Canadian judge: Cities can forbid illegal dispensaries

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A British Columbia Supreme Court judge issued a blow to Canada’s most notable owner of illegal medical cannabis dispensaries, ruling that municipalities have the right to ban MMJ businesses.

Don Briere, who owns a chain of medical cannabis stores in the western Canadian province, filed a lawsuit alleging Abbotsford city officials violated Canada’s constitution by denying him a dispensary license.


Spring 2017 MJBizConBriere’s lawyer argued that local authorities don’t have authority to deny licenses to businesses because cannabis laws are decided by the…

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Proposed Ohio Medical Marijuana Regulations Released

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Proposed rules were published yesterday governing both dispensaries and physicians operating in the emerging medical marijuana program in Ohio. Both sets of proposed rules are available online. Members of the public are invited to review and comment on them before January 13, 2017.flag_of_ohio-svg

Most of the proposed rules are sensible, but there is room for improvement. One area of concern is the state’s initial proposal to limit the total number of dispensaries to 40. Given the state’s population and the likely size of the program, such a low…

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Alaska’s recreational cannabis market just weeks from debut

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alaska marijuana

By John Schroyer

The fourth recreational marijuana market in the United States is nearly here.

Alaska’s adult-use industry is just a few weeks from the first retail sales, according to estimates by multiple sources. The first rec shop, Frozen Budz, could open in Fairbanks before the end of the month.

The last hurdle is that local and state authorities must clear testing labs to open so cultivators can have their crops checked for potency and microbial contaminants. After that, growers will be allowed to begin supplying retailers, the first…

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Michigan Lawmakers Adopt Regulatory System for Medical Marijuana, Allow Extracts

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The Michigan Legislature passed a series of bills this month that overhaul the state’s medical marijuana program. This is the culmination of a multi-year debate on how, and whether, the state should allow and regulate medical marijuana businesses. It is a major — and controversial — milestone for patients and those who serve them. The bills now head to the governor, who is expected to sign them.mi-seal

For many years, federal and state law enforcement authorities obtained warrants, raided locations, arrested compassionate business owners,…

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Week in Review: Michigan Medical Cannabis Firms in Limbo, MA to the Rescue, Alaska Crawls Ahead

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By John Schroyer and Omar Sacirbey

Michigan medical marijuana businesses ponder their future under a new regulatory system, Massachusetts hopes to jump-start its MMJ program, and Alaska’s rec rollout proceeds at a snail’s pace.

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

Mulling Michigan

Michigan’s MMJ businesses wonder how life will change after lawmakers approved a statewide regulatory system for the industry. Gov. Rick Snyder is expected to sign the legislation.

What is clear: The…

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Judge Recommends 7th CBD License in Florida

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A Florida administrative law judge has rebuked the state’s department of health and is recommending that the agency issue a seventh medical CBD production license to an applicant that wasn’t awarded a permit last year.

Judge John Van Laningham found that one of the five license winners from last year, Alpha Foliage, didn’t meet the legal criteria outlined in Florida law and therefore shouldn’t have received a permit, Orlando Weekly reported.

MJBizCrashCourseIf Gov. Rick Scott’s administration doesn’t dispute Van Laningham’s recommendation, then…

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Week in Review: Dueling Ballot Measures, MT Dispensaries Close, New York Aims for Reform

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By John Schroyer

Arkansas makes what could be an offbeat piece of medical marijuana history, Montana’s MMJ industry comes to at least a temporary end, and New York officials look to bolster the state’s medical cannabis industry.

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

Two for the Price of One?

Arkansas will be an interesting state to watch on Election Day.

It’s apparently the first state to have a pair of competing medical marijuana legalization measures on the ballot vying for…

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Montana MMJ Dispensaries May Stay Closed Until Next June

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Organizers of a ballot initiative to reverse a Montana law that will shutter the state’s medical cannabis dispensaries may have accidentally set their effort back by six months, owing to a mistake in the measure’s wording.

If so, dispensaries wouldn’t be reopened until next June – assuming Montana voters approve the initiative, the Associated Press reported. That would be a blow to the dispensary owners and the customers they serve.

Due to a “clerical error” in the language of I-182, as the measure is known, a limit of three…

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Week in Review: Growth Potential in New York, Oregon Rec Market Red Hot & MI Stumbles

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By John Schroyer

New York’s health department recommends doubling the size of the state’s medical marijuana industry, Oregon recreational applications flood in as adult-use sales skyrocket, and Michigan’s MJ legal limbo may persist a few more years.

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

Doubling Down

In a rare move for a state agency, the New York State Department of Health this week issued a report recommending – among other things – that the number of MMJ business licenses

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No Clemency for Montana Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

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A Montana judge has denied a last-ditch appeal to postpone the closure of medical marijuana dispensaries until after the November election, meaning the state’s dispensaries will either all shutter after Aug. 31 or risk the wrath of law enforcement.

District Judge James Reynolds ruled that a previous decision by the state Supreme Court – which upheld a 2011 law that Montana MMJ caregivers be limited to three patients apiece – should take effect as scheduled at the end of the month, the Associated Press reported Thursday.

The practical…

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Flood of Dispensary Applications in Arizona Signals Keen Market Interest

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Image of Arizona flag and medical marijuana

By John Schroyer

Arizona recently opened the door to a new wave of licensing for medical marijuana dispensaries, and got flooded with 750 applications for just 31 permits.

It is perhaps the largest ratio of applications to licenses in any market, and signals that cannabis entrepreneurs are bullish on Arizona.

The deluge comes ahead of the November elections in which Arizona residents will vote on Proposition 205 to legalize recreational marijuana.

If voters approve the initiative, licensed dispensaries would get first crack at rec licenses….

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MA Town Rejects Hundreds of Thousands From Dispensary

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A Massachusetts town has rejected a deal with a medical cannabis dispensary, in essence turning down hundreds of thousands of dollars in future revenue under the proposed terms.

The move by the city council leaves the town of Springfield without a dispensary, and arguably leaves intact a “pay to play” culture in Massachusetts’ medical marijuana industry.

Hampden Care Facility Inc. had agreed to pay $50,000 a year to the town’s police department, plus a percentage of its gross revenue, but the city council didn’t like that the…

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Pay-to-Play in Massachusetts’ Medical Cannabis Industry?

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Massachusetts cities are getting increasingly wealthier off the backs of medical cannabis companies that are agreeing to pay municipalities sizable fees in exchange for the rights to do business, according to an investigation by the Boston Globe.

In the town of Worcester, for example, one dispensary agreed to shell out $450,000 over three years, as well as $200,000 afterwards, if local officials gave the company the green light.

In the town of Springfield, local officials are working on a deal that would get the municipality 7% of a…

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Unlicensed WA Dispensary Raided Following July 1 Deadline

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Local law enforcement raided a Washington State medical cannabis dispensary after it continued serving customers and ignored a July 1 state deadline to obtain an official business permit.

The dispensary, Green Organics, is located in the Tacoma suburb of Parkland, near the Pierce County sheriff’s department.

“It is amazing that these people thought that they could flaunt the law right in front of our precinct. Now they know better,” a sheriff’s office spokesman told the News Tribune.

Green Organics could be the first of many such…

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Big Sales Predicted for Hawaii MMJ Dispensaries

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Hawaii’s new medical marijuana dispensaries are expected to ring up $12.7 million to $38 million in sales during their first year of business, a report from the Hawaii Dispensary Association predicts.

By 2018, sales could surge to as much as $145 million, according to the association’s report.

The initial sales projections are based on a patient count of 14,074 MMJ patients, with each patient expected to spend $100 to $300 per month.

The association’s projections roughly correlate with those of the 2016 Marijuana Business Factbook,…

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U.S. Supreme Court Won’t Hear Montana Dispensary Appeal

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Montana dispensaries hoping for a last-ditch miracle from the U.S. Supreme Court were treated to a bitter disappointment Monday with the news that the justices had declined to hear their case.

The Associated Press reported that the justices let stand a Montana Supreme Court ruling that in effect regulates the state’s medical cannabis industry out of business.

While the high court’s decision wasn’t a surprise, a spokeswoman for the Montana Cannabis Industry Association (MTCIA) said in a statement the organization is “disappointed,”…

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Constitutionality of California’s New Medical Marijuana Law Challenged in Court

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Constitutionality of California’s New Medical Marijuana Law Challenged in Court

SAN JOSE, CA — California’s Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, signed into law this month to regulate the state’s medical marijuana industry, violates the state’s constitution, a medical marijuana collective operator claims in court.

Governor Jerry Brown signed the law on Oct. 9, to establish a comprehensive legislative framework for the production, transportation and sale of medical marijuana in California.

The bipartisan group of legislators who drafted the laws says they will provide a licensing structure for the…

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California Lawmakers Urge Gov. Brown to Sign Marijuana Bills

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California Lawmakers Urge Gov. Brown to Sign Marijuana Bills

OAKLAND, CA – A bipartisan front of California legislators urged Gov. Jerry Brown to sign their bills regulating the medical marijuana industry at a news conference on Thursday.

The bills are Assembly Bill 266, Assembly Bill 243 and Senate Bill 643, known together as the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act.

Should Brown sign them, the bills would provide a licensing structure for the industry, establish security, worker and safety standards and protect patients and their access – all under a hybrid of state and local control.

The…

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California: Legislative Package Seeking to Clarify, Regulate Medical Cannabis Sent to Governor

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California: Legislative Package Seeking to Clarify, Regulate Medical Cannabis Sent to Governor

California lawmakers approved a series of bills in the final hours of the 2015 legislative session that seek to establish statewide rules and oversight governing the distribution of medicinal cannabis. The three bills — Assembly Bill 266, Senate Bill 643, and Assembly Bill 243 — now await final approval from Democrat Gov. Jerry Brown.

Much of the measures’ finalized language was amended and approved by lawmakers at the close of the session and was not subject to public testimony or significant floor debate.

Specifically, the legislative…

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