MMJ Business Daily

Two Canadian Banks Say No to Marijuana-Related Accounts

Two of Canada’s biggest banks – Scotiabank and the Royal Bank of Canada – say they aren’t providing accounts to plant-touching or ancillary marijuana businesses, forcing some owners to find new financial institutions that will take their money.

Nathan MacLellan, the owner of Hemp County in Woodstock, Ontario, a store that sells accessories including pipes and bongs but not actual cannabis, received a letter from Scotiabank late last month telling him his account was being cancelled, according to the Canadian Press. MacLellan had had an account with Scotiabank for about 10 years.

The Canadian Press also reported that in

…

Two Canadian Banks Say No to Marijuana-Related Accounts is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Chart of the Week: Court Ruling on Guns & MMJ Could Lead to Millions in Lost Dispensary Sales

By Eli McVey

Keep your medical marijuana card or surrender it to purchase a firearm.

This is the decision patients in western states may face after a recent court ruling upheld a federal ban on gun sales to registered MMJ users, which could result in millions of dollars in lost sales for dispensaries.

The 9^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that a Nevada woman’s Second Amendment rights were not violated by a federal law prohibiting gun sales to an “unlawful user of and/or an addict to marijuana.” This includes registered medical marijuana patients in states that have

…

Chart of the Week: Court Ruling on Guns & MMJ Could Lead to Millions in Lost Dispensary Sales is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

New Mexico MMJ Producer May be in Trouble Over State Fair

One of New Mexico’s 35 medical marijuana producers may have landed his business in hot water after he put a cannabis plant on display at the state fair this week.

Duke Rodriguez, the CEO of Ultra Health, said he paid $2,000 for a booth at the fair and informed fair officials beforehand that he was planning on displaying a marijuana plant and several other items to promote MMJ “as an agricultural asset” to New Mexico – much like the Hatch green chile and piñon nuts.

During the fair Thursday, a fair manager informed him that there had been a

…

New Mexico MMJ Producer May be in Trouble Over State Fair is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Pharma Firm Fights AZ Rec Legalization Measure

A publicly traded pharmaceutical firm in Arizona that is developing both opiate and cannabis-based medicines is also the largest contributor to opponents of the campaign to legalize recreational marijuana in the state.

Insys Therapeutics, based in Chandler, donated $500,000 to Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy, the Arizona Capital Times reported. The second largest donation to the anti-legalization group was $110,000 from the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Insys’ only currently available product is an opiate spray to treat pain for cancer patients

The company also has several drugs going through Food and Drug Administration trials,

…

Pharma Firm Fights AZ Rec Legalization Measure is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Michigan Senate Passes Statewide Medical Marijuana Regulations

The Michigan state Senate has cleared the way for a new statewide regulatory system for the medical cannabis industry by passing a package of bills, the Detroit News reported.
If the five related measures are all approved by the House and given the go-…

Week in Review: Arizona Tells Lawyers No, MD Grapples With Diversity, Oregon Faces Possible Stumbling Block

By Omar Sacirbey and John Schroyer

Arizona’s Supreme Court says no to lawyers, Maryland’s cannabis regulators wrestle with racial diversity, and Oregon’s recreational marijuana market faces a potential hurdle.

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

Arizona’s High Court Says No

Arizona is digging in its heels over whether local attorneys can help marijuana entrepreneurs, a decision likely to complicate the lives of local MJ entrepreneurs – especially if the state’s voters approve adult-use cannabis this fall.

The Arizona Supreme Court refused this week to repeal rules threatening

…

Week in Review: Arizona Tells Lawyers No, MD Grapples With Diversity, Oregon Faces Possible Stumbling Block is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Week in Review: Arizona Tells Lawyers No, MD Grapples With Diversity, Oregon Faces Possible Stumbling Block

By Omar Sacirbey and John Schroyer

Arizona’s Supreme Court says no to lawyers, Maryland’s cannabis regulators wrestle with racial diversity, and Oregon’s recreational marijuana market faces a potential hurdle.

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

Arizona’s High Court Says No

Arizona is digging in its heels over whether local attorneys can help marijuana entrepreneurs, a decision likely to complicate the lives of local MJ entrepreneurs – especially if the state’s voters approve adult-use cannabis this fall.

The Arizona Supreme Court refused this week to repeal rules threatening

…

Week in Review: Arizona Tells Lawyers No, MD Grapples With Diversity, Oregon Faces Possible Stumbling Block is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Michigan High Court Rejects Bid to Put MJ Legalization on Ballot

It appears all but certain that Michigan residents won’t be voting on legalizing recreational marijuana in November, a blow to MJ entrepreneurs angling to participate in a new adult-use market.

Michigan’s Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal by Michigan’s pro-legalization campaign, the Detroit Free Press reported. The high court effectively affirmed lower court rulings that barred the MILegalize campaign from placing a legalization measure on the ballot.

In June, the group turned in over 100,000 extra signatures to put the rec measure before voters. But state officials nixed MILegalize’s bid, saying the group broke

…

Michigan High Court Rejects Bid to Put MJ Legalization on Ballot is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

AZ High Court Says No to Allowing Lawyers Help Cannabis Clients

Arizona’s Supreme Court rejected a bid to repeal rules that threaten lawyers with disbarment if they help marijuana-related clients including businesses, a move that could have big implications if the state’s voters approve an initiative to legalize adult-use cannabis.

Arizona-based Capitol Media Services reported the high court dismissed without comment a petition to permit lawyers to help clients possess, buy or sell cannabis under the state’s voter-approved medical marijuana law.

The decision effectively affirms rules that bar lawyers from aiding clients “in conduct that the lawyer knows is criminal,” Capitol Media Services reported. The possession, use and sale of marijuana

…

AZ High Court Says No to Allowing Lawyers Help Cannabis Clients is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

More Maryland MMJ Delays Possible as State Seeks to Boost Diversity

Maryland’s Medical Cannabis Commission aims to devise a plan to increase the diversity of medical marijuana license winners, a move that could further delay the launch of a program already months behind its original schedule.

“Nothing is off the table,” Commission Chairman Paul Davies told reporters this week following a meeting with Attorney General Brian Frosh. The two officials talked about ways to legally increase how many minority applicants receive medical marijuana licenses, according to the Baltimore Sun.

The cannabis panel awarded 15 growing licenses and 15 processor licenses last month, but only a handful of minority-led teams were

…

More Maryland MMJ Delays Possible as State Seeks to Boost Diversity is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs