MMJ Business Daily

Colorado marijuana retail chain gets $7.5M loan for expansion

One of Colorado’s biggest cannabis retail chains wants to get even larger: The Green Solution, which has 13 locations across the state, revealed Tuesday it has secured a $7.5 million loan from iAnthus Capital Holdings, a cannabis-focused Canadian financing company.

The loan “will allow us to add multiple licenses and stores for the Colorado market in 2017,” The Green Solution’s co-CEO, Kyle Speidell, said in a news release. The company plans to open at least five more retail locations this year in Colorado, according to the release.

The Green Solution already has cannabis business interests in Florida, Illinois

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Colorado marijuana retail chain gets $7.5M loan for expansion is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Israel moves toward becoming a medical cannabis exporter

Israel, already a leading cannabis research power, could become a major player in the international marijuana business landscape after a government committee approved draft legislation allowing the export of medical marijuana.

The green light from the ministerial committee on legislation means the measure will proceed as a government-backed bill, AFP reported.

But a government statement announcing the committee’s approval also cautioned that it would take Israel’s parliament “months” to approve cannabis export legislation, according to Reuters.

The Middle Eastern country is home to about 50 various cannabis businesses – including cultivators, research outfits, and ancillary companies – that

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Israel moves toward becoming a medical cannabis exporter is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Hope remains for MJ consumption in Alaska rec shops

Despite the recent rejection of an onsite cannabis consumption proposal by Alaska’s Alcohol and Marijuana Control Board, recreational marijuana shops in the state may still be able to allow customers to smoke, vape or munch edibles at their stores.

According to TV station KTUU, Alaskan cannabis retailers will still be able to get legal clearance to allow customers to consume their cannabis purchases at their shops, but only if those retailers deal with even more red tape.

The control board’s acting division chief, Sara Chambers, clarified her agency’s position in a news release posted Friday, according to KTUU.

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Hope remains for MJ consumption in Alaska rec shops is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Future of cannabis + MJ investing under Trump: Q&A with Jodi Avergun

By John Schroyer

If anyone has a good handle on how federal narcotics prosecutions work, it’s Jodi Avergun.

She once served as chief of staff for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. And now, among her duties as a partner in a Washington DC law firm, she advises clients on whether to invest in cannabis.

Future of cannabis + MJ investing under Trump: Q&A with Jodi Avergun is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Ex-officers of MMJ company charged in illegal transport

Two former employees of a multistate medical cannabis company have been formally charged with illegally transporting MMJ products across state lines, from Minnesota to New York.

Both defendants, once officers of Minnesota Medical Solutions, were charged Friday with unlawfully taking cannabis oil from Minnesota to an MMJ facility in upstate New York, the Albany Times Union reported.

The newspaper said the two were the former chief medical officer and the former chief security officer. It didn’t quote either individual.

Vireo Health, the parent company of Minnesota Medical Solutions, holds MMJ licenses in both states. The defendants, according to the

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Ex-officers of MMJ company charged in illegal transport is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

MMJ cultivator Aphria gets initial OK to join Toronto Stock Exchange

Aphria, one of the largest federally licensed medical marijuana cultivation companies in Canada, on Monday received conditional approval to list on the Toronto Stock Exchange and announced a deal to raise 50 million Canadian dollars ($38.25 million).

The TSX will grant final approval to Aphria if meets certain conditions the company described as “standard and customary” by May 3, according to a news release. Aphria currently trades on the TSX Venture Exchange.

If the Leamington, Ontario, company does receive the final OK, it would become the third marijuana-touching company to list on the TSX.

Two other federally licensed MMJ

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MMJ cultivator Aphria gets initial OK to join Toronto Stock Exchange is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

North Dakota taps new medical marijuana director

Amid a legislative debate over the rules governing North Dakota’s new medical marijuana industry, the state’s health department has named the first director of the voter-approved MMJ program.

Effective Friday, Kenan Bullinger was tapped to oversee the program, according to the Bismarck Tribune. Bullinger has worked for the health department for more than three decades, and has been involved with discussions about the MMJ program from the onset.

North Dakota voters passed MMJ legalization in November with 64% of the vote. A senate bill was then introduced to amend the law. Proponents contend the measure would alter

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North Dakota taps new medical marijuana director is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

LSU seeking contract growers for medical cannabis

Louisiana State University, one of two institutions granted approval to grow medical marijuana under the Bayou State’s MMJ law, will soon start taking applications from cultivation contractors interested in doing the work.

The Baton Rouge-based school said it expects to choose a cultivator by June and that the first medical marijuana crops could be harvested by the end of 2017, according to Baton Rouge TV station WBRZ. LSU officials projected in October that MMJ sales wouldn’t begin until 2018.

The contractor will be expected to foot the estimated $10 million bill for the cultivation site, WBRZ reported. LSU

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LSU seeking contract growers for medical cannabis is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Israeli MMJ lab company expanding to North America

An Israel-based company that specializes in quality-control testing equipment and standards for medical cannabis is using a newly raised $1 million in investment capital to expand its business operations into the North American market, the latest indication the marijuana industry is quickly going global.

The firm, Cannabi-Tech Ltd., did not specify in a press release where in North America it will be setting up operations.

Cannabi-Tech describes its testing platform for marijuana as “patented optical testing and advanced imaging tools for the industry’s most accurate quality-control testing.” The company also has a number of other tech services it

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Israeli MMJ lab company expanding to North America is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Chart: Arizona growing into medical marijuana juggernaut

By Eli McVey

Rather quietly, it appears, Arizona has grown into one of the largest medical cannabis markets in the nation, second only to California in terms of patient counts.

The state’s medical marijuana program added nearly 27,000 patients in 2016 – a 30% increase – that brought the total count to nearly 115,000. Arizona’s patient base has now eclipsed Colorado’s, which has dwindled to approximately 100,000.

Growth throughout the year in Arizona was relatively steady, hovering between 1%-3% with an average monthly growth rate of 2.2%.

The inclusion of chronic pain on the list of qualifying MMJ

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Chart: Arizona growing into medical marijuana juggernaut is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs