MMJ Business Daily

Alaska recreational marijuana shop owners eye tourists in push for onsite consumption

By Bart Schaneman

Alaska’s recreational marijuana business owners are fighting for the right to outfit their shops with a separate space to accommodate full consumption, including smoking, on their premises.

The move is largely designed so they can offer the 1 million-plus tourists who visit the state every year a place to consume cannabis.

After months of rec business owners quibbling with the state’s Marijuana Control Board during public comment sessions over how onsite consumption should look, the panel finally voted to start drafting the regulations.

If those rules are finalized, the Last Frontier would become the first

…

Alaska recreational marijuana shop owners eye tourists in push for onsite consumption is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Seven firms apply to run Louisiana university’s medical cannabis grow

Southern University in Louisiana has received seven applications from private companies bidding to run the school’s medical marijuana cultivation operation, including three that failed to win a similar contract with Louisiana State University.

According to The Advocate of Baton Rouge, the university received applications from:

• Advanced Bio Medical
• AquaPharm
• Citiva Louisiana
• Columbia Care
• Med Louisiana
• Southern Roots
• United States Hemp Corp.

Citiva, Columbia and Southern Roots also attempted to win the Louisiana State University contract, which ultimately went to Nevada-based GB Sciences.

Southern is expected to finish reviewing the applications by the

…

Seven firms apply to run Louisiana university’s medical cannabis grow is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Uruguay kicks off recreational marijuana sales

Marijuana aficionados lined up at pharmacies across Uruguay on Wednesday to be among the first in the South American nation to legally buy cannabis as a law regulating its sale took full effect.

Customers showed off blue-and-white envelopes containing the substance, which is now available as part a 2013 measure that made Uruguay the first nation to legalize a marijuana market covering the entire chain from plants to purchase.

Santiago Pinatares, a 35-year-old construction worker, braved freezing temperatures in the capital, Montevideo, as he waited outside one of the 16 pharmacies authorized to sell marijuana.

“To be

…

Uruguay kicks off recreational marijuana sales is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Manitoba premier urges recreational cannabis delay

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister has been lobbying fellow provincial and territorial leaders to support a delayed launch of Canada’s recreational marijuana program by a year, from July 1, 2018, to July 1, 2019.

Pallister said he wants to put the program on hold for a year to give the nation more time to develop consistent policies on such issues as age minimums, distribution and zoning, the Toronto Star reported.

The adult-use legislation proposed by the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau gives the federal government authority over cannabis cultivation but leaves distribution methods, age questions

…

Manitoba premier urges recreational cannabis delay is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

First Arkansas town approves medical marijuana regulations

The first municipality in Arkansas has granted formal approval to local rules that will govern medical marijuana companies that operate within its borders, setting the stage for the rest of the state to follow suit.

Texarkana’s board of directors on Monday approved business license fees for dispensaries and medical cannabis growers, TV station KSLA reported.

Growers must pony up $50,000 for a business permit, while dispensaries will have to pay an initial $7,500 and then $11,000 for yearly license renewals, according to the Shreveport, Louisiana TV station.

Texarkana’s city manager told KSLA that dispensaries could be operational

…

First Arkansas town approves medical marijuana regulations is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

FAQ: What businesses need to know about Massachusetts’ recreational marijuana program

By Omar Sacirbey

Massachusetts’ recreational marijuana market can expect an influx of business license applications now that lawmakers have agreed on an adult-use bill that will serve as the framework for the new industry.

The market will be strong, observers predict, but the stakes will be high for a coveted license.

Four insiders in the Massachusetts cannabis industry helped Marijuana Business Daily identify some of the most frequently asked questions that potential business owners are likely to have about the bill and the state’s future adult-use market:

• Democratic state Sen. Patricia Jehlen, a member of the
  

…

FAQ: What businesses need to know about Massachusetts’ recreational marijuana program is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Health department delaying Hawaii’s medical cannabis market

Most of Hawaii’s medical marijuana dispensaries are ready to do business, but they’re awaiting action by the state’s Department of Health.

A year after Hawaii’s licensed dispensaries were allowed to open by law, at least three of the eight have product ready for market and six have been approved to cultivate marijuana, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.

However, the dispensaries are waiting on the Department of Health to approve the state’s three testing labs – PharmLabs Hawaii, Clinical Laboratories of Hawaii and Steep Hill Labs – and MMJ inventory needs to be tested for purity and potency

…

Health department delaying Hawaii’s medical cannabis market is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Health department delaying Hawaii’s medical cannabis market

Most of Hawaii’s medical marijuana dispensaries are ready to do business, but they’re awaiting action by the state’s Department of Health.

A year after Hawaii’s licensed dispensaries were allowed to open by law, at least three of the eight have product ready for market and six have been approved to cultivate marijuana, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.

However, the dispensaries are waiting on the Department of Health to approve the state’s three testing labs – PharmLabs Hawaii, Clinical Laboratories of Hawaii and Steep Hill Labs – and MMJ inventory needs to be tested for purity and potency

…

Health department delaying Hawaii’s medical cannabis market is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Marijuana advocacy group Drug Policy Alliance hires director

One of the nation’s top marijuana reform organizations, Drug Policy Alliance, has a new leader.

DPA’s board of directors on Tuesday unanimously selected Maria McFarland Sanchez-Moreno to serve as executive director, according to a news release.

McFarland Sanchez-Moreno – currently a co-director of Human Rights Watch’s U.S. program – replaces Ethan Nadelmann.

Nadelmann stepped down as head of the New York-based nonprofit on May 1 after leading the organization for 17 years.

McFarland Sanchez-Moreno – who will take the DPA helm on Sept. 5 – has roughly 13 years of drug policy experience with Human

…

Marijuana advocacy group Drug Policy Alliance hires director is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Marijuana advocacy group Drug Policy Alliance hires director

One of the nation’s top marijuana reform organizations, Drug Policy Alliance, has a new leader.

DPA’s board of directors on Tuesday unanimously selected Maria McFarland Sanchez-Moreno to serve as executive director, according to a news release.

McFarland Sanchez-Moreno – currently a co-director of Human Rights Watch’s U.S. program – replaces Ethan Nadelmann.

Nadelmann stepped down as head of the New York-based nonprofit on May 1 after leading the organization for 17 years.

McFarland Sanchez-Moreno – who will take the DPA helm on Sept. 5 – has roughly 13 years of drug policy experience with Human

…

Marijuana advocacy group Drug Policy Alliance hires director is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs