MMJ Business Daily

MJ Freeway still working on fixes, damage control as reputation takes hit

By John Schroyer

MJ Freeway continues to reel from a systems crash earlier this month that has affected a large swath of the cannabis industry, with its workers scrambling to retain longtime customers and mitigate damage to the company’s image.

The long-term fallout for the software firm is unclear.

It’s possible MJ Freeway can fully recover over time and instill trust in the marketplace.

But some of its customers have already jumped ship for other competing services – and the longer the problems continue, the more clients MJ Freeway is likely to lose.

So far, the

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MJ Freeway still working on fixes, damage control as reputation takes hit is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Georgia home to 1,300 registered MMJ patients, despite no program

Despite not having a functional medical marijuana system, roughly 1,300 Georgians have already registered with the state as MMJ patients.

That could set the stage for a sizable medical cannabis industry, if Georgia lawmakers decide to fully legalize medical marijuana production and distribution.

The patient registry stems from a 2015 law that allows for the use and possession of CBD, but not its cultivation, processing or sale.

Because CBD oil isn’t available in Georgia, it means MMJ patients in the state are currently forced to break federal law to obtain their medicine by crossing state lines

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Georgia home to 1,300 registered MMJ patients, despite no program is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

MN medical cannabis workers secure three-year labor contract

Unionized employees at Minnesota Medical Solutions unanimously ratified a three-year contract with the company, one of the state’s two vertically integrated medical marijuana businesses.

MinnMed is a unit of MMJ business Vireo Health, which in September signed what it claimed was the first agreement with organized labor in New York. These cannabis-related labor contracts join a growing number in states that also include California, Colorado and Oregon.

According to St. Paul TV station KTSP, the agreement between MinnMed and Local 1189 of the United Food & Commercial Workers includes:

• Annual raises for all workers
• Higher wages

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MN medical cannabis workers secure three-year labor contract is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

NH medical marijuana businesses post initial losses

New Hampshire released a report about its emerging medical marijuana industry which shows the state’s three dispensary operators are in the red and that more than 2,000 patients have signed up in the year since regulators began issuing MMJ cards.

A New Hampshire state health official discounted the red ink, noting the expense of opening a dispensary is “huge.”

Issued by the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the report found that Sanctuary Alternative Treatment Center, which became the first dispensary in the state to go online when it opened April 30,

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NH medical marijuana businesses post initial losses is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

North Dakota lawmakers seek delay in medical cannabis rollout

North Dakota lawmakers, apparently taken by surprise when state voters approved a medical marijuana ballot initiative, are likely to pass a measure delaying the new law by several months to give them more time to iron out the details.

Residents of the Republican-leaning state legalized MMJ on Nov. 8 with 64% of the vote. The law was supposed to go into effect Dec. 8.

But lawmakers said Monday more time is needed to implement the MMJ program correctly, according to the Associated Press, and they were weighing a delay in the law until the end of July.

Both

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North Dakota lawmakers seek delay in medical cannabis rollout is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Washington’s two top-selling cannabis stores for sale

By John Schroyer

Washington state’s two top-selling cannabis shops are for sale.

Main Street Marijuana owner Ramsey Hamide and Uncle Ike’s owner Ian Eisenberg, who own three storefronts apiece, have joined together in an attempted joint sale of both companies, they told Marijuana Business Daily on Monday.

The asking price for all six shops? A cool $50 million.

That’s a fair price, argued Hamide, given that his Main Street Marijuana is the top seller of Washington cannabis and Uncle Ike’s is a close second, according to sales figures reported on the website 502data.com, which compiles state

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Washington’s two top-selling cannabis stores for sale is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

CA wine, cannabis industry officials to meet in joint symposium

California wine industry leaders plan to meet with counterparts in the marijuana business in a bid to examine their similarities and opportunities for collaboration as the state rolls out its new adult-use cannabis market.

According to the North Bay Business Journal and a news release, the Wine Industry Network will host a one-day symposium on Aug. 3 in Santa Rosa featuring wine and cannabis industry experts who will discuss regulations, licensing requirements, hospitality, tourism, farming and other topics. 

The gathering comes amid discussion about how the two heavily regulated, farm-based industries will affect one another

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CA wine, cannabis industry officials to meet in joint symposium is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Guam to begin accepting MMJ business applications this week

Guam is about to get its medical cannabis industry off the ground.

Entrepreneurs hoping to enter the U.S. territory’s MMJ market can begin applying for licenses Wednesday through the Department of Public Health and Social Services, the Pacific Daily News reported.

Guam voters passed the Compassionate Cannabis Use Act in November 2014, and Public Law 33-220 finally lapsed into effect Dec. 17, 2016, without Gov. Eddie Calvo having signed it.

Calvo favors a recreational program instead of medical cannabis and has introduced a bill that would legalize adult-use cannabis for adults 21 and older. Rec marijuana would

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Guam to begin accepting MMJ business applications this week is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Chart: Similar support levels for marijuana, Trump in red states that voted on cannabis measures

By Eli McVey

Marijuana proved to be about as popular as Donald Trump in red states that voted on cannabis ballot initiatives in November, highlighting the potential for a political backlash if the incoming president looks to crack down on the MJ industry.

Five states that leaned toward Trump in the 2016 elections – Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Montana and North Dakota – had marijuana-related measures on the ballot.

In each case, with the exception of Arkansas, the cannabis initiatives received almost as many or more votes than Trump garnered.

Even in Arizona, the only one of the

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Chart: Similar support levels for marijuana, Trump in red states that voted on cannabis measures is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

FL regulator gives patients, doctors OK to buy medical cannabis

A top Florida cannabis regulator said people who qualify for medical marijuana can begin buying the drug within 90 days, months before the state even implements rules governing the new MMJ program.

The timing of the start of MMJ sales – and whether they could occur before the rollout of the medical cannabis regulations – has been a source of confusion among doctors, patients and businesses, CBS Miami reported.

Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment in November to establish a full-fledged medical cannabis program allowing patients to be treated for a variety of health conditions. It could

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FL regulator gives patients, doctors OK to buy medical cannabis is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs