MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press
The Pennsylvania Department of Health is taking steps to maintain patients’ access to medical cannabis during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The state’s medical cannabis growers/processors and dispensaries have been deemed life-sustaining businesses that are allowed to remain open under Gov. Tom Wolf’s order for non-life-sustaining businesses to close, according to a local Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 report.
The state has also announced the suspension of certain statutory and regulatory provisions as of March 20 in order to implement a series of changes to allow patients enrolled in the state’s medical cannabis program to continue receiving medication, the news outlet reported.
The changes allow dispensary employees to provide medical cannabis to patients in their vehicles, as long as they are on the facility’s property, according to Action News 4. The state has also removed a cap that limited how many patients one caregiver could have, and has eliminated background checks for the renewal of caregiver applications to expedite the renewal process, the news outlet reported.
The state will also waive in-person consultations for the renewal of patients’ medical cannabis cards to allow for remote consultations between certified practitioners and medical cannabis patients for certification renewal, according to Action News 4. Practitioners may also request that patients receive a 90-day supply of medical cannabis from a dispensary, as the state has temporarily waived its 30-day limit.
Under an emergency declaration issued March 20 by Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak in the wake of the nationwide coronavirus outbreak, all medical and adult-use cannabis dispensaries must close their storefronts to the public, although deliveries will still be allowed, according to the Reno Gazette Journal.
Dispensaries were ordered to shut down by midnight on March 20, according to the news outlet, and curbside pickup of cannabis products will not be allowed.
The Marijuana Enforcement Division has rolled out new virtual delivery vehicle inspection procedures to allow cannabis licensees to meet an increased demand for cannabis delivery services, the Reno Gazette Journal reported. Thirty-eight dispensaries in the state currently offer delivery services, but the new procedure will allow all dispensaries to deliver their own products, according to the news outlet.
Meanwhile, Nevada’s cannabis cultivation facilities, production facilities, distributors and testing labs will be permitted to continue their operations, but must adhere to strict social distancing guidelines, the Reno Gazette Journal reported.
CANADA: FSD Pharma Inc. today announced that it has taken steps to mitigate the impact of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on its wholly-owned subsidiary, FV Pharma Inc., a licensed producer under Canada’s Cannabis Act and Regulations, and its facility in Cobourg, Ontario. The Company’s actions are aligned with evolving guidance from provincial and local Read the full article...
Temporary Rule Aligns With Governor’s Executive Order to Promote Social Distancing OREGON: The Oregon Liquor Control Commission approved a temporary rule that supports social distancing to promote prevention of the spread of the COVID-19 virus, by allowing licensed marijuana retailers to conduct limited transactions outside their licensed premises. The action will permit retail licensees to Read the full article...
The Alberta Cannabis Council (ACC), a not-for-profit industry trade group serving the province’s cannabis industry stakeholders, shared a letter with the Canadian government calling for it to grant the same access to economic relief programs to the country’s cannabis industry.
The letter, signed by 74 industry members, calls for the “equal and fair access to significant supports for all cannabis companies working to keep employees employed, including access to wage subsidies as announced on March 18, 2020 by the Prime Minister and Finance Minister.”
Additionally, the letter asks that federal agencies offer “equal and fair access to funding through federal agencies, EDC [Export Development Canada] or BDC [Business Development Bank of Canada] as other industries have for credit instruments. Presently, for example, BDC has indicated that the regulated cannabis sector can not access the $10B in stimulus funding, part of which is available through that crown corporation.”
John Carle, the executive director for the ACC, along with the letter’s signatories, writes “We are not asking for special treatment, but rather equitable treatment.”
The letter also highlights the recent, non-COVID-19 related challenges the industry has faced in recent months, including difficult access to investor capital and the loss of more than 2,000 jobs across the industry.
“We are asking that this industry, which has added a cumulative total of $8B to the Canadian GDP over the course of the last year, specifically and explicitly be included in all economic stimulus measures and provided the support that is being offered to every other Canadian business at this time,” the letter reads.
Posted by Lise Millay Stevens
According to a recent report, China's flower industry is already picking up, despite the havoc wrought on the country's economy by the coronavirus. Floral Daily reports that the number of businesses — and flower markets in particular — reopening increases daily; the number of shoppers is also up.
Savio Ma, Chief representative for grower Armada China, says, "Since the beginning of March, the borders opened — except for Wuhan — which enabled flower markets to open their doors too. Many are now still relying on online buying, but the number of visitors to these markets is increasing as well," according to the report. "For the coming three months, our orders are at about 80% of what they were last year during this time."
For more, read the article here.
The+Source announced March 19 that the company’s two Las Vegas dispensary locations will voluntarily transition to medical-only cannabis sales as an additional safety measure for its patients amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
All adult-use sales will be halted until further notice, and the dispensary is also reducing its business hours.
“We made that decision for consideration of the safety of our team,” Brandon Wiegand, The+Source’s regional general manager, told Cannabis Dispensary. “We felt it was a judicious action to take, given the circumstances.”
The day before the company made the decision to temporarily stop adult-use sales, it saw more traffic than usual, which Wiegand attributes partly to the ambiguity businesses experienced while waiting to see if Nevada would allow its cannabis dispensaries to remain open amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The state has ordered all non-essential businesses to close, but the governor’s office provided clarification March 18 that allowed the state’s licensed cannabis dispensaries to remain open as long as they enforced the strict social distancing protocols that have been encouraged by the CDC.
TILT Holdings’ Blackbird technology powers cannabis delivery services in California and Nevada, where the states’ governors have deemed the industry “essential” and open for business—with some caveats. Certain dispensaries may now only permit medical cannabis patients in the store, for instance. Much of the market, then, has quickly flipped over to delivery and pickup orders.
Tim Conder, TILT Holdings COO, says that Blackbird data shows a 400% increase from one week to the next, citing sales numbers from mid-March—just as the coronavirus outbreak was settling the U.S. into widespread shelter-in-place dictates. Delivery had suddenly become more important than ever in this nascent industry.
“The situation this week has been rapidly evolving,” Conder says. “Our first and foremost concern is protecting the safety of our employees, but also keeping them working so that everyone can continue to be paid and not use up paid leave. We’ve been really trying to balance those two things, which has been pretty difficult.”
The key is adaptability.
The Blackbird team typically offers a two-hour delivery window. In short order, that was bumped back to same-day. Now, the team is working with next-day delivery.
“The situation is conducive to next-day delivery because the lion’s share of the population is required to be at home,” Conder says. “We can route all the deliveries that were placed the previous day. It’s allowing us to keep up with the surge in demand.”
As the COVID-19 outbreak continues to shutter businesses and confine people to their homes, many employers are faced with difficult decisions about keeping sick employees at home, providing paid sick leave and, in some cases, layoffs. As the global coronavirus epidemic continues to evolve and federal and state laws shift to protect public health, cannabis business owners have much to consider, with one of the main concerns being their employees’ safety.
Here, Adam Kemper, partner of Greenspoon Marder’s Labor & Employment and Cannabis Practice Groups, and Dean Rocco, partner with Wilson Elser, provide tips on employment practices during these uncertain times to ensure business owners handle the unprecedented situations that might arise in the best way possible.
1. Determine whether your business can remain open under state and local ordinances.
As states and municipalities order certain businesses to close in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, cannabis businesses are increasingly being deemed “essential” businesses that can remain open. However, cannabis operators should ensure this is the case in their location before continuing operations, Rocco says, and they should be talking with their local and state representatives to encourage them to deem cannabis businesses as “essential” to ensure access for their patients.
2. Maintain open lines of communication with employees.
When it comes to employers communicating their coronavirus-related policies with employees, Kemper says, “If they haven’t already done so, they need to do so immediately. This is an ongoing pressing issue that is affecting a lot of lives yesterday, today and going forward.”
First and foremost, employees need to know if the company plans to remain open, Rocco says. If the company does plan to continue operations during this time, employees need to know that employers are taking steps to stop the spread of the virus.
This week, Michigan’s governor announced that all licensed cannabis retailers may set up delivery services to accommodate sales during the COVID-19 outbreak, while Illinois regulators decided to allow curbside medical cannabis sales. Elsewhere, in Maine, the Office of Marijuana Policy issued its first round of conditional adult-use cannabis licenses.
Here, we’ve rounded up the 10 headlines you need to know before this week is over.
Federal: President Trump has instructed the Small Business Administration (SBA) to allot $50 billion in aid to small businesses via low-interest loans during the historic coronavirus global pandemic, which would help small businesses stay afloat with current expenses, including payroll. While the total assistance SBA will offer in these low-interest loans is still unknown, one thing is certain: Cannabis businesses will not be offered relief by SBA. Read moreIn the midst of the coronavirus outbreak, cannabis businesses are increasingly being declared “essential.” A growing number of municipalities implementing quarantine measures are placing cannabis dispensaries along the same lines as grocery stores, pharmacies and police stations, allowing them to remain open. Read moreFlorida: A proposal to cap the THC content in medical cannabis products for patients under the age of 21 stalled in the Florida House as the state’s 2020 legislative session came to a close. Limiting THC content was a priority for House Speaker Jose Oliva this year, although the proposal was not as well-received in the Senate. Read moreMaine: The Office of Marijuana Policy has issued its first round of conditional adult-use cannabis licenses to 31 businesses for cultivation, manufacturing and retail operations. Ten cultivation operations, four manufacturing facilities and 16 dispensaries were granted provisional approval and must now obtain local authorization before they can receive a final active license from the state. Read moreWashington: The Washington Legislature has approved legislation aimed at bolstering social equity in the state's cannabis industry, sending it to Gov. Jay Inslee. The bill would create a task force to help establish a new Marijuana Social Equity Program and would allow the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board to award previously revoked or canceled cannabis dispensary licenses to applicants in the new program. Read moreMichigan: Following the general trend toward delivery services amid the COVID-19 outbreak (and, thus, the public health necessity), Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced this week that all licensed cannabis retailers may set up delivery services to accommodate sales in this time of social distancing. Whitmer’s executive order also includes curbside pickup for all licensed dispensaries. Read moreMeanwhile, Michigan’s adult-use cannabis sales increased in February, reaching $14.8 million for the month. This is a 34% increase over January’s sales of $9.8 million. Read moreArkansas: The state’s medical cannabis sales have surpassed $50 million since the market launched less than one year ago. Arkansans have purchased more than 7,932 pounds of medical cannabis totaling $50.7 million in total sales since the first dispensary opened in May 2019. Read moreIllinois: As state regulators rush to maintain easy access to medical cannabis amid the crackdown on mass gatherings, Illinois will now allow curbside medical cannabis sales. “The exchange of cash and product must take place on the dispensary’s property or on a public walkway or at the curb of the street adjacent to the dispensary,” according to a memo from the Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation. Read moreCanada: Canopy Growth Corporation has temporarily closed all corporate-owned Tokyo Smoke and Tweed retail locations across Canada, effective March 17, in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. “We have a responsibility to our employees, their families, and our communities to do our part to ‘flatten the curve,’” CEO David Klein said. Read moreIn an attempt to alleviate sickness while advocating for prison reform amid the coronavirus pandemic, the nonprofit Last Prisoner Project has created a “Decarcerate Now” petition to convince the federal government to release inmates in the U.S. who have been arrested for or convicted of cannabis crimes. The petition is directed to President Donald Trump and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Overcrowding, as well as a lack of access to medical care and hygiene products, make prisoners susceptible to contracting the COVID-19 disease, said Sarah Gersten, executive director and general counsel for the Last Prisoner Project. Nearly 3% of U.S. inmates are 65 or older, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and many also have underlying health conditions, Gersten says. Older populations and those with underlying conditions are among the most at-risk for getting a serious illness COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
One prisoner at the Rikers Island prison complex in New York has tested positive for COVID-19, while other inmates there have showed symptoms. Meanwhile, two California state prison employees have tested positive for COVID-19. Some inmates have been released in California and Ohio, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said he will release 40 inmates from Rikers.
“It’s obvious to advocates right now, and to certain officials and lawmakers, that one of the most common-sense responses to this pandemic would be to release all of those prisoners who are over the age of 65, who have an underlying condition, who are highly susceptible to not just contracting the virus but to facing serious health ramifications, and it obviously could be deadly for those individuals,” Gersten said.
Roughly 500 people had signed the Last Prisoner Project’s petition on change.org as of 4 p.m. EDT on March 20. Gersten said the organization is working to gather as many signatures as possible.
Releasing those arrested for and convicted of cannabis crimes fits in with the organization’s day-to-day mission, Gersten said. “On top of that, we are also in a moment right now where it's urgent and critical that we immediately reduce the populations of folks in correctional facilities across the board, so that might include procedures to release folks certainly that are pre-trial and some other populations that their release might not be permanent,” she said.
As more Americans across the country are sheltering at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, a major Colorado cannabis retailer announced that it has received the state’s first permit to deliver medical marijuana directly to patients’ doors.
Boulder-based medical cannabis dispensary The Dandelion, which is owned and operated by the retail chain Native Roots, obtained Colorado’s first state-issued delivery license last week, the company announced on Thursday in a press release.
Delivery services won’t be available immediately, however. Shannon Fender, director of public affairs for Native Roots, said The Dandelion is hoping to begin its first deliveries by the end of the month.
Click here to read the complete article
Ben Aldin ~ MarijuanaMoment.net ~
SparqOne announced a March 17 distribution agreement with Kushy Punch, Church, Mindset Organics, Branded and Smoakland to reach more than 400 dispensaries across California. The move filled out SparqOne’s offerings in each cannabis product category, giving the company a more robust network to capitalize on its core promises: “superior customer service, next day delivery, and real time sales and inventory management.”
General Manager Andrew Dorsett says that the propelling force here is communication between businesses along the supply chain. Distribution companies touch all corners of their network, and he says that SparqOne drivers prioritize the needs of dispensary owners with whom they’re working each day. They’re sharing news and constantly picking up feedback as to what’s selling, what’s not selling, what sort of questions patients and customers are asking at any given moment in this rapidly evolving industry.
Of course, SparqOne’s recent agreement comes amidst the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., and distribution channels are facing incredible economic pressure. The need for clear communication and up-to-the-minute education has been thrown into stark contrast in the cannabis business.
"Getting that feedback and spreading information and knowledge that’s factual and vetted is extremely important."
- Andrew Dorsett, SparqOne general manager
“There have been some substantial changes and operational limits put in place by local health orders mostly,” Dorsett says. “The state has been very good in the way they’ve approached all of this. The localities and the counties, they’re the ones putting in a lot of the restrictions. Luckily, the way we’ve designed our team and our company is to be very nimble and very dynamic. We can readjust at a moment’s notice throughout the state.”
For instance, SparqOne sent some of its Los Angeles-based team to the Bay Area, which led the state in its shutdown of nearly all commercial services. While the city of San Francisco quickly confirmed that cannabis dispensaries would remain “essential” business—open for patients and customers in need—the area became a pressure point for distribution networks. SparqOne also reallocated personnel to Sacramento and northern California, preparing for the possibility of a statewide shutdown. (Indeed, since our interview with Dorsett on March 19, the entire state of California has followed suit with the shutdown measures.)
The DEA first announced its intent to license private entities to grow Cannabis for FDA approved clinical trials in 2016.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is proposing to amend its regulations to comply with the requirements of the Controlled Substances Act, including consistency with treaty obligations, in order to facilitate the cultivation of "marihuana" for research and other licit purposes, according to the Federal Register.
"Specifically, this proposed rule would amend the provisions of the regulations governing applications by persons seeking to become registered with DEA to grow 'marihuana' as bulk manufacturers and add provisions related to the purchase and sale of this 'marihuana' by DEA."
Click here to read the complete article
Sara Brittany Somerset ~ Forbes.com ~
We caught up with NORML Director Erik Altieri to find out the best ways to get stoned during COVID-19.
In the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic, government and health officials have issued mandates and guidelines to help slow the spread of the illness, from the shutdown of Broadway to shelter-in-place — and as a result, many people are struggling to maintain a semblance of normalcy.
Click here to read the complete article
Allie Volpe ~ RollingStone.com ~
Applications Prioritized, Temporary Action Eases Delivery Requirements OREGON: The Oregon Liquor Control Commission took action designed to ease the economic hardship faced by the hospitality industry as result of public health mandates to help stop the spread of the novel infectious coronavirus (COVID-19). The Commission’s action relaxes some of the requirements relating to delivery of Read the full article...
Consumers across the U.S. are stocking up on the essentials: toilet paper, food and cannabis. That means long lines at dispensaries as customers in many markets rush to purchase what they can in anticipation of shelter-in-place orders and business shutdowns.
The demand spike creates additional challenges for the fledgling cannabis supply chain. The industry faces potential inventory shortages for accessories, such as vape pens and cartridges, sourced from China due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Panic buying and a lack of access to overseas suppliers could force cannabis businesses to rationalize their supply base and centralize purchasing at the corporate level, says Colin Kelley, operating partner for private equity investment firm Merida Capital Partners. Cannabis companies with multiple locations can potentially hedge against future disruptions and boost productivity by moving procurement functions from the departmental or division level to the corporate office, Kelley says.
“This is particularly important when there are multiple locations like cultivation or processing or different dispensaries in the same market or different markets,” says Kelley, who also serves as a board member of LeafLine Labs, one of two licensed producers and distributors of medical cannabis in Minnesota.
Centralized procurement pays off
A centralized approach to purchasing may open opportunities to streamline the supply base and take advantage of preferred vendor programs, Kelley says. In this scenario, each location specifies its needs—whether it’s a type of nutrient, vape device or capital equipment for extraction—and sends that to a centralized, corporate office for ordering.
Earlier this week, the federal government announced that it would extend the deadline for tax payments until July 15 amid coronavirus concerns. Dean Guske, CPA with Guske & Company, is advising his cannabis clients to take advantage of this delay, while keeping adequate capital on hand to cover their tax bills.
“If a government agency gives you a deferral to pay your taxes, take it,” Guske tells Cannabis Business Times. “You’re being given an opportunity to hold on to cash for a longer period of time, and I would take it. It’s like they’re allowing you to borrow from them. It’s an interest-free loan, basically.”
Cannabis companies should still hold on to as much capital as they can to meet their tax obligations, however.
“I would be just trying to keep that in the bank, keeping your capital as long as you possibly can,” Guske says.
The deadline extension allows individuals to delay tax payment of up to $1 million until July 15, while corporations can delay payment of up to $10 million. Federal tax returns should still be filed by April 15, however, unless an extension is filed.
As COVID-19 continues permeating all aspects of daily life, a growing number of municipalities in the U.S. are opting to impose quarantine mandates and shut down all non-essential businesses to slow the virus spreading.
Some entities, like police departments and pharmacies, are obvious in their need to remain open. But the shutdowns have prompted perhaps an unexpected question amid the coronavirus chaos: Are medical marijuana operations considered “essential” in this new public arena?
For many areas across the U.S., the answer is a resounding “yes.”
Over in San Francisco, though, that wasn’t always the case. All seven counties in the Bay Area of California implemented a shelter-in-place order March 16. The order, which is in place until at least April 7, included a list of essential services that could remain open but left room for interpretation regarding other businesses, including cannabis.
At first, the city of San Francisco told cannabis companies they’d need to temporarily shut down their businesses by March 17, the Mercury News reports.
But by the end of the day, advocates had convinced the city health department to change its mind.
The coronavirus outbreak has upended the global economy, leaving most commercial industries reeling. Cannabis is no exception.
As some local and state governments rush to declare medical cannabis businesses “essential,” thus allowing them to continue operating as quarantine policies become more entrenched, the overarching question remains: How can the industry ensure access for patients in need?
Brian Vicente, partner and founding member of Vicente Sederberg, based in Colorado, addresses some of the intersections between cannabis business and regulators—places where solutions to emerging problems may be found.
What are some of the more common questions your firm is fielding? What sort of themes are emerging on the legal side of this crisis?
I've been trying to reinforce a positive talking point, which is: In times of economic distress, frequently, medicines and vices do well. Now, I’m not one who normally calls cannabis a vice. It's actually more of a positive thing for society. But if you look historically at economic data, alcohol and things of this nature do well. So, I do think the long-term prognosis for the cannabis industry is positive. But that doesn't mean we're not going to deal with some major hiccups in the short to medium term.
I would say the main question that we've been fielding by far is, “Are we going to be able to stay open?” We represent probably close to 1,000 stores, grows, manufacturers across the country. And at this point, it's a patchwork quilt of regulations, of decisions being made. Sometimes that's at the state level, like we saw in Pennsylvania, where they decided that medical marijuana stores are essential. There are places in California that said, “We're shutting everything down.” It's a very dynamic conversation. We've been chatting with regulators across the country, trying to really let them know that the priority here for the whole cannabis industry should be taking care of medical marijuana patients. We have some policies and things we drafted up around that. That's top priority.
