MMJ Business Daily

Major California Court Ruling Favors State-Legal Cannabis Businesses

A pioneering California dispensary that was shuttered years ago by an aggressive anti-marijuana U.S. attorney has won a major legal battle that could have repercussions across the marijuana industry.

U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer has ruled that an injunction against the Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana should be lifted.

The judge based his ruling on a new Congressional law – the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment – that prohibits the Department of Justice from spending funds on prosecuting cases against medical marijuana providers and patients in states where medical marijuana is legal.

Evidence suggested, Breyer said, that medicinal cannabis suppliers had

…

Major California Court Ruling Favors State-Legal Cannabis Businesses is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Want to Win Over Local Officials? Offer MMJ Equity Deal

Medical marijuana companies seeking approval from local municipalities to settle within their borders may want to consider the path that Harvest Inc. took to the town of Hancock in western Maryland.

Harvest, an Arizona-based company that hopes to establish a cultivation and production facility in Maryland, recently offered Hancock a 5% equity stake in its local operation if it’s successful in winning a license.

Town officials agreed, cementing what appears to be the first such agreement between a municipality and a medical cannabis company. Such deals could become more common across the country if the partnership proves fruitful for both sides.

Under

…

Want to Win Over Local Officials? Offer MMJ Equity Deal is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Guest Column: Cannabis Industry Must Dominate Discussion About MJ’s Impact on Young People

By John Conlin

The legalization of medical and adult-use marijuana in the United States appears to be a force that can’t be stopped.

As this occurs, we can expect more scientific research into the biological impacts of cannabis consumption, particularly on young people. This is valuable research, but it also could create major challenges for our nascent industry.

Despite huge shifts in public perception, there are still many people who are very much against legalization, and we can expect them to use the results of these studies as ammunition in their fight.

Research will certainly show that marijuana consumption is bad for the

…

Guest Column: Cannabis Industry Must Dominate Discussion About MJ’s Impact on Young People is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Maryland County Backs Away From MMJ Ban

An official behind a proposal to ban medical cannabis businesses in a Maryland county has dropped the idea and is now instead pushing for a zoning rule that would prohibit MMJ companies from locating within 1,000 feet of schools and homes.

Steve Schuh – executive of Anne Arundel County, which includes the capital Annapolis and many nearby cities – abandoned the notion of a ban after failing to garner enough support from other officials. Maryland’s attorney general also had warned that such a move could be illegal under state law.

Schuh’s new plan involves zoning restrictions that appear to

…

Maryland County Backs Away From MMJ Ban is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Oregon Proposes Recreational Marijuana Licensing Fees

Recreational marijuana businesses in Oregon would have to fork over several thousand dollars annually in licensing fees under the latest draft of proposed rules covering the state’s adult-use program.

The licensing costs would come on top of local fees, leaving some cannabis entrepreneurs worried that they may not be able to survive the burden.

“I am afraid these fees, on top of the fees that localities are imposing, are putting prices too high, and pricing out mom and pop and hurting the ability of the regulated market to compete with the unregulated market,” Anthony Johnson – chief petitioner for Measure 91,

…

Oregon Proposes Recreational Marijuana Licensing Fees is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Minnesota Considers Adding New MMJ Condition

Minnesota’s health commissioner is considering whether to add intractable pain to the state’s list of conditions that qualify patients for medical marijuana.

That should be greeted as good news by cannabis entrepreneurs in Minnesota, where medical marijuana patient numbers have fallen dramatically short of expectations. The addition of intractable pain could open the door for tens of thousands of patients – possibly even more – to participate in the program.

Health Commissioner Ed Ehlinger has until January 1, 2016 to decide whether intractable pain should be included among qualified conditions, while the public comment period on the issue closes Oct.

…

Minnesota Considers Adding New MMJ Condition is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Chart of the Week: Initial Rec Sales in 3 Markets Highlight Role of Business, Regulatory Environment

By Becky Olson

All cannabis markets are not created equal.

The first three states to launch recreational marijuana programs had vastly different experiences during their initial week of sales.

Colorado posted an impressive tally early last year, Washington State recorded an anemic total in mid-2014 and Oregon blew both out of the water earlier this month.

At first blush, these three states appear to have a lot in common.

They’e all located in the western part of the country, where attitudes toward cannabis are more liberal and use of marijuana is higher. They also each had pre-existing medical cannabis markets,

…

Chart of the Week: Initial Rec Sales in 3 Markets Highlight Role of Business, Regulatory Environment is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Australian Government Poised to Start Growing MMJ

The Australian government may begin growing and dispensing medical cannabis before the end of 2015.

Federal Health Minister Sussan Ley has thrown her support behind expected legislation to allow her agency to oversee growing MMJ and using it in medical trials, according to the Guardian.

“Currently there are already systems in place to licence the manufacture and supply of medicinal cannabis-based products in Australia, however there is no mechanism to allow the production of a safe, legal and sustainable local supply,” Ley said.

Three Australian states – New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland – immediately jumped on board

…

Australian Government Poised to Start Growing MMJ is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Alaskans Riled Up Over Proposed Ban on Cannabis Clubs

What good is legalized cannabis if there’s almost nowhere to consume it?

That’s one of the top concerns Alaskans expressed to state regulators about proposed recreational cannabis rules during a two-day public comment period that ends today.

The state’s proposed regulations on recreational marijuana call for a ban on clubs that allow consumers to consume marijuana, nixing a potential business opportunity for entrepreneurs.

That means the only legally protected place to consume marijuana is inside a private home. Many landlords, however, don’t allow that. Marijuana consumers face a similar dilemma in other states that have legalized recreational cannabis.

…

Alaskans Riled Up Over Proposed Ban on Cannabis Clubs is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Croatia Legalizes Medical Cannabis Sales

The southeastern European nation of Croatia has legalized the use and sale of marijuana-derived products for medical purposes, becoming the latest country to establish an MMJ program.

Under the program, doctors can prescribe medical cannabis for a handful of conditions, including cancer, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and AIDS, according to Agence France-Presse.

Pharmacies across the country will begin selling medical marijuana in a matter of weeks, though MMJ is reportedly now already available through eight pharmaceutical companies. Home growing is not allowed, and patients are limited to .75 grams of THC every 30 days.

“According to information that we have from wholesale

…

Croatia Legalizes Medical Cannabis Sales is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs