MMJ Business Daily

Boston Archdiocese to contribute $850K to anti-rec campaign

Adult-use cannabis just got another high-profile opponent.

The Boston Archdiocese of the Catholic Church will be giving $850,000 to the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts, which is dedicated to defeating Question 4, a statewide ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana.

According to the Boston Globe, the archdiocese “holds the matter among its highest priorities” and cited “detrimental impacts on our parishes, our ministries.”

The donation could breathe life into an anti-cannabis campaign that has struggled to raise money; the Globe reported that the church’s money “represents about a 50% increase” over what the group has raised thus

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Boston Archdiocese to contribute $850K to anti-rec campaign is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Chart: California medical marijuana sales skyrocket 132% since 2010

By Eli McVey
Medical cannabis sales in California have soared over the past five years, rising from a reported $351 million in 2010 to nearly $814 million in 2015, according to exclusive data obtained by Marijuana Business Daily.
Chart: California medi…

Judge rules against NORML in Florida county MMJ ballot snafu

A judge shot down a lawsuit brought by the Florida chapter of NORML  against the Broward County elections office after it was discovered an initiative to expand the state’s medical marijuana program was absent from some ballots.

Broward Circuit Judge Carol-Lisa Phillips ruled Friday that the Broward Supervisor of Elections Office was adequately informing voters to make sure their ballots contained the MMJ measure, Amendment 2, according to the Sun Sentinel.

The issue arose last week when two voters in the county reported that their ballots didn’t contain the initiative. The county reported a total

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Judge rules against NORML in Florida county MMJ ballot snafu is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Alaska rec marijuana sales set to start as soon as Saturday

Alaska’s recreational marijuana market is expected to launch as soon as Saturday, with a retail shop in Valdez – Herbal Outfitters – preparing to open its doors at “high noon” tomorrow.

That would mean Alaska will join three other states – Colorado, Oregon, and Washington State – with active adult-use cannabis markets.

In Fairbanks, two rec shops – both of which have received the green light from regulators – are planning to open next week, according to the Daily News-Miner. Other retailers are expected to follow suit.

The launch of Alaska’s rec market comes after the state’s

Alaska rec marijuana sales set to start as soon as Saturday is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Renegade dispensaries a challenge for new Vancouver regulations

Illegal marijuana dispensaries in Vancouver, British Columbia, continue to defy the city’s medical cannabis licensing and regulations process by staying open despite being ordered to close.

More than 50 illegal cannabis businesses still operate even after Vancouver officials issued 854 tickets to owners who refuse to close their shops, the Vancouver Courier reported. Some dispensaries have been issued multiple tickets, which cost $250 apiece. According to the report, operators have paid 205 tickets.

In addition, the city has filed 27 court injunctions aimed at shuttering some of the 54 unlicensed cannabis dispensaries, which operate without a city license.

Some

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Renegade dispensaries a challenge for new Vancouver regulations is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Rhode Island issues emergency measures to meet MMJ demand

Rhode Island regulators have issued emergency rules that create a new class of private medical marijuana cultivators to help meet a potential supply shortfall.

The growers will replace patient caregivers as a key MMJ supply source for the state’s three dispensaries, which aren’t producing all the different strains needed to supply Rhode Island’s more than 15,000 patients, the Providence Journal reported.

State officials worry there could be a shortage of medical cannabis because of a new law, effective Jan. 1 of next year, prohibiting dispensaries from buying excess plants from caregivers. The law was passed because some caregivers were

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Rhode Island issues emergency measures to meet MMJ demand is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Week in Review: Arkansas drops ballot measure, two heavyweights enter cannabis & PA issues draft rules

By Bart Schaneman and Omar Sacirbey

Arkansas’ Supreme Court tosses one of two medical marijuana initiatives, more corporate heavyweights enter the cannabis business, and Pennsylvania issues draft rules for dispensaries that could lead to a robust MMJ market.

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

Better odds?

When the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled Thursday to disqualify a medical marijuana proposal from the November ballot, it cleared the way for the one remaining MMJ measure to proceed. The high court may have boosted the odds of its passage.

Issue 6,

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Week in Review: Arkansas drops ballot measure, two heavyweights enter cannabis & PA issues draft rules is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Rec MJ ballot measures ahead in three states, but by slim margins

According to a trio of new polls released in cannabis battleground states, recreational marijuana legalization is ahead going into the final days of the 2016 campaign – but not by much.

In Arizona, support for a recreational cannabis legalization measure is at 50%, while about 43% of voters oppose the initiative and 8% haven’t made up their minds, according to an Arizona Republic/Morrison/Cronkite News poll.

In Massachusetts, rec is winning with 49% of voters supporting a legalization initiative; 42% oppose it and 9% are undecided, according to a Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll.

And in Nevada, adult-use

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Rec MJ ballot measures ahead in three states, but by slim margins is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Rec MJ ballot measures ahead in three states, but by slim margins

According to a trio of new polls released in cannabis battleground states, recreational marijuana legalization is ahead going into the final days of the 2016 campaign – but not by much.

In Arizona, support for a recreational cannabis legalization measure is at 50%, while about 43% of voters oppose the initiative and 8% haven’t made up their minds, according to an Arizona Republic/Morrison/Cronkite News poll.

In Massachusetts, rec is winning with 49% of voters supporting a legalization initiative; 42% oppose it and 9% are undecided, according to a Suffolk University/Boston Globe poll.

And in Nevada, adult-use

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Rec MJ ballot measures ahead in three states, but by slim margins is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Report: Canada rec cannabis industry could top $26 billion

Canada’s widely anticipated recreational marijuana market could become a more than $22.6 billion industry once it’s legalized, according to a new report by Deloitte.

The accounting and consulting firm’s report, scheduled for release soon, concludes that adult-use marijuana will be a huge jump-start for the Canadian economy, the Toronto Star reported. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is expected to introduce legislation to legalize rec marijuana next spring.

The report estimates the base retail market could be worth $4.9 billion-$8.7 billion annually based on a survey this summer of 5,000 Canadians, including 1,000 identified as recreational marijuana users, the newspaper

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Report: Canada rec cannabis industry could top $26 billion is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs