New Jersey Govenor Says Adult-Use Cannabis Sales Could Begin ‘Within Weeks’

2/25/2022

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New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) said on Wednesday that adult-use cannabis sales in the state could start “within weeks,” NJ.com reports. Murphy’s comments come after the state missed the statutory February 22 deadline to launch the market.

“If I had to predict, we are within weeks – I would hope in March – you would see implicit movement on the medical dispensaries, some of them being able to sell recreational. They’ve got to prove they’ve got the supply for their medical customers. I hope shortly thereafter, the standalone recreational marijuana operators.” –  Murphy during his radio show on WBGO, via NJ.com

The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission is still reviewing industry applications. Jeff Brown, the commission’s executive director, said that officials are still facing challenges to get the program rolling, including a lack of municipal buy-in. The state’s cannabis law requires cannabis industry operators to get support from local officials in writing before they can begin their operations. During a January meeting, Brown indicated that “supply continues to be an issue.”

During his radio show, Murphy added that it’s “better to be right than fast” while discussing the launch of adult-use sales.

“And God willing, that’s what we’re gonna get,” he said.

The state rules do not allow personal cannabis cultivation and, as of August, as many as half of the state’s municipalities have opted out of allowing industry operations.

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New Mexico Supreme Court Says Medical Cannabis Cannot be Taxed

2/25/2022

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The New Mexico Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that medical cannabis purchases in the state are not subject to the state’s gross receipts tax, letting stand a decision by a lower court, the Associated Press reports. The court’s decision came just days before arguments were set to be presented in the case.

Medical cannabis producers in the state had requested tax refunds in 2014 and in 2018 but the state Taxation and Revenue Department had denied those claims. In 2020, New Mexico Court of Appeals Judge M. Monica Zamora ruled that medical cannabis should be treated like other prescriptions, which are not taxed, the report says. Ultra Health, one of the state’s largest medical cannabis producers, which had filed the original lawsuits, had not been charging patients taxes, and instead had been absorbing the taxes. The company said that it would receive a $7.4 million refund plus interest following the Supreme Court ruling.

“It is reasonably self-evident that the deduction from gross receipts for prescription drugs was similarly intended to make medical treatment more accessible, by lessening the expense to those who require it. These statutes should be read harmoniously, to give effect to their commonality of purpose.” – Zamora, in her 2020 opinion, via the AP

Others in the industry estimate that the state has collected between $25 million and $30 million in gross recipes from medical cannabis producers.

Charlie Moore, a spokesman for the Taxation and Revenue Department, said the agency was disappointed with the Supreme Court’s decision to not hear the case but would “respect the decision and will move forward to issue refunds to the affected taxpayers once the court’s decision is mandated to become final.”

New Mexico launched its medical cannabis program in 2007 and, as of January, the program had more than 130,340 enrolled patients, according to state Department of Health data.

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Medical Cannabis Sales in Arkansas Surpass $20M In January

2/25/2022

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Arkansas, one of a growing number of states in the South with full plant medical cannabis, started 2022 with bumper sales numbers, according to a KATV report. In January, patients spent $20.53 million at the state’s 37 dispensaries, which averages to $5,500 a pound for the 3,731 pounds sold in that month. The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration indicated that the medical cannabis tax increased state coffers by $2.84 million in the same period.

Since the start of medical cannabis sales, 82,696 registered patients have bought more than 76,000 pounds of cannabis and paid the state $60.19 million in taxes, the report says. Last year, it took nine months to produce $25 million in total sales, according to KATV.

The 6.5% sales tax and the 4% wholesale tax on cannabis sold from cultivators to dispensaries go mostly to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences National Cancer Designation Trust. The largest monthly amount collected from the sales tax was in May 2021, when patients paid $1.63 million to the state, KATV notes.

Fifty-three percent of Arkansas voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2016 to allow medical cannabis for people with at least one of 17 qualifying conditions and create a state Medical Marijuana Commission to oversee the effort.

Activists are hoping to put two adult-use constitutional amendment questions on 2022 ballots. Sponsored by True Grass Arkansas and known as the Arkansas Recreational Marijuana Amendment of 2022, one of the measures would legalize adult-use cannabis for adults aged 21 or older. NORML is working on a second push for a Constitutional Amendment with many of the same goals, but the Arkansas Adult Use and Expungement Marijuana Amendment includes a six-plant home cultivation provision.

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Cannabias: Understanding the Anti-Cannabis Bias Found in News Media

2/24/2022

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Editor’s note: Anyone who has been working in the cannabis industry is familiar with how “wrong” the mainstream media usually gets it when they write about cannabis policy or the industry. This article from our resident journalist TG Branfalt outlines the inspiration, purpose, and methodology of his new series “Cannabias” — an ongoing column where he analyzes the work of mainstream news outlets using an academic framework to prove the existence of anti-cannabis biases in their reporting. For a detailed explanation of the analytical framework and bias type definitions, click here.

During my graduate studies at the College of Saint Rose, I noticed a problem with journalism and reporting that became so bothersome that I decided to focus my master’s thesis on it – there was scant academic analyses of media bias.

Sure, there are websites and outfits that claim to “hold the media accountable” but the problem is that they are partisan. They have a dog in the fight and want news coverage to walk that dog and meet their preferred narrative. Those websites rely on political action committees and other political groups for funding. While they claim to call out bias on one hand, the other hand writes biased articles.

My master’s thesis was pretty simple, using bias measures created by Ole Holsti (Content Analysis for the Social Sciences and Humanities, 1969) I analyzed mainstream media coverage of Third Party – and outsider – presidential candidates, from John B. Anderson in 1980 to former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson in 2012. The results were what I expected: major party candidates got more and better coverage than their outsider counterparts.

For me, that research helped me be as unbiased as possible in my own reporting, whether at the newswire organization Reuters, the right-leaning PJ Media (who refused to rehire me for the 2016 election because I provided just-the-facts reporting), the Legislative Gazette in Albany, New York, or for the carwash magazine I served as managing editor for until their multinational parent company shut it down. And, sure – have I crossed into the world of opinion with my news reporting once or twice with Ganjapreneur? Probably, but only when I feel it helps context or it’s a narrative.

Shortly after I started teaching at an upstate New York college in 2018, my department chair at the time learned about my interest in media bias and how I had incorporated Holsti into my classes. He asked me if I wanted to revive a class that no one else had interest in teaching, Criticism of the News, and emphasize media bias with the curriculum. I, obviously, jumped at the opportunity.

In developing the course I realized fairly quickly that some of the same issues I dealt with for my master’s thesis persisted: there wasn’t a whole lot of academic research on the topic, and most websites claiming to do this type of commentary were deeply partisan. (Although, I would like to give credit to Pew and Poynter as beacons of light in this area of study.)

It took months of reviewing textbooks before I found the book I now require for the class – Evaluating Media Bias (Schiffer, Adam). The text, like Content Analysis, provides a pathway for objectively determining when something is actually biased, as opposed to a prejudiced opinion that it is biased due to one’s own disagreement with the content. Since 2019, I have been teaching my students how to use this academic approach to identify bias objectively.

Now, it’s hard to divorce myself from “media studies instructor” and “cannabis industry reporter,” and until New York legalized adult-use cannabis the latter wasn’t something I made very public, instead opting for “I cover a specialized and emerging industry.” But it’s not very hard to figure out what that is exactly with a simple Google search, and some students who did some digging became quite interested in what has been primarily my beat since 2012. Those students would, then, write many of their critiques on cannabis-related stories. Needless to say, those critiques fascinated me because I was always laser-focused on politics, media partisanship, and the decay of “just the facts” journalism.

Cannabis industry reporting by mainstream news is plagued by bias, primarily because most reporters aren’t familiar with the industry, just don’t care, or have preconceived ‘War on Drugs’ notions – inherent biases – that bleed into their reporting. They don’t know the history of why the term “marijuana” was pushed on white Americans in the 1930’s, and may not even be aware of the politically-motivated roots of the Nixon-era Drug War.

I want to get mainstream reporters to speak the same language as activists and stakeholders, rather than to deride them when their reporting falls short of fairness (like the partisan “media watchdogs” do.) My goal with Cannabias is more to offer solutions for how reporters and news outlets can better cover this industry. When I penned my first cannabis-related story for Reuters in 2014, I had no idea it would encompass the bulk of my reporting and writing work for the next seven-plus years. I’m sure many in the news industry are still finding their footing in this space – and that’s okay.

For the cannabis industry to thrive, the reporting around it needs to be truthful, unbiased, and to provide context. Journalists need to be held accountable, yes, but they also need a framework that illuminates where they went wrong and how they can improve. That’s where, I hope, Cannabias can be a tool for change and help reporters, activists, and industry stakeholders speak the same language when it comes to representations of the plant and the policies around it.        

.

Analysis framework

Mission Statement: Cannabias intends to use a neutral lens of media bias to critique and analyze cannabis news coverage. We will rely on methodologies from social science to perform this task in an effort to make reporters, and their organizations, better at covering the industry in an unbiased manner.

“I.B.E.” or Ideal, Baseline, Evidence: This method is useful in determining the bias of a news story by defining your terms as someone who is analyzing content. Bias occurs when the news deviates from an ideal — an ‘ideal’ is how the coverage would look if it were truly neutral.

IDEAL: How should the story look if it were truly devoid of bias?
Wire services such as the Associated Press or Reuters are often the best example of neutrality; although not always.

BASELINE: A specific example of coverage that upholds the ideal
You may define a baseline if unable to find a representative sample; however, you must ensure your baseline is not driven by your own confirmation bias. 

EVIDENCE: What we use to prove that the coverage deviates from the ideal and baseline
Without evidence, you cannot prove bias.

Ole Holsti bias types

Ole Holsti was an American political scientist who wrote about the problem of bias in writing that is supposed to be factual, including a book on the subject, titled Content Analysis for the Social Sciences and Humanities. He identifies five specific types of bias that we will be citing in our analysis of cannabis news coverage:

  • ATTRIBUTION: (1) The traits emphasized by the media; (2) who the media attributes a quote to
  • ADJECTIVE and ADVERBIAL: The nature of descriptive language used (often used to prove other bias types)
  • CONTEXTUAL: The framing of the coverage (event, subject, person, etc.)
  • OUTRIGHT OPINION: Author construing opinion as fact in a hard news story
  • PHOTOGRAPHIC: Images/videos that accompany the reporting

Bias types in Evaluating Media Bias

Published in 2017, the book Evaluating Media Bias by Adam J. Schiffer identifies numerous forms of bias that can be detected in mainstream media, which we will also be referencing in the context of cannabis coverage:

  • PARTISAN: Organization or reporter showing bias toward one political party or the other without a pattern of such bias
  • STRUCTURAL: (1) News organization, by-and-large, supports one political party, issue, or ideology; (2) News organization has historically shown that it does not have the expertise to accurately report issue
  • OMISSION: Organization or reporter leaving out necessary information to help frame the issue (also an element of Holsti’s context bias) (2) fails to provide relevant context
  • GATEKEEPING: (1) One side’s issue received more coverage than the other side’s newsworthy issue; (2) Story only includes “official” or unnamed sources
  • COVERAGE: Outlet gives one issue more or less coverage than it deserves either in a story or as a part of its usual coverage or narrative
  • TONE: ‘Voice’ of the article (requires proof from other bias types)
  • QUALITY: Potential factual errors that favor one side
  • SIMPLICITY: Oversimplification unwittingly benefiting one side
  • NOVELTY: Topics or people that are covered because they are strange but may not be newsworthy. (When dog bites man, it isn’t news, but when man bites dog it is news)
  • FALSE or MANUFACTURED: In attempting to include both sides, the truth got lost

Also, remember confirmation bias: We tend to believe and remember information that adheres to our own beliefs. In presenting Cannabias analyses, we must be sure to look at these issues through the social science lens and prove our positions, rather than rely on how something makes us feel (feelings are not social science). Sure, we all believe that cannabis prohibition and the resulting mass incarceration of this policy is wrong, illegitimate, and unjust; however, it is the job of Cannabias to remain as neutral as possible in our critique and to focus on facts that provably demonstrate flaws and shortcomings in the coverage that we analyze.

To read about the articles we’ve analyzed so far, click here.

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Mississippi Minority Cannabis Association: Education & Training for a Diverse Cannabis Industry

2/24/2022

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The Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act was signed into law in early February 2022 after a long fight for safe access to medical cannabis. In response to impending legalization, the Mississippi Minority Cannabis Association (MMCA) is empowering their community with the tools to get involved in the industry on the ground floor. MMCA engages with minority communities in Mississippi in a double-sided approach to education. In one initiative they educate individual community members on the healing properties of medical cannabis. They take the time to teach people one-on-one about cannabis medicine. On the other side, they serve as a knowledge hub for Black and Brown entrepreneurs and farmers who want to break into the cannabis space. Each side of their approach is a step towards building prosperity in minority communities in Mississippi with cannabis business.

Ganjapreneur interviewed MMCA board members Beverly Magee Commodore, Ph.D., and Cedric Anderson, along with Executive Director Tywan Arrington to learn more. “We’re taking a cooperative approach. We’re networking with other growers and other farmers across the country as well as trying to help the local community, helping them become self-sustainable. We want to make sure that they pass down wealth, not debt, to their family members,” said Mr. Arrington.

Once it became clear that medical cannabis was coming to Mississippi, MMCA leaders traveled to adult-use states like California and Illinois to see what had worked and what hadn’t in their legalization efforts. They originally set out to learn about social equity initiatives and discovered that Black and Brown people make up a very small percentage of this industry. Their leadership team then realized the importance of an education component in their efforts. When they returned home, their focus turned to educating Black and Brown communities on medical cannabis and cannabis business.

“What we’ve found a lot of the times where there was a gap or a missing component, is that the problem was that people were not trained properly. Or they were not trained how to set their business up or how to be successful. So knowing that that has been an ongoing problem from one state to another, we want to be a part of the solution before it becomes a problem in the state of Mississippi. Training, education —those are our big flag poles when it comes to MMCA as an association,” said Dr. Commodore. MMCA can help minority-owned cannabis businesses avoid these roadblocks and tap into the potential capital from the very start of the industry.

Dr. Commodore gives a presentation at a recent event. Photo credit: MMCA

Association members receive invites to educational meetings where they learn the business from the ground up. MMCA seeks to provide top to bottom education on how to set up a cannabis business in Mississippi including a step-by-step process to getting an EIN, writing a business plan, down to marketing, labeling, and packaging. In terms of agriculture, they show how equipment that farmers may already have can work for cannabis and hemp cultivation. They called their first educational meeting after visiting adult-use states to prepare members for what lies ahead, predicting that cannabis would be an industry regulated far more than farming sweet potatoes or corn.

They have grown their presence organically with support from a larger farmers co-op. The co-op has also served as an example of preserving market share for small farmers. A co-op structure is not possible with the current law but MMCA is still building a cooperative group with their association members. In one case, a member submitted a question about the soil in Central Mississippi, and another member who farmed in Central MS answered them. Building this hub of people who can share knowledge makes the co-founders of MMCA proud of what they’re building. In the short time MMCA has been in operation, they have established a hub of minority cannabis entrepreneurs who will be prepared to enter the medical cannabis space once the regulatory framework is developed.

The association also stays in the conversation at the capitol as policy develops in the state. They want to ensure that policy written for this legislation does not exclude minorities or those formerly incarcerated for cannabis sales or possession. Social equity and expungement measures aren’t yet a part of the policy, and that is another area of focus: “We’ve made it known that we’re going to be a think tank group that is going to be in the midst of always pushing for the social equity piece. Because social equity equals economic equity from our viewpoint,” Mr. Anderson said.

The MMCA leadership team will continue advocating for their space in these conversations as they push for minority inclusion and social equity measures. Preserving market share for Black and Brown business ownership will filter more income into Black and Brown communities, building an equitable future for generations to come.

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Report: Cannabis Industry Employment Grew 33% In 2021

2/24/2022

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Leafly, in partnership with Whitney Economics, has published its sixth annual cannabis jobs report, the Seattle-based cannabis technology company shared in a press release.

The Leafly Jobs Report 2022, which looked at the 11 states with legal adult-use cannabis and the 27 states where medical cannabis is permitted, found that cannabis industry jobs increased 33% in 2021. Leafly says 2021 was the fifth year in a row the sector saw an annual growth rate greater than 27%. Additionally, the analysis found the cannabis industry currently employs 428,059 Americans and generated nearly $25 billion in sales last year, or about one-quarter of the country’s predicted total cannabis market. The report also predicts that the U.S. cannabis industry will someday employ about 1.5 to 1.75 million people — nearly four times many as today — and that the industry will be generating about $45 billion in annual sales by 2025.

“Since 2014, when the nation’s first adult-use cannabis stores opened, the industry has created hundreds of thousands of new American jobs – and there are still plenty more yet to be created. We know the potential cannabis has as both an economic driver and force for good, and it’s heartening to see employment numbers continue to reflect this strong growth. Leafly is proud to step up and fill the gap created by a lack of federal reporting, and to advocate for federal legalization that’s equitable and accessible to all communities.” — Leafly CEO Yoko Miyashita, in a press release

One of the main issues currently facing cannabis employers — like any other industry during what is being called the “Great Resignation” — is finding applicants to fill open positions. This issue could be exacerbated with states like New York, New Jersey, New Mexico and Connecticut opening their first stores in the near future, the press release says.

Other fun facts included in the report:

  • There are more people employed in the U.S. cannabis industry than there are hairstylists, barbers, and cosmetologists, combined.
  • There are three times as many cannabis workers in the U.S. as dentists.
  • The industry’s impressive hiring numbers pencil out to 280 jobs created per day and someone was hired for a cannabis-supported job every two minutes of the workday.

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Florida Officials Seek to Ban Physician Accused of Violating State’s Medical Cannabis Law

2/24/2022

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Health officials in Florida are asking an administrative law judge to permanently ban a physician from recommending medical cannabis for patients, suspend his medical license for five years, and fine him $10,000 following an investigation that found he violated state law by not performing physicals on undercover agents posing as patients seeking medical cannabis cards, WFSU Public Media reports.

The proposed penalties by the Health Department against Joseph Dorn — who has practiced in Florida for more than 30 years — date back to a 2019 complaint alleging that the physician violated state law by failing to conduct physical examinations of “Patient O.G.” and “Patient B.D.” The department also accuses him of employing a “trick or scheme” in the practice of medicine, the report says.

Ryan Andrews, Dorn’s attorney, said his client didn’t do anything wrong and that the Department of Health “intentionally” tricked Dorn “into ordering medical marijuana for B.D. and O.G. based on their presentation of unlawful falsehoods concerning their qualifying conditions (i.e., PTSD and anxiety, inter alia),” according to a proposed recommended order outlined by WFSU.

Health Department attorneys argue that Dorn failed to “appropriately vet his patients” and follow a 2017 law requiring doctors to use certain procedures before determining whether patients are eligible for medical cannabis.

“Instead of recognizing this responsibility, the respondent (Dorn) used his designation as a qualified physician to liberally qualify patients to receive medical marijuana by only performing perfunctory consultations and ignoring many of the requirements imposed by the Legislature,” said the agency’s lawyers in their proposed recommended order.

Andrews added in his recommended order that the Florida Health Department doesn’t include facts about any of Dorn’s many genuine patients. Instead, because the undercover agents lied about their conditions, “it was impossible for Dr. Dorn to have concluded that the benefits of medical marijuana outweighed the risks for O.G. and B.D., placing Dr. Dorn in a position of ‘heads I win tails you lose’ in favor of the health department.”

Administrative Law Judge W. David Watkins, who held a hearing in Dorn’s case in October, is considering the proposed recommended orders, which were submitted last Thursday.

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Oregon Lawmakers Consider Letting One County Raise Local Cannabis Taxes

2/24/2022

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Lawmakers in Oregon are considering a bill to allow some municipalities in the province to raise local taxes on adult-use cannabis from the 3% cap to no more than 10%, the Argus Observer reports. If the bill is passed, voters would have the final say in approving the measure during the General Election.

The bill would allow cities in counties with a population of 30,000 or more and border a state where cannabis remains outlawed to raise the tax rate, the report says. State Sen. Lynn Findley (R) said during a Monday work session on the legislation that there are three counties in Oregon which border Idaho, where cannabis is illegal, but only one – Malheur County – has a population that would meet the bill’s requirements; and in the county, only Ontario meets those requirements.

“It only affects one county and one city. It’s about as narrow as we can get and still be legal to legislative counsel,” Findley said during the session. He told the Observer that the leader of the state House, who killed the bill last year, said she would support the measure if it included the county and city limits.

“By narrowing it to Malheur County, it will make it more palatable to my colleagues.” — Findley to the Observer

The amended proposal now moves to the Senate floor where it could be taken up this week.

The state’s Finance and Revenue Committee also held a public hearing on a measure that aims to relieve counties and cities that lost state cannabis revenues due to the passage of a separate bill that diverted some of those funds for drug treatment programs. That bill would allow the formula for distribution for cannabis revenue to be adjusted annually for inflation.

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MedMen Withdraws Allegations that Ascend Influenced New York Politicians

2/24/2022

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Lawyers for Ascend Wellness Holdings said that its legal rival MedMen has moved to withdraw its allegations that Ascend executives put political pressure on Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D) administration to approve the transfer of MedMen’s medical cannabis license to Ascend, amNY reports. Ascend, a cannabis operator hoping to set up operations in New York which purchased MedMen’s New York operations for $73 million, filed a lawsuit in state court last month against MedMen, a multi-state cannabis company, that claimed the defendant had not fulfilled that contract.

MedMen had filed a counterclaim accusing Ascend of pressuring Hochul’s administration and claimed Ascend executives had met with state officials and donated money to the governor’s campaign in an effort to get the deal done; Ascend has denied those allegations and last week provided evidence supporting that position, the report says.

Mylan Denerstein, a lawyer representing Ascend, told amNY that counsel for MedMen has agreed to withdraw that allegation.

“Like any house of cards, MedMen’s claims collapsed when exposed to the slightest scrutiny. Ascend will continue to correct the record and looks forward to entering New York’s cannabis market once its rights are vindicated in court.” — Denerstein in a statement via amNY

Ascend submitted to the court logs and a hotel receipt that show Ascend’s president Andrew Brown providing legal counsel and staying at a hotel in Albany on the day that MedMen accused him of attending the Manhattan fundraiser for Hochul and submitted a receipt that showed CEO Abner Kurtin to be in Florida the day of an alleged meeting with the governor’s secretary.

MedMen did not comment on the withdrawal of the allegations.

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54K Acres of Industrial Hemp Planted in 2021, Worth $712M

2/23/2022

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In 2021, 54,200 acres of hemp were planted for industrial purposes in the U.S, valued at $712 million with 33,500 total acres harvested for industrial purposes, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Hemp Report. Hemp flower production last year was valued at $623 million with farmers cultivating 16,000 acres, with an average yield of 1,235 pounds per acre and a total of 19.7 million pounds grown for flower, the report says.

The production of hemp grown for fiber purposes was estimated by the USDA at 33.2 million pounds over 12,700 acres, with an average yield of 2,620 pounds per acre. The USDA estimates the fiber sector value at $41.4 million.

Production of hemp grown for seed in 2021 was estimated at 1.86 million pounds, with 3,515 acres being used for hemp seed. The USDA reports estimates an average yield of 530 pounds per acre, with a total value of $41.5 million.

The agency report indicates that Colorado led the U.S. in acres of planted hemp with 10,100 but Montana harvested the most hemp – 4,500 acres on 7,900 acres planted, the second-highest hemp acreage total planted in the U.S. in 2021. Hemp acreage planted in Texas and Oklahoma each reached 2,800 acres, with 1,070 acres of hemp harvested in Texas while in Oklahoma just 275 acres were harvested.

The report notes that last year, 27 states operated under federal guidelines provided by the 2018 Farm Bill instead of implementing state rules, while 22 states operated under state regulations allowed under the 2014 Farm Bill. All of the tribes that cultivated hemp last year operated under the 2018 regime. Only Idaho did not have a regulated hemp program last year but state officials began issuing licenses last month.

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Ayr Wellness Announces ‘Changing Legacies,’ A Series of Expungement Events

2/23/2022

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Company Teams Up with Community Partners in MA, NY, NJ, IL and NV to Assist Individuals in Obtaining a Fresh Start

MIAMI, February 22, 2022 – Ayr Wellness Inc. (CSE: AYR.A, OTCQX: AYRWF) (“Ayr” or the “Company”), a leading vertically integrated U.S. multi-state cannabis operator (“MSO”), today announced the launch of Changing Legacies, a series of record expungement clinics scheduled to take place on February 27, 2022.

As part of the series, Ayr has partnered with numerous not-for-profit and community organizations with expertise in social justice and legal and criminal justice reform. The Company and its partners specifically designed each clinic to assist individuals in expunging cannabis and other non-violent crimes from their records, allowing an opportunity for a fresh start.

“Despite the legalization of cannabis across 35+ states – two-thirds of the US population – the criminal justice system still grapples with a host of issues related to the War on Drugs, which continues to disproportionately impact Black and Brown Americans,” said Jonathan Sandelman, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Ayr. “We believe it is critical to be part of the solution to these issues, addressing the harms of the past and creating opportunity for the future. The main objective of our ‘Changing Legacies’ program is to create an ecosystem of support, partnership and hope for that better future. We thank our partnering organizations for making an event like this possible.”

Ayr will host these expungement events in conjunction with local community partners in multiple states across the country. These events will serve as models for similar events going forward, expressing Ayr’s ongoing commitment to righting harms of the past and creating opportunities for the future.

Community partners play an essential role in promoting equity and fairness in cannabis in America, and Ayr is actively seeking more partnership opportunities for similar events in the future. If you are interested in collaborating with Ayr, please reach out to socialimpact@ayrwellness.com.

Ayr is currently calling on community organizations across the country that may be interested in hosting similar events in the future, and encourages them to reach out to the Company via socialimpact@ayrwellness.com. More information regarding Ayr’s Changing Legacies events, along with Ayr’s latest social impact activations, can be found on the Ayr Wellness Social Impact Instagram Page, @ayrsocialimpact.

*In Nevada, Ayr will be collecting donations at Nevada retail locations (The Dispensary NV and Mynt) between February 18 and March 4, which will directly support Project Clean Slate.

About Ayr Wellness Inc.
Ayr is an expanding vertically integrated, U.S. multi-state cannabis operator, focused on delivering the highest quality cannabis products and customer experience throughout its footprint. Based on the belief that everything starts with the quality of the plant, the Company is focused on superior cultivation to grow superior branded cannabis products. Ayr strives to enrich consumers’ experience every day through the wellness and wonder of cannabis.
Ayr’s leadership team brings proven expertise in growing successful businesses through disciplined operational and financial management, and is committed to driving positive impact for customers, employees and the communities they touch. For more information, please visit www.ayrwellness.com.

Company/Media Contact:
Robert Vanisko
VP, Corporate Communications
Email: robert.vanisko@ayrwellness.com

Investor Relations Contact:
Sean Mansouri, CFA
Elevate IR
Email: ayr@elevate-ir.com
Email: IR@ayrwellness.com

 

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New York Gov. Signs Bill Allowing Conditional Cannabis Cultivation Licenses

2/23/2022

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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) on Tuesday signed the bill creating conditional adult-use cannabis licenses which will allow current hemp cultivators in the state to apply for a license to grow adult-use cannabis during the 2022 growing season.

The bill was approved by the Legislature last week. Under the law, conditionally licensed cannabis farmers must meet certain requirements, including safe, sustainable, and environmentally friendly cultivation practices, participation in a social equity mentorship program, and engagement in a labor peace agreement with a bona fide labor organization. The bill is an effort to prevent shortages of cannabis when adult-use sales begin, likely sometime in 2023.

“I am proud to sign this bill, which positions New York’s farmers to be the first to grow cannabis and jumpstart the safe, equitable and inclusive new industry we are building. New York State will continue to lead the way in delivering on our commitment to bring economic opportunity and growth to every New Yorker in every corner of our great state.” – Hochul in a statement

Cannabis Control Board Chair Tremaine Wright said the timing of the bill is “critical” to the agency’s efforts to roll out the adult-use program and noted that the mentorship provisions “put equity and inclusion at the forefront of the new cannabis industry” in the state.

Office of Cannabis Management Executive Director Chris Alexander said the bill provides regulators “with the tools to make up for lost time.”

“With this bill, we’re putting New York farmers, not big corporations, at the forefront of our industry while protecting public health by delivering safely grown products,” he said in a statement. “We are immediately getting to work implementing the bill so that our farmers can start planting this spring.”

With a conditional adult-use cannabis cultivation license, farmers can grow outdoors or in a greenhouse for up to two years from the issuance of the license. It also allows them to manufacture and distribute cannabis flower products without holding an adult-use processor or distributor license, until June 1, 2023. Cultivators are limited to one acre (43,560 square feet) of flowering canopy outdoors or 25,000 square feet in a greenhouse and can use up to 20 artificial lights. They can also split between outdoor and greenhouse grows with a maximum total canopy of 30,000 square feet as long as the greenhouse flowering canopy remains under 20,000 square feet.

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Veriheal Acquires MarijuanaDoctors.com for $3M

2/23/2022

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Health technology company Veriheal has acquired MarijuanaDoctors.com in a $3 million deal, giving the firm the largest network of physicians in the medical cannabis space and expanding its network of strategic dispensary partnerships.

The revamped site will include secure electronic medical record tools, online appointment scheduling, 24/7 support via live chat and phone, and a larger network of doctors, the company said.

Anthony Dutcher, CMO at Veriheal, said that “the need for medical cannabis has exploded” amid the coronavirus pandemic. A survey by the company last year found during the pandemic, 55% of patients who applied for medical cannabis cards said their main reason for using cannabis was “to feel happy.”

“It is through the legitimizing of medical cannabis at the federal level where we will see profound growth in the medical markets financially, but also for widespread healing.” – Dutcher in a statement

Veriheal noted that the company has experienced 6,000% growth over a 4-year period, adding that it has spent five years building strong, HIPAA-compliant data technology solutions to help medical cannabis patients book appointments with licensed doctors who can certify for medical cannabis cards and wellness visits throughout the U.S.

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Psilocybin Regulations Bill Advancing In Oregon Senate

2/23/2022

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An Oregon Senate committee has passed a proposal to ensure the state’s emerging psilocybin program grows in a socially equitable manner, Marijuana Moment reports. Sponsored by state Sen. Lawrence Spence (D) and Rep. Wlnsvey Campos (D), the bicameral measure passed the Senate Human Services, Mental Health and Recovery Committee unanimously, with two members excused, earlier this month.

The measure seeks to create a 15-person task force made up of lawmakers, psilocybin regulators, experienced psychedelics treatment practitioners, and representatives of the indigenous community. Only one committee, Ways and Means, remains between the bill and a floor vote in the Senate.

Voters in Oregon passed the ballot measure to legalize psilocybin for therapeutic purposes in 2020. The measure legalized the “manufacture, delivery and administration” of the psychedelic compounds and rules have begun to emerge from the advisory board in charge of creating the system to regulate the drug which shows the state is leaning toward allowing only one species of mushroom, Psilocybe cubensis, for psilocybin manufacturing.

Additionally, early reporting shows synthetic psilocybin would not be permitted in Oregon, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting.

“It is kind of a landmark moment because Oregon is the very first state to have created such a system of regulation,” Mason Marks, a member of Oregon’s psilocybin advisory board and a senior fellow on the Project on Psychedelics Law and Regulation at Harvard Law School said in the report. “These are the very first draft rules that we’re seeing, so it really is a kind of pivotal event.”

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Wells Fargo Analyst: Trucker Shortage Due to Cannabis Prohibition

2/22/2022

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A top Wells Fargo analyst suggested that federally mandated drug testing for cannabis is contributing to the worker shortage and rising prices in the trucking industry, according to a Marijuana Moment. Wells Fargo’s Chief Equity Strategist Chris Harvey’s comments came during a conference call last week when Harvey described the drug tests as creating “a very tight market even worse” as more states legalize cannabis for adult use and said that the mandates exclude “a significant portion of that trucker industry.”

The comments were first reported by CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla on Twitter.

“If you’ve listened to one conference call or a thousand conference calls, what have you heard? Logistics, transportation costs, trucker costs all going higher and that’s going to continue to occur. And the reason being is very simple. And some of you know this and some, this may be new — it’s really about drug testing. We’ve legalized marijuana in some states but, obviously, not all but some. And what you have as a trucker is you have a federal mandate for drug testing.” — Harvey via Twitter

A New York Post report from last year found 72,000 truckers were removed from their jobs due to a failed drug test for cannabis. More recently, Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D) said during a House Rules Committee hearing that the labor shortage at the U.S. Postal Service could be due in part to federal cannabis prohibition, Marijuana Moment reported.

Activists and opponents both agree that it is not safe to operate a large truck while intoxicated; however, THC remains detectable on drug tests for as long as 30 days.

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Colombian President Approves Cannabis Industry Regulation Measure

2/22/2022

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Colombian President Ivan Duque on Sunday approved a measure to regulate medical cannabis products in food and beverages, allow for industrial hemp, and allow exports of dried cannabis, Then24 reports. The government’s Resolution 27 of 2022 regulates the decree approved last year in connection with the licenses, quotas, and authorizations for medical access to cannabis use, including cannabis derivatives and hemp products.

“This resolution allows, defines and establishes all the mechanisms and procedures for the industrial use of cannabis in sectors such as food, beverages and also textile uses, defining, of course, that these uses have to do with the non-psychoactive component. … [Colombia] is at the forefront of the regulation of the use of medical cannabis in Latin America and the Caribbean and, of course, its derivations from industrial uses.” – Duque via Then24

Bill Petron, CEO of PharmaCielo – the Canadian parent company PharmaCielo Colombia Holdings S.A.S which cultivates and produces dried flower and medical-grade cannabis extracts in Colombia, described the development as “historic” for the Colombian cannabis industry. He explained that it will “open the large and growing global dried flower market as well as multiple CBD-based opportunities to Colombia producers.”

“The Colombian government has consistently demonstrated its desire to build this industry into a global leader, and in our opinion, the announcement today makes Colombia the most export-friendly and competitive jurisdiction in the world,” Petron said in a statement. “Dried flower accounts for up to 50% market share in most mature cannabis markets globally, and represents a massive opportunity both for the Colombian industry, and PharmaCielo.”

Minister of Health Fernando Ruiz called the legislation “very important” to guarantee “good manufacturing practices” and told Then24 that the door is opened to “produce dietary supplements,” among other products.

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South Dakota Police Arrest Patients Enrolled in Tribal Medical Cannabis Program

2/22/2022

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Law enforcement officials in South Dakota are arresting people who have been issued a medical cannabis card by the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe, contending that the cards are not valid for non-tribal members, according to a KFGO report. The tribe operates the only medical cannabis dispensary currently operational in the state.

Tribal officials told KFGO that more than 100 people who have been issued a card by the tribe have been arrested since the dispensary opened in July. The state Department of Public Safety and the attorney general’s office have taken the position that the medical cannabis cards aren’t valid for non-tribal members and Flandreau Police Chief Zach Weber told KFGO that his department is following that directive and arresting people with cards if they are not tribe members.

In 2020, 70% of South Dakota voters approved a medical cannabis ballot initiative and state lawmakers approved most of the Department of Health-authored program rules in September but rejected some parts of the plan including limiting the amount of high-potency cannabis patients can possess, requirements that medical practitioners could write recommendations for patients that want to grow more than the three plants allowed under the law, and a defined list of qualifying conditions. The Legislature’s Rules Review Committee signed off on new program rules as recently as October.

Earlier this month, the South Dakota state Senate voted 25 to 10 to strip an affirmative defense provision from the medical cannabis law, which would have provided some protection for the state’s cannabis patients by allowing those charged with possessing cannabis to get out of the charges by demonstrating a medical need for cannabis, even if they don’t have their medical card yet.

The state Health Department issued its first establishment registration certificates under the program last month, but sales have not yet commenced.

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Comedy Central’s ‘South Park’ Addresses Inequality In Colorado’s Cannabis Industry

2/22/2022

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It’s been several years since South Park‘s Randy Marsh, the all-American dad character who fuels many of the Comedy Central show’s comically insensitive subplots, entered the weed business with the marketing-forward brand Tegridy Farms. Since then, showrunners Trey Parker and Matt Stone have skewered the cannabis industry at multiple points and during a recent episode — Episode 2 of Season 25, “The Big Fix,” which premiered February 9 — the show took direct aim at racial inequality in Colorado’s cannabis industry.

The episode opens with Randy attending the 2022 Cannabis Cultivators Expo in Denver, which is not a real event but is clearly modeled after the industry’s B2B conferences.

At a panel titled “The Changing Face of Hemp Farming,” a white speaker tells the crowd that due to growing public awareness about the industry’s racial equalities, white-owned businesses are going to face a harsh reality check to their bottom line:

“We growers must face a harsh reality. Since the legalization of marijuana, communities of color — Black and Brown Coloradans, those most affected by the racist War on Drugs — have now been locked out of the wealth creation of the industry. Luckily, the public is starting to understand this unfairness. And many people are now talking about boycotting cannabis growers who are only white-owned. We are seeing a healthy and dramatic spike in consumers who demand that their marijuana be grown by those who understand the fight for social equity. The bottom line is this: a completely white-owned weed business these days just isn’t going to survive.”

In a panic to save his profits, Randy enacts a plan for his family to get close with the Blacks — the only (and blatantly tokenized) Black family in South Park — so he can coerce Steve, the family’s patriarch, into joining Tegridy Farms as a co-owner.

During the episode, Steve quickly realizes that he’s being used so Randy can say the business is partially Black-owned, so he ultimately quits and launches his own cannabis company. The episode closes with the subplot between Randy and Steve left open-ended but it probably won’t be the last time the show visits the issue this year, considering that South Park‘s latest seasons have featured episodic plotlines.

While “The Big Fix” is not entirely accurate when it comes to the social equity issue in Colorado — characters in the show, for example, suggest that consumer boycotts are going to ruin white-owned businesses but in reality, these businesses are still winning the lion’s share of cannabis industry profits — it is at least exciting to see the issue fueling mainstream discussion.

Note: Tegridy Farms is a fictional cannabis company but the showrunners have announced plans for a real line of Tegridy-branded cannabis products in Colorado.

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Advocates in Denton, Texas Launch Cannabis Decriminalization Campaign

2/22/2022

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Advocates in Denton, Texas are conducting a petition drive to decriminalize cannabis in the city, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. The effort is being led by Decriminalize Denton and other groups who are gathering signatures in support of ending citations and arrests for misdemeanor possession.

The campaign’s goal is to get a city ordinance ending the enforcement of low-level cannabis offenses on the November ballot.

Tristan Seikel, a co-founder and organizer for Decriminalize Denton, told the Star-Telegram that it is “really important that Denton keeps pace to where our nation is headed, and that is a more inclusive and equitable approach to cannabis use.”

“This is a huge criminal justice issue, because when you think about it, who are going to be disproportionately targeted by existing cannabis laws in Texas? It’s people who don’t have a safe space to consume, people who don’t have housing or good connection to do that in a safe way.” – Seikel to the Star-Telegram

The proposal states that Denton officers “shall not issue citations or make arrests for Class A or Class B misdemeanor possession of marijuana offenses.” Class A misdemeanors are punishable by up to one year in jail or a fine of up to $4,000 or both while Class B misdemeanors could be met with up to 180 days in jail or a fine of up to $2,000 or both. The measure would also prohibit Denton from using city funds or personnel for THC concentration testing of seized cannabis products and prohibit the city from using the odor of cannabis or hemp as probable cause for search or seizure.

The Denton Police Department did not comment to the Star-Telegram on the petition but outlined its policy for handling cannabis cases, which is to generally issue citations in lieu of arrest when a person is accused of possessing two ounces or less and an officer doesn’t believe another crime has occurred, the policy states. When establishing probable cause to make a cannabis-related arrest, under current department policy, officers cannot use the smell of cannabis alone, and only approved cases are sent for testing, according to the document outlined by the Star-Telegram.

The campaign comes following a successful bid in Austin that will culminate in May when residents will vote on a referendum that would end the enforcement of low-level cannabis offenses and no-knock raids by law enforcement in the city.

Similar campaigns are happening in cities across the Lonestar State with the collaboration of Ground Game Texas, including in Killeen and San Marcos.

The campaign needs 1,745 signatures to get the proposal on the ballot but told the Star-Telegram that the group’s goal is 3,000 signatures.

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Marijuana Packaging Supplier Acquires 420packaging.com

2/21/2022

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Miami, FL [December 16, 2021] – Boyne Capital Partners (“Boyne”) is pleased to announce that its portfolio company A&A Global Imports, LLC dba www.marijuanapackaging.com or “MJ Pack” (“A&A”) acquired Aphecal Enterprises, Inc. dba www.420packaging.com (“Aphecal” or the “Company”), a leading supplier of packaging materials and ancillary products to the high-growth medical and recreational cannabis industry.

Since 2013, the Company has provided a one-stop-shop for its customers, offering approximately 2,500 products, including packaging products (such as glass jars, pop top bottles, vials, tubes, and retail exit bags) and other ancillary goods. As part of the transaction, A&A also acquired the intellectual property related to the manufacture of Squeezetops®, a popular brand of regulatory compliant, child-resistant containers. In addition to its flagship website, www.420packaging.com, the Company operates the highly trafficked www.smokecones.com and www.humiditypacks.com which focus on various cannabis-related ancillaries.

Boyne Managing Partner and CEO, Derek McDowell, said, “A&A is committed to pursuing strategic acquisitions where it can leverage its robust supply chain and marketing expertise to drive growth. Aphecal is a prime example of an opportunity where A&A can bring more products to more customers at market leading pricing. We look forward to pursuing more great investments with the A&A team.”

David Aryan, A&A founder and CEO said, “We’re very excited to have closed on this acquisition. Aphecal will broaden our reach while allowing us to enhance the product portfolio on Aphecal’s already impressive e-commerce platform. At the same time, the IP we’ve gained will fit perfectly within our portfolio of exclusive products. The Boyne team and the M&A expertise they’ve brought to A&A has proven a great asset.”

A&A is a platform investment in BCM Fund II (“Fund”). Boyne Capital is dedicated to investing in the lower middle market sector, specifically companies with revenues of less than $100 million and with EBITDA of $3 million to $15 million.

About Boyne
Boyne Capital Partners is a Florida-based private equity firm focused on investments in lower middle market companies. Founded in 2006, Boyne has successfully invested in a broad range of industries, including healthcare services, consumer products, manufacturing, and business & financial services. Beyond financial resources, Boyne provides industry and operational expertise to its portfolio companies and partners with management to drive company performance and growth. Boyne specializes in providing the capital necessary to fund corporate growth and facilitate owners and shareholders’ partial or full exit. For additional information, please visit www.boynecapital.com.

Contact Joshua Bilmes at jbilmes@boynecapital.com or 786.539.2245 regarding new opportunities.

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Sweeping Cannabis Legalization Bill Introduced in Missouri

2/21/2022

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A cannabis legalization omnibus bill was introduced last week in Missouri, which would legalize cannabis for adults, allow regulated sales, expunge prior cannabis-related crimes, allow individuals on parole and probation to use cannabis, create tax deductions for medical cannabis patient fees and for cannabusinesses that can’t deduct business expenses from federal returns, create protections for the state’s banks to serve the industry, and allow bars, restaurants, and lodging establishments to provide spaces to consume cannabis, Ozark Radio News reports.

Republican State Rep. Ron Hicks, the bill’s sponsor, said in a memo to colleagues that the “Cannabis Freedom Act” was drafted in a way to incorporate elements from “every marijuana bill filed this session” to create a “free but tightly regulated market for legal marijuana,” according to a Marijuana Moment report.

“The Cannabis Freedom Act is the product of input from many different stakeholders including members of law enforcement and those who have endured incarceration for conduct that society now deems acceptable.” – Hicks in a statement via Ozark Radio News

In a joint statement, New Haven Police Chief Chris Hammann and former Carter County prosecutor Rocky Kingree expressed support for the legislation.

“Law enforcement does not need to be tasked with the thankless job of marijuana prohibition anymore,” they said, “and the Cannabis Freedom Act allows for the reparative justice actions that will continue the work of repairing the relationship and trust between the government and its citizens.”

If passed, the reforms would take effect in Missouri on August 28. The measure includes six co-sponsors, including four Republicans and two Democrats. It is not currently assigned to a House calendar.

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New Zealand Police Revive Cannabis Eradication Program

2/21/2022

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Police in New Zealand have budgeted more than $600,000 for a national cannabis eradication program — a year after the operation was canceled, Stuff reports. Officials had quietly ended the practice in January 2021, saying that the leaders of the nation’s 12 police districts no longer backed the program.

According to the report, six police districts are participating in the revived eradication operation. The other six districts indicated they would continue managing local cannabis eradication as needed and are not participating in the nationally coordinated effort.

According to a briefing of the program outlined by Stuff, the action, dubbed Operation Emerald, began in January and will run until next month.

“Running a nationally coordinated operation provides efficiencies in terms of negotiating a fixed-wing plane and helicopter contracts, deploying staff, provision of training for staff, and administration of the budget.” — ‘Operation Emerald’ briefing via Stuff

The initial operating budget for the eradication program was $575,000 and would come out of police’s baseline funding. The budget has since increased to $635,000 due to increased costs, a police spokesperson told Stuff.

Green Party MP Chlöe Swarbrick said the only “successful bust” lawmakers have heard about from the program was of three plants grown by a couple in Coromandel. The homeowner told Stuff that police flew a helicopter over their property and spayed their plants while they were eating dinner. The individual said the money budgeted by police for the eradication program would have been better spent on criminals doing real harm … [instead of] medical growers and very small scale one or two plant growers causing little or no harm.”

Swarbrick said that the program has been around since the 1980s.

“Its failure is so profound that even cheerleaders of prohibition can’t see the irony in their argument that cannabis is now far stronger than it ever used to be — precisely because of these actions, which continue to push cannabis production and consumption underground into unregulated spaces,” she told Stuff.

In 2020, New Zealanders rejected a non-binding cannabis referendum 53% to 46%.

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Alabama Senate Committee Approves Cannabis Decriminalization Bill

2/21/2022

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The Alabama Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday approved a bill to decriminalize cannabis possession in the state, the Associated Press reports. However, the bill sponsor, Democratic state Sen. Bobby Singleton admitted that the bill’s chances of passing the Legislature is “not bright considering it is an election year.”

The committee had approved an identical version of the bill last year, but it never made it to the floor in either chamber for a full vote. It passed the committee on a 5-4 vote.

“What we’re doing is basically trying to just make sure that we are not locking people up on marijuana charges.” – Singleton to the AP

Under the proposal, the first two convictions for possessing two ounces of cannabis or less would still be a misdemeanor but would be met with lower fines than current state law and would not include incarceration. Under current Alabama law, possession of any amount of cannabis for personal use is punishable by up to a year in prison and a maximum fine of $6,000, according to NORML. The reform measure would replace those penalties with a $250 fine for the first offense and a $500 fine for the second offense. The third offense would be adjudicated as a felony punishable by a $750 fine but no jail time.

The proposal also includes expungement provisions for previous low-level cannabis charges. The measure would allow individuals convicted of possession to petition the courts to have their records expunged, so long as the person doesn’t have any other violations — except for minor traffic violations — misdemeanors or felonies in the preceding five years.

Alabama is one of just 19 states that still impose jail time for simple cannabis possession. A February 12 poll by Civiqs found that 62% of Alabamans support broad cannabis legalization in the state with 24% opposed.

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CNN CHS Coverage Light on Sources; Cherry Picks Data

2/20/2022

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In a September 17 article focused on cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS) CNN’s coverage uses just one source (quality and gatekeeping bias) in its narrative, falling short of basic journalism standards. Additionally, the article claims that “CHS can be life-threatening” despite no one ever dying from the condition (omission bias). The article also cherry picks data from a 2019 study when describing CHS as “a national problem.”

Presence of bias:

“Between 2005 and 2014 when only medical marijuana was legal in most states, a 2020 study found nearly one in five people hospitalized for cyclical vomiting in the US reported concurrent cannabis use,” the CNN article contends. News organizations should, at the very least, find individuals from both sides to build their narrative, and while it’s no secret that news organizations have deeply cut their science staff (CNN fired its entire science team in 2008), their reporters are still responsible for being able to communicate scientific issues and stories.  

While the study that pushes their CHS narrative does state that one in five CHS hospitalizations have concurrent cannabis use, CNN does not include any context about the study (which was limited by its inability to individually review charts), uses data from an administrative dataset (which the authors note are “susceptible to inaccurately entered or missing codes”), and is a retrospective study which risks residual confounding.

“We would also like to highlight that this perceived increase in cannabis use could at least partially be due to more established guidelines in diagnosing [CHS]. Rome criteria for [CHS] were established in 2006 and knowledge about this condition has increased since then. CHS was also first described in 2004 and awareness regarding the association of cannabis with these disorders has also increased,” the study authors wrote. “Therefore, the recognition bias could be contributing to both the observed trends in the increase in hospitalizations due to CVS, as well as, the increase in the documented cannabis use in CHS patients.”

The tone of the article is decidedly prohibitionist, and we may be able to start calling CNN out soon for structural bias – the organization itself having a bias against cannabis. The coverage includes no opposing voices or even those from other researchers which limits its ability to tell a clear and honest story. Even the story’s last heading “Concerns for the future” smacks of fear-mongering.

How to remedy:

CNN needs to include other voices in its coverage, include proper context when describing previous research, and shift to a more even tone in its cannabis coverage. It is their duty to find a cannabis researcher, rather than rely on reporters who are certainly not experts in the field. With this minor change, CNN’s narrative would be more balanced and science-oriented rather than pushing their narrative which is bereft with tone, omission, and quality bias.

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