MMJ Business Daily

Report: MMJ producers would also supply Canada’s rec program

Canada’s 36 federally licensed medical marijuana producers would become the initial cultivators for the country’s proposed legalized recreational program under a plan delivered to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, sources told the Globe and Mail newspaper.

A task force responsible for recommending how the country’s proposed marijuana legalization system will be regulated delivered its report to Trudeau’s government Wednesday. But the proposals won’t be made public for several weeks, the newspaper reported.

The report recommended a heavily regulated adult-use production system and that the “final word” for distribution would be given to the governments of Canada’s 10 provinces and three

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Report: MMJ producers would also supply Canada’s rec program is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Scotts Miracle-Gro establishes 80% ownership of home-grow firm

Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. said it has secured an 80% stake in AeroGrow International, which sells home-growing kits for indoor gardeners.

Scotts Miracle-Gro acquired some 21.6 million shares of Colorado-based AeroGrow for $47.8 million, and the deal has further extended the Ohio company’s reach into the marijuana trade.

Scotts has purchased a range of marijuana-related companies, from hydroponic and nutrient firms to lighting, hardware and fertilizer companies.

Scotts first developed the partnership with AeroGrow in 2013 as a foray into the cannabis industry, acquiring a 31% stake in the firm. It had the option to boost that stake.

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Scotts Miracle-Gro establishes 80% ownership of home-grow firm is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Testing, supply issues ‘could be death knell’ for Oregon MJ market

By Omar Sacirbey

Strict marijuana testing standards and a dearth of labs have created a supply shortage for Oregon’s marijuana businesses, resulting in half-empty shelves, plunging revenue and possible layoffs. Many businesses are even closing.

“This could be a death knell for Oregon’s cannabis industry,” economist Beau Whitney surmised.

The supply crunch has affected retail availability of both recreational and medical marijuana, including flower and edibles. It comes on the heels of more stringent cannabis testing standards that took effect Oct. 1. Meanwhile, only a handful of labs have been accredited for testing, and many of the tested products have

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Testing, supply issues ‘could be death knell’ for Oregon MJ market is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Trump makes second anti-cannabis cabinet pick

President-elect Donald Trump has made a second anti-marijuana appointment to his cabinet, selecting Rep. Tom Price from Georgia to serve as Health and Human Services secretary.

At the federal level, the HHS doesn’t regulate marijuana. That’s left to the Justice Department, but the HHS secretary can control the availability of cannabis in states that have legalized adult-use or medical marijuana, according to the Washington Post.

The newspaper noted the department could penalize physicians or sue sellers who work with MMJ in states where it’s legal. Cannabis remains illegal under federal law.

Price is staunchly anti-cannabis, according to

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Trump makes second anti-cannabis cabinet pick is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Colorado hemp industry moves ahead after seed certification

Colorado’s hemp industry took a major step forward this week when its Department of Agriculture announced that three industrial hemp seed varieties passed a statewide trial that confirmed the resulting plants contain THC levels under 0.3%.

Being under the 0.3% threshold is important because plants with higher THC levels cannot be certified as hemp under state laws, and are instead considered marijuana and can’t be used. The validation means that these seed varieties are now eligible to be cultivated as “CDA Approved Certified Seed” by members of the Colorado Seed Growers Association, according to a Colorado Department of

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Colorado hemp industry moves ahead after seed certification is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Maine rec legalization recount to begin Monday

A formal recount of Maine’s election results on recreational cannabis legalization is set to begin Monday and is expected to take four to six weeks and cost the state up to half a million dollars.

Question 1, the formal name of the Maine rec initiative, was approved by less than a 1% margin of votes cast on Election Day, and cannabis opponents seized on that as a possible way to negate its passage.

The recount will take place at the Maine Department of Public Safety in Augusta, the Portland Press-Herald reported, and will be open to the public.

According

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Maine rec legalization recount to begin Monday is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

New Market: Humble beginnings expected for North Dakota’s medical marijuana industry

By Bart Schaneman

North Dakota’s new medical marijuana market – made possible by the Nov. 8 election – is expected to be one of the smallest in the nation, with estimated annual dispensary sales eventually reaching $10 million-$20 million.

New Market: Humble beginnings expected for North Dakota’s medical marijuana industry is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

South Africa targets legalization of medicinal cannabis in 2017

The South African Department of Health is making progress on reclassifying marijuana from an illicit substance to a prescription drug.

A top official with the Medical Control Council recently told the National Assembly that the MCC could begin the regulation process as soon as February, including allowing the cultivation and supply of MMJ, according to IOL, a South African news site.

The council has proposed rescheduling cannabis, or “dagga” as it’s known in South Africa, from a Schedule 7 banned substance to a Schedule 6 prescription drug.

South Africa has allowed cannabis to be used for research

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South Africa targets legalization of medicinal cannabis in 2017 is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Report: Canada’s MJ legalization could be ‘game changer’

By 2021, Canada’s legalized adult-use cannabis market could have some 3.8 million legal consumers and sales of 6 billion Canadian dollars ($4.5 billion), according to financial analysts at Canaccord Genuity, an investment bank and research firm.

“Recreational upside could be a game changer,” said a report released Monday by Canaccord analysts Matt Bottomley and Neil Maruoka. The report also forecast that tough licensing standards will raise barriers to entry and there will be supply shortfalls until production hits stride in 2020, according to Bloomberg News.

The Canaccord analysts also predicted that annual marijuana demand would grow from about 882,000

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Report: Canada’s MJ legalization could be ‘game changer’ is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Landmark deal: Israeli companies team to market MMJ inhaler

Two Israeli companies have signed an agreement to market an inhaler for medical marijuana, signifying what looks to be the first time a major global pharmaceutical company has agreed to market an MMJ product.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. and Syqe Medical said they inked a distribution and cooperation agreement for Teva to exclusively market Syqe’s inhaler, which has been used for more than a year at an Israeli hospital under a trial program, the Times of Israel reported.

Syqe said the deal is the first of its kind involving a big pharmaceutical company and a medical cannabis

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Landmark deal: Israeli companies team to market MMJ inhaler is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs