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Bart Schaneman

Bart has worked as a reporter and editor since 2003 for newspapers in California, Nebraska and South Korea. He has won several awards for his writing and photography, including a Nebraska Press Association award for in-depth coverage of an environmental fight over fracking wastewater.His work has appeared in The Week, the Washington Post, Salon and the Omaha World-Herald, among other publications.

Six ways cannabis growers can defend their farms against wildfires

Published October 8, 2020

As outdoor cannabis growers contend with wildfires ravaging the western United States, the need for preventative steps is even more important now that fire season starts earlier and ends later. This year’s fires have torched roughly 6 million acres. They have destroyed cannabis farms and damaged crops, irrigation systems and facilities in California, Oregon and […]

Michigan to allow first-time marijuana licensees to apply for adult-use permits

Published October 6, 2020

Michigan will open up recreational cannabis licensing opportunities to applicants who did not previously hold medical marijuana licenses starting in March. The move is expected to help the legal cannabis industry in the state compete economically with the illicit market. According to MLive.com, the state’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency announced that licenses will be made available […]

Social equity concerns raised over Vermont adult-use cannabis bill

Published October 5, 2020

Vermont might encounter a hitch in the passage of a bill to regulate legal recreational marijuana sales, as a group of cannabis consumers and advocates are asking Gov. Phil Scott to veto the measure. According to Burlington TV station WCAX, about 50 people convened outside the Vermont statehouse on Sunday to protest Senate Bill 54, […]

Schwazze backs out of deal to acquire marijuana R&D firm MedPharm

Published October 1, 2020

Denver-based Schwazze said it has terminated its planned acquisition of MedPharm, a medical marijuana company in the same city that landed Colorado’s first cannabis research and development license. Schwazze said earlier this year it had moved forward on numerous term sheets with Colorado cannabis operators but had completed limited due diligence at that time. The […]

Ultra Health sues New Mexico over medical marijuana rules

Published October 1, 2020

Ultra Health, the largest medical cannabis company in New Mexico, is suing the state over MMJ rules the firm deems too restrictive. According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, the lawsuit claims the state health department’s new rules create obstacles for reciprocity for MMJ patients in other states as well as tribal governments. The lawsuit, […]

Western wildfire smoke delays outdoor cannabis harvest, exposing climate impact

Published October 1, 2020

The record wildfires that have blanketed the West Coast in smoke and ash also have blocked out essential sunlight and set back the growth of outdoor marijuana plants by weeks, leaving growers with less-than-ideal options for when to harvest their plants. Cannabis growers in California, Oregon and Washington state are contemplating two choices in the […]

Hawaii gets two more medical marijuana dispensaries

Published September 28, 2020

Hawaii’s medical marijuana program is adding two new dispensaries, even though the coronavirus pandemic has slowed the amount of tourists visiting the islands and, thus, participating in the state’s MMJ reciprocity program. The state health department approved: Hawaiian Ethos on Hawaii Island. Noa Botanical on Oahu. The two additional dispensaries are Hawaii’s 14th and 15th. […]

Week in Review: Illinois cannabis permits redo, Vermont adult-use progress, Oregon wildfires & more

Published September 26, 2020

Seventy marijuana dispensary applicants for recreational cannabis business licenses in Illinois dropped a lawsuit against the state after the governor allowed the losing bidders to make corrections and try again. The lawsuit argued that the state’s lottery to award 75 retail licenses used a scoring system that discriminated against some of the minority applicants. MJBizDaily […]

Whole Foods CEO John Mackey to keynote MJBizCon 2020

Published September 25, 2020

John Mackey, co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market as well as the co-author of “Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business,” will serve as the keynote speaker for MJBizCon 2020 in Las Vegas in December. Mackey also co-founded the Conscious Capitalism Movement, which is based on socially responsible economic principles. In his keynote, […]

Cannabis vape products with cutting agent recalled in Michigan

Published September 24, 2020

Michigan regulators recalled more than a dozen cannabis vape products sold in the Detroit area for containing a cutting agent linked to vaping-related lung illnesses. The state’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency issued a recall on vape pens that were tested in August and found to contain the thickener vitamin E acetate, a possible culprit in e-cigarette […]

Extreme weather patterns force cannabis growers to rethink cultivation strategies

Published September 24, 2020

As extreme weather events ravage the country from coast to coast – including wildfires, floods and early freezes – marijuana growers are being forced to reevaluate their risks and consider changes to their cultivation practices. Outdoor marijuana growers, in particular, are vulnerable to severe changes in weather, prompting farmers to consider moving their crops inside […]

California won’t increase cannabis taxes for a year thanks to new law

Published September 23, 2020

California cannabis companies won’t see their state taxes go up until at least next year. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 1872 (same language as Senate Bill 827), which prohibits the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration from adjusting the cannabis excise tax markup amount until July 1, 2021, the Modesto Bee […]