MMJ Business Daily

Brookings Study: Fears About ‘Big Marijuana’ Are Overblown

A new study from an influential think tank argues that concerns are overblown that big corporations will come to dominate the marijuana industry, and instead contends that policy makers should focus on harmful practices – such as marketing to minors.

The Brooking Institution study – “Worry about bad marijuana—not Big Marijuana – analyzes the argument that the marijuana industry is in danger of becoming like “Big Tobacco,” an influential lobby that pursues profits at the expense of safety and ethics.

The authors’ conclusion: Not quite.

Some key findings:

• The marijuana industry will remain diverse even as large corporations emerge. The Big

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Brookings Study: Fears About ‘Big Marijuana’ Are Overblown is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Brookings Study: Fears About ‘Big Marijuana’ Are Overblown

A new study from an influential think tank argues that concerns are overblown that big corporations will come to dominate the marijuana industry, and instead contends that policy makers should focus on harmful practices – such as marketing to minors.

The Brooking Institution study – “Worry about bad marijuana—not Big Marijuana – analyzes the argument that the marijuana industry is in danger of becoming like “Big Tobacco,” an influential lobby that pursues profits at the expense of safety and ethics.

The authors’ conclusion: Not quite.

Some key findings:

• The marijuana industry will remain diverse even as large corporations emerge. The Big

…

Brookings Study: Fears About ‘Big Marijuana’ Are Overblown is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Breaking: Microsoft Teams With Ancillary Marijuana Company In Landmark Partnership

By John Schroyer

Software giant Microsoft Corp. is teaming up with an established ancillary cannabis firm to land government technology contracts tied to the marijuana sector, a groundbreaking development that could spur other major mainstream companies to work with the industry.

Kind Financial told Marijuana Business Daily that it is partnering with the world’s largest software maker in a bid to win city, county, state and perhaps even international government contracts to build and manage seed-to-sale tracking systems that keep tabs on the cannabis sector.

Microsoft’s foray into the legal marijuana industry marks the first time a major mainstream corporation has publicly acknowledged it

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Breaking: Microsoft Teams With Ancillary Marijuana Company In Landmark Partnership is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

AZ Cannabis Group Seeks to Undermine Rec Campaign

After the Arizona recreational marijuana campaign splintered last year over the particulars of what legalization should include, a number of grassroots cannabis activists are now targeting the primary adult-use campaign in Arizona, with an eye on defeating it so they can return with a different initiative in 2018.

The group Arizonans for Mindful Regulation, which couldn’t come up with enough signatures to get its own initiative on the November ballot this year, has instead decided to try and defeat the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, which is supported by the Marijuana Policy Project, the Arizona Daily Star

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AZ Cannabis Group Seeks to Undermine Rec Campaign is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Toronto Cannabis Dispensaries in Court After Crackdown

Toronto medical marijuana dispensary owners, landlords and others tied to the local MMJ industry appeared for the first time in court following the city’s crackdown on MMJ storefronts, which are technically illegal under federal law.

More than a dozen people appeared in a local court Wednesday, with several labeling the proceeding a waste of time given that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s administration has pledged to legalize adult-use cannabis, the Star reported.

Those brought into court face provincial charges of violating Toronto’s zoning laws, which permit only federally licensed MMJ distributors. They were notified of the charges against

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Toronto Cannabis Dispensaries in Court After Crackdown is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Kodiak Capital to Invest $2M in Cannabis Multimedia Firm

The California private equity firm Kodiak Capital Group has agreed to to invest $2 million in Burn Entertainment Corp, a multimedia entertainment and lifestyle company catering to “legal cannabis” enthusiasts.

New York-based Burn Entertainment, or BurnTV, announced the stock purchase agreement, saying it would use the proceeds to expand its television and music programming as well as boost its distribution network.

In April, Kodiak agreed to buy $1 million of stock from another cannabis-related business, FutureLand Corp., a Colorado company that leases land and equipment to growers of medical and recreational marijuana.

Burn Entertainment trades on the

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Kodiak Capital to Invest $2M in Cannabis Multimedia Firm is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

CO University Gets Nearly $1.2M for Marijuana Research

Colorado State University’s Pueblo campus has secured $1.2 million to establish a research institute focused on medical marijuana, the latest venture to study the health and economic impacts of cannabis.

The money also will be used to establish a peer-reviewed journal, the Colorado Springs Gazette reported.

The string of new research establishments are aimed at filling a void: There’s a dearth of formal research involving marijuana, and additional studies could lead to more doctors prescribing MMJ – a move that could boost sales.

The Pueblo County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously this week to provide CSU-Pueblo with $270,000 of marijuana excise

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CO University Gets Nearly $1.2M for Marijuana Research is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Oregon Taps 4 Firms for Marijuana Sales Tracking

Oregon’s marijuana regulator has selected four software companies that recreational cannabis businesses can use to track their sales and other business data.

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission, which oversees licensed rec companies, approved three Oregon-based firms – OMMPOS, Greenbits, and Odava – along with Denver-based Flowhub, the Oregonian reported.

However, the OLCC didn’t endorse any of the four software platforms for cannabis companies to use, and said it’s also fine if marijuana businesses hand in their tracking data manually.

Still, cannabis cultivators, processors and retailers are required by state law to record their sales, transfers, inventories, and more, which means that

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Oregon Taps 4 Firms for Marijuana Sales Tracking is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Deep Dive on Wholesaling and the WA Market: Q&A With Maryam Mirnateghi

By John Schroyer

Maryam Mirnateghi has been in the Washington State marijuana business for over five years, first as a dispensary owner in Seattle with Fusion Collective and now as a recreational shop owner.

She’s savvy about the wholesale MJ market, and knows what she’s looking for and how to get what she wants.

Marijuana Business Daily asked Mirnateghi for insight into that specific niche of the cannabis industry. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What do you look for in a wholesaler? Variety, price, convenience, a combination?

Probably everything you just mentioned. But most importantly

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Deep Dive on Wholesaling and the WA Market: Q&A With Maryam Mirnateghi is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

DPA Report: NY Medical Cannabis Program Hard to Access

The Drug Policy Alliance issued a report saying patients and caregivers in New York State face significant obstacles to obtain medical marijuana because of geographic barriers, high product costs, and a dearth of physicians certified to recommend MMJ.

The findings raise questions about the viability of New York’s medical cannabis industry as it’s currently structured, and whether MMJ prices will need to fall. The program was launched in January.

DPA and Compassionate Care NY, the state’s largest grassroots organization of patients and caregivers, surveyed 255 people who had sought to access the state’s MMJ program.

More than three-quarters of

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DPA Report: NY Medical Cannabis Program Hard to Access is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs