MMJ Business Daily

DOJ: Marijuana businesses can’t seek bankruptcy protection

Cannabis business owners cannot turn to federal bankruptcy courts when they land in financial hot water, a U.S. Department of Justice official reaffirmed.

Cliff White, director of the DOJ’s U.S. Trustee Program, sent a letter to trustees who deal with consumer bankruptcy cases reminding them that cannabis is illegal under federal law. He noted they shouldn’t handle money from the sale of cannabis-related property, Dow Jones NewsWires reported.

According to White’s letter, his division has seen a spike in the amount of bankryutcy cases in which “marijuana assets” have been disclosed. A spokeswoman wouldn’t disclose a number,

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DOJ: Marijuana businesses can’t seek bankruptcy protection is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Medical cannabis businesses get breathing room after Congress extends key protections

By Bart Schaneman
Congress’ decision to pass a $1.1 trillion spending bill that includes key protections for legal medical marijuana businesses is a clear sign the federal government will take a hands-off approach to the MMJ industry – at least in the …

Mexican medical cannabis measure needs only president’s OK

Mexico moved closer to legalizing medical marijuana – with certain restrictions – when the government’s lower house passed a bill that now goes to the country’s president.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto – whose government is trying to dismantle violent drug cartels – is expected to sign the bill into law.

The measure, which passed the Senate in December, does not allow smokable medical marijuana. However, it does permit the growing, processing, sale, import, and export of medical cannabis products with less than 1% concentrations of THC, as well as cultivation of marijuana for scientific purposes.

The bill

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Mexican medical cannabis measure needs only president’s OK is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Congress keeps medical marijuana protections in budget deal

Congress unveiled a $1.1 trillion spending bill Monday that includes a provision to extend key protections for state-licensed medical marijuana businesses through the end of September.

The MMJ amendment has been closely watched given the new Trump administration’s mixed messages about cannabis. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has spoken critically about marijuana, but he recently signaled his department isn’t poised to impose a major crackdown on state-legal MJ businesses.

The language in the budget bill, which Congress is expected to pass later this week, prohibits the Department of Justice from using budget money

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Congress keeps medical marijuana protections in budget deal is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

New York medical cannabis businesses sue to limit licensees

A majority of New York’s medical marijuana companies are suing to stop the state Department of Health from awarding new licenses, saying the competition could damage an industry that is operating below capacity because of a relatively small patient base.

Four of New York’s five licensed MMJ businesses also claim that the state’s plans to license other operators – possibly as soon as this month – will impair their ability to serve patients, according to a 28-page lawsuit filed by the Medical Cannabis Industry Association (MCIA), the Times-Union reported.

In February, the state health department selected

New York medical cannabis businesses sue to limit licensees is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Hemp products approved for consumption in Australia, NZ

Federal and state ministers in Australia and New Zealand have approved low-THC hemp seeds for human consumption, opening a new market for edible products using the plant.

Prior to the decision, hemp was part of a classification that prohibited all species of cannabis from being added to food, or sold as food, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The law is expected to go into effect in both countries in about six months.

Health food stores that have already been selling hemp-based products, including lotions, will be now be able to add

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Hemp products approved for consumption in Australia, NZ is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Chart: With recreational marijuana sales on the horizon, Maine’s MMJ program surges

By Eli McVey

Maine’s medical marijuana program is on fire, with the number of MMJ patients surging in the past year.

While this can be said for many MMJ programs across the country, such a dramatic increase in a market as mature as Maine’s suggests something more may be at play.

Rather than Maine dispensaries, caregivers who grow cannabis for people appear to be benefiting most from the increasing patient base.

The rising popularity of medical cannabis comes just as Maine prepares to roll out its recreational cannabis program – one that was only narrowly approved in last November’s election.

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Chart: With recreational marijuana sales on the horizon, Maine’s MMJ program surges is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

California issues draft regulations for medical marijuana industry

California regulators released draft regulations on Friday governing the sale and use of medical marijuana in an attempt to bring uniform rules to the state’s free-wheeling MMJ market.

The draft rules – written by three state agencies – would govern the cultivation, testing, distribution and sale of medical cannabis in the nation’s largest MMJ market.

They cover everything from license fees for various MMJ businesses, to the amount of medical cannabis that dispensaries can sell per patient as well as dosing for edibles, according to the Orange County Register and Los Angeles Times.

Among

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California issues draft regulations for medical marijuana industry is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Canadian producer’s purchase of Florida CBD company in danger

The sale of a licensed CBD business in Florida to a Canadian medical cannabis producer is threatening to unravel amid a high-stakes lawsuit and allegations of a power grab that has splintered the directors of the dispensary targeted for acquisition.

According to a lawsuit filed by developer Jay Odom against his partners, the shareholders in Chestnut Hill Tree Farm have split over the pending sale of the CBD business to Aphria, a federally licensed Canadian MMJ grower, the Miami Herald reported.

The transaction is the product of a partnership between Aphria and Delavaco Group, a

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Canadian producer’s purchase of Florida CBD company in danger is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Federal medical cannabis protections extended another week

Congress approved a short-term spending bill Friday that will also extend the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment through at least May 5 – meaning state medical marijuana laws and businesses will remain protected from any crackdown by the Department of Justice for at least another week.

The bill, HJ Res. 99, essentially keeps the previous year’s U.S. budget in place for another seven days to give federal lawmakers time to reach yet another deal on what will be included in a new omnibus spending bill.

A congressional staffer confirmed to Marijuana Business Daily that the bill’s approval

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Federal medical cannabis protections extended another week is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs