MMJ Business Daily

A $40 Million Cannabis-Related Deal for Scotts Miracle-Gro

Scotts Miracle-Gro CEO Jim Hagedorn made good on an earlier promise that he would invest big money in ancillary cannabis companies, announcing in a Wednesday conference call with investors that the lawn-care business signed a $40 million deal this week to acquire Botanicare, a plant nutrient and hydroponics products provider in Arizona.

He also disclosed that a previously unnamed Dutch company Scotts bought earlier this year was Gavita, which specializes in grow lighting and hardware, according to The Cannabist.

The outspoken CEO has said he wants to “invest, like, half a billion dollars” in the marijuana

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A $40 Million Cannabis-Related Deal for Scotts Miracle-Gro is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Pioneering Denver MJ Business Sold to Willie’s Reserve Processor

The owners of a pioneering recreational and medical cannabis business, Denver Relief, announced the sale today of their cultivation and infused products facilities to CMH Brands, a Colorado company tapped by Willie’s Reserve to process its marijuana products.

The sale comes two weeks after Denver Relief, founded in 2009, sold its retail store to Colorado-based Terrapin Care Station, another venerable retailer which already has two recreational storefronts in Aurora and a combined recreational-medical operation in Boulder.

Denver Relief owners Ean Seeb and Kayvan Khalatbari have announced that they plan to stay in the cannabis industry, but will focus

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Pioneering Denver MJ Business Sold to Willie’s Reserve Processor is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Detroit: Despite Threatened MMJ Crackdown, It’s Business as Usual

By John Schroyer

A pair of restrictive zoning ordinances and new licensing procedures that took effect in March had threatened to shutter up to 75% of Detroit’s medical marijuana dispensaries.

But so far the MMJ industry’s worst fears haven’t materialized, and it’s business as usual for most storefronts, industry insiders say.

Detroit authorities, up to now, have refrained from imposing a widespread crackdown on dispensaries. And some dispensary owners have relocated their businesses outside the city.

“Many of the distribution centers that we feared would be closed by now are still open,” said Rick Thompson, editor

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Detroit: Despite Threatened MMJ Crackdown, It’s Business as Usual is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

SD Tribe Consultants Charged With Federal MJ Crimes

A pair of Colorado-based consultants who had previously been contracted to help a South Dakota tribe start a marijuana resort on Native American land have been charged with federal narcotics crimes, and the tribe itself has decided to instead grow vegetables such as tomatoes.

The incident underscores how tribal interests in marijuana have cooled since a U.S. Department of Justice memo in late 2014 sparked a short-lived speculative rush that tribes nationwide could get the green light by the federal government to grow and sell cannabis.

The turnaround in tribal interest has dampened the opportunity

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SD Tribe Consultants Charged With Federal MJ Crimes is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

On a Roll: Illinois MMJ Patients Spend $2.9M in July

Despite a slow start, Illinois’ medical cannabis industry is gathering momentum as evidenced by the steady growth in sales throughout this year.

In July, the state’s industry hit a new high, with $2.9 million in sales, according to the Chicago Tribune.

That’s up from $2.57 million in June, for a grand total of $16.3 million since the program launched in November. Sales have been growing steadily since the first dispensary opened.

The patient count has been growing steadily as well, which accounts for the parallel sales growth: The state now has nearly 9,000 patients, up from about 4,800

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On a Roll: Illinois MMJ Patients Spend $2.9M in July is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Influential Vermont Marijuana Study Criticized

Doctors, social workers and academics are criticizing a Vermont health department marijuana study completed earlier this year which helped persuade the state’s House of Representatives to reject a recreational cannabis bill in May.

Critics of the 84-page report charged it was narrowly focused on the negative aspects of marijuana, the Burlington Free Press reported.

Had lawmakers approved the recreational MJ bill, Vermont would have become the first state in the nation to approve legalization through its legislature.

The Vermont Department of Health was tasked with assessing the public health risks of marijuana legalization in the state, and released its

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Influential Vermont Marijuana Study Criticized is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Could Ohio Solve the Cannabis Industry’s Cash-Only Problem?

By Omar Sacirbey

Could Ohio wean the marijuana industry from its need to do business in cash?

Ohio’s new medical marijuana law proposes a “closed-loop” payment processing system. It would be similar to pre-paid debit or gift cards. Regulators must still decide whether to use the system.

The proposal comes at a time when legal marijuana companies have had to rely on cash-only transactions. That’s because most banks, credit unions and credit card companies are reluctant to do business with them, given the uncertain federal regulatory environment.

That conundrum has forced marijuana businesses to use cash

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Could Ohio Solve the Cannabis Industry’s Cash-Only Problem? is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Puerto Rico MMJ Sales Could Start in Early 2017

Puerto Rico’s emerging medical marijuana market could be up and running as soon as January, with dispensaries on the island being allowed to cater to tourists.

The general counsel for Puerto Rico’s health department, Mayra Maldonado, told the Denver Post that the territory is moving quickly on licensing and infrastructure, and that sales could commence early next year.

To date, Maldonado said, Puerto Rico has received 21 business applications. Twenty of those are cultivation applications. The territory is anticipating more applicants for MMJ dispensaries and product manufacturing permits, she added.

The small Caribbean island has moved fairly quickly

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Puerto Rico MMJ Sales Could Start in Early 2017 is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Alaska Board Accused of Undermining Marijuana Program

Members of Alaska’s Marijuana Control Board and some officials in the administration of Gov. Bill Walker are trying to slow the rollout of the state’s new recreational MJ program, an outgoing board member charged.

Bruce Schulte, who was removed from the five-member marijuana board last Friday by Gov. Walker, alleged that obstructionists on the board and in Walker’s administration were establishing unreasonably strict regulations that would hurt new cannabis businesses, according to Anchorage NBC affiliate KTUU.

“There’s an underlying agenda to subvert the process, to delay the implementation of a legalized marijuana industry,” Schulte said. “It doesn’t look like the

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Alaska Board Accused of Undermining Marijuana Program is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Pacific U.S. Territory May Vote on Recreational MJ Legalization

The Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory closer to Japan than to California, may wind up voting on whether or not to legalize recreational cannabis this fall.

A local Mariana Islands lawmaker is pushing a bill to place a referendum before residents to legalize cannabis for all uses, including medical and recreational, the Denver Post reported, citing various local news outlets.

“The public through our hearings have expressed their desire for full legalization,” Sen. Sixto K. Igisomar, the bill’s proponent, said, according to the Marianas Variety. “I think it would be wise to bring this question

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Pacific U.S. Territory May Vote on Recreational MJ Legalization is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs