MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press
How New York’s Etain is Serving Medical Marijuana Patients in the Epicenter of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Etain, one of the 10 registered, vertically integrated medical marijuana businesses in New York, is doing everything it can to provide its patients with safe access to medical cannabis despite operating in the state–and the city–at the epicenter of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
New York has more than 263,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to the latest updates from the New York State Department of Health, the most in the U.S. About half of the state’s cases are within New York City. A stay-at-home order is in effect until May 15, but as in many other states, the medical marijuana program is considered an essential business, and companies can stay open.
Etain has been able to retain its 50 employees, 20 who work in cultivation and manufacturing, 20 who work in the company's four dispensaries and 10 at the corporate office, says Hillary Peckham, co-founder and COO of the family-owned business. In addition to sanitation and social distancing protocols, people no longer work between the dispensary locations, arrival times and lunch breaks are staggered, and employees are wearing masks and gloves in the dispensaries. On the cultivation side, not much has changed, as staff already wore personal protective equipment (PPE).
“We’re trying to make sure everyone feels taken care of and everyone feels safe across the board, employees and patients. That has been my biggest role here and what I’ve spent most of my time on,” Peckham says.
Etain has conducted first-time and follow-up appointments with patients via phone or video conference since March. Patients are encouraged to order online or call their orders ahead rather than walk-in, and Etain already offered delivery services before the pandemic, Peckham says. However, plans to expand delivery in 2020 were expedited, and patients now can order delivery five days a week instead of just one.
“We’ve been ramping up delivery services, particularly in New York City, where it is the epicenter of this virus,” Peckham said, adding that many patients in Manhattan use public transportation exclusively, and do not want to venture out on crowded subways or buses, or have conditions that prevent them from doing so. “We would generally see 30 to 50 people a day [in the Manhattan dispensary.] Now it’s significantly reduced, but the delivery demand has gone up immensely. Delivery has been essential for them to continue to get their medication.”
Last month, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued draft rules to regulate the cultivation of cannabis for research purposes in an announcement that was met with mixed industry reactions.
NORML announced April 8 that it had formally submitted comments in opposition of the DEA’s proposed rule changes. The advocacy group criticized the agency for maintaining the sole discretion to choose which applicants will be authorized to grow cannabis for research, and expressed its dismay that the DEA has not provided a timeline for approving pending applications.
“While NORML has long supported facilitating and expanding domestic clinical research efforts, we do not believe that these proposed rules, if enacted, will achieve this outcome,” NORML wrote. “Rather, we believe that the adoption of these rules may further stonewall efforts to advance our scientific understanding of cannabis by unduly expanding the DEA’s authority and control over decisions that ought to be left up to health experts and scientists.”
NORML also suggested in its comments that rather than licensing a new set of growers, the DEA should allow the cannabis already being produced by state-licensed cultivators to be used for federal research.
“Rather than compelling scientists to access marijuana products of questionable quality manufactured by a limited number of federally licensed producers, NORML believes that federal regulators should allow investigators to access the cannabis that is currently being produced by the multitude of state-sanctioned growers and retailers throughout the country,” the organization wrote. “Doing so would not only facilitate and expedite clinical cannabis research in the United States, but it would also bring about a long overdue end to decades of DEA stonewalling and interference with respect to the advancement of our scientific understanding of the cannabis plant.”
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) on Wednesday joined Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), and 7 of their Senate colleagues in sending a letter to Congressional leadership calling for forthcoming COVID-19 relief legislative packages to allow state-legal cannabis small businesses and indirect cannabis small businesses to access loan and Read the full article...
Aross the United States, cannabis cultivators, processors and growers are embracing a wide range of remarkable initiatives to make their businesses more sustainable and energy efficient.
In Colorado, a state agency is leading an initiative to capture carbon dioxide from a brewery to re-use in a cultivation facility.
A new grow operation in Massachusetts installed over four acres of solar panels on its roof and a high-efficiency “microgrid” on its campus. And more companies are turning to hemp as a pragmatic and sustainable alternative to plastic packaging.
Click here to read the complete article
Max Savage Levenson ~ Leafly.com ~
In reality, no scientific evidence supports this dichotomy because on a molecular level, indica and sativa strains don't have pattern differences that set the two "types" apart from each other.
When you enter a marijuana dispensary you're met with sterile white walls and glass-encased counters that hold marijuana flower, vape pens, chocolates, gummies, and other psychoactive goodies.
Whether a dispensary has a menu hung on its wall, a digital list patrons can scroll through on an iPad, or a physical paper booklet they can flip through, these informational materials, at the very least, classify each marijuana strain as an "indica," "sativa," or "hybrid."
Click here to read the complete article
Julia Naftulin ~ Insider.com ~
The University Philanthropic Venture Fund, managed by the institution's IU Ventures, is investing $250,000 in the Bee Corp., "an Indiana agtech startup developing solutions for growers and beekeepers who rely on commercial pollination," according to an IU press release issued today. "The company uses infrared cameras that attach to a smartphone to provide a noninvasive look at the health of the hive."
The funds were promised but not transacted before Gov. Eric Holcomb issued a statewide stay-at-home order, according to information in the release: "Despite mounting economic uncertainty, IU Ventures is proceeding with this and three other approved investment transactions, demonstrating the group's commitment to supporting Hoosier entrepreneurs in this time of heightened need."
To read the entire press release, click here.
U.S. Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) introduced legislation April 23 that would extend federal COVID-19 relief efforts to the cannabis industry.
The Emergency Cannabis Small Business Health and Safety Act would grant state-legal cannabis businesses access to the resources offered through federal COVID-19 emergency response packages, and would prohibit additional federal relief funding provided through the Small Business Administration (SBA) from excluding both cannabis businesses and businesses that provide services to the industry.
“The cannabis industry employs nearly a quarter of a million Americans and has been deemed essential in state after state, yet many businesses will not survive the pandemic without help,” National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) Executive Director Aaron Smith said in a public statement. “They already face disproportionate financial burdens during normal conditions, and the strains created by the coronavirus response are putting them at an even greater disadvantage and jeopardizing their ability to provide vital healthcare services. We are incredibly grateful for the dozens of lawmakers who are urging their colleagues to give cannabis businesses fair access to federal relief funds in these difficult times.”
When the SBA allotted nearly $50 billion in aid to small businesses via low-interest loans last month, it became clear that cannabis businesses were ineligible to access this aid due to cannabis’ Schedule I status.
“Because federal law prohibits the sale and distribution of cannabis, the SBA does not provide financial assistance to businesses that are illegal under federal law,” Carol Chastang, SBA public affairs specialist, told Cannabis Business Times at that time. “Businesses that aren’t eligible include marijuana growers and dispensers, businesses that sell cannabis products, etc., even if the business is legal under local or state law.”
April 20 is a major sales day for cannabis business across the U.S. and elsewhere. And while dispensaries certainly saw a relative spike in purchases this past Monday, the effects of the coronavirus outbreak and many states’ stay-at-home orders flattened the industry’s own demand curve a bit.
Typically, according to data gathered by Headset, a cannabis business intelligence firm, April 20 sees sales jump up more than 100% (compared to April 13, the week prior). In Nevada, for instance, April 20, 2019, notched a 130% increase over April 13 sales. Dispensaries stock up well in advance of this celebratory day, often planning promotional deals and special events around the 4/20 hype.
This year, not so much.
Not only were dispensaries (and most other businesses) barred from hosting any mass gatherings of people, but new social distancing norms precluded the usual long lines and shoulder-to-shoulder shopping in-store. According to Headset data, it appears that customers spread out their purchases across the entire week leading up to April 20. (The big day was on a Monday this year, as opposed to a Saturday last year.)
“Most states showed a significant increase in sales for the week ending on 4/20 in comparison to the week prior,” according to spokesperson for Headset. “These trends show that this year, in general, the 4/20 sales boost that retailers have grown accustomed to was similar to prior years (due to being spread out across a seven-day window). Thus, rather than a large single day sales boost, retailers enjoyed elevated sales throughout the week.”
In general, product category breakdowns remained the same from last year. Flower led the 4/20 purchases this year with around 43% of sales. Edibles saw an uptick, and vape pens saw a decline, perhaps part of a larger movement in the industry in the wake of last fall’s vaping-related lung illness crisis in the U.S.
When 13-year-old Charlotte Figi passed away in early April, cannabidiol (CBD) company Charlotte’s Web says it lost its “northern star.” The young girl had found relief for her seizures through the Stanley Brothers’ low-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) strain of cannabis, inspiring them to name the strain after her and, eventually, their company, now called Charlotte’s Web.
“We had to say goodbye to our sweet little Charlotte, who we really consider to be our original founder and the founder of this industry,” said Charlotte’s Web Co-Founder and Chair Joel Stanley.
Around the same time of Charlotte’s passing, people had begun reaching out to Charlotte’s Web in need. The spread of COVID-19 was preventing some from buying the CBD they had come to rely on.
After some thought, company executives have devised a solution to both honor Charlotte and help others like her by giving away Charlotte’s Web products to people who need it.
“We know some people are struggling, and we got our heads together, and I’m very thankful to be able to announce that we are able to donate a million dollars’ worth of products to these struggling families,” Joel Stanley said in a video announcing the donation.
The company has teamed up with its charitable partners at the Realm of Caring, Adaptive Training Foundation and High Fives Foundation for the sizable donation.
A new report from ICR Strategic Communications and Spectacle supports what the alcohol companies feared - people who can consume cannabis legally drink less.
The first hint that alcohol consumption could be threatened by the legalization of recreational marijuana happened in the state of Colorado.
Once adult-use cannabis was legal and easy to purchase in the state, residents weren't spending as much money on beer and alcohol. Total beers sales climbed as the population rose, but the amount consumed per person dropped.
Click here to read the complete article
Debra Borchardt ~ RealMoney.TheStreet.com ~
The Lebanese parliament on Tuesday passed legislation to legalize cannabis cultivation for medical and industrial purposes, a move that was recommended by economic advisers even before the coronavirus pandemic dealt a devastating blow to the Mediterranean nation's struggling economy.
Under the new law, the cultivation of cannabis by farmers would be regulated within the country, according to The Daily Star, a Lebanese English-language newspaper.
Although the plant has long been widely and openly cultivated in Lebanon, particularly in the country's eastern Bekaa Valley, growing cannabis was strictly illegal.
Click here to read the complete article
Jason Lemon ~ Newsweek.com ~
Your new year’s resolution for 2020 was to lose weight. And this time, you really are committed to making it happen.
But here’s the dilemma: When trying to drop the pounds, do you stop using pot because it gives you the munchies or do you increase your intake because, for some, it acts as an appetite suppressant?
“It depends,” according to Dr. Jon Davis, Ph.D., assistant professor at Washington State University’s Department of Integrative Physiology & Neuroscience.
Click here to read the complete article
Tracy Damon ~ Spokesman.com ~
A majority of Americans believe that state marijuana legalization laws have been a success, according to a new survey.
YouGov asked more than 27,000 adults about states where cannabis has been legalized for recreational purposes and whether they “think the legislation has been a success or a failure.”
Fifty-five percent of respondents in the poll, released on Monday, said that regulated marijuana markets are either complete successes or more of a success than failure.
Click here to read the complete article
Kyle Jaeger ~ MarijuanaMoment.net ~
HUMBOLDT COUNTY, CA – PRESS RELEASE – Sun+Earth, the nonprofit certification program for regenerative organic cannabis, celebrates its one year anniversary on Earth Day. Founded on April 22, 2019, by cannabis industry leaders, experts and advocates with a common commitment to regenerative organic agriculture, farmer and farm-worker protections, and community engagement, Sun+Earth has more than doubled in size, certifying businesses across five states in the past year, demonstrating the consumer demand for regenerative organic cannabis grown under the sun by small-scale family farmers.
Amid the combined global crises of the COVID-19 pandemic, accelerating climate change, and increasingly diminished local supplies of food and medicine, Sun+Earth Certified offers a model for ecological resiliency.
“If we’re serious about addressing the combined threats to our health, environment, and economy, we must take bold action quickly,” said Sun+Earth Executive Director Andrew Black. “The multi-billion dollar cannabis industry has a critical obligation to shift away from high levels of energy consumption and chemical-intensive farming practices, and Sun+Earth has the blueprint for how to do that."
In the one year since its founding, Sun+Earth has expanded from California to Colorado, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin, certifying 32 licensed businesses that sell their products in more than 350 retail outlets across the country. The Sun+Earth website has a list of certified farms and manufacturers, as well as a map of retail locations where certified products are sold. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when social distancing precautions preclude on-site visits and inspections to farms and manufacturers, Sun+Earth is making efficient use of online tools to remotely recruit and certify new organic farms and manufacturers in these and additional states this year.
The Sun+Earth seal sets itself apart from other organic programs by guaranteeing that certified businesses cultivate and manufacture products using cannabis grown under the sun with regenerative organic farming practices. The regenerative organic cultivation standards set by Sun+Earth encourage the planting of cannabis alongside food crops, and strategic use of cover crops, composting and reduced soil tillage. Regenerative organic farming practices help sequester carbon from the atmosphere, further reducing a farm’s carbon footprint. No chemical fertilizers or toxic pesticides are used to grow cannabis certified by Sun+Earth, whose standards go beyond USDA Organic to set additional criteria that benefit family farmers and farm-workers.
GREENWICH, CT and DENVER, CO, April 22, 2020 /CNW/ - PRESS RELEASE - Today, BR Brands LLC, a house of brands within the legal cannabis sector, and Dixie Brands Inc., one of the legal cannabis industry's most recognized consumer packaged goods companies, have entered into a definitive agreement to complete their previously disclosed business combination, pursuant to which Dixie will indirectly acquire from BR Brands all of the outstanding voting shares of Mary's Brands, the creator of such brands as Mary's Medicinals, Mary's Methods, Mary's Nutritionals and Mary's Tails, and certain other assets of BR Brands, including securities of Edgewater Foods, Inc. and Lost County, Inc. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2020, subject to satisfaction of all closing conditions, including receipt of required Dixie shareholder and regulatory approvals.
Following completion of the transaction, BR Brands will own and control approximately 80% of the outstanding voting shares of Dixie, with existing Dixie shareholders holding the balance of the outstanding voting shares. The non-participating voting shares of Dixie will be redeemed as part of the transaction. Subject to the satisfaction of all applicable listing requirements, it is the intention of the parties that the voting shares of Dixie will, following completion of the transaction, continue to be listed and posted for trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange as a single class.
The combination will strengthen the balance sheet of the combined entity and is expected to drive upside synergies as well as operational efficiencies, providing long-term, stable growth for shareholders and a best-in-class product portfolio for consumers across the globe.
"Through the combination of BR Brands and Dixie, the resulting entity will represent a dominant platform and preeminent house of brands within the global cannabis consumer packaged goods sector. Combined, the company will boast an unrivaled product offering across one of the largest THC geographic footprints, representing more than 200 SKUs across 10 states and Puerto Rico," said BR Brands Chairman Andrew Schweibold. "It is a challenging economic environment, however the legal cannabis industry continues to thrive and the power of our product portfolio, intellectual property and team position the company to capitalize on the underlying cannabis macro trends and drive value to our stakeholders as the industry continues to mature and consolidate."
Alongside the progression of deal documentation, BR Brands and Dixie have initiated key integration initiatives across both companies' portfolios to drive early synergies for existing stakeholders. Current integration efforts are focused on sales, distribution, operations and manufacturing in key states. Beginning with California, significant progress has been made to create a fully integrated sales team and optimize commercial efficiencies via shared distribution capabilities and procurement practices. Plans to combine production operations in California are also underway. Additionally, the combined team is turning its attention to replicating these efforts in other states, including Colorado and Michigan.
TORONTO, April 22, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRESS RELEASE -- Aleafia Health Inc.’s AssureHome Delivery, a fast, direct-to-door delivery service in Canada, has launched next-day distribution of medical cannabis products.
Providing patients with fast and complementary service, the first Toronto deliveries were completed on April 21, 2020. Service highlights include:
Next-day AssureHome Delivery is immediately available to Toronto patients, with a 30-day rollout to the Greater Toronto Area and surrounding communitiesSignificantly faster delivery times compared to third-party parcel servicesPatients will receive a shipment tracking number and phone call 15 minutes prior to the driver’s arrivalAll orders received before 9 p.m. will be delivered the following business day between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.The company expects to offer same day delivery beginning in June, and will expand to other major metropolitan areas including Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver, while also eventually offering weekend distribution“Aleafia Health’s introduction of contactless, next-day medical cannabis delivery is based on our commitment to ensuring our patients receive their medicine in a safe, secure and convenient direct-to-door delivery,” said Aleafia Health CEO Geoffrey Benic. “With COVID-19 negatively affecting third-party delivery service times, we are demonstrating that our commitment to patients does not end until medicine is safely in their hands.”
Aleafia Health’s home delivery benefits from the supply chain logistics experience of Benic and COO Greg Rossi, who were among the founding partners of the award-winning online grocery fulfillment and delivery service, GroceryGateway.com. The pair have also worked as executive consultants on supply chain logistics projects for some of the world’s largest companies including Walmart Inc., Nestlé S.A., Kraft Heinz Company, Campbell Soup Company and Mondelez International. Benic and Rossi were also the architects of Trust Delivery, the first and only same-day Canadian medical cannabis delivery service.
California regulators have announced $30 million in grants for local jurisdictions to fund social equity initiatives in the state’s cannabis program.
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) has partnered with the Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC) to provide the grant funding through the Cannabis Equity Grants Program for Local Jurisdictions, which aims to support cannabis entrepreneurs from communities disproportionately impacted by prohibition.
The grants can be used for small business support services such as technical assistance, reduced or waived licensing fees, recruitment assistance, workforce training and retention, and emergency preparedness.
Roughly $23 million of the funding represents low or no-interest loans or grants that will be directly allocated to cannabis applicants and licensees that jurisdictions have identified as being from communities most harmed by the war on drugs.
“These Cannabis Equity Grants reflect California’s desire to lead our legalization efforts with equity and inclusivity,” Nicole Elliott, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s senior advisor on cannabis, said in a public statement. “We applaud these jurisdictions for not only embracing the challenge of creating pathways to participate in a legitimate cannabis marketplace, but for doing so in a thoughtful way that seeks to uplift all communities. It is our hope that these efforts lead to the creation of a truly diverse industry and that these programs serve as a blueprint for others who share in our commitment to address systemic discrimination and create real prosperity for all."
Lebanon has legalized cannabis cultivation for medical purposes, according to a Reuters report.
Parliament passed the law April 21, eyeing medical cannabis as a potentially lucrative export for Lebanon’s economy, which is facing an impending financial crisis, the news outlet reported.
Cannabis cultivation of any kind was previously illegal, although many have farmed the plant in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, according to Reuters.
Alain Aoun, a senior MP in the Free Patriotic Movement, told the news outlet that Parliament’s decision to legalize medical cannabis cultivation was driven purely by economic factors.
“We have moral and social reservations but today there is the need to help the economy by any means,” he said.
Cannabis arrests persist, even in this age of reform, according to a new report published by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The report, titled “A Tale of Two Countries: Racially Targeted Arrests in the Era of Marijuana Reform,” highlights the unsettling disparities among who is being targeted by law enforcement in recent years.
From the top, the ACLU notes that cannabis arrests are down overall in states that have legalized or decriminalized cannabis. (Even in states where cannabis is legal, certain amounts in possession and illicit sales are still illegal.) But in states where cannabis remains illegal (17 states as of early 2020), cannabis arrests have actually increased from 2010 to 2018.
In certain states that have legalized or decriminalized cannabis, racial disparities in arrests continue.
Read the full report.
The ACLU report is a clarion call for legalization on a broad scale, similar in spirit to the vision behind the Marijuana Justice Act. That congressional bill, which has been sidelined in the Senate Judiciary Committee for more than a year, contains a very clear social equity and criminal justice reform element.
When U.S. Sen. Cory Booker introduced that bill back in 2017, he said: “Our country’s drug laws are badly broken and need to be fixed. They don’t make our communities any safer—instead, they divert critical resources from fighting violent crimes, tear families apart, unfairly impact low-income communities and communities of color and waste billions in taxpayer dollars each year.”
The start of 2020 looked promising for the cannabis industry as policy reform efforts inched forward at the federal level. The U.S. House passed the SAFE Banking Act in September to allow financial institutions to work with the industry, and in November, the House Judiciary Committee approved the MORE Act to federally decriminalize cannabis, marking the first time a congressional committee has approved legislation to end federal prohibition.
While much of this political progress has slowed as the country deals with the COVID-19 pandemic, NORML Executive Director Erik Altieri says the outlook for the industry remains positive as cannabis businesses are declared essential in many U.S. states’ stay-at-home orders, giving the industry a newfound sense of legitimacy.
Here, Altieri discusses how businesses and consumers are adapting in response to COVID-19, how the political climate has shifted in the wake of the crisis, and how the pandemic might help shape future cannabis policy.
Cannabis Business Times: What are some of the key takeaways regarding the current political climate surrounding cannabis policy?
Erik Altieri: It certainly is clear that the ongoing situation with COVID-19 has slowed down a fair amount of political progress, not just for marijuana law reform but certainly anything political in this country. We had good momentum coming into this year. We had a large number of states that were looking to get [legalization] onto the ballot. We had a number of states looking to pass either medical laws or full legalization at the state legislative level. But come the middle of March, state legislatures basically shut down, and with the stay-at-home orders, it became impossible to collect signatures to get something placed on the ballot. Certainly, the scope of what we thought possible for 2020 seems to have narrowed a bit due to the situation, but on the bright side, we still have a number of states that are moving forward with their initiative process that had already placed it on the ballot prior to the lockdown.
In a lot of ways, we’ve seen some newfound legitimacy through the coronavirus crisis when it comes to a regulated cannabis market. That’s easy to see when you take a look at the incredibly large number of states that have deemed medical marijuana dispensaries and, in a fair amount of states, recreational dispensaries as essential services. Marijuana dispensaries as an essential service just shows how far we’ve come in the past eight or so years in terms of it being taken seriously as a legitimate industry and one that provides an essential good to the communities they operate in.
