MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) conducted its third and final lottery Aug. 19 to award 75 cannabis retail licenses, but final licenses cannot be issued until lawsuits brought forth by applicants are resolved.
WAH Group LLC alleges in its lawsuit that regulators mistakenly excluded the company from Illinois’ first licensing lottery, which took place July 29.
WAH Group claims state officials told the company that it would qualify for the next lottery, which occurred Aug. 5, but WAH alleges in its lawsuit that the scoring process was flawed because regulators awarded bonus points to applications submitted by veteran-owned businesses.
WAH Group revealed that one of the company’s partners is a veteran during a supplementary scoring period, after applicants learned that those extra points were needed to receive a perfect score on their applications and qualify for the licensing lottery, according to a Chicago Sun-Times report.
In an Aug. 16 ruling, Cook County Judge Moshe Jacobius ordered IDFPR to include WAH Group in the Aug. 19 lottery, where the company ultimately won two of the 75 available dispensary licenses.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost approved revised language for an adult-use cannabis legalization measure Aug. 20, according to The Columbus Dispatch.
Earlier this month, Yost rejected a previous version of the language, which was submitted by the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. Yost ruled that the summary of the group’s 45-page initiative petition was not a “fair and truthful statement of the proposed law.”
The group submitted revised summary language Aug. 13.
RELATED: Group Launches Effort to ‘Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol’ in Ohio
The proposed law would legalize and regulate adult-use cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, testing and sales to adults 21 and older. Adults would be allowed to grow up to six plants at home for personal use, with a maximum of 12 plants per household.
The list for pesticides that can be used on cannabis without being a violation of the Pesticide Applicators' Act has been updated. Please note the following products have been added:
CinnactionGarlandHedge Defense Plant ProtectantLALSTOP K61 WPThymicZonix BiofungicideTo view the updated list, click here for a pdf or click here for an Excel form. For questions regarding this change, contact Laura Quakenbush at (303) 869-9060 or email [email protected].
We are currently reviewing pesticide labels upon request and maintaining a list of products whose label we have reviewed that we believe could be used on marijuana without violating 35-10-117(1)(i), as long as the applicator follows the label directions.
Please be sure to review the list; pesticide products may be removed from the allowed products list if the registrant has not renewed their pesticide product with the Department. Use of unregistered pesticides on cannabis would be a violation of the Pesticide Applicators' Act.
Stay Informed
More than 70% of New Jersey municipalities have opted out of hosting adult-use cannabis businesses, according to the New Jersey Herald.
Roughly 400 of the state’s 565 total municipalities have banned adult-use cannabis cultivators, manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, delivery companies and dispensaries, the news outlet reported.
Forty-one towns have prohibited dispensaries but allow some combination of the other five adult-use cannabis license types, according to the New Jersey Herald.
Ten municipalities opted out of the adult-use cannabis industry but made an exception for medical cannabis businesses.
That leaves 98 municipalities, mostly in South Jersey and Central Jersey, that have passed ordinances allowing all adult-use businesses within their jurisdictions, according to the news outlet, with many placing strict zoning regulations on retailers.
Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary have launched the Best Cannabis Companies To Work For—2022. The awards program will identify and recognize the best employers in cannabis cultivation and dispensary markets, continuing the recognition the media brands debuted two years ago.
Registration and recognition is free. Visit bestcompaniescannabis.com to apply. The registration deadline is Oct. 8.
A ranking of the “Best Cannabis Companies To Work For – 2022” in cultivation and retail will be revealed in Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary in early 2022.
The survey is organized and managed by the Best Companies Group (BCG), an independent research firm specializing in identifying and recognizing great places to work.
“We are thrilled to continue this project for the third year and to not only recognize great cannabis companies, but also learn more about what makes certain cannabis companies so successful in creating positive work environments,” Editorial Director Noelle Skodzinski said. “Competition for talented employees is now even more intense, due in part to the economic pressures of the past year, and this program also can help ranking companies attract great talent.”
Read more about the cultivation and dispensary businesses that ranked in the 2021 program and were featured in Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary.
The big story this week has been the legal fallout and ongoing turmoil in Illinois, where several lawsuits target Illinois’ licensing process to award 185 new cannabis dispensary licenses. It’s part of a longer saga in that state’s adult-use market. It’s also a good example of the countervailing forces present in much of cannabis licensing ca. 2021: lottery systems v. social equity policies v. free-market demand v. geographic interests, and so on. A perfect storm.
Read Senior Digital Editor Melissa Schiller’s latest, linked below, to get a sense of how these ongoing disputes might alter the landscape for license holders (and license aspirants) in Illinois.
Here are some of the key cannabis headlines from this past week:
From Assistant Editor Andriana Ruscitto: “Shortly after Apple loosened its restrictions, Weedmaps, an app and website that lets users find local dispensaries and cannabis-related businesses, updated its app to allow consumers to purchase cannabis.” Read more “In the latest of several lawsuits that take aim at Illinois’ licensing process to award 185 new cannabis dispensary licenses, two applicants, Suite Greens LLC and So Baked Too LLC, claim state officials wrongfully forced them to give up three of their spots in the state’s third and final licensing lottery, which is scheduled for Aug. 19.” Read more “Texas expanded its limited medical cannabis program during its 2021 legislative session, and Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation (TOCC), one of the state’s three vertically integrated cannabis licensees, is planning an expansion of its own to meet increased patient demand.” Read more “Michigan's total cannabis sales had yet another record-breaking month, topping $171 million in July, according to a monthly data report released from the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency.” Read more “A federal court has overturned Maine’s requirement that all medical cannabis dispensaries must be owned by Maine residents.” Read more “After years of regulatory limbo that allowed registered patients in Georgia to possess—but not purchase—low-THC cannabis oil, the state has established a regulated market and has licensed six businesses to produce and sell the oil. However, some industry stakeholders question the state’s licensing process and the businesses that ultimately won the right to operate in Georgia’s market.” Read more “The North Carolina Senate Judiciary Committee reviewed a medical cannabis legalization bill for the second time Aug. 18 to discuss technical changes to the legislation, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.” Read more “The Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Advisory Board voted Aug. 17 to reject requests to add five new qualifying conditions to the state’s medical cannabis program.” Read more ]]>RIVERSIDE, Calif., Aug. 13, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE – The former mayor of Adelanto was arrested Aug. 13 by special agents of the FBI on a federal grand jury indictment alleging he accepted more than $57,000 in bribes and kickbacks in exchange for approving ordinances authorizing various types of commercial cannabis activity within the city, and ensuring his co-schemers obtained city licenses or permits authorizing certain commercial cannabis activities.
Richard Allen Kerr, 64, of Adelanto, was taken into federal custody without incident. He is charged with seven counts of honest services wire fraud and two counts of bribery.
Kerr, who served as Adelanto’s mayor from 2014 to 2018, was expected to make his initial appearance at the U.S. District Court in Riverside the same day of his arrest.
According to the indictment returned on Aug. 11, as part of his official duties, Kerr voted on ordinances governing zoning regulations in the city and served on Adelanto’s Cannabis Dispensary Permit Committee, which determined the number of dispensary permits that would be issued and which applicants would receive them.
As mayor, Kerr supported cannabis legalization, voted in favor of an ordinance authorizing cannabis cultivation in the city, voted in favor of an ordinance authorizing the operation of medical cannabis dispensaries, and voted to authorize the distribution, transportation and testing of medical cannabis, among other commercial cannabis activities. At the same time, Kerr secretly used his official position to enrich himself and his co-schemers by passing these same ordinances, according to the indictment.
Kerr allegedly also drafted zones for commercial cannabis activities to include locations used by his co-schemers, and he ensured they obtained the licenses and permits they sought—in exchange for bribes, kickbacks and gifts.
It’s been roughly nine months since New Jersey voters approved adult-use cannabis legalization in the 2020 election, and on Aug. 19, the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) took steps to get the market off the ground when it voted to adopt the first set of rules to regulate the industry.
“We were ambitious with our timeline to make personal-use cannabis available, and I am pleased the Commission was able to create these regulations in record time,” Gov. Phil Murphy said in a public statement. “The regulations adopted today reflect the CRC’s commitment to transparency and social equity. Prioritizing applications from women and minority entrepreneurs, from business owners living in economically-disadvantaged communities, and from small business owners will ensure the market grows the way we envisioned—in a way that is socially equitable and reflective of our state’s diversity.”
The initial rules aim to address anticipated barriers to entry in the state’s forthcoming adult-use cannabis market in a few different ways.
First, the CRC will prioritize applications from certified minority-, women- and disabled veteran-owned businesses, as well as from applicants who live or will locate their business in one of several designated “Impact Zones” or economically disadvantaged areas.
