MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press
As marijuana policies shift within pro sports leagues, could the NCAA be next?
The National Football League has adjusted its drug policy to no longer include suspensions following a positive test for marijuana.
The change comes as part of the new collective bargaining agreement reached by the NFL Players Association and owners on March 14. With this change, the NFL joined a number of professional sports leagues that have begun to implement less restrictive policies on the usage of marijuana.
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Rich Rigney ~ PSUVanguard.com ~
State lawmakers are pushing forward with a plan to dramatically increase the number of licenses to grow, process and sell medical marijuana in Missouri, months before dispensaries around the state are expected to open their doors.
The move represents a rebuke to the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), which last year decided to issue the minimum of licenses required by the voter-approved constitutional amendment that legalized medical marijuana in Missouri, which totaled around 340.
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Jason Hancock ~ Kansas City Star ~
There isn’t one medical sector that has been untouched by the effects of technology, and the cannabis industry is no exception.
In the past decade alone, the world of medical marijuana (and recreational cannabis for that matter) has experienced a massive boom.
Some people are even referring to our time as the “weed” era, and considering the spike in cannabis consumption and approval rates, this isn’t far off.
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Jacob Scott ~ HealthTechZone.com ~
The COVID-19 pandemic has stalled several ballot initiative campaigns in Ohio, including one to place adult-use cannabis legalization in front of voters this fall, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
The Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol campaign has temporarily suspended its effort as the state responds to the coronavirus. The Ohio Attorney General’s Office rejected summary language of the ballot initiative March 10, and the campaign has struggled to find its footing as Ohio responds to the COVID-19 pandemic.
RELATED: New Petitions Filed to Launch Adult-Use Program in Ohio: Legalization Watch: UPDATE
“We made the decision early on that the health of our volunteers, supporters, medical marijuana patients and the general public would be our primary concern,” Tom Haren, a spokesman for the campaign, told The Columbus Dispatch. “As Ohio begins the process of re-opening, we are evaluating our options and hope to have more to share soon.”
Campaigns to qualify ballot initiatives on voting rights, increased minimum wage and others are also in limbo until Ohio’s stay-at-home orders are lifted, according to the news outlet.
Don Peabody, also known as Joesy Whales, the co-founder of Nevada-based GG Strains and co-creator of the Original Glue (GG4) cannabis variety, passed away May 6 at the age of 66.
“GG Strains has lost a legend this week, and the world has lost an amazing man,” the company announced in an Instagram post.
Peabody co-founded GG strains with the late Ross Johnson (aka Lone Watty), and the pair co-created the Original Glue cannabis variety (formally known as GG4), which rose to popularity after taking first place in the 2015 World Cannabis Cup.
The cultivar was also the focus of a now infamous trademark infringement lawsuit.
“Joesy popped a seed that has contributed to the transformation of the cannabis community in the last decade,” the company wrote on Instagram. “Joesy is known … as The Godfather/Co-Creator of ‘The Original Glue GG4 (fka Gorilla Glue 4).’ Those of us who were fortunate enough to know him personally, professionally, and [had] the privilege to work with Joesy have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor.”
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRESS RELEASE -- Rubicon Organics Inc. has announced that it has received its sales amendment from Health Canada to sell dried and fresh cannabis products for recreational use. With the receipt of the sales license, Rubicon Organics is now able to directly sell its organic certified flower to all provincial and territorial distributors.
“Today marks an important milestone for Rubicon Organics on our journey to become Canada’s leading organic cannabis company,” stated Jesse McConnell, CEO. “This sales license will enable us to launch our full portfolio of super-premium brands, into new provinces such as Alberta and Quebec, whilst extending our offerings in our already supplied provinces, Ontario, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.”
Together with the Health Canada site amendments previously announced on May 6, 2020, Rubicon Organics’ Delta, BC facility is now fully licensed to cultivate, process and sell cannabis products from both its 125,000-square-foot hybrid-greenhouse and 11-acre outdoor grow site for recreational and medical use.
Many states are lifting coronavirus restrictions, signaling new opportunities and challenges for the industry, if not a complete return to “normal.”
In Oklahoma, Gov. Kevin Stitt announced that salons, barbershops and spas could reopen on Friday, April 24, the same day he permitted elective surgeries to resume.
As Oklahoma’s economy opens back up, dispensary Likewise Cannabis has seen more patients coming inside its stores instead of utilizing curbside pickup and drive-thru services, said Corbin Wyatt, CEO. This follows the governor’s announcement of a “safer-at-home order” for “vulnerable populations” on March 24.
Likewise Cannabis runs five retail locations—two in Oklahoma City, one in Edmond, one in McAlester and one in Stillwater. The business plans to open a third location in Oklahoma City and also aims to vertically integrate to add cultivation and processing, Wyatt said.
“We're back to stocking vapes more as sales have been rising on those significantly in the past few days,” Wyatt said on May 4. “Flower is seeing an uptick as well, edibles are down a few percentage points. I think people are beginning to rotate back to their usual regime.”
Likewise saw edibles purchases increase from about 20 to 25% of monthly sales prior to the state’s coronavirus pandemic response to about 35% during the first roughly five weeks of the safer-at-home order, Wyatt said April 30.
The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission plans to launch its adult-use cannabis delivery application May 28, according to a MassLive.com report, as some regulators have said that delivery is a priority during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cannabis Control Commission Executive Director Shawn Collins made the announcement during the commission’s May 7 virtual meeting, the news outlet reported.
The licenses will be granted to social equity and economic empowerment applicants for at least the first two years, according to MassLive.com. Both programs are meant to bolster industry participation from businesses owned by minorities, those with prior cannabis-related convictions and individuals who have been disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs.
Commissioners are considering a precertification process for the delivery applications before granting applicants a provisional license, MassLive.com reported. This would include verification of business and tax information and insurance plans, according to the news outlet, and then additional factors, such as a host community agreement and capital resources, would be considered before the commission grants a provisional license to pre-certified businesses.
The Cannabis Control Commission approved regulations last fall to allow adult-use cannabis delivery services and cannabis cafes, or establishments where people can legally consume cannabis in a social setting, MassLive.com reported.
Coronavirus hasn’t kept some cannabis companies down: They’re staffing up even as unemployment in many other sectors soars.
Weed businesses around the country that were in strong financial shape heading into the pandemic are hiring additional workers in response to robust demand for marijuana products.
Almost all states have allowed pot shops to remain open, even though vast swaths of the retail economy have been shuttered for weeks.
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Paul Demko, Mona Zhang and Arek Sarkissian ~ Politico.com ~
An investigation into the roll out of Missouri’s medical cannabis program has reached Gov. Mike Parson’s office, as a House committee seeks records involving Parson’s chief of staff, chief operating officer and a longtime adviser, according to an Associated Press report.
The Missouri House Special Committee on Government Oversight sent a letter to the Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) May 7, requesting records of the department’s interactions with cannabis industry stakeholders and insight into how key decisions were made in the medical cannabis licensing process, the news outlet reported.
The committee’s chairman, State Rep. Robert Ross, indicated in the letter that the records request is a result of “too many unanswered questions” after DHSS officials testified during earlier public hearings related to the investigation, according to the Associated Press.
Ross received a whistleblower complaint in March in the form of an unsigned letter from someone claiming to be a DHSS employee, the news outlet reported. The complaint accused the department of lying to legislators during the hearings and raises questions about the qualifications and salaries of those overseeing Missouri’s medical cannabis program.
The state’s Auditor’s Office has received two additional whistleblower complaints about DHSS operations and the medical cannabis program’s licensing process, the Associated Press reported.
In most medical use states, minors can get medical marijuana if they have an adult willing to act as their caregiver or designated provider and are also entered into the state medical marijuana database.
If you’re 21 years or older and live in one of the 33 states with legalized medical marijuana laws, you can access marijuana for medical reasons if you have a qualifying health condition.
And in 11 of these states, including Washington, recreational adult use is also legal, so you don’t even need to visit a doctor in order to purchase and consume cannabis products.
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Allison Hall ~ Spokesman.com ~
Four years ago, Maine voters approved a ballot initiative legalizing recreational marijuana. Yet, there are still no marijuana retailers in the state.
The industry's roll-out since since 2016 has been impeded by a number of legislative and regulatory twists and turns, including a gubernatorial veto.
But few, if any, in this emerging sector anticipated the latest obstacle.
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Ed Morin ~ Maine Public Radio ~
Several states looked poised to vote on cannabis legalization this year, and while some secured initiatives on their ballots before the coronavirus hit the U.S., a campaign in Montana was the latest to falter in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
New Approach Montana is making a comeback, however, after officially launching its statewide signature drive May 9, as Montana loosened some of its restrictions in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.
“As our state reopens for business, we must also reopen for democracy,” Pepper Petersen, New Approach Montana’s political director, said in a public statement. “Our signature drive will allow Montana voters to exercise their constitutional right to a ballot initiative in a safe and responsible way.”
Early this year, before COVID-19 reached the U.S., the state approved the campaign’s two complementary ballot initiatives for circulation.
Statutory Initiative 190 would establish a system to regulate and tax cannabis for adult use, while Constitutional Initiative 118 would authorize Montana to set the legal age for consumption at 21.
This week, a recently released 2018 memo advises the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to change its program regulating the legal production of cannabis for research purposes in order to comply with international drug laws. Elsewhere, in Minnesota, the state’s House Majority Leader introduced an adult-use cannabis legalization bill after months of discussion on how to approach legalization in the state.
Here, we’ve rounded up the 10 headlines you need to know before this week is over.
Federal: The DEA’s program regulating the legal federal production of cannabis for research purposes has been non-compliant with international drug laws for decades, according to an advisory from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC). A recently released 2018 memo from the OLC advises the DEA to “change its current practices and the policy it announced in 2016 to comply with the Single Convention.” Read moreEthos Cannabis, a Pennsylvania-based multistate cannabis operator, announced May 5 that it has signed definitive agreements to acquire the rights to 4Front Ventures’ dispensary locations in Pennsylvania and Maryland, which currently operate under the Mission brand. The acquisition furthers Ethos’ goal of developing a strong presence in the Mid-Atlantic, East Coast and Midwest cannabis markets, according to President and CFO David Clapper. Read moreHightimes Holding Corp. will see former Green Growth Brands Executive Peter Horvath step in as CEO at a critical time for the company, following the departure of former CEO Stormy Simon. Long the publisher of High Times, the holding corporation is in the midst of a strategic move into the retail segment of the legal cannabis industry with the acquisition of two dispensaries (in Los Angeles and Las Vegas) and a pending deal for 13 more in California. Read moreCalifornia: Regulators have released proposed rules for the OCal Program, a statewide certification program focused on comparable-to-organic standards for cannabis. CDFA is required by state law to establish an organic certification program for cannabis by Jan. 1, 2021, and public comment on the proposed regulations will be accepted through July 7, 2020. Read moreOhio: The state has officially secured the testing equipment it needs to tell the difference between marijuana and hemp. Up until recently, most of Ohio’s crime labs, if not all, could only detect the presence of THC, but not the concentration, which is key in determining whether the cannabis in question is hemp or marijuana. Read moreIllinois: The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation announced May 4 that adult-use cannabis sales surpassed $37 million in April. The state’s dispensaries sold 818,954 items for total sales of $37,260,497.89. Read moreOklahoma: The state collected $9.8 million in medical cannabis tax revenue in April, which breaks the previous record of $7.8 million that was set in March. Oklahomans spent roughly $61.4 million on medical cannabis in April, which equates to nearly $217 per registered patient. Read moreMinnesota: House Democratic Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (DFL-Golden Valley) introduced an adult-use cannabis legalization bill May 5 after months of public discussions on how to approach legalization in the state. The legislation would create a regulatory structure with the goal of establishing a craft market with micro-businesses, and also includes a home grow provision. Read moreGeorgia: The Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission has appointed Andrew Turnage, the leader of the state boards that oversee cosmetology and nursing, as its executive director. The commission is responsible for establishing rules to regulate Georgia’s medical cannabis program, and Turnage’s appointment comes more than a year after Gov. Brian Kemp signed the program into law in April 2019. Read moreInternational: The New Zealand government has published legislation to legalize adult-use cannabis ahead of a nationwide vote on the proposal this September. The Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill would broadly legalize cannabis use and sales for adults 20 and older, and would allow adults to grow two plants or up to four total plants per household for personal use, among other provisions. Read moreSundries to stock in one’s cupboard during the coronavirus pandemic: canned tuna, honey, rice, and weed gummies.
Cannabis sales skyrocketed in the days leading up to stay-at-home orders to stem the spread of the coronavirus in the US.
Now, cannabis analysts have found that an unusually high proportion of those sales can be attributed to edibles.
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Jenni Avins ~ QZ.com ~
As the demand for cannabis soars, so too does the need for clear guidelines governing its use. Cannabis is potent medicine, and as a medicine, requires a framework that minimizes harm.
Last year, my father was diagnosed with cancer that caused severe visceral pain. We knew weed could help. What we didn’t know was how much to give him.
The months that followed were shaped by trial and error -- sometimes we nailed it, and he experienced a few lucid, pain-free hours of relief, and other times, we got it horribly wrong, leaving him lethargic or anxious and confused.
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Emma Stone ~ Leafly.com ~
Natural materials builders seeking to grow a market for industrial hemp in the United States are moving forward after successful testing for building safety codes and recognition by a national architecture and design program at a U.S. university.
Hemp advocates have identified lime-hemp building material, called "hempcrete," as an opportunity to build a market for hemp grown for fiber.
Challenges have been a lack of supply, building code regulations and a lack of education among architects and designers, builders say.
