MMJ Business Daily

Arkansas moves from lottery to merit-based MMJ licensing system

The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission has had a change of heart.

Instead of picking MMJ business winners and losers by random through a lottery, the commission will instead use a merit-based scoring system to award dispensary and cultivation permits.

The change was made to a draft regulation after pushback from stakeholders at a public hearing, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. In other states, lottery permitting systems have commonly resulted in lawsuits.

The commission has yet to announce details on how applications will be scored. The commission will eventually issue 20-40 dispensary and four to eight cultivation permits.

The

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Arkansas moves from lottery to merit-based MMJ licensing system is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Chart: Medical cannabis patient counts rebounding in Montana

By Eli McVey

Just months after voters approved a state ballot initiative to revive Montana’s medical marijuana industry, patients are returning to the program by the thousands – breathing new life into dispensaries across the state.

Dispensaries were effectively regulated out of business last August when a 2011 Montana Supreme Court decision limiting MMJ dispensaries to three patients finally went into effect, making it impossible for the businesses to remain viable.

But a ballot initiative passed by voters in the November 2016 election removed the three-patient limit, and a subsequent judicial ruling in December allowed dispensaries to

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Chart: Medical cannabis patient counts rebounding in Montana is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Chart: Medical cannabis patient counts rebounding in Montana

By Eli McVey

Just months after voters approved a state ballot initiative to revive Montana’s medical marijuana industry, patients are returning to the program by the thousands – breathing new life into dispensaries across the state.

Dispensaries were effectively regulated out of business last August when a 2011 Montana Supreme Court decision limiting MMJ dispensaries to three patients finally went into effect, making it impossible for the businesses to remain viable.

But a ballot initiative passed by voters in the November 2016 election removed the three-patient limit, and a subsequent judicial ruling in December allowed dispensaries to

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Chart: Medical cannabis patient counts rebounding in Montana is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Pharmacies to begin selling adult-use cannabis in Uruguay

Uruguay has finally authorized pharmacies to begin selling recreational marijuana in July, more than three years after the Latin American nation became the first in the world to legalize the cultivation, distribution and consumption of rec MJ.

The market’s launch has been delayed multiple times. Sales initially were expected to begin in late 2014, Reuters reported.

According to the news agency, 16 pharmacies have registered with the government to sell adult-use marijuana, with the number expected to rise to 30.

The industry will be tightly regulated. Pharmacies will be limited to 882 pounds of cannabis at their disposal. That amount could

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Pharmacies to begin selling adult-use cannabis in Uruguay is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Report: Marijuana warehouse sales booming, pushing up prices

Indoor cannabis cultivation may well have a limited future, many marijuana professionals say, but it’s booming right now based on demand by commercial growers for warehouse space.

That has pushed up prices for such properties, meaning that MJ entrepreneurs seeking to build indoor cultivation centers will have to pony up more to pay for real estate.

This is particularly true in states that passed recreational marijuana measures last year, namely California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada, according to National Real Estate Investor (NREI).

According to the trade publication, investors in new rec MJ states are “rushing to buy up industrial properties

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Report: Marijuana warehouse sales booming, pushing up prices is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Israeli university launches medical cannabis research center

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, a leading Israeli academic institution, is launching a Multidisciplinary Center on Cannabinoid Research.

Additional research providing evidence of marijuana’s medicinal benefits could persuade more doctors to recommend medical cannabis. Israel already has a reputation as a cannabis research powerhouse.

According to The Jerusalem Post, the new center’s studies will highlight cancer, pain, stress management and inflammation as key areas, as well as a number of other topics.

The center’s research will conduct and coordinate further research on cannabinoids, endocannabinoids and medical marijuana to help share and spread information, according to the newspaper.

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Israeli university launches medical cannabis research center is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Week in Review: West Virginia nears legalization, NV distribution plan & Johns Hopkins exits study

By Omar Sacirbey and Bart Schaneman

West Virginia is on the cusp of legalizing medical marijuana, Nevada dispensaries get a new adult-use business opportunity, and Johns Hopkins exits a study involving cannabis and post-traumatic stress disorder.

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

West Virginia’s work in progress

West Virginia appears poised to become the 30th state to legalize medical cannabis – and the first to do so this year.

On Thursday night, West Virginia’s Republican-controlled legislature approved a bill establishing a medical cannabis program. The measure now goes

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Week in Review: West Virginia nears legalization, NV distribution plan & Johns Hopkins exits study is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Seven firms apply to run LSU’s medical marijuana operation

Seven Louisiana companies have applied to run a new medical marijuana operation overseen by the Louisiana State University’s AgCenter, moving the state another step closer to a functional MMJ system.

According to The Advocate of Baton Rouge, the applicants include Columbia Care Louisiana LLC of New Roads; CB Medical LLC of Alexandria; GB Sciences Louisiana of New Orleans; Citiva LA LLC of Mandeville; Southern Roots Therapeutics LLC of Baton Rouge; Terah Holdings LLC of Shreveport; and Fourrier House LLC in Louisiana. Applications were due at the end of March.

LSU has estimated it will cost $11.3

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Seven firms apply to run LSU’s medical marijuana operation is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

West Virginia nears medical cannabis legalization

West Virginia appears poised to become the 30th state in the nation to legalize a viable medical marijuana program.

The state Senate passed an MMJ legalization bill (SB36) on Wednesday, MetroNews reported, just days before the current legislative session ends.

The measure now goes to the House of Delegates, which is expected to approve it, before moving to the desk of Gov. Jim Justice, MetroNews reported. The Democratic governor hasn’t expressed opposition to medical marijuana, according to local media reports.

The bill passed by the Senate on Wednesday varies drastically from a version the chamber passed last

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West Virginia nears medical cannabis legalization is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Sessions: DOJ task force will analyze marijuana enforcement

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the formation of a new task force subcommittee that will focus, at least in part, on marijuana enforcement policies.

The subcommittee – part of the Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety – will tackle “a review of existing policies in the areas of charging, sentencing, and marijuana to ensure consistency with the (Department of Justice’s) overall strategy on reducing violent crime and with Administration goals and policies,” according to a memo sent to U.S. attorneys Wednesday.

The panel is one of several that will report to the Task

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Sessions: DOJ task force will analyze marijuana enforcement is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs