WeedLife News Network

A bill that would allow future marijuana shops and hemp businesses to use South Dakota banks will move forward to the House floor after a unanimous vote of approval by the House Commerce & Energy Committee.

House Bill 1203 lays proactive groundwork for banks and their subsidiaries to work with any person that acquires an industrial hemp or marijuana license, pending legalization at the state level.

Without a bill of this kind, those involved in the cannabis industries would only be able to carry out business transactions in cash, because marijuana is considered an illegal business at the federal level.

Over a year after the passage of Barbados’ Medicinal Cannabis Industry Act, the Caribbean island nation officially opened for business last month, January 2021.

The launch of the sector in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic comes at an ideal time. The local Barbados economy, as well as the wider regional Caribbean economy have long been dependent on tourism for its ‘bread and butter’.  As a result, they are being hammered, and facing an economic crisis of major proportion.

Barbados Economy

The national debt of Barbados is now around US $6.35 billion. The International Monetary Fund, (IMF) noted that the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a major impact on Barbados’ economy.

There is so much promise for the cannabis industry, but so much zigging and zagging in search of sustainable profitability.

From the minute that Joe Biden took the oath of office, a new leader perceived to be a cannabis industry supporter, the cannabis industry has seemed ripe for an investor explosion. There has been money on the sidelines waiting for this sort of green light. Now it’s signaling “go.”

Jeanette Miller says she’s one of hundreds of farmers who were encouraged to devote acreage to an up-and-coming crop that held promise, but is now watching it all slip away.

Miller, who operates Eclectic Farmstead in Newfane in western New York, said farmers spent upward of $50,000 to cover costs associated with growing hemp and were waiting for the research phase to end so they could sell their products, which include drinks, soaps and lotions.

“We were supposed to be released from being research partners and be able to sell our products,” said Miller, who also serves as vice president of the Niagara County Farm Bureau. “But instead of that happening, (New York state) came out with the Hemp Extract Regulation.”

More than 18,000 workers are employed in Michigan’s marijuana industry, nearly double the number of cannabis jobs in the state a year ago, according to a new cannabis industry jobs report.

“There are now more cannabis workers than cops in Michigan,” said the fifth annual Leafly jobs report, released Tuesday. “In a state known for its auto industry, the number of cannabis workers is now roughly equal to the number of auto repair mechanics.”

Leafly, a Seattle-based marijuana media organization, uses available revenue and labor figures from licensing records to compile the annual report.

As a dispensary builder, one of the most common questions we’re asked is: How much does it cost to build a cannabis dispensary? We usually answer that question with about 20 questions of our own, because no two cannabis retail stores are the same.

Even when we build dispensaries for national companies that specify the same design and finishes, we face unique circumstances in each state that affect overall project costs. Ultimately, that cost can range anywhere from $350,000 to $3.5 million.

Sales of marijuana concentrates shot up more than 40 percent last year and accounted for a larger share of the overall cannabis market, as consumers became more comfortable with the intricate process of dabbing and new technology has made the products easier to use.

In addition, some consumers are moving away from vape products because of respiratory-related health concerns and turning to concentrates such as wax, hash and shatter, according to industry insiders.

State Rep. Yadira Caraveo says her proposal to limit the potency of marijuana sold recreationally in Colorado was just in its beginning stages. But when draft legislation was recently leaked and prominent figures in the state’s cannabis industry created an uproar, the measure started unraveling. 

Now, Caraveo, a Thornton Democrat and pediatrician, is backing off parts of the measure and loosening the restrictions in what’s left.

“Given the pushback that we’ve had overall on the bill,” she said, “we really want to streamline it and focus it on the things that we think absolutely need to happen this year.”

Will These 3 Cannabis Stocks Give Investors More Market Value

Currently, in 2021, there has been more money invested in marijuana stocks and the industry as a whole. As the cannabis industry gears up for the potential of federal cannabis reform there is great excitement behind it. Because of this investors have been making sure they don’t miss a good opportunity. This positive sentiment has created some more upward momentum causing some marijuana stocks to reach new all-time highs.

About $31 million from adult-use cannabis taxes is going to nonprofits in Illinois as part of the Restore, Reinvest and Renew, or R3 program, and it’s not all going to Chicago.

Cannabis sales for January neared $90 million. Since adult-use sales began in January 2020, nearly $757.9 million in cannabis has been sold. The taxes on that can be more than 40%, depending on the potency and whether a local sales tax is added on to the state taxes.

For the state’s taxes, the total collected from January 2020 through last month totaled more than $205.4 million dollars.

Floridians said they believe hemp businesses will boom this year and are hopeful about it.

“It’s just everything we worked on for two years is now in front of you. It’s very exciting,” said Holly Bell, the Director of Cannabis for the Florida Department of Agriculture.

Bell said she could barely contain her excitement looking at all the harvested plants in the middle of a greenhouse in Central Florida. 

Bell said she knows that 2021 is the year for hemp to take over.

“What we’re seeing in our preliminary numbers from our economists in our groups is tax revenues in the first full 12 months around $17 million,” Bell said.

Thirty years from now, hemp advocates envision the versatile crop will play a prominent role in the U.S. economy, used regularly in the production of everyday products including food, fiber, fuel, pharmaceuticals and building materials.

But getting to that point is not so simple. 

Lawmakers must adopt policies to ease the regulatory burden on farmers and processors. Scientists must conduct the research and development needed to pioneer new technologies. Breeders must continue studying hemp genetics that best serve such wide-ranging markets.

That was the underlying theme of the first National Hemp Symposium — looking ahead to 2050, and finding the roadmap for a thriving industry.

About $31 million from adult-use cannabis taxes is going to nonprofits in Illinois as part of the Restore, Reinvest and Renew, or the R3 program, and it’s not all going to Chicago.

Cannabis sales for January neared $90 million. Since adult-use sales began in January 2020, nearly $757.9 million in cannabis has been sold. The taxes on that can be more than 40%, depending on the potency and whether a local sales tax is added on to the state taxes.

For the state’s taxes, the total collected from January 2020 through last month totaled more than $205.4 million dollars.

When 1606 Original Hemp ships a load, it crosses the country, from the company’s growing facilities in California to its manufacturing plants in New York, and back again. That means crossing dozens of state lines and navigating just as many hemp transport regulations — an overwhelming prospect.

And it's more than 1606 Original Hemp wanted to manage on its own, so it turned to specialty carrier 357 Hemp Logistics for help.

The announcement that the amount of marijuana in liquid form seized by customs officials in Tokyo in 2020 soared nearly 70 times from the previous year has attracted headlines in a country that still operates a zero-tolerance policy on all forms of narcotics. For Junichi Takayasu, founder of the Hemp Museum, the dramatic media coverage of the figures is deeply unfortunate.

All too often, he says, the Japanese media, local authorities, the police and public simply conflate cannabis with hemp, a crop that has a history that stretches back centuries in Japan, and which Takayasu would like to see once again flourishing in the fields.

Annette and Bruce Wiles are spending the snowy winter selling their hops equipment after six years of selling their fragrant flowers in the brewery supply chain. It was a good experience, Annette says now, and the learning curve has helped get them to where they want to be as the 2021 season opens: primed and ready for hemp cultivation.

Cannabis employment company Vangst recently released its new “Cannabis Industry Salary Guide” and while some news is encouraging, there is still a long way to go for cannabis companies.

As Arizona learns the ropes of legal, recreational marijuana, California has become the expert for preparing for, and adapting to the spike in customers.

Arizona cultivators are going to have to ramp up their marijuana production to keep up while still giving priority to medical patients.

There are now nearly 100 approved recreational licenses in Arizona.

Spencer Andrews, public affair director for March and Ash in Imperial says the dispensary saw a 20% increase in sales since it made the switch in August 2020. Although, it still provides options for medical customers.

Want practical experience growing marijuana, but have no idea how to get a plant? Or just not comfortable growing cannabis at home?

Try stinging nettle, which is a plant that’s distantly related to cannabis and has similar growth patterns.

That’s just one of many workarounds Dana Milstein had to learn as she developed curriculum for UC Riverside’s new extension program focused on cannabis, which is the first program of its kind at a public university in California.

Canadian Cannabis Stocks Rally