MMJ Business Daily

Growth of Connecticut’s MMJ Industry Ray of Hope for Other Small, Limited Markets

By John Schroyer

The relatively quick growth of Connecticut’s medical cannabis market illustrates how a limited MMJ program can blossom into something bigger over time, giving hope to other states in a similar position.

Connecticut’s program formally launched in the fall of 2014, with the state initially allowing just six dispensaries and four registered cultivators.

Aside from the tight caps on business licenses, Connecticut’s medical cannabis law also requires all dispensaries to be owned and managed by licensed pharmacists – making it one of the strictest programs in the country.

But demand has kicked into high gear recently, and

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Growth of Connecticut’s MMJ Industry Ray of Hope for Other Small, Limited Markets is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Canadian MMJ Company to Expand U.S. Footprint

A publicly traded Canadian medical marijuana company is boosting its U.S. presence by entering into an agreement to acquire two marijuana licenses – one production, one processing – from a cannabis company in Washington State.

Marapharm Ventures, which trades on the Canadian Securities Exchange, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, and the over-the-counter market in the United States, said it plans to complete the acquisition of the licenses by or before April 29.

It did not reveal the name of the business that owns the licenses.

The acquisition agreement is for $1.5 million, which includes $1.3 million in cash plus $200,000 in treasury shares.

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Canadian MMJ Company to Expand U.S. Footprint is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Study Results Send GW Pharma’s Stock Soaring

A British maker of cannabis-based drugs revealed some sorely needed good news on Monday, announcing that an epilepsy medicine it created has successfully treated a severe form of epilepsy in children, according to Reuters.

In a clinical study, GW Pharmaceuticals said its Epidiolex syrup reduced the monthly number of seizures in children with Dravet’s Syndrome by 39%, compared to a placebo that reduced the seizures by 13%.

The results of the clinical study propelled the Cambridge-based firm’s stock price to $81.67 in morning trading on the Nasdaq, a gain of more than 112% over Friday’s closing price

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Study Results Send GW Pharma’s Stock Soaring is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Franwell Wins 5-Year Alaska Rec Software Contract

The Florida-based software firm that designed Colorado’s seed-to-sale tracking system has won a 5-year contract with the state of Alaska to construct a similar system for the nation’s newest recreational marijuana state.

Franwell’s contract is worth a reported $105,000, and will be based on the Colorado model, Metrc, which is also used to track plants in Oregon’s rec system, according to the Alaska News Dispatch.

The system will be implemented on May 23, and will cost $40 per month per rec licensee, plus tagging costs of 45 cents per plant and 25 cents per package, the

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Franwell Wins 5-Year Alaska Rec Software Contract is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Exclusive: U.S. Marijuana Industry’s Economic Impact Could Hit $44B by 2020

By Marijuana Business Daily Staff

The U.S. cannabis industry will pump up to $44 billion annually into the country’s economy by 2020 if current business and legalization trends continue, according to exclusive data released today in the 2016 Marijuana Business Factbook.

Published by Marijuana Business Daily, the report estimates that the industry’s annual economic impact will soar from $14 billion-$17 billion in 2016 to $24 billion-$44 billion in four years.

The projections reflect marijuana’s march towards the mainstream as it emerges from the shadows to become a respectable, above-board industry that is giving birth to scores of jobs, fostering new business opportunities

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Exclusive: U.S. Marijuana Industry’s Economic Impact Could Hit $44B by 2020 is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

High Prices, Dearth Of Doctors Hurting NY Businesses

High prices and a dearth of certified doctors who can recommend medical marijuana continue to hurt the five companies licensed to sell MMJ in New York.

That was made painfully clear this week following a presentation about medical marijuana at St. Peter’s Hospital in Albany that was attended by dozens of doctors – none of whom seemed willing to sign up to recommend cannabis, according to the Albany Times-Union.

A patient liaison at the hospital told doctors that they would also need to carry additional medical malpractice insurance if they decided to register to recommend MMJ.

A pharmacist with Etain Health, one of

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High Prices, Dearth Of Doctors Hurting NY Businesses is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

LA Dispensary Crackdowns Continuing

An ongoing crackdown on Los Angeles-area dispensaries, many of which are technically illegal under city and county law, was expanded on Wednesday to include unincorporated parts of the county.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimous…

Week in Review: Washington Licensing Hiccups, Florida CBD & California MJ Legalization

By John Schroyer and Omar Sacirbey

Confusion emerges as Washington State licenses more marijuana stores, Florida moves closer to expanding its limited CBD law, and a California activist tries to breathe life into a marijuana legalization measure.

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

Transitional Headaches

The newest licensing round for medical dispensaries hoping to stay in business in Washington State is almost over, the state’s Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) announced this week.

The confusion may be just beginning, however.

Some dispensaries involved in the licensing process as Washington rolls medical cannabis

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Week in Review: Washington Licensing Hiccups, Florida CBD & California MJ Legalization is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Organic Cannabis Association Offering Pesticide-Free Certification

The Colorado-based Organic Cannabis Association announced this week that it’s now offering a first-of-its-kind certification for any growers who want to stamp their product as 100% free of residual pesticides.

The process for certification is a voluntary one, and is only immediately available for Colorado companies, according to a press release. But it comes at a time when pesticide-related product recalls have become almost a regular occurrence in Colorado.

For growers interested in the certification, it involves multiple inspections and is “more rigorous than any regulatory framework” currently in place, the release said.

There are three phases to

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Organic Cannabis Association Offering Pesticide-Free Certification is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Legalization Backers in Maine Keep Hope Alive

The recreational cannabis campaign in Maine has formally filed suit against the secretary of state, alleging that the office did not review every notary signature he invalidated when he disqualified the group’s recreational legalization initiative last week, according to the Portland Press Herald.

Attorney Scott Anderson, who represents the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, said Secretary of State Michael Dunlap reviewed only some of the notaries’ signatures, and then invalidated all the petitions signed by those notaries.

Anderson also accused Dunlap of failing to contact the campaign about the signatures, and believes had he done so,

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Legalization Backers in Maine Keep Hope Alive is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs