MMJ Business Daily

Vermont forms commission to study marijuana legalization 

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott has established a Marijuana Advisory Commission that will study the best way to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in the state.

The commission created Thursday must issue a report to the legislature by January.

In May, the Republican governor vetoed a limited recreational marijuana bill passed by the Legislature that would have legalized adult use but not established a full-fledged rec program involving cultivation and sales.

The governor said he’s not philosophically opposed to legalizing marijuana, but he wants to study issues such as how sales should be taxed, impaired driving and how to keep it away

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Vermont forms commission to study marijuana legalization  is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Week in Review: MMJ setback in Congress, Scotts repositions, Texas CBD takes a small step

By Omar Sacirbey, Bart Schaneman and John Schroyer

Medical marijuana safeguards suffer a setback in Congress, Scotts Miracle-Gro divests overseas to focus on North America opportunities – including MJ – and Texas approves a CBD producer.

Here’s a closer look at some notable developments in the marijuana industry over the past week.

DC dings cannabis

The powerful U.S. House Committee on Rules rattled the marijuana industry when it blocked floor votes on key amendments that protect medical marijuana from federal interference.

The maneuver doesn’t kill the protections – they can still be kept alive by the Senate. But it underscores

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Week in Review: MMJ setback in Congress, Scotts repositions, Texas CBD takes a small step is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Nebraska attorney general calls CBD products illegal

Hemp-based CBD stores are now open in Nebraska, but their owners are spooked after the state attorney general told law enforcement and county attorneys that cannabidiol products are illegal.

In a memo, Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson said CBD products aren’t legal in the state because they haven’t been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to Omaha TV station KETV.

He did make one exception: for those CBD products obtained through an authorized research study at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

After news of the memo broke, retailer CBD American Shaman saw customers bringing

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Nebraska attorney general calls CBD products illegal is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Cannabis law firm to run ads on CNN, other cable networks

In a victory for cannabis-related businesses, the marijuana-centric Hoban Law Group is running a national advertisement on CNN and six other major cable TV networks.

The news marks a watershed for cannabis advertising, as most television stations have strictly avoided broadcasting marijuana-related ads so as to not run afoul of federal regulators.

In 2015, for example, a Denver TV station initially agreed to air commercials for a cannabis retail chain but then got cold feet and pulled out of the deal.

The Hoban ad is also being aired on Fox News, MSNBC, Viceland, The Weather

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Cannabis law firm to run ads on CNN, other cable networks is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

House committee blocks votes on medical marijuana protections

The House of Representatives’ Rules Committee has blocked floor votes on several key amendments that protect medical marijuana from federal interference.

The late Wednesday night maneuver doesn’t kill the protections, but it does show that marijuana opponents have not given up efforts to reverse legalization and kill the industry, The Cannabist reported.

The amendments – including the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment (previously known as Rohrabacher-Farr), which prohibits the Justice Department from using federal dollars to go after medical marijuana programs – had been included on a federal appropriations bill. Congressional lawmakers have passed the amendments every year since 2014.

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House committee blocks votes on medical marijuana protections is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Prince Edward Island weighs government-run cannabis stores

Another Canadian province is signaling that recreational marijuana could be sold through a government-run monopoly, which would severely curtail business opportunities for entrepreneurs wanting a piece of the retail pie.

Prince Edward Island Premier Wade MacLauchlan told CBC News that his province is considering stand-alone, government-run stores for the sale of adult-use cannabis versus privately owned retail outlets.

Neighboring New Brunswick is also leaning toward a government-run marijuana monopoly, while in Quebec, a forum of experts commissioned by the province concluded that “a monopoly is the option that offers the best guarantees for achieving public health and

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Prince Edward Island weighs government-run cannabis stores is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

California tribes band together to defend marijuana business rights

A new association of Native American tribes is asking California’s governor to start discussions that will ensure the state’s marijuana rules respect tribal sovereignty and allow the groups to self-regulate so they aren’t left behind as the newly regulated cannabis market develops.

The California Native American Cannabis Association’s move comes as the state tries to implement a new regulatory system for recreational and medical marijuana by January 2018 under a law that doesn’t address tribal sovereignty, Indian Country Today reported.

One of the association’s goals is to allow tribes to enter the marijuana industry

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California tribes band together to defend marijuana business rights is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Marijuana executives making push into mainstream politics

By John Schroyer

Cannabis entrepreneur Todd Mitchem announced in a late-August email blast that he’s running for Congress, and the subject line even referred to the Coloradan as a “marijuana industry leader.”

He’s one of at least five current candidates for public office around the United States who have direct professional connections to marijuana.

And, like Mitchem, they’re all quite open about those ties.

“There was a time, not that long ago, that being for marijuana would be considered a weakness in running for office. Now, not only is it not a weakness, but it’s a perceived strength,” said Michael Bronstein,

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Marijuana executives making push into mainstream politics is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Canada’s Tilray to spend $24M to build marijuana facility in Portugal

By Matt Lamers

Tilray plans to spend 20 million euros ($24 million) to build a medical marijuana production facility in Portugal to serve the European Union, becoming the second Canadian licensed producer to unveil plans to build an overseas cultivation operation for exporting MMJ.

Thursday’s announcement comes a day after Toronto-based Cronos Group disclosed it is partnering with an Israeli collective settlement to grow medical marijuana in northern Israel for export to Germany and elsewhere in Europe.

The announcements mark a major shift among Canadian LPs which, until now, have been exporting medical

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Canada’s Tilray to spend $24M to build marijuana facility in Portugal is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Colorado edibles company expands into six states, Puerto Rico

A high-selling, infused products brand in Colorado that recently expanded into California and Nevada now plans to enter four more states and Puerto Rico this year and next.

Incredibles – which is manufactured by Colorado-based Medically Correct, a subsidiary of MC Brands holding company – will be on sale in Oregon and Puerto Rico by the end of 2017 and in Arizona, Illinois and Michigan in 2018, the company announced in a news release.

The expansion was accomplished through licensing agreements and partnerships with companies in the expansion areas. One of Incredibles’ collaborations is with CW Nevada, but

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Colorado edibles company expands into six states, Puerto Rico is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs