MMJ Business Daily

West Virginia chooses medical marijuana advisory board

West Virginia regulators have announced the advisory board that will help develop the state’s medical marijuana program.

The newly created West Virginia Medical Cannabis Advisory Board will be chaired by Rahul Gupta, commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health and state health officer.

The board’s other 12 members include physicians, pharmacists, a social worker, a prosecutor, a patient advocate and a horticulturalist.

The board’s duties will include examining and analyzing the statutory and regulatory law as it relates to medical cannabis in West Virginia and to study MMJ statutes across the United States.

The board also will

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West Virginia chooses medical marijuana advisory board is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Week in Review: Nevada rec ready to roll, credit union’s symbolic victory & Canopy’s aggressive growth

By Omar Sacirbey and Bart Schaneman

Nevada is poised to launch recreational marijuana sales, a cannabis-friendly credit union makes progress in a court case, and Canada’s Canopy Growth is registering losses while expanding its production capacity.

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

Nevada rec sales begin

Las Vegas is going to look a little more green than usual at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.

Recreational marijuana becomes legal in Nevada on July 1, and some medical marijuana dispensaries that received adult-use licenses plan to begin sales after the

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Week in Review: Nevada rec ready to roll, credit union’s symbolic victory & Canopy’s aggressive growth is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Canadian MMJ producer Canopy Growth is growing and spending

Canada’s biggest federally licensed medical marijuana producer, Canopy Growth, posted a loss of 16.7 million Canadian dollars ($12.84 million) in the last fiscal year, but it’s all part of the company’s expansion plans.

The Smith Falls, Ontario-based company has an aggressive growth plan for its production facilities as it tries to position itself to serve Canada’s recreational market when it launches next year, The Globe and Mail reported.

Canopy’s expansion costs in its most recent fiscal quarter were CA$5.4 million, including CA$4.6 million related to the company’s acquisition of Toronto-based licensed producer Mettrum, according to the newspaper.

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Canadian MMJ producer Canopy Growth is growing and spending is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

PA awards 27 new medical marijuana dispensary licenses

The Pennsylvania Department of Health awarded 27 medical marijuana dispensary licenses across the state Thursday, taking another step toward launching the commonwealth’s MMJ market in 2018.

Regulators sifted through 280 applications to select the winners.

Each of the new permit holders is eligible to open up to three dispensaries. But not all have opted to open the maximum number from the get-go. Initially, the state expects to have a total of 52 dispensaries.

The winning applicants now have six months to become operational before they can begin dispensing medical marijuana.

“We remain on track to provide medication

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PA awards 27 new medical marijuana dispensary licenses is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Workers’ comp insurer drops Hawaiian medical cannabis firms

Hawaii’s largest workers’ compensation insurer is canceling insurance policies for seven medical marijuana dispensaries preparing to open this summer.

Hawaii Employers’ Mutual Insurance Co. (HEMIC) – citing concerns over criminal liability since cannabis is illegal at the federal level – notified the dispensaries Wednesday their policies will be canceled in 30 days and premiums refunded, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.

HEMIC said its board of directors unanimously agreed to the decision after two independent legal opinions determined the company would have “potential exposure for criminal liability” based on federal law.

The insurer declined to identify the seven companies or how much they

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Workers’ comp insurer drops Hawaiian medical cannabis firms is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Etain leaving Albany to open Manhattan MMJ dispensary

In a move that could generate more revenue, Etain is planning to close its medical marijuana dispensary in Albany, New York, and open a new location in Manhattan.

The New York Health Department has already approved Etain’s move, the Albany Times-Union reported.

Etain, one of five licensed medical marijuana companies in the state, serves 475 patients in Albany, according to the newspaper. By contrast, the company’s Manhattan location – expected to open in July – will have roughly 1.6 million people from which to draw potential patients. Etain’s Manhattan dispensary also will be only the fourth in

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Etain leaving Albany to open Manhattan MMJ dispensary is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

New Washington state cannabis regulations reflect concern about federal threat

By Bart Schaneman

Washington state’s updated marijuana rules serve notice that regulators are feeling pressure from a U.S. attorney general who opposes legalized cannabis.

The regulations guide the state’s cannabis businesses toward stricter compliance with the Cole Memo – the sector’s best protector against the federal government.

When Senate Bill 5131 took effect June 23, it created the most significant round of changes to Washington state’s marijuana laws since the original recreational cannabis regulations were enacted in 2013.

The new regulations apply a number of restrictions to the state’s market, though they

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New Washington state cannabis regulations reflect concern about federal threat is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Colorado credit union wins ruling against Kansas City Fed

A Colorado credit union aiming to serve cannabis businesses won a partial victory Thursday after a U.S. appeals court ruled the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City cannot block access to a special account Fourth Corner Credit Union needs to do business.

The decision is at least a symbolic triumph for the upstart credit union. In a 2-1 decision, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ruled that Fourth Corner can serve only supporters of MJ legalization – but not licensed cannabis or hemp businesses – as as long as the Controlled Substances Act is intact.

Following the

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Colorado credit union wins ruling against Kansas City Fed is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Trouble surrounds two medical marijuana firms with Vireo ties

Cannabis cultivation companies in Maryland and Pennsylvania are involved in controversies because of their ties to multistate medical marijuana company Vireo Health.

MaryMed, a medical cannabis cultivation licensee in Maryland formerly owned by Vireo, was told it won’t receive its final license, while MMJ regulators in Pennsylvania are under fire for awarding a grow license to Vireo subsidiary Pennsylvania Medical Solutions.

At issue in both cases is a December 2015 incident in which two Vireo executives allegedly smuggled $500,000 worth of cannabis oil from Minnesota – where the company is headquartered – to

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Trouble surrounds two medical marijuana firms with Vireo ties is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Report: Demand for legal cannabis products dipped in April

Demand for legal marijuana products decreased by more than 1.1% in April, according to a new index that monitors the U.S. cannabis industry in states where the drug is legal.

Cannabis producers should take heart, however: Anderson Economic Group’s inaugural AndCan Index shows that marijuana demand is up by 2.4% across the country since the November 2016 election and has grown by 13.5% nationwide since the beginning of 2015, according to a news release.

The AndCan Index, a monthly assessment of the demand for legal marijuana products in the United States, is the “Dow Jones Industrial Average for the

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Report: Demand for legal cannabis products dipped in April is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs