MMJ Business Daily

Clock Ticking for Michigan Recreational Cannabis Legalization Effort

By John Schroyer

Marijuana advocates in Michigan have just two weeks to get thousands of additional signatures for a recreational cannabis legalization measure that promises to create a massive new market in the Midwest.

The effort is turning into a nail-biter, and whether the proposal qualifies for the November ballot will likely come down to the wire.

If the bid fails, the cannabis industry will lose a prime shot at launching a business-friendly recreational market in the tenth-largest state in the nation.

“We’re in a mad dash and scramble to get as many signatures as we can still,”

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Clock Ticking for Michigan Recreational Cannabis Legalization Effort is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Toronto Marijuana Dispensary Crackdown Looming

Dozens of unlicensed medical cannabis dispensaries in Toronto are about to get a major wake-up call.

The city – estimated to have at least 78 storefront dispensaries – will begin issuing “hefty fines for zoning bylaw violations by the end of the month,” the Toronto Sun reported. Dispensaries are against the law in Toronto.

Mark Sraga, Toronto’s director of licensing and standards, told the paper the “end goal” is to shutter the dispensaries “because these types of activities and uses are not permitted.”

The fines could prove costly for Toronto dispensaries, with maximum penalties amounting to $50,000 for a

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Toronto Marijuana Dispensary Crackdown Looming is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Report: Marijuana Legalization Could Yield $28B in Tax Revenues

The marijuana industry could generate up to $28 billion in tax revenues for federal, state and local governments if Uncle Sam legalized cannabis, according to a report from the nonprofit Tax Foundation.
The conservative-leaning organization estimates r…

Chart of the Week: 21,000-33,000 Businesses in U.S. Tied to Marijuana Industry

By Marijuana Business Daily staff

Tens of thousands of businesses in the United States are tied to the cannabis sector in some fashion, underscoring the marijuana industry’s reach and scope.

An estimated 21,000-33,000 companies derive some or all of their revenue from the cannabis industry, according to the 2016 Marijuana Business Factbook.

The estimate includes companies that handle the plant – retailers, infused products companies, wholesale growers and testing labs – in states where medical or recreational marijuana is legal, as well as ancillary firms that serve those businesses, such as consultants and technology providers.

It also

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Chart of the Week: 21,000-33,000 Businesses in U.S. Tied to Marijuana Industry is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

WA Study: Licensed Growers Meet Demand

The amount of marijuana allowed to be grown by state-licensed producers in Washington State is enough to meet the state’s medical and recreational demand, according to a study released May 13 by the Cannabis Law and Policy Project at the University of Washington Law School.

The group estimated that between 1.7 and 2 million square feet of plants, about the size of 30-34 football fields, would satisfy medical marijuana demand in the state. The report also found that the state has approved 12.3 million square feet for canopy use currently, enough to supply the state’s total

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WA Study: Licensed Growers Meet Demand is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Colorado Marijuana Retailers Still Battling Black Market

Licensed cannabis dealers in Colorado are still doing battle every day with the black market, even though Denver cops are trying to crack down on illegal online sales.

One of the most popular venues for law-skirting marijuana salesmen? Craigslist.

“The black market in general is still very active and Craigslist is a perfect example of the active black market,” consultant Lauren Harris told Fox 31 in Denver.

Often, the violators are medical cannabis patients themselves, Harris said. What patients will do is go to legit dispensaries, purchase cannabis products, and then resell the same items online for a

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Colorado Marijuana Retailers Still Battling Black Market is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Montana Dispensary Org Appeals to U.S. Supreme Court

Facing the closure of all dispensaries in the state, the Montana Cannabis Industry Association (MTCIA) on Thursday filed an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court as part of a last-ditch attempt to negate a February ruling by the state’s highest court.

MTCIA spokeswoman Kate Cholewa said in a press release that the group’s argument is simple: The State Supreme Court erred in concluding that marijuana is “universally” illegal under federal law.

The appeal cites the same act of Congress – the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment – that California’s Harborside Health Center used recently in negotiations with the Department

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Montana Dispensary Org Appeals to U.S. Supreme Court is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Week in Review: Landmark Lawsuit, Disparate MJ Polling & FL Conference Wrapup

By John Schroyer and Omar Sacirbey

A lawsuit in Colorado signals a new era for the cannabis industry, polling numbers in three states paint differing pictures, and business leaders gather for the Spring 2016 Marijuana Business Conference & Expo.

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

Here We Go…

You had to know this was coming.

This week, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed in Colorado alleging that an edibles manufacturer and a marijuana retailer failed to provide warning about their product to a man who shot and killed

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Week in Review: Landmark Lawsuit, Disparate MJ Polling & FL Conference Wrapup is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Texas MJ Firm Lines Up $1M for Dallas Hemp Cafe

A Dallas cannabis company said it has reached an agreement  to receive a $1 million capital injection to fund a hemp cafe planned for an affluent suburb north of the city.

North American Cannabis Holdings, which goes by the acronym USMJ, plans to open a cafe in the town of Frisco, Texas. Offerings will include “custom blended hemp-infused coffee, cold-pressed juices and smoothies … raw hemp seeds and other hemp and hemp extract infused foods,” according to a press release.

The shop will be called the AmeriCanna Cafe (not to be confused with the Colorado edibles company AmeriCanna). And the investment deal comes after USMJ acquired a

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Texas MJ Firm Lines Up $1M for Dallas Hemp Cafe is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Colorado Changes Residency Requirement

Now awaiting Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper’s signature: A bill to allow out-of-state individuals to take ownership roles in licensed marijuana companies, a major shift that could open the financial floodgates for Colorado cannabis businesses.

The measure, Senate Bill 40, was given final approval by the state legislature on Wednesday. The Cannabis Business Alliance lauded the move, and said the so-called “Ownership Bill” will help the state’s cannabis industry to continue growing.

Under current law, any owner of a licensed cannabis medical or recreational business must have been a Colorado resident for at least two years prior to applying

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Colorado Changes Residency Requirement is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs