Regulators. Testing Labs. Service Providers. Operators. The Right People in One Place.
An upcoming webinar scheduled for May 25, 2017 will cover the top five challenges faced by companies and entrepreneurs in the cannabis space — register now to gain the latest insights and strategies for overcoming these issues!
With increasing legalization of both recreational and medicinal marijuana, the cannabis testing industry is ripe for exponential growth. Cannabis lab testing requirements are drawing a lot of attention and are under increased scrutiny from state regulators, testing labs, cultivators, producers, retailers and patients. Uniform national testing and operational standards and protocols need to be developed and implemented to ensure products’ consistency for safety and efficacy.
Lack of unity across states and internationally is creating cannabis lab testing confusion. It’s hard for operators to stay on top of the new and changing rules and methodologies. Thresholds differ from state to state; different methods are generating various results; local jurisdictions are creating procedures that many operators must understand. There are many more implementation issues and challenges that cannabis entrepreneurs need to overcome to be able to stay compliant in this highly competitive business.
Creating uniform state standards and federal cannabis regulation is crucial. The 2nd Annual Cannabis Compliance Summit, July 19 – 21, 2017 in Los Angeles, is the premier event for decision makers that brings the policy makers in the same room with the testing labs, equipment and technology providers, operators and industry experts to create uniform cannabis industry frameworks.
Also, don’t miss these pre-summit programs!
MORNING Pre-Summit Business Course:
Walking the Tight Rope: Balancing Compliance with Business Growth in the Regulated Cannabis Industry
Sponsored by: Frontera Law Group
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
This course is intended for cannabis business owners and entrepreneurs at any stage of their business lifecycle focused mainly on California compliance but with certain coverage on a national scale from legal, accounting, entertainment and Private Equity perspectives.
AFTERNOON Pre-Summit Technical Symposium:
Science in Medical Cannabis Production and Treatment
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
12:00 – 6:00 PM
State-legal medical cannabis and hemp programs are safe until at least September as the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment – which prohibits the Department of Justice from spending funds to interfere with codified medical and hemp regimes – was included in the federal budget resolution.
Rep. Earl Blumenaur, a Democrat who heads the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, said in a statement that the extension of the amendment gives both patients and providers “a measure of certainty.”
The measure was initially passed in 2014 and has been renewed in subsequent budgets.
In a blog post, NORML Political Director Justin Strekal called the move “a stopgap at best.”
“Ultimately, Congress needs to amend federal law in a manner that comports with the available science, public opinion, and with America’s rapidly changing cultural and legal landscape, he wrote. “Such action includes removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act so that states possess the flexibility to engage in their own marijuana regulatory policies how best they see fit.”
Michael Kulick, a partner at Feuerstein Kulick LLP, which works in the cannabis industry, said the firm was “happy to see common sense prevail and for Congress to continue to respect states’ rights as it relates to medical marijuana.”
“Hopefully, this is a sign that Congress will likewise pass other measures that are teed up for its consideration,” he said in a statement. “It is high time that Congress acknowledges the will of the people who overwhelmingly support states’ rights to legalize, appropriately regulate and tax marijuana within their borders.”
The amendment, however, does not include language protecting adult-use regimes; although following a meeting with Attorney General Jeff Sessions last week Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper indicated that he didn’t sense that a federal crackdown on recreational regimes was on the horizon.
An investigative report by Denver, Colorado’s FOX 31 has found that 47 licensed cannabis dispensaries were caught breaking the law in 2016, leading to fines of at least $683,500 paid by shop owners and employees to the Department of Revenue Marijuana Enforcement Division with dozens more individuals losing their ability to work in the industry.
Many of the fines were the result of missing product and some businesses were found to have skirted the METRIC system – the seed-to-sale tracking technology required under the state’s law.
In an interview with reporters, a longtime dispensary employee using only his first name, Marcus, explained how some dispensary owners buck the system by listing some products in the METRIC system as too damaged to sell then sell it anyway. He said those products are usually sold “off the books” in order to thwart taxes.
“There are many ways to be able to manipulate these numbers and there’s no accountability,” Marcus said in the report. “A lot of people are getting paid poorly. A thousand-dollars or two-thousand-dollars just to shave a few grams here and there every day sounds like a real good idea.”
One company, Verde, paid a $40,000 fine to state regulators for improperly tracking some of its products. The department found that the company illegally “transferred a total of 1,024.8 grams of retail marijuana to … businesses which were not commonly owned or vertically aligned,” and claimed to have submitted nearly 95 grams to Gobi Analytical for testing “when they in fact had submitted 0.5 grams.”
Natural Selections, another cannabis company, was fined $75,000 for “failing to keep a transport manifests” and “failing to maintain accurate tracking records that accounted for, reconciled, and evidenced all inventory activity.”
In an interview with Ganjapreneur, a spokesperson for Natural Selections explained that their shop was never accused by state regulators of diverting products and that the fines “were the result of a single incident wherein seeds were brought to the cultivation facility on the very first day of planting without a transport manifest.”
“We were never even accused of diversion,” the spokesperson said.
(This story has been edited to include updated quotes from Natural Selection.)
Most business owners in the cannabis industry are missing out on a huge opportunity to scale growth, decrease advertising costs, and reach more customers. What’s that opportunity, you ask? Social media.
It’s time that we get real, many cannabis dispensaries are failing in their social media endeavors. But the good news is — you don’t have to.
The benefits of rocking social media
Dispensaries and cannabis businesses that optimize their social media presence can easily reap the benefits that social media has to offer.
These perks include the ability to reach more customers on their time. With almost half of the world’s population using social media, it’s safe to say that your dispensary’s customers are somewhere on social media.
Photo credit: WeAreSocial.com
…and social media users are growing in numbers. Rapidly.
Photo credit: WeAreSocial.com
Meet your customers where they hang out. Be in front of them when it matters. Build relationships that will blossom into brand advocates.
Another perk of social media is lower advertising costs for better targeting, which comes from engaged and interested followers, and social media managers that understand your brand’s ideal customer. Social media, both paid and free, give valuable customer insights that can’t quite be matched by anything else.
But one of the most obvious perks is the opportunity to build better brand awareness. Educate consumers on who you are and what you represent. Build a brand that lasts with a social media presence that serves you.
All that being said, the point still stands: many dispensary owners aren’t reaping these benefits.
7 key cannabis social media mistakes
There are 7 key mistakes business owners in the cannabis industry are guilty of on social media, and it’s costing them time, energy, and future customers and revenue. Let’s change that.
Mistake #1: Not being on social media at all
Well, this first mistake is a little obvious, but the most common. It’s the 21st century and millennials are taking over the marketplace. Any business owner, inside the cannabis industry or not, needs to realize the importance of a social media presence. Not being on social media at all is the biggest and most common mistake dispensary owners make.
What to do about it: At the very least, set up a Facebook business page for your dispensary or business. With 1.15 billion daily active users, Facebook is a great place to start. Link your new Facebook page to your website and start building a following.
Mistake #2: Not posting enough
The next most common mistake: The dreaded under-poster.
Imagine you have a customer that wants to know your store hours, and goes to check out your Facebook page. Sure, they may find your store hours. But imagine if they saw that the last time you posted to the page was 14 months ago. Don’t you think they might wonder if you’re even in business anymore? Maintaining an active presence on social media is just as important as having the accounts open and active. Don’t let your social media profiles work against you.
What to do about it: First, take a good look at dispensaries doing social media right, like The Goddess Delivers. Get those creative juices flowing, and plan what kind of content you want to share.
Use a social media scheduling tool, such as Buffer, to plan, schedule, and post content. This reduces the hands-on time that many dispensary owners lack. If you plan to make your social media presence a priority, plan 30-60 days of social media content in advance and add it into your scheduling tool. This takes just a couple hours, but you’re set for more than a month. Then, throughout the month, share content from other pages and promote discounts to compound on your scheduled content.
Mistake #3: Only posting promotional content
You’ve got your Facebook page set up, you’re posting content regularly, and you’re gaining some social momentum. The next most common mistake cannabis dispensaries make on social media is not varying content, and only posting sales material. If all of your posts are to the tune of, “Hey we’re open, come buy XYZ!”, you’re not going to see positive results. Sales content is very much encouraged, as long as you are also mixing in value-based content that your followers will really enjoy. Here are just a few examples of ideas for posting content for your cannabis dispensary:
New sale, discount, or promotion (use sparingly)
Tips for preserving your stash or cleaning your equipment
Pictures of new inventory
Pictures of staff or growers
Interviews with industry experts
Funny memes or comics
Featured strain or edible
The possibilities are endless!
What to do about it: Mix in valuable content, such as the above examples. A great solution many dispensaries use is a blog on their website (a great example is Native Roots), but sourcing content from industry-relevant websites is a great option, too. Peak Dispensary and Denver Dispensary both incorporate humor very well into their social media posting, which is adored by their followers!
Mistake #4: Inconsistent branding
To some cannabis business owners, this one might not be so obvious, but it is just as tragic. Your future customers should know they’re in the right place when they visit your Facebook page, or your website, or your Twitter profile, or your Instagram. That confidence comes from consistency. Your name, your logo, your branding, your imagery, all of this should have a consistent look and feel across all your online assets.
For example, when you look at Native Roots’ social media profiles, you instantly know who they are from the consistent black and white branding.
What to do about it: First of all, your dispensary’s logo should be the profile image on all your social media profiles, and should be easily seen on your website. That is essential.
The next thing you want is matching social media and website banners. Submit your loose ideas to a designer on Upwork with your logo. Order a Facebook cover image, Twitter cover image, and web banner, which will create a consistent brand experience across all online hubs. Depending on the skill level of the designer, this can be accomplished for less than $100.
Mistake #5: Ignoring your customers (and future customers)
If your customer walked up to your service counter and asked a question, would you walk away and ignore them? No! So why are you doing the same thing on social media?
Once you have a Facebook page, and possibly other social media assets for your dispensary, do not ignore them. Customers (and future customers) often look to social media for customer service, such as Facebook messenger and comments. Be present and active on social media. Never ignore the opportunity to provide exceptional service to your customers.
What to do about it: Regularly check comments and messages on all social media platforms. Answer professionally, with detail, and with friendliness. It’s harder to convey a smile over the Internet, so go above and beyond with your response! If you see a pattern in questions that are asked, consider creating a piece of content or social post that might help.
Mistake #6: Not getting visual
A huge opportunity is missed when dispensary owners don’t capitalize on visual content. Marijuana is a visual industry, there’s no doubt about it. Whether it’s your merchandise, a new strain, a new model of vaporizer, or edibles, marijuana consumers are stimulated most by seeing it. If you’re not posting visual content, like videos and pictures, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to showcase what your dispensary offers.
What to do about it: Incorporate videos and images into your social media posting, such as “behind the scenes” pictures, “sneak peek” pictures of upcoming offerings, and short videos like unboxings, strain spotlights, and more. If you believe visual content can really showcase your dispensary, it’s highly recommended that you get your business on Instagram. Instagram is a highly visual social media site that will allow your images and video to thrive.
Mistake #7: Not being true to your brand
This final mistake is not the least important; it’s probably the most important! Staying true to your brand, your culture, and your mission on social media is critical to your success. Social media is the perfect platform to educate existing and future customers why you do what you do.
What to do about it: First, make sure you have accurate information displayed on social media in the description of your dispensary, hours of operation, website link, contact information, and so on. Keep this consistent and accurate across all channels.
Does your brand speak from a humorous or silly voice? Informative? An activist voice? In all your social media posts, convey your culture to potential customers, and speak from the heart of your mission.
All over the Internet, dispensaries and other cannabis businesses are failing at social media.
Since social media is a social channel embedded deeply into the roots of our culture, it is more important than ever to add this as a tool to your cannabis business toolbox. Social media offers a way to connect and support existing customers, bring in new customers, increase traffic to your website and brick and mortar store, teach your culture, and share a ton of value.
As a dispensary owner, you are now more ready than ever to rock social media for your business. The only question now is: what’s stopping you?
During a forum on substance abuse hosted by the New Jersey Hospital Association, Gov. Chris Christie called the push for cannabis legalization “beyond stupidity,” adding that it’s “not time for use to be cool and say, ‘Pot’s OK,’” NJ.comreports.
“We are in the midst of the public health crisis on opiates,” Christie said during his remarks. “But people are saying pot’s OK. This is nothing more than crazy liberals who want to say everything’s OK. Baloney.”
Christie’s comments come just two days after what Christie referred to as the “idiot” Star-Ledger editorial board published an op-ed titled “Forget decriminalization. Time to legalize weed.”
Christie also rallied against pro-legalization politicians, including Democrat Phil Murphy who is the front-runner in this year’s gubernatorial campaign in the state.
“People like [Rep.] Nick Scutari and [Senate President] Steve Sweeney and Phil Murphy want to bring this poison, legalized, into this state under the premise that, well, it doesn’t matter because people can buy it illegally anyway,” Christie said in the report. “Then why not legalize heroin? I mean, their argument fails just on that basis. Let’s legalize cocaine. Let’s legalize angel dust. Let’s legalize all of it. What’s the difference? Let everybody choose.”
Scutari, a Democrat, is the main sponsor of legalization legislation expected to be introduced in the legislature next year. Sweeney has indicated he would support the bill.
Christie also toed the prohibitionist line that cannabis is a gateway drug to heroin, citing the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health that purports a child who tries cannabis between 12 and 17-years-old is 10 times more likely to be addicted to the heroin by the time they reach 24.
“If he’s gonna say [legalization] is stupid, I’m going to say those comments are idiotic,” Scutari said of the governor’s remarks. “To try to draw some kind of nexus between the two is ridiculous, misplaced, and unscientific.”
Christie was named chairman of a commission to find solutions to the opioid epidemic by President Donald Trump.
New Hampshire’s medical cannabis registered patient counts have reached 3,000 one year after the state’s first dispensary opened, according to a Union-Leaderreport. However many potential patients are still having a difficult time finding providers who will certify them for the program. According to the state Department of Health and Human Services, 722 medical providers have approved patients as of Apr. 7.
For patients to be registered with the New Hampshire program they must first have a three-month relationship with the recommending physician or advanced practice registered nurse – the only medical professionals allowed to decide whether the patient has a “qualifying medical condition.”
A recent report to lawmakers by Michael Holt, the therapeutic cannabis program policy administrator at the Health Department, indicated that an ongoing issue with the regime is “patient access due to lack of provider participation.” He said that he hears from patients that doctors are either unwilling to sign the patient’s certification papers “or are prohibited by their practice or hospital group from participating in the program.”
A spokesperson for the New Hampshire Hospital Association said she was unaware of any hospital in the state with such a policy. Officials at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, Elliot Health System, Lakes Region General Hospital, and Catholic Medical Center all said they had no rules against program participation for their staff.
Two treatment providers said many of their patients are using cannabis as a pain therapy alternative for opioids. Lisa Withrow, owner of Palliativity Medical Group, explained that 90 to 95 percent of patients she certified have chronic pain and “all of them have shown significant reduction” in the number of opioid, psychotropic, and muscle relaxing pharmaceuticals they take.
“That’s what the patients want,” she said, noting that many rely on edibles. “They don’t want to be on these things.”
A U.S. consultant hired to assess Canada’s adult-use cannabis market estimates that jurisdictions that allow legal sales should see “unbelievably high” sales growth in the first few years of the legal regime, the Canadian Pressreports.
Adam Orens, a co-founder of the Marijuana Policy Group, said the firm is not yet at liberty to discuss Canada’s potential market because of a contract agreement with Health Canada, but according to the group’s research in Colorado, sales grew 42.4 percent in the state between 2014 and 2015 – when sales reached $996 million, prompting $2.4 billion in economic activity, $21 million in state tax revenues, and creating 18,000 new full-time jobs.
“This is a conversion of an existing, informal market into a formal, regulated market and you’re going to see several years of very fast growth,” Orens said in the report, referencing Colorado’s migration.
The group estimated that Colorado’s sales would slow as the program matures and illegal sales dwindle, projecting 13.1 percent sales growth in 2020.
Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Office has estimated cannabis sales tax revenues could be between $356 million and $959 million by 2018, assuming retail cannabis sells for $9 a gram – the current illicit market price in Canada. C.D. Howe Institute, a public policy think tank, estimated that Canada’s legal cannabis industry would generate about $675 million in federal and provincial tax revenues in the first year of legal sales.
Mexico’s lower House of Congress on Friday passed a bill to legalize the use of cannabis for medical and scientific purposes, according to a report from Reuters. The measure passed the nation’s Senate in December and now moves to the desk of President Enrique Peña Nieto, who is expected to sign it.
“The ruling eliminates the prohibition and criminalization of acts related to the medicinal use of marijuana and its scientific research, and those relating to the production and distribution of the plant for these purposes,” the Lower House said in a statement posted to its website.
The legislation reclassifies THC as “therapeutic.” The government has allowed the importation of CBD medicines on a case-by-case basis after the Mexican Supreme Court ruled that individuals had the right to grow and distribute cannabis for personal use in 2015. However, according to a New York Timesreport, the ruling didn’t strike down the nation’s drug laws, but laid the groundwork for the medical cannabis regime. The ruling also granted four people the right to grow their own cannabis for personal consumption.
A bill that would legalize possession of up to 1 ounce of cannabis in Mexico was introduced more than a year ago but has been stalled in the Senate.
Jenbrook, an organic tea tree farm in New South Wales, Australia has received a $1.49 million investment to help develop honey products from bees that have pollinated cannabis plants, Business Insider Australiareports. Jenbrook supplies raw honey and tea tree oil to the U.S. through Naturally Australian Products.
The company, which is expected to reach $1.6 million in monthly revenues next month, is working with Southern Cross University on research into the health benefits of medical cannabis honey. The recent cash infusion was provided by technology investment company EVE Investments in return for a 50 percent interest in Jenbrook. EVE is traded on the Australian Stock Exchange under the symbol EVE.
Jenbrook also extracts “meluka” honey, which the company claims could be used as a potential treatment for “certain human diseases.”
“…Indications of strong US customer demand have been confirmed by Jenbrook for both (meluka and cannabis) honey product opportunities, through its established US sales channels,” states a press release from EVE.
The deal will be completed through the formation of a new company, NewCo, that will be a 50/50 joint venture between EVE and Jenbrook. Jenbrook will initially see $100,000 and the remaining $1.39 million will be paid “upon satisfactory completion of a number of conditions” including scientific validation of both honey products.
Four out of five of New York’s medical cannabis companies have filed a lawsuit against the state Department of Health to halt the licensing of additional operators, arguing that the expansion could potentially harm patients and decimate the state’s tightly regulated industry, according to a Times-Unionreport. The suit was filed by the New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association on behalf of Vireo Health of New York, Etain, PharmaCann, and Bloomfield Industries; only Columbia Care is not listed in the suit.
According to the report, the suit claims that the Health Department’s plan to open up licensing “will completely overstep its authority delegated by the Legislature” under the state’s medical cannabis regime and exceeds the cap of five registered organizations allowed by the 2014 law. The plaintiffs argue that patient counts don’t warrant the issuance of new licenses.
“The DOH’s premature doubling of the supply market, before patient demand has grown to a level that can sustain even the existing market, will immediately launch the collapse of the medical cannabis industry in New York,” the lawsuit says, according to the Times-Union, adding that if more companies are granted licenses, current operators will have to terminate plans to reduce prices and introduce highly refined medicines to treat epilepsy.
“Today is the first step in protecting the patients we serve on a regular basis across New York state,” the Medical Cannabis Industry Association said in the report.
Department of Health spokeswoman Jill Montag said the expansion will help ensure that “New Yorkers who qualify for [the] therapy have access to it” and the department “will continue to fight any attempts to block patients from the relief they deserve.”
A judge did not immediately grant an injunction in the case.
Republican Georgia Rep. Allen Peake is supplying low-THC cannabis oils to patients in his state due to the state’s limited laws that allow them to possess the products but offers no way for them to cultivate, import, or purchase them, the Associated Pressreports. Peake, who championed Georgia’s medical cannabis legislation, has previously helped some families move from the state to Colorado so they would have legal access to medical cannabis treatments.
“We’re going to do whatever it takes to be able to help get product to these families, these citizens who have debilitating illnesses,” Peake said in the report, adding that he doesn’t know – and doesn’t ask – who delivers the boxes of cannabis oil to his Macon office.
Every time a new box is delivered to his office, Peake makes a donation to a medical cannabis research foundation in Colorado; he says the donations add up to about $100,000 per year. Peake is allowed to legally possess the oil because he has obtained a medical cannabis card from the Georgia Department of Public Health, despite the fact that he is not considered a qualified patient under the state’s rules.
In Georgia, about 1,300 patients are enrolled in the state program and, aside from Peake, their only option to obtain the oil is online, which runs afoul of federal law.
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper met with Attorney General Jeff Sessions, with the governor coming away with the sense that a federal crackdown on state-approved legal cannabis programs is not on the horizon, the Denver Postreports. According to Hickenlooper’s Chief of Staff Doug Friednash, Sessions is more focused on other priorities, such as the proposed border wall, than he is with legal cannabis markets.
Friednash indicated that Sessions viewed the 2014 Cole memo – which directs the Department of Justice to not interfere in state-sanctioned cannabis programs – as “not too far from good policy.”
Hickenlooper argued that a federal sweep on legal cannabis regimes would just lead states back into gray and medical markets and that there plenty of doctors willing to write medical cannabis recommendations. He expressed to the attorney general that since legalization there has been no rise in teenage cannabis use in the state and that emergency room visits have steadily decreased as officials have enacted laws to better regulate edibles. He also pointed out that lawmakers have worked toward tightening individual cultivation rules during this legislative session.
“You would just be trading one problem for another,” Friednash said in the report.
Earlier this month, Colorado lawmakers backed off a plan to legalize cannabis clubs after Hickenlooper indicated he did not support the plan due to fears that it could attract federal intervention.
Although Hickenlooper came away from his meeting with Sessions with no concrete assurances that the administration would maintain the status quo, it’s a promising sign amid questions brought about by the approval of Sessions as Attorney General and appointment of Tom Marino as head of the Office of National Drug Policy Control.
Are you a fan of cannabis? I am! At this point, I have attended just as many cannabis related events as alcohol events. Consider that now, in the state of Washington, more than four million dollars worth of cannabis is sold every day. Yet, I have never seen the issues that prohibition pushers would like you all to think about.
So where are they?
If you’ve never seen the movie Reefer Madness, it is an infamous piece of propaganda (available on YouTube) that was produced during the initial stages of federal cannabis prohibition. The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 criminalized the plant by requiring any cannabis — or “marijuana,” as the federal government refers to it as part of their rebranding scheme — to have a stamp. This stamp was produced by the government, not yet released in mass, so it created criminals out of people who were not before. To justify this behavior, the government released massive amounts of propaganda. Sound familiar?
Today, we are seeing a shift after more than 80 years of prohibition. In more than 29 states, including Washington DC, there is some form of cannabis legalization underway. This legalization is not cookie cutter, nor is it perfect by any means. What is missing? Well, I think that true legalization is missing. Consider that in Washington State we are not supposed to grow our own cannabis — unless of course you are a qualified patient, but even then you have to get on a registry in order to grow only close to what was legal to prior to 2015 — nor are we allowed to share our cannabis with anyone else.
Don’t get me wrong. I do believe that we are better off today than before, when people went to jail for possession of just small amounts. However, this is not legalization. This is a new form of prohibition. We call this Prohibition 2.0. These new laws are supposed to satiate the citizens. Yet I am not satisfied, are you?
In my view, people are still in jail for things that we do today. For example, my brother has a license that allows me to sell weed for him. I sell legal weed! Trust me it is not as cool as it sounds. There is a ton of red tape, and the regulations kill most common sense marketing maneuvers. However, there are people still in jail in Washington State for things that I do on a daily basis.
Over this last week, I attended a bunch of cannabis events. And I consumed a ton of cannabis at each event, so did my friends. But I did not see one incident of violence or negative behavior. In fact, everyone was very nice. The funny things here is that none of these events were truly legal. In our “legalized” state, we are still not supposed to consume our legal cannabis anywhere but in our homes. However, we are the cannabis community, and we have been bending the laws for a while now, and we will continue to do so.
The stories of the prohibitionists always try to make it out that cannabis will make you lose your senses, it will make you out of control. Yet all I have ever witnessed is good people having a good time. I consume cannabis every day and it doesn’t make me any less of a human, so then why are there still people in jail for what I do?
If the federal government doesn’t want anything to do with our experiment, then they should keep their hands out of our business. We need to repeal the federal prohibition, but until then we must make the experiments we already have better — we must not settle for Prohibition 2.0.
Some licensed operators in Alaska are transporting their products on commercial airplanes with the blessing of local and airport officials, according to an Alaska Dispatch News report. Using planes to ship products in-state is necessary for some canna-business owners in Alaska because their communities are accessible only by air or sea.
Michelle Cleaver, owner of Weed Dudes in Sitka, has been flying with her dispensary’s products since December and hasn’t had any problems yet, she said. Cleaver indicated that she alerts local police of her arrival ahead of time and when she gets to security she tells the TSA that she has cannabis in her carry-on bag – as much as five pounds of flower and 65 pounds of edibles.
The TSA, though, doesn’t search for cannabis and if it is discovered they call local law enforcement – who know Cleaver is coming.
“As long as they have all of their proper Marijuana Control Board documentation … they can continue to travel at their own risk,” Deputy Chief Aaron Danielson of the Fairbanks International Airport Police and Fire Department, said in the report.
Cleaver says she doesn’t tell the airline itself that she is flying with cannabis, though, because according to Federal Aviation Administration regulations an airline is at risk if it knowingly carries marijuana and the airline could decide to contact federal authorities because the plane flies in federal airspace.
Mike Emers, owners of Fairbanks’ Rosie Creek Farms, said he too has started flying with his products, calling it “a little nerve-racking.”
“As long as you let people know what you’re doing, and that you’re within the law … I don’t see a problem,” he said.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has ordered a study of whether minorities are at a disadvantage in trying to obtain operating licenses for the state’s medical cannabis program, the Baltimore Sunreports. The study will be coordinated by the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission, the Department of Transportation, and the Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs.
The move comes after the House of Delegates failed to pass a bill two weeks ago that would have added five more licenses in an effort to create more equity in the program. After the end-of-session failure, Del. Cheryl Glenn, chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, called on lawmakers to hold a special session to bring the issue to a vote. She is currently circulating a petition among senators to do just that, unless Hogan orders one himself.
Hogan did not set a timetable for the study’s completion, but Jimmy H. Rhee, special secretary of minority affairs, indicated that the governor wants it completed “as expeditiously as possible.”
“As the issue of promoting diversity is of great importance to me and my administration, your office should begin this process immediately in order to ensure opportunities for minority participation in the industry,” Hogan wrote in the directive to Rhee.
At least two lawsuits against the MMCC by minority-led companies over their denials are currently pending.
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has signed a bill opening up the state’s hemp production by expanding the availability of licenses, the Register-Heraldreports. The measure allows the Commissioner of Agriculture to approve a license for any individual rather than just state colleges and universities.
The application process requires first-time license applicants to submit their fingerprints and undergo state and federal background checks at their own expense. Individuals granted a license, which expires annually on Dec. 31, are “presumed to be growing industrial hemp for commercial purposes,” according to the bill text.
The measure passed both the House and Senate unanimously.
Following the Senate vote, Crescent Gallagher, communications director for the Department of Agriculture, said industrial hemp could play a role in improving the state’s economy.
“The department is looking forward to working with individuals who are interested in growing industrial hemp,” he said in an April 5Gazette-Mailreport. “The hope is that hemp becomes a niche crop that helps grow our agriculture industries and spur economic growth to help diversify our economy.”
Under the previous regime, only the Agriculture Department and connected research programs were able to cultivate hemp. Last week, Justice signed legislation making West Virginia the 29th state to legalize cannabis for medical purposes.
Two new studies show changes in not just cannabis consumer buying habits but the consumers themselves, according to a report from the Cannabist. A New Frontier Data analysis shows a 21 percent decrease in flower demand in recreational markets from January to December 2016, while a BDS Analytics survey found that women comprise the majority of new customers in Colorado and California.
According to the New Frontier Data report, the market share for flower also decreased in medical cannabis markets, from 87 percent in Jan. 2017 to 65 percent in December; meanwhile the sector saw demand for concentrates more than double from 10 percent to 27 percent. Medical customers also spent three times more on cannabis than their recreational counterparts.
Recreational markets saw demand for concentrates grow from 10 percent to 21 percent, and the demand for pre-rolled joints climb from 1 percent to 8 percent, the report says.
John Kagia, New Frontier Data’s vice president of industry analytics, said the trends reflect the legal industry’s scaling toward products that weren’t readily available in the illicit market, such as vape pens and “sophisticated, dosed edibles.”
“Pre-rolled products have gone from an afterthought filled with leftover cannabis to a premium product made with high-end strains and sold in elegant, easy transport packages,” he said in the Cannabist report. “You can smell a joint from a mile away, but vaping offers a discreet way to consume. Our society has also undergone a radical transformation in our views towards smoking tobacco, so the perceived benefits of vaping rather than smoking may also be one factor for the market shift.”
The BDS survey also discovered the survey participants who consumed cannabis in the past six months had a tendency to live a healthier lifestyle. Researchers found that 56 percent of survey participants who consumed cannabis were more likely to engage in physical activity on a once-a-week or greater basis compared to non-consumers. The survey showed 56 percent of consumers participated in outdoor recreation compared with 34 percent of non-consumers; 42 percent participated in yoga or Pilates compared to 21 percent of non-consumers; and 53 percent worked out at a gym, compared to 33 percent of non-consumers.
“That’s one of the things that’s been really fascinating to me is how much it becomes part of a routine and lifestyle,” said Linda Gilbert, who has 30 years of market research experience and leading the BDS efforts. “But it’s not a couch-potato lifestyle, it’s a healthy lifestyle.”
According to a report from MJ Freeway, a seed-to-sale tracking software provider, 4/20 cannabis sales in the U.S. increased 20 percent in 2017, exceeding more than $45 million. Transaction averages also climbed $10 per transaction based on last year’s figures.
Jessica Billingsly, COO and co-founder of MJ Freeway, said the company “anticipated a large jump in U.S. sales for the holiday.”
“4/20 is an excellent opportunity for adults to purchase and consume products in a responsible, regulated market, while learning about the culture and history of the industry,” she said in a press release.
Sales leading up to the holiday increased 13 percent beginning the week of April 14. Discounts spiked more than 10 percent on 4/20, averaging 24.11 percent while holding at 13 percent the rest of the year thus far.
MJ Freeway, which operates in 23 states, Washington, D.C., Canada, Australia, and Europe, indicated that the next most popular holidays for cannabis sales is New Year’s Eve, followed by the Fourth of July. Prior to the holiday, MJ Freeway had projected a 20 percent increase compared to 2016 figures. Their 2017 numbers are based on data compiled through analysis of their retail cannabis market share.
Tunisia’s Parliament has voted to relax the nation’s harsh drug sentencing laws which could allow first-time offenders to forgo jail time, according to a report from the New Arab. Under current law, dating back to former dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, a mandatory one-year jail term was imposed for narcotics use, ruling out any mitigating factors.
The move by lawmakers will allow judges the power to impose sentences at their own discretion. According to Justice Minister Ghazi Jeribi, the move is “temporary” as the national assembly considers broader changes to Law 52.
Lawyer Ghazi Mrabet, who has campaigned for the reforms, said the vote is a “considerable step” forward.
“Civil society has won the first battle but the fight will continue,” he said in the report.
According to the report, from 2011 to 2016 the number of trials conducted under Law 52 increased from 732 to 5,744 which led to thousands of young Tunisians incarcerated every year, mostly for cannabis-related crimes.
The amendment, a part of a larger package of reforms, passed overwhelmingly in the national assembly 133-11. The larger bill, which aims to eliminate prison terms for the first two drug-related convictions, is reportedly blocked in the legislature.
On April 7-11, Americans for Safe Access (ASA) held its 2017 Unity Conference, bringing experts from around the globe together in Washington D.C. to discuss the future of the medical cannabis industry both the United States and abroad.
The conference kicked off on Friday night with a welcome reception and geared up on Saturday morning with several panels discussing challenges, developments, and the general state of the cannabis industry today.
Dr. Jeffrey Raber, cannabis researcher and founder of The Werc Shop, participated in a morning panel entitled: Exciting Developments in Cannabis Research & Access. In the afternoon, he took some time to speak with me about the path he’d like to see for the future of the medical cannabis industry.
“I would like to see it head more towards standardized products that are consistent across the whole spectrum,” said Raber. “More standardized delivery methods would make it much more predictable on what you can expect the response to be, but I don’t know that we are going to get there any time soon.”
He cautioned that there is potential for more marketing and unsubstantiated claims in the field that aren’t always going to be tailored to the best interest of patients.
Dr. Stuart Titus, another member of the same morning panel, said he was excited about the neurological benefits that research is proving CBD to have and how his company, Medical Marijuana Inc., fits into the future of the industry.
“Not only are there great neuroprotective benefits, but also there seems to be some tremendous neuro-regenerative capabilities that only CBD seems to have,” said Titus. “I’m very excited for what this means for overall neurological medicine. I think the concept of neuro-regeneration is now something that is within our grasp.”
Beth Collins, senior director of government relations and external affairs for ASA, said the conference is one of her favorite events that the organization holds because it fuels her to share the remarkable stories far and wide.
“The Unity Conference is so special because we have the leading science, regulatory, and legal experts, as well as doctors and our wonderful patient advocates, all in one room,” said Collins. “I feel that ASA is only going to continue growing as more and more states begin introducing legalization efforts. We are going to continue to get involved with state governments and assist them in ensuring that people are doing things the right way.”
Support continued throughout the week with 71 advocates participating in 72 meetings between both the House and Senate to support two pieces of legislation — H.R. 1227: Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2017 and the CARERS Act of 2017.
H.R. 1227 would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act and delete cannabis-related offenses and penalties including mandatory minimums. It would also effectively decriminalize cannabis at the Federal level, allowing states to decide how to regulate it and allow many patients who use medical cannabis to receive physician recommended treatment without having to worry about federal prosecution.
The CARERS Act would protect users of medical cannabis who comply with state laws from unwarranted federal prosecution and greatly expand the opportunity for medical and scientific research on the uses and effects of medical cannabis.
The National District Attorneys Association has released a white paper supporting the enforcement of federal cannabis laws while stating that the NDAA supports research into the medicinal uses of cannabis regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and the impact of cannabis use on driving.
The authors conclude that “federal drug enforcement policy regarding the manufacture, importation, possession, use and distribution of marijuana should be applied consistently across the nation to maintain respect for the rule of law.”
Specifically, the authors expressed concerns regarding the lack of impaired driving data available related to cannabis, noting that cannabis THC concentrations vary from product-to-product, the tolerance of frequent cannabis users, differences in absorption rates and release rates for different delivery methods, and the effects of cannabis on drivers also impaired by alcohol and other drugs.
The NDAA working group called children’s access to cannabis “one of the most significant concerns about legalizing marijuana for medical or recreational use.”
“Legalization of marijuana for purported medicinal and recreational purposes has increased access by children,” the letter contends. “…It is vitally important to do all we can to prevent access to marijuana by youth in America. Their health, safety and welfare demand no less.”
The report uses questionable studies from prohibitionist groups such as Smart Approaches to Marijuana, the Partnership for Drug Free Kids, and the American College of Pediatricians – a splinter professional group with just about 500 members, compared to the American Academy of Pediatrics which boasts more than 60,000 members.
Canopy Growth Corp., (TSX: WEED), owner of Tweed, Bedrocan, and Mettrum, has announced the details of a “rigorous” pesticide testing program outlining procedures that include equipment, production rooms, and pre-release third party testing.
The company, which holds medical cannabis cultivation licenses in Canada, indicated they have shipped over “300,000 orders, representing 7 million grams” of cannabis that has never been subject to a product recall. Canopy operates five facilities covering 655,000 square feet in total.
“Tweed and its sister companies have always had the most rigorous quality assurance and testing procedures in place to protect our clients,” Chairman and CEO Bruce Linton said in a press release. “As part of our move to a single store for all clients, we are formalizing the program so customers can understand the processes we have in place for every product they buy.”
The program details indicate the company employs 38 staff “dedicated solely to quality assurance” and that nothing enters their production facilities without the sign-off of a quality control professional. In addition to pesticides, the company’s testing program – for which “typical” lot release reports can reach more than 100 pages – includes THC and CBD content, black mold-produced aflatoxins, heavy metals, and microbiological tests.
Nevada’s Senate passed four cannabis-related measures before a legislative deadline day including one that would effectively allow cannabis clubs, another allowing the governor to work with state tribes interested in permitting the legal cannabis industry, one dealing with cannabis product packaging, and a measure that would allow medical cannabis to be used to treat opioid addiction, the Reno Gazette-Journalreports.
Included in the packaging bill are provisions that ban cannabis-infused products containing sugar, unless it is a baked good. Industry leaders have argued the bill’s definition of “candy” is too broad.
“Candy,” according to the bill text, is defined as “a product which contains sugar and is produced in the shape of a cartoon, character, mascot, action figure, human balloon (sic), fruit or toy or any other shape determined by the Division [of Public and Behavioral Health] to be likely to appeal primarily to children.”
The bill also sets other packaging requirements such as THC content labeling and requiring childproof containers.
The cannabis club legislation would allow any businesses and special events to apply for a license to allow cannabis on their premises, with some zoning restrictions. The bill dealing with state tribes includes provisions requiring the tribal cannabis regulations be as strict as those imposed by the state.
Another bill eliminating urine tests for drivers suspected to be under the influence of cannabis passed the Assembly last week and will move to the Senate floor.
All of the measures passed by the Senate must still be approved by the Assembly before moving to the governor’s desk.
A bill imposing a 4 percent tax on medical cannabis sales in Montana has moved to Gov. Steve Bullock’s desk after it passed through the House 68-31, Montana Public Radioreports. Sen. Mary Caferro, the bill’s sponsor, said the measure – amended from 6 percent – will help the state regulate the program.
“The 4 percent tax was an amendment in the Senate and I supported it, and the reason is because the 4 percent tax is enough to set up the system,” she said in the report. “And that’s common practice, industry pays for their regulation.”
The tax – which drops to 2 percent in July 2018 – will help cover new regulations including a seed-to-sale tracking system, site and shop inspections, and lab testing.
“The point of the bill, again, is to make sure that Montana has a regulated system so the feds don’t come shut it down,” Caferro said.
Last November voters passed Initiative-182 that effectively re-legalized medical cannabis in the state after lawmakers decimated the state’s original regime enacted in 2004. Supporters say the new rules go beyond what they approved.
Kari Boiter, co-founder of the Patient Rights Network said the sales tax – 6 percent at the time – would create undue burdens for those patients on limited incomes.
“We’re already dealing with exorbitant medical costs and debt that we’re trying to pay,” she said in an Associated Pressreport. “This is just one more thing that adds to the expenses we’re taking on as sick individuals.”
It’s likely Bullock will sign the measure which his spokesperson called “fair and modest” last month.
