MMJ Business Daily

Ongoing ‘harassment’ of Los Angeles marijuana businesses creates climate of fear

By John Schroyer

Los Angeles may be on its way to becoming the epicenter of the cannabis industry, but many marijuana firms still feel persecuted.

Although L.A. voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure to establish cannabis business rules, companies still face police raids or other harassment from city agencies, sources told Marijuana Business Daily.

Ongoing ‘harassment’ of Los Angeles marijuana businesses creates climate of fear is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Ohio college ready to test state’s medical marijuana, partner says

A company says it has secured a partnership with an Ohio university to test medical marijuana for the state’s fledgling MMJ program, though the firm declined to identify the school.

CCV Research – based in Sheffield Village, Ohio – will construct a medical cannabis testing lab on the university’s property, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported, noting that CEO John Cachat offered sketchy details about the arrangement.

Cachat wrote in an email to Marijuana Business Daily that CCV Research has a meeting planned with the university this week and will release the school’s name “ASAP,” pending some “internal homework” by the

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Ohio college ready to test state’s medical marijuana, partner says is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Report: Canadian exchange ‘open’ to medical MJ firms with US ties

One of Canada’s stock exchanges has sought to ease concerns it could become harder for investors to trade the shares of Canadian marijuana companies with U.S. assets, saying such businesses can list their stocks provided they meet disclosure rules and other listing standards.

The Canadian Securities Exchange is “open for business” for MMJ companies with cannabis assets in the United States, The Globe and Mail reported.

The CSE has become a “hotbed” for marijuana companies looking to go public. Forty-six of the CSE’s 301 listings are marijuana-related companies, and 10 of those have business interests in the United

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Report: Canadian exchange ‘open’ to medical MJ firms with US ties is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Florida bank opens its arms to medical marijuana businesses

A bank has taken the unusual step of embracing medical marijuana businesses in Florida.

Orlando-based First Green Bank has opened accounts and granted financial services to six of Florida’s seven licensed MMJ producers, according to The Palm Beach Post.

First Green Bank’s services include accepting large cash deposits from marijuana firms and – without touching the money – transporting the funds straight from the business to a Federal Reserve location via armored trucks.

The bank – which apparently is the only Florida financial institution working with medical cannabis businesses – has already taken in $30 million in

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Florida bank opens its arms to medical marijuana businesses is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

AG Sessions questions cannabis regulatory efficacy in CO, WA

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has contacted the governors of Colorado and Washington state and, using parallel language, questioned the effectiveness of state regulations designed to comply with the 2013 Cole Memo.

In letters to Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee, Sessions referenced reports from the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), which compiled information in 2016 about general effects of cannabis legalization in both states, the Denver Post reported.

The attorney general suggested the first two recreational marijuana states haven’t done an adequate job of controlling cannabis production.

“This report raises serious questions

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AG Sessions questions cannabis regulatory efficacy in CO, WA is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Chart: Many operational marijuana businesses are seeking funding in 2017

By Eli McVey
In most sectors of the marijuana industry, roughly 50% of revenue-generating companies are either actively trying to raise capital or plan to this year, according to data in the newly released Marijuana Business Factbook 2017.
Chart: Many …

Nevada high court: Medical MJ business licenses are private

The Nevada Supreme Court has ruled that the names of people who possess medical marijuana business licenses in the state are confidential and don’t have to be made available to the public.

The court’s decision stems from a lawsuit filed by the Reno Gazette-Journal against the city of Sparks in 2015.

The newspaper demanded that the municipality turn over unredacted copies of MMJ business licenses. The city had previously provided copies of the MMJ licenses with redacted names to the Gazette-Journal and then denied follow-up requests for copies that weren’t redacted, prompting the lawsuit.

In the

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Nevada high court: Medical MJ business licenses are private is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Task force tells AG Sessions to keep status quo for legal cannabis

A task force assembled by Attorney General Jeff Sessions is giving him no ammunition to go after the legal marijuana industry, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

The Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety has offered no new policy recommendations to advance the attorney general’s aggressively anti-marijuana views.

The group’s report largely reiterates the current Department of Justice’s policy on marijuana.

The task force encourages officials to keep studying whether to change or rescind the Obama administration’s hands-off approach to enforcement – a stance that’s allowed the nation’s experiment with legal cannabis

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Task force tells AG Sessions to keep status quo for legal cannabis is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Massachusetts marijuana oversight board is taking shape

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker on Friday picked five people to serve on a Cannabis Advisory Board that will help guide regulators enforcing recreational and medical marijuana laws.

The governor’s selections bring to 15 the number of advisory board members.

The panel eventually will consist of 25 members, who will be tasked with offering recommendations to the Cannabis Control Commission. The five-member commission, which must be in place by Sept. 1, will regulate Massachusetts’ cannabis sector.

The governor’s appointees, according to The Boston Globe:

• John Carmichael: Town of Walpole’s police chief and staunch opponent of cannabis use.
• Kim Napoli: Labor

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Massachusetts marijuana oversight board is taking shape is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Possible policy changes could restrict Canadian cannabis stocks

The shares of five cannabis businesses on the Toronto Stock Exchange were down Friday after the Globe and Mail reported that a key company that clears trades was weighing changes that would make it harder for investors to deal in the shares of Canadian marijuana firms with U.S. assets.

According to the newspaper, Canadian Depository for Securities (CDS) – a clearing house owned by the operator of the Toronto Stock Exchange, TMX Ltd. – is mulling whether to refuse to settle trades involving a handful of MJ firms with U.S. holdings. CDS clears millions of trades daily between buyers and sellers.

Among

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Possible policy changes could restrict Canadian cannabis stocks is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs