MMJ Business Daily

Hawaii Medical Marijuana Dispensary Openings Delayed

Add Hawaii to the long list of states that have delayed opening their first medical cannabis dispensaries.

Although the state’s eight licensees were originally supposed to be allowed to open for business on July 15, it looks as though opening day will have to be pushed back. State regulators haven’t yet completed final dispensary inspections, The Garden Island reported. And no exact timeline could be provided, either.

“The Department of Health is unable to predict the progress by each licensee because there are a number of requirements that are outside of our department’s control,” a state spokeswoman told

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Hawaii Medical Marijuana Dispensary Openings Delayed is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Helix TCS Acquires Colorado Marijuana Wholesale Site

Helix TCS, a Colorado cannabis company that offers a wide range of services for industry firms, announced Tuesday it has acquired Cannabase, a leading online wholesale platform where many of the state’s growers and retailers buy and sell marijuana.

The move broadens Helix TCS’s reach into the marijuana industry. It already offers armed security, consulting services on banking and compliance, logistical support, and more. Terms weren’t disclosed.

“Cannabase’s critical mass in the marketplace, coupled with the deep pipeline of market-ready technology solutions, made its acquisition a strategic imperative,” Zac Venegas, the CEO of Helix TCS, said in a press release. “This

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Helix TCS Acquires Colorado Marijuana Wholesale Site is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Marijuana Testing Labs Almost Online in Southeast Alaska

A key component in southeast Alaska’s upcoming recreational cannabis industry is almost complete: Marijuana testing labs in Juneau, the state capital, are expected to be licensed soon.

That’s important for local cannabis entrepreneurs. All marijuana must be lab-tested under state law in Alaska, and cultivators can’t ship their MJ via air or sea under federal laws, according to the Alaska Dispatch News.

At least two labs look like they’re on the verge of obtaining business permits: Southeast Alaska Labs and Juneau Cannabis Testing Labs. A third lab, Glacier Analytics, is also moving towards getting a testing license.

The state’s other

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Marijuana Testing Labs Almost Online in Southeast Alaska is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Colorado Wholesale Recreational Cannabis Prices Tumbling

By John Schroyer

The recreational marijuana price drop many in Colorado’s industry have been predicting for over a year has occurred – at least at the wholesale level.

The average price wholesale growers are asking retailers, edibles producers and others to pay for recreational marijuana has tumbled by a third since January. 

Blame it on a supply glut.

Industry insiders aren’t sure when the slide will end, suggesting that producers may be in for an extended period of low wholesale prices.

Indoor growers with inefficient, dated equipment may be hit the hardest, according to industry watchers, because they won’t be

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Colorado Wholesale Recreational Cannabis Prices Tumbling is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Steep Hill Nixes Testing Labs Deal With Pazoo

Steep Hill Labs, a prominent marijuana testing company, has severed all contracts with New Jersey-based Pazoo, which had struck a deal to operate Steep Hill-branded cannabis testing labs in Colorado, Nevada and Oregon.

In a press release, Steep Hill said the relationship was ended because Pazoo – a New Jersey-based testing lab and wellness company – and its subsidiaries failed to “meet their contractual obligations.” California-based Steep Hill didn’t specify what obligations weren’t met.

“We have become more selective with whom we choose to partner, and we are excited about a new beginning in these states,” Steep Hill said

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Steep Hill Nixes Testing Labs Deal With Pazoo is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Second Louisiana University Opts In to Grow Medical Cannabis

A second Louisiana university has decided to grow medical marijuana to supply the state’s new MMJ program, meaning the production of medical cannabis will be in the hands of public institutions rather than the private sector.

There may be a role for private companies to serve as advisors to the universities.

Southern University plans to submit a letter to the state voicing its interest in becoming a cultivator, the Shreveport Times reported.

Louisiana State University also has signaled its intention to participate as a cultivator, after the university’s Board of Supervisors approved a resolution allowing the school’s AgCenter to seek

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Second Louisiana University Opts In to Grow Medical Cannabis is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

CO Cannabis Industry Organizes to Fight Potency Cap Initiative

Colorado marijuana advocates – including many MJ companies – have formed a coalition to combat a proposed ballot measure that many in the industry say would gut the state’s cannabis market.

The proposed ballot initiative would cap cannabis product potency at 16% THC.

The new organization, the Colorado Health Research Council, is comprised of “cannabis patients, caregivers, scientists, cannabis industry leaders, the business community, and ordinary citizens who are organizing to defeat” the proposed constitutional amendment, according to a press release. Marijuana companies are bankrolling the effort.

Spearheading the coalition is LivWell Enlightened Health, one of the largest cannabis

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CO Cannabis Industry Organizes to Fight Potency Cap Initiative is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Arkansas Poll Shows Strong Medical Marijuana Support

A new poll shows strong support for medical marijuana legalization in Arkansas, where voters may have to decide between two competing ballot measures to legalize MMJ come the November election.

Of 751 likely Arkansas voters who were polled June 21, 58% said they would vote for allowing residents to buy medical marijuana from a not-for-profit dispensary, according to the Talk Business & Politics-Hendrix College Poll. Another 34% of survey respondents said they opposed medical marijuana legalization, and 8% didn’t know, KATV.com reported.

Support for MMJ legalization was especially strong among certain groups, the broadcaster reported: Democrats at 74%;

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Arkansas Poll Shows Strong Medical Marijuana Support is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Canada Creates Marijuana Legalization Task Force

Canada’s Department of Justice has created a task force to advise the federal government on in its plans to legalize recreational marijuana.

Anne McLellan, a deputy prime minister under former Prime Minister Paul Martin, will chair the nine-member panel, the CBC reported. McLellan also served as a health and justice minister.

“The task force will use what it has heard to advise the government on the design of the legislation and the regulatory framework that will include a new system of strict marijuana sales and distribution,” Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould told a news conference in Ottawa Thursday, according

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Canada Creates Marijuana Legalization Task Force is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Week in Review: California is Official, GW’s Epilepsy Drug & Illinois Resignation

By Omar Sacirbey and John Schroyer

California’s recreational marijuana campaign makes the November ballot, GW Pharmaceuticals grabs headlines with more successful epilepsy drug testing, and a possible new dawn in Illinois’ medical cannabis program.

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

California Taxin’

Recreational marijuana may be poised for one of its biggest victories, now that the Adult Use of Marijuana Act has officially been placed on the 2016 general election ballot in California. All current signs suggest victory – but some legalization advocates aren’t ready to celebrate.

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Week in Review: California is Official, GW’s Epilepsy Drug & Illinois Resignation is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs