MMJ Business Daily

Week in Review: Banking Bummer, Illinois Sales Figures & Spotlight Shines on Young MJ Exec

By Omar Sacirbey

A judge dashes hopes for banking relief, Illinois medical cannabis sales near $2 million, and a 20-something marijuana executive gets recognition from a big-name business magazine.

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

Fourth Corner Still Fighting

Federal Judge R. Jackson Brooke delivered what some might interpret to be a knockout punch against the Fourth Corner Credit Union when he rejected its request for an injunction that would let it open a master account with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

Lending institutions need

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Week in Review: Banking Bummer, Illinois Sales Figures & Spotlight Shines on Young MJ Exec is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Cannabis Cultivation Services Firm Lands $5.5M Investment

Two Rivers Water & Farming, a publicly traded water management and agricultural company in Denver, has raised $5.5 million to support a subsidiary that builds greenhouses for cannabis cultivators, according to a statement.

There were “20-some-odd” accredited individual investors, according to Two Rivers’ Chief Financial Officer Wayne Harding. The largest single investor put in $2 million, while the minimum investment was $10,000.

GrowCo will use the money “for completing the first greenhouse, the construction of a second greenhouse and the funding of a GrowCo subsidiary that provides administrative services and financing for GrowCo’s greenhouse tenants,” the Two Rivers

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Cannabis Cultivation Services Firm Lands $5.5M Investment is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

BioTrackTHC Wins Hawaii Contract

Software firm BioTrackTHC has won another state-level contract to provide seed-to-sale tracking – this time for Hawaii’s medical marijuana program.

The contract amount is $159,000.

This is the fifth marijuana-related government contract BioTrack has won in recent years. The Florida-based company’s software serves as the backbone of tracking systems used by Washington State, New Mexico, Illinois and New York, whose program launched today.

BioTrack said its software is also used in more than 1,500 medical and recreational marijuana businesses in 23 states, Washington D.C., Canada, Jamaica and South America.

The company’s software will allow the Hawaii Department

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BioTrackTHC Wins Hawaii Contract is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Despite Tight Timeline, New York’s Medical Cannabis Industry Launches on Schedule

By Omar Sacirbey

New York’s medical marijuana industry officially launches today, less than six months after the state awarded MMJ business licenses.

Eight of the 20 dispensaries allowed in the state will begin serving patients, while the remainder will open on a rolling basis over the rest of the month, according to the New York Health Department.

Despite the symbolic significance of a large state like New York rolling out a medical marijuana program, the market opportunity is tempered by a relatively narrow list of qualifying conditions and bureaucratic hurdles to getting patient cards.

A prohibition on smokable cannabis could also

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Despite Tight Timeline, New York’s Medical Cannabis Industry Launches on Schedule is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Forbes Names Cannabis CEO to Prominent List

In another sign that the cannabis industry is advancing towards mainstream acceptance and respectability, Forbes magazine has included a marijuana executive in one of its annual “30 Under 30” lists.

Ryan Smith, CEO and co-founder of software developer LeafLink, is named as one of the top 30 executives under the age of 30 in the enterprise technology industry.

Each year, Forbes releases a list of hundreds of young executives who are making or could make waves in various industries. This year, the list includes 600 individuals across 20 different sectors.

Smith’s company plans to release an online wholesale management

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Forbes Names Cannabis CEO to Prominent List is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Oregon Now Accepting Marijuana Business Applications

Oregon has started accepting applications for recreational marijuana business licenses, setting off a scramble among entrepreneurs hoping to open retail stores, cultivation sites and processing operations.

The state has no caps on the number of marijuana business licenses it will distribute, but a recent report predicts that Oregon will issue 850 recreational marijuana permits by the end of 2017, according to the Oregonian.

Applications from outdoor cultivators and laboratories will be reviewed first, since product needs to be produced and tested before it can be sold to retailers, a liquor commission official told the newspaper.

Regulators aren’t expected to approve

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Oregon Now Accepting Marijuana Business Applications is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Judge Tosses Fourth Corner Banking Lawsuit

The marijuana industry’s hope for a solution to its banking woes suffered a major setback Tuesday when a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by a startup financial institution hoping to serve cannabis companies.

The Fourth Corner Credit Union filed the suit last year after the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City denied its request for a master account.

Lending institutions can’t operate without master accounts, which given them access to the country’s banking system.

U.S. District Judge R. Brooke Jackson in Denver said in a nine-page ruling that permitting Fourth Corner to operate would be tantamount to

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Judge Tosses Fourth Corner Banking Lawsuit is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

High Expectations: Seven States That Could Legalize Medical or Recreational Marijuana in 2016

By John Schroyer

This is the third piece in a three-part series looking at key events in the marijuana industry in 2015 and examining what lies ahead for 2016. You can read the first two pieces here and here. 

This is the year the Green Rush could turn into the Green Tsunami.

No other single year has offered such incredible promise in terms of the sheer volume of states that could legalize, thanks to other pioneering marijuana markets and growing support for cannabis in general.

In a best-case scenario, roughly 14 states could legalize MMJ, adult-use cannabis or

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High Expectations: Seven States That Could Legalize Medical or Recreational Marijuana in 2016 is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Medical Cannabis Sales Hit $1.7M in Illinois

The launch of Illinois’ medical marijuana program may not have been smooth, but now that it’s up and running, sales have been brisk.

Between Nov. 9 – when Illinois’ first dispensaries opened – and the end of 2015, medical marijuana sales hit nearly $1.7 million, according to the Associated Press. Grams were sold at between $14 and $15.

Wholesale growers also did well, selling about $1.5 million to retailers, the AP said.

There were 20 operational dispensaries by the end of 2015, and new storefronts seem to be opening quickly.

Windy City Cannabis opened a store Monday in

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Medical Cannabis Sales Hit $1.7M in Illinois is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Washington State Marijuana Prices Plummet

Recreational marijuana prices in Washington State have fallen by more than 50% in the last 18 months, helping the industry compete against the black market but also introducing new challenges for licensed cannabis businesses.

The reason for the price plunge? A deluge of new retailers and tax changes are forcing stores to cut prices in an effort to increase customer traffic and sales, the Longview Daily News reported.

When the recreational marijuana market launched in July 2014, the average price per gram was between $25 and $30. Now a gram costs on average just under $10.34, according to report.

Several retail

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Washington State Marijuana Prices Plummet is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs