cannabis industry Archives - Page 13 of 22 - The Real Dirt with Chip Baker

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

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

Group Files Another Missouri Marijuana Legalization Initiative For 2022 Ballot

by The Real Dirt | Aug 30, 2021 | 420 News, Blog, Cannabis Law, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Cannabis News, Legalization, Medical Marijuana

Missouri marijuana legalization bill has been introduced to be on the 2022 ballot

Missouri voters may see a multiple marijuana initiatives on the state’s 2022 ballot, with a new group filing an adult-use legalization proposal on Friday that could compete with separate reform measures that are already in the works.

Legal Missouri 2022 submitted the latest measure to the secretary of state’s office, and it will now go through a review period before being potential certified.

The initiative would make it so adults 21 and older could purchase, possess and cultivate cannabis for personal use.

Regulators would be tasked with developing rules to set possession limits, but they would need to allow adults 21 and older to purchase at least up to three ounces of cannabis. People would have to register with the state to grow marijuana for personal use, and they’d be limited to cultivating six mature and six immature plants, in addition to six clones.

Under the proposal, there would be a six percent tax on marijuana sales, with the option of an additional local tax of up to three percent.

Revenue from those taxes would first support a provision mandating automatic expungements for people with prior, non-violent cannabis convictions. The surplus would be divided among programs for veterans’ health care, substance misuse treatment and the state’s public defender system.

“There’s widespread support among Missouri voters to regulate, tax and legalize marijuana,” John Payne, Legal Missouri 2022 campaign manager, said in a press release. “The status quo has allowed an unsafe, illegal market to thrive in Missouri, while preventing law enforcement from truly prioritizing the fight against violent crime.”

“Now is the time for Missouri to join the 19 other states to have successfully regulated and taxed adult use marijuana, bringing millions in new funding for vital state services,” he said.

Individual jurisdictions would be able to opt out of allowing marijuana businesses, but only if voters approve such a ban.

Read Full Story on Marijuana Moment

Humboldt County announces more than $2 million in grant funding for cannabis farmers

by The Real Dirt | Aug 17, 2021 | 420 Culture & Travel, 420 News, Blog, Business, Cannabis Business, Cannabis News, Growing, Industry News, Legalization, Politics

humboldt county gives out cannabis grant to farmers

Many Humboldt County growers are struggling this season as the price of cannabis falls in California.

Humboldt County announced more than $2 million in grant funding available through Project Trellis, the county’s cannabis micro-grant, marketing and local equity program, to help the local cannabis community enter into the commercial cannabis marketplace. Those eligible can apply for up to $10,000 “per service” in accordance with Humboldt County’s eligibility requirements for Project Trellis.

“All applications and supporting documents will be reviewed by Economic Development staff to ensure the applicant meets eligibility criteria. Some projects may receive a lower amount than what was requested, based on the availability of funds or needs of service,” a news release from the county stated.

“A typical approval process can take 60 or more days from when the application is received. Upon approval, the applicant will receive a notice of award, contract, fund request form and a W9 form.”

Project Trellis was built as a three-tier program to redirect cannabis tax revenue back into the local economy. In September 2019, the county sought proposals for cannabis branding and marketing.

The goal of the program is to “implement the recommendations set forth in the Humboldt County Cannabis Equity Assessment” and “to further equity among those impacted by the criminalization of cannabis, by providing services to individuals in Humboldt County’s cannabis community, particularly small growers who were adversely affected by the criminalization of cannabis.”

While $2 million may seem like a big chunk of change, Humboldt County Growers Alliance executive director Natalynne DeLapp said the county’s “independent cannabis farmers are in crisis.”

“It is great that the county developed Project Trellis…and (has) secured nearly $5 million in funding from the state to support communities most impacted by the War on Drugs in entering the regulated cannabis market, but now it is time to get serious,” she said. “…Perhaps 200 of Humboldt County’s 900-plus cultivation operators, who can prove the War on Drugs has negatively impacted them, could receive up to $10,000 in fee waivers for professional services like fee waivers, technical assistance or installing solar or water storage systems.”