MMJ Business Daily

Cannabis Lobby Out in Force at DNC This Week

In contrast to the quite anti-cannabis Republican National Convention in Cleveland last week, the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia has had a slightly greenish tinge to it.

The marijuana lobby, in fact, was out in force at the convention, with national figureheads such as Drug Policy Alliance’s Ethan Nadelmann making speeches about the importance of ending the War on Drugs and legalizing recreational marijuana in California this year.

The day before the convention began, Marijuana Policy Project held a fundraiser, according to USA Today, and previously, the national Democratic Party had adopted a “reasoned path to

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Cannabis Lobby Out in Force at DNC This Week is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Trademark Board Hands Setback to MJ Businesses

A federal trademark board has issued a major setback to marijuana businesses seeking federal protection for trademarks and patents.

The Trademark Trial and Appeals Board (TTAB) of the US Patent and Trademark Office ruled earlier this month that owners of state-licensed marijuana retailers can’t receive federal trademark protection on marks that are connected to marijuana sales because of marijuana’s status as a Schedule 1 substance, according to an analysis by Ashe Puri at the Fox Rothschild law firm.

The ruling stems from a trademark application from Morgan Brown, a Washington State resident who owns a retail store in

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Trademark Board Hands Setback to MJ Businesses is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Flood of Investment Money Flowing to Oregon Cannabis Firms After Residency Change

By John Schroyer

Out-of-state investors are pumping millions of dollars into Oregon’s marijuana industry now that a restrictive residency requirement has been abolished, giving local cannabis businesses a sorely needed pipeline of money to tap as they grow.

In March, Oregon’s governor signed a law eliminating a rule that required every legal marijuana business to be at least 51% owned by an Oregon resident who lived in the state for at least two years.

As a result, cannabis companies are now free to raise money from out-of-state investors in exchange for equity, making the market much more attractive

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Flood of Investment Money Flowing to Oregon Cannabis Firms After Residency Change is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

FL Billionaire Heiress Donates $800k to MMJ Legalization Foe

Florida billionaire Carol Jenkins Barnett, who is heir to the supermarket chain Publix, is reportedly behind an $800,000 donation to Drug Free Florida, an organization that is fighting against medical marijuana legalization in the Sunshine State.

The Jenkins Barnett Family Trust made the donation on July 14, the Miami New Times reported this week.

Barnett is worth $1.8 billion herself and owns 5% of Publix as the chain’s largest shareholder. She also gave half a million to Drug Free Florida two years ago, when MMJ legalization failed narrowly at the ballot box.

A company spokeswoman for Publix was

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FL Billionaire Heiress Donates $800k to MMJ Legalization Foe is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Canadian MJ Grower to List on Major Stock Exchange

In what could be a first in both the cannabis industry and stock market history, a large marijuana cultivation company will list on a major North American stock exchange.

Canopy Growth Corp., one of Canada’s biggest licensed medical marijuana companies, started trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TMX) Tuesday under the ticker symbol CGC, according to Bloomberg.

“The addition of Canopy Growth helps signal that the world’s view of cannabis has finally shifted, starting right here in Canada,” said Canopy CEO Bruce Linton in a statement.

Canopy started its life as a public company in 2014 after completing

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Canadian MJ Grower to List on Major Stock Exchange is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Many Oregon Localities to Vote Again on Rec

Oregon already has a recreational marijuana industry, but that’s only true in about half of the physical state. Most of eastern Oregon, and a good bit of the western half, chose to ban rec businesses after the 2014 election, but the topic will be back on the ballot this year in several dozen local communities.

That will give the rec industry in Oregon yet another chance to expand even more, and give a lot of existing medical dispensaries the chance to serve customers that they’re currently not allowed to sell to, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.

So far,

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Many Oregon Localities to Vote Again on Rec is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

The Famous Marijuana Memos: Q&A With Former DOJ Deputy Attorney General James Cole

By John Schroyer

There’s a good argument to be made that James Cole has had a bigger impact on the U.S. cannabis industry than any other single individual in modern history.

The former deputy attorney general, who served in the U.S. Department of Justice from 2010-2015, authored a trio of memos essentially outlining federal policy on the legal cannabis industry.

• The first, in 2011, came barely six months into his tenure and resulted in a wave of crackdowns on the medical cannabis industry at the time.

• The second, in 2013, was

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The Famous Marijuana Memos: Q&A With Former DOJ Deputy Attorney General James Cole is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Report: 69% of Cannabis Consumers are Men

Newly released data from Cannabis Market Intelligence Platform Headset has found that nearly 69% of marijuana consumers are men, while just 31.1% are women, Forbes reported Monday.

The same data set also found that the largest percentage of recreational consumers, 20.39%, are between the ages of 25 and 29. Cannabis consumers between the ages of 21 to 34 make up 51.8% of purchases.

Interested in age? The average marijuana buyer is 37.6 years old, the average woman customer is 38.2 years old, and the average man is 37.4 years old. Seniors don’t account for much of the market:

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Report: 69% of Cannabis Consumers are Men is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

California Edibles Executive Faces Fraud Charges

An investor in a prominent California edibles company is accusing the firm’s CEO of securities fraud and is seeking to invalidate his claim in the company.

The investor claims in the lawsuit, filed anonymously on July 18, that Robert Weakley, CEO of Altai, lied about his contributions to the company’s accounts and spent some $750,000 of investors’ money on private jets, fancy hotels, and personal legal bills, according to BuzzFeed.

The complaint, BuzzFeed reported, alleges that Weakley told the investor in January 2015 at a meeting they had in Monterrey, California, that he had put in $250,000 cash into

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California Edibles Executive Faces Fraud Charges is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Pay-to-Play in Massachusetts’ Medical Cannabis Industry?

Massachusetts cities are getting increasingly wealthier off the backs of medical cannabis companies that are agreeing to pay municipalities sizable fees in exchange for the rights to do business, according to an investigation by the Boston Globe.

In the town of Worcester, for example, one dispensary agreed to shell out $450,000 over three years, as well as $200,000 afterwards, if local officials gave the company the green light.

In the town of Springfield, local officials are working on a deal that would get the municipality 7% of a dispensary’s revenues, as well as a $50,000 annual donation to

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Pay-to-Play in Massachusetts’ Medical Cannabis Industry? is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs