MMJ Business Daily

Marijuana Business Incubator Launches in Oakland

It may seem strange that California’s first cannabis business incubator just launched, but better late than never.

Based in Oakland and founded by two technology veterans, Gateway Inc. seeks to nurture both ancillary firms and companies that handle the plant, such as growers, dispensaries, and extractors.

Gateway will provide companies with $30,000 in return for six% equity, with once percent going to the mentors responsible for coaching the incubator companies, as well as office space, according to Oakland North. The paper reported that another incubator, CanopyBoulder in Colorado, gives businesses $20,000 in exchange for 9.5% equity.

To get into

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Marijuana Business Incubator Launches in Oakland is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Detroit Zoning Ordinance Expected to Shutter 50% of Dispensaries

Up to half of Detroit’s roughly 150 medical marijuana dispensaries could close following a Detroit City Council vote on Thursday to approve a restrictive zoning ordinance.

Under the new ordinance, which goes into effect March 1, there are 651 parcels where a dispensary could set up shop. The dispensaries can locate in four types of industrial zones, and two types of commercial zones, according to Crain’s Detroit Business.

Under the new rules, medical marijuana businesses must be 1,000 feet from schools, childcare centers, libraries, and other youth gathering places, as well as city parks, tax-exempt churches, and other medical

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Detroit Zoning Ordinance Expected to Shutter 50% of Dispensaries is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Week in Review: CBD Setback in Florida, Progress for Marijuana Research & Cannabis Stock Slump?

By Omar Sacirbey and John Schroyer

Legal challenges threaten to further delay Florida’s CBD program, a new institute in the Czech Republic promises to spur medical cannabis research, and a federal interest rate hike could impact marijuana stocks.

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

Frustration in Florida

A deluge of new legal challenges will almost certainly postpone the launch of Florida’s CBD program, which has been held up several times already.

Late last month the Florida health department announced the names of five nurseries – out

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Week in Review: CBD Setback in Florida, Progress for Marijuana Research & Cannabis Stock Slump? is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Supreme Court Could Address CO Rec Lawsuit Soon

The question of whether or not the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a lawsuit targeting Colorado’s landmark recreational marijuana law may be answered as soon as January.

Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman told the Denver Post on Thursday that she expects the nation’s highest court to decide next month whether it will take up the lawsuit, which was filed by Oklahoma and Nebraska. The suit is attempting to overturn Colorado’s rec law, with the states arguing that it creates a “dangerous gap” in federal marijuana policies and is unconstitutional.

Coffman also said she’s disappointed in a court brief

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Supreme Court Could Address CO Rec Lawsuit Soon is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

New CBD Strain in MN Will Help Company Cut Costs

A new strain of medical marijuana being cultivated in Minnesota has one CEO expecting to be able to slash his company’s prices by up to 10% next year.

Kyle Kingsley, the head of Minnesota Medical Solutions, told an NBC affiliate in Minneapolis that a new strain his company has produced has a 34-to-1 ratio of CBD to THC, meaning it will take less plants to produce more medicine. By comparison, the well-known Charlotte’s Web CBD strain from Colorado has a 20-to-1 CBD to THC ratio, Kingsley said.

That in turn means he’ll be able to slash costs next

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New CBD Strain in MN Will Help Company Cut Costs is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Major Research Institute Launches in Czech Republic

Scientific inquiry into marijuana received a big boost this week, courtesy of a new partnership between American and Czech stakeholders.

A coalition of activists, politicians, scientists and businesses announced the establishment of a new research center, the International Cannabis and Cannabinoid Institute (ICCI), which will be based in the Czech Republic. And what the center produces could have major benefits for medical cannabis businesses all over the globe.

“The main work of the ICCI is to provide scientific instruments to public and private institutions all over the world,” CEO Pavel Kubu said in a statement.

Backers of the

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Major Research Institute Launches in Czech Republic is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

WA Marijuana Cannabis Shop Licenses to Jump 66%

Washington State will see more than a 66% increase in marijuana stores following a recommendation by analysts who have taken a close look at the state market.
The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board said in a statement that it planned to increas…

$42M Merger Creates Hemp Juggernaut in Canada

A single company is about to dominate Canada’s thriving hemp-based foods industry.

Manitoba Harvest this week acquired Hemp Oil Canada for $42 million, which will give the combined company an edge in two industries: hemp foods and hemp ingredients, according to the Winnipeg Free Press.

Manitoba Harvest will generate an estimated $75 million in annual revenues after the acquisition.

Shaun Crew will remain at the helm of Hemp Oil Canada, which he co-founded. The firm just finished a new 35,000-square-foot processing facility that will bolster production by 600%.

Manitoba Harvest’s branded products appear in roughly 7,000 shops in both Canada

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$42M Merger Creates Hemp Juggernaut in Canada is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Big Win, Several Losses for Cannabis Businesses in Congressional Bill

By John Schroyer

A $1.9 trillion federal spending bill that Congress passed this week represents a mixed bag for the cannabis industry, as it extends some key protections for marijuana businesses but also fails to address several hot-button issues such as banking relief.

On the positive side, the final bill includes an amendment that prohibits the federal government from spending money to hamper the implementation of state medical marijuana laws.

The provision is an extension of the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment that was included in another spending bill a year ago, which was hailed at the time as a groundbreaking development that would prevent

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Big Win, Several Losses for Cannabis Businesses in Congressional Bill is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

DOJ Urges Supreme Court to Toss CO Rec Lawsuit

The Obama administration has formally requested that the Supreme Court decline to hear a lawsuit that seeks to overturn Colorado’s three-year-old recreational cannabis law.

The attorneys general of Nebraska and Oklahoma filed the suit in December 2014, alleging that rec sales in Colorado have led to an increase in illegal trafficking through their states. They asked the Supreme Court to overturn the rec law, arguing that marijuana’s federal status as an illegal drug trumps state law. (The lawsuit does not mention medical cannabis.)

In a brief filed with the court this week, the Department of Justice argued that the

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DOJ Urges Supreme Court to Toss CO Rec Lawsuit is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs