress. Among them, seven Republicans are on board.
Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Steve Daines (R-MT) are leading the charge as primary sponsors of the bill, which would create protections for financial institutions that provide services to state-legal cannabis businesses. The Senate version of the bill comes on the heels of SAFE Banking being refiled in the House on March 18, where it carries more than 100 co-sponsors. The lower chamber overwhelmingly passed a standalone version of the bill in 2019, and then House members passed the measure two more times as part of federal coronavirus relief bills in 2020.
None of those previous efforts cleared the Senate, where there now lies new optimism with Democrats taking control of a 50-50 split via Vice President Kamala Harris representing the tiebreaker vote. In the last Congress, the SAFE Banking Act of 2019 had 35 senators signed on for sponsorship, including then-Sen. Harris, but former Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) never acted on calendaring it for floor debate.
Many state-legal medicinal or adult-use cannabis businesses are denied access to the banking system because banks fear they may be prosecuted under federal law given the ongoing federal restrictions on cannabis, Merkley said in a press release March 23. The lack of access to bank accounts, credit cards and checks has forced some state-legal cannabis businesses to operate in cash, opening the door to tax evasion and to a dangerous pattern of robberies, including one that resulted in the murder of a store clerk in Portland, Ore., Merkley said.
“No one working in a store or behind a register should have to worry about experiencing a traumatic robbery at any moment,” Merkley said. “That means we can’t keep forcing legal cannabis businesses to operate entirely in cash—a nonsensical rule that is an open invitation to robbery and money laundering. Let’s make 2021 the year that we get this bill signed into law so we can ensure that all legal cannabis businesses have access to the financial services they need to help keep their employees safe.”
Helping motor more than $17.5 billion of legal cannabis sales in the U.S. in 2020, there were 515 banks and 169 credit unions providing services to cannabis-related businesses at the end of last year, according to Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s (FinCEN) quarterly cannabis banking update. But, like Merkley said, not all cannabis-related businesses have access to those financial institutions, and those financial institutions don’t have guaranteed safe harbor for taking on clients who operate in a sector that is not federally legal.
In December 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced proposed settlements with six CBD companies accused of making a broad range of unsubstantiated health claims, including that CBD can treat cancer, heart disease, hypertension, Alzheimer’s disease, bipolar disorder, and chronic pain, among others. Nicknamed “Operation CBDeceit,” the enforcement sweep was part of the FTC’s ongoing effort to protect consumers from false, deceptive, and misleading health claims made in advertisements on websites, through social media, and on other platforms. These settlements became final in early March 2021.
For those who have been monitoring regulatory enforcement relating to CBD claims, the types of claims listed in the FTC’s Complaints are familiar reading. Prior FTC and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) enforcement has focused on products that featured claims of treating chronic diseases and health conditions similar to the claims at issue in the “Operation CBDeceit” settlements. In that respect, these settlements do not differ from prior enforcement.
In other respects, though, these settlements are different from prior FTC enforcement on CBD claims. By including multiple companies and announcing all settlements at once, the CBDeceit announcement was coordinated to send an authoritative message to the CBD industry, broadly that the law requires companies to have robust evidence known as “competent and reliable scientific evidence” to support their health claims, a standard that applies to health claims for all consumer products.
These settlements also name not just the company as a respondent, but also individuals in their official capacity as corporate officers. Given the significant degree of entrepreneurial activity in the CBD and hemp industries, this should be understood as an indication that the FTC will look to hold individuals liable as a way of ensuring compliance with the settlement agreement, particularly where the respondent company is comprised of only a few people. In addition, five of the six settlements included monetary components ranging from $20,000 to $85,000, which will be used to provide consumer refunds, called “redress.”
The respondent companies are also required to notify consumers about the settlements per prescribed terms. For example, the Easybutter LLC settlement requires the company to provide a notice on all of their social media accounts (including any Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube accounts) and on the first page of their websites. Such notice must link to a copy of the Consent Order (settlement agreement), along with a toll-free telephone number and an email address for the redress administrator. The notice must be posted not later than three days after the effective date of the Order and for at least one year after the redress period ends. In addition, the companies must use a form letter attached to the Consent Orders to directly notify consumers who purchased their products about the FTC’s charges. This notice requirement is different from the vast majority of FTC settlements involving health claims.
So, what does this mean? Although these settlements didn’t break new ground on the kinds of claims the regulators are targeting with regard to CBD products, they signal heightened attention on an industry that has proliferated exponentially over the last couple of years. Health claims have long been of interest to the FTC. Given this and the transition to the Biden administration, the CBD industry should expect more settlements like these in 2021.
Reliable heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment can cost upward of $300,000 or more for a 5,000-square-foot growing facility in the cannabis space. Proper lighting might cost just as much.
But those environmental controls become less effective for an ideal harvest if they are not complemented by the intelligent application of air distribution through engineered ductwork, which isn’t overly complicated nor expensive in the grand scheme of a productive room, according to Geoff Brown, vice president of technical solutions for Quest.
Often an afterthought, airflow is currently the biggest hump for growers in relation to environmental controls, but it doesn’t have to be, Brown said. Through Quest’s partnership with Hawthorne Gardening Company, growers now have access to the Airflow Mapping service, a computer-aided analysis that calculates or predicts where a diffuser’s air will travel. In turn, growers have access to custom solutions to their specific facilities without making major changes to those facilities.
Featured here, Brown shares more about Airflow Mapping, the importance of intelligent air distribution, working with manufacturers, return on investment and other pertinent knowledge to help avoid oversights associated with environment controls.
Why is airflow so important in cannabis cultivation?
Ultimately it just comes down to building productive plants. Good air circulation at the leaf is what allows the leaf to breathe, to get rid of the oxygen around the leaf and to absorb more CO2 to make sure that the transpiration is happening and that you don’t have a locally deficient vapor pressure deficit (VPD). It’s really how the system needs to work. In my opinion, airflow is the single most overlooked thing in cannabis right now, or at least it is the next hump to get over.
As the popularity of Delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) rises, questions remain about its legality, leaving some wondering if it's a good market opportunity for their business.
LOS ANGELES, March 22, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE – Glass House Group, one of the fastest-growing, privately held, vertically integrated cannabis and hemp companies in California, announces its technology partnership with Alcott Enterprises. Over the past four years, Glass House Group has acquired numerous businesses and recognized the need to address a next-generation infrastructure technology investment and roadmap for future growth.
Alcott Enterprises is an information technology company delivering agile IT strategies and next-generation IT managed services with diverse industry experience leading digital transformations, providing consulting services and managing the technical infrastructure for companies across a variety of industries.
“The Glass House brand is a trusted and respected leader in the cannabis industry,” said Glass House Group Chief Operating Office Daryl Kato. “Partnering with Alcott Enterprises creates a strategic alignment of business and technology that supports a next-generation digital transformation and infrastructure to streamline Glass House operations and support business innovation.”
“We are excited to partner with industry-leading Glass House Group to power their digital transformation and deliver the technology supporting a next-generation infrastructure,” said Jordan Alcott, founder and CEO of Alcott Enterprises. The cannabis industry is a dynamic growth market that embodies complex compliance and forward-thinking technology solutions.]]>House Bill 12, which cleared the lower chamber of the state legislature, 39-31, on Feb. 26, would legalize adult-use sales and consumption for those 21 and older, allow possession of up to 2 ounces of cannabis flower or 16 ounces of cannabis extract, levy a 9% excise tax on cannabis and provide reinvestments toward communities disproportionately affected by prohibition.
The Senate had until noon on Saturday, which marked the end of the first 60-day session of New Mexico’s 55th Legislature, to send the legalization initiative to Lujan Grisham for a signature, but the upper chamber postponed floor debate and focused on other bills, according to the Associated Press.
Lujan Grisham plans to call the New Mexico Legislature into a special session on a tentative March 31 to finish working on legalizing adult-use cannabis, she said in a press release Saturday.
“Legalized adult-use cannabis is one of the best moves we can make in our work to build a bona fide 21st century economy in New Mexico,” Lujan Grisham said. “And New Mexicans are more than ready: poll after poll has demonstrated that our state wants this opportunity.”
Nearly 75% of New Mexicans approve of cannabis legalization with provisions in place to ensure tax revenue is reinvested back into communities, including 94% of Democrats, 93% of Independents and 46% of Republicans, according to the Drug Policy Alliance.
Editor’s Note: This article has been adapted from Chapter 2: Grow Rooms Today: A New Dawn from Getting Grow Rooms Right, written by Geoff Brown, Quest’s VP of Technical Solutions, and Dan Dettmers, Quest’s Applications Engineer.
Just as the cannabis industry has grown at a rapid rate over the past five years, the grow room environment has also experienced significant evolution.
Growers have gone from amateur to pro, seemingly overnight. As they seek to produce massive harvests and secure a place in the market, they’re coming up against several major challenges associated with producing at scale. This is a new frontier for many and a new field that requires different ways of thinking — novel solutions, many of which are unfamiliar to both long-time growers and the new entrants into the industry like engineers and equipment vendors.
The four key challenges of scaling up in this landscape are:
Lack of experience across multiple domains,market and regulatory pressures,lack of standards,misapplication of traditional equipment.These four challenges have combined to put tremendous strain on the new, modern-day cannabis companies. However, before we can hope to solve these problems, we need to first understand what the problems and challenges are and how they came to be.
This week’s big news turns our attention to Washington, D.C., where U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) reintroduced the SAFE Banking Act—this time with more than 100 bipartisan cosponsors. It’s yet another opportunity for his House colleagues to approve the banking reform bill, and the 2021 outlook is slightly brighter with a thin Democratic edge in the U.S. Senate.
Who knows what will happen? Democratic senators have promised “comprehensive” cannabis legislation in the coming weeks or months, so it remains to be seen how the federal government under a Biden administration will address the increasingly hard-to-ignore problem of cannabis prohibition.
Of course, that’s not the only headline in cannabis this week. States around the U.S. are moving on cannabis proposals at a lively clip previously unseen in this industry. Optimism abounds, though there are many angles and causes for political debate.
We’ve rounded up some of the key cannabis headlines from the week right here.
Three bills, which were passed by the Denver Finance and Governance Committee on March 16, would allow cannabis delivery, cannabis hospitality businesses and on-site smoking. They stand a good chance of passing into law. Read more
At the state level in Colorado, a draft bill reveals one legislator’s 15% THC content proposal for cannabis products across the board. It’s up for debate, however, but the low-potency threshold certainly got the attention of the state’s cannabis industry. Read more
Oklahoma may make it a bit more challenging for businesses to enter the medical cannabis industry, as the Oklahoma House passed a bill that would put a temporary license cap on medical cannabis businesses. Read more
Want to follow the Emerald Cup festivities this year? The cannabis competition is going virtual with a new streaming option on SocialClub TV. Read more
And elsewhere on the web, here are the stories we’ve been reading this week:
Associated Press: “Legislation to legalize cannabis in New Mexico advanced Thursday toward a decisive Senate floor vote under a framework that emphasizes government oversight of pricing and supplies along with social services for communities where the criminalization of pot has led to aggressive policing.” Read more
Yahoo! Finance: “Another quarter of financial metrics from U.S. cannabis company Green Thumb Industries topping Wall Street expectations was marked with at least two price target upgrades Thursday.” Read more
Baltimore Fishbowl: “A bill set to legalize recreational cannabis in Maryland aims to give back to the community.” Read more
Spectrum Local News: “[New York] State lawmakers are close to reaching an agreement on legalizing adult use cannabis in New York, but a familiar hurdle to its final passage remains: Reconciling the concerns raised by some Democratic lawmakers over traffic safety.” Read more
After three full years of hemp cultivation, Linda Noel was confident 2021 would be a success.
Those beginning years were rife with issues, including two broken contracts, an entire crop that went hot and cannabidiol (CBD) regulatory hurdles. She learned along the way, though, and hemp grown for CBD had become her primary crop at Terrapin Farm in Franklin, Mass., where she also grows tomatoes.
But Noel wouldn’t have grown hemp a fourth year if not for the MA Hemp Industry Survive and Thrive amendment included in the state’s 2021 fiscal budget. The amendment allows licensed hemp producers and processors to sell their products to medical and adult-use cannabis dispensaries in the state. Because hemp-derived CBD is only legal for sale as a topical in the state, it’d bring about a lifeline for Massachusetts’ struggling hemp industry.
That amendment passed in December and was expected to take effect March 11. But so far, Massachusetts’ Cannabis Control Commission (the Commission) has yet to administer an update, guidelines or even a timeline on when the industry can expect the market to open up.
“I’m hopeful by the time we go to harvest, there will be a market to sell in the state,” Noel says.
Now, a sense of urgency permeates the state’s hemp industry. The cultivation season is quickly approaching, and producers like Noel are left to decide whether to grow based only on the hope that regulations will be administered in time. Meanwhile, processors say they’re fielding a boom in calls from interested dispensaries, only to hang in limbo as they await guidance.
The city council will soon vote on three bills regarding cannabis regulations in Denver, as reported by 9NEWS.
The bills, which were passed by the Colorado Finance and Governance Committee on March 16, would allow cannabis delivery, cannabis hospitality businesses and on-site smoking.
"We are going to propose, as a city, that we safely opt-in to some of these new license types that the state has created," said Ashley Kilroy the director of Denver's Department of Excise and Licenses. Kilroy will also pitch the latest proposal of city regulations, 9NEWS reported.
Kilroy said the city is proposing to lift the license cap on new stores and cultivation facilities, which has been in place since 2016, according to 9NEWS.
Social equity applicants are the only people who would be able to receive a delivery license until 2024, while permits for hospitality businesses, stores, transporters, cultivation and manufacturing would be limited to social equity applicants until 2027, according to 9NEWS.
The bills are an effort to make Denver's cannabis industry more diverse, equitable and inclusive, as cannabis business owners or top executives are predominantly white males, which misrepresents the community's demographics, 9NEWS reported.
MARCH 16, 2021, PRESS RELEASE: The Emerald Cup is proud to announce they will be going virtual and global for the first-time during their 2021 edition. Long known as the “Academy Awards of Cannabis” the iconic global cannabis competition will launch their own CTV channel on the SocialClub TV platform on April 5, 2021. Cannabis programming will run over the six days leading into the live-cast of the world-renowned Emerald Cup 2021 Awards Ceremony on Sunday, April 11, 2021.
Fans of the event - new, old and all across the planet - will be able to enjoy:
High wattage exclusive live-musical and comedy performances (line-up revealed later this week)Insider access to the judging of awards with special appearances by B-Real (Cypress Hill/Dr. Greenthumb), Jimi Devine (LA Weekly) and Abdulluh Saeed (Great Moments in Weed History Podcast)A visual history of iconic moments from The Emerald Cup in a documentary formatA full library of past The Emerald Cup shows spanning 17 years of eventsFireside chats with leading names across the cannabis, and now psychedelic industryExpert filled educational panels concerning topics including "The Cannabis Plant: Terpenes And Beyond," "The future of Cannabis Genetics Around The Globe" and "Real Social Equity: Creating Impact Not Impressions"Interviews with hosts and founders Tim and Taylor Blake, Willie Nelson Lifetime Award recipient Winona LaDuke and many more“The Emerald Cup 2021 is the global gathering that all cannabis enthusiasts should attend,” shares founder, advocate and author Tim Blake. “As we navigate a world turned “virtual” we are eager to bring our community to the global stage with never before access made possible by Social Club TV. The luxury of creating our event during the pandemic, and in this new spring season time slot, has allowed us to capture all the moments that go unseen, create intimate conversations, spread education, and enjoy the music and culture that surrounds our gathering. Our TV channel on SCTV will become the destination for all our fans now and forever.”
“The transformation of The Emerald Cup 2021 from a yearly staged experience into one that can be watched on-demand is not an easy feat,” shares Social Club TV’s CEO Josh Otten. “By launching an entire channel dedicated to the Emerald Cup we can enable content from the past, present and future to be delivered to fans across the globe and give the Emerald Cup a permanent platform that moves beyond the event-based experience and into a real multi-media destination."
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On March 17, the Colorado Senate passed a bill in a 33-1 vote that would allow K-12 students with serious medical conditions easier access to cannabis-based medications while at school, as reported by the Associated Press.
Under the current law, any cannabis-based medication can only be possessed and administered to students by a parent or caregiver while on school grounds. Still, school principals are permitted to store it.
Parents expressed their frustration at the Senate Committee on Education, describing their children's hardships while trying to get their medicinal cannabis at school. Some parents said they often have to leave work or opted for their children to learn remotely to make it easier for them to receive the medication, as reported by the Associated Press.
The new bill would help limit parents' frustration as it "removes the discretion from the school principals and requires school boards to implement policies allowing for the storage, possession and administration of cannabis-based medicine by school personnel."
It would also allow school employees to possess or give medicinal cannabis to students and protect nurses who distribute the medication to students at school.
DENVER, March 18, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE – Growlink is proud to announce the new Growlink TDR Substrate Sensor. In partnership with Acclima, these high-quality time domain reflectometry (TDR) sensors are not only more accurate than the competition, but they last an average of 20 years, providing tremendous value. For more technical information on the quality of TDR sensors, check out this article.
Precision crop steering
Connect up to four TDR sensors and four irrigation valves to the Growlink Smart Irrigation Controller, and easily and seamlessly implement a crop steering program. Use the Growlink App to visualize your data, evaluate rules performance and test new optimizations.
Deliver real-time data wherever and whenever you need it. Easily and automatically steer an entire crop’s growth for consistent crop performance with predictable quality and yield. Enjoy increased productivity as a single grower can manage large facilities and multiple locations from the palm of his or her hand. This is next-level crop steering only from Growlink.
Manual and autonomous mode
Set the amount, frequency and timing of irrigation events to steer growth. Growlink’s learning software enables users to save hours each day combing through data and adjusting irrigation timers, while ensuring the right decisions are made at the right time.
Helping motor more than $17.5 billion of legal cannabis sales in the U.S. in 2020, there were 515 banks and 169 credit unions providing services to cannabis-related businesses at the end of last year, according to Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s (FinCEN) quarterly cannabis banking update.
But those banks are not the “national associations” of the world. Big financial institutions, like JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and PNC, are not going to get into the cannabis space directly, unless there’s more formalized federal reform, said Jonathan Havens, a partner at Saul, Ewing, Arnstein and Lehr’s Philadelphia-based law firm.
Counseling clients on regulatory, compliance, enforcement and transactional matters, Havens has companies in the cannabis industry turn to him for advice on how to get and keep their products on the market, where access to banking comes in handy.
According to the U.S. Department of Treasury’s FinCEN, banks can accept cannabis-related deposits, but there are several compliance steps those institutions need to take, such as filing Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs). When the FinCEN issued guidance in 2014 to clarify the expectations for financial institutions seeking to provide services to cannabis-related businesses, it opened the door for banks to jump into the space—but that door only opened so far.
“I think a lot of these bigger banks said, ‘You know what? The cannabis industry is just not big enough business to us. And, so, it’s not worth it to us,’” Havens said. “The risk isn’t worth it to them.”
Oklahoma made it challenging for businesses to enter the medical cannabis industry, as the Oklahoma House passed a bill that would put a temporary license cap on medical cannabis businesses.
The House passed House Bill 2272 on March 10 in a 69-21 vote. As stated in the bill summary, the measure would “direct the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) to cap the number of dispensary, processor and grower licenses beginning Sept. 1, 2021.” This would include the total number of active licenses and pending applications submitted before that date.
Rep. Josh West, who created the bill, said he designed it in an effort to slow down the state’s growing illicit market industry, as reported by Oklahoma’s News 4.
While the state’s medical cannabis industry is booming, West argues that people are taking advantage of the OMMA’s limited insight into the industry by purchasing licenses with no intention of operating a business or skipping from license to license, as reported by Oklahoma’s News 4.
According to the article, the state has more than 10,000 active licenses for growers, processors and dispensaries; however, the bill aims to reduce the number of active licenses to 8,000: 2,000 dispensaries, 1,000 processors and 5,000 growers.
Starting on Sept. 1, 2021, any dispensary, processor or grower licensee who cannot prove he or she actively used the license for 18 months is not authorized to renew that license, the bill summary states.