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Jean Lotus ~ UPI.com ~
WASHINGTON, D.C. – PRESS RELEASE – A group of cannabis advocacy and industry organizations sent a letter to Congress today urging lawmakers to include the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act or similar language in the next pandemic relief package which would create a safe harbor for banks and other financial services providers to work with cannabis and ancillary businesses that are in compliance with state law. The letter cites the ability of cash to carry contagions and the personal proximity required by cash transactions as reasons for urgency in correcting the lack of banking access in the cannabis industry, beyond the pre-existing safety and transparency concerns addressed by this legislation. It was signed by Americans for Safe Access, Global Alliance for Cannabis Commerce, Marijuana Policy Project, Minority Cannabis Business Association, National Association of Cannabis Businesses, National Cannabis Industry Association, National Cannabis Roundtable, National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, Policy Center for Public Health and Safety, and Safe and Responsible Banking Alliance.
“Collectively, we represent consumers, patients, and thousands of state-regulated and ancillary cannabis businesses,” the letter reads. “This industry, composed primarily of small to medium-sized businesses, continues to provide safe cannabis medicine to more than 3 million medical cannabis patients in the United States. Despite the essential designation in most states, these essential businesses lack access to the financial services necessary to optimize social distancing measures to ensure the safety of medical cannabis patients, workers, and the public.”
Due to current federal laws and financial regulations, most banks are unwilling to take the risk of prosecution or sanction to work with state-legal cannabis businesses and often ancillary businesses that service the cannabis industry. This forces many businesses in this space to operate almost entirely in cash, creating public health and safety issues that have been compounded by the coronavirus pandemic. These policies hinder the efforts of regulators and law enforcement to effectively monitor the legal cannabis market, and severely limit access to capital for small businesses that are increasingly in need of assistance. Business owners are also becoming more concerned that the presence of cash on their premises will make them larger targets for crime as unemployment rises throughout the nation.
“Locking legal businesses out of traditional banking services—leaving them with no option but to operate exclusively in cash—has long put workers in danger,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley, the lead Senate sponsor of the SAFE Banking Act. “And now in the face of this pandemic, it’s making it increasingly difficult for these businesses to keep their workers and customers safe while they fight to stay afloat. The SAFE Banking Act is more important than ever to these businesses and the families who rely on them, and I’m committed to doing everything I can to get it passed.”
The SAFE Banking Act would prevent federal banking regulators from punishing banks for working with cannabis- and hemp-related businesses that are obeying state laws. The bill would protect ancillary businesses that work with the cannabis industry from being charged with money laundering and other financial crimes, and requires the Financial Institution Examination Council to develop guidance to help credit unions and banks understand how to lawfully serve cannabis businesses.
The Ohio Department of Agriculture received 198 applications for hemp production licenses for the 2020 growing season, the state’s first shot at a legal hemp market. It may be a lower number than industry stakeholders expected, but certain elements of the Ohio climate and the regulatory landscape may offer great promise.
Craig Schuttenhofer, research assistant professor at Central State University in Xenia, Ohio, says that the state’s glaciated soils will be nice for the crop. At the eastern edge of the Corn Belt, great swaths of Ohio’s landscape will be terrific for hemp. There are wet regions in the state, but, by and large, the long growing season should prove beneficial to the hemp crop.
“We do have a good amount of seasonal moisture, but at the same time it’s not an excess during the natural growing season,” he says.
Notably, Ohio will be operating under the federal guidance of the 2018 Farm Bill. Many states—including major players in the industry, like Kentucky, Oregon and Colorado—are continuing this year to work under 2014 Farm Bill pilot program auspices. The differences between those states’ pilot program oversight measures and the 2018 Farm Bill can be vast. This may give Ohio farmers a leg up on the competition, Schluttenhofer says.
Next year, before the 2021 growing season really gets under way, those other states will need to get in line with the 2018 Farm Bill. Schulettenhofer says that this first year may give Ohio an advantage; the switch to the new regulations will be a complex adjustment.
“All of those programs now have to re-educate their growers and re-adjust to how they’re doing things,” Schluttenhofer says. This adjustment involves “hot” crop testing (for THC content) and other processing issues.
With the extract market burgeoning, there’s an increased focus on how those products are produced.
Solvent extraction methods have advanced quickly over the past few years, with popular solvents including ethanol, CO2, and hydrocarbons -- organic compounds containing only hydrogen and carbon atoms -- which in cannabis are usually butane and propane.
If you’ve used vape oil, edibles, or any number of products that incorporate extracts, you could well have been sampling the fruit of hydrocarbon extraction.
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Aimee O'Driscoll ~ Leafly.com ~
