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Ohio Board of Pharmacy Publishes Updated Patient & Caregiver Numbers for April 2022

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OHIO: The State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy published updated patient & caregiver numbers for April 2022. 

These numbers include:

  • 487,571 Recommendations
  • 271,029 Registered patients
    • 17,319 Patients with Veteran Status
    • 18,850 Patients with Indigent Status
    • 1,077 Patients with a Terminal Diagnosis

    141,856 Patients with both an active registration and an active recommendation

  • 260,216 Unique patients who purchased medical marijuana (as reported to OARRS by licensed dispensaries)
  • 29,252 Registered Caregivers

For the full list of program numbers, please visit the Program Update page.

WSLCB Contracts with Security Specialists to Provide Voluntary Retail Store Security Assessments

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WASHINGTON: The Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) has announced that it has contracted with security management firm Setracon, Inc. to provide voluntary, free of charge, on-site security assessments of individual cannabis retailers.

Security Assessments Goal

The initial focus of the physical security and crime prevention assessments will be for the approximately 180 retail stores in Pierce, King, and Snohomish Counties. Choosing to participate is completely voluntary. The goal is to create a positive process to manage security risks at each individual store.

Among the services Setracon, Inc. will provide include:

  1. Working with retailers to assess potential security risks;
  2. Review criminal threats facing the retailer;
  3. Evaluate and document present mitigations and suggest solutions for improvement;
  4. Providing retailers with a report of findings.

The LCB is currently strategizing with the firm to create the process for how retailers may access the services. That sign-up process will be made available soon.

Ongoing Efforts to Promote Public Safety

This is the latest initiative by the LCB to help retailers protect themselves, their employees and their customers from the spate of recent cannabis retail robberies in the Puget Sound corridor. Last week the LCB announced to retailers that it had partnered with the Washington State Crime Prevention Association to provide regional-specific crime prevention training to retailers. In April, Board Chair David Postman provided an update to retailers about LCB efforts with federal and state partners.

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.

WSLCB Board Action: Withdrawal of Proposed Rules for Social Equity in Cannabis Program.

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WASHINGTON: During a regularly scheduled meeting, the Liquor and Cannabis Board took the following action:

Proposed rules filed – public comment period now open:

Withdrew proposed rule-making (CR 102) originally filed as WSR 22-09-036  on April 13, 2022 regarding amendments to existing rules and a new rule section that would establish the Social Equity in Cannabis program in response to recommendations of the Social Equity in Cannabis Task Force, and other statutory requirements.

The agency wishes to engage in additional research and analysis. Staff anticipate presenting an updated rule proposal once that additional research and analysis is completed, tentatively at the June 22, 2022 board meeting. The agency remains committed to implementing a successful Social Equity Program.

  • Withdrawal filed as WSR 22-11-030 on May 11, 2022

Superette Becomes DoorDash Canada’s First Merchant Partner to Launch Cannabis Pickup

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CANADA: Superette, a leading local cannabis retail and lifestyle brand, and DoorDash Technologies Canada, have entered into a partnership to provide cannabis pickup in Toronto, Canada. As the market leader for its differentiated approach to cannabis retail, Superette was a natural choice for DoorDash’s first foray into cannabis. With a proven track record for transforming cannabis retail shopping into an immersive experience, Superette will apply their creative approach to cannabis retail on the DoorDash marketplace app.

Superette and DoorDash Canada both recognize the growing expectations of customers who want to access the best of their neighborhood through the convenience of an app. This partnership will address that growing demand by bringing Superette’s in-store shopping experience onto the DoorDash app. The partnership will give consumers access to curated menus and special collections that reflect the best of the locale in which each store is based.

“We are super excited to be able to partner with DoorDash to continue to transform how consumers engage with cannabis! In true Superette fashion, every element of the experience has been carefully considered with the goal of making our retail experience digital on the DoorDash platform.” – Drummond Munro

Superette embodies DoorDash’s mission to grow and empower local communities and partners with local restaurants and food banks, as well as sourcing from sustainable vendors. This launch brings together the best of both companies: the convenience of pre-ordering and picking up cannabis at your local store,  while also expanding Superette’s reach to DoordDash’s large customer base of DoorDash across Toronto.

DoorDash and Superette will offer a compliant product to ensure that consumers are able to access the best of their neighborhood. Customers are age-gated, so only those customers who confirm that they are aged 19+ can view cannabis retail store information, cannabis products, or anything related to cannabis. Superette will verify IDs and strictly enforce maximum possession amount at the store during pickup.

Columbia Care Announces Launch of West Virginia Market Operations

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Company Leads the Market with Largest-Scale Cultivation in the State

NEW YORK: Columbia Care Inc., one of the largest and most experienced cultivators, manufacturers and providers of cannabis products, today announced it has received approval from the Office of Medical Cannabis, West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, to begin cultivation operations in the state at its facility in Falling Waters. 

We are excited to begin cultivation in West Virginia and be one step closer to providing relief to the patients who need it,” said Nicholas Vita, CEO of Columbia Care. “Our ability to begin operations solidifies our position as a leader in the state. As we begin design of Phase 2 of our buildout, we will add more square feet to our facilities to continue to meet the demand of the medical program in West Virginia.”

As one of only 10 provisionally licensed cultivators in West Virginia, Columbia Care’s facility will utilize the maximum available cultivation space permitted under state regulation. The Company has begun developing all five of its medical dispensaries across West Virginia, which will support the growing community of more than 2,300 enrolled patients in the state’s medical program.

Trulieve Announces Start of Operations in West Virginia

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FLORIDA:Trulieve Cannabis Corp., a leading and top-performing cannabis company based in the United States, announced today that it commenced operations in West Virginia. The Company has begun cultivation at their 100,000 square foot size facility in Huntington, West Virginia.

“West Virginia patients have been waiting on medical cannabis for some time, and we are happy to announce we have planted our first crop,” said Trulieve Chief Executive Officer Kim Rivers.  “As we have demonstrated in our home state of Florida, Trulieve is dedicated to providing meaningful access to patients. We look forward to introducing the Trulieve brand in the state, providing patients with the highest quality products to meet their medical needs.”

As of June 30, 2021, the state of West Virginia has 2,305 patients enrolled in their medical cannabis program, meeting the deadline for three-year registration. Those who register by September 30th will be eligible for two years, and after October 1st will be eligible for a one-year card. For more information visit http://www.medcanwv.org.

Trulieve is committed to investing in the communities it operates in and is approaching West Virginia with the same high level of integrity, focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion, and dedication to a variety of quality products.  Trulieve is currently hiring for numerous roles in West Virginia. Please visit https://www.trulieve.com/community-outreach/careers to learn more.

OLCC Commission Modifies Cannabis License Violations

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Changes reflect industry maturation, OLCC regulatory evolution

Commissioners get glimpse of cannabis equity legislation impact on agency

OREGON:  The Oregon Liquor Control Commission has taken additional action to ensure that recreational marijuana license violations better reflect the current cannabis regulatory environment compared to regulations put in place five years ago when the cannabis industry launched in Oregon. At its regular monthly meeting on April 8, 2021, the Commission also formally approved streamlining changes to processing marijuana licenses, an approach OLCC staff have already begun implementing.

In addition OLCC Commissioners learned about likely impacts affecting the agency if cannabis social equity legislation is approved by the Oregon legislature and signed into law by Governor Brown. Commissioners also approved three stipulated settlements for recreational marijuana license violations.

OLCC regulations approved in 2016, at the onset of adult-use cannabis in Oregon, aligned with guidance in the since rescinded U.S. Department of Justice Cole Memorandum, and served as appropriate guard rails for an emerging industry. The changes just approved by the Commission better reflect the regulatory oversight needed for a maturing industry.

Some of the changes assign a different category to a violation if the violation was unintentional instead of intentional. For instance, now if a surveillance camera fails licensees have more time to inform the OLCC about the problem. Another change eliminates the compounding effect of a single violation when a producer fails to notify the OLCC of a marijuana harvest; previously the OLCC assessed a separate violation each additional day the producer failed to tell regulators.

The Commission also ratified changes in the marijuana license application process designed to speed up approvals. Those changes include boosting the ownership threshold for an applicant from 10 to 20 percent, allowing more flexibility for approving business structure changes, and eliminating the pre-licensing inspection requirement prior to issuing a license.

Oregon House Bill 3112 redresses criminal and economic consequences suffered by Black, LatinX and Indigenous Oregonians related to cannabis criminalization. A member of the coalition supporting The Oregon Cannabis Equity Act outlined for Commissioners how the measure would create economic opportunity for previously disenfranchised populations by reducing regulatory costs, and establishing an equity license for individuals who have previous marijuana criminal convictions, or are from Black, LatinX or Indigenous groups.

HB 3112 would create two other license types: a delivery license and a social (on-premises) consumption license. The delivery license would allow deliveries outside the city or county of a delivery business’ location, and it would also allow delivery to a hotel, both activities that are currently prohibited.

Commissioners also ratified the following violation fines and suspensions based on stipulated settlements (detailed information on specific cases can be found here on the OLCC website):

NEBULA CANNABIS in Portland will pay a $1,155 fine OR serve a seven day recreational marijuana retailer license suspension for one violation.

Licensee is: Haramkhor, LLC; Krishna Kumar, Member.

ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS in Portland will pay a $5,280 fine OR serve a 32-day recreational marijuana retailer license suspension for two violations.

Licensees are: Alternative Solutions 1, Inc.; Donald VanWormer, President/Director/Stockholder; Brenda Lingle, Secretary/Director.

GRIZZILLA FARMS will surrender its marijuana producer license on the date the transfer of ownership of the business is completed or on July 30, 2021, whichever is earlier.

Licensees are: Grizzilla Farms, LLC; Mark Aguilar, Manager/Member.

WSLCB Virtual Listen and Learn Forum Session #2: Rules Regarding Marijuana Vapor Products

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WASHINGTON:  The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) is hosting two Listen and Learn forums to consider establishing new and amending existing sections of rule concerning marijuana definitions and marijuana vapor products. This is the second of two planned sessions. The full text of the draft conceptual rules are provided here.

For this session, we are discussing only draft conceptual rule sections 314-55-550 to implement House Bill 2826 pertaining to marijuana vapor products, and the Marijuana Vapor Product Disclosure Form. The Disclosure Form is provided here.

Please join us virtually on Tuesday, September 29, 2020, from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. via WebEx.

**Attendees wishing to provide feedback are encouraged to participate early in the meeting, as the meeting may end early dependent on level of participation.**

Background
On March 25, 2020, HB 2826 passed the legislature in response to concerns related to marijuana vapor product and vapor related lung illnesses. The bill contained an emergency clause, and in its intent section, found that “recent reports of lung illnesses associated with vapor products” demanded “serious attention by the state in the interest of protecting public health and preventing youth access.

HB 2826 provides that the Board may adopt rules prohibiting any type of marijuana vapor product device, or prohibit the use of any type of additive, solvent, ingredient, or compound in the production and processing of marijuana products, including marijuana vapor products. However, before adopting either of these types of rules, the Board must have determined, following a consultation with the Department of Health (DOH), or any other authority the Board deems appropriate, the device, additive, solvent, ingredient, or compound may pose a risk to public health or youth access.

HB 2826 authorizes the Board to require marijuana processors to submit, under oath, to the Department of Health, a complete list of all constituent substances and the amount and sources of all constituent substances in each marijuana vapor product. HB 2826 also provides that Board may adopt rules prohibiting the use of a characterizing flavor in marijuana vapor products.

Rules are needed to implement the provisions of HB 2826, and to establish definitions for terms including, but not limited to “characterizing flavor,” botanical terpenes,” and others.

The Pre-proposal Statement of Inquiry filed by the Liquor and Cannabis Board may be found here.

Meeting Details
An agenda is attached. Please come prepared to offer feedback and suggestions regarding this rule section.

If you wish to participate virtually, we’d like to offer the following reminders:

  • Virtual participation will be structured to allow one speaker at a time through a hand-raising feature on WebEx.
  • If you experience difficulty with audio or visual elements of virtual participation, please be patient.

Please remember that we are still in the developmental phase of rulemaking, and there are not yet any proposed or final rules amendments. To help you prepare for this listen/learn/contribute forum, please review the guidance document prepared for this and future forums.

Questions? Contact Casey Schaufler at casey.schaufler@lcb.wa.gov

To join the WebEx meeting online:
https://watech.webex.com/watech/j.php?MTID=m208eaad1ec16f31cfccdf6970963e1cb


To join the WebEx meeting via audio conference only:
Dial: (415) 655-0001
Access Code: 372 115 47

Four Things To Know Before Growing Marijuana For Business

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Every business is potentially profitable, if know how to operate it. The most important quality you need to have as a businessman is the love for the work you do. It’s not a myth or quote by some old man. All experienced businessmen believe that you are unlikely to fail if you love your business. The love for CBD is constantly increasing, and so its usage. Most of those people will buy it and some smart people will grow it.

It’s not as difficult as you might think. There are already many people doing the same thing, but the demand is so high that you are unlikely to fail in this industry. You can learn everything online and get to farm a thing you love. You won’t just be doing it for the money. It will have your heart in it, and you will always try to grow the best possible product. Here are a few things you should know before getting started to help you along the way.

Make Sure You Know Everything About Marijuana

While love is important, knowledge has no replacement. You need to learn everything you can about growing marijuana and the dos and don’ts before making any investments. If you think that you will learn on the job, you are not wrong. However, each lesson comes at a cost. That’s why it’s best to learn all these things before taking any step.

Pick the Best Strains

For the best product, you are going to need the best strains. You need two things for that—a reliable best seed bank and full knowledge of its types and qualities. Be sure to choose the strains that best fit your growing space. Choose a seed bank only from the top ones and build long term professional relationship with it to ensure your business grows smoothly.

Know Your Light Needs

Cannabis plants need a lot of light. You have to specially plan their power needs if you are growing in an indoor space. They need 400W to 600W of light for about 18 hours every day. You will need to buy the best quality lights and other electrical equipment like extractor and fans. Many residential power circuits can’t support more than 1500W, so you will have to take decisions accordingly.

Plan Finances in the Business Plan

Every business needs money to run. You will start to get a profit that you can reinvest later, but you will have to arrange a lot of finances at the beginning. It is suggested to create a full-fledged business plan and answer all questions of all categories after doing thorough research and brainstorming. This will help you efficiently plan your finances. Once you know exactly how much money you need, you can get to the struggles of arranging it. You can easily get a loan when you are sure to get the return according to your business plan.