Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan (D) says she has abandoned a lucrative cannabis industry consulting side gig after days of Republican lawmakers calling for her to resign over the position — and after Gov. Tina Kotek (D) requested an ethics inquiry into the role — OPB reports. Fagan released a written statement and held a 30-minute press conference on Monday announcing she had canceled the contract and that she recognizes how consulting for an industry under audit by her own office had been a bad idea.
“Clearly this contract raises questions. Upon painful reflection, taking that contract was poor judgment, and for that I am sorry.” — Fagan, in a press release
During the press conference, Fagan said she had “faithfully followed Oregon’s ethics rules and laws” but that, “I am not here today to defend my rule-following. I’m here today to own that there’s a difference between following all the rules and doing nothing wrong.”
The row came after Fagan’s office released an audit of the state’s cannabis industry that concluded the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) should “reform” some rules for cannabusinesses in the state, describing the certain regulations as “burdens” when paired with federal law and banking and tax issues.
Fagan had recused herself from the audit due to her role as a paid consultant for an affiliate of La Mota, a vertically integrated cannabis company with retailers around the state.
According to a Willamette Week report, La Mota’s co-owners have hosted fundraisers for Democratic politicians, including Fagan, and her partner and the businesses allegedly owe $1.7 million in unpaid bills along with owing back federal and state taxes. Fagan said her consulting work for the company had been to investigate out-of-state opportunities for the cannabis brand’s expansion; the position earned $10,000 per month.
In a joint statement, Senate Republican leader Tim Knopp and House Republican leader Vikki Breese-Iverson had called Fagan’s role with the company “an ethics violation” while she remains secretary of state.
“…If it isn’t then Oregon’s ethics laws are broken,” the Republican leaders said in the statement.
A hemp bill that includes no THC caps on products has passed the Florida Senate, Florida Politics reports. The proposal still includes age limits on purchasing hemp products that contain THC and a ban on packaging that is “attractive to children.”
The bill that was first introduced in the state House included a limit of 0.5 milligrams of THC per dose and 2 milligrams per container. The measure does not include regulations for topicals, such as creams, lotions, shampoos, or other non-ingestible hemp products.
Hemp businesses in Florida had opposed the House measure, saying it would be detrimental to the state hemp industry.
Matthew Schwarmann, the president of Outpost Brands, a hemp manufacturing company in Daytona Beach, told WESH that the age limits and packaging rules in the bill “makes sense” but that the regulations included in the House measure do “nothing but destroy the entire hemp industry and hand it right over to medical marijuana companies.”
“This has never killed anyone. We can regulate this to 21 plus to protect the kids but don’t destroy the entire industry. There’s nothing to be gained from that.” — Schwarmann to WESH
A report by Whitney Economics suggests that Florida’s hemp industry employs more than 100,000 people and generates $3.5 billion in wages. A survey of hemp industry operators in the state found that 67% of respondents said restrictions included in the House bill would force them out of business.
The Senate version of the bill moves next to the House.
The Texas House last week passed a cannabis decriminalization bill that would reduce penalties for possession of up to an ounce of flower or concentrates to a Class C misdemeanor, KXAN reports. Despite the reduced charge, however, possession penalties could still include a hefty $500 fine.
Under current state law, such possession would be considered a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,000. Possession of four ounces or more is considered a felony with a penalty of up to two years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.
State Rep. Joe Moody (D), one of the bill’s authors, said the measure addresses cannabis possession “in a smarter way” than current Texas law.
“What it does is turn personal use possession into a non-arrestable Class C offense under House Bill 218. Possessing a small amount of cannabis is still illegal.” — Moody to KXAN
The measure also reduces penalties for possession of two ounces or less to a Class B misdemeanor punishable by 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine, and for possession of between two and four ounces to a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
The measure moves next to the Senate, which rejected similar legislation in both 2019 and 2021.
The Minnesota Senate last week narrowly voted to legalize cannabis for adult use on a 34-33 party-line vote, CBS News reports. The approval comes three days after the House approved its own legalization bill. The bills contain some slight differences, and lawmakers will next consider a compromise bill that would require final approval by both chambers.
The Senate version includes a 10% tax on cannabis products while the House version included an 8% tax. The Senate measure would also allow adults to possess up to 5 pounds of cannabis in their homes – the House version sets a 1.5-pound limit.
The Senate plan would also allow local governments to limit the number of cannabusinesses within their borders; the House version does not have caps.
The Senate bill also delays criminal justice provisions included in the bill until 2025 while the House version would start the process in August.
During a press conference after the Senate vote, State Sen. Carla Nelson, who voted against the proposal along with the rest of her Republican colleagues, said law enforcement in the state is “against this bill” and that there are “too many questions about … public safety.”
Ryan Winkler, who is chairman of the cannabis reform group MN is Ready and formerly served as Minnesota’s House Majority Leader, noted that lawmakers and advocates know about the potential public safety and public health issues.
“To the extent that we can address those issues and put funding into local communities, funding into public health, we are doing that,” he said in an interview with CBS News.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) has said that he would sign an adult-use legalization bill were it to make it to his desk.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Ryan Winkler is a state senator.
A Canada-based manufacturer of natural fiber composites has secured $40 million in funding from a private New York Family Office that will assist the firm in hemp-related projects including the construction of a hemp fiber processing facility in western Canada.
In a statement, INCA Renewable Technologies CEO and Chairman David Saltman said the funding “is an important milestone” for the firm.
“This round of funding will enable us to commercialize our line of hemp-based, advanced bio-composites for Toyota North America, Winnebago Industries and Gurit. … Completion of the project will make INCA the first vertically integrated natural fiber composites company in the world.” — Saltman in a press release
INCA has deployed its fiber processing and bio-composites innovation and manufacturing to produce lighter prepregs for the automotive industry, large dimensional panels to replace plywood in RV sidewalls, cores for wind turbine blades and boats, and compounded pellets to replace glass-reinforced plastics.
“Our ability to transform a low-cost raw material into a set of patented high value products, will enable our customers to produce lighter, stronger, lower cost and far more environmentally sustainable products,” Saltman said in a statement. “We think it is a winning value proposition.”
The product line will be manufactured from hemp, which has been legally grown in the Canadian Prairies since 1998, primarily for plant-based protein. INCA will acquire the waste biomass from large growers, refine it into long fiber, short fiber, and hurd and manufacture the full product line.
A group of Harlem-based New York City businesses filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to stop a dispensary planned for 125th Street, the New York Times reports. The lawsuit was filed by the 125th Street Business District Management Association in State Supreme Court in Manhattan.
The lawsuit aims to cancel the state’s lease on a storefront across from the Apollo Theatre. It is the first case challenging the process regulators use to choose dispensary locations, the report says.
The association said it did not oppose having a dispensary on 125th, or elsewhere in Harlem, but described the current location as “irredeemable” because it would add to crime, congestion, and open drug use already occurring at the location. The association described the state’s selection process for the site as “a naked, intentional and bold attempt to avoid community opposition.”
The lawsuit claims that the property’s landlord also currently rents space to an unlicensed dispensary two blocks away and that a recent murder and multiple shootings have occurred at that site.
The lawsuit names the Dormitory Authority – the state public construction agency – the Office of Cannabis Management, its executive director, and 246 West LLC among the defendants. The Dormitory Authority leased the 125th property in December as part of a program to provide retail locations to entrepreneurs selected to open adult-use dispensaries.
Dr. Jeffery C. Raber and cannabis testing lab The Werkshop have teamed up with The Terpene Store to create a line of naturally derived cannabis terpene profiles that make exploring the cannabis plant’s chemistry more accessible than ever before. This new Natural Products line, made from only the highest quality materials and manufactured under strict safety standards, consists of 30 foundational cannabis profiles, featuring scents from strains like Blue Dream, Super Lemon Haze, Sour Diesel, OG Kush, and many more. But the terps are not just for smelling and admiring. The line invites cannabis consumers to explore the role that terpenes play in the Entourage Effect.
The Natural Products package comes with five vials of terpenes that mimic various cannabis strains’ terpene profiles. It also comes with a 1-ounce curing bag and plastic pipettes to drip the terps onto your choice of cannabis material. Knowing a little about terpenes and how they give each cannabis strain its unique effects — and after having interviewed Dr. Raber for one of my first cannabis articles in 2014 — I was excited to put the system to the test.
It was a fun experiment to infuse a fat eighth of ground CBG terpeneless hemp with a sample of Super Lemon Haze terpenes. After adding a drop or two of terps to the hemp in the curing bag, I sealed the bag and let it marinate for five days. What I ended up with was Super Lemon Haze high-CBG hemp. Next, I took my new homemade strain and packed it into a hemp 1-gram blunt, then let that cure for a day or two. The blunt when smoked was smooth and the added terps enhanced both the taste and the effect of the hemp inside. Having consumed Super Lemon Haze before, I have to say the limonene did offer up an uplifting energetic head “high.” What an awesome product, and I have four more strain profiles to try.
All of The Terpene Store’s unique and high-quality cannabis flavors can be found on their website at TheTerpeneStore.com.
The Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission (GMCC) on Wednesday issued the state’s first five licenses to dispense low-THC medical cannabis in the state. The commission awarded the licenses to Botanical Sciences LLC and Trulieve GA Inc for dispensaries in Bibb, Chatham, and Cobb counties.
Under the state’s medical cannabis law, products sold through dispensaries can contain up to 5% THC. Both Trulieve and Botanical hold Class 1 production licenses in the state.
In a statement, Andrew Turnage, executive director of the GMCC, said Trulieve and Botanical, “have been working hard to get their production facilities fully operational” and have “signaled they are ready to sell to registered patients by applying for these initial dispensing licenses.”
“The dispensing licenses issued today are just the beginning. As more dispensaries become licensed, more patients will be reached at locations throughout the state.” Even with these licenses issued, the current production licenses are able to apply for the additional ones until they reach the maximum number allowed by state law.” — Turnage in a press release
The GMCC, under state law, can add one more dispensary license as patient counts in the state exceed 25,000 – 27,000 in all. The law allows the commission to add an additional dispensary license for every 10,000 patients over the 25,000 benchmark.
The state’s medical cannabis law requires that dispensaries are fully operational within 120 days of the date the license is issued.
According to a survey by Maine’s Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP), more than 1,350 medical cannabis caregivers left the program from the end of 2021 to the end of January 2023.
The survey found a variety of factors led to the exodus, including business costs, banking registrations and fees, municipal and OCP regulations, oversupply, competition from the adult-use and unregulated markets, lack of testing and tracking, no wholesale relationships, no connection to patients, switching to adult-use operations, and becoming a dispensary employee.
The majority of respondents (68 respondents) cited oversupply and low prices, and utility costs (57 respondents) as their impetus for leaving the caregiver program.
“The overproduction in the [Medical Marijuana Caregiver Program] has come as a result of legislative refusal to update the MMCP’s statutes in five years, even as the industry has transformed significantly. For example, with no inventory tracking system implemented for the medical program, it is impossible for OCP to ensure that program participants are sourcing their product from the regulated market and not diverting product to the illicit market.” — OCP, “Caregiver Exodus: Market Conditions and the Impact on Maine’s Medical Use of Cannabis Program”
In the survey, the OCP notes that the “findings depart dramatically from the rumors and speculation about what has happened within” the state’s medical cannabis program. The OCP said that the narrative that it was responsible for caregivers leaving the program was “unsubstantiated” as just 16 survey respondents said they left the program because of OCP regulations.
In all, the agency received responses from 117 former medical cannabis caregivers, just 8.7% of the 1,339 it contacted to take part in the survey.
Bipartisan lawmakers in both chambers of Congress on Wednesday reintroduced the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act in an effort to normalize banking and financial services for the legal cannabis industry. Sponsored by Sens. Steve Daines (R-MT) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) in the Senate and Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Dave Joyce (R-OH) in the House, the updated SAFE Banking Act would protect banks and other institutions from federal prosecution for serving state-legal cannabis companies.
Under current federal law, banks are discouraged from providing services to state-licensed cannabis companies due to the ongoing federal prohibition of cannabis, and the lack of banking has led to an industry based almost entirely on cash transactions. The heightened levels of cash (and cannabis, which remains valuable on the illicit market) have made state-legal cannabis companies prime targets for criminals — Sen. Merkley tweeted on Wednesday that the current system is “dangerous” and “ripe for robbery, assaults, tax fraud, and money laundering.”
The House of Representatives has previously approved the SAFE Banking Act seven times, as both a standalone proposal and as part of a broader legislation package, but the Senate has yet to ever formally consider the bill. This year’s Senate version of the proposal, however, carries a total of 40 co-sponsors including five Republicans.
“The introduction of the SAFE Banking Act puts us on a path to move through the Senate Banking Committee and get a vote on the floor of the Senate,” said Sens. Merkley and Daines in a joint statement issued after the proposal’s reintroduction.
“We expect SAFE Banking to go through the Banking Committee, and on the floor there will be an opportunity to add additional regular-order passed provisions – such as the HOPE and GRAM Acts – before final Senate passage. This expanded ‘SAFE Banking Plus’ package will represent the largest-ever cannabis reform legislation with bipartisan support in Congress. We are committed to making 2023 the year a bill is signed into law that ensures all legal cannabis businesses have access to the financial services they need.” — Statement by Sens. Merkley and Daines
A 2022 poll by Data for Progress found that 72% of U.S. voters, including nearly two-thirds of Republicans, support giving legal cannabis companies access to traditional financial services.
“It is irresponsible to shut this heavily regulated industry out of the US financial system,” NORML Political Director Morgan Fox said in a press release. “Every day that Congress fails to act further endangers small businesses and consumers, puts regulators and law enforcement at a disadvantage, and facilitates the activities of unlicensed operators and criminal organizations.”
Cannabis is legal for medical purposes in 38 states and for recreational use by adults in 22 states, with Delaware being the latest to adopt adult-use reforms.
About a third of New Jersey adults have used cannabis products since the state passed legalization legislation about a year ago, according to a Stockton University poll. Nearly half – 47% – of those who consumed cannabis did so for recreational purposes, 14% purely for medical reasons, and 39% for both medical and recreational purposes.
In all, 69% of those polled bought cannabis from a licensed dispensary and 86% were either satisfied or very satisfied with the experience, the poll found. Forty-three percent of those polled said they were satisfied because they knew the products were safe and 23% approved of the quality; however, just 7% said they were satisfied with the price.
Among the 30% who bought cannabis from unregulated sources, 18% said they did so because prices or taxes charged at dispensaries were too high, but the main reason cited for buying cannabis illegally was the lack of a legal dispensary nearby.
Nearly half (48%) of survey respondents favored cannabis attractions like consumption lounges, while a full 50% of respondents in South Jersey, where tourism is a top employer, opposed offering such attractions.
Slightly more than half (53%) of respondents supported adult-use dispensaries in their town, down from the 56% who backed dispensaries where they live in an April 2022 Stockton Poll.
In all, 37% of male respondents had consumed cannabis, along with 28% of women. Democrats were also more likely to consume cannabis than Republicans or independents (38%, 24%, and 32%, respectively).
Medical cannabis sales in Arkansas during the first quarter of the year were up 7.14% compared to the same quarter of 2022, according to Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) data outlined by Talk Business & Politics. In March, Arkansas patients spent a record $24.9 million on 4,972 pounds of medical cannabis.
DFA spokesperson Scott Hardin told TB&P that state tax collection on medical cannabis totaled $2.48 million in March, bringing the overall total to $97.2 million.
The strong first-quarter sales follow record medical cannabis revenue in 2022 of $276.3 million, which was up 4.3% compared with the previous record of $264.9 million in 2021, the report says.
Arkansas collects a 6.5% regular state sales tax with each medical cannabis purchase and a 4% privilege tax on sales from cultivators to dispensaries. Most of the tax revenue is placed in the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences National Cancer Designation Trust Fund.
The Arkansas Department of Health reports 93,977 active patient cards as of April 21, up from 89,855 at the end of last year.
Last November, Arkansas voters rejected a ballot measure to legalize adult-use cannabis by a 56%-44% margin.
The administration of Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) is partnering with NuProject to launch a statewide Cannabis Business Loan Program. The project is a collaboration between the mission-based lender and the Cannabis Business Office (CBO).
In a statement, Polis said the program “will create and retain 239 good-paying jobs and promote equity in the cannabis industry by providing growing businesses access to funding.”
The program will provide loans between $50,000 and $150,000 for renovations or expansions, the purchase of equipment, real estate or use as working capital, the governor’s office said in a press release. Loans will have favorable and manageable terms based on borrower needs.
NuProject and the CBO will manage the program as a revolving loan fund: as loans are repaid, the interest generated will be reinvested into the fund to support future borrowers. The initial $1 million investment is expected to lend $2.9 million over the next 10 years.
In a statement, Jeannette Ward Horton, NuProject CEO, said “When cannabis business owners have access to financial support and the know-how to put that funding to work, they can run better businesses and have the opportunity to build generational wealth through the cannabis industry.”
“NuProject is committed to redirecting the typical flow of financing so that small business owners in the cannabis industry, especially those who’ve been historically excluded from access to capital, can access the resources they need to grow their businesses.” — Ward Horton in a statement
The program is the third CBO funding source available for the state’s social equity cannabis businesses, the governor’s office said, noting that its Cannabis Business Grant, launched in 2021, provides $25,000 Foundational Grants to help early-stage cannabis businesses with their startup needs and $50,000 Growth Grants to support existing cannabis businesses as they grow or refine their operations. The Cannabis Business Loan Program is designed to support larger, more established cannabis businesses as they continue to grow
The California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) on Tuesday awarded $20 million in cannabis research grants to 16 academic institutions in the state. Rasha Salama, DCC chief deputy director, said the studies funded by the grants “will provide valuable insights on topics of interest to California’s consumers, businesses, and policy makers.”
“It is the department’s aspiration that these studies will advance the body of scientific research, further our understanding of cannabis, and aid to the continued development and refinement of the legal framework.” — Salama in a statement
Eight of the studies are focused on cannabis potency, two on medical cannabis use, one on the health of the state’s cannabis industry, two on monopolies and unfair competition, one on California legacy cannabis genetics and genetic sequencing, one on licensed and unlicensed cannabis cultivation throughout the state, and one on cannabis cultivation among Hmong farmers.
Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles were awarded the most funds – more than $7 million – covering six projects, including evaluating synthetic and semi-synthetic cannabinoids, a comparative study of the effects of concentrate use versus flower, interactions between delta-9 THC and CBD, medical cannabis use practices, the state of medical cannabis in California, and assessing the health of the state cannabis program.
Three projects at the University of California, Berkeley were awarded about $2.5 million by the state. The studies will investigate monopolistic and unfair competition in the state’s cannabis industry, the effects of licensed and unlicensed cannabis cultivation, and cannabis farming among Hmong farmers.
Two projects at the University of California, San Diego were awarded about $1 million by the state. Those studies are focused on the effects of cannabis on young adults. Researchers at the University of California, San Fransisco were awarded $904,052 for a study also focused on the effects of cannabis use on young adults.
The University of California, Irvine was awarded $2 million for a study on the short- and long-term effects of high-THC products.
Researchers at University of California, Davis were awarded $856,881 for a study focused on vaping cannabinoids.
A Cal Poly, Humboldt project was awarded nearly $2.7 million to study legacy California cannabis genetics, while Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo was awarded $444,643 to study the state’s cannabis regulations.
In all, the DCC received 98 proposals and said the accepted studies were chosen based on their strong scientific methodology, their ability to provide useful information for policymaking, their advancement of public understanding of cannabis, and their potential to generate foundational research that will support exponential future knowledge.
The Minnesota House on Tuesday passed a cannabis legalization bill, CBS News reports. The measure passed 71-59, mostly along party lines, including the support of just two Republicans. One Democrat voted against the proposal.
The measure would allow adults 21-and-older to purchase cannabis and possess up to two ounces of flower in public and 1.5 pounds of flower in their homes. Under the measure, Minnesotans would be permitted to home grow up to eight plants for personal use.
State Rep. Nolan West, one of the Republicans to vote in favor of the legislation, said that while he supports the reforms, he hopes that some issues will be cleared up in the final version, including local control of cannabis businesses and the impact of broad legalization on the state’s existing hemp businesses.
“The majority of Minnesotans agree that the time to end marijuana prohibition is here.” — West, during a press conference, via CBS News
The state Senate is expected to take up its own version of the legislation on Friday. If approved, the bills would move next to a conference committee to come to an agreement on final language, with a final vote expected before the state’s legislative session ends next month.
Gov. Tim Walz (D) has long backed cannabis legalization and has said he would sign the legislation if it reaches his desk.
Louisiana lawmakers on Tuesday killed a bill to legalize adult-use cannabis in the state, the Lafayette Daily Advertiser reports. The House Criminal Justice Committee voted down the proposal 9-4.
The measure was opposed by the state’s sheriffs, district attorneys, and police chiefs over public safety concerns and the impact of legalization on children.
Ken Caldwell of the Marijuana Policy Project estimated that the state supports an illicit cannabis market of at least $1 billion.
During testimony, state Rep. Candace Newell (R) argued that the 1937 federal ban on cannabis was enacted due to “racism, bigotry and fear-mongering” after a national propaganda campaign that stoked fears of Black musicians “smoking reefers” and “raping white women.”
“We should not still be criminalizing people when in other states their economy is flourishing.” — Newell via the Daily Advertiser
During his testimony, Will Hall of the Louisiana Baptist Office of Public Policy, said “It’s not worth mortgaging the future of our youth to create tax revenue.”
Louisiana does allow medical cannabis use and last year lawmakers downgraded possession of up to 14 grams of cannabis for personal use to a misdemeanor punishable by a $100 fine and no jail time.
Leading medical cannabis educational outlet Project CBD has announced the launch of their new website and brand system, which were developed over the past year in partnership with Blue Dream, the in-house creative agency at Ganjapreneur.
Project CBD was established in 2010 as a resource for patients, doctors, and cannabis growers to learn about medical research into the health benefits of CBD, THC, and other compounds found in cannabis, as well as other forms of plant medicine. Created before the medicinal applications of CBD were widely known, Project CBD helped initiate the movement to produce high-CBD cultivars by educating growers and breeders about the unique medicinal properties of cannabidiol and encouraging them to produce cannabis products that catered toward patients with severe health conditions.
The new Project CBD website is designed to make their educational content more accessible and discoverable, and also includes an updated marketplace for ethical CBD brands to showcase their products.
Brand identity development
Noel Abbott, CEO of Ganjapreneur and strategic advisor for Blue Dream, explained how Project CBD’s new visual identity aims to highlight the multifaceted nature of its mission.
“For many cannabis and CBD companies exploring a rebrand or brand update, we might steer them away from using a fan leaf as their primary symbol due to how common it is,” he said. “In Project CBD’s case, they are indisputably one of the most well-established voices in cannabis education in the world, so we felt they could truly own it. But the logo is more than a leaf – it also represents a flower and a molecule – highlighting that they are not only focused on CBD, but also other plant medicines as well as the scientific research that proves how these medicines can help people.”
In addition to the new logo, Blue Dream helped Project CBD create an array of graphic templates and supporting materials to drive engagement on social media, via their email newsletter, and through other communication channels.
“Blue Dream has been a fantastic partner with much-needed expertise in these areas,” says Project CBD director Martin A. Lee. “We hope to build upon this partnership as we expand our reporting on cannabis science, plant medicine, psychedelics, regenerative farming, and the social dimensions of health and drug policy.”
Website migration and optimization
As part of the collaboration, the Project CBD website was migrated to WordPress from Drupal, along with a large body of articles that had been translated into Japanese and Spanish to help spread knowledge about plant medicine globally.
One of the primary goals of the redesigned website was to increase search engine traffic, as Project CBD previously ranked in the top Google results for keywords such as “What is CBD,” “CBD dosage guidelines,” and other high-traffic search phrases. For years, Project CBD was the de facto authority on the web for these topics in Google. After the 2018 Farm Bill which effectively legalized hemp in the US, Project CBD saw a rapid acceleration of commercial content about CBD on the internet – much of which was misleading and incorrect – and this content wound up getting ranked higher by Google over time.
Noel Abbott of Ganjapreneur noted, “I’d like to see the authentic educational voices in our space stand out above the commercially-focused content Google tends to favor, and we’re looking forward to helping Project CBD reclaim and maintain their rightful place in search results.”
Opportunities for ethical CBD brands
The new Project CBD website also includes redesigned profiles for the brands who have supported their efforts, as well as opportunities for retailers and non-CBD brands to have a presence on the website. Cody Stevenson, who oversees business development for both Ganjapreneur and Blue Dream, said, “Finishing the website and brand system for Project CBD was the first part of our collaboration. Going forward, CBD and cannabis brands can look forward to unique cross-platform opportunities between Ganjapreneur and Project CBD, allowing you to leverage two authoritative platforms to help improve customer loyalty and SEO while also engaging new customers.”
A Michigan businessman last week pleaded guilty to paying bribes to the former head of the state’s Medical Marihuana Licensing Board, the Detroit News reports. John Dawood Dalaly admitted to a federal judge that he hired Rick Johnson’s wife, Jan Johnson, as a consultant for $4,000 a month and she helped him fill out forms that would end up in front of the board that her husband chaired.
Dalaly also admitted to providing at least $68,200 in cash and other benefits to Johnson, including two private flights to Canada.
Dalaly is the second person to plead guilty in the scheme and he now faces up to a decade in federal prison. Earlier this month, Johnson pleaded guilty to accepting $110,000 in bribes in exchange for industry licenses. Johnson served as head of the board for two years and served as state House speaker from 2001-2004 when Republicans controlled the chamber.
According to the plea agreement outlined by the News, Dalaly had the understanding that the expenditures benefiting Johnson “were offered and given to influence or reward Johnson.”
Earlier this month, Dalaly, Johnson, Brian Pierce, and Vincent Brown all signed plea deals admitting the charges.
Under the plea agreement, Johnson agreed to forfeit the $110,000 in bribes and the U.S. Attorney’s Office agreed not to oppose his request for a reduction in offense level, which would impact his sentencing.
Dalaly is expected to be sentenced on September 14.
Between the rush of a retail business model and the pressure to maintain compliance in a hyper-regulated space, cannabis operators have a lot on their plate. But as the industry matures, so have the ancillary services and business solutions that enable cannabis entrepreneurs to find success.
In this written Q&A, we ask James Yi — the founder and CEO of cannabis wholesale platform Leaf Trade — about his career before coming to the cannabis space, Leaf Trade’s efforts to maintain up-to-date compliance services, the value of customer feedback, and more.
Scroll down to find the full interview:
Ganjapreneur: What was your career path before joining Leaf Trade in its earliest stage?
James Yi: Over 10 years ago I started a tech company, NextME, which provides B2B software services to multiple industries. In 2015, Illinois launched its recreational market and I happened to get involved with a couple of cannabis groups. I helped launch new dispensary locations and manage operations. Through my work with these dispensaries, I noticed one of the biggest problems they were experiencing was the way in which retailers were buying from wholesalers. It was just an extremely inefficient process where they were spending 50% of their time just managing orders. I knew there had to be a better way and the problem could be solved with technology. Thus Leaf Trade was developed to bridge those gaps and pain points that have been rampant in the cannabis industry.
In working with companies from every corner of the cannabis industry, how does Leaf Trade juggle the different priorities of cultivators, manufacturers, and retailers?
This is really where Leaf Trade thrives, because we have the industry experience to recognize there are so many different peculiarities and nuances in the industry at large. Depending on your business type — a retail dispensary, cultivator, brand, etc. — and what particular state you are operating in, we recognize there are workflows and integrations we need to accommodate to help these businesses meet compliance standards and operate more efficiently. That’s how we got started: by listening to our clients. We help them create a balance between their custom workflow needs and leveraging our tech and industry expertise to create a platform experience that incorporates best practices, and is highly configurable to meet all of our client’s needs, no matter what side of the cannabis industry they are operating in.
How does Leaf Trade stay up-to-date on the shifting regulations of each state market?
Leaf Trade has been servicing the industry since the genesis of Illinois’ highly-regulated market starting in 2015. We’ve seen the evolution of how these states mature, and we’ve learned how to grow with them; with every new highly-regulated state launching, we’ve seen similar evolutions. Obviously, we stay on top of the nuanced regulations in each state. However, the way in which these states mature and grow follows patterns that are more or less known quantities to us by now. The states learn from one another and they see what does and doesn’t work, and they adapt. When there’s a new state coming into the legal cannabis market, regulators are doing things based on a precedent that we’ve experienced, so these shifting regulations and markets aren’t a complete mystery to us.
How has customer feedback influenced your business model?
At Leaf Trade, we actually listen. We’re prescriptive in helping guide our clients because we have experience working with a variety of businesses of different sizes with complex needs across the country. While we lean into our consultative role, we balance it with listening to each of our client’s specific needs. Particularly since the vast majority of our clients are enterprise-level businesses, including the top 20 MSOs, the reality is our tech has to be able to meet the needs of enterprise operations. It has to be flexible and adaptable, which includes building custom integrations for our clients that are very important to helping them operate most efficiently.
What advantages does Leaf Trade offer to cannabis companies looking to source private-label products?
Leaf Trade’s focus is not only on enterprise-level businesses but also on the top brands in each market. We make it easy for cannabis dispensaries and retailers using our platform to access the best brands to stock on their shelves. Our platform’s operational efficiencies truly work for cultivators and retailers alike. We integrate with compliance systems and the seller’s ERP and accounting software, so when purchases occur on our platform, they are actually processed as opposed to being just a glorified menu. We make it easier for cultivators to list as many brands as they’d like through one branded storefront, and they can add branding and product images to the page to really customize it to their brand image.
What are you most excited about for the future of Leaf Trade and the cannabis industry?
Coming off the heels of the merger between Leaf Trade and Sweed, I feel most excited about being able to provide even more value to our clients, who are often vertically integrated companies and multi-location dispensary groups. We look forward to providing the same operational efficiencies we’ve provided on the wholesale side to the dispensary side of their business. Through Sweed, these companies will be able to consolidate their retail tech stack. Sweed gives dispensaries access to a proprietary data engine delivering groundbreaking operational solutions that transform their cross-channel eCommerce, marketing and loyalty programs into truly data-driven solutions. Technology like this was previously only available to businesses with software development resources at scale, but with Sweed it will be available for all cannabis businesses at a fraction of the cost.
What would you say has been the biggest obstacle you’ve faced — or the greatest achievement reached — in your years of cannabis industry experience?
The biggest obstacle Leaf Trade has faced, which I’d also say has been our biggest gift, is having to navigate such a complex and nuanced industry. It wasn’t easy but once we were able to specialize in building the right tech to fill a gap that the highly-regulated cannabis markets were seeking, we’ve established ourselves as a household name in the industry. I’m proud to say we’ve maintained our near-zero churn since we launched in 2017. Above all, our greatest achievement has been anchoring our focus on people and product, and when it comes to those two priorities we’re always aiming to grow and set the bar higher.
Thanks again, James, for answering our questions! Our readers can visit the Leaf Trade website at Leaf.Trade to learn more.
An Arkansas lawsuit filed in federal court alleges that the state’s cannabis testing laboratories are inflating THC levels in medical cannabis products as part of a scheme to inflate prices, KARK reports. The lawsuit was filed in February on behalf of Jakie Hanan, a medical cannabis patient in the state. A similar lawsuit that alleged violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act was dismissed that month.
The new lawsuit does not claim any RICO violations but argues THC inflation violates the federal Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
The lawsuit names Steep Hill as a testing lab that is inflating numbers and that medical cannabis providers prefer laboratories that gives their product higher potency numbers so they can charge a higher price, the lawsuit alleges. Medical cannabis growers Osage Creek Cultivation LLC, Bold Team LLC, and NSMC-OPCO LLC, which does business as Natural State Medicinal, are also named in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit contends that products with inflated and inconsistent potency are “unable to reliably provide Plaintiff [Hanan] the relief he expected” and that Hanan had cannabis he purchased tested at a second lab which revealed the THC difference.
The lawsuit asks for a jury trial, while attorneys have moved that the case is dismissed.
According to a National Association of Realtors (NAR) study, the share of its members purchasing real estate for cannabis operations compared to those leasing properties fell from 29% to 18% since 2021. Commercial real estate practitioners are also seeing increased demand for warehouses, land, and storefronts for cannabis operations.
The study, Marijuana and Real Estate: A Budding Issue, found 45% of commercial landlords in states where cannabis has been legal the longest are willing to take cash for rent, up from 42% in 2021.
In a statement, Jessica Lautz, NAR deputy chief economist and vice president of research, said that “As more states adopt cannabis laws, realtors are at the forefront of commercial real estate activity and are working with clients to find land, warehouses and storefronts for this growing business.”
In states where only medical cannabis use is legal, 23% had seen an increased demand in storefronts, 14% in warehouses and 7% in land. In states where both medical and adult cannabis use is legal, 25% to 29% of members had seen an increased demand in warehouses, 18% in storefronts and 13% to 15% in land, the study found.
The study also found that fewer realtors are seeing lease addendums that prohibit growing cannabis on properties; 27% of realtors in states that allow both medical and adult cannabis prior to 2018 have seen addendums added to leases that restrict growing on properties, down from 44% in 2021. Addendums related to smoking are also on the decline in legal states.
In states where adult-use cannabis has been legal for more than five years, 65% of residential property managers have seen addendums added to leases restricting smoking on properties, down from 76% two years ago. For states that legalized within the past five years, 56% saw smoking addendums, down from 59% in 2021, the report says. In contrast, states that only allow medical cannabis use saw an increase in addendums added to leases that restrict smoking on properties, jumping from 40% to 62% in the past two years.
Albuquerque, New Mexico — CannaCon, the leading B2B cannabis conference and expo, is coming to New Mexico for the first time on May 19th and 20th, 2023. The event will take place at the Albuquerque Convention Center and is expected to draw industry leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, and other stakeholders from around the world.
CannaCon New Mexico will feature keynote speakers, panel discussions, and networking opportunities for those involved in all aspects of the cannabis industry. Attendees can expect to learn about the latest innovations, trends, and best practices in cannabis cultivation, processing, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution.
“CannaCon is excited to bring its premier cannabis business event to New Mexico,” said Angela Grelle, CMO of CannaCon. “We are committed to providing a platform for the industry’s top players to connect, learn, and grow together. We look forward to seeing the positive impact that this event will have on the cannabis community in New Mexico and beyond.”
New Mexico legalized recreational cannabis in April 2021, becoming the 16th state to do so. The industry is expected to generate significant revenue and job opportunities in the state in the coming years.
Tickets for CannaCon New Mexico are on sale now at cannacon.org. For more information about the event, including sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities, please contact Angela Grelle angela@cannacon.org.
About CannaCon
CannaCon is the leading B2B cannabis conference and expo, dedicated to providing a global marketplace for education, innovative products, and businesses serving the cannabis industry. Founded in 2014, CannaCon has hosted events in Seattle, Detroit, New York, Oklahoma, and more. For more information, please visit cannacon.org.
Adult cannabis use is now legal in Delaware after Gov. John Carney (D) allowed the legislature-approved bills to become law without his signature on Sunday. In a statement, Carney said the bills “remove all state-level civil and criminal penalties from simple marijuana possession and create a highly regulated industry” but said the reforms are “not a step forward.”
“I support both medical marijuana and Delaware’s decriminalization law because no one should go to jail for possessing a personal use quantity of marijuana. And today, they do not. I want to be clear that my views on this issue have not changed. And I understand there are those who share my views who will be disappointed in my decision not to veto this legislation. I came to this decision because I believe we’ve spent far too much time focused on this issue, when Delawareans face more serious and pressing concerns every day. It’s time to move on.” — Carney in a press release
Carney added that he remains “concerned” about adult-use legalization and that the industry “will have a disproportionately negative impact” on children, roadway safety, and on the state’s poorest neighborhoods.”
Under the law, a 15% tax will be applied to adult-use cannabis sales and the state will license up to 30 dispensaries, 30 manufacturers, 60 cultivators, and five testing labs. Sales are not expected to commence in the state until August 2024. The bills do not include home grow provisions.
“As we implement House Bill 1 and House Bill 2, we will do everything in our power to protect children from accessing marijuana and marijuana-related products; prevent Delawareans and Delaware visitors from driving under the influence of marijuana; and closely evaluate the placement of marijuana dispensaries and other businesses, to ensure they do not become a blight on already disadvantaged communities,” Carney said in a statement. “My goal will be to ensure that Delaware has a robust regulatory system that protects the interests of the most vulnerable Delawareans, to avoid the many challenges we’ve seen in other states, and to get back to focusing on issues that are most important for Delaware families.”
State Rep. Ed Osienski (D), the chief sponsor of the legalization bills, said in a statement that he understands the governor’s “personal opposition to legalization” but appreciates “him listening to the thousands of residents who support this effort and allowing it to become law.”
U.S. Rep Brian Mast (R-FL) last week introduced a bill to end the prohibition of firearm sales to cannabis consumers in states that allow adult- and medical-use cannabis. Currently, federal law restricts the sale of guns or ammunition to anyone who is an “unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance,” which includes cannabis. The Gun Rights and Marijuana (GRAM) Act creates a carve-out for cannabis for individuals who live in states or on tribal lands where cannabis use is legal.
“No one should be forced to choose between their rights: you have a right to bear arms, and in many states, you have a right to use cannabis. Congress needs to legislate based on reality, and the reality is that those who legally use marijuana are being treated as second-class citizens. That’s not acceptable. Government exists to protect the rights of the people, and that’s what this bill does.”— Mast in a press release
Mast said the issue is “of particular importance to the veteran community.”
“No veteran that I know wants to be forced to choose between a viable treatment option for conditions like PTSD, and the ability to protect themselves and their families,” he said in a statement. “The GRAM Act is about ensuring no one has to make that choice.”
Earlier this month, a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas ruled that the federal ban on cannabis consumers possessing firearms to be unconstitutional. In February, a federal judge in Oklahoma ruled that the federal ban on gun ownership for citizens who consume cannabis violated the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. That case is currently in the appeals process.
The GRAM Act carries no co-sponsors in the House and no companion measure in the Senate. It is currently in the House Judiciary Committee.
