420 with CNW — NYC Ranks First Globally Among Cannabis-Consuming Cities

A recent study reveals that New York City stands as the global leader in marijuana consumption, surpassing all other cities with an annual intake of 62.3 metric tons, equivalent to around 137,000 pounds. Conducted under the title “2023 Global Marijuana Price Index,” this comprehensive research effort was orchestrated by the CFAH, a reputable source for health-related information. The meticulous data collection spanned 140 urban centers worldwide, analyzing marijuana pricing trends.

The CFAH team closely scrutinized nations at the extremes of marijuana consumption, a criterion that aided in narrowing down the selection of cities for the study. The legal framework for marijuana in each geographical area played a pivotal role in this selection process. Ultimately, 140 cities were singled out to present a comprehensive and insightful global marijuana pricing comparison.

The CFAH relied on WHO data and analytics to capture the overall consumption landscape. Meanwhile, the pricing trends within the United States were modeled using the SARIMA method, which effectively accounts for data trends.

In terms of marijuana consumption, NYC differs from its peers by a large margin. Despite Australia’s official prohibition of marijuana, Sydney came in second with a consumption of 45.7 metric tons per year. Los Angeles, with an annual intake of 36 metric tons, took third place. Rome and Chicago, with 24.9 and 21.8 metric tons each, came in fourth and fifth, respectively. Other cities that were included in the study and made it to the top 20 list include Toronto, Houston, Tokyo, Vienna, Prague, Phoenix, Hamburg, Montreal, Vancouver, Melbourne, Uskudar, Philadelphia, Dublin, Annapolis and Denver.

Tokyo has the highest cannabis prices, commanding a rate of $33.8 per gram. Dublin, Ireland, came in second at $22.50, while Tallinn, Estonia, followed closely with $22.10 per gram. In contrast, Montreal, Canada, boasted the most affordable marijuana, priced at a mere $5.90 per gram. Following at $6 and $6.20 per gram, respectively, were Bangalore, India, and Notre Dame, Canada.

While the prevailing assumption often links legality to increased accessibility and subsequently reduced prices, the study highlights a more nuanced reality. Both the priciest and the most budget-friendly marijuana cities maintained a delicate equilibrium between legal and illegal statuses.

Among the ten cities with the highest marijuana prices, six enforced prohibitions while the remaining four legalized marijuana. Likewise, the cities offering the least expensive marijuana displayed a minor divergence, with six embracing legality and four upholding its illegal status.

These high marijuana consumption rates create openings for entities such as Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX) to do brisk business supplying cultivation equipment to the enterprises growing this marijuana for sale on the market.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/ACTX

About CNW420

CNW420 spotlights the latest developments in the rapidly evolving cannabis industry through the release of two informative articles each business day. Our concise, informative content serves as a gateway for investors interested in the legalized cannabis sector and provides updates on how regulatory developments may impact financial markets. Articles are released each business day at 4:20 a.m. and 4:20 p.m. Eastern – our tribute to the time synonymous with cannabis culture. If marijuana and the burgeoning industry surrounding it are on your radar, CNW420 is for you! Check back daily to stay up-to-date on the latest milestones in the fast -changing world of cannabis.

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CannabisNewsBreaks – Sustain SoCal Announces IBN as Media Sponsor for Upcoming Annual Water Solution Event

Sustain SoCal, a nonprofit organization, is partnering with IBN (InvestorBrandNetwork), an innovative corporate communications firm and content distributor, for its upcoming annual Water Solutions 8 (“WS8”) event. IBN will serve as media sponsor for the water solutions series, which is returning for the eighth year. The in-person event is scheduled for Aug. 24, 2023, in Irvine, California. According to the announcement, Sustain SoCal has built a reputation “as the leading information hub, advocacy platform and educational forum to improve the discourse and actions on economic progress and sustainable environment in Southern California and the surrounding regions.” This year’s Water Solutions event features an array of presentations and discussions exploring real-life strategies and innovations in reuse, desal, stormwater, energy nexus, contamination, investor tends, policy and big data. In its capacity as media sponsor, IBN will provide content distribution, syndicated placement, content curation, press releases and optimized social media strategies, all designed to increase awareness of the event and strengthen recognition of expert speakers, participating companies and the event itself.

To attend the event, visit https://cnw.fm/3n0Vi

To view the full press release, visit https://cnw.fm/MvhcY

About Sustain SoCal

Sustain SoCal, a nonprofit organization, accelerates sustainability and economic growth through innovation, collaboration and education in southern California. The organization has a 10-year history of exploring and implementing pragmatic, real-world solutions to the challenges created by growth, change and inefficiency. The company conducts conferences, workshops and networking events that lead to initiatives that positively impact our region’s economic progress and sustainability. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.SustainSoCal.org.

About CannabisNewsWire

CannabisNewsWire (CNW) is an information service that provides (1) access to our news aggregation and syndication servers, (2) CannabisNewsBreaks that summarize corporate news and information, (3) enhanced press release services, (4) social media distribution and optimization services, and (5) a full array of corporate communication solutions. As a multifaceted financial news and content distribution company with an extensive team of contributing journalists and writers, CNW is uniquely positioned to best serve private and public companies that desire to reach a wide audience of investors, consumers, journalists and the general public. CNW has an ever-growing distribution network of more than 5,000 key syndication outlets across the country. By cutting through the overload of information in today’s market, CNW brings its clients unparalleled visibility, recognition and brand awareness. CNW is where news, content and information converge.

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CannabisNewsBreaks – Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (NASDAQ: LEXX) Reports Results from Human Oral Nicotine Study Evaluating DehydraTECH(TM)-Nicotine

Lexaria Bioscience (NASDAQ: LEXX, LEXXW), a global innovator in drug-delivery platforms, is reporting results from its 2023 human oral nicotine study NIC-H22-1. The study compared Lexaria’s DehydraTECH(TM)-Nicotine tobacco-free pouch to two world-leading brands: ZYN(R) and on!(R) ZYN(R) is from Swedish Match and on! comes from Altria Group Inc. subsidiary Helix Innovations LLC. According to the report, DehydraTECH-Nicotine reached maximum blood saturation levels faster than either of the two other brands. In addition, superior subjective performance characteristics were observed in the study. Specifically, Lexaria’s oral nicotine pouch was significantly faster in the median time required to reach comparable maximum nicotine concentrations within the bloodstream than both on! and ZYN, 15% faster and 20.2% faster respectively. According to the announcement, the next step for the company is to seek to commercialize DehydraTECH-Nicotine with suitable industry partners based on its clinical and intellectual property advancements.

“With just five short years of R&D and product development, Lexaria has been able to develop an oral nicotine product that meets or exceeds the performance of the world’s leading existing brands,” said Lexaria Bioscience CEO Chris Bunka in the press release. “This is a remarkable achievement that speaks to the capabilities of the DehydraTECH technology and also to the Lexaria R&D team, working ardently with scarce resources relative to global multi-billion-dollar behemoths. We’ve always had an overwhelming determination and fierce conviction that we can make the world a better place and reduce the carnage caused by smoked cigarettes, and now we have human study data that demonstrates advantages of DehydraTECH processed nicotine relative to the competitive landscape.”

To view the full press release, visit https://cnw.fm/nKBWn

About Lexaria Bioscience Corp.

Lexaria Bioscience’s patented drug-delivery technology, DehydraTECH(TM), improves the way active pharmaceutical ingredients (“APIs”) enter the bloodstream through oral delivery. Since 2016, DehydraTECH has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to increase bioabsorption with cannabinoids, antiviral drugs, PDE5 inhibitors and more. DehydraTECH has also evidenced an ability to deliver some drugs more effectively across the blood brain barrier. Lexaria operates a licensed in-house research laboratory and holds a robust intellectual property portfolio with 35 patents granted and many patents pending worldwide. For more information about the company, please visit www.LexariaBioscience.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to LEXX are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/LEXX

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420 with CNW — DEA Chief Promises to Ask DHS for Cannabis Scheduling Review Timeline

Anne Milgram, chief of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), has promised to speak to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services about the timeline for conducting a review of marijuana’s status at the federal level. Milgram made the statement during a recent DEA oversight meeting where she was questioned by the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance.

Unlike most industries, cannabis exists in a precarious landscape where dozens of states allow medical and recreational marijuana-related commerce, but federal law still considers cannabis as a Schedule I controlled substance. This federal classification presents several challenges to companies operating within the state-legal cannabis industry, including limited access to banking services and financial aid.

After being pressed by Representative Matt Gaetz on marijuana’s federal status during the DEA meeting, Milgram told committee members that her agency still hadn’t received an official timeline for the review of cannabis’s classification at the federal level but added that she would ask for a timeline. The DEA head noted that the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) had not provided the DEA with its review of marijuana’s federal classification and recommendation for action. Without the DHHS’s review and recommendation, the DEA cannot launch an internal evaluation process that would pave the way to potentially rescheduling marijuana.

Cannabis’s status at the federal level has consistently been a thorn in the sides of recreational and medical cannabis operators in America’s state-legal marijuana sector for years. Federal law classifies marijuana as a controlled substance with no medical application even though more than 30 states allow the therapeutic use of marijuana and a growing body of literature has shown that cannabis has several medical applications.

This disconnect between federal law, state law and scientific literature has prompted reform activists and lawmakers to ask for a review of federal cannabis policy.

The drug’s status at the federal level also limits the industry’s access to banking services and forces companies working in the space to operate on a cash-only basis, increasing their risk of violent robberies and making it harder for them to meet their tax obligations. Furthermore, Gaetz explained, federal cannabis prohibition significantly limits further research into cannabis as accessing scheduled drugs for research is incredibly difficult.

Gaetz also talked about the connection between state-level legalization of cannabis and decreased opioid prescription rates and asked the DEA head to consider the effect cannabis legalization has on opioid prescription rates while reviewing federal cannabis prohibition.

While the cannabis industry remains anxious to know the outcome of the federal marijuana scheduling review, other entities such as IGC Pharma Inc. (NYSE American: IGC) may not be overly bothered. This is because drug development from cannabis and other substances has a stable federal regulatory framework that interested parties adhere to in their bids to bring new formulations onto the national and international market.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to IGC Pharma Inc. (NYSE American: IGC) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/IGC

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CannabisNewsBreaks – Sustain SoCal Announced as Host of Eighth Annual Water Solutions Gathering

Sustain SoCal, a nonprofit organization, will host this year’s Water Solutions (“WS8”) event; the in-person event is slated for Aug. 24, 2023, and will be held in Irvine, California. According to the announcement, Water Solutions 8 is a premier gathering that focuses on exploring real-life strategies and innovations for the reuse, desal, stormwater, energy nexus, contamination, investor and policy trends and big data in southern California and the surrounding region. The event agenda features well-known thought leaders and experts who are recognized as specialists in the design and implementation of practical solutions to ensure sufficient and affordable supplies of water in the region. Attendees will enjoy keynote addresses, presentations, networking sessions and audience discussions. In addition, attendees will have opportunities to interact directly with speakers, pose questions, ask about best practices, and develop a better understanding of the opportunities and challenges in the current business, policy and regulatory landscape. “We are very pleased to be able to advance the conversation on this crucial matter, catalyze the development of an ecosystem in our region, and support technological, policy and legislative shifts towards building out capacities to better manage this issue,” said Sustain SoCal president and CEO Scott Kitcher in the press release. “At Sustain SoCal, we are thrilled to be bringing speakers with a deep well of expertise in southern California and surrounding regions.”

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To view the full press release, visit https://cnw.fm/ORGi4

About Sustain SoCal

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420 with CNW — Marijuana Companies Columbia Care, Cresco Labs Announce Termination of Proposed Merger

Marijuana producers Columbia Care Inc. and Cresco Labs have announced the termination of a $2 billion merger between the two companies. First announced in March 2022, the merger would have seen Cresco Labs buy Columbia Care for $2 billion in an historic deal that would have resulted in the largest marijuana producer in the country. Executives from Cresco noted at the time that the resulting company had the potential to be as large as Johnnie Walker or Coca-Cola and dominate the increasingly lucrative cannabis industry.

The merger was a major bet on the growth and future of the cannabis industry. However, it appears that executives from both companies don’t see the merit of making any big bets in the sector. Cresco Labs CEO Charles Bachtell said that due to recent developments in America’s state-legal marijuana industry, company leaders terminated the merger to protect the company’s and shareholders’ long-term interests.

Cannabis may be generating billions of dollars in revenue per year, but players in the sector regularly deal with a myriad of issues that threaten their profitability and make it incredibly hard to operate in the cannabis market. For instance, due to federal prohibition, the sector has barely any access to financial institutions and cannot rely on banks to facilitate contactless payments. This has led to many cannabis operators relying on a cash-only basis and increased the risk of violent robberies in retail cannabis establishments.

Limited efforts by lawmakers to pass cannabis banking legislation coupled with a recent announcement from MasterCard banning the use of its cards for cannabis-based transactions means that cannabis operators won’t be facing a reprieve from their banking-related issues any time soon.

Investing in a major merger at a time when the industry has limited access to a critical resource such as banking and is still waiting for congressional reform (which could take years), doesn’t seem like a good idea in the near-term.

Cresco Labs and Columbia Care have also discontinued a deal with entertainment mogul Sean Combs to invest an estimated $185 million in the acquisition of divested operations in Illinois, Massachusetts and New York. The two companies said that they will face no termination-related fees or penalties as the decision to terminate the merger was mutual.

The cancellation of their merger underscores the weaknesses currently facing America’s struggling cannabis industry.

According to Bachtell, the industry is currently going through a “tough economic time” and Cresco would be better served focusing on its core business. These tough economic conditions could also be impacting the operations of numerous ancillary entities, such as Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX), which do significant business with marijuana operators.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/ACTX

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CannabisNewsBreaks — Boston Hemp Inc. Notes ‘Major Milestone’ as THCa Diamonds Available Nationwide

Boston Hemp, a leading provider of premium hemp products, is releasing its highly anticipated THCa diamonds nationwide. A pure and potent form of tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, the THCa diamonds offer powerful therapeutic properties and are an attractive option for individuals looking for a stronger, more effective form of hemp extract. Calling the release of the THCa diamonds a “major milestone,” the company noted that the product is available through nationwide distribution; specific purchase locations can be found on the company website. Boston Hemp makes its THCa diamonds from the highest-quality hemp plants, which are grown using sustainable, organic farming practices and then carefully selected for their cannabinoid content; the extraction process is tested to ensure the purest and most potent product possible. “We are thrilled to be able to bring our THCa diamonds to customers across the country,” said Boston Hemp CEO Brandon Gadles in the press release. “Our team has worked tirelessly to develop a product that exceeds expectations in terms of purity, potency and overall quality. We believe our THCa diamonds, as well as our THCa flower, will be a game-changer for anyone seeking a powerful and effective hemp extract.”

To view the full press release, visit https://cnw.fm/GUG69

About Boston Hemp Inc.

Boston Hemp started in 2018 after Brandon Gadles and his friend, Kevin Coyle, saw the benefits of CBD in their parents’ pain-management issues while battling critical illnesses. Gadles’s mother was coping with chemotherapy’s side effects while fighting stage 4 lung cancer, while Coyle’s father had been struggling with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (“ALS”). After the company was established, Gadles’s father was also diagnosed with cancer and began to use CBD. Even though Coyle’s father lost his life to ALS, the two founders saw the positive effect of CBD products and established Boston Hemp to provide the same products that helped their three parents through some of life’s most challenging ordeals. Boston Hemp’s farms strive to grow the best CBD-rich hemp in the country. The company also searches out and procures the best products on the market that are not made in-house to ensure it offers high-quality products that match its own growing and manufacturing standards. Each of Boston Hemp’s shipments includes access to the full lab report of every product with complete COA statistics including CBD, Delta 8 and 9 THC, HHC, THCo and THCa, as well as the origin of the product. To learn more about the company, visit www.BostonHempInc.com.

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Lexaria Bioscience Corp. (NASDAQ: LEXX) Celebrates ‘Strategically Important’ New Patent Granted in the US

Lexaria recently celebrated the receipt of its 35th overall granted patent worldwide when the USPTO recently awarded US patent #11,700,875, titled “Compositions and Methods For Sublingual Delivery of Nicotine”
The company described the new patent as “strategically important”
The patent positions the company to tap into the growing oral nicotine market and offers protection in one of the world’s leading oral nicotine markets
This patent could also lead to additional subsequent patents from within this family
Lexaria’s DehydraTECH-nicotine formulation is patent granted for oral nicotine delivery in the US, Canada, and Australia

When Lexaria Bioscience (NASDAQ: LEXX), a global innovator in drug delivery platforms, announced receipt of an Australian patent on March 8, 2022 (https://cnw.fm/41v9c), its resolve to continue expanding its intellectual property (“IP”), particularly within the oral nicotine sector, received a significant boost. The then-new Australian patent had expanded upon the company’s IP rights to apply its DehydraTECH(TM) technology platform to most oral forms of nicotine. Still, the company intended to continue growing its existing portfolio, expanding IP protection to multiple other jurisdictions.

Motivated, Lexaria filed a new patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) shortly thereafter on March 22. And, more than a year later, the application has proven successful, with the company recently celebrating the receipt of the patent granted, US patent #11,700,875, titled “Compositions and Methods For Sublingual Delivery of Nicotine” (https://cnw.fm/YXHoS).

The new US patent covers various forms and sources of nicotine, including nicotine benzoate, nicotine polacrilex, nicotine citrate, nicotine detartrate, and many others, for use in sublingual delivery formats like oral pouches. And while the title alludes to sublingual delivery, the patent document published by the USPTO discloses that “the terms ‘sublingual’ and ‘buccal’ are used interchangeably… Therefore, the disclose compositions can be absorbed in any manner chosen by the user” (https://cnw.fm/8tkwr).

The new US patent is remarkable and “strategically important” in many ways. First, it is the company’s 35th overall granted patent worldwide and the 13th granted in the United States. Second, a total of 30 claims were awarded within this patent, the highest number of claims accepted by the USPTO in the company’s existing portfolio. And with researchers agreeing that patents with a higher number of claims are better protected and can be an important measure of a patent’s value (https://cnw.fm/aL8L9), the claims increase the value of the new patent and perhaps even the company’s entire IP portfolio.

Third, and as the company wrote in its March 2022 press release, “At times in Lexaria’s history, the granting of a first patent in a new patent family has led to additional subsequent patents from within that same family,” the new US patent could lead to the award of patents within this family in other countries. In fact, this statement was confirmed recently, albeit with a different patent family. In June, Lexaria announced it had been granted a new Canadian patent under Patent Family #8: “Compositions Infused with Nicotine Compounds and Methods of Use Thereof,” the second within this family after the Australian patent granted last year (https://cnw.fm/Brwvw).

Moreover, the new patent grants IP protection within the United States, one of the world’s leading oral nicotine markets, according to an analysis by the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (https://cnw.fm/SgsJR). The US nicotine pouches market is projected to grow at a 33% CAGR between 2023 and 2030 (https://cnw.fm/Rgh6F).

But beyond the United States, and given that the company’s DehydraTECH-nicotine formulation is also patent granted for oral nicotine delivery in Canada and Australia, with numerous applications pending in other jurisdictions, Lexaria is ideally positioned to tap into the growing global oral nicotine market. Analysts at Market Research project the global nicotine pouches market to grow at a 13.4% CAGR between 2023 and 2029, reaching a value of $11.91 billion at the end of the forecast period, up from $4.69 billion in 2022 (https://cnw.fm/aRnDl).

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.LexariaBioscience.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to LEXX are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/LEXX

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420 with CNW — Idaho Campaigners Continue Gathering Signatures to Put Cannabis on Next Year’s Ballot

In the border regions between Idaho and Oregon, there exist stark differences in cannabis legislation. While Oregon allows for the legal purchase of cannabis, Idaho stands as one of the few states that have yet to adopt any form of legalized cannabis. Amid this backdrop, an organization known as Kind Idaho is firmly devoted to championing cannabis’s potential as a medicinal solution.

Led by Joe Evans, the treasurer of Kind Idaho, the political action committee and nonprofit organization, founded in 2021, is unwaveringly committed to the cause of medical cannabis legalization. Evans clarifies that the group’s sole focus is on medical cannabis as opposed to advocating for full decriminalization or casual use for ailments such as headaches.

Recently, Representative John Vander Woude introduced the Idaho Medical Marijuana Act, a narrow proposal aiming to spark discussions heading into 2024. The act, however, met criticism from Evans and his supporters because it offers extremely limited access to medical cannabis, restricting it to ingestible forms such as chewables, tablets, pills or droplets, with a maximum of 10 mg of tetrahydrocannabinol.

