MMJ Business Daily

Michigan Medical Cannabis Bills Advance

The Michigan House of Representatives has forwarded a trio of medical marijuana bills to the state Senate, including one that would legalize dispensaries.

Michigan medical cannabis businesses have long operated in legal limbo, with some lucky enough to have friendly local governments that welcome them, while others have been raided and shut down by law enforcement.

One of the bills the Michigan House approved would stabilize the climate by setting up a statewide regulatory system for dispensaries, according to MLive.com.

Under the proposal, dispensaries would pay a 3% tax on gross retail income, and

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Michigan Medical Cannabis Bills Advance is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Week in Review: California Rec Initiative, Coloado Pesticide Lawsuit & Renewed Hope in Illinois

By John Schroyer

A marijuana legalization campaign in California advances, a major cannabis player in Colorado gets smacked with a lawsuit, and efforts to boost the patient base in Illinois ramp up.

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

Ballot Competition in California

The first of possibly two or even more marijuana legalization ballot measures was filed last Friday in California with the aim of making the 2016 ballot.

But the proposal – spearheaded by the Coalition for Cannabis Policy Reform, which is campaigning as Reform CA – might not have the

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Week in Review: California Rec Initiative, Coloado Pesticide Lawsuit & Renewed Hope in Illinois is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Canadian MMJ Producers Poised to Release Oils, Extracts

Several of Canada’s premier medical marijuana producers are ready to start selling oils and extracts, pending formal approval by the federal government.

The move to broaden Canadian MMJ offerings came just this past summer, after Health Canada – which oversees the marijuana industry – issued a clarifying order that cannabis producers are allowed to manufacture extracts. Previously, licensed marijuana companies in the country had been limited to dried cannabis flower.

Around half of the nation’s 25 licensed producers have tried to get permits to begin manufacturing MMJ extracts, according to CBC News, including Tweed and Tilray.

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Canadian MMJ Producers Poised to Release Oils, Extracts is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Report: 148 MMJ Dispensaries in Detroit

A comprehensive new report estimates that 148 medical cannabis dispensaries exist in Detroit, finally putting a number to what was previously just guesswork.

The report – spearheaded by Loveland Technologies, which provides property-related data – comes at a time when city leaders are considering regulating the industry for the first time.

Loveland cautioned that its estimate is probably low because of the rapid rate at which dispensaries are opening.

The report found that 64% of MMJ storefronts are located within 1.14 miles of Detroit suburbs, and at least 59 are located within 1,000 feet of a school.

And the businesses

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Report: 148 MMJ Dispensaries in Detroit is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Illinois Panel Again Pushing for MMJ Expansion

An Illinois panel is recommending that the state add eight new ailments to the list of qualifying conditions for medical cannabis, a move that would expand the market for local licensed MMJ businesses.

The Illinois Medical Cannabis Advisory Board formally recommended on Wednesday that the program be expanded to include four separate types of pain as well as post-traumatic stress disorder, irritable bowel syndrome, autism and osteoarthritis, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The board previously pushed for the addition of 11 new conditions, but the state’s health commissioner shot down the idea.

The administration of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner

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Illinois Panel Again Pushing for MMJ Expansion is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Millions of Investment Dollars Up for Grabs: Q&A With Kodiak Capital’s Jim Fitzpatrick

By John Schroyer

Jim Fitzpatrick is on a mission.

As a member of Kodiak Capital’s advisory board, he’s been tasked with doling out millions of dollars in funding to publicly traded companies in the marijuana industry over the next year.

“I want to be the go-to strategic institutional capital partner that funds publicly traded companies,” Fitzpatrick said. “Kodiak has given me $12 million over the next 12 months, and if I can get deploy that capital, I will certainly ask for more. We want to help cannabis companies win.”

Investors have become increasingly interested in the cannabis sector as of late,

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Millions of Investment Dollars Up for Grabs: Q&A With Kodiak Capital’s Jim Fitzpatrick is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Uruguay Picks Two Marijuana Cultivators

The first nation to legalize recreational marijuana has selected a pair of companies to grow and produce cannabis that will eventually be sold at state-owned pharmacies.

Simbiosys SA, which is backed by Uruguayan and Argentinian investors, and Iccorp won the two licenses over nine other competitors, according to Bloomberg. Simbiosys’ investors may put as much as $2 million into cultivation operations, a spokesman told Bloomberg.

Canadian MMJ producer Tilray reportedly was among the contenders.

Now that the licenses have been awarded, recreational cannabis could be available at Uruguayan pharmacies in as little as eight months, an official said

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Uruguay Picks Two Marijuana Cultivators is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

More Growth, Competition on the Horizon for New Mexico’s Medical Marijuana Industry

By John Schroyer

New Mexico’s medical marijuana market is about to go through a significant growth spurt – and get some more competition.

The state has selected a dozen applicants out of an initial pool of 86 to receive new business licenses and join the 23 nonprofit producers and dispensaries already operating.

The new licenses will help fuel growth in the state’s medical cannabis industry, which is expected to rack up between $25 million and $30 million in sales this year, according to the Marijuana Business Factbook. The market could potentially grow by millions of dollars in the years

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More Growth, Competition on the Horizon for New Mexico’s Medical Marijuana Industry is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

$24M Medical Cannabis Research Center Planned for Ohio

If ResponsibleOhio succeeds in legalizing both medical and recreational cannabis in Ohio next month, the state will get a bonus: a $24 million MMJ research facility.
The project will only move forward if Issue 3, the ballot initiative ResponsibleOhio i…

Colorado Marijuana Business Sued Over Pesticide Use

There’s a first for everything.

LivWell, one of the largest marijuana retail and cultivation chains in Colorado, is being sued by a pair of consumers over allegations that it used controversial pesticides during its cultivation process. It appears to be the first time a marijuana producer has faced legal action over alleged use of pesticides.

The suit, which you can read here, was filed Monday in Denver District Court by Brandan Flores and Brandie Larrabee, and is seeking class-action status, according to the Denver Post. It alleges that LivWell inappropriately used Eagle 20, a common fungicide used

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Colorado Marijuana Business Sued Over Pesticide Use is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs