Gibraltar Acquires Leading Cannabis Extraction Equipment Makers for Coast to Coast Market Approach

2/26/2020

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Apeks Supercritical/Delta Separations create innovative, customizable solutions to global processing markets with unrivaled expertise

JOHNSTOWN, OH (FEBRUARY 18, 2020) – Two of the leading U.S. cannabis extraction system manufacturers are joining forces to create the most versatile customized botanical extraction plans and unmatched customer service on the market today.

The deal was created when Gibraltar Industries, the leading provider of products and services for commercial greenhouse growing and processing in North America, officially acquired its second extraction manufacturer in California based Delta Separations. The move brings Delta, an emerging leader in Ethanol extraction system technology, together with trailblazing CO2 extraction innovator, Apeks Supercritical, headquartered in Ohio.

Together, Apeks and Delta will work to drive the industry’s most versatile extraction innovations and create holistic and customizable solutions for botanical processors with unrivaled expertise.

“Together, we are blazing a trail of innovation, versatility and customer service this industry has never seen before. On the extraction side, combining forces with Delta gives us the ability to serve customers with an integrated sales force and team of engineering experts from coast to coast in the United States and beyond,” said Andy Joseph, Apeks Supercritical founder and General Manager.

“This opportunity with Gibraltar gives us the ability to join forces with the CO2 experts at Apeks Supercritical to create the most versatile customized botanical extraction plans and unmatched customer service on the market today,” said Ben Stephens, Delta Separations Director of Research and Development.

Apeks and Delta will work together as part of a larger dynamic, vertically integrated growing and processing solution provider which also includes Greenhouse solutions companies Rough Brothers Incorporated (RBI), Nexus, and Thermo Energy Solutions.

“Both Delta Separations and Apeks Supercritical are highly respected industry wide with strong reputations for innovation and customer service. No matter what extraction method a customer prefers, this new combined product portfolio will better address their specific needs with more technology agnostic solutions,” said Bill Vietas, President of Conservation and Renewable Energy Group for Gibraltar Industries.

Both Apeks Supercritical and Delta Separations will begin assimilating some operations, more than doubling existing staffing levels on the sales and service sides. Both companies will keep existing headquarters near Columbus, Ohio (Apeks) and San Francisco Bay area (Delta).

About Gibraltar
Gibraltar Industries is a leading manufacturer and provider of products and services for the renewable energy, conservation, residential, industrial, and infrastructure markets. With a three-pillar strategy focused on business systems, portfolio management, and organization and talent development, Gibraltar’s mission is to create compounding and sustainable value with strong leadership positions in higher growth, profitable end markets. Gibraltar serves customers primarily throughout North America and to a lesser extent Asia. Comprehensive information about Gibraltar can be found on its website at www.gibraltar1.com.

About Apeks Supercritical
Apeks Supercritical, a Gibraltar Company, has been designing and handcrafting the highest quality botanical CO2 extraction systems since 2001. Today, Apeks has built and distributed more production CO2 extraction systems than any other company in the world and continues to evolve their technology and grow their footprint. The company is a pioneer in the cannabis and hemp industries and the first to design CO2 extraction systems specifically for cannabis oil extraction. Apeks continues to lead those industries today through the advancement of cutting-edge technologies like their patented Valveless Expansion Technology, Diaphragm Compressor Technology and fully automated, self-running systems.

About Delta Separations
Delta Separations, a Gibraltar Company, was founded in 2015 in Santa Rosa, California and is an emerging leader in Ethanol extraction hardware manufacturing. Delta is dedicated to developing and improving equipment for safe extraction of high-quality oil from plant based biomass. Delta prides itself on supporting its clients with excellent customer service and industry education.

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Massachusetts Plans to Speed Up Cannabis Licensing Process

2/26/2020

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The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission chairman told lawmakers that he plans to cut the wait time for licenses in half for the next budget year, the Boston Globe reports. Currently, cannabusinesses are waiting an average of 121 days to receive a license but, in a letter to the Joint Ways and Means Committee, CCC Executive Director Shawn Collins said he wants to hire more staff to bring the wait time down to 60 days.

“Toward this objective, the Commission will require additional funding to support hiring, particularly within our licensing and enforcement division. This budget will enable the Commission to continue our growth and potentially add up to 34 new [full-time equivalent positions.] In combination with IT and operational enhancements, hiring more Investigators and Licensing Specialists will enable the Commission to process applications on a quicker timeline while also ensuring continued compliance with state law and adherence to our mission.” – Collins, in a budget letter

The agency is seeking a $2.8 million operations budget increase for the fiscal year 2021 – a total of $12.4 million for operations – along with another $3.9 million for medical cannabis program oversight and a statewide public awareness campaign. In all, the agency is seeking $16.3 million.

CCC Chairman Steven Hoffman told the Globe that by cutting wait times and increasing licensing the state would be in a position to generate more tax revenues from the industry. So far, regulators have licensed 72 cultivators and farmers, 246 cannabis establishments – of which 37 are retailers – and more than 7,600 industry employees. Hoffman suggested that the state could sustain about 250 retail dispensaries.

In the fiscal year 2019, the CCC collected $8.7 million in non-tax revenues and Collins said the agency remains on track to exceed its $14 million projection this fiscal year from non-tax revenues.

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Angela Grelle: The Future of Cannabis Trade Shows

2/25/2020

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CannaCon was among the first events to step forward and provide a space for cannabis entrepreneurs, professionals, enthusiasts, and investors to come together to network, learn about, and celebrate the cannabis industry. We recently invited Angela for an interview to discuss CannaCon, the event’s continued journey into recently legalized markets, and more. Check out the full interview below!

Ganjapreneur: CannaCon is one of the few cannabis industry events that has existed since the days before adult-use legalization. How has the event evolved over the years?

Angela Grelle: CannaCon has evolved a lot over the years along with the industry. I think the biggest change has come from moving into new and emerging markets where we feel we can do the most good to help connect the ancillary businesses that exhibit at CannaCon with the new farms, processors, and retail store owners. It has also been very interesting to see how many more businesses are exhibiting with us that come from outside the cannabis industry, we have had everyone from Sprint to ADT security, I think that really helps to mainstream the industry.

What is your personal background with cannabis? What did you do before your work with CannaCon?

I am going to age myself a bit here, I started smoking way back in the early ’80s and have always been a proponent of legalization. I have grown children now who suffer from Crohn’s disease who swear by cannabis to relieve the pain and nausea the disease causes. Before I came to work for CannaCon I worked for Zales the jewelry store and as a realtor selling and flipping houses so this job was a huge career change for me.

How many people make up the staff of CannaCon? Does the home team in Washington plan and execute the events around the country or hire local staff?

We are a pretty small family run business, we have seven full-time and two part-time employees and six of us out of that nine are related. There are four of us that travel to all of the locations to execute the events. We use staffing services for registration and security but we are very hands-on. You will always be able to find someone on site from CannaCon.

What is CannaCon’s driving philosophy? Who is the event for?

CannaCon’s driving philosophy is simple: we want to help grow the industry, we want to see everyone succeed in their business and by doing that show everyone that the business of cannabis is here to stay. Our event is focused on providing connections with our exhibitors and the growers, processors and retail store owners as well as bring in investors who are looking at cannabis as an investment opportunity. We are however open to everyone. We love seeing people from outside of the industry walk through the expo floor and be blown away by what our exhibitors are doing.

As legalization has played out in the ballot box and government committees, diverse markets have developed. With varying interests and needs in each state, how do you cater to regional businesses & regulations with event programming?

One of the main things we try to do in each new market is connecting with the local community and ask questions, that helps us determine what they need. When a market is brand new we focus on the basics, tax laws, genetics, lighting, packaging, etc. as the market matures we find there is more interest in things like SEO, marketing, etc.

How do you determine which speakers to invite? What have been some of the most popular topics of focus in speaking sessions?

We try to choose speakers who are experts in their field. We have topics ranging from genetics to accounting, so from choosing the right seed to doing your taxes, there is something for everyone to learn. Some of the most popular topics have been licensing and legislation. I always try to get someone from the local licensing agency to come in and answer questions and that seminar room is always full.

What types of businesses should exhibit at CannaCon?

We like to say you can find everything you need for your business from seed to sale. From soil, seeds, and lighting companies, to extraction, packaging, accountants, and software if you have something a grower, processor, or retail store needs you should be exhibiting at CannaCon. Having the opportunity to talk to thousands of people face to face is invaluable when it comes to marketing your brand.

How did CannaCon decide which cities to bring the convention to after branching out from Washington state?

We have been following the market, we watch for what states are legalizing and go there, that is where we feel we are the most beneficial.

What’s next for CannaCon? Does the convention have plans to expand internationally?

For now, CannaCon plans to continue to grow with the US market, we are looking at what states we think will legalize in 2020 and 2021 and making plans to grow in those areas.

What advice do you have for someone looking to host or throw a cannabis event?

I think the best advice I can give someone hosting a cannabis event is to know that no matter how much you plan ahead you will have some hiccups so you just have to smile and make it work. We have had floor plans change last minute, fire marshals come in the day of wanting extra fire extinguishers, and smoke detectors, speakers who got snowed in at their airports and couldn’t make it. Things like this will happen so it’s important to be able to stay calm and work things out.

Thanks, Angela, for taking the time from your busy events schedule to talk to us! Visit CannaCon.org to learn more about their latest and upcoming events.

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Vermont Inches Closer to Adult-Use Cannabis Market

2/25/2020

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Regulations to establish an adult-use cannabis marketplace in Vermont cleared yet another hurdle this week after the House Appropriations Committee voted 6-5 to advance the proposal, Marijuana Moment reports. The bill, S. 54, is expected to receive an official vote by the full House within a few days.

Vermont lawmakers passed cannabis legalization language in 2018 but stopped short of legalizing a commercial industry.

The proposed regulations would establish a licensing and regulatory structure for an adult-use cannabis marketplace in the state, including new business licenses and a new regulatory body — the Cannabis Control Board — to oversee the industry. The bill also includes potency limits for cannabis flower products (30 percent THC) and concentrates (60 percent), advertising restrictions for cannabis products, a ban on flavored vaporizer products, and a study to foster the future and responsible growth of the industry.

After its latest adjustments, the new rules would tax cannabis at 20 percent and would block local jurisdictions from adding additional taxes; medical cannabis patients, however, would be exempt from the taxes.

The bill had already passed the House Government Operations Committee unanimously and the House Ways and Means Committee in an 8-3 vote. The bill passed the Senate, where it originated, in a 23-5 vote.

Vermont residents strongly support the creation of a regulated cannabis marketplace, polls suggest.

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World Ag Expo Hosts First-Ever Hemp Innovation Challenge

2/25/2020

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The World Ag Expo – one of the largest agriculture trade events in the world – hosted its first-ever Hemp Innovation Challenge earlier this month. The event – which drew competitors from 14 countries and five continents – was won by Kentucky-based Victory Hemp, a business-to-business primary food ingredient processing company.

Victory Hemp’s V-70 Hemp Heart Protein and Victory ONE Hemp Heart Oil took the $5,000 top prize for their ability to “dramatically expand the range of products in which hemp seeds can be used as ingredients,” the company said in a press release.

Mike Reid, executive director for the Hemp Innovation Challenge, said Victory Hemp was the winner “for several reasons” and that their products highlighted “the importance of functional foods that provide health benefits when consumed regularly.”

“Companies like Victory Hemp Foods will ultimately save lives as people become aware of the health benefits of eating properly,” he said in a statement.

Chad Rosen, Victory Hemp Foods’ founder and CEO, said the award “is the outcome of three years of work by many hands and minds with a singular focus – to develop a unique process to unlock the value of the amazing proteins and oils found in the hemp seed by bringing it to market in a format that works across multiple food categories as a food ingredient.”

“As the agriculture industry tries to answer the question of how it will feed the world’s growing population in a way that benefits soil, water, and air as well as the health of our planet’s inhabitants, our innovation allows hemp to participate in that solution.” – Rosen, in a statement

According to the company, the V-70 product could be used in a variety of consumable goods, including dairy products, meat analogs, and nutrition powders. Victory-One can be used in everything from ice cream to skincare products.

The event was a fast-pitch contest. The World Ag Expo had an attendance of more than 100,000 people and 1,450 exhibitors.

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South Africa Officials Approve Cannabis College on Eastern Cape

2/25/2020

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The Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform in the Eastern Cape of South Africa has approved the development of a cannabis college to train potential industry workers in cultivation and distribution, according to a BusinessTech report.

The college is planned for Ingquza Hill in Lusisiki, which Nomakhosazana Meth, MEC for Rural Development and Agrarian Reform, said had ideal growing conditions for cannabis. She described the plant as “green gold” which would help impoverished citizens in the region.

“The Eastern Cape is constantly searching for ideas and ways on how to contribute to the growth of domestic product of the province. Lusiski is known to be ‘the world’s capital of cannabis’ and this is a very important industry, so we need to exploit it in our province. We want to make sure we embrace cannabis for medical and commercial purposes.” – Meth, in an interview with 702

Over the last three years, there have been major overhauls of South Africa’s cannabis policies, including national medical cannabis legalization in 2017 and a decision by the Constitutional Court in 2018 that cannabis prohibition was unconstitutional. In the decision, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo said the personal use of cannabis “does not constitute undue harm” and infringes on the privacy rights of citizens.

According to a report by Prohibition Partners, a fully legalized cannabis industry in South Africa could be worth more than $1.7 billion annually by 2023.

The cannabis college will be established in a former teaching college, according to a Moguldom Nation report. The World Health Organization estimates there are about 1.25 million cannabis farmers in South Africa and at least 350,000 of which are traditional healers who give the plant to others for its medicinal benefits.

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Cannabis Social Equity Ruling Appealed in Cambridge, Massachusetts

2/25/2020

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The city of Cambridge, Massachusetts has filed a petition to prevent a previous court ruling from forcing officials to license non-equity cannabis businesses, Wicked Local reports. The petition is for interlocutory review, which asks a single justice of the appeals court to review aspects of the case before the trial has concluded.

According to the report, plaintiff Revolutionary Clinics II challenged the city’s cannabis business permitting ordinance, which enacted a two-year period in which only economic empowerment applicants – or social equity applicants – are eligible to receive a permit for a cannabis retail store. The state Superior Court approved a preliminary injunction last month sought by the plaintiffs, which prevents the city from enforcing its moratorium and from taking any action to prevent the plaintiff from immediately applying to convert its medical cannabis dispensary into a co-located recreational-use site.

The city also filed a notice of appeal in the Superior Court, allowing the city to further appeal the order to a panel of the appeals court, the report says, along with a motion for a stay that requests the Superior Court stay the previous order pending the appeal; and an emergency motion for a stay of the court’s order.

In court documents, the city says the 2016 adult-use law and Cannabis Control Commission regulations explicitly allow for moratoriums focused on creating licensing opportunities for social equity applicants. CCC guidance outlined in the filing mandates “full participation in the adult-use cannabis industry by those disproportionately harmed communities” and recommends municipalities “prioritize review” for economic empowerment applicants.

“Some municipalities in Massachusetts are considering prioritizing applicants by allowing them to move forward exclusively for a certain period of time,” the guidance states. “For example, a municipality may consider only economic empowerment applicants and applicants who are local residents for the first six months.”

The city alleges that the Superior Court “erred and abused its discretion in applying the standard for a motion for preliminary injunction to the facts in this case” and the standards for enacting such injunctions require that a “private party must show irreparable harm and that the relief promotes the public interest or will not adversely affect the public.”

The lawsuit says the city will abide by the decisions of the courts once its appeals are considered.

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Study: Hemp Crops Could Restore Bee Populations

2/24/2020

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Bee populations could benefit immensely from a revitalized hemp industry, according to a recent study published in Environmental Entomology titled “The Bee Community of Cannabis sativa and Corresponding Effects of Landscape Composition.”

Hemp and cannabis plants do not produce nectar, but their pollen can keep bee populations happy and well-fed. Specifically, the study found that bees not only love the pollen from cannabis and hemp plants — they also can benefit from the plants’ abundance of pollen as a subsistence resource during times when local flora diversity has been stripped due to modern farming practices or a natural occurrence, such as drought. Bees are especially drawn to larger crop plots and taller plants, meaning industrial hemp carries the most benefits as an industry for the bees.

Additionally, because hemp plants are especially resilient to pests and disease, their crops are more frequently organic and devoid of chemicals and pesticides that pose other dangers for bee populations.

Researchers observed hemp plots of varying sizes in New York and noted that 16 different species of bees frequented the crops.

It is important to note that bees do not experience any of the psychoactive effects from cannabinoids, as insects are the only known creatures on the planet that do not have an endocannabinoid system. Meanwhile, despite their apparent love for cannabis, bees do not naturally produce cannabinoid-infused honey — some entrepreneurs, however, have taken that next step for them.

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Elizabeth Warren Unveils Cannabis Legalization Plan

2/24/2020

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Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren has unveiled her plan to legalize cannabis if elected, including starting the process of “delisting marijuana via the federal rule-making process” within her first 100 days if Congress failed to act on the reforms.

The plan – called A Just and Equitable Cannabis Industry – includes expungement, access to medical cannabis for military veterans through Veterans Affairs, cannabis research funding, allowing Washington D.C. to implement the taxed and regulated market approved by voters in 2014, permitting tribes to implement their own cannabis policies, protecting immigrants who work in the industry, and supporting other nations that choose to legalize the plant.

Warren unveiled the plan before a campaign stop in Denver, Colorado on Sunday and said during the rally that the reforms are “about undoing a century of racist policy that disproportionately targeted Black and Latinx communities.”

“It’s not justice when we lock up kids caught with an ounce of pot, while hedge fund managers make millions off of the legal sale of marijuana. My administration will put an end to that broken system.” – Warren, during a February 23 campaign stop in Denver, via Colorado Public Radio

In justifying her plan, Warren points to Colorado’s successes, including the $1 billion in taxes derived from the industry and the reduction in opioid-related deaths since the launch of legalized sales in the state.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the current delegate leader who is considered with Warren to be the most progressive of the candidates, indicated last August that he would legalize cannabis via executive order on his first day in office. Warren, comparatively, said she would ensure that the heads of the Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, Food and Drug Administration, and Office of National Drug Control Policy, support legalization and work toward the reforms.

Warren is one of the sponsors of the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement Act, or MORE Act which would remove cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act and allow states to set their own cannabis laws and policies. Along with federal descheduling, the bill includes a broad set of criminal justice reform and social equity provisions.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, who placed second in Saturday’s Nevada caucuses, said earlier this month that cannabis is “at the point where it has to be, basically, legalized” – walking back “gateway drug” comments from last November. Former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who placed third in Nevada, has said he supports the decriminalization of all drugs. Warren placed fourth in Saturday’s Nevada caucuses.

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Israel PM Netanyahu Expresses Support for Cannabis Legalization

2/24/2020

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday indicated support for recreational cannabis legalization in the country along with expungement for previous cannabis convictions, the Times of Israel reports.

Netanyahu made the announcements via Twitter, saying his justice minister has already “begun work on the matter” and would work with Green Leaf Party Chairman Oren Leibovich on whether to import the Canadian model for regulating a legal market in Israel.”

“I examined the matter and decided to advance the erasure of criminal records of tens of thousands of Israelis for personal use and cannabis possession, something that causes unnecessary suffering to many and is a burden on the courts.” – Netanyahu on Twitter, via the Times of Israel

Leibovich told the Jerusalem Post that the reforms “should have been done a long time ago” but that he appreciated that the prime minister “paid his attention,” met with him, and “made the right decision.”

“The next required step is to promote regulation of a legal cannabis market, as Canada did in 2018,” Leibovich said to the Post.

Netanyahu’s main political rival, Blue and White Chairman MK Benny Gantz, fired back on Twitter, calling Netanyahu’s promise “spin at the expense of the sick.”

“What you didn’t do during 10 years [as prime minister] you won’t do in another 10 years,” Gantz wrote in a Twitter response to the prime minister. “[For] years, you sold illusions to the sick who need medical cannabis and to our youth in an attempt to gather votes.”

Gantz will face off against Netanyahu in March 2 elections – the country’s third in one year. According to the Times, the prime minister made similar promises before elections last April and September when vowed to liberalize the medical cannabis industry.

In 2018, Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, approved legislation to export medical cannabis; however, Netanyahu blocked the plan.

Israel has already partially decriminalized recreational cannabis use opting for fines and treatment for initial offenders instead of criminal prosecution. Medical cannabis is also legal throughout the country.

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Cannabis Patient Employment Protection Bill Introduced in Hawaii

2/24/2020

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Hawaii lawmakers are considering a measure to protect medical cannabis patients from being fired or from hiring discrimination, Hawaii Public Radio reports. The legislation allows employers to use a fit-for-duty test as a tool to assess medical cannabis users in potentially dangerous jobs.

The measure excludes several professions from the protections, including law enforcement, corrections and water safety officers, firefighters, emergency medical workers and other health care employees who might administer drugs to patients, employees who work with children, seniors or other vulnerable populations, employees who operate heavy equipment, and most truck employees or drivers.

The Department of Safety opposes the reforms, citing the federal status of cannabis as a Schedule I drug and federal rules barring anyone who uses cannabis from possessing firearms or ammunition. The measure is also opposed by shipping company Matson, which currently has a zero-tolerance cannabis policy for both on- and off-duty employees. Matson told HPR that their operations “involve the use of heavy machinery, which if used incorrectly or under the influence of an intoxicant can cause death or serious bodily injury.”

A similar measure was introduced in the Hawaii Senate last year, but it was never moved out of committee. The measure has already been approved by the chamber’s Commerce, Consumer Protection and Health, and Judiciary committees with some amendments, the report says. It is expected to move to the full floor for a vote before heading to the House.

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Hightimes Holding Corp. Receives Trading Symbol

2/21/2020

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Hightimes Holding Corp. said it has completed the next step of its public listing process after it received a trading symbol from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). The approval will advance the company toward its goal of listing on the public markets by next year.

“This is a big step for the company and the High Times brand. The listing of the company’s stock will give us a trading currency that will assist us in furthering our acquisitional goals. There is no better time to roll out this next evolution as we enter the cannabis retail space. With the lessons we’ve learned from other operator’s mistakes, great management, and the current state of the industry, now is the time for High Times to thrive!“ — Adam Levin, Executive Chairman of Hightimes Holding Corp., in a press release

The move also signals the impending end of the brand’s Regulation A offering, which lets the company sell stock directly to the public instead of going through an official market. That offering was launched in 2018.

“With over 23,000 investors, this has been one of the most widely subscribed to offerings in history – across any industry,” Levin said. “We’ve proven the strength of our brand, and of the community we represent. We’re excited for this next step.”

While the High Times brand soldiers on, however, the historic High Times magazine has struggled lately; reports surfaced in December that suggested the magazine’s future was in doubt. In November, the company shuttered the Seattle offices for DOPE Magazine, which High Times acquired in September 2018. The company is instead expected to expand its footprint with a new, retail-focused business model.

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Study: Cannabis Patients With ADHD Use Fewer Prescription Drugs

2/21/2020

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A study published last month in the Rambam Maimonides Medical Journal suggests that cannabis patients with ADHD are likely to use fewer prescription drugs, including psychostimulant medications such as methylphenidate and amphetamine derivatives which are commonly prescribed to treat ADHD symptoms.

Study participants included 59 adult medical cannabis patients in Israel who had received a diagnosis of ADHD from a physician and had a standing medical cannabis license for the treatment of any approved condition.

Participants were asked to answer a questionnaire detailing their conditions and medical cannabis use. Unlike previous research investigating medical cannabis as a potential ADHD treatment, however, this study sought to understand the role of cannabis’ phytocannabinoid and terpenoid compounds, as opposed to just the plant as a whole.

The study authors found that the consumption of cannabis containing high quantities of phytocannabinoids and terpenes was associated with the reduction of ADHD medication; specifically, the cannabinoid cannabinol (CBN) was associated with scoring lower on the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS).

“We demonstrated that patients treated with [medical cannabis] stopped their ADHD medications, especially in the high [medical cannabis] dose and in the low ADHD symptoms frequency subgroups.” — Excerpt from the study

The authors note that their study may have been limited by its small sample pool and the potential for biased patient reporting. “More studies are needed in order to fully understand if cannabis and its constituents can be used for management of ADHD,” they wrote.

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USDA Approves Five State and Tribal Hemp Programs

2/21/2020

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved five state and tribal hemp production plans as part of its authority oversight of the industry included in the 2018 Farm Bill, the agency announced on Thursday.

The approvals include Washington state, Wyoming, the Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Oklahoma, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation of Kansas, and the Santee Sioux Tribe of Nebraska.

The USDA had already approved hemp cultivation plans for six states and seven tribes. As of February 12, another nine state hemp plans are under review by the agency, along with 16 tribal plans. Another 15 states will continue operating under pilot programs laid out in 2014.

According to USDA data, hemp plans from Tennessee and Connecticut are “pending resubmission” which means the plans have been reviewed by the agency but did not meet their criteria for approval; one tribe is also in resubmission status.

Seven other states, along with the U.S. Virgin Islands, are currently drafting regulations for USDA approval, along with four tribes.

Last October, the USDA released its draft rules for domestic hemp production and, since last August, the agency has taken several steps to normalize the industry, including giving hemp farmers access to federal crop insurance programs, such as the Whole Farm Revenue Protection Program – which allows farms with revenues up to $8.5 million to insure their crops – the Multi-Peril Crop Insurance Program, and the Natural Disaster Assistance Program, which protects against losses associated with lower yields, destroyed crops, or prevented planting where no permanent federal crop insurance program is available.

Last year, the agency also clarified its rules for hemp seed importation which allow seeds to be imported from other countries, so long as there is documentation the seeds will produce plants that fall below the federal 0.3 percent THC threshold.

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New Hampshire House Approves Adult-Use Bill With No Regulated Sales

2/21/2020

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The New Hampshire House has approved an adult-use cannabis legalization bill for the third time in as many years, New Hampshire Public Radio reports. The measure was approved by a veto-proof two-thirds majority, but it does not include regulated sales.

Under the proposal, adults 21-and-older would be allowed to possess up to 3/4 of an ounce and grow up to six plants. In 2017, New Hampshire approved decriminalization legislation up to 3/4 of an ounce of flower and five grams of concentrates for adults 18-and-older.

In 2018, Republican Gov. Chris Sununu said he would veto any adult-use legislation approved by lawmakers “regardless of what the language looks like” – which is why the veto-proof majority in the House is particularly important; although the Senate would need to pass the measure by the same margin to prevent the governor from sending it back to the legislature. Sununu remains opposed to broad legalization, but lawmakers believe he might support a measure that doesn’t include sales, according to NHPR.

Last session, the governor vetoed legislation that would have allowed registered patients to home-cultivate up to three cannabis plants. In his veto message, Sununu said that allowing patients to grow their own cannabis would “make the job of law enforcement significantly more difficult,” and that it could reduce the number of patients purchasing cannabis from the state’s dispensaries, according to NHPR.

In 2018, the House passed the legalization bill by a 207-139 vote; in 2019 that margin was 209-147. Both bills stalled in the Senate.

A 2018 report from the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration estimates that with a 15 percent sales tax on cannabis sales, the state could expect between $26.7 million and $58 million in tax revenues.

The legalization measure moves next to the Senate.

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Louisiana Licenses 1,500 Businesses to Sell CBD

2/21/2020

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About 1,500 Louisiana businesses have been licensed by the state Alcohol and Tobacco Control Board to sell CBD under the state’s industrial hemp rules, the Advocate reports. The state Department of Agriculture and Forestry has also started licensing hemp farms for the 2020 growing season.

Businesses that have received licenses for CBD sales include pharmacies, chiropractic clinics, and gas stations, among others, the report says.

In Louisiana, there are four types of hemp licenses – cultivation, processing, seed production, and transport.

The first hemp cultivation license in the state was awarded to Nanette Noland, president of the agricultural investment firm Powell Group. The company plans on growing about 500 unobstructed acres and another 500 acres next to pine seedlings. The Powell Group has heavily invested in pine trees, which have turned into a money-loser, Noland said.

“So we have been looking to do something else with this acreage. After some investigation we decided hemp is the way to go.” – Noland, to the Advocate

The company also plans on opening laboratories to test soil and hemp leaves for farmers to ensure they are meeting the state’s strict requirements. Louisiana’s hemp program is just one of six state programs to receive final approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture – a requirement under the 2018 Farm Bill that legalized hemp federally.

Previously in Louisiana, CBD was considered a Schedule I controlled substance despite the federal reforms.

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Brian Applegarth: California Social Use & Cannabis Tourism

2/20/2020

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As the founder of Enlighten Hospitality Solutions and the California Cannabis Tourism Association, Brian recently returned to our podcast for his second appearance on the show to provide updates on the California cannabis tourism scene, including recent legislative attempts to boost cannabis tourism, the pro-cannabis attitude of many tourists, and more!

You can tune in to this week’s episode of the Ganjapreneur.com Podcast via the player below, or scroll down to read a full transcript of the interview.

Listen to the podcast:

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TG Branfalt: Hey there, I’m your host TG Branfalt and thank you for listening to the Ganjapreneur.com podcast where we try to bring you actionable information and normalize cannabis through the stories of ganjapreneurs, activists, and industry stakeholders. Today I’m joined by Brian Applegarth. He’s the CEO co-founder of Emerald Country Tours, founder of the Cannabis Trail, founder of the California Cannabis Tourism Association. It’s the second time that I’ve had him on the show, so I guess he’s a friend of the show now. He’s led the advancement of cannabis tourism in California, working with brands representing the industry and culture to bring their niche offerings to the mainstream via tourism. He’s an advisor for hospitality-based businesses interested in incorporating cannabis into their model. How are you doing buddy?

Brian Applegarth: Hey, TG. I’m great, man. How have you been?

TG Branfalt: You know, it’s getting colder, it’s getting colder. We’re getting a little closer to legalization in New York. Things are both looking up and a little chilly. You were telling me, we’re chatting to begin with, you’re headed to do a conference, huh?

Brian Applegarth: Yeah, man. Headed to SoCal this week, Southern California for a couple of meetings and then an event which is happening in Long Beach, it’s called The State of Cannabis. It’s a really cool event. It’s really unique actually. Its regulators, its assembly members, its government officials as well as stakeholders and leaders in the cannabis industry all in one room sitting on panels and sharing information. It’s a really important event. Yeah, pretty excited about heading down there.

TG Branfalt: It’s the first time you’ve attended something like this with both regulators and stakeholders?

Brian Applegarth: You know, I was there last year and of course with the association, I lobby and I’m present in Sacramento a couple times a year to be part of the tourism conversation there at the state level. Yeah, it comes in and out as far as my work in that space.

TG Branfalt: Cool, man. I mean, we’re definitely going to talk about that, your firsthand knowledge and some of the stuff that I’m looking to clarify here. Before we get into all of that, man, remind us, as I said, you’ve been on this show before, so some people were probably familiar with your name but might not fully remember what you’re all about. Remind us how you got into the cannabis space.

Brian Applegarth: Yeah, it was approximately five years ago at this point where I moved back to Northern California where I grew up, and I was working in a real estate corporate job. I learned pretty quickly that cannabis had come a long way since I graduated high school in ’98. I was gone for quite a bit of time. When I got back to California, I saw this burgeoning gray market industry and legalization seem pretty obvious that it was coming. I’ve just always been a lover of travel and tourism and hospitality and culture and also a fan of cannabis because growing up in Northern California, that’s just part of our culture here. I went to Oaksterdam University and started making trips up to Mendo and Humboldt. Just really fell in love even deeper with the culture and the story of cannabis in California.

Then I started thinking about what my next move was for my career and my trajectory and quality of life. Cannabis tourism really spoke to me. It’s been its own journey. I jumped in initially with Emerald Country Tours as you mentioned. That was the first of many projects now that I’ve had a hand in and it’s been a pretty wild ride and a really exciting one at that. Where we are today is incredibly exciting because cannabis tourism is at an inflection point and becoming really, really relevant as California goes into its third year of adult use legalization.

TG Branfalt: I mean, there was a lot of stuff in the works. They’d just legalized in California. How’s your business, the tourism industry changed since we last spoke two years ago in California?

Brian Applegarth: Yeah, good question. I say the first two years of legalization, a lot of it has been being an evangelist. Organizing the association, which is essentially a startup. Getting memberships on board, building the actual a board out, the board members. Getting the website. Getting the association up and operational and bridge-building with CalTravel and Visit California and some of the traditional travel tourism hospitality industry stakeholders for California. Now as we wrap up the second year, I think it’s going from an education evangelist role to needing hard data. The traditional industry that’s already established in California as one of the leading tourism regions of the world sees the impact and the opportunity of cannabis tourism and what that means going forward. At this point, at this juncture, everybody collectively recognizes that this is extremely relevant and that there is a cannabis tourist that’s demanding this as part of the California experience.

It’s really disrupting, not in a negative way, but it’s disrupting and it’s providing opportunity for the entire intersection of hospitality, travel, tourism, and cannabis and hemp and CBD. It’s a pretty big conversation. As we go into year three, I think we’re going to see a lot more data come out, which is going to support the traditional industry to be able to formalize strategy and figure out how to talk about cannabis and couch it as a destination product for California.

TG Branfalt: I mean, you’re seeing that in a lot of different states. Just here in New York, I was driving, I was headed to Massachusetts and as I went through Albany, I saw the billboard for the dispensary that was 45 minutes away. The one that I was actually headed to and I’m like, this has got to be great for Lee, Massachusetts. Right? People are driving through and it’s like 45 minutes to a dispensary. How often are people really taking that into consideration with their travel plans?

Brian Applegarth: Yeah, well it’s often, to be honest with you. I mean, cannabis has been in California. It’s been part of our culture. I mean, living in San Francisco, the Haight-Ashbury in general is essentially tied to cannabis tourism with the whole history of the hippies here and things like that. It goes above and beyond retail and consumption. It really gets into the culture and the history of the Northern California region. That’s where I find a lot of interest and my passion really lives is helping make sense of the ecosystem that’s developing. From consumption lounges, to infused dinners, to retailers, to tour companies. Also, making sure that the culture and the historical storytelling of the movement is part of that tourist experience because I think we all know that in today’s world for marketing, that storytelling component and being authentic in that voice is really important. Northern California has got a lot of special assets in that way.

TG Branfalt: How have local and state policies changed as it relates to tourism over these last three years?

Brian Applegarth: Well, as far as legislatively, we had one senate bill that came up. It was 625, and it was essentially about the party bus and the ventilation and being able to smoke. It really spoke to tour companies and what was legal and not legal. Unfortunately, that one did not get through this year, which was a loss for sure. That’s going to be something that we’re going to have to circle back with. That being said, we use these opportunities to educate about how cannabis has a lot of ways that it can be consumed now that go above and beyond inhalation. Of course, you have vape pens and smoking joints and all that, but you also have drinkables, microdosing, edibles. I mean, heck, even the leaf, the fan leaves of the plant are incredibly medicinal, and that’s something that you could put in a meal or make pesto from.

Then when you start talking about Hippie Hill and some of the iconic locations of the cannabis movement, there’s a lot of ways we can start talking about it. SB 625 unfortunately didn’t get through. That being said, the tourists and visitors to our state are showing up and asking questions. Some of the dispensaries and consumption lounges in the Bay Area are reporting that up to 70% of their daily transactions are tourists that are coming in.

TG Branfalt: Unreal.

Brian Applegarth: Yeah, absolutely. When you consider the millions of tourists that visit L.A., San Francisco, Palm Springs, Santa Cruz, it gets to be a bigger and bigger conversation that needs more and more attention. Then of course, okay, so the CDFA in California is currently developing the cannabis Appalachians of the state and they plan on activating that and announcing that in 2021. Once that rolls out, there’s going to be this infrastructure in place that’s really going to support a new narrative that’s going to have protections for local regions of origin so you can have this brand authenticity and start crafting regional narratives about microclimates and terroir and what cultivars or varietals of cannabis grow in what regions. That’s going to be another inflection point once that happens in 2021. For now, going into our third year, I think it’s going to be a year of data. It’s going to be a year of the traditional industry tipping in. You’re going to see destinations start to formalize what is their unique message with cannabis, hemp, and CBD to draw visitors and make it part of that experience-

TG Branfalt: Well, you said that the tourists are coming in and they’re asking questions. What kind of questions? What are people looking for in terms of cannabis tourism?

Brian Applegarth: The tourist profiles we’re seeing, not surprisingly is a pretty wide net. It’s everything from investors that are coming to study the industry so they can prepare for their home markets as they embrace cannabis and have a competitive advantage. You have of course the high school reunion bachelorette parties that want to come in and have a cannabis experience in addition to the wine tasting.

TG Branfalt: That sounds like fun.

Brian Applegarth: Yeah, man, of course. Of course. Yeah, there’s consumption lounge crawls for people that want to go on a three or four consumption lounge hopper in San Francisco or Oakland. There’s tours of manufacturing plants, extraction. Tourists are really asking for, it’s everything from where do I get it to where can I use it. What I advocate for the hotels and concierge in the hospitality industry in general is there’s a few basic questions we need to be able to answer, and that is what’s legal, where can you legally buy it, and where can you legally consume it. That’s a great starting place for any hotel, any hospitality professional to be able to answer.

TG Branfalt: How open are they to doing that? How open are the hotels? Are any of them open to like, yeah, let them vape inside the rooms but obviously no smoking because, I mean, there’s smoking laws in general.

Brian Applegarth: Yeah. I think the conversations move past like how do they feel about it or how open they are. I think that that is informed by leadership. Certain people, depending on whether it’s a hotel that’s more traditional or one that’s more cutting edge and innovative, the leadership of the hotel largely informs what they’re embracing and what they’re not. What’s happening at the end of the second year of adult use legalization here in California is you have tourists showing up demanding it, and there’s issues that are arising that hotels need to deal with. For example, the number of guests that are overdosing on edibles and spending two days in the hotel room under the sheets has gone up. There’s been ambulances called for people who think they’re dying because they overdosed on an edible. There’s smoking in the rooms and vaping in the rooms on non-smoking properties.

There’s also the staff, right? There’s a lot of just the operations of a hotel. It’s like, what do you do when you do have an over altered guest? What is your plan? How do you feel that? How do you troubleshoot that? Also, in the second year of legalization, there’s still a very rampant black market. What a lot of the traditional industry doesn’t realize necessarily is that when you pull up a cannabis delivery in California on the internet and Googled it, it’s quite likely that you’re going to be ordering from a black market operator because they’re hard to tell the difference from. That is illicit illegal activity. It’s a cash transaction. Some of those products don’t go through the testing tier that is one of the biggest benefits of the regulated market is knowing that you have clean medicine and clean products.

At the end of the day, it comes down to the hotel leadership. Is it important for you to mitigate risk? Is it important for you to make sure that your customers are partaking in legal above board activity and transactions and providing the framework for supporting the regulated industry and making sure the safety of your guests? Whether it’s your hotel or amusement park or on your tour company, whatever it is. We really want to support safe and sustainable practices for cannabis tourism so the industry can really thrive. Right now it’s all comes down to communication and education at the B2B level and the B2C level both. That’s one of the pillars of the California Cannabis Tourism Association is really being a trusted source for the best operators in California that are creating this really new and exciting cannabis tourism space.

TG Branfalt: You had mentioned the consumption spaces in a couple of cities. I don’t think that that’s something like a lot of people outside of California really know. It comes as a surprise to me. How many consumption lounges are there? Where are they?

Brian Applegarth: Yeah, in San Francisco we have about 15. You got a couple up in Mendocino. You got I think 10 that have been approved for Humboldt. You got West Hollywood that just opened the first cannabis cafe, which is actually like a dining experience as well as cannabis. It’s like a hostess in the menu.

TG Branfalt: I want to ask you about that. What is that opening of that cafe? Tell us about the future of recreational cannabis in California.

Brian Applegarth: I think it’s one of many iterations we’re going to see as far as how cannabis evolves in an experiential way for customers to consume. I predict that the retailer was the first step and then you had the consumption lounge that was in a lot of respects, it was just bolted onto the dispensary. You have a couple dispensaries that actually made it more of an experience where you get seated and they have dab bars and things like that. Then you have this evolution of the cannabis cafe. I’ve also been to events and gatherings in Northern California where they have multi-course meals with cannabis sommeliers talking about-

TG Branfalt: Aren’t those private normally now?

Brian Applegarth: Those are private, yeah, but that’s like a ticket where you buy it but it’s a private gathering ages 21 and up at a private space. It’s not a public facing restaurant perse but it’s yet another experience. Just like we have Puff and Paint where you instead of sipping wine and painting a picture, you smoke a joint, paint a picture, or drink a cannabis drinkable and paint a picture. I mean, especially with how creative and flexible and incredible cannabis is with its effects, I think we’re going to really see a lot of art and music and innovation.

TG Branfalt: Somebody needs a smoking movie theater right now.

Brian Applegarth: Yeah, man. I mean, that’s part of it too. That’s one of the exciting things about cannabis is unlike wine and beer where a lot of the conversation is around mouth-feel and hops and tannins and legs on the glass of wine, cannabis is really effect-driven. I have this theory that cannabis, the way it’s going to be paired in the future in the tourist experience is going to be by effect. What activity or experience are you going to be doing that day, and what cultivar or varietal of cannabis, at what dose, is going to optimally enhance that experience or make it even more extraordinary by having cannabis be a tool to heighten your senses to complement that experience.

TG Branfalt: I want to switch gears. Earlier, you’re talking about the downsides to what businesses worry about when it comes to allowing consumption. We’re talking about hotels and that sort of thing. When they come to you to help guide maybe their plans or whatever, what questions are they asking?

Brian Applegarth: Man, I mean, it’s basic, right? It’s the beginning. A lot of it is cannabis 101. Obviously, they want to know what’s legal, right? Which I always disclose, I’m not a lawyer, but as I understand it, this is where we’re in in legal law within California. Then we really get into just cannabis 101. That’s where it starts for me with leadership. I talk about what is cannabis now? What’s cannabis 2.0? It’s got tinctures, drinkables, edibles, topicals, transdermal patches. You have CBD drinkables, which is equivalent to a non alcoholic beer. Then you have the super strong ones. Then you have everything in between. Right? It’s choose your own adventure now. When you double down on that with all the different methods of ingestion that are at your fingertips, it’s really reframing the conversation and overcoming that stigma through education and factual education, fact-based education.

I even go into the endocannabinoid system and I talk about the discovery of that, and what a endocannabinoid is versus a phytocannabinoid and how cannabis promotes health and wellness. Then we dive into what is your specific hotel property like? What is your threshold? We can do everything from educating your staff to integrating activities at concierge, to CBD products in lobby shop or in room, to cannabis delivery as a service amenity for your guests. There’s a lot of options on how to make this a really compelling product and tourism and also mitigate risk and drive incremental revenue. It’s a big opportunity. It’s not going away. I often talk about cannabis with the clients I work with. Hemp as far as sustainability, CBD as far as health and wellness, and then of course the higher THC products are really three different buckets that you really have to explore. Then you create a plan for what they’re interested in implementing. Oftentimes, it’s not all the above. I have some people that just want education and to have some activity as a concierge and that’s it.

TG Branfalt: What kind of activities?

Brian Applegarth: Cannabis tours, cannabis experiences. There’s a hotel here in San Francisco named Hotel Zeppelin that’s a really cool cutting edge hotel near Union Square that they have little poker chips at their concierge that gives you 10% off a consumption lounge. Now when guests ask about cannabis, they have some kind of compelling response that actually directs their guests to a really special experience in San Francisco that is legal, compliant and it’s in alignment with the hotel and the hotel guest profile. It could be as basic as that or it could be something more robust where when you check into the hotel, you have a little cannabis menu that actually lives in the room that features products that people can order.

TG Branfalt: That’s phenomenal.

Brian Applegarth: Yeah, it’s exciting.

TG Branfalt: I mean, the opening of that cannabis cafe, I mean, that caught national attention. Right? We wrote about it, there were news stories about it. It was a really big deal. What was the cannabis tourism’s response to the press that that got?

Brian Applegarth: It’s interesting you bring that up. This cannabis cafe and I got to tell you, West Hollywood, I believe they have 15 more lounges coming onboard in the next two years. Right. Yeah, it’s going to be, and they all are a little bit different. You have one that’s more of an edible cafe. It’s no smoking. You’re going to see them differentiate as far as what’s allowed when it comes to consumption and how they build their brand and experience around that. As far as how, you’re absolutely right, it caught national attention. Maybe even international attention because it’s the first cannabis cafe style establishment to open in the United States. It’s been sold out like every single day since it opened. We can call that an initial trend or hey, it’s shiny and new.

I think time will tell, but obviously this is a perfect example of a really powerful asset that’s drawing attention where the destination of West Hollywood is now, I mean it’s exciting. They have something new to talk about. Now understanding that and how to message around that is a little more complicated. Partially, that’s because of the marketing laws. You really can’t promote cannabis consumption. There’s these laws that are barriers and blocking business as usual and people are nervous to take certain steps. It all comes down to communication, figuring out a plan where everybody’s on board, and then maximizing the opportunity whether you’re a Lowell’s cafe in West Hollywood or whether you’re L.A. area or West Hollywood. Yeah, it’s exciting to see it. It got a lot of attention and we’re going to see a lot more of that in 2020.

TG Branfalt: I mean, you’re situated next to, I mean, basically the whole West coast is legalized. Does that have an overarching effect on tourism in California?

Brian Applegarth: Yeah. I mean, I think that if nothing else from an optics perspective, it really shows that there is this alignment for the acceptance of it on the West Coast. There’s strength in numbers, that’s just how the world works. As far as boosting the tourism draw as a West Coast experience, I don’t see that happening yet. I mean that being said, you mentioned earlier on the cannabis trail, which is my nonprofit, it’s a legacy cannabis historical trail that I’m going to be slowly building over the next 20 years. I’m definitely exploring of bringing that up into Oregon and maybe even continue to get North to Seattle where it becomes more of a track along the West Coast that takes you through all the different cannabis country legacy storytelling of the West Coast. Because there’s a lot, there’s a lot to it, and each one of them is unique.

TG Branfalt: Are you doing those tours now like in California?

Brian Applegarth: Yeah. I mean, Emerald Country Tours was interesting because that’s where I put a lot of my effort up front but then life had other plans. That still is in operation. I do a couple of tours a year. Actually really excited about next year. Next year  I’m going to be doing basically one tour that’s going to happen in September and it’s going to be 11 days. It’s going to be an immersive, extremely immersive, one of a kind cannabis in depth experience from San Francisco to Oakland all the way up to Humboldt.

TG Branfalt: Put me on that list.

Brian Applegarth: Yeah, I’m excited, man. I just finished baking out the itinerary and I’m getting some feedback from some people. Then I’m going to release it into the wild. It’s going to be limited to 24 people and it’s going to be extremely specialized and immersive. It’s something that I’m excited about doing… Of course, I’m going to continue the relationships with my senior retirement communities that I’ve been servicing and taking on tours. That’s really where Emerald Country Tours kind of pivoted into was it became really obvious to me that the most important and the most rewarding tours that I operated in the first year, year and a half of business there was with the active adult retirement communities. I’m going to be doing those as well.

TG Branfalt: I mean, are you getting a lot of that population? We read some studies that suggest that the baby boomer generation is coming around a little bit when it comes to use when states legalize. Is that something that you experience out there?

Brian Applegarth: Yeah, I mean the baby boomers are like, they’re coming on real strong. That’s one of the highest demographics of growth and the trajectory is just speeding up because people are finding quality of life is improving and they’re really curious about cannabis. As stigma dies off, more and more of them are tipping in. They also have resources, a lot of them. When you look at dispensaries and the people that have the money to spend on it, the baby boomers are right in there. I love that whole demographic. It’s one of my favorites because you can really change minds once you educate them about the science behind the endocannabinoid system and you explain this whole new world. I enjoy watching somebody who is in their 60s or older have their eyes opened about how misled they were with cannabis and hemp over the last 80, 90 years.

TG Branfalt: How often does that happen for you? What percentage of people are sort of… I don’t want to call them novices but maybe don’t know as much but are getting their feet wet through these tours and these experiences.

Brian Applegarth: Man, that’s like my world. I found that my role in this whole story of cannabis and the movement that’s happening and the legalization and navigating that is I’m really an educator and a bridge-builder. I spend a lot of my time educating people that are new, whether it’s government, whether it’s the fire department, whether it’s hotels that have been in operation for over a hundred years. I constantly find myself as an educator that’s helping normalize and just make sense of this opportunity without being pushy about it and fully recognizing that not everybody smokes and wants vaping on their property, and that’s okay. I think the more people that are able to understand and use cannabis, the better the world will be. That’s my ethos. If that’s a drinkable or a microdosing edible or if that’s a CBD topical for somebody’s pain, all of those are wins in my book. I just stay in that lane. To answer your question, pretty much every day my work revolves around people that are newer to cannabis.

TG Branfalt: That’s what I appreciate about you. You’re going into this meeting with regulators, you’ve been talking to regulators, lawmakers for a few years now. What’s been the evolution there? What’s been your experience working with people who make the policies?

Brian Applegarth: It’s a big negotiation and the people that are doing the real heavy lifting are the ones that are embedded in the supply chain. Cultivation all the way to retail. When you look at distribution, manufacturing, the testing tier, and all the different benchmarks of getting a product to market, it’s going to be an ongoing negotiation for the foreseeable future because, well, there’s a couple of reasons. One is the stigma is not helping and a lot of people are still brainwashed about how cannabis was a drug and it’s like the devil’s lettuce and all this nonsense. Then you have obviously money and influence becoming primary values with a lot of people. I’m not talking about government here necessarily, I’m talking about the capitalistic, consumer-driven, regulated environment of California and the United States in general where when you get investors and it tips in as a white industry or an above board legal industry, the game board shifts, right?

It’s like you had the elicit, the underground market, then you had the gray market where it was medical, and now you have the aboveboard market. It’s like three different game boards. You got to really stay persistent in advocating for legislation that is favorable and that encourages sustainable, smart, and most importantly, safe for the public operations or landscape for the industry. There’s a lot of battles being fought and a lot of it comes down to tax dollars. It comes down to permits. You know, in Northern California you have this whole culture that’s been living off the grid that hasn’t been part of the matrix that most of the world lives in with licensing and computers and technology and cellphone signals and all the different things. You have these people that have all the brain thrust up in the Northern California in the Emerald triangle and there’s such a gap in what the skills are. There’s not one is better than the other like it’s just two different worlds.

Watching that unfold is like a case study in itself. That’s how I really see cannabis as like this cannabis being legalized in California, it is a case study on capitalism. It’s a case study on permitting and licensing. It’s a case study on local municipality versus state versus federal. It’s a clash of cultures and values. A lot of people think at this point it’s kind of good versus evil. There’s some negotiation happening on how that industry is going to shake out and who’s going to hold the influence and the power. It’s a lot of big ideas and big conversations that are going on. I think time will tell. I’m excited to be a part of it and to be able to advocate in my own way for what I think it could and should be for its highest purpose.

TG Branfalt: You mentioned the locality, I know that quite a few, a large number of California municipalities have banned cannabis operations within their city limits. How much of an impact has that had, if at all, on tourism? Is the tourism part of cannabis doing just fine in California without these swaths?

Brian Applegarth: Yeah, no, I mean, that’s good question. I think it depends on the municipality and the location that we’re talking about, the destination. There are certain destinations in California that are absolutely relevant when it comes to tourists and tourism. I mean at this point, anybody who’s not embracing tourism, I feel like they’re missing out on an opportunity to drive commerce and dollars into their market, which means tax money for the local government to be able to use to improve the community. I think over time it will roll out. I think that there’s going to be people that are leading, which there is, it’s Mendocino, Palm Springs, West Hollywood, San Francisco, Oakland, Santa Cruz are kind of the ones that are really leading the space. Sonoma County is getting there. I think once these leader markets have a bit more information and have gone out and really establish themselves and proven the model, you’ll see the next wave of destinations tip in.

I mean, the other point to this, TG, is that there’s a very vibrant black market still. Even though these municipalities think that they’re saying we’re not going to regulate cannabis, there’s probably the exact same activity that was happening before regulation is still happening on the black market and their municipality and that’s just a fact. At the end of the day it comes down to, do you want to be part of the future? If so, when? I’m not saying everybody should do it now. Every municipality has its own culture and I really respect local communities to make their own decisions and create coalitions to move forward together. What does that look like? I think that the conversation and the education are vital right now to continue the conversation moving forward and to be a resource for people.

TG Branfalt: I’d love to talk about this with you for another, keep this conversation moving forward for another hour or so. It’s always great to have you on, but we’re just about out of time. Where can people find out more about you and your various endeavors?

Brian Applegarth: Yeah. Great. Thanks for asking. My website is Brian with an I, Brian Applegarth, A-P-P-L-E-G-A-R-T-H, so that’s brianapplegarth.com. My email is ba@brianapplegarth.com. You can find me on LinkedIn and I’d love to connect and hear from anybody that has questions. It’d be great.

TG Branfalt: Well again, man, I really appreciate having you. Hopefully we don’t wait another two years. Hopefully the next time I see you, I’ll require your services as a tour guide. I think that’d be great. Again, thanks for coming on and just letting me explore that wealth of knowledge that you are, man. Appreciate it.

Brian Applegarth: Thanks TG. I always enjoy, dude. You’re welcome anytime in California. Come on out here.

TG Branfalt: You can find more episodes of the ganjapreneur.com podcast in the podcast section of ganjapreneur.com and in the Apple iTunes store. On the ganjapreneur.com website, you’ll find the latest cannabis news and cannabis jobs updated daily, along with transcripts of this podcast. You can also download the ganjapreneur.com app in iTunes and Google Play. This episode was engineered by Trim Media House. I’ve been your host, TG Branfalt.

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Cannabis Firm Founders Accused of Misappropriating $14M

2/20/2020

by

The founders of Canadian licensed producer Green Relief Inc. are accused of misappropriating about $14 million from the company for personal use over the course of six years, the Financial Post reports. The allegations came during a private shareholders’ meeting last month which was recorded and sent to the post.

In the video, company executives detail transactions they believe were made by the founders – Warren and Lyn Bravo – which have led to financial distress for the firm. In the video, filmed in January, Green Relief’s current Chief Executive Dr. Neilank Jha suggested the company only had enough funds to survive until February; however, he told the Post the firm was still liquid and would be for the “next few months.”

Jha succeeded Warren Bravo in March 2019 after Bravo stepped down as CEO that February.

“As CEO, my goal is not to seek justice. My goal is not to worry about what people have done in the past. My goal is to advance Green Relief and protect your investments.” – Jha, during a January 14, 2020 stockholder’s meeting, via the Post

An internal investigation by Green Relief found that since 2013 the company had received $59.2 million in funding from, primarily, shareholders and had spent $45.1 million for long and short-term expenses — a discrepancy of $14.1 million.

In an email to the Post, Jha, whose company Bodhi Research & Development was acquired by Green Relief in early 2019, said he was told that $200,000 in funds had been misappropriated on his first day and that he once wired the company $150,000 of his own money to keep it afloat.

In the video, Chief Financial Officer Stephen Massel alleged that the Bravos used fake invoices and billed Green Relief. They accuse the couple of using $1.3 million for the construction of a private home and discharging the mortgage on a property owned by Lyn, using $900,000 for credit card bills and leasing vehicles and another $2.9 million for personal investments, and spending $3.7 million to support their other businesses.

In an email to the Post, the Bravos’ lawyer John Hammond said they “vehemently deny” the allegations, describing them as “false, without merit, and constitute a malicious defamation” against the Bravos. In court documents related to an attempt by Green Relief to bar Lyn from the property, she claims that the funds for the mortgage were used “at the express request and direction of Green Relief, and with the full knowledge of its shareholders, directors and officers,” the report says, and that the new home was an “integral part of Green Relief’s plan for future offices” and was done with the company’s knowledge and support. She claims she is still owed some $100,000 she loaned the company to cover payroll in 2018.

Green Relief received significant media attention in late 2018 and early 2019 for using a pesticide-free process in an underground aquaponic farm to grow cannabis. Aquaponics is a process that uses aquatic animals and hydroponics to grow plants.

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Budtenders Unionize In Canada

2/20/2020

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Budtenders at Clarity Cannabis have joined the United Food and Commercial Workers union, the first cannabis workers at a private dispensary in Canada to organize. The budtenders at the British Columbia-based dispensary chose to join UFCW 1518 “in an effort to address outstanding concerns, including fair wages, a respectful workplace, safety and security on the job, and education and training opportunities,” the organization said in a press release.

Emma Riderelli, a Clarity Cannabis budtender, said she joined the union due to her position’s low pay and the lack of educational opportunities offered by her employer. Her co-worker Adelaide Wilder said that while she is “passionate” about her work she “couldn’t afford to keep doing it” without joining a union.

“Budtending requires research and experience to do well, we’d like to look at it as a long-term opportunity. Joining a union is going to help us make that a reality.” – Adelaide, in a statement

Kim Novak, president of UFCW 1518, said the union was “proud to be the first … in Canada to organize private dispensaries.”

“The cannabis industry is an emerging sector and it’s important to build worker power so that budtenders, as well as other cannabis workers, have a strong voice,” she said in a statement. “That is our union’s commitment.”

Two U.S. states – New York and California – require licensed cannabis companies to sign a labor peace agreement with workers. In Illinois, the scoring system for licenses provides higher marks for firms that maintain labor peace agreements. In the U.S., the UFCW launched a Cannabis Workers Rising campaign and represent “tens of thousands of workers across multiple states,” its website says.

The UFCW Local 1518 represents more than 24,000 retail, grocery, health, hospitality, grocery, industrial and professional sectors throughout British Columbia.

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West Virginia Removes Flower from Medical Cannabis Bill

2/20/2020

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West Virginia’s Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced a stripped-down version of a medical cannabis reform bill that would have allowed patients to grow their own medicine and possess flower; however, those provisions were removed by the committee, according to CNHI News.

In its amended form, the measure would allow program reciprocity for patients, rescind residency requirements for would-be industry operators, change how much in fees operators will pay, and create industry-specific employee licensing.

Under the measure, initial permit fees will cover all locations rather than a separate fee for each location; however, renewal fees will no longer cover all locations.

The bill had originally called for patients to be able to cultivate 12 plants and 12 seedlings and possess more than 4 ounces of flower per patient – but both were struck down by the committee. Under the current law – which passed in 2017 but has yet to be implemented – patients can only possess tinctures, liquids, capsules, patches, or vaporize cannabis.

The committee also advanced a measure requiring that minors caught possessing cannabis – and their parents – attend classes on the dangers of the plant and another that would cap possession penalties at $1,000 with no jail time.

This is the second time since 2018 that a bill to allow patients to access flower has been fought back by legislative leaders. The last attempt was part of broader reforms that included statewide decriminalization, cannabis home delivery, which were both removed by the Senate before the bill stalled at the end of that year’s session.

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Native Roots Dispensaries Switches All Stores to Cova Retail Platform

2/20/2020

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DENVER, CO FEBRUARY 20, 2020 – In a move set to advance store operations and support the company’s aggressive growth, Native Roots, one of the nation’s largest and most successful vertically integrated cannabis operators, has partnered with Cova Software, North America’s leading cannabis retail point of sale (POS) provider. Native Roots has moved all 19 of its Colorado dispensaries and 3 Garden Variety stores in Canada to the Cova retail platform, the only cannabis POS available in both countries.

Ryan Brown, CEO of Native Roots, chose Cova only after a thorough evaluation. “We put Cova through quite a set of trials to test their POS, digital retail technology, support, and training,” Brown said. “They delivered so well on our needs, and so impressed us with their responsive enterprise-level capabilities, we’re confident it’s the perfect fit for Native Roots.”

Native Roots has established itself as a premier brand and now faces the logistical challenges of high-volume sales and high customer expectations. Cova’s refined tech infrastructure, scalable feature set, and mature API are an essential upgrade for the dispensary chain. The company will leverage Cova’s enterprise capabilities to replace deficiencies in their previous system and better manage sales and inventory across all locations.

“We needed a dependable POS that offered global management of twenty plus stores,” said Alex Bitz, IT Director at Native Roots. “Cova allows us to set up products and inventory in one place. We are impressed with the speed at which the system can work to set up our entire product inventory within a matter of minutes. We also needed a solution that could provide data that was on-pointe. Cova’s API access lets us pull what we want, how we want, and where we want.”

Another feature that lends a competitive advantage is Cova’s wireless functionality. Native Roots can now leverage the benefits of mobile tablet-based sales tools, adding flexibility to customer experience concepts going forward. Budtenders can walk around stores to engage and educate customers on the sales floor. Because Cova separates the front-end budtender sales tools from the backend system, sales staff now have all the information and streamlined functionality they need to complete significantly faster transactions.

“The overall speed at which we can create a transaction is phenomenal,” said Bitz.

Cova’s cannabis retail platform is the fastest growing in the industry, used by 65% of all private stores in Canada, and hundreds of dispensaries in markets across the U.S. The move by Native Roots underscores the value of the system’s built-in scalability.

“We were ecstatic to earn Native Roots’ business across Colorado, and to help their move into Canada,” said Gary Cohen, CEO of Cova. “We built our platform to help cannabis retailers of all sizes, from single stores to expansive operations with a hundred locations. Native Roots is an incredible success story, and their trust in Cova validates a lot of hard work and investment in scalable solutions. Because we share the same ambition to move the industry forward and raise the bar for customer experience, it also inspires us to keep working and stay ahead of the curve.”

About Cova

Cova is an award-winning POS and Inventory Management solution designed to streamline cannabis retail. A compliance-first company, Cova meets all system requirements in every market served and constantly adapts to changing rules and regulations. In addition to automated compliance, Cova offers an intuitive, user-friendly design and lightning-fast transaction time. Its technology platform currently powers stores of all sizes with virtually no downtime, even on 4/20, making it the most robust and reliable cannabis POS system available. Headquartered in Denver, CO, and Vancouver, BC, Cova’s team spans North America, including California, Oklahoma, Illinois, Michigan, and Missouri. Learn more at www.covasoftware.com.

About Native Roots

Native Roots Cannabis Co. is Colorado’s largest vertically integrated cannabis operator. With 19 locations serving both adult-use populations as well as medical cannabis patients, Native Roots has a large state-of-the-art cannabis cultivation and manufacturing facility in Denver to meet demand. In addition, they operate four Native Roots Wellness shops, selling hemp products which don’t contain THC. Native Roots has over a decade of experience in providing cannabis to consumers and has won recognition for its sustainable business practices, retail store design, and high-quality products.

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Cannabis Sales Top $1.75 Billion In Colorado

2/19/2020

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Cannabis sales in Colorado reached $1.75 billion last year, a new record that netted more than $302.4 million in state tax revenue, according to a Westword report. The previous record was $1.55 billion in 2018.

The sales represent a 13 percent increase from 2018; sales increased just 2.5 percent year-over-year from 2017 to 2018, according to state Department of Revenue figures outlined by CNN.

Tom Adams, managing director at cannabis market research firm BDS Analytics, attributed the slow growth rates in 2017 to 2018 to drops in flower prices but called the 2019 turnaround “a bullish indicator that price compression can’t keep the popularity of legal cannabis down” in an interview with CNN. A recent report from the firm found an increase in the number of adults who reported using cannabis over a six-month period.

Truman Bradley, executive director of the Marijuana Industry Group, said that many people in the state are migrating to the legal market.

“As reefer madness goes away, as the stigmatism of cannabis reduces and people come over to the regulated market, I would expect that trend to continue.” – Bradley, to the Denver Post

In 2018, there was a 3 percent increase in recreational cannabis licenses in the state, while medical licenses decreased 8 percent.

According to a Colorado Sun report, the state’s cannabis-derived tax revenues are mostly split between human services, public health and environment, education, and local affairs. As of 2019, one-third of those revenues were still undesignated.

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High Times’ Spannabis Announcement Questioned After Organizers Deny Affiliation

2/19/2020

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Following the announcement last week of the first-ever High Times Cannabis Cup in Spain, organizers of Spannabis — the world-famous cannabis trade show based in Barcelona — have disputed partnership claims made by High Times.

Specifically, High Times said that winners of the Cannabis Cup Spain would be announced on the main stage at Spannabis 2020. However, an official statement by Feria del Cáñamo, the group behind Spannabis, disputed that claim.

“Spannabis denies any kind of relationship with High Times,” the event’s official Twitter handle posted. The tweet also included an image labeling the High Times event as the “Fake High Times Cannabis Cup Spain.” While Feria del Cáñamo’s response was released on Friday, High Times’ original announcement remains in place.

The public dispute could have been fueled somewhat by an acquisition deal between High Times and Spannabis that was first announced last January but eventually fell through.

According to the High Times website, people who want to compete in the Cup must submit their products sometime during the product intake period from March 5-8. Spannabis will take place this year on March 13-15 in Barcelona.

 

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Priests Promote Legalization In Connecticut

2/19/2020

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A group of Connecticut clergy members rallied at the state Capitol building yesterday in support of legislation to legalize and regulate adult-use cannabis, according to a Regulate CT press release.

“Prohibition does not work. Legalization will regulate the market and bring sorely needed revenue to the state budget, reduce needless arrests, especially for people of color, and provide jobs in communities ravaged by the failed war on drugs.” — Rev. Alexander Sharp, executive director of Clergy for a New Drug Policy, in a statement

Connecticut lawmakers are currently considering a legalization bill pitched by Gov. Ned Lamont (D) that, if approved, would legalize the possession of up to 1.5 ounces, establish a licensing system for cannabis cultivators and operators, and set a weight-based taxation system for the new industry. The bill would also include social equity licensing caveats and the expungement of cannabis possession convictions for up to four ounces.

Under the governor’s proposal, the Department of Consumer Protection would be tasked with determining by 2023 whether or not to allow cannabis home grows.

Participating clergy members at Tuesday’s event included: Rev. Tommie Jackson of Rehoboth Fellowship Church (Stamford); Rev. Alexander Sharp of Clergy for a New Drug Policy; Rev. Stephen W. Camp of Faith Congregational Church (Hartford); Rev. Simon Castillo of Good Shepherd Christian Church (Bridgeport); Rev. Zoey Dominguez of Rehoboth Fellowship Church (Stamford); Rev. Dr. Lindsay E. Curtis of Grace Baptist Church (Norwalk); Rev. Lawrence Hunter of Grace Baptist (Waterbury); Bishop William Marshall, pastor of City of Life Worship and Deliverance Center (Bridgeport and Waterbury); Bishop Robert L. Middleton, Jr., senior pastor of New Beginnings Ministries, Inc. (Hamden); Rev. Edwin Pérez of United Church on the Green/Apostolic Fellowship International Revival Ministries (New Haven); and Rev. Charlie L. Stallworth of East End Baptist Tabernacle Church (Bridgeport). The group was also joined by gospel choir “Brothers in Christ” of Cross Street AME Zion Church in Middletown.

A strong 65 percent majority of Connecticut residents support cannabis legalization, according to a January 2020 GQR poll.

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