MMJ Business Daily

Oregon Marijuana Edibles Makers Ramping Up Production

Edibles producers in Oregon are increasing production after a strong start to recreational marijuana sales earlier this month.

While recreational sales of flower began in Oregon last October, edibles, extracts and topicals were only allowed to be sold to adult-use customers starting June 2. A state economist predicted a 10%-15% recreational sales increase early in the month followed by a slowdown, the Statesman Journal reported.

But the economist said even though a sales boom isn’t necessarily expected, he still thinks sales will be solid because edible products typically aren’t available on the black market. And they’re very popular

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Oregon Marijuana Edibles Makers Ramping Up Production is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Illinois Medical Cannabis Program Director Resigns, Again

The second head of Illinois’ medical cannabis program has resigned after a little more than a year on the job, the latest government regulator to leave for a potential opportunity in the marijuana industry.

Outgoing program chief Joseph Wright, an attorney, followed in the footsteps of lawyer Bob Morgan, who left the agency last year and is now president of the Illinois Cannabis Bar Association. Wright told the Associated Press that “he felt the time was right to seek other opportunities, possibly in the medical cannabis industry.”

Wright resigned on Friday, and was paid $53,770 last

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Illinois Medical Cannabis Program Director Resigns, Again is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Senators Put Pressure on DEA to Reschedule Marijuana

A group of U.S. Democratic senators is putting pressure on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency to remove marijuana from its list of the most dangerous drugs.

DEA spokesman Russ Baer told the Wall Street Journal the agency will announce a decision “sometime soon” about whether it will reschedule marijuana from a federally prohibited substance to something less restrictive. But he did not expect a decision by June 30, countering widespread speculation in the cannabis industry.

Baer explained the DEA is in the “final stages” of its deliberations.

In a letter, eight Democratic senators urged the DEA and its parent

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Senators Put Pressure on DEA to Reschedule Marijuana is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Marijuana Stigma Receding Among Some Big Companies

By Omar Sacirbey

The giants of American business are getting more comfortable about partnering with marijuana-related companies, and they’re willing to go public about it.

In the course of a week, news broke that software giant Microsoft Corp. and Arrow Electronics, a Fortune 150 company, had teamed with marijuana-related businesses.

It may be the tip of the iceberg, as Corporate America angles to grab a share of the growing marijuana industry. That could mean partnership opportunities for established cannabis companies, as well as mergers and acquisitions.

“I believe we are going to see many more mainstream

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Marijuana Stigma Receding Among Some Big Companies is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

LA Cannabis Consultancy Launches $100M Equity Investment Fund

MedMen, a cannabis management consultancy in Los Angeles, announced it has launched a $100 million private equity fund to invest in companies that are in markets with high barriers to entry and a limited number of licenses.

The new MedMen Opportunity Fund also will own part of MedMen’s management company, which will serve as the fund’s operating partner, the firm announced in a press release.

MedMen founder and CEO Adam Bierman told Business Insider he expects investors initially will include wealthy individuals and family offices. Wicklow Capital, a Chicago investment firm, is an anchor investor.

MedMen was

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LA Cannabis Consultancy Launches $100M Equity Investment Fund is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Medical Cannabis Company GW Pharma’s Stock Again Jumps

GW Pharmaceuticals – a publicly traded British medical cannabis company conducting clinical trials to determine how effective its medications are against epilepsy – watched its stock surge once again in response to a successful round of testing.

News Monday that a phase 3 trial was helpful at treating patients with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, a type of epilepsy, sent GW’s stock shooting up by more than 10% on the Nasdaq in morning trading, according to Business Insider. It closed up more than 6%.

Reuters reported the company’s stock had shot up by 21% during trading on the London Stock

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Medical Cannabis Company GW Pharma’s Stock Again Jumps is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

U.S. Supreme Court Won’t Hear Montana Dispensary Appeal

Montana dispensaries hoping for a last-ditch miracle from the U.S. Supreme Court were treated to a bitter disappointment Monday with the news that the justices had declined to hear their case.

The Associated Press reported that the justices let stand a Montana Supreme Court ruling that in effect regulates the state’s medical cannabis industry out of business.

While the high court’s decision wasn’t a surprise, a spokeswoman for the Montana Cannabis Industry Association (MTCIA) said in a statement the organization is “disappointed,” but is now hoping that it will win a motion for a stay on

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U.S. Supreme Court Won’t Hear Montana Dispensary Appeal is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Firm’s Findings Show Promising Results Among Testing Labs

Emerald Scientific, a California supplier of equipment and testing products to the cannabis testing sector, has released the results of its latest Emerald Test – which measures the accuracy of dozens of testing labs – and the results are promising.

Nearly 50 labs entered the company’s semi-annual Inter-lab Comparison and Proficiency Test, which measures a lab’s ability to determine the amounts of cannabinoids and residual solvents in an unknown sample. The test also compares results among labs to offer insights into how labs can improve.

“Labs across the country performed better than expected and in line with testing parameters used by

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Firm’s Findings Show Promising Results Among Testing Labs is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

American Cannabis Co. Secures $5M Equity Stake

American Cannabis Co. said it has secured $5 million in funding after Tangiers Global agreed to take an equity stake for that amount in the Denver company.

American Cannabis – a marijuana consultancy and seller of ancillary products ranging from lighting to watering systems – also lined up a $330,000 bridge loan from Tangiers Global, which is based in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

In a news release, American Cannabis said it will use the money from the equity stake and the bridge loan “for working capital purposes and to pursue acquisition or other strategic opportunities.”

The closing is subject to the

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American Cannabis Co. Secures $5M Equity Stake is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Chart of the Week: Monthly Recreational Marijuana Sales in U.S. Averaging $122M

By Eli McVey
Colorado, Oregon and Washington State are averaging a combined $122.5 million in monthly recreational marijuana sales so far this year, putting the industry on pace to rack up at least $1.5 billion in adult-use cannabis revenue at the reta…