Israel Operations of Tikun Olam Up for Sale

8/21/2019

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Medical cannabis company Tikun Olam is reportedly looking to sell their operations in Israel following a Health Ministry decision to revoke the firm’s license unless founder and controlling shareholder Yitzhak (Tzahi) Cohen cut back on his holdings, the Times of Israel reports. Tikun was the first company to receive a medical cannabis license in Israel and is its largest industry operator.

The company’s operations include a 0.74-acre cannabis farm; a Nazareth Illit factory that is under construction; offices and a clinic in Tel Aviv; and an 8,000-person patient list – altogether worth about $100 million.

Cohen has a 70 percent stake in the company and the Health Ministry had ordered him to whittle that figure down to about 5 percent or lose his license. Law enforcement had also recommended to the ministry that the company’s cultivation license not be renewed, and Cohen end his activities in the space. Last year, the Health Ministry ordered the company to temporarily stop work over concerns that its drying process was not in line with regulations.

Aharon Lutzky, president of Tikun Olam said the company would “act in accordance with the court’s directive.”

“… Our goal is to ensure that our patients are able to continue receiving the treatment they are waiting for when the company returns to full activity in Israel – regardless of its ownership structure.” – Lutzky, to the Calcalist, via the Times

The company also has operations in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Greece. Those divisions are not up for sale.

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Cannabis Researcher Sues Feds Over Research-Grade Cannabis

8/21/2019

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A cannabis researcher at Arizona’s Scottsdale Research Institute is suing the Drug Enforcement Administration over its hurdles to cannabis research access, namely the government-run cannabis farm at the University of Mississippi, according to a CT Post report. Dr. Sue Sisley claims that the cannabis grown at the farm is genetically closer to hemp than what can be found in both legal and illegal markets, making it hard to reach scientifically valid conclusions using the government-approved cannabis.

Sisley, who recently completed a study focused on cannabis for post-traumatic stress disorder, said that the cannabis from the Ole Miss farm was moldy, contained sticks and seeds, and was not properly tested before being sent to researchers.

“Scientists need access to options and we are handcuffed by a government-enforced monopoly that has only allowed me to study this really suboptimal study drug from Mississippi.” – Sisley, to the Arizona Capitol Times

She described the cannabis as a “standardized green powder that is just cannabis ground up.” She added that she included the U.S. Attorney General’s office in the lawsuit because she doesn’t believe that the DEA “is responsible for impeding” researcher access to quality cannabis. Her PTSD study has not yet been published, although she does not indicate whether that is attributed to the low-quality product used in the research.

Sisley wants the court to force the federal government to allow researchers to use cannabis from sources other than the Ole Miss farm, which was granted a federal license to grow cannabis more than 50 years ago.

She told the Capitol Times that she applied more than three years ago with the DEA to become a Schedule I bulk manufacturer but has not heard back from the agency, despite its acceptance of her application fee.

Earlier this month, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) introduced legislation to remove all federal restrictions on cannabis research which would direct the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to develop a research agenda. That bill would move cannabis from a Schedule I to Schedule II substance but the DEA would still be responsible for granting licenses.

In May, a federal appeals court ruled that the DEA must address the issue of cannabis’ Schedule I status and if the agency failed to act the court has the jurisdiction to “take whatever action might become appropriate.”

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Report Warns States Against Relying on Cannabis Revenue

8/21/2019

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The Pew Charitable Trust has issued a warning to states who have passed adult-use cannabis laws to proceed with caution when budgeting their newfound cannabis tax windfalls. Citing the stark contrast between Nevada’s and California’s first six months of cannabis revenue, where Nevada exceeded projected revenue by 40% and California was 45% below their projections, the polling firm offers several reasons for the uncertainty surrounding cannabis tax forecasts. 

First, unlike taxes from cigarettes or alcohol, which have been around for decades, there is no historic data on the ebbs and flows of cannabis taxes. Additionally, reliable data on consumption rates is hard to come by due to the illegality of cannabis.    

“Clearly if some random person calls on the phone and asks, ‘Have you smoked marijuana?’ at a time when it’s illegal, many people are inclined to lie,” Ken Alper, former Director of Alaska’s Department of Revenue, told Pew. 

Additional factors such as a change in demand, black market viability, wholesale prices, and market friction all contribute to the unpredictability of cannabis tax revenues, according to the report.

The report says states can avoid stressing their budgets by putting cannabis tax revenues in separate funds to be spent the year after they were collected like Colorado and California, or placing a percentage of the collections in a “rainy day fund” like Nevada.  However, they warn not to fund specific programs such as health care like Washington. 

“States should be careful to distinguish between marijuana revenue’s short-term growth and long-term sustainability. While these new dollars can fill immediate budget needs, they may prove unreliable for ongoing spending demands. Policymakers should look to other, more familiar sin taxes for lessons on how to manage marijuana tax revenue most effectively.” (From the Pew Report “Conclusions”)

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Florida US Attorney Taking Over Cannabis Enforcement

8/20/2019

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U.S. Attorney of Florida’s Northern District Lawrence Keefe is taking over the prosecution of cannabis-related cases as some state prosecutors have said they will not pursue low-level charges following hemp legalization in the state, according to a WCTV report. Keefe oversees 25 Florida counties and plans on temporarily deputizing state prosecutors to help with the cannabis caseload.

Some state prosecutors have decided to stop – or temporarily halt – trying cannabis cases as it is hard to differentiate hemp from THC-rich cannabis and their offices do not have access to tests that can determine THC levels rather than just the presence of THC.

State Attorney Jack Campbell welcomed Keefe’s assistance and said the federal cases will help establish standards for cannabis-related prosecutions following hemp legalization – such as odor tests and what “still suffices as probable cause.”

Richard Greenberg, president of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said he expects low-level offenders will face harsher sentences in federal court.

“I think it is unfortunate particularly this day in age when there’s a movement toward lessening the penalties for marijuana.” – Greenberg, to WCTV

Campbell said his office handles more than 1,000 misdemeanor possession cases per year but did not know exactly what level of offenses Keefe’s office would prosecute.

Some county attorneys in Nebraska, Georgia, and Texas have announced they would not take on low-level cannabis cases following hemp legalization in their respective states, citing the lack of THC tests and issues with probable cause.

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NCUA: Credit Unions Can Serve Hemp Businesses

8/20/2019

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The National Credit Union Administration has issued guidance allowing credit unions to serve hemp businesses, noting that the plant has been federally legal since last year. The guidance does outline “risks” involved in serving hemp businesses, including money laundering and ensuring the company is state-legal.

The agency said that the guidelines could change after the U.S. Department of Agriculture issues regulations for hemp and credit unions need “first be familiar with any other federal and state laws and regulations that prohibit, restrict, or otherwise govern these businesses and their activity.”

NCUA Chairman Rodney E. Hood said that hemp is providing “exciting new opportunities for rural communities” and that the guidance “keeps with the mission of the nation’s cooperative credit system to serve people who have been overlooked and underserved.”

“Many credit unions have a long and successful history of providing services to the agriculture sector. My expectation is that credit unions will thoughtfully consider whether they are able to safely and properly serve lawfully operating hemp-related businesses within their fields of membership.” – Hood, in a statement

The guidance comes as many hemp business operators continue to report they are denied access to many traditional financial services or must pay exorbitant fees to access services. A federal bill to explicitly allow cannabis businesses access to financial services – the SAFE Banking – was granted a hearing by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs in July but has not moved to the floor for a vote.

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Aurora Acquires Hemp Company; Announces Aurora Hemp

8/20/2019

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Aurora Cannabis Inc. has completed their purchase of Hempco Food and Fiber Inc. after acquiring all of its outstanding common shares at a value of C$63.4 million. According to the company, Hempco provides Aurora with access to “low-cost, high-volume” raw hemp for CBD extraction.

It first invested in Hempco – whose brands include Planet Hemp and Praise – in 2017.

The move gives Aurora a position end-to-end across the industrial hemp chain and a new brand – Aurora Hemp.

Its chain includes Agropro, Europe’s largest organic hemp producer; Borela, a hemp product distributor in the European Union; ICC Labs, based in Latin America which has access to CBD genetics; cannabis testing laboratory Anadia Labs; and Radient Technologies, which provides extraction technology. The company also has a CBD research program underway with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. That partnership is expected to develop products for a topical CBD brand ROAR Sports.

CEO Terry Booth said the Aurora Hemp brand “is defining the future of cannabis and hemp globally.”

“Aurora Hemp brings together the cultivars, strategic partners, brands, and distribution networks to service medical, consumer, and wellness markets and further advances Aurora’s entry into the U.S. hemp food and hemp-derived CBD markets.” – Booth, in a statement

It’s the latest big move for Aurora who announced in July that they had won a medical cannabis license to provide products to the Italian government and that they will supply a Mexican pharmaceutical company with medical cannabis products.

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Choosing the Perfect Marijuana Seed for Your Harvest

8/19/2019

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If you’re new to cultivating your marijuana plants, it can be a little difficult and daunting to choose the right cannabis seeds for you. With so many factors involved, choosing the right seeds and understanding how to grow them are crucial to the success of your harvest. 

After assessing the properties of different types of seeds such as their pros, cons, and limitations, it’s essential to choose quality marijuana seeds to ensure the yield you produce is of the highest caliber.

Don’t worry if you’re a little confused and overwhelmed; we’re going to break it all down for you and help you make an informed decision to choose the ideal marijuana seed for your harvest. 

Feminized Cannabis Seeds 

Feminized seeds can only be produced by hermaphrodite or monoecious female cannabis plants. Cannabis cultivators and growers have accomplished this through methods such as: 

  • A technique called Rodelization
  • Spraying the plant with colloidal silver
  • Repeatedly spraying the plant with gibberellic acid for several days

When growing feminized seeds, there will only be a single set of genes present, meaning the plants that are produced from the feminized seeds will be almost identical to the self-pollinated parent plant.  

Growers and cultivators of marijuana plants take advantage of the many benefits of feminized seeds. They provide a guarantee to the grower because they ensure that there won’t be any male plants. The seeds from the male plant have the ability to ruin the entire harvest if they’re not detected and removed promptly. 

For growers that have limited space and quantity restrictions, the feminized seeds provide a clear way to save space by not having the harvest overpopulated with a mixture of male and female plants. Furthermore, using feminized seeds allows the grower to perform less work, maintenance of the plants and still have the potential to produce high yielding plants. 

Autoflowering Seeds

Autoflowering strains are the product of years of heavy research, experimenting and careful breeding. Unlike feminized seeds, they’re not the result of genetic modification but have taken cannabis cultivation to the next level. Auto-flowering seeds require minimal effort and still produce an extremely high yield when grown correctly. 

To create potent auto-flowering seeds that produce high yields, regular strains of Sativa and Indica are cross-bred with Ruderalis. The Ruderalis strain originated in the colder parts of the world such as Siberia and China. This environment allowed Ruderalis to evolve and become less dependent on light and more resilient to harsh conditions and terrain. 

Auto-flowering seeds have many benefits, making them the number one choice for beginner and expert cannabis growers.  

The advantages of auto-flowering seeds:

  • Harvest all year round: auto-flowering seeds don’t depend on heavy light cycles to produce flowers. This provides a big benefit to growers as they can grow their crops all year round without having to worry about the seasons affecting the success of their plants.  Beginners will find this very useful, as they can become more acquainted with cultivating cannabis crops without worrying that their harvest will be unsuccessful.
  • Faster growth: auto-flowering seeds produce plants and flowers very quickly in comparison to other seeds. Consistent production of fresh plants and yields can be done in as little as 10 weeks and still produce the same level of yield as a conventional strain. 
  • Discretion: if you’re lacking open space or worried that someone might spot your plants, don’t worry. Auto-flowering seeds don’t grow above 1.2 meters, making them ideal for tighter spaces, stealth and discretion. 
  • Resilient: auto-flowering seeds can be grown indoors and outdoors, due to their resilience to the cold and pests. When growing auto-flowering strains indoors, it’s as simple as putting the plants under an 18/6 light cycle.  

The Bottom Line

Choosing the right marijuana seeds for your harvest will depend on several factors such as your skill level, the amount of space you have and whether you’re growing indoors or outdoors.

It’s a good idea to assess the type of environment that you’ll be growing your plants in prior to purchasing any seeds, that way, you can ensure the best outcome for your harvest.

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terpenes

Terpenes: What Are They and How Do They Work?

8/19/2019

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Terpenes are arguably the most underrated compounds in cannabis, working silently in the background to produce the myriad therapeutic benefits people seek out from their weed. We all know about THC and its effects, and CBD is now becoming more well-known thanks to trends such as adding it to coffee, smoothies, and even bath bombs.

But what are terpenes, and how do they work?

Flavors and smells

You can think of terpenes as the flavor molecules of cannabis. They’re the aromatic compounds that give each cannabis strain its distinct smell and taste — like how Sour Diesel smells citrusy, and Girl Scout Cookies gives off more of a rich aroma. This is because Sour Diesel is abundant with a terpene called limonene, which is derived from lemons. In addition to the citrusy scent and flavor, this terpene is known to have uplifting and energetic effects. Girl Scout Cookies on the other hand, is rich in a terpene molecule called beta-caryophyllene, which comes from black pepper and gives an earthy flavor and contributes to the feelings of relaxation one experiences from smoking this particular strain.

Over 200 terpenes have been identified in the cannabis plant, but there is a handful in particular that seem to love the limelight and show up in higher quantities than others (these are called monoterpenes). In addition to the two aforementioned terpenes limonene and β-caryophyllene, other monoterpenes include linalool (lavender), pinene (earthy pine), and myrcene (citrus-y, hops). Any combination of these molecules during cannabis breeding can create a unique strain and experience for its user.

Terpenes evolved as plants’ ways to either lure in or protect against certain animals. The tempting aromas, bright colors and succulence brought bees, deer and other herbivores to the plant, increasing the plant’s ability to spread its genetic material. Tastes or smells that could be a deterrent to an animal (like something sour or bitter) ensured the plant’s protection against pests, allowing it to grow and evolve. Only recently have humans utilized these molecules to create special strains of cannabis with a blend of effects.

terpenes
A cured and trimmed cannabis nug sitting on a mirrored surface. Photo credit: Cannabis Reports

Isolating Terpenes

We have also been seeing an upswing of trends to isolate some of the compounds of cannabis — pure THC resin for dabbing, CBD isolate in tincture form, and certain terpenes used for aromatherapy (although aromatherapy has been around for centuries). Is isolating terpenes the right move?

Recent research shows that terpenes have a unique ability to work beautifully with the other molecules in cannabis. The fancy term for this is phytocannabinoid-terpenoid synergy and it speaks to the validity of the entourage effect. Scientists in 2014 found that a full spectrum cannabis extract eliminated issues with CBD dosing as compared to pure CBD isolate. Pure CBD typically behaves such that it treats pain at lower doses but loses its effect at higher ones (this is called a biphasic effect). When given CBD with all other compounds present (THC, terpenes, even CBG and CBN) however, there seemed to be no cutoff, and the drug was analgesic at all doses given. 

Clinicians treating patients for epilepsy found a 71% improvement rate in seizure frequency when given a CBD-predominant cannabis extract, versus 36% improvement from pure CBD isolate. They also saw that patients had to take a lot more CBD when in its isolate form than when given the whole plant extract, and this led to more adverse side effects. These results help confirm the entourage effect and phytocannabinoid-terpenoid synergy. We know some terpenes are especially good at treating certain conditions; for instance, limonene helps with anxiety when combined with CBD, and linalool is an anticonvulsant when combined with CBD. We also know CBD itself is anxiolytic—so it looks like these molecules help each other out—when combined, we see greater efficacy than if patients were treated with CBD alone.

terpenes
Outdoor cannabis terpenes shining in the sun. Photo credit: Brian Shamblen

Heat and combustion

Terpenes also have an interesting amount of variability in their boiling points, and this may speak to some modes of cannabis consumption being superior to others depending on the effect you’re looking for. Myrcene has a boiling point of 334 °F, whereas pinene becomes active at 311 °F. Not a huge difference, but it could mean you want to get a vaporizer where you can control temperature. THC, on the other hand, becomes active at only ~220 °F. If the terpenes aren’t even being activated, they’re probably not going to have any effect—they may work synergistically with CBD or THC, but as far as the actual therapeutic effects of the terpene alone, you’d want to reach that ideal temperature.

Conclusion

Scientists have found that of the five senses, smell is most closely linked to memory — and terpenes are the main reason you might smell some weed and remember all those nights smoking in your dorm room. If you are a big consumer of cannabis, you are most likely able to distinguish different smells and flavor profiles from different strains of cannabis. Maybe you have a favorite strain, and its fruity scent reminds you of summertime. Luckily, with cannabis research on the upswing, we can expect to learn more and more tantalizing facts about these important little flavonoids.

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FBI Seeking Information on Cannabis Industry Bribery

8/19/2019

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On the most recent episode of its weekly podcast, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced it was aware of public corruption – including bribes – in cannabis business licensing and is seeking information into companies that may have obtained a permit illegally.

FBI Supervisory Special Agent Regino Chavez said during a short interview that the agency has seen payoffs as much as $500,000 by individuals seeking a license to operate a cannabis business.

FBI Public Affairs Specialist Mollie Halpern, the host of the podcast, claimed that “the corruption is more prevalent in western states” because “the licensing is decentralized.”

“…Meaning the level of corruption can span from the highest to the lowest level of public officials,” she said.

In 2017, the FBI arrested three Michigan men accused of attempting to bribe a Garden City city council member with $15,000 in cash for a medical cannabis license. The officials contacted the FBI, who arrested Mike Baydoun, his nephew Jalal Baydoun, and another relative Ali Baydoun, according to a Detroit Free Press report. Mike was sentenced to 18 months in prison, his nephew was sentenced to one year and a day, while Ali was given three years of probation in the case.

In 2018, following legalization in California, there were several cases of bribery scandal in the state, including the arrest of a Humboldt County Planning and Building inspector, who allegedly accepted payoffs for fast-tracking permits for industry operators, and the arrest and firing of Adelanto Mayor Rich Kerr and City Manager Gabriel Elliot for allegedly taking bribes from cannabis businesses for licensing and to stop some enforcement on the businesses.

Intelligence Analyst David Kirschner said the agency would help ensure “the corruption doesn’t spread to this new industry.”

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Andrew Yang Says He Would ‘Mass Pardon’ Federal Cannabis Offenders

8/19/2019

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During a Friday rally in Concord, New Hampshire, Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang said he would “mass pardon everyone who is in jail for nonviolent marijuana-related offenses,” according to a report from The Grio.

“Americans now recognize just how broken our mass incarceration system is and how much progress we need to make.” – Yang, during an Americans for Civil Liberties Union event on Aug. 16.

It’s not the first time Yang – founder of Venture for America – has indicated his support to set cannabis prisoners free. In April, during remarks at the National Action Network Conference in New York City, New York, he said he would, not only free non-violent offenders charged with drug-related crimes but would “pardon them on April 20, 2021” and “high-five them on their way out of jail.”

Earlier this month in an interview on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who is also seeking the nomination, said he would legalize cannabis via executive order and called expunging low-level cannabis crime records “the right thing to do.”

Other Democrats in the race have shown support for cannabis law reforms, including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren who has introduced legislation to ensure state-approved cannabis programs could not be targeted by federal law enforcement; California Sen. Kamala Harris who is a co-sponsor on the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act which would decriminalize cannabis federally and expunge criminal records; Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who has used clemency to free individuals convicted of cannabis-related offenses in the state; and Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard who has introduced legislation to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act.

In a survey from The Hill and Harris X, Yang polled at just 1 percent, while former Vice President Joe Biden led the field with 31 percent, followed by Sanders (16 percent) and Warren (10 percent). In all, there are 23 Democrats seeking the nomination.

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42% of Canadian Cannabis Consumers Still Use Illicit Market

8/19/2019

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Statistics Canada’s National Cannabis Survey has found that 42 percent of adults who use cannabis in the nation still use illegal sources to obtain cannabis and about one-quarter of users don’t pay for it, relying instead on family and friends. Nearly half of the respondents – 48 percent – said they purchased cannabis via legal sources.

Nearly 60 percent of females surveyed said they had never used cannabis, compared to 51 percent of males. 21 percent of men had used cannabis during the first six months of 2019, compared to just 12 percent of women. About one in three Canadians, both male and female, said they had tried cannabis but were not current users. Most men surveyed were not medical users, as 52 percent said they used cannabis for non-medical reasons, while 30 percent said they used cannabis for both medical and non-medical reasons.

Smoking remains the most popular way to consume cannabis, with 68 percent of male and 62 percent of female cannabis consumers preferring smoking; while 14 percent of women used cannabis through “other methods” including topicals and tinctures. It’s worth noting that flower is the most common cannabis product legally available in Canada as alternative cannabis products – such as edibles – are not yet legal but are expected to hit shelves in December.

The vast majority – 76 percent – of cannabis consumers surveyed said that safety was an important consideration when buying products, followed by price (42 percent), accessibility and potency (33 percent).

Nearly all non-cannabis consumers surveyed (99 percent) said they had no plans to use cannabis in the next three months, compared to 21 percent of current male users and 12 percent of current female users – however, 87 percent of daily users said they would continue to use cannabis at the same rate.

In all, the agency found nearly five million Canadians are using cannabis, which is unchanged from pre-legalization statistics.

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Washington Ag Department: Hemp CBD Foods Are Illegal

8/16/2019

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In a rules update posted this month to the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) website, state officials have clarified that hemp-derived CBD is not allowed as a food ingredient or additive. The clarification comes as hemp entrepreneurs and enthusiasts anxiously await federal CBD regulations from the FDA — expected sometime in the coming weeks or months — in the wake of the plant’s recent federal legalization under the 2018 Farm Bill.

Despite hemp’s legal status, its myriad uses face more scrutiny as federal CBD rules and regulations are developed.

“To be clear,” the update reads in bold print, “CBD is not currently allowed as a food ingredient, under federal and state law.”

“The FDA has approved a drug comprised of CBD [Epidiolex] as a prescription drug for treatment of specific health conditions, but has not approved CBD as an ingredient in food. Federal laws clearly prohibit adding drugs to food, except in limited circumstances defined in the law.” — WSDA rules update

Last week, former FDA chief Scott Gottlieb said the hemp CBD food products that are currently available in stores are federally illegal.

“You can’t just put it in the food supply,” Gottlieb, who resigned in April, told CNBC. “Right now, all the CBD is illegal that’s being put into food or dietary supplements.”

WSDA says it has reached out to hemp industry and manufactured-food industry participants to clear up any confusion.

The WSDA update mentions that the parts of the hemp plant that have been federally classified as “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) — including hulled hemp seeds, hemp seed protein powder, and hemp seed oil — are allowed in food products.

 

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Smoking Cannabis

Poll Finds 63% of Americans Support Cannabis Legalization

8/16/2019

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According to a poll from Investor’s Business Daily and TIPP, 63 percent of Americans support cannabis legalization, including 75 percent of Democrats, 66 percent of independents, and 46 percent of Republicans. The survey found that nearly one-fifth of investor households consumed cannabis in the past six months.

Support for legalization was highest in the West at 72 percent, and lowest in the Northeast, at 55 percent. The poll found that 23 percent of those surveyed indicated that someone in their home had used medical or adult-use cannabis in the last six months – 35 percent of those were among people 25-44 years old. In all, 27 percent of independents said they had used cannabis over the last six months, along with 25 percent of Democrats, and 15 percent of Republicans.

The IBD/TIPP poll is consistent with a 2018 Gallup poll which found 66 percent of Americans supported broad cannabis legalization; although, that poll found 53 percent support by Republicans, and 71 percent support among independents. Both polls found three of four Democrats support the reforms.

A Fox News poll, conducted by both Democratic and Republican polling firms last February, found 59 percent support for legalization. An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll from the prior month had similar results showing 60 percent support.

A 2017 poll conducted by Survey USA for Marijuana Majority found stronger support – 76 percent – for allowing states to enact their own medical cannabis regimes without federal interference while just 12 percent said the feds should arrest and prosecute people using cannabis, even if legally allowed by the state in which they reside.

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UFC’s Nate Diaz Smokes Joint During Public Workout

8/16/2019

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Professional mixed martial arts fighter Nate Diaz sparked a joint during a public workout at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Wednesday, just days before his UFC 241 face-off against Anthony Pettis in the same venue.

Cameras filmed the fighter puffing heavily on the joint before passing it to his videographer, who in turn passed the joint to nearby fans, reportedly at Diaz’s request.

“I said pass it around. It’s good etiquette, for sure.” — Nate Diaz, via ESPN.com

While some fans were concerned that the joint could result in an anti-doping violation, Diaz said the joint contained just CBD, which as of 2018 is no longer considered a prohibited substance by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Diaz is known alongside his older brother Nick — also a UFC contestant — for bringing attention to cannabis and CBD as a potentially beneficial substance for professional fighters. The fighters say that CBD helps with pain, anxiety, and swelling.

Nick Diaz has been suspended three times for cannabis use during his career.

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Cannabis Strain

Former Detroit Lions’ Cannabis Company Partners with Harvard for CTE Studies

8/16/2019

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Former Detroit Lions Calvin Johnson and Rob Sims are partnering with Harvard University to research the effects of cannabis on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and pain management, according to an ESPN report. Johnson, a former wide receiver, and Sims, a former lineman, co-own medical cannabis firm Primitive.

The deal includes an undisclosed six-figure donation to the International Phytomedicines and Medical Cannabis Institute at Harvard. The university will conduct the medical research, run clinical trials and its medical school will provide quality assurance for any products created by the company.

“Really just being able to help people. I’m a second-generation NFL kid, both my father and father-in-law. I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly of what it looks like when you’re done playing ball. If we can help this facet of people suffering from CTE or other cognitive disease, that’s the real goal here.” – Sims, to ESPN

Sims said the company hopes that the study will help the company produce plant-based medicines, use nanotechnology to “deliver payloads” to areas of the brain affected by CTE.

Sims said the company started two years ago after he and Johnson got into cannabis-related real estate. Johnson recently joined the board of the Michigan Cannabis Industry Association after Primitive received approval to open a medical cannabis dispensary in the state.

Former National Football League running back Ricky Williams launched a cannabis brand last year, while in 2016 the Baltimore Ravens released offensive tackle Eugene Monroe after he called on the league to remove cannabis from its banned substances list and fund research into using cannabis as a CTE treatment. At that time, Monroe said he couldn’t “say for sure” whether his release was related to his activism.

Last year, the league denied free agent running back Mike James an exemption for using cannabis as a painkiller but announced this year that the league and the player’s union were creating a Joint Pain Management Committee that will include cannabis and cannabinoids as part of its research into pain management and alternative therapies.

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Maryland Appeals Court: Cannabis Odor Doesn’t Justify Personal Search

8/16/2019

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The Maryland Court of Appeals has unanimously ruled that while police can still use cannabis odor has justification for a vehicle search, they cannot search anyone in the vehicle unless they find evidence of a crime which does not include finding a small amount of cannabis, the Baltimore Sun reports.

“The same facts and circumstances that justify a search of an automobile do not necessarily justify an arrest and search incident thereto. This is based on the heightened expectation of privacy one enjoys in his or her person as compared to the diminished expectation of privacy one has in an automobile.” – Maryland Court of Appeals opinion

In Maryland, possession of 10 grams or less of cannabis is considered a criminal offense that carries a $100 fine.

The ruling comes from the May 2016 arrest and search of Michael Pacheco in Wheaton by Montgomery County Police officers. According to the report, police testified they had smelled “fresh burnt” cannabis when they approached his vehicle while he was parked and found a joint in the vehicle’s center console. The officers searched Pacheco and found cocaine in his pocket and upon searching the vehicle they found a cannabis stem and two packs of rolling papers.

Pacheco moved to suppress the cocaine, arguing that he was illegally searched because officers didn’t have probable cause to believe he possessed more than 10 grams of cannabis. Prosecutors argued the smelt of cannabis gave the officers cause to search both Pacheco and the vehicle. Pacheco was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and given a citation for the cannabis possession.

The Court of Special Appeals ruled on behalf of the prosecution; however, the Court of Appeals said the lower court’s ruling relied on “pre-decriminalization cases” and that the search and arrest were “unreasonable because nothing in the record suggests that possession of a joint and the odor of burnt marijuana gave the police probable cause to believe he was in possession of a criminal amount of that substance.”

In a concurring opinion, judges called the decision “reasonable and thoughtful” but said that cannabis odor may be evidence of possession of 10 grams or more of cannabis, possession with intent to sell, or operation of a vehicle under the influence” which gives them cause to search vehicles. They said that police who smell cannabis can only search a person if they find evidence of those, more serious, crimes.

Courts in Pennsylvania and Vermont have made similar rulings.

Earlier this month, a Pennsylvania judge ruled that cannabis odor was not grounds for search if anyone in the vehicle has a valid medical cannabis card. In Vermont, which allows adults to possess cannabis, the Supreme Court ruled in January that the smell of cannabis was not grounds for a search.

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legalized weed

Here Are All The States That Have Legalized Weed (2021)

8/15/2019

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Jump to a state: Alaska | Arizona | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Illinois | Maine | Massachusetts | Michigan | Montana | Nevada | New Mexico | New Jersey | New York | Oregon | South Dakota | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | Washington D.C.

2012 marked a turning point in U.S. history: for the first time, a state (actually two states, Colorado and Washington) voted to ignore federal drug laws and legalized weed for consumption by persons aged 21 or older, similar to alcohol. In the years since then, a host of other states have followed suit in what has become an inspiring exodus from Drug War-era policies and sentiments. 

While legalization is spreading, however, the actual regulatory framework can vary dramatically from state to state. Every state with adult-use sales, for example, has mandatory third-party lab testing requirements before products can reach store shelves — but not every state actually allows for commercial cannabis sales.

The following is a brief run-down on each legalized state and how they have approached adult-use cannabis regulations.

California state cannabis legality
Photo credit: Maarten van den Huevel

California

California, the USA’s most populous state and largest economy, is a relative newcomer to adult-use cannabis despite being the first state to legalize medical cannabis back in 1996.

A successful 2016 voter initiative catapulted California into the post-prohibition landscape. Unfortunately, however, things have not gone entirely smoothly, so far. High tax rates have prevented licensed businesses from competing realistically with the unregulated market. A large quantity of unlicensed storefronts, coupled with an underfunded cannabis enforcement agency, has further complicated the issue.

  • Possession/carry limit: 1 ounce of flower, 8 grams of concentrate
  • Purchase limit: 1 ounce of flower, 8 grams of concentrate
  • Home grow rules: 6 plants per household, only 3 flowering at a time.

Click here to learn more about the state of cannabis in California.

Illinois state cannabis legality
Photo credit: Antonio Gabola

Illinois

Illinois was the first state to establish an adult-use cannabis marketplace without the voter ballot initiative process. On June 25, 2019, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation approved by lawmakers earlier in the year that legalized weed to possess and consume for adults 21+. The law also established a process to expunge the criminal records for nearly 800,000 cannabis possession convictions in the state.

Gov. Pritzker’s 2018 election campaign included a platform calling for legalization. Shortly after winning the governorship, he said he hoped Illinois would be the first Midwest state to begin legal, regulated cannabis sales. 

  • Possession/purchase limits: 
    • For residents: 30 grams of flower, 500 mg of THC-infused edibles, 5 grams of concentrates
    • For nonresidents: 15 grams of flower, 250 mg of THC-infused edibles, 2.5 grams of concentrates
  • Home grow rules: homegrown cannabis is not allowed under Illinois’ adult-use cannabis law.

Follow this link to learn more about cannabis business, rules and regulations in Illinois!

Michigan state cannabis legality
Photo credit: Andrew Seaman

Michigan

Michigan became the first Midwest state to legalize adult-use cannabis in November 2018, but the roll-out of the Great Lake State’s cannabis infrastructure was ultimately a long and complicated regulatory process.

Michigan’s adult-use market ultimately opened for business in December of 2019 although the industry launched with some 80% of the state’s municipalities having passed bans on the recreational cannabis industry. Despite its slow trod toward regulated sales, however, Michigan still boasts some of the most lenient possession and purchase limits in the country.

  • Possession/carry limit: 2.5 ounces of flower (10 ounces at home) and 15 grams of concentrate. 
  • Purchase limit: 2.5 ounces of flower.
  • Home grow rules: 12 plants per household. 

To check out more information about cannabis in Michigan, click here!

legalized weed
Photo credit: John Westrock

Washington

Washington state became the second state to legalize cannabis in 2014, about six months after Colorado, as a result of the same 2012 election as Colorado. Washington’s market, however, drew heavy criticism from the cannabis community and has been accused of being a cash-grab for lawmakers with an overly regulated and restrictive system.

Some activists have even labeled Washington’s market as “Prohibition 2.0,” though most recently officials there established a new law expunging some 69,000 minor cannabis convictions throughout the state. 

  • Possession/carry limit: 1 ounce
  • Purchase limit: 1 ounce
  • Home grow rules: Washington does not allow adults to cultivate homegrown cannabis.

Want more information? Click here to see all of our Washington cannabis news updates and more.

legalized weed
Photo credit: Anthony DELANOIX

Massachusetts

Massachusetts and Maine were the first east coast states to legalize, both via successful voter initiatives during the 2016 general election. In Massachusetts, the language of legalized weed took effect almost immediately — less than a month after the successful vote, on December 16, 2016. 

Dispensaries opened for adult-use purposes about two years later, on November 20, 2018, putting pressure on other New England states to consider enacting their own adult-use regulations and keep some of that cannabis tax revenue in-state. 

  • Possession/carry limit: 1 ounce of flower and 5 grams of concentrate in public; 10 ounces of flower at home.
  • Purchase limits: 1 ounce of flower, 5 grams of concentrate
  • Home grow rules: Adults can grow up to 6 cannabis plants at a time, 12 max per household.

Click here to see even more about the state of cannabis in Massachusetts.

Colorado state cannabis legality
Photo credit: Quinn Nietfeld

Colorado

Colorado is considered by many to be ground zero for cannabis freedom — it was the first state to enact its legalization language and has demonstrated from the start a successful model for building a state-legal cannabis market.

In fact, since Colorado’s historic Legalization Day on January 1, 2014, legislators from around the country and even the world have visited the state to see an example of a regulated cannabis industry in action.

  • Possession/carry limit: 1 ounce of THC (including flower, concentrates, edibles, etc.)
  • Purchase limits: 1 ounce of flower, 8 grams of concentrate, 800 mg of edibles
  • Home grow rules: 6 plants per person, 12 per household; only half can be flowering at any given time.

To check out Colorado cannabis news updates and more, click here!

Oregon state cannabis legality
Photo credit: Atanas Malamov

Oregon

Oregon voted to legalize cannabis alongside Alaska in the 2014 general election. Oregon became the third state to officially end cannabis prohibition, however, beating out Alaska by several months.

Oregon’s adult-use cannabis business licensing was originally very inclusive, which led to hundreds of successful applications and, eventually, a grossly oversaturated marketplace. As a result, Oregon currently boasts on average the lowest regulated cannabis prices in the world. In fact, there is such a glut of cannabis products in Oregon that lawmakers recently passed legislation that would let cannabis growers export their excess products out-of-state to nearby state-legal markets — that is, if the plan receives federal approval.

  • Possession/carry limit: 1 ounce of flower, 1 ounce of concentrates, 16 ounces of edibles, 72 ounces of liquid edibles.
  • Purchase limit: 1 ounce of flower, 5 grams of concentrate
  • Home grow rules: 2 plants per person, 4 plants per household.

Follow this link to make sure you’re keeping up to date on Oregon’s cannabis industry.

legalized weed
Photo credit: Ken Yam

Nevada

Nevada voted to legalize adult-use cannabis during the 2016 general election. Home to Las Vegas, the tourism capital of the USA, this victory was seen as especially significant for the industry. 

Nevada lawmakers were anxious to get started, as well, and quickly enacted an Early Start program that had adult-use stores open within just six months of the state’s legalization vote. Interestingly enough, Nevada’s vote to legalize came just one year after the state’s medical cannabis dispensaries opened for business, making it one of the fastest transitions yet from medical to recreational.

  • Possession/carry limit: 1 ounce, 3.5 grams of concentrate
  • Purchase limit: 1 ounce, 3.5 grams of concentrate
  • Home grow rules: Home grows are generally not allowed, and are only an option if you live 25 or more miles from the nearest licensed dispensary.

Click here to see all of our Nevada cannabis business and policy updates!

Maine state cannabis legality
Photo credit: Frank McKenna

Maine

Maine also voted to legalize during the 2016 general election. Maine’s vote was significantly closer than nearby Massachusetts—so much so that the legalization victory declaration was delayed several days for vote counting.

Cannabis possession is currently legal and available for purchase in Maine after lawmakers eventually overturned former Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s repeated vetoes of lawmakers’ bills to implement cannabis legalization, Adult-use stores finally opened in October 2020.

  • Possession/carry limit: 2.5 ounces (70 grams)
  • Purchase limit: Adults 21+ can purchase up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis flower per transaction.
  • Home grow: Up to 12 plants per adult, but only 3 can be flowering at a time.

Stay informed about the Maine cannabis marketplace — click here for more info!

Alaska state cannabis legality
Photo credit: Paxson Woelber


Alaska

Alaska is the largest U.S. state and was among the first states to move away from federal cannabis policies. Alaska voters chose legalization via a ballot initiative during the 2014 general election alongside Oregon, making them the third and fourth states to legalize.

Most recently, Alaska made headlines as the first state to establish regulations for the social use of cannabis — i.e. cannabis social clubs, or cannabis cafes. Some cities like Denver and San Francisco had already taken this step, but Alaska was the first to pass such regulations for the entire state.

  • Possession/carry limit: 1 ounce of flower
  • Purchase limit: 1 ounce
  • Home grow rules: 6 plants per person, 12 plants per household; only half can be flowering at any time.

Click here to see more information about legal cannabis in Alaska.

Vermont state cannabis legality
Photo credit: Will Swann

Vermont

It is currently legal for adults to grow, possess, and consume cannabis in Vermont; you cannot, however, buy or sell any part of the plant (unless you are a medical patient/caregiver, but that’s a different article). This is thanks to Vermont’s unique position as the first (and currently only) state to end cannabis prohibition without establishing a taxed-and-regulated system for its distribution. But in late 2020, Vermont lawmakers approved language that will let individual municipalities determine whether or not they will allow recreational cannabis businesses. Regulated sales are expected in certain districts starting in October 2022.

Vermont also made history as the first state to defy federal drug laws thanks to efforts by lawmakers, not just voters. In Vermont, where the political system does not utilize a citizen ballot initiative process, the notion of legalized weed was so popular among voters that lawmakers were convinced to take action.

  • Possession/carry limit: 1 ounce of flower.
  • Home grow rules: 6 plants per household (2 flowering, 4 immature).

To keep up to date on the cannabis happenings in Vermont, click here!

Washington DC cannabis legality
Photo credit: Caleb Wright

Washington D.C.

While not technically a state, The District of Columbia gets a special mention for being an early-mover in the push to reform cruel cannabis laws — never mind that Congress initially blocked the District’s attempts to commercialize the plant, trampling on the rights of citizens living there. Thankfully, it looks like Washington D.C. may get to finally move forward on a regulated cannabis market in 2020.

  • Possession/carry limit: 2 ounces of flower
  • Home grow rules: 6 plants per household (3 flowering, 3 immature).

Big changes are coming to Washington DC — click here to stay up to date on the District’s latest cannabis news and happenings.

Photo Credit: Sarah Howell

Arizona

After losing the ballot initiative by strikingly close margins in 2016, Arizona voters passed Prop 207 in the 2020 election which legalized adult-use cannabis in the Southwestern state. Adult-use sales will begin in March 2021 pending licensing. Reports state that licenses will first be granted to medical dispensaries that are already in operation, creating a system much like that in Oregon where patients and adult-use patrons can shop side-by-side.

  • Possession/carry limit: 28 grams of flower or  5 grams of concentrates
  • Home grow rules: 6 plants per person, 12 plants per household with two or more adults

Stay informed on Arizona cannabis business and news as the adult-use industry develops, click here.

New Mexico

New Mexico lawmakers formally approved the state’s cannabis legalization bill in April 2021, with the legislation formally receiving the governor’s signature on April 12. The law took effect on June 29, 2021 and retail licenses are expected by January 2022.

  • Possession rules: adults 21+ can possess up to two ounces of cannabis and 16 grams of concentrate.
  • Home growing of up to six plants is allowed.

For more New Mexico cannabis industry news and information, follow this link and be sure to subscribe to our daily newsletter!

Montana

Montana opted to legalize adult-use cannabis during the 2020 General Election with 58% of voter support. The initiative took effect on January 1, 2021. In May 2021, Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) signed a bill to implement regulated cannabis sales in the state. The legislation gives current medical cannabis operators exclusive access to adult-use licenses for the first 18 months of sales, which are expected to launch on January 1, 2022.

Notably, Montana’s legalization victory (alongside South Dakota) marked the first time that a state voted to both legalize cannabis and elect a Republican presidential candidate during the same election, demonstrating that cannabis reforms are truly a bipartisan issue.

  • Possession rules: adults 21+ can possess up to one ounce of cannabis.
  • Home growing is allowed up to four plants (two mature, two immature).
  • Montana will include a 20% cannabis sales tax when regulated sales launch.

Click here to see more Montana-related cannabis news & interviews!

New Jersey

In the 2020 election voters in New Jersey approved Public Question 1 which legalized possession, sale, and use of cannabis by adults aged 21 or older. Specifically, the Public Question required state legislators to draft a bill regulating cannabis retail and cultivation licensing for the adult-use market, something they had already done during the previous year (though that bill was not passed). The governor eventually signed the state’s legalization bill in February 2021, but not until months of deliberation had passed regarding punishments for minors caught in possession of cannabis.

New Jersey, to the dismay of advocates, does not allow adults to grow the plant for themselves.

  • Possession/carry limit: 28 grams of flower or up to 5 grams of concentrates
  • Home grow remains illegal

Stay informed on New Jersey cannabis legalization and regulation, click here.


New York

Cannabis is finally legal in New York after Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed the state’s legalization bill in late March 2021. The bill’s signing came almost immediately after the Democratic majority approved the bill in a party-line vote. The law includes expungement opportunities for previous cannabis convictions as well as a 9% state and 4% local tax on recreational sales—40% of cannabis tax revenue is earmarked for reinvesting in underserved communities, 40% for public education, and 20% for drug treatment, prevention, and education causes.

  • Possession rules: up to three ounces, or up to five pounds stored at home.
  • You can consume cannabis anywhere you can legally consume tobacco.
  • Home growing rules: not immediately allowed but the state is meant to establish rules letting adults grow up to six plants at home with a max of 12 per household.

Click here to find more New York-related cannabis news, interviews, press releases, and more!


Virginia

Virginia became the first Southern U.S. state to legalize cannabis after lawmakers there approved the regulatory changes in February, 2021. The original bill was set to take effect in 2023 but, following heavy criticism, Gov. Ralph Northam (D) suggested moving the launch date for some of the reforms up to July 1, 2021—and the Legislature agreed.

  • Possession rules: adults 21+ can possess up to one ounce.
  • Cannabis consumption (and sharing) is allowed, but only in a private setting.
  • Home grow will be fully legal starting July 1, 2023, but for now, home grows up to six plants have been de-felonized.
  • Adult-use cannabis sales are incoming but not expected until at least the summer of 2023.

For more Virginia cannabis info, click here to find our latest news updates, interviews, and more.

South Dakota

Voters in South Dakota made history when they voted in favor of both medical and adult-use cannabis use in the 2020 election. But, while the medical cannabis reforms have advanced since then, a South Dakota judge struck down the voter-backed recreational cannabis initiative in February 2021 after it was challenged by law enforcement officers and Republican Gov. Kristi Noem.

Click here to read the news about South Dakota cannabis business and policy.


Connecticut

The Connecticut Legislature passed a bill to legalize adult-use cannabis on June 17, 2021 and the governor signed the bill into law just days later. In a twist of irony, Connecticut’s legalization bill was approved on the 50th anniversary of President Richard Nixon’s original declaration of the drug war.

The law took effect on July 1, 2021.

  • Possession rules: adults aged 21+ can carry up to one and a half ounces of cannabis on their person.
  • Adults are also allowed to possess up to five ounces of cannabis if safely secured at home or in a vehicle’s trunk or glove box.
  • Regulated cannabis sales are expected by May, 2022.

To read about and keep up with Connecticut’s other cannabis-related updates, click here!

Last updated July 28, 2021.

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Cannabis Sales Top $1M at Outside Lands

8/15/2019

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Attendees at the Outside Lands festival bought more than $1 million worth of cannabis products at the state-approved GrassLands section of the festival, the San Francisco Gate reports. The festival was the first given a temporary permit by city officials to sell and consume cannabis at a festival — it was the first major U.S. music festival to officially sanction cannabis sales.

Highland Events, the festival organizers, did not share specific cannabis sales figures but told the Gate that cannabis sales at the event reached seven figures. During the event, concert-goers were allowed to purchase up to 7 grams of flower and up to 2 grams of concentrate products, including edibles, across all vendors. Available products included infused chocolates, gummies, miniature joints, raw flower, THC-infused non-alcoholic beer, and more.

According to an SFIST report, the GrassLands area of the festival was cleaner than the areas where alcohol was permitted and there were no medical emergencies or incidents that required law enforcement intervention.

“The vibe is really chill and it’s very respectful. It’s not only respectful to the people, it’s respectful to the park.” — Marisa Rodriguez, Director of the San Francisco Office of Cannabis, via SFIST

According to several reports, festival organizers didn’t receive the cannabis permits until about five hours before doors opened – despite an announcement from city cannabis regulators two days prior to the event that the permits had been approved.

Outside Lands was the first major music festival given a cannabis consumption permit in California, although state regulators have previously granted permits to cannabis events for sales.

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California Cannabis Sales Set to Pass $3B This Year

8/15/2019

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A new report released today by Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics shows how California’s legal cannabis sales are on an upswing despite the market’s initially rocky launch.

According to the report titled “California: Lessons From the World’s Largest Cannabis Market,” California was the first state to experience a decrease in legal sales following the launch of its adult-use cannabis market. Regulated sales fell from about $3 billion in 2017 to $2.5 billion in 2018, the year that adult-use sales launched in the state — every other state-legal cannabis market, however, has seen a post-legalization increase in regulated cannabis spending.

The California industry’s rough start can be blamed on multiple factors, including strict product testing regulations, a severe lack of licensing for industry operators, local bans on the adult-use industry throughout the state, and a thriving illicit marketplace that continues to compete with legal sales.

“California companies that survived the dual ‘extinction events’ of 2018 have emerged stronger and well-positioned to grow their market share going forward. More than that, they are battle hardened, and kicked off a merger and acquisition flurry in the first half of 2019 that will allow them to leverage their positions in California to compete across the country.” — Tom Adams, Managing Director and Principal Analyst for BDS Analytics’ Industry Intelligence group and Editor-in-Chief for Arcview Market Research, in a statement

According to the report, California’s illicit market is expected to maintain more than 50 percent of the state’s cannabis sales through 2024 — other legal states with more supportive regulatory regimes, meanwhile, are expected to see illegal sales drop to just 30 percent of total transactions.

In May, California officials made adjustments to the state’s expected tax revenue, subtracting some $223 million.

Troy Dayton, CEO of the Arcview Group, said that despite the industry’s many burdens, “California has the world’s largest legal cannabis market and will continue to until federal legalization makes it merely a part of the larger U.S. market.”

“At that point,” Dayton said, “California will assume its usual place in the world economy as a major exporter of agricultural commodities and their derivative products, a technology mecca, and consumer product trendsetter.”

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American Bar Association Urges Federal Cannabis Law Reforms

8/15/2019

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The American Bar Association has issued a resolution calling for the federal government to allow state-approved cannabis programs to operate without interference; the resolution also calls for broad federal law reforms. The organization said the “gap between state and federal law has created a regulatory quagmire that is counter-productive for all parties interested in marijuana policy.”

In their report, the ABA points out that, since the Controlled Substances Act was passed, public support for cannabis law reforms “has ballooned” while federal law “has remained essentially unchanged.” A 2018 Gallup poll found 66 percent of Americans supported federal legalization – 75 percent of Democrats and 53 percent of Republicans – which was up from 56 percent 10 years prior. In 1969, public support for legalization was just 12 percent.

The association points out that while lawmakers have included riders in spending bills to protect state-legal medical cannabis businesses and patients, those riders “do not shield anyone in compliance with any state’s adult-use marijuana laws.”

“Moreover, the protection afforded by such riders is only temporary. If a rider lapses, both medical and non-medical marijuana users and suppliers would be subject to arrest and prosecution by the DOJ, and not just for their conduct going forward. Those using and producing marijuana could also be prosecuted for violations of the Controlled Substances Act they committed while the riders were in effect (so long as the statute of limitations has not expired).” – American Bar Association, Criminal Justice Section, Report to the House of Delegates

The report notes that, despite the riders, cannabusinesses are subject to unusually high federal taxes – specifically 280E – and often cannot obtain financial services.

The ABA offers support for the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States Act (STATES Act), which includes protections for state-approved cannabis programs.

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Nebraska Counties to End Low-Level Cannabis Prosecutions

8/15/2019

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Law enforcement officials in some Nebraska counties are suspending low-level cannabis crime enforcement after the legalization of hemp, the Scottsbluff Star-Herald reports.

Prosecutors in Sarpy and Lancaster counties have said they wouldn’t prosecute such cases until a THC test was available, while Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine said he would continue trying the cases using the previous state law that only allowed University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers to possess hemp.

Lancaster County Attorney Pat Condon said the hemp law “is causing problems” for cannabis enforcement and estimated that it would cost between $1,500 and $2,000 to bring someone in from Pennsylvania, which is the closest state with a lab that can test for THC levels. In Nebraska, the typical fine for simple cannabis possession is about $300.

Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov said that prosecutors “need a good lab report” before they can get a conviction and prosecutors in the state don’t have access to a laboratory that can test cannabis for THC levels.

State Sen. Justin Wayne told the Star-Herald that the bill was amended at the request of county prosecutors to allow them to prosecute cases where the defendant doesn’t have proof that the product in question is hemp, and that it has been tested and falls below the 0.3 percent THC threshold. Wayne said that, under the law, anyone who fails to provide that proof could be fined up to $1,000 – which is higher than a simple possession charge.

“We gave prosecutors a different option to prosecute. They can still prosecute. It’s just a different law.” – Wayne, to the Star-Herald

Nebraska’s situation is not unique – where cannabis is illegal, but hemp was recently legalized. Gwinnett and Cobb Counties in Georgia have each said they would suspend enforcement until they could find a way to test for THC levels, along with prosecutors in Texas and Florida.

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Jontae James: Offering Free-to-Use Cannabis Compliance Software

8/14/2019

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In this episode of the Ganjapreneur.com podcast, Jontae joins our host TG Branfalt for an interview that covers the origins of NatureTrak, his transition into the cannabis space from a more mainstream tech background, and NatureTrak’s decision to release its software free-of-charge. Jontae also shares his thoughts about social-equity programs that level the playing field for disadvantaged communities most affected by the war on drugs, offers advice for tech entrepreneurs hoping to make it in cannabis, and more!

You can listen to the interview using the media player below or scroll further down to read a full transcript of this podcast episode.

Listen to the podcast:

Read the transcript:

Commercial: This episode of the Ganjapreneur Podcast is made possible by 420 friendly service providers in the Ganjapreneur Business Directory. If you need professional help with your business, from accounting, to legal services, to consulting, marketing, payment processing, or insurance, visit Ganjapreneur.com/businesses to find service providers who specialize in helping cannabis entrepreneurs like you. Visit the Ganjapreneur business directory today at Ganjapreneur.com/businesses.

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 Jontae James. He’s a serial entrepreneur. He’s the founder of NatureTrak, which is a free track and trace software for the cannabis space. How’re you doing today, Jontae?

Jontae James: TG, I’m doing great. How about yourself?

TG Branfalt: It’s good to have you, man. We’re coming down on the beginning of summer, so the weather’s going well, and then it’s great to have you today. Before we sort of get into what’s going on with NatureTrak, let’s hear about you. What’s your background? How’d you get involved in the space, man?

Jontae James: Yeah. It was an interesting journey into the cannabis space. Like you said in the beginning, I’m a serial entrepreneur. So, I started my first tech company at 25, sold it at 28, and then now I’ve kind of been on this path. Coming into the cannabis space, I actually had a really good friend, and actually my business partner in NatureTrak, he was a operator cultivator for about 15, maybe 16 years, and he was like, “Hey. It’s going to be legal in California.”

I’m like, “Really? You really think it’s going to pass in California?” What people don’t know about California, California’s a red state covered in blue, and I was like “Well, let’s see what you got going on.” And so, at that time, he’s teaching me about the cultivation operation, and he was showing me the loopholes that he was going through under the collective model, the Prop 215.

And so it was at that point in time I was like, “Hey man. If this is really going legal, then these holes need to be filled.” And that’s where NatureTrak was formed. I gathered other tech-minded individuals that I’ve worked with in the past from Apple, and Google, and Facebook, and we started to create our first MVP. Our first MVP was a company by the name of Bluntli, and it was a patient license and business license verification platform, and we caught the eye of KPMG.

KPMG is obviously one of the government big four, and they were looking to actually build the cannabis activity tracking system for the state of California, and I got the subcontract due to the domain knowledge that we had. But, in that RFP process, they found out how much the award was going to be, anywhere from four to five million dollars a year, that’s a rounding error to them, and they jumped out.

But the special thing about that is they left me with all the functional requirements, system requirements, the architecture that they were looking for. It was literally the system that the state wanted, and so I was like, “Hey. Let’s build this.” So, we put our money together, and we built the entire system, and that became NatureTrak.

TG Branfalt: So, before we talk about NatureTrak, you said that you had worked with people from some massive tech companies. Facebook, Google, Apple. Was there any hesitation on their part, getting involved even in the ancillary side of the cannabis industry?

Jontae James: Not these individuals, but yes. I mean, those companies, one of my good friends that was working at Apple actually runs the worldwide supply chain of the Apple Watch, and they were like, “Hey, really want to help with this, can’t have my name on anything,” just because of Apple’s terms and conditions and stuff, you can’t be building programs and all these other things, otherwise Apple will try to look to kind of be a part of it, or they’ll try to claim it as theirself.

So, they were really on the peripheral version, giving updates, finding people for me at that point in time. So, there was some hesitancy, but they’re also looking for the new biggest greatest thing. I mean, that’s the one thing about some of these large tech companies, or just being in Silicon Valley in general, everybody wants to be part of the next thing.

TG Branfalt: Well, and there’s been a lot of parallels drawn between the early days of the tech boom and these days of the cannabis industry.

Jontae James: Oh, yes. The parallels are all there. I mean, the opportunity is vast, right? And we’re not even really scratching the surface of what tech can be in cannabis. So, people, they’re watching, and if they’re not watching, they’re in it, you just don’t know they’re in it.

TG Branfalt: So, tell me about NatureTrak, man. How is it different from the other tracking systems that are in this space?

Jontae James: Yeah, good question. I mean, we get this all the time, and it’s been a whirlwind of a ride, right? I mean, I told you how we kind of got the platform and was able to build it there, but it was at that time I streamlined it mobile and I built on an enterprise level API on top of that. With that main, NatureTrak is … NatureTrak is literally track and trace for banks or financial institutions, right?

We’re able to aggregate the data. There’s so … In the tech space, in cannabis, you have big players, you have seed-to-sale softwares, you have POS’s, and transportation management, and warehouse management, you name it. There’s a lot of systems that are coming in. None of them talk to each other, right? Everybody’s trying to build Oracle.

Oracle was not built in a couple years. Oracle’s been around for a very long time, so there’s this rush to become Oracle, and NatureTrak is just that simple, full compliance system that can aggregate the data. And the reason why we’re track and trace for banks is that the state credit union, or the state charter banks, or the credit unions that do want to be in this space, that do want to help bake the industry behind the Cole memo, they need a way to prove that everything’s transparent and legal, right?

And our bank, our normal banking every day, I send you a wire, or a Zelle payment, and it says, “What is this service for? Oh, it’s an invoice for consulting. Oh, thumbs up,” right? But in the cannabis space, you have a transaction of ten thousand, or fifteen, twenty, a million dollars that comes through. They’re like, “Oh. Let’s do our normal audits and check our your website. There’s cannabis. Oh, this is money laundering. Shut it down,” right?

And so, what NatureTrak does is, because we’re that track and trace platform, we could aggregate that data from MJ Freeway, or a Trellis, or a BioTrack, or Metrc, or even our full suite of products with our inventory management, our logistics, our marketplace, so that when that transaction goes through and they do that audit, they call NatureTrak, and we pull all that track and trace data for them, no matter what system they’re using.

So, they’ll know when that batch was put into the ground, how it moved through the lifecycle, every employee that touched it-

TG Branfalt: Wow.

Jontae James: … at that point in time, the COA’s and the RND’s that’s on there, the logistics route it took to distribution, the sales order that it came from, the dispensary, and even that purchase from the consumer. We provide them all that data in realtime, and then it’s like, “This is a legally tracked product, or transaction. Keep this going.”

TG Branfalt: It’s really an ingenious sort of hole that you filled in the industry. What were the challenges for you developing this tech?

Jontae James: Yeah, there was definitely some challenges that we went through, but being in the Silicon Valley space, I kind of knew how to build enterprise SAAS solutions. After I sold my company, I was with a Boutique VC, and I was working with early-stage SAAS companies for the next 10 years, so I kind of already knew some of the pitfalls that people run into, and just hindsight is always 20/20, but I just had foresight in this case that, when I was looking at the competition coming in, I’m like, “Nobody wants to connect to everybody.”

And just think about the technology that we use every day, right? Everybody connects to people. You can log in through your Facebook, or you could log in through your Google account, or you can use this here, and you can use that there. Everything is all pulling data and working together, and in the cannabis industry, we weren’t doing that, so I was like, “There’s no way, coming so late into the game, am I going to be able to build a platform that can rival some of the solutions that have been around for the last five, six years?”

You know, they got a lot of runway. So, how do we become that conduit, or that aggregator, of the data? And, in those challenges, it’s just time, right? I didn’t think we would be able to get to the banks that took calls from PayPal coming out of nowhere, other payment processors, other credit unions that started contacting me. I really didn’t even think that was the way that we were going, but other than that, the normal iterative cycles, right?

We went through our beta testing really hardening the product, just trying to understand what the operators were going through, but from a compliance perspective. Because we had the specifications from the state of California, I had the strong baseline, so we were bulletproof. I demoed to the FBI, we had…

TG Branfalt: No way.

Jontae James: …to run it by the OCC, we’ve been approved by the FDIC, I have a 104 page BSA AML report that shows how we line up with the Cole memo, how we meet all the specifications, but that’s all great if it doesn’t work for the client, and then how do we be flexible and just meet that compliance angle so these people can run their businesses? And that was probably the biggest challenge because they didn’t want to share information.

There was problems, but they didn’t want to tell us what the problems were. They’d just rather keep it to themselves, and some of these individuals and operators, these are third, fourth, fifth generation farmers, and I wouldn’t say that they’re not tech savvy, but tech doesn’t play that major role in their everyday life. They’re using cell phones, they’re doing Amazon, they’re doing GrubHubs, and Ubers, and Lyfts, and that’s about it.

They’re every day, in the garden. This is their mind, they breathe it, they live this, and they’re not using technology to kind of manage it, and so it was really just trying to get time with the operators to fill those gaps, already having that basis of compliance.

TG Branfalt: It was banking … When you went out and you started talking to all these farmers, you’re a tech guy, I’m sure you probably haven’t dealt with a whole lot of farmers, was that their most common problem, that they said to you, was the banking issue?

Jontae James: Well, the most common problem they actually told me was getting paid, right? So, you’ve always got to follow the money, and yes, it was a challenge at first, coming to them, and I mean definitely not my wheelhouse, I was very clean cut, had the suit jacket on. My business partner’s like, “Hey man. You can’t be coming like that. You got to dress like you’re going out to the club or to the basketball games and stuff.”

So, I had to change my wear, grew a little beard, and then some of those walls started to come down. But yeah, the biggest thing that they were always dealing with, especially from the farmer’s perspective, was getting paid, and I’m just like, “Wow.” I’m like, “This doesn’t happen in any other industry. How are you sitting on 45, 60, 90 day receivables. I mean-

TG Branfalt: Oh, wow.

Jontae James: … there’s got to be a faster way to do this. I mean, obviously because it’s cash, you’re relying on other people. They’re doing a lot of COD’s and stuff, so it’s just like, “Well, how can we get you, 1: compliant so that you can run your business, be proud to speak at your kids’ schools, be able to purchase homes, everything that everybody else does.” How do we solve that? And then, “how do we shorten this gap on this wait time?” And that’s just being able to go cashless. People need bank accounts, and how can we provide that?

TG Branfalt: So, this is a free software, right?

Jontae James: Yes. This is completely free.

TG Branfalt: So, tell me about the impetus behind that and how you can offer this for free.

Jontae James: Yeah. I mean, as I said, we’re like a SAAS platform, but we’ve really flipped to a fintech business model. So, we make money on the money moving through our system. So, we have the partnerships with the payment processors, and the banks, and then we’re just eating crumbs off the transactions, so it’s many of the merchant services that are happening every day, right? MasterCard, Visa, every time somebody swipes a card, there’s a fraction of cost that’s getting siphoned off at each point.

In the cannabis industry, it’s a little bit more. You’re looking at anywhere from 1% to 3%. Some people are doing 5%, but we do a rev share on that. So, we do all the compliance. Because we do all the compliance and we have that system to give financial institutions confidence to be in there, we’re able to lower the prices. So, we’re typically at 1% on cash pickups, so we’re only charging them 1% on that, and then we only charge them a half of a percent, or 50 basis points, on any ACH or electronic transfers.

And it’s always important to know there that the seller pays. But yeah, it’s volume for us. So, we need to get lots of people on, we need people to get accounts, and we need to be able to move the money in a closed loop compliant ecosystem.

TG Branfalt: So, you mentioned that there’s a rev share going on. That’s revenue share, I’m assuming?

Jontae James: Yes.

TG Branfalt: How does that work?

Jontae James: So, that’s just basically the merchant service costs. So, if you were to open up, let’s just call it a 7-11 or any kind of boutique store or clothing store, when you have your terminals there to accept debit and/or credit cards, there’s always a fee that they’re charging. If you use Square, Square charges … I think it’s $2.95 plus 25¢, or 2.95% plus 25¢ on every transaction. So, there’s always a transaction cost that you’re paying. So, that fraction that we’re charging on the transaction cost is what the payment processors, or the financial institutions, are sharing in their net revenue on them.

TG Branfalt: Cool. You recently spoke at the State of Cannabis conference about all of this, and I want to ask you, what was sort of the overall sort of feeling there when it came to how operators … the mood of operators, I guess, and are those events more important for startups like yours?

Jontae James: Yes. So, talking about the operators, it’s great. I love going to those types of events. You really get a vibe of the community, of the collaboration that’s needed out there, and just people looking for resources, right? They want to have a successful business, and they’re looking for these resources, and how do you meet them there? So, we do very well at the trade shows such like State of Cannabis.

Great resources for us. It’s paramount for a startup to be in that because it also gives you a landscape of what your competition’s doing. There’s only so much research you can do on the web, or calling operators and asking them what they’re using. You’re going to get a lot of different perspectives, right? But then, when you’re at those shows, you can really see what maybe the competition is doing, but not only just the competition, but you can find partners where you guys can share, and collaborate, and now have value adds that we bring to the operators at the end of the day.

I mean, at the end of the day, you need to have a product that works that helps them, and if that means you have to partner with company X, Y, Z, then you should partner with them, because that makes both of your companies valuable. But in terms of the State of Cannabis, they did a really great job. I mean, they had a social equity, or a diversity angle to it, which was great, really providing resources and knowledge on that side.

I was thankful to be able … Oops. I was thankful to be able to speak at that time and just share some of my insights on raising money, and being an early-stage startup, and just some of the pitfalls that I’ve ran into, being a serial entrepreneur and knowing, “Hey. I have this product,” and banging on a thousand doors with my hat out, looking for money to keep the business going.

So, I think it was very receptive. I look forward to doing more of those. We will always try to have some form of presence at the trade shows. Obviously, there’s a cost to those, so you’ve got to be strategic in the ones that they use, but definitely valuable.

TG Branfalt: So, you mentioned that the State of Cannabis conference had a diversity and social equity angle. Could you tell me about your experience being a black entrepreneur in the space? There really aren’t that many that work in the cannabis industry, for a variety of reasons. I also know that, when you were sort of doing the cold calls and the early stages of building the business, you would often use a nickname. So, tell me about your experience. Why you used that nickname? Just sort of give me some insight here, man.

Jontae James: Yeah, definitely. So, the nickname was basically JJ. I just started out just using my initials. I mean, that goes to your way earlier question when I had friends from the Facebooks and the Apples and stuff. We were just trying to find a way, but like, “Uh, let’s not use our names. Let’s just do the initials for now until we really see where that’s going.”

But I mean it played a great part in me being a black entrepreneur in the space, or just in the tech space in general, because then there’s no preconceived notions on who I am, right? And taking me at face value for the information that I’m providing, my articulation of what we’re doing, the experience and the schooling that I’ve had so I’m not meeting a barrier right out the gate. It’s just like, “Oh. This is great.”

But, I’ve always seen the a-ha moments when it’s that time we finally meet in person and then it’s like, “Oh. You’re JJ.” So, I do get that a lot, but it’s just part … This is the world we live in, to a certain extent. It’s challenging, being a black entrepreneur, not just in the cannabis space, but just in this tech space in general, and I don’t think it’s to anybody’s fault of their own.

I don’t think that there’s any racism or anything that’s going on, I just think that we do have certain stereotypes that we see all the time. The images that we see on TV and everything perpetuates what people respond to us. We’re always the entertainers, or the athletes, or we’re portrayed as the gangbangers or the drug dealers in this case. So, you see us being portrayed in those all the time, so then when you see somebody who’s doing tech, or is a doctor, or who is a lawyer, sometimes it just catches people off-guard at times.

And so, what I do to try to overcome that is I just try to be prepared. At the end of the day, I’m doing a great job. I’m well versed. I’m prepared. I have the information available. I have a great advisory team. My mentor was this Jewish guy from Lindenbaum who taught me all the ropes of what to see and how to do things, and so I can only put my best self out there and allow everything to take place.

But, it’s definitely … It is a challenge. I mean, it’s something that I know I’m going up against each time. I’ll always … at this point in time, I’ve raised 1.6 million dollars. We’re looking at closing another two and a half million here in the next 30 to 45 days. We’re in the final due diligence with a couple of groups right now, but I will always say, if I was being completely candid, if it wasn’t for the color of my skin, I would’ve raised 10 million dollars on this company already.

There’s nobody really doing what we’re doing. We have the client base. There’s over 150 clients using our system. I have contracts with banks. We are bringing in money. I have testimonials from customers, and if it was somebody else doing this, we would be on the front page of Forbes. So, we just keep chugging along, and then we’ll get there. I mean, do a good job, help the industry, push the industry forward, and everything else will take care of itself.

TG Branfalt: You’re such a positive guy, man, and congratulations on the money and just your success thus far. Do you think … Before I ask you this question, do you ever come across a minority farmer? Someone that owns a farm?

Jontae James: Yeah. I do. I’ve come across actually quite a few, especially here in California. It surprises me as well. I probably have the … they were like, “Hey! It’s good to see you here.” But yeah, I mean, California’s just a great place of diversity. You see a lot of different groups that are involved. I mean, you got the black, browns, the purples, the greens.

Everybody has touched this plant in some way, right? And it’s had a profound effect on a lot of people, and I think just being around my business partner and how he kind of became an operator … You know, once a consumer, then became an operator because people really care about what they’re putting in their body, and really understanding that. And then, the farmers and stuff, I really look at them as creatives in a way.

The way they interact with the plant, the way how they understand the process of the plant lifecycle, I mean, they’re connected, and so there’s an art to what they’re doing, and a lot of the individuals, regardless of their skin color, or their ethnicity, or anything, I think there’s a common thread of that creative nature that they have within themselves as well as a propensity to want to help people, and make an impact, and provide alternative uses for individuals out there.

TG Branfalt: Sounds like your next gig’s going to be on a farm, man.

Jontae James: Well, they get up a little bit too early. We work until 3:00, 4:00AM and then we get up at 9:00.

TG Branfalt: So, you mentioned California’s got some social equity, San Diego specifically has a pretty strong social equity program. Other municipalities are rolling out their own. What’s sort of your opinion, as a black person in this space, on these social equity programs that, essentially, are designed to give communities that were affected by the war on drugs more of a leg up, to give them tax breaks and other sort of just … help, I guess.

Jontae James: Right, right. I mean I think, the social equity programs, they come from a good place, right? They want to do the right thing, and they are trying to give these disadvantaged groups, or people who were wrongly incarcerated on the war on drugs, an opportunity to participate in this industry. I think there could be a lot more done. I think there’s kind of … there’s a lack of information in some of the social equity spaces.

Some of the people that I’m running into in terms of applications are … they’re just not prepared or well informed. I mean, there’s more than just being a disadvantaged person and running a business, right? I think there still needs to be education on, hey, preparing the right business plan, getting P&L’s and balance sheets ready, just stuff …

Because as you’re coming to this space and you’re starting a business, you’re going to need money. You’re going to need finances, and there still needs to be a baseline, and so how can these social equity programs not only give the opportunity, but also set them up for success? I think there … Again, they come from a good place, and the opportunity is there, but the tools are not there for everybody to be successful, so we’re just putting a bandaid on it.

So, what we’re trying to do with NatureTrak, I’m trying to work with social equity applicants and programs here in the city of Sacramento. I’m working with their social equity side, with their chief of cannabis enforcement, Joe Devlin, and being able to, 1, provide them the free track and trace, but 2, on the merchant services and stuff, we’re looking to give back.

So, our typical percentage is 1%. Hey, well on social equity applicants, we’re going to start at 75 basis points, or three quarters of a percent. How do we help jumpstart, right? We’re going to do training and seminars. We’re able … There’s a lot of other ancillary services that are plugged into NatureTrak such as your security, and your insurance. All that can kind of be a nice package so that you can have a turnkey solution, as a social equity applicant, to be like, “Hey.”

“You can come here. We got your track and trace. You got your logistics. You got your insurance set up. Here’s your security plan. Here’s your buildout.” Okay, how do we get started? Where’s your location? What’s your brand about? What’s your mission statement? And then, we can really put some legs to the social equity program. I think one of the things that they mentioned at the State of Cannabis, I forgot the gentleman’s name, he was one of the, I want to say, either a senator or a mayor, some public figure in the LA area, talked about how, on the social equity side, it’s not just for black people. It’s not just for brown people. This is for everybody who’s been affected on the war on drugs.

And one of our missions here at NatureTrak is: keep California, cannabis California, and that starts with the war on drugs. People up in the hill, people that were in Mendocino, and Humboldt County, and Trinidad or Emerald Triangle. People were getting locked up for 10 years for 100 plants, and being ripped away from their families. So, there’s a lot more people than just the black and brown that had been affected on the war on drugs, and the social equity is here to help everybody. But again, like I said just a few moments ago, the program comes from a good place at heart, but we still need to be able to make it be successful.

