Cannabis oil maker files trademark suit against WA grow

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Headspace, a multimillion-dollar marijuana oil company in Southern California that sells a product called The Clear, filed a trademark infringement suit against a Washington state MJ cultivator, Podworks, for using a the name Top Shelf Clear for one of its products.

The trademark suit is believed to be the first in Washington involving cannabis, according to KING5.com. It comes amid a growing number of trademark disputes in the marijuana industry.

Cannabis is illegal under federal law, which complicates efforts by MJ companies to secure a…

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Private Washington state fund to boost medical cannabis access

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Marijuana retailers in Washington state could see an uptick in business thanks to a proposed fund that would help foot the bill for low-income medical marijuana patients.

The idea is the brainchild of the 70-member Washington CannaBusiness Association (WACA), which hopes to have the fund up and running by spring 2017, according to the News Tribune. The fund is intended to expand patient access to MMJ.


Marijuana Business License DirectoryAnyone will be able to contribute to the fund, WACA Executive Director Vicki Christophersen said Tuesday. The fund will be administered…

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Washington State Agencies Team Up for Cannabis Pesticide Testing

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The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board and the Washington State Department of Agriculture announced they will team up to test for illegal pesticides on marijuana.

The two agencies will together work on pesticide enforcement, random testing, and testing when officials suspect illegal pesticides are being used, according to Komonews.com.

MJBizCrashCourseThe board will pay for specialized equipment needed for the tests, while the agriculture department will provide two employees to perform testing.

Under the agreement, the agriculture department will…

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Prominent Travel Writer: ‘Get Ready’ for Age of MJ Tourism

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One of the most well-known travel writers in the world, Arthur Frommer, predicted recently that cannabis tourism is going to become big business after the November election, when up to five more states could legalize recreational use.

If accurate, marijuana tourism would present additional opportunities for entrepreneurs looking to capitalize on the legalization of marijuana.

“The prospects seem strong that marijuana is now about to be added to beer and wine as a permissible product to order,” Frommer wrote in a column last week, the…

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Washington MJ Company Sets Sights on Kroger, Other Mainstream Retailers

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Ah Warner Cropped

By John Schroyer

A Washington State marijuana entrepreneur may be close to landing her cannabis-based health and beauty product line on the shelves of mainstream retailers such as Kroger-owned groceries and others.

If successful, it would mark a first for today’s cannabis industry: conventional retailers selling products containing THC.

Ah Warner, the founder and CEO of Cannabis Basics, said she struck a tentative deal last month with Crown Pacific Fine Foods to distribute her infused product line to retailers.

Crown Pacific is a Kent,…

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Washington Tribe Expanding Cannabis Business Interests

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The Puyallup Tribe of Washington State is entering almost uncharted business territory: Having already opened a testing lab, it will now start growing and selling medical cannabis to members of its own tribe.

Traditionally, cannabis businesses either stay completely on the testing or the production/retail side of the industry, so as not to create an apparent conflict of interest. In fact, many states ban the practice.

But that apparently isn’t an issue for the Puyallup tribe, which intends to test its own product for pesticides, heavy…

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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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WA Readies for Bumpy Ride as State’s Medical, Rec Markets Merge

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Image of Washington Flag

By Omar Sacirbey

Washington’s cannabis industry is bracing for a July 1 deadline when unlicensed dispensaries must close under a new law that rolls the state’s medical marijuana program into its recreational program.

Some industry officials warn the MMJ sector will be decimated. But most industry observers reckon the state will fix the kinks.  

And while they’re prepared for a bumpy transition after Friday’s deadline, industry and government officials predict the new system ultimately will meet the needs of recreational and medical…

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Willie Nelson’s Marijuana Company Hiring in Colorado

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Legendary country singer Willie Nelson has followed through on his promise to join the cannabis industry with his very own line of marijuana, called “Willie’s Reserve.” And now he’s also hiring to help staff the company.

According to the Denver Post, Nelson’s looking for five full time staffers in Colorado, including a production manager, extractor, compliance officer, bookkeeper and sales director.

Although Nelson’s product line hasn’t yet formally launched, it’s about to do so, though it’s unclear whether or not Nelson’s…

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Marijuana Extraction and Concentrates Trends: Q&A With Expert Matt Gaboury

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By John Schroyer

Marijuana extracts and concentrates are perhaps the most cutting-edge niche of the entire cannabis industry, with technology, practices and products that are constantly evolving.

Matt Gaboury worked in cannabis extraction for several years before starting a concentrates company, Cultibar, along with another firm, Calyx King Consulting, that helps businesses in this field.

Marijuana Business Daily sat down with Gaboury to ask about some of the newer developments on the…

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Senators Urge Feds to Issue Clearer MJ Banking Guidelines

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A group of four U.S. Senators are urging federal regulators to come together to issue clearer guidance to financial institutions serving licensed marijuana businesses so they won’t have to operate in cash.

Oregon Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, Washington Sen. Patty Murray, and Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet wrote a letter to the six top federal financial regulators, asking that their agencies collaborate on an effort to improve the Feb. 14, 2014 guidelines issued by the U.S. Treasury…

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Illegal MJ Production Plummets in Washington State

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Illegal marijuana production in Washington State has seen a spectacular decline since 2010, according to a new report by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, which suggests that most cannabis enthusiasts are turning to legal businesses instead of potentially cheaper black market marijuana.

The amount of processed marijuana the DEA seized dropped from 3,126 pounds in 2010 to just 635 pounds in 2014, the Yakima Herald-Republic reported.

The report also said the number of marijuana plants it seized…

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Partnerships Present Promise, Peril for Expansion-Minded Marijuana Companies

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By Omar Sacirbey

As the marijuana industry grows and new markets come online, many cannabis businesses are looking to expand outside their home states and develop far-reaching brands.

Doing so often involves hooking up with an in-state partner, given that many marijuana markets have implemented some type of residency requirement for ownership or investment, while others at least favor companies with a local connection when granting business licenses.

But figuring out whether or when you need…

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Testing Lab Suspends Operations

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Testing Technologies in Poulsbo, Washington State, has hit pause on its cannabis testing services after firing its science director, alleging that potency values were “pulled from thin air” and that tests for contaminants were inaccurate.

The company’s CEO, Larry Ward, announced the situation in a letter to customers, according to the Seattle Times.

But the company’s erstwhile science director, Dustin Newman, who was fired Feb. 10, countered with his own letter alleging Ward let him go…

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Report: Marijuana Legalization Battering Black Market in Colorado

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Marijuana legalization is “crushing” the black market in Colorado, but the same hasn’t been true so far in Washington State, according to research cited in the Economist.

Annual legal cannabis sales in Colorado account for about 70% – or 90 tons – of all marijuana sales in the state, according to officials there, the magazine reported. Most of the rest is attributable to people who grow marijuana legally at home but then sell it illegally, creating what the Economist calls a…

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Washington State Scrutinizing Cannabis Pesticide Use

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Washington State’s Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) is cracking down on illegal pesticide use in the marijuana industry, but has yet to issue product recalls against offending cultivators.

In December, the LCB slapped “stop sales orders” against BMF Washington and New Leaf Industries, two of the state’s biggest marijuana growers, pending investigations into their use of prohibited pesticides, according to The Stranger. The LCB did not announce the stop sales orders to the public.

The…

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IRS Agent Guilty of Soliciting Dispensary Bribe

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One way in which the marijuana business is similar to any other industry? Those trying to play by the rules can still get taken advantage of by corrupt government overseers.

Case in point: a Washington State jury has found an Internal Revenue Service agent guilty of trying to bribe a medical cannabis dispensary owner in Seattle, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.

According to trial records and testimony, Paul G. Hurley of Seattle was assigned to…

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Cannabis Incubator to Open in Tacoma

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A developer and his partners plan to turn part of a recently-acquired former food-processing plant in Tacoma into an incubator for cannabis companies.

George Heidgerken and his partners in an LLC known as That Other Stuff recently bought the former Nalley Fine Foods plant in an industrial area of Tacoma, and will use part of the 22 acres for warehousing and part of it for cannabis growers and processors, according to the News Tribune.

The property has six buildings that cover about 400,000…

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Seattle Vows Delivery Services Crackdown

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Seattle is moving to heighten enforcement of the state’s recreational marijuana law, including targeting illegal delivery services according to KING News. The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis board has estimated that black market marijuana accounts for about 28 percent of the marijuana market in the state.

Many delivery services openly advertise in local press outlets. Licensed marijuana stores say that black market sales must be stopped if legalization will be successful, according to…

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