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Denver Now Considering Cannabis Delivery Proposal, May Greenlight New Social Equity Business Licenses

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NEWARK, N.J.,  March 2, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE – CannabizTeam, a cannabis-focused executive search and staffing firm, announced the opening of its new offices in Newark, New Jersey. Newark is CannabizTeam’s 10th office location in the U.S., joining recently opened offices in Denver, previously established branches in Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Dallas, Miami, Orlando and Santa Rosa, California, and the company headquarters in San Diego. 

“CannabizTeam is growing to accommodate the explosive growth of the cannabis industry and leverage talent in top cannabis markets across the country,” said Liesl Bernard, founder and CEO of CannabizTeam. “We expect to see tens of thousands of cannabis jobs created by New Jersey and its neighbors in the tristate area, and predict this developing market will further the case to legalize adult-use cannabis across the East Coast. We look forward to helping new and expanding cannabis companies alike connect with qualified talent that will up their competitive advantage and position them for success as the industry continues to evolve.” 

With the addition of the Newark offices, CannabizTeam now holds 10 offices in eight states across the U.S. Since its inception in 2016, CannabizTeam has matched thousands of top candidates from entry level to specialized C-suite leadership at the leading private and public cannabis companies in North America and Europe. Multi-state clients include TerrAscend, Justice Grown, Ascend Wellness Holdings, Jushi, LEEF Holdings, NewTropic and Benzinga.

“We engaged CannabizTeam executive search to help TerrAscend fill a CFO position and three other executive-level roles in the U.S. and Canada over the last 12 months,” said Jason Ackerman, CEO of TerrAscend, a leading North American cannabis operator with vertically integrated operations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and California, and operating as a licensed producer in Canada. “We have been highly satisfied with CannabizTeam’s search capabilities and customer service. They evaluated a large number of candidates from inside and related industries, and the quality and depth of the candidates presented was exceptional. We are very pleased with the candidates we chose to hire as they were not only technically qualified, but they are also a great fit for our company’s culture.” 

Cannabis is officially America’s fastest-growing industry as the 2021 Leafly Jobs Report found that the U.S. cannabis industry now supports 321,000 full-time equivalent jobs, a 32% increase over the previous year. As cannabis legalization continues to spread and demand for qualified talent continues to increase, CannabizTeam plans to continue its expansion initiative to meet these needs.

To learn more about CannabizTeam, visit CannabizTeam.com. 

Cannabis Conference Announces Education Program for In-Person Event: Aug. 24-26 in Las Vegas

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LAS VEGAS, NV (March 4, 2021) – Cannabis Conference (August 24-26, 2021, at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino) today announces its education program, which includes 45+ sessions within four education tracks that will provide actionable takeaways about the most pressing issues plant-touching businesses currently face in the cannabis industry.

Some of the most highly anticipated sessions from this year’s program include:

  • Federal Cannabis Legalization in the United States: What Will It Mean?
  • In the Black: Become Cash Positive by Avoiding These Expensive Cannabis Business Mistakes
  • Pest & Disease Prevention and Mitigation Strategies
  • Turning Talk Into Action: How Cannabis Companies Are Developing Meaningful Social Equity Priorities
  • If Not Potency, Then What? Cultivating For a Nuanced Chemical Profile
  • Use Data to Boost Sales & Improve Inventory Management
  • The Business of Extraction (Including Product and Solvent Selection)
  • Marketing Strategies That Work, Even in the Most Restrictive States

Click here to view the full education program.

“Curated with our editorial teams at Cannabis Business Times, Cannabis Dispensary and Hemp Grower magazines, along with insights from the Cannabis Conference 2021 Advisory Board, we have created content to inspire every attendee, no matter whether they’re just starting out or more advanced in their careers, to take their businesses to the next level,” said Conference Programming Director Cassie Neiden Tomaselli.

In addition to dozens of sessions on everything from cultivation to facility buildout, operations, and retail and cultivation business strategies, Cannabis Conference will also feature 100+ exhibitors on its trade show floor, including experts in: horticultural lighting, nutrients, growing media, pest control, structures, drying and storage, IT services, marketing solutions, accounting and finance, POS software, packaging and labeling, and much more.

For additional information about Cannabis Conference 2021, including registration information, a current list of exhibitors and sponsors and more, visit www.cannabisconference.com. The deadline for Cannabis Conference’s lowest pricing is March 15, so take advantage of these rates and reserve your spot today. 

 

About Cannabis Conference

Cannabis Conference 2021, presented by the award-winning Cannabis Business Times, Cannabis Dispensary, and Hemp Grower, is the leading educational provider for plant-touching businesses in the legal cannabis and hemp markets. The three-day event will be held at Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nev., on Aug. 24-26, 2021. The Cannabis Conference exhibition hall will feature industry-leading technologies, solutions and services for the professional cannabis cultivator and retail businesses. For more information, visit www.CannabisConference.com.

Wyoming Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Legalize Cannabis

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A bipartisan group of lawmakers in Wyoming have introduced a bill to legalize cannabis in the state’s legislature. First reported by Buckrail.com, HB0209 was assigned on March 2. The bill would legalize possession, home grow and sales for adults, as well as establish a regulatory framework for licensing, tracking and taxation.

In November 2020, voters in Montana and South Dakota passed ballot measures that legalize adult use and sales of cannabis. About a month after Election Day, the University of Wyoming conducted a poll that found roughly 54% of Wyoming residents now support legal adult use cannabis. In 2018, UW found that 85% of Wyoming residents support medical cannabis legalization.

In March of 2019, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon signed a bill into law that essentially legalized hemp in the state. That bill was a boon for the state’s agricultural economy, giving many farmers a much-needed boost in their crop diversity.

Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon

You can find the current version of HB0209 here. Sponsors of the bill include: Representatives Jared Olsen (R-Laramie), Mark Baker (R-Sweetwater) Eric Barlow (R-Campbell/Converse), Landon Brown (R-Laramie), Marshall Burt (L-Sweetwater), Cathy Connolly (D-Albany), Karlee Provenza (D-Albany), John Romero-Martinez (R-Laramie), Pat Sweeney (R-Natrona), Cyrus Western (R-Sheridan), Mike Yin (R-Teton) and Dan Zwonitzer (R-Laramie) and Senators Cale Case (R-Fremont) and Chris Rothfuss (D-Albany).

According to Buckrail, if the bill becomes law, Wyoming could get roughly $49.15 million in tax and license fee revenue in 2022. That number would mean a sizable windfall for the state that saw an 8.5% decline in tax revenue in 2020. Governor Gordon proposed budget cuts as high as 15% for agencies across the state last year. Most of the revenue generated from cannabis taxes would be earmarked for education.

Wyoming’s tax revenue is notoriously limited when it comes to diversity: the state makes its money on oil and gas, and that’s about it. Earlier this year, the Biden administration halted oil and gas leasing on federal land, hitting pause on a nearly half-million-acre deal. If the pause on oil and gas leasing on federal lands continues or were to become permanent, Wyoming stands to lose tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars every year.

So, what does the least populous state in the country do when they can no longer generate revenue from oil and gas? Simple. Legalize cannabis.

Canopy Growth Launches CBD Beverage Brand Quatreau in the U.S.

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Last week, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy ended a weeks-long legislative saga that saw cannabis legalization—supported by more than two in three voters in November—finally go into effect. On Feb. 22, Murphy signed a bill to legalize and another bill clarifying penalties for underage possession, a sticking point that had stalled the development of the legal industry. 

Stopping low-level cannabis arrests and moving forward on an initiative the state’s voters approved nearly four months ago is just the start. Those fighting for a fair industry in New Jersey say there’s still a long way to go to ensure the new state market helps correct the previous decades of biased law enforcement.

Racial disparity in New Jersey prohibition

Between 2010 and 2018, Black people were 3.5 times more likely to be arrested for cannabis across the state. In certain counties, that discrepancy shoots up to over 13. And according to the ACLU, the disparity has gotten worse over time—in 2000, Black people were arrested 2.2 times as often.

“New Jersey averaging 32,000 arrests a year for low-level, nonviolent, minor possession of cannabis—and 80% of those arrested were people who look like me—is not a fluke or happenstance,” said Leo Bridgewater, Director of Veterans Outreach for Minorities 4 Medical Marijuana (M4MM) and an advocate in the state’s effort for cannabis reform.

He and others involved in New Jersey’s legalization process, who spoke to Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary via email, weighed in on how Garden State lawmakers should proceed from here on out to create an industry that can begin to compensate for many years of racially biased law enforcement.

What will it take for a fair industry?

Recent estimates from The New York Times project that legal cannabis will bring the state of New Jersey more than $125 million in annual revenue. In many other legalized states—from early-movers like Colorado to newcomers like Illinois—markets are dominated by white-owned businesses, who often control 80 to 90% of state industries.

“There have always been glaring social justice concerns and obvious inequity in the high number of arrests of minority residents. Now, finally, this is the time for it to stop,” said Assemblyman Jamel Holley in a statement to the media announcing the bill’s signing.

Proponents of an equitable industry say that New Jersey could end its long-running racial and socioeconomic disparity in cannabis with a few key steps:

Equity licenses

With varying degrees of success, states like Michigan and California have offered special licenses for people from cities and counties hit hardest by cannabis prohibition. Given the disparity in arrests between various counties of New Jersey, this approach is one option upcoming legal market. 

Matt Platkin, partner at Lowenstein Sandler and former chief counsel the governor, said the state intends to follow a similar strategy.

“In drafting this legislation, the governor and the legislature placed a heavy emphasis on those communities that were disproportionately affected by the criminalization of cannabis,” said Platkin. “Priority for new licenses will be given to applicants from those communities, as well as to individuals who reside in New Jersey. The legislation also seeks to issue at least 30% of all new licenses to minority, women or veteran-owned businesses.”

Bridgewater noted that the bill’s text includes the creation of an Office of Minority, Disabled Veterans, and Women Cannabis Business Development to help empower disadvantaged entrepreneurs who still want to participate in the industry. This office will be part of New Jersey’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC), which will oversee the state’s new industry and the way it creates standards for cannabis licensing.

Funding from tax revenue

Cannabis tax dollars could serve as a boon to state-level economies, many of which are still suffering under the fiscal strain wrought by the pandemic. California recently announced the state has brought in over $2 billion in tax revenue from the legal cannabis industry since the program launched in 2018.  

New Jersey’s cannabis tax structure begins with a 6.6% state sales tax, on top of which can be added a 2% tax for towns and cities. Under the new law, the CRC also has the option to implement a sliding excise tax earmarked for social equity causes. This unique structure varies from $10 to $60 per ounce depending on the retail cost of the product.

Home grow

For decades, supporters of home grow laws have argued that allowing people to grow their own cannabis is one of the easiest ways to ensure universal access. Late efforts to pass a separate bill to allow medical patients to grow were unsuccessful, making New Jersey one of the only states with adult-use and medical cannabis—but no home grow. State officials expressed fears it would keep money flowing into legacy cannabis markets and stall the growth of the legal industry, a claim dismissed by proponents.

“Just because you craft brew or have a pizza oven at home doesn’t mean you won’t grab a beer and a slice of pizza,” said Chirali Patel, a New Jersey-based attorney, cannabis entrepreneur and executive board member on the New Jersey State Bar’s Cannabis Law Committee. “Home grow is a basic right and certainly one for patients at a minimum.”

Looking ahead

Attention in the state’s developing cannabis industry will now shift to the formation of the CRC and the way it chooses to implement its rules and execute on its new mandate. Bridgewater, who predicted adult-use sales will begin in 12 to 18 months, also pointed out the importance of the personnel leading the state’s new cannabis agency. Dianna Houenou, former senior adviser to Murphy and policy counsel for the state’s ACLU chapter, will chair the CRC. Murphy announced the appointment of the final two members of the five-person commission last week.

Above all, cannabis legalization advocates are hoping it will help lead to additional reforms that continue addressing the longstanding racial disparities in New Jersey law enforcement. 

“The intentional targeting and tormenting of people and communities of color in this state has been a massive money maker for the prison industrial complex,” said Bridgewater. “Cannabis legalization only took away one tool out of a box filled with many others. Ending the targeting and tormenting of Black and brown communities for prison profits is how we truly begin to heal together as a state and nation.”

 

Navigating Compliance: Practical Application of Fit-For-Purpose

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What is “fit-for-purpose?” Fit-for-purpose is an established best practice used in several major industries, like information technology, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and inventory management. It is a concept that aligns infrastructure and systems specifications with desired outputs – be that product, service or bottom line. When applied to a cannabis plant, its parts, products and associated processes, it can streamline regulatory framework development, implementation and compliance.

Fit-for-purpose is simply a series of logic questions you ask yourself to determine what business practices you should implement and the regulatory framework in which you must comply. What are you making? Who is it for? Where will it be sold? All this impacts how you would cultivate, process, handle and store a cannabis plant, its parts and products regardless of the type of cannabis plant. The fit-for-purpose concept is a tool that can be applied to any scenario within the cannabis/hemp marketplace. Take for instance, sustainability: a practical example would be to design cultivation standards that are “fit-for-purpose” to the climatic region in which the plants are grown – allowing any type of cannabis plant grown anywhere in the world to meet specifications regardless of the method of production.

There is no “special sauce” here. All fit-for-purpose does is get you to ask yourself: “Are the protocols I am considering implementing ‘fit/appropriate’ to my situation, and if not, which protocols are more ‘fit/appropriate’ based on the products I am making, the target consumer and marketplace in which the products are to be sold?”

A non-cannabis/hemp example of fit-for-purpose could be a scenario where a banana producer wants to implement a data management system into their cultivation practices to better track production and yields. There are many data management systems this banana producer could implement. They could implement a data management system like that of big pharma with multiple levels of redundancy and access control related to intellectual property and other sensitive data. They could also implement a data management system used for tracking warehouse inventory; it cannot exactly capture everything they need but it is better than nothing. Neither example is really “fit/appropriate” to the banana producer’s needs. They need something in between, something that allows them to track the type of products they produce and the data they want to see in a way that is right for them. This idea is at the core of the fit-for-purpose concept.

Applying Fit-for-Purpose

So how do we apply fit-for-purpose to the cannabis/hemp marketplace? Fit-for-purpose reduces the conversation down to two questions: What products are you planning to make and how do those products affect your business practices, whether that be cultivation, processing, manufacturing or compliance. The point being the products you plan to produce determine the regulations you need to follow and the standards you need to implement.

Growers can use it to guide cultivation, harvesting, handling and storage practices. Processors and product manufacturers can use it to guide their production, handling, packing and holding practices. Lawmakers can use it to guide the development, implementation and enforcement of commonsense regulations. This is the beauty and simplicity of fit-for-purpose, it can be applied to any situation and related to any type of product.

Growers can use fit-for-purpose to guide most aspects of their operation

Let us look at some practical examples of fit-for-purpose for cultivators and processors. Cultivators have three main areas of focus, growing, harvesting and storage, whereas processors and product manufacturers have it a little more complicated.

Cultivation of a Cannabis Plant

Growing

Requirements for growing a cannabis plant, including those that can be classified as “hemp”, should be dictated by the product with the strictest quality and safety specifications. For example, growing for smokable fruiting tops (i.e. the flowers) may require different cultivation techniques than other products. You may not want to apply the same pesticides or growth additives to a cannabis plant grown for smokable fruiting tops as you would to a cannabis plant grown for seed and fiber.

Harvesting

The next point is important – harvesting and handling requirements should be agricultural, period. Except for those products intended to be combusted or vaporized and then inhaled. Following our previous example, smokable fruiting tops may require different harvesting techniques than other products, especially if you are trying to maintain the aesthetic quality of these goods. You may choose a different harvesting technique to collect these fruiting tops than you would if primarily harvesting the seed and fiber and thinking of the leftover biomass as secondary.

Storage

When considering the products and their storage, you need to consider each one’s quality and safety specifications. One product may have a temperature specification, whereas another may have a humidity specification. You need to make sure that you store each product according to their individual quality and safety specifications. Then consider the products with the highest risks of diversion and potentially if you need to implement any extra protocols. Continuing our example – smokable fruiting tops, whether classifiable as “hemp” or not, pose a higher risk of theft than seeds or fiber and may require additional security measures depending on the authority having jurisdiction.

Processing and Manufacturing Operations

When applying fit-for-purpose to processing and manufacturing operations, first you must choose the products you want to make and specify the intended use for each product. This allows you to identify the quality and safety requirements and the potential for diversion for each good. Which in turn allows you to specify your manufacturing, processing and handling protocols for each product related to their quality and safety requirements. Then those specific products with higher risks of diversion requiring extra protocols to be put into place depending on local regulations and/or internal risk assessments, should be considered and your practices modified, as necessary.

Commonsense Regulations

Image if regulations governing a cannabis plant, its parts, products and associated processes were based on the intended use rather than a set of attributes that vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. It is complicated enough for regulators to think about a cannabis plant or cannabis product without having to worry about if that cannabis plant or cannabis product can be classified as “marijuana” or “hemp.” Fit-for-purpose removes this complication and simplifies the debate.

Using a fit-for-purpose approach eliminates the need to think about the molecular constituents and focuses the conversation on the intended use rather than one or two specific molecules – in this case, d9-THC, the boogie-man cannabinoid. Considering the intended use promotes consumer and environmental health and safety by allowing operators and regulators to focus on what is most important – quality and safety instead of whether something is “marijuana” or “hemp.”

This idea is what drives the real impact of fit-for-purpose. It creates a path forward to a one plant solution. We have where we are now – with “marijuana” and “hemp” – and where we want to get to – cannabis. It is all one plant with many different applications that can be used to create different commercial products. Fit-for-purpose helps bridge the gap between where we are now and where we want to get to and allows us to start thinking about “marijuana” and “hemp” in the same manner – the intended use.

Fit-for-purpose is a powerful concept that can be used for simplifying regulatory framework development, implementation and compliance. Regulations imposed on a cannabis plant, its parts and products should be appropriate to their intended use, i.e. “fit-for-purpose.” This approach challenges the confines of the current draconian bifurcation of the cannabis plant while working within this system to push the boundaries. It creates a path forward to a one plant solution and begs the question: Is the world ready for this novel concept?

Green Thumb Industries and California's Cannabis-Infused Beverage Cann Announce Partnership to Expand Nationally

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CHICAGO and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 03, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE – Green Thumb Industries, a cannabis consumer packaged goods company and owner of Rise Dispensaries, today announced an exclusive partnership with cannabis-infused beverage brand Cann to manufacture and distribute its line of cannabis-infused sparkling beverages beginning in Illinois this spring. Green Thumb and Cann will expand distribution to additional markets including New Jersey, which recently legalized adult-use cannabis sales.

“The cannabis beverage category is poised for growth. Consumers are increasingly entering the market seeking alternatives to alcohol with familiar consumption experiences,” said Green Thumb Founder and CEO Ben Kovler. “Cann sits squarely in this opportunity, delivers on the consumer need and complements our brand portfolio with entry into the beverage segment. What’s even better is cannabis drinks can offer a superior experience, fewer calories and no hangover compared to alcohol. We are investing in the space and in the Cann team and we couldn’t be more excited to bring California’s #1 cannabis beverage brand to Illinois and beyond.”

Cann’s social tonics are low in sugar and calories and contain no preservatives or artificial sweeteners. Each drink is made of all-natural juice (not from concentrate), herbs, organic agave nectar and micro-doses of cannabis CBD and THC extract designed to be similar in strength to a glass of wine or a light beer. Cann is available in three creative flavors: Lemon Lavender, Grapefruit Rosemary and Blood Orange Cardamom and are sold in 6-packs of 8 ounce cans.

The brand got its start in Venice, California, in 2019 and became a quick local favorite for those in Hollywood due to its appeal to the growing number of entertainers and media personalities looking for healthier alcohol substitutes that still come with a fun social buzz.

“There are a lot of people who want to incorporate cannabis into their lives recreationally without the fear of getting too high,” said Cann co-founder Luke Anderson. “Cann lets you rewrite the ‘bad edible experience’ you had in college and change your social drinking routine at the same time.”

Trends show that cannabis beverages are gaining in popularity faster than other cannabis categories. In California, cannabis beverage category sales grew nearly four times faster than total cannabis market sales between the period of January and December 2020. Over the same time period, Cann rose from fifth in market share to first with over 600% growth in sales (BDS Analytics).

