MMJ Business Daily

Baltimore MMJ Entrepreneurs Push for Zoning Change

Entrepreneurs in Maryland asked Baltimore County officials this week to revise a proposed ordinance that would severely restrict where medical cannabis can be grown.

A newly revised version of a proposed county law would restrict cultivation sites and processing facilities to industrial areas, meaning rural properties would be off limits, according to the Baltimore Sun.

Some potential applicants for the state’s eventual 15 cultivation operations want the flexibility to be able to grow on properties they already own in rural areas, the Sun reported. That idea has support from at least one council member.

“Everyone’s going to want a stand-alone

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Baltimore MMJ Entrepreneurs Push for Zoning Change is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

New Mexico Whittles Down List of MMJ Producer Applicants

New Mexico’s medical cannabis industry is about to get bigger, though it’s unclear by how much.

The state’s health department has chosen 17 finalists out of 86 applicants for new MMJ producer licenses, according to The Associated Press.

There’s no word yet on how many of those 17 will actually be awarded licenses. But Retta Ward, New Mexico’s secretary of health, is expected to make a decision on the matter within the next 30 days, the AP reported.

At the beginning of the year, there were 24 nonprofit dispensaries and 23 licensed producers in the entire state (licensees

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New Mexico Whittles Down List of MMJ Producer Applicants is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Maryland Shaping Up to Be the Next Big Medical Marijuana Market

By John Schroyer

Amid the noise and excitement surrounding high-profile emerging medical cannabis states such as Illinois, Nevada, New York and Massachusetts, another upcoming market with vast potential has drawn surprisingly little fanfare: Maryland.

The next East Coast state to join the ranks of formal MMJ markets, Maryland’s relatively inviting medical cannabis rules open the door to marijuana investors and existing companies looking to expand.

To be sure, the overall regulatory framework is strict and licensing fees are high. But Maryland has no residency requirements for those seeking ownership stakes in medical cannabis companies, unlike many other markets.

That

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Maryland Shaping Up to Be the Next Big Medical Marijuana Market is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Harborside Poised to Open Third Dispensary

It appears that Harborside Health Center, one of the most well-known names in the medical marijuana business, is about to get formal permission for its third dispensary in California’s bay area.

The San Leandro City Council is slated to vote next week on a resolution to award its lone dispensary permit to Harborside, which would be required to pay a hefty $60,000 annual licensing fee and meet other regulations.

The city manager has recommended that the council approve Harborside’s application.

Harborside founder Steve DeAngelo told Marijuana Business Daily in August that he and his brother, Andrew, are

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Harborside Poised to Open Third Dispensary is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

More Pesticide-Related Quarantines in Denver

In yet another pesticide-related crackdown on the marijuana industry, Denver officials removed hundreds of cannabis products from circulation on Tuesday over health concerns.

Earlier this year, the Denver Department of Environmental Health quarantined upwards of 100,000 cannabis plants because of similar health concerns tied to pesticides, according to the Denver Post.

The most recent quarantines reportedly include hundreds of lozenges at Mountain High Suckers and an “undisclosed amount of raw marijuana” at MMJ America, the Post reported. The pesticide at issue is spinosad, which was apparently used in production at both businesses.

The products in question

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More Pesticide-Related Quarantines in Denver is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Report: Arizona Recreational Market Estimated at $480M

Recreational marijuana stores in Arizona could generate roughly $480 million in revenue during the first full year of sales if the state legalizes adult-use cannabis in 2016, according to estimates in a new report by the nonpartisan Grand Canyon Instit…

Building a Business on the Back of Government Contracts: Q&A With BioTrackTHC’s Patrick Vo

By John Schroyer

BioTrackTHC has traveled an interesting path on its way to becoming one of the most prominent software firms serving the cannabis industry.

The Florida-based company works directly with roughly 1,300 cannabis companies, but the key to its recent success has been its ability to win state contracts for custom seed-to-sale tracking systems.

BioTrack first won Washington State’s contract over 21 other companies in 2013, netting $750,000 for the base deal and even more as part of a two-year maintenance agreement.

So far in 2015, the company has won similar contracts from New York, Illinois

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Building a Business on the Back of Government Contracts: Q&A With BioTrackTHC’s Patrick Vo is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Testing Failures Lead to MMJ Shortages, Losses in Nevada

Strict testing standards have led to a shortage of medical cannabis in Nevada, with pounds of marijuana destroyed after testing too high for pesticides, mycotoxins and heavy metals.

That’s already forced at least one dispensary to delay its opening, according to the Las Vegas Sun.

“Several batches” of MMJ have failed to meet testing standards, resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in financial losses for growers, the paper reported.

So far, only a handful of dispensaries are open in the state, but many more are expected to launch in the coming months.

If growers aren’t able to

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Testing Failures Lead to MMJ Shortages, Losses in Nevada is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Marijuana Social Networking Site Applies for Nasdaq Listing

In another sign that the cannabis industry is moving towards the mainstream, the popular marijuana-focused social networking site MassRoots announced on Monday that it has applied for its stock to be listed on the Nasdaq.

If approved, it would become the first marijuana-related technology company to trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market and could pave the way for other cannabis firms to get listed on a major exchange.

“Uplisting to the Nasdaq Capital Market would be a significant milestone not just for MassRoots, but the cannabis industry as a whole,” MassRoots CEO Isaac Dietrich said in

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Marijuana Social Networking Site Applies for Nasdaq Listing is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Optimism Running High in California Over Chances of Statewide Medical Cannabis Regulations

By John Schroyer

After years of failed attempts, California could be just days away from approving statewide regulations on its enormous medical cannabis industry.

The legislative session adjourns on Sept. 11, which gives lawmakers and dozens of stakeholders involved in negotiations a chance to strike an agreement at the eleventh hour.

The key now is appeasing all of those stakeholders – which include industry leaders, law enforcement representatives and healthcare officials – while also conforming to new proposed bill language released by Gov. Jerry Brown’s office last week, according to insiders.

“What’s been happening for at least

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Optimism Running High in California Over Chances of Statewide Medical Cannabis Regulations is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs