Marijuana Business Magazine - April 2018

Pennsylvania The first days of medical marijuana sales were limited by a lack of product variety, but overall, business owners called the launch a success. Beginning Feb. 15, six dis- pensaries began selling MMJ concentrates and oils. Two weeks after sales began, however, some dispensaries ran out of product because of limited supply and unexpected demand. That news coincided with an announcement that the state had approved two more dispensaries to open their doors. Rhode Island The push to legalize recreational marijuana hit a snag when a state commission delayed until next year issuing a recommendation that could have advanced the adult- use issue. The commission – a group of medical mari- juana patients, clinicians and law enforcement officials that was formed in June – won’t release a recommenda- tion on whether to legalize recreational cannabis in the state until 2019. A spokesman for the House speaker said that even though the commission delayed making a recommendation, adult-use legalization isn’t officially dead for the year. Washington state The state’s new seed-to-sale marijuana tracking system is up and running, but complications with the program spurred regulators to extend a traceability contingency plan through March. The state’s traceability contract with Florida-based BioTrackTHC ended last year, and regulators switched to Denver-based MJ Freeway’s Leaf Data Systems on Nov. 1, 2017. But Leaf Data wasn’t ready to go live at that point, so the state rolled out a contingency reporting plan that allowed licensees to manually upload traceability data. ◆ – Roger Fillion Note: Entries sourced from Marijuana Business Daily and other international, national and local news outlets. These develop- ments occurred before this magazine’s March publication dead- line, so some situations may have changed. Oregon An audit of the top marijuana regulatory agency found that the state’s marijuana tracking system lacked proper safeguards, making it easier for cannabis businesses to hide violations such as illegal sales. The findings came less than a week after Oregon’s top federal prosecutor said the state has a “formidable” problem with marijuana overproduction that winds up on the black market. The Secretary of State’s office said in September it planned to audit the Oregon Liquor Control Commission. 28 • Marijuana Business Magazine • April 2018