WeedLife News Network

Marijuana stocks’ performance is often subject to what is happening in the cannabis industry. In the last couple of years, the cannabis industry has seen significant change and innovation both in the U.S. and internationally. 

Currently, more than half of U.S. states have legalized marijuana in some form, and the more legalization occurs, the more advancement can be had in the industry. 

However, with the rise of inflation and disturbance that have hit the Nasdaq, pushing stocks officially into bear territory, marijuana stocks also lost a lot of ground. The three primary players on average lost 77% of their market cap in the last 12 months.

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker is expected to sign into law S.3096, a measure aimed at supporting the 900 people harmed by the War on Drugs that have been enrolled in the commonwealth's social equity program as well as future members of the program.

The measure sets aside 15% of the revenue in the state's marijuana regulation fund generated by cannabis businesses to provide capital to social equity licensees. Cities and towns would have to prioritize equity applicants. The measure also includes language to pave the way for municipalities to incorporate social consumption lounges into communities for the first time.

Among the 177 issued conditional adult-use cannabis dispensing licenses announced recently by Gov. JB Pritzker were three Springfield-based operations looking to open their doors in the coming months.

Herban Quality Control, Dealership LLC, and Bolden Investments III LLC now have 180 days to find a physical storefront before being issued a full license which permits the sale of cannabis to Illinoisans age 21 and older.

Now the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation only has eight remaining conditional licenses to grant. A total of 185 licenses were allowed after a Cook County judge lifted a legal stay in May.

Researchers behind a recent survey were surprised to find that physicians’ level of knowledge of medical cannabis did not vary between states.

A recent survey has revealed that 71% of physicians affiliated with the Society of Cannabis Clinicians learned about medical cannabis from conferences. Only 1 participant out of 37 participants reported having learned about medical cannabis from medical school.

This survey confirms that cannabis education is not available in mainstream medical schools at either undergraduate or graduate levels, an issue that has been highlighted by the cannabis community on countless occasions. However, a majority of the physicians reported being content with the amount of cannabis information that is available to support physicians prescribing medical cannabis.

The aim of the survey was to investigate the knowledge level and source of knowledge of Prescribing Physicians in California as well as other states. Because California was the first state to legalize cannabis, the researchers assumed that physicians in this state would be more knowledgeable about cannabis. Surprisingly, this didn’t emerge as true from the survey.

The survey forms were sent out electronically to members of the society. Only physicians were eligible for the study and participation was purely on a voluntary basis with no incentives offered. A total of 133 members were eligible for the survey and 45 participated. Here are a few key findings that were highlighted by the survey:

The researchers were surprised to find that physicians’ level of knowledge of medical cannabis did not vary between states. Physicians in California were not more knowledgeable as compared to physicians from others states, in spite of the fact that California has the oldest medical marijuana program.

CATOOSA COUNTY, Ga. — A new lawsuit in Georgia seeks a court order declaring that a chemical related to the main intoxicating ingredient in pot is legal under state law.

Owners of two shops in northwest Georgia are hoping to get a court to order a local sheriff and a drug task force to let them sell chemicals containing hemp that are now considered legal by the federal government.

The shops issued a motion requesting an emergency injunction and temporary restraining order, which would prevent Catoosa County Sheriff Gary Sisk and the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force "from conducting any arrests or civil asset seizures against individuals or businesses based on the sale or possession of products containing hemp extracts," which includes Delta products.

Hummingbird Labs is opening on Division Avenue Southeast, to make sure cannabis products are safe before being sold in stores.

A man has been jailed for more than four years after £30,000 worth of cannabis was found at the scene of a house fire in Stafford.

Denver's tax revenue from marijuana sales increased 3 percent in 2021 to $72.4 million, according to the city's annual marijuana tax report. 

The figures come as Colorado's marijuana industry is facing a slowdown. So far this year, more than $759 million of marijuana has been sold in Colorado compared to the $962 million sold around the state in the first five months of 2021, according to data from the Colorado Department of Revenue. 

Overall marijuana sales in Denver are down despite the increased tax revenue, with more than $167 million sold so far in 2022 compared to over $222 million sold between January and May 2021. 

The Township of Ocean’s governing body is further weeding through the details in making changes to its cannabis business ordinance.

The first reading of the proposed amendments and supplements to the ordinance passed unanimously at this month’s committee meeting. Residents will have the opportunity to discuss the changes at the second reading of the ordinance at the August 2 Township Committee meeting.

“The Township of Ocean is now putting in place the criteria for cannabis in the Township of Ocean,” said Mayor Ben LoParo, adding that the governing body will review it before the vote in a public meeting. “The applicant will need to provide the ownership of the business, business plan, and community benefits.” The proposed ordinance requires applicants to pay a $2,500 non-refundable application fee. Additionally, the Township of Ocean plans to collect a $10,000 annual fee for businesses that operate cultivation, manufacturing or medical cannabis facilities in the municipality.

Four types of licenses will be available withing the municipality if the ordinance is approved. A Class 1 License is for Cannabis Cultivation; Class 2, Cannabis Manufacturing, Class 3, Cannabis Wholesale; and Class 4, Cannabis Distribution. A separate license covers medical dispensaries. LoParo pointed out that the ordinance excludes the retail sale of recreational marijuana even though 57 percent of the municipality’s voters were in favor of the legalization of adult recreational cannabis use.

“I don’t think that’s right,” said LoParo. “I think we should include it because our voters said yes. We’re doing our people a disservice by not giving them what they voted for…We’re also giving up two percent of the recreational income, which could wind up to be hundreds of thousands of dollars in our tax account.”

LoParo pressed for feedback from the two other members of the township committee. Deputy Mayor Ken Baulderstone said he first wanted to see how the medical dispensary “worked out” before considering recreational retail sales. “The steps that we have taken are already more than eighty percent of the municipalities in the state,” Baulderstone stated.

The USA Today editorial board has reversed its past position on cannabis and come out in support of ending cannabis prohibition.

While the newspaper flagged potential health problems caused by cannabis use, it argued that the "misguided war on drugs" continues to inflict harm on black and brown communities in the U.S. "Given the risks associated with marijuana, the nation needs the federal government to shift its posture from prohibition to regulation," the July 31 editorial said.

The article urged Congress to take action. The stand marks a policy reversal by the newspaper in editorials published in 2012, 2016 and 2018. The AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF MSOS, +3.95% is down 53.8% in 2022, mostly on bearish sentiment around U.S. legalization. The Nasdaq COMP, -0.16% has lost 21.1% of its value this year.

State agencies also won't cooperate in any out-of-state investigations into lawful marijuana conduct that occurs in Colorado.

Gov. Jared Polis last week vowed by executive order that Colorado will not hold out-of-state convictions for most marijuana-related offenses against people applying for professional licenses here.

The Boulder Democrat wrote in his order, “There is a workforce shortage in Colorado. Employers are having difficulty recruiting and retaining qualified employees, many of whom need professional licenses. The exclusion of people from the workforce because of marijuana-related activities that are lawful in Colorado, but illegal in other states, hinders our economy and our state.”

When they called it 'leafy Tubridge Wells', this isn't quite what they had in mind. The leafy Kent town got a bit leafier after pranksters sneaked a cannabis plant into a floral display near the Millennium Clock in Calverley Road.

Martin Steers said he was amazed no one had noticed the plant

It's thought council gardeners watered the plant for weeks before it was spotted, growing in a pot of red and white flowers, by Tunbridge Wells resident Martin Steers last week.

"I had gone up to town first thing in the morning on Wednesday," said Mr Steers, 47. "As I was walking through town I saw the plant. It was about two feet tall and didn't fit in.

"I took a couple of photos and walked up to it. I squeezed one of the leaves to double check what I thought it was and I recognised the smell."

A keen gardener with a knowledge of plants, Mr Steers says he was certain it was a cannabis plant.

Steve Cantwell has been cultivating cannabis for the past seven years through Green Life Productions, his Pahrump-based farm, and had no problems with state regulators when Nevada’s health and taxation departments oversaw the industry.

But that all changed when the Cannabis Compliance Board took over two years ago. At a recent routine visit, Cantwell said, the inspector raised a litany of concerns about the company’s organic growing methods, kicking off an ongoing tug-of-war that’s forced the company to pay nearly $30,000 for regulators to carry out their oversight duties.

“He came in … really just guns a blazing,” he said. “They told us everything that we were doing, literally everything we were doing, was wrong, which was a huge surprise to us.”

Cantwell and his wife have been receiving monthly invoices from the agency, including some billing them for 75 hours of state worker research time, at a cost of $111 an hour. Because the situation is unresolved, they don’t know how many more months of bills are in the future, or if the agency will tack on a hefty fine at the end of the research process. 

But he and his wife pay all the so-called “time and effort” charges in full, he said. They need to renew their license, after all, and new regulations carry the business-killing penalty of license revocation for companies that don’t stay current.

Time and effort charges have rankled members of the industry and surfaced as a sore spot in numerous recent meetings of the Cannabis Compliance Board. Copies of time and effort invoices reviewed by The Nevada Independent generally show short descriptions such as “routine audit … work ongoing” or “spot check” on line items that can be hundreds or thousands of dollars.

Kush.com is crowning itself king of Florida's cannabis scene.

Driving the news: Just ahead of putting on the state's biggest cannabis-centric trade show, the wholesale cannabis and hemp marketplace tells Axios it's moving its company headquarters from Seattle to Tampa's Embarc Collective. Kush recently acquired Tampa-based TradeCraft Origin, a cannabis brand strategy firm, and named its founder, John Lynch, Kush's new CEO.

Tech entrepreneur and investor Steve MacDonald, the company's new board chairman and a general partner in the Florida Funders VC, gave $2 million to Kush's ongoing funding round, the company tells Axios.

Why it matters: Kush will have a major grip on Florida's market if recreational marijuana becomes legal in the state. The company, founded in 2014, already claims to be the country's largest business-to-business network of cannabis products and now it has TradeCraft's network of restaurant chains, beverage companies and retailers.

State of play: Florida has the country's largest medical cannabis market, with industry publication MJBiz projecting $1.3 billion-$1.5 billion in sales this year. More than 700,000 medical marijuana patients are registered in the state as of April — more than double the number in early 2020.

What they're saying: "We think Tampa is the ideal choice now and for the future," Lynch told Axios. "Florida's role in the global cannabis industry will only become more significant. "Kush.com will be the most efficient, reliable route to market for CBD now, and a turnkey path to future THC market authority," MacDonald added.

While possessing certain amounts of cannabis is now okay, legal stores have not yet opened.

Justice-involved applicants vying for a license can submit their information by the end of August. New Yorkers are expected to be able to purchase legal recreational cannabis by the end of the year.

When can a consumer shop?

Buying cannabis is still illegal, something that’s confusing for anyone living in New York and witnessing the number of retail shops that are around. Still, this is about to change, with the first recreational dispensaries expected to open by the end of the year.

Who gets a license?

The first licenses to be handed out will be the ones belonging to the conditional adult-use retail dispensary (CAURD) program. These are 150 licenses provided to “justice involved” applicants, who must also have experience owning and running a business. Applicants can submit their information by the end of August. 

What if a person doesn’t qualify for a license just yet?

More licenses are expected to come out soon, with different requirements for different businesses, which range from weed bars to regular dispensaries. This will all be revealed in the coming months, with applicants only able to apply for one license at a time.

Earnings season is just getting started for the cannabis sector and we hope to see a positive response from the market to company results.

Last week, Statistics Canada announced that $292.1 million (USD) (C$375.8 million) of recreational cannabis was sold in May. This amount is less than 1% higher than the amount of sales in April and we are favorable on the increase. Statistics Canada also updated the amount of recreational cannabis sales from April to be CA$373.3 million, which is slightly higher than the amount that was previously reported. (Technical420)

Breaking Down Performance by Province

Functional health and medicinal products containing CBD (cannabidiol) are growing in popularity, and the UK market is now worth £690 million a year according to trade association ACI, making it the second biggest market in the world after the United States. However traditional extraction processes do not always capitalise on the latest evaporation technology.

In fact, current growth in the market is exceeding even industry predictions, and has been estimated that with suitable policy support, the European market for legal cannabis products could be worth a massive €3.2 billion by 2025.

What is CBD?

CBD is a chemical extracted from hemp and marijuana plants, and while it an active ingredient in the cannabis drug, it does not cause the psychoactive effects associated with THC which is also found in the plants. Although medical studies are inconclusive, some of the claimed benefits of CBD include reducing inflammation, improving relaxation and focus, and slow down digestion. As such, it is often used to treat issues such as anxiety and insomnia, as well as some types of seizure and some digestive complaints.

How is CBD extracted?

There are a number of different techniques for extracting the CBD from the hemp plant, although most of these require the use of solvents which are effective at separating the CBD from other chemical compounds found in the plant. Once the CBD has been extracted, the solvent is evaporated off leaving pure CBD oil.