Cannabis industry investment firm iAnthus Capital Holdings has purchased Denver, Colorado-based Organix LLC in a $4.375 million deal that will see iAnthus take over Organix’s brands, intellectual property and all real estate holdings of Organix’s affiliate DB Land Holdings, Inc., the company announced in a press release.
Organix owns a medical and adult-use operation in Breckenridge, along with a 12,000 square-foot cultivation facility in Denver. The deal does not include any cannabis, or any licenses to manufacture or sell. However, Bellflower, a newly formed Colorado limited liability company in which iAnthus holds no ownership stake, has agreed to purchase the inventory and licenses for $300,000. The Bellflower deal requires the approval from the Colorado Enforcement Division.
Once the Bellflower deal closes, iAnthus will provide the company with professional services, such as real estate and financing, through two newly created, wholly-owned subsidiaries Scarlet Globemallow, LLC, and Bergamot Properties, LLC.
“With the closing last month of our successful financing of [$16.2 million] in gross proceeds, iAnthus has the financial resources to diversify its footprint across the U.S.” Hadley Ford, iAnthus CEO said in the release. “This acquisition is the first deployment of capital from our recent financing and helps set the stage for our growth strategy in Colorado.”
Organix held approximately 40 percent of Breckenridge’s market share this year, with $4.4 million in estimated gross retail sales. They are the only Brecknridge outlet which holds both a medical and recreational license.
iAnthus has also made investments in Vermont, New Mexico, and Massachusetts.
A New York University study has found a 71 percent increase in cannabis use among Baby Boomers – those aged 59 and older – according to a Science Daily report. The study, “Demographic Trends among Older Cannabis Users in the United States, 2006-2013” is published in the Addiction journal.
Using data derived from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the researchers discovered that while adults 65 and older had reported a significantly lower prevalence of cannabis use, use among that group also increased by two and a half times over the eight year period.
Dr. Joseph J. Palamar, an assistant professor at New York University Langone Medical Center, indicated that just 5 percent of adults over 50 believed that using cannabis one or twice a week was a health risk.
“I thought the perception of low risk was fascinating because, typically, we think of older generations as drug-adverse, and perceiving most drugs to be risky,” Palamar said in the report. “But apparently very few Baby Boomers consider marijuana use risky. But after all, this was the generation who was there, in the late 1960s, when the counterculture revolution exploded marijuana into mainstream popularity.”
Palamar said that while public health researchers were worried about the potential effects of cannabis on developing brains, some should consider switching their focus to older patients “who are increasingly more likely to be current users,” noting that older people are at a higher risk for adverse health outcomes and take prescription drugs which could negatively interact with cannabis.
The researchers say that further research is needed into whether or not changing public perception has had any impact on the cannabis use of older populations and whether they are at an increased risk of falling while using cannabis.
An online presence is essential for every business, and your dispensary should make a website the center of your online identity and marketing efforts. If you don’t have a site built yet, there now exist more options for moving forward than ever before.
Because your dispensary’s website may be the first and only thing that a potential customer sees, you need to make a great impression. Your site should look professional, clean and clearly reflect the personality and mission statement of your dispensary or cannabis business. It should integrate your branding in a big way, feature the interior of your shop, show off your products, and provide contact information.
What type of developer do you need?
Template Designers / DIY Website Builders
Typically the lowest-cost option, template or DIY designers commonly utilize a content management system (CMS) such as WordPress or SquareSpace. These designers will use pre-built templates and make slight tweaks to give them a new look for your site. They do not typically know how to manage every aspect of a website, and will not be as likely to help solve back-end issues or develop complex custom features or solutions. They may use third-party programs and plugins that could become broken or obsolete as the internet evolves, leaving your website with problems down the line that they aren’t able to fix. Only select this option when you are working within a very limited budget.
From-scratch Designer / Developers
This category includes companies or individuals who build websites from scratch using a coding framework. They may start with a platform like WordPress or Drupal as the backbone, but will fully customize and develop everything on top of it. You may also want to hire a graphic designer to do the mock-ups, then hand those designs to a from-scratch developer to build into code. Keep in mind that websites have multiple layouts for desktop, tablet and mobile, so you will need to receive a mockup for each of the three layouts.
Creative / Branding Agency
A creative or branding agency will be the most expensive option but will provide the most value long-term. This option is perfect for a dispensary looking for someone to build a brand from the ground up — or to perform a rebrand. If you are looking for media exposure and to attract high-end clientele and tourism, an experienced agency would be the way to go. They may also offer extended services like printed material design, social media marketing, apparel design, consulting and more. Be sure to go through the agency’s online portfolio to get a sense of what it is capable of before making your decision.
Questions to ask developers that you are considering
Once you’ve looked at your budget, identified your needs, and decided what kind of designers you will need to hire to work on your website, you will need some additional information before making your final decision. Consider hiring your web designer a lot like hiring a new employee; you need to vet each candidate to make sure there won’t be any surprises along the way. Here are a couple of questions to ask right away:
How long will the project take? If they don’t already, ask them to explain each step along the way and where you will need to make approvals to move forward.
What is the billing process like? Depending on which type of developer you are working with, you may be able to make several payments as the project hits certain milestones.
Will your developer configure your hosting, web domain and email? Make sure to clarify if you need to set this up in advance, or if they will take care of it. Will it cost extra to have them set it up?
Do they offer ongoing service for site maintenance and updates? If so, will you be billed weekly or monthly? Is it a pay-as-you-go situation or do they work on retainer?
As you can see, there are a lot of options out there for your website, depending on how much you are willing to invest. Just remember that your website will be a vital asset to your business, so investing heavily up front could mean much stronger returns in the long-run.
Ecofibre, Australia’s largest medicinal cannabis producer, is moving its operations to Kentucky, according to a Business Insiderreport. The company has grown low-THC cannabis on 340 acres in New South Wales, which has been used by the University of Sydney for medical experiments.
Barry Lambert, an Australian banker and adviser for Ecofibre, said the company is closing up its New South Wales operation due to onerous Australian cannabis legislation that includes so many restrictions it’s become unworkable. Lambert, whose granddaughter uses cannabis extracts to treat epilepsy, said that Australia’s laws are driving sick people back to the informal market.
“We have an Australian company, Australian seeds, Australian shareholders, but we have to go to America because of the legislation,” he said in the report.
Ecofibre already has a 500-acre plot in Kentucky – where hemp cultivation is backed by Republican congressmen, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The company plans to expand its operations to 1,200 acres next year. Additionally, Ecofibre in nearing the launch of a branded low-THC product, with hopes of applying for an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange within the next two years.
Lambert indicated that the decision is also due, in part, to Australia’s requirements that all cannabis be grown in high-security greenhouses to prevent diversion — even plants with low-THC, which would be of little use to recreational users. An Australian Department of Health spokesman said that under the new regime, approved cultivators would have the option to grow outdoors.
The New South Wales government is currently funding three medical cannabis studies with products imported from Canada and the Netherlands.
A Boston city councilor is urging the Office of the State Treasurer to consider racial equality when making potential changes to the state’s adult-use cannabis law, according to a Metro report. Councilor Ayanna Pressley is sponsoring the discussion for tomorrow’s City Council meeting.
“As the state treasurer’s office is actively working towards implementation, and the legislature is considering changes to the law, it is critical that racial equity is at the forefront of this work and thoughtfully incorporated into all policies and regulations,” she said in the report.
The Treasurer’s Office is tasked with establishing a Cannabis Control Commission, which will devise the rules and regulations for the recreational market. Under the law, the commission must develop “procedures and policies to promote and encourage full participation in the regulated marijuana industry by people from communities that have previously been disproportionately harmed by marijuana prohibition and enforcement and to positively impact those communities.”
The provision was written by racial diversity activists, including Shanel Lindsay, an attorney and owner of Ardent Cannabis, a medical cannabis device company. She said the section was included after activists realized that legalization measures in Colorado did not include such provisions and “there was almost no minority participation” in the state’s cannabis industry.
“The harm in what they’re doing, in my opinion, is taking the racism that existed under prohibition and transferring it to a brand new legal and economic industry,” she said. “Even people (of color) who were eligible to access the industry really weren’t, because of a lack of capital or how difficult it is for us to become professionals generally.”
A similar provision is included in Maryland’s medical cannabis law, which has led to lawsuits and threats by the Legislative Black Caucus to introduce legislation that would start the licensing process over, alleging that the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission failed to follow the law’s diversity guidelines. The MMCC has since hired a diversity consultant to address those claims.
According to Pressley, less than one percent of licensed dispensaries and retail stores are owned by people of color in the 25 states that have legalized some form of cannabis use.
Australia’s New South Wales government has announced they will fund the world’s first and largest clinical trial of medicinal cannabis for the prevention of vomiting and nausea from chemotherapy. The trial will be conducted by researchers from The University of Sydney, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and cancer centers in New South Wales, including Chris O’Brien Lifehouse.
The study will enroll 80 patients who will be given pharmaceutical-grade cannabis capsules with both THC and CBD. The capsules are developed by Canadian medical cannabis producer Tilray. If the first phase garners positive results a second double-blind study with 250 patients would follow. The study will measure patients’ symptoms, their symptom relief, and any side effects.
Associate Professor Peter Griminson, from Chris O’Brien Lifehouse who will lead the trial, said that while conventional anti-nausea medication had “come a long way” about one-third of patients “suffer during and after chemotherapy.”
“The role of cannabis medicines in alleviating chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting is still unclear, and this study aims to provide a definitive answer to this question,” he said in a Sydney Morning Heraldreport.
Minister for Medical Research Pru Goward said she is hopeful the study will “make the difference so many people claim it will make” noting that despite 30 years of public support “there has been no real investment” in examining those claims.
The New South Wales government is also funding two other medicinal cannabis trials into pediatric epilepsy and palliative care.
Steve Kerr, head coach of the National Basketball Association’s Golden State Warriors, believes “it’s only a matter of time before medicinal marijuana is allowed is sports leagues” because, eventually, “the education will overwhelm the perception.”
The comments come after an interview with Comcast SportsNet Bay Area’s Warriors Insider Podcast during which Kerr admitted to trying medicinal cannabis twice in the last 18 months to treat his chronic back pain.
“I’m disappointed it didn’t work. I really wanted some relief and I didn’t get it. Having done the research it was well worth a try,” Kerr said in an interview with NBA.com. “You can see it with our country, our country is starting to wisen up on the medicinal marijuana side. I hope we can wisen up on the prescription drug side. That’s scary stuff and it’s really not talked about often enough.”
Kerr said he believes that the reason major sports leagues haven’t embraced cannabis therapies is due to “a perception issue around the country.” Professional sports teams are a business and he said the owners don’t want their customers thinking, “these guys are a bunch of pot heads.”
Several of Kerr’s players supported their coach’s decision to try medical cannabis, including All-Star power forward Draymond Green and guard Klay Thompson, who both said they would support cannabis for medicinal use.
“You look at something that comes from the Earth. Any vegetable that comes from the Earth, they encourage you to eat it,” Green said. “It does make a little sense as opposed to giving someone a manufactured pill. If something takes your pain away like some of these pills do, it can’t be all good for you. … He talked about Vicodin. Toradol, you can be completely hurting and then take a Toradol shot and go through a game and feel nothing. Is that really good for you over the course of time? I doubt it.”
Kerr said that the NBA should explore options for allowing medicinal marijuana use, especially considering the dangerous painkiller trend. “Athletes everywhere are prescribed Vicodin like it’s vitamin C, like it’s no big deal,” Kerr said.
A crowd of medical professionals and industry elites gathered in Downtown Denver Nov. 18 to hear from famed cannabis chemist, Dr. Raphael Mechoulam.
With a PhD in organic chemistry, Mechoulam spoke about the data he’s gathered from his years working on the endocannabinoid system — a naturally occurring system in the human body with receptors for cannabinoid compounds such as those found in the cannabis and hemp plants.
“Everything we know comes from his science,” said Martha Montemayor, founder of HCU education and lead organizer of the Marijuana for Medical Professionals conference. “Without him we would be nowhere in science, so even though it’s a chemist lecture, it’s the foundation of what we work and do with patients, the science behind how the medicines are made.”
One of the thousands of physiological effects of cannabinoids that Mechoulam’s attention is bone remodeling. He has high hopes for clinical trials in that area based on his research.
“It was known from published works that women in Mediterranean have less osteoporosis than those in the north,” he said. The medical community originally believed it was because of the consumption of olive oil, but no connection was found until they looked at the compound, oleoyl.
Oleoyl interactions reduced bone loss and has potential for bone growth, according to the chemist. Oleoyl is related to anandamide, an endogenous cannabinoid.
Endogenous cannabinoids function as neurotransmitters because they send chemical messages between nerve cells (neurons) throughout the nervous system. They affect brain areas that sinfluence pleasure, memory, thinking, concentration, movement, coordination, and sensory and time perception. Because of this similarity, THC is able to attach to molecules called cannabinoid receptors on neurons in these brain areas and activate them, disrupting various mental and physical functions and causing the effects described earlier. The neural communication network that uses these cannabinoid neurotransmitters, known as the endocannabinoid system, plays a critical role in the nervous system’s normal functioning.
In his call to action, Mechoulam said, “I hope this compound or a related one will be made one day.”
Bone ailments and cannabinoids are currently being researched by Kalytera Therapeutics. Mechoulam works with very closely with them, as he is on their scientific advisory board. “One should expect this particular area will be researched thoroughly and hopefully we shall see a lot of interest in the compounds,” he said.
A lack of funding
The problem facing many cannabis scientists is the lack of funding available for a federally prohibited plant. A professional conference like this one brings together a mix of MD’s, biochemists, growers, and industry leaders — which really gets the information to all levels of the educational chain, observed Mara Bilibajkich, MD, CCFP. Based in Ontario, she traveled to Colorado to learn more about the status of cannabinoids in the research and development space and how she can best apply what’s already known to her family practice back home.
“The message I got was that Mechoulam is a guy working with data and he’s hoping — calling on others to expand on what he’s doing,” said Dr. Bilibajkich. “I see it as him telling everyone to wake up and take a look at this, because he sees the potential.”
The big picture take-away for the MD was his focus on cannabinoids and Alzheimers, seizures, and osteoporosis.
For now, it’s not a first line option, admits Dr. Bilibajkich, “But after trying medically accepted treatments, when nothing is working, I give it as an option.”
Dr. Mechoulam sees a bright future for cannabinoid medicine. “We can expect that these drugs will come in the next 10-15 years,” said Mechoulam.
Ireland’s lower house of Parliament has passed the medical cannabis bill and advocates expect it will pass the upper house by Easter, according to a Breaking News IEreport. Health Minister Simon Harris is likely to make amendments to the proposal when it reaches the committee of the upper house sometime next year.
“While there are elements I do not and will not support, I don’t wish to divide the Dail (parliament),” Harris said in a Fox Newsreport. “I share the concerns of patients who believe that cannabis should be a treatment option for certain medical conditions and I recognize the urgency and worry they feel.”
People Before Profit MP Gino Kenny, who introduced the legislation, said the support for the measure by citizens and his colleagues has been “overwhelming.”
“I even got emails this morning saying that ‘if this goes through it will change my life,’” Kenny said. “If this can do something small for somebody, it’s a very, very positive thing that’s happened.”
Harris indicated he wanted to remove any references in the bill that could possibly make it legal for anyone to possess cannabis without medical necessity. Kenny said he would accept such changes.
“People are using cannabis anyway, they are buying it on the street or growing it themselves, but everything is open to abuse,” Kenny said in the Breaking News report. “But the pros far outweigh the cons and obviously, under our bill, the person that is ascribed any cannabis-based medicines, they are the only user of it.”
In a move that could significantly expand New York’s limited medical cannabis program, the state has added chronic pain to its qualifying condition list, according to a press release from the department. The Health Department is still developing the regulations to define what symptoms will qualify as chronic pain.
“After conducting a thorough review of the scientific literature, it became clear that there may be certain benefits in the use of medical marijuana by patients suffering from chronic pain,” Health Commissioner Dr. Howard A. Zucker said in the statement. “Medical marijuana is already helping thousands of patients across New York State, and adding chronic pain as a qualifying condition will help more patients and further strengthen the program.”
On Wednesday, regulatory amendments to the state’s limited medical cannabis took effect authorizing nurse practitioners to certify patients under the program. Additionally, the department proposed a rule that would allow physician assistants to certify patients. The rule proposal is subject to a 45-day comment period and will not take effect before that comment period has concluded.
According to the Health Department’s two-year report on the medical cannabis program, 10,730 patients have been approved to obtain medical cannabis in the state, which has registered 750 physicians to recommend its use. However, 19 of the state’s 62 counties still do not have even one program-registered physician.
According to a National Institutes of Health report, cannabis could be used to treat sexual dysfunctions in both sexes, including Erectile Dysfunction in men and Sexual Arousal Disorder in women. The study was conducted by researchers from Italy’s University of Catania, and Charles University and Masaryk University in the Czech Republic. The study is published in the Pharmacological Research journal.
According to the abstract, “several contradictory claims regarding the effects of cannabis in sexual functioning and behavior…of both sexes have been accumulated.”
“The identification of Delta 9-THC and later on, the discovery of the [endocannabinoid system] have opened a potential therapeutic target for sexual dysfunctions, given the partial efficacy of current pharmacological treatment,” the abstract states.
“In agreement with the bidirectional modulation induced by cannabinoids on several behavioral responses, the endogenous cannabinoid AEA elicited biphasic effects on sexual behavior as well,” the authors continue. “The present article reviews current available knowledge on herbal, synthetic and endogenous cannabinoids with respect to the modulation of several aspects of sexuality in preclinical and human studies, highlighting their therapeutic potential.”
At least one cannabis-based product, Foria, markets itself as “natural sensual enhancement oil” and was named “Sex Product of the Year” by GQ. A 2015 study, published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs found that college students were more likely to engage in sexual behaviors after using cannabis.
Minnesota’s Department of Health has added post-traumatic stress disorder to the state’s medical cannabis qualifying list, the Associated Pressreports. However, individuals suffering from the condition won’t be able to access the program until August.
The agency also expanded the medical cannabis delivery options, allowing the sales of topical patches, creams and lotions. Smoking or using the full plant is still outlawed.
The Health Department considered adding other conditions to the eligible list, including depression, arthritis, and autism spectrum disorder. But Health Commissioner Ed Ehlinger said there wasn’t enough evidence showing cannabis as an effective therapy for those conditions — which were submitted to the department via public petition.
“PTSD was the only one that really came close to meeting my threshold,” he said in the report. “There’s widespread agreement among medical experts on the need for improving existing PTSD treatments.”
Assistant Health Commissioner Gilbert Acevedo is worried, though, that veterans who use cannabis for PTSD treatment could run into trouble with Veterans Affairs’ or their military benefits. Veterans Affairs’ doctors are not permitted to recommend medical cannabis.
“That’s where the conflict may come in,” he said. “If you work for the VA, you have to follow federal guidelines.”
Ehlinger said that in addition to opening up the program for veterans, the addition of PTSD might also help sexual assault victims, and witnesses of violence.
When voters in California passed Proposition 64 they not only created a legal and regulated cannabis market, but also paved the way for low-level cannabis-related crimes to be expunged from criminal records and for the possible release of individuals incarcerated for drug crimes.
The number of individuals potentially affected by this legislation is unknown, but some reports indicate thousands, maybe tens of thousands of Californians could petition for relief.
In an email, Blaine Corren, public affairs analyst for the Judicial Council of California, indicated that the council does not yet know how many people have petitioned for resentencing or to have their charges dismissed but expected they would have “some data… toward the end of January.”
A Nov. 10 memorandum from the Judicial Branch of California lays out the procedure for any individual considering seeking action under Prop. 64’s criminal reform provisions and the applications — the first step in the process — are posted online.
Who is affected?
The possible relief applies to people convicted of cannabis-related crimes that are now legal under the new California law — which allows individuals 21 and older to purchase, possess, transport, obtain or give away without compensation up to 28.5 grams of flower, or up to 8 grams of “concentrated cannabis, including what is contained in marijuana products.” Under the act, adults 18 and older can also possess, cultivate, harvest and dry up to six cannabis plants in a private residence.
And while possession by juveniles is not decriminalized under the law, harsh penal approaches are replaced by education and community service programs. The first offense is adjudicated as an infraction rather than a misdemeanor and, depending on the defendant’s history, can lead to a penalty of 4 to 10 hours of drug education and up to 60 hours of community service. A second offense is still an infraction carrying 10 hours of drug education or counseling and up to 60 hours of community service to be completed within 90 days. This change could be of huge benefit for juveniles arrested shortly before the law’s passage — their lawyer could have argued for an adjournment until after Election Day because their client could be tried under the new regime, saving them a criminal record.
After a petition is filed with and reviewed by the court, a judge could rule that a petitioner needs a qualification hearing to determine the petition’s merits. The hearing would determine the petitioner’s eligibility for relief and whether resentencing poses an “unreasonable risk to public safety.” A judge could deny the petition based on that risk.
The memo suggests that the petition should be heard by the judge who levied the original sentence, and if that judge is not available they would designate another to rule on the case. Courts are not obligated to act on any case without a petition.
If a defendant is seeking release from jail, the following issues will be examined by the court to determine the petitioner’s qualification: the defendant’s age at the time of the crime; whether it was on school property; the quantity and nature of the substance; interstate trafficking; and original sentence. Other provisions for release are similar to parole considerations, such as a reentry plan and vulnerability of any victims.
In the memo, the authors — retired Placer County Superior Court Judge J. Richard Couzens and Court of Appeals Presiding Justice Tricia A. Bigelow — lay out answers to some of the more complex questions that could arise under the new code; such as the cases for those with so-called “super strike” offenses — such as firearms and violent crime, and registered sex offenders. Those individuals who violate even the new law might be subject to harsher penalties and may not be eligible for expungement of previous cannabis-related charges.
“If the defendant has been convicted of a ‘super strike,’ that fact alone will not disqualify the defendant from seeking resentencing, but the court certainly may consider the existence of the conviction in determining the defendant’s dangerousness,” the memo reads.
A positive loophole
Allison Margolin, a partner at Margolin and Lawrence specializing in criminal defense, said the measure is already having an impact on many of her clients. She saved all of her cannabis-related cases — about 10 — until after the election because those clients would be tried under the new scheme; some would be only fined and charged with a violation, and others faced no penalty at all.
Moreover, Margolin explained, the petition process might “be better than we expected,” because those forms require the petitioner to state the quantity of cannabis they were busted with — something that is not detailed on plea agreements.
“Our original thinking under the Prop was ‘we’ll just reduce that charge,’” she told Ganjapreneur. “Then I looked at the judicial council form.”
Without having quantity information in the original plea, a petitioner could seek to have the entire conviction set aside. According to Margolin, somebody who was charged with a felony under the old rules and is seeking a reduced misdemeanor charge could argue for the charge to be vacated because there is nothing proving the original charge was felonious. The November memo backs up that strategy and does not permit for any evidence outside of the “record of conviction” to be used in considering petitions.
Margolin suggests that “hundreds of thousands” of people arrested since 1960 are likely to be eligible to have their records assessed but that anyone seeking relief should seek private or public council. Corren said that the Judicial Council would “probably keep a close eye” on the number of applications, noting that the time to determine each petition was dependent on the individual case.
Margolin and Lawrence is hosting a “420 Legal Pop Up” Prop. 64 workshop on Dec. 3 in Goleta, California.
New product testing requirements that came into effect October 1 are squeezing Oregon’s cannabis growers and business owners harder than regulators may have expected and is likely to lead to a major decline in the state’s cannabis tax revenue.
“October was a defining, if not catastrophic, month for Oregon’s cannabis industry, which, until then, was growing at a very fast rate,” Portland economist Beau Whitney said in a Nov. 30 news release issued jointly by the Oregon Cannabis Business Council and Whitney Economics. “OHA’s new testing rules, which very few existing operations can presently comply with, virtually crippled the supply chain of adult-use and medical cannabis, from grower to retailer.”
On Nov. 30, Whitney Economics released polling data that shows how Oregon’s cannabis market has deteriorated in recent weeks. Of the 683 cannabis companies that Whitney surveyed, 22 percent said they are going out of business under the new requirements and a large majority are planning employee layoffs.
Unfortunately for Oregon’s cannabis entrepreneurs, a lack of licensed testing facilities has led to both increased wait times, as well as price hikes, for testing procedures that are now mandated by the state, and many companies can’t afford to have their products tested. Furthermore, the survey shows that many of the new testing requirements are so strict that a significant portion of previously-approved products are now failing for containing small traces of prohibited chemicals and/or pesticides.
Resultingly, activity on the unregulated cannabis market has seen a dramatic uptick — as high as $187.5 million on an annualized basis — since the new testing requirements took effect on Oct. 1. This shift in consumer activity is likely a result of both growers turning to the illicit market to offload their now-inadmissible products, and consumers returning to their former black market hookups as dispensary shelves become sparser and product variety deteriorates. In either case, Oregon’s cannabis tax revenue is certain to take a hit, with conservative estimates putting the initial loss at a minimum of $10 million, with potential losses reaching as high as $20 million.
The survey was conducted by Whitney Economics from Nov. 14 to Nov. 30.
Canopy Growth Corp. has agreed to purchase Canadian licensed medical cannabis producer Mettrum Health Corp., in a deal worth more than $320 million, RTTNewsreports. Both companies are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the transaction will be satisfied by the issuance of Canopy Growth common shares.
Under the terms, Mettrum shareholders will be entitled to 0.7132 Canopy Growth shares per common share of Mettrum. The deal must be approved by a court and both companies’ shareholders, after which Mettrum would become a wholly-owned Canopy Growth subsidiary.
The deal would give Canopy Growth six licensed medical cannabis facilities, upping its production footprint to about 665,000 square feet, with expansion possibilities. The company, once combined, would have 39,730 patients, representing nearly half of Canada’s medical cannabis patient base, according to a Financial Postreport.
“From day one, Canopy Growth has viewed production capacity, brand diversity, and highly-skilled management as the foundational aspects of our business,” Bruce Linton, Chairman and CEO of Canopy Growth, said in the Post report. “Their substantial production facilities will add to our growing production platform as we expand to meet the needs of patients, and their experienced personnel will help Canopy Growth drive our vision forward to the next level.”
Earlier this week, Canopy Growth announced an agreement to acquire Germany-based pharmaceutical distributor MedCann.
Aurora Cannabis has broken ground on a cannabis cultivation facility that, once completed, will be 800,000 square feet — as large as 16 football fields, according to a Calgary Sunreport. The facility, known as Aurora Sky, will be capable of producing 100,000 kilograms of cannabis annually.
Steve Dobler, Aurora president, said the design of the greenhouse took one year and that he expects the construction will be completed by October 2017. The company boasts that, once complete, the Leduc County, Edmonton facility will be the largest and most advanced cannabis cultivation site in the world.
“Our objectives are very clear: to build the largest production capacity, with the highest production quality and the lowest production cost,” he said in a press release.
Presently, Aurora operates a 55,000-square-foot facility in Mountain View County, Alberta, which could see its own expansion.
“Our rate of growth, with rapidly increasing demand for Aurora’s high quality cannabis products, clearly justifies our expansion in both Mountain View County and Leduc County,” CEO Terry Booth said.
The new facility will employ a Dutch-designed hybrid greenhouse system, which will allow the company’s cultivation experts to have “precision control over all critical environmental variables,” the company said in the release. The pre-engineered part of the structure has been underway in the Netherlands since October.
Trading for the first cannabis-related company to gain approval from the New York Stock Exchange has been delayed, according to a Forbesreport. Innovative Industrial Properties, a real estate investment trust, planned to raise $175 million through an initial public offering but dropped that goal to $100 million. They also cut their number of shares, priced at $20 per share, from 8.75 million to 4 million.
The company plans on buying facilities for cannabis cultivation and collecting the rent. A $30 million deal to buy PharmaCann’s 127,000 square-foot New York facility and rent it back to them is expected to close within months.
The company planned to begin trading last week under the symbol IIPR, but made two updates to the filing before the delay. The first announced that management might forfeit their zero-cost basis shares, and the second confirmed that they would do just that. Initially, the 5-person management team would have gotten 15 percent of the trust without using their own money.
That zero-cost plan could be one reason the IPO has, so far, failed to gain traction among investors; another possibility could be because the company does not yet own any properties. However, it could also be due to the election of Donald Trump and the naming of Republican Sen. Jeff Session as the potential Attorney General.
A two-acre patch in Desert Hot Springs, California will soon be host to a 22,000 square-foot greenhouse capable of producing 6,000 pounds of cannabis per year, according to an Independentreport. In 2014, the town became the first in Southern California to legalize large-scale cannabis cultivation.
Jason Elsasser, owner of CV Pharms, hopes the facility, which will include SoCal’s first stand-alone extraction facility, will help turn the city into a “Mecca for cannabis.” The former property manager, who also serves as president of the Cultivation Alliance Network, got into the industry in 2008 after the economy crashed, leaving him close to bankruptcy.
“I had a contract with Bank of America to pick up foreclosures, and there was a guy growing pot at one of the places I went to foreclose,” he said in the report. “I ended up giving the guy extra time because he needed time to harvest his crop, and he told me I ought to start using my properties to grow marijuana.”
Elasser also envisions the town, known for its mineral spas, could become a hot-spot for cannabis tourism and he anticipates it will become home to ‘bud and breakfasts’ and ‘soak and toke’ businesses.
Desert Hot Springs Mayor Scott Matas said there are about 50 cannabis cultivation projects in various stages of development. Companies and growers pay an annual tax of $24 per square foot of cultivation space for the first 3,000 square feet and $10 per square foot after that. At least 20 percent of the businesses workforce must be local.
Vacant roadside lots in Desert Hot Springs such as Elasser’s used to run about $60,000, now some are going for ten times that amount, he said.
The business relationship between the cannabis and alcohol industries remains strained and detached. In states permitting adult use, the sectors’ overlap is only provided by the state boards that regulate both; however, nowhere are the two legally bought, sold, or consumed at the same location.
Big Alcohol and prohibition
During the previous election cycle, the alcohol industry bankrolled anti-legalization campaigns in both Massachusetts and Arizona. The Beer Distributors PAC donated $25,000 to the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts, and the Arizona Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America donated $10,000 anti-legalization Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy. Moreover, in May, the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America paid for an ad in Politico’s daily Congressional newsletter Huddle, asking lawmakers to fully fund Section 4008 of the FAST Act, which would force a study on “marijuana impaired driving.”
So it surprised many when Rob Sands, CEO of Constellation Brands — an alcohol distributor — indicated the company would consider adding cannabis-infused beverages to their portfolio.
A flight of beer samplers for taste-testing the options at a local brewery. Photo Credit: Diva Thakur
Combining alcohol with CBD
The recreational link between alcohol and cannabis is culturally engrained — ask anybody that partied in college (or has attended a festival, concert, backyard, etc.) whether they used both substances and whether or not they used them together.
Research into the interactions between CBD and alcohol dates back to 1979, when Paul Consroe, PhD published in the journal of Psychopharmacology, “The combination of alcohol plus CBD resulted in significantly lower blood alcohol levels compared to alcohol given alone.” More than 30 years later another study, published in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine, concluded CBD prevented acute alcohol-induced liver steatosis in mice. The disease is marked by an increased buildup of fat in the liver — it cannot be cured and afflicts more than 3 million people annually, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Bruce Milligan, Mobius Beverage Corporation CEO, has worked in both industries. Mobius got its start importing tequila from Mexico, and tequila and cannabis have an interesting history. “For a long time in Mexico it was tradition, to put cannabis into [tequila] as a way of preserving your harvest of cannabis,” Milligan explained. The company is now in the early stages of a cannabis-based product that would be added to spirits, which would be sold in dispensaries.
However, it wasn’t that historical relationship that led Milligan to develop a cannabis product for use with alcohol — it was the aforementioned Free Radical Biology and Medicine study.
“As I got further into it I found cannabis was also a neuroprotectant and I thought ‘well alcohol messes up your liver and brain’ so why not put a simple additive to it and make it safer,” he said. Milligan anticipates that as the relationship between CBD and alcohol in humans is further researched, it could become clear that adding CBD to alcohol will help reduce much of its harm.
Anecdotally, Milligan said, he has found that when people use CBD with booze, “people drink less” — which, he suggests, might be why Big Alcohol poured money into anti-legalization campaigns. Additionally, he pointed to several studies that have shown cannabis to be an effective therapy for individuals trying to kick more harmful drugs, including alcohol and opiates.
A cannabis worker in Washington state inspects recently trimmed product. Photo Credit: Rory Savatgy
Federal distribution laws
But there’s more stopping Big Alcohol from entering the market than their desire to protect their bottom line. The disconnect between federal and state drug laws would prevent a company such as Constellation from distributing cannabis-infused spirits. Even distributing state-by-state would be “a pretty hard lift,” Milligan said, because once you cross state lines with a cannabis product, even from one legal state to another, it’s considered drug trafficking by the feds.
Alcohol distributors are regulated by the U.S. Treasury’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Trade Bureau, who could choose to revoke or suspend the license of any alcohol business that started distributing cannabis products. An alcohol distributor could, however, create a new company and apply for a distribution license. The three-tiered distribution system of California’s Proposition 646 is modeled after the one already in place for alcohol – and there is no reason not to expect that alcohol distributors aren’t going to try to cash in on being the middleman.
In a Politicoreport, Hezekiah Allen, executive director of the California Growers Association, said that advocates “made some challenging compromises” with the Adult Use of Marijuana Act and the distributor model was “the most challenging.”
“There’s going to be big business in this industry, we can’t keep it out,” he said. “[With this model], we can put all the distributors in the Big Business box and we keep the boutique businesses for ourselves. Yeah, this is big money, big business, but it’s contained.”
Regulatory pushback
It’s worth noting that regulators are in no hurry to close the alcohol-cannabis gap — after Denver’s social use initiative recently declared victory, it took less than a week for the Colorado Revenue Department to ban cannabis from businesses that hold a liquor license. Bans in Maine and Alaska, whose laws permit for so-called cannabis clubs, could follow (comment requests from regulators in both states went unanswered).
Business owners, advocates, and enthusiasts alike are rightfully concerned about Big Alcohol getting into the cannabis space — the industry spent tens of thousands seeking to maintain the status quo and, according to Milligan, it’s taken “entrepreneurs putting their risks, passions, and intelligence on the line” to mold the multi-billion dollar cannabis industry. But Big Alcohol, for now, is more likely to continue funding prohibitionist efforts than they are to prioritize entrance into the cannabis space.
The lower house of Ireland’s legislature is expected to pass a medical cannabis bill, which would regulate the sale, labeling, advertising and marketing of the plant and related products, according to an Irish Timesreport. The bill will be debated on Thursday, but reportedly already has the support of up to 90 of the 158 house members.
If passed, the measure would move to the health committee of the higher house, where it could be amended before moving to the floor for debate and a vote. Minister of Health Simon Harris is also expected to recommend changes to the law once he receives a report from the Health Products Regulatory Authority, which is expected by the end of January. Sinn Féin, an Irish Republican party who to support the bill, plans to request that the HRPA oversees the program rather than establishing new agencies.
Minister of State with responsibility for the National Drugs Strategy Catherine Byrne indicated support for a tightly regulated regime.
“I wouldn’t want people to think we are legalizing cannabis, which is something I’d be totally against,” she said in the report. “We don’t want to see cannabis available on prescription and then being dealt on the streets.”
The legislation was introduced by People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny and has secured support from the Social Democrats, Green, Fianna Fáil, Anti-Austerity Alliance, Labour, Independents4Change parties, and independent lawmakers. Supporters have also proposed the creation of a Cannabis Research Institute which would publish cannabis-related research.
A clinical trial using cannabis to treat children with severe epilepsy is set to begin at Toronto’s Children’s Hospital next year, according to a CBCreport. The study will enroll 20 patients aged one to 18 diagnosed with Dravet syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy that starts in infancy.
The trial, a first in Canada, will test an oral compound that contains both THC and CBD. Research and anecdotal reports have purported that medical cannabis has anticonvulsant properties and epilepsy conditions are approved under every medical cannabis program in the U.S. However — according to Dr. Blathnaid McCoy, a pediatric neurologist who will lead the trials — while research has shown CBD products to be effective in reducing seizures there has not been a rigorous study examining the combination of CBD and THC.
“It varies massively, but [children with] Dravet syndrome often have multiple seizures every day and they can have quite prolonged seizures,” McCoy said in the report. “Certainly when the epilepsy is difficult to control and very treatment-resistant from early on, they can have catastrophic outcomes in terms of their development.”
The clinical products will be supplied by Tilray, a British Columbia-based medical cannabis producer. Catherine Jacobson, Tilray director of clinical research, said the need to develop new medications for children suffering from the “devastating” disease is “very high.”
More than 40 anticonvulsant medications are approved for use in Canada, but 30 percent of patients with severe epilepsy are unable to get relief from any of those conventional drugs.
Rapper Master P, real name Percy Miller, is releasing his own brand of legal cannabis and vape products called Master P’s Trees, according to a report from XXL. The line will include flower and edibles in addition to a “liquid gold” oil line which is produced with edible-grade, preservative-free oil.
“Pioneering the vape movement is what Master P’s Trees is all about. We don’t just want to promote the cannabis industry, we want to shape it in the direction of health, and to promote its health and healing aspects,” he said in a press release. “It’s a forest fire up in here, and Master P’s Trees are blazing the way.”
The liquid gold products include flavor options Sweet Tea, Peach Cobbler, Red Velvet, Irish Apple, Coolaide and Chocolate Beignet. The flower product is branded Master P OG and the disposable pen cartridges line is called “liquid blunts.”
“For as long as I can remember, cannabis has been around helping medical patients, and now it’s a legal lifestyle,” Miller said. “I’m happy to be an innovator in this movement and to offer a healthier option with our edible grade oils.”
Product distribution is expected to coincide with a tour featuring Master P and other artists from his No Limit label. Master P, a New Orleans native, organized and will appear at the iHeart Benefit Fest, a charity concert to benefit Louisiana flood victims, on Feb. 18.
Seantrel Henderson’s 10-game suspension for violating the National Football League’s substance abuse policy has been upheld by the league, according to a CBSreport. The Buffalo Bills offensive tackle was banned for testing positive for cannabis, which he was prescribed to treat his Crohn’s disease. Henderson underwent two surgeries on his intestines to treat the disease during the last offseason.
This is the second suspension this season for Henderson, having already served a four-game suspension for the same infraction. He is set to miss the final five games of this year’s regular season and the first five games of the 2017/2018 regular season if the Bills miss the playoffs this year. According to an NFL spokesman, he will be eligible to participate in all offseason and preseason practices and games.
“The league has notified us of the suspension and we are moving forward with our preparations to play the Oakland Raiders this Sunday,” the Buffalo Bills said in a statement.
According to previous reports, Henderson’s agent Brian Fettner indicated the tackle would consider suing the league if the suspension was upheld.
“His situation is unique, but the drug policy doesn’t line up with the uniqueness. It’s disappointing,” Fettner said in a Democrat & Chroniclereport following the decision. “They’ll give you painkillers by the bottle, which are far, far worse than cannabis. For some reason, the NFL isn’t there yet.”
Henderson was also suspended for cannabis use in college before his Crohn’s diagnosis.
The Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission has awarded preliminary dispensary licenses to 102 dispensaries after receiving 882 license applications, according to a WBAL-TVreport. During a commission meeting, officials also said they were in the process of hiring a diversity consultant to address the lack of diversity claims in the licensing process.
“The commission is in the process and plans to hire an expert consultant who specializes in minority business affairs to do a disparity evaluation and provide future guidance on minority business enterprise initiatives and make recommendations to the commission,” Patrick Jameson, executive director of the commission, said in the report.
The addition of the diversity consultant follows allegations by members of the Black Legislative Caucus that the commission failed to follow the diversity requirements in the law and a lawsuit by Alternative Medicine Maryland — a minority-owned Annapolis-based company — claiming that the commission “ignored race and ethnicity throughout the licensing process in clear contravention of its authorizing statute.”
The agency has met with members of the Black Legislative Caucus and the Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs to discuss the concerns of stakeholders. Additionally, members have asked licensees for their input on a comprehensive diversity plan.
Commissioner Paul Davies admits that the program has been delayed, but does not attribute it to the backlash from the preliminary licensing process — which drew another lawsuit from two companies that were denied a license after the commission reshuffled the application ranking to meet geographic diversity requirements in the medical cannabis law. Instead, Davies said the delay was caused by the program’s early success.
“This program has had more applications that we are aware of than any other state in the country,” he said.
The names of the dispensaries awarded preliminary licenses will be announced on Dec. 9.
