420 with CNW — Elizabeth Warren Pushes for Laws That Limit Conglomerates from Dominating the Cannabis Industry

Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren are advocating for cannabis reform that gives priority to areas that have suffered the most from the drug war and prevent monopolization by large corporations such as Amazon and major tobacco companies. During a dedicated event focused on fostering an inclusive cannabis industry, the senators expressed gratitude to activists for their unwavering support of minority-owned marijuana businesses. They also committed to championing policies that align with the intention of promoting equity.

In a recorded video aired during the ceremony, Warren stressed that legalization by itself is insufficient. She emphasized the significance of ensuring that the communities hardest afflicted by the drug war receive priority access to the advantages of legalization. She also argued in favor of legalization that does not give dominant organizations such as Big Alcohol and Tobacco or massive retail chains control over the market.

The senator expressed skepticism about Amazon’s lobbying efforts for marijuana legalization, viewing those efforts as potentially self-serving attempts to monopolize another market. Warren voiced concern that such actions could impede Latino and Black entrepreneurs from thriving in the emerging cannabis industry.

The senators’ statements were consistent with the main point of the “crash course” on cannabis policy provided by the Parabola Center for Policy and Law. The purpose of the event was to inform attendees of the potential negative effects of concentrated ownership in the cannabis sector.

Markey also spoke to the audience through a prerecorded video, admitting that the drug war had failed. He acknowledged the courage of the communities that endured disproportionate criminalization during the Prohibition era. Markey highlighted President Joseph Biden’s widespread marijuana pardon and Massachusetts’ initiatives to prioritize equity in its legal marijuana market as important advances in cannabis legislation across the country.

The Federal Marijuana Policy Crash Course also included marijuana regulators from Washington, D.C., New York City and Massachusetts, alongside representatives from prominent cannabis advocacy groups such as Marijuana Justice, Drug Policy Alliance, Doctors for Cannabis Regulation, Students for Sensible Drug Policy and Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition.

Prior to the course, Parabola issued an “anti-monopoly tool kit” that outlined federal and state policy priorities aimed at preventing corporate consolidation, which could pose a threat to small marijuana businesses in the sector. In 2021, Parabola put forth changes to a House-passed bill legalizing marijuana on a federal level. The intended modifications aimed to create a fair market that enabled the communities most adversely affected by prohibition to profit from the new sector.

The institute had previously expressed worries about how the alcohol and cigarette businesses would affect federal cannabis reform. They asked politicians to rethink enacting marijuana laws that were modeled after alcohol laws.

It is encouraging that as discussions about what form federal marijuana legalization should take, emphasis is being placed on including as many people as possible in the industry. Such an approach could help to spread the benefits of legalization to a wider section of the population, and that could in turn make it easier for different companies such as Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX) to deepen their reach in different markets around the country, given that more growers will be participating in the industry.

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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 — Rhode Island Completes 23K Marijuana Possession Expungements

Rhode Island’s judicial system has successfully expunged more than 23,000 records related to marijuana possession, marking the completion of the initial phase of marijuana relief as mandated by the state’s legalization law and the Supreme Court’s executive order. According to a recent press release issued by the judiciary, the Superior Court expunged 3,015 cases, while the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal and the District Court expunged 9,952 and 10,650 cases, respectively.

This automated relief effort was a collaborative endeavor between law enforcement and the courts following the state’s implementation of recreational cannabis legalization last year. In January, Paul Suttell, the state’s chief justice, released an executive order outlining the process for mass expungements.

Acknowledging the organizational accomplishment, Julie Hamil, the state’s court administrator, expressed her thoughts on the matter, stating, “The expungement of cannabis charges has been a remarkable feat. Every section of the judiciary has worked together to ensure timely and comprehensive execution of this process.”

The second phase of the expungement procedure will focus on clearing marijuana possession records in situations involving multiple criminal charges. Currently, this phase is in the planning stage and is expected to be complete by July next year.

Mavis Nimoh, executive director of the Center for Health and Justice Transformation, expressed appreciation for the state judiciary’s prompt implementation of the automatic expungement of marijuana offenses. She emphasized the pressing need for reasonable criminal record relief programs, particularly as the state enters a booming economy that has for too long unfairly penalized its inhabitants.

Under the executive order issued by the court, people may also apply for accelerated expungements. The court will waive the associated fees for these requests, and they will be processed within five working days.

In recent years, several territories and states have taken steps to offer relief to individuals with previous marijuana convictions. For instance, the Louisiana senate recently passed a bill streamlining expungements for those with first-time cannabis possession offenses, while Ohio’s governor signed a major reform bill allowing cities to expedite mass expungements for specific drug-related offenses, such as possession of up to 200g of cannabis.

A NORML report released last year revealed that state governments have granted almost 2 million expungements and pardons to individuals with minor marijuana convictions in recent years. Meanwhile, a senate committee recently confirmed the nominees made by Governor Dan McKee to a state cannabis commission, which will be in charge of regulating the legal cannabis industry. A house committee has also approved a bill that would permit the production and possession of psilocybin mushrooms while also setting the stage for controlled access for medical purposes until federal reform is implemented.

As the recreational market becomes established and grows in the state, there is likely to be a bigger market for all sorts of products, including those made by Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX), as businesses move to address the growing demand for cannabis.

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420 with CNW — Supreme Court Gives Florida AG Extra Fortnight to File Cannabis Challenge

The Florida attorney general has received two extra weeks to come up with a brief challenging the addition of a proposed cannabis legalization measure to the 2024 ballot. State Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office originally had until June 5, 2022, to provide the briefs, but it filed a motion to push the deadline. The office stated that it had limited staff and was currently dealing with multiple deadlines that made it unable to meet last Monday’s deadline for the cannabis ballot initiative challenge.

The court motion met no challenges from the cannabis ballot campaign’s lawyers, and the state Supreme Court granted the attorney general’s office a fortnight to complete the briefs. However, the court cautioned the attorney general against seeking further extensions and noted that without any extenuating circumstances, the court may deny further requests for delays.

A week ago, Florida state officials announced that the Smart & Safe Florida campaign that is behind the ballot initiative had gathered enough valid signatures to qualify the measure for next year’s ballot. In fact, the Florida Division of Elections reported that the campaign had collected 967,528 verified signatures, more than 70,000 more votes than the signature threshold for ballot initiatives in Florida.

The measure cleared one of its first challenges to land on the 2024 ballot, receiving enough signatures to qualify for a court review of its language. This review is meant to ensure that none of the language in the cannabis legalization ballot misleads voters and is in violation of the state’s constitution.

Several prior attempts at placing recreational cannabis measures on the ballot have failed at this stage.

Attorney general Moody also took action against the cannabis legalization measure at this stage, filing a court brief that argued that the measure violated Florida’s constitutional rule of having a single subject in ballot measures and stating that she would flesh out her position in a future briefing. Moody also attempted to block a legalization measure based on the same argument in 2022, but a court threw out her file.

If the legalization measure is approved by voters, it would amend Florida’s constitution and allow existing medical marijuana companies to begin selling recreational cannabis to adults aged 21 years and older. The measure would also “allow but not require” that legislators take extra steps to approve and legalize additional recreational cannabis retailers in the state.

Adults aged 21 and older would be allowed to buy and own up to one ounce of cannabis with only a maximum of five grams being cannabis concentrate products. The ballot measure also includes provisions for the expungement of past cannabis offenses and would not allow home cultivation.

As the possibility of marijuana legalization becomes a reality in different states around the country, market opportunities will keep opening up for businesses such as Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX) as more growers come aboard the state-legal cannabis industry.

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420 with CNW — Bruen Ruling Could Bring Good Tidings to Marijuana Movement

A 2022 ruling by the Supreme Court has radically changed a century-old U.S. gun law and significantly altered how courts assess gun laws. Judges in the New York Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen overturned a 100-year-old gun safety law and ruled that a New York law requiring licenses to conceal carry weapons in public was unconstitutional.

The overturned New York gun law was strikingly similar to gun safety laws in seven other states, and the June 2022 ruling set a precedent for overturning these laws.

In the aftermath of the Supreme Court ruling, judges in several states overturned gun laws that set age restrictions, banned domestic abusers or people currently under federal indictment from possessing firearms, and outlawed the removal of serial numbers from firearms. The ruling has wide-reaching consequences that could even affect America’s nascent but swiftly growing cannabis industry.

Although millions of Americans now have access to medical and recreational cannabis through more than two dozen legal markets, federal law still prohibits the cultivation, distribution, sale and consumption of cannabis. As a result, people who take part in state-legal cannabis markets often find themselves at odds with federal law and often cannot access certain services and products due to prior or ongoing cannabis use.

Americans are required to state that they don’t use drugs when they buy guns, and cannabis users aren’t allowed to possess firearms in most states even though cannabis is legal at the state level and provides billions of dollars in tax revenue. However, judges are increasingly turning to the Bruen ruling in cases that involve cannabis use and the possession of a firearm.

In February, an Oklahoma federal judge cited Bruen in a case where a man was found with a handgun and marijuana in his car, and a federal district judge in Texas did the same for a woman who had marijuana and guns in her house. In both cases, the judges struck down a provision banning marijuana users from possessing guns, stating that the precedent set by Bruen showed the provisions on marijuana users and firearms were unconstitutional.

Even though other federal courts aren’t necessarily bound to the two rulings, they could form a precedent if the government appeals the rulings and loses.

With hundreds of Americans being convicted and sentenced due to these anti-cannabis provisions in gun law, setting such a precedent would save thousands of Americans from America’s particularly harsh court system.

As more jurisdictions address some of these inconsistencies between federal and state law regarding marijuana, the industry could grow faster and create business opportunities for related enterprises such as Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX).

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420 with CNW — Maryland Starts Receiving Applications for Cannabis Business Grants

Maryland authorities are currently open to receiving grant applications aimed at assisting established medical marijuana enterprises in transitioning into dual license holders, enabling the businesses to cater to the recreational market once legalization comes into effect in the upcoming month. In addition, the state’s Department of Commerce (DOC) has announced that beginning on Aug. 1, 2023, it will start accepting applications for loans and grants intended to enhance market engagement from holders of social equity licenses by providing initial capital and covering operational costs.

The fund, established by a recent marijuana legislation bill signed by Governor Wes Moore in May, will also provide grants to HBCUs (historically black colleges or universities) for cannabis-related programs, such as initiatives for training and business development.

For the initial phase of assistance, the DOC has announced its acceptance of applications for grants covering medical license transition fees. These grants will cover the application expenses for established medical cannabis dispensaries, growers and processors that need to transition into dual license holders according to the draft regulations recently released by the MCA.

Qualifying businesses can potentially obtain grants ranging between $25,000 and $50,000, depending on their license type, to facilitate the transition. Applications will be reviewed and approved progressively until the end of June. Businesses that meet the criteria but have already paid the fee may also apply for a refund.

To qualify, applicants must be small businesses with a maximum of 50 employees as of May 1, 2023. Additionally, the enterprise must be at least 51% owned by people whose net worth doesn’t surpass $1.7 million.

During a subsequent round of assistance scheduled for August 2023, the state will utilize the same fund to distribute loans to social equity enterprises that obtained preapproval prior to Oct. 1, 2022, and have the capacity to start up and take part in the marijuana industry.

A third initiative supported by the fund will promote HBCU marijuana-related programs, which will aid enterprises in the license application process, as well as boost development organizations such as incubators. The funds will also be used to train and assist small firms, particularly those run by women and minorities, as well as business owners who want to join the recreational marijuana industry.

Maryland’s cannabis regulators recently unveiled a set of preliminary emergency regulations that are currently awaiting assessment by the AELR committee. These regulations must also undergo publication in the Maryland Register prior to their implementation.

The comprehensive draft, spanning 41 pages, introduces explicit definitions, formalizes limits on personal possession, delineates the obligations of regulatory entities, elucidates the licensing process (including provisions for social equity candidates), specifies the powers of enforcement agencies, and outlines the consequences and fines for noncompliance. Additionally, the document establishes clear guidelines for labeling and packaging.

As the recreational marijuana program in Maryland takes shape and gets underway, there is likely to be a boom in economic activity for a wide-ranging variety of enterprises, such as Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX), which seek to provide supplies such as grow pods that cultivators need to grow marijuana more profitably.

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420 with CNW — Twitter Ad Policies Pose Challenges for Cannabis Advertisers

Businesses in the cannabis sector have had to deal with extremely restrictive marketing and advertising regulations since the industry’s inception. Since cannabis is still considered a Schedule I controlled drug at the federal level, most advertisers simply cannot advertise cannabis products without running afoul of federal law.

Furthermore, states with legal cannabis products often place severe restrictions on advertising to prevent exposing cannabis to children and youth. Consequently, cannabis businesses have been forced to find ways outside the usual marketing pipelines to advertise their products to the public.

Twitter, which has more than 350 million users globally, announced in March that it would allow approved cannabis businesses to advertise on the platform, finally granting multitudes of marijuana businesses a way of marketing themselves. However, some experts questioned whether the looser restrictions on marijuana advertising would actually have a meaningful effect on America’s state-legal cannabis industry.

Those experts noted that Twitter was a relatively small platform compared to the likes of Facebook and Instagram, which have billions of users. The platform has also suffered from technical problems amid recent layoffs and has lost more than one-half of its top 1,000 advertisers in recent months.

Although Twitter eased cannabis advertising policies further in May, stating that marijuana businesses could continue linking their Twitter accounts to their e-commerce sites, businesses in the cannabis space are still struggling to leverage the platform’s relatively wide reach. In many cases, marijuana businesses are held back by regulatory red tape coupled with high costs and Twitter’s inexperience with the state-legal cannabis sector.

For starters, a gold check mark next to a business’ username costs $1,000 a month, an expense many small businesses simply cannot afford to pay while dealing with high taxes, competition from the black market and low prices. According to multistate operator Battle Green’s director for marketing Nikki Stanely, Twitter doesn’t always allow the company to reach the customers it is seeking, stating that users on the platform seem to be more interested in the entrepreneurial side of cannabis instead of commerce.

Twitter may be among the first platforms to allow some kind of cannabis advertising but stakeholders have reported mixed results.

Some users said their ads were taken down and accounts disabled mere hours after Twitter allowed cannabis advertisements.

The recent changes allow cannabis companies to show ads that feature product-specific content and promote their brands but do not allow pricing and offers of discounts, promotions, giveaways and contests.

With time, these restrictions could be eased further, giving cannabis companies a better chance of reaching their target markets and ramping up their production in tandem with the growing sales. As the sales of marijuana products increase, so could the sales of companies such as Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX), which are in the business of providing cultivation equipment to cannabis growers.

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420 with CNW — NJ Regulators to Only Grant Social Equity Applicants Cannabis Licenses

Social equity has been a major part of America’s state-level cannabis reform over the past decade. People of color were significantly more likely to be arrested for cannabis-related offenses and receive harsh sentences compared to White people throughout the entirety of the drug war despite similar use rates.

As a result, entire Black and Brown communities were decimated, sending multitudes of parents and breadwinners to prison for relatively tame offenses and saddling them with criminal records that made it difficult to integrate back into society. Furthermore, entire generations of children were forced to grow up in poverty as their parents were either incarcerated or couldn’t secure proper employment due to their criminal records.

Most states with cannabis programs now have social equity provisions that give applicants from communities that were disproportionately affected by the drug war a slight advantage in the growing cannabis industry. Whether it’s directing a percentage of cannabis taxes to these communities or giving them a leg-up in the cannabis sector, these provisions are meant to alleviate some of the harms caused by the drug war.

In New Jersey, cannabis regulators are looking to boost social equity by allowing only people with prior cannabis convictions to receive certain marijuana licenses for 12 months. This move is meant to increase the number of social equity applicants running retail marijuana establishments in the state, especially individuals with prior marijuana-related convictions or those residing in economically disenfranchised regions of the state.

The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission announced last week that from September 12, 2023, it will only accept applications for wholesale, distribution and delivery licenses from social equity applicants for an entire year. According to Commissioner Charles Baker, the regulator made the move to support social equity applicants because the state has done little to support these individuals since New Jersey’s recreational cannabis market launched in April 2022. He noted that businesses run by people who were disproportionately affected by the drug war don’t seem to be making it through the license application process.

During last week’s meeting, agency officials noted that less than 250 applicants out of 947 social equity applicants had received approval by the start of the year. For 12 months starting on September 27, license applications by individuals who don’t qualify for social equity status will be automatically rejected. However, this will not include individuals applying for manufacturing, retail or cultivation licenses as well as businesses owned by veterans, women and minorities.

As these social equity license applicants obtain approval by the state, they could have a chance to deploy modern equipment such as the microgardens made by Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX) to optimize their cultivation and increase their chances of turning a decent profit from their state-legal cannabis businesses.

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420 with CNW — Proposed California Law Could Legalize Marijuana Cafes

The wave of cannabis reform that has swept across America over the past two decades doesn’t seem to be stopping any time soon. By April 2023, nearly 40 states had medical marijuana markets while close to two dozen states allowed recreational cannabis sales.

California legalized recreational cannabis in November 2016 and was soon generating billions of dollars in revenue and state tax from adult-use cannabis sales. With California now home to what is undoubtedly the largest cannabis market in the world, state lawmakers are currently working on a bill that would legalize marijuana cafes and allow the sale of both nonalcoholic drinks and food in legal cannabis retail establishments.

California’s state assembly recently passed a bill to legalize cannabis cafes in the state in a 59 to 9 vote before pushing the legislation to the Senate for discussion.

Such businesses started popping up in California a couple of years ago in regions such as Palm Springs, West Hollywood and San Francisco. Even smaller cities such as Ojai considered marijuana cafes as a means of boosting tourism and tax revenue in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.

However, California law banned indoor smoking at the time and had regulations designed to keep workplaces smoke free for the health of employees.

Brad Rowe, a University of California, Los Angeles adjunct professor of cannabis policy, said in 2019 that the marijuana cafe segment was in its infancy and still mired with plenty of legal complications. The recent law could clear up most of these complications and allow the segment to grow without any regulatory obstacles.

Speaking on the floor, bill sponsor Assemblymember Matt Haney noted that the cannabis industry is currently struggling under the weight of high taxes, a surging black market and an oversaturated space.

California’s cannabis black market has proven to be an especially tough problem to solve as a large portion of the population still prefers to buy cheaper cannabis from black market dealers. Coupled with high taxes from the state and an oversupply of sellers in the market, many small cannabis businesses are struggling to stay afloat.

The new bill would provide businesses in the cannabis space with a new avenue for generating revenue via the sale of noncannabis, prepackaged soft drinks and foods at licensed consumption lounges or cafes. However, the bill prohibits the sale and consumption of alcohol and tobacco at cannabis consumption lounges. It would, however, allow live performances in cannabis lounges and the sale of performance tickets to the public.

If this proposal becomes law, it could inject new life into struggling cannabis companies, and they, in turn, could ramp up their production to meet the increased demand for marijuana products. When such a rise in demand materializes, the benefits could trickle down to entities that are in the business of manufacturing the equipment used to grow marijuana, such as Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX).

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420 with CNW — Minnesota Governor Appends Signature to Recreational Cannabis Legalization Bill

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has officially signed a bill into law, paving the way for the legalization of recreational marijuana use in the state. This historic decision positions Minnesota as the 23rd state to permit the adult use of cannabis and the third in the Midwest region to do so.

The successful passage of the bill comes after a series of diligent efforts at the Capitol, including numerous committee hearings and multiple votes in both the house and senate. While the bill received strong support from Democratic-Farmer-Labor lawmakers, a handful of Republicans in the house also voted in favor of its enactment.

Although previous attempts to legalize marijuana had been made at the Capitol, the favorable outcome in 2023 can be attributed to the Democratic Party’s control of the senate, house and governor’s office after the November election.

As outlined in the legislation, individuals aged 21 years of age and above who are residents of Minnesota will be permitted to possess up to two ounces of marijuana in public and up to two pounds in their homes, effective August 1, 2023. The bill also includes provisions for the automatic expungement of low-level marijuana convictions and the establishment of a review board to assess eligibility for more serious offenses, providing individuals with prior convictions an opportunity to have their records cleared.

To ensure the responsible sale and regulation of cannabis products, the law establishes an Office of Cannabis Management, which will be entrusted with safeguarding consumer protection, promoting public health and upholding public safety within the legalized marketplace. Representative Zack Stephenson, the bill’s sponsor, expressed his satisfaction with the legislation, emphasizing its creation of a safe and well-regulated legal cannabis market. He also noted the inclusion of measures to address the disproportionate impact of previous cannabis laws on certain communities.

While Stephenson acknowledged that the implementation of regulatory and expungement measures would take time, he assured the public that these efforts would commence once the law takes effect. However, he cautioned that the establishment of licensed dispensaries could require up to 18 months, and the process of expunging tens of thousands of past cannabis convictions may extend over several years.

The sale of cannabis products will be subject to a 10% state tax. The legislation allocates approximately $80 million to support the implementation of new regulations and finance various programs related to the legalization of cannabis over the next two years. Furthermore, it includes funding for training law enforcement officers to identify signs of marijuana intoxication, addressing concerns about impaired driving.

Governor Tim Walz, recognized for his progressive stance on various issues, has recently signed several other significant bills into law, including measures that reinstate voting rights for individuals with felony convictions and legislation that enshrines the right to abortion in state law.

Minnesota’s decision to legalize recreational marijuana reflects the growing trend across states to adopt more progressive approaches to drug policy. The focus on regulation, social equity and criminal justice reform underscore the recognition of the evolving landscape surrounding cannabis use.

With recreational cannabis now legal in the state, many opportunities are likely to open up not only for marijuana organizations but also ancillary companies such as Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX) that cater to the needs of marijuana cultivators.

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420 with CNW — Missouri Cannabis Licensing Rules Worry Activists About Social Equity for Blacks

Adolphus Pruitt, St. Louis City’s NAACP president, was initially a vocal supporter of a marijuana legalization amendment aimed at addressing the lack of Black participation in the industry. However, his perspective changed when he discovered details of the requirements for those seeking microbusiness licenses outlined in the amendment.

The application was set to be released on June 6, 2023, and Pruitt was shocked to find that the list of qualifying zip codes did not include any areas in north St. Louis, where a significant portion of the Black population resides. Out of the 121 listed zip codes, only nine are from the St. Louis general area, and not a single one is from north St. Louis. Some zip codes are for post office boxes or institutions with higher-than-average mail traffic, while others cover areas with minimal residential presence or affluent suburbs. Only one zip code represents a predominantly Caucasian population. Applicants are required to prove their residence within the confines of those zip codes through utility bills, property tax receipts/bills or lease documents.

Following his discovery, Pruitt promptly wrote to the Health & Senior Services department of the state demanding corrections before the application’s release. The state plans to award 48 licenses to microbusinesses this coming fall, with the application window open from July 27–August 10, 2023.

Pruitt emphasized that the issues with the zip codes in St. Louis are just one aspect of the problematic nature of the state’s cannabis rules. Many of the listed zip codes are either post office boxes and unique codes, or are referred to rural locations with sparse populations.

The Cannabis Regulation Division’s head, Amy Moore, responded to Pruitt’s concerns, stating that the department stood by the listed zip codes. Moore explained that the analysis was based on incarceration data provided by the State Highway Patrol, the only comprehensive dataset available.

When questioned about the inclusion of specific St. Louis zip codes, the DHSS spokesperson mentioned their association with tract areas during census, but the highway patrol denied providing those zip codes to DHSS. Pruitt raised doubts about whether the zip codes accurately represented residents’ locations, suggesting that the presence of correctional facilities might explain the prevalence of rural zip codes. Moore clarified that correctional facilities did not skew the data, as only a few prisons fell within the listed zip codes.

Other concerns included the lack of education and outreach regarding the program. The law mandates the hiring of a chief equity officer to ensure social and economic equity requirements are met, but little outreach has been observed so far.

As these concerns are addressed and the recreational cannabis market gets underway, there could be openings for plenty of companies, including Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX), to build on their footprint within this region of the country.

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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