Norma Pence

New York State is anxiously awaiting legalization of adult recreational marijuana and regulations for CBD in food and drink. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks about the $175.5 billion state budget during a news conference in the Red Room at the state Capitol Sunday, March, 31, 2019, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink) ASSOCIATED PRESS Legalized marijuana won’t be in New York’s annual state budget, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Friday. Many expected it to be part of the budget that’s expected to be confirmed tomorrow. The details will be negotiated before the session closes in June, Cuomo said. The air was hopeful at the recent Women in Cannabis conference, where policy experts, writers, growers and potential growers cheered at discussions about the April 1 deadline. Experts said they expected some version of the proposal to move forward. In this Feb. 14, 2019 photo, Colton Welch, a junior at the State University of New York at Morrisville, N.Y., tends h...

CBD spray isn’t quite as popular as CBD oil, vape liquid, or gummies, but it can provide its own set of advantages. How does it differ from other products and could it be the right option for you? Let’s look at what sets it apart. CBD oil spray is similar to a breath or throat spray. Pure cannabidiol is combined with a liquid solution. The solution is used in a pump bottle so it can be sprayed directly into the mouth. At first glance, you may think this is very similar to CBD oil, which is dropped into the mouth to be held under the tongue or swallowed. Although the dosing methods appear similar on the surface, the way in which CBD is absorbed and processed by the body is different for each. When you use CBD spray, the liquid drops do not simply travel down the throat in the same manner as CBD liquid from a dropper. This may happen to some of the spray, but  most of it is absorbed sublingually . Sublingual absorption means that a substance is taken in through the mucous me...

Michigan regulators are permitting roughly 50 unlicensed medical cannabis dispensaries to remain open past a March 31 deadline, in compliance with a judge’s decision . The state’s Bureau of Marijuana Regulation said in a statement issued Friday afternoon that “until further order of the court,” it wouldn’t enforce the deadline against the temporary operating facilities. Green Genie had sued to allow the dispensaries to stay open past March 31. This is just the latest deadline extension in a state that is transitioning to stricter MMJ regulations. Original Article Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/unlicensed-michigan-medical-cannabis-dispensaries-allowed-stay-open/

Curio Wellness dropped its lawsuit to block Maryland regulators from awarding new cannabis cultivation licenses that the state said were intended to increase diversity in the industry. The company had received impassioned public criticism after it filed the suit, according to The Baltimore Sun. Curio CEO Michael Bronfein said in a statement that the medical marijuana company stands by the merits of its lawsuit. But he indicated Curio is responding to comments that he said misinterpret its action as racially insensitive. Despite the lawsuit, state regulators  planned to proceed  with the licensing round. For more details about Curio’s decision, click here . Original Article Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/curio-wellness-drops-medical-marijuana-licensing-suit-against-maryland/

Etain is delaying by a year its plan to build a medical marijuana processing plant in upstate New York after being rejected for state-backed financing due to its connection with the cannabis industry, The Post-Star in Glen Falls reported. The female-owned company, one of the state’s 10 MMJ operators , instead is turning to private bank financing and its own equity, a company official told the newspaper. For more details, click here . Original Article Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/etains-ny-medical-cannabis-processing-facility-state-financing/

California law enforcement on Thursday temporarily shuttered one licensed retail location and also raided an illegal grow that allegedly appeared to be connected to the shop, reinforcing once more the tenuous nature of the state’s cannabis supply chain. According to a press release from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department, deputies served a warrant at 805 Beach Breaks, a licensed marijuana retailer in Grover Beach. The same day, deputies also raided an unlicensed MJ grow at an undisclosed location in nearby Los Alamos, where they seized “hundreds of thousands of illegal plants and thousands of pounds of processed marijuana ready for sale.” At the Grover Beach shop, deputies found “marijuana from the illegal (grow) operation and records associated with the investigation,” according to the sheriff’s release. The investigation centers on “fraudulent licensing” and “black-market diversion,” the sheriff’s office said. The shop’s local business license was temporarily suspe...

The question of whether individuals should be allowed grow their own marijuana in states where it is legal has created discord among those who otherwise agree on broad cannabis reform, with advocates working to expand access while certain companies take an opposing stance. The latest example comes out of New Hampshire, where a lobbyist representing the medical marijuana dispensary Sanctuary ATC testified this week against a bill that would allow patients and caregivers to cultivate cannabis. But after the testimony was delivered to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday, advocates sounded the alarm and the CEO of the company said it was all a big misunderstanding. The lobbyist, Michael McLaughlin, argued before lawmakers that the legislation would drive up retail prices, pose health concerns and undermine New Hampshire’s regulatory system. Many patients and legalization advocates view a home grow option as a basic principle that should be permitted in al...

Popular cult classics like The Big Lebowski would have you believe that people who use marijuana not only always have the munchies, but they’re also too lazy to engage in a lot of physical activity. With those kinds of stereotypes pervading movies and TV shows, it makes sense that many people would assume marijuana use is positively associated with weight gain. But a new study published last week in the International Journal of Epidemiology  appears to undermine that belief. It’s the latest research to show that marijuana users are actually less likely to be obese compared to non-users. For their work, Michigan State University researchers drew on data from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), a cross-sectional, nationally representative study sample of U.S. citizens aged 18 and older. In total, they looked at the reported responses of more than 33,000 people. In the first wave of interviews completed in 2001-2002, p...

Gel Capsules Inside and Outside Plastic Bottle Pixabay With two major health retailers announcing that they’re bringing non-THC cannabis-derived products to shelves nationwide this year, the inevitable battle between the FDA and CBD proponents has reached new heights.  On March 27, Walgreens announced that it will sell CBD products in 1,500 of its stores in states across the U.S., from California to Vermont. Just days before that, CVS threw its hat in the CBD ring with a distribution deal with Curaleaf Holding Inc., which will send its products to 800 of CVS’s 10,000 stores this year. The moves make the retailers the highest-profile targets for the FDA, which clarified that, even though industrial hemp is legal following the 2018 Farm Bill, CBD remained under heavy scrutiny from the regulatory agency. In a press announcement last December, the FDA stated: Cannabis and cannabis-derived products claiming in their marketing and promotional materials that th...

AUSTIN, TEXAS – MARCH 11: Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg attend the ‘Good Boys’ Premiere 2019 SXSW Conference and Festivals at Paramount Theatre on March 11, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for SXSW) Getty Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg have worked together on films like Superbad, The Interview, and Pineapple Express. Now the duo is embarking on a different type of project: a marijuana company. “Houseplant is a passion we’ve brought to life through drive and dedication,” said Seth Rogen, Co-Founder of Houseplant.  “Every decision we’ve made for the business reflects the years of education, first-hand experience and respect we have for cannabis.” Based in Canada, the home country of both men, the brand’s first product is experienced to be called Houseplant Sativa and will be available in early April in British Columbia and surrounding areas. Afterward it plans to launch Houseplant Hybrid and Houseplant Indica, eventually followed by pre-rol...

Vireo Health, a Minneapolis-based cannabis group that started trading this month on the Canadian Securities Exchange ( VREO ), said it is expanding into the New Mexico medical marijuana market with the acquisition of Red Barn. Red Barn operates a growing and processing facility in Gallup, New Mexico, as well as two dispensaries in the state. For more details on the Vireo/Red Barn deal,  click here. (For more analysis and in-depth looks at the investment trends and deals driving the cannabis industry forward,  sign up  for  Marijuana Business Daily’s new premium subscription service, Investor Intelligence.) Original Article Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/vireo-enters-new-mexico-medical-cannabis/

It was billed as an elite, members-only marijuana social club. But the advertisements for Country Club Cannabis, which popped up on social media feeds and in advertisements across New York City this week, were all part of a deliberately provocative campaign launched by the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA). As New York lawmakers continue to work on legislation to legalize marijuana for adult use in the state, advocates are ramping up efforts to ensure that social equity and restorative justice are key components of any legal cannabis system that eventually emerges. DPA teamed up with creative agency Virtue to make that point by creating the fake cannabis club. Country Club Cannabis was supposed to represent the moneyed, exclusive marijuana market that develops when cannabis is legalized without a focus on social equity. Members could pay for special access to different services—spa access for basic membership and access to “legal counsel” for premium members, for example. And joining the...

The Walgreens pharmacy chain will sell CBD-infused creams, sprays and transdermal patches in 1,500 stores across nine states, but the company declined to identify the brands it plans to carry, CNBC reported. The move comes hot on the heels of an announcement last week that rival pharmacy chain CVS had kicked off sales in eight states of hemp-derived CBD creams, sprays and salves. Massachusetts-based Curaleaf, a vertically integrated cannabis company, signed a deal with CVS to begin selling its hemp lotions and transdermal patches at 800 CVS stores, underscoring the opportunity for CBD product manufacturers to land mainstream distribution deals. “All large retailers are figuring out their hemp strategy and will address that in 2019 because there is such a huge product demand,” Curaleaf CEO Joseph Lusardi said on a call with investors and analysts last week. The two drugstore chains join traditional retailers Sephora, Neiman Marcus, Barneys and DSW in selling hemp-derived CBD pro...

Arizona-based Hypur Ventures announced it’s rolling out a half-billion-dollar cannabis investment fund intended to inject even more capital into both the marijuana and hemp sectors. Dubbed Hypur Ventures II, the fund will focus partially on mergers, acquisitions and rollup opportunities but also on “seasoned operators” with still-maturing private companies. Individual investments will range from $1 million to $25 million and a total fund cap of $500 million, according to a news release. “We are confident that by investing in experienced operators and companies with strong growth and defensible business models, we have an opportunity to unlock value in one of the fastest-growing industries in the world today,” said Christopher Galvin, Hypur’s founder and managing director. (For more analysis and in-depth looks at the investment trends and deals driving the cannabis industry forward, sign up for Marijuana Business Daily’s new premium subscription service, Investor Intelligence.)...

An unlicensed medical cannabis dispensary in Detroit has sued the state, just days before regulators are poised to shutter shops that have not obtained appropriate permits. Green Genie filed suit to allow unlicensed dispensaries to stay open past a March 31 deadline, MLive.com reported. Roughly 50 dispensaries are facing cease-and-desist orders after that deadline. For more details about the situation, click here . Original Article Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/detroit-medical-cannabis-dispensary-sues-state-over-licensing-deadline/

The question of whether individuals should be allowed grow their own marijuana in states where it is legal has created discord among those who otherwise agree on broad cannabis reform, with advocates working to expand access while certain companies take an opposing stance. The latest example comes out of New Hampshire, where a lobbyist representing the medical marijuana dispensary Sanctuary ATC testified this week against a bill that would allow patients and caregivers to cultivate cannabis. But after the testimony was delivered to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday, advocates sounded the alarm and the CEO of the company said it was all a big misunderstanding. The lobbyist, Michael McLaughlin, argued before lawmakers that the legislation would drive up retail prices, pose health concerns and undermine New Hampshire’s regulatory system. Many patients and legalization advocates view a home grow option as a basic principle that should be permitted in al...

The question of whether individuals should be allowed grow their own marijuana in states where it is legal has created discord among those who otherwise agree on broad cannabis reform, with advocates working to expand access while certain companies take an opposing stance. The latest example comes out of New Hampshire, where a lobbyist representing the medical marijuana dispensary Sanctuary ATC testified this week against a bill that would allow patients and caregivers to cultivate cannabis. But after the testimony was delivered to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday, advocates sounded the alarm and the CEO of the company said it was all a big misunderstanding. The lobbyist, Michael McLaughlin, argued before lawmakers that the legislation would drive up retail prices, pose health concerns and undermine New Hampshire’s regulatory system. Many patients and legalization advocates view a home grow option as a basic principle that should be permitted in al...

A new memo from pro-legalization advocates offers some insight for marijuana businesses, investors and consumers on how they can better support social responsibility in the increasingly legal industry. The four-page document unveiled by the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) on Friday proposes guidelines to help assess whether a business is operating in a manner that recognizes the historic harms and injustices caused by prohibition. Specifically, the memo asks industry players to take a harder look at their policy positions, internal operations and practices, whether their company supports up-and-coming marijuana businesses and how invested they are in the local communities in which they operate. As the document notes: Repairing the harms of prohibition entails: 1) ensuring that the harm is not continuing; 2) supporting the development of an accurate historical record of the harms caused by marijuana prohibition, including how it has oppressed black and brown communities; and 3) suppor...