California lawmakers deferred a plan that would have allowed private banks to handle the money being generated by the legal cannabis industry. The proposal was put on ice after a legislative analysis determined it would face significant obstacles, including a lack of protection for state banks from federal law enforcement, the Los Angeles Times reported. The […]
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Ohio licenses two processors, two testing labs in medical cannabis buildup
In a move to ramp up Ohio’s medical marijuana program, state regulators have issued provisional licenses to two additional cannabis processors and two more testing labs. The licenses bring the total number of processors to nine, with four more applications in progress, according to state officials. There are now four authorized testing labs. Ohio legalized […]
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Arkansas picks Boston firm to rank medical marijuana applicants
Arkansas picked a Boston-based consultant to grade the 200-plus applications submitted for the state’s first medical marijuana dispensary licenses. The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission decided to outsource dispensary license scoring to a third-party group after a controversial cultivation licensing process earlier this year. Public Consulting Group was one of just two companies to respond to […]
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Week in Review: California cannabis home delivery, the ‘real’ Sanjay Gupta & ND to vote on adult-use MJ
California cities push back on proposed regulation changes around home marijuana deliveries, a Canadian CBD company signs a branding agreement with “Dr. Sanjay Gupta” – but not the one you may think – and a North Dakota recreational cannabis measure gets approved for the November ballot. Here’s a closer look at some notable developments in […]
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Breaking down the big deal behind Constellation’s bet on cannabis and Wall Street’s involvement
Constellation Brands’ multibillion-dollar wager on Canopy Growth is huge – record setting even – but a much larger story is lighting up across the cannabis industry: Wall Street has arrived. Financial heavyweights Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Merrill Lynch are officially dabbling in the marijuana industry now, which is a move observers call a […]
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Louisiana expected to begin growing medical cannabis Aug. 17
Louisiana’s first legal crop of medical marijuana can be planted this week. Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain, whose agency regulates the state’s burgeoning industry, loosened a regulatory logjam that created a monthslong delay. Strain’s team met with Louisiana State University AgCenter Chancellor Bill Richardson and the head of the school’s marijuana contractor, GB Sciences Louisiana, to […]
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Alleged fraud, theft, defamation, drug abuse: Longtime marijuana industry insiders prep for court battle
A legal battle royale between two cannabis consulting firms in Los Angeles will pit industry insiders and former friends against each other in a case that exemplifies how cutthroat the marijuana business has become. In one corner is Avis Bulbulyan, CEO of SIVA Enterprises and a member of the California Cannabis Advisory Committee, which works […]
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Bruce Linton discusses deploying CA$5 billion, Canopy’s commitment to international growth
(This story has been updated from an earlier version.) Canopy Growth, a Canadian medical marijuana giant, is taking a massive 5 billion Canadian dollar ($3.8 billion) investment and going all in on worldwide medical and recreational cannabis business opportunities, the company’s CEO, Bruce Linton, said Thursday during an exclusive, wide-ranging question-and-answer session at MJBizConINT’L in Toronto. Constellation Brands […]
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Black market cited as CA nets only $74 million on second-quarter marijuana taxes
California cannabis taxes continued to miss expectations in the second quarter of 2018, bringing in roughly $74 million to state coffers. The state’s thriving illicit market is likely a big reason, as is the fact that most local governments in California still prohibit legal marijuana businesses and sales. “After six months of legal cannabis sales, […]
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‘Global paradigm shift’: International cannabis business opportunities will accelerate
Hours after Constellation Brands announced its marijuana-industry-record investment of 5 billion Canadian dollars ($3.8 billion) in Canada’s Canopy Growth, experts told cannabis entrepreneurs and investors at MJBizConINT’L in Toronto on Wednesday that global cannabis business opportunities will rapidly accelerate. The move by Constellation – which owns, distributes and markets 100 beer, wine and spirits brands, including Corona and Robert […]
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Ohio growers plant the seeds for medical cannabis launch
Newly licensed cultivators in Ohio just started putting seeds in the ground, providing additional proof that a launch to the state’s medical marijuana program is still months away. Buckeye Relief, one of three cultivators that have been given the green light to start growing, told The Enquirer of Cincinnati that it planted its first seeds on […]
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Dispensary on Hawaii’s Big Island approved to cultivate medical marijuana
The Hawaii Department of Health signaled a green light for a medical cannabis dispensary to start growing on the Big Island. Hawaiian Ethos is the seventh dispensary to open a production center in the state and the first on the Big Island. The Big Island, which has the second-highest patient count behind Oahu, was the […]
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