TG Branfalt: So, is another sort of step in this direction the expungement? Which has actually been … it’s been done in a couple of cities using algorithms, using tech. What’s the future for tech in this space? You sort of mentioned, at the top, there’s a lot that can be done with tech in this space. What do you see tech could be used for aside from sort of software and algorithms?

Jontae James: Well I mean, tech’s useful in our everyday lives. We’re behind. If you look at tech in cannabis, we’re probably 2000 tech right now. Definitely not 2019 tech. So, I just think, where tech’s going to help, it’s the transparency. It’s the transference of data. It’s visibility, right? As this slowly starts to come out, the black, the gray, to the clear white area where everything’s out there, we’re still peeling back layers.

I’m generation X. We grew up in D.A.R.E., right? Do not smoke. Drugs are bad. That was drilled into us, and yes, I’m more accepting, but for a lot of my high school and even early college, I looked at friends and family or other people who used the product and I was like, “Man. You just don’t care about yourself.” I had that “Oh” mentality.

And I think there’s still that stigma across, and where tech is really going to help is to eradicate that stigma so that you can really see the uses of this plant, and how it’s helping people, and how it helps with seizures, and tumors, and the whole opioid crisis. Tech’s going to be able to carry that message and be able to carry it a vast way and provide other avenues and arenas for people to consume the information to know that this is something that helps society.

This is not just a moneymaking avenue in this industry. We’re in prohibition right now. This is the fastest growing industry. All that’s great and of course money moves everything, but this is also a part where we’re taking back and claiming something that can help people, that can help with a lot of the illnesses, and the mental illnesses, and the dependencies that we’re coming on, the pharmaceuticals and things, and tech’s going to play a huge role in just uncovering all of those layers to make that transparent, visible, and consumable.

TG Branfalt: So, you’re obviously super successful in the tech space, probably going to be really successful in the cannabis space. What advice do you have for other people who are interested in entering this space from the tech side? Or, what advice do you have for other potential operators that are black or brown in this space? What advice do you have for them?

Jontae James: Yeah. I tell them, “Come on in. There’s plenty of room.” There’s a huge opportunity, and you need all the great thinkers and entrepreneurial spirits and stuff to come in. But what I would do is … You got to do your due diligence. Just because you once smoked a blunt or something doesn’t mean all of the sudden you become the connoisseur in this industry.

Talk to the people who are in this industry who were the caretakers, and the chieftains, and stuff that were carrying this through the black market times. You got to understand where this came from before you just try to make money from it. I think cannabis is more than just making money, and if you can come at it from that perspective that you want to provide a good product, or you see that there’s a product out there that’s not providing the complete service, and you want to polish the cannonball on that and add a new tweak or twist to it to get that message out or to provide a better product, then I’m all for that. Get in there.

But, what I did tell people, and I’m very blunt, no pun intended, to individuals, but I look at some and … a lot of people miss the boat. People who are coming as cultivators, or let’s say some manufacturers and stuff, the cost to get in, the barrier of entry, is high now. You went from, “Hey. You could’ve probably started out with maybe 50 to 100 grand”, to where you’re coming in with some capital that needs to be there. It’s probably going to cost you half a million just to get the license and go through all the approvals. You haven’t even started anything yet.

So, you got to come into that, and one of the biggest things, I think, as an entrepreneur that we run into and that’s always … It’s a barrier, but that we fail at, is that you can’t create a business and expect people to fund it, right? It can’t be, “Oh, I have this idea, and I’m going to raise money to do it.”

TG Branfalt: Just based on an idea.

Jontae James: Yeah. Nobody’s funding an idea no more. That was the tech boom in the middle 90s and stuff when everything took off. Nobody’s funding an idea anymore. There has to be something concrete, so you got to be able to bootstrap and get in there, and really provide traction, and show traction for people to get behind you because a lot of the investment that is still coming in is minute compared to any other industry, and people are watching.

We’re still in very much a highly regulated, probably the most regulated, industry by far that’s at this stage of its maturity or its infancy, and so people are watching. Not everybody’s just throwing the money in there, because they don’t know where it’s going to go. The government still doesn’t know where it’s gonna go, so people are sitting and waiting, and you got to be able to ride that storm.

That’s one of the reasons why we wanted to have a free software. I mean, at least be able to get up and running, compliant, and start making money during this time. We’re not going to charge you $700 to use or pay ten, fifteen grand a year just on software to be compliant let alone the taxes that they have to deal with and everything. So, just be mindful.

Whether it’s the cannabis industry, or any industry, you got to have a plan. You got to have a product, it can’t just be an idea. And, you got to be ready to ride the down times. This is a marathon, it’s not a sprint, and I think people get very discouraged that, “Yeah, you could have a great product and people are going to like, “Oh, this is great”, and it’s high-fives, you have your own business. But I tell people all the time, I would gladly work for somebody.

I have about 20 employees right now, and part of my stress is not the tech. We’re doing good, we got really good traction. I’m here with TG, talking to … I honestly think they’re going in the right direction, but my biggest fear is waking up every day and being able to provide for my employees, because they’re giving me their faith and their dedication to work hard and long hours, and for under their pay for us to make this work, and they have wives, and girlfriends, and boyfriends, and grandmas, and kids that they need to support, so that’s the stress that I wake up every day and deal with, so I don’t think people kind of look at that side.

Yeah, it’s cool to have the CEO title when you want to throw out your business card or you’re at an event, but behind the scenes, I’m a caretaker. I’m providing opportunity. People are believing in me, and I have to do everything to give them that respect back, that they made the right decision in investing in me and investing in my company and dreams.

TG Branfalt: Man, it’s really great to have you on the show. Like I said earlier, you’re so positive you could just feel your passion for what you do, and growing yourself and your business. Congratulations man. Where can people find out more about NatureTrak and maybe more about you?

Jontae James: Yeah. I mean, you can check out NatureTrak.com. We have our Instagram and our Facebook. Everything’s @NatureTrak, and Trak is T-R-A-K. As far as myself, I’m not really a big social media guy, but you can find me on LinkedIn. It’s LinkedIn … I think it’s /Jontae.James on there. On our website, we have our info email that says TrakTeam, T-R-A-K Team, @NatureTrak.com, and so if you’re ever looking to reach me, you can reach me via those channels.

TG Branfalt: Jontae James is the founder and CEO of NatureTrak. Thanks again, man, for taking the time to be on the show.

Jontae James: TG, thank you so much, man. I appreciate you.

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 the iTunes and Google Play. This episode was engineered by Trim Media House. I’ve been your host, TG Branfalt.

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Manhattan Judge Seals 300 Cannabis Cases

8/14/2019

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A Manhattan, New York Supreme Court Justice has ordered the sealing of more than 300 cannabis possession cases following a successful class action petition brought in part by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, the Legal Action Center, Community Service Society, the Legal Aid Society, New York County Defender Services, Neighborhood Defender Service and pro bono counsel Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP.

The affected class members have convictions for low-level possession with no other misdemeanor or felony convictions anywhere in the state, who have no New York convictions for the last 10 years, and have no other pending charges or undisposed arrests.

The relief is permitted under a 2017 state law that allowed people to apply to have their criminal records sealed after at least 10 years have passed. To date, just 1,279 individuals have had their records sealed under the program; the Manhattan D.A.’s office estimates that at least 600,000 people are eligible for relief under the program.

In a statement, Manhattan DA Cy Vance, Jr. supported legalizing cannabis – which failed to get a vote in the legislature last session despite support from Gov. Andrew Cuomo – adding that there is “no reason a conviction for smoking or possessing marijuana should follow New Yorkers for life.”

Last year, Vance dismissed 3,072 cannabis-related cases dating back to 1978. Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez has also proposed erasing at least 20,000 cannabis convictions.

“I was honored to work with defense providers to seal these records and remove unnecessary obstacles to employment, housing, education, and other opportunities for hundreds of New Yorkers. This class action transforms New York’s complicated sealing laws by making sealing proactive, instead of requiring people who are eligible for sealing to navigate a complex application process.” – Vance, in a press release

Despite lawmakers not passing cannabis legalization reforms, they did pass a law raising the threshold for cannabis possession under the state’s decriminalization law. That bill, signed by Cuomo last month, included provisions to automatically expunge low-level cannabis crimes from criminal records.

Basima Hafiz, Supervising Attorney at New York County Defender Services, said that the “War on Marijuana” had a disproportionate effect on “vulnerable communities in New York City,” making it harder for minorities to get “good jobs, safe housing, and affordable student loans.”

“But the state legislature can and must act quickly to legalize cannabis for personal use and expunge the records of all people previously convicted of marijuana offenses,” she said in a statement. “Piecemeal litigation like this is only a Band-Aid – legalization, expungement and community reinvestment are the cure.”

According to 2018 New York City arrest statistics, 89 percent of those arrested for cannabis possession in the Big Apple were black or Hispanic – just 8 percent were white.

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Private Nebraska University Offers Cannabis Certificate Program

8/14/2019

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Doane University, a private university based in Crete, Nebraska, is launching an online Professional Cannabis Certificate Program – the first of its kind in the state. The program is expected to launch this fall.

According to a press release, “Cannabis Science and Industries: Seeds to Needs” is a series of three online courses designed by cannabis industry experts and faculty with PhD and MD credentials. It’s designed for students interested in cannabis industry careers, including cultivators, processors, marketing, business, finance, and administration.

The foundation for the course curriculum was designed by Dr. Andrea Holmes, professor of chemistry at Doane, who worked at Colorado state-certified AgriScience Labs during a sabbatical in the 2018-2019 academic year, and Amanda McKinney, M.D., associate dean of health sciences and executive director of the Institute for Human and Planetary Health at Doane.

“Cannabis has been studied in-depth and much is published in medical literature on the benefits that can be provided from some of its component molecules. While not a ‘cure-all’, cannabinoids can and should be used as they are safe and efficacious for many disorders.” – McKinney, in a press release

Holmes described the program as “based on innovation, advancement of science, [and] cutting edge pedagogy,” adding that it would expand over time based on industry growth and changes in federal laws.

Doane faculty from other departments will have access to courses from the cannabis program to add to their curriculum.

Nebraska has neither medical nor recreational cannabis programs.

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