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California Cannabis Czar Lays Out Initial Application Guidelines

Written by Amber Iris Langston on . Posted in Business, CBC San Francisco.

Lori Ajax, head of the California Bureau of Cannabis Control – also known as “The Marijuana Czar” of California – spoke about expectations to new licensing rules for the Golden State to a group of industry professionals at the California Cannabis Business Summit hosted by the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) and the California Cannabis Industry Association (CCIA) in Anaheim last week.

Ajax outlined a pragmatic approach the Bureau is taking over the course of the next few months to roll-out applications, stating the Bureau, along with the Department of Food and Agriculture and the Department of Public Health, will open applications for temporary licenses beginning toward the end of November. However, no licenses will actually be issued before the set date of January 1st, 2018.

In her presentation, Ajax emphasized the importance of stakeholder engagement in creation of the process. Ajax repeated how significantly public input had influenced writing and re-writing of procedures thus far, and encouraged continued public dialogue. The “Czar” indicated the Bureau, along with the corresponding Departments just mentioned, will be holding licensing workshops beginning in October arounds the state to prep interested entrepreneurs on the process. Reflexively, Ajax points out the key to the evolving permitting process will rest on community involvement.

From our friends at Leafly:

“With nearly 500 cities in California, Ajax explained, her office isn’t adopting a one-size-fits-all definition. ‘We’re really relying on the locals to specify what that local authorization is,’ she said, adding that the ultimate goal is simply to ‘confirm with the locals that that applicant is authorized by the locals to conduct commercial cannabis activity for that specified jurisdiction.'”

As for the issuance of licenses, Ajax acknowledges the need for flexibility and assured the crowd the agencies will work with businesses to prevent disruption of those operating in good faith:

“While no licenses, temporary or otherwise, will be granted before Jan. 1, Ajax pledged that the office will work to issue the licenses as quickly as possible. Approvals will be sent via email, with the appropriate documentation attached, she said. ‘You’re just going to print out your license.’

“Temporary licenses will be valid for four months from the issue date, Ajax said, although they can be extended for 90 days. And if the Bureau of Cannabis Control somehow lags on issuing permanent licenses, the temporary ones can be extended further. ‘If it’s on us,’ Ajax pledged, ‘we will continue to give extensions so you can keep operating.'”

When California does roll out full legalization at the beginning of the year, we know that the market will be massive and the potential astronomical. It is also apparent that staying engaged politically at both the local and state level will be of extreme importance. There will be a lot of paperwork, rules, regulations and laws to deal with, but due diligence could be a small price to pay to flourish in the sixth largest economy in the world.

Stay on top of the latest in California cannabis in 2018 and join the International Cannabis Business Conference in San Francisco on February 1 & 2, 2018! You also may be interested in networking with entrepreneurs, investors and advocates from around the globe at the ICBC in beautiful Kauai, Hawaii, December 1st thru the 3rd. 

Two Hawaiian Medical Cannabis Dispensaries Generate Over $426,000

Written by Anthony Johnson on . Posted in Business, CBC Kauai.

Maui Grown Therapies and Oahu’s Aloha Green Apothecary are the only two medical cannabis dispensaries legally operating under Hawaiian law, both first opening their doors in August. Like many states working out the kinks of a newly established dispensary system, bureaucratic hurdles hindered the Hawaiian dispensaries initially, but their state government seems to be looking for solutions to assist state-regulated dispensaries, including establishing a cashless system that can alleviate some of the problems associated with a lack of access to banking services, an issue plaguing cannabis businesses across the country, and the world. Despite the problems associated of opening up a new business, let alone a federally illegal one, the Hawaii’s only two dispensaries generated over $426,000 in sales.

Pacific Business News reported:

According to data for the state Department of Health, the dispensaries sold 8,890 products and had a combined 7,845 customer visits.

In its presentation to the legislative oversight group for medical cannabis on Wednesday, the DOH said on average, customers bought 3.3 grams and spent $54.33 per purchase.

***

The department also said there were more than 18,600 registered patients as of August, which represents an increase of 615 from the month before.

Fortunately, registered patients in Hawaii now have better access to medical marijuana. Unfortunately, the average price of a gram is $16.45, too much of a price for many patients, especially those on a fixed income. As more dispensaries come online, the price should start dropping for patients. However, demand will increase as more patients get registered with the program, as expected, and when Hawaii starts allowing state-licensed patients from across the nation utilize Hawaiian dispensaries.

Hawaii’s medical cannabis dispensary system will only grow over the coming years and we can expect the Aloha State to legalize for all adults within a few years, becoming one of the first states to end prohibition thru its state legislature. As Hawaii’s cannabis system expands, hopefully the state can learn from the successes of others, as well as look for ways to improve upon what other locales have done.

For instance it would be great to see Hawaii, or any  state, implement policies to ensure all patients have safe access to a safe medicine, such as a establishing a program to assist patients battling poverty. I look forward to learning more about Hawaii’s system, networking, and sharing ideas with business owners, investors, and activists at the upcoming International Cannabis Business Conference in Kauai at the beginning of December, just one month before the state is expected to start accepting the medical cards from other states and California begins full legalization for all adults. While many hurdles remain for Hawaii, and the global cannabis legalization movement, it is clear that we have the momentum and are seeing great progress state by state, country by country.

 

Canada Germany flags

Canadian Cannabis Companies Now Exporting to Germany

Written by Amber Iris Langston on . Posted in Business, CBC Vancouver, ICBC Berlin.

The Land of Ideas (Germany), is getting a creative boost – legal cannabis from overseas.

Canadian cannabis colossus Aurora, based in Alberta, announced their first shipment of the medicine to German markets this week in to help meet the enormous demand for the plant. Earlier this year, German legislators significantly liberalized policies surrounding medical cannabis, giving much greater authority to physicians to prescribe it, as well as allowing federal health insurance to cover its costs.

From the Edmonton Sun:

“The company shipped 50 kilograms of dried cannabis flower from its central Alberta facility in Mountain View County to Germany’s leading medical cannabis distributor Berlin-based Pedanios after receiving an export permit from Health Canada as well as provisional import status from the German Federal Narcotics Bureau.

“Pedanios will distribute the cannabis through a network of more than 1,500 pharmacies across Germany, the company said, but Aurora also hopes to become a top producer and supplier of medical cannabis in other European Union markets.”

As more nations enact federal cannabis legalization laws, medical or adult use, exporting across borders will only increase. Nations that embrace legalization will have a leg up on the competition and will benefit from securing large market shares. Hopefully, the United States will wise up sooner than later as we are letting other nations like Canada advance in a commercial market that the U.S. should dominate. It will be very interesting to see how the international market develops over the years, but it is obvious that the momentum is at the back of reformers working to end the failed policy of prohibition.

Want to know about all the major competitors in the growing German cannabis market? Join the International Business Cannabis Conference in Berlin, Germany, on April 12-13, 2018! Can’t make it to Germany? Events will also be happening in Kauai, Hawaii; San Francisco, California; and Vancouver, British Columbia. Get tickets for all of ICBC’s events online today!

Evergreen State

Washington State Cannabis Consumers Seeing Lower Prices

Written by Amber Iris Langston on . Posted in Business.

I guess what they say is true…in the marketplace, supply and demand are related! Who knew?

Well, pretty much everyone knew. And when it comes to cannabis, prices have had been artificially inflated over the years due to the high cost of risks, and the limit on supply created by prohibition. But as predicted, cannabis generally acts like other commodities when people are allowed to buy and sale in an open setting.

Now, we are seeing market forces play out on marijuana, noticeably in the State of Washington. Technically Washington was the first state to legalize cannabis for adult use, just hours before Colorado declared the same victory in the 2012 election. This is a fact some forget, possibly because in an effort to pass law which appeased prohibitionists, Washington’s laws were written much more strictly than Colorado’s. As a result, consumers there have complained about high prices, and a restriction on the number of licenses has allowed for less competition than what Colorado has seen. Medical patients have felt a huge squeeze. Exceptionally high taxes have created such a weighty burden and cannabis has been slow to exit the black market there.

This week, The Washington Post reports that the price of cannabis has fallen substantially in Washington State over the past three years:

“Steven Davenport of the Pardee Rand Graduate School has analyzed marijuana retail prices in Washington state since legal recreational markets opened in July 2014. Remarkably, prices have fallen every single quarter since.

“Davenport expects the marijuana industry to continue to find ways to lower prices for the simple reason that it’s a profitable business model. ‘Some consumers will prefer higher priced brands, but there will always be a market for the brand that can produce adequate quality cannabis at the cheapest cost,’ he notes.

“…Notably, even high taxes on legal marijuana don’t keep the legal price anywhere near what it was when the drug was more broadly illegal.”

As public sentiment continues to sour on the broader failure of the drug war, the article suggests that cannabis serves as an important example for future easing of other drug policies.

In the meantime, the falling price of cannabis in Washington goes to show how much policy has an influence over the cost of business. As more states move toward legalization and grapple with its implementation, we are bound to see an eventual balancing of market forces. In the meantime, we are sure to see some decrease in the raw profitability of cannabis sales in the future. But if we are lucky (i.e. if we all work together really hard to lobby Congress) maybe we can fix those pesky tax and banking issues, and open US cannabis entrepreneurs to the global market.

Keep up on the latest in cannabis policy and business! Join the International Cannabis Business Conference this December 1-3 in Kauai, Hawaii; February 1-2,2018  in San Francisco, California; and April 12-14 in Berlin, Germany. Don’t wait to get your tickets!

California flag

California Legislators Defeat Ban on Cannabis Advertising

Written by Amber Iris Langston on . Posted in Business, CBC San Francisco.

Last week I reported the California legislature was meeting in special session, and that one of the measures moving forward included a somewhat strict prohibition on cannabis branding and labeling. As legalization moves forward and states invent new regulatory frameworks, we seem to be doing a bit of a balancing act regarding health and safety, particularly with youths.

I agree we need to minimize youth exposure to recreational substances, but I was opposed to the recent effort by many in the California legislature to enact such a strict ban on cannabis advertising. The proposed bill suggested cannabis images should not be used on merchandise such as hats and t-shirts, which young people have been known to wear.

Today, I am pleased to say that the bill proposed by Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) has failed.

From the LA Times:

“Opponents of Allen’s bill, including the California Cannabis Manufacturers Assn., said such a law would be a financial burden, depriving them of legitimate profits.

“The groups argued that the advertisement of medicinal marijuana should not be restricted in the same way as adult-use marijuana. The group wrote that the bill ‘undercuts a legitimate revenue center for cannabis licensees,’ and that it impinges on free speech.

“…The Assembly Appropriations Committee, which evaluates bills that will cost a lot of money, put the measure on hold without explanation.”

In an era when free speech seems to be under attack, its nice to see some legal weight being thrown in its defense. It’s also quite interesting to see the tide turning with respect to these kinds of decisions.

Now if only we can get rid of all the unnecessary extra “child safety” packaging with the sasquatch-sized environmental footprint….

Stay informed on the latest cannabis market regulations at the International Cannabis Business Conference happening in Kauai, Hawaii on December 1-3, 2017, and in San Francisco on February 1-2, 2018, and more!

WelcomeToCaliforniaSign

California May Unreasonably Restrict Cannabis Branding

Written by Amber Iris Langston on . Posted in Business, CBC San Francisco.

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” – Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare

While Shakespeare’s words ring true across time and space, one thing is for sure: if someone offered you an air freshener for your car and you had to choose between “rose” and “stank rot” without smelling either, I’m guessing most people would go with “rose”. Frankly, I don’t know what “stank rot” air fresheners smell like, since they don’t exist to my knowledge, but I do know what roses smell like.

This is why we brand – because everyone wants to come up, er, smelling like roses.

In the next two weeks, by September 15, California’s legislature will end its special session. Before that session ends, legislators will likely have a chance to vote on a bill that would highly restrict branding and marketing in the state which promises the largest legal cannabis market in the world when legalization is set to take effect in 2018.

The measure has traction and is likely to come up for a vote. The bill would put procedures in place to restrict marketing, labeling and “even the shape of pot products.” As expected, it’s all about the children.

According to US News and World Report:

“‘This is all about making sure, in the context of the legalization of marijuana, that you don’t end up inadvertently leading so many of our young people into drug abuse,’ says the bill’s author, California state Sen. Ben Allen, a Democrat representing Hollywood. ‘This is about protecting kids.’
“…Allen’s bill is designed to cut off the walking billboards – T-shirts, hats and other swag that provide an indirect avenue for reaching children and teens. It won support from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the California Teachers Association, the California Police Chiefs Association and the child advocacy group Common Sense Kids Action.

“Ultimately, the state’s Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation, working in concert with the state’s attorney general, would be left to provide guidance for the industry, deciding whether a T-shirt sporting a corporate logo and worn by a firm’s employees should be treated in the same way as a lighter, say, bearing a product name.”

I definitely agree that public health and safety, particularly for children, should a top political priority, but I think efforts regarding cannabis could easily overreach in California. I would like to think the agencies listed above can all be trusted with such advisement, but we are talking about institutions which have historically spread misinformation about the dangers of cannabis. Placing cannabis’ political opponents in charge of regulation might not end well for the industry. Just sayin’. The State of California will no doubt feel a pushback in lawsuits arguing for freedom of speech.

Whatever the case, we may begin to have an idea in a couple of weeks when the special session ends, just how branding and marketing will take shape in the Golden State’s new industry.

Stay on top of California’s cannabis market. Get your tickets now for the International Cannabis Business Conference in San Francisco on February 1st-2nd, 2018. If you are inclined to be even further ahead of the curve, and would enjoy to spend a few days in Hawaii in December, then grab your tickets to the ICBC in beautiful Kauai on December 1st thru the 3rd. 

bank vault

International Cannabis Treaties Stifling Legalization in Uruguay

Written by Amber Iris Langston on . Posted in Business.

The long arm of the law stretches far and wide.

Reports out of Uruguay this past week state that the Latin American country, the first to legalize adult-use cannabis in 2014, is facing internal issues with distribution. The country officially began sanctioned cannabis sales through pharmacies in July. But issues have arisen because – wouldn’t you know it – the zealous anti-drug proponents of US prohibition have reached their tentacles into independent state affairs.

Three international drug treaties (the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1988 Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) define the limits of legal production of certain substances acceptable under international trade rules. These substances primarily address, of course, drugs which are listed in the United States Controlled Substances Act – a measure included in the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 under President Richard Nixon. As one might suspect, the United States has been the international whip cracker when it comes to enforcing these Draconian laws. In 2009, I participated in the first Latin American Drug Policy Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, organizing youth activists on behalf of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, which I was working for at the time. My greatest take-away from that experience was the recognition that many countries, though democratically independent, effectively had their hands tied from meaningful action by the domineering crush of United States extremist drug policies.

Actors in the movement have been speculating for years when and how international treaties would come into play for countries addressing the drug war through a more humane and reasoned approach (i.e. ending prohibition). General discussions I have participated in over the years with national and international policy experts have leaned toward the agreement that in moving the needle within the United States would create a internal conflict that would render enforcement of international treaties moot. In other words, having legal cannabis in states like California and Colorado while telling other countries they can’t do the same thing makes us hypocrites.

Now it seems we have come to the crossroads of cannabis and international law. Our federal government has figured out how to needle Uruguay on its program of nationally-regulated cannabis sales – by doing exactly to that entire country what it is doing to all US-based cannabis business owners: controlling the money. Last week, Uruguay’s leading financial institution, Banco Republica, followed suit of several private banks in the country announcing closure of bank accounts in Uruguay associated with pharmacies with licensure to sell the cannabis, citing international finance laws (code for US political bullying).

Arguably the biggest impediment to businesses in the cannabis market today is the problem with banking. Look to any state-legal market in the United States and you will find operators struggling to find a legitimate banking institution willing to do business with companies which simply have “cannabis” in their name, whether or not they actually deal with the plant.

As a result, leaders in the industry have been subject to repeated closed bank accounts and insecure monetary holdings, primarily because FDIC-approved banking institutions fear legal problems stemming from activities which could be viewed as money laundering for illegal drugs (cannabis). Apparently the Feds have figured out this method as an effective tool in slowing down the legalization of cannabis, and now, they have targeted the independent country of Uruguay with the same attempt at control.

While there seem to be infinite peddlers of alternate solutions to the banking problem, the best, and truly only real solution, is to simply end cannabis prohibition – ideally by removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act. Personally, I come from an activist background. While I did not imagine the kind of advocacy I would be working toward when cannabis laws became more liberated, I have reached the conclusion that in today’s activism, it is impossible to separate industry from policy, and an understanding that the traditional “movement” of cannabis legalization needs to work in common interest with the growing community of entrepreneurs in the cannabis industry. Until the United States ends cannabis prohibition, innocent patients and consumers in Uruguay and in other countries around the globe, will continue to suffer.

Learn how the cannabis industry is working to end cannabis prohibition at the federal level during our “Legal Landscapes in the Trump Administration” panel including Aaron Smith of the National Cannabis Industry Association, which is working directly on federal banking legislation, at the International Cannabis Business Conference this December 1-3, 2017 in Kauai, Hawaii! Get your early bird tickets now!

This blog was originally published by Marijuana Politics and has been posted here with special permission.
Lagunitas

Lagunitas Combining Cannabis Extracts and Hops

Written by ICBC Staff on . Posted in Business, CBC Kauai.

Cannabis and alcohol have an interesting relationship in American society. Both of the substances have been prohibited by the federal government, but alcohol was able to break free of that disastrous policy after a few year after prohibition helped lead to the rise of gangsters like Al Capone. Marijuana prohibition has lasted for decades, providing a major source of revenue for violent cartels. While alcohol was able to repeal federal prohibition with one amendment, cannabis law reformers have been forced to a state-by-state approach. Once federal cannabis prohibition is repealed, we will surely see THC-infused beer. Lagunitas, potentially getting the jump on the competition, has launched SuperCritcal, an IPA that contains cannabis extracts, but won’t get you high.

The Chicago Tribune reports:

Because SuperCritical is made with the terpenes that AbsoluteXtracts removes from cannabis plants, it doesn’t contain THC, so any pleasant buzz that drinkers might feel comes from the alcohol, not the cannabis. Karen Hamilton, Lagunitas’s director of communications, wrote in an email that the beer is tested in the brewery’s lab, and “lots of people have had the beer, at this point, and NO ONE has experienced any psychotropic effects (to the dismay of some!)”

The beer itself is a dank, odoriferous IPA, checking in at just 6.8 percent alcohol by volume, with grassy flavors, a decent amount of earthy hop bitterness and a noticeably sticky finish. It’s not much different from other IPAs designed to mimic weed’s characteristic flavors, though the taste is slightly greener.

Lagunitas is viewing SuperCritical as an experiment and produced only one batch of 60 barrels, or 120 kegs. Those went to bars across California, primarily in the San Francisco area, by late last week. (A full list is available on the Lagunitas website.) “There may be more SuperCritical coming in the future, and this time to other areas in the U.S.,” Hamilton said.

The cannabis industry is likely to follow the beer model, with some big companies, but also many “micro” companies as well. It is exciting to see a brewery like Lagunitas examining how cannabis can enhance its beers. As legalization spreads, we should see more such collaborations, and once we end cannabis prohibition at the federal level, the two popular substances, will go hand-in-hand for many, leading to THC-infused brews for adults to enjoy.

Keep informed of all that is happening across the United States and the globe when it comes to cannabis! Join experts and business leaders from around the world converging for the International Cannabis Business Conference, December 1-3, 2017 on the tropical paradise of Kauai, Hawaii. Get tickets now!

This blog was originally published by Marijuana Politics and has been posted here with special permission.
Berlin at night

Investors Are Wisely Looking Towards Europe

Written by Amber Iris Langston on . Posted in Business, ICBC Berlin.

Forward-thinking American business investors have had their eyes on the cannabis market for a few years now, looking critically at emerging laws and technologies in traditional places like Colorado, California, Oregon and British Columbia, among others. As the snowball of change has grown around the world, these initial entrepreneurs have started looking to meet the global demand of a product newly liberated from underground markets in other countries as well.

Last December, MarijuanaPolitics.com reported on the change in Germany’s medical cannabis law, which came on the heels of the International Cannabis Business Conference last April, suggesting that Germany would be the next big international cannabis market. And it looks like we were right.

A Cannatech News article published last week noted that several cannabis companies have advanced to the next stage of consideration for becoming licensed producers in the bubbling German medical cannabis market, five of them with Canadian ties. Those companies include Spektrum Cannabis, Maricann, Bedrocan, Aurora Cannabis and ABcann. While Canadian companies have gotten the leg up in Germany, due to favorable federal law, many of these Canadian businesses have American investors and American entrepreneurs are flocking to events like the ICBC in Berlin to find ways to enter the burgeoning European industry.

Benjamin Ward, CEO of Maricann Group Inc., makes a case for getting involved in the German cannabis market on CNBC:

“These European markets are increasingly important to the cannabis sector. Each has a well-funded medical system, residents who seek natural and complementary therapies, and a government-supported mandate to stop the rising tide of opiate addiction related to chronic pain treatment.

“…Those investors restricting their cannabis investments to this side of the ocean – and in the United States in particular – are left navigating an array of legislation on a state-by-state basis, prohibitive out-of-state investment regulations, and a prohibitive tax code. These investors miss the boat as they churn through such choppy water.

“As Germany moves smartly down this path of medicinal cannabis, the rest of Europe will soon follow. And to ignore 500 million people in a stable economy is a mistake.”

Don’t miss your chance to catch the latest developments and most current developments for the European cannabis markets April 12-13, 2018 at the International Cannabis Business Conference in Berlin. Get your early bird tickets now! If you wanna join the international cannabis community in beautiful Hawaii in December, you should snag your ICBC Kauai early bird tickets as well.

This blog was originally published by MarijuanaPolitics.com and has bee posted here with special permission.

Vancouver Sun Profiles the International Cannabis Business Conference

Written by Anthony Johnson on . Posted in Business.

After selling out events in Oregon and California, two of the states leading the United States towards ending cannabis prohibition, the International Cannabis Business Conference (ICBC) is proud to be heading to Vancouver, British Columbia, one of the leading cannabis capitals of the world. Canada provided a jolt to the global fight to legalize cannabis by electing Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party by a landslide margin as the party platform included legalization as one of its priorities. With Canada helping lead the global fight to end prohibition and Vancouver being a cannabis commercial hub for the country, the timing of the ICBC is great for activists and entrepreneurs alike.

The Vancouver Sun profiled the ICBC, interviewing conference producer Alex Rogers, noting that the ICBC’s unique focus and scope sets it apart from other cannabis conferences:

But the International Cannabis Business Conference seeks to differentiate itself from other events with its global scope and ambitions, said conference organizer and founder Alex Rogers this week. The first editions of the conference were held in San Francisco and Portland, and next April, organizers will take it to Berlin. Plans are in motion, Rogers said, for 2018 events in Australia and Croatia.

Rogers has lived and worked in five different countries, including a six-month jail sentence in Germany after a conviction for cannabis trafficking, an experience he said prompted him to ”make the decision to get my life together.”

“I am international citizen,” he said. “I’m a global soul. So my goal was always to take this international.”

Rogers said it is no coincidence that Vancouver will be the first city outside the U.S. to host his event, adding: ”Historically speaking, Vancouver is one of the cannabis capitals of the world.”

All of us working to organize the ICBC are so excited to head to Vancouver and bring so many great activists and entrepreneurs together. There aren’t many events that allow you to pick the brain of lawyers that have changed federal law, groundbreaking entrepreneurs and a cultural legend like Tommy Chong. Vancouver has been a leading city against the Reefer Madness mentality that has perpetuated the Drug War against the nonviolent cannabis community. It will be great to bring together some of the brightest minds of the cannabis world into a true cannabis capital to learn from one another and collaborate on future political and business ventures. This will be an event that you don’t want to miss, so get your tickets today!