MMJ Business Daily

Tiny Rhode Island Could Become Big Marijuana Market if Rec Bill Passes

By Omar Sacirbey

Shortly after introducing a bill last month to legalize recreational marijuana in Rhode Island, state Rep. Scott Slater received an interesting call from a local business owner.

The caller offered support for the bill, saying his company develops fertilizer from squid excrement that could potentially be used in cannabis cultivation.

“He told me ‘I hope your bill passes, we need this,’” Slater recalled. “There are so many industries created by marijuana, and that’s one reason by I think we have a good chance” at pushing through the recreational measure.

Indeed, hopes are extremely high in

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Tiny Rhode Island Could Become Big Marijuana Market if Rec Bill Passes is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Denver Vape Company Expands Into Its Ninth State

Denver-based OpenVape, a producer of cannabis oil vaping cartridges and vaping devices, is expanding into Nevada by way of two partnerships, the firm announced this week.

One of the deals is with Las Vegas-based TGIG, a medical cannabis business serving southern Nevada, and the second with Nevada Botanical Science, a cannabis company in Reno serving the northern part of the state.

OpenVape and TGIG announced their partnership in a press release today, while the partnership with Nevada Botanical Science will be formally announced later this week or next week, according to a company spokeswoman.

Denver Vape Company Expands Into Its Ninth State is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Florida Lawmakers Vote to Expand CBD Law

Florida lawmakers have given a final thumbs-up to a bill that would expand the state’s limited CBD program and create a handful of new business opportunities.

If Gov. Rick Scott signs the new bill into law, qualified patients could use full-strength MMJ instead of only low-THC marijuana, as the 2014 CBD law permits.

The measure would also allow the state to authorize three more dispensing organizations once the registered patient count hits 250,000.

But it’s still a very limited program, and only those who have a year or less left to live could use high-THC medical cannabis.

The

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Florida Lawmakers Vote to Expand CBD Law is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Oregon Gov Signs Two Pro-Cannabis Bills

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown signed two new bills Monday that could drastically alter the state’s marijuana business landscape.

One bill, HB 4014, will make it easier for big out-of-state businesses to break into Oregon’s marijuana marketplace by eliminating a two-year residency requirement for recreational marijuana producers, processors and retailers.

The new law also permits cannabis businesses to deduct business expenses permitted under federal tax rules when they file their state taxes, and also could increase the number of MMJ customers in the state because it slashes registration card fees for veterans from $200 to $20.

A second bill,

Oregon Gov Signs Two Pro-Cannabis Bills is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Chart of the Week: New Marijuana Markets Launching at a Rapid Clip

By Becky Olson

The cannabis industry has seen a substantial acceleration in the number of new regulated marijuana markets coming online each year, indicating that business opportunities are finally starting to catch up with the wave of legalization itself.

In 2015 alone, six states launched medical or recreational sales, which is equal to the number of new markets that emerged from 2011 through 2013. Another four states are poised to start medical cannabis sales this year or early next, while New York started its MMJ market in January.

Currently, it takes an average of 18-24 months for the first licensed dispensaries

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Chart of the Week: New Marijuana Markets Launching at a Rapid Clip is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Virginia Legalizes Industrial Hemp

A new hemp market was legalized last week, in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe signed Senate Bill 691 into law last Monday, which simply removes any criminal penalties for growing industrial hemp or for making any products from it, a …

Boston Council Approves Restrictive MJ Retail Zoning Law

Real estate in Boston for marijuana retailers – both medical and recreational – could become a more precious commodity under a new zoning ordinance approved by the city council this week.

The new ordinance would require dispensaries (and rec shops, in the event that the state legalizes adult use cannabis in November) to be at least a half mile away from each other, according to the Boston Globe. The reason behind it, councilman Michael Flaherty said, is to make sure that cannabis storefronts are not concentrated in any part of the city.

Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, an

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Boston Council Approves Restrictive MJ Retail Zoning Law is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Week in Review: Maine Marijuana Setback, Arizona MMJ Lawsuits & Investment Avalanche

By John Schroyer and Omar Sacirbey

Maine recreational legalization hits a major snag, Arizona lawsuits expose problems with the state’s medical cannabis system, and venture capital investments in marijuana companies hit an all-time high.

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

A Pain in Maine

A bid to legalize recreational marijuana in Maine this year has been knocked to the ground, but it’s not out for the count just yet.

The campaign behind the measure is taking the Maine secretary of state to court to challenge a decision that disqualified

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Week in Review: Maine Marijuana Setback, Arizona MMJ Lawsuits & Investment Avalanche is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

New Mexico’s Medical Marijuana Patient Numbers Booming

There are roughly 21,000 people enrolled in New Mexico’s Medical Cannabis Program, nearly double the number since 2013, according to the state’s Health Department, KOAT news reported.

That means a lot – if not all – of the MMJ licensees in New Mexico have likely been doing quite well, with a booming customer base. And though the number of dispensaries hasn’t doubled to keep pace, the state did bolster the number of storefronts as of last October.

According to state statistics through late January, there were 23 licensed cannabis producers in operation, 12 more

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New Mexico’s Medical Marijuana Patient Numbers Booming is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

U.S. Cannabis Industry Undercutting Mexican Cartels

The legal marijuana industry in the United States has taken a big toll on Mexican cartels that had previously relied on cannabis for a sizable chunk of their profits, according to the Washington Post.

Citing data from the U.S. Border Patrol, the Post reported that seizures of smuggled cannabis over the U.S.-Mexico border have plummeted “to their lowest level in at least a decade.”

Border Patrol agents about 1.5 million pounds of cannabis, a more than 100% drop in seizures from 2009, when the agency corralled nearly 4 million pounds.

The Post cited an NPR story from December

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U.S. Cannabis Industry Undercutting Mexican Cartels is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs