MjLink Cannabis Business News and Press

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

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 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.

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?

Earlier this month, federal agencies issued a statement to clarify the regulatory requirements for banks looking to provide services to hemp-related businesses. As businesses take the initial steps to form banking relationships, they should be prepared to help banks understand both compliance considerations and the overall hemp industry, according to Scott Birrenkott, assistant director for the Wisconsin Bankers Association.

“This [statement] from the federal banking agencies is really important because it’s the first time that the agencies have even acknowledged the existence of hemp and the legality of hemp as a commodity,” Birrenkott tells Hemp Grower. “Not only that, but it’s also the first time that they’ve offered any guidance on how banks can meet their compliance requirements, their regulatory burden.”

The banking industry faces myriad regulations, he says, and chief among them is the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), which requires banks to know their customer to a certain degree.

“They have to ask certain questions of their customers,” Birrenkott says. “They need to verify that information through documentary methods, meaning they have to collect certain documentation, certain evidence, to prove what they have collected, and all of this has to be part of policies and procedures that banks have written and put in place and follow regularly every time a new customer or new business comes into their door.”

Prior to the agencies’ recent announcement, they had issued no guidance about hemp, and while some banks were willing to provide services and resources to the nascent industry, there were many unanswered questions about how they could meet their compliance burden, Birrenkott adds.

New Jersey voters will have their say on adult-use cannabis legalization in November 2020, on the general election ballot in a presidential year, after state lawmakers decided to kick the question their way. State senators voted 24-16 to make this move, and members of the state assembly voted 49-24 (with one abstention).

The question will be appear to voters as: "Do you approve amending the Constitution to legalize a controlled form of marijuana called ‘cannabis’? Only adults at least 21 years of age could use cannabis. The State commission created to oversee the State’s medical cannabis program would also oversee the new, personal use cannabis market. Cannabis products would be subject to the State sales tax. If authorized by the Legislature, a municipality may pass a local ordinance to charge a local tax on cannabis products."

This referendum comes after several unsuccessful attempts in recent years to legalize cannabis through the state legislature. In 2019, Senate President Steve Sweeney said he just couldn't get the votes in place to ensure a positive outcome on a legalization bill. As early as May, the focus began to shift toward a ballot measure.

Whether Gov. Phil Murphy stays involved in any regional coordination among his counterparts in New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania remains a bit unclear at the moment.

"Putting the issue to a referendum is both sensible and equitable. While not our preferred method of legislating, public questions allow voters to affirm or deny massive shifts in public policy," Assembly Speaker Craig Couglin said in a public statement. "The time to end the prohibition of adult-use cannabis is now. Along with enabling legislation yet to be worked out, New Jersey would become the next state to ensure a safe, highly regulated cannabis industry. The decision is now in the hands of the November 2020 electorate."