420 with CNW – Utah Picks Eight Applicants for Medical Marijuana Cultivation Licenses

The Department of Agriculture and Food in Utah has announced that it has selected eight applicants who will receive medical marijuana cultivation licenses as the state marches towards the implementation of a decision that voters approved during the elections last year but legislators later modified the ballot measure in what was called a compromise law.

The selected medical marijuana cultivation license applicants are Dragonfly Greenhouse, Oakbridge Greenhouses, Harvest of Utah, Standard Wellness Utah, Tryke Companies Utah, True North of Utah, Wholesome Ag, and Zion Cultivars.

The government’s statement unveiling the eight companies revealed that four of those eight companies have been operating in the state (conducting other business) while the other four had ties to Utah even if they were from outside the state.

In accordance with federal law, all the cultivation facilities will be located within Utah and all but one of the licensees will locate their grow facility in a rural part of the state.

The Department of Agriculture and Food spent hundreds of hours scrutinizing the 81 applicants who had expressed interest in growing medical marijuana in the state. The decision to select only eight growers, instead of the ten allowed by law, was made in order to avert a situation in which the supply of medical marijuana products would exceed the demand for those products. The eight growers were sufficient to create healthy competition and variety in the product offerings.

The chosen growers now have to undergo background checks before they are awarded the licenses.

Among other requirements, the application process required interested companies to have at least $250,000 to cover any issues that could arise while the company was growing medical marijuana in the state.

The licensed companies will be tasked with meeting the medical marijuana demand of approximately 42,000 patients that may enroll on the medical marijuana program during its first four years of existence. This number was arrived at after the University of Utah conducted a study to estimate the likely beneficiaries of the program.

Under Utah law, the cultivators who choose to grow marijuana indoors will be restricted to a maximum of 100,000 square feet of grow space while those who opt to grow the crop outdoors will be allowed to use a maximum of four acres. Depending on the spacing used, an acre can accommodate anywhere from 1,500 to 3,000 cannabis plants.

The law passed by legislators just days after the provisions of the ballot measure approved by voters took effect in December 2018 removed the permission that had been given to certain categories of patients to grow a maximum of six plants.

Under Prop 2, people living beyond a defined minimum distance from a medical marijuana dispensary would be permitted to grow their own medical marijuana. This provision was vehemently opposed by different groups, such as law enforcement, and it was removed by a law passed during a special session of the legislature.

Now that cultivators have been selected, industry analysts believe that the entire industry, including players like Sproutly Canada Inc. (CSE: SPR) (OTCQB: SRUTF) (FRA: 38G) and SinglePoint Inc. (OTCQB: SING), will be pleased that qualified patients could soon be able to treat their ailments using medical marijuana.

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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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420 with CNW – Possession Limits Increased for New Jersey Medical Marijuana Patients

Last week, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill that will expand the medical marijuana program of the state. One of the notable changes in the bill is that patients who could only possess a medical cannabis supply that can last 90 days can now legally possess a year’s worth of medical marijuana supplies.

This change has been applauded by pro-marijuana advocates because it will reduce the inconveniences and costs associated with making frequent trips to a dispensary, especially for patients and caregivers will don’t stay near a provisioning center and those who have mobility challenges.

The number of medical cannabis producers has also been increased, This was in response to complaints about high product prices and a limited variety of medical marijuana products in dispensaries. It is hoped that the introduction of additional producers will make prices more competitive and it will also drive innovation so that patients have more variety to select from.

The new law also increases the number of medical conditions for which patients can qualify for medical marijuana permits, a move that analysts believe was welcome news to the entire industry including players like Sugarmade Inc. (OTCQB: SGMD) and Sproutly Canada Inc. (CSE: SPR) (OTCQB: SRUTF) (FRA: 38G) since a potentially bigger market was created for the medical marijuana products of the cannabis companies within the state. In the past, only sufferers of debilitating conditions could get a medical marijuana license. With the signing of the new law, other conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain, cancer, opioid use disorder, glaucoma and epilepsy can qualify a patient to use medical marijuana.

Home delivery of medical marijuana will become a reality once this law takes effect. This is seen as making medical marijuana more accessible for people in areas that don’t have a dispensary. More jobs will also be created for those who participate in the home delivery service.

Since coming into office, Gov. Murphy has so far expanded the medical marijuana program twice. Under his administration, the number of patients has grown to 49,000 from just 15,000 during the time of his predecessor (Gov. Chris Christie). Now that more qualifying conditions have been added, the number of patients will increase even further.

While pro-marijuana advocates are happy that the medical marijuana program has been expanded, this law comes at a time when people are still disappointed that recreational marijuana wasn’t legalized as had widely been expected during the legislative session that ended recently.

The lack of sufficient support for the legalization bill in the state senate made legislative leaders to call off a vote on the bill, and frantic negotiations last month couldn’t secure the needed votes. It now appears that the issue may go to voters during the elections next year or the next midterms.

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420 with CNW – USDA Reveals Deadline for the Release of Hemp Regulations

A notice from the U.S. Department of Agriculture published in the Federal Register at the beginning of this week provides insights regarding the department’s plans to release rules that will govern the newly legalized hemp industry.

Of particular importance is the August self-imposed deadline when the final draft rules will be released by USDA. Previously, the department had been noncommittal about when it would finalize these rules. They would simply say that the rules will come out in time for the planting season of 2020.

A USDA spokesperson revealed that the August deadline reflects the best-case scenario, but the process of approving those rules will determine the actual date when they would be published in the Federal Register. This approval process seemingly entails getting the nod from other sister federal agencies.

Under the 2018 Farm Bill, states were empowered to pass their own hemp laws and submit them to the USDA for approval before they start being implemented. So far, the Department of Agriculture has revealed the basics of what they expect to see in the state regulations submitted for approval.

Those requirements include product testing standards, annual inspection and certification requirements, disposal procedures as well as law enforcement compliance measures.

These updates come approximately half a year from the time hemp was descheduled by the federal government with the enactment of the Farm Bill of 2018. There has been sustained pressure on the Department of Agriculture to release its rules but the department had remained evasive on when that would happen.

The notice in the Federal Register therefore comes as good news to all interested parties since it shows that the department has been busy ever since it revealed in March that it had started a process through which information would be gathered to shape the rulemaking exercise.

Until the rules are published, it will be hard for large-scale cultivation of hemp to begin across the country. This is because any company or individual wishing to grow or process the crop must adhere to the rather restrictive hemp rules in the 2014 Farm Act which only catered for research-focused hemp activities.

As the USDA works on the draft rules, they have provided clarification that it is now legal to import hemp seeds, transport hemp products across state lines and also submit intellectual property applications to the department even before the rules are released.

Marijuana industry analysts believe that the entire industry, including companies like Sproutly Canada Inc. (CSE: SPR) (OTCQB: SRUTF) (FRA: 38G) and SinglePoint Inc. (OTCQB: SING), should be relieved now that the veil of uncertainty has been removed regarding when hemp industry rules would be released by the USDA.

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420 with CNW – Medical Marijuana Dispensary Introduces its Own Credit Cards to Reduce Cash Transactions

Columbia Care, a medical marijuana company, has rolled out its own credit card as the cannabis industry struggles to find alternatives to having to deal in cash only.

Just like banks, credit card providers have been reluctant to embrace the marijuana industry because of fears that they would be sanctioned by the federal government since marijuana remains an illegal substance federally.

This has compelled most dispensaries to accept only cash, with ATMs being a frequent sight on the premises of dispensaries. Some dispensaries have designed systems which accept ATM or debit cards for making payments for purchases made.

Columbia Care has been running trials of its credit card in New York and it now plans to roll out this system in Chicago where it has a dispensary within the Jefferson Park neighborhood. Nicolas Vita, the company’s CEO says that patients spend approximately $144 each time they visit the dispensary in Chicago.

He added that the introduction of the credit cards will make it easier for patients to access the medical marijuana products that they need. He singled out patients who have mobility challenges and those who travel long distances to find a dispensary as some of the patients who may buy more products once they have the credit card. Buying more during a single visit reduces the frequency of making trips to purchase replenishments.

To get the credit card, patrons will be asked to use the tablet in the dispensary to fill a form. The credit card will then be processed quickly and the dispensary client will be in position to use that card during that same visit.

Columbia Care revealed that it is working hard to secure intermediaries and financial institutions in all the 12 states where the company has operations. Those partnerships will make it possible for dispensary clients to use the credit card in those other states.

Unlike other credit cards, the one issued by Columbia Care will not attract any fees. Its annual interest rate (15.99 percent) is also lower than the industry average (17.73 percent).

When the credit card was tested in New York, customers bought approximately 18 percent more products when using the credit card when compared to the purchases made when paying cash or using an ATM or debit card.

Other attempts have been made to find alternative ways to receive payments, but some of those methods border on illegality. For example, some companies accept credit cards but the purchases are reflected on credit card statements as spending at a florist’s while other companies ask clients to buy a gift card and then use that gift card to buy marijuana products.

Meanwhile, there has been a recent push by different groups, such as Attorneys General and banking associations, urging Congress to enact legislation bringing marijuana industry money into the banking system.

It would be interesting to know what industry players like Sugarmade Inc. (OTCQB: SGMD) and Sproutly Canada Inc. (CSE: SPR) (OTCQB: SRUTF) (FRA: 38G) think about some of the unorthodox payment methods that some marijuana companies have resorted to.

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420 with CNW – 4 Roadblocks in the Way of Marijuana Franchises

Franchising is one of the giant economic forces in the U.S. given the fact that this business model generated approximately $451 billion in 2018. Are we about to see cannabis enterprises built upon this model? Anyone intending to enter cannabis franchising needs to think about and find remedies to the following major bottlenecks.

Conflicts Between State and Federal Laws

Despite the legalization of marijuana for recreational or medical use in various states across the U.S., cannabis remains a Schedule 1 substance at the federal level. This creates major legal issues for businesses which wish to operate franchises in the cannabis industry. For example, a franchise owner cannot ship products across state lines in order to sell the excess products from one state in another state where supply is limited. This makes the possibility of prices nose-diving a real concern since gluts inevitably result in plummeting prices.

Tax Issues

According to the federal tax code, marijuana businesses aren’t eligible for any deductibles on the costs that they incur during the execution of their business activities. For example, marijuana businesses cannot deduct the cost of buying business premises and yet other enterprises which don’t transact in Schedule 1 substances can claim tax deductions on this business expense. These tax disadvantages mean that cannabis businesses will struggle to be profitable unless they can find ways to be super-efficient regarding non-deductible expenses.

Limited Consumer Awareness

Marijuana has been prohibited for long and certain stereotypes about the substance still exist even where prohibition has ended. Cannabis franchisees would therefore have to do a lot to educate their prospective customers in order to make sales on a consistent basis. This added challenge of performing customer education on an ongoing basis isn’t faced by franchises in other industries, such as the fast foods industry.

Limited Investor Interest

Currently, investors aren’t too eager to put their money in an industry which still faces legal uncertainties. This explains why US-based marijuana companies are generally undervalued when compared to their Canadian-based counterparts, for example. While this limited investor appeal exists, any cannabis franchisers that set up shop may struggle to attract investors unless the legal space changes for the better.

In the true entrepreneurial spirit, every challenge presents a business opportunity. The cannabis franchise space is therefore open for the taking for those individuals who devise ways to bring a franchise concept into the cannabis space in a way that ensures that investors will earn a return despite the challenges above. Sproutly Canada Inc. (CSE: SPR) (OTCQB: SRUTF) (FRA: 38G) and SinglePoint Inc. (OTCQB: SING) hope that enterprising individuals will take up this challenge and devise franchises which will spur the growth of the cannabis industry even more.

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420 with CNW – Physician Shortage May Cause Australian Medical Cannabis Program to Fail

While medical marijuana is legal in Australia, many patients are finding it difficult to find physicians who are willing to prescribe the substance. This has forced those patients to resort to illicit sources of medical marijuana in order to alleviate their symptoms.

Qualifying patients, such as Trembath Forster who lives in Canberra, say that they have to travel hundreds of miles to access a doctor who is licensed and willing to prescribe medical marijuana. Such trips are not only financially strenuous but also nearly impossible for patients with mobility challenges.

Trembath Forster reveals that she and other patients have encountered ignorance and outright arrogance when they approached many local doctors about a prescription for medical marijuana. Such doctors have no qualms about putting the patients on any strong opioids or prescription medications available, but they become hostile or evasive when the subject of medical cannabis is raised.

Australian law imposes stringent conditions which must be met before a patient can use medical marijuana. First, the patient must find a doctor who has been licensed to prescribe “unapproved therapeutic goods.”

For a physician to get such a license, he or she must have undergone extensive training and acquired expertise in the condition/disease from which the patient is suffering. The physician should also have undergone training on how to use the “unapproved therapeutic goods” to treat the specific condition for which the patient is seeking medical marijuana as a remedy.

The licensed physician is also expected to monitor the condition of the patient while that patient is using medical marijuana. In other words, the physician is responsible for what happens to the patient as a result of that patient’s consumption of medical marijuana.

Benjamin Graham, the Executive Director of a non-profit called Chronic Pain Australia, explains that those stringent conditions could be to blame for the brick wall patients run into when they talk to their GP about medical marijuana. In Trembath Forster’s case, her GP was sympathetic but lacked the license to prescribe medical marijuana.

Graham added that most patients his organization interacts with say that their GPs are either ignorant about medical marijuana or they are biased against the treatment option. He has hope that as more patients request for medical marijuana, more doctors will undergo the needed training in order to get the license from the Therapeutic Goods Administration of the Australian government’s Department of Health.

Sproutly Canada Inc. (CSE: SPR) (OTCQB: SRUTF) (FRA: 38G) and SinglePoint Inc. (OTCQB: SING) hope that the authorities in Australia come to the aid of the patients and conduct campaigns to register more physicians on the medical marijuana program. This will make it easier for the patients who desperately need medical marijuana to get a prescription for it.

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420 with CNW – Patients Still Face Challenges Accessing Medical Marijuana, Toronto Conference Attendees Reveal

One would imagine that once a country or jurisdiction legalizes medical cannabis, then the patients there will find it easy to access prescription medical cannabis products. Sadly, this isn’t the case as panelists and attendees of the Medical Cannabis Conference in Toronto last week revealed.

The first major challenge that medical cannabis patients face is the high prices of products. A clear example of this is in Canada which has had medical marijuana since 2001.

Gerald Major, who is the president of a medical cannabis advocacy group in Canada called Canadians for Fair Access to Medical Cannabis, revealed during the conference that the legalization of recreational marijuana in Canada has made matters worse for patients taking medical cannabis.

For example, the high taxes imposed on recreational marijuana have increased the cost of medical marijuana as well. Additionally, the supply shortages in the recreational segment have also reduced inventory for the medical cannabis retailers, and this has forced patients to underdose or go without medical cannabis for a while.

Furthermore, restrictions that didn’t exist earlier have now been imposed on medical marijuana users as well. For example, no exceptions for medical cannabis patients have been made in the rules governing driving while impaired. Gerald Major says such traffic stops are likely to victimize patients using medical cannabis and yet the patients face a bigger impairment threat from the conditions which they are treating rather than the cannabis medication that they consume.

Patients using medical cannabis in Europe also don’t seem to be faring any better. A panelist from Germany and another from the UK revealed that the red tape one must bear in order to get a medical cannabis prescription is extraordinary.

For example, in the UK, specialist doctors must complete a lot of paperwork to the effect that conventional treatment options have been exhausted and the last resort is to try medical marijuana. The requirements make doctors responsible for treating patients with medical marijuana, but doctors are reluctant to prescribe medical marijuana because they don’t have sufficient literature to enable them feel comfortable about prescribing medical cannabis.

In addition to that, the cost of medical marijuana is very high in European where it is legal, and more than a third of all reimbursement claims to insurance companies are rejected for no clear reason. The lack of insurance cover for medical cannabis has put medical marijuana products out of reach for most patients because the cost is prohibitive.

Sproutly Canada Inc. (OTCQB: SRUTF) (CSE: SPR) (FRA: 38G) and SinglePoint Inc. (OTCQB: SING) agree with the panelists that urgent steps need to be taken to remove all the barriers to access to medical marijuana in all jurisdictions where it is legal.

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420 with CNW – Las Vegas City Council Votes to Allow Marijuana Lounges

On Wednesday (May 1), the Las Vegas City Council voted 4-1 in favor of a proposed ordinance that would see cannabis consumption lounges licensed to operate within the city. This means that the first consumption lounges could open by the end of this year.

Las Vegas becomes the first city in Nevada to pass regulations allowing cannabis consumption venues to open.

Carolyn Goodman, the mayor of Las Vegas, abstained from voting due to a possible conflict of interest. She had earlier revealed that one of her family members works in the cannabis industry.

According to the ordinance passed, cannabis retailers and dispensaries will be free to apply for a special use license which will allow them to open a cannabis lounge. Once the permit is granted, the licensed business can sell cannabis and allow the buyers to consume marijuana on the premises.

The consumption lounge permit will come with a number of conditions. First, such a lounge should not be located within 1,000 feet from a school or a casino. Additionally, each cannabis lounge must have a system to control smoke so that marijuana smoke doesn’t escape to the exterior of the consumption facility.

Another condition in the ordinance states that no one will be allowed to smoke cannabis outside the consumption lounge. Cannabis lounge operators are also barred from allowing alcohol within the consumption lounge.

The ordinance didn’t pass without some opposition. Casino operators were particularly concerned that licensing cannabis consumption lounges would increase the intoxication issues that casinos have to deal with since someone may use cannabis in a lounge and head to a casino where he or she can consume alcohol.

The restriction of the proximity of cannabis lounges to casinos may have been aimed at addressing the concerns raised by the casino owners, but only time will tell how effective that measure will be.

For now, only businesses with a license to dispense cannabis will be eligible to apply for a marijuana lounge permit. Other interested businesses will have to wait for at least 12 months before they can qualify for the permit.

Sproutly Canada Inc. (OTCQB: SRUTF) (CSE: SPR) (FRA: 38G) and SinglePoint Inc. (OTCQB: SING) applaud Las Vegas for taking the lead in allowing marijuana lounges in the state of Nevada. This step will solve a longstanding dilemma people have had because they could buy marijuana but didn’t have anywhere they could consume it outside their homes. The economy is therefore likely to benefit now that Las Vegas has decided to allow lounges to open.

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420 with CNW – Cannabis Legalization Not Linked to Increased Traffic Fatalities, Study Finds

According to a new study whose findings were released this month, there is no link between the legalization of marijuana and an increase in traffic deaths. This conclusion was arrived at by Andrew Young, a graduate student at Kansas State University after he analyzed traffic deaths data covering 23 years.

Young used two different statistical models to assess how the change in cannabis policy and laws in different states has impacted road safety.

The researcher concluded that the legalization of marijuana isn’t a significant predictor of fatalities on roads. This means that statistically, there is no proof that cannabis legalization leads to either an increase or decrease in the rate of traffic deaths. The data collected was analyzed based on every 100,000 miles traveled on the roads in the states studied.

For the states selected, the data of interest was taken from 5 years before cannabis was legalized either for medical or adult-use, and that data was compared to the data available on road fatalities in those same states after cannabis became legal. Controls (states where cannabis is illegal) were also included in the study. No trends emerged from the data analysis.

For example, the average number of traffic deaths in Arizona weren’t any different from the fatalities recorded in South Dakota and Wyoming where marijuana is illegal.

Similarly, traffic deaths started dropping in Washington just before medical marijuana was legalized, and they kept dropping long after legalization. Interestingly, traffic fatalities in Washington were lower than those in Virginia and Utah where cannabis remains prohibited.

Such concrete observations led the researcher to conclude that the recent rise in the rate of traffic deaths across the U.S. isn’t because marijuana has been legalized in more states in recent years.

The research findings also prove that policy makers who oppose cannabis legalization on the basis that traffic fatalities will increase have no justification to have such fears.

While this study hasn’t yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal, some concerns have been raised about the small sample size of the states where cannabis is legal for recreational use. Can such a small number provide data that is representative of the whole country, they wonder.

Nonetheless, Young’s findings can be regarded as highly credible because they are no different from previous research that hasn’t found any link between marijuana legalization and spikes in road accident fatalities.

SinglePoint, Inc. (OTCQB: SING) and Sproutly Canada, Inc. (OTCQB: SRUTF) (CSE: SPR) (FRA: 38G) are glad that independent scientific data is coming to light to dispel the myth that legalizing marijuana triggers a rise in traffic deaths.

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420 with CNW – Guam Legalizes Recreational Cannabis

Lou Leon Guerrero, the Governor of Guam, has signed into law a bill that legalizes recreational cannabis in the U.S. territory. This signing comes after months of intense debate in this small Pacific island of 164,000 residents.

The law provides for the creation of a nine-member Cannabis Control Board which will draft the rules governing retail sales. The rules are scheduled to be drafted and debated in the course of this year. This board will also oversee the entire recreational cannabis program.

Under the newly passed legalization law, adults in Guam will be permitted to possess a maximum of an ounce of cannabis. Residents will also be allowed to grow six mature plants for their own recreational use.

Speaking at a press conference, Guerrero said that cannabis is the most used illicit drug, so the law was needed in order to regulate its use in order to protect minors and also benefit from its medicinal properties. She added that the new law will create a safer environment for the residents of the island territory.

It should be noted that Guam legalized medical marijuana back in 2014. However, the island has never licensed a testing lab, so the medical marijuana sector remains largely dormant. Home cultivation of recreational marijuana was also approved in 2018.

It is hoped that the legalization of recreational cannabis will add impetus to the efforts to operationalize the commercialization of cannabis both for medicinal and recreational purposes.

The cannabis law was passed without any stiff opposition. The only concern that was raised by some legislators regarded the federal status of cannabis. However, this matter was put to rest when supporters pointed out that the STATES Act was making its way through committees of Congress and this showed that the federal government would not interfere in any jurisdiction that had passed its own marijuana laws.

The STATES Act largely centers on making it possible for marijuana businesses to get access to banking and insurance services without any fear of federal repercussions upon the banks, credit unions and insurance companies that choose to do business with marijuana companies in the U.S. states and territories where marijuana is legal in some form.

The signing of the legalization bill makes Guam the second U.S. territory to legalize recreational marijuana. Northern Mariana Islands was the first territory to allow adult-use cannabis when it passed its cannabis law last year.

Sproutly Canada, Inc. (OTCQB: SRUTF) (CSE: SPR) (FRA: 38G) and Sugarmade, Inc. (OTCQB: SGMD) welcome Guam into the fold of jurisdictions that have enacted laws to regulate the cannabis industry in order to tap the opportunities presented by this nascent sector.

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