MMJ Business Daily

Testing Rules Could Mean Big Price Increase in Oregon

New state regulations requiring that commercial cannabis – both medical and recreational – be tested for pesticide contamination could result in a major price increase in Oregon’s marijuana market.

The Oregon Health Authority has thus far released a list of 59 pesticides that labs will have to test flower for, before harvests can be released for sale, according to KTVZ. The cost of testing will likely be passed on to consumers in order to maintain profitability for growers and dispensaries, so the only question at this point is how much prices will go up.

One lab vice president at

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Testing Rules Could Mean Big Price Increase in Oregon is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

New York MMJ Program Lacking Doctors, Patients

The five medical marijuana companies in New York say they will be ready to open next month when the state’s MMJ program officially launches.

They may not have any patients to serve, however, as the state’s physician certification and patient registration processes are not yet complete, according to the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. That could be a big problem for the state’s New York cannabis businesses.

Thus far, the New York State Department of Health has not released a list of physicians who are certified to dispense marijuana, and is still in the process of certifying physicians. To become

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New York MMJ Program Lacking Doctors, Patients is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

DEA Allows Drug Company to Import Cannabis

A drug delivery and technology company has received approval from the US Drug Enforcement Administration to import marijuana for research.

Catalent, a New Jersey-based drug development and technology company, applied with the DEA in August to allow its Kansas City, Mo., facility to import cannabis. The DEA approved the request in early December, according to a Federal Notice.

According to the notice, Catalent will “import finished pharmaceutical products containing cannabis extracts in dosage form for clinical trial studies.”

One of Catalent’s clients is GW Pharmaceuticals of the United Kingdom, a publicly-traded company with one cannabis-derived drug

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DEA Allows Drug Company to Import Cannabis is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Chart of the Week: 60% of Cannabis Companies Don’t Have Bank Accounts

By Becky Olson

Roughly 60% of companies operating in the cannabis industry don’t have bank accounts for their businesses, according to first-of-its-kind data from a survey conducted by Marijuana Business Daily.

The situation is even worse for companies that actually handle the plant, with 70% reporting that they’re currently operating without traditional banking services.

The poll, which includes the responses of over 400 cannabis professionals from across the country, also found that a surprising 49% of ancillary firms don’t have bank accounts. This underscores how difficult the situation is even for companies that don’t touch marijuana, such as consultancies,

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Chart of the Week: 60% of Cannabis Companies Don’t Have Bank Accounts is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Florida Rec Campaign Calls it Quits

A four-month-old campaign in Florida to legalize recreational cannabis at the ballot next year announced on Wednesday that it was pulling the plug.

“Due to time constraints, it has become obvious we will not be able to collect the needed number of verifiable petitions in time to qualify for the 2016 election,” campaign manager Michael Minardi, of Regulate Florida, wrote to supporters in an email Wednesday night.

But, he added, the campaign will almost certainly be back for another shot in 2018.

“We will be doing everything we can to make the 2018 ballot. By March,

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Florida Rec Campaign Calls it Quits is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Delaware Seeks Bids for Two More Dispensaries

Slowly but surely.

That seems to be the motto for numerous East Coast medical marijuana markets that have taken a long time to get off the ground.

One of the slowest has been Delaware, which legalized MMJ in 2011 but didn’t see its first dispensary open until just this past June. Now, however, the state has decided to award two additional dispensary licenses – one in Kent County and one in Sussex County – because of solid demand for MMJ.

Under state law, the Delaware Division of Public Health is allowed to license up to seven dispensaries, one for

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Delaware Seeks Bids for Two More Dispensaries is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Washington DC Weighs Smoking Ban for Businesses

Marijuana businesses could see expanded opportunities in Washington DC if local lawmakers allow a ban on smoking in businesses or public to expire.

Opponents of the ban, which effectively means that marijuana can only be consumed at home, testified Thursday night that the city shouldn’t be in the habit of banning an activity in private businesses that’s legal for residents to do in their own homes. If the ban does expire, that could open the door for new business opportunities for those who may want to start cannabis clubs, which have been popping up intermittently in rec states,

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Washington DC Weighs Smoking Ban for Businesses is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Florida CBD Producers Moving Forward

It looks like the CBD industry in Florida is moving ahead, regardless of what the state may do on the medical cannabis front at either the legislature or the ballot box next year.

On Wednesday, the five nurseries in the state selected to produce CBD medicine for patients each posted a $5 million performance bond as required by state law. The deadline was close of business that day, and all five made it.

That’s despite – or perhaps because of – the expectation that the industry will grow sizably in coming years, since the

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Florida CBD Producers Moving Forward is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Week in Review: Strong Illinois MMJ Sales, Positive Merrill Lynch Report & British Firm’s U.S. Expansion

By John Schroyer and Omar Sacirbey

Illinois medical cannabis sales start off on a positive note, Merrill Lynch takes an in-depth look at the marijuana industry, and a British MMJ company boosts production in anticipation of a U.S. expansion.

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

Solid Start in Illinois

Initial results are in: The eight medical marijuana dispensaries that have opened their doors in Illinois so far collectively brought in just over $800,000 in sales since the program launched in early November.

It’s a decent start in a market that

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Week in Review: Strong Illinois MMJ Sales, Positive Merrill Lynch Report & British Firm’s U.S. Expansion is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Vaporizer Startup Names Former Keurig Exec as New CEO

A new vaporizer company based in Boston has named Dave Manly, a former senior vice president with the coffee brewing system producer Keurig, as its new chief executive officer.

The Massachusetts-based CannaKorp, which produces a vaporizer system called the CannaCloud, made the announcement in a press release Thursday. Manly was an executive with Keurig for 13 years before retiring from that position.

Manly’s resume also includes stints at Lojack Stolen Vehicle Recovery, Boston Whaler Boats, and Procter & Gamble Brands, according to his website.

Manly said in the release that part of his focus will be on making

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Vaporizer Startup Names Former Keurig Exec as New CEO is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs