MMJ Business Daily

Rec Legalization No Slam Dunk in Vermont

One of the prime states expected to legalize adult use cannabis this year via its legislature may not get across the goal line after all.

A legalization bill won a narrow victory in the Vermont state Senate last week, but getting a legalization bill passed in the state’s House of Representatives will be even more difficult, according to Vermont Public Radio. The bill now heads to the House Judiciary Committee, which will begin its deliberations in mid-March.

House Speaker Shap Smith told VPR that the Green Mountain State should regulate marijuana, but wasn’t sure if the Senate’s

…

Rec Legalization No Slam Dunk in Vermont is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Nationwide Lessons From Montana’s Upheaval

By John Schroyer

“They’ve completely wiped us out.”

That was the response of Rich Abromeit, owner of Montana Advanced Caregivers in Billings, when asked about last week’s state Supreme Court decision which effectively bans all dispensaries in Montana.

The 6-1 ruling last week was a capstone to a nearly five-year battle between local cannabis activists and state officials who have opposed the proliferation of MMJ dispensaries around the state, and serves as a wake up call to under-regulated industries in other states.

Mort Reid, president of the Montana Cannabis Information Association (MTCIA) which pursued the

…

Nationwide Lessons From Montana’s Upheaval is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Nevada Tribe Getting Into MMJ Business

On Monday, the Native American footprint in the cannabis industry got a little bigger.
The Las Vegas Paiute Tribe announced that it is partnering with Ultra Health, a medical marijuana production business based in Scottsdale, Arizona, to open two dispe…

Poll: 71% of Texans Support Legalizing Medical Marijuana

Texas could become one of the next big cannabis markets, if state lawmakers listen to their constituents and a growing number of businesspeople interested in the trade.

To bolster that possibility, a whopping 71% of Texans back expanding medical cannabis availability (it’s currently legal only for those with epilepsy) to help more patients, according to a new poll.

The soonest that could happen, however, would be 2017, since the Texas Legislature doesn’t convene in 2016. But when it does reconvene next January, Colorado cannabis attorney Brian Vicente thinks there’s an excellent chance lawmakers will pass an updated law

…

Poll: 71% of Texans Support Legalizing Medical Marijuana is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Problems Looming as AZ Preps for New MMJ Licensing Round

The lottery system used to award medical cannabis licenses in Arizona is at least partly to blame for a reported deluge of business lawsuits regarding the industry, but there are other problems the state will have to face as well as it prepares to issue new dispensary licenses this summer.

A lack of access to banking, unchecked expectations and partnering with strangers are also among the reasons lawsuits are plaguing the state’s MMJ landscape, according to the Arizona Daily Star.

It’s an important issue as the state readies this summer for its first round of new license applications since

…

Problems Looming as AZ Preps for New MMJ Licensing Round is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

New Mexico to ID Medical Cannabis Producers Online

New Mexico’s medical marijuana program overseers are set to identify the state’s licensed MMJ producers publicly for the first time.

On Monday, the names and addresses of the 35 licensed nonprofit producers of MMJ will be posted online, possibly raising the risk of attempted burglaries at dispensaries, but also potentially delivering further legitimacy to the state’s industry via public disclosure.

As of Monday morning, information about the licensees had not yet been posted.

The program said it would keep MMJ patient information confidential, as well as certain portions of producer information, such as the home addresses

…

New Mexico to ID Medical Cannabis Producers Online is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Chart of the Week: Breakdown of Interest Rates for Friends & Family Loans in the Cannabis Industry

By Becky Olson

Cannabis entrepreneurs that have received loans from friends or family members to fund their businesses paid an average of about 11% in interest on that capital, according to a Marijuana Business Daily survey of executives in the industry.

Chart of the Week: Breakdown of Interest Rates for Friends & Family Loans in the Cannabis Industry is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Colorado Court Finds Some Legal Marijuana Insurable

A U.S. District Court Judge in Colorado ruled this month that legal marijuana is insurable under commercial property policies, according to Lexology.com.

The ruling came in a case in which the plaintiff, The Green Earth Wellness Center, which operates a medical cannabis dispensary and growing facility in Colorado Springs, sought claims under a commercial property and general liability insurance policy issued by the Atain Specialty Insurance Company. The claim was filed after smoke and ash from a 2012 wildfire seeped through the growing site’s ventilation system and damaged plants as well as dried flower that was being prepared

…

Colorado Court Finds Some Legal Marijuana Insurable is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Rec License Applications Begin in Alaska

Alaska opened its adult use marijuana business license application process on Wednesday, with 68 businesses starting their online paperwork, according to a release from the state’s Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office.

The state’s Marijuana Control Board (MCB) will likely start reviewing applications that were submitted this week by mid-March, the release said. There is no cap on how many licenses will be awarded, and no application deadline. Instead, the board will accept applications on a rolling basis.

Once an application has been completed, the Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office will send it to the municipality in which the applicant

…

Rec License Applications Begin in Alaska is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Week in Review: Celebration in CT, Canadian Court Ruling & Support for Rescheduling Marijuana

By John Schroyer and Omar Sacirbey

Connecticut dispensaries get good news, Canadian MMJ producers learn that they might see increased competition from home grows, and a former U.S. attorney general says it’s time to reschedule cannabis at the federal level. Here’s a closer look at several notable developments in the marijuana industry over the past week.

Week in Review: Celebration in CT, Canadian Court Ruling & Support for Rescheduling Marijuana is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs