MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press

Encourages Youth and Pregnant Women Not to Use Marijuana DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Surgeon General Vice Adm. Jerome M. Adams, issued an advisory emphasizing the importance of protecting youth and pregnant women from the health risks of marijuana use. Marijuana, or cannabis, is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a component Read the full article...

The San Francisco Office of Cannabis awarded its first social equity cannabis licenses to two dispensaries Dec. 17.

The much-anticipated permits were issued to Eureka Sky and Berner’s on Haight, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

San Francisco’s equity program prioritizes cannabis license applicants who have been impacted by the War on Drugs, and it has taken nearly two years for final permits to be issued. The Office of Cannabis has six staff members who are working to process more than 200 equity applications, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

“San Francisco is positioned to house a safe, and world class cannabis industry,” Office of Cannabis Director Marisa Rodriguez told the news outlet.

In Chicago, adult-use cannabis sales will begin Jan. 1—along with the rest of Illinois. The decision came Dec. 18 after Mayor Lori Lightfoot fought back against an effort by the city’s black caucus to delay sales and develop a more equitable minority business ownership plan.

The Chicago Aldermanic Black Caucus sought a six-month delay, so that local government could work within the state regulations to allow more social equity business applicants to get a leg up in the city’s seven “zones.”

READ MORE: In Chicago, Cannabis Industry and City Government Debate Two Approaches for Social Equity 

“We’re going to have differences of opinion, and that’s okay,” Ald. Jason Ervin, who spoke with Cannabis Dispensary earlier this month, told CBS after hours of debate on Dec. 18. “This is democracy, and we have that.” 

One concession that did materialize was some sort of pledge from Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office to award two of the five remaining medical cannabis licenses to open “with strong minority ownership numbers,” according to the Chicago Tribune, in two Chicago neighborhoods. The idea here is that those medical cannabis businesses may have an easier time transitioning to adult-use licenses in the near future. 

“We all support the notion that we must have equity. It’s what I ran on. It’s what I talk about virtually every time that I make a public statement. We’ve been since October working with members of the Black Caucus to try to address their concerns,” Lightfoot told the Chicago Tribune. “The governor and his team met with them many, many times, made specific concessions to address the issues and concerns that they had, and in the words of one alderman, sometimes you have to just take a win. That’s what today is about.”

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Up Kindness has a lofty mission to create a kind and sustainable future for all, and the Sacramento, Calif.-based nonprofit is making strides toward achieving this goal after a Dec. 15 panel discussion that brought industry stakeholders together to discuss the environmental concerns surrounding disposable vape cartridges.

The organization partnered with cannabis brand Big Karma and product design firm Canna Co-Operative to hold the discussion with statewide experts, which included panelists such as National Stewardship Action Council Executive Director Heidi Sanborn, GAIACA Waste Revitalization Director of Services Maria Espinoza, Zuber Lawler & Del Duca Law Managing Partner Tom Zuber, Big Karma’s Michelle Dougherty and NUG’s Dante Pasquini.

California law leaves most recycling plants unable to accept certain byproducts of the legal cannabis industry, Up Kindness Executive Director Shira Lane tells Cannabis Business Times. Used vape cartridges, post-extraction biomass and any form of THC were left uncategorized under the federal and state laws that govern hazardous waste.

During the organization’s recent panel discussion, experts discussed the need not only to categorize cannabis waste at the state and federal level, but also to manufacture vape cartridges in such a way that they are easy for recyclers to dismantle and process, Lane says.

“We’re using the word ‘disposable,’ where people believe they can throw these in the trash,” Lane says. “Really, you can’t. You can’t throw them in the trash. You can’t recycle them. There’s nothing you can do about them, and many people are just collecting them in their homes, not knowing what to do.”

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 17, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRESS RELEASE -- Isracann Biosciences Inc., an Israel-based company focused on becoming a premier low cost, high quality cannabis producer for both domestic and European export sales, has announced it has entered into an MOU for a joint venture with an additional farm property consisting of a late stage buildout of a cannabis cultivation facility in an agricultural center proximal to several licensed producers (LP’s) west of Be’er Sheva, Israel. Under the joint venture, the company will capitalize the buildout of the remaining construction in return for an economic interest in the project in compliance with Israeli laws. Terms of the joint venture will be released upon signing of a definitive agreement, which is subject to continued due diligence of the Be’er Sheva Farm by the company.

The Be’er Sheva Farm consists of over 880,000 square feet of agricultural land with two recently assembled steel greenhouse structures having a footprint of nearly 200,000 square feet. Upon full build-out the facility will represent an approximate 100% increase in the company’s current potential production capacity from its existing Nir Israel farm. The Be’er Sheva Farm also provides unused land with the potential for four times cultivation expansion capability. The new facility is designed to cannabis production standards and is ready to be enclosed with high quality application-specific polycarbonate cladding. The facility has all construction and land use permits in-place and an experienced and knowledgeable cultivation team which has local agronomic expertise with regional cannabis operations.

Isracann CEO Darryl Jones advises, “Our agronomic consultants brought this enterprise to our attention recently and the economics of the opportunity impressed us enough to move quickly to lock in a partnership. The facility is poised to greatly expand our existing footprint and advances our timeline to production by several months.”

Isracann has moved quickly to develop a definitive agreement subject to completion of commercial due diligence. A preliminary assessment by Isracann’s agronomic team projects full scale planting during the upcoming 2020 spring season. Initial production projections indicate a first-year yield consistent with the Company’s Nir Israel farm projected output.

Matt Chatterton, VP Operations for Isracann recently visited the Be’er Sheva Farm and comments, “We’ve been evaluating several opportunities to expedite our commercialization plans and based on my inspection of the property this farm offers the ability to shorten our time-to-market. The fundamentals are already in place, including building permits, and the basic infrastructure is already constructed which accelerates timing. Once we conclude our due diligence efforts, the proposed plan will be to advance the technical efforts including completion of the greenhouse and concurrently implementing a project characterization strategy in preparation to planting. There is still a lot of work to complete, but our efforts at our Nir Israel farm have already provided us with regional business relationships, experienced advisors, and extensive preparations that we can readily extend and implement across both locations.”

MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich., Dec. 9, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- PRESS RELEASE -- Holistic Industries, one of the largest and fastest-growing private vertically-integrated cannabis operators in the United States, has announced that it will make a $20 million investment in Madison Heights for its Michigan headquarters. The investment includes transforming the currently neglected property at 29600 Stephenson Highway, the vacant Fairlanes Bowling property, into a beautifully landscaped, environmentally friendly source of pride and an engine of economic development for the city and its residents.

Holistic Industries will soon break ground on the 65,000-square-foot medical cannabis cultivation, processing and provisioning center. The facility will house Holistic's flagship retail location, which will be a desirable destination for customers and patients from across the metro Detroit area and the state of Michigan.

"Madison Heights has made great strides to increase economic development in the community, and with the cannabis industry in Michigan about to explode, we are thrilled Holistic Industries chose our city for their headquarters," said Mayor Hartwell. "We've seen Holistic's operating model in other locations and the positive impact they have on those communities, which is why we trust them to transform, beautify and revitalize a property that is currently a detriment to Madison Heights."

"I've seen the commitment Holistic has made to the communities they are a part of through local hiring, charitable giving, local law enforcement support, and earmarking annual contributions for continued economic development," said Jeremy Moss, State Senator, Michigan's 11th District, Representing Southern Oakland County. "I'm impressed by their economic development plans for the five-acre site on Stephenson Highway."

In addition to the beautification of the property and its surrounding area, Holistic Industries is committed to improving the communities they serve. Once the facility is close to completion there will be an emphasis on local hiring and training with more than 50 job openings for both hourly and salaried employees that include attractive benefits packages. As part of the company's investment in the community, Holistic will also establish the Reaching New Heights community investment fund to support local organizations and projects that will further the goals and priorities of the Madison Heights community.

DENVER and TORONTO, Dec. 18, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRESS RELEASE -- Akerna Corp., a cannabis compliance technology provider and developer of the industry’s first seed-to-sale enterprise resource planning (ERP) software technology (MJ Platform), has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Canadian-based Ample Organics Inc. in a cash and stock transaction valued at up to $45 million (C$60 million).

Ample Organics serves over 70 percent of the Canadian market with its seed-to-sale platform and was recognized as the 19th fastest growing company in Canada by The Globe and Mail in 2019.  Just last month, Ample Organics was selected to deliver the world’s first national cannabis tracking platform in St. Vincent and The Grenadines in 2020.  The contract win, which was a competitive RFP process, is a testament to Ample Organics’ competitive position in Canada, the largest national market today. It is anticipated that the award will drive accelerated growth as international markets continue to pass legislation to legalize cannabis.

“The cannabis economy runs on Akerna. Our acquisition of Ample Organics solidifies our position as the global technology provider serving the industry,” said Jessica Billingsley, chief executive officer of Akerna. “This combination will provide Akerna with a significant advantage as we accelerate on our vision to create the pre-eminent global technology platform, addressing the entire supply chain and its regulatory bodies through accountability and transparency.”

With this acquisition, Akerna is further executing on its business strategy of complementing strong organic growth with select acquisitions of highly targeted and synergistic technology companies.

“As a company, we’ve grown by working closely with world-class technology companies, regulators, start-ups, consultants, and banking institutions to create a seamless business experience for the global cannabis industry,” said John X. Prentice, founder, and chief executive officer of Ample Organics. “We believe this transaction will result in tremendous synergies and opportunities for both Ample Organics and Akerna. We look forward to the many accomplishments and successes that we expect to share in the future.”

A group of aldermen voted Dec. 17 to send an ordinance to the Chicago City Council that would delay adult-use cannabis sales in the city for six months, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Although adult-use cannabis sales are slated to start statewide Jan. 1, the City Council Committee on Contract Oversight and Equity voted 10-9 to narrowly approve an ordinance put forward in October by members of the Black Caucus to delay sales until July.

The 20 members of the council’s Black Caucus have expressed concerns about inadequate efforts to help minorities participate in the adult-use cannabis market and earn their fair share of the generated revenue, according to the news outlet.

Eleven of Chicago’s medical cannabis dispensaries have been approved to serve the adult-use market Jan. 1, according to the Chicago Tribune, although Chicago’s cannabis industry and city officials have been debating Chicago’s approach to social equity in the months leading up to Jan. 1.

The full city council is set to vote on the caucus’s ordinance Dec. 18, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Kentucky Rep. Cluster Howard (D-Jackson) has pre-filed an adult-use cannabis legalization bill with plans to use the tax revenue to fund the state’s retirement system, according to a WKYT report.

The legislation would legalize personal cannabis use for adults 21 and older, and funnel 75 percent of the license and wholesale tax fees to the Kentucky Employees Retirement System and the other 25 percent to the Kentucky Teachers Retirement System, the news outlet reported.

The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board would be charged with overseeing the program and licensing cannabis cultivators, processors, testing facilities and retailers, according to WKYT.

The legislation also includes provisions that would decriminalize the possession of less than one ounce of cannabis and expunge cannabis-related misdemeanors, the news outlet reported.

Rep. Jason Nemes (R-Louisville) pre-filed a medical cannabis legalization bill in the state last month.

A petition for a proposed ballot measure that would legalize adult-use cannabis was filed with the Oklahoma Secretary of State last week, and organizers must now collect about 178,000 signatures to qualify for the 2020 ballot, according to a KFOR report.

The proposed measure, called State Question 806, is a constitutional amendment that would legalize personal cannabis use for adults 21 and older. The proposal renames the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority as the Oklahoma Marijuana Authority, which would be charged with licensing and regulating an adult-use market in the state, the news outlet reported.

The ballot measure would enact a 15-percent excise tax on cannabis sales, and funds would be divided among the regulatory body, communities that allow sales, schools and drug addiction treatment programs, according to KFOR.

The measure also includes a provision to expunge certain prior drug convictions, The Oklahoman reported.

The Oklahoma Secretary of State must set the start date for signature gathering, and supporters will then have 90 days to collect the required number of signatures and qualify for the ballot, the news outlet reported.

Governor J.B. Pritzker has opened applications for the first $21 million Low Cost Loan Program authorized in the cannabis law signed in June.

The initiative is funded through the Cannabis Business Development Fund, created by the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, to support social equity applicants seeking cannabis business licenses.

The fund is primarily supported through the licensing fees of the first round of dispensaries and cultivators, among other sources. 

Click here to read the complete article

TheTelegraph.com ~ 

While the lines are shorter and the sales slightly less, Michigan’s recreational marijuana business remained brisk through its second week of existence.

In two weeks, the handful of licensed, actively selling retail locations have tallied $3.1 million in sales, the state Marijuana Regulatory Agency reports.

During the opening week of licensed recreational marijuana activity, predominantly at three Ann Arbor businesses between Dec. 1 and Dec. 8, there were $1.6 million in sales.

Click here to read the complete article

Gus Burns ~ Mlive.com ~

What are a tenant’s rights around consuming cannabis at a rental property in a legal medical or adult-use state?

In August 2019, MassLive reported that a medically disabled couple in their 60s, Francine and Timothy Weinandy, were being evicted from their apartment complex near Springfield, Massachusetts, for smoking medical marijuana on their balcony.

The couple had lived in the apartment for 26 years.

Click here to read the complete article

Alexa Peters ~ Leafly.com ~ 

Michigan's Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA) issued a product recall this week for vape cartridges sold at two Elite Wellness dispensaries in Bay City and Mt. Morris, Mich., as well as distillate products sold to a licensed grower for testing. The distillate sold to the grower had not yet landed on any store shelves.

In Michigan, caregivers may sell product to licensed growers, who must then work with licensed testing labs to ensure safety standards before selling into the state's provisioning centers (dispensaries).

In this case, the recalled products are listed in the document below. The brands include Cereal Cart and Dank Vape, both of which have been caught up in the rampant vaping-related lung illness story in the U.S. and neither of which is associated with a licensed product manufacturer.

"Patients who have experienced symptoms after using these products should report their symptoms and product use to their physician," according to the MRA.

Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency Public Health and Safety Bulletin December 2019 by sandydocs on Scribd

 

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Each year, new states join the legalization movement—ranging from limited medical roll-outs to full adult-use. In 2020, Missouri will join the growing list of states permitting the cultivation and sale of medical cannabis. Missouri voters passed an amendment in November 2018 to legalize medical marijuana. On Dec. 5, the state announced it would begin issuing licenses for all types of medical cannabis facilities on Wednesday, beginning with testing facilities.

Other key dates from the state’s Department of Health and Senior Services include the approval of transportation facilities on Dec. 23, cultivation facilities on Dec. 26, infused products manufacturing facilities on Jan. 10, dispensaries on Jan. 24 and seed-to-sale tracking software on Jan. 31.

Cannabis Business Times recently spoke with Derek Mays, the founder and CEO of one of the applicants, the Real Cannabis Co. in St. Louis, to gain insight into how the process works and what the company expects moving forward. Mays also works as a patent and compliance attorney, currently serving as deputy general counsel at Maritz Holdings Inc., a market research and business solutions company based in Fenton, Mo.

What drew you to this industry?

A friend of mine living in Illinois informed me of the [cannabis] industry forming in Illinois in 2015 and asked if I would have interest in beginning a venture with him in Illinois. We quickly realized we didn’t have the resources and connections or knowledge of the industry to be prepared to enter that market. But it did pique my interest and took that curiosity and brought it back to Missouri. Medical cannabis is a compliance business, so I felt with my compliance background … and my ability to find people who would be interested in investing in this space locally, we would be able to assemble a very strong team to enter this market and be successful.

Where do things stand with your company right now?

OAKLAND, CA and TORONTO, Dec. 3, 2019 /CNW/ - PRESS RELEASE - Harborside Inc., a California-focused, vertically integrated cannabis enterprise, has announced that it has formally filed notice of appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit from the Tax Court decision in Patients Mutual Assistance Collective Corporation (d.b.a. Harborside Health Center) v. Commissioner. The Tax Court decision was issued on Nov. 29, 2018. The ruling became final on Oct. 11, 2019, when liability of US$11,013,237 was formally entered by the Tax Court. Harborside is properly filing its appeal within 90 days from that date. 

"Harborside believes that the Tax Court misapplied the law as it relates to dispensaries, and this appeal represents our commitment to remaining a leader in the fight for local, state and federal legalization," said Interim CEO Peter Bilodeau.

General Counsel Jack Nichols pointed out that, "The Tax Court's opinion provides an abbreviated and misleading discussion of the critical tax accounting issues regarding cost of goods sold." 

"There is an increasing realization that Section 280E as applied by the IRS is tax imposed without regard to income and violates the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution which requires that the federal tax must be measured by income, not sales. We remain hopeful that the Ninth Circuit will understand this," declared Steve DeAngelo, the iconic co-founder of Harborside.

No opinion is expected from the appeal until late 2020. Harborside's case will be argued in the Ninth Circuit by James Mann of Greenspoon Marder in New York.

OAKLAND, CA and TORONTO, Dec. 2, 2019 /CNW/ - PRESS RELEASE - Harborside Inc., a California-focused, vertically integrated cannabis enterprise, has announced that it has appointed Tom DiGiovanni as Chief Financial Officer. Keith Li will remain with the company as the Vice President of Finance. DiGiovanni is expected to commence his role with the company on Dec. 9, 2019, subject to receipt of any necessary approvals of the Canadian Securities Exchange.

"We are pleased to welcome Tom DiGiovanni to the Harborside team and believe his financial acumen and cannabis background will have an immediate impact on our continued growth, and more importantly in these tougher markets, our bottom line profitability," said Peter Bilodeau, interim CEO. "Tom has a strong financial and operations background serving public companies and his most recent role as CFO at Canndescent provides a level of understanding of the risk management and financial hurdles any cannabis business faces. We look forward to applying Tom's core financial values, experience and discipline to our organization as we navigate the ever-changing cannabis industry. We believe it is important that our CFO be boots on the ground in the heart of our day-to-day operations working out of our corporate headquarters in Oakland. Further to that, I want to say that we look forward to continuing to work closely with Keith Li as he transitions to his new role as Vice President of Finance. Keith works out of Toronto. We thank Keith for his exemplary services as CFO and the extra efforts he put forward during his tenure." 

"I am thrilled to be joining Harborside Inc. and have always admired their long, successful history as one of the leading companies in the California cannabis market," said DiGiovanni. "I look forward to working alongside the entire executive team at Harborside to establish and drive strong financial discipline and navigate the continuously-changing financial and legislative environment, both in California as well as nationally."

DiGiovanni most recently was a founding partner and the CFO at Canndescent, a vertically integrated cannabis company. During his tenure, Canndescent grew from a pre-revenue startup into one of the number one brands of luxury flower in California and a multi-state brand operator. DiGiovanni managed the day-to-day financial accounting and reporting functions, as well as helped implement the banking, financing and cash management procedures that allowed the company to quickly grow into an industry leader.  Prior to joining Canndescent, DiGiovanni served in multiple executive roles in finance and operations, including as CFO of Mainstream Energy, where he managed growth rates of more than 100% per year, helped consummate the merger of Mainstream Energy into Sunrun Inc. (NYSE: RUN) and the successful spin out of the commercial installation business of Mainstream Energy to REC Commercial Solar Corp. DiGiovanni is a Certified Public Accountant and a graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting with a minor in Economics.

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PRESS RELEASE--FSD Pharma Inc. has reported financial and operational results for the three and nine months ended Sept. 30, 2019. These filings are available for review on the company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

These financial results are unaudited, are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and are reported in Canadian dollars.

“During the third quarter, we continued to advance our efforts to transform into a specialty, biotech pharmaceutical R&D company focused on developing over time a robust pipeline of FDA approved synthetic compounds targeting the endocannabinoid system of the human body to treat certain diseases of the central nervous system and autoimmune disorders of the skin, GI tract and the musculoskeletal system. The company intends to initiate Phase 1 first-in-human safety and tolerability trials for its lead candidate, PP 101 micro-PEA during 1Q20. In addition, the company accelerated set-up activities to commence medical cannabis sales in August from our Cobourg facility,” stated Raza Bokhari, MD, executive co-chairman and CEO.

Dr. Bokhari continued, “In Q3, the company also raised more than $4.5 million in additional capital at $20.10 per share, with no warrant overhang, through a private placement in which the management, founders and board members contributed in excess of $2.5 million. This capital raise at a premium has indeed increased the visibility of the company amongst institutional grade investors and is an important milestone achieved that is very helpful towards our effort to list on a major U.S. stock exchange.

“During the quarter, we entered into a letter of intent with World-Class Extractions with an aim to diversify our revenue stream. We also added former U.S. Congressman Stephen Buyer to our Board of Directors.

MEDFORD, Ore., Dec. 17, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRESS RELEASE -- Acreage Holdings, Inc., one of the largest vertically integrated, multi-state operators of cannabis licenses and assets in the U.S., has announced the grand opening of its first cannabis cultivation facility in the Pacific Northwest. Located in Medford, Ore., the new 30,000-square-foot indoor cultivation facility will grow cannabis to be used in a wide range of new products, including:

The Botanist, an Acreage-developed brand rooted in health and wellness;Tweed, a Canopy Growth Corporation brand licensed to Acreage, focused on quality products and meaningful customer relationships. This launch will mark Tweed’s introduction in the U.S.; andOther products expected to launch soon that are being developed specifically with the likes and tastes of the Oregon cannabis consumer in mind.

The state-of-the-art indoor facility will yield its first harvest this month. The Botanist and Tweed products are expected to be available soon thereafter in Acreage’s five Cannabliss-branded dispensaries as well as other dispensaries throughout the state.

“We are proud to open our new Oregon facility in an area renowned for producing some of the best cannabis in the world,” said Acreage Chairman and CEO Kevin Murphy. “We are particularly excited to introduce the Tweed brand to U.S. consumers for the first time. It’s a further indication that our arrangement with Canopy Growth is yielding opportunities to accelerate Acreage’s growth."

ATLANTA, Dec. 17, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRESS RELEASE -- Industry Source Consulting Inc. (INSO) has announced that the company assisted its client, The Turnagain Herb Company (THCo) with the successful acquisition of Rainforest Farms, LLC, a cannabis cultivation facility located in Juneau, Alaska. In addition to assisting with the acquisition, INSO will also provide various other services associated with expanding the THCo brand and business throughout the state. INSO recently announced that it had entered into an exclusive agreement to provide various services related to expanding the business and the brand of THCo, currently located in Anchorage, Alaska. THCo’s expansion includes the Rainforest Farms acquisition, relocating its Anchorage cannabis manufacturing facility and building a retail facility in nearby Girdwood to market various cannabis related products to locals and tourists visiting the popular Alyeska Ski Resort.

INSO assisted THCo with the Rainforest Farms acquisition by providing a Line of Credit consisting of a combination of its restricted common shares and cash. THCo and Rainforest Farms are awaiting approval from the State of Alaska Marijuana Control Board to transfer the Rainforest Farms license to THCo before THCo takes control of the business. In addition to the Line of Credit, INSO will provide management training services, marketing, and assist with employee training materials. INSO will receive revenue from the Line of Credit and from the other services provided.

INSO is a legal cannabis and hemp industry consulting firm with over 100 years of combined experience in the U.S. and Canada cannabis and hemp industries. The company helps legal cannabis and hemp companies reach success faster and more efficiently by providing expert consultants in every discipline, while never coming into contact with any cannabis product.