Industry News Archives - Page 14 of 19 - The Real Dirt with Chip Baker

Viola Launches Harrington Institute For Cannabis Education

by The Real Dirt | Sep 13, 2021 | 420 News, Blog, Cannabis News, Culture, Industry News, Legalization

The multi country cannabis brand has partnered with the Black-owned cannabis school to provide equitable access to the cannabis industry through delivering high quality education to its community

Viola, the premium Black-owned cannabis brand rooted in equity, announced the launch of the Harrington Institute, a school for cannabis education created in partnership with Cleveland School of Cannabis, which is currently on pace to be the first cannabis focused school accredited by the Middle States Association.

Aligning with Viola and its commitment to excellence, the mission of the Harrington Institute is to provide equitable access to the cannabis industry by providing high quality education to its community. With cultivation in Colorado, Michigan, and Oregon along with long-standing partnerships across the greater U.S. and Canada, Harrington Institute provides unique access to a vast network of industry professionals, cutting-edge information, and community investment.

“Harrington Institute is something that’s very important for me and something that’s needed,” said Al Harrington, CEO of Viola Brands. “I feel like right now the cannabis industry isn’t seeing all of the talent available, so we wanted to create a platform and program that educates on all verticals within the industry. It’s really important to us to provide access for young entrepreneurs and people from our community looking to get into the space.”

Harrington Institute will offer the Viola Build Scholarship to students of color who have been affected by the War on Drugs up to $3000 toward tuition. While classes are available to take individually, scholarships will be prioritized to students taking the full 6-course program. To create more access to education, Harrington Institute will also provide student loans that will protect the students from predatory situations. The first classes will begin on November 8, 2021. Interested donors are invited to invest in this life-changing opportunity to meet the growing demand for cannabis industry professionals.

About Viola:

Viola is the leading Black-owned producer and licensed wholesaler of premium cannabis products rooted in purpose. Founded in 2011, NBA veteran Al Harrington was inspired to launch the brand by his grandmother, Viola, who suffers from glaucoma and diabetes and found solace in cannabis remedies. The brand integrates the latest cutting-edge technology with its own proprietary processes designed for every stage of cultivation, extraction and production. Viola is known for its wide variety of product offerings, from high-quality flower to premier butane extracts. From regulation to representation and reform, Viola’s mission is to create opportunities for communities of color in the cannabis industry.

Read Full Press Release on PR Newswire

California cannabis regulators issue new, consolidated industry rules

by The Real Dirt | Sep 9, 2021 | 420 News, Blog, Cannabis Business, Cannabis Law, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Cannabis News, Industry News, Legalization, Politics

The newly merged California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) on Wednesday released a 197-page draft of cannabis industry regulations, including allowing broader sales of branded merchandise and sharing product samples among those in the supply chain.

The release of the new draft regulations kicks off a new public comment period before the rules are expected to be formally adopted around the end of September.

The DCC is a brand-new state agency in California, created in July from the original framework of three separate bureaucracies that oversaw legal marijuana businesses in the state. Combining the regulations from the three former regulators was one of the new agency’s first tasks.

The new rules are expected to be finalized and adopted around the end of the month.

Among the highlights in the changing rules:

New parameters for how industry trade-sample sharing can work, allowing manufacturers, growers and distributors to share product samples free of charge with others in the legal supply chain.
New and more narrowly tailored definitions for marijuana company owners and those who own a financial stake in a business.
Allowances for non-vertically integrated cannabis companies to sell branded merchandise from other licensed businesses.

Contact Greener Consulting Group for assistance with adjusting to the new agency and regulatory changes.

Read Full Story on MJ Biz Daily

Missouri medical cannabis industry adds over 140 dispensaries

by The Real Dirt | Sep 8, 2021 | 420 Culture & Travel, 420 News, Blog, Business, Cannabis Business, Cannabis News, Industry News, Medical Marijuana

Missouri medical cannabis dispensaries surpass 140

Missouri opened its first medical marijuana dispensary last October and now there are more than 140 across the state, with more to come.

The state’s medical cannabis industry employs roughly 5,000 people. Earlier this summer, Governor Mike Parson vetoed a bill that would have allowed Missouri medical cannabis business owners to deduct their expenses, but the head of the state program says that won’t stop the multi-million-dollar industry.

“The sales revenue is pleasantly surprising,” Lyndall Fraker, director of the section of medical marijuana with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said. “At the end of July, we surpassed $91 million in sales.”

Voters in the Show Me State passed an amendment in 2018 legalizing medical marijuana. Missouri was the 33rd state to legalize cannabis as medicine. Fraker said all medical marijuana sold in the state is grown in Missouri.

“The amendment that was voted on said that we should open the minimum number at least, which was 192 dispensaries,” Fraker said. “As of today, we have 142 open We’ve done the math and based on the number of quantities that each patient can purchase each month, how much product it would take to serve the patient base and we think we are going to be good for five or six years.”

Fraker said he believes the other 50 Missouri medical cannabis dispensaries could be open by the end of the year.

Read Full Story on Fox 2 Now

Alabama medical cannabis may not be available until 2023

by Travis C | Sep 6, 2021 | Blog, Cannabis Law, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Cannabis News, Industry News, Legalization, Medical Marijuana

Alabama medical cannabis commission holds first meeting

The Alabama Medical Cannabis commission held its first official meeting on September 1, 2021, in which the board’s chairman expressed concern that the rollout of the Alabama medical cannabis program may take longer than expected.

During the first meeting of the 14-member commission, Dr. Steven Stokes tried to establish a timeline for how soon treatment with medical marijuana will be available in Alabama.

“I was hoping next spring,” Stokes said.

However Patrick Moody, the deputy commissioner for the Alabama Department of Agriculture, has said that Alabama medical cannabis growers should not expect to receive their licenses until September 2022.

Accounting for the time it would take growers to produce a harvest after receiving a license with indoor facilities, Alabama medical cannabis likely won’t be available to consumers until 2023.

The medical cannabis commission has a deadline of Sept. 1, 2022 to set up the rules to implement the program and issue licenses to cultivators, processors, transporters, testing laboratories, and dispensaries. The Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries will regulate the cultivators.

But without any medical cannabis to sell, dispensaries will struggle to open their days on day one. Additionally, physicians who will prescribe Alabama medical cannabis must also go through a training program, which will likely keep some physicians from participating.

In addition to the medical cannabis program being pushed back, the state’s hemp industry has been struggling as well.

The industrial hemp program in Alabama started with 600 hemp growers and is now down to only 200 farms. The majority of Alabama’s hemp is grown outdoors, which has led to a rise in plant theft.

The cannabis commission has taken note of this and will require Alabama medical cannabis to be grown indoors or in a greenhouse for greater security. The chairmen of the board has also mentioned the possibility of introducing more legislation to help speed up the process.

Massachusetts recreational cannabis now a $2 billion industry

by The Real Dirt | Sep 3, 2021 | 420 Culture & Travel, 420 News, Blog, Business, Cannabis Business, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Cannabis News, Industry News, Legalization

Massachusetts recreational cannabis sales top $2 billion

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission this week released numbers revealing sales of recreational marijuana has topped $2 billion dollars in the first three years of legalization.

The first Massachusetts recreational cannabis dispensaries opened for business in November 2018.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, which has negatively impacted other businesses, cannabis sales remains strong.

At Seed Recreational Dispensary in Jamaica Plain, which opened in March 2021, Assistant General Manager Bobby Driscoll is not surprised.

“I’m not surprised. It is definitely moving a little quicker than I think some of us in the industry had anticipated,” Driscoll said. “I think it was something we were waiting for, for a long time. A lot of people sacrificed a lot to get us to this point.”

Driscoll anticipates demand will remain strong, even as new dispensaries are approved and open for business.

Original Story from Boston 25 News

New York Cannabis Control Board Appoints First Two Members

by The Real Dirt | Sep 2, 2021 | 420 News, Blog, Business, Cannabis Business, Cannabis Law, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Cannabis News, Industry News, Legalization, Politics

new york cannabis control board has started assigning its first members

New York’s recreational pot program is no longer a buzzkill.

The state Senate confirmed two long overdue appointments to the agency that will regulate pot sales in the state during a special session ordered by Gov. Kathy Hochul to fast-track the program Wednesday.

Tremaine Wright was confirmed as chairperson of the Cannabis Control Board, and Christopher Alexander was secured as executive director of the new office of Cannabis Management.

Wright is a former Democratic assemblywoman who represented Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Alexander is government relations and policy manager at the Canada-based cannabis company, Vill, LLC.

Four more members still need to be named to the board by the governor and legislative leaders, which is responsible for awarding licenses to cannabis sellers in the state. The appointees do not need to be approved by lawmakers.

Hochul ordered the special session Tuesday with a thinly veiled swipe at her predecessor, disgraced Gov. Andrew Cuomo, saying she wanted “to jumpstart the long-overdue decisions pertaining to establishing cannabis in the state of New York.”

Recreational cannabis was approved by Albany in the spring after being shelved by Cuomo amid the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

“These two individuals bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to their new roles, and I know they will do a tremendous job of outlining and implementing regulations that are safe, fair and transparent, and that recognize the need to remedy the impact that prohibition has had on communities of color,” the Democrat said in a statement.

“I look forward to working with them on building our state’s cannabis industry and effecting real change for New Yorkers.”

State Sen. Liz Krueger, who chairs the powerful state Senate Finance Committee and sponsored the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, said Hochul’s appointees to the cannabis board cleared her committee after being questioned.