MMJ Business Daily

States with the best chance to legalize cannabis in 2017?

By John Schroyer

After a landmark year in cannabis legalization, marijuana advocates have plenty of work left. And they’re not resting on their laurels.

The Marijuana Policy Project calculates a whopping 38 legalization bills for medical or recreational marijuana are expected to be introduced in 33 states and the District of Columbia in 2017.

“There’s more support for marijuana policy reform than ever before among the public, and that appears to be reflected in state lawmakers’ views as well,” said Mason Tvert, the advocacy group’s communications director. “A lot of states have been talking about these issues for

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States with the best chance to legalize cannabis in 2017? is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

OR rec cannabis sales keep falling amid supply, regulatory issues

Oregon’s embattled recreational marijuana industry posted its second straight monthly sales drop in December, hit by a supply shortage and problems related to product testing.

Despite strong consumer demand, data from the Oregon Department of Revenue showed tax collections totaled $5.6 million last month, down 13% from November and a 28% dip from a high of $7.8 million in October, according to the Statesmen Journal.

For all of 2016, however, tax collections totaled $60 million – well above the $43 million that state officials anticipated, the Statesmen Journal reported.

A number of factors have contributed to the supply squeeze in recent months.

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OR rec cannabis sales keep falling amid supply, regulatory issues is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Israeli government to finance 13 cannabis research projects

Israel’s Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry plans to spend 8 million shekels ($2.1 million) on research into cannabis cultivation, biochemistry and medicine.

The government is hopeful the research will lead to cannabis-based therapeutic products, the Times of Israel reported.

To start, the ministry is financing 13 projects, including seven in the fields of biochemistry and medicine.

Research topics include how cannabis can improve vision, fight colon cancer and treat multiple sclerosis, according to The Jerusalem Post. Other research projects will explore such issues as whether cannabis can help the body accept transplanted organs and treat metabolic syndrome.

The other

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Israeli government to finance 13 cannabis research projects is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

IL state treasurer asks Trump for clarity on MMJ banking

Illinois’ state treasurer has joined California’s in requesting guidance from the new administration of President Donald Trump on banking regulations regarding its medical marijuana industry.

The California treasurer in December sent a letter to Trump noting that the refusal by many banks to work with state-legal cannabis companies could pose a serious threat to public safety in coming years, as well as create issues related to tax collection.

Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs has voiced similar concerns, the Associated Press reported Monday.

Frerichs wrote a letter of his own to Trump and, in a press release, said the president’s

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IL state treasurer asks Trump for clarity on MMJ banking is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

California MJ business owners in legal fog without statewide rules

By Bart Schaneman

The absence of statewide marijuana regulations following passage of California’s adult-use ballot measure has put MJ business owners in legal limbo, making it tougher for them to operate their companies.

The state’s cannabis entrepreneurs, for example, find it difficult to source marijuana plants from legal growers.

They also are unsure how to properly structure their businesses to comply with Proposition 64, last November’s ballot initiative, and new medical cannabis rules that must still be finalized. And they’re unsure how to label and package their products correctly.

Before the legal fog can clear, California lawmakers and regulators must

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California MJ business owners in legal fog without statewide rules is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Denver MJ company recalls products for possible pesticides

A Denver marijuana company is voluntarily recalling marijuana and cannabis-infused products after samples showed they could contain residual levels of illegal pesticides, becoming the latest local company having to take such action.

According to the news outlet Denverite, the Denver Department of Environmental Health is probing whether Green Man Cannabis’ products were exposed to unsafe pesticides. The company is both a grower and seller of recreational and medical marijuana, operating two stores.

It wasn’t clear whether the recall involved adult-use or medical cannabis, or both.

The marijuana in question was sold at Green Man Cannabis stores at 1355 Santa Fe Drive

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Denver MJ company recalls products for possible pesticides is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

High-end cannabis pipe maker sues to defend trademark

Roor, one of the best-known names in cannabis smoking utensils, has filed almost 200 lawsuits since 2013 to protect its trademark against smoke shop and convenience store owners in California, Florida and New York for allegedly selling counterfeit products bearing the company’s name.

The German company and its American licensee, Sream of Corona, California, hold U.S. Trademark No. 3675839 to protect its fashionable pipes and bongs sold with the Roor mark – the company’s name with the second “r” capitalized and facing backward, according to the Associated Press.

Most of the lawsuits have been filed in the past

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High-end cannabis pipe maker sues to defend trademark is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Florida bill would allow 20 new medical marijuana businesses

At least one state senator in Florida isn’t content with proposed medical marijuana industry rules that would keep the number of licensed companies at seven.

Sen. Bob Bradley introduced a bill in the Florida Legislature on Thursday to bump that number up by 20, the Ocala StarBanner reported.

But there’s a catch: The number of business licenses would increase to 27 only after the number of registered MMJ patients surpasses 500,000.

That may seem like a high bar, but the director of the Florida Department of Health’s Office of Compassionate Use has said that that could

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Florida bill would allow 20 new medical marijuana businesses is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Chart: Colorado wholesale marijuana prices tumble in 2016

By Eli McVey

Wholesale prices of medical and recreational cannabis fell precipitously in Colorado last year, highlighting the difficulties faced by cultivators looking to maintain their profit margins in one of the nation’s most mature marijuana markets.

The average asking price for a pound of marijuana dropped by 38% in the recreational market and 24% in the medical market in 2016, according to data provided by Cannabase, a Colorado-based online wholesale platform where many of the state’s growers and retailers buy and sell cannabis.

Medical cannabis eclipsed recreational marijuana last year in terms of average wholesale prices and even saw

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Chart: Colorado wholesale marijuana prices tumble in 2016 is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Medical cannabis patient numbers on the rise in Hawaii

Hawaii saw a 16.6% increase in registered medical marijuana patients in 2016, a great sign for the state’s eight licensed dispensaries preparing to open soon.

There were 15,334 medical marijuana patients registered in Hawaii in December, an increase of 2,184 patients from 13,150 a year earlier, West Hawaii Today reported. That amounts to a gain of 16.6%.

In another positive sign for MMJ business owners, the number of caregivers in Hawaii decreased by 55.5%, from 2,849 at the end of 2015 to 1,268 last month, according to figures recently released by Hawaii’s Department of Health.

Caregivers now grow MMJ for the state’s

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Medical cannabis patient numbers on the rise in Hawaii is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs