MMJ Business Daily

Second Cannabis Company Seeks NFL Stadium Naming Rights

A second cannabis company has announced it wants to land the naming rights for  Sports Authority Field at Mile High, home of the Denver Broncos.

Denver-based concentrate company Openvape said in a news release it has submitted a proposal to “preserve” the Mile High legacy by pursuing “OpenVAPE at Mile High” as the stadium’s official name. The interest among cannabis companies in the naming rights underscores an attempt to find innovative forms of marketing.

Last month, one of Colorado’s largest cannabis retailers, Native Roots, said it aims to replace Sports Authority, which currently has the naming rights to the stadium but recently filed for

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Second Cannabis Company Seeks NFL Stadium Naming Rights is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Federal Marijuana Policy: Q&A With Attorney, Ex-DEA Agent Charles Feldmann

By John Schroyer

Colorado attorney Charles Feldmann has worked with clients in the cannabis trade for years.

But he’s also been on the other side of the fence, working for the feds. Feldmann was a Drug Enforcement Administration agent from 1996 to 2001 and also once served as a Justice Department attorney, prosecuting Colorado narcotics traffickers.

These days, Feldmann focuses on investor relations in the legal marijuana trade, specializing in MJ securities, tax issues and funding.

Marijuana Business Daily spoke with Feldmann about the odds that the DEA will reschedule cannabis this year, the impact that could have on the industry, and

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Federal Marijuana Policy: Q&A With Attorney, Ex-DEA Agent Charles Feldmann is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Vancouver Issues First Medical Marijuana License

Vancouver is moving forward with regulating the city’s medical marijuana industry, issuing its first license to an MMJ dispensary.

A spokesperson for the Western Canadian seaport told the Globe and Mail the Wealth Shop was issued a license to  operate near the University of British Columbia.

Vancouver became the country’s first city last year to issue rules governing MMJ dispensaries, which are illegal under federal law. It balked at issuing licenses to about about 140 dispensaries because of rule violations, such as locating too close to a school.

The city recently began a crackdown on unlicensed dispensaries.

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Vancouver Issues First Medical Marijuana License is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Oakland Approves Unique MMJ Business Licensing Rules

A marijuana conviction often can disqualify you from receiving a cannabis business license, but in Oakland it can give you an advantage over applicants with clean records.

The Oakland City Council passed a first-of-its-kind measure Tuesday night, the Equity Permit Program, which flies in the face of national trends in marijuana policy. Many legalized marijuana programs prohibit people with drug or other convictions from participating.

The new rules stipulate that every other medical cannabis business license awarded in the city will go to applicants who’ve been convicted of a marijuana-related offense in the last two years – as well as applicants

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Oakland Approves Unique MMJ Business Licensing Rules is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Colorado Governor Does About-Face on Marijuana Legalization

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a vocal opponent of legalizing recreational marijuana, has changed his mind.

The Democratic governor had opposed the decision by Colorado voters in 2012 to legalize adult use cannabis through Amendment 64. Two years later, in 2014, Hickenlooper suggested that vote was “reckless.”

But now Hickenlooper is backtracking, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Referring to another statement he made in 2014 while running for reelection – when he told the Denver Post that if he could “wave a magic wand” and undo voters’ decision he would – Hickenloops said recently in Los

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Colorado Governor Does About-Face on Marijuana Legalization is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Louisiana Moves Toward Passing Workable Medical Cannabis Program

By Omar Sacirbey

Louisiana is moving toward becoming the nation’s 25th state to legalize medical marijuana, a step that would position the Pelican State as an MMJ beachhead in the South.

Louisiana lawmakers this week passed legislation that removes a major impediment to a legalized medical marijuana market. 

They must still pass a related bill before the program is workable, a move that is expected within the next week or so.

“If Louisiana passes both bills, then it would be the first state in the South to do that, and that’s exciting,” Maggie Ellinger-Locke, a Louisiana policy analyst for

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Louisiana Moves Toward Passing Workable Medical Cannabis Program is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

More Delays for Maryland Medical Cannabis Program

The launch of the East Coast’s largest medical marijuana program has again been postponed, dealing a setback to hundreds of applicants hoping to secure an MMJ business license.

Maryland – which legalized medical marijuana in 2014 but has yet to issue any MMJ licenses – will further delay implementation of its program, the state’s medical cannabis commission announced Tuesday.

At a commission meeting, the commission’s new executive director said he hopes that dispensaries will be up and running in the state by late summer 2017, according to a press release from the Marijuana Policy Project.

The newest delay is “only

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More Delays for Maryland Medical Cannabis Program is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Patients Surge in MA But MMJ Licenses Languish

A licensing logjam is preventing dozens of medical marijuana dispensary applicants in Massachusetts from tapping into a surging market for new patients.

“The application process is completely jammed up … and that’s not fair to patients who’ve waited for years for this program to get off the ground,” Nichole Snow, director of the Massachusetts Patient Advocacy Alliance, told the Gloucester Times.

Through April 30, the Bay State counted 24,196 active MMJ patients.

But but only 16,923 patients – about 70% of the total – had bought marijuana through a dispensary, according to the Massachusetts Medical Use of Marijuana

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Patients Surge in MA But MMJ Licenses Languish is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Powerhouse MJ Law Firms Team Up on Compliance Software

Two legal powerhouses in the marijuana industry are branching into the software business, hoping to generate profits in a new line of business.
California-based Greenbridge Corporate Counsel and Colorado-based Vicente Sederberg have tapped Denver tech …

Brand-Building Firm Partners With Oregon Marijuana Grower

Meriwether Group, a leading Oregon brand-building firm, has taken an ownership stake in one of the state’s best known cannabis cultivators, HiFi Farms.

Portland-based Meriweather will serve as business advisers for HiFi, calling the deal an opportunity to get involved in a “disruptive” industry. HiFi is based in Hillsboro, Oregon’s fifth largest city, west of Portland.

“This industry comes with new consumer groups, and so requires the same blend of analytics, artistry, intuition, and intelligence that we have implemented with Oregon wine, coffee, craft beer, and tea,” Meriwether President David Howitt said in a press release.

A skilled deal

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Brand-Building Firm Partners With Oregon Marijuana Grower is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs