The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), after months of considering qualified candidates, has hired activist Steve Hawkins to the position of executive director, the organization announced today via press release.
Hawkins has spent three decades as an advocate, policy strategist, nonprofit leader, and foundation executive in the movement for criminal justice reform. His experience in public education, stakeholder mobilization, and the engagement of government officials — as well as a knack for “developing strategic alliances with business leaders, law enforcement officials, scholars, faith leaders, victims’ advocates, and other key voices” — qualified him for the position.
“Steve has a strong track record in the field of criminal justice reform, and he knows how to build a movement toward meaningful social change. We were not only impressed by his expertise and experience, but also his strong convictions regarding the injustice of marijuana prohibition.” — Troy Dayton, chair of the MPP board of directors, in the press release
Some of Hawkins’ previous positions include the executive vice president of the NAACP and the executive director for Amnesty International.
“Throughout my career, I have witnessed the counterproductive effects of the war on marijuana and its especially devastating impact on communities of color. MPP has been at the vanguard of changing public perceptions and public policies surrounding marijuana, and I am proud to join this incredible team of advocates at such a critical moment in the movement to end marijuana prohibition.” — Steve Hawkins, Executive Director for the Marijuana Policy Project, in a statement
The prices of cannabis retail items like vapes, batteries, filters, cartridges, and packaging may soon increase thanks to President Trump’s proposed tariffs, Forbes reports.
The tariffs will force vape manufacturers to locate new American suppliers or be quickly out-competed by the companies that do. American-made equipment in this category is far more expensive.
The increase in prices is expected to decrease sales and tax revenues, hurting not only the private companies’ bottom lines but also the budgets of states with legal sales. Colorado logged more than $247 million in tax revenue from cannabis sales in 2017; 25 percent of those sales were in the category of cannabis vaporizers.
Other components beyond vapes — such as construction and grow equipment and even cell phones — will also increase in price.
Companies in the cannabis space are especially vulnerable to product cost increases as they are unable to deduct the usual business expenses before paying taxes due to the federal status of cannabis; those business deductions are fundamental to how the vast majority of business works in the United States.
Growers are expected to suffer the most with the tariffs because, of all operators in the cannabis space, their margins are typically the slimmest and many already struggle to make ends meet.
Online retail giant Shopify has been cutting huge deals with Canadian provinces and cannabis producers to set itself up as the largest cannabis point-of-sale and inventory management platform, reports The Motley Fool.
Shopify has signed contracts with the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia, as well as with Aurora Cannabis, Canopy Growth Corp., Hydropothecary Corp., and others. Shopify’s deal with Ontario was made direct with the government, placing Shopify squarely in the middle of the entire cannabis industry in that province, while Shopify will function as an inventory-management go-between in British Columbia, where cannabis retail will be privatized. Aurora Cannabis and Hydropothecary Corp. are expected to be the two largest producers of cannabis in Canada once the legal market is in full swing.
Shopify’s dealings in Canada may position the company for developing a first-mover advantage when cannabis becomes federally legalized in the U.S.
Shopify’s sales are expected to top $1 billion this year alone. The company’s software-as-a-service platform dominates in a wide range of markets, but its move into the cannabis space is not expected to significantly increase total revenue just yet — though analysts predict that, by 2019 or 2020, these cannabis deals may begin to contribute significant revenue to the company’s annual total.
Despite campaigning against Colorado’s successful 2012 bid to legalize cannabis, Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock admitted last week that the city of Denver is effectively regulating cannabis and called the industry a “success,” according to a press release.
The statement was sparked by a city report that outlines the Denver industry’s journey from medical-only to a fully operational adult-use marketplace.
Some key findings of the report:
Denver’s retail cannabis sales jumped 29% from 2016 to 2017
Tax/licensing revenue from cannabis expected to increase by 8% this year
Cannabis sales tax revenues constituted about 3.4% of Denver’s general fund revenue in 2017
From 2014-2018, more than $11 million in cannabis revenues will go to youth-serving organizations by Denver’s Offices of Children’s Affairs and Behavioral health; further funding will go to Denver’s “High Costs” youth prevention campaign
Cannabis-related crimes in 2017 made up just .30% of overall crime in Denver in 2017
Cannabis industry-related crime made up “less than ½ of 1 percent” (or .21%) in 2017
“This new report demonstrates Denver’s coordinated approach between multiple agencies to manage marijuana is working. We took on the daunting challenge of becoming the first major city in America to manage legalized recreational marijuana and we are having success. That’s because of coordination between Denver’s Excise and Licenses, Denver’s Fire Department, Police Department, Department of Public Health and Environment, Community Planning and Development, as well as our partners in other city agencies, the community from the marijuana industry and public health advocates.” — Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock, in the press release
In 2012, Mayor Hancock came out against Colorado’s legalization amendment. At the time, he called cannabis a “gateway drug” and suggested that its legalization would detract from Colorado’s image and make the state less attractive to tourism and business interests.
North Dakota voters will get their chance to vote on adult-use cannabis legalization this November, according to the Associated Press.
Cannabis advocates collected and submitted more than 14,600 valid voter signatures in favor of the ballot initiative, said North Dakota Secretary of State Al Jaeger. They only needed 13,500. The proposal seeks to legalize cannabis for adults who are 21 and older and would also seal the records of anyone who had been convicted of a cannabis-related crime that would be legal under the new regulations.
Meanwhile, North Dakota’s medical cannabis law took effect in 2017 but patients have yet to get access — they haven’t even been able to apply for the program, yet — and medical cannabis products likely won’t be available until early2019, KFYR-TV reports.
The program was expected to launch this year but now that timeline has been compromised due to holdups in building approvals for cannabis product manufacturers, said Jason Wahl, director for the Division of Medical Marijuana.
State senator John Grabinger (D, District 12) said that issues with the medical program’s implementation may actually be driving momentum for the adult-use petition.
“We could have done this much quicker and taken a cue from many other states that have already implemented it and have got the medical marijuana out there to the public that is asking for it and needs it.” — State senator John Grabinger, via KFYR-TV
Facebook appears to be making it more difficult for its users to discover cannabis-themed companies, trade groups, regulators, and even media outlets. The practice was first reported last week by Marijuana Moment.
Facebook has been at odds with the cannabis industry for years. Despite the plant’s legal status in a growing number of states and the fact that it’s currently one of the most popular political topics among American voters, Facebook continues crack down on cannabis pages because they are at odds with federal law.
“Because of the borderless nature of our community, we try to enforce our policies as consistently as possible.” — Excerpt from Facebook’s Community Standards
Now, however, it appears that Facebook is taking a new approach and is “shadow banning” cannabis-related pages. Shadow banned pages have not been deleted but, instead, can no longer be discovered via Facebook search results. Users who have already “liked” the page will continue to see its content but new users will not be able to discover the page (or any of its posts/content) even if they search for it directly.
New York-based Rosie Mattio, who runs a PR agency that works for the cannabis industry, told Marijuana Business Dailythe practice could cause financial hardships for cannabis companies — many of whom rely on their social media presence to make up for a lack of advertising options.
“While Facebook has held a pretty hard line on advertising, which cannabis companies have been dealing with for years, this a big hit to cannabis businesses and brands. A company’s social pages are as important, if not more important, than their website.” — Rosie Mattio, founder of RMPR, via Marijuana Business Daily
Historically, Facebook has focused its anti-cannabis efforts on dispensaries, growers, and other “touch-the-plant” companies. But, according to the report, the victims of Facebook’s new “shadow ban” policies now include the pages of cannabis regulators, advocacy organizations, trade groups, and even media outlets.
Perhaps most frustrating, however, is that Facebook’s new enforcement actions appear to be wildly inconsistent. For example, if you search for “National Cannabis Industry Association” or “Marijuana Policy Project” on Facebook, you’ll find no results; but if you search for the “Drug Policy Alliance,” their page pops up.
Shadow banned pages can still be found via targeted Google searches.
Missouri voters will get to choose from three different medical cannabis legalization initiatives this November, according to the Bolivar Herald Free Press. Two of the initiatives are constitutional amendments and the third is a statutory amendment.
Petition 2018-041 is a constitutional amendment that would:
Legalize and regulate the use of cannabis for medical purpose
Create licensing procedures for growers/manufacturers
Impose a 15 percent retail tax
Impose a per-ounce wholesale tax on flower products
Use funds from the taxes to establish a state research institute to investigate the medicinal benefits of cannabis.
The proposal is estimated to generate about $66 million in annual taxes and licensing fees. State officials estimated the initial implementation costs at $186,000 with annual operating costs of up to $500,000.
Petition 2018-051 is a constitutional amendment that would also codify medical cannabis into the Missouri State Constitution. It would:
legalize the use of medical cannabis and create regulations/licensing procedures for cannabis cultivators and manufacturing facilities.
Impose a 4 percent retail tax
Allocate funds from those taxes for health services for military veterans and fund the regulatory agency(s) for said medical cannabis program
It’s estimated the proposal would generate up to $18 million in annual taxes and licensing fees for state operating costs and veterans programs, and up to $6 million for local governments; approximately $7 million in annual state operating costs could be expected.
Petition 2018-271 is a statutory amendment that would amend Missouri law to:
Allow doctors to certify patients with a qualifying medical condition for the personal use and possession of medical cannabis.
Create a licensed and regulated industry for the growth, possession, production, and sale of medical cannabis.
Impose a 2 percent retail tax
Use the tax money to help fund veterans’ services, drug treatment, early childhood education, and public safety in cities with MMJ
State officials estimate the initial, one-time cost of this proposal to be $2.6 million with annual costs of up to $10 million; annual revenues should be at least $10 million. Local government officials estimate zero annual costs with at least $152,000 in annual revenues.
Missouri‘s current medical cannabis program is extraordinarily limited and exists largely in name only — it covers only epilepsy patients and allows only for hemp-derived CBD oils.
Missouri is in the minority of U.S. states without a comprehensive medical cannabis program. Earlier this year, Oklahoma became the 30th state to legalize medical cannabis.
GW Pharmaceuticals has revealed the expected consumer price for Epidiolex, the first cannabidiol-based medication to be approved by the FDA, according to a Business Insider report.
At a price tag of about $32,500 per year, it won’t be cheap, but company representatives said in a phone call with investors this week that its cost reflects that of other epilepsy medications. Patients should expect a wait time of about three weeks between when a physician prescribes the medication to when they actually receive the drug.
According to Julian Gangolli, the GW representative who is in charge of commercializing the drug in the U.S., the co-pays for Epidiolex — despite its high price tag — could ultimately be cheaper than buying hemp-derived CBD products online or CBD medication from a medical cannabis dispensary; many patients, however, are expected to continue opting into the more loosely regulated gray market.
Epidiolex was developed from cannabis but contains just the cannabinoid CBD, which, unlike THC, does not have an intoxicating effect.
For now, however, CBD remains a Schedule 1 drug with “no currently accepted medical use.” The DEA was given three months from the FDA’s approval of the drug to reschedule it to a lower category under the Controlled Substances Act.
“We don’t have a choice on that. … It (CBD) absolutely has to become Schedule 2, 3, 4, or 5.” — Barbara Carreno, public affairs officer for the DEA, via Business Insider
DEA and FBI agents coordinated a massive raid early Thursday morning against more than a dozen suspected illegal cannabis grow sites throughout the Denver metro area, The Denver Post reports.
The grows were reportedly targeted for the illegal growing and distribution of cannabis across state lines.
Deanne Rueter — the DEA spokesperson in Denver, Colorado — said that the judicial warrants were the culmination of a lengthy investigation into suspected illegal drug trafficking. She said there was a heavy concentration of busts in the city of Thornton, but that police agencies in Denver, Aurora, Thornton, Commerce City, and Broomfield — as well as sheriff investigators in Jefferson and Arapahoe counties — participated in the raids.
Reuter did not disclose how many houses and/or grow sites were targeted and she said she did not know if police officers were making drug-related arrests. The situation remains an ongoing criminal investigation, she said.
This is the first major federal cannabis enforcement action in Colorado since June, 2017, when 62 people were indicted for allegedly taking part in a major illegal drug trafficking ring.
In an exciting twist for Florida’s medical cannabis marketplace, a Tallahassee judge ruled last week that the cap on cannabis operators imposed by state lawmakers “directly contradicts” the voter-approved constitutional amendment passed in 2016, the News Service of Florida reports.
Lawmakers added the restriction in 2017 while establishing rules and regulations for Florida’s medical cannabis regime.
“Such limits directly undermine the clear intent of the amendment, which by its language seeks to prevent arbitrary restriction on the number of MMTCs (medical marijuana treatment centers) authorized to conduct business in the state. The amendment mandates the availability and safe use of medical marijuana by qualifying patients.” — Leon County Circuit Judge Charles W. Dodson, in a written ruling
Judge Dodson continued, arguing that other restrictions added by lawmakers were also constitutional, including a rule forcing cannabis companies to vertically integrate instead of creating a cooperative marketplace with individual licenses for each activity — such as growing, manufacturing, or dispensing the product — and another rule that improperly restrictsthe state’s licensing process.
However, despite multiple findings that the rules established in 2017 are unconstitutional, Dodson stopped short of granting an injunction to hopeful MMJ company Florigrown, which had challenged the state after being denied a license.
But, if the ruling is upheld, this development could unlock an unlimited number of cannabis operator licenses in a state where one license has already sold for $93 million.
In a study published today by Eaze, it was revealed that — despite living in the world’s largest legal cannabis marketplace — nearly one in five (18 percent) of California cannabis consumers have bought cannabis products on the illicit marketplace in the last three months.
The study compiled 1,750 online surveys from California, Colorado, and Eaze cannabis consumers; the surveys were conducted between July 6 and July 12.
Here are some of the study’s other key findings:
84% of individuals who have purchased on the illicit marketplace are “highly likely” to repeat that behavior
23% of those consumers say that a 5% decrease in California’s tax rate could drive them into the legal market
Most consumers who buy products via the legal marketplace (84%) say they are “very satisfied”
Consumers buying on the legal market are highly satisfied with product labeling (85%) and testing (75%)
90% of California cannabis consumers say they have a medical use for the plant
Southern California consumers are more likely to buy from a unlicensed source than Northern California consumers (21% vs 16%, respectively)
It is no secret that the launch of California‘s adult-use cannabis market has been slower than predicted. Operators in the state suggest that this is due to a wide range of issues, including local licensing delays, burdensome taxes and regulations, jurisdictional bans on the industry, and a lack of lab testing standards.
Lawmakers in Indiana are considering allowing farmers to grow hemp under the state’s industrial hemp pilot program, according to an Associated Press report. Currently, only researchers at institutions of higher education can grow the crop.
Don Zolman, CEO of Zolman Farms in Kosciusko County, told members of the Interim Study Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources on Monday that the crop would be a boon to Indiana’s farmers, whose industry has become increasingly more difficult.
“I would encourage you to push the envelope here a little.” — Don Zolman, CEO of Zolman Farms, in a statement to state officials
State Senator Randy Head (R- Logansport), a member of the study committee, said that lawmakers are considering hemp regulations styled after neighboring Kentucky.
“Anyone that wants to grow, they have to have a permit issued by their state government. They have to have GPS coordinates for their growing operations so if the police want to come in and inspect, they know exactly where to go. Then, anything not being grown at those GPS coordinates is illegal.” — State Senator Randy Head, via the AP
Jeff Cummins, spokesperson for the Indiana State Department of Agriculture, said the agency does not oppose opening up the hemp program to farmers — such regulations, however, would take some time.
“We recognize industrial hemp will be part of agricultural growth. We have no opposition to a market-oriented program.” — Jeff Cummins, of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture
Lawmakers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) — a tiny U.S. territory in the Pacific Ocean, near Guam — have voted in favor of cannabis legalization, Tom Angell reports for Forbes. The bill, if signed into law, would end cannabis prohibition for adults and establish a taxed-and-regulated system for the plant; the bill also aims to legalize and establish regimes for industrial hemp and medical cannabis.
“The people of the CNMI recognize that the prohibition of marijuana has been terribly misguided and harmful, and our leaders are in touch with the public’s sentiment on this issue. Today, members of the CNMI House of Representatives showed their commitment to honoring the will of the people.” — Lawrence Duponcheel, spokesperson for Sensible CNMI, via Forbes
The CNMI House of Representatives voted 18-1 (with one abstention) to advance the legalization bill. A similar bill was approved by the Senate in May but the House, after considering the Senate’s bill, decided to tackle the issue with their own legislation. The House’s bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.
If approved by the Senate, the bill would move to Gov. Ralph Torres (R) for his signature, but it is not clear whether he would sign his approval — he has previously alluded to concerns about “public safety issues” in regards to legalization.
If the bill is fully approved, CNMI will become the first U.S. jurisdiction to jump straight from full prohibition to a taxed-and-regulated system. Every other state/territory, including Washington D.C., has moved first on medical marijuana and only later took up the issue of adult-use cannabis.
See the Marijuana Policy Project’s bill summary for more information on the proposal.
Data released by the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department shows that cannabis-related arrests have continued to climb since marijuana became legal in the District in 2015, Marijuana Moment reports.
Additionally, racial disparities among cannabis arrests continue to plague the District: more than 90 percent of D.C. citizens who were arrested for cannabis in 2017 were Black.
Marijuana Moment‘s analysis shows that the rising arrest rates could be due to Congressional restrictions that block the District from establishing a taxed and regulated cannabis regime, despite support for a such a marketplace among District voters and elected officials.
Specifically, cannabis arrest rates rose 37 percent between 2016 and 2017. The climbing arrest rates are primarily fueled by distribution-related infractions.
The increase isn’t quite as shocking as that of the spike between 2015 and 2016 — where arrest rates more than tripled despite the plant’s newly legal status — but it (and the ongoing racial disparity in enforcement) is cause enough for alarm.
Washington D.C.’s legalization initiative was approved in 2014 by 65% of voters and allows citizens who are 21 or older to possess and/or gift up to an ounce of cannabis and grow up to six cannabis plants at home.
The office of Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi filed a 57-page brief on Friday arguing that an appeals court should rule in favor of the legislature’s decision to ban the smoking of marijuana products under the state’s new comprehensive medical cannabis regime, the News Service of Florida reports.
The memo argues that the Legislature “considered important health and safety factors” when it approved the ban, which medical cannabis advocates — and at least one judge, Leon County Circuit Judge Karen Gievers — have declared unconstitutional.
The memo is the state’s first step toward challenging Judge Gievers’ decision.
“Notably, the Legislature considered evidence of the health hazards of smoking and concluded that smoking marijuana constitutes a harmful delivery method. Time and again during debate, elected members of Florida’s Legislature emphasized that the amendment is exclusively about medicine and that smoking is antithetical to good medicine. In considering these health-related factors, the Legislature reasonably determined that the harms caused by smoking — including harms to patients and those exposed to secondhand smoke — were ample reason to exclude smoking from the statutory definition of ‘medical use.’ The Legislature, therefore, acted under its general authority to regulate public health, safety, and welfare when it drew a reasonable line between the smoking of medical marijuana and other delivery methods.” — Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office, in the brief
In 2016, Florida voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment to establish a comprehensive medical cannabis program.
Since then, the Legislature has repeatedly taken steps — including the smoking ban and a ban on home grown cannabis — to circumvent the voter-approved constitutional amendment. Several lawsuits have ensued.
Oklahoma advocacy group Green The Vote has admitted to lying about the number of signatures they’ve collected to put a cannabis legalization question before voters. The revelation was made via Facebook video early on Tuesday, and confirmed in a follow-up video by Isaac Caviness, long-time president of Green The Vote.
The group announced last month they had exceeded the requirement with a total of 132,000 signatures (123,725 signatures are required by August 8 for the petition drive to succeed).
In his video, however, Caviness confirmed that the actual total is closer to 78,000 signatures for SQ 797 (aiming to legalize adult-use cannabis) and 72,000 for SQ 796 (which would codify a permanent medical cannabis program into the Oklahoma State Constitution).
“We did not mean this in any kind of a malicious way, and … I should not have told you all these were hard numbers, I should have told you all that these were estimates. … I never meant to mislead you in a way in which this wouldn’t get done.” — Isaac Caviness, in a Facebook video
Caviness admitted that the decision to fudge the numbers was made by himself and former Green The Vote board member Dody Sullivan; the lie was intended to keep petitioner volunteers motivated despite the lower-than-expected numbers, he said.
According to both videos, no other board members were aware of the scheme.
In the first video, Sullivan said she left the group because maintaining the lie was too much for her conscience.
The videos are embedded below in the order in which they were released:
Cannabis plants, while fresh, contain a different collection of terpenes than cannabis that has undergone a more traditional curing process.
How does it work?
By freezing the fresh cannabis plant matter, cultivators and manufacturers are able to keep their product with a higher water content than is typical ofconcentrates made from traditionally dried and cured cannabis plants.
Butane in particular is water soluble above certain temperatures so, to prevent contamination, live resin is extracted at very low temperatures.Extractions of fresh, frozen plant matter must be made between -20 and -50 degrees Fahrenheit to prevent the butane’s toxins from polluting the extract as the frozen cannabis is washed in solvent.
The final step of the process is to vacuum-dry the extract, thereby removing the remaining butane and other impurities. Manufacturers manage to maintain low temperatures during the boil-off process by keeping the extract in a vacuum chamber.
Freshly cooked cannabis concentrate, made by a licensed cannabis manufacturer in Washington, displayed on a white surface. Photo credit: Sarah Climaco
What’s the point of live resin?
Ultimately, the cold, fresh extraction process produces an extract that contains moreterpenes overall, particularly the lightweight and volatile monoterpenes like Myrcene and Terpinolene that are common in cannabis, but significantly harder to keep around throughout the high-temperature drying and curing processes that are otherwise typical to the industry.
When a cannabis plant is flash-frozen immediately after harvest, however, cultivators and manufacturers are able to preserve terpene profiles more fully. Today, cannabis patients and enthusiasts are turning more and more frequently to these terpenes as indicators of specific effects that might be common to a strain or phenotype.
Understanding cannabis terpenes
Terpenes are some of the most pervasive organic compounds in nature. Insects and plants both use them for signaling a variety of things, including to fight off predators and encourage pollination.Trees can even emit terpenes that encourage water vapor to form clouds.
Many organisms use some type of terpenoids as part of the process of synthesizing new cells and other biological compounds. Furthermore, terpenes make up the primary therapeutic content of essential oils like lavender.
Taking a close-up look at concentrated cannabis oil sourced from a licensed manufacturer in Washington state. Photo credit: Sarah Climaco
In cannabis, terpenes have been shown to dictate important differences between the effects of varying cannabis strains and indeed carry many therapeutic benefits of their own. While most consumers have realized there are major differences between the different cannabinoids such as THC, CBD, or CBG, fewer people have caught on to the fact that terpenes — or, essentially, the flavors and smells of a specific cannabis strain — can play an even more significant role in dictating a cannabis strain’s effects.
For medical cannabis patients in particular, complex terpene profiles and high terpene counts can make or break a strain in terms of its therapeutic effects.
Accordingly, the cold extraction process used to create live resins frequently results in a product that not only tastes stronger and better, but has a more complex therapeutic effect and makes for a more finely detailed and customizable experience.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated from its original version.
80-year-old grandmother Delores Saltzman was arrested and jailed in Clare County, Michigan for having less than an eighth of cannabis, according to a FOX 17 report. She was formerly registered with the state as a medical cannabis patient but had lapsed on the renewal of her MMJ card.
Saltzman — who lives with arthritis, diverticulitis, muscle and bone aches — said that cannabis saved her life, offering pain relief and an increased appetite after undergoing surgery, when prescription opioids only induced stomach pains and vomiting.
Here’s how it happened:
Clare County Sheriff’s Deputy Ashley Gruno came to Saltzman’s house on June 13 trying to locate her great granddaughter. Deputy Gruno said she smelled cannabis smoke while standing on Saltzman’s porch and asked to whom it belonged. Saltzman told the truth — that it was hers, and that she smoked the plant for medicinal purposes. Deputy Gruno came inside and ultimately confiscated seven pipes, four joints, and a small amount of cannabis; then she handcuffed Saltzman, put her in the patrol car, and jailed her overnight. Saltzman said the deputy at least helped her to clean up her kitchen, first.
Saltzman’s son, Mark Saltzman, said the deputy made a mistake that night.
“I just thought it was absolutely ridiculous to put her through this like that: they could have given her a ticket. And just show us your card later. Reapply for your LARA card, show us this, and then drop the charges.”” — Mark Saltzman, in the report
The following statement was provided to FOX 17 by Clare County Prosecutor Michelle Ambrozaitis:
“Law enforcement went to Ms. Saltzman’s home looking for an individual who had been known to stay at that residence. When the deputy arrived, she could smell the odor of marijuana. When she interacted with Ms. Saltzman at the door, Ms. Saltzman admitted to have been smoking marijuana and possessing marijuana and that she had allowed her medical marijuana card to lapse. At that time, Ms. Saltzman turned over to the deputy 7 marijuana pipes, 4 joints, a grinder, and a purple glass jar that also held a quantity of marijuana inside. The deputy arrested Ms. Saltzman for the illegal possession of marijuana and lodged her in the Clare County Jail. Based upon that arrest, a police report and request for charges was generated by the deputy and presented to our office. My assistant prosecutor authorized a possession of marijuana charge based upon the admission by Ms. Saltzman that she wasn’t a medical marijuana card holder and the evidence that she did possess marijuana illegally. However, our goal is to ensure that individuals who utilize medical marijuana are doing so legally. As such, Ms. Saltzman was encouraged to obtain her medical marijuana card and if she did so, the case would be dismissed. She did obtain her medical marijuana card and the case was dismissed.”
Meanwhile, the majority of Michigan voters approve of legalizing adult-use cannabis, and a ballot initiative to do exactly that will appear before voters on Election Day this November.
“I’m hoping that we all learn a lesson from this and that we make amends, and people will get out and vote for it. We’re the ones that have to stand up we are the people, and we just got to fight for our rights.” — Delores Saltzman, via FOX 17
Ohio regulators awarded seven provisional medical cannabis processor licenses last week, Cleveland.com reports.
Six additional applicants could still be eligible to receive a processor license in the provisional licensing round; there were 104 applicants in total. Under state law, regulators can issue up to 40 processing licenses.
185.48 – Ohio Grown Therapies, LLC (Johnstown, Licking County)
182.00 – Fire Rock Processing Ltd. (Columbus, Franklin County)
177.28 – Ohio Green Grow LLC (Toledo, Lucas County)
176.72 – Greenleaf Therapeutics, LLC (Middlefield, Geauga County or Willoughby, Lake County) *
172.20 – Grow Ohio Pharmaceuticals, LLC (Newtown Township, Muskingum County)
156.52 – Standard Farms Ohio LLC (Garfield Heights, Cuyahoga County)
155.32 – Corsa Verde, LLC (Columbus, Franklin County)
*An applicant can only receive one provisional license, yet were permitted to apply multiple times with different locations. Greenleaf Therapeutics LLC has 10 days to choose their location.
Three processors — Fire Rock, Grow Ohio, and Ohio Green Grow — have also received provisional cultivation licenses. Of the 26 companies holding provisional cultivation licenses, at least 24 had also applied for processor licenses.
Provisional licensees have six months to establish compliant facilities before they can receive a full operating license.
Andy Joseph — the president and CEO of Apeks Supercritical, who collaborated with Hawaii company Maui Grown Therapies to create top-scorer Ohio Grown Therapies — told Cleveland.com the company’s initial offerings will include tinctures, oils, vape pen oils, a chocolate product, and a topical salve.
Ohio legalized medical cannabis in 2016 but the program’s launch has been plagued by delays in the licensing process.
Entrepreneurs are flocking to Toronto, Ontario in order to secure real estate for future cannabis retailer locations, CBCreports.
The rush is underway despite there being no official word from province officials about how it plans to manage the private cannabis retailer market.
“Ontario is a frenzy right now in terms of entrepreneurs, real estate developers — anybody within the cannabis infrastructure. … The level of anticipation that’s building up is massive right now.” —David Martyn, president of Starbuds Canada and Compass Cannabis Clinic, via CBC
Last month, Ontario officials announced they would be opening up the cannabis retailer market to private entities, which was a shift from former Premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal administration’s original plan. It remains unclear whether the province’s cannabis retail marketplace — under the new leadership of Premier Doug Ford — will be handled purely by private retailers or if there will also be government-run shops.
“We can assure you, though, that the government has been working to launch a cannabis retail and distribution system to meet the federal legalization timeline of October 17, 2018.” — Scott Blodgett, spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Finance, in the report
Adult-use cannabis will become legal throughout Canada on October 17, 2018.
First-of-its-kind cannabis oral dosage form designed to be absorbed better, last longer
Oak Park, Ill. – (August 6, 2018) – PharmaCann Capsules, designed to ensure medical cannabis is absorbed better and lasts longer, provide patients a first-of-its-kind delivery method beyond inhalation, edibles and tinctures. Developed by PharmaCann, one of the nation’s largest vertically integrated cannabis companies, the patent-pending oral form pharmaceutical-grade capsules are the first to use self-emulsifying drug delivery system (SEDDS) technology for cannabis.
SEDDS technology has been widely used in the nutrition, nutraceutical, biotech and pharmaceutical industries, and has been shown to significantly improve the absorption of everything from antivirals to immunosuppressant drugs. PharmaCann chose to apply the SEDDS technology after extensive research to determine the best method for addressing the highly variable oral absorption rate of cannabis. Taken by mouth, PharmaCann Capsules are designed to provide convenient and longer lasting as well as more consistent, reliable and effective dosing and delivery of medical cannabis.
The two main compounds in cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), are fat- and alcohol-soluble, making them nearly impossible to dissolve in water, decreasing the amount of compound absorbed. The SEDDS technology is designed to improve absorption of fatty compounds in the stomach and intestines and bypass the liver. This averts the “first pass effect,” in which the liver metabolizes medication, preventing much of it from getting into the bloodstream. Instead, the goal is that cannabis in the capsules is absorbed partially by the lymphatic system, resulting in higher levels of cannabinoids circulating in the bloodstream and providing patients a more uniform and predictable experience.
“This product helps improve quality of life for patients and they report that it lasts longer and feels stronger than other oral delivery options, meaning they only need to take it twice a day instead of three or four times,” said Chris Diorio, director of Research and Development at PharmaCann. “The capsules are especially convenient for those who find it difficult to use other forms of cannabis or prefer the discretion of taking medication in oral form.”
The capsules can be taken with or without food and are available in two strengths and three different cannabinoid profiles, including high THC and high CBD. They have no odor or taste and use vitamins C and E derivatives as a preservative to ensure they remain potent.
“This breakthrough reflects PharmCann’s commitment to innovation to ensure we provide patients the most effective and high-quality product,” said Diorio. “By combining this established technology with our own unique production methods, we can provide patients the effectiveness of smoking cannabis in a convenient and often more preferable oral form.”
He also notes that these capsules, like other oral dosage forms, provide patients a safer pain relief alternative to addictive and potentially dangerous opioids.
PharmaCann Capsules are currently available in the state of New York and are expected to launch in Illinois by early fall.
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About PharmaCann
PharmaCann LLC, one of the largest medical cannabis providers, operates nine dispensaries and three production facilities across multiple states, including New York, Illinois and Massachusetts. Focused on elevating the role of cannabinoid-based therapies in healthcare, PharmaCann offers pharmaceutical grade cannabis products to patients seeking relief from qualifying medical conditions. For more information about PharmaCann, please visit www.pharmacann.com.
On January 1, California opened the largest legal adult-use cannabis market in the world. The marketplace, however, has experienced a resoundingly unimpressive launch, with sales numbers hovering at about 50 percent of pre-legalization predictions.
At the heart of the market’s tumultuous start, there lies a mess of issues — including over taxation, burdensome regulations, local licensing delays, and even hiccups with altruistically intended equity programs — but the bottom line is that consumers, entrepreneurs, and cannabis industry workers are all experiencing negative side effects in the new marketplace, including product shortages, employee layoffs, and more.
A broken supply chain
While California’s adult-use cannabis market officially launched in January, the state has had a functioning medical cannabis infrastructure for decades — longer (and larger) than any other state. Over the years, retailers, producers, and manufacturers developed business relationships that relied on consistency in the quality and availability of a wide range of cannabis products.
According to Adam Spiker, executive director of the Southern California Coalition, the new marketplace is suffering because in many ways it has failed to capitalize on those important relationships. Looking at Los Angeles in particular, where there once existed thousands of cannabis businesses, the city has broken the cannabis licensing process up into three parts. Phase 1 licenses were given to dispensaries who had proven themselves to city officials over many years of operation. But, in receiving those licenses, the businesses have been shut out of the long-established medical industry supply chain that their patients/customers had come to rely on.
“Immediately, once you agree to a state license, you are agreeing to no longer do business with any entity that is not licensed,” Spiker told Ganjapreneur. This means that any delays in licensing — and there have been many — place extraordinary strains on the legal marketplace.
The city’s Phase 2 licensing period, which just opened on August 1, is only available to non-retail companies who have been a part of the legal cannabis supply chain since at least 2015. Here lie even more complications, however, because L.A.’s cannabis social equity policies demand that pretty much the entire next wave of licenses go to individuals who satisfy the equity requirements.
Everyone else must wait until Phase 3 licensing begins, for which no further announcements have been made. “Most businesses that are licensed — or are operating, trying to be compliant and waiting for a license — their reward for that is they’re not doing as well because the industry’s supply and demand is still being captured through illicit means,” Spiker said.
Another consideration is that the state of California is huge both in land mass and in population and, despite the state’s typically progressive demeanor, conservative sentiments are strong throughout the countryside and smaller cities.
“Most of the state — to quantify that, it’s about 70% of the land mass and 75% of the population — still actually has a ban in place,” said Hezekiah Allen, Executive Director of the California Growers Association. “And the unfortunate reality is it’s not going very well, even in those areas where it is available.”
Heightened tax rates have also created massive price fluctuations that confuse and frustrate customers. “To have such a high tax burden on the few businesses that are able to make it through this gauntlet at the local level — frankly, there are so many other [unlicensed] businesses out there, consumers don’t need to know the difference,” Allen said. “All they know is that over here the products cost half as much.”
Unemployment rising
The struggles of California cannabis are even starting to bleed into neighboring and ancillary industries. “There are rural communities that are really dependent on the cannabis industry, and some restaurants and gas stations are even seeing declining sales,” Allen told Ganjapreneur. “At the micro level, we’re seeing unemployment — everything that comes with a recession.”
The issue has reached such a breaking point, Allen said, that the California Growers Association added a new level of membership for business owners who had to close down their company.
Even the most successful and well-established cannabis businesses are suffering through the industry’s growing pains. Recently, Oakland-based Harborside Health Center, the world’s largest and most well-known dispensary, was forced to lay off some of its workers this month after it became clear that a drop in revenue since January was beginning to take its toll. Ganjapreneur learned about the layoffs from a source who was directly involved, and we reached out to Harborside for comment. Andy Berman, the CEO of Harborside’s holding company, FLRish, Inc., explained the situation:
“The transition from a loosely regulated, non-profit market to a fully regulated, for-profit market has been challenging for California’s legacy legal cannabis businesses. High taxes have re-invigorated the illegal market, compliance requirements have reduced profit margins and disrupted the supply chain, testing bottlenecks and failures have taken many popular products out of supply, and delays by local licensing authorities have kept the number of state-licensed growers and retailers at a fraction of pre-1/1 levels. The cumulative effect across almost the entire industry, including Harborside, has been to raise costs while reducing net revenues. This dynamic has led us to make substantial reductions in our operating costs, including payroll. This unfortunately has required us to lay off some employees, and reduce working hours for others. Our hearts go out to them and their families, and we hope to rebuild our workforce as market conditions improve.”
Uniting the industry
Matthew Nathaniel, General Manager for The Heavy Grass, highlighted issues with banking and a lack of laboratory testing standards. He argued that regulators “missed the opportunity” to learn from other states’ transition process from medical to adult-use cannabis.
“Ultimately, the problem is policy makers who either don’t understand business, cannabis culture, or both,” he told Ganjapreneur. “It’s really falling on business leaders to guide this industry into the future in a responsible manner.”
Determined to unclog the industry, Allen and Spiker last week announced the formation of The CalGrowers-SoCal Coalition Collaboration: a statewide unification project to help the industry collaboratively and constructively push back against burdensome taxes and regulations.
“What we need as a business community is to come together,” said Allen, suggesting in no uncertain terms that he expects 2019 to be a “year of unification” for California’s cannabis industry.
And, although regulators have at times dragged their feet or expressed their ignorance or even hostility towards cannabis, Spiker argues that the industry is definitely moving forward, not backward, despite the market’s early slump.
“It’s so complicated, it was never going to happen overnight,” he said. “I think we’re turning a corner. The state, to their credit, finally have a set of criteria and policies in place. While they’re still tweaking some things, the meat of what they expect [from cannabis licensees] is there.”
However the market evolves going forward, it is abundantly clear that cannabis entrepreneurs in California — much like those in every other adult-use marketplace that has evolved over the past four years — will be in for one heck of a bumpy ride.
The first year of adult-use cannabis sales in Nevada has exceeded the state’s year-end expectations by 25% as of July, reports The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. With June’s revenue, taxed sales will exceed $500 million this year to date, resulting in tax payments totaling over $70 million.
Nevada set sales records last year as well. In the first six months of their legal market, even following a lengthy legal battle regarding licenses, Nevada sold more than $195 million in cannabis products. This dwarfs the first half-year of sales in states like Washington ($67 million) and Colorado ($114 million).
Nevada uses the taxes raised from cannabis sales to fund schools, after covering administrative costs for the state. This year, $25 million is expected to go to schools in the state. However, some officials involved with schools, like Jim Hartman who led the anti-legalization camp during the 2016 battle to get legalization on the ballot, say that the benefits for schools are blown out of proportion. Hartman places the $25 million delivered this year against the nearly $1 billion annual school budget of Washoe County, Nevada alone.
“People have a huge misconception that we are going to build libraries and roads and all kinds of things with this marijuana money, but in reality, these are tiny, tiny numbers. They are celebrating the sale of marijuana products. It isn’t as though SAT scores are increasing.” –Jim Hartman, Chairman of Nevadans for Responsible Drug Policy, via myAJC.com
The next wave of revenue for schools, which may silence naysayers, will come from local governments licensing smoking lounges or other public consumption sites. Tourists right now in Nevada have nowhere to legally consume cannabis. The City Council of Las Vegas had plans to start licensing such lounges but backed off the move to allow Colorado to be the first to test those waters.
A comparison of reports studying cannabis supply in Oregon and Colorado by Colorado Public Radio reveals that while Oregon’s surplus seems to be disappearing into illicit markets, Colorado’s growers aren’t even planting their entire allotment.
In Oregon, 70 percent of legal cannabis grown goes unsold. In Colorado, most growers are planting less than half their allowed square footage and still meeting demand. Many, especially law enforcement officers, believe that surplus cannabis often is sold onto the illicit market. Colorado also had surplus — 32 metric tons left after 2017, for instance — but the state’s numbers are some of the lowest of the states with established adult-use markets.
Analysts believe the difference in the two states outcomes were driven by regulatory structures. In Colorado, existing medical cannabis growers were given right of first refusal for licenses after legalization. Colorado also forces growers to show that they have sold 85% of their existing output before being allowed to increase the size of their grow.
“That was the right approach, and we’ve made that recommendation to other state regulators to do that because if you exclude the medical folks from entering the market, then there could be propensity for diversion to the black market. Colorado has done a good job in sizing the market. In Oregon, it’s going to take a while for that balance to be established.” –Beau Whitney, senior economist at New Frontier Data, via Colorado Public Radio
Oregon neither gave existing medical growers preference, nor did the state limit total licenses. This has led to endless licenses for anyone interested, which is not only a logistical nightmare for enforcement, but also results in extreme levels of competition among licensees.
“I know a lot of the legal industry in Oregon has been asking for stepped-up enforcement to combat illegal operations, but there doesn’t appear in those conversations a clear owner of the law enforcement.” –Beau Whitney, New Frontier Data, via Colorado Public Radio
Early adopters of adult-use legalization are essentially conducting fast-paced, hands-on research as they build their regulatory frameworks from scratch, and entrepreneurs serve as the “guinea pigs.” As more states begin to legalize, regulators will hopefully be able to look at what has worked and what has failed in markets like Oregon and Colorado, and choose a path that will achieve better results for both citizens and businesses. Unfortunately, until regulations are smoothed out and the market matures, pioneering cannabis entrepreneurs will have to find their own way out of the maze.
