With Federal Reforms Looming, White House Reverts to Stigmatizing Cannabis

3/23/2021

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Editor’s note: This editorial was contributed by Sarah Gersten, Executive Director and General Counsel for the Last Prisoner Project.

On March 14th, Marvin D. Scott III was killed in police custody after being arrested for a small amount of marijuana. Days later, the SAFE Banking Act, which would give American cannabis companies federally-protected access to major banks and credit unions, was reintroduced in the US House of Representatives with broad bipartisan support.

As hopes for federal marijuana reform continue to unfold in 2021, these incidents bring into sharp contrast what has been occurring for a quarter-century in this country: at the same time that states are legalizing marijuana for medical and adult-use, and regulating an industry driving billions in tax revenue to state coffers, Americans, particularly BIPOC communities, continue to be arrested, incarcerated, and made victims of state-sanctioned violence all due to cannabis use.

President Biden has often acknowledged, likely in an attempt to mitigate his leading role in the 1994 Crime Bill, the need for a “commonsense” approach to marijuana. One which includes not only decriminalizing cannabis federally but also expunging past marijuana-related offenses. He has also stated that he intends not to interfere with state-regulated markets.

Given this approach, he is likely to sign onto the SAFE Banking Act if passed, giving corporate weed firms unfettered access to financial institutions, and ensuring former high-ranking government officials turned marijuana tycoons like John Boehner and Kathleen Sebelius can continue to profit off of the state-legal industry.

Yet on the day this most recent piece of federal cannabis legislation was reintroduced in the House — with a much clearer trajectory of reaching the President’s desk under a Democrat-controlled Senate — news broke that the Biden administration had suspended or terminated dozens of White House staffers for past cannabis use. Though the administration initially indicated that recreational use of cannabis would not be immediately disqualifying for would-be personnel, when staffers revealed past marijuana use as part of the standard security screening, even those hailing from one of the 14 states and the District of Columbia where cannabis is now fully legal, they were axed.

In defending the firings, a White House official stated:

“This decision was made following intensive consultation with career security officials and will effectively protect our national security.”

For years, federal government employees including senior White House officials have expressed incredulity with a policy that denies clearance for top candidates based on personal marijuana use. In recent years the proven medicinal benefits of cannabis have become more well known, while polling shows that a majority of the population has used marijuana and that two-thirds of the American populace believe it should be legal. It’s also well known that several past presidents — including JFK, George W Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and many founding fathers — have acknowledged using cannabis in some form.

More troubling than the blatant hypocrisy of terminating staffers for personal marijuana use after serving as vice-president to a commander in chief who openly admitted to the same, is the clear conflict with Biden’s stated policy aims of rooting out racial disparities, reforming our criminal justice system, and promoting second chances for system-impacted individuals.

The President stated time and again on the campaign trail and during his tenure in the White House that he will work to undo the harms of his crime bill — legislation that has become one of the leading drivers of over-policing and mass incarceration, particularly for low-level drug offenses. Biden’s own plan for “Strengthening America’s Commitment to Justice” seems to acknowledge this damage by crafting provisions for reducing prison populations by focusing on redemption and rehabilitation over punitive punishment and explicitly stating that no one should be incarcerated for drug use, and even calling for decriminalizing marijuana and expunging past cannabis offenses.

By terminating otherwise qualified candidates for personal marijuana use, Biden is completely undermining these aspirations, all while the likelihood of federal legalization, or at least a formalized policy of non-interference with state-regulated industries, appears increasingly likely.

While the deepest wounds of the War on Drugs are demonstrated through the more obvious and visceral examples of egregious prison sentences and the tragic loss of life due to police interactions under the guise of policing low-level drug use, there are innumerable ways in which the stigma attached to marijuana continues to impact particularly young people of color in facets of life from housing to financial assistance to employment. Even in states that have legalized marijuana entirely, workers are largely left in a grey area where marijuana use can lead to disciplinary actions or even termination.

If the president is going to truly acknowledge the devastation he wrought by his tough-on-crime approach to drug use in the 90s, he has to stand by his stated ideals and proactively work to undo the stigma associated with cannabis, not just for his own staffers, but for the American public.

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Alaska Cannabis Lounges Proceed with Caution During Pandemic

3/23/2021

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Last year, Alaska formally approved licenses for two on-site cannabis consumption lounges, making it one of the first states to allow such businesses. However, the Associated Press reports the COVID-19 crisis has delayed, but not stopped, the social use businesses.

One lounge located in Ketchikan, Alaska opened “briefly” last year but the pandemic quickly forced owners to change directions. Another on-site consumption location in Fairbanks said they plan to open soon, more than a year after receiving the state’s approval.

Brandon Emmett — who served on the Alaska Marijuana Control Board, helped develop the regulations governing consumption lounges, and is an executive with the Fairbanks-based Good Titrations — said they are planning to open their lounge this year on 4/20. He believes the business can operate safely if they encourage patrons to wear masks indoors, something the town of Fairbanks does not do. But despite his enthusiasm for the lounge, he believes caution should prevail going forward.

“There is very much a light shining on us, and it is imperative that we at Good Titrations set the example for how it could be done responsibly.” — Brandon Emmett, via the AP

Others have also applied for onsite consumption lounges, including Joe McAneney, owner of the High Expedition Co. in Talkeetna, Alaska. McAneney said he wants to open a two-story “cigar lounge”-styled space behind his store with views of the Northern Lights and Mt. Denali, North America’s highest peak.

“To start a new business and to spend money and create … a new thing during this time, to me, it’s not very responsible; it doesn’t make a lot of sense,” McAneney said in the report.

Alaska‘s push to open cannabis consumption lounges has largely to do with cannabis tourism, according to the report, as many hotels ban smokable cannabis and public cannabis consumption remains otherwise illegal.

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Study: Medical Cannabis Use by Canadian Seniors Doubled From 2017-2019

3/23/2021

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Medical cannabis use among senior citizens in Canada increased from 17.6% in 2017 – the year prior to broad legalization in the nation – to 31.2% in 2019, according to a study by Toronto-based Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center outlined by Medscape.

The survey found that 22.7% of seniors reported using medical cannabis in 2020; however, the researchers note that there were more than 3,000 fewer respondents in last year’s tally than in previous years.

More than 40% of respondents – 42.5% – indicated they only used CBD oil, while 35% used products containing both CBD and THC.

The survey found 44.5% of respondents were using over-the-counter analgesics, 28.3% used opioids, 24.5% took nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, 21.4% used antidepressants, and 12.3% were taking benzodiazepines. More than 40% of opioid users said their use of the drugs was “mildly” or “significantly” reduced after they started using medical cannabis.

Krista L. Lanctôt, PhD, senior scientist, Sunnybrook told Medscape that the use of other medications made it important to gather information on older populations using cannabis medically.

“Cannabis effects may differ in older adults due to altered metabolism, comorbidities, and use of concurrent medications.” – Lanctôt to Medscape

The analysis included 9,766 older cannabis users with a median age of 72.3. Sixty percent of those surveyed were women.

The study was presented at this year’s American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry conference.

A study published last month in JAMA Internal Medicine found the number of U.S. adults over 65 that reported using cannabis increased from 2.4% in 2015 to 4.2 percent in 2018, an increase of 75%.

Another study last year published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society found that 61% of participants – all 65-and-older – started using cannabis after age 60 with 53% of respondents saying they used cannabis on a daily or weekly basis.

Researchers at Israel’s Haifa University School of Public Health also reported last year, in a study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Review, that senior citizens who use medical cannabis to treat chronic pain do not show evidence of cognitive decline.

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Trade Association Offers Cannabis Education Scholarships

3/23/2021

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The New Jersey Cannabis Trade Association (NJCTA) is offering six scholarships to students who demonstrate financial need for Mercer County Community College’s Medical Cannabis Training course. The scholarship includes the added bonus of matching recipients with a corresponding cannabis company for an interview after completing program requirements.

The scholarship is open to those aged 21-and-older who reside in specified New Jersey zip codes in addition to the financial need.

NJCTA President Shaya Brodchandel said offering the scholarships is a “no-brainer” for the organization.

“By participating and creating a scholarship fund for the program we get to give back to the community where our members are located while simultaneously finding trained individuals who could be employed by New Jersey cannabis operators in the near future. Partnering with New Jersey Cannabis Certified and Mercer was the perfect way to achieve both of those goals.” – Brodchandel in a press release

Valley Wellness CEO Sarah Trent, who developed the course, said the class saw high enrollment during last year’s session but that the organizers “also saw that some people need financial assistance.”

“So we started looking for sponsors to help create scholarships,” she said in a statement. “The NJCTA was excited to get involved and help develop a plan to make sure those most in need of jobs, who live near existing cannabis operators in the state, had access to job training.”

The course fee is $500 and in addition to the need-based scholarships, Valley Wellness sponsors up to five veterans for tuition waivers.

Scholarship applications are accepted until April 5.

Last month, Massachusetts cannabis company Elevate Northeast said it would help fund scholarships for, primarily, students from communities negatively impacted by drug laws that preceded cannabis legalization in the state for Holyoke Community College’s Cannabis Education Center.

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Illinois Gives Final Approval for Curaleaf Takeover of Grassroots

3/23/2021

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Illinois regulators last week gave final approval for Curaleaf’s $830 million acquisition of Grassroots, the Chicago Tribune reports. The deal will see the Massachusetts-based firm takeover nine Greenhouse and Windy City Cannabis dispensaries – which will transition to the Curaleaf brand – by April 1.

Currently, Curaleaf operates 101 retail and medical dispensaries, 23 cultivation sites, and more than 30 processing facilities, with more than 3,800 employees, throughout 23 U.S. states. The company trades on the Canadian Securities Exchange and reported $653 million in its 2020 earnings report issued earlier this month.

Last year, following the closing of the Grassroots deal, Curaleaf announced it would expand its Select brand into Illinois. At the time, company President Joe Bayern described Illinois as “one of the largest adult-use cannabis markets in the country and one that has worked incredibly hard to address the need for reparation and normalization of our industry.”

In 2020, legalized cannabis sales in Illinois reached $1.03 billion, including $669 million in recreational sales and more than $366 million in medical sales.

Multi-state operators have an outsized role in the Illinois industry, and in January Cresco Labs, also based in Chgicago, became the first company to open 10 dispensaries in the state.

The Greenhouse dispensaries transitioning to the Curaleaf brand are in Northbrook, Skokie, Mokena, Morris, Deerfield and Melrose Park, while the Windy City locations pivoting to the Curaleaf name are in Justice, Worth, and Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood.

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New Mexico Gov. Plans Special Session for Cannabis Legalization

3/22/2021

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New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) said that she plans to call a special session “in a week or so” after lawmakers failed to approve a cannabis legalization bill by Saturday’s legislative deadline. The governor’s comments came during an address to the Sandoval County Democrats published on Facebook by the Paper.

“We’re gonna get cannabis! Because I am not going to wait another year. We’re gonna win it and it’s gonna have social justice aspects that we know have to be in a package. Alright, so we are gonna keep doing the right work because we’re Democrats and, you know what, we don’t take ‘no’ very well. I don’t do very well with ‘no.’ We have a lot to accomplish, we’re doing it already.” – Lujan Grisham via the Paper

According to an Albuquerque Journal report, the last remaining legalization bill – of five total – was delivered to Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth (D) on Saturday at about 7:30 am with the noon deadline looming. He told the Journal that he decided not to bring up the measure for a vote because it would have prompted a lengthy debate and perhaps led to other bills not getting a vote before the legislature’s adjournment. He added that Republican Sen. Cliff Pirtle had readied several proposed amendments to the measure – along with a supply of energy drinks for the debate.

House Minority Whip Rod Montoya (R) told the Journal that his caucus doesn’t want to return for a special session and that lawmakers would only be called back “because the Democrat leadership in the House and the Senate and the Governor’s Office couldn’t get everything they wanted.”

Only the governor can call a special session and it can only last 30 days.

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University Gets Federal Grant to Study Processed Hemp as Cattle Feed

3/22/2021

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Oregon State University has received a $299,950 federal U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to study feeding spent hemp biomass to cattle. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant aims to implement the safe use of hemp byproducts in livestock diets.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said the study and the potential to use the hemp biomass as cattle feed “add up to a potential big win for farmers and ranchers.”

