MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press

When people hear that Mark Sunderland—chief innovation officer of Hemp Black and Thomas Jefferson University’s vice president of innovation and technology—is tinkering with hemp textiles, they assume he’s designing T-shirts, Sunderland says. But his research goes far beyond soft, short-sleeved shirts, and for good reason: Hemp just can’t compete with cotton.

In order to create hemp T-shirts—or towels, curtains and underwear, for that matter—innovators would compete against materials like cotton that have permeated society and stores for decades. And “that would be a very poor direction to go in,” Sunderland tells Cannabis Business Times. “Looking at applications or research that involve trying to take the fiber off the [hemp] stalk and processing it into a yarn to make a material became very daunting. The commercial industry partners are not there yet and that kind of technology would … not be used for a very long time.”

So, four years ago, when Sunderland joined Jefferson University’s hemp project at the Lambert Center for the Study of Medicinal Cannabis and Hemp—a center that researches the applications of hemp across many industries—he thought outside of the box, or, in this case, outside of yarn.

The researchers took the hurd—the whey portion of the hemp plant—and processed it down into nanoparticles, creating a “a building block for new fibers and new yarns going forward, so that these materials can be brought into the existing commercial supply chain,” Sunderland explains.

In 2016, Australian philanthropist Barry Lambert gave $3 million to the university to create the Lambert Center for the Study of Medicinal Cannabis and Hemp. Last April, Lambert gifted another $2 million to the university to set up the Lambert Innovation Fund within Jefferson’s Innovation Pillar, which will advance novel uses for hemp in medical and other industries.

Today, the university continues to research hemp, but what started at the campus has also grown into Hemp Black, a hemp technology company and subsidiary of Ecofibre that operates separately from but also maintains a partnership with the university, explains Michael Savarie, Hemp Black’s sustainability Enterprise Catalyst and graduate of Thomas Jefferson University.

Dave Bowman, known to the cannabis world as Subcool, died on Feb. 1. He had been ill for quite some time, battling Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency and emphysema, as well as the fallout from a divorce and a California wildfire that took nearly everything he’d worked to create in cannabis. As recently as late 2019, he was working toward a return to the cannabis scene he so passionately supported throughout his life.

The news hit the industry hard, displaying the ripple effects of Subcool’s influence on breeders across the world. Subcool, born Montgomery Ball, went on to develop Team Green Avenger Seeds (TGA Subcool Seeds/TGA Genetics/The Dank) and pioneer cultivars like Jack the Ripper and Space Queen. 

"My primary original goal was to create a line of marijuana seeds that grew out to be high-yielding, fruit-flavored hybrids," he told Big Buds in 2016. "The first fruit taste and scent we perfected was lemon. Then came grape, cherry, and orange. Pretty soon, we were working with chocolate tastes and scents. I was so excited about these cultivars and I gave them out to other professional growers to see what they said. People told me they loved these strains. Not just the taste and scent, but also their new kinds of highs."

He developed his organic recipe for Super Soil, always fine-tuning the lessons he'd learned in order "to achieve perfection," he wrote. 

In 2017, Subcool and his wife saw their Santa Rosa, Calif., home destroyed by wildfire. They lost more than 4 million cannabis seeds and all of their breeding plants. By that point, the two had begun to make plans to formally separate; the wildfire made things much worse.

In September 2019, High Times published a profile on the iconic breeder, focusing on a new cultivation facility he and his team were building in a former bowling alley. 

A Massachusetts judge ruled Jan. 24 that licensed medical cannabis dispensaries in Cambridge must be able to immediately seek licensure in the adult-use market in an order that has received mixed reactions from industry stakeholders.

Revolutionary Clinics became a licensed medical dispensary (called a Registered Medical Dispensary, or RMD, in Massachusetts) with a business in Cambridge after the state legalized medical cannabis in 2012, said Zachary Berk, partner in Boston-based Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr’s Litigation Department and a member of the firm’s National Cannabis Practice Group. Berk was one of three of the firm’s attorneys who helped secure a favorable ruling for Revolutionary Clinics.

When Massachusetts passed its adult-use cannabis laws in 2016, one of the provisions indicated that pre-existing RMDs like Revolutionary Clinics would be able to convert their medical cannabis licenses into what the state calls a “co-located” license, which would allow the businesses to sell to both the medical and adult-use cannabis markets from their shops.

“The only delay that was permitted in that conversion right was to allow cities and towns to adopt zoning regulations related to adult-use cannabis—just typical time-, place-, and manner-type zoning regulations,” Berk told Cannabis Business Times.

As time passed without many cities and towns adopting ordinances to regulate the adult-use market, the attorney general’s office became involved and mandated that municipalities had to adopt zoning rules by Dec. 31, 2018, Berk said. The deadline passed without Cambridge adopting an ordinance.

This week, The New Hampshire House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee approved legislation that would legalize the possession and limited cultivation of cannabis in the state, while the New Mexico Senate Public Affairs Committee voted to advance a bill that would legalize adult-use cannabis in that state. Elsewhere, MedMen CEO Adam Bierman stepped down and surrendered his super voting shares in the company, effective Feb. 1.

Here, we’ve rounded up the 10 headlines you need to know before this week is over.

Federal: NORML released its 2020 Gubernatorial Scorecard Jan. 29 and assigned a letter grade of “A” through “F” to each U.S. state’s governor based on their cannabis-related comments and voting records in 2019. Thirty-two U.S. governors—including 22 Democrats and 10 Republicans—received a passing grade of “C” or higher, according to NORML’s findings, which is an increase from last year, when only 27 governors earned passing marks. Read moreMedMen CEO Adam Bierman is stepping down from the company and surrendering all of his Class A super voting shares, effective Feb. 1. Bierman will remain on the company’s board of directors, which is now responsible for identifying and appointing a new CEO. MedMen COO Ryan Lissack will step in as interim CEO for now. Read moreMassachusetts: The Massachusetts Legislature’s Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy has voted to advance legislation that would more heavily regulate host community agreements, or the arrangements between municipalities and the cannabis businesses they host. The agreements are a necessary step in the licensing process for cannabis businesses, but the state’s Cannabis Control Commission has not had the authority to oversee the agreements. Read moreTennessee: Sen. Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis) has introduced S.B. 1849, legislation that would legalize adult-use cannabis in the state. The proposal would allow retail sales and levy a 12% tax to support education and infrastructure, and would allow customers age 21 and older to purchase up to a half ounce of cannabis. Read moreColorado: A research center at Colorado State University has received a $1.5 million donation from a Golden-based company that produces CBD products. The donation will be used to fund research, cover operating costs and purchase equipment for the center, which is dedicated to studying the chemical compounds in hemp. Read moreNew Hampshire: The House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee approved a bill Jan. 28 that would legalize possession and limited cultivation of cannabis for adults 21 and older in New Hampshire. A full House vote on H.B. 1648 is expected to take place on Thursday, Feb. 6.  Read moreNew Mexico: NM S.B.115 passed the Senate Public Affairs Committee Jan. 28 in a 4-3 vote. The legislation, introduced in the Senate on Jan. 16 by Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino (D-Albuquerque), would legalize adult-use cannabis in the state, automatically expunge many cannabis-related convictions and subsidize medical cannabis for low-income patients, among other provisions. Read moreKentucky: Senate President Robert Stivers has historically blocked proposals to legalize medical cannabis in the state, but this year, Stivers said there is “narrow path forward” to make it available for certain conditions. Kentucky lawmakers have introduced two bills this year, H.B. 136 and S.B. 107, to again attempt to legalize medical cannabis in the state. Read moreVirginia: The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 11-2 Jan. 29 to approve a cannabis decriminalization proposal. S.B. 2 would decriminalize the possession of cannabis flower and oil by imposing a civil penalty of no more than $50. Read moreMissouri: A broad coalition of Missourians, named Missourians for a New Approach, has launched an effort to gather signatures for an initiative petition that would place a question on legalizing adult-use marijuana on the 2020 ballot in Missouri. The effort is being backed by many of the same Missourians and groups that passed the state’s medical marijuana constitutional amendment in 2018. Read more

Many hemp growers are learning lessons the hard way, and in many cases, relearning lessons learned from previous generations. Today’s hemp growers are pioneers, reintroducing a plant to land for the first time in more than 80 years. Interest in hemp is attracting a wide variety of growers, from new cultivators to more traditional agricultural farmers.

Regardless of farming experience, hemp is a new crop that brings with it an entirely different set of possibilities, considerations and challenges. Marguerite Bolt, Hemp Extension Specialist in the Department of Agronomy at Purdue University, will be explaining the types of hemp production, risks associated with a new crop, and sharing reliable resources when she speaks about embarking on the hemp journey at Cannabis Conference 2020.

Bolt started in June 2019 as a statewide specialist for hemp and helps foster collaboration and communication with nonprofit organizations such as Midwest Hemp Council and Indiana Hemp Industry Association, processors, insurers, marketers, consultants, researchers and growers.

Hemp Grower: What kinds of conversations are you having with potential and current hemp farmers? What are they asking you, and what are you telling them?

 

Marguerite Bolt: One of the things I try to communicate with our growers is if you want to grow hemp, how are you going to do it in a way that fits into your current system? Are you willing to invest in new equipment? Is it even doable?

We’re trying to figure out if hemp is going to be feasible in a way that it can integrate into already existing farms. How can we treat it as a rotational crop? How can it fit into an Indiana system? That’s how I try to approach the industry for growers: Let’s look at this in a pragmatic way instead of you investing hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars, in some cases, into a new industry. Let’s figure out a way you can invest an adequate amount with the understanding that there’s risks associated with production.

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI - PRESS RELEASE - A broad coalition of Missourians, named Missourians for a New Approach, has launched an effort to gather signatures for an initiative petition that would place a question on legalizing adult-use marijuana on the 2020 ballot in Missouri. The effort is being backed by many of the same Missourians and groups that passed a medical marijuana constitutional amendment with 66% in 2018.

“Eleven other states, including our neighbors in Illinois, have successfully regulated and taxed adult-use marijuana, bringing millions in new funding for state services,” said John Payne, campaign manager for Missourians for a New Approach and former campaign manager for New Approach Missouri, which successfully enshrined medical marijuana in the Missouri Constitution in 2018. “Missourians are strongly in favor of legalizing, taxing and regulating adult marijuana use and we are excited to give voters this opportunity in November.”

“I think Missourians are confident in the way the state has managed and regulated the medical marijuana program to this point and want to move sooner rather than later, following in the footsteps of many other states, to legalize the adult use of marijuana,” said Payne.

Some of the key provisions of initiative petition 2020-128, which is the one being circulated by Missourians for a New Approach, include:

Allowing Missourians 21 years and older the ability to possess marijuana;Taxing retail sales of marijuana at 15%, with the funds being split between veterans’ services, Missouri’s roads and bridges, and drug addiction treatment;Allowing local communities to opt-out of adult use retail marijuana sales through a vote of the people;Allowing Missourians with certain marijuana-related offenses to expunge their criminal record.

The effort is backed by many of the same advocacy and grassroots organizations that supported the passage of Amendment 2, including the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) and New Approach PAC.

Bierman

MedMen CEO Adam Bierman is stepping down from the company and surrendering all of his Class A super voting shares. This move is effective Feb. 1.

Bierman will remain on the company's board of directors, which is now responsible for identifying and appointing a new CEO. MedMen COO Ryan Lissack will step in as interim CEO for now.

Last month, MedMen co-founder Andrew Modlin announced that he had handed over all of his super voting shares to the company’s Executive Chairman, Ben Rose, until December 2020.

“The board supports both Adam’s decision to step aside for a new CEO to lead the company, and his and Andrew’s decision to surrender their voting rights to give all shareholders a stronger voice. This evolution will provide Adam the space to contribute to the future of MedMen and extend his commitment to the industry that he has helped pioneer,” Rose said in a public statement.

MedMen's stock price has been falling for the past 12 months.

The news follows a series of layoffs at the company in California and recent court filings that have shed light on internal financial matters. Investors have sued the company in state court, alleging breach of fiduciary duty. Part of the lawsuit described a complicated internal structure that vested nearly all voting power within the company in the hands of Bierman and Modlin, effectively silencing any investors' voices. That corporate power was conveyed in Bierman and Modlin's super voting shares.

At least 30,000 customers across multiple U.S. cannabis dispensaries have been impacted by a data breach linked to point-of-sale software company THSuite, and Matthew Dunn, associate managing director in the Cyber Risk Practice of Kroll, says the news should get cannabis business owners thinking more critically about their cybersecurity measures.

The recent data breach was first discovered by internet privacy researchers at vpnMentor, according to a Mashable report. The exposed data was stored in a completely unsecured and unencrypted location owned by THSuite, the news outlet reported, and was first discovered on Dec. 24. vpnMentor’s researchers contacted the THSuite team, and the database was closed on Jan. 14.

More than 85,000 files were leaked in the data breach, including at least 30,000 records that contain personally identifiable information, Mashable reported. Full names, birthdates, phone numbers, email addresses, street addresses, patient names and medical ID numbers, and information about specific cannabis purchases were included in the records, as well as photographs of scanned government and employee IDs, according to the news outlet.

“Whether it’s retail or any other company that has its sensitive data compromised, we see cybercriminals utilizing that type of information to conduct additional types of cyber-related attacks, but also using that information for fraudulent financial transactions, identity theft or other types of criminal actions,” Dunn told Cannabis Dispensary.

The cannabis industry is still relatively new, with start-ups launching all the time, and cybersecurity strategies might not always be a priority for new businesses who are just getting up and running, Dunn added. Still, he said, there are responsibilities associated with storing and maintaining sensitive customer data, and businesses should not take that lightly.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a lawsuit against two apparent business owners, Guy Scott Griffithe of California and Robert William Russell of Washington, both of whom stand accused of running a pyramid scheme on at least 25 investors across more than two years. All told, the pair raked in $4.85 million to support a licensed Washington cannabis business that, somehow, never existed in the first place.

According to the SEC’s Jan. 21 complaint, hatched a plan in 2013 to raise funds for a cannabis business in Washington’s soon-to-be legal adult-use cannabis market. By August 2015, they had secured a license for a company called SMRB (doing business as Green Acre Pharms). “Investors were told that their investment capital would be used to operate and improve SMRB’s cannabis business and that SMRB’s resulting profits would be distributed to them quarterly in proportion to the equity they purchased,” the SEC complaint states. “[Griffithe and Russell] sold securities interests to investors that were fictitious and essentially worthless. The investors did not actually acquire any bona fide ownership stake in SMRB.”

Read the full civil complaint below.

Over the period from August 2015 to December 2017, Griffithe routinely placated investors with email updates and in-person meetings. Occasionally, the two defendants would set up tours of the Green Acre Pharms facility in Anacortes, Wash., pointing out “obsolete or surplus equipment and fixtures that [Russell] falsely said were going to be installed when he received money from their investors.”

All along, though, the money was going into Griffithe and Russell’s pockets. Reported personal purchases include: a 2008 Bentley Continental, a 2012 Mercedez Benz C Class, a 2013 Ford Mustang, a 2015 Porsche Panamera, a $250,000 payment toward a 65-ft. Pacific Mariner yacht and a $25,000 payment toward a 42-ft. Hydrasport custom power boat.

To continue the ruse, Griffithe cut checks to his investors from his own bank account—“just money that I’ve come up with in closing other deals,” he told Russell. More often than not, this was money “obtained from selling SMRB securities to investors” in the first place, according to the complaint.

Several state legislatures are considering adult-use cannabis legalization proposals this year, but those efforts could be abruptly halted if the states’ governors oppose policy reform efforts.

So, where do governors stand on the issue in 2020?

NORML released its 2020 Gubernatorial Scorecard Jan. 29, and assigned a letter grade of “A” through “F” to each U.S. state’s governor based on their cannabis-related comments and voting records in 2019.

Thirty-two U.S. governors—including 22 Democrats and 10 Republicans—received a passing grade of “C” or higher, according to NORML’s findings. This is an increase from last year, when only 27 governors earned passing marks.

Nine governors (all Democrats) received an “A” grade, while 12 governors (11 Democrats and one Republican) earned a “B” grade from NORML. Eleven governors (nine Republicans and two Democrats) received a “C.”

BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PRESS RELEASE--Legal cannabis sales grew 45.7% to $14.9 billion in 2019, led primarily by adult-use markets in Canada, California and Massachusetts, and supplemented by the unique approach to medical markets in Florida and Oklahoma, according to the “2020 Update to The State of Legal Cannabis Markets” (SOLCM) report released from Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics.

This worldwide growth estimate is on par with the forecast in the original SOLCM, released in June 2019, and reflects the highest annual growth rate to date. This new data is in stark contrast with the mere 17% growth seen in 2018, due in large part to the shrinkage in California following the launch of adult-use sales on Jan. 1, 2018. As a result of expected growth in key adult-use markets in the U.S. and Canada, Arcview Group has updated their 2024 forecast to $42.7 billion in worldwide legal cannabis sales.

“The legal cannabis market grew by 46% in 2019 despite challenges caused by overregulation and overtaxing in the two biggest markets: California and Canada," said Troy Dayton, founder and chief strategy officer of The Arcview Group. "That is a true testament to just how popular cannabis is among consumers and the ongoing impact of new markets coming online and maturing. The possibilities are boundless as political progress opens up more markets across the world, and struggling markets sort out their regulatory framework.”

“By loosening product restrictions and adopting a more free-market approach to licensing, Florida, for example, has started to realize the potential of medical cannabis sales in a populous state,” said Tom Adams, managing director and principal analyst at BDS Analytics. “However, what we’re seeing in Oklahoma is a light regulatory touch and low tax rates, which allows citizens to access the health benefits of cannabis, out-perform the illicit market, and create a healthy tax revenue stream directly to the state’s government.”

Other key trends analyzed in the 2020 Update to The State of Legal Cannabis Markets include:

The Virginia Senate Judiciary Committee voted 11-2 Jan. 29 to approve a cannabis decriminalization proposal, according to a local ABC News report.

S.B. 2 would decriminalize the possession of cannabis flower and oil by imposing a civil penalty of no more than $50. Under current law, those convicted of cannabis possession could receive a maximum fine of $500 and a maximum 30-day sentence for the first offense, according to a WTVR report.

The legislation would also raise the threshold for cannabis distribution offenses from one-half ounce to an ounce, and allows those with previous convictions to petition for expungement, according to the news outlet.

The legislation now goes to the Senate Finance Committee, according to ABC News.

Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers has historically blocked proposals to legalize medical cannabis in the state, but this year, Stivers said there is “narrow path forward” to make it available for certain conditions, according to a Local 12 report.

Kentucky lawmakers have introduced two bills this year, H.B. 136 and S.B. 107, to again attempt to legalize medical cannabis in the state.

If the legislation can ultimately gain approval in the legislature and earn the governor’s signature, the state will launch its medical cannabis program Jan. 1, 2020, Local 12 reported.

Adult-use legalization is also on the table in this year’s legislative session; Kentucky Rep. Cluster Howard pre-filed a legalization bill in December with plans to use the tax revenue to fund the state’s retirement system.

While navigating a new industry can have its quirks, at the end of the day, the same basic principles apply to any business. Lean management practices have been adapted from the manufacturing industry to suit all industries, allowing managers to constantly hone processes to eliminate waste and maximize efficiency. But improving a business doesn’t have to be to the detriment of employees—in fact, the best practices can even boost employee morale.

Leif Abel, the co-founder of Greatland Ganja, Alaska’s second licensed marijuana establishment, will be discussing how lean management tactics can be applied to cannabis and hemp operations at the Cannabis Conference 2020. Here, he delves deep into what lean management is, how he uses it in his business and how he’s made it all about people. 

Hemp Grower: What is lean management and what are some of its basic principles?

Leif Abel: Lean business is to be efficient with everything. You want to make sure that every time you touch your product, you’re getting the job done and you’re not touching it too many times so that you’re not wasting labor, you’re not degrading your product, you’re not wasting material or space--these are the things that matter and add up over time. 

I would say the lean environment should, if it’s done properly, have a triple-P bottom line approach to it: people, place, product. From a sustainable and ecological standpoint, it’s a better way to run a business. If you’re thinking about the people, meaning your employees and your consumers and the folks in your local area, and then the place, meaning the environment that you’re working in, then that’s profit, with the idea being that your profit will actually do better if you concentrate on those three things in that order. At the very least, if not a triple-P approach, it should have a sort of sustainable approach to it, because I don’t think you can actually achieve long-term success if you’re not looking at sustainability from an environmental standpoint as well as from a long-term business survival standpoint. 

HG: How can growers implement lean practices into their businesses? 

LA: Really the biggest component when it comes to agriculture and farming is the labor. Because our types of companies are spending upwards of 40-55% of their expenses on labor, you can see how any sort of labor efficiency is important. A lot of it has to do with labor efficiency and figuring out the quickest, most successful way to do every task. If you’re getting the job quick but it’s not done right, then you’re actually not saving time or money. 

You could make a small, positive change in labor and have a pretty big effect on your books over time. A good example is that I think we’re paying less than half than we used to for fertilizer now, and we were really excited about that. My brother has spent quite a bit of time building relationships to get that deal. And then we turned around and looked at the books and we could barely tell. That’s because on the scale of things, we spend so little on fertilizer compared to what we spend on labor, so I would say be very careful of how much of your manager’s time you allocate toward bargain shopping for deals. His time might very well have been better spent on improving labor efficiency if he has that skill.

SANTA ROSA, Calif., Jan. 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- PRESS RELEASE -- NewTropic, a cannabis manufacturer based in Santa Rosa, Calif., has announced that it has officially launched its "Type 7" manufacturing and co-packaging facility in Santa Rosa this week. The state-of-the-art facility, which is in the process of becoming cGMP certified, will have one of the highest production capacities in the United States. It will produce professional-grade cannabis products including bulk crude and distillate, flower and pre-rolls, and all forms of cannabis concentrates, with edibles and beverages coming online in 2020 – for California brands, cultivators, manufacturers and distributors.

"This new cGMP-level facility (certified by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration), is truly unique in terms of manufacturing capabilities and scale," said NewTropic Co-Founder and CEO Alex Rowland. "We spared no detail to build the best cannabis production facility in California from the ground up. Our vision is to take cannabis manufacturing to an entirely new level, one that's on par with top-tier food and pharmaceutical manufacturing."

NewTropic has taken a unique approach to cannabis manufacturing, combining the founders' extensive background in technology startups with manufacturing innovation and operational best practices. The technology and capacity deployed at the facility will enable the company to offer customers significant cost efficiencies, unmatched product quality and consistency, and the ability to scale production as their business grows.

"Our focus is to be highly professional in everything we do and to deliver for our customers," said Rowland, "something that unfortunately has been lacking in the cannabis industry."

NewTropic is already onboarding its initial set of customers and partners, including marquee cannabis brands as well as multi-state operators and distributors. The company has also been raising capital to support this vision, having closed over $10 million in venture funding to date. The company intends to raise additional capital in early 2020 to fund expansion into additional facilities in California and in other states.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 28, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PRESS RELEASE -- Nabis Holdings Inc., a Canadian investment company with specialty investments in assets across multiple divisions of the cannabis sector, has announced that it has entered into a binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Panaxia Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd.

Under the terms of the MOU, Panaxia will be providing proprietary pharma-grade cannabis-based products that have proven to be in high demand in other states in the U.S. including New Mexico, Colorado and California. The products will be produced in the first operating EU GMP facility in Arizona, under Nabis licenses, located at Nabis’ “Camp Verde” facility in Arizona, a 44,000-square-foot cultivation, production and fulfillment facility. Nabis will provide the raw materials for production of the products and will also be responsible for sales, marketing and distribution through their already established dispensary and whole-sale channels which serve more than 50% of Arizona dispensaries. Panaxia shall be responsible for the production, clinical affairs and quality. All products of the joint venture will be sold under the Panaxia brand, of which Nabis owns 50% in Arizona. Under the MOU, there is an opportunity for Nabis and Panaxia to expand their joint venture into additional states in the U.S.

“We are excited to partner with Panaxia to develop a variety of new, high quality, pharmaceutical grade products using proven EU GMP standards to meet the evolving needs of our patients,” said Shay Shnet, CEO and director of Nabis. “This joint venture fits well within our vertically-integrated cannabis portfolio and we look forward to co-creating new innovative products to deliver long-term value to our shareholders as well as our established Arizona customer base of over 36,000 patients and counting."

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PRESS RELEASE--Cresco Labs, one of the largest vertically integrated multistate cannabis operators in the United States, has announced that it has closed on the agreement to sell its Yellow Springs, Ohio, property to Innovative Industrial Properties, Inc. (IIP). The sale (previously announced on Nov. 26) was for approximately $10.5 million, which includes funding for additional tenant improvements. Concurrent with the closing of the sale, Cresco Labs will enter into a long-term, triple-net lease agreement with IIP and will continue to operate the property as a licensed cannabis cultivation and processing facility. The property represents approximately 50,000 square feet of industrial space in aggregate. This is Cresco’s fourth completed sale-and-leaseback transaction, and its third with IIP.

“Teaming again with IIP as our long-term real estate partner enables us to further bolster our balance sheet, and redeploy that additional liquidity into higher yielding opportunities,” said Joe Caltabiano, president and co-founder of Cresco Labs. “We are thrilled with the footprint we have established and look forward to deepening our presence in those states, with IIP as one of our trusted capital providers.”

BALTIMORE, Jan. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- PRESS RELEASE -- Brytemap, a Maryland-based technology provider to the legalized cannabis industry, recently introduced Scout, an all-new addition to the Brytemap suite of software solutions.

Unveiled at the MJBiz conference in Las Vegas in December, Scout is designed to help cannabis growers, processors and dispensaries leverage RFID for instant inventory audits and reconciliation.

"In the many conversations we've had with stakeholders in all areas of the industry, the thing we hear most consistently is that Metrc compliance continues to be a challenge and priority," said Bryan Lopez, founder and CEO of Brytemap. "We hear stories ranging from RFID tags being absentmindedly put in peoples' pockets, to substantial fines being assessed because a grower threw out a tag they believed to be damaged, or tags being applied to plants without having been assigned in Metrc."

"Brytemap's Scout RFID-based handheld device addresses those issues head-on by allowing instant inventory auditing and item location through our technology. Growers can better track plants, processors and dispensaries can prevent misplacing package tags, and everyone can stay in compliance much more easily," Lopez continued.

Built on Android-based technology and residing on a Zebra RFID handheld device, Scout offers up-to-the-minute plant inventory and reconciliation for operators in states utilizing Metrc, and quick resolution of compliance inconsistencies that if left unchecked could lead to warnings and hefty fines. Scout is also capable of locating missing tags through its triangulation feature.

"We know of no other product that does what Scout does," said Lopez. "For the cost of a single fine, the device pays for itself, not to mention the dramatic reduction of hours spent auditing inventory by hand or barcode."

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PRESS RELEASE - 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:

Earth's Ally Disease Control (RTU)Earth's Ally Fungicide ConcentrateGrower's Ally Fungicide (RTU)Grower's Ally Disease Control ConcentratePERpose PlusSuerteVinegar Weed & Grass KillerWizard's Brew Root Drench

To 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].

The Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) is currently reviewing pesticide labels upon request and maintaining a list of products whose label it has reviewed that it believes 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

TORONTO and LAS VEGAS, Jan. 28, 2020 /CNW/ - PRESS RELEASE - Flower One Holdings Inc., a cannabis cultivator, producer and innovator in Nevada, has announced the appointment of Molly Hemmeter to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Hemmeter will replace Warner Fong, who is stepping down due to the demands and time requirements of his other professional duties and obligations. 

"Flower One believes that our evolution and progress should not only be defined by our financial results, but also by our ability to be a steward of best-in-class corporate governance practices," said Ken Villazor, Flower One's president and CEO. "To accomplish this goal, we are actively looking for new ways to enhance our governance principles and evolve our Board of Directors. The addition of Molly Hemmeter to our Board is another step forward in advancing Flower One's leadership in the cannabis industry. Molly's executive management expertise, multi-sector industry involvement and prior board experience in the private and public sectors will support Flower One as we begin a new fiscal year focused on continued revenue growth and strong business fundamentals. We welcome Molly to the Flower One team, and I look forward to working closely together to continue to position Flower One as a leader in the Nevada cannabis market."

"On behalf of our Board and the company, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Warner Fong for his many contributions in supporting Flower One, particularly through our transition to a publicly traded company in October 2018," added Villazor.

Hemmeter has advised private and public companies in the health and wellness space with a particular focus on growth and sustainability for nearly three decades. She currently serves on the Board of Directors at Wilbur-Ellis, a leading international marketer, distributor and manufacturer of agricultural products, animal nutrients, and specialty chemicals and ingredients, with annual sales of over US$3.0 billion. Hemmeter recently served as CEO, president and a member of the Board of Directors of Landec Corporation, a publicly traded company in the health and wellness space with revenues of more than US$550 million. During her 10-year tenure at Landec, Hemmeter spearheaded the growth of Landec's two operating businesses: Curation Foods and Lifecore Biomedical. Curation Foods is an innovative, branded natural food company that works closely with its agricultural partners to distribute 100% clean ingredient products to retail, club and foodservice customers throughout North America. Lifecore is a specialty contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) for FDA-approved pharmaceutical products. 

Prior to Landec, Hemmeter served as Vice President of Global Marketing and Business Development at Ashland Chemical, and also as an executive at two successful venture capital-backed software companies that were later acquired. Hemmeter held additional positions in strategy, marketing, engineering and operations at a number of other leading chemical, pharmaceutical and consumer product companies throughout her illustrious career.