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Michigan Cannabis Recall May Affect $200M In Cannabis Products

Michigan Cannabis Recall May Affect $200M In Cannabis Products

Michigan cannabis regulatory agency has recalled products impacting 400 retail locations across the state

In the largest product recall since the state legalized cannabis in 2019, the Michigan cannabis regulatory agency (Marijuana Regulatory Agency) has recalled enough products to impact over 400 retail locations around the state.

While the exact amount of products that are being recalled hasn’t been specified, the Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA) recalled all marijuana flower product that passed safety testing at Viridis Laboratories between Aug. 10 and Nov. 16. The agency released a full list of all locations impacted by the recall after calling lab test results “inaccurate and/or unreliable” in a notice issued just before 5 p.m. on Wednesday November 17, but provided no further explanation.

The recall Michigan cannabis recall only impacts flower products

“While we strongly disagree with this decision and firmly stand by our test results, we are fully cooperating with the MRA and working closely with our customers to minimize interruptions and retest affected products at no cost,” Viridis said in a prepared statement. “We have been cleared to continue testing at both of our state-of-the-art facilities. We look forward to continuing to serve our amazing customers using the best, most cutting-edge scientific methods available so we can fulfill our mission of promoting the health and safety of patients and adult-use consumers.”

According to a notice sent out by the MRA, customers who have the recalled product should return it to the retailer they purchased it from “for proper disposal.” “Consumers with weakened immune systems or lung disease are at the highest risk for health-related incidents such as aspergillosis, which can impact lung function, if these potentially harmful products are consumed,” the agency said Wednesday evening.

All Michigan cannabis products are required to have safety labels that contain the date product passed testing and the lab where it was tested. Viridis Laboratories, founded by former Michigan state police forensic scientists, operates labs in Bay City and Lansing. The license identification numbers for Viridis labs that should appear on labels are: “SC-000009, AU-SC-000113″ and “SC-000014, AU-SC-000103.”

The MRA is giving retailers holding the defective product three options: destroy the product and send the agency proof, resubmit the products for testing, or send the products back to the original source to be retested as part of a larger batch.

New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission explains how cannabis licensing process will work

New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission explains how cannabis licensing process will work

The new jersey cannabis regulatory commission explained the licensing process

The state’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) will begin accepting applications for recreational cannabis businesses beginning on Dec. 15.

At today’s New Jersey State League of Municipalities Conference in Atlantic City, the chair and executive director of the CRC  discussed application and licensing rules and processes, including the types of businesses that will initially receive priority review of applications.

Before a packed conference room at the Atlantic City Convention Center, Dianna Houenou, CRC chair, said two types of recreational cannabis licenses will be given: conditional and annual. 

“The annual license is the bread and butter of what we typically think of when someone is applying for a license. It gives business owners the authority to operate the cannabis operation year round,” Houenou said.

The newer conditional license delivers more of a provisional approval from the CRC. This is a license the commission can issue to applicants even if they haven’t identified a property and still have to work with a municipality in order to get necessary approvals and processes in place.

“The conditional license is meant to give applicants extra time to get all of their ducks in a row. … They then have 120 days to meet the additional requirements for the annual license,” Houenou commented.

Whether conditional or annual, the types of cannabis licenses are classified into six operational groups: cultivation, manufacturing, wholesale, distribution, retail and delivery services. Additionally, testing labs also have to be licensed by the CRC.

Within these groups, businesses can have additional designations, which are more of a description of ownership and size of operations. 

According to Houenou, they are: microbusinesses (smaller operations, constrained by statute with respect to size, the amount of products handled, and the number of employees); social equity businesses (owned by people who have lived in economically disadvantaged areas or who have past convictions for cannabis offenses); diversely-owned businesses (minority-owned, woman-owned, or disabled veteran-owned businesses certified by the New Jersey Department of Treasury); and impact zone businesses (municipalities with a large population, high unemployment rate, or high numbers of crime or arrests for marijuana). 

The CRC will be giving priority review to conditional applications as well as social equity businesses, diverse and impact zone businesses.

Houenou explains: “If you look across the country, historically you can see how the need for property control has posed a barrier for a number of applicants looking to operate [a cannabis] business. … We decided to lessen that burden as much as we could. So, we are prioritizing conditional license applications ahead of annual license applications.”

According to Jeff Brown, CRC executive director, the commission is not limiting the licenses it is granting at the state level, although it has the authority to do so. For now, he says, the goal is to let the market grow and develop.

Weedmaps Releases First Data & Insights Report

Weedmaps Releases First Data & Insights Report

Weedmaps releases first report on the state of the legal cannabis industry

WM Technology, Inc. (“WM Technology” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: MAPS), a leading technology and software infrastructure provider to the cannabis industry, has released its first data and insights report, titled ‘Cannabis in America’.

This report shares current data and insights indicative of the marketplace, cannabis industry trends, cultural revelations, and the persistent questions at the center of the cannabis conversation in America today. It’s been almost ten years since adult-use cannabis was first legalized in Colorado, and the past 18 months have seen exceptional progress across the United States thanks to expanded legalization and market growth driving the industry to new heights.

View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211116005558/en/

“The insights from Weedmaps’ Cannabis in America report validate what we see every day: The stigma around cannabis is fading as it becomes more embedded in our culture and daily lives,” said Chris Beals, CEO of WM Technology. “This report highlights attitudes and trends within the industry by providing data and information directly from consumers – an important step as we work towards the goal of building a transparent and inclusive cannabis economy.”

Beals also added that, “Ultimately, this report represents the first steps of Weedmaps beginning to make its unparalleled levels of cannabis industry data available to policy makers, cannabis business holders and industry investors to help them make more informed and accurate decisions.”

Key takeaways include:

  • Cannabis delivery among Generation Z consumers increased by 125% year over year, with overall cannabis delivery increasing by 97%
  • The importance of social equity in the cannabis industry is growing, with 46% of cannabis consumers saying they want to patronize women-owned cannabis retailers, and 44% would like to give business to minority- or veteran-owned cannabis establishments
  • Cannabis use is being destigmatized, and 72% of cannabis consumers say that everyone or almost everyone knows they use cannabis
  • More than one-third, 36%, of Generation Xers believe cannabis is a good way to add tax revenue

Cannabis is big business as consumers are using and ordering more cannabis than ever before

The business of cannabis is entering a critical period as more states are backing cannabis-friendly measures, and efforts are being made towards federal legalization. The cannabis industry has become more sophisticated by appealing to new consumers and featuring distinctive brand elements often seen in more mature categories. New businesses, opportunities, and challenges continue to arise. Now, more than ever, cannabis means business.

  • Half (50%) of cannabis consumers said their consumption has increased since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. According to Weedmaps’ orders data, orders in H1 2021 increased by 55%, compared to H1 2020
  • While demand across categories remains consistent year over year, almost half (47%) of cannabis consumers believe edibles are becoming more popular. Millennials (ages 25-40) drove demand across categories for both H1 2020 and H1 2021, showing a slight preference for concentrates
  • The first half of 2021 saw a significant shift to cannabis delivery (60% vs. 40% in H1 2020)
West Virginia opening first medical cannabis dispensary

West Virginia opening first medical cannabis dispensary

West Virginia medical cannabis dispensary opening

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia’s first medical cannabis dispensary is opening more than four years after state lawmakers allowed a regulatory system for those products to be established.

Trulieve Cannabis Corp. is set to debut a retail location in Morgantown on Friday with a second shop opening in Weston next Monday.

“We’re thrilled to be first to market in West Virginia and to continue building the foundation for the West Virginia’s emerging medical cannabis market,” Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers said in a statement.

She said the company’s goal is to “bolster local economies by creating sustainable jobs and investing in marginalized communities.”

The 2017 state law allows for medical cannabis use in pills, oils, topical gels, liquids, dermal patches and a form that can be vaporized.

In order to access and buy products from a dispensary, residents must have a West Virginia medical marijuana card. Residents with serious medical conditions can register for the card at www.medcanwv.org.

New Jersey to Begin Accepting Cannabis Business License Applications in December

New Jersey to Begin Accepting Cannabis Business License Applications in December

New Jersey cannabis business applications will begin December 15

After missing a September deadline to begin licensing recreational cannabis businesses in New Jersey, the Cannabis Regulatory Commission has announced it will begin accepting application on December 15, 2021. However these applications will only be available to growers, processors and testing labs.

Applications for dispensaries will not be available until March 15, 2022. The New Jersey cannabis legalization law originally mandated legal sales begin by mid-February 2022, or six months after the commission adopted its initial rules.

However due to the past delays, the likelihood of cannabis businesses being up and operational by February 2022 is low. The Commission however has said that during the time that they delayed the application process, they created a way to better process applications, implicating the process could move more quickly than initially expected.

New Jersey currently has medical cannabis dispensaries across the state, which is the only legal way to obtain cannabis currently and requires a patient card to purchase cannabis. The state has recently issued 14 new medical dispensary licenses, however these stores must be in operation for one year before they can apply to also sell recreational cannabis.

The Cannabis Regulatory Commission is concerned that due to their delays, there won’t be sufficient supply of cannabis for recreational sales come February. However, already established dispensaries will have the option to apply for recreational sales, and many owners of these businesses say they are ready for recreational sales now with plenty of cannabis in stock.

The New Jersey cannabis legalization bill also allows for delivery, distributors and wholesalers in the recreational cannabis industry. However the Commission has yet to establish the rules for guiding these license types, and a date to begin applications has not been set.

When applications for businesses begin, women-, veteran- or minority-owned businesses will have priority. If an applicant has been arrested for marijuana or lives in a municipality with disproportionate rates of marijuana arrests or is economically disadvantaged, they too have priority. Additionally the rules allow priority for micro-businesses, or those with 10 employees or less.

The Commission will hold an informational webinar on November 30 for those who want to apply for licenses. The Commission has also heard comments on labeling for cannabis products, as well as invited testimony regarding cannabis edibles.

American Native tribes partner up to cash in on marijuana business opportunities

American Native tribes partner up to cash in on marijuana business opportunities

Native american tribes are teaming up to take advantage of cannabis business opportunities

American Indian communities are increasingly collaborating to get a piece of the explosive growth of the cannabis industry by offering products based on tribal medicine from their ancestral origins.

The partnerships are helping break down longstanding barriers to Indigenous entrepreneurship in the marijuana and hemp industries.

“When we all are doing this together, we all win,” said Chenae Bullock, managing director of New York’s Little Beach Harvest and the Shinnecock Nation cannabis division, which has joined with Tilt Holdings, a Massachusetts-based multistate cannabis operator, to establish a vertically integrated marijuana business on Shinnecock tribal lands.

“I call them ancient trade routes,” she said. “We’ve been doing commerce with tribes since before colonialism.”

Tribes are also joining forces to share expertise.

“In order for us to be competitive, we had to make it a collaborative, inclusive, sustainable ecosystem,” said Jeff Sampson, CEO at Everscore, an online marijuana marketplace working with the Native American Cannabis Alliance (NACA).

Collective growing

Three American Indian tribes – the Mohawk Nation and Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes – announced this fall an agreement to dedicate 500,000 acres of land to cannabis cultivation.

They’re joining the NACA, a joint initiative between Cherokee Nation’s Native Health Matters Foundation and Everscore, a direct-to-consumer, online cannabis marketplace.

The NACA was established in 2020, when the partners were working to develop a fulfillment center in Oklahoma as a way to get tribes involved in the cannabis industry, said the organization’s creator, Tim Houseberg of Stilwell, Oklahoma.

Because the supply chain was so fragmented, the effort turned into something much bigger.

“We just heard story after story about farmers who had the experience and wanted to participate, but they felt like the risk to actually commit to planting was too great because they couldn’t access markets,” Sampson said.

“We facilitate the connection between a customer and a brand. We felt like we could facilitate a connection between a brand and a grower – in this case, Indigenous farmers.”