MMJ Business Daily

Ohio Towns Move to Block Medical Cannabis Businesses

Several Ohio municipalities are moving to block marijuana businesses from opening within their borders just weeks ahead of the launch of the state’s medical marijuana program.

A few cities have put six-month moratoriums on marijuana dispensaries, growers and processors, while several others have similar legislation in the works, according to Cleveland.com.

Ohio’s medical marijuana law goes into effect Sept 8, and business licenses won’t likely be announced for at least six months. So the six-month moratoriums may not matter, the paper reported.

The towns that have passed six-month moratoriums on licensed marijuana businesses include: Lakewood, Beavercreek, Troy and Piqua.

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Ohio Towns Move to Block Medical Cannabis Businesses is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Canadian MJ Companies Raise Tens of Millions in Financing

Within the span of a week and a half, a trio of Canadian medical cannabis producers announced they had all raised seven-figure amounts to expand their businesses.

First it was Aphria, which revealed on July 28 that it had entered into a “bought deal” that would net it CA$25 million, in exchange for 12.5 million common shares of stock at CA$2 per, according to a press release.

The next day it upped the value to CA$30 million ($22.6 million U.S.) “due to strong demand.” Aphria entered into the agreement with Clarus Securities, which made the stock purchase

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Canadian MJ Companies Raise Tens of Millions in Financing is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Pennsylvania Taps Health Care Veteran to Lead MMJ Program

Pennsylvania has tapped a health care veteran – John J. Collins – to lead its new medical marijuana program, a possible sign the state wants to make its program more accessible to MMJ patients versus restrictive.

That would be positive news for prospective entrepreneurs wanting to launch MMJ businesses in Pennsylvania.

“We believe that selection demonstrates that the Department of Health and the governor want to make our medical-cannabis program as good as it possibly can be and to benefit as many patients as it possibly can,” Patrick Nightingale, a Pittsburgh lawyer and executive director of

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Pennsylvania Taps Health Care Veteran to Lead MMJ Program is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Chart of the Week: Many Marijuana Businesses Unsure If They’ll Donate to 2016 Legalization Efforts

By Eli McVey

Some marijuana businesses are ramping up donations to legalization efforts ahead of what promises to be a ground-breaking election for the industry, but many are still weighing whether to contribute and could end up staying on the sidelines financially.

With just three months to go until Election Day, more than a quarter of industry executives who took an online poll by Marijuana Business Daily said their companies have already pumped money into state-level legalization campaigns or national groups spearheading ballot measures this year.

The average donation hovers around $10,000 for plant-touching and ancillary businesses, and around $13,000

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Chart of the Week: Many Marijuana Businesses Unsure If They’ll Donate to 2016 Legalization Efforts is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Scotts Miracle-Gro’s Cannabis Play Boosts Stock Price

Marijuana appears to be lifting Scotts Miracle-Gro’s stocks to new highs.

On Thursday, a day after the Ohio-based lawn care giant announced that it had shelled out $40 million to buy Botanicare, an Arizona-based provider of marijuana nutrient and hydroponics products, JP Morgan stock analyst Jeffrey Zekauskas upgraded his outlook for the company’s stock by raising its target price by more than 20%, to $85 from $70, according to Barron’s. He also upgraded the stock to “overweight” from “neutral.”

“The hydroponics market taps into marijuana demand and the company now has a growth option that we think an

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Scotts Miracle-Gro’s Cannabis Play Boosts Stock Price is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Illinois MMJ Cultivators Now Allowed to Host Reporters

Illinois medical marijuana regulators today lifted an unusual prohibition on media outlets visiting the state’s cultivation facilities, a move growers hope will allow them to better educate patients and the public about their products.

The state’s new medical cannabis director, Jack Campbell, made the announcement in a hastily called conference call with cultivation company representatives, according to Charles Bachtell, CEO of Cresco Labs, who was on the call. Cresco Labs is a cultivator and processor headquartered in Kankakee, Illinois.

“It’s a very important decision. It will let people see what goes on behind the curtain,” Bachtell said. “We’re the producers, and

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Illinois MMJ Cultivators Now Allowed to Host Reporters is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Canna-Centric Software Company Nets $1.6 Million in Seed Funding

Baker, a Denver-based customer-engagement software company for marijuana dispensaries and edibles brands, announced on Friday it has landed $1.6 million in seed funding.
The funding round was led by Michael Lazerow, founder of Golf.com and Buddy Media,…

Washington Tribe Expanding Cannabis Business Interests

The Puyallup Tribe of Washington State is entering almost uncharted business territory: Having already opened a testing lab, it will now start growing and selling medical cannabis to members of its own tribe.

Traditionally, cannabis businesses either stay completely on the testing or the production/retail side of the industry, so as not to create an apparent conflict of interest. In fact, many states ban the practice.

But that apparently isn’t an issue for the Puyallup tribe, which intends to test its own product for pesticides, heavy metals and other contaminants, according to the Olympian.

Any product the tribe sells to

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Washington Tribe Expanding Cannabis Business Interests is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Week in Review: Rescheduling Rumors, Nevada Targets California Docs & Pain Relief in MN

By John Schroyer and Omar Sacirbey

Federal cannabis rescheduling rumors keep swirling, Nevada is poised to cut off a significant chunk of income for medical marijuana dispensaries, and Minnesota’s pair of MMJ companies get major relief from pain patients.

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

Don’t Hold Your Breath on Rescheduling 

The rescheduling rumor mill keeps on churning. And marijuana industry executives may not want to hold their collective breaths for a resolution just yet.

Consider that July 1 has come and gone. Many in the marijuana industry had

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Week in Review: Rescheduling Rumors, Nevada Targets California Docs & Pain Relief in MN is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Oregon Marijuana Businesswoman Fined $40k for Fraud

An Oregon medical cannabis dispensary owner has been fined $40,000 by state regulators after they concluded she defrauded investors.

The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services last week found that Tisha Siler, the CEO of Cannacea, was guilty of investment fraud, the Oregonian reported. The allegations, first reported last month, could be the first-ever case of a licensed cannabis businessperson being penalized for such a crime.

The agency found that Siler lied to investors when she claimed that state regulators had “personally invited” her to open dispensaries, that she had already gotten the green light

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Oregon Marijuana Businesswoman Fined $40k for Fraud is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs