MMJ Business Daily

Oregon legislators may take aim at medical cannabis regulator

The Oregon regulatory agency whose testing procedures have been blamed for damaging the state’s medical cannabis industry is being targeted by state lawmakers.

Legislation proposed for the 2017 session would wrest some or all control of medical marijuana from the Oregon Health Authority, the Portland Business Journal reported.

When the state legislature convenes Feb. 1, it is likely to hear proposals that would:

• Essentially disband the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and create an Oregon Cannabis Commission to oversee the state’s medical cannabis industry.
• Forbid the OHA from registering medical cannabis dispensaries as well as cultivation and processing sites.

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Oregon legislators may take aim at medical cannabis regulator is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Alleged ‘attack’ takes down MJ Freeway’s software, causing chaos for marijuana retailers

By Chris Walsh

MJ Freeway’s widely used software platform for cannabis businesses crashed over the weekend, creating ripples across the marijuana industry.

The outage sent 1,000 marijuana retailers in 23 states scrambling to handle everything from sales and inventory management to regulatory compliance issues. A number of dispensaries and recreational stores had to close Sunday as a result.

Others dealt with lengthy lines and customer complaints, as it took them longer to complete sales transactions.

MJ Freeway said it expects to restore service to the lion’s share of its customers by Monday and the rest on Tuesday.

The Denver-based company told Marijuana Business

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Alleged ‘attack’ takes down MJ Freeway’s software, causing chaos for marijuana retailers is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

PTSD adds momentum to New Jersey’s medical cannabis program

More than 450 people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder have enrolled in New Jersey’s medical marijuana program since mid-September, when Gov. Chris Christie agreed to add PTSD to the list of treatable conditions for MMJ.

The PTSD enrollees amount to about 4% of the 10,800 MMJ patients who legally buy medical cannabis from one of New Jersey’s five dispensaries, NJ.com reported. The increase adds further momentum to New Jersey’s medical cannabis program, which has had to overcome numerous obstacles.

According to a state health department spokeswoman, 466 people who said they suffer from PTSD have qualified for

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PTSD adds momentum to New Jersey’s medical cannabis program is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Rhode Island awards inaugural cultivation licenses

Rhode Island regulators have awarded the state’s first commercial medical cannabis grow licenses to three companies in the city of Warwick: Medici Products & Solutions, OSCC and Evergreen Gardens.

The newly licensed cultivators will be allowed to sell medical marijuana to the state’s three existing dispensaries. Those dispensaries are all vertically integrated but still buy about 40%-60% from other growers, the Providence Journal reported.

Last year, however, regulators adopted a law prohibiting the more than 2,800 caregivers in the Rhode Island from selling product to dispensaries because of fears some of that product was entering the illicit market.

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Rhode Island awards inaugural cultivation licenses is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Another cannabis regulator moves to the private sector

The public sector continues to hemorrhage cannabis regulators, who have been increasingly jumping ship to the more lucrative private sector.

The latest example: Andrew Freedman, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper’s outgoing director of marijuana coordination for the past two years.

Freedman announced Thursday he has co-founded a new consultancy firm with another outgoing state employee: Lewis Koski, a deputy senior director of enforcement for the state department of revenue and former director of the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division.

John Hudak, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, will round out the team as the firm’s senior adviser.

Freedman and

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Another cannabis regulator moves to the private sector is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Week in Review: Poorly trained MMJ workers, AR’s medical fees & Puerto Rico in business

By Omar Sacirbey and Bart Schaneman

A study shows that many dispensary employees are improperly trained, Arkansas announces fees to set up MMJ cultivation facilities, and Puerto Rico’s medical cannabis industry is open for business.

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

No train, no gain

If workforce training is any measure of an industry’s professionalism, the cannabis industry has some serious catching up to do.

According to a study published in Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, a medical and scientific journal, 45% of the 55 dispensary workers surveyed

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Week in Review: Poorly trained MMJ workers, AR’s medical fees & Puerto Rico in business is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Illinois MMJ market posting record numbers

Illinois’ medical marijuana market is posting record month-to-month increases across a number of categories, overcoming an initial slow start and building on recent gains, new state data show.

According to the Illinois Department of Health:

• The state’s 49 medical marijuana dispensaries saw a total of more than $36 million in retail sales for 2016.
• For the same year, cultivation centers amassed total wholesale sales of $21.9 million.
• For the month of December alone, MMJ dispensaries sold a total of $5.3 million in product, including $3.05 million in flower and $2.3 million in concentrates and infused-products, the highest

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Illinois MMJ market posting record numbers is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Maine dispensaries want early crack at adult-use cannabis sales

Maine’s largest medical marijuana operator wants the state’s eight dispensaries to have an early opportunity to sell recreational cannabis.

The Wellness Connection of Maine, which operates four dispensaries, is supporting legislation that would allow the state’s MMJ operators to begin peddling adult-use cannabis while regulations are drawn up for the new rec market, the Bangor Daily News reported.

But a leading advocate for Maine’s caregivers, who grow MMJ at home for patients and compete against the dispensaries, dubbed the move a “money grab.” A leading cannabis proponent also voiced opposition, the newspaper reported.

Maine’s legalization program is scheduled to take

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Maine dispensaries want early crack at adult-use cannabis sales is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Arkansas MMJ cultivation fee set at $100,000 annually

The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission has set the annual fee to operate a medical marijuana cultivation facility at $100,000.

The commission also decided Tuesday that applicants for the five available cultivation licenses must have a $1 million bond or assets worth $1 million and the ability to demonstrate $500,000 in cash liquidity, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

This’s on top of the $15,000 application fee regulators approved last week.

The financial requirements are quite high compared to many other states, although a few other markets charge even more. Maryland, for example, assesses a $165,000 fee annually a cultivator

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Arkansas MMJ cultivation fee set at $100,000 annually is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

New Market: Nevada expected to have big, highly regulated rec MJ industry

By Bart Schaneman
Nevada’s recreational marijuana market is expected to be tightly regulated and slow to launch, but once the industry does take flight it’s likely to become a major player on the international MJ scene.
New Market: Nevada expected to h…