Florida Bill Would Regulate Delta-8 and Overhaul Medical Cannabis

11/24/2021

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A bill in Florida would place strict limits on THC potency of synthetic and hemp extracts, such as delta-8 THC, and include other reforms to the state’s medical cannabis law, Florida Politics reports. The bill’s sponsors, Democratic Rep. Andrew Learned and Republican Rep. Spencer Roach describe the proposal as the “first major update” to the state’s medical cannabis statute since voters approved the reforms five years ago.

“We are working to deliver significant cost savings for patients, make the program more user-friendly and at the same time ensure safety for both patients and our children.” — Learned in a statement via Florida Politics

Under the proposal, sales of hemp products designed for consumption, including delta-8 products, would only be permitted to individuals 21-and-older.

Additionally, the measure would increase the terms of medical cannabis patient licenses and the time between required doctor appointments, which the bill sponsors say combined would cut an estimated 60% of the cost of participation in the medical cannabis program.

It would also remove physician appointments for medical cannabis patient recertification under specific guidelines, allow recertification via telehealth, end the practice of selling medical cannabis dispensary licenses for monetary gain, create new industry testing requirements, and increase the transparency of state regulations.

Under the proposal, the course required by Florida for physicians that recommend medical cannabis would triple from two to six hours.

The bill also includes a ban on cannabis-related advertising that markets to children but would still allow physicians and dispensaries to advertise online, provided that the ads are approved by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and is not a pop-up ad. The ads must also not promote “recreational use” of cannabis.

The measure would also prohibit dispensaries or individuals with 5% or more of the voting share of a center from employing or having an economic interest in a doctor’s practice or cannabis testing lab and outlaw testing labs and their officers, directors, and employees from having “direct or indirect” economic interests or financial relationships with dispensaries.

It would also create a new oversight agency – the Medical Marijuana Testing Advisory Council – which would be tasked with providing input on industry testing policies and standards and issue an annual report recommending ways to prevent cannabis-related traffic infractions and accidents, the application of drug-free workplace policies, and testing standards.

The bill was introduced on Monday but has not yet been moved to any committee.

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Michigan Testing Lab Sues Cannabis Regulators Over Massive Recall

11/24/2021

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The Michigan cannabis testing laboratory that had products it tested over the last three months recalled is suing the state Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA) claiming the recall was “was unjustified, prejudiced and retaliatory.”

David Russell, an attorney with Foster, Swift, Collins & Smith, P.C. which is representing Viridis Laboratories, said in a statement that the recall “is the latest and most egregious action by the MRA in a prolonged campaign of harassment” aimed at his client.

The recall — the most sweeping in state history — was announced on November 17 and represents an estimated $229 million in cannabis products, the law firm said in a press release.

Kevin Blair, an attorney with Honigman, LLP, which is also serving as counsel for Viridis, said the MRA “disregarded industry experts, widely accepted scientific practices, caused disruption through its reckless and arbitrary decision-making, and ultimately put the patients and consumers it is charged with protecting at risk.”

“There is no public health or safety risk justifying the recall at all, and we respectfully request the Court to provide relief to Viridis and bring accountability and oversight to an agency that has far exceeded its authority.” — Blair in a statement

The complaint, filed Monday in the Michigan Court of Claims, contends that the MRA violated state law and its own administrative rules by “effectively shutting down” Viridis’ Lansing and Bay City labs without following procedures which “mandate licensees must have an opportunity to present their case to an administrative law judge.”

“It appears the MRA has deliberately circumvented those well-established procedures in hopes of avoiding any oversight at all,” the lawyers wrote in a press release.

The complaint also alleges that regulators “problematically involved Viridis’ competitors in its investigation;” knew of the results of competitors’ audit tests at least three weeks before the recall; refused input from experts who said the recall was unwarranted and that the MRA rationale was flawed, and moved the goalposts when Viridis tried to rectify the situation.

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St. Louis Officials Pass Cannabis Decriminalization Bill

11/24/2021

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The St. Louis, Missouri Board of Aldermen on Tuesday approved a measure to decriminalize possession of up to 35 grams of cannabis and paraphernalia. The bill moves next to Mayor Tishaura Jones who supports the reforms.

“A huge pillar of my administration is writing historic wrongs. That means addressing tough issues like our city’s outdated marijuana laws that are unfair, unnecessary, and discriminatory. In the past three years, nearly 600 people in St. Louis City were arrested for marijuana-related charges. Of those individuals almost 500 were Black ” Jones said in a video posted to Twitter.

Jones adds that 82% of St. Louis voters backed the state’s medical cannabis ballot question.

“Let me be clear: incarcerating people for marijuana-related, low-level, offenses does not make our neighborhoods safer,” she said in the video. “Needless contact with the prison system harms families and communities across our city.”

The bill also includes language preventing cannabis from being used as the basis for a warrantless search by law enforcement and includes provisions to no longer include cannabis testing as part of the hiring process for most city positions.

In an interview with KSDK, Alderman Bret Narayan, the bill’s sponsor, said the measure has the buy-in from both the city public safety director and the director of personnel.

Missouri NORML’s Dan Viets said that while the bill repeals local ordinances, “police still have the option to pursue charges under state law.” He added that the organization is collecting 170,000 signatures to get a statewide legalization vote on the November 2022 ballot.

In April, the St. Louis County Council approved a similar bill, as did the Maplewood City Council. In September, the Kansas City Council ended pre-employment drug screenings for cannabis for most city jobs.

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Ohio Cannabis Reforms to Move Forward by Bill or Ballot

11/24/2021

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Activists in Ohio say they nearly have enough signatures to force the legislature to pass an adult-use cannabis bill or put an adult-use cannabis initiative on the 2022 ballot, the Ohio Capital-Journal reports.

Known in Ohio as an initiated statute, the Ohio Ballot Board gave organizers within the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol permission to move forward with gathering signatures in August. The process requires activists to gather 133,000 signatures. Once enough signatures are gathered and validated by state officials, the legislature has four months to act on the proposal. If they fail to pass the bill, the measure to cultivate, process, and distribute adult-use cannabis will appear in 2022 as a ballot initiative, the report says.

Speaking at the Ohio State University law school’s Drug Enforcement and Policy Center, attorney Thomas Haren, a representative of the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, said the group would have the required number of signatures by the end of the month.

“We think that marijuana reform is popular. It’s not a bipartisan issue. It’s a nonpartisan issue.” — Haren via the Journal

The proposal would allow Ohioans to possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and 15 grams of cannabis extract. Ohioans over 21-years-old would be allowed to purchase cannabis at retail locations and grow two plants at home per person, with a cap of four per household, according to the Journal report.

Ohio House Rep. Casey Weinstein (D) noted there has been a “tipping point” in the U.S. and the time to climb aboard was “yesterday.”

Earlier this month, a NORML/Gallup poll found support for legalizing cannabis at an all-time high of 68%. That poll may have prompted Weinstein to describe Ohio’s cannabis law as “a situation where we’re behind where Ohioans are.”

He said the initiated statute may provide a greater sense of “urgency” for the legislature to act.

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New York MTA Bans Cannabis Advertising

11/23/2021

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All cannabis-related advertising is explicitly prohibited under newly-released New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) guidelines. It’s the first time the agency has included a cannabis advertising ban in its regulations as the state only approved its legalization bill in April.

The MTA covers advertising on New York City subways and buses.

The proposal was included in a summary of the November 2021 MTA board meeting as a response “to the recent developments in the decriminalization of cannabis” in the Empire State. The guidelines also include a ban on “hallucinogenic mushrooms or hallucinogenic mushroom-related product(s).” Psilocybin possession and use remain a criminal offense in New York; however, in nearby New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill in February reducing penalties for the possession of psilocybin mushrooms. The reforms did not legalize adult-use or therapeutic use of such products in the state.

In March, a bill was introduced to decriminalize psychedelic mushrooms in New York. That bill remains in the House Health Committee.

The MTA advertising rules have banned tobacco and alcohol ads from sectors it oversees since 2017.

The new rules also include a ban on sex-related ads, including “sex toys,” and “sexual enhancement products” and prohibits any ad that “depicts, references, or contains symbols or images reasonably understood to represent or evoke feces, urine, semen, orgasms, erections or Sexual Activity, excluding kissing,” the guidelines state. Those changes stem from a lawsuit challenging why the MTA could prevent an ad promoting sex products but allow ads for an erectile dysfunction medication.

The new rules took effect on November 17.

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MSO Set to Acquire Chicago’s Last Independent Dispensary

11/23/2021

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Florida-based cannabis company Ayr Wellness on Monday announced it will acquire Illinois-based Gentle Ventures, LLC, which owns and operates Dispensary 33, in a $55 million deal. Dispensary 33 has two locations in Chicago in the Anderson and West Loop neighborhoods.

Jonathan Sandelman, founder, chairman, and CEO of Ayr, said in a statement the deal builds on the company’s “existing foundation” in the state, which Sandelman said Ayr “began building just a few months ago” when the company announced an agreement to acquire Herbal Remedies Dispensaries, LLC, which operates two dispensaries in Quincy, for $30 million.

Sandelman also noted that its social equity partner, Land of Lincoln, had been recently selected for a dispensary license in Bloomington.

“In any market where we operate, our goal is to develop scale and meaningful presence,” Sandelman said in a press release.

Dispensary 33 had been the last independent operator in the Windy City, according to a Chicago Sun-Times report. Bryan Zises, Dispensary 33’s co-owner, said the company has passed up on about a dozen other offers from multistate operators before deciding to sell to Ayr.

The company was also the city’s first medical cannabis dispensary, according to the Sun-Times.

“This offer that we’ve accepted wasn’t the highest price, but it was the best fit for what we believe is in the best interest of the people that work for us and for the city as a whole. We did not think that we would find a partner who was a good fit, and so we were prepared to go it alone for as long as necessary. But this was really a partner who made us feel very comfortable about their approach and what they want to do.” — Zises to the Sun Times

Ayr currently has dispensaries in Arizona, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, according to the company’s website.

The deal to purchase Gentle Ventures is expected to consist of $55 million upfront, including $12 million in cash, $3 million in sellers notes, and $40 million of stock, the company said in the announcement. An earnout is payable if certain adjusted EBITDA performance is achieved through the third quarter of 2022.

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Alabama Medical Cannabis Patients Allowed to Purchase 60-Day Supply 

11/23/2021

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Medical cannabis patients in Alabama will be allowed to purchase up to 60 days’ worth of cannabis products at a time and legally possess up to 70 days’ worth, state Medical Cannabis Commission Member Sam Blackmore told the agency last week, according to the Alabama Political Reporter. The program will include maximum doses of 75 milligrams of THC per day for adults and a 3% THC maximum potency for minors.

Blackmore indicated, though, that those limits could be adjusted on a per-patient basis.

“Neurologists treat to effect. When it comes to products, you’re going to treat to an effect, not to a packaged labeling. Practicing neurologists would submit in writing why they are exceeding the maximum dose.” — Blackmore, to the commission, via the Political Reporter

Blackmore said that the correct dose for patients is the “lowest that produces a therapeutic benefit without associated adverse events.”

During the presentation, Blakemore said that topical THC creams were the cheapest per unit at $1.13 per milliliter, with the typical package containing 30 milliliters, while sublingual sprays were at the other end of the spectrum at $3.89 per milliliter, which makes the standard 15-milliliter package run $58.29. Capsules available in medical cannabis programs throughout the U.S. averaged $1.39 each, while lozenges cost $1.33 each.

“It’s important not to focus on high-end products, to ensure there are affordable options,” Blakemore said during his remarks. “Price transparency is important. We need to do anything we can to ensure patient affordability, so they’re not just getting certified by a physician and then going back to the black market.”

The commission is still holding meetings on rules and regulations for Alabama’s medical cannabis program. Its next meeting is set for December 9.

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Introducing CILICON’S Solution to the Vape Spitback Problem: The BioBaleen Module

11/23/2021

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Nature is full of brilliant solutions to design problems. With the BioBaleen™ Module, Cilicon has adopted the ingenuity of the baleen system used by certain whales to filter their food. The newest addition to Cilicon’s product catalog, the SOLO Pro introduces a new generation of silicone caps to the market. The Bio-Baleen cap uses medical-grade silicon to achieve a safe capping while absorbing oil splashes and reducing spit-back and clogging. The BioBalee Cap combines the traditional cotton filter and the silicone cap into one module, removing the combination process and helping to save time and labor costs. With spitback reduction and a significant reduction in clogging, the BioBaleen™ Module ensures an uninterrupted and pleasurable vaping experience. With this one tiny design change sparked by insight from the natural world, Cilicon has significantly improved the effectiveness of our vaping devices.

The Design Inspiration of the Bio-Baleen Module

The Bio-Baleen Module is inspired directly by the Baleen Whale. One of the hunting techniques used by the Baleen Whale is filtering, which uses hairs similar to the teeth on a comb to filter out water while retaining prey in the whale’s mouth. This filtering method inspired the Bio-Baleen Module’s silica gel brush design implemented on the sealed silica gel cap. The Cilicon design team had already identified spit-back as an industry trouble-point that causes issues for both suppliers and consumers. Cilicon engineers discovered that the silicon cap could reduce spit-back without disrupting the oil or vapor flow by imitating the baleen filtering mechanism. Moreover, they found that compared with combining a layer of filter cotton wrapped around the outer layer of the sealed silicone cover, the production process of employing Biobaleen™ Module is also simplified, reducing labor costs. Starting as an idea to try to apply a natural design phenomenon to the vaping process, the Bio-Baleen Cap has led to several unexpected improvements.

How Does it Work? The Technical Process Behind the BioBaleen™ Module

The key to the BioBaleen™ Module’s reduction of spit back is the soft-touch silicone brush design of the cap. The splashing oil in the tank remains on the silicone brush, stopping it from flowing back through the device. First, the retention of oil in the brush removes the potential for spit-back, as the oil cannot reach through the device into the user’s mouth. Second, the retention of oil prevents the oil from reaching the central tube of the device, drastically reducing the potential for clogging. The result is a vaping experience with no interference, allowing the user to focus on the enjoyment of their oil.

The Advantages of the BioBaleen™ Module

The BioBaleen™ Module provides several benefits for Cilicon distributors and other partners. First of all, the module almost completely solves the issue of escaped oil in the device. The cap absorbs large flying oil droplets, preventing them from blocking the central air pipe and avoiding equipment failure or scrapping. It also combines the traditional silica gel sealing plug and filter cotton into one piece, BioBaleen Silicon Cap, which simplifies the capping process, reducing labor costs. Distributors can be confident that the filling and distribution process will run smoothly and efficiently with these two improvements. Moreover, distributors also benefit from increased consumer satisfaction that results from the advantages that the cap design provides for consumers.

The new cap design provides several significant benefits at the point of consumption. The new cap design’s silicone bristles effectively reduce oil splashes, preventing consumers from inhaling large un-vaporized oil particles. Spit-back is unpleasant and can significantly impact the taste of the device. The new cap ensures that consumers can enjoy the full taste of their oil. In this way, the cap removes one of the most significant barriers to the enjoyment of vaping products that many consumers experience.

Moreover, replacing the traditional cotton filter avoids the inhalation of lint. Lint from cotton filters on standard caps can enter into the lungs, causing potential health complications. The BioBaleen silicon cap removes this potential, leading to a safer experience. Finally, the spit-back reduction also eliminates the potential for clogging, meaning that consumers can enjoy their device uninterrupted, with a steady airflow that does not become weaker over time. With these improvements to the vaping experience, the Bio-Baleen Module presents consumers with a new level of effectiveness in achieving their desired vaping experience.

The BioBaleen™ Module in Action 

The SOLO Pro and the Vision disposable pen are the two newest models from Cilicon Plus and are each equipped with a BioBaleen Silicon Cap. Cilicon will continue to implement this feature in the design of future models. Look out for future Cilicon designs that implement and improve on this feature.

The SOLO Pro
Vision

To find out more about CILICON technologies, please visit our website at https://www.ciliconplus.com/.

About CILICON
CILICON was born with one dream: to improve everyday lives through vaporization technology, with innovation, enthusiasm, and compassion. We tired of inferior product drives out a high-quality product and mess with the market. Therefore, CILICON was founded without compromise on quality, safety, and customer satisfaction. Innovation is in our blood, CILICON derives a game-changing CILICON DESIGNED platform to generate diverse cannabis vaporizer options available for increasing customer brand competitiveness from the crowd. For CILICON, Your Brand Success is Our priority, Your Customer Satisfaction Matters!

For media inquiries: pr@ciliconplus.com

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Massachusetts Adult-Use Sales Reach $2.3B

11/23/2021

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The Massachusetts Cannabis Commission (CCC) announced the state sold $2.3 billion worth of cannabis in the three years since the first adult-use dispensaries opened in 2018, the Boston Herald reports. Voters legalized adult-use cannabis in Massachusetts in 2016.

“That’s a pretty phenomenal number and you know, I think on top of the numbers, one of the things I’m proudest of is just how smooth the rollout has been and the growth of this industry. There’s certainly been some things that have happened along the way, but for the most part, it’s been an extraordinarily smooth rollout and I would compare it favorably to any other state that either preceded us or opened at the same time we did.” — CCC Chairman Steven Hoffman, via the Herald

Since 2017, the state has issued 945 cannabis licenses. According to the CCC, there are 379 (176 open) retailers, 285 (62 open) cultivators, and 218 (55 open) processors in Massachusetts. The CCC gave the green light to 14 independent labs, of which eight have been cleared to begin testing. The state’s adult-use cannabis sector employs more than 17,000 employees, while medical cannabis employs roughly half that, 8,800, according to the report.

Hoffman said that despite these impressive numbers, helping those people who have been disproportionately affected by the war on drugs remains a focus of the CCC, and more work still needs to be done.

“We all recognize we have lots more to do to meet our legislative mandates, to live up to our mission statement, to meet our commitment of making Massachusetts the role model for this industry for the entire country,” Hoffman said. “So we do have a lot of work to do.”

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Report Highlights the Benefits of Centralized Purchasing for Cannabis Brands

11/22/2021

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As a cannabis business grows, the processes for procuring the basic supplies necessary to operate are often left to employees to run manually — as needed, as opposed to on a schedule. The workflows for acquiring things like vape cartridges, custom packaging, receipt rolls, and other ongoing essentials are usually enacted independently of each other, leading to dozens of separate contacts with different suppliers, often with little or no price comparison or competitive shopping.

A recent report published by Negotiatus, a digital procurement platform serving a wide variety of industries, has highlighted the unique benefits that cannabis brands in particular can reap as a result of implementing a centralized purchasing workflow in their business. In preparing the report, Negotiatus compared statistics across multiple different industries and business models to identify where inefficiencies in the procurement process could be reworked to the business owner’s benefit.

“Out of all the industries studied, cannabis businesses had some of the highest savings by purchasing through a digital procurement platform.” — Excerpt from the report

A centralized purchasing platform is a software suite that gives business owners a unified view of the various commodities they need to run their business, allowing them to compare prices and vendors, track shipments, approve purchase orders, and run reports from a single dashboard. When comparing how different industries benefited from integrating centralized purchasing, Negotiatus discovered that cannabis industry brands — specifically those in the process of growing and scaling quickly — saw some of the highest savings reflected in their bottom line.

In this report, Negotiatus takes an in-depth look at the reasons why cannabis businesses are uniquely positioned to benefit from digital procurement, as well as some of the common results they can expect to see after implementing it. The report also includes a detailed cross-comparison of the leading software platforms and features most useful to cannabis brands, and a how-to guide for integrating digital procurement into one’s operations.

The report is currently available for download via Ganjapreneur.com for a limited time: click here to reserve a copy. For more information about Negotiatus and digital procurement for cannabis companies, visit Negotiatus.com.

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Uber Adds Cannabis Ordering Feature in Canada

11/22/2021

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Uber Eats has partnered with cannabis retailer Tokyo Smoke for online cannabis ordering in Ontario, Canada — the company’s first foray into the cannabis industry, Reuters reports. Customers can order cannabis from the Uber Eats app and pick it up at their local Tokyo Smoke shop, the report says.

The Tokyo Smoke option went live on the Uber Eats app Monday morning.

On the possibility of an expansion into more Canadian provinces or in U.S. states that allow cannabis for adult use, an Uber spokesperson told Reuters that the company has “nothing more to share at this time.”

“We will continue to watch regulations and opportunities closely market by market. And as local and federal laws evolve, we will explore opportunities with merchants who operate in other regions.” — An Uber spokesperson via Reuters

In April, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi indicated that the company would eventually get into the cannabis space “when federal laws come into play.” Cannabis is federally legal in Canada, while there are two bills in the U.S. Congress to enact the reforms.

In October, Uber finalized its $1.1 billion deal to acquire on-demand alcohol Drizly. That deal did not include Drizly’s cannabis arm Lantern.

The popularity of cannabis delivery services has been on the rise since the declaration of the coronavirus pandemic on March 13, 2020. In their “State of Cannabis 2020” report, Cannabis delivery company Eaze found a near-60% increase in new customer sign-ups, a 44% increase in the number of first-time deliveries, and 15% and 14% increases in average order size and value, respectively.

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Michigan Recalls Cannabis Products Tested by Viridis Labs Over Three Months

11/22/2021

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The Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MMRA) has issued a recall for products tested over the past three months by Viridis Laboratories and Viridis North, according to CBS News. Affecting over 400 retail locations around the state, the agency announced the recall after noticing “inaccurate and/or unreliable results.”

Regulators said that everything except for vape cartridges, live resin products, and distillates tested between August 10 and November 16 could be dangerous, with patients who are immuno-compromised or with lung disease facing the greatest potential for harm. The agency asks consumers to be wary of lung infections caused by mold, like aspergillosis, the report says.

The MMRA wants consumers to return covered products to the point of purchase and stores are encouraged to destroy recalled products and provide proof of the destruction, or return the products to the original producer. Viridis Labs says they are “fully cooperating” with the agency.

“While we strongly disagree with this decision and firmly stand by our test results, we are fully cooperating with the MRA and working closely with our customers to minimize interruptions and retest affected products at no cost,” the company’s CEO Greg Michaud told CBS News in a statement.

“We look forward to continuing to serve our amazing customers using the best, most cutting-edge scientific methods available so we can fulfill our mission of promoting the health and safety of patients and adult-use consumers,” he said.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that inhaled cannabis concentrates including vape cartridges, live resin, and distillates were the most potentially harmful products but that is not the case. We regret the error and apologize for any confusion.

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Connecticut Police Captain Calls for Legal Cannabis Access After Fentanyl Overdoses

11/22/2021

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A Connecticut police captain is calling for adult-use cannabis dispensaries to be opened “as soon as possible” as at least 39 overdoses in the state have been linked to fentanyl-laced cannabis, CT News Junkie reports. Plymouth Police Capt. Ed Benecchi said the opening of adult-use dispensaries would help “protect the public.”

“Our biggest fear is that this is going to become a trend,” he said, adding that while his department has heard about other cases related to fentanyl-laced cannabis it was “shocking” to get a sample of the adulterated substance.

The overdoses have prompted a warning from the Connecticut Overdose Response Strategy Team, “strongly” urging public health, harm reduction, and others working with clients who use cannabis “to educate them about the possible dangers of marijuana with fentanyl.”

Judiciary Committee Co-Chair Sen. Gary Winfield (D) told News Junkie that he didn’t see how the opening of dispensaries could happen before the end of 2022. In September, Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle Seagull admitted that the rollout of legal sales in the state would likely be delayed.

“I don’t think it’s as simple as let’s open up the dispensaries. There’s a lot of stuff that needs to be done and we need to be doing it in the right way. We wouldn’t be looking at three weeks after the session starts next year being able to get this done.” — Winfield to News Junkie

A spokesperson for Gov. Ned Lamont (D) told News Junkie that the “concerns of the Plymouth Police reinforce [his] reasoning” for supporting and enacting the cannabis reforms.

“It is his priority to ensure that its implementation, which is already on an aggressive schedule, is accomplished with a safe, responsible, and equitable process in place and is not rushed in a way that causes unintended consequences,” the spokesperson said.

In 2019, 2020, and 2021, more than 80% of overdose deaths in Connecticut involved fentanyl, according to state Department of Public Health statistics.

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Raw Cannabis Odor No Longer Cause for Vehicle Search in Illinois

11/22/2021

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An Illinois judge last week ruled that the odor of unburnt cannabis does not give probable cause to police for a warrantless search during traffic stops, WREX reports. In the ruling, Judge Daniel P. Dalton said, “there are a number of wholly innocent reasons a person or the vehicle in which they are in may smell of raw cannabis … the court finds the odor of raw cannabis alone is insufficient to establish probable cause….”

To rule otherwise, Dalton contended, would place “not only the defendant but also any person in Illinois aged 21 or above, in a position where they could exercise their rights under The Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act only to forfeit their rights under the…United States Constitution and/or…the Illinois Constitution, even though they have acted wholly within the bounds of the law.”

“The court declines to impose this untenable situation upon the defendant or any similarly situated person.” — Dalton via WREX

The case stems from a December 2020 traffic stop in Whiteside County when an Illinois State Trooper stopped a vehicle for speeding and, after smelling the odor of raw cannabis, searched the vehicle and arrested the passenger for just over two grams of cannabis. Cannabis has been legal for adults in Illinois since 2019.

Dalton noted that the passenger also provided a valid medical cannabis ID prior to the search of the vehicle.

Attorney James Mertes, who represented the defendant, described Dalton’s decision as “momentous.”

“It represents an important and necessary expansion of our constitutional protections,” he said in the report. “Today’s decision protects citizens from unreasonable searches based upon conduct that is no longer illegal.”

Illinois Sheriffs Association Executive Director Jim Kaitschuk told WICS that the decision “will become less safe” because of the decision.

“We don’t know how much is in a vehicle,” Kaitschuk said in the report. “I mean it can smell pretty strong regardless of the amount I find it problematic…”

The state can still appeal the decision.

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Social Equity: What Is It, And Is It Working?

11/22/2021

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In the cannabis industry, we often read about “social equity” and we see countless headlines discussing cannabis prohibition, America’s long history of injustice against marginalized communities, and thoughts for rectifying the past through equity programs. But while understanding our past and providing solutions for the future is core to change, I often wonder if a more philosophical approach might garner a better understanding from a broader community, so as to implement real change.

Let’s start with this: what does social equity mean?

The National Academy of Public Administration defines social equity as “the fair, just and equitable management of all institutions serving the public directly or by contract; and the fair and equitable distribution of public services, and implementation of public policy; and the commitment to promote fairness, justice and equity in the formation of public policy.”

In theory and practice, social equity programs should aid an individual’s success by creating an even playing field and providing tools for self-empowerment. Ultimately, this gives an individual the freedom to contribute more greatly to their community, and therefore to our broader society.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to be happening yet — at least not in California, the nation’s largest cannabis industry.

Why? Change like this is complicated and takes time, and I certainly don’t want to suggest there is an easy solution. However, in the interest of expanding understanding and appreciation for the goals of social equity, we must ask: what does social equity mean for a society, and how can these programs benefit both the marginalized and the collective?

In an effort to understand and create change on a larger scale for the cannabis industry, we must look at the present, which starts by understanding how equity programs are working (or not working) today. Over the last several months, the California Cannabis Industry Association’s (CCIA) Diversity, Inclusion and Social Equity (DISE) Committee came together to create an Accountability report aimed at understanding the health and success of local equity programs in California. Through this work, the committee found that most programs are struggling to fulfill their mission, which leaves social equity applicants once again at a disadvantage.

This shouldn’t be surprising to anyone working in the cannabis industry given that even well-capitalized and well-resourced, plant-touching companies in California are also struggling to navigate the industry’s many tumultuous changes.

California might be the largest cannabis market in the world but it also is arguably the most challenging to navigate. Not only is it difficult to acquire a license in the first place, but there are also bigger challenges that an applicant often won’t realize exist until they join the industry, such as limited access to capital, supply chain issues, high taxes, non-business-friendly policies, constantly changing regulations, pay-to-play models for retail distribution and sales, and a thriving illicit marketplace. These issues combined make it very hard for even the most seasoned individuals to navigate the California space.

What should social equity look like?

First-time business owners will find it especially difficult to run a profitable business without experience, financing, and human capital. This is why it’s important to level the playing field by not only making it easier for an applicant to acquire a license but also by helping that applicant acquire the business acumen and technical assistance necessary for running a profitable company.

To create a level playing field for the individual, and to empower communities that have been most affected by the war on drugs, programs must seek to provide the tools to self-empower, to provide people resources to become economically self-sufficient, and to create jobs and programs to restore their community. An individual’s self-growth and success will create a ripple effect that trickles throughout their community.

Recognizing this, each individual and program should seek to ask:

  • Does the program address the fundamental issues at stake? (i.e. evening the playing field for all to equally participate)
  • And does the program create knowledge, frameworks, and networks through which the individual can achieve self-empowerment and self-sufficiency?

With the legal cannabis industry in its infancy, it’s imperative that policymakers and regulators understand the realities of running a cannabis business and seek to create policy that addresses immediate needs, while looking to the future.

CCIA’s DISE Committee hopes that this report will help such programs recognize their individual pain points so they can be addressed and ultimately strengthen their local programs, as well as provide a broader understanding of equity applicants throughout the state.

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Germany’s Coalition Government Commits to Legalizing Cannabis

11/19/2021

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Germany’s incoming coalition government of the Social Democrats (SPD), Green party, and Free Democrats (FDP) signaled this week they intend to pass adult-use cannabis legislation, Deutsche Welle reports.

Party representatives said on Thursday they will be working to legislate the “controlled distribution of cannabis to adults for recreational purposes in licensed shops.” According to lawmakers, the legalization plan — which has been in discussion for weeks — would include a major evaluation process after four years to determine the program’s effectiveness.

According to Niklas Kouparanis, CEO of The Bloomwell Group and a leading voice in the push for cannabis legalization the country, Germany‘s legal cannabis market is set to be a “highly regulated environment” operating between international laws, import/export license requirements, and other internal European Union restrictions.

“Politicians are faced with the task of minimizing the risk of abuse, maximizing control and education, and at the same time setting framework conditions for high-quality care. It would be negligent if the new federal government does not bring together the experts who have already gained experience in the medical cannabis market for the specific design of a legal cannabis market: entrepreneurs, representatives of authorities, pharmacists — together with the drug commissioners of the parties. ” — Kouparanis, in a statement

Both the Green party and FDP, which is business-centered, have called for legalization for years but with tight regulations and considerations for the safety of children. Germany’s police union says it is opposed to any legalization reforms.

Earlier this week, a survey commissioned by the German hemp association found that cannabis legalization would generate about 4.7 billion euros for the European country — that’s 3.4 billion in new tax revenues and about 1.3 billion in cost savings.

Germany is set to become only the third EU country to allow legal recreational cannabis use, following in the footsteps of the Netherlands and, more recently, Luxembourg.

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Schumer: ‘We Don’t Want the Big Boys’ in the Cannabis Industry

11/19/2021

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In an interview with New York’s top cannabis regulator, Tremaine Wright, on Black Enterprise’s “Green Enterprise,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said that the lawmakers behind his federal cannabis bill “don’t want the big boys to come in” to the cannabis industry once federal reforms are approved.

“We don’t want the big boys to come in. After all the pain that’s been occurring in communities like the one you represent in Brooklyn — where I’m from — to have the big boys come in and make all the money makes no sense. So, we want to make sure smaller businesses and businesses of color do it.” – Schumer via Green Enterprise

Schumer also said that he — along with New Jersey Sen. Corey Booker (D) and Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden — are “taking a page” from New York’s legalization law when it comes to social justice reforms included in their federal proposal.

“We’re gonna make it really incentive to have all states expunge their records for nonviolent marijuana crimes,” he said. “So, you never have a criminal record again; you never should’ve to begin with. You know? Low-level marijuana crimes because it was so over-classified it was so bad.”

The Majority Leader added that, under the Democratic legalization plan, cannabis-derived funds wouldn’t “just go into the federal Treasury” rather into “good kinds of activities in terms of restorative justice” such as community violence initiatives and community centers.

In addition to the Democratic proposal backed by Serns. Schumer, Booker, and Wyden, Republican Rep. Nancy Mace (SC) on Monday filed legislation to legalize cannabis federally.

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Black People in Vermont 14x More Likely to Be Defendants in Felony Drug Cases

11/19/2021

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Black people in Vermont were 14 times more likely to be defendants in felony drug cases than their white counterparts, according to a Council of State Governments Justice Center report outlined by VT Digger. Black defendants in the state are also more likely to be jailed for drugs despite national data showing that Black people and white people use and sell drugs at similar rates.

The report found that Black people in Vermont are more than six times more likely to be incarcerated than white people for all crimes, which is higher than the national average. Black people were also 3.5 times more likely to be defendants for misdemeanor cases and 5.9 times more likely to be defendants in felony cases, the report says. Post-conviction, Black people in the state are 18% more likely to be incarcerated for felony drug and property offenses; meaning they are less likely to receive non-prison options such as probation or split or suspended sentences, the report found.

Karen Tronsgard-Scott, executive director of the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence and a member of the working group, told VT Digger that the data shows “irrefutable” evidence for what “Black Vermonters have been saying for a really long time.”

The report notes that while state lawmakers are currently considering a classification structure for drug offenses, the analysis could be used to apply a racial equity lens to the classification process for drug offenses by “reclassifying lower-to-mid level felony drug possession offenses to misdemeanors” and “reevaluating the threshold of the highest level of possession and sales to better reflect significant amounts of drugs intended for distribution.”

The group plans to deliver a report to the Legislature on the findings in January.

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Utah Lawmakers Say Medical Cannabis Should Be Treated Like Any Other Medication

11/19/2021

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Utah medical cannabis activists and state legislators are concerned that cannabis is not being treated like other medicinal controlled substances despite the state’s successful medical cannabis voter initiative and a series of legislative actions to regulate the product, Fox 13 reports.

The problem involves a “small group of cities” that are “disallowing their employees to still use medical cannabis,” Utah Patients Coalition Executive Director Desiree Hennessy told Fox 13.

Police officers and firefighters who obtain medical cannabis cards have been removed from their jobs in some cities, the report says. Legislators heard testimony on the issue on Wednesday in a Government Operations Interim Committee hearing.

“The original intention of the legislature has always been that you do not punish someone for being sick or using medicine properly, as prescribed.” — Sen. Daniel Thatcher (R)

To begin to address the problem, lawmakers endorsed a proposal that would “double down” on Utah‘s commitment that medical cannabis should be treated like any other drug. However, the proposal would only cover government workers — not the private sector.

Senate Majority Leader Evan Vickers, who oversees medical cannabis legislation for the Republican caucus, told Fox 13 that he “would like to see private industry, if they have policies regarding controlled substances, then they follow that same law with cannabis.”

But, in a state where legislators prefer a hands-off approach when it comes to private business, “The only thing we can foresee that would fix the private employee’s issue is education and the experience of having employees use medical cannabis,” Hennessy said.

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U.S. Cannabis Council and Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Launch Cannabis Internship Program

11/19/2021

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The U.S. Cannabis Council and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation this week launched the Pathways to the C-Suite Internship program, which partners Black college seniors and one-year post-bachelor degree graduates with some of the nation’s top executives in the private sector to experience how public policy is influenced and developed at every level of the process.

Tahir Johnson, director of Social Equity and Inclusion at the Cannabis Council, said on LinkedIn that students who sign up with the program will be placed “at some of the most prominent cannabis companies in the country to gain valuable career experience and building a diverse talent pipeline for the industry.”

“Through the Pathways to the C-Suite Internship Program, participants gain practical and meaningful work experience in a corporate setting and obtain first-hand experience working with organizations whose top priorities include diversity employment retention and internship-to-employment opportunities,” the description for the program says.

The program requires students to be U.S. citizens or a have permit to work in the U.S. for the duration of the program, which runs from January 10, 2022, to April 29, 2022. Applicants must be available to participate full-time upon acceptance, cannot be enrolled in classes, and must have not graduated more than a year from the internship program start date. Interns also cannot be enrolled in graduate studies. All interns must also receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

There will be two informational sessions held later this month for potential applicants — on November 23 and 29.

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The Blackbird by RollPros is Unlike Any Pre-Roll Machine on the Market

11/18/2021

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Using proprietary rolling technology versus traditional cone-fill, RollPros provides a more efficient, cost-saving machine for creating premium quality pre-rolls at scale.

VANCOUVER, November, 15, 2021 — RollPros, a cannabis-processing equipment company, has released their new Blackbird, a fully-automated system for cannabis dispensaries and brands, that is designed specifically to tackle the quality and consistency issues inherent with pre-rolls. A first of its kind, the patent-pending Blackbird uses TruRoll™ technology and is the only production-ready machine on the market that does not require pre-made cones.

“As a consumer, once cannabis was legalized, I was so excited to get a joint from a store. But it was awful. The joints were harsh; they canoed or clogged. It was just a terrible experience. Then I looked into it and found they were just filling it from the top, and that’s not how you create a good joint,” says Kyle Loucks, Founder and CEO of RollPros.

The traditional “cone-stuffing” method uses a combination of machines and employees to fill pre-made cones. This imprecise method usually incurs an average of 20% flower waste and doesn’t offer a premium user experience.

Loucks explains, “I started with trying to design a more efficient way to fill the cones. But I realized there was a fundamental problem; we were fighting physics. That’s when I decided to approach it differently and create a method that would roll like we would by hand.”

This realization led to the Blackbird, a low-impact, tabletop machine that can be operated by one person and will produce 750+ Premium PreRolls™ (0.35 – 1 gram) per hour, roughly 5,000 per 8-hour shift compared to the industry average of 4-6 people on a line that produces 1,500-2,200 pre-rolls.

The Blackbird is incredibly simple to use:

Step 1. Pour in the flower.
Step 2. Pour in the crutches.
Step 3. Load the paper.
Step 4. Press go.
Step 5. Watch as carbon-copy, perfect pre-rolls are made.

“The Blackbird has been an incredible addition to our pre-roll business. Our dispensary customers appreciate the diversity of product we can offer and patients love the old school look and feel.” explained Jordane Fairchild, Post Harvest Manager of Sunmed Growers, a Maryland-based vertically integrated operator. “As a company, we also appreciate the amazingly responsive customer service and technical assistance team Blackbird has standing by to ensure production never pauses.”

The Blackbird can be customized to your desired tension. And unlike the competition, it will allow you to explore larger grind sizes and doesn’t require over-dried flower to run.

Engineered to scale up with your business, the unit is completely modular so you can continue to add components as your needs change. The future RollPros’ product line will include more opportunities to customize and further automate your pre-roll to consumer process.

To learn more about RollPros or to schedule a demonstration, please reach out to:
Tyler Vaughan | Tyler@rollpros.com | (844) 759-1106

About RollPros:
RollPros makes creating high-quality pre-rolls at scale easy through elegantly designed technology.

About Kyle Loucks:
Kyle Loucks has built a career out of engineering elegant solutions to complex problems. Highlights include creating a collapsible and conformable bone fixation implant to give surgeons the flexibility they needed during surgery while at Acute Innovations and working with Oculus AR/VR labs to create innovative solutions for their future consumer electronics. Now Kyle has set his sights on innovations within the cannabis industry, starting with the patent-pending Blackbird that uses TruRoll™ technology.

 

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German Cannabis Legalization Estimated at €4.7 Billion

11/18/2021

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Cannabis legalization in Germany could be worth tax revenues and a cost-saving of about 4.7 billion euros ($5.34 billion) per year and create 27,000 new jobs, according to a survey conducted by the Heinrich Heine University’s Institute for Competition Economics (DICE) outlined by Reuters. The survey was commissioned by the German hemp association and comes as legislative leaders are considering a coalition to push forward with the reforms.

Chancellor-in-waiting Olaf Scholz and his center-left Social Democrats (SPD) are brokering a deal with the environmentalist, pro-spending Greens and the libertarian, business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP) to build a three-way coalition to bridge support for broad cannabis legalization in the nation, the report says, adding that negotiators for the SPD, Greens, and FDP are still working out details of the plan, including rules for the sale and adult use of cannabis.

Germany is Europe’s largest economy and medical cannabis had been legalized in the nation since 2017.

Cannabis legalization in Germany became more possible with the electoral victories of the SPD in September. The Free Democrats have estimated that were cannabis taxed similarly to cigarettes, Germany could raise up to 1 billion euros annually. The Greens have indicated that a cannabis control law would “drain the black market for cannabis and reduce organized crime,” while the Social Democrats have called for cannabis to be distributed to adults in so-called “field projects” to assess the impact of legalization for adults.

The reforms are opposed by German law enforcement leaders with Rainer Wendt, head of the German Police Union, saying that allowing legalized cannabis “would be the beginning of a stoned future instead of the launch of a modern Germany.”

Oliver Malchow, the head of Germany’s police union GdP, has said that he wouldn’t back the reforms as “legal but dangerous” alcohol is “already causing enough trouble,” adding that it doesn’t make sense to “open the door to another dangerous and often trivialized drug.”

The DICE survey suggests cannabis legalization could bring cost savings in the police and judicial system of up to 1.3 billion euros per year.

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Medical Cannabis Retailers to Follow HIPAA Guidelines in Illinois

11/18/2021

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New guidance in Illinois published by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) requires medical and co-located dispensaries in the state to protect patient information in accordance with the privacy and security rules set out in the federal Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) statute and attendant regulations, JD Supra reports.

Under the guidance, dispensaries that sell medical cannabis — including those with adult-use licenses — must complete a HIPAA security risk assessment by December 1. That risk analysis includes identifying areas of high-security risk for Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI); an evaluation of the likelihood and impact of the risks; implementation of security measures to address the risks; and documentation of the measures and their rationale.

Among other regulations, HIPAA requires that covered medical providers complete initial and then recurring assessments of risks to their IT infrastructure, and undertake certain physical, administrative, and technical safeguards to safeguard patient information, the report says.

Illinois required that patients were given notice of Privacy Practices for Protected Health Information by August 1, according to the guidance. The rules also require dispensaries that have had patient information breached notify the IDFPR of the breach within 60 days of discovery. The guidance notes that in the event of a theft of dispensary computers that are encrypted, businesses are not required to report the theft but are “strongly encouraged” to file a report with the agency.

Illinois is not the first state to protect medical cannabis patient information; Massachusetts also requires that dispensary workers are trained on patient privacy and confidentiality and have records systems that are configured to protect patient privacy.

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Arkansas Total Medical Cannabis Sales Hit $447M Since 2019

11/18/2021

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Arkansas medical cannabis dispensaries have sold nearly 67,000 pounds of cannabis since sales first launched in May 2019, according to a KUAR report. Worth $447 million and weighing 66,994 pounds, the haul has brought the state $45 million in tax revenue.

Using data from the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration, KUAR found the state’s 78,585 active patients bought 3,527 pounds of cannabis from 37 dispensaries in October. The Relief Center dispensary in Bentonville was the state’s first to surpass the 7,000 pounds mark and leads the pack with the most total sales. Natural Relief Dispensary in Sherwood sold the most in October with 332.27 pounds, the report says.

Here is a closer look at the top five dispensaries in Arkansas, according to KUAR.

  • Relief Center – Bentonville – 7,030.66 pounds; 332.17 pounds in October
  • Green Springs Medical – Hot Springs – 5,105.98 pounds; 166.87 pounds in October
  • Natural Relief Dispensary – Sherwood – 5,024.54 pounds; 332.27 pounds in October
  • Suite 443 – Hot Springs – 4,529.16 pounds; 273.54 pounds in October
  • Acanza – Fayetteville – 4,100.2 pounds; 157.23 pounds in October

Arkansas voters passed an initiative to establish a medical cannabis program in 2016 with 53% of the vote. The majority of the tax money collected from medical cannabis sales goes to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences National Cancer Designation Trust Fund.

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