420 with CNW – Massachusetts Legal Cannabis Sales Hit Nearly $24M during First Two Months

Massachusetts started retail sales of recreational marijuana on November 20 and nearly $24 million worth of cannabis has so far been sold in just two months, according to statistics released by the state.

The data released by the Cannabis Control Commission shows that cannabis products worth $23.8 million were sold by licensed dispensaries in the maiden two months since retail sales started.

The statistics also show that retail sales have been booming since the first day of legal recreational cannabis sales. For example, the two dispensaries that opened on the first day of legal sales made about $2 million in retail sales during the first five days when they were open.

Each retail sale attracts a 20 percent tax with 3 percent of that tax going to the local authorities while 17 percent goes to the state. You can therefore calculate how much tax Massachusetts earned from the sales made during the first two months after legal sales started.

It is also worth noting that Massachusetts is the first state on the East Coast to permit recreational marijuana. The population there has responded overwhelmingly to this new development.

For example, Cultivate, one of the first dispensaries to open in Leicester, attracted such large numbers that the city held an emergency meeting to discuss how to control traffic in the area. About 1,000 customers have been visiting the retail outlet each day.

Cannabis is such a hit in the area that people flag down each other to ask for directions and everyone knows where to buy marijuana.

Does this large number of customers affect customer service at the retail outlets? Not at all, if the reports from clients are anything to go by. Many reported that everyone was served properly and it was easy to make a purchase.

One Leicester resident even said that he flagged down a cop to ask for directions and found it pleasantly weird to ask a cop for directions to where pot could be bought!

The statistics of the people who are visiting the current dispensaries each day point to the possibility that not enough retail outlets have been licensed in the state, or not all that have been licensed have opened for business. Nevertheless, business is being conducted smoothly, which is a totally different story from what is happening in Canada. ChineseInvestors.com (OTCQB: CIIX), Canopy Rivers Inc. (TSX.V: RIV) and everyone in the cannabis industry hopes that the Canadian supply issues will soon end so that customers there can enjoy what those in Massachusetts are enjoying.

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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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420 with CNW – Liquor Sales Unaffected by Marijuana Legalization, Study Finds

There were fears that the legalization of adult-use marijuana in different U.S. states would trigger a decline in alcohol sales as consumers switch to marijuana instead of taking alcohol. Numerous reasons, such as the hangovers associated with alcohol consumption, were cited as factors that would impact alcohol sales once cannabis was legalized. However, a recent study conducted by the Distilled Spirits Council has found that no such slump in sales has occurred in the three states where recreational cannabis has been legal for the longest time in the U.S.

The alcohol trade association reported that the trends in alcohol sales remained consistent regardless of marijuana legalization in Washington, Oregon and Colorado.

The Distilled Spirits Council analyzed the per-capita alcohol consumption data in the three states from two years before legalization occurred to four years after legalization.

The data showed that the sales of spirits increased by 3.6 percent in Oregon and 7.6 percent in Colorado.

However, wine did not fare the same way in all the three states. Washington registered a drop in sales during the time studied by the Council. At the same time, an upward trend was noticed in wine sales in Oregon and Colorado.

Beer sales have generally been declining for over a decade, and the analysts weren’t surprised to find that beer continued to lose its market share to spirits and wine even after marijuana became legal for adult-use in the three states.

Vivien Azer, one of the analysts who pored over the alcohol sales data commented that lower-end beers faced the greatest risk of losing their market share because they were largely consumed by lower-income Caucasian men who often faced a choice between buying cannabis and taking a beer. The data shows that cannabis is emerging as the winner when such a choice has to be made.

Wines and distilled spirits appeared to be insulated from such pressures because they tend to be consumed by higher-income earners who can afford to consume marijuana and their favorite alcoholic drink. Besides, cocktails are increasing in popularity among women, so that demographic alone can keep the sales of wines and spirits up.

All the same, many industry watchers are cautioning that it is still early days to conclude that marijuana will not eat into the market share of alcohol. Different generations and demographics are likely to respond differently when marijuana becomes an option for them. As recent polls show, marijuana is clearly becoming a favorite across the board. Industry players like Canopy Rivers Inc. (TSX.V: RIV) and Cannabis Strategic Ventures, Inc. (OTC: NUGS) hope that such goodwill translates into the spending of disposable income on marijuana.

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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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420 with CNW – Marijuana Law Changes in Mexico and Canada May Finally Change Texas Attitudes

The legalization of marijuana in Canada, and the impending legal change to marijuana laws in Mexico now leaves Texas isolated as the only jurisdiction in that area where cannabis isn’t legal. This “engulfment” is likely to generate sufficient pressure to cause a change in Texas sooner rather than later.

Already, public opinion in the state has shifted in favor of lesser punishment for those found in possession of small amounts of cannabis.

Moreover, Kim Ogg, the Harris County District Attorney, entered office in 2017 and started a new program in which small-time cannabis offenders would avoid jail time and a criminal record if they enrolled for a drug education class and stayed clear of re-arrest on similar charges.

This “diversion program” has also been replicated in at least one other Texas county. Ogg reasoned that it wasn’t helpful to devote badly needed resources to hunting down, prosecuting and incarcerating people on minor drugs charges and yet those resources could be put to better use to make communities safer by dealing with other pressing law enforcement issues, such as stemming the growth of child sex abuse online.

In a parallel measure that shows where Texan law is going, the state legislature passed a law in 2015 enabling doctors to prescribe CBD oil for patients whose conditions were unresponsive to the existing conventional drugs.

That law in effect shows that medical marijuana isn’t far off from being legally available as a complementary treatment beyond the narrow description provided as that bill was passed.

Interestingly, Texas also has the distinction of having the cities where the highest amount of cannabis is consumed despite the existence of prohibitionist laws. Research has it that Houston consumes approximately 21 metric tons of marijuana annually. This makes the city rank at number four on the list of the top ten cities in terms of marijuana consumption around the country.

Dallas is also in the top 10, coming in at number seven with an annual consumption of approximately 15 metric tons of cannabis.

So, where is all that weed coming from if no cultivation is allowed in Texas?

In the past, smugglers met the demand by moving cannabis from Mexico to the Lone Star state. However, the relaxation of cannabis laws in the states neighboring Texas has provided a domestic (U.S.) source for the Texas cannabis black market.

In fact, consumers now prefer the superior quality of marijuana produced within the U.S. rather than the crop from Mexico that doesn’t conform to any quality standards. It is now known that licensed growers in the states where medical marijuana is allowed produce much more than what can be consumed within those states. The excess product finds its way into the black market, and this reality has been causing federal prosecutors sleepless nights.

Wouldn’t it be wiser for Texas, and the federal government to legalize cannabis in order to end this cat and mouse game with the black market? Such a decision would ease many of the legal minefields in the way of Canopy Rivers Inc. (TSX.V: RIV), Cannabis Strategic Ventures, Inc. (OTC: NUGS) and the entire cannabis industry.

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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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420 with CNW – Upscale Cannabis Gear Selling Like Hot Cakes in New York

As the buzz around cannabis legalization in different jurisdictions gathers steam, savvy entrepreneurs are cashing in by bringing innovative marijuana accessories to the market. “Higher Standards” is one such store that is cashing in on the heightened interest in marijuana.

The store is housed in the prestigious Chelsea Market in Manhattan. Higher Standards caters to foodies and tourists who want a gift or a rare cannabis accessory as they head off to jurisdictions where marijuana consumption is legal.

One of the most expensive and rare cannabis accessories that you can buy at this store is a glass pipe shaped like a skateboard. This pipe goes for a cool $6,000. Cannabis infusers, cannabis rolling papers and glass containers for matches are other products you will find when you visit this high-end establishment.

Higher Standards has been in New York for more than a year. How can this be possible when recreational cannabis is yet to be legalized?

Sasha Kadey, the chief marketing officer of Higher Standards, explains that the company doesn’t touch the cannabis plant, so it enjoys some leeway that wouldn’t have been possible if Higher Standards was handling cannabis directly.

In New York, there seems to be a silent policy through which such companies that don’t “touch the plant” get a wink and a nod to continue conducting their business. The same mischievous wink is extended to customers who buy the accessories on offer as they are told that the products are for “tobacco use only”.

That knowing wink seems to be bringing good tidings of what is to come for Higher Standards since the store set its own single-day sales record on Black Friday, then went on to crash that record on December 8.

With things looking up, the store has plans to open five more locations, including one that will be in Atlanta. The Atlanta one is expected to open just in time to cash in on Super Bowl Sunday.

Meanwhile, New York is in advanced stages of legalizing recreational cannabis. This move will bring more fortune in the way of dealers of accessories, like Higher Standards. For example, word is that MedMen intends to open an outlet just outside Chelsea Market. This will bring cannabis customers right to the doorstep of Higher Standards, and sales are expected to soar.

Before that happens, however, people seem to be snatching accessories off the shelves of the outlet and business is booming. That seems to be what happens wherever cannabis is permitted. Cannabis Strategic Ventures, Inc. (OTC: NUGS) and Canopy Rivers Inc. (TSX.V: RIV) say kudos to Higher Standards for contributing to cannabis culture.

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420 with CNW – Hemp Legalization Could Pave the Way for Marijuana Decriminalization

The Farm Bill of 2018 is getting its final touches to reconcile the versions approved by Congress and Senate. The bill will allow the cultivation of hemp, a plant that has for long been a controlled substance alongside cannabis. Marijuana advocates see the legalization of hemp as a precursor of what will inevitably happen with regard to cannabis since both plants belong to the same family.

Hemp contains just trace amounts of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and is rich in CBD (cannabidiol) while cannabis has a high CBD and THC content.

Hemp has often been called “industrial hemp” because of its numerous industrial applications, such as its use in the production of biofuel and in the construction industry. Hemp is also used in the skincare industry as well as having medicinal uses from CBD oil.

Previously, hemp could only be grown if permission was granted in order to get a supply for pre-approved research projects. The new bill will classify hemp as an agricultural product, so one will no longer need a permit to cultivate it.

This decision may look simple at the surface, but it signals a major shift of policy since the new classification would remove the legal stigma of treating hemp as a dangerous plant/substance. It is this undertone that cannabis advocates are counting on for the rescheduling of marijuana since cannabis is closely related to hemp.

It is hoped that cannabis will soon be regarded as an intoxicant that isn’t so dangerous that it deserves the “pariah” status that has been slapped on it for decades.

Economic reasons played a major role in shifting attitudes towards hemp. The diverse uses to which hemp can be placed offer numerous avenues through which local, state and federal authorities can earn tax revenues.

The same prospects exist in the cannabis industry, so there is no reason to think that economic reasons will not come into play as the voices for cannabis legalization get louder across the country and in Congress or Senate.

Descheduling cannabis appears to be taking the same path as same-sex marriages. Society is awakening and questioning whether there is any justification to continue criminalizing cannabis, and the players in the political class are adjusting their positions in light of the shift at the grassroots. Cannabis is no longer the outlier topic it once was.

You can bet that the developments around hemp are of keen interest to companies like Canopy Rivers Inc. (TSX.V: RIV) and Chemistree Technology Inc. (CSE: CHM) (OTCQB: CHMJF) because of the medicinal applications to which CBD can be put.

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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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420 with CNW – New App Keeps Cannabis Purchases Off Your Credit Card History

We reported earlier that Canadians who buy marijuana using their credit cards risk being denied U.S. entry for life. This is because U.S. border agents can invoke their right to look into the purchasing history of an alien who wishes to enter the country before letting that person through. The appearance of marijuana purchases on your credit card statement can therefore give those agents an excuse to declare you inadmissible for life. However, an app has been developed which can get rid of that risk.

The GreenGreen app allows users to purchase cannabis without using their credit cards. The app works like an online-based credit card system, so buyers simply clear their cannabis bills at the end of each month in the same way that they would make payments to settle their credit card debts.

This innovation gives Canadians a chance to consume legal marijuana in their country without fearing that they will be victimized by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents when they need to travel across the border.

The GreenGreen app also enables cannabis consumers to avoid the inconvenience of withdrawing cash from an ATM each time they want to buy marijuana. Remember that the marijuana industry is still largely cash-based since major banks are reluctant to do business with an industry which is still illegal in other markets, especially the U.S. market, where those banks have major operations.

Furthermore, the app reduces the risks associated with carrying cash. For example, one will no longer fear being mugged by opportunistic criminals who want to lay their hands on the cash you are carrying to buy cannabis.

However, customers in Ontario may wait a little longer before they can benefit from the GreenGreen app. This is because the app cannot be used to make online purchases and yet the province enacted laws permitting the sale of recreational cannabis by online stores only.

Nonetheless, marijuana buyers in the U.S. can register and start using the app to buy marijuana in the states where it is legal. Countless marijuana businesses in the U.S. have had to grapple with the risks associated with operating a strictly cash-based business. The app offers a way for cashless payments to be made to and by marijuana businesses.

Cannabis-related companies like Cannabis Strategic Ventures, Inc. (OTC: NUGS) and Canopy Rivers Inc. (TSX.V: RIV) welcome every innovation that makes it easier for the cannabis industry to serve its clients with as few hassles as possible.

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420 with CNW – Cannabis PTSD Study Finally Secures Target Number of Participants

A team of researchers interested in finding out whether cannabis could treat PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) among veterans finally registered its 76th study participant on Veterans Day.

The Scottsdale Research Institute located in Phoenix, AZ got permission from the FDA to conduct the research in 2010. The researchers then started recruiting study participants in 2016 but hit several speed bumps in their efforts to get the required minimum number of participants (76 veterans).

First, the researchers were denied access to the veterans’ hospital just 20-miles away from the facility where the research is being conducted. The Veterans Affairs department refused to grant access because federal laws regarded cannabis as a substance that didn’t have any medicinal value.

Public hospitals and universities in Arizona also refused to cooperate with the researchers as they recruited study participants citing federal laws as restricting them from being part of a study on an illegal substance.

These challenges nearly made the researchers widen the scope of the research so that non-veterans could also be allowed to enroll.

However, such a move would have defeated the purpose of the study since the researchers were specifically interested in investigating whether cannabis could treat PTSD in military veterans. The search for participants therefore dragged on as thousands were screened and rejected for not meeting the strict requirements of the study.

Gradually, the number of eligible participants started growing until the climax was reached almost two years after the recruitment exercise for participants started.

The researchers now have the 76 participants that they need to proceed with their randomized, controlled study of how marijuana can help veterans with chronic forms of PTSD.

Each day, the study participants will be given 1.8 grams of marijuana. This cannabis will vary in potency and the participants will keep a journal of how they feel or anything else noteworthy during the study period. The participants will also be free to decide how much of that daily ration to smoke.

The study subjects will visit the research institute 17 times during the 12-week duration of the study. The participants will then be followed up for six months after the initial 12-weeks of treatment with cannabis.

The researchers hope to publish their findings in 2019 after getting a definitive answer of whether cannabis can treat PTSD in veterans, and whether it has any adverse effects on those former servicemen and women.

This research comes at a time when efforts are being made to pass House Bills aimed at regulating and granting access to medical cannabis by veterans. The scientific community and cannabis industry players, such as Cannabis Strategic Ventures, Inc. (OTC: NUGS) and Canopy Rivers Inc. (TSX.V: RIV) await the results of this Phoenix study.

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420 with CNW – Greenhouses Could Eliminate the Cannabis Black Market

Canada has seen a number of cannabis cultivators shifting to the use of greenhouses instead of growing the crop in indoor grow rooms. This new development could mark the final days for the cannabis black market in Canada and elsewhere.

Greenhouses can drive down the cost of legal marijuana in several ways.

As you may know, land accounts for one of the biggest costs that marijuana cultivators have to incur in order to bring the produce to the market. Indoor grows are located on prime industrial land which costs a fortune.

The shift to greenhouses means that cannabis producers can go to rural agricultural land which is cheaper to acquire. The reduced cost of land can translate into lower prices for each pound or kilo of cannabis.

Secondly, indoor grow facilities consume a lot of electricity in order to create the ideal conditions for growing cannabis. That high cost of providing electricity has always meant that legal cannabis will be more expensive than what is available on the black market.

Greenhouses can allow cultivators to use just 40 percent of the power that they needed when they were growing the plants indoors. This reduced energy demand would then make it cheaper to grow cannabis for the legal market.

Furthermore, greenhouses allow the economies of scale to come into play. As already mentioned, rural land is cheaper than the industrial land where cannabis has been grown indoors. Mega cannabis operations can therefore be undertaken on the expansive agricultural land which is available in Canada and elsewhere where cannabis is legal.

Pure Sunfarms is an example of cannabis producers in British Columbia who have decided to harness the power of the sun to grow marijuana. The facility has greenhouses covering a staggering 1.1 million square-feet. The complex used to cultivate other produce, such as tomatoes and peppers, before the greenhouses were retrofitted for the cultivation of cannabis.

This trend is likely to be replicated across Canada and the rest of the world if production costs are to be driven downwards. That means that big agricultural operators are going to drive the smaller players out of business since the “small guys” will not manage to compete with their bigger counterparts.

Ultimately, it is the cannabis consumers who will benefit since the competition among the big players will keep driving innovation in order to cut production costs further. It is those low production costs that will eventually kill the black market since the risks of illegal production are likely to increase with the passage of time. Legal cannabis industry players like Cannabis Strategic Ventures, Inc. (OTC: NUGS) and Canopy Rivers Inc. (TSX.V: RIV) long to see the day when the black market will dwindle to an insignificant level across the industry.

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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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420 with CNW – Chronic Cannabis Shortages Force Quebec Stores to Close Several Days Each Week

We wrote earlier that cannabis shortages were registered across Canada from the time recreational cannabis became legal in the country. Those shortages seem to be getting worse with Quebec announcing that its government-controlled retail stores would close for three days each week for an unforeseen duration until marijuana supplies can be obtained in the quantities which can satisfy the currently high demand.

The SDQC, the government agency charged with trading in cannabis within the province of Quebec, announced that its stores would be closed every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

These closures would help the stores to serve their customers better on the days when the stores are open. However, the closures don’t mean that customers are guaranteed that they will always find what they want on the days when the cannabis retail stores are open.

Online sales haven’t been affected by the store closures, but many online outlets list several products as out of stock.

Cannabis producers and suppliers seem to hold the key to ending the shortages by availing cannabis products in the amounts ordered by the different stores in the province.

Interestingly, Quebec has several licensed cannabis producers, such as Aurora Cannabis. The company said that they were doing everything possible to meet the existing demand for cannabis, but they can’t force the cannabis plants to grow faster than they do.

Such a statement seems to be a worrying pointer to customers that they may have to wait for a long time before cannabis supplies stabilize and stores open on a daily basis.

Industry players suggest that such supply hiccups are inevitable each time a new industry is opened since no one can predict accurately how the market will respond. For the case of recreational cannabis, the market seems to have been yearning for the product in a way that not even the greatest optimists among the producers could have ever imagined.

Francois Legault, Quebec’s Premier, expressed surprise that there were shortages and hurried to add that it wasn’t his government that designed the distribution system. He was also concerned about the effect of marijuana on young people and vowed to do what he can to raise the minimum age at which one can legally consume recreational cannabis in the province to 21.

With legal weed so hard to get, it will not be surprising when the people resort to the black market to get high. Such an eventuality can have undesired outcomes, such as exposing users to untested products which can be harmful in the short or long-term. The government also loses tax revenue each time a person buys a joint from the unregulated (black) market. Choom Holdings Inc. (CSE: CHOO) (OTCQB: CHOOF), Canopy Rivers, Inc. (TSX.V: RIV) and other players hope that the shortages can end quickly before public interest in marijuana wanes.

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420 with CNW – California Proposes Tough Changes to Marijuana Regulations

The Bureau of Cannabis Control, together with the Department of Public Health and the Department of Food and Agriculture in California have released an updated draft set of rules that will form the permanent regulations which will govern the cannabis industry in the state.

The public has been invited to provide its input to that draft so that the regulators can finalize the document in early December. Public comments will be received until November 5.

Experts say the draft contains a number of “bombs” that will have a major impact on the way the industry operates.

For example, the draft set of permanent rules seeks to prevent third party entities from participating in the delivery of cannabis to consumers or retailers/distributors. Only third parties that have a cannabis license may get involved in the distribution of marijuana.

That measure would affect technological platforms which had come up to generate revenues from cannabis distribution. The draft regulations allow tech platform to facilitate the distribution as long as those platforms don’t earn from such an undertaking. This seems logical, since those tech platforms don’t have a marijuana license issued by the State of California.

Secondly, the draft rules seek to lower the quantity of cannabis that a delivery vehicle may transport during a single trip. Previously, delivery vehicles were allowed to carry cannabis or cannabis products worth a maximum of $10,000. That limit may now drop to $5,000 if that provision stays as it is in the draft rules.

Furthermore, at least $2,000-worth of cannabis from the $5,000 value loaded onto a delivery vehicle has to be for orders that have already been made. This provision may be intended to curb the practice of delivery vans moving with excess products in the hope that additional buyers will show up where the vehicle has gone to take products.

The third major change being introduced in the draft of permanent rules is the requirement for cannabis businesses to disclose everyone who has a stake in those businesses. The regulators want to know everyone who stands to benefit from the industry, so silent partners will become a thing of the past in the marijuana industry.

On a brighter note, the updated draft intends to reduce the stringent test requirements that previously resulted in many products failing those tests and being recalled from the market. This provision seems to be in response to a cry from the industry regarding the current testing protocols.

Additionally, licensed marijuana events will also no longer be restricted to county fairgrounds. This paves the way for a variety of cannabis events to crop up within the state as the years go by.

The updated draft rules seem to have been informed by the different situations on the ground as the industry evolves. Some areas have been tightened while other regulatory areas have seen restrictions eased somewhat. It remains to be seen what marijuana companies like Cannabis Strategic Ventures, Inc. (OTC: NUGS) and Canopy Rivers Inc. (TSX.V: RIV) make of those draft permanent regulations.

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