“This OSU research will help to continue building the case for federal approval of hemp biomass on cattle farms, making a natural connection between two signature Oregon products – livestock and hemp.” – Wyden in a press release

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) noted that hemp is one of Oregon’s “fastest-growing crops” and generates millions of dollars in revenue and reliable jobs in the state.

“I’m looking forward to seeing the results of OSU’s research into whether we can use spent hemp biomass as cattle feed, and will continue to work to secure the resources Oregonians need to keep leading the way for farmers across America,” Merkley said in a statement.

Last month, the agency awarded nearly $19,000 in hemp-focused agriculture grants to the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine and Coexist Build, a private company.

The UPenn School of Veterinary Medicine grant is for the “development of sensitive method for analysis of cannabinoids in bovine serum and hemp seed samples,” it said in a press release. Coexist Build’s award focuses on “developing marketing strategy for agritourism highlighting regenerative, organic farm featuring hemp-based construction.”

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Illinois Considers Significant Social Equity Expansions

3/22/2021

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Illinois lawmakers are working on a legislative compromise designed to salvage the state’s adult-use cannabis rollout, Block Club Chicago reports. The proposal’s fixes are specifically in response to a document leaked last month by Grown In revealing that just two percent of the state’s cannabis business owners were Black or Latino. The leaked report also found that less than 25 percent of the group were women.

Rep. LaShawn Ford (D) said he will formally introduce the bill, which seeks to add an additional 115 licenses to the already 75 mandated licenses, to the Illinois General Assembly when lawmakers have reached “broad agreement.”

Under the proposal, applicants with newly assessed perfect scores would participate in a lottery. Two more lottery rounds would follow for applicants with less than perfect scores but who qualify for social equity status. Furthermore, it would narrow the definition of a social equity applicant by expanding the timeframe someone must have lived in a disproportionately affected area to qualify for the program and removing a provision in the law that lets whole companies qualify, even if the owner does not. Additionally, the bill would add five new medical cannabis licenses for social equity applicants.

Facing pandemic-related delays, 21 of the state’s 75 license winners were announced last September. Lawsuits led to further complications, however, resulting in an announcement by the governor that industry applications would be re-scored.

Despite recent progress, language involving the relocation of current medical and dual-use dispensaries may put the negotiations in jeopardy. Pamela Althoff, industry spokesperson and former Illinois state senator, said the industry will oppose the bill if it requires more than a three-month hold on relocations.

“Relocation is important to the cannabis industry, however, what’s more important is to get a move on and award these licenses.” — Althoff, via Block Club Chicago

However, others want a longer hold after the lottery to give social equity applicants a better chance to choose profitable locations.

“We have to allow the people that were most harmed by the war on drugs to get into this industry, before [the dispensaries] start switching up locations,” Douglas Kelly, President of the Cannabis Equity Coalition Illinois, said in the report. “They chose those locations, so they need to live with that for a little while longer.”

The current draft requires a 90-day delay for relocations but current medical and dual-use licensees would be allowed to move if their local municipality has banned cannabis businesses.

A spokesperson for the governor said Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) is ready to sign Ford’s legislation if it reaches his desk.

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White House Press Secretary: Only Five Staffers Fired Over Cannabis

3/22/2021

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White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki acknowledged via Twitter on Friday that five staffers “are no longer employed” at the White House “as a result” of the Biden Administration’s employment policies related to cannabis. The tweet came a day after the Daily Best reported dozens of White House staffers had been suspended, moved to remote work assignments, or asked to resign over their cannabis use.

“We announced a few weeks ago that the White House had worked with the security service to update the policies to ensure that past marijuana use wouldn’t automatically disqualify staff from serving in the White House,” Psaki tweeted on Friday.

“As a result, more people will serve who would not have in the past with the same level of recent drug use. The bottom line is this: of the hundreds of people hired, only five people who had started working at the White House are no longer employed as a result of this policy.” – Psaki via Twitter

According to a New York Times report, some of the affected staffers also had other disqualifying factors that surfaced when the White House was determining their eligibility for jobs in the administration, an unnamed White House official said.

The updated policies alluded to by Psaki were released amid guidance from the United States Office of Personnel Management. The agency’s Acting Director Kathleen McGettigan wrote in the rules that, “It would be inconsistent with suitability regulations to implement a policy of finding an individual unfit or unsuitable for federal service solely on the basis of recent of marijuana use.”

“Past marijuana use, including recently discontinued marijuana use, should be viewed differently from ongoing marijuana use,” she wrote, according to the Times.

Psaki did not clarify how many other staffers had been punished for cannabis use.

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Oklahoma Bill Would Establish Medical Cannabis License Cap

3/22/2021

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In an effort to slow the growth of Oklahoma’s expanding medical cannabis system, the state legislature has forwarded a bill that would cap dispensary numbers for two years and implement other restrictive regulations, CNHI News Oklahoma reports.

HB 2272, dubbed the Oklahoma Cap on Medical Marijuana Businesses of 2021, would take effect on September 1 and would stay in effect until 2023. Before the bill was passed on the House floor in a 69-21 vote, the proposal’s author state Rep. Josh West (R) said, “We do have a thriving medical marijuana industry in the state of Oklahoma.

“At the same time we’ve got a thriving black market industry in the state of Oklahoma too,” West said. “So this may not stop it completely, but I think this slows it down.”

Other dampening provisions include requiring commercial licenses to be “active,” defined in the bill as businesses having at least $5,000 in sales and producers maintaining at least 50 plants monthly. Further restrictions in the legislation would lower the number of commercial licenses in the state from 10,000 to 8,000: this would inclde 5,000 growers, 2,000 dispensaries, and 1,000 processors, according to the report.

Chip Paul, who helped Oklahoma’s medical cannabis bill pass, said he agrees with West about the black market. However, he said enforcement of already existing regulations like ownership verifications would solve many of the issues HB 2272 claims to fix.

“We’re never going to view the wrecking of our free market economy as a good thing. That was one of the core principles that we set forth in SQ 788. SQ 788 is potentially the most popular law that Oklahoma has ever passed, and it’s popular because of its core principles. This is an opportunity that should be open to every Oklahoman and it shouldn’t be restricted. What other industry do we limit licensing?” — Paul, via CNHI News

The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) said it is monitoring the bill, and that Oklahoma‘s new seed-to-sale tracking system will help differentiate “black market”  cannabis from “licensed, safe” regulated products.

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SAFE Banking Act Reintroduced in House

3/19/2021

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The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act has been reintroduced in the House by Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter – 18 months after it originally passed the chamber. Since its passage, the proposal never received a vote in the Senate which was controlled by Republicans.

Perlmutter said that during the coronavirus pandemic, “the industry was deemed essential yet forced to continue to operate in all cash” which added “a significant public health risk for businesses and their workers.”

“The genie is out of the bottle and has been for many years. Thousands of employees and businesses across this country have been forced to deal in piles of cash for far too long, and it is the responsibility of Congress to step up and take action to align federal and state laws for the safety of our constituents and communities. The public safety need is urgent, and a public health and economic need has also emerged with the pandemic further exacerbating the cash-only problem for the industry.” – Perlmutter in a statement

In 2019, the bill passed the House with bipartisan support – 321-103 – including 91 Republicans and one independent. The renewed version of the bill includes technical changes to the safe harbor, strengthened hemp provisions, and other technical updates, according to a press release from Perlmutter’s office.

Despite the supermajority support in the House, Senate Republicans pushed back against the reforms, including then-Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo. The committee is now led by Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown and Republican Ranking Member Pat Toomey.

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Report: White House Punishes Staffers Due to Past Cannabis Use

3/19/2021

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Dozens of White House staffers have been suspended, placed on remote work, or asked to resign due to their past cannabis use, according to a Daily Beast report. In some cases, the staffers were told prior cannabis use would be overlooked by the administration and in some cases, the use was exclusive to one of the 14 states with legal products.

“There were one-on-one calls with individual affected staffers – rather, ex-staffers. I was asked to resign. … The policies were never explained, the threshold for what was excusable and what was inexcusable was never explained.” – A former White House staffer to the Daily Beast

A White House spokesperson for the Biden Administration appeared to dodge the issue in an interview with the Daily Beast, saying that President Joe Biden’s team is “committed to bringing the best people into government – especially the young people whose commitment to public service can deepen in these positions.”

“The White House’s policy will maintain the absolute highest standards for service in government that the president expects from his administration, while acknowledging the reality that state and local marijuana laws have changed significantly across the country in recent years,” the spokesperson said in the interview. “This decision was made following intensive consultation with career security officials and will effectively protect our national security while modernizing policies to ensure that talented and otherwise well-qualified applicants with limited marijuana use will not be barred from serving the American people.”

The report notes that some of the staffers’ punishment could be due to inconsistencies on the security form about their cannabis use, rather than their actual cannabis use, such as simply misstating the last time they had consumed it.

Tommy Vietor, who served on the 2008 Obama team and later as a National Security Council spokesperson, called it “absurd” that cannabis use “is still part of the security clearance background check.”

“To me, marijuana use is completely irrelevant when you’re trying to decide whether an individual should be trusted with national security information,” he said.

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Kevin Ford: Uplifting Cannabis Patients with Education & Industry Training

3/19/2021

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Kevin Ford is a big believer in the power of the cannabis plant. After his home state of Maryland legalized medical cannabis, he pursued work with a plant-touching operator, sure that his experience in the legacy market would open opportunities. Despite his experience and drive, the opportunity didn’t exist; furthermore, he realized that the process of even becoming a patient in Maryland was opaque, at best.

Kevin knew that if he was experiencing these roadblocks, surely others were as well, so he founded Uplift Maryland to assist Maryland patients through these complicated processes. But, while he had founded Uplift with the hopes of helping others navigate through Maryland’s medical cannabis process, it soon developed into an education-focused community prioritizing diversity and inclusion, and the company has since rebranded to Uplift National.

This Q&A interview covers Uplift’s recent rebranding, its extended operations, and how Uplift is working to build bridges in the cannabis space and assist even more entrepreneurs who are interested in the cannabis industry. Kevin also talks about how his prior government experience helps him identify areas where the Black community and other disenfranchised communities have been systematically blocked from opportunities, adjustments to the COVID pandemic, and more!

Ganjapreneur: What was your perception of cannabis while growing up in a family of medical professionals? Has that perception changed?

Kevin Ford: I was first introduced to cannabis by one of my best friends in 8th grade. At that point, I quickly began to realize that the plant was all around me. Somewhere around the beginning of high school, my mom found some weed that I thought I was hiding under the sink. She angrily approached me and taught me a lesson about drugs. In the midst of it all, I saw it as just a plant. This is the perception I grew into and continue to cultivate. At the time, I didn’t realize that my mom’s perception was based on her reality, as a young trauma surgeon, seeing the worst of DC’s drug violence in the 80s and 90s. Throughout the years, we’ve differed on our opinions of cannabis, even after it became medically legal here in Maryland.

Shortly after starting Uplift, I began to win my parents’ approval. Once my father learned that legislation had been passed to protect medical professionals issuing medical cannabis certifications, my dad registered to be a provider. He was amazed by his patients’ new outlook on life after using cannabis, which transformed his perception of cannabis as medicine. My mother was more intrigued by the educational opportunities cannabis provides. In 2018, a day before Thanksgiving, Uplift was awarded a grant from the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission to develop and implement an education and business development training for minorities and women interested in applying for grower and processor licenses in 2019. Excited to tell my family about my accomplishment, it was there at the dinner table where I’d finally won over both of my parents’ support for my ambitions in the cannabis industry.

When did you found Uplift Maryland? What inspired you to start the business?

Based on my past experience with cannabis in the legacy market, I knew this was the industry for me. I’ve always wanted to be a plant touching operator, and still do, but opportunity was absent. I had also just become a medical patient and realized how hard the registration and certification process was to navigate; this is what led me to start Uplift Maryland, which was born in August 2018. We originally started as a one-stop shop for all things medical cannabis in Maryland, but quickly grew into so much more than we intended. Our educational success was not what I initially set out to accomplish, but it has given me a true mission: to increase diversity and inclusion within the cannabis industry. The first step is fighting to End the Stigma through education and training. Uplift has assisted aspiring ganjapreneurs in starting their businesses, and has offered detailed training to patients and budtenders to broaden their overall cannabis knowledge. My previous employment with the Prince George’s County Government ignited my passion for supplier diversity and development. This passion has been the driving force behind developing Uplift as a prominent advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion in the cannabis industry.

How did your prior work experience working in county government fold into how you’ve founded and grown Uplift?

My prior work experience cultivated a true passion for minority business development. Although my interest in the industry was to be an operator, the lack of Black representation in Maryland’s industry fueled my interest in sharing the resources that I was able to accumulate prior to, and during, my professional career. The only cannabis opportunity available with the commission, at the time, was the Education and Business Development program grant. It was during that process that I came up with the idea for Uplift. I figured while this was not the route I wanted to take, it could still meet my goal of helping minorities into the cannabis industry.

What are some specific ways that the education programs have worked towards your mission to ‘End the Stigma’ and increase diversity in the industry?

The stigma exists, in part, because of decades of misinformation and propaganda pushed upon us, in addition to the post-traumatic stress that stemmed from abusive enforcement of unjust marijuana laws. The changing tide of legality mixed with proper information regarding therapeutic use and economic development will be the starting point for the Black community to change the overarching perception of cannabis. At Uplift, our core goal is to evolve the relationship between Black people and cannabis. We do this in three ways: providing education that reframes the narrative, creating training programs that prepare our community for success in the cannabis Industry, and engaging in social action that is aimed at making the industry more equitable and accessible for the people who have been historically excluded.

Who can benefit from Uplift training? What sources are used to create these trainings?

Our goal is to ensure that people of all knowledge levels can find something to gain from Uplift’s services. As we transition to educating and training nationwide, and with the COVID environment at full force, we’ve switched our education platform from in-person to online. Uplift National is our new membership platform that combines a variety of training and educational content. We will utilize self-paced courses, webinars, news, and resources to ensure that our community is fully equipped for the future of the cannabis industry. For example, if someone is unfamiliar with the process behind becoming a medical marijuana patient in their state, we help to simplify that process. We also support current patients with yearly recertification and navigating through any questions or concerns they may have. We also offer consultations for individuals looking to start a business in the cannabis industry.

What kind of support do you provide to patients, caregivers, and providers as they sign up for the Maryland cannabis patient program?

We provide them all with assistance in registering for the state’s medical program based on their classification. Additionally, we have programming geared to each person depending on where they are in their journey. For example, if someone is interested in becoming a medical patient or caregiver, we can get them registered with the state, provide a list of doctors in their area, and they can also join our community series where we hold conversation on basic topics like the different types of consumption methods. While we haven’t done much provider education in the past, we look forward to teaming up with medical organizations, such as the National Medical Association, to ensure that medical professionals are equipped with the information they need to properly steer their patients in the right direction.

Has Uplift expanded from Maryland since your founding?

We are currently transitioning from Uplift Maryland to Uplift National, which is our national platform. As more states legalize medical and recreational use, we aim to serve as a resource that helps to support Black people with entering the cannabis industry. Uplift National is a champion for equity, inclusion, and diversity in the cannabis market. Education is the cornerstone of our work. Our new membership community will launch after the rebrand is complete. It will allow members from all over the country to interact and learn together, by offering a library of regularly updated educational content.

How could state legislators better serve the communities impacted by prohibition in both the adult-use and medical cannabis markets?

The major issue is opportunity. Limited market states, like Maryland, have license caps. These caps tend to fuel an environment of greed and corruption. It continues to keep Black people, and other oppressed communities, away from the opportunities while the wealthy continue to build. Passing legislation that utilizes cannabis and hemp to close a portion of the wealth gap would be in the best interest of the community. Considering the harm failed legislation and public safety “professionals” have caused, it’s Uplift’s belief that it’s the government’s, as well as corporate cannabis companies’, responsibility to provide opportunities and resources for vulnerable communities that were most harmed by previous failed policies.

What can people learn from the most recent Community Series? Has the series had to adapt during COVID-19?

Our Community Series was originally intended to be a series of in-person educational sessions through Maryland in conjunction with our sponsor Select. However, due to COVID, we were unable to carry out our original plans. We then shifted our focus to creating monthly educational content that showcases presentations and expert-led conversations about each monthly topic. For example, Session 3 of our community series was focused on Advocacy and Lobbying. The goal of this session was to provide viewers with a basic understanding of the various ways to get involved with cannabis policy in Maryland, while differentiating advocating vs lobbying.

Do you think that the recent cannabis laws voted in during the last election will influence federal legalization efforts?

I don’t believe that New Jersey’s legalization of adult use marijuana was the catalyst to federal legalization, but it absolutely created a ripple effect down the East Coast. Every surrounding state, down to Virginia, has legislation pre-filed for legalization. 2021 could prove to be an even more exciting year for cannabis. This is why our focus at Uplift has been focused on training our community for the future and ending the stigma with education.

Thank you, Kevin, for answering our questions! Learn more about Kevin Ford and Uplift National at UpliftNational.org.

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Florida Poll: THC Caps Unpopular, Support for Cannabis Growing

3/19/2021

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A recent poll commissioned by Florida for Care found that support for medical cannabis in the state has increased and there is little support in the state for THC caps, Florida Politics reports.

The survey found that Floridians’ approval for medical cannabis has increased from the 71 percent who originally voted to approve the medical cannabis measure five years ago to now 76 percent of poll respondents. Only 17 percent of the respondents disapproved of medical cannabis.

Meanwhile, the idea of THC caps for legal cannabis — which recently received a hearing in the Florida legislature and have been introduced in multiple states around the country — was supported by just 24 percent of poll respondents. 58 percent were outright opposed to the idea of limiting THC in cannabis products.

“This confirms what anybody paying attention at all knows. Floridians across party lines and in huge numbers support medical marijuana, and by almost a 4-to-1 margin, people want more access to medical marijuana versus new restrictions like the THC caps the Legislature is proposing.” — Ben Pollara, executive director of Florida For Care, via Florida Politics

According to the report, the poll leans slightly conservative with 50 percent of respondents saying they voted for ex-President Donald Trump in the most recent election and 46 percent having voted for President Joe Biden.

In what may be more of a commentary on respondents’ trust in their government, more than 60 percent called the push to regulate THC levels in cannabis an attempt by legislators to ignore the will of Florida voters. Meanwhile, just 40 percent believed that Gov. Ron DeSantis (D) cares about medical cannabis patients, and 53 percent said that lawmakers do not care about cannabis patients.

On the question of medical cannabis access, 58 percent said they would like to see an expansion of the practice, 20 percent feel the “status quo” is adequate, and only 15 percent would like more restrictions. Only 6 percent of the poll respondents were themselves medical cannabis patients.

Finally, the poll found that adult-use cannabis has the support of 59 percent of Floridians and only 31 percent are opposed.

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Former NBA Player Joins Hometown Dispensary as Co-Owner

3/19/2021

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Former National Basketball Association player Travis Best has joined Springfield, Massachusetts dispensary Lemonnade as co-owner, MassLive reports. Best, a Springfield native, played in the NBA from 1995 to 2005 and another four seasons in Europe.

Lemonnade is a sister brand of Cookies.

“After doing a bit of my own research it became immediately apparent that Cookies/Lemonnade is without question the best in the business. I’ve always strived to live up to my last name in all that I do. Combining the best with the Best to deliver a transformative project to the South End neighborhood, the city I love and the entire region is an opportunity I’m extremely excited about.” Best in a statement, via MassLive

The dispensary is majority-owned by Brittany Washumare, who is also a certified economic empowerment applicant in the state. Washumare said she “could not be more happy to have Travis Best as a partner.”

“His name and reputation is impeccable and synonymous with the city of Springfield,” she said in a statement to MassLive. “He’s a perfect teammate, as many can attest to, and I can’t wait to deliver a win for Springfield alongside him.”

The owners are eying the dispensary for Springfield’s South End Neighborhood. They still must obtain a host community agreement, a permit from the city council, and a state license. During a community outreach meeting, the owners said they plan to dedicate shelf space to products and brands owned by economic empowerment and social equity applicants, city residents, minorities, or those with a history of disproportionate impact from the war on drugs would comprise 100% of Lemonnade employees, and that employees will be paid a wage of no less than $20-an-hour and averaging at $24-an-hour and have access to comprehensive benefits.

The company said it will also reserve 3,000 square feet for a training center to assist residents in reducing barriers to industry entry and identify potential future employees.

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Colorado Senate Passes Bill to Let K-12 Students Access Medical Cannabis in School

3/18/2021

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Colorado’s Senate has approved a bill that would make it easier for children with complicated medical conditions to access medical cannabis at school, the Associated Press reports. The proposal moves next to the House.

Under current state law, school districts must permit parents and caregivers to possess and dispense cannabis-based medicine on school grounds; however, school principals have discretion whether to allow school personnel to possess and administer the medicine – the bill would remove that requirement, according to the bill text. Moreover, the legislation allows school personnel to volunteer to possess, administer, or assist in the administration of cannabis-based medicine while protecting those who do so from any retaliation.

“The bill imposes a duty on school principals to create a written treatment plan for the administration of cannabis-based medicine and on school boards to adopt policies regarding actual administration. The bill provides disciplinary protection to nurses who administer cannabis-based medicine to students at school. The bill requires schools to treat cannabis-based medicine recommendations like prescriptions.” – SB 21-056

The bill only provides for non-smokable forms of medicine and does not apply to private or non-public schools.

Republican state Sen. Chris Holbert, one of the bill sponsors, noted during a Senate hearing on Tuesday that some of the state’s public schools are on military installations.

“And if the federal government says this is not allowed, then those schools don’t have to do it,” he said during the hearing, according to Cannabis Wire. Holbert has called it “the most important bill” he will sponsor and described it as a “milestone effort.”

“This is a great bill for parents and students who have struggled in this state unnecessarily,” he said. “And this will help people. I think that this effort has helped people in a more significant way than anything else I’ve worked on in 10 years in the legislature.”

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Missouri Starts Revoking Licenses of Delayed Medical Cannabis Businesses

3/18/2021

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The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has started to revoke business licenses from some medical cannabis operators who failed to open their business on time, the Springfield News-Leader reports.

Under Missouri law, cannabis businesses are required to open within a year of their license approval. Last month, 260 of the state’s 370 licensees were granted extensions for their one-year operating deadline.

The names of 29 now-defunct medical cannabis companies were first reported by Grow Now after the state accidentally released the list in a dump of other documents in late January. Most of the revoked licenses were for cannabis transportation operations, labs, and processors, and the licenses were largely yanked due to their failure to meet their “commencement inspection” deadlines, according to the News-Leader.

Additionally, five licenses recently reclaimed by the state were voluntarily forfeited after the facilities were advised about, “what may or may not be considered favorably in any requests for extension of a facility’s operational deadline,” the report said.

“Revocations for failure to pass a commencement inspection within the required timeframe may yet be issued for any of the facilities that have received an extension of the original deadline or whose extension requests are still pending.” — A Missouri spokesperson, via the News-Leader

Daniel Moore, attorney and owner of the now-defunct licensee 303 Cannabis, called the licensing process a “boondoggle” and said he believes there are around 800 denied licensees awaiting their appeal with the Missouri Administrative Hearing Commission.

Missouri received over 2,000 applications for the state’s 370 medical cannabis business licenses. 78 commercial licenses have been granted and 62 are in the final stages of approval. Industry representatives attribute the business delays and slow licensing process to complications from the coronavirus pandemic and the cannabis industry’s lack of banking access.

 

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Man Accused of Cannabis Stocks ‘Pump-and-Dump’ Scheme Charged with Fraud

3/18/2021

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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday announced fraud charges against Irvine, California-based stock trader Andrew L. Fassari for his use of Twitter to spread false statements about now-defunct cannabis company Arcis Resources Corporation (ARCS) to drive up its stock price in a ‘pump-and-dump’ scheme.

The government alleges that Fassari, through his Twitter handle @OCMillionaire, falsely claimed in more than 120 tweets that ARCS was reviving its operations, expanding its business, and had found “huge” investors, according to the complaint. Prior to the allegedly false tweets, the government says Fassari purchased over 41 million shares of the company’s stock which jumped more than 4,000% following his tweets about the company.

The tweets were allegedly made between Dec. 9, 2020 and Dec. 21, 2020 and Fassari is accused of selling all of his shares for more than $929,000 in profits between Dec. 10, 2020 and Dec. 16, 2020. Earlier this month the SEC issued an order suspending trading of ARCS.

The SEC’s complaint charges Fassari with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws, seeks a permanent injunction, disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and a civil penalty from Fassari. The agency has also frozen his assets.

Fassari’s Twitter profile remains online but no posts have been published since March 8. It describes him as a “Master short squeeze artist” and “pennystock wizard.”

The investigation is ongoing.

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Poll: Most New Yorkers Want Local Opt-Out Options for Cannabis Industry

3/18/2021

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A majority of New Yorkers, 61%, say municipalities should have the right to opt-out of allowing adult-use cannabis operations, with 52% of New York City residents saying they would oppose the industry in their neighborhood, according to a Consensus Strategies survey published Wednesday.

Another 53% of respondents indicated cannabis retail should keep a low profile and be located outside of highly visible areas. More than half of Black respondents (53%), Hispanic respondents (61%), and those over 50-year-old (62%) indicated opposition to cultivation facilities in their neighborhoods.

Respondents were split between whether to include social equity provisions as part of the legal cannabis licensing process, with 51% supporting such permits, and a clean 50/50 split on allowing individuals with cannabis-related convictions from owning or operating an adult-use business. Although 59% supported directing a portion of cannabis tax revenue to minority communities that were disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs.

More than one in four New Yorkers that support cannabis legalization (27%) said they wouldn’t shop at a licensed retailer, while 13% of those opposed to the reforms said they are likely to become a customer.

Individuals aged 18-34 strongly supported home cultivation – 78% – while the survey found overall support for home growing at 52%.

The survey comes as Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D) said on Tuesday that lawmakers are “extremely close” to approving a legalization bill outside of the budget process, according to the Daily News. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) had included the reforms as part of his 2022 budget and State of the State address.

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Small Business in Trademark Dispute with Multi-State Operator

3/17/2021

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In 2010, Jon Early founded Farmacann under California’s medical cannabis law, Proposition 215. The name, he said, is “pretty obvious … farming and pharmaceuticals, and cannabis.”

The following year he filed for a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which he received for the “agricultural consulting aspect” of the business due to federal law preventing trademarks for cannabis-related businesses.

He also holds a trademark on that name in California, which specifies his business is in the cannabis space.

Farmacann’s shift to cannabis products

Around the same time, Early clarified, Farmacann morphed into developing cannabis products for seniors – tinctures and extracts – he even purchased testing equipment to ensure the products met safety standards and remained consistent, years before California required such analysis. At the time, the company was operating under Proposition 215, the medical cannabis law.

In an interview with Ganjapreneur, Early explained that just because the USPTO trademark was for the consulting services it does not prevent him from pivoting operations and the feds never invalidated the trademark.

“In essence, my goal was to evolve and develop senior-serving cannabis products,” he said. “It was really clear to me the path I was choosing in this industry was the ultimate one for me and would be – from the standpoint of demand and desirability from a market.”

By 2012, he would launch an online dispensary called Garden Gateway and offered overnight delivery within the state. He explained that, at that time, federal law had not explicitly prohibited in-state cannabis delivery but did ban the practice in 2017, which forced Early to shut down the service. Early said that his business was “no longer tenable” under Proposition 64, the broad legalization law passed in 2016, and the town he lived in, Sonoma, did not allow adult-use cannabusiness operations.

But it was in 2015 that Early first heard about Chicago, Illinois-based Pharmacann, which he said caught him off guard. “Did they even research?” he thought.

“How or why did they even do that?” he said. “They knew we would end up in a conflict.”

In spring of 2015, Early, through his attorney, would send a letter to Pharmacann – which was ignored – and another. Both letters sought to bring Pharmacann “to the table” to hash out the potential legal issues around the name.

This correspondence, and others included in this story, has been independently verified by Ganjapreneur. Pharmacann has not responded to requests to comment on the trademark issue with Early.

“When they did respond they were very defensive, very aggressive,” Early said.

Pharmacann’s trademark filing denied

Once the Chicago-based firm applied for their own trademark, Early officially opposed the filing and it was ultimately denied by the USPTO; although, Early is unsure whether his opposition played a role in that denial or simply that Pharmacann had included “marijuana” and “cannabis” in its federal filing, running afoul of the law.

Shortly thereafter, Pharmacann would move to change its name to “Pharmacannis” and file to trademark that moniker. That filing focuses on “downloadable electronic books in the field of the use of medical marijuana, growing marijuana, business and legal issues related to the operation of medical marijuana dispensaries; downloadable electronic books in the field of natural, holistic and alternative therapies,” according to documents associated with Farmacann’s opposition. And within the last year, Pharmacann would file its own opposition notice to Early’s mark claiming that the Farmacann mark was no longer enforceable. Pharmacann claimed that Farmacann no longer offered consulting services and has attempted to argue that they never did.

“Which is bullshit. I consulted all over the world,” Early said. In the trademark-related filings, Early lists clients in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Colombia, and Brazil.

“Where we’re at right now,” he explained, “they are playing the classic lawyer game.”

Conflict seems inevitable

Although the two companies are not in court over the issue – yet – the case is in front of the USPTO Appeal Board. Early is concerned about the prospects of the matter reaching federal court, because it would get “really nasty and really expensive,” Early said.

One of the tactics being used by Pharmacann during this process is the use of what Early describes as “very invasive and demanding” questions about Farmacann’s business operations from as far back as 2010.

“Just impossible, like, ‘When and how did you first learn about Pharmacann from Chicago’s existence?’ They want a name, a time, a place. … How do you recall that information? … Another document is 50 or 60 questions, and every question is insanely invasive. Do you expect me to be able to go back 10 years? It’s not like I’ve got a Library of Congress!” – Early to Ganjapreneur

Early says Pharmacann knew they were “wreaking havoc and running up the tab on our end.” He said that his attorney has met with Pharmacann’s attorneys only once and during the meeting the opposing counsel was “arrogant” and “hostile.” And as time went on Early realized the dispute would be “harder and harder to untangle” as Pharmacann would have signage and other branding with the name. That far-reaching branding, Early said, makes harder his plans to expand Farmacann nationally as more states come online and federal law “gets clearer” but he fears reprisal from the multi-state operator.

“So, I’m in this pickle – I’ve got to defend [the name] but I don’t feel like I should have to,” he said. “It’s them who should be on the defensive.”

Currently, the issue is still in the discovery phase of the federal trademark dispute process. In documents filed with the USPTO, Pharmacann claims that Early’s mark is unlawful due to the nature of his business and has asked the agency to dismiss Farmacann’s claim to the trademark.

The case remains unresolved.

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Dutchie Raises $200M and Acquires Greenbits, Leaflogix

3/17/2021

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Dutchie, the Bend, Oregon-based cannabis technology company, announced on Tuesday it raised $200 million during Series C funding bringing the company’s total value to $1.7 billion. The firm also announced it had acquired Greenbits and Leaflogix – enterprise resource planning and point-of-sale software companies – for an undisclosed sum.

The company also named Tim Barash, former CFO and chief business officer at Toast, as its new executive chairman.

“Dutchie is powering a new generation of entrepreneurs driving one of the most disruptive consumer trends of the last century. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to join a team focused on accelerating an industry that has a wide range of positive societal impacts, from better health and wellness outcomes to reversing a stigma that hampers criminal justice reform to supporting communities by enhancing state and local tax revenues.” – Barash in a statement

The funding round was led by Tiger Global, along with new investors Dragoneer and DFJ Growth. Other, existing, investors participating in the funding round include Casa Verde Capital, Thrive Capital, Gron Ventures, and former Starbucks Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz.

In July, Dutchie raised $35 million and was valued at $205 million, according to Pitchbook. The company was founded in 2017 by brothers Ross and Zach Lipson. Dutchie works with 2,116 dispensaries across 36 markets in the United States and Canada to facilitate online cannabis ordering including pickup and delivery.

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Portland, Maine Anticipates Wave of New Cannabis Business Openings

3/17/2021

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Dozens of new cannabis businesses are expected to open in Portland, Maine in the coming weeks, according to the Portland Press Herald.

Portland’s acting Director of Inspections and Permitting Jessica Hanscombe said they have already approved two adult-use retail licenses and some 31 other shops are pending final approval. The city also received five medical dispensary applications and has approved one. Hanscombe said there are in total 59 retailer, manufacturing, and laboratory licenses awaiting the green light to open.

According to the report, she predicts there will be a “flurry” of openings over the next two weeks, with the remainder of retail shops likely opening by November.

“In the years I’ve been doing this, we’ve adopted different ordinances, but this is the first that’s so expansive. We hope to be a city every other city can look to for the best way to do this.” — Hanscombe, via the Herald

Maine’s adult-use cannabis marketplace officially launched five months ago but these are the first adult-use cannabis businesses to open their doors in Portland; notably, the city voted nearly 2:1 in favor of legalizing cannabis in the state’s 2016 referendum. After the city adopted an ordinance establishing a 20-shop cap that included a licensing point system based on various social equity considerations and economic situations, however, a federal judge ruled that the ordinance “discriminated” against out-of-state applicants.

In October last year, the City Council suspended the cap and voters made the recusal permanent in November. Now, nearly five months after Maine’s adult-use system went live, Hanscombe told the Herald that the city is granting licenses on a first-come, first-served basis, and the point system will only be used if applicants apply at the exact same time.

Portlanders also chose to lower the mandatory buffer between cannabis shops from 250 feet to 100 feet in November, which made way for even more cannabis businesses to open in the city.

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Tennessee House Committee Approves Very Limited Medical Cannabis Bill

3/17/2021

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Tennessee’s House Health Committee on Tuesday approved a measure to allow adult cancer patients to use cannabis oil with THC, WBIR reports. Under the plan, patients would need approval from a healthcare provider who would have to write a letter that says the patient’s condition is life-threatening and unresponsive to conventional treatment.

Under the proposal, the letter would only be valid for one year, the oil would only be allowed to be used orally or topically, and it would need to be obtained in a state where the sale of cannabis products is legal.

The language of the measure would essentially require patients to break federal law to obtain the oil as Tennessee does not have a comprehensive medical cannabis program. A bill introduced in the state last month would create a medical cannabis commission were the federal government to remove cannabis from its Schedule I classification; however, the measure would not require officials to create a program, rather just analyze what steps the state should take.

Tennessee is bordered mostly by states that only allow CBD oil for medical purposes and not whole plant medicine. In November, 74% of Mississippi voters approved a ballot initiative to legalize cannabis in the state. Mississippi borders Tennessee to the south. The state is somewhat nearby Illinois, where cannabis has been available for adults since 2020.

A 2018 poll from Middle Tennessee State University found 81% of Tennessee voters say cannabis should be legalized to some degree, with 44% backing legalization only for medical use and 37% supporting legalization for adult-use.

In the Senate, the medical cannabis bill was sent to the General Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

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Canopy Growth Cuts Another 75 Jobs, Shutters Denmark Facility

3/17/2021

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Canadian licensed producer Canopy Growth is laying off 75 employees at its North American facilities and plans to close its operations in Denmark, Bloomberg reports. Most of the 75 layoffs were at its Smiths Falls, Ontario headquarters.

The potential cuts at the Denmark facility are not immediate because Danish law requires companies to seek consultation with a liquidator over several months to handle any outstanding demands from creditors and close business accounts, the report says.

“As part of the final stage of Canopy Growth’s end-to-end global strategic review, staffing adjustments were made within our North American operations team earlier today. Employees at the Denmark production facility have also been informed of the proposal to cease operations at the site based on the company’s ability to serve global medical markets with existing Canadian production capacity.” – Canopy in a statement to BNN

Jens Markussen, the former head of Canopy’s Denmark operations, said on Tuesday that he had left the company and will serve next as head of production for Danish medical cannabis producer DanCann Pharma A/S.

In December, Canopy announced layoffs of 220 workers and that it was shutting down all of its outdoor cultivation sites, five in total. Last April, the company laid off 200 employees at facilities in North America and the United Kingdom. In March 2020, the firm laid off 500 employees while shuttering two greenhouses.

All of the layoffs came following a review by CEO David Klein, which commenced about a year ago. According to BNN this is the final review of the company’s operations by the CEO.

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