Money is rolling into the campaigns on both sides of the Massachusetts legalization question, with the Yes on 4 campaign so far out-raising the prohibitions, Boston.comreports.
The pro-legalization camp has already raised $2.4 million in 2016 – with $2.1 million coming from the Washington D.C.-based New Approach PAC. The Campaign for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts, the opposition supported by Gov. Charlie Baker and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, has raised just $363,000 since its launch in the spring.
Yes on 4 has already spent the majority of its war chest on advertising, but according to their campaign finance disclosures they still have about $22,500 on-hand. The group hopes to raise $3 million before the November election.
The Campaign for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts has about $320,000 on-hand, and the group said the difference in finances is due to out-of-state contributions.
“It is clear that the Question 4 campaign is being almost entirely bankrolled by out-of-state billionaires seeking to establish a commercial marijuana industry that will be focused on profits, not the well-being of Massachusetts families,” Nick Bayer, the campaign’s manager, said in the report.
One of the largest donors for the prohibitionists is the Beer Distributors PAC, who injected $25,000, according to the filings. Another anti-legalization campaign, Safe Cannabis Massachusetts, has raised just $300 so far.
>As the legitimized cannabis business expands across the nation, those interested in establishing fruitful careers in this rapidly growing industry are faced with a number of challenges. These trials exist largely because as more states legalize both medical and recreational cannabis use, industry front runners scramble to establish themselves amidst a wash of fluctuating legislations. However, there are a few important qualities that candidates can utilize in acquiring employment in the legitimized cannabis world.
1. The Ability to Navigate Between “Two Worlds”
More often than not, those parties interested in working in the legitimate cannabis industry have their roots in the underground realm of the black market. As a result, it is essential that candidates “speak the languages” of both the underground culture of traditional cannabis growing and the “real business world.” With a balanced mix of cannabis grow culture and a sound business intellect, candidates will be a perfect fit for the legitimized corporate culture of cannabis.
2. Entrepreneurial Spirit
While new cannabis markets emerge with novel legislation, it takes an enterprising mind to intelligently approach employment in the industry. To illustrate, if a candidate is interested in acquiring a management position at a cannabis dispensary, he or she will surely impress owners if they go to an interview with pre-formulated ideas. These types of ideas could include menu specials designed for specific geographic areas, seasonality, and demographics. This entrepreneurial spirit will help ensure an enduring advantage for dispensary owners in a new marketplace.
3. Professional Versatility
Professional versatility is an essential quality in candidates of the cannabis business for several reasons. To begin with, all supervisors are extremely impressed by employees who are able to “wear a number of different hats” within the workplace. If a candidate wants to make himself or herself an asset, they should be prepared to learn as much as they can. Secondly, the unpredictable legal nature of the cannabis business requires both business owners and employees to adapt to changes in the industry. Finally, when moving from a traditional home-based grow operation to a legitimate cannabis business model, it may be difficult to shed the perspective of doing things only your way. Therefore, businesses today demand not only versatile employees, but also employees who have a grasp on team work, fair play, and sacrifice within the workplace. Employees making the shift to the legitimized cannabis world must display solid business ethics, as well as the willingness to take on a variety of roles which might not always appear glamorous.
4. Ability to Translate Underground Experience on a Resume
This notion is entwined with the idea of moving from a home-based, underground business into the legitimate cannabis industry. As candidates attempt to make this challenging move, they often have trouble translating their experience into resume format. Within this scenario, candidates should structure their resumes in a fashion which highlights applicable skills for the cannabis business. For example, if a candidate has experience growing organically in industrial greenhouse scenarios, he or she should make a list of these skills before constructing a resume. After that, they should highlight these previously unmarketable skills on the top of their resume. The crux of this situation is, these resumes will often highlight “skills and knowledge” more predominantly than traditional “real world” work experience and education.
5. Creativity
Finally, when attempting to find employment in the cannabis industry, it takes a creative mind to adapt one’s skill sets for the business. It’s essential that individuals “think outside the box” when translating one’s previous skills into a brand new business model. To elaborate, pizza delivery drivers in a certain area could easily transfer their skills to a dispensary delivery service. Even more, sales representatives from the food and beverage industry would make great sales representatives for nutrient lines. Lastly, managerial experience is always in demand and leadership skills are always an asset.
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On certain Saturday nights in Bakersfield, California, you can find a group of vendors and patients in an empty parking lot, meeting up for an evening of medication, education, music and community.
The images here are captured from a Saturday, August 27 “popup” — there is another of these gatherings, however, scheduled for this Saturday, September 10, from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Bakersfield plays regular host to one among dozens of popups that happen on weekends throughout California.
Operating on a grassroots level, popups allow patients to meet face-to-face with the people who grow their cannabis, make their gummy bears and strive to bring them new ways to experience the plant. It gives patients a chance to sample new products and buy their medicine at affordable prices.
Popups also provide vendors the opportunity to chat one-on-one with patients. Too often, there is a disconnect between cultivators and entrepreneurs who sell wholesale and never even see the people who are buying their products. Popups help bridge that gap, though be warned: some popup transactions may be considered unregulated as far as local cannabis laws are concerned.
Popups are found through word of mouth and hashtags. For instance, #popupsesh — which hosted the Bakersfield popup as well as others throughout California — got their start with the #weshouldsmoke movement on Instagram. There was already a large fan base following #weshouldsmoke, so it was a natural segue to organize popups and advertise them on social media. The website maryjgoods also offers updates and information.
Instagram, Twitter or one of the dedicated cannabis community networks are good places to start finding local events. If you live in a cannabis-friendly state, there could be a popup happening nearby.
The first retail cannabis shops and product manufacturers were given the green light by regulators in Alaska, the Alaska Dispatch Newsreports. The Marijuana Control Board approved a total of 11 cannabis businesses licenses with another five scheduled to be considered at the next board meeting on Sept. 19.
The Fairbanks-based Frozen Budz was the first company approved for both a retail and production manufacturing license. They have already received approval from local officials and are currently waiting on state inspections of both their retail and product manufacturing sites. They anticipate opening in October.
“I don’t even know, it’s amazing,” Destiny Neade, co-owner of Frozen Budz said after the approval. “We’re excited; we’re ready to open and ready to bring the voter initiative to life.”
Enlighten Alaska, Arctic Herbery, Alaska Buds, Raspberry Roots and Frost Farms, all in Anchorage, were also approved by the board; along with Pakalolo Supply Co. in Fairbanks; Girdwood’s The Herbal Cache; Herbal Outfitters in Valdez; Rainforest Farms in Juneau; Skagway’s Remedy Shoppe; and Weed Dudes in Sitka.
When the shops will open depends on local regulations, which will not permit all of them to begin operations at the same time. Crops are still not ready and testing facilities still need to be in place before any products are made available for sale.
Lawmakers in Michigan have approved sweeping overhauls to its medical marijuana law, including plans to regulate and tax dispensaries, a seed-to-sale tracking system, and new rules for where and how provisioning centers could open, according to a report by the Detroit News.
Republican Sen. Rick Jones, who voted for the measure, said the reforms would make both communities and patients safer, while ending the ambiguities that have created confusion since the original voter-approved act was approved in 2008.
“What we have now is totally out of control … caregivers are growing excessive amounts of marijuana … they’re smuggling it in their trunks … it’s totally illegal,” Jones said in the report.
The new package would impose a 3 percent tax on gross sales, limit the number of dispensaries, and permit localities to impose their own zoning rules, also requiring that the centers get written approval from a municipality before they set up shop. Additionally, the rules would establish maximum THC levels for edibles.
Some Republicans argued that the overhaul creates a bloated bureaucracy, and does not address the problems in the industry. Sen. Patrick Colbeck called the measures a “defacto legalization of marijuana.”
However, Democratic Sen. Coleman Young II said that the legislature was not “freeing the weed.”
“If we were freeing the weed, you would know, because I’d be standing on top of my table right now,” Coleman said after the passage of the measures.
The package still needs to be approved by the House before it could become law.
Ari Hoffnung, CEO of Vireo Health of New York, called the contract “an innovative agreement” that will ensure the best interests of their employees as the company becomes more successful.
“Our commitment to providing employees with fair wages and great benefits will not only help us recruit and retain the necessary talent to provide patients with high-quality products and compassionate care, but also build a profitable business,” he said in the release.
John R. Durso, Local 338 RWDSU/UFCW president, said the agreement “provides a peace of mind” for the employees employed at all of Vireo’s New York dispensaries, and manufacturing and cultivation facilities.
“The strong union contract approved by the workers at Vireo will ensure that they have secure, middle-class jobs so that they can provide for themselves and their families,” Durso said. “The workers in this industry are incredibly dedicated to the patients they serve.”
Vireo Health LLC, the parent company of the New York arm, is the only medical cannabis company to have partnered with labor in each of the three states it operates.
Pharmaceutical company Insys, makers of the sublingual fentanyl spray Subsys, has donated $500,000 to the campaign working toward defeating Arizona’s recreational-use ballot initiative, according to a report by U.S. News & World Report. The amount is almost five times the second largest donation of $110,000 from the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid painkiller that is significantly more potent than heroin.
The company made the donation to the Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy on Aug. 31 and, according to the campaign’s manager Adam Deguire, the group has no intention of returning the contribution.
J.P. Holyoak, chairman of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, who back Proposition 205, said he was “truly shocked” by his opponents’ decision to keep the donation from “what appears to be one of the more unscrupulous members of Big Pharma.”
“Our opponents have made a conscious decision to associate with this company. They are now funding their campaign with profits from the sale of opioids – and maybe even the improper sale of opioids,” he said in a statement. “We hope that every Arizonan understands that Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy is now a complete misnomer. Their entire campaign is tainted by this money. Any time an ad airs against Prop. 205, the voters should know that it was paid for by highly suspect Big Pharma actors.”
In an ArizonaDaily Starreport, Deguire defends the decision to keep the funds; saying that his group believes that “all available medicines should meet the clinical standards set by the FDA.” The Subsys spray is FDA-approved, while cannabis remains a federal Schedule I substance “with no medicinal value,” according to the DEA. Deguire says the measure “fails to protect the safety of Arizona citizens, particularly its children.”
However, in just the last month, two former Insys employees pleaded guilty to federal charges related to an alleged kickback scheme to get physicians to prescribe the spray, and another lawsuit was filed against the company by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan alleging the company pedaled the drug to doctors for off-label prescribing.
“This drug company’s desire for increased profits led it to disregard patients’ health and push addictive opioids for non-FDA approved purposes,” she said in a statement announcing the suit.
From 2011 until last year, Insys also sold a generic equivalent to Marinol — an FDA-approved THC synthetic for treatment of cancer and HIV-related symptoms. According to a July study from Health Affairs doctors in states with legal cannabis programs prescribe, on average, 1,826 fewer doses of painkillers per year.
Ohio’s medical cannabis law takes effect today, despite an unclear road forward for getting patients legal access to their medicine, according to an Associated Press report.
The Ohio medical cannabis program was established by state lawmakers and signed into law in June by Gov. John Kasich after it became clear that voters would likely do it themselves via voter initiative in November.
The new law allows medical cannabis treatment for individuals suffering from a variety of ailments, including AIDS, Alzheimer’s, cancer, as well as chronic, severe, and/or intractable pain. Medical cannabis patients are not allowed to smoke their medicine in Ohio, however, and are required to consume it as a tincture, edible product, transdermal patch, or inhale it as a vapor.
The law also requires government officials to create regulations for an industry that will serve the needs of medical cannabis patients. That industry, however — and the regulations to govern it — will not be lawfully required until 2018. Experts predict it may take a year for the rule-making process alone, followed by a licensing process that will likely last many more months.
In the meantime, it remains unclear how patients are expected to access their medicine. Though treatment itself is no longer illegal, patients will be unable to prove that they are allowed to use cannabis for medicinal purposes until medical cards are issued. It was recently revealed that patients caught with cannabis and arrested for it by law enforcement during this interim period may be able to claim an “affirmative defense” to avoid punishment, assuming they were arrested with something that would be considered “medical cannabis” under the new law.
“The law is here — but that doesn’t mean that patients are going to be able to get marijuana any time soon,” Aaron Marshall of Ohioans for Medical Marijuana said in the AP report.
Doctors and other medical professionals are also facing uncertainties about the legality of recommending medical cannabis to patients. Reginald Fields, a spokesman for the Ohio State Medical Association, said that the organization is, “asking physicians to stand by until some … issues are clarified and we can assure they’re acting on the right side of the law.”
About a dozen communities in Ohio have already passed local ordinances against the medical cannabis industry. An effort to legalize recreational cannabis in Ohio failed last November, due in part to claims that the proposed law would lead to a marijuana monopoly.
The Arizona Supreme Court rejected a petition that would have repealed rules that threaten lawyers with disbarment if they assist clients in the state’s legal cannabis industry, the Arizona Daily Starreports.
The justices rejected the petition without comment, giving no reason for their decision. The verdict affirms the existing rules prohibiting attorneys from assisting clients “in conduct that the lawyer knows is criminal.”
Attorney Patricia Sallen, the petitioner, said the ruling puts lawyers at risk over what they can advise clients who are interested in the marijuana business.
Bill Montgomery, a Maricopa County attorney who supports the status quo, said that regardless of state statutes, attorneys are not “entitled to help break federal law.”
“That’s called a conspiracy,” Montgomery said in the report. “And that makes the attorney an accomplice.”
According to the report, a 2011 opinion by the State Bar of Arizona does provide some cover for attorneys who advise individuals in the marijuana business. That opinion concluded that lawyers are permitted to counsel clients about complying with the 2010 Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, and allows them to help incorporate businesses and represent their clients in front of government agencies.
Sallen says that the opinion by the Bar is just that — an opinion — and may not do enough to protect lawyers because it does not supersede rules set forth by the court.
“Strictly applied, this means that by advising and helping clients conduct business under Arizona’s medical marijuana law, lawyers would be engaging in criminal conduct under federal law,” Sallen wrote in the petition.
The decision comes just two months before voters in Arizona will decide whether or not to legalize cannabis for recreational use.
The Colorado Department of Agriculture has certified its first domestic hemp seeds that reliably produce plants low enough in THC that it doesn’t qualify as marijuana, according to an Associated Pressreport. The seeds are tailored for the state’s high altitude so it’s unclear how much interest they will draw from out-of-state hemp producers.
There are nearly 400 licensed hemp cultivators in Colorado and, according to Duane Sinning, a representative for the department, the seed certification “is vital to the long-term growth of the industry.”
“A farmer, he already takes a lot of risk dropping a seed into the ground, whether you’ll have enough water, all that,” Sinning said in the report. “This crop is even riskier.”
Congress authorized hemp production in 2014, but seed scarcity is a hurdle to more farms getting on board due to high seed prices – which start at $25 a pound and can rise to more than a dollar per seed. If the plants grown from those seeds are above 0.3 percent THC they must be destroyed; a total loss for the grower, which is why it’s so risky. Even though Congress permits hemp production, just 29 states have hemp-growing certification programs.
The Agriculture Department will not set the seed prices, instead leaving that responsibility to the seed distributors in the state. Sinning suggested the prices may be higher than their imported counterparts due to the certification.
Botanical Genetics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the 22nd Century Group, has expanded its cannabis research program aimed at developing propriety medical cannabis strains, and hemp that contains less than 0.3 percent of THC, according to a report from the Buffalo News.
Paul Rushton, vice president for plant biotechnology, said he hopes the research will lead to the development of products that will appeal to regulators in states with very strict guidelines. Specifically, the Buffalo-based company is eyeing its home state of New York — one of the most restrictive medical marijuana programs in the nation.
“We are looking to expand in a number of states, and our own state is one of the most important to us,” Rushton said in a Buffalo Business Firstreport. “We’ve been doing work on the West Coast and Colorado, as well as Canada, but it’s very much a state-by-state thing in terms of the laws. Whether it’s about industrial hemp or cannabis, New York is definitely a state we’re interested in working more with.”
He predicted that hemp would be “the next soybean,” due to its potential as a biofuel, fiber, and food source, noting its drought-tolerant properties.
The company is filing a provisional patent this week on its initial activity with the program.
Vermont’s Joint Legislative Justice Oversight Committee is holding extra meetings this year to discuss issues related to cannabis, according to a Bennington Bannerreport. Medical marijuana access and screening for DUI are among the topics that will be discussed by the 10-member committee.
The conferences come after state lawmakers declined to pass a recreational use bill last session. That bill passed the Senate, but was defeated in the House.
Democratic Sen. Dick Sears said there was a lot of miscommunication in the legislature regarding the legalization bill, suggesting that the House could come up with their own legalization plan this session. He said the lack of support last year was due to the cultivation and sale measures allowed by the proposal, and that those provisions allowed prohibitionists to find allies in the pro-legalization camp which ultimately led to the bill’s defeat.
“They wanted to be able to grow marijuana and sell it at the local farm stand like you would tomatoes,” Sears said in the report.
The first of the six sessions will take place on Sept. 12, focusing on the history of cannabis and its current legal status. Sears was unsure if the House would take up a legalization bill this term.
Meadow Platform is a software suite that’s dedicated to helping dispensaries and delivery services connect more easily with their customers. The service is currently available to all dispensaries and cannabis delivery services operating in California’s medical cannabis industry.
Meadow Platform is offered by the people behind San Francisco-based GetMeadow.com, an online dispensary database, and MeadowMD.com, an online medical evaluation service that connects patients with physicians specializing in medical cannabis.
Meadow Platform is a natural descendant of Meadow’s earlier offerings: it takes the menu software used in the consumer-focused GetMeadow site and makes it available to the websites of participating dispensaries and delivery services. Meadow Platform also satisfies the compliance requirements of California’s medical cannabis regulations — including the HIPAA-compliant storage of all patients’ documents.
Since its November 2015 launch, Meadow Platform has also brought point of sale, inventory management, and data and analytics software into its fold.
The service itself is optimized for mobile devices, said Colleen Hooks, Head of Communications for Meadow Platform. The software suite offers additional perks to delivery services, including options for the tracking and displayed routing of delivery drivers, as well as messaging options for direct communication with patients as they await their deliveries.
“Ultimately, it’s smart technology built for cannabis [companies] to save time, money, and resources; have top-level security; maintain compliance with all current and upcoming regulations; and set them up for scale and success,” Hooks said.
“All of this is priced on a sliding scale. It’s based on the number of active patients. So if you’re a little dispensary that’s just starting out, this software will work for you. If you’re an enormous dispensary … that will work for you too,” said Hooks. “Nobody is priced out of using our software.”
“I feel that Meadow genuinely has concern and care for the success of my business,” said Wendy McPherson, owner of Flower Power dispensary. “They have a very hands-on approach, for example, not only did they train us on their software, they actually spent the day with us to oversee us in operation and offered all the assistance we needed, answered all our questions, and continue to be there whenever we need them, in person if need be.”
You can find more information about Meadow Platform at the company’s website, where you can also request a free demo and learn about how Meadow Platform can benefit your dispensary or cannabis delivery company.
This election season, nine states will be voting on ballot initiatives related to legalizing and regulating cannabis in some form. This is an unprecedented opportunity for medical marijuana activists and entrepreneurs who are looking at legalization as an opportunity for new businesses. While it is unlikely that all of these ballot initiatives will pass, recent polls suggest that many of them have enough backing among voters. Below we have gathered facts and information on each of these initiatives, and we will update this article as new polls and developments come to light.
In 2016, five states will be voting on recreational cannabis ballot measures. If all of them passed, that would bring the total number of states with recreational markets in the USA to nine! So far, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska are the only states where people over 21 can purchase cannabis at state-licensed retail stores.
Polls: 61 percent approve, 36 percent oppose (aggregate of May 26, Public Policy Institute of California; Aug. 10, Problosky Research).
Summary: The AUMA would legalize marijuana and hemp, permitting recreational use of the former for adults (aged 21 or older) beginning in 2018, with no public use provisions. The dispensaries would be supervised by the Bureau of Marijuana Control, while the Department of Food and Agriculture would license and oversee commercial cultivation. Adults would be able to cultivate up to 6 plants for personal use, though municipalities may regulate aspects of home-growing. The act provides for marketing standards, barring advertising and dispensaries 600 feet from schools.
The measure would force patients enrolled in the current system to obtain a new doctor’s recommendation that meets the strict standards – enacted in 2015 – by Jan. 1, 2018. Tax exemptions would be available for medical marijuana providers. It also provides for resentencing and destruction of records for minor marijuana convictions.
Personal possession limits: 28.5 grams of flower, 4 grams of concentrates.
Taxes: 15 percent retail sales tax plus state sales tax, $9.25 tax per ounce of flower, $2.75 tax per ounce of leaves. Municipalities can impose local taxes.
Fees: The bill does not outline a fee structure; it delegates power to Bureau of Marijuana Control.
Revenue disbursement: 60 percent, Youth Education, Prevention, Early Intervention Account; 20 percent, Environmental Restoration and Protection Account; 20 percent, State and Local Law Enforcement Account.
Summary: The Department of Taxation would be responsible for determining qualifications and issuing licenses under the program, which would permit adult use and possession. The measure provides for individuals to grow up to six plants – 12 per household – if the cultivator is 25 miles from a retail marijuana store.
Public use is not permitted and carries a $600 fine. The initiative provides for local government to pass zoning and land use laws banning marijuana businesses and such businesses are prohibited 1,000 feet from schools. Additionally, the measure provides for 80 retail licenses to be issued in counties with a population of more than 700,000 people; 20 licenses will be available in counties with populations less than 700,000 but more than 100,000. A maximum of four dispensaries would be allowed in counties with a population less than 100,000 but more than 55,000; and two will be available for counties with populations less than 55,000. The Tax Department will begin accepting applications on Jan. 1, 2018.
Personal possession limits: 1 ounce of flower, 3.5 grams of concentrates.
Taxes: 15 percent excise tax, plus state sales tax
Fees: $5,000 application fee for retail, cultivation, product manufacturing, distributor, and testing licenses.
Distributor and testing fees cannot exceed $15,000 for the initial license; $5,000 for renewal.
Retail fees cannot exceed $20,000 for the initial license; $6,000 for renewal.
Cultivation fees cannot exceed $30,000 for the initial license; $10,000 for renewal.
Product manufacturing fees cannot exceed $10,000 for the initial license; $3,300 for renewal.
Revenue disbursement: Revenues support K-12 education.
Polls: 51 percent approve, 44 percent oppose (aggregate of Apr. 21, Data Orbital commissioned by Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy; July 11, O.H. Predictive Insights; Dec. 1, 2015, Morrison Institute for Public Policy at Arizona State University).
Summary: Prop 205 would establish a Department of Marijuana Licenses and Control as well as a seven member Marijuana Commission comprised of three industry representatives and four members with no financial industry ties to develop rules and police the industry. Adults would be permitted to grow up to six plants and buy cannabis from licensed retail shops. It provides for medical marijuana dispensaries currently operating in the state to transition to the retail model. Local governments would have control over whether to allow for marijuana businesses.
The measure also makes manufacturing concentrates “by chemical extraction with a flammable solvent” a class 6 felony in the state. Delivery and cannabis clubs are banned under the measure until at least 2020 and the fine for public use is $300. The department is not permitted to issue more marijuana retail licenses than 10 percent the number of liquor licenses.
If the department does not have industry regulations in place by Mar. 1, 2018, businesses could submit their application for local government approval, who would write their own rules.
Personal possession limits: 1 ounce of flower, 5 grams of concentrates.
Taxes: 15 percent excise tax.
Fees: Distributor and product manufacturing fees cannot exceed $15,000 for the initial license; $5,000 for renewal.
Retail fees cannot exceed $20,000 for the initial license; $6,000 for renewal.
Cultivation fees cannot exceed $30,000 for the initial license; $10,000 for renewal.
Revenue disbursement: 80 percent allocated for education; 20 percent, Department of Public Health.
Polls: 48 percent approve, 43 percent oppose (aggregate of Feb. 25, UMass:Amherst/WBZ; Apr. 14, Western New England University Polling Institute; May 10, Suffolk University/Boston Globe; July 19 Gravis Marketing for Jobs First).
Summary: Adults would be permitted to grow, buy, and legally possess cannabis under the proposal, which would create a Cannabis Control Commission to oversee the industry. The commission would be comprised of a commissioner and two associate commissioners. The commissioner would serve co-terminus with the state treasurer – who would appoint the commission members. Associate commissioners would serve four-year terms.
Home-grows are restricted to six plants, 12 per household. Tax exemption provisions are made for medical marijuana providers. Cannabis businesses and home grows must be 500 feet from schools.
A 15-member Cannabis Advisory Board appointed by the governor would be created under the act. It would include five cannabis industry experts, two law enforcement members, two social welfare representatives, two attorneys experienced in providing legal services to the cannabis industry, and one patient. Board members would serve two-year terms. A Marijuana Regulation Fund would be created to pay for administrative costs.
Legalization would take effect Dec. 15.
Personal possession limits: 1 ounce of flower in public, 10 ounces at home, 5 grams of concentrates in public.
Taxes: 3.75 percent excise tax, plus state sales tax. Local government can add up to a 2 percent tax.
Fees: $3,000 retail, product manufacturer, cultivator, and testing application fee.
$15,000 for retail, cultivation, and product manufacturing licenses.
$10,000 for a testing license.
Revenue disbursement: Does not specify, will be determined by commission.
Polls: 55 percent approve, 42 percent oppose(aggregate: Mar. 18, Maine People’s Resource Center; May 12, Critical Insights).
Summary: The act would leave industry oversight to the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, treating cannabis like an agricultural product. It would permit adults to purchase, possess, grow, and transfer limited amounts. Localities can impose their own licensing requirements and fees. Individuals would be allowed to grow up to six flowering and 12 immature plants.
The measure would provide for social club licenses; no cigarettes or alcohol would be permitted at such establishments. Public use is banned, and carries a $100 fine.
Two types of retail cultivation permits would be available – one for more and on for less than 3,000-square-feet of plant canopy. Police would be barred from owning cannabis businesses, and preference would be given to cultivators with two years’ experience under current Maine statutes, with 40 percent of the licenses being issued to commercial grows less than 3,000-square-feet. No more than six licenses will be available for grows larger than 3,000-square-feet.
Personal possession limits: 2 1/2 ounces (includes transfer without renumeration).
Taxes: 10 percent retail sales tax.
Fees: Application fees for any industry license could range from $10 to $250.
License fees for retail locations and marijuana social clubs range from $250 to $2,500.
License fees for testing facilities are $100.
Cultivation license fees range $10 to $100 per 1,000-square-feet.
Product manufacturing licenses range from $100 to $1,000
Revenue disbursement: Revenues will be deposited into the General Fund.
Medical initiatives
In addition to the states that are vying for a legal recreational market, several states will be deciding whether to enact or expand medical marijuana programs as well. Learn about the states that will be voting on medical cannabis measures this election season below:
Summary: The act aims to revive the medical cannabis program in the state which was decimated by the passage of the Montana Marijuana Act by the legislature in 2011. The Montana Marijuana Act removed most of the provisions allowed under the Medical Marijuana Act passed by voters in 2004.
The measure repeals rules set by the 2011 statute, including the three patients limit and the requirement that physicians who certify more than 25 patients be referred to the Board of Medical Examiners. The act would allow medical marijuana providers to hire employees to cultivate, dispense and transport products, and removes the authority of law enforcement to conduct unannounced inspections of medical marijuana facilities, instead requiring annual inspections by the Health Department.
The plan also adds post-traumatic stress disorder to the list of eligible conditions and removes the conditions forcing patients with chronic pain to get a second doctor’s recommendation. The measure includes language requiting testing of medical marijuana by licensed laboratories.
A cardholder’s ability to possess four mature plants, 12 seedlings, and 1 ounce of cannabis is maintained. The new regime would take effect on June 20, 2017.
Taxes: There are no changes to the tax structure.
Fees: License fees for providers and producers may not exceed $1,000 for 10 or fewer registered cardholders; no more than $5,000 for more than 10.
Lab license fees cannot exceed $1,200.
Revenue disbursement: A special revenue account will be created to pay any administrative fees associated with the changes.
Summary: The medical marijuana program would be regulated by the state Department of Health, and requires Compassionate Care Centers to operate as not-for-profits. Designated caregivers could serve no more than five qualifying patients
The measure would allow medical marijuana use for “debilitating medical conditions” including cancer and it’s treatments; HIV/AIDS; Hepatitis C; ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease; post-traumatic stress disorder; Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and its treatments; Crohn’s disease, fibromyalgia; spinal damage/stenosis; chronic back pain; glaucoma; epilepsy; neuropathy; and wasting syndrome. The Health Department would be able to add conditions, and citizens would be permitted to petition for condition approval under the program. The department would have six months to make that determination. A nine-member advisory board will be created to evaluate and make program recommendations. The board will be chaired – and appointed – by the governor.
Patients with PTSD would need to get a recommendation from a licensed psychiatrist. Patients would be permitted to purchase and possess up to 3 ounces. Compassionate Care Center inventory would be capped at 1,000 plants “irrespective of the stages of growth” and no more than 3,500 ounces. Cannabis businesses would be licensed for two years and not permitted 1,000 feet from a school.
Patients are permitted to grow eight plants in an enclosed facility if they are 40 miles from the nearest Compassionate Care Center, and they must notify law enforcement of the operation. The Department of Health would be permitted to interview potential patients and caregivers at their home, but the visits are not mandatory and require 24 hours’ notice.
Taxes: There are no tax implications.
Fees: $25,000 license fees following Health Department approval.
Revenue disbursement: A Compassionate Care Fund will be created, comprised of donations, fees, and civil penalties imposed.
Summary: Voters in Arkansas originally expected two measures to legalize medical marijuana on this November’s ballot, but on October 27 one of the initiatives — the Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act — was struck down by the state’s Supreme Court.
The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment would create a five-member Medical Marijuana Commission to oversee the program and advise the Department of Health. The commission would include two members appointed by the President of the Senate, two appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and one by the governor. Citizens could petition for conditions to be added to the qualifying list, but the department would have 120 days to make a decision.
The AMMA does not have a grow-your-own provision. It provides for at least 20 dispensaries, but nor more than 40; and at least four but no more than eight cultivation facilities – both are barred from 1,500 feet from schools and churches. Potential owners must have been Arkansas residents for seven consecutive years. The Alcohol and Beverage Control Division will establish operational rules for dispensaries and cultivation facilities.
Under the measure, patients would be able to purchase and possess 2 1/2 ounces.
Taxes: The AMMA invokes local and state taxes.
Revenue disbursement: AMMA – 5 percent to the Department of Health; 4 percent to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Administration, and Enforcement divisions; 1 percent to the Medical Marijuana Commission; 10 percent to the Skills Development Fund; 50 percent to the would-be-created Vocational and Technical Training Special Revenue Fund; 30 percent to the General Revenue Fund.
Polls: 68 percent support 23 percent opposed (aggregate of Mar. 1, Public Policy Polling; Mar. 9 and June 30, News 13/Bay News 9; Mar. 11, The Ledger/10 News WTSP; May 6, Quinnipiac University; May 9, Bendixen & Amandi International; May 18, Gravis Marketing; July 21 Anzalone Liszt on behalf of United for Care; Aug 23, Saint Leo University).
Summary: The initiative being considered in Florida is a constitutional amendment, meaning that it will require 60 percent of voter support in November to become law.
Under the measure a “debilitating medical condition” is defined as cancer; epilepsy; glaucoma; HIV/AID; post-traumatic stress disorder; ALS; Crohn’s disease; Parkinson’s disease; multiple sclerosis; “or other debilitating medical conditions of the same kind or class.”
The Department of Health would be tasked in rolling out much of the program details, which need to be in place 6 months if the measure is passed by voters.
The amendment text permits Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers and caregivers, but it does not lay out any of the details included in other ballot initiatives, such as fees, taxes, possession limits and revenue disbursement.
Do you have new information regarding the upcoming election season? Shoot us an email at grow@ganjapreneur.com!
Philadelphia, PA — Responding to the needs of businesses in the legalized cannabis industry, Fox Rothschild LLP has published a National Survey on Marijuana Laws and Regulations to provide a quick reference guide to the relevant laws and statutes governing marijuana cultivation, sales, distribution and use in the United States.
Legalized cannabis – for medical or recreational purposes – is a rapidly expanding industry in the United States, with various states, including California, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, as well as the District of Columbia, regulating its use. Navigating the various state compliance regulations – while the consumption of marijuana, regardless of its intended use, is still prohibited at the federal level – can be a daunting task.
Fox’s multidisciplinary Cannabis Practice, which has been assisting clients for more than a year, consists of more than 30 professionals throughout the firm who have long-standing experience solving legal challenges for clients who operate within highly regulated industries. The team counsels growers, distributors, processors, investors and others in this important new market, including suppliers of ancillary products and services.
Attorneys in the group regularly assist clients in business entity formation and the creation of operational plans and shareholder agreements; real estate and land use planning; acquisition of cultivation and dispensary licenses; preparation and filing of required state forms; compliance with relevant state regulations; and assistance with U.S. Department of Treasury issues for banking and financial services clients, and more.
Fox is currently representing the Cannabis Consumer Coalition and has advised clients on Illinois’ Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act as well as similar laws in other states where the product is legalized and regulated.
Fox has a long history of servicing clients that operate in highly regulated industries. The firm has an established Gaming Practice that handles high-level regulatory matters and guides companies on licensing, compliance, financing and operational issues, both domestically and abroad.
For more information on Fox’s Cannabis Practice, please contact Nicholas Casiello, Jr. (Fox’s Cannabis Practice Chair), Joshua Horn (Fox’s Pennsylvania cannabis contact) or William Bogot (Fox’s Illinois cannabis contact).
About Fox Rothschild LLP
Fox Rothschild LLP (www.foxrothschild.com) is an Am Law 100 full-service law firm built to serve businesses of all sizes as well as individuals. Over the past 100 years, we have grown to 750 lawyers in 22 offices coast to coast. Our clients come to us because we understand their issues, their priorities and the way they think. At Fox, we care about your success as much as you do.
*Please be mindful that possessing, using, distributing and/or selling marijuana is a federal crime, and no legal advice we give is intended to provide any guidance or assistance in violating federal law nor will it provide any guidance or assistance in complying with federal law. Please also note that we are not advising you regarding the federal, state or local tax consequences of engaging in any business in this industry.
Viridian Staffing, the cannabis industry’s first and best known professional staffing, recruiting & HR consulting firm is launching a national career fair series under the banner of its new “Juana Career” brand.
Being a Washington-based company, founded in 2013, before a single i502 license was issued, Viridian Staffing will be holding its inaugural ‘Juana Career’ Fair on Sunday, September 18 at the Red Lion in Bellevue, Washington. Tickets as well as exhibiting and sponsorship packages available at www.Juana.Careers. The first 100 attendees to RSVP will attend for FREE.
The first ‘Juana Career’ Fair will provide an opportunity for i502 licensed cannabis companies, as well as the ecosystem of ancillary businesses that support them, to tap in to the deep pool of talent Viridian Staffing has been cultivating in Washington state for years, as well as those who attend to learn how their existing skills might translate into a career in the fastest growing industry in the country.
In addition to the career fair itself attendees will be treated to a career readiness workshop taught by Viridian Staffing’s Chief Talent Officer, Kara Bradford, a fortune 100-level recruiter with well over a decade of experience, as well as a special keynote address, and panel discussion with leading cannabis industry media personality, Shango Los, former host of the groundbreaking Ganjapreneur podcast and current host of Shaping Fire.
Founded in 2013, Viridian Staffing was the cannabis industry’s first professional staffing, recruiting & HR consulting firm. Viridian Staffing serves producers, processors, retailers and ancillaries coast to coast in North America. For more information, visit www.ViridianStaffing.com.
Constituents in Pueblo County, Colorado will vote on outlawing recreational marijuana sales and operations in November as prohibitionists have submitted enough signatures for the initiative to appear on local ballots.
If approved, the measure would permit all of the marijuana facilities operating in the county as of Nov. 7 to continue operations until their license expires or Oct. 31, 2017, whichever comes first. The scheme outlaws all retail facilities, including testing laboratories. Medical dispensaries would be permitted.
Citizens for Healthy Pueblo, supporters of the repeal efforts, claim the number of retail stores and cultivation sites has given them the undesirable reputation as the marijuana capital of southern Colorado, and increased vagrancy and crime. Supporters of the legal market say banning the industry would cost thousands of jobs – jobs that have attributed to the revitalization of the local economy.
According to the Boston Globereport, there are more than 100 retail dispensaries, cultivation facilities, and product manufacturers in Pueblo County.
County Commissioner Sal Pace indicated there are more than 1,300 Pueblo County jobs at stake, along with nearly $4 million in annual tax revenue. Those revenues have supported college scholarships, medical marijuana research at Colorado State University, Pueblo; and 4H and Future Farmers of America programs, he said.
“That’s one thing opponents here in Pueblo don’t understand, it’s going to be legalized nationally no matter what and they can be left behind if they want, but if they do it to our community it’s one more really hard attack on Pueblo, one more lost opportunity,” Pace said in the report. “It’s like the steel mill closing again.”
According to an Arizona Republic/Morrison Institute for Public Policy/Cronkite News poll, 50 percent of Arizona voters would “likely approve” the ballot measure to legalize recreational cannabis use; while 40 percent remain opposed with 10 percent undecided.
Democrats overwhelmingly supported the measure, with 64 percent indicating they would likely vote ‘yes.’ The majority of Republicans, 56 percent, indicated they would likely vote ‘no.’
The measure would permit adults 21 and older to buy cannabis for recreational use, possess up to 1 ounce, and grow up to six plants in their homes without obtaining a license. It would establish a 15 percent tax on retail sales of cannabis that would be allocated to education programs.
Adam Deguire, campaign manager for the anti-legalization campaign, said that opponents have yet to spend any money on advertising against Proposition 205 so “polls this early… don’t mean much.”
“[The measure] misleads voters into thinking more money will go to schools when in fact it will go towards creating more government,” Deguire said in an Arizona Republicreport.
Mike O’Neil, a public opinion pollster, said that although the survey “reflects an evolving attitude on marijuana” it does not necessarily mean its support is secured until Election Day.
“The proposal starts out ahead … but that doesn’t mean it ends up that way after a campaign,” he said in the report.
Arizona is one of five states voting on recreational legalization in November.
Promoting cannabis-related tourism in legal states is a challenging proposition as businesses associated with the industry and officials charged with regulating the sector are at risk of breaking federal law, according to a report from Travel Weekly.
David Blandford, Visit Seattle’s vice president of communications, said the agency supports cannabis tourism, but cannot advertise anything related to recreational cannabis. He says Visit Seattle gets several questions from tourists about the details of the law, but answering those questions is tricky because while visitors older than 21 can legally purchase cannabis, there is nothing in the law that allows them a place to partake – public use is banned and it’s up to the individual hotels whether or not to permit cannabis use and many have strict no-smoking policies.
“We’ve certainly been very dedicated to being a resource and answering questions and helping travelers understand the law,” Blanford said in the report. “Marketing to [tourists] is just premature for us. It’s very difficult to work through the federal interpretation of promotion. It’s a very sticky issue.”
Marcus Hibdon, senior media and public relations manager for Travel Portland, said that because of the growing use of vape pens and the proliferation of edibles it’s not hard for tourists to partake in public, but the agency is still beholden to federal law when it comes to promotion.
“We’re not going to promote anything contrary to the law,” Hibdon said. “With each passing month, it appears as though it’s getting easier for consumers to consume it legally, and that helps us from a promotional standpoint.”
In Colorado, three Bud & Breakfast locations offer marijuana-friendly accommodations which include Wake ‘n’ Bake breakfasts and a 4:20 happy hour. The city’s My 420 Tours provides outings to dispensaries and greenhouses, joint and sushi-rolling classes and cannabis-infused massages. Pedal Bike Tours offers an 11-mile cycling tour of the Portland scene.
Carly Holbrook, a representative for the Colorado Tourism Office, said that the effect on tourism will be clearer as more states legalize, and tourism officials will be able to fully embrace the industry once the federal government either loosen their rules, or outright legalize the drug for personal use.
“There will be more opportunity to market it, and it will be less taboo, more widely accepted,” she said.
The American Legion’s Committee on Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation is calling on the DEA to “license privately-funded medical marijuana operations” and reschedule the drug in order to increase access for veterans. The resolution was affirmed during the 88th National Convention of the American Legion in Cincinnati, Ohio.
According to the resolution, the committee believes that medical cannabis is a viable therapy for treating both post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.
“I consider this a major breakthrough for such a conservative veterans organization,” Dr. Sue Sisley, a researcher for the first federally-approved study examining medical cannabis as a PTSD therapy, said in a Marijuana.com report. “Suddenly the American Legion has a tangible policy statement on cannabis that will allow them to lobby and add this to their core legislative agenda. The organization has a massive amount of influence at all levels.”
Sisley has lobbied the organization to endorse her research for the past two years, and was a speaker at the Cincinnati convention. She said many local posts have supported her work — and marijuana therapies — but getting support from the national office is a “historic shift in public policy.”
Twelve states recognize PTSD as a qualifying condition for their medical marijuana programs. New Jersey could become the thirteenth if Gov. Chris Christie signs the bill, passed by the legislature last month, adding the condition.
A petition calling on New Jersey Gov. Christ Christie to sign legislation adding post-traumatic stress disorder to the list of medical marijuana qualifying conditions has garnered nearly 18,000 signatures. The petition, started by The Joint Blog, comes a month after the state legislature approved a bill adding the condition, sending it to the governor for his signature.
“The measure sits on the desk of Governor Chris Christie, who has the option of signing it into law, allowing it to become law without his signature, or vetoing it,” the petition reads. “We are calling Governor Christie to quickly sign it into law, allowing those suffering from the ailment to use a medicine that research has continually shown is beneficial.”
The bill (A457) passed the Assembly, 56-13, in June, moving through the Senate, 29-9, in August.
The petition includes links to two separate studies that found marijuana therapies to be effective in the treatment of the condition, which according to the Department of Veterans Affairs, affects about 8 million adults during a given year.
Michigan, California, Illinois, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maine, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Arizona all recognize PTSD as a qualifying condition for their respective medical marijuana programs.
An Israeli biomed group has launched an incubator for medical marijuana companies in order to connect them with relevant investors, according to a report from Israeli business publication, Globes.
The incubator, headed by the Shizim Group, will not directly invest in companies. Instead, they will offer mentoring and consultation services to help build relationships between companies and potential financiers.
Ofer Spottheim, the incubator’s general manager, says that many Israelis are already involved in the US industry and that Israel’s market is only poised to expand.
“In the state of Colorado… many Israelis are involved in this business, operating farms, greenhouses and the vending machines selling the product,” Spottheim said in the report. “Alongside Israelis, ultra-orthodox Jews are also involved in this business. There is no particular reason why Israelis and Jews are operating in this field — they just saw the opportunity and pursued it.”
The firm has already hosted an eight-meeting course for startups and plans on holding a conference next week. Raphael Mechoulam, an Israeli organic chemist who led research in the discovery of the endocannabinoid system, will be a guest at the event.
“We wish to form a network of connections between all people involved in this industry which will put Israel on the map,” Spottheim said.
Last week, Israel Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel announced plans for the country to export medical marijuana abroad.
There are now more patients with chronic pain signed up for Minnesota’s medical marijuana program than there are patients with cancer epilepsy, and terminal illness combined, according to a report from the Star Tribune. The Department of Health added the condition on Aug. 1 and now patients with chronic pain represent one out of three patients enrolled in the program.
Operators in the state are hoping that the recent influx will be a boon for their companies, as Minnesota is one of the most tightly regulated programs in the nation. Dr. Kyle Kingsley, CEO of MinnMed, said his company invested $5 million into its operations in 2015 and operated at a $3 million loss during its first year.
Patients are hoping that the new customers will help drive down the high prices that make the program unaffordable. Cassie Traun, who is diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, said she dropped out of the program due to the exorbitant medicine prices, which ran her thousands of dollars per month.
“I’m tired. I’m sick. I shouldn’t need to be here begging for dignity, begging for access,” Traun said during her appearance at hearing of the state’s medical cannabis task force. “This program is an illusion of a functioning medical cannabis program.”
The Minnesota program prohibits flower use, allowing for only pills and liquid forms of cannabis. The price can range from hundreds to thousands depending on the patient’s condition.
The Health Department is considering adding autism, post-traumatic stress disorder, arthritis, diabetes, amputated limbs, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, insomnia, schizophrenia and treatment-resistant depression to the qualifying condition list this year after they were suggested by members of the public.
