MMJ Business Daily

North Dakota eyes spring 2018 start for medical cannabis sales

Medical marijuana sales in North Dakota would begin next spring under the state’s tentative timeline for its MMJ industry.

The state Health Department plans to open the application process for growers and dispensaries in early August and close it at the end of September. The agency would review applications in October and make selections in early November.

Regulators estimate cultivators will need about six months to set up facilities and grow the first medical marijuana crop. If the timeline plays out, sales would begin in April, May or June 2018. That timeframe falls within the department’s earlier estimates.

“I think

…

North Dakota eyes spring 2018 start for medical cannabis sales is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Merger creates one of Arizona’s biggest medical marijuana firms

Harvest, a multistate medical marijuana company based in Tempe, Arizona, has merged with Modern Flower of Guadalupe to create what Harvest said is the largest MMJ operator in the state.

The deal is the latest in what is expected to be a period of heavy M&A activity in the cannabis industry.

The merger with Modern Flower gives Harvest six more medical cannabis licenses in Arizona and an 18,000-square-foot cultivation facility in Cottonwood, according to a company news release. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

Harvest already operates Arizona dispensaries in Tempe and Scottsdale, a

…

Merger creates one of Arizona’s biggest medical marijuana firms is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Puerto Rico enacts new medical cannabis law

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello has signed into law an updated medical marijuana statute after deciding a previous MMJ legalization measure wasn’t thorough enough.

Roughly 20 medical marijuana dispensaries are already operating on the island, according to a count by Weedmaps. The dispensaries began opening for business in January after the island’s health department promulgated industry rules a year earlier.

Rossello said the new law is intended to safeguard patient safety and also “highlights the role of research and development of medicinal cannabis, which in turn will promote economic development

…

Puerto Rico enacts new medical cannabis law is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Hemp-based CBD market continues its enormous growth

By John Schroyer

Just as the marijuana industry has exploded in recent years, so too has a sector that revolves around the plant’s non-psychoactive cousin: hemp.

In particular, demand for hemp-based cannabidiol has skyrocketed, and the resulting need nationwide for more CBD-based health products helped give birth to a new industry that parallels the larger cannabis market.

Hemp-based CBD market continues its enormous growth is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Facing rec MJ shortage, Nevada considers ’emergency’ action

Higher-than-expected recreational marijuana sales have prompted Nevada officials to consider adopting an emergency regulation that could alleviate a supply shortage that has hit the state since its adult-use law went into effect July 1.

A “statement of emergency” endorsed by Nevada’s governor would allow the Department of Taxation to consider a larger pool of applicants for distribution licenses that allow the transport of recreational marijuana from cultivation and packaging sites to retailers. The Tax Commission will vote on the regulation Thursday.

As of Friday, Nevada regulators hadn’t issued any distribution licenses, and medical marijuana dispensaries with adult-use licenses are permitted to sell

…

Facing rec MJ shortage, Nevada considers ’emergency’ action is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Facing rec MJ shortage, Nevada considers ’emergency’ action

Higher-than-expected recreational marijuana sales have prompted Nevada officials to consider adopting an emergency regulation that could alleviate a supply shortage that has hit the state since its adult-use law went into effect July 1.

A “statement of emergency” endorsed by Nevada’s governor would allow the Department of Taxation to consider a larger pool of applicants for distribution licenses that allow the transport of recreational marijuana from cultivation and packaging sites to retailers. The Tax Commission will vote on the regulation Thursday.

As of Friday, Nevada regulators hadn’t issued any distribution licenses, and medical marijuana dispensaries with adult-use licenses are permitted to sell

…

Facing rec MJ shortage, Nevada considers ’emergency’ action is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Facebook shuts down marijuana retailers’ pages in Alaska

Facebook has deleted or taken down several pages belonging to Alaska marijuana retailers, making cannabis businesses in the state the latest to be hit by the tech giant’s occasional displays of cannaphobia.

Marijuana businesses in Alaska and other states already face severe advertising restrictions, and Facebook’s moves will only make it more difficult for cannabis companies to reach their clientele.

Owners and employees of at least six Alaskan cannabis retailers say Facebook shut down their stores’ pages in the past week, according to Alaska Dispatch News.

Facebook took down the pages about the same time that Facebook

…

Facebook shuts down marijuana retailers’ pages in Alaska is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Massachusetts allots $2M to recreational cannabis commission

Massachusetts will funnel $2 million into a state marijuana commission tasked with implementing the state’s recreational cannabis law.

The funding is part of a compromise budget lawmakers passed last week.

The budget compromise could lead to the resumption of negotiations between a House-Senate committee on regulations tied to the adult-use marijuana law approved by Massachusetts voters last year. The House Speaker temporarily suspended those talks last week, saying he wanted lawmakers to focus on budget talks.

…

Massachusetts allots $2M to recreational cannabis commission is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Chart: Most marijuana infused product companies have diversified their offerings

By Eli McVey 

The lion’s share of cannabis infused product makers have chosen to expand into multiple categories of goods rather than focus exclusively on a single segment such as edibles, concentrates or topicals.

The diversification appears aimed at allowing infused product companies to maximize their revenue in a competitive environment that grows more intense by the day.

Data published in the newly released Marijuana Business Factbook 2017 shows that nearly 70% of edibles manufacturers produce other products such as concentrates and topicals. Sixty percent of concentrates manufacturers also offer a diverse product mix.

Despite the dominance of

…

Chart: Most marijuana infused product companies have diversified their offerings is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

West Virginia taking applications for hemp cultivation

Farmers in West Virginia can now apply to cultivate industrial hemp for commercial purposes, making the Mountain State the latest to show an interest in growing the plant.

The agriculture commissioner began accepting applications from would-be hemp farmers on Tuesday, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reported.

Successful applicants would join members of the West Virginia Farmers Association who hold 14 licenses to farm hemp for research purposes, according to the newspaper. Those original farmers, who currently are growing 30 acres of the crop over 11 counties, now will be permitted to cultivate commercially.

Hemp plants can be converted into such

…

West Virginia taking applications for hemp cultivation is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs