Looking at the road ahead on a California highway during sunset.

Colorado’s Front Range Biosciences Raises $3M in Bridge Funding; Plans California Expansion

9/21/2017

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Lafayette, Colorado-based Front Range Biosciences, which specializes in cannabis tissue propagation, has raised $3 million in bridge funding which will be used to scale the company’s processes and help fund its expansion into California. The investment round was led by Phyto Partners, Salveo Capital, Sand Hill Angels, HBS Angels of NYC, NY Angels, Halley Venture Partners, Anthill Ventures, and Canopy Boulder.

The firm was one of 10 companies who participated in CanopyBoulder’s spring 2016 startup accelerator program.

Nick Hofmeister, co-founder of Front Range and COO, said the round exceeded the firm’s expectations.

“With the rapid growth of the commercial cannabis industry, there is increasing demand for improved cultivation practices for large-scale grow operations,” said Dr. Jon Vaught, CEO and co-founder, in a press release. “We plan to use our recent funding to scale our processes and keep up with this demand, while expanding into new cannabis markets.”

Brett Finkelstein, managing director at Phyto Partners, indicated that the Front Range management team is what attracted the investment firm to the bioscience company.

“[Front Range] has all of the right pieces for a successful business – a stellar team, clear differentiated offering, early customer validation, and a rapidly growing pipeline,” he said in a statement.

Front Range uses Next Generation Sequencing technology to create cannabis genetics maps which help develop commercially relevant traits in cannabis plants, including disease resistance, oil and resin yields, and desirable cannabinoid profiles.

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Picture of cannabis fan leaves inside of a commercial cannabis grow operation.

Tikun Olam and MariMed Partnership to Expand into 4 States

9/21/2017

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Tikun Olam and MariMed Inc. have agreed to expand their partnership which will see Tikun-branded products rolled out in Rhode Island, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Illinois next year. The partnership brought the company’s products to Delaware in 2015.

The companies expect to offer at least six Tikun-branded strains, including high-CBD strain Avidekel, along with tinctures, edibles, vape cartridges, and edibles.

“Tikun Olam is delighted to expand our relationship with MariMed,” said Tikun CEO Bernard Sucher in a press release. “MariMed utilizes the ‘best practices’ and standards for cultivation and production and their qualified distribution channels allow us to bring our proven wellness products to more U.S. patients than ever before.”

Tikun Olam, a medical cannabis provider in Israel, announced in April that they were expanding their U.S. reach into Nevada with a partnership with CW Nevada LLC. They plan to begin offering products in Washington state in November.

MariMed CEO Robert Fireman said the agreement is due, in part, to the “great success” of the Delaware pilot program.

“Tikun Olam’s empirical data on clinical effectiveness is unsurpassed, and we look forward to educating healthcare professionals and offering Tikun’s products to tens of thousands of new patients nationwide,” he said in a statement.

Since 2010, Tikun’s clinical data has shown that the firm’s strains are effective therapies for symptomatic relief of cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder, Crohn’s disease, colitis, epilepsy, neuropathy, and chronic pain. The company has treated over 10,000 patients in Israel.

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A person dumps pharmaceutical pills out of a pill bottle.

Study: 34% of Chronic Pain Patients Enrolled in MMJ Program Quit Pharmaceuticals

9/20/2017

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A new study by researchers from the University of New Mexico found that 34 percent of chronic pain patients enrolled in the study were able to cease using all prescription medications by the last six months of the 24-month observation period.

The study included 83 chronic pain patients enrolled in the state’s medical cannabis program, compared to 42 who were not. Another 36 percent of registered medical cannabis patients enrolled in the study were able to use fewer medications by the end of the study.

“Legal access to cannabis may reduce the use of multiple classes of dangerous prescription medications in certain patient populations,” the study authors concluded. “[A] shift from prescriptions for other scheduled drugs to cannabis may result in less frequent interactions with our conventional healthcare system and potentially improved patient health.”

The authors state the purpose of the study was to “measure the effect of enrollment in state authorized [medical cannabis programs] on Schedule I [through] V drug prescription patterns. The authors argue that “co-prescribing of scheduled drugs is endemic” in the U.S. and presents “health risks to patients” and a burden on healthcare systems.

The study was published in the Journal of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.

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The state flag of California flying on a clear, blue skied day.

California Legislature Joins the Fight to Deschedule Cannabis

9/20/2017

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For decades, medical cannabis patients and activists have called for the Federal Government to remove cannabis from the Schedule 1 narcotic list — now, the legislatures in California have taken a remarkable step toward validating those claims.

The California Assembly just passed a joint resolution in a 60-10 vote that calls for the federal descheduling of cannabis. Earlier this year, the California Senate passed the same resolution 34 to 2 as part of a request that Congress loosen banking restrictions on the cannabis industry. Removing cannabis from the federal list of controlled substances would significantly improve the environment for cannabis entrepreneurs by opening access to the banking system, and would promote more research into medical cannabis by allowing federally funded institutions to conduct medical cannabis inquiries.

Not needing the Governor’s signature, the joint resolution will now be sent to President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, California’s 2 Senators and California’s 53-member Congressional delegation. The Trump administration has not signaled a willingness to support cannabis reform, but the Senate Appropriations Committee has expressed concerns that the Schedule 1 designation is impeding medical cannabis research.

Consider New Jersey Senator Cory Booker’s Marijuana Justice Act, which itself would deschedule cannabis, and there appears to be a groundswell of efforts to finally move cannabis from the Schedule 1 category.

The Controlled Substances Act set up the “scheduling” system in 1972 and sorted narcotics into five schedules. Cannabis was curiously put into the same Schedule 1 category as LSD and heroin, a designation reserved for “highly addictive” substances with “no known medical uses,” where it has remained for 45 years despite a large pool of research showing cannabis to be effective in treating a wide variety of medical conditions.

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Delaware Eases MMJ Access for PTSD Patients

9/20/2017

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Delaware post-traumatic stress disorder patients now have easier access to the state’s medical cannabis program after Gov. John Carney signed the Bravery Bill into law last week, radio news station WDEL reports. The new law allows patients with PTSD to get medical cannabis certification from any properly licensed physician rather than only being able to receive approval from a licensed psychiatrist.

In a 105.9 FM News Talk report, Carney called the legislation a “common sense and compassionate amendment” to the state’s medical cannabis law.

The bill was championed in the Senate by Majority Leader Margaret Rose Henry, who worked with Air Force veteran Kim Petters, who served the military for a decade. She was forced to wait eight months before being granted access to the program.

Petters, president of the Women’s Veterans Collective, said the measure allows PTSD patients additional options to pharmaceuticals “which can be dangerous and addictive.”

“The veteran community continues to experience staggering suicide rates that far outnumber the amount of troops we lose in actual combat,” she said in the report. “The veteran accidental overdose rates alone more than double the national average. And when you take a look at the veteran homeless community you’ll find at least 70 percent of homeless vets report substance abuse, most of which began with pharmaceuticals or alcohol.”

Petters told 105.9 FM that cannabis helped her replace all of the medication she was taking for insomnia, anxiety, and depression.

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A judge's gavel rests on its pedestal next to a stack of legal books.

Massachusetts Supreme Court Rules Field Sobriety Tests Not Valid to Test Cannabis Impairment

9/20/2017

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The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has ruled that field tests currently used to test for alcohol impairment cannot be used to determine if a driver is impaired by cannabis.

In the ruling, Justice Frank Gaziano, pointed out that “there is no scientific agreement on whether, and if so, to what extent” the current field sobriety tests – such as the horizontal gaze nystagmus, walk and turn, and one leg stand tests – “are indicative of marijuana intoxication.”

“Some studies have shown no correlation between inadequate performance on FSTs and the consumption of marijuana; other studies have shown some correlation with certain FSTs, but not with others; and yet other studies have shown a correlation with all of the most frequently used FSTs,” he opined.

Moreover, Gaziano said that because cannabis affects individuals differently, and to what extent is not commonly known, “neither a police officer nor a lay witness who has not been qualified as an expert may offer an opinion as to whether a driver was under the influence of marijuana.”

The justices conclude that police officers “may not testify to the administration and results” of field sobriety tests in cannabis intoxication cases and that lay witnesses “may not offer an opinion that another person is ‘high’ on marijuana.”

The court ruled that while officers “may testify to observed physical characteristics” of drivers, such as “bloodshot eyes, drowsiness, and lack of coordination” officers are not permitted “to offer an opinion that these characteristics mean the driver is under the influence of marijuana.”

The case, COMMONWEALTH v THOMAS GERHARDT, will be moved back to District Court to continue, consistent with the higher court’s opinion.

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Dr. Oz Says MMJ Useful as Exit Drug on ‘Fox & Friends’ Appearance

9/20/2017

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In an appearance on “Fox & Friends,” Dr. Mehmet Oz, famously known as Dr. Oz, said that there is a “hypocrisy around medical marijuana” and suggested that cannabis “may be the exit drug” to pull the U.S. from the “narcotic epidemic.”

“But we’re not allowed to study it because it’s a Schedule I drug,” said the host of “The Dr. Oz Show.” “I personally believe it could help.”

“Fox and Friends” host Steve Doocy, an outspoken prohibitionist, said that he had “never heard that before;” however even the federal National Institute on Drug Abuse has acknowledged the effects medical cannabis legalization could have on prescription opioid use outcomes.

Two other studies this year have also found cannabis as a potential substitute for opioids. A University of British Columbia and University of Victoria-led study published in the International Journal of Drug Policy found 63 percent of the 250 patients in the study were using cannabis as a prescription drug substitute, and 30 percent of those said they were using cannabis as a substitute for opioid-based pharmaceuticals.

Another survey conducted by HelloMD and the University of California Berkeley found that 97 percent of 3,000 participants “agreed” or “strongly agreed” that they could decrease opioid use by using cannabis therapies instead.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent and neurosurgeon who hosted a three-part documentary on the news network, suggested last year on an episode of “Late Night with Seth Myers” that prohibiting access to medical cannabis therapies is “immoral.”

This isn’t the first time, however, that Oz has explored medical cannabis as an exit drug – he touched on the issue in an Oct. 7, 2016 episode of the “Dr. Oz Show.”

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Arkansas Finance Department Flooded with MMJ Industry Applications on Deadline Day

9/19/2017

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As officials expected, the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration were flooded with medical cannabis business applications on the day of the application deadline. Scott Hardin, spokesman for the department, told the Associated Press that about 300 applications were filed by the close of business Monday, with about 100 of those for cultivation licenses, and the rest for distribution licenses.

Cultivation hopefuls had to pay a refundable $15,000 application fee, while potential distributors paid a refundable $7,500 application fee. The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission will blindly review the applicants and ultimately award five grower and 32 distributor licenses. The state Health Department has already approved 1,200 medical cannabis patients. Patient identification cards cost $50 and must be renewed annually.

Director of Health Communications Marisha DiCarlo has previously indicated that the department is expecting to receive about 30,000 patient applications. She based the estimate on “population, types of qualifying conditions, and trends in other states.” The state’s voter-approved medical cannabis law covers 18 qualifying conditions.

Although the measure was approved by 53 percent of Arkansas voters in November, the ballot question lost on nearly half of the state’s 75 counties. The law allows for municipalities to prohibit cannabis industry operations similarly to how the state has “wet” and “dry” counties for alcohol. So far, no Arkansas county has banned cannabis industry operations.

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A cannabis nug still attached to a plant growing in an indoor cultivation site.

New Brunswick, Canada Sets up Crown Corporation to Oversee Legal Cannabis Sales

9/19/2017

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New Brunswick, Canada’s government has established a Crown corporation which will oversee the sale of recreational cannabis in the province. Provincial government officials have signed memorandums of understanding with licensed producers Canopy Growth Corp. and Organigram to supply the New Brunswick market.

Health Minister Benoît Bourque said the plan will allow a “seamless approach” to federal legalization “that will prioritize public health and safety concerns.”

The model will effectively give the government full control over retail cannabis sales in the province, and the Crown corporation will oversee the business on behalf of the government.

“We are pleased to partner with two local companies to secure a supply for our New Brunswick market in time for the July 2018 launch,” said Finance Minister Cathy Rogers in a press release. “In addition, the creation of this new provincial Crown corporation provides the flexibility and lays the groundwork for the eventual retail model once final decisions around that have been made.”

Rogers indicated that will the Crown corporation will not directly conduct retail operations, rather it would engage with businesses and other entities to devise that framework.

New Brunswick is the latest province to announce proposed infrastructure for federal cannabis legalization. Officials in Ontario have said they will set up Liquor Control Board of Ontario-run shops; however the majority of  Ontario citizens surveyed by Nanos Research and Consumer Choice Centre said they preferred cannabis be sold by private, licensed, retailers rather than the LCB.

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Man Charged with Kidnapping Budtender Admits to Killing in Jailhouse Interview

9/19/2017

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In a KHQ interview from jail, Donavon Culps, who was arrested on Thursday for the kidnapping of Cheney, Washington budtender Cameron Smith, admitted to killing Smith after Culps was denied service at Lucid because he didn’t have proper identification.

Culps, 35, said that while Smith wasn’t even inside the store when he was asked to leave he “was having a very bad day [and Smith] got the ugly side of it.” Culps said he had intended to fight Smith, but ended up pulling out his gun and shooting the 46-year-old budtender.

“I did not think about it, I just pulled out the gun and shot him,” Culps said in the interview. “I dumped the body, I dumped the car, then I went home.”

According to a Spokesman-Review report, Smith’s body was discovered by a police search and rescue team under heavy cover off state Route 904 near Four Lakes. Culps led the police to the site on Friday, the day after he was arrested.

His niece Violetta Culps, who also participated in the kidnapping of Smith, remains at large.

Culps is being held in Spokane County Jail on $1 million bail. He faces armed robbery and kidnapping charges but, according to jail records at the time of this article’s publishing, he has not yet been formally charged with murder.

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Washington Hall and Courtyard stands in the center of the University of Maryland campus dormitory section.

University of Maryland School of Pharmacy Scraps MMJ Courses

9/19/2017

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The University of Maryland School of Pharmacy has scrapped its plan to offer medical cannabis certification courses, the Baltimore Sun reports. Alex Likowski, a university spokesman, indicated that the classes have been canceled after school officials consulted with the state’s attorney general’s office who said there was a risk associated with the plan due to federal cannabis laws.

“If there’s any question of the law, [the attorney general is] often consulted,” Alex Likowski said in the report. “Regarding medical cannabis, even though Maryland and many other states have approved it, it’s still illegal under U.S. law.”

The classes were expected to start in August but were suspended indefinitely. A university-associated website claims that enrollments were “suspended temporarily while the business agreements are being finalized by the university.”

Maryland’s law requires that employees of cultivation, processing, dispensary, and laboratory companies must have training in their field; physicians are not required to have any special training. The program was based on a curriculum developed by Americans for Safe Access, who has offered its own training program since 2002.

Currently, the University of Vermont College of Medicine’s Department of Pharmacology offers a medical cannabis course, which was rolled out in 2016. The City College of San Francisco is developing a course on the legal cannabis industry, and the Cleveland Cannabis College began offering courses earlier this year. In 2007, Oaksterdam University was founded in Oakland California. Earlier this month, Hocking College, a two-year technical school in Nelsonville, Ohio, announced they intend to apply to serve as a cannabis testing lab in the state.

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A woman holds a large, cured cannabis nug in her palm.

New Hampshire Cannabis Decriminalization Bill Takes Effect

9/18/2017

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New Hampshire’s cannabis decriminalization bill took effect on Saturday, making the state the 22nd to eliminate criminal penalties for low-level possession, according to a Forbes report. New Hampshire was New England’s remaining holdout providing jail time for cannabis possession.

The measure, which eliminates criminal penalties for possession up to three-quarters of an ounce until the fourth such offense in three years, was signed by Gov. Chris Sununu in July. Individuals convicted of possessing up to the threshold will be subjected to a $100 fine for the first and second offense, a $300 for a third offense within a three-year window, and a class B misdemeanor on the fourth offense within three years.

Previously, the New Hampshire statute called for first-time possession charges of a criminal misdemeanor punishable by a $2,000 fine and up to one year in jail. The new law, which the governor described as “common sense” reform, specifically prohibits police from making arrests for a cannabis possession violation.

In May, a Granite State Poll found that 68 percent of New Hampshire adults supported recreational cannabis legalization, with another 74 percent supporting a tax-and-regulate regime. Last year, the House voted down a measure that would have implemented a taxed-and-regulated cannabis market in the state.

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An aerial view of downtown Newark, New Jersey.

Poll: New Jersey Adults Support Cannabis Legalization

9/18/2017

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According to a Quinnipiac University poll, 59 percent of New Jersians support allowing adults to legally possess “small amounts” of cannabis, with 38 percent opposed including 53 percent of Republicans. Seventy percent of Democrats favored legalization, along with 60 percent of independents, 62 percent of men and 56 percent of women.

The poll also found 55 percent of respondents said they would “definitely not try” cannabis if it were legalized for adult-use in the state; just 9 percent indicated they would “definitely try” it. Forty-six percent of respondents indicated cannabis and alcohol were “equally” as dangerous, yet 62 percent of respondents aged 18 to 34-years-old believed that cannabis was less harmful than alcohol. No majority believed that cannabis was more harmful than alcohol.

In May, state Sen. Nicholas Scutari, who championed the state’s medical cannabis legislation, introduced S.3195 which, if approved, would legalize cannabis for adults 21-and-older and set up a taxed-and-regulated regime. Scutari indicated the advance introduction of the bill was in preparation for the new gubernatorial administration as Gov. Chris Christie has reached his the end of his term. The measure has been sent to the Scutari-chaired Judiciary Committee in the Senate. It is sponsored by Sens. Reed Gusciora, Tim Eustace, and James J. Kennedy in the House and referred to its Judiciary Committee.

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A young cannabis plant under the reddish glow of an indoor LED grow light.

Zelda Therapeutics-led Observational Study Finds Hope for MMJ as Autism Therapy

9/18/2017

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In an observational study by Australia’s Zelda Therapeutics Ltd., 21 autism patients demonstrated significant symptom improvements when treated with medical cannabis extracts over a 12-week period. The study found that 71.4 percent of patients treated with the extracts instead of traditional medications, such as atypical antipsychotics, showed improvement in at least one core symptom, including social interaction, language or repetitive behaviors, and 66.7 percent of patients showed “significant general overall improvement.”

The study involved patients with a median age of 9 years, 10 months who had not responded to conventional treatments. The trial eas led by Dr. Gisela Kuester, a neurologist and clinical research director for Fundación Daya, a Chilean non-profit advocacy group and medical cannabis firm.

Harry Karelis, executive chairman for Zelda, called the study results “exciting” and supportive of “the anecdotal evidence…showing the positive effect medicinal cannabis has on treating autism symptoms.”

“Zelda will use this baseline data to design its clinical trials and generate rigorous scientific data that validates the clinical benefit of medical cannabis,” he said in a press release. “We hope that in the near future [Zelda] can provide an alternative treatment for sufferers of this condition which is of major global significance.”

Zelda expects a six- to nine-month clinical trial to begin within three months after receiving regulatory approvals.

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Headphones and a digital music player app is open on an iPhone screen.

Washington Cannabis Company Offering Music Downloads with Joint Purchases

9/18/2017

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A new cannabis-focused music distribution service called Hi-Tunes is offering pre-rolled joints that come with QR codes for free music downloads, Complete Music Update reports. The platform is a spinoff of cannabis brand Caviar Gold’s in-house record label.

Scott McKinley, co-founder of the service, said Hi-Tunes gives artists branded cannabis lines to market and if sales do well in their Washington market, the company will release more strains on the artist’s line.

“Music used to sell sheet music, then records and record players, tapes and tape players, CDs and CD players, MP3 players – and now music has nothing to sell,” McKinley said in the report. “We intend to change that by matching music with marijuana. Smoke this, listen to that. It’s a beautiful concept.”

Yoshi Gish, one of the collaborating artists, said he was looking for a new distribution method when he was approached by McKinley in 2016 about the project.

“Records, tapes, and CDs are now so slow and bulky compared to our network, but now a simple scan on a smartphone can connect people with my music,” he said. “I feel cannabis can influence many new avenues of distribution.”

The first line of products is available at Uncle Ike’s in Seattle.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly indicated that Hi-Tunes was founded as a part of cannabis brand Caviar Gold.

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A Goldendale, Washington Police Department SUV parked on the side of the road.

Suspected Budtender Kidnapper Arrested; Victim Still Missing

9/15/2017

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A man suspected of shooting at and kidnapping budtender Cameron Smith from his Cheney, Washington workplace was arrested yesterday in Goldendale, according to a KHQ report. Smith, as well as other two other suspects, are still missing.

Donavan Culps, 36, has been pursued since the Sunday kidnapping, which took place at the Lucid Cannabis store in Cheney, Washington.

The Cheney Police Department issued the following statement after the arrest in Goldendale:

On September 14, 2017 at approximately, 2:13 p.m. Donovan Culps was taken into custody by members of the multi-jurisdictional Yakima Violent Crime Task Force. He was taken into custody in Klickitat County, in the Goldendale, WA area following a short pursuit ending in a collision. There were no injuries and while Donovan Culps was taken into custody the other occupants of the vehicle fled on foot and have not been identified at this time. Detectives from the Cheney Police Department will be responding to Goldendale to conduct follow up in this case. There are no other details at this time.

Two other individuals are suspected of involvement with the crime, including Violetta Culps — Donavan’s 18-year-old niece — but the other suspects have not been located at this time.

Law enforcement throughout the region have been on the lookout for Culps after security footage from the Lucid Cannabis store in Cheney showed Culps approach Smith in the parking lot as he was sitting in his car while taking a break from work. Culps then brandished a gun, fired two shots into the vehicle, got in the car, and drove off with Smith still inside. Since then, both Smith’s emptied wallet and stolen car have been found, abandoned.

The investigation is ongoing.

A candlelight vigil was held Monday evening at Lucid for community members and Smith’s friends and loved ones to come together in hope for his safe return.

 

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The national flag of Uruguay flying on a windy, cloudless day.

Uruguay Moving Legal Cannabis Sales from Pharmacies to Cash-Only Shops

9/15/2017

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Officials in Uruguay are moving retail cannabis sales from pharmacies to shops that will sell the products for cash, the Panama Post reports. The move comes less than a month after banks said they had to close accounts of pharmacies participating in the state-run program due to international anti-money laundering laws.

Three of the 16 pharmacies had stopped selling cannabis due to the banking issue.

According to an Associated Press report, Uruguayan law requires employees and salaries be paid by direct deposit, which makes it tough to run a cash-only business in the South American nation. Uruguayan officials had said they did not anticipate the banking issue when they legalized cannabis nationwide in 2013.

Juan Andrés Roballo, assistant secretary of the presidency, called the move a “provisional solution” to the banking and cannabis sales problem.

“This is an exceptional situation that enables exceptional solutions,” he said in the report. “The best, and definitive (solution), would be a change in legislation (in the United States).”

The Post indicates that there are currently around 13,500 people registered with the state to purchase cannabis products; in early August the number hovered around 11,500. Most of the participating pharmacies report that their 2-kilogram supplies are often gone quickly after it goes on sale.

 

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A Delta Airlines aircraft sits on the tarmac, waiting to be next in line for takeoff.

Employees of Arkansas’ Largest Airport Could Be Denied MMJ Use Under Policy Proposal

9/15/2017

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Proposed personnel policy changes at Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/Adams Field would allow airport employees to be fired if they test positive for cannabis, even if they are registered with the state’s medical cannabis program, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports. The voter-approved constitutional amendment does include language that provides for “safety-sensitive” positions to be subject to increased scrutiny.

“‘Safety-sensitive’ positions are those ‘designated in writing by an employer as a safety sensitive position in which a person performing the position while under the influence of marijuana may constitute a threat to health or safety,’ the law states.

At Clinton National, Arkansas’ largest airport, all employees are considered to hold “safety-sensitive” positions because they are permitted to access ramps, taxiways, runways and other parts of the airport where planes are active, said Airport Executive Director Ron Mathieu in the report. About 150 people are employed at the airport.

“It applies to everyone because everyone has an opportunity because of their level of security to go out to the airfield,” he said in an interview with the Democrat-Gazette. “If you have access to the airfield and you can be out there, you are in a ‘safety-sensitive’ position.”

The Little Rock Municipal Airport Commission has recommended adopting the policy.

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Survey Finds Majority of Ontarians Prefer Private Cannabis Sellers to State-Run

9/15/2017

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According to a Nanos Research and Consumer Choice Centre survey, 55 percent of Ontarians prefer to have cannabis sold by licensed private retailers than the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, with 40 percent preferring the state-run option. Respondents were split 48 percent to 46 percent in favor of licensed and regulated cannabis lounges.

Of the supporters for the lounges, 58.4 percent were between 18 to 39-years-old, which dropped to 44.9 percent for respondents aged 40 to 59-years-old, and to 39.1 percent for those 60-and-older.

Women preferred allowing private entities to provide retail sales, 57 percent, compared to 51.8 percent for men; however a large number, 61.8 percent, refused to answer the question on the survey.

In a statement to Insauga, the CCC called the state-run option a “bad deal for consumers.”

“The government banning private sector cannabis stores is a move that not only limits consumer choice but also enables black market sales,” the CCC in the statement.

David Clement, North American affairs director for the CCC said that citizens “have already made it clear” they don’t want the government to run the stores that sell cannabis products.

“The move to create a cannabis control board will simply replicate the existing issues we see with the LCBO and alcohol,” he said in the report. “The province should embrace private retail and the wants of consumers.”

Ontario officials have said they plan to license 30 to 60 dispensaries throughout the province.

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Cannabis plants growing in an indoor cultivation site in Washington state.

AlphaRoot: Securing Business Insurance for Every Sector of the Cannabis Space

9/15/2017

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Business insurance is important — but for cannabis operators and even companies that are ancillary to the industry itself, it can be difficult to find the right insurance package to fit your company’s needs. AlphaRoot is an insurance brokerage founded to help cannabis entrepreneurs navigate the insurance landscape to find the best combination of coverage and price customized to their business endeavor.

The New York City-based company was founded in 2015 and is dedicated entirely to the cannabis space.

General manager Jeff Samuels was an early employee and VP of Sales at Founder Shield, AlphaRoot’s parent company. FS specializes in insuring virtually every startup industry and Jeff found early success working with cannabis accelerator programs like Canopy Boulder and Gateway.

“AlphaRoot was born out of the desire to become hyper-focused on the cannabis industry and to service those businesses who value their longevity,” Samuels said.

Since its launch, AlphaRoot has secured insurance for more canna-tech companies and ancillary cannabis businesses across the nation than any other insurance brokerage, said Samuels. The company also procures complex insurance policies for cannabis growers, processors, retailers, and other “touch the plant” companies.

However, considering the industry’s federal status and the overwhelmingly strict regulations common in state-legal markets, cannabis industry professionals and entrepreneurs work best when working together. And for the AlphaRoot team, being an insurance broker in the cannabis space is about more than just connecting with clients; it’s also about connecting clients with each other.

“The best part of the job for us is our portfolio of clients,” Samuels said. “We try to create an environment in our portfolio where — if we know one client is looking for a specific software or a specific grow partner or dispensary — then we’re making those connections. We also like to go above and beyond: a lot of times, our portfolio companies are looking to close out a round or raise additional capital, and — because we actually insure a couple different large funds — we’re able to make those connections, plugging startups who are still looking to raise outside capital.”

AlphaRoot also works with their clients to help them toward full compliance with state laws around insurance, as that’s the best way to secure lower premiums. For example, if they can demonstrate to insurance carriers that a cannabis company has taken steps to ensure compliance or product safety — whether that’s via additional lab testing, consulting a security specialist, or something else entirely — AlphaRoot can use that information to reduce insurance premiums for their clients.

Business insurance is all but mandatory for endeavors in a mainstream industry, and now regulators in legal cannabis states have begun requiring entrepreneurs to secure, at minimum, general liability insurance in order to receive and maintain their license.

“Nobody wants to be pitched on insurance products,” Samuels said. “But at the same time, these people are risking millions of dollars on the state licensing application alone, so we think that what we’re doing is really important for making sure these investments are safe, that the businesses are going to be able to scale and have that opportunity to grow.”

To learn more about AlphaRoot and business insurance options for the cannabis industry, visit the company’s website at AlphaRoot.co.

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Eaze Raises $27M, Adds Investor to Board of Directors

9/15/2017

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Eaze, the cannabis technology and delivery firm, has raised $27 million in Series B financing led by Bailey Capital, bringing the company’s total funding to $52 million. Bailey Capital is led by James Bailey, who has also invested in PAX Labs and High Times. DCM Ventures, Kaya Ventures, and FJ Labs also participated in the round.

“Eaze has transformed the way people legally access marijuana. Their focus on the customer experience through wide selection, competitive pricing, and fast delivery meets the demand of today’s consumer,” said Bailey, who also joined the company’s board of directors, in a statement. “As a tech company, Eaze is taking a stand in an industry negatively affected by the century-long war on drugs and takes a proactive mission to make cannabis an industry of equality and opportunity. Eaze is poised to create more jobs and tax revenue than any other company in the industry.”

Jim Patterson, CEO, indicated the investment would help the company migrate into California’s recreational cannabis market.

“With the legalization of adult use marijuana on the horizon, we look forward to using our data, technology and platform to continue to serve our mission of providing safe, secure access to marijuana products at the lowest prices with the utmost convenience,” he said in a press release.

Since its launch in 2014, Eaze has seen a 300 percent year-over-year gross sales increase and is facilitating over 120,000 deliveries per month.

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Nevada Governor: Recent Opinion Allowing Social-Use Venues ‘Circumvented’ Legislative Process

9/14/2017

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Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval insists that a recent decision by the state Legislative Counsel Bureau indicating that the state’s adult-use law does not prevent municipalities from licensing social-use clubs has “no precedential value,” and the issue should be determined by the legislature in 2019 according to a KTVN report.

“I also question it because there was a bill that was introduced in the legislature to allow for pot lounges, which again, I opposed,” he said in the interview. “That bill didn’t go anywhere and now I feel like they’ve circumvented the legislative process to happen.”

Sandoval did not support the ballot initiative to legalize recreational cannabis in the state. The LCB’s interpretation effectively would allow local governments to grant social-use licenses to cannabis-friendly lounges, coffee shops, and other businesses, including special events such as festivals. State Sen. Tick Seagerblom said the decision sets the stage for Nevada to become “the marijuana capital of the world.”

Will Adler, director of the Sierra Cannabis Coalition, said the measure gives tourists options to use cannabis and cannabis-friendly lounges and lodging could create “a new avenue for marijuana tourism” in the state.

“Don’t expect them to crop up everywhere because it’s still up to the local government to say ‘Hey, we’re going to regulate these at our level because the legislature hasn’t done anything with it yet,’” Adler said in the report.

So far, there is no state with recreational cannabis laws that allow for social use. Last month, cannabis regulators in Alaska unveiled rules that would regulate a state-wide social use policy, but the issue has not yet been approved by the Marijuana Control Board. Denver, Colorado voters approved a social-use ballot initiative last November, but the plan is viewed by many industry operators as too strict to take off.

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Sen. Orrin Hatch Introduces Bill to Allow Comprehensive Federal MMJ Research

9/14/2017

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Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Republican and senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, gave an impassioned speech on the Senate floor urging that his colleagues support his bill to encourage cannabis research and that the federal government considers cannabis therapies as a tool in the fight against the opioid epidemic.

“In Utah and across the nation, opioid abuse continues to ravage good, hardworking families who have fallen captive to the tyranny of addiction. While some people are using these prescription drugs appropriately, others are abusing them at alarming rates,” the former Senate Judiciary Committee chairman said. “Because Utahns have watched their family members, friends, and neighbors grapple with this epidemic, many are seeking non-narcotic alternatives that can help with pain. Medical marijuana is just one such alternative. And after careful, deliberative thought, I’ve concluded that it’s an alternative worth pursuing.”

While Hatch said he is “strongly against the use of recreational marijuana,” he is concerned that, in the “zeal to enforce the law,” lawmakers have blinded themselves “to the medicinal benefits of natural substances like cannabis.”

“While I certainly do not support the use of marijuana for recreational purposes, the evidence shows that cannabis possesses medicinal properties that can truly change people’s lives for the better,” Hatch said on the Senate Floor. “And I believe, Mr. President, that we would be remiss if we threw out the baby with the bathwater.”

He said the Marijuana Effective Drug Study Act of 2017, or MEDS Act, “updates the law for the 21st century, allowing for groundbreaking research on the potentially life-saving benefits of medical marijuana.”

“The MEDS Act would encourage this research through reduced regulatory interference, and it would expand sources of research-grade marijuana with the assurance of a quality-controlled product,” he explained. “My proposal would also allow for the commercial production of drugs developed from marijuana once they have been approved by the [Food and Drug Administration.”

Despite his support of medical cannabis reforms, Hatch was adamant against adult use and purported the prohibitionist claims that cannabis “can lead to broader drug abuse.”

Hatch is joined by Democratic Senators Brian Schatz, and Chris Coons, and Republican Senators Thom Tillis, and Cory Gardner in sponsorship of the measure.

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Roger Stone Says He is Willing to Work with Anyone to End Federal Prohibition

9/14/2017

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In an editorial published by the Gateway Pundit, Roger Stone said that Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ “aggressiveness” and “obvious plan to reignite” the War on Drugs is “in direct contradiction to the position” of President Donald Trump, “who very clearly” supported states’ rights to implement medical cannabis policies.

“Recently I launched a bipartisan effort – the United States Cannabis Coalition – to persuade [Trump] to honor this pledge made during the presidential campaign to respect the states’ rights to legalize marijuana,” Stone, who served as an advisor to Trump during his campaign, wrote. “We want the President to order [Sessions] to continue to honor the ‘Holder Memo’ which ordered the feds to stand down on enforcement in the states where cannabis has been legalized under President Obama.”

In the article, Stone also derided the Cannabis World Congress and Business Expo boycott that successfully led to his ouster as keynote speaker at both the Los Angeles, California and Boston, Massachusetts events.

The boycott was organized by the Minority Cannabis Business Association because of several racist and misogynistic statements Stone has made throughout his political career. Stone wrote that he had already apologized for his “sarcastic” use of the word “negro.” In response to the accusations of misogynistic and anti-Semitic language, he wrote, “Criticism of individual women does not make one a misogynist nor does criticism of an individual Jewish person make you an anti-Semite.”

“Even though this attack on me was both orchestrated and based on a false narrative of who I am in what my motives are [sic] I was deeply disappointed in the organizers of the expo who canceled my speech, stampeded by a small but well-organized group of loudmouths more interested in scoring political points than in the future of continued legal access to cannabis,” he wrote.

Stone argues that the boycott’s assertion that he should be prevented from speaking because of his support for Richard Nixon, who launched the War on Drugs, Ronald Reagan, whose administration began the “Just Say No” campaign which further demonized cannabis use, and Trump is misguided because “when it comes to the failed, expensive and racist war on drugs, both parties are complicit and there’s plenty of blame to go around.” In his defense, he cites the 1994 Crime Bill supported by President Bill Clinton, which he calls “among the most racist tools of the war on drugs,” and he also claims that former Vice President Joe Biden’s record shows, “he is perhaps the greatest drug warrior of all time.”

“Despite all of this I am prepared to work with any Democrat, liberal, or socialist who supports legalized cannabis and wants to avert the reigniting of the war on drugs under [Trump],” he wrote. “I will not be silenced by a small group of people who have accomplished nothing in the current struggle to preserve the states’ rights to legalize marijuana. I have the ear of the President. Do they?”

Although Stone was bounced from the CWCB events, he will be speaking in Los Angeles during the expo at noon on Sept. 14 at the Alchemy Lounge.

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