MMJ Business Daily

Florida adds 10,000 medical marijuana patients since early June

Florida has added more than 10,000 patients to its medical marijuana registry in the past month and a half – a clear indicator of the potential size of the state’s market and how quickly it could expand.

The total patient pool is now just shy of 27,000, Orlando TV station News13 reported. That’s an increase of more than 10,000 from June 7, when the registry was at 16,760 patients.

As the patient pool grows, so do business opportunities.

Under a law enacted in June, Florida will allow four additional business licenses when the patient

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Florida adds 10,000 medical marijuana patients since early June is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

New York OKs five new medical cannabis businesses

New York authorized five more companies to manufacture and dispense medical marijuana in the state, which has the potential to significantly expand an MMJ industry that has struggled.

The five companies approved Tuesday by the Department of Health and the counties they’ll serve:

• Citiva Medical, Orange
• Fiorello Pharmaceuticals, Schenectady
• New York Canna, Onondaga
• PalliaTech NY, Ulster
• Valley Agriceuticals, Orange

The five new companies bring to 10 the number of medical marijuana businesses in New York, which has more than 25,000 certified patients and 1,000 registered practitioners, according to the health department.

State law permits each

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New York OKs five new medical cannabis businesses is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Hawaii approves first medical marijuana testing lab

Hawaii’s Department of Health issued its first provisional certification to a medical marijuana testing lab, bringing the state’s eight vertically integrated dispensaries closer to opening their doors.

Honolulu-based Steep Hill Hawaii, which was certified Monday, will need about four days to test and return product, according to the lab’s owner, Dana Ciccone.

That means Hawaii dispensaries that have marijuana ready to test, such as Aloha Green, could start selling products soon.

Aloha Green, also based in Honolulu, was hoping to begin the lab testing process Tuesday, according to its owner.

After a dispensary receives its tested product, however,

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Hawaii approves first medical marijuana testing lab is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Poll: Utah voters overwhelmingly support medical cannabis

Over 75% of Utah voters support a proposed initiative that could appear on the 2018 statewide ballot to legalize medical marijuana, meaning the state could be one of the next to embrace MMJ.

According to a poll by Dan Jones & Associates, 45% of respondents strongly support the initiative, while another 33% somewhat support it, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. In addition, a separate study by the Tribune and the Hinckley Institute of Politics found that 77% of voters back the initiative.

That means the campaign may have a fairly easy time getting past the

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Poll: Utah voters overwhelmingly support medical cannabis is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

$770 million windfall: Canadian marijuana companies see surge in new investments

By Matt Lamers

Canada’s marijuana-related companies collectively raised more than $770 million dollars in the first half of 2017 – a nearly 1,700% increase from a year earlier – as businesses prepare to ramp up production to meet growing demand at home and abroad.

The funding windfall comes as Canadian cannabis companies are preparing to boost supply in response to:

• The planned start of recreational cannabis sales in Canada next summer.
• The nation’s booming medical marijuana market.
• Overseas demand for their products.

The U.S. dollar-based funding total – provided to Marijuana

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$770 million windfall: Canadian marijuana companies see surge in new investments is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Massachusetts to fast-track MMJ firms for rec marijuana licenses

Registered medical marijuana businesses in Massachusetts will be fast-tracked for recreational licenses in an effort by legislators to sidestep a potential supply shortfall.

Lawmakers believe MMJ businesses could play a crucial role in the supply chain when recreational cannabis goes into effect in July 2018, the Boston Herald reported.

When the adult-use licensing process opens next April, Sen. Patricia Jehlen expects the bulk of the state’s registered MMJ businesses to apply, the newspaper reported. She and other legislators believe giving those MMJ companies first crack at rec licenses will help Massachusetts avoid supply issues like those

Massachusetts to fast-track MMJ firms for rec marijuana licenses is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

California lawmakers seek to expedite cannabis rulemaking

In a move to ensure they can meet their January 2018 deadline to establish a new regulatory system for medical and recreational marijuana businesses, California legislators have established an “emergency rulemaking process” that won’t include a normal public comment period.

The lawmakers fear that going through a typical comment period would prevent the state from issuing marijuana business licenses beginning Jan. 2, The Cannifornian reported. Missing that mandated deadline would also delay the launch of the state’s recreational industry.

The new emergency regulations for the state’s medical cannabis market are expected sometime “this fall,” according to the news

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California lawmakers seek to expedite cannabis rulemaking is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

New Jersey awards state’s final medical marijuana license

Six years and several executive and investor changes later, Harmony Foundation became the sixth and final medical marijuana business in New Jersey to get its cultivation license.

The dispensary plans to be operational by the end of the year, NJ.com reported.

Harmony will operate as a vertically integrated grow and dispensing business out of a 10,000-square-foot greenhouse and retail space in Secaucus, New Jersey, according to the news outlet.

The dispensary – which will be a couple of miles from the New Jersey Meadowlands Sports Complex – expects to be able to serve 4,000 patients in a

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New Jersey awards state’s final medical marijuana license is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Canada’s Aurora Cannabis moves into hemp via investment deal

Aurora Cannabis Inc. agreed to proceed with its 3.2 million Canadian dollar ($2.5 million) strategic investment in Hempco Food and Fiber Inc., securing a 19.9 percent stake in the Burnaby, British Columbia-based company and access to a rapidly growing health supplement market.

Aurora will have an option to raise its total interest in Hempco to 50.1 percent, a move that would give it a controlling stake in the Canadian hemp company. Terms are subject to shareholder approval.

Hempco (TSX Venture Exchange: HEMP) is one of the world’s largest producers of industrial hemp products.

Aurora Cannabis Enterprises (TSX Exchange: ACB), a wholly-owned

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Canada’s Aurora Cannabis moves into hemp via investment deal is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Canada’s Aurora Cannabis moves into hemp via investment deal

Aurora Cannabis Inc. agreed to proceed with its 3.2 million Canadian dollar ($2.5 million) strategic investment in Hempco Food and Fiber Inc., securing a 19.9 percent stake in the Burnaby, British Columbia-based company and access to a rapidly growing health supplement market.

Aurora will have an option to raise its total interest in Hempco to 50.1 percent, a move that would give it a controlling stake in the Canadian hemp company. Terms are subject to shareholder approval.

Hempco (TSX Venture Exchange: HEMP) is one of the world’s largest producers of industrial hemp products.

Aurora Cannabis Enterprises (TSX Exchange: ACB), a wholly-owned

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Canada’s Aurora Cannabis moves into hemp via investment deal is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs