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John Schroyer

A Sacramento-based journalist, John had focused on Colorado politics for most of his career, which included covering the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver. In 2012, he covered the Amendment 64 campaign to legalize recreational marijuana for The Colorado Springs Gazette. As then-video editor for The Gazette, he was on hand for the first-ever legal recreational marijuana sale in Denver on Jan. 1, 2014. He’s been writing about the cannabis industry since joining Marijuana Business Daily over the summer of 2014.

A marijuana pioneer changes course: Q&A with Harborside co-founder Steve DeAngelo

Published 46 mins ago

Steve DeAngelo is one of the marijuana industry’s most high-profile pioneers. But earlier this month, DeAngelo and the Oakland, California-based company he co-founded in 2006, Harborside, formally parted ways. Moreover, the role of chair emeritus, which DeAngelo held starting in 2018, was eliminated. “I wish Harborside the very best as it continues to promote wellness […]

Judge: California has 30 days to inform marijuana firms about billboard ban

Published 15 hours ago

A California judge ruled this week that state marijuana regulators have 30 days to inform businesses of a new ban on billboard advertising. San Luis Obispo County Superior Court Judge Ginger Garrett ruled in November that billboards advertising cannabis sales or products were illegal under Proposition 64, the 2016 ballot measure that legalized recreational marijuana […]

Colorado hits $2B for 2020 marijuana sales – with December still to count

Published January 13, 2021

The oldest adult-use marijuana market in the United States, Colorado, hit a milestone in 2020 when sales surpassed $2 billion for the first time in a calendar year. And that total did not include sales figures for December. According to the Denver Post, sales for the month of November were $175.1 million, including $140.5 million […]

Multiple marijuana businesses sue Michigan city over licensing process

Published January 12, 2021

Ten marijuana companies filed suit against the Detroit suburb of Berkley, Michigan, in an attempt to overturn a license scoring process that left all of them without business permits. According to C&G Newspapers, the city identified three cannabis companies as top scorers for marijuana business licenses and left out 27 additional applicants that had thrown […]

California marijuana regulatory merger on track for July

Published January 11, 2021

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2020 proposal – to merge the three regulatory agencies that oversee the state’s marijuana industry into one new department – has finally been rescheduled and is now slated to be completed by July. Though the merger is pending approval from lawmakers, the move is part of Newsom’s 2021-22 budget proposal and […]

CA Legislature might ban smokable hemp, permit hemp food, drinks

Published January 11, 2021

(A version of this story first appeared at Hemp Industry Daily.) California lawmakers will be faced again with the long-debated question of whether to allow hemp extracts in food and beverages in the state when the legislative session opens Monday. But this time, the proposal comes with a twist: The measure would also ban smokable […]

Vireo closes $4 million purchase of Nevada cannabis production facilities

Published January 8, 2021

Cannabis multistate operator Vireo Health said it has finally closed on a 2018 deal valued at $4 million to purchase four Nevada marijuana production licenses. According to a news release, the permits are only for cultivation and manufacturing and won’t allow Minnesota-based Vireo to enter the retail side of the Nevada cannabis market. Still, it […]

Chart showing historic wildfire season for 2020

Some cannabis growers still counting cost of wildfires, but most say industry dodged a bullet

Published January 8, 2021

Although the West Coast wildfire season has been over for months, some marijuana companies are still picking up the pieces from a historic wave of blazes that forced thousands to evacuate and endangered countless cannabis businesses across California, Oregon and Washington state. California-based Indus Holdings is a case in point. The vertically integrated company – […]

L.A. marijuana businesses seek hearings over expired city permits

Published January 6, 2021

A small band of the roughly 57 companies whose marijuana business permits expired on New Year’s Eve filed a lawsuit asking a California state judge to order Los Angeles officials to conduct an appeals process or at least a hearing over their licenses not being renewed. According to Law360.com, three licensed businesses – Paradise Factory, […]

Biden to tap Merrick Garland for attorney general, offering stark contrast to anti-cannabis AGs under Trump

Published January 6, 2021

President-elect Joe Biden has settled on Merrick Garland as his nominee for U.S. attorney general, multiple news organizations reported Wednesday, tapping a federal judge who is likely to be less hostile to the marijuana industry than President Trump’s top law enforcement officers.

UFCW wins $75,000 settlement in California cannabis workers’ pay dispute

Published January 4, 2021

The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) is claiming victory in a lengthy dispute with three California companies over employee wages at two cannabis shops that changed ownership hands multiple times in 2020.

California marijuana firm Harborside, co-founder Steve DeAngelo cut ties

Published January 4, 2021

One of the most high-profile marijuana businessmen in the industry, Harborside co-founder Steve DeAngelo, is no longer formally affiliated with the Oakland, California, company he helped start in 2006.