MMJ Business Daily

Another Cannabis Brand to Expand Nationally and Beyond

The expansion game continues.

Wana Brands, a Colorado-based edibles and extracts company, announced in a press release that it is deepening its partnership with Cannabics Pharmaceuticals, a Maryland-based company that develops timed-release capsules and other drug delivery systems, as well as cannabinoid-based medicines.

The new agreement allows Wana to use Cannabics’ technology to manufacture, market and sell what they claim to be the world’s first extended-release cannabis capsules in all US states where marijuana is legalized, and to any market outside the United States that allows marijuana manufacturing and sales.

The companies made the announcement following their cooperation on

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Another Cannabis Brand to Expand Nationally and Beyond is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Maryland County Wants Out of MMJ Program

Another Maryland county wants to leave the state’s medical marijuana program, and this one is willing to sue to get its way.

The Calvert County board voted 4-1 this week to ask state lawmakers to give counties the option of banning marijuana dispensaries and growing facilities within their borders, according to the Washington Post.

In September, a top official from Anne Arundel County proposed prohibiting marijuana businesses in the county. Maryland’s attorney general responded that banning marijuana businesses would run afoul of state law.

So it’s possible that the county may wind up fighting the state

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Maryland County Wants Out of MMJ Program is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Massachusetts Could Become Major Marijuana Business Hub if Legalization Succeeds

By Omar Sacirbey

If Massachusetts legalizes recreational cannabis next year as some expect, the state could be become one of the biggest marijuana markets in the country.

Bigger than Colorado and Washington State, even.

Massachusetts’ dense population and proximity to New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and other large markets – coupled with widespread use of marijuana and the state’s popularity among tourists – could help the industry get off to a rapid start and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues quickly.

“The potential for tourism revenue because of cannabis will dwarf anything we’ve seen in any of the other states to date,”

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Massachusetts Could Become Major Marijuana Business Hub if Legalization Succeeds is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Detroit Dispensaries Have a New Enemy: Local Churches

Medical cannabis dispensaries in the Detroit area have a new foe: vocal Christian pastors who don’t like marijuana businesses.

A group of pastors held an anti-dispensary rally in Detroit earlier this week in advance of a city council meeting on Thursday that’s intended to finalize a zoning ordinance for MMJ businesses.

The pastors are upset with the proliferation of dispensaries across the city.

No hard numbers are available, as Michigan hasn’t adopted statewide medical cannabis regulations – so the state’s government isn’t tracking how many dispensaries exist. But a report released in October

Detroit Dispensaries Have a New Enemy: Local Churches is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Vermont Rec Bill Ready to Go

Lawmakers behind an effort to legalize recreational cannabis in Vermont via the legislature have crossed their T’s and dotted their I’s.

A bipartisan measure has been drafted and is ready to be introduced as soon as the 2016 legislative session begins. The proposal would allow for up to 86 storefronts – or about six per county – and five different business license types, according to the Times Argus.

Other highlights:

• Edibles would be prohibited.
• Residency would be required to own a rec business.
• Taxes and fees have yet to be established; that will be up to a state Senate committee.

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Vermont Rec Bill Ready to Go is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Hawaii Hires Ex-Prosecutor, Caregiver To Lead MMJ Program

A former prosecutor and medical cannabis caregiver will be the inaugural head of Hawaii’s medical marijuana dispensary system.

Margaret “Peggy” Leong served as Hawaii’s deputy attorney general from 1997 to 2007, according to Pacific Business News. Leong has provided legal advice for Hawaii’s Human Services, Health, and Education departments, as well as the state Housing Division, and worked in the private legal sector. For the past eight years, Leong has been a church parish administrator.

She also took care of a family member with medical cannabis, she told the paper.

The Hawaii State Department of Health, which administers

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Hawaii Hires Ex-Prosecutor, Caregiver To Lead MMJ Program is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Vancouver Narrows Dispensary Permit Field to Eight

Vancouver has selected eight dispensaries to advance to the next stage of the city’s licensing process, whittling down the list from the 11 that cleared the first round in October.

City officials have mailed letters to neighbors of the dispensaries, giving them a chance to voice their concerns or support by Christmas Eve, according to Vancouver Metro.

The move marks the latest step in Vancouver’s effort to regulate its medical marijuana dispensaries, which are illegal under Canadian federal law but have for years been permitted by the city. Vancouver officials adopted regulations over the summer.

There were an initial

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Vancouver Narrows Dispensary Permit Field to Eight is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

13 Legal Challenges Filed Over Florida CBD Licenses

The five winners of licenses to produce CBD medicine in Florida may not be settled after all.

On Friday, three of the 24 applicants for the five licenses filed legal complaints challenging the state Department of Health’s decisions in the licensing process. Included in one challenge was an accusation of nepotism, since four of the five nurseries selected for licenses had principals “who served on a rule-making committee,” according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

Then on Monday, 10 more challenges were filed, according to the Associated Press.

The three complaints from Friday all

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13 Legal Challenges Filed Over Florida CBD Licenses is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Pioneering Marijuana Dispensary Owner Hits Comeback Trail

By Omar Sacirbey

Medical cannabis pioneer Lynnette Shaw is back in business – or, at least, trying to get back in business.

In 2011, the federal government prohibited Shaw, who founded the first licensed medical cannabis dispensary in the country, from working in the marijuana industry ever again as part of a court settlement.

But after winning one of the most significant legal cases against the government over marijuana in October, Shaw is trying to get back to doing what she loves best: run a dispensary.

The 61-year-old believes the legal win gives her the ability to work in the

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Pioneering Marijuana Dispensary Owner Hits Comeback Trail is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Colorado Marijuana Sales Dip in September, October

After record setting months in July and August, recreational marijuana sales in Colorado have decreased for two consecutive months for the first time since marijuana became legal in 2014, according to Colorado Public Radio.

Overall, sales declined about 20% to roughly $80 million for the month of October, CPR reported.

The news might not be as bad as it seems, however. The decline in September and October follows a combined recreational and medical sales record of $100.6 million in August. And October marks only the fifth time that combined sales have broken the $80 million barrier, the radio station reported.

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Colorado Marijuana Sales Dip in September, October is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs