Tag: CannaBeat

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CannaBeat: CBD Dinner (Postponed), Arkansas Dispensary Sales

CREDIT: Ounce of Hope/Facebook

Update: Organizers have postponed the CBD dinner planned for Saturday, September 28th. It is not yet known when (or if) the dinner will happen in the future. Stay tuned to CannaBeat for more details soon.

Local CBD store Ounce of Hope, Edible Memphis, and Comeback Coffee will offer one of the city’s first CBD-paired food and wine dinners.

Chef Justin Hughes of Cafe 1912 will prepare a four-course menu matched with products from Ounce of Hope at Comeback Coffee on Saturday, September 28th.

Dinner will be paired with approximately 70 milligrams of CBD, with Ounce of Hope experts serving as guides for each course, highlighting the products used, according to the event’s Facebook page.

The dinner will also feature cocktails curated by Paul Gilliam from Lucky Cat Ramen.

Event tickets are $250. Each ticket comes with a free goodie bag from Ounce of Hope. Those bags will include a joint, honey sticks, and samples of salve, melatonin pills, and oils.

Ounce of Hope/Facebook

Ounce of Hope

Green on Green

In another first for America, cannabis has caught the attention of Wall Street.

Tilray Inc. made the cannabis industry’s first initial public offering (IPO) in 2018, selling shares on the NASDAQ. Many have followed since. Cowen analyst Vivien Azer began following some of the industry’s top players in 2016, becoming the first in the country to watch the industry. On Friday, Azer began formal coverage for her company, another first in the industry, according to Yahoo! Finance.

She said three companies will beat expectations — Green Thumb Industries, Curaleaf, and Cresco Labs. Azor predicted U.S. cannabis sales will hit $80 billion by 2038.

Ark-annabis

In five months, more than $9.1 million worth of medical cannabis has been sold in Arkansas’ eight dispensaries, according to the latest figures from the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission.

The state’s ninth dispensary, Acanza, opened for business in Fayetteville on Friday. The commission is working on a final inspection date for Harvest Cannabis Dispensary in Conway.

Here’s how much each dispensary has sold so far (in the order in which they were opened):

• Doctor’s Orders (Hot Springs): 127.38 pounds

• Green Springs Medical (Hot Springs): 464.61 pounds

• Arkansas Natural Products: 96.16 pounds

• Greenlight Dispensary (Helena): 93.50 pounds

• Native Green Wellness (Hensley): 175.51 pounds

• Fiddler’s Green (Mountain View): 107.08 pounds

• Releaf Center (Bentonville): 135.47 pounds

• The Source (Bentonville): 75.59 pounds

Combined, the sales come to more than 1,275 pounds.

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CannaBeat: New Arkansas Law Struck Down, Invest in Cannabis

CREDIT: Arkansas Marijuana Industry Association

The Little Rock Board of Directors (similar to the Memphis City Council) narrowly voted down a measure this month that would have made marijuana arrests the lowest possible police priority.

The new law would have effectively reduced marijuana possession to a citation. Advocates of the measure would have saved court and law enforcement resources while “not needlessly punishing adults with jail time,” according to the Marijuana Policy Project.

The Little Rock proposal is similar to one approved by the council here in 2016, which would have reduced possession penalties to $50 or community service. The measure was struck down by state lawmakers.

Arkansas Marijuana Industry Association

Queen Mother Goji is now available to Arkansas patients from Bold Cultivators.

Little Rock’s proposal was only defeated on a 4-5 vote, a better margin than the 6-2 vote that defeated a similar measure there last year. Director Ken Richardson said he’s not giving up on the proposal.

• Arkansas state officials said recently they expect around 25 medical cannabis dispensaries to open in the state in the next two months. Licenses for the shops were issued in February, but only seven have opened so far.

Since May, those dispensaries have sold more than 800 pounds of medical cannabis, totaling more than $6 million in sales.

Brace for Impact

Wanna make some money? Buy some weed.

Nielsen, the company that monitors consumer markets and television viewership, said that while cannabis products are still illegal under federal law, sales will quintuple in the next seven years.

In a report called “Brace for Impact,” Nielsen estimated proceeds from sales of legalized cannabis products this year will be $8 billion. By 2025, cannabis sales are expected to be $41 billion. In 2014, 166 marijuana brands existed in two legalized states. There are now more than 2,600 brands operating in four legalized states.

For savvy investors, Nielsen suggests hopping on the cannabis train early.

“In just four years, the face of legalized recreational marijuana has changed dynamically. We forecast much of the same in the hemp-derived CBD sector, which is now invading mainstream retail and grabbing headlines along the way,” reads the report. “Be among those who leap ahead of the next shifts, rather than fall behind, by understanding these rapidly changing trends in cannabis.”

Further, Nielsen predicts you’ll find many of these products in a place you might not expect — the grocery store. Expect cannabis products to show up soon in the cosmetics aisle, the pet-care section, and, of course, across the food and beverage space, Nielsen said.

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CannaBeat: Cannabis Beer & Medical Marijuana in Mississippi

CREDIT: SweetWater/Facebook

A group is pushing to get a medical cannabis initiative on the ballot for the 2020 general election in Mississippi next year, and it’s nearly there.

Medical Marijuana 2020 told The Clarion Ledger newspaper recently that it had two-thirds of the 86,000 signatures it needed to put the issue to Magnolia State voters next year. The group has until September 6th to get the signatures and file them with election officials.

SweetWater/Facebook

SweetWater’s 420 Strain G13 IPA

Canna-Beer

Beverage companies are betting big bucks that you want to drink cannabis beer.

When Molson Coors teamed up with HEXO, a cannabis grower, its CEO said the cannabis-infused beer business could grow to $10 billion annually — and that’s only in Canada.

Anheuser-Busch teamed up with cannabis-grower Tilray recently in a $50-million deal. Constellation Brands, the maker of Modelo and Corona, invested $4 billion in a grower called Canopy Growth.

You can already find cannabis-inspired beers in Memphis, like Pinner by Oskar Blues. SweetWater says its 420 Strain G13 IPA is “not illegal, but it smells like it should be.”

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CannaBeat: MORE Act Could Reverse Cannabis Convictions

Cannabis would be decriminalized nationwide, and cannabis charges would be re-sentenced if a new federal law is passed.

Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Memphis) and others introduced the Marijuana Opportunity and Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act last week.

The bill removes cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, in which it is now labeled a Schedule I drug. This move would apply retroactively to prior and pending convictions. It requires federal courts to expunge prior cannabis convictions and allows prior offenders to request expungement. It also requires courts to conduct re-sentencing hearings for those still under supervision. The bill would also open up federal public benefits (like housing) to those with past cannabis convictions.

Steve Cohen

“Currently, our laws treat marijuana as more dangerous than cocaine, methamphetamine, or fentanyl,” Cohen said. “This harsh policy has torn apart families and neighborhoods and disproportionately impacted communities of color.”

The bill would open up Small Business Administration funding for cannabis companies and service providers. The act would create a 5-percent federal tax on cannabis products, which would create a fund to provide services to those “most adversely impacted by the War on Drugs.” It would also give business loans for licenses in the cannabis industry.

Banking on Cannabis

A Senate panel heard testimony last week on the challenges cannabis companies face without access to banks.

Running cash-only businesses is a security risk for owners, and potential owners have trouble raising capital. Also, any proceeds from cannabis-related activities remain subject to U.S. anti-money-laundering laws. Bankers and cannabis company leaders told federal lawmakers that laws now hamstring what could be a massive market opportunity.

Rachel Pross, Chief Risk Officer of Maps Credit Union, said Maps is the only bank in Oregon that has served the cannabis industry since 2014.

She said a Wharton School of Business report found that, in the absence of having a bank, one in every two cannabis dispensaries were robbed or burglarized — with the average thief walking away with anywhere from $20,000 to $50,000 in a single theft.

In 2017 and 2018, her bank has received $529 million in cash deposits from cannabis companies; $169 million this year.

“That’s millions of dollars that used to be carried around in backpacks and shoeboxes by legitimate, legal business owners in the state of Oregon, making them prime targets for thieves and other criminals.”

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CannaBeat: Feds Review Decriminalization, Access to Banks

Cohen and the MORE Act

Cannabis would be decriminalized nationwide and cannabis charges would be re-sentenced if a new federal law is passed.

Rep. Steve Cohen [D-Memphis] introduced the Marijuana Opportunity and Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act Wednesday. He is joined on the bill by Rep. Jerrold Nadler [R-NY] and Sen. Kamala Harris [D-California].

The bill removes cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, in which it is now labeled a Schedule I drug. This move would apply retroactively to prior and pending convictions. It requires federal courts to expunge prior cannabis convictions and allows prior offenders to request expungement. It also requires courts to conduct re-sentencing hearings for those still under supervision.

The bill would also open up federal public benefits (like housing) to those with past cannabis convictions.

“Currently, our laws treat marijuana as more dangerous than cocaine, methamphetamine, or fentanyl,” Cohen said. “This harsh policy has torn apart families and neighborhoods, and disproportionately impacted communities of color.

“The MORE Act will fix this and give us a sensible and workable cannabis policy. Importantly, the bill helps invests in the communities and people who have be most harmed by the War on Drugs.”

The MORE Act would also create a more-open environment for cannabis businesses. It would open up Small Business Administration funding for cannabis companies and service providers. The act would create a 5-percent federal tax on cannabis products.
[pullquote-2] Those funds would create the Opportunity Trust Fund. The fund would help provide services to those “most adversely impacted by the War on Drugs.” Services include job training, re-entry services, legal aid, literacy programs, youth recreation, mentoring, and substance use treatment. The fund would remove barriers to the same group of people for business loans licenses in the cannabis industry.

“Times have changed — marijuana should not be a crime,” said Sen. Harris. “We need to start regulating marijuana, and expunge marijuana convictions from the records of millions of Americans so they can get on with their lives.

“As marijuana becomes legal across the country, we must make sure everyone — especially communities of color that have been disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs — has a real opportunity to participate in this growing industry.”

Banking on Cannabis

A Senate panel heard testimony Tuesday on the challenges cannabis companies face without access to banks.

Running cash-only businesses is a security risk for owners and potential owners have trouble raising capital. Also, any proceeds from cannabis-related activities remain subject to U.S. anti-money-laundering laws.

The hearing was called “Challenges for Cannabis and Banking: Outside Perspectives.” In it, bankers and cannabis companies said federal laws now hamstring what could be a massive market opportunity.

Watch the full hearing here.

Rachel Pross, Chief Risk Officer of Maps Credit Union, said her bank has tried to overcome some of those challenges for cannabis companies in Oregon. It is the only bank in Oregon that has served the industry since 2014, when cannabis was first legalized in the state. It is now one of the largest cannabis banks in the country.

Pross said a Wharton School of Business report found that, in the absence of having a bank, one in every two cannabis dispensaries were robbed or burglarized — with the average thief walking away with anywhere from $20,000 to $50,000 in a single theft.
[pullquote-1] “In 2017 and 2018 alone, Maps received well over $529 million in cash deposits from cannabis businesses,” Pross said. “So far this year, we’ve received another $169 million in cash deposits — meaning that we are on track to remove over $860 million in cash from the sidewalks of Oregon’s communities in just three years.

“That’s millions of dollars that used to be carried around in backpacks and shoeboxes by legitimate, legal business owners in the state of Oregon, making them prime targets for thieves and other criminals.”

Sen. Mike Crapo [R-Idaho] was the only Republican member of the committee to attend the hearing. The banking situation for cannabis companies now reminded Crapo of 2013’s Operation Choke Point. That federal operation targeted firearm dealers, payday lenders, and other companies believed to be at higher risk for fraud and money laundering.

“I have said this many times and I will say it again, Operation Choke Point was deeply concerning because law-abiding businesses were targeted strictly for operating in an industry that some in the government disfavored,” Crapo said. “Under fear of retribution, many banks have stopped providing financial services to members of these lawful industries for no reason other than political pressure, which takes the guise of regulatory and enforcement scrutiny.”

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Feds Debate Cannabis Laws While Arkansas Could Go Full Legal

CREDIT: NORML/Facebook

Memphis Congressman Steve Cohen, a longtime proponent for cannabis-law reform, pushed his record-expungement legislation during a “historic” federal hearing last week on marijuana laws.

The hearing, before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, was called “Marijuana Laws in America: Racial Justice and the Need for Reform.”

The National Organization for the Reformation of Marijuana Laws (NORML) said the talks were historic, even though they didn’t yield any firm conclusions on current drug laws or next steps to reform them.

NORML/Facebook

NORML board member Rick Steves celebrated the “historic” House hearing.

“For the first time in a generation, there will be a candid conversation in the House Judiciary Committee that acknowledges the failures of marijuana prohibition in the United States, how this policy has adversely impacted tens of millions of Americans, and how it must be reformed at the federal level,” NORML political director Justin Strekal said in a statement.

Two main pieces of cannabis legislation sit before Congress. One would relax federal drug laws on cannabis in states that have legalized it in some way. Another would go further, seeking to give help to those communities disproportionately affected by current drug enforcement laws.

Cohen (D-Memphis) touted his Fresh Start Act, which, he said, he’s been pushing since his first year in Congress.

“It would say that if you have a non-violent offense and you had gone seven years without an offense in the federal system, you could get your record expunged,” Cohen said during the hearing.

Fully Legal in Arkansas?

Last week, a group announced plans for two 2020 ballot initiatives in Arkansas to allow recreational use of cannabis and to expunge the records of those with cannabis-related convictions.

The Drug Policy Education Group’s (DPEG) Arkansas Adult Use Cannabis Amendment would allow possession of the drug by those 21 and older for personal use. Adults there could possess up to four ounces of cannabis flower, two ounces of cannabis concentrate, and edible products containing cannabis with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content of 200 mg or less. They could also grow up to six cannabis seedlings and six cannabis flowering plants for personal use.

The group’s second proposal is called the Arkansas Marijuana Expungement Amendment. It would petition courts to release or reduce sentences and expunge the records of those convicted of cannabis offenses in the state.

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CannaBeat: CBD Sales Surge Sevenfold

CREDIT: Jani Moore Photography courtesy of Ounce of Hope

Arkansas Cannabis Industry Association

CBD flower from The Bold Team, Arkansas’ supplier.

Sales of CBD grew 700 percent over the last 12 months, according to a new report from the Brightfield Group.

The group is a market and consumer intelligence firm for the legal CBD and cannabis industries. It says sales have been pushed largely by national retailers like Walgreens, CVS, and Kroger, and the market is set to skyrocket.

Jani Moore Photography courtesy of Ounce of Hope

Brightfield’s report says the CBD market is on pace to grow to $23.7 billion through 2023.

“The CBD market has been growing rapidly, but we will see unprecedented growth in 2019,” Brightfield managing director Bethany Gomez said in a statement.

Those national retail chains only got into the CBD market this year. CBD products can now be found in Tennessee-area Walgreens, CVS, and Kroger, though they are (for now) largely offering topical products like creams and lotions. However, the Brightfield report said those chains will dominate the CBD market over the next year, owning as much as 57 percent of it.

Here are some other key highlights from the Brightfield CBD report:

• Although tinctures still dominate the market, driving 25% of sales, they are losing their lead as more mainstream consumer-friendly products surge

• Topicals (17% of market) and skincare and beauty products (8%) have gained tremendous traction as mass retailers have signed on to carry these products first, since they are considered the safest bet under the current regulatory regime.

• Natural food and smoke shop CBD revenues continue to grow and thrive — with increased uptake across the country and some level of saturation now that vendors feel more secure and confident carrying product.

Notably, though the CBD market is no longer dominated by cannabis users, dispensaries and recreational shops have also seen an uptick in CBD-oriented traffic.

• 1% of CBD companies were in the top tier (with sales of $40+ million or being sold in greater than 1000 stores) while 92.9% of companies were in the low tier (with sales of <$1 million or being sold in 0-100 stores)

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CannaBeat: Group Files Proposals for Recreational Cannabis in Arkansas

This week, a group submitted plans for two ballot initiatives in Arkansas to allow recreational use of cannabis and to expunge the records of those with cannabis-related convictions.

The Drug Policy Education Group’s (DPEG) Arkansas Adult Use Cannabis Amendment would allow possession of the drug by those 21 and older for personal use (with the understanding that cannabis is still illegal under federal law).

If approved, the state’s Alcohol Beverage Control Division would issue licenses to companies to cultivate, process, and sell cannabis and would make the rules governing the system and would have 120 days to do it all. If approved, recreational cannabis could be available in Arkansas by December 4th, 2020.

CannaBeat: Group Files Proposals for Recreational Cannabis in Arkansas

Licenses would be given to at least one dispensary in each Arkansas county and at  least 30 in every Congressional district. Cannabis farming licenses would be given to one company per 250,000 state residents. Dispensaries and farms would have to be at least 1,000 feet from a pre-existing school or church.

State sales taxes could be as high as 10 percent on retail sales of cannabis flower, cannabis concentrate, and edible products containing cannabis.

Taxes would go first to fund the state’s recreational cannabis regulatory system. The rest would be divvied up like so: 60 percent to fund and operate public pre-kindergarten and after school programs and 40 percent to fund the operations of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Arkansas Cannabis Industry Association

CBD flower from The Bold Team, Arkansas’ supplier.

Cities and counties could prohibit commercial cannabis sales by a majority vote of their governing bodies.

Under the proposal, adult Arkansans could possess up to four ounces of cannabis flower, two ounces of cannabis concentrate, and edible products containing cannabis with a tetrahydrocannabiol (THC) content of 200 mg or less. They could also grow up to six cannabis seedlings and six cannabis flowering plants for personal use on residential property owned by the adult or with the written permission of the property owner.

The group’s second proposal is called the Arkansas Marijuana Expungement Amendment. It would petition courts to release or reduce sentences and expunge the records of those convicted of cannabis offenses in the state.

Those convictions include cannabis possession, cultivation, manufacture, distribution, or sale of less than 16 ounces of cannabis or six or fewer mature cannabis plants or cannabis paraphernalia.

Read the proposals in full here.

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CannaBeat: Cohen Pushes Record Expungement in Cannabis Hearing

CREDIT: NORML/Facebook

NORML/Facebook

In honor of Tuesdays’ House hearing on cannabis, NORML board member Rick Steves will match donations to the organization this week.

A federal House panel considered national cannabis policy in a hearing Tuesday, one that was indicative of a growing support of legalization in Congress, according to one group.

The hearing, before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, was called “Marijuana Laws in America: Racial Justice and the Need for Reform.”

Two main pieces of cannabis legislation sit before Congress. One would relax federal drug laws on cannabis in states that have legalized it some way. Another would go further, seeking to give help to those communities disproportionately affected by current drug enforcement laws.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Memphis) touted his Fresh Start Act, which, he said, he’s been pushing since his first year in Congress. 

”It would say that if you have a non-violent offense and you had gone seven years without an offense in the federal system, you could get your record expunged,” Cohen said Tuesday. “Hopefully, we’ll have a chance to get that done.”

Marilyn Mosby, State’s Attorney for Baltimore City, Maryland responded, “People are suffering from collateral consequences…as a result of a marijuana conviction… The collateral consequences extend to federal loans, it extends to housing, it extends to adoption, it extends to access to health care. These collateral consequences extend to employment, professional licenses – I mean, every sort of the basic necessities of life.”

See Cohen’s full statements during the panel here:

CannaBeat: Cohen Pushes Record Expungement in Cannabis Hearing

While House members did not come to any firm conclusions on the matter Tuesday, it was a step forward, according to NORML political director Justin Strekal.

“For the first time in a generation there will be a candid conversation in the House Judiciary Committee that acknowledges the failures of marijuana prohibition in the United States, how this policy has adversely impacted tens of millions of Americans, and how it must be reformed at the federal level,” said Strekal in a statement. “The ongoing classification under federal law of cannabis as a Schedule I controlled substance — a categorization that treats it in the same manner as heroin — is intellectually dishonest and has been scientifically debunked.

[pullquote-1]

“It is high time that Congress address this Flat-Earth policy and move forward with a plan that appropriately reflects marijuana’s rapidly changing cultural status in America.”

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Seeing CBD

CREDIT: CBD Awareness Project

Kroger announced it will soon sell CBD products, according to Supermarket News. But don’t expect to find pre-rolls next to the pretzels. The company will begin with items like CBD-infused creams, balms, and oils. Expect to see CBD products in CVS stores and The Vitamin Shoppe as well.

CBD Awareness Project

Memphis Needs CBD

Memphis ranked eighth among America’s top 25 cities that need cannabidiol, according to the CBD Awareness Project, an industry awareness group.

Why? The city ranked high for its number of adults with poor mental health, those who get less then seven hours of sleep per night, and those with arthritis or diabetes.

Arkannabis

Greenlight Dispensary was given the green light to open in Helena-West Helena last week and opened on Friday, becoming Arkansas’ fourth medical cannabis dispensary.

Native Green Wellness Center in Hensley was inspected last week and could quickly open if approved. Fiddler’s Green in Mountain View was to be inspected this week.

As of last week, 258 pounds of medical cannabis had been sold in Arkansas for sales of $1.7 million.