MMJ Business Daily

Testing rule worries Ohio medical marijuana advocates

Medical marijuana advocates in Ohio are concerned a little-known rule that stipulates who can test cannabis products could delay the launch of the program.

Under the state’s MMJ law, private laboratories will not be allowed to test medical cannabis for the first year of the program, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported. Instead, the state’s public universities will be responsible for testing.

However, universities may decline to test medical marijuana products because cannabis remains illegal at the federal level illegal. By testing an illegal product, schools would technically be breaking U.S. law and risk losing federal funding, and so far they’ve shown

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Testing rule worries Ohio medical marijuana advocates is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

CA bill would bar local cops from aiding federal cannabis crackdown

A bill introduced in the California legislature by a coalition of Democratic lawmakers would prohibit local police and sheriff’s deputies from aiding in any type of federal crackdown on state-licensed marijuana businesses.

The intent, the bill’s backers say, is to reassure marijuana businesses that they won’t be targeted unfairly by the Department of Justice as long as they comply with state laws, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The measure again underscores the growing disconnect between state and federal marijuana policy, given that U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions could technically prosecute law-abiding marijuana businesses for distribution of

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CA bill would bar local cops from aiding federal cannabis crackdown is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Week in Review: New York’s MMJ changes, RI committee finally meets & advocacy group forms

By John Schroyer and Omar Sacirbey

New York tweaks its medical marijuana program, a Rhode Island MMJ committee meets eight years after its formation, and a new cannabis advocacy group is born.

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

Not enough change?

New York’s medical marijuana program implemented two major reforms in recent weeks: Chronic pain is now a qualifying condition, and physician assistants are permitted to certify patients for MMJ.

While that should help make the state’s five licensed MMJ producers more viable business models, further changes

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Week in Review: New York’s MMJ changes, RI committee finally meets & advocacy group forms is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Oregon issues first recall for tainted recreational marijuana

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) announced its first recall of pesticide-tainted recreational cannabis, a situation that underscores the need for reliable record keeping and clear communication about contaminated products.

The commission said in a news release that samples of Blue Magoo cannabis grown by Emerald Wave Estate tested positive for excess levels of pyrethrins, a chrysanthemum-based insecticide that also can be made synthetically.

The tainted cannabis was shipped to a retailer, Buds 4 U in Mapleton, Oregon, before the pesticide test results were recorded in the OLCC’s tracking system, the commission said.

The retailer sold 82.5

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Oregon issues first recall for tainted recreational marijuana is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Ohio medical cannabis entrepreneurs seek residency rules

Ohio entrepreneurs looking to venture into the marijuana industry are calling on state regulators to institute a residency requirement for those seeking cultivation licenses.

According to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, several entrepreneurs spoke out during a public comment period this week and urged the Ohio Department of Commerce to require license holders to hail from Ohio.

 Up for grabs are 12 larger-scale grower licenses and 12 smaller-operation licenses. The applications favor proof that the applicant’s operations are headquartered in Ohio, the business is owned by locals and workers are hired from in-state. But none of that is

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Ohio medical cannabis entrepreneurs seek residency rules is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Steep Hill Labs partners with Israeli marijuana firm

California-based Steep Hill Labs entered into a partnership with iCAN, an Israeli medical marijuana company, to establish a testing lab in the Middle Eastern country.

The deal is perhaps the first of its kind for a U.S.-based marijuana testing company to expand internationally. An Israeli testing firm announced last month it planned to set up shop in North America.

Aside from California, Steep Hill already has labs in Alaska, Hawaii, Maryland, New Mexico and Washington state, according to its website.

The simple goal of Steep Hill’s Israeli lab is “to further research the cannabis plant,” according to a news release.

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Steep Hill Labs partners with Israeli marijuana firm is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Industry officials encouraged as FL’s medical cannabis law takes shape

By Omar Sacirbey

After months of uncertainty, Florida’s new medical marijuana program is starting to come together and industry officials believe the number of MMJ business licenses will be expanded beyond the seven companies currently licensed under the state’s CBD-focused program.

MMJ industry advocates said they are encouraged with legislation that state lawmakers have begun to hammer out to implement last November’s voter-approved medical cannabis referendum.

That wasn’t necessarily the case at the start of 2017.

In January, state health officials proposed rules that would give the seven CBD businesses entire control of the larger medical marijuana market.

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Industry officials encouraged as FL’s medical cannabis law takes shape is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

DC to authorize sixth medical cannabis dispensary

The Washington DC Department of Health plans to add a medical marijuana dispensary to the five already in operation.

The license application period began March 6 and will end April 7, according to a public notice from the DC Department of Health.

The new dispensary must be located in either DC City Council Ward 7 or Ward 8. The business will join dispensaries already operating in five other council wards, along with eight licensed MMJ cultivators.

“The council members who represent those wards was concerned that none of their constituents had easy access to a dispensary,” said Kate Bell, a legislative

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DC to authorize sixth medical cannabis dispensary is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

LSU extends deadline for medical marijuana cultivation applications

Marijuana cultivation businesses hoping to grow cannabis for Louisiana State University under a new medical marijuana law have more time to make their case.

LSU extended the deadline for growers to submit plans on how they would run the university’s MMJ cultivation operation to March 31, The Advocate of Baton Rouge reported. The original deadline was March 21.

School officials did not say why the deadline was extended.

Last year the state granted LSU and another Baton Rouge-based school, Southern University, exclusive licenses to grow medical cannabis.

The LSU Agricultural Center has estimated it will cost $11.3 million

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LSU extends deadline for medical marijuana cultivation applications is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Another Canadian medical cannabis producer goes public

Adding to a growing trend among licensed Canadian medical marijuana producers, Hydropothecary Corp. went public Tuesday.
The Quebec-based company started trading on the TSX Venture Exchange after completing a reverse takeover with BFK Capital Corp. las…