MMJ Business Daily

Weedmaps Hires Veteran Lobbyist

Weedmaps, the popular dispensary listings site, has hired a veteran Washington lobbyist to help shape state and local policies governing the cannabis industry, the Bond Buyer reported.

Dustin McDonald – California-based Weedmap’s new head of government relations – has until now been in charge of federal government relations for the Government Finance Officers Association, an industry group representing more than 18,000 public finance officials in the United States and Canada.

McDonald’s job there was to represent the group in Washington DC. He also kept tabs on federal legislation, regulations, judicial actions, and policies that affect public finance.

In his

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Weedmaps Hires Veteran Lobbyist is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Week in Review: MMJ Death Sentence in Montana, Denver Caps & Cannabis Patent Wars

By John Schroyer and Omar Sacirbey

Montana’s medical cannabis industry gets hit with a knockout punch, Denver approves new business caps, and concerns arise over the possibility of legal issues tied to patents for marijuana strains.

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

RIP, Montana MMJ

Montana’s medical marijuana industry is about to disappear before our very eyes.

On Monday, the Montana State Supreme Court ruled that dispensary owners have until Aug. 31 to call it quits, the latest (and apparently last) twist in a long-running legal battle over whether such

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Week in Review: MMJ Death Sentence in Montana, Denver Caps & Cannabis Patent Wars is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Alaska Readies New Marijuana Lounge Rules

Alaska, the first state to officially sanction lounges where people can smoke or consume cannabis, has proposed new rules for how those businesses would operate, the Alaska Dispatch News reported.

If approved, the regulations would open new business opportunities for marijuana retailers – and new ways for these shops to boost revenue, create customer loyalty, and differentiate from competitors.

The draft rules must undergo a public comment period. Here’s how they’d work:

• Recreational retailers would have to apply for a separate $1,000 on-site consumption license.
• A consumption lounge would have to be on the same property but separated

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Alaska Readies New Marijuana Lounge Rules is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Arizona to License More Medical Cannabis Dispensaries

Arizona is set to dole out about 30 additional medical marijuana dispensary licenses, and will begin accepting applications for those licenses this summer.

The number isn’t certain, because it’s tied to how many pharmacies are operating in the state. That count isn’t yet final.

The timeline itself also hasn’t been finalized. But the Arizona Department of Health Services wrote on its website that it will announce the application window at least 30 calendar days before it begins.

Arizona currently has 99 licensed dispensaries. But only 92 of those are open and operating, according to an Associated

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Arizona to License More Medical Cannabis Dispensaries is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Report: 4/20 Marijuana Sales in U.S. Hit $38M

Marijuana retailers in the United States rang up more than $37.5 million in sales on the April 20 cannabis holiday, a nearly 30% increase from a year earlier, according to a study by MJ Freeway, the Denver seed-to-sale tracking software provider.
MJ Fr…

Large Tea Company Sues Small Cannabis Shop Over ‘Stash’ Name

David versus Goliath?

One of the nation’s largest specialty tea companies is suing a small Oregon marijuana shop for trademark infringement over use of the name “Stash.”

The Stash Tea Co. in Tigard, a Portland, Oregon suburb, accuses the Stash Cannabis Co. in nearby Beaverton of “systematic infringement of trademarks owned by Stash Tea,” Willamette Week reported. Stash Cannabis sells  medical and recreational marijuana.

In a lawsuit filed on April 20, Stash Tea also charges that Stash Cannabis hurts the tea company’s brand “by misappropriating and using the likenesses of Stash Tea’s trademarks in connection with the sale of

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Large Tea Company Sues Small Cannabis Shop Over ‘Stash’ Name is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Massachusetts Medical Cannabis Firms Must Do More to Help Rec Effort, Advocates Say

By Omar Sacirbey

Proponents for marijuana legalization in Massachusetts say the state’s medical cannabis industry must step up to the plate quickly to ensure a recreational measure passes this fall in the face of growing opposition – or else the entire effort could fall short.

“The cannabis industry has been missing in action in Massachusetts,” said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Washington DC-based Marijuana Policy Project, a national organization backing the state legalization effort called the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. “I am very concerned.”

Kampia and others say that, so far, local medical cannabis businesses have been hesitant

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Massachusetts Medical Cannabis Firms Must Do More to Help Rec Effort, Advocates Say is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Colorado Marijuana Chain Mindful Raises $3.9M From Investors

The long-standing Colorado medical and recreational marijuana chain Mindful has raised nearly $4 million, likely to help fund expansion efforts, according to a report by BusinessDen.com.

The company, which operates four storefronts across Colorado, raised $3.9 million from 10 investors, the online news site reported, citing an April 7 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Mindful spokesman Erik Williams confirmed that the report is accurate, but declined to comment further.

Mindful is planning a serious expansion effort this year, BusinessDen.com reported, including doubling its production and distribution outlets. The company also is looking to expand into other

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Colorado Marijuana Chain Mindful Raises $3.9M From Investors is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Maine Recreational Cannabis Initiative Certified For Nov. Ballot

Maine voters will get the opportunity to legalize recreational marijuana come November, after supporters of the proposed ballot measure overcame a technicality that had thrown its future into doubt.

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol announced Wednesday that Maine’s secretary of state had reversed course and certified the rec initiative for the November ballot.

“We are thrilled to finally start transitioning into the more substantive phase of this campaign,” campaign manager David Boyer said in a statement.

Maine was widely expected to be an easy win for recreational cannabis advocates this fall, with one 2015 poll finding

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Maine Recreational Cannabis Initiative Certified For Nov. Ballot is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Arkansas AG Approves Wording of Second MJ Legalization Proposal

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge has approved the wording of a proposed constitutional amendment to legalize both recreational and medical marijuana, the Associated Press reported.

It is the second legalization initiative to win the green light to proceed this year in Arkansas, provided that supporters gather enough signatures to place the measures on the November ballot.

In February, Rutledge approved the wording of a proposed constitutional amendment to legalize medical marijuana. She had rejected the five previous MMJ proposals submitted to her, asserting in each case that their titles were too ambiguous.

Backers of both certified measures must collect

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Arkansas AG Approves Wording of Second MJ Legalization Proposal is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs