MMJ Business Daily

Good start for Los Angeles’ cannabis business regulations – but a long way to go

By John Schroyer

The first draft is out. And many are thankful it’s not the last.

That’s the consensus of some industry leaders after Los Angeles’ marijuana businesses got their first glimpse of much-anticipated city regulations for the cannabis industry. Inroads have been made, but there’s much fine-tuning left to do.

Good start for Los Angeles’ cannabis business regulations – but a long way to go is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Advocate Morgan vows to sue to get Florida to allow smokable MMJ

The Florida legislature’s passage of a bill to expand the use of medical marijuana in the state ended one chapter in the battle over regulating the nascent industry. But marijuana advocates say it doesn’t go far enough.

Once Gov. Rick Scott signs the bill – and he says he will – the principal backer of getting the amendment on last year’s ballot said he intends to sue over the law’s ban on smoking cannabis.

Attorney John Morgan has been steadfast in saying that the 71% who voted for the amendment expected smoking

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Advocate Morgan vows to sue to get Florida to allow smokable MMJ is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Study: California rec marijuana sales to surpass $5B annually

California’s looming legal recreational marijuana market eventually will total more than $5 billion in annual sales, but the black market will continue to provide substantial competition, according to a study by the University of California Agricultural Issues Center.

Contracted by the the state’s Bureau of Marijuana Control, the study mirrors Marijuana Business Daily’s projection in May that California’s legal rec industry eventually will generate $4.5 billion-$5 billion in annual retail sales.

The university’s study forecast that legal recreational sales will make up 61.5% of California’s total marijuana market and legal medical marijuana about

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Study: California rec marijuana sales to surpass $5B annually is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Connecticut regulator OKs more medical cannabis conditions

Medical marijuana dispensaries in Connecticut could see a boost in patient counts in the next year after the Department of Consumer Protection agreed to make three more conditions eligible for MMJ treatment.

The DCP commissioner notified the Board of Physicians she will follow the panel’s recommendation to add hydrocephalus (water on the brain) with intractable headache; intractable migraines, and trigeminal neuralgia (chronic pain in the nerve that carries sensation from a person’s face to the brain) as qualifying conditions. The decision applies only to adult patients.

The physicians panel didn’t recommend adding anxiety disorders and Menieres Disease (a cause of vertigo).

There

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Connecticut regulator OKs more medical cannabis conditions is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Chart: U.S. marijuana industry’s economic impact to approach $70B by 2021

By Eli McVey

The U.S. cannabis industry is poised to inject nearly $70 billion on an annual basis into the American economy by 2021, an eye-popping figure that underscores the broader economic impact for towns and municipalities that accept legal marijuana businesses into their communities.

Estimates published in the newly released Marijuana Business Factbook 2017 show the total economic impact of legal marijuana sales rising from $16 billion-$18 billion in 2016 to $48 billion-$68 billion by 2021 – a 241% increase.

By comparison, the $68 billion figure is similar to the 2016 gross domestic products of the Dominican

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Chart: U.S. marijuana industry’s economic impact to approach $70B by 2021 is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Florida legislature approves new medical marijuana regulations

The two chambers of the Florida legislature finally reached a deal on medical marijuana and passed a compromise bill Friday to implement the wildly successful MMJ ballot measure that 70% of voters approved last November.

The measure is now headed to the desk of Gov. Rick Scott.

Although the bill bans smoking cannabis – which all but assures at least one lawsuit will be filed by patient advocates – the measure will significantly expand the number of licensed businesses allowed to partake in the state’s full-fledged marijuana industry. Unlike the smokable ban, however,

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Florida legislature approves new medical marijuana regulations is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Maryland court again refuses to delay medical cannabis licensing

Maryland’s medical marijuana commission can continue to issue cannabis cultivation licenses.

The state’s highest court denied a motion Friday to continue a temporary restraining order that blocked the commission from issuing cultivation licenses for about a week because of a lawsuit against the commission. A week ago, the Court of Appeals issued a stay on the TRO.

The court also agreed to hear arguments from finalists to be licensed who contend they should have been allowed to intervene in the lawsuit. The Court of Appeals set a July 27 hearing date.

Brian

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Maryland court again refuses to delay medical cannabis licensing is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Los Angeles releases draft regulations for marijuana industry

The city of Los Angeles released a much-anticipated draft of recreational and medical marijuana business regulations, though much of the rulemaking must still be completed in coming months.

“The release of this draft ordinance is a crucial step in the city’s effort to prepare for the Jan. 1 statewide legalization of cannabis and, more specifically, to help us create a clear and enforceable set of regulations here in L.A.,” City Councilman Paul Koretz said in a news release.

Meanwhile, the L.A. Department of City Planning released a draft of a new land-use ordinance

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Los Angeles releases draft regulations for marijuana industry is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Franwell out in Washington state; MJ Freeway tapped for contract

Franwell has withdrawn its bid to be Washington state’s provider of seed-to-sale tracking software and has been replaced by runner-up MJ Freeway.

According to the Washington State Liquor Control Board, the state will now schedule a product demonstration with a technology advisory panel and begin contract negotiations with MJ Freeway. The state’s deadline for replacing previous traceability provider BioTrackTHC is Oct. 31, 2017.

“We are taking the necessary steps now to ensure a smooth transition from the current system to the new one,” the state said in a news release.

Washington state had tentatively picked Franwell to Franwell out in Washington state; MJ Freeway tapped for contract is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Week in Review: Tobacco + cannabis, Maryland planning restarts & Native Americans’ MMJ

By John Schroyer, Omar Sacirbey and Bart Schaneman

Massachusetts cigarette wholesalers eye recreational marijuana distribution, a Maryland court allows MMJ planning to continue, and a Seminole-owned firm partners with a cannabis investment group.

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

Massachusetts morphing

Tobacco wholesalers in Massachusetts are trying to join the state’s upcoming adult-use cannabis industry – and that’s a concern for cannabis businesses, said attorney Mike Cutler, who helped draft the rec legalization measure voters passed last year.

If the tobacco sector succeeds in getting regulators to require third-party

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Week in Review: Tobacco + cannabis, Maryland planning restarts & Native Americans’ MMJ is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs