MMJ Business Daily

Cannabis banking still unpredictable: Q&A with Colorado Bank Commissioner Chris Myklebust

By John Schroyer

Colorado State Bank Commissioner Chris Myklebust flew to Washington DC in March to meet with a group of state bank regulators.

He also met with U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, a Colorado Republican, and a staffer for U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter, a Colorado Democrat. He brought up cannabis banking, and was encouraged.

Marijuana Business Daily spoke with Myklebust after he returned to Colorado to see what he learned from his trip.

Myklebust estimated that only about five or six financial institutions in Colorado serve marijuana-related companies. And while multiple states have tried to figure out their own

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Cannabis banking still unpredictable: Q&A with Colorado Bank Commissioner Chris Myklebust is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Oregon gov signs bill to protect rec cannabis industry from feds

To protect the state’s recreational marijuana industry from a federal crackdown, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown signed a bill that prevents rec retail businesses from storing private data about customers’ identities or purchases.

The new law is designed to shield adult-use marijuana consumers by barring retailers from sharing or keeping their personal data. Oregon marijuana retailers have 30 days to destroy the data, according to The Oregonian.

Senate Bill 863 sped through the state Legislature and was one of the first bills the governor signed.

Brown has said she’s concerned about what the Trump administration, particularly Attorney

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Oregon gov signs bill to protect rec cannabis industry from feds is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

West Virginia governor signs bill legalizing medical cannabis

It’s official: West Virginia has become the 30th state in the nation to legalize medical cannabis, and the first to do so in 2017.

Gov. Jim Justice on Wednesday signed Senate Bill 386, the Medical Cannabis Act, and said it was “a monumental day,” MetroNews reported.

The legislature approved the bill the first week of April, and even though the program has its critics – in large part because it bans smokable MMJ, as do Minnesota and New York – the new law is another victory for the overall cannabis legalization movement and the marijuana industry.

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West Virginia governor signs bill legalizing medical cannabis is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

ND gov inks medical marijuana bill, says his background to aid launch

North Dakota’s medical marijuana industry took a big step this week when Gov. Douglas Burgum signed legislation laying out a regulatory framework for the state’s voter-approved MMJ program.

Burgum, a Republican with an entrepreneurial background, said he would use his business experience to help launch the program, TV station KFYR reported.

“It’s exciting in the sense that it is like creating a startup, which I’ve had a chance to do a lot of in my life, but this is a big, complex startup,” Burgum told the Bismarck outlet.

After earning an MBA at the Stanford Graduate School of Business,

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ND gov inks medical marijuana bill, says his background to aid launch is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

U.S. Rep Polis predicts medical cannabis safeguard will get OK

Colorado Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, one of the four founding members of the Cannabis Caucus, said during a panel discussion Tuesday in Denver he believes the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment – which protects medical marijuana businesses from the Department of Justice – will be renewed and remain in federal law.

Polis was one of 44 representatives who recently urged that language from the amendment be included in the base bill for the appropriations process to fund the entire federal government. The base bill that would fund the federal government and also contains Rohrabacher-Farr expires April 28.

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U.S. Rep Polis predicts medical cannabis safeguard will get OK is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

U.S. Rep Polis predicts medical cannabis safeguard will get OK

Colorado Democratic U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, one of the four founding members of the Cannabis Caucus, said during a panel discussion Tuesday in Denver he believes the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment – which protects medical marijuana businesses from the Department of Justice – will be renewed and remain in federal law.

Polis was one of 44 representatives who recently urged that language from the amendment be included in the base bill for the appropriations process to fund the entire federal government. The base bill that would fund the federal government and also contains Rohrabacher-Farr expires April 28.

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U.S. Rep Polis predicts medical cannabis safeguard will get OK is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Las Vegas may loosen MMJ dispensary rules, allow later hours

Concerned they’re losing business to medical marijuana retailers in unincorporated parts of Clark County, city officials in Las Vegas are now eyeballing possible rollbacks to city MMJ rules that may let Sin City dispensaries stay open later and serve more customers.

Proposed changes could also give dispensaries more flexibility on what products they can carry, shrink business fees and revamp disposal requirements for expired MMJ, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

“I believe we’re now hurting ourselves because people are driving across Sahara (Avenue, outside of city limits),” city councilman Bob Beers said, regarding Las Vegas’ southern border.

Under

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Las Vegas may loosen MMJ dispensary rules, allow later hours is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Detroit’s medical marijuana market in upheaval after new rules

By John Schroyer

A little over a year ago, Detroit enacted a new restrictive set of zoning ordinances designed to legitimize some medical marijuana dispensaries and to close dozens of others.

Today, according to the city, just three “caregiver centers” are licensed and 59 are in the approval process.

Detroit’s medical marijuana market in upheaval after new rules is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Firm funds $1.85M marijuana research at Ohio University

Ohio-based Black Elk Biotech has awarded Ohio University (OU) a $1.85 million contract to examine therapeutic benefits generated from cannabis and other natural products.

Black Elk Biotech is a subsidiary of Black Elk, an Ohio company focused on products and medicines derived from fruits, trees, plants and other vegetation.

According to The Post – an independent student-run newspaper on the OU campus – the funding will bankroll research into natural treatments for various medical conditions.

The five-year study is slated to be conducted at OU’s Edison Biotechnology Institute, according to The Post. The institute’s director told the

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Firm funds $1.85M marijuana research at Ohio University is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

CA marijuana distributor to launch ‘institute’ serving small growers

Flow Kana, a San Francisco distributor that specializes in craft-grown marijuana, shared more details Tuesday about plans to transform a former Northern California wine estate, saying it will build a “cannabis institute” catering to small-batch  MJ growers.

The 80-acre property – the former home of Fetzer Wines – will include testing, processing, manufacturing and retail operations for Flow Kana’s stable of farmers, as well as classes and a bed and breakfast for tourists and other visitors.

Flow Kana plans to purchase the cannabis the craft cultivators grow, process the flower and distribute the MJ to independent dispensaries around California.

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CA marijuana distributor to launch ‘institute’ serving small growers is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs