420 with CNW – Washington State Marijuana Tracking System Flawed, Says Report

An assessment report released by Gartner Consulting recently has found that Washington State rushed to implement a seed-to-sale marijuana tracking system even though the regulator and the system provider knew that the tracking system was flawed.

That rushed implementation cost retailers revenue since many dispensaries were unwilling to buy marijuana from those retailers whose systems hadn’t been integrated with Leaf Date Systems (the tracking platform created by MJ Freeway).

Gartner Consulting is an independent technology and research firm based in Connecticut. Washington State LCB (Liquor and Cannabis Board) contracted Gartner Consulting to assess the tracking system over a period of eight weeks.

The consulting firm noted that the tracking system was unstable and crashed several times during the assessment period.

Gartner Consulting placed the blame for these technical glitches on both LCB and MJ Freeway.

LCB is blamed for making a decision to go live with a system that was flawed and could not pass numerous basic tests for such platforms. The regulator should never have allowed an immature system to be commissioned since that put the entire marijuana value chain tracking system at the risk of a total collapse when so much was at stake.

The consultant also pointed out several issues which put LCB and the developer on the spot. For example, the deployment schedule followed was labeled “impossible” by Gartner Consulting since such projects usually take at least a year to develop and deploy. MJ Freeway should have known better and demanded a reasonable timeframe within which to design a defect-free platform.

The assessment also concluded that the platform designer and the regulator underestimated what would be required to customize the platform for Washington State.

A more stinging criticism for MJ Freeway was that the methods upon which the entire system was developed and implemented didn’t adhere to industry best practices. Consequently, the system raises persistent security concerns.

Gartner Consulting went on to propose ten steps through which the tracking system can be salvaged and improved. For example, the consultant recommends that Washington State hires an experienced firm to provide software integration so that the system can work seamlessly with the software used by other marijuana industry players.

Alternatively, the state could take the radical decision to cancel the project and implement a new one.

Jessica Billingsley, the CEO of MJ Freeway, admitted that though they deployed the system in record time, it had some technical issues which are being addressed to improve it. The company has been taking steps to address all the concerns raised in the Gartner report. TransCanna and VIVO Cannabis Inc. (TSX.V: VIVO) (OTCQX: VVCIF) must be hoping that they never be at the receiving end of such harsh criticism of their products and services.

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420 with CNW – U.S. Feds Confirm Canadians Involved in Legal Marijuana Industry Not Welcome

It is just days before recreational cannabis becomes legal throughout Canada but difficulties are already shaping up regarding how this legalization will affect Canadians who wish to travel to the U.S. The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) service has confirmed that steps will be taken to bar people who are involved in the Canadian marijuana industry from entering the U.S.

CBP’s confirmation comes at a time when numerous media reports emerged about individuals who were handed lifetime bans from entering the U.S. as a result of their investment interests in the cannabis industry.

Customs and Border Protection is simply enforcing the U.S. federal government position that marijuana is a controlled substance that has no medical value and has a high potential for being abused. The feds therefore don’t recognize the marijuana industry as a legitimate business or industry. Anyone involved is regarded as a drug trafficker just like those found with heroin and other such drugs.

Some of the consequences of being found with cannabis or admitting to an involvement in the cannabis industry may include being fined and/or having your cannabis seized, arrests and bans on admission into the U.S.

CBP officials also warned that Canadians should not be tempted to lie about their involvement in the cannabis industry either as investors or consumers since such misrepresentations will carry serious consequences once discovered. The stored data on any affected persons will be kept and referred to in future when those people try to reenter the U.S.

It is still unclear how the Customs and Border Protection agents will screen Canadians entering the U.S. CBP itself admits that not everyone will be questioned about cannabis, but questions may arise when a person is found with cannabis or when the smell of cannabis is detected in the car of the person at an entry point.

Congressman Lou Correa has written to Homeland Security asking its head to clarify a number of issues regarding the implementation of CBP’s position on Canadians involved in the legal marijuana industry. For example, how will the agents determine that someone at the entry point is a participant in the cannabis industry?

People who are handed a lifetime ban can apply for that ban to be waived for a while. That waiver comes at a cost of $585 (not including the person’s legal fees). It isn’t yet clear how long it can take for that waiver to be processed.

Canadian citizens are beginning to get a taste of what companies like TransCanna and VIVO Cannabis Inc. (TSX.V: VIVO) (OTC: VVCIF) have to deal with as they expand from one jurisdiction to another.

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420 with CNW – Michigan Judge Halts Cannabis Business Closures

Judge Stephen Borrello of Michigan’s Court of Claims has issued an injunction against the state’s order to close almost 100 medical marijuana businesses that hadn’t met a section of the emergency licensing regulations passed by regulators.

Just over 100 dispensaries had submitted partially completed application forms as the September 15 deadline approached. Only those businesses that had submitted their papers would be allowed to operate until December 15, when the licensing process was expected to be completed.

The judge’s injunction orders the state to allow all cannabis businesses, including those that hadn’t submitted their applications, to stay open until that mid-December deadline.

Denise Pollisella, an attorney acting on behalf of one cannabis dispensary, filed the application for the injunction. Pollisella was convinced that she presented such strong arguments that it would be hard for the regulators to launch a successful appeal against the injunction.

Other dispensaries that would have been affected by the closure orders have contacted Denise Pollisella thanking her for acting the way she did. They revealed that they had wanted to file similar cases but feared any possible reprisals by regulator at the time of processing license applications.

Several individuals have also made personal calls to the attorney to thank her for saving the job of their family members or for ensuring that their family members could continue accessing medical cannabis conveniently.

The registration measures in question came as part of the plans to put in place stricter regulations for medical cannabis dispensaries. The application process was introduced by a law passed in 2016.

Attorney Pollisella says that the regulators seem to regard cannabis businesses as a group of drug dealers instead of treating them as legitimate businesses. She cautioned that more issues will keep arising until the regulators start working with industry players to implement regulatory mechanisms.

For example, she states that many of the businesses that would have been given cease and desist letters were not told that it was acceptable to submit application forms that had incomplete sections. Of specific concern was a form indicating that the cannabis business had the approval of the local authorities at the chosen business location. Companies like Golden Developing Solutions, Inc. (OTC: DVLP) and VIVO Cannabis Inc. (TSX.V: VIVO) (OTCQB: VVCIF) are all too aware of such twists and turns in the path of getting regulatory approval for cannabis businesses.

Only the dispensaries which called the regulator asking about this requirement were informed that it was okay to send in their applications even if some sections were incomplete. Why couldn’t the regulators be proactive and let all of the businesses know?

For now, the regulators are tight-lipped about their next step as they are still studying the injunction issued by the court.

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