MMJ Business Daily

North Dakota Looking for Hemp Farmers

North Dakota farmers now have a new alternative if they’re tired of growing traditional crops.

The state’s agricultural department is looking for volunteers to start growing industrial hemp under a pilot program, according to AG Week.

Participants will only be permitted to grow hemp for “agricultural or academic research,” and not for profit. But they could get the jump on a new industry if North Dakota further liberalizes its hemp laws.

Those interested must hand in a project proposal, a signed memo of understanding and a request for seeds. The deadline is Jan. 1, and applications will be examined by the

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North Dakota Looking for Hemp Farmers is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Prominent Scientific Group to Promote Development of Cannabis Testing Standards

By Omar Sacirbey

The world’s largest scientific society will help facilitate cannabis research and the development of testing standards, moving the marijuana industry a step closer to legitimacy.

The 139-year-old American Chemical Society (ACS) – which boasts 150,000 members worldwide from the chemistry and science fields – recently voted to create an official cannabis subdivision.

Previously, the society had a more informal, smaller marijuana committee.

Officials with ACS said “substantial” growth in the medical and recreational cannabis industries over the past few years fueled the decision.

The move signals that the scientific community is taking marijuana seriously, and it could pave the way

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Prominent Scientific Group to Promote Development of Cannabis Testing Standards is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Trademark Battle Over Edibles Brand Name

A legal battle is escalating in Colorado over trademark issues tied to a marijuana edibles brand – something the industry could see more of as it grows and matures.

Businessman Scott Bergin is counter-suing his former employer, Green Cross Colorado, saying that the company agreed to give him ownership of the EdiPure name, according to BusinessDen. He also claims that Green Cross engaged in unfair business practices.

After leaving Green Cross, Bergin started his own edibles company and also began using the EdiPure name.

Green Cross filed suit, saying Bergin produced a copycat product that violated the company’s trademarks

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Trademark Battle Over Edibles Brand Name is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Cannabis Startup Joins Prominent Chicago Tech Incubator

In another sign that marijuana is becoming a mainstream business, the Chicago-based technology incubator 1871 has brought cannabis startup Kannatopia into its fold.

Kannatopia aims to create a social network dedicated to marijuana aficionados who are seeking a space to talk about cannabis, but are reluctant about doing it on popular platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. It will allow users to sign up anonymously or with their real names.

The website and app are still under construction, but a beta version is expected by November.

Kannatopia plans to generate revenue mainly through ads from cannabis brands targeting the nascent

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Cannabis Startup Joins Prominent Chicago Tech Incubator is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Hemp Bar Shuttered After Clash With Authorities

A hole-in-the-wall storefront in New York City that specialized in chocolates and pastries containing hemp has been forced to close down by city health department regulators over… wait for it… a lack of sinks.

A Forbes contributor speculated that the unreasonable crackdown could have erupted because of confusion on the city’s part over the differences between hemp and marijuana, its psychoactive cousin. The end result, however, remains that Brooklyn Dark Hemp Bar is now closed indefinitely.

The establishment was run briefly by an Uzbekistan immigrant whose line of chocolates is also carried by several other small vendors.

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Hemp Bar Shuttered After Clash With Authorities is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Oregon Marijuana Industry Gives Initial Recreational Regulations a Thumbs-Up

By John Schroyer

Several stakeholders in Oregon’s marijuana industry are giving state officials a pat on the back for the temporary recreational cannabis rules they adopted last week.

“I’d give them a B,” said Shane McKee, the owner of Shango, a medical cannabis grower and dispensary company that plans on applying for nine rec licenses.“Overall, they listened to folks in the industry.”

McKee said there are aspects of the rules that are “less than desirable,” such as a prohibition on using promotions, discounts and coupons to draw in customers.

But when taken as a whole, he feels that the regulations

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Oregon Marijuana Industry Gives Initial Recreational Regulations a Thumbs-Up is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Some NY Companies Still Seeking Dispensary Locations

With a January deadline looming for New York’s medical marijuana market to get up and running, some companies that won licenses are still scrambling to nail down locations for all their dispensaries.

To date, five of the 20 dispensary locations allowed by the state have not been finalized, according to Politico New York.

Politico also found that local community representatives across New York expect a good deal of resistance from residents who may favor legal MMJ but aren’t supportive of having a dispensary in their neighborhood, which is further complicating efforts by companies to find suitable locations.

In one municipality, local officials

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Some NY Companies Still Seeking Dispensary Locations is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Tribe Targeted By Feds Says it Was Growing Hemp

A Native American tribe operating a cultivation site in Wisconsin that Drug Enforcement Administration agents raided last week insists it was growing industrial hemp, not marijuana.

Agents raided the Menominee Indian reservation and seized 30,000 plants, asserting that the tribe was growing marijuana with the help of professionals from Colorado.

The raid was bolstered by a search warrant affidavit alleging that samples tested from the grow came back positive for the “presumptive indication” of marijuana, according to U.S. News and World Report.

There have not yet been any subsequent tests performed to determine if the plants in question were hemp or

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Tribe Targeted By Feds Says it Was Growing Hemp is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Wildfires Wreak Havoc on California Cannabis Farms

Wildfires that raged through parts of northern California over the last few weeks have destroyed hundreds of marijuana farms and caused millions of dollars in damages, according to estimates by industry insiders.

Marijuana businesses can’t get federal protections enjoyed by other businesses, so growers whose farms were lost or damaged cannot take advantage of wildfire safety programs offered through the Department of Agriculture’s Farm Services Agency.

Insurance agencies have started catering to cannabis businesses, but its unclear how many marijuana farmers have natural disaster or wildfire insurance.

Hezekiah Allen, executive director of the California Growers Association, told

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Wildfires Wreak Havoc on California Cannabis Farms is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

22 Companies Investing in Kentucky Hemp Industry

Kentucky may just get the industrial revolution it was hoping for from hemp.

So far, the state has seen 22 companies throw money into industrial hemp cultivation and processing, fueling hopes that the plant will rejuvenate Kentucky’s lagging agricultural economy.

One company, GenCanna, has even pumped $5 million into a 100-acre grow site for industrial hemp and is hoping to grow yield a high-CBD strain. The company has also taken over a formerly abandoned tobacco office building for its headquarters, a symbolic move that underscores how hemp could offset losses tied to the ailing tobacco industry.

Industrial hemp production only really got

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22 Companies Investing in Kentucky Hemp Industry is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs