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Governor McKee Signs Legislation Legalizing and Safely Regulating Recreational Cannabis in Rhode Island

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RHODE ISLAND: Governor Dan McKee today signed into law the Rhode Island Cannabis Act, legalizing and safely regulating recreational adult-use cannabis in the state. The Act includes automatic expungement of prior civil or criminal marijuana possession charges, a key provision in the Governor’s original cannabis proposal to the General Assembly. 

Governor McKee was joined for the historic signing by Lt. Governor Sabina Matos, Senate Majority Leader Michael J. McCaffrey and the bill sponsors – Senate Committee on Health and Human Services Chairman Joshua Miller and House Deputy Majority Leader Scott A. Slater.

Under the new law, possession and home-growing of cannabis is now legal for adults age 21 and older, and in-store sales may begin as soon as December 1. The law also establishes a framework for common-sense adult use cannabis regulation with a strong emphasis on public health and public safety.

“This bill successfully incorporates our priorities of making sure cannabis legalization is equitable, controlled, and safe,” said Governor McKee. “In addition, it creates a process for the automatic expungement of past cannabis convictions. My Administration’s original legalization plan also included such a provision and I am thrilled that the Assembly recognized the importance of this particular issue. The end result is a win for our state both socially and economically.”

The legislation calls for a 20 percent tax rate, split up into the 7 percent sales tax, a new 10 percent cannabis tax, and a 3 percent tax by the municipality where the marijuana is sold. In addition, the legislation makes numerous investments in the creation of an equitable, accessible cannabis retail market through the set-aside of certain application fee revenues and the reservation of a portion of new licenses for social equity applicants and worker-owned cooperatives.

“The reality is that prohibition does not stop cannabis use. Since Rhode Islanders can already access cannabis just across the state border or on the illicit market, we experience all the challenges without any of the safeguards or resources that our neighboring states have. With this bill, we are ending prohibition in a way that is safe, keeps revenue in Rhode Island, and is as fair and equitable as we can possibly make it. This bill has been years in the making, and is a collaborative effort to address concerns about protecting medical use, ensuring fair governance and recognizing that we cannot make this transition without taking action to make whole the communities and individuals who have been punished for decades under prohibition,” said bill sponsor Sen. Joshua Miller (D-Dist. 28, Cranston, Providence), chairman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

“Social equity has been a top concern for us throughout this whole process. Senator Miller and I represent some of the communities that have suffered disproportionate harm from prohibition for decades, resulting in generational poverty and mass incarceration. The starting line isn’t the same for people in poor, urban and minority communities, and they deserve support to ensure they get the full benefit of participating in legalization. I am grateful to my colleagues in the General Assembly for recognizing the importance of expungement of criminal records and equity in licensing, because they are absolutely critical to ending prohibition fairly,” said bill sponsor Rep. Scott A. Slater (D-Dist. 10, Providence).

“I thank all the advocates, stakeholders, staff and especially Representative Scott Slater, who has worked tirelessly on this issue for the past decade. The bill represents a strong foundation from which to build the safe, equitable regulation of cannabis for adult use. We are proud that this legislation prioritizes the participation of people most impacted by the past enforcement of cannabis laws both through automatic expungement and the creation of a licensing structure based on social equity,” said House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi (D-Dist. 23, Warwick).

“This is a truly momentous day for Rhode Island. I’m deeply grateful to Senator Miller for his years of hard work and leadership on this issue, and I’m incredibly proud to have been part of reaching this point. I also want to thank President Ruggerio for his support throughout this process. Ending cannabis prohibition helps us right past wrongs while creating new opportunities for all Rhode Islanders. This is the right move, at the right time, for our state,” said Senate Majority Leader Michael J. McCaffrey (D-Dist. 29, Warwick).

Rhode Island is now the 19th state to have legalized cannabis, including Massachusetts and Connecticut.

The new law will give courts until July 1, 2024, to automatically expunge past convictions, and those who want their expungement sooner may request it.

‘Get Ready, Get Set’ NY Office of Cannabis Management Announces Workshops to Help Equity Entrepreneurs Apply for First Retail Cannabis Licensees

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NEW YORK: The Office of Cannabis Management announced the first “Get Ready, Get Set” virtual workshops t o help eligible New Yorkers prepare applications for Conditional AdultUse Retail Dispensary (CAURD) Licenses to sell cannabis in New York. The CAURD licenses are one of the cornerstones of the Seeding Opportunity Initiative, announced by Governor Kathy Hochul in March, which ensures the first adult use cannabis is grown by New York farmers and sold by individuals directly impacted by the over criminalization of cannabis prohibition. 

“As a former coffee shop owner I know how hard it can be to launch and operate a retail space. And that’s why I’m excited to offer the ‘Get Ready, Get Set’ workshops. These trainings will simplify and explain the process for applying for a license to sell adult use cannabis in New York,” said Control Board Tremaine Wright, Chairperson of the Cannabis . “This isn’t just about us sharing information, it’s also about OCM learning from those interested in applying for CAURD licenses and seeing exactly how we can meet the needs of applicants, then empower them to be successful cannabis business owners.”

The “Get Ready, Get Set” workshops are a two-part series of virtual events in May. The first phase of events will be two learning-sessions focused on providing information and education to CAURD-eligible individuals and the organizations that work with them. The second phase of events will be two listening-sessions the first focused on obtaining feedback from individuals and community organizations on how to support cannabis cultivation in New York State, followed by a second session on how to help ensure equity is successfully integrated into the developing New York State cannabis industry.

These workshops were announced by OCM Executive Director Chris Alexander today in Rochester at the Cannabusiness Conference hosted by the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce.

ASTM International and Colombia Standards Organization Sign Licensing Agreement for Cannabis Certification

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PENNSYLVANIA: On May 17, ASTM International and the Colombian Institute of Technical Standards and Certificationsigned a licensing agreement related to certifications for the cannabis industry.

Per the new agreement, ASTM International will allow use of its CANNQ/HEMPQ certification program for cultivators, as well as ASTM’s Certification Mark, while ICONTEC will allow use of its Certification Good Agricultural Practices in Cannabis.

ICONTEC is the Colombian national standards body and also oversees the compliance of national and international standards in Colombia. ICONTEC and ASTM International signed a memorandum of understanding in 2001, making their partnership the oldest in ASTM’s MoU program.

ASTM and ICONTEC have been collaborating on cannabis work since 2020. ICONTEC has adopted several standards developed by ASTM’s cannabis committee (D37) or has used D37 standards as the basis for their own national standards. ASTM and ICONTEC co-hosted a successful cannabis webinar for Latin America in April 2021 with 100 participants from 14 countries.

“The Safety Equipment Institute (SEI), an affiliate of ASTM International, is excited to partner with ICONTEC to provide the cannabis industry with a global certification program using the ASTM certification mark,” says Tricia Hock, director of certification operations at SEI. “Bringing aspects of ICONTEC’s cannabis program under the ASTM CANNQ/HEMPQ program will help harmonize the industry and provide global recognition with the ASTM brand.”

Roberto Montoya, executive director, ICONTEC, said, “Since last year we identified a new opportunity for expanding our cooperation, formerly focused on standards, to the field of certification, integrating the Safety Equipment Institute, ASTM’s ally in conformity assessment issues, to the work team. Together we recognize the great growth and dynamism of the cannabis industry, and we see that we can contribute to this growth the concepts of quality, safety, and sustainability.”

Jushi Holdings Awarded Provisional Medical Marijuana Dispensary License in Ohio

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Jushi’s Permitted Licensed Retail Footprint Increases to 40 Dispensaries Nationwide*

FLORIDA: Jushi Holdings, Inc.,  a vertically integrated, multi-state cannabis operator, announced that Campbell Hill Ventures, LLC, the Company’s 100% owned subsidiary, has been awarded a provisional medical marijuana dispensary license by the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program. The License is designated for 693 Old State Route 74 in Clermont County, Ohio, located just 17.5 miles east of Cincinnati2. The new store will operate under Jushi’s retail brand, BEYOND / HELLO™, and marks the Company’s first retail location in the Buckeye State. This will be the Company’s fifth vertically integrated state, accompanying Pennsylvania (by way of its affiliated subsidiaries), Virginia, Massachusetts, and Nevada. This summer, the Company plans to begin construction on the BEYOND / HELLO™ Cincinnati store and expects the store to be open by Q1 2023.

“We are very pleased with the outcome of the lottery selection, which allows Jushi to open its first licensed medical dispensary in Ohio and establish our fifth vertically integrated market. Along with this win, we intend to pursue additional retail dispensary licenses through opportunistic acquisitions to expand our Ohio retail store base,” said Jim Cacioppo, Chief Executive Officer, Chairman and Founder of Jushi. “We look forward to bringing the full Jushi retail experience to Ohio, including our new retail design system, which will provide patients with an efficient, accessible, and safe experience that goes beyond the traditional cannabis retail environment. With this newly awarded retail license, along with our existing state-of-the-art cultivation and processing assets, Jushi is well-positioned to support the rapidly evolving Ohio medical market.”

Home to over 200,000 residents3, Clermont County is located east of Cincinnati on the Ohio River, known for its rich historical roots and local cultural attractions. The new dispensary location is a five-minute drive from the Cincinnati Nature Center, which brings in over 200,000 visitors annually4. Additionally, the new location is a five-minute drive from EastGate Mall and situated close to two major routes, Route 275 and Route 32 as well as several big-box stores along Route 74. Surrounded by local museums, historic sites, parks, breweries, wineries, and golf courses, the new store is also approximately 20 miles east of major tourist sites such as Paul Brown Stadium, Newport Aquarium and Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Gardens.

Currently, three of Jushi’s in-house brands are available in the Ohio medical cannabis market, including Sèchè, a flower line, Tasteology, a brand of premium, real fruit, cannabis-infused gummies, and The Lab, a high-quality vaporization line. In Q2 2022, Jushi expects to launch additional Sèchè flower product lines, along with its award-winning flower brand, The Bank, in Ohio.

The Ohio medical cannabis program is a limited license market with distinct licenses for cultivation, processing, and retail. The Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program reported 261,453 registered medical patients as of March 31, 2022, and over $799 million in total medical cannabis product sales as of April 18, 2022.

* Includes an awarded conditional dispensary where Jushi owns a 49% equity interest
2 Jushi is required to apply for a Certificate of Operation from the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy’s Medical Marijuana Control Program before commencing operations at the listed medical marijuana dispensary locations
3 United States Census Bureau, as of July 1, 2021
4 Cincinnati Nature Center Website

Why This Cannapro Keeps the Conversation Open Around Cannabis

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By Erica Tarnowski

I was a child of the 80’s, which meant participating in – and graduating from – the D.A.R.E. program in middle school. For those of you unfamiliar with D.A.R.E., it was a school-based drug use prevention program created to teach kids to “Just Say No” to drugs. One of the tenets of D.A.R.E. was teaching kids that cannabis was a gateway drug and using it would inevitably lead to an interest in other drugs, like PCP and heroin. The effectiveness of this program has been widely disputed, but middle-schoolers throughout the country were given one message about cannabis: it’s bad. 

Over the past few decades, we’ve watched various parts of the country change not only their tune about cannabis, but also their laws. For me, this has been a fascinating revolution to watch and for years I thought about how I could find my way into the industry. Oddly enough, my interest in cannabis coincided with my interest in the stock market, and a few years ago I decided to invest a few dollars in cannabis companies I knew almost nothing about. I knew it was a growth industry, but that was pretty much the extent of my knowledge.

Until a year ago, I didn’t consume cannabis regularly. Occasionally, I’d smoke a joint with a friend, but I almost never had flower or other cannabis products around the house. Now, I represent one of the fastest-growing segments of cannabis users in the country – women. The past few years have seen sales to female customers increase by 55 percent, and women now make up 48 percent of new customers – up from 38 percent in 2018 (flowhub).

Even before I became a mother, wine had always been my go-to, “it’s been a long weekday” stress reliever, until I noticed how tired I felt every morning after having just one or two glasses the night before. Weekends were reserved for heavier drinking but, unlike wine, hangovers do not get better with age. I realized I was missing out on time with my kids, or unable to enjoy the time I spent with them on weekends because I’d drink too much on a Friday or Saturday night.

I decided it was time to seek an alternative to alcohol and told my husband I was going to visit one of the nearby dispensaries. I remember being excited to find strains and products for me, and since my intention was to replace alcohol, to some extent, I looked almost exclusively for sativa-leaning products and strains for more social settings.

In the past year, cannabis has become a much more integral part of our life. Not only have I started to sprinkle some indica into the mix, but I also work for the first national cannabis dispensary franchise brand in the U.S., Unity Rd.

The decision to leave my previous job and join the Unity Rd. team made complete sense for me. It was my opportunity to impact a true growth industry by helping people navigate the complexities of owning a cannabis business. What I didn’t consider was navigating the complexities of talking with my kids about my career move.

Every parent-child relationship is different, and the timing and manner in which parents choose to address controversial or difficult topics is up to them. For a lot of mothers, our natural instinct is to shield and shelter our children from anything that could cause them harm or heartache. Unfortunately, we can’t protect them from everything, so our job as parents is to prepare them for life, and the inherent difficulties they will inevitably face.

My oldest son, now 13, has overheard increasingly frequent conversations about cannabis in our household and started to take more of an interest in the topic. He doesn’t seem overly curious or interested in trying cannabis, but my husband and I are aware that someday prior to turning 21, he might be. Instead of ignoring his possible interest or lying to him about our own cannabis consumption, we’ve talked to him about it and taught him that, like alcohol, cannabis can be consumed responsibly. In one conversation, I said to him, “Both alcohol and cannabis are illegal for people under 21 to consume. However, I know you might be curious about drinking or using cannabis before turning 21. If or when that happens, come talk to me first.”

My approach to parenting or cannabis use may not be popular with other mothers or fathers, partly because the parents whose kids are the same age as mine also participated in the D.A.R.E. program, but also because the message that cannabis is bad has been instilled in us for decades.

As legalization continues to gain momentum, the stigma around cannabis use has also changed. In fact, a recent study from Pew Research found that 91 percent of U.S. adults say that cannabis should be legal for either medical or adult-use consumption. As an emerging industry, it’s our duty to ensure acceptance continues by spreading knowledge around the benefits of cannabis and educating newcomers so they have the best experience possible with the plant.

 

About Erica Tarnowski

Erica Tarnowski is the Franchise Development Manager at Unity Rd., the national cannabis dispensary franchise from Item 9 Labs Corp. (OTCQX: INLB). A passionate, data-driven franchise professional, Tarnowski has six years of franchise experience across franchise development and marketing roles with Dessange Group North America and 919 Marketing. Throughout her career, she has awarded franchises across the U.S. and successfully led creative content and lead generation strategies for more than a dozen franchise development clients. She can be reached at ETarnowski@unityrd.com.

MedMen Announces Settlement Agreement with Ascend Wellness Holdings

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CALIFORNIA:  MedMen Enterprises Inc., a premier cannabis retailer with operations across the United States, has announced a definitive agreement with Ascend Wellness Holdings that will allow the sale of MedMen’s New York operations to close for increased consideration. The transaction resolves the litigation between MedMen and AWH concerning the transaction and delivers $15 million in additional value to MedMen shareholders. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, AWH will pay MedMen $88 million: $73 million as an assumption of debt and $15 million in cash. Other terms of the transaction will be as originally announced in February 2021.

“This resolution is a clear win for MedMen shareholders, as the company will receive $15 million in additional value,” said Michael Serruya, MedMen’s Chairman of the Board. “This resolution enables MedMen to move forward with plans to significantly restructure its balance sheet, reduce debt, and focus on its core markets.”

The transaction is expected to close within thirty days.

CANNECTED TV expands Global Distribution to XBOX, Samsung and LG CTV, Sony, Panasonic, Philips, Sharp, and TCL Smart TV’s

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NEW YORK:  CANNECTED TV, a cannabis streaming channel, is now expanding and will have distribution across gaming, televisions, mobile, and online devices for cannabis programming and advertising with shop-able content. CANNECTED TV is a destination platform for cannabis education through entertainment. It can be currently accessed via ROKU, Apple TV and IOS devices globally, Android TV, Amazon Fire, and online.

Along with the expansion to new distribution points, CANNECTED TV is also releasing new programming, an array of podcasts, and a direct-to-consumer digital marketplace called “Cannaguide” for cannabis, hemp, and CBD brands to educate consumers directly across mainstream outlets. The guide utilizes storytelling with QR codes and linkbacks to empower viewers with information and access to products and services, while staying within local laws.

According to Kerri Accardi, President of 420MEDIA, “Having a platform that is designed to empower viewers and advertisers across mainstream outlets with premium content and a digital marketplace is a game changer! I’m ecstatic and grateful to be a conduit to the magical powers of plant medicine.”

New Programming and New Episodes on Tap

The channel will unveil several series in the next few months, including a one devoted to women in the cannabis industry called “Creating Herstory: Chronicles of Women In Cannabis”. Women in the industry are encouraged to submit their own stories for inclusion in the series. The channel will also be adding enhanced education, events, and livestream as well multiple new podcasts premiering on June 15th along with two long form series releasing new episodes in June, they include:

“Nurse Talk” – Cannabis personality “Nurse Heather” Manus, RN introduces important topics about medical cannabis in conversations with medical professionals and patients.

“Faces of Cannabis” – A profile series featuring some of the biggest names in the cannabis industry including pioneers, patients, athletes, and the people building cannabis into a thriving industry.

OLCC Task Force on Cannabis-Derived Intoxicants and Illegal Cannabis Production Meeting

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OREGON: The Task Force on Cannabis-Derived Intoxicants and Illegal Cannabis Production will hold its initial (virtual) meeting on Thursday, May 12, 2022 from 9 AM to 11 AM. A meeting agenda can be found on the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission’s website in the public meetings section. 

The Oregon Legislature established the Task Force (2021 HB 3000 and 2022 SB 1564) to consider the items listed below and develop a report including final findings and recommendations for legislation.

The Task Force has been directed to provide its findings to the interim committee of the Legislative Assembly related to economic development no later than December 31, 2022.

HB 3000 Task Force Considerations

  • Changes to state law to support the regulation of intoxicating cannabis-derived products and artificially derived cannabinoids
  • The consolidation of administrative functions related to the regulation of cannabis
  • Methods to prevent sales to minors of industrial hemp commodities or products that contain intoxicating cannabinoids
  • Regulation to address genetic engineering of cannabis
  • Testing requirements and methods of enforcement of testing requirements for cannabinoids, including artificially derived cannabinoids, to protect the public health and safety
  • Policy changes related to interstate commerce and transportation of cannabis
  • Changes to state regulation of cannabis as a result of federal laws

SB 1564 Additional Considerations

  • Changes to state law to address labor trafficking
  • Changes to state law to address water theft and other unauthorized uses of water
  • Changes to state law relating to the processing of search warrants in order to increase efficiency
  • Optimal funding sources and structure to enable the ongoing involvement of law enforcement agencies in combatting illegal cannabis production

Task Force on Cannabis-Derived Intoxicants and Illegal Cannabis Production

9:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Thursday, May 12, 2022

Location: Virtual
Microsoft Teams meeting
Click here to join the meeting
Or call in (audio only)
1 323-553-3576, Conference ID: 533 333 681#

Agenda

LIM College Business of Cannabis Degree Programs Announce “All-Star” Faculty for Fall 2022 Start

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Industry leaders Dasheeda Dawson, Jesce Horton, Kristin Jordan and David Paleschuck headline a roster of instructors for bachelor’s and master’s degree courses

NEW YORK:  In advance of the September start of its bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in The Business of Cannabis, LIM College has added some of the cannabis industry’s best-known leaders to its faculty.  Among these new instructors are four of the cannabis industry’s top professionals: Dasheeda Dawson, Jesce Horton, David Paleschuck and Kristin Jordan. 

“When we designed our cannabis degree programs, we wanted to provide our students access to the highest achievers from various parts of the cannabis business. With these cannabis all-stars joining our faculty, we are delivering on that promise,” said Michael Zaytsev, Academic Director of The Business of Cannabis at LIM College and author of The Cannabis Business Book.

Continued Zaytsev, “By learning directly from industry leading pioneers, our graduates will have a competitive advantage when pursuing the hundreds of thousands of jobs the legal cannabis industry will create.”

Dasheeda Dawson, who will be teaching The Retailing of Cannabis, is a global cannabis advocate, award-winning Fortune 100 business strategist, and bestselling author of How to Succeed in the Cannabis Industry. 

Dawson is the City of Portland Cannabis Program Manager, responsible for overseeing all regulatory licensing, compliance, and equity initiatives for the city’s cannabis industry. Her office oversees the Social Equity & Educational Development (SEED) Initiatives, which includes the country’s first community reinvestment fund tied to cannabis tax revenue.

Dawson also serves as Board Chair of the national Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition and participates on the Oregon Cannabis Commission Governance Frame-working subcommittee. Additionally, she is co-founder and Chief Strategist for the Cannabis Health Equity Movement and co-founder of the Community Education Advocacy Symposium & Expo.

Jesce Horton is Chief Executive Officer at LOWD, an award-winning cannabis craft cultivation company. Jesce will be bringing his expertise to LIM students by teaching the course The Business of Cannabis Cultivation and Manufacturing.

An engineer, horticulturist, and energy management expert, Horton is a co-founder of the Minority Cannabis Business Association, the first and largest non-profit organization developed to create equal access and economic empowerment for cannabis businesses and the communities most affected by the war on drugs.

In 2016, Horton was appointed by Oregon Governor Kate Brown to the Task Force for Cannabis Environmental Best Practice and continues this work today as a member of the Board of Directors of the Resource Innovation Institute, an organization focused on creating energy efficiency solutions and standards for the global cannabis industry. He is also on the Board of Directors of the Oregon Cannabis Association.

Along with his wife, Jeannette Ward Horton, Horton founded the non-profit organization NuProject, which delivers grant loans, educational resources, job matching assistance and entrepreneurial services to cannabis business owners and career hopefuls.

Kristin Jordan, Esq. is the founder and CEO of Park Jordan, a commercial real estate brokerage and advisory services firm serving the cannabis industry. She is also an attorney, drug policy activist, and thought leader.

Until recently, Jordan served as the Director of Real Estate at Acreage Holdings. She led Acreage’s efforts in selecting real estate sites for the company’s national footprint of cultivation, processing, and dispensary facilities. Prior to her work in the cannabis sector, Jordan practiced real estate law at several boutique firms and managed real estate portfolios for Kaplan, Inc., Morgan Stanley, and SoulCycle. She is a frequent speaker on real estate, cannabis regulations, and social equity and economic justice issues and in 2019 was distinguished by Forbes as one of “Fifteen Powerful and Innovative Women in Cannabis Right Now.”

Jordan is the founder and CEO of Mannada, a NYC-based cannabis professional event production company, which launched The Maze, a weekly cannabis event listing newsletter, as well as the Cannabis Summit Series including the Cannabis Media Summit, Cannabis Real Estate Summit, and Cannabis Law Summit.

Jordan is also a co-founder of the Cannabis Cultural Association, a non-profit organization, and the founder of the Asian Cannabis Roundtable, a professional networking organization. Additionally, Kristin is a member of the New York State Bar Association Committee on Cannabis and the Minority Cannabis Business Association Policy Committee.

David Paleschuck, founder of Branding Bud Consulting Group, will be teaching Cannabis Marketing. His book, Branding Bud: The Commercialization of Cannabis – the first book on cannabis branding – was a #1 best-seller on Amazon.

With over 20 years of brand-building and consumer marketing experience with American Express, MasterCard, PepsiCo, and Microsoft, Paleschuck has played a role in developing and marketing many of today’s best-known brands.

Since entering the cannabis industry in 2012, Paleschuck has created profitable partnerships while working as the Vice President, Licensing & Brand Partnerships at DOPE Magazine and crafted award-winning cannabis-infused products as the Chief Brand Officer at Evergreen Herbal.

Paleschuck’s writing and thought leadership on cannabis branding and marketing has been widely featured in leading outlets, including Forbes, Kiplinger’s, The Brookings Institution, High Times and many more.

These industry leaders join a team of faculty members that also includes Penelope Nam-Stephen, Chief Commercial Officer of Community Growth Partners, formerly of Burberry and Juicy Couture; Marianne Cursetjee, CEO and co-founder of Alibi Cannabis; Melanie Nash, Chief Operating Officer of Purple City Genetics, formerly of REI and Tumi; Beryl Solomon, founder of Poplar, formerly of Kate Spade, Theory, and IBM; Wei Hu, CEO of MRTA Law, formerly of the NYC Human Resources Administration; and David Abecassis, co-founder of the Green Growers Alliance.

LIM College’s degree programs in The Business of Cannabis focus on specialized cannabis industry knowledge, as well as business skills such as marketing, retail management, branding, merchandising and supply chain management. The master’s degree program, designed for career-changers as well as those who are interested in advancing their current cannabis careers, will be delivered fully online and can be completed in one calendar year. The bachelor’s degree program is available on LIM’s midtown Manhattan campus or online.

LCB and WSCPA Partner for Regional Online Retail Security Training and Crime Prevention

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WASHINGTON: The Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) has been focused on helping licensed cannabis retailers deal with the 2022 surge in violent armed robberies of cannabis stores. In a retail safety update to stakeholders, LCB Board Chair David Postman communicated last month about the agency’s efforts on this public safety crisis.

Partnership with Washington State Crime Prevention Association

This message is to announce a new partnership between the LCB and the Washington State Crime Prevention Association (WSCPA). The LCB is partnering with the WSCPA to provide security and safety training to retail cannabis licensees and their employees. The goals of this partnership are increased security awareness and an understanding of best practices.

The WSCPA consists of current and former law enforcement personnel, as well as volunteers and citizens who are concerned with crime prevention. The organization provides training, support, development, and implementation of crime prevention programs.

Regional Online Trainings for Licensees and Staff

At a series of upcoming online events, the WSCPA will present crime prevention best practices as well as safety and security recommendations. The WSCPA will train licensees in crime prevention, preparedness, preservation, and provide post-event education The LCB will present information on related laws and rules.

The LCB and WSCPA will host the below list of trainings between May and August. The trainings will be focused on cannabis retail safety best practices and regionally focused to address any unique local circumstances.

Training Dates

We strongly encourage cannabis licensees and staff participated in the training within their region.  If unavailable for the regional training, please feel free to join one or more on a date that is convenient.

May 18, 2022 (Thurston, Pierce, King Counties)

  • Time: 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

May 25, 2022 (Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, Island, San Juan Counties)

  • Time: 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

June 1, 2022 (Pacific, Lewis, Cowlitz, Clark, Wahkiakum, Skamania Counties

  • Time: 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

June 8, 2022 (Ferry, Stevens, Pend Oreille, Lincoln, Spokane Counties)

  • 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

June 15, 2022 (Adams, Whitman, Franklin, Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield, Asotin Counties)

  • 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

June 22, 2022 (Kittitas, Grant, Yakima, Benton, Klickitat Counties)

  • 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

June 29, 2022 (Chelan, Douglas, Okanogan Counties)

  • 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

July 13, 2022 (Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, Mason, Grays Harbor Counties)

  • 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

July 20, 2022 Open (in case licensees cannot attend their region’s training)

  • 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

July 27, 2022 Open (in case licensees cannot attend their region’s training)

  • 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

 

Registration

Please register in advance for the meeting. The below link will bring you to the registration page where you may register for the training in your area.

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIkceirrzsiGNHdKIy0nz04zHm5IJo0-wj4

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.