Morocco is set to legalize medical cannabis production and use as soon as next week under a Council of Ministers plan that would organize cannabis farmers into “cooperatives” which would sell their crop to local or international “processing” companies, according to a draft of the bill outlined by Morocco World News.
The measure would not allow cannabis production throughout the country, limiting it to six regions in the Rif mountains – the nation’s traditional cannabis-producing regions, the report says. Production would only focus on cannabis for “medical, pharmaceutical and industrial purposes,” according to the draft bill outlined in the report.
The bill says that Morocco’s illegal cannabis trade is worth about $15 billion – the majority of which ($14.5 billion) goes to drug traffickers rather than the farmers ($500 million). In recent years, residents of the Rif mountains have protested over economic inequality, according to a Reuters report.
Six years ago, the government reduced the amount of land in the region where cannabis is cultivated under a special status from 134,000 hectares to 47,000 hectares.
The nation’s Parliament, led by the moderate Islamist PJD, must still approve the reforms. Recreational cannabis production and use would remain outlawed.
In 2015, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime identified Morocco as the world’s largest producer of hashish and 235 tons of hash was seized in the country that year alone. The report found 80% of the national hash production is destined for export, leaving 20% for the local market.
Missouri Republican state Rep. Michael Davis last week introduced a measure to expand the state’s Right to Try statute to include Schedule I investigational drugs, including psilocybin, MDMA, LSD, mescaline, ibogaine, and DMT. The drugs would only be available after all other treatment options have been exhausted.
The Right to Try Law, enacted in the state in 2014, allows patients with terminal illnesses to access “investigational drugs and devices” that are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration but stops short of allowing Schedule I drugs.
In a statement released by drug policy reform political action committee Crossing Paths PAC, Davis said, “Many psychedelic drugs have decades of clinical research supporting their efficacy and safety profiles, yet the FDA has been slow to act to reschedule these drugs.”
“My proposal protects the liberty interests of Missourians who believe these drugs offer valuable options in the treatment of numerous conditions, and, importantly, aligns Missouri law with federal law with respect to investigational drug access.” – Davis, in a statement, via Crossing Paths
In 2018, Republican state Rep. Dr. Jim Neely introduced legislation that would have expanded the Right to Try law to include medical cannabis access without license caps, Crossing Paths noted. That bill was approved by the state House but rejected by the Senate.
The measure would also reduce criminal penalties for non-patients possessing the drugs listed in the legislation.
The measure carries no co-sponsors and has not yet been moved to a committee.
The cannabis industry is growing exponentially and with that growth, more and more cannabis brands are looking to upgrade, redesign, and expand their facilities. To that end, demand for construction contractors who specialize in cannabis industry projects is likewise at an all-time high.
Our latest Q&A features Michael Machat, the Executive Vice President of Business Development and Cannabis Team Lead for Reed Construction. In this interview, Michael discusses previous successful cannabis contracts in state markets ranging from Illinois to Florida, navigating regulatory requirements and other quirks to operating in the cannabis space, tips for cannabis entrepreneurs who are planning a new facility, and more!
Ganjapreneur: Reed Construction has existed as a general contracting firm for over a century: what led to the decision to get involved in commercial cannabis facilities construction?
Michael Machat: It’s an interesting story, actually. About three years ago, we were approached by a major MSO who had knowledge of our extensive healthcare, life sciences, and industrial experience. They believed we were uniquely aligned to complete this type of work and ultimately put their faith in us. At the time, cannabis was a fairly untapped market for contractors in our area. We ran with the opportunity, learned how to scale/repeat our processes, and have continued developing relationships in the industry to grow our team of experts. As a result, we have become a premier design-build contractor within the Cannabis industry.
What types of cannabis industry businesses does Reed Construction serve?
We have worked in all areas of cannabis construction – including cultivation facilities, processing labs, extraction facilities, and dispensaries – with an array of clients, engineers, architects, cultivation experts, end-users, and investors. When we meet with our clients, we always let them know we can support them every step of the way from seed-to-sell with our well-established design-build process.
Which state-level cannabis markets does Reed Construction operate in, and how do you maintain an understanding of the developing regulatory and compliance needs of your clients?
We have the flexibility and resources to work anywhere. We pride ourselves on our “center of excellence” concept. Which is the ability to replicate our process and make sure every client has the best experience, no matter where the project is. In fact, our successful track record in cannabis has already taken us across the country throughout Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, and our home state of Illinois. We have an experienced Cannabis team dedicated to offering construction solutions regardless of location.
With more than 125 years of experience, we have strong working relationships with agency officials, along with a deep understanding of construction regulations and processes specified in the cannabis industry. We are always staying in front of compliance and regulatory changes and adapting our processes as those changes arise.
What are some of the unique considerations for cannabis cultivation, retail, and extraction building projects? Does each business model come with its own requirements, and do requirements vary depending on where a business is located?
When it comes to cultivation, there are a few vital areas you need to consider with your construction partner before getting started. One of the most important areas is security. Every square inch of the building needs to be on camera, and the entire cultivation site should be secured with a fence with barbed wire. There should also be multiple security guards on-site full-time.
Generators are another must-have with retail and cannabis sites. If at any point in time they were to lose power and did not have one, it’s basically game over for their crops. Keeping relative humidity (RH) levels and temperature-controlled is also crucial. If it ever gets too high or too low, then you’re at risk of ruining a crop. We always explain to our clients that are newer to the process how vital it is to make sure the building can support the electrical and HVAC capacity required when selecting real estate.
With retail, depending on local codes, the space simply needs to be designed properly. Some of the questions our team considers, in the beginning, are: does the vault require wire mesh within the drywall partition and ceiling to enhance the security of the room per code? Do the vault walls need to be concrete masonry units (CMU) versus drywall? Is a secured loading dock required for all cannabis deliveries? Is one entrance for customers acceptable or is there a code requirement to have one entrance and a separate exit? All items are reviewed based on local and state requirements and developed with input from the client’s compliance department.
With extraction, considerations for the type of extraction need to be reviewed with the client. Storage of CO2, butane, propane, etc. need different building requirements for storage based on local codes. Extraction equipment and methods need to be proactively selected during the design process to properly incorporate power, HVAC, plumbing, etc., as partition fire ratings are dependent on the method of extraction.
Did your team study cultivation or extraction methods and practices to understand the needs of these companies before entering the space or did you learn about these processes from clients as you grew?
Since we jumped into this industry relatively early on, we have done a combination of both. We worked with our clients to learn their cultivation and extraction processes. We took that feedback and used it as our framework for our design-build of the systems and building components within the facilities. Our background in healthcare and life sciences construction also gave us a huge advantage in the beginning stages of working in the cannabis industry because both are very sensitive in nature. In addition, we took the time to independently study general cultivation and extraction techniques to better educate ourselves on the product.
How does Reed Construction help scale clients’ cultivation sites over time? Why is it important to build with growth in mind?
We always advise our clients to design and construct with future growth in mind. For instance, designing high ceilings – this will allow for the ability to re-stack your tables and benching to allow for more plant space. However, to do that, the building will need adequate power, reverse osmosis (RO) tanks, feeder tanks, and HVAC equipment space to upgrade capacities if necessary. It is important to keep this in mind because as more product goes out, the more product you will want to have coming in eventually. That’s why, we urge our clients to think about all of those long-term items upfront to help cut future construction costs.
How do you engineer technology into your building projects to facilitate client success?
We use BIM to confirm clash points as there are a lot of moving pieces going on in the ceilings of these projects. You have feeder lines, RO lines, dehumidifiers, snap fans, LEDs, HVAC, and fire suppression systems that all need to be compacted into a building. BIM can help successfully route all of these items so that we don’t run into issues with running out of space. We also use on-screen take-off to quantify everything involved with the project, and provide an accurate budget based on our knowledge of cultivation and retail centers.
What kind of building precautions are taken when preparing for water and moisture in a cultivation space? What are some of the risks of incorrect moisture/water management?
We always look at what type of paneling is in place within the exterior walls, floor drains, sanitary capacity, and watertight/air-tight capacities to name a few things.
A few major risks if moisture/water management is not controlled are that mold can form on the plant and walls, you can also see an increase in pest pressure and algae growth, ultimately leading to testing failures of the product.
To mitigate this risk, we always recommend our clients invest in moisture-resistant drywall, epoxy paint, epoxy flooring to protect building materials from high moisture, and, as I was mentioning earlier – this all ties back to ensuring that the HVAC system is designed to correctly maintain humidity levels. Mold formation because of poor moisture control can affect more than just crops – it can also lead to a failing building if it makes its way into drywall and roofing.
What are some other building considerations or precautions that are unique to cannabis cultivators?
One other consideration that is unique to cannabis cultivators are the specific regulations. Cannabis is still one of the most regulated industries, from zoning requirements to environmental controls. Yet, speed to market is still critical. This is where choosing the right site and ensuring that drawings are compliant at the onset of the project are critical. Regulations are also meant to protect not only your business, but also the community. Being a good neighbor is critical – for instance, if odor is not properly controlled, that will have a big impact on the community.
For a cannabis production start-up, what is the most important thing to remember when making plans for a new facility?
The most important thing is to make sure to find the right real estate in the proper zone. In addition, make sure that your facility is big enough for when you would like to scale. Once you have a building that is the right size in the right location, you have to make sure that it has the proper water and power requirements. Deck height is very important for new cultivators. Also, bring a cultivation expert on early in the process. They will help with putting together the right functional design.
What kind of hands-on consulting do you provide to clients as you build out their facilities? How might this support differ between MSOs and craft operations?
With our design-build process, we support our clients by hiring both the architect and engineer and managing the process from start to finish regardless of their needs. For instance, we’ve been performing due diligence for a current client to ensure they select the right real estate to meet their current and future needs. We have also helped clients with permitting, inspections, and even planograms for retail sites. MSOs often have more in-house resources and experience, where they don’t need as much support from us. On the other hand, though, craft growers – especially those newer to the process – often lean on us to leverage our past experience and best practices.
Thanks, Michael, for answering our questions! You can learn more about Michael Machat and Reed Construction at ReedCorp.com.
Kentucky Rep. John Yarmuth (D) is in hot water after buying between $1,000 and $15,000 worth of stocks in three major cannabis companies — Canopy Growth Corporation, Aurora Cannabis, and Tilray — before announcing his co-sponsorship of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (MORE Act), Popular Information reports.
The historic decriminalization act was originally delayed in September due to concerns around election messaging.
Rep. Yarmuth, who is the current chairman of the House Budget Committee, bought the stocks in November, then announced his support for the legislation on December 3. The MORE Act passed on December 4. Later in February, Rep. Yarmuth announced his support for a hemp CBD legalization bill and then made an additional $1,000-$15,000 stock acquisition in the same three companies, which according to the report all stand to benefit greatly from the proposed hemp reforms as per revelations from February 19 disclosure documents.
Due to the Congressman’s insight into the likely direction for any potential cannabis legislation in the 117th Congress — particularly as a powerful committee chairman — some reports have raised insider trading concerns. Craig Holman, an expert on government ethics with Public Citizen, believes the Kentucky lawmaker could be “using his official office for personal gain” by purchasing stocks related to major bills he is sponsoring.
Christopher Schuler, the communications director for Rep. Yarmuth, said the lawmaker’s stock purchases did not constitute insider trading.
“Congressman Yarmuth purchased the stocks after seeing four states legalize the use of recreational marijuana in the November elections. He was transparent about it and followed all House Ethics and financial disclosure rules.” — Schuler, via Popular Information
The Stock Act, passed in 2012, makes it illegal for legislators to use inside information to trade stock but does not “preclude lawmakers from buying or selling individual stocks.”
New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal has directed state, county, and municipal prosecutors to dismiss any cannabis-related charges pending as of February 22 for any offense that is no longer illegal under the state’s legalization law signed by Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy earlier this week.
Grewal also issued guidance to law enforcement officials outlining the possession limits allowed under the reforms – up to 6 ounces of flower and 17 grams of concentrates (described as “hashish”) – and rules regarding being under the influence of cannabis in public, paraphernalia possession, and possessing cannabis while operating a motor vehicle. Being under the influence of cannabis while driving remains a crime.
The order also prohibits officers from using the odor of cannabis – either burnt or raw – as a “reasonable articulable suspicion” to initiate a stop or search of a person or their vehicle to determine a violation of a possession offense or a fourth-degree distribution offense.” The ban on searches also applies to “unconcealed” cannabis – or in plain sight. The ‘in plain sight’ rule is often used by officers during stop and frisk procedures, during which an officer orders an individual to empty their pockets and, if they pull out an illegal drug, it is considered in plain view of the officer.
The guidelines also include “special rules” for minors, specifying that the first offense will include a written warning, but that warning will not be provided to the individual’s parent or guardian. Parents and guardians will be notified upon second offense and the offender will be provided with informational materials on community substance abuse programs. On a third offense, parents or guardians would again be notified, and the warning would also be sent to the community drug treatment program.
The updated guidance on the state’s cannabis policy also includes a frequently asked questions section, including the law on driving under the influence, fingerprinting rules related to cannabis arrests, and potential issues with minors.
Grewal issued a directive following November’s successful legalization vote telling prosecutors to hold off on trying low-level cannabis crimes, but it stopped short of ordering police to halt arrests. According to a report from the state judiciary issued last week, more than 6,000 people had been arrested for low-level cannabis possession in New Jersey from November to January, despite the approval of the ballot question and Grewal’s guidance to prosecutors.
Shortly after you’ve come up with the concept for the “Next Greatest Cannabis Beverage Brand” you should begin thinking even bigger. What are the next steps you should take to maximize the brand’s full potential? How can you “dig a moat” around your brand so customers don’t migrate elsewhere? Are there more uses/occasions for your brand other than just the initial concept?
Beverage brand extensions are a concept used by even the greatest and most venerable of brands. New versions of a brand can be used to recruit new consumers and increase the brand’s overall market share. Coca-Cola’s use of its flagship “Coke” brand is a great example. The Coke brand became, among numerous iterations, Diet Coke, Cherry Coke, Vanilla Coke, Coke Zero, and lately Coca-Cola with Coffee. They also use their brand to sell many non-beverage items like collectibles and clothing.
Sure the large corporations can brand extend but how about smaller, newer brands with limited resources? Absolutely yes! And a great example is LIFEAID Beverage Company. They started out making a functional beverage in just a couple of formulas. Fast forward a decade and they are selling eleven ready-to-drink canned beverages for differing occasions like workout recovery, energy boost, and the popular “find your bliss” hemp blend. LIFEAID also sells drink powders (much cheaper to ship DTC!) and a wide variety of clothing.
Brand extensions work best when thought out carefully beforehand. You don’t want to begin the brand’s journey by unintentionally creating obstacles or unnecessary brand requirements which would limit your ability to offer your brand to consumers in a variety of different formats. For instance, a fresh juice brand made without preservatives and bottled in recycled glass would appear to be a legitimately wonderful product loaded with lots of health benefits and ecological credentials. But fresh juices have a short shelf life. They require refrigeration in shipping and storing. Distance from point of manufacture is a big factor. Glass is heavy. It shatters. It is expensive and there is limited co-packing capacity. And you can’t sell other versions of the brand because options like powders, drops, or edibles aren’t authentically “fresh.” The brand is a one-trick pony out of the box.
Even in these early days of the legal cannabis business, Farmington Research, which was founded by beverage professionals, has seen its clients plan and execute brand extensions. One client started out with a few “hemp shots” and moved quickly to create hemp powders based on the success of those formulations. They are already envisioning ready-to-drink canned beverages in the near future. Another client started with hemp powders and is extending the brand into cannabis powders with THC. A third client started with hemp drinks and is now using the same formulations in gummies and lollipops!
Beverage brand extensions can be big hits for brand owners (Bud Light outsells the original Budweiser) but the road to success is littered with many poorly conceived failures like lifesavers Soda. Anyone remember Frito Lay Lemonade? The poster child and frequent business school case study for poorly thought-out brand extensions is New Coke. Even the mighty must be cautious.
There is no guaranteed method for successfully creating a brand extension but a great many of the potential problems can be avoided by involving other people. I call this strategy the “History Major’s Revenge.” Learn from the mistakes of others. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Borrow good ideas unashamedly (as long as they are not patented!).
Practically this means you should not rely solely on the very bright but slightly over-enthusiastic people at your marketing firm. Get input from your suppliers including co-packers, flavor companies, and packaging companies. They’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly and want to see you do well. Your supplier’s helpfulness is not completely altruistic since they’d sincerely like you to be able to pay your bills! An underestimated resource is the feedback from your spouse, children and close friends. They are consumers and more likely to give you unfiltered, honest opinions than a high-dollar consultant. And finally, find an experienced mentor or two in the beverage industry. You’ll be surprised how much people are willing to share for no other reason than they benefited personally from mentoring earlier in their career.
The Virginia Legislature has approved a bill to add flower products to the state’s medical cannabis program. The measure had strong bipartisan support, passing the House on Monday 90-7 with 2 abstentions and the Senate 34-5 on Tuesday.
In a statement, Virginia NORML Executive Director Jenn Michelle Pedini praised the measure, noting that flower “remains the most popular formulation among consumers and among older consumers in particular.”
“Limiting patients’ options to extracted oral formulations is not in their best interests. Botanical cannabis contains more than 100 distinct cannabinoids, many of which act synergistically with one another, producing an effect many scientists believe is necessary in order for patients to achieve maximum therapeutic benefit.” – Pedini in a statement
Virginia’s first medical cannabis dispensary only opened last October. Once the bill is signed into law by Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam – which is expected – it will take effect July 1 and flower is expected to become available to patients by September, NORML said.
According to a Daily Progress report, there are currently just about 10,000 medical cannabis patients in Virginia, but the state’s medical cannabis producers had testified that allowing flower would dramatically increase patients in the program.
Virginia also appears imminently poised to legalize cannabis for adult use. Both chambers have passed separate bills to enact the reforms and now face a Saturday deadline to come to a compromise on the proposals, Marijuana Moment reports. While the bills largely do the same thing, the House version would not enact any cannabis criminal reforms until sales launch in 2024, while the Senate version would legalize possession later this year. There are also issues about whether to allow vertical integration and the role of current medical cannabis operators.
Northam included legalization in his 2016 campaign platform with a lofty goal of enacting the reforms in his first 100 days. Last November, he again signaled his support for legalizing cannabis for adults, including criminal justice reforms.
A cannabis legalization bill in Maryland was heard yesterday by the House Judiciary Committee, the Capital News Service reports. The proposal includes broad expungement provisions and would release prisoners currently serving time for crimes that would be legal under the law.
During the hearing, Del. Jazz Lewis (D), the bill’s sponsor, argued that the state’s 2014 medical cannabis legalization and cannabis decriminalization reforms “only made marijuana legal for white consumption” and that Black people comprised 96% of all cannabis-related arrests in Baltimore from 2015 to 2017.
“This is the year we are talking about equity,” Lewis said during his comments, according to a Capital News Service account of the hearing. “And now is the time that we pass this bill.”
Under the proposal, 63% of cannabis-derived taxes and fees would be directed to social equity programs and projects, including community reinvestment, funding the state’s four historically Black colleges and universities, startup funding, and the establishment of an Office of Social Equity. Social equity industry applicants would also see reduced licensing fees.
Ben Jealous, former president and CEO of the NAACP and former Maryland Democratic gubernatorial candidate, testified that the bill “really stands out amongst, frankly, all the bills that have been introduced in this country in its thoroughness to hit all of those.”
“It is rare to have the opportunity to right past wrongs and create an inclusive economy.” – Jealous, in testimony, via the Capital News Service
Debbie Ramsey, a former Baltimore City detective in the criminal investigations division drug enforcement section, also testified in favor of the legislation, saying it would open up police resources “to focus on the greater threats to public safety: crimes against persons and crimes against property.”
The bill sets personal possession limits at 2 ounces of flower and 15 grams of concentrates and would allow home cultivation of up to six plants. The measure sets THC limits in approved products at 1,500 milligrams. Penalties for possessing limits exceeding the “personal use” threshold would be a civil infraction with a maximum $250 fine and 16 hours of community service. Underage possession would also be a civil infraction, with a $100 maximum fine and six hours of community service for the first offense, the report says.
The committee heard that, were the measure approved, the state would have to increase spending during the rollout of the program, with the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission alone needing at least $1.9 million in fiscal year 2022 to hire staff, contract with consulting services, and cover operating expenses.
Editor’s note: An older version of this article incorrectly credited the Baltimore Sun for the quotes in this story; the actual source is the Capital News Service‘s Catherine Scott. We regret the error.
Cannabis extracts have been around for centuries, if not longer. Hashish, or the separated trichomes of the cannabis plant, has been a staple of cannabis connoisseurs around the world and remains popular to this day. As medical cannabis and legal adult-use markets have taken shape over the past several years, other types of cannabis extracts have emerged, usually involving a chemical extraction method resulting in finished products we now know as shatter, wax, and other dabbable substances. Of them all, however, one type of extract has recently emerged as the leading favorite among the most devoted disciples of cannabis medicine: Live Rosin.
Live Rosin differs from other cannabis extracts in that it is produced without the need for a chemical solvent, hence the term solventless extracts. Whereas other types of extracts rely on CO2 or butane to strip the THC out of the plant matter, solventless extraction relies purely on physical agitation, heat, and pressure, resulting in capturing the true, original organic compounds of the cannabis plant without chemicals, such as the volatile terpenes that define the aroma of fresh cannabis flowers.
As the demand for solventless extracts has skyrocketed, brands have begun exploring ways to ramp up their production in order to keep up. This article examines the various factors that cannabis operators need to consider when they add solventless products to their lineup, and how to plan for growth once production is underway.
Knowing when to expand
When deciding when and how to expand your business, you need to understand your business context. Very few businesses go from boutique production to high-output in one leap; there are numerous steps and growth phases along the way. The best way to figure out which steps to take first is to fully understand the position and trajectory of your business in your current market position.
Market maturity
The maturity of your market is a significant factor to consider. When markets are relatively new, the demand for solventless extracts may be low. As markets mature and customers become more educated and discerning, the demand tends to increase. Getting started early can give you an advantage in terms of brand awareness and relationship-building, but keep in mind that the demand for your products may need to be nurtured and built via your own educational outreach and marketing.
Demographics
The consumer demographics of your market are also likely to play a big role in how your business evolves. Solventless products tend to cost more than other extracts, so knowing how and where to reach consumers with disposable income in your market will be an important part of your growth strategy. Solventless products tend to be most popular among the most devoted cannabis connoisseurs and influencers: by appealing to these customers specifically, you can also benefit from word of mouth brand-building as they spread the word about your products organically to their friends and followers.
Talent
Having a team of people who are passionate about their work will make scaling up go much smoother. If you are not the artisan hashmaker on your roster, who is? This is a key role to fill in order to ensure consistent quality and innovation on the product development front. If you are hiring someone to fill this role, be sure to recruit a hashmaker who is hardworking and passionate about solventless processing, with a deep knowledge of other extraction methods as well.
Finding the perfect candidate to hire can be difficult, depending on your location. If you or another team member are dedicated to learning the craft, enlisting a boutique consultant is another approach you could explore, though if you do this it is important to do your research and work with someone who is well-recommended and who has a strong track record of success.
Sourcing your input
When selecting a third-party supplier for your input material, there are several factors specific to solventless extraction you should consider. First, are the decision-makers and head growers aware of the strains that perform best for solventless extraction? Is this something they care about, that they get excited about? How much of their facility is devoted to production for solventless extracts, and is it an area of their business they are focused on growing?
Keep in mind, unlike other extraction methods, with solventless extraction your input material will be the most important variable in determining the quality of your finished product. Finding a partner or multiple partners who can provide you with consistent high-quality input material while keeping up with your growth will save you a lot of hassle in the long run.
Growing your own input
Whether as a means to have more control over your own product development outcomes or simply due to your existing business model, growing your own input material can be another key factor in your approach to scaling up. In fact, vertically integrating your business can be an excellent way to prepare your operation for scalability. If you do grow your own input, keep in mind that you will need to specifically grow strains that perform well for solventless extracts, and as your business begins to accelerate you will need to weigh the benefits of canopy space devoted to solventless products vs. other product categories. Having the right talent in place will be crucial if you decide to go this route.
Choosing the right equipment
Before you decide which equipment to purchase, first you should determine your output goals. Input/output is how you should frame your growth plans, and then work backwards from your goal in order to spec out the equipment that you want to invest in. To avoid near-term production bottlenecks and to give you plenty of room to grow, it’s best to hedge on equipment one size up from what would fulfill your basic needs. Beyond production capability, investing in equipment that improves your efficiency is another way to scale up your growth.
Understand your return on investment. Due to the extraction process being physical as opposed to chemical in nature, solventless extraction equipment tends to be more affordable than closed-loop extraction systems. That said, it is important to fully understand your output capabilities and to have a solid grasp on your sales forecast before you invest: every business has a different financial reality, but if the demand is there and the product is high-quality, in most cases the ROI for solventless production equipment can be realized in a matter of months, or sometimes even less.
Space considerations
As you scale up, you’ll also need to consider the layout of your facility, and how any new equipment purchases will affect your space. Solventless processing equipment can be more easily tucked into a corner and does not require as many safety precautions as closed-loop systems. That said, it is worth considering what your immediate growth goals are: is your entire production line expanding, or just solventless products? This can affect how you choose which equipment to add to your lineup, and where it gets stationed at your facility.
Product development & SKU selection
Central to your growth strategy should be your understanding of the types of products that you plan to develop. Across all adult-use markets, the current best-selling solventless products are hash rosin, or live rosin, which can be dabbed or vaporized. In other markets where the consumer base is just starting to become aware of the world of extracts and dabbing, other types of products may see greater demand — such as solventless-hash-infused edibles, vape cartridges, tinctures, etc. If you are in a market that is relatively young, but your passion is to produce artisan hash rosin, it’s important to consider that you may want to also add more “approachable” solventless products to your lineup as a way to build rapport with the customers in your area.
“A lot of business owners are surprised when they see how fast the demand for their solventless products grows. Properly planning multiple phases for expanding solventless production is critical in order to maximize the opportunity.” — Eric Vlosky, Director of Marketing and Business Development, PurePressure
Marketing and consumer education
High-quality products speak for themselves, and once people experience a superior product they are more likely to become loyal customers. That said, in order to make this connection with a customer, you will first need to convince them to choose your product over everything else on the dispensary’s shelf. Having a robust, targeted approach to marketing will work in your favor by building an audience that is receptive and willing to give your products a try.
Having social media presences, an impressive website, and directory listings are all important, but your primary focus should be on the budtenders who will be selling your products. Send your most passionate and knowledgeable employee to be the ambassador who educates them about your lineup. Take the time to teach them about the benefits of solventless extracts and whole plant medicine, and give them the tools they need to communicate these benefits to their patrons. Having a good brand with a story behind it will help budtenders remember you, and investing in product packaging and labeling that conveys quality will work in your favor (and the budtenders’ favor) by impressing the customer at first glance.
It also never hurts to give budtenders free samples so they can experience the quality of your product for themselves, and to give them free branded swag items to build rapport and brand awareness. Part of your mission to scale up has to be to build a movement around your brand, and in the cannabis industry, budtenders are often the driving force behind new market trends.
Stay true to yourself
As you scale up the solventless extraction side of your business, you will undoubtedly encounter different challenges along the way. The world of cannabis production and product development, whether adult-use or medical, is a rapidly evolving space with many opportunities and many risks. At times it may seem daunting, but don’t underestimate the power of conviction. If you stay true to yourself, your vision, and your sense of ethics, you will inspire others to follow you on your journey, and you will have a solid foundation upon which to build as your business starts gaining momentum.
Former Eaze CEO Jim Patterson pleaded guilty last week to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, according to a San Francisco Gate report. His associates, Ruben Weigand and Hamid “Ray” Akhavan are scheduled for a March 1 trial in the Southern District of New York federal court.
Patterson resigned from Eaze in 2019 and the company is not a defendant in the case, which centers around allegations that the trio created fake online merchants in order to bypass rules related to the use of credit cards for cannabis purchases and funnel more than $100 million in credit and debit payments.
Patterson acknowledged working with Weigand and Akhavan to coverup the purchases because he “understood that if banks were aware of the nature of the transactions they would not allow them,” according to a Law360 report outlined by Marijuana Business Daily.
Eaze was sued by a competitor in 2019 for the same practices. The company denied the charges and ultimately the case was dismissed and sent to mediation, the report says.
Weigand and Akhavan argue that the charges against them are invalid because they are not alleged to have intended to harm or steal from banks, and the funds involved were only transferred through banks, not actually acquired from the banks.
Patterson was named CEO of Eaze in 2016 after the sudden departure of founder Keith McCarty. He was removed as CEO and replaced by Rogelio Choy in October 2019.
Eaze, originally founded as a cannabis delivery app, announced last year it would pivot from a tech platform to a retail, touch-the-plant model.
Jointly Can Help You Optimize How You Use Cannabis
Have you ever noticed that the same cannabis product can produce different effects (or side effects) from one day to the next? Or that a weed strain that consistently makes you focused and creative has a totally different effect on your friend?
How is it possible that the same product has such varied effects? And what factors can you track and control so that you can enjoy a consistent and reliable cannabis experience every time?
Experts in cannabis wellness believe that there are at least 15 physiological, environmental and behavioral factors that can impact your cannabis experience. Jointly is a new cannabis wellness app that enables you to track these 15 factors so that you can optimize how you consume cannabis, reduce adverse side effects, and achieve your wellness goals with cannabis or CBD.
And it works: Jointly users who have created at least 10 reports are improving their results by an average of 38%.
The 15 Factors That Can Impact Your Cannabis Experience
To understand why all these different factors might impact your cannabis experience, it is important to understand the role that the endocannabinoid system (ECS) plays in the human body and how cannabis interacts with this system.
The ECS is made up of the CB1 (cannabinoid receptor 1) and CB2 receptors and the endogenous cannabinoids that bind to them. The CB1 receptors are found in the brain, nervous system, peripheral organs and tissue, while the CB2 receptors are found primarily on immune cells, although they are also found on bone, spleen and liver cells. The ECS modulates a wide range of biological functions like mood, sleep, pain perception, glucose metabolism, the hormones produced in the gut, cognitive function and more.
THC mimics your body’s endogenous cannabinoids and binds to the CB1 and CB2 receptors, affecting many of the biological functions that the ECS modulates. CBD has low affinity for the CB receptors, but increases concentrations of your body’s endocannabinoid levels. As a result, the scientific literature indicates that for some purposes like healing bone fractures, it is better to consume CBD for an extended period of time to harness the cumulative effects of CBD on your body’s endocannabinoid levels.
Due to the complex role the ECS plays in the body, cannabinoids can produce a wide range of effects and side effects. For example, cannabis affects insulin and hunger hormone levels and cannabis can improve brain health in seniors. Low doses of THC can relieve stress or anxiety, but high doses may cause anxiety in some people. That is why dose is one of the most important factors to dial in when optimizing how you consume cannabis.
Whenever you try a new product, it is best to start with a small dose to establish the potency and then add more as needed. If you find the minimum dose you need to create the effect you want, you save money and decrease your risk of adverse side effects.
Why Do Different Types of Cannabis Products Feel Different?
While CBD and THC are the most studied cannabinoids, cannabis contains over 500 chemical compounds, including lesser-known cannabinoids, flavonoids and terpenes, many of which exert biological effects. For example, terpenes can affect neurotransmitter levels. Different products and strains have varying levels of these compounds—and thus can produce distinct effects or side effects.
Additionally, different ingestion methods (eating cannabis versus smoking it) can produce measurably different objective markers, like levels of THC in the blood. Jointly can help you determine which ingestion methods and product types are best suited for your wellness goals.
Why Does Marijuana Affect People Differently?
While cannabis products contain a range of chemical compounds, your body is also in flux. Some of these fluctuations are regular like the circadian rhythm, which is “an ongoing neurochemical ebb and flow from morning to night.”
If you consume the same cannabis product in the morning versus at night, your neurochemical and hormonal state is different, and cannabis or CBD might produce different effects or side effects. If you figure out how this factor affects your cannabis experience, you can use this data to adjust how you consume cannabis and improve your results.
Other biological fluctuations can be caused by our immediate environment. For example, if you are in a stressful social situation, your cortisol levels may rise. If you consume cannabis in that stressful situation, you might experience negative side effects like anxiety.
Or you may find the opposite: that consuming cannabis in a stressful social situation makes you feel more relaxed and social. Diet, exercise, companion foods, how hydrated you are—all these factors alter your biological state and could potentially change the way cannabis affects you.
If you dial in these factors, you can harness the power of cannabis to improve your well-being.
How to Optimize Your Cannabis Consumption
Everyone is different. We have different biology, work schedules, life stresses, dietary habits and sleep hygiene. The best way to find out which factors impact you is to set goals for your cannabis use, record your cannabis consumption on Jointly, rate product based on how well they help you achieve your goals, and track the 15 factors that can impact your experience.
Through this process, you will gain meaningful data that you can use to adjust how you consume cannabis so that you can enjoy your ideal experience every time. Over time, your average product ratings should go up as you optimize how you consume cannabis and CBD. Use the Results Tracker to make sure your results are improving over time.
Purposeful cannabis consumption is a journey to live better, naturally. Jointly is here to make your cannabis wellness journey a whole lot easier. Download the Jointly app today and start accomplishing your wellness goals with cannabis and CBD!
North Dakota’s House of Representatives voted in favor of adult-use cannabis legalization yesterday, Marijuana Moment reports. The bill, HB 1420, would legalize cannabis for adults 21 and older and calls for a regulated cannabis marketplace but would not allow for cannabis home grows.
The proposal was brought by Rep. Jason Dockter, a Republican who reportedly does not support legalization but who sees it as an inevitability and wants to handle the issue before voters do so themselves with a ballot initiative in 2022. In fact, several lawmakers who voted for the legislation, including House Majority Leader Chet Pollert (R) — who has said he’s not “a marijuana person” — shared that sentiment, particularly after neighboring South Dakota’s eye-opening vote in November in favor of legalization.
“There’s a lot of things I don’t agree with, but if it’s good policy and I think it’s going to be for the betterment of the State of North Dakota, I vote for it. And so I ask for a green vote.” — Rep. Dockter (R-Bismarck), via KX News
Ultimately, the legislation was passed in a 56 to 38 vote. In order to become law, the bill must next be approved by the Senate and then signed into law by Gov. Doug Burgum (R).
Lawmakers also advanced a separate bill that would make cannabis taxable with a 15 percent gross receipts tax on product sales and a 10 percent excise tax on sales from a manufacturer to a dispensary.
Peoria, Illinois public cchools are getting $858,669 in cannabis-derived funds as part of the state’s R3 program – short for “restore, reinvest, and renew” – to help rebuild the city’s south-end schools, the Quad-City Times reports. The R3 program allocates 25% of cannabis revenues to communities most impacted by the War on Drugs.
During a news conference on Tuesday, PPS Superintendent Sharon Desmoulin-Kherat described the community as “one of the most distressed” in the state and nation.
“And this community … is impacted by the horrors of violence, bolstered by the concentration of disinvestment, identified by rates of gun injuries, child poverty, unemployment and incarceration rates, and the list goes on and on and on. Life’s inequities, hardship and suffering are so vast and wide for many, many of our students and families, and we see it every day.” – Desmoulin-Kherat, at a press conference, via the Times
PPS plans to use the funds for a variety of programs, including legal aid for students, helping incarcerated individuals successfully re-enter society, mental health and substance abuse treatment programs, career coaching for students, and reproductive health education, the report says.
The funds will also be used to help citizens expunge old felony convictions for crimes now legal under the state’s legalization law. State Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth (D), a proponent of the R3 program who helped create it, called the expungement program “incredibly important” in giving people “the possibility of being able to move their lives forward, and not being calcified in poverty.”
“R3 is so important to me because I felt that it was critical that if we were going to be legalizing a product that has been used for the last 80 years to penalize largely Black and brown people, it was incredibly important that we took some of the resources of the sale of this product and begin to reinvest it in repairing some of those same communities that had been torn down by the war on drugs,” she said during the news conference.
Gordon-Booth added that lawmakers expected between $20 million and $22 million from cannabis taxes for the program but the final figure was about $31 million. She said that next year the funding could reach between $50 million and $65 million.
In most states where cannabis is legalized, cannabis taxes are often earmarked partly for education funding.
The cannabinoid cannabigerol (CBG) was found by researchers in Slovenia effective at impairing the progression of glioblastoma – which is considered the most aggressive among primary brain tumors – in a cell culture study published this month in the open-source journal Cells. The study was funded by Australian cannabis company MGC Pharmaceuticals and conducted through the University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Department of Neurosurgery.
The overall survival mean following a glioblastoma diagnosis is just 16 months.
The researchers found that CBD and CBG, both alone and in combination, stopped the proliferation of glioblastoma cells, while a combination of CBG and THC “reduced the viability of both types of cells to a similar extent.” Combining CBD with CBG “was more efficient than with THC,” the researchers found, adding that CBG and CBD “inhibited glioblastoma invasion in a similar manner” to the chemotherapeutic drug temozolomide.
“This is the first report to demonstrate that the non-intoxicating cannabinoid CBG alone and in combination with CBD efficiently targets two key elements that otherwise prevent the successful treatment of GB patients with current therapeutics: Firstly, to overcome [Glioblastoma Stem Cells] resistance to cytotoxic agents and to induce apoptosis, and secondly, to inhibit GB cell invasion.” – Cannabigerol is a Potential Therapeutic Agent in a Novel Combined Therapy for Glioblastoma, Cells, Feb. 5, 2021
Additionally, the researchers found CBG showed stronger efficacy to inhibit glioblastoma cells than temozolomide, inhibiting 90% of some cell lines, compared to the 50% inhibited by the chemotherapy drug, but cutting the CBG used dropped the efficacy of other cell lines to 50%, while temozolomide was effective by 40% to 60% on the cell line.
The researchers noted that CBG and CBD also increased appetite while preventing some chemotherapy side effects.
In a move to head off delays in South Dakota’s medical cannabis implementation, organizers of the state’s highly successful medical cannabis legalization ballot initiative have suggested a “compromise” with opponents in the legislature, the Associated Press reports. The suggestions come in light of Republican lawmakers now seeking to delay the program by a year in order to “study” the issue.
In the proposal, the group asks lawmakers — if they do postpone the program beyond July 1, 2021 — to let patients avoid arrest by proving they have a debilitating condition that would benefit from medical cannabis, what’s typically known as an “affirmative defense.” Additionally, they asked legislators to move up the new deadline for the program’s completion from July to January 2022.
Melissa Mentele, an organizer who helped to pass the November ballot initiative, denounced the lawmakers’ efforts.
“For them to come in the last three weeks of session and to overturn the will of voters is very frustrating.” — Mentele, via the AP
Riding a wave of cannabis legalization and other reforms, South Dakota voters passed adult-use and medical cannabis initiatives at the same time in November 2020. Judge Christina Klinger, however, recently overturned the legalization constitutional amendment despite it being approved by 57 percent of voters. That action was prompted by lawsuits from two law enforcement officers who essentially acted on behalf of Gov. Kristi Noem (R), who opposed the reforms. The lawsuits argued that the vote was illegal because constitutional amendments are only allowed to address a single issue.
Judge Klinger, who was appointed by the governor in 2019, wrote in her decision, “Amendment A is a revision as it has far-reaching effects on the basic nature of South Dakota’s governmental system.” However, the South Dakota Supreme Court may still overturn the judge’s decision.
Several other cannabis bills are making their way through South Dakota‘s legislature, including a Senate bill that would set up adult-use cannabis in “certain circumstances,” according to the report.
During his confirmation hearing on the U.S. Senate floor yesterday, Judge Merrick Garland — President Joe Biden’s nominee for the new U.S. Attorney General — signaled a likely shift in federal law enforcement’s approach to state-legal cannabis markets.
Answering a question from Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) about whether he would reinstate the Obama-era Cole Memo — which was rescinded by former President Trump’s first and staunchly anti-cannabis AG Jeff Sessions — Garland said, “This is a question of the prioritization of our resources and prosecutorial direction.”
“It does not seem to me a useful use of limited resources that we have, to be pursuing prosecutions in states that have legalized,” he said.
Garland also appeared to consider cannabis reforms to be an intrinsic step toward addressing the social justice issues around racial equality that continue to plague the nation, saying he was “deeply aware” of the issues that cannabis prohibition has caused for disadvantaged people, particularly in communities of color.
“Here’s a nonviolent crime, with respect to usage, that does not require us to incarcerate people, that we’re incarcerating at different rates, significantly different rates, of different communities. And that is wrong.” — Merrick Garland, during Monday’s Senate confirmation hearing
Garland noted that he supported the enforcement of federal cannabis laws in non-legalized states in order to ensure that there are “no end-runs around the state laws” by criminal enterprises.
The most prolific growers learned their craft out of necessity. Many cultivators are inspired to learn more about cannabis cultivation when they suffer a personal injury and use the plant as medicine. This is how Green Life Productions (GLP), a closed loop cultivation based in Pahrump, Nevada, first got off the ground. Owner and operator Steve Cantwell hasn’t always been a cannabis cultivator. Before this career, he trained in mixed martial arts under One Kick Nick. After injuries forced him to retire from the UFC, Steve began searching for alternatives to opioids for treating chronic pain. Through this experience, the former UFC fighter first found medical cannabis and, soon after retiring, he got his medical marijuana license.
Before coming up with and founding GLP, Steve had big dreams of cultivating clean cannabis for patients. After dreaming up the entrepreneurial endeavor, he wanted to tell his anti-cannabis kickboxing trainer One Kick Nick about his plans. Although Nick didn’t have objections, he suggested that if the cannabis was being grown with chemicals and synthetics, then it was a drug. That idea clicked for Steve and, inspired, he built an indoor cannabis cultivation that most closely matched nature, using zero chemicals. Years later, Steve and GLP have perfected a no-till living organic soil system indoors while still meeting Nevada’s stringent safety regulations. They use no synthetic fertilizers, fungicides, or pesticides — just compost tea and the occasional fish emulsion or liquid kelp. The soil is rarely disturbed and is currently on its 23rd cycle! Their philosophy is to take the best of nature indoors while following the basic permaculture principles in a closed-loop system.
“Over the years, we’ve designed a highly efficient facility — both from the LED lights to the amount of yield that we pull out,” Cantwell said. “It’s pretty minimal and pretty maximum at the same time.”
The soil is rarely bothered, and the majority of the water fed to the plants is reclaimed from their operation. Currently, GLP uses 60-70% reclaimed water with a catchment that treats water with filtration and UV sterilization before being recirculated. After they finish their current goal of closing the systems, they will be running on 95% reclaimed water. Using this system, the team is aware of everything both going into and coming out of the plants. To ensure that the soil and water maintain appropriate levels and are not contaminated, they run soil tests every 8-10 months to check out top trends and begin mapping out their next year. Instead of making huge changes, their philosophy is to use slow, small solutions to modify and adapt to what the plants need.
Green Life Productions has used LED lighting, raised beds, and no-till soil since its founding in 2015, but finding the best lighting system took some time. Their original system produced a decent yield, but their intense purple hue was hard to work under for long periods. When the lights started to hit their shelf life, GLP gave the green light to test new LEDs. Steve put three different LED lights to the test, growing the same strains under each setup, but none of the systems could outperform his old, heavily used LEDs. It appeared that each company had hoped to lower the sticker price, which sacrificed their engineering quality.
Steve shared his LED trials on Linkedin, and that is how they were found by Fohse — someone from the company reached out to Steve and set him up with three of their F1V models, which not only beat the other LEDs but he set personal yield records on the first run. With that success, they began testing the F1V against the company’s flagship A3i LED grow lights and again broke records with their yield, so they installed Fohse A3is in every room right down to veg. Regular harvests got so large that the dry room was over capacity, and GLP had to build a second room for drying their flower.
“Their A3i is second to the sun, you’re not going to find a better light source. With living soil, I’m reliant on the plant’s ability to cycle nutrients. I can only use [the A3i] at 60-70% intensity, which for me is a good thing because the lights will last longer, but man, if you’re running a synthetic system and can turn the light all the way, I can’t imagine the possibilities,” said Cantwell.
Yield is just a small part of why Steve evangelizes Fohse lights. Their plants have no side effects like bleaching and continue to test high in cannabinoid content. The A3i fixtures also allow Steve to influence the morphology of the plants; he can change the light spectrum to alter yield and flavor, but they can also help him to adapt the plants’ growing process to his space. Steve will run the Spring spectrum first to grow shorter plants with less internodal spacing and then ramp up to the Autumn spectrum at the end of their cycle. His lights are only 12 feet above his trays, so these parameters allow him to maximize flower while refraining from growing plants that hit the lights. He also takes advantage of the sunset and sunrise features, waking up the plants with as close to a natural sunrise as possible.
With the support of the Fohse team and his in-depth knowledge of the permaculture principles, Green Life Productions continues to grow. Taking permaculture into account influences their cultivation to make decisions that are best for the plants and serves as a framework for future problem-solving.
Although Florida has just a medical cannabis system, the state emerged as one of the nation’s most active cannabis markets in 2020, according to the recent cannabis jobs report by Leafly and Whitney Economics.
Florida ranked third in the country for cannabis sales in 2020 with an estimated total reaching $1.3 billion, only behind Colorado and California, which both have adult-use cannabis markets and have had medical cannabis systems since the 1990s.
Home to 331 dispensaries spread across the state, Florida added 170,000 patients in 2020, bringing the total of registered patients to nearly a half million at 485,693. The state also added roughly 15,000 cannabis jobs in 2020, bringing the total number of Floridians employed by the medical cannabis sector to 31,444. The report suggests Florida’s cannabis receipts could easily double if the state adopted adult-use cannabis, estimating the potential for up to $2.1 billion in sales, $800,000 per month in taxes, and up to 80,000 local jobs by 2025.
“With a state population of nearly 22 million, Florida could reasonably double its current total of cannabis jobs if it chose to legalize for all adults.” — Excerpt from the Leafly and Whitney Economics job report
Despite the high sales numbers, Florida’s medical cannabis structure has led to some issues. Additionally, there are a handful of adult-use and medical cannabis reform bills currently stalled in the Florida legislature.
Currently, a case working its way through the courts seeks to overturn the state’s vertically integrated regulatory structure on grounds that it is unconstitutional, The Center Square reports. Already having won its challenge in Tallahassee District Court, the case will be considered next by the Florida Supreme Court on March 1.
At least one bill seeking to limit THC levels in medical cannabis products will reach committee consideration, however, setting up a potential contest between the growing cannabis prevention movement, a tax-hungry state budget, and medical cannabis patients.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has announced amendments to his adult-use cannabis proposal, including the creation of a $100 million Cannabis Social Equity Fund, allowing delivery, reducing penalties for illegal sales, and prohibiting bans on industry employment based on some prior controlled substance-related criminal offenses, WKBW reports.
The social equity fund would be financed by cannabis-derived taxes, which are expected to amount to $350 million annually once the market is fully implemented. The program would allow community-based nonprofits to apply for support for job placement and skills services, adult education, and mental health and substance abuse treatment, the report says. It would also provide grant dollars to several state agencies for social and economic empowerment programs.
Allowing delivery, the Governor’s Office said, would “open up access to this new industry even further so more New Yorkers can participate as it grows.” Municipalities could choose to opt out of delivery services within their jurisdiction.
Under the proposed reforms, criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third degree would be downgraded from a Class B felony to a Class A misdemeanor, criminal sale in the second degree would shift from a Class A-II felony to a Class E felony, while first degree criminal sales would be met with a Class D felony, down from a Class A-1 felony charge.
Democratic Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes said the governor’s plan moves it “in the right direction towards stronger community reinvestment, more sensible criminal penalties, and a cannabis delivery option.”
“It’s promising, but we still have a ways to go. My staff and I are in the process of reviewing the Governor’s amended language, as the true impact is always in the details. We have one opportunity to get this right and it’s vital that we do. I look forward to continuing to work with the Governor and the Senate to legalize cannabis with the most equitable and comprehensive bill possible for all New Yorkers.” – Peoples-Stokes to WKBW
Peoples-Stokes is the sponsor of the legalization measure currently in the Senate Codes Committee.
This is the third attempt by the governor to legalize cannabis in the Empire State using the budget as a vehicle. In 2019, the plan came unglued as lawmakers could not agree on what the industry-derived revenue would be used for, and in 2020 it was derailed by the coronavirus pandemic. Both legislative chambers are controlled by Democrats.
Massachusetts state Sen. Nick Collins (D) recently unveiled a new proposal for awarding business loans and loan forgiveness to social equity applicants.
Specifically, SD.2072 would establish a “Cannabis Social Equity Loan Trust Fund” that would make “no-interest loans, forgivable loans, or grants” for equity program participants in order to “encourage the full participation of entrepreneurs from communities … disproportionately impacted by … marijuana prohibition and enforcement.” The account would be funded by 25 percent of the state’s Cannabis Excise Tax revenue, as well as funds from private sources including gifts, grants, and donations. Additionally, regulators would be tasked with developing procedures “to forgive all or a portion of these loans subject to an analysis of anticipated revenues.”
The proposal was lauded by activists with the Massachusetts Recreational Consumer Council (MRCC), an advocacy group that lobbies for restorative justice and the decolonization of the cannabis industry.
“This legislation is a major win for us,” said Saskia VannJames, an MRCC lobbyist and board member.
“When s.2650 was originally proposed only loans and a 10% was offered and originally presented favorably to the public by our commissioners, and surprisingly backed by many industry leaders. MRCC knew the addition of grants, loan forgiveness, and the increase for 25% set aside was vital for our communities and have been pushing for Massachusetts to at least MATCH what has already been done in other states. This is the community’s win and we are glad to be the people’s champion and will continue to work as the voice of the consumer.” — VannJames, in an email
Massachusetts lawmakers are also considering bills that would allow for the automatic expungement of previous minor cannabis crimes, the decriminalization of all drugs, and the study/regulation of psychedelics including psilocybin, Marijuana Moment reports.
Parallel, the cannabis company owned by William “Beau” Wrigley, Jr., the former chairman and CEO of the candy company that shares his name, has entered into an agreement with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Ceres Acquisition Corp that would see the combined company go public.
Wrigley, who will remain the company’s chairman and CEO, with Ceres Group co-founder Scooter Braun serving as special advisor, and Ceres Acquisition Corp. Chairman and CEO Joe Crouthers, serving as a company director.
“As a public company, we will have access to capital to grow our national footprint through new licenses and M&A, improve our cultivation and production capacity, expand our established retail footprint, develop and launch rare cannabinoids products with therapeutic benefits, and conduct important clinical research in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. We look forward to working with the Ceres team and benefiting from Scooter Braun’s expertise and extensive influencer network to reach our diverse consumers with creative omnichannel approaches that will fuel Parallel’s leadership in the cannabis industry.” – Wrigley in a statement
The deal sets Parallel’s implied enterprise value at $1.884 billion, and Ceres has received commitments from a group of investors in an over-subscribed [Private Investment in Public Equity] of $225 million at a price of $10.00 per share issuable immediately prior to, and conditional on, completion of the deal. Parallel estimates net revenues of $447 million this year, pro forma cash on hand of $430 million at close, including US$225 million from the PIPE, and $120 million in cash held in Ceres’ escrow account assuming no redemptions.
The combined publicly listed company is anticipated to have Class A Subordinate Voting Stock and Class B Multiple Voting Stock, the companies said. The Class B Multiple Voting Stock will have 15 votes per share and will be held by Wrigley and his affiliate entities upon the transaction’s close.
Other members of the proposed company’s board of directors include Marina Bozilenko, Strategic Advisor to William Blair and Company; Kevin Douglas, M.D., who currently serves as medical director of U.S. Rheumatology and Study Designated Physician/Therapeutic medical director at Abbvie, Inc.; Sarah Hassan, who was a founding partner of IM HealthScience; Linda McGoldrick, who has served as CEO and independent board member of several healthcare and life sciences companies; and Parallel’s General Counsel Phil Harris.
Parallel operates in Florida, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Texas, and Nevada.
Republican lawmakers in Tennessee have introduced legislation to create a medical cannabis commission to analyze what steps it should take if cannabis were removed from its Schedule I classification under federal law, Fox 17 News reports. Tennessee is one of just six states that do not have a medical cannabis program.
According to the bill text, the nine-person commission would examine potential patient qualification and registration, how health professionals prescribe – and how pharmacists dispense – medical cannabis, testing, guidelines, and licensing and regulation of facilities and suppliers. Additionally, it would consider cannabis taxes and fees on cannabis and current state cannabis laws.
The commission would be comprised of members – experts in health care, mental health, business, management, agriculture, and law enforcement – representing each of the state’s three grand divisions along with a physician and a pharmacist.
A cannabis decriminalization proposal was introduced in the state House in January, followed by a broad adult-use bill in the Senate. Medical cannabis bills are also expected to be introduced in the House.
In the Senate, the medical cannabis commission bill is in the chamber’s Government Operations Committee, with a scheduled hearing on Thursday. In the House, it was referred to the Health Subcommittee.
Earlier this month, Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (NY), and Sens. Cory Booker (NJ) and Ron Wyden (OR) said they would release a draft discussion bill on legalization “in the early part of this year.” Last year, the House approved the MORE Act, which would legalize cannabis federally, but the Senate – then Republican-controlled – did not take up the legislation. Were the measure to pass, it would trigger the creation of the medical cannabis commission in Tennessee under the proposal.
After over three months since voters approved the state’s cannabis legalization ballot question, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) today signed into law a series of bills that ultimately legalize the adult use of cannabis.
The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act was only signed after lawmakers, at the governor’s behest, advanced accompanying legislation aimed at clarifying penalties for underage possession.
The legislation will remove criminal penalties for cannabis possession and legalize its use and possession by adults aged 21 and older. The laws also establish a five-member Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) tasked with creating regulations and overseeing the industry’s launch. The application period for cannabis business licenses will open 30 days after the CRC releases its regulations, which are expected this summer.
“Our current marijuana prohibition laws have failed every test of social justice, which is why for years I’ve strongly supported the legalization of adult-use cannabis. Maintaining a status quo that allows tens of thousands, disproportionately people of color, to be arrested in New Jersey each year for low-level drug offenses is unjust and indefensible. This November, New Jerseyans voted overwhelmingly in support of creating a well-regulated adult-use cannabis market. Although this process has taken longer than anticipated, I believe it is ending in the right place and will ultimately serve as a national model.” — Gov. Phil Murphy, in an announcement
New Jersey is the 13th U.S. state to legalize cannabis and the fourth on the East Coast, having followed in the footsteps of Maine, Vermont, and Massachusetts. Neighboring New York, meanwhile, is expected to legalize later this year.
To the dismay of advocates, New Jersey is the second state after Washington to legalize cannabis but not allow residents to grow cannabis plants in their own homes.
Montana state Rep. Bill Mercer, a Republican, is seeking to delay cannabis sales – approved by voters last year – until 2023, saying the time frame “doesn’t make any sense,” the Missoula Current reports. Under the measure, sales would commence in January 2022.
“I wonder if the voters had any idea when they adopted this initiative that they were going to increase the state bureaucracy by 100 people within nine months. You’re talking about this massive expansion of government. … In order to try to do this in a coherent and rational way, to say that this can all be stood up by October 1, is a mistake.” – Mercer to MTN News via the Current
Mercer added that the Department of Revenue alone would need 76 new employees.
The reforms were approved by 58% of Montana voters last November. The bill’s provisions require the state to have rules in place to accept industry applications by October.
Last month, state lawmakers rejected a $1.35 million request from the state Department of Revenue for implementing the program. Gov. Greg Gianforte’s administration is working on how it will implement the reforms, including changing how the revenues derived from the 20% tax on cannabis sales would be spent, the report says.
The anti-legalization group Wrong for Montana has filed a lawsuit challenging the measure claiming the financial allocation provisions in the measure violate the state constitution. Mercer argues that implementing a legalization plan should be delayed in the event the court throws out the measure.
The delay bill is set to be heard this week in the House Business and Labor Committee.