In contrast, the citizen initiative put forth by Kind Idaho presents an alternative path to medical cannabis. The initiative’s objective is to shield Idahoans suffering from chronic diseases, conditions or terminal illnesses from arrest and penalties, granting them legal access to medical cannabis.

With a challenging task ahead, Kind Idaho is currently focused on gathering signatures for its petition. Group members aim to collect approximately 63,000 signatures from registered voters by April 14, 2024, to earn a spot on the ballot. Their efforts are particularly significant considering Idaho’s status as one of the five states without any form of legal cannabis.

Addressing concerns that legalizing medical cannabis might fuel drug-related problems, Evans emphasizes that Idaho already spends millions each week on border town dispensaries. Instead, he highlights the pressing need to help individuals grappling with serious medical issues, including cancer patients enduring painful treatments and seeking nonaddictive alternatives to manage their pain effectively.

Evans firmly believes that offering this alternative treatment is essential, as it allows patients to exercise their right to explore viable options beyond dangerous pain-management programs. His campaign remains undeterred by those seeking recreational cannabis, as their primary goal is to assist those genuinely in need of medical relief. For Evans, the urgency of this cause is personal, with countless individuals in his life requiring access to medical cannabis as a safer and more effective solution than their current prescriptions.

The struggles that some states such as Idaho go through to have marijuana legalized for medical purposes can partially be addressed if more companies such as IGC Pharma Inc. (NYSE American: IGC) invest in developing pharmaceutical-grade formulations approved by the FDA so that the patients who need these treatments can obtain them through the mainstream medical system.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to IGC Pharma Inc. (NYSE American: IGC) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/IGC

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420 with CNW — Concerns Raised as Massachusetts Announces Marijuana Testing Overseer

The background of Massachusetts’ marijuana testing director has sparked concern among industry observers, who are already cautious about the state’s treatment of marijuana companies. James Kocis assumed the role of director of testing on the state’s Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) in October 2022, following years of experience in the marijuana testing sector.

During a recent legislative hearing, a lobbyist representing local testing labs criticized the CCC for being unaccountable and unpredictable. Additionally, a testing industry executive raised concerns about “a significant issue” of marijuana businesses seeking favorable lab results, questioning the wisdom of hiring a former lab employee to address the situation because it may lead to potential conflicts.

Prior to his appointment as the state’s marijuana testing director, Kocis held a managerial position at Green Analytics, a marijuana lab in Framingham. Now Green Analytics’ practices have faced scrutiny, contributing to a broader problem involving inflated THC results and the practice of “lab shopping.”

The lab has undergone multiple name changes and was previously affiliated with the national testing brand Steep Hill Labs until earlier this year when the latter announced its exit from the marijuana testing industry. In September, Kocis stepped down from Green Analytics, which was operating under the name Steep Hill at the time. Subsequently, he joined the CCC the following month.

The CCC defended the hiring decision through a spokesperson, emphasizing Kocis’ valuable industry experience, which rendered him a competent candidate for the position. The spokesperson asserted that Kocis was fully transparent during the hiring process and has since severed all financial and professional ties with his former employers and companies.

The issue of inflated THC numbers at testing labs has been a longstanding concern nationwide, with allegations that some labs appease dispensaries and producers by providing higher THC percentages. The lack of standardized procedures and limited state oversight in Massachusetts led to marijuana product labels overstating THC levels by up to one-third, according to an investigation conducted by CommonWealth magazine in December 2022. The magazine also uncovered instances of contaminated products being sold in dispensaries.

Speaking anonymously, a number of observers and participants in the Massachusetts marijuana sector said Green Analytics was well-known for being a lab where a marijuana company could obtain favorable results.

Massachusetts lawmakers are presently deliberating the introduction of additional oversight for state marijuana regulators. Two bills proposed earlier in the year in the state legislature would establish an independent auditor, separate from CCC Executive Director Shawn Collins, to investigate claims concerning the agency.

While these concerns about the official appointed are debated, the industry is likely to take shape, and entities with operations such as those of Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX) are likely to do brisk business in this budding industry.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://cnw.fm/ACTX

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