“We are pleased to see the Cannabis Regulatory Commission is prioritizing applications from minority-, women- and disabled veteran-owned businesses,” John Fanburg, co-chair of the Cannabis Industry Practice at Brach Eichler, said in a public statement. “It is a recognition as to the failed efforts of prohibition when it comes to cannabis and its impact upon the minority community. We are hopeful that as this process continues to evolve the commission will update their rules and regulations to be more reflective of the industry and the population of applicants going forward.”
Most months, Cannabis Business Times brings readers the feature “Cultivation Matters,” a recurring series focusing on plant cultivation by researchers from North Carolina State University that can steer growers toward successful operations.
Understanding micro- and macronutrients, for example, and their roles in helping plants grow properly to complete their lifecycles, equips cultivators with the knowledge to produce healthy plants with optimal yields.
Biological controls, plant oddities, plant physiology, nutrient lockout, fertility management, water quality and the like are explored and explained in this series. Well-versed cultivators who just need a refresher as well as less experienced growers who are just getting going can both benefit from findings to reduce their trial-and-error growing pains.
For in-depth analysis, findings and best practices, read the following “Cultivation Matters” articles previously published in Cannabis Business Times:
What To Do When Micronutrients Become Macro Problems (August 2021)
Upon Apple revising its App Store Review Guidelines in early June, apps allowing users to make in-app cannabis purchases have hit the market.
Apple's changes to the App Store Review Guidelines cleared up existing policies, added new specifications for app makers and altered rules about what available apps for purchase can do, Cannabis Dispensary previously reported.
The updated guidelines also loosen restrictions for in-app purchases from a cannabis dispensary and licensed pharmacies.
And shortly after Apple loosened its restrictions, Weedmaps, an app and website that lets users find local dispensaries and cannabis-related businesses, updated its app to allow consumers to purchase cannabis.
Before Weedmaps’ revisions, users could only use the app to locate adult-use or medical cannabis dispensaries or browse their menus due to Apple's restrictions and local and federal guidelines, TechCrunch reported.
But now users can "browse, select, purchase cannabis and have it set up for pick-up or delivery—all within the app," according to TechCrunch.
In the latest of several lawsuits that take aim at Illinois’ licensing process to award 185 new cannabis dispensary licenses, two applicants, Suite Greens LLC and So Baked Too LLC, claim state officials wrongfully forced them to give up three of their spots in the state’s third and final licensing lottery, which is scheduled for Aug. 19.
The lawsuit, filed Aug. 16 in Cook County court, asks the state to give the applicants all the spots they initially earned in the lottery, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Suite Greens and So Baked Too were among 21 applicants that were originally included in a lottery to award 75 cannabis dispensary licenses last September.
After that initial announcement, however, rejected applicants filed a series of lawsuits over the licensing process, and the state ultimately created 110 new licenses and unveiled a plan to award the 185 total licenses in a series of three lotteries scheduled for July 29, Aug. 5 and Aug. 19.
The state awarded 110 total cannabis retail licenses in the July 29 and Aug. 5 lotteries, but a Cook County judge has barred the state from issuing any final dispensary licenses until a separate lawsuit, brought forth by another rejected applicant, WAH Group LLC, is settled.
The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) has named its fourth director in less than three years.
Adria Berry, an attorney who advised Gov. Kevin Stitt on cannabis policy during her time as a counselor to the Oklahoma Secretary of State and who most recently worked for the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma, will replace Kelly Williams, who served as the OMMA director for nearly a year, according to The Oklahoman.
Berry will assume her new role on Aug. 30, the news outlet reported.
"I want to go in and set a clear mission statement for the OMMA and let folks across Oklahoma know what the OMMA is doing," Berry told The Oklahoman.
The OMMA was sued last month over its alleged lack of transparency; the plaintiffs claim the agency violated Oklahoma’s Open Meeting Act when it adopted new emergency regulations earlier this year without notifying the state’s cannabis industry of the meeting or holding a public comment period on the rules.
The North Carolina Senate Judiciary Committee reviewed a medical cannabis legalization bill for the second time Aug. 18 to discuss technical changes to the legislation, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.
Senate Bill 711, called the NC Compassionate Care Act, cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee last month before also passing the Senate Finance Committee a few weeks later.
The bill was then sent to the Senate Health Care Committee before being pulled and sent back to Judiciary for a second review, the Winston-Salem Journal reported.
Sen. Bill Rabon (R-Brunswick), one of the bill’s sponsors, said some of the technical changes considered by the Judiciary Committee are based on regulations in Utah’s medical cannabis program, according to the news outlet. Other changes have been requested by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
It is not clear when the Judiciary Committee will vote on approving any proposed changes to the legislation, the Winston-Salem Journal reported.
Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation Expands Operations as State Expands Medical Cannabis Access
Texas expanded its limited medical cannabis program during its 2021 legislative session, and Texas Original Compassionate Cultivation (TOCC), one of the state’s three vertically integrated cannabis licensees, is planning an expansion of its own to meet increased patient demand.
In June, Gov. Greg Abbott signed House Bill 1535 into law to add cancer and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to the state’s list of qualifying conditions. The legislation also increases the tetrahydrocannabidiol (THC ) limit for medical cannabis from 0.5% to 1%.
RELATED: Texas Cancer Patients, Those With PTSD Gear Up For Medical Cannabis Access
With patient demand expected to increase when the new law takes effect Sept. 1, TOCC is building out a nearly 100,000-square-foot, vertically integrated facility on 25 acres of land in Bastrop, Texas, that will house the company’s cultivation, processing and retail operations.
The lease for TOCC’s current facility in Manchaca expires in July 2022, and since state law allows each medical cannabis licensee only one vertically integrated facility, the company will move all its operations to Bastrop next year.
Despite a busy year on the state level and multiple bills announced and introduced into Congress, not much legislative progress has been made on federal cannabis policy in 2021.
Late last month, the House took yet another preliminary step towards the regulation of financial services for cannabis by including banking provisions in a limited budget proposal approved by a full floor vote.
The “minibus” package, which includes appropriations for important government agencies like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Social Security Administration, also contains a section preventing federal dollars from being used to penalize financial institutions for doing business with cannabis companies.
Including the standalone Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, which passed the House twice on its own and once as part of an October 2020 COVID relief bill, the minibus marks the fourth time the full House of Representatives has approved cannabis banking since 2019.
Will the fourth time be the charm for financial services and cannabis? Could the acceptance of standalone banking regulations sap momentum for full scale reform?
Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary spoke with prominent associations in the industry to answer these questions and determine whether or not banking protections have a real chance of passing this year.
Michigan's total cannabis sales had yet another record-breaking month, topping $171 million in July, according to a monthly data report released from the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MMRA).
The data shows that $42.7 million of those sales came from medical cannabis, while $128.3 million came from adult-use.
July cannabis sales are up about 15% from June, which reported $41.6 million in medical sales and $107.3 million in adult-use, totaling over $148.9 million.
Michigan's medical cannabis sales showed a slight decrease from July 2020, which reported $52.1 million; however, adult-use sales have more than doubled since last year, increasing from $57.4 million to $128.3 million.
Cannabis flower dominated both markets last month, making up over $21.1 million in medical sales and $63.5 million in recreational sales. Vape cartridges were the second-highest product sold, totaling over $10.8 million for medical cannabis and over $26.3 million for adult-use.
Edibles were third in line for the record-breaking month, generating $4.6 million in medical sales and $18.4 million in recreational sales.
The Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Advisory Board voted Aug. 17 to reject requests to add five new qualifying conditions to the state’s medical cannabis program.
The board shot down bids to add traumatic brain injury, Hepatitis, Hepatitis C, chronic insomnia that isn’t responding to other treatments and major depressive disorder that isn’t responding to other treatments, according to The Daily Item.
Pennsylvania’s medical cannabis law currently outlines 23 qualifying conditions, including Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, anxiety disorders, autism, cancer, Crohn’s disease, epilepsy, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The state has nearly 368,000 registered patients, The Daily Item reported, and the Medical Marijuana Advisory Board meets on a quarterly basis.
Physician General Dr. Denise Johnson said board members expressed concern at Tuesday’s meeting that the requests to add traumatic brain injury, Hepatitis and Hepatitis C to the state’s medical cannabis program were broad and could have allowed patients to qualify in inappropriate cases, according to the news outlet.
NEWARK, NJ — PRESS RELEASE — The ACLU-NJ today released its Baseline Cannabis Justice Plan, a platform of requirements the state’s new cannabis industry must put in place to meet a basic standard for justice, focusing on how to prioritize meaningful public input in the community reinvestment process, how to create an inclusive and accessible industry, and how to share information with the public. Read the full Baseline Cannabis Justice Plan, which sets out initial ways the Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) can implement legalization with equity and justice, here.
The ACLU-NJ's Baseline Cannabis Justice Plan calls for:
Equity-focused distribution of funding
Making sure fees specifically go toward reinvestment in communities hit hardest by the drug war, and specifically do not go toward funding of law enforcement, which has been responsible for carrying out the drug war. Expanded hearings and advisory board to inform the CRC’s recommendations on spending revenue from the social equity excise fee Dedicated funding and staff for Office of Minority, Disabled Veterans and Women Cannabis Business DevelopmentReal opportunities in the industry for people impacted by the drug war
Priority applicant status, fee waivers, start-up capital and other resources to support the participation in the industry of individuals harmed by cannabis criminalization Hiring requirements for businesses to extend opportunities to individuals from disproportionately impacted municipalities No artificial limits on licensesMeaningful public participation, guidance for municipalities and transparency
NEW YORK & LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PRESS RELEASE--Tilray, Inc., a global cannabis-lifestyle and consumer packaged goods company, and MedMen Enterprises Inc., an American cannabis retailer, have announced that Tilray has acquired the majority of the outstanding senior secured convertible notes of MedMen that were originally held by certain funds affiliated with Gotham Green Partners, LLC and other funds. The acquisition provides Tilray with a path, subject to necessary regulatory approvals, to obtain a significant equity position in MedMen through conversion of the notes and exercise of associated warrants following U.S. cannabis legalization (or Tilray’s waiver of such condition). In connection with the sale of the notes, MedMen and GGP amended the restrictive covenants and extended the debt maturity to 2028 to provide MedMen the flexibility to execute on its growth priorities and explore additional strategic opportunities. In addition, MedMen has separately announced a significant equity investment from a private placement of MedMen Shares (as defined below) and warrants to a group of investors.
MedMen is a cannabis retail brand in the U.S., holding 21 licenses and 25 retail locations across key urban centers, including the Bay Area, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago and Las Vegas, and a significant position in California, the world’s largest market. Prior to U.S. federal legalization of cannabis, and subject to compliance with applicable laws and stock exchange rules, MedMen will actively explore opportunities to expand MedMen’s footprint across international markets.
Irwin D. Simon, Tilray’s chairman and CEO, said, “Backed by accelerating trends towards legalization globally, we are focused on building the world's leading cannabis-focused consumer branded company with a goal of $4 billion of revenue by the end of our fiscal 2024. The investment we are announcing in MedMen securities today, one of the most recognized brands in the $80 billion U.S. cannabis market, is a critical step towards delivering on our objective as we work to enable Tilray to lead the U.S. market when legalization allows.”
Simon continued, “Our ability to maximize value from this game-changing transaction rests on the support of our shareholders at the upcoming Special Meeting to vote on our Authorized Shares Proposal, which will increase the number of authorized shares Tilray has available to not only complete this transaction, but also to execute on other strategic acquisitions. I cannot stress enough the importance of making our shareholders’ voices count to enable us to maximize our potential to create substantial value for our shareholders in the near-term and in the future.”
Tom Lynch, MedMen’s chairman and CEO, added, “Our management team has spent the past 18 months executing a disciplined turnaround plan. We are grateful to our stakeholders for their patience and support as we worked to fix the business and rebuild trust and credibility. We believe that patience has paid off, as these efforts have succeeded in attracting partners who share our vision for building the world’s most powerful cannabis retail brand. In addition, the proceeds from the private placement and amendments to the notes, gives MedMen the cash and flexibility to match our revenue trajectory to our operational expertise and internationally renowned brand. MedMen 2.0 is here, and we are thrilled to embark on the next stage of our journey.”
Cook County Judge Moshe Jacobius ruled Aug. 16 that WAH Group LLC was unfairly excluded from Illinois’ cannabis retail licensing lottery and said the company’s ongoing lawsuit could ultimately upend the state’s licensing process, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
WAH Group alleges in its lawsuit that state officials mistakenly excluded the company from Illinois’ first lottery to issue new dispensary licenses, which took place July 29.
The lawsuit takes aim at the state’s scoring process, which WAH Group claims was unfair because regulators awarded bonus points to applications submitted by veteran-owned businesses. WAH Group revealed that one of the company’s partners was a veteran during a supplementary scoring period, the Chicago Sun-Times reported, after applicants learned that those extra points were needed to receive a perfect score on its application and qualify for the licensing lottery.
Illinois plans to issue 185 new cannabis retail licenses in a series of three lotteries; the second one took place Aug. 5 and the third and final lottery will be held Aug. 19.
During the Aug. 16 hearing, Jacobius ordered WAH Group LLC to be included in the Aug. 19 lottery and indicated that the ongoing litigation could force the state to redo its licensing process.