RELATED: THC-Infused Tonics Find Their Place in Cannabis Beverage Market in 2020

“We’re ecstatic to partner with Green Thumb, the nation’s leading cannabis operator and brand innovator,” says Cann co-founder Jake Bullock. “We’re excited that their best-in-class management team believes in our vision to offer a superior alternative to alcohol. Cann social tonics create a refreshing, uplifting social buzz without alcohol’s negative effects. We believe that cannabis beverages will change the way people drink in this country – imagine drinking a few Canns instead of several beers, wine or cocktails and waking up the next day without a massive headache. We offer a much smarter, delicious choice.”

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Thar Process Inc. Announces New Media for All SFC Systems

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Last week, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy ended a weeks-long legislative saga that saw cannabis legalization—supported by more than two in three voters in November—finally go into effect. On Feb. 22, Murphy signed a bill to legalize and another bill clarifying penalties for underage possession, a sticking point that had stalled the development of the legal industry. 

Stopping low-level cannabis arrests and moving forward on an initiative the state’s voters approved nearly four months ago is just the start. Those fighting for a fair industry in New Jersey say there’s still a long way to go to ensure the new state market helps correct the previous decades of biased law enforcement.

Racial disparity in New Jersey prohibition

Between 2010 and 2018, Black people were 3.5 times more likely to be arrested for cannabis across the state. In certain counties, that discrepancy shoots up to over 13. And according to the ACLU, the disparity has gotten worse over time—in 2000, Black people were arrested 2.2 times as often.

“New Jersey averaging 32,000 arrests a year for low-level, nonviolent, minor possession of cannabis—and 80% of those arrested were people who look like me—is not a fluke or happenstance,” said Leo Bridgewater, Director of Veterans Outreach for Minorities 4 Medical Marijuana (M4MM) and an advocate in the state’s effort for cannabis reform.

He and others involved in New Jersey’s legalization process, who spoke to Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary via email, weighed in on how Garden State lawmakers should proceed from here on out to create an industry that can begin to compensate for many years of racially biased law enforcement.

What will it take for a fair industry?

Recent estimates from The New York Times project that legal cannabis will bring the state of New Jersey more than $125 million in annual revenue. In many other legalized states—from early-movers like Colorado to newcomers like Illinois—markets are dominated by white-owned businesses, who often control 80 to 90% of state industries.

“There have always been glaring social justice concerns and obvious inequity in the high number of arrests of minority residents. Now, finally, this is the time for it to stop,” said Assemblyman Jamel Holley in a statement to the media announcing the bill’s signing.

Proponents of an equitable industry say that New Jersey could end its long-running racial and socioeconomic disparity in cannabis with a few key steps:

Equity licenses

With varying degrees of success, states like Michigan and California have offered special licenses for people from cities and counties hit hardest by cannabis prohibition. Given the disparity in arrests between various counties of New Jersey, this approach is one option upcoming legal market. 

Matt Platkin, partner at Lowenstein Sandler and former chief counsel the governor, said the state intends to follow a similar strategy.

“In drafting this legislation, the governor and the legislature placed a heavy emphasis on those communities that were disproportionately affected by the criminalization of cannabis,” said Platkin. “Priority for new licenses will be given to applicants from those communities, as well as to individuals who reside in New Jersey. The legislation also seeks to issue at least 30% of all new licenses to minority, women or veteran-owned businesses.”

Bridgewater noted that the bill’s text includes the creation of an Office of Minority, Disabled Veterans, and Women Cannabis Business Development to help empower disadvantaged entrepreneurs who still want to participate in the industry. This office will be part of New Jersey’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC), which will oversee the state’s new industry and the way it creates standards for cannabis licensing.

Funding from tax revenue

Cannabis tax dollars could serve as a boon to state-level economies, many of which are still suffering under the fiscal strain wrought by the pandemic. California recently announced the state has brought in over $2 billion in tax revenue from the legal cannabis industry since the program launched in 2018.  

New Jersey’s cannabis tax structure begins with a 6.6% state sales tax, on top of which can be added a 2% tax for towns and cities. Under the new law, the CRC also has the option to implement a sliding excise tax earmarked for social equity causes. This unique structure varies from $10 to $60 per ounce depending on the retail cost of the product.

Home grow

For decades, supporters of home grow laws have argued that allowing people to grow their own cannabis is one of the easiest ways to ensure universal access. Late efforts to pass a separate bill to allow medical patients to grow were unsuccessful, making New Jersey one of the only states with adult-use and medical cannabis—but no home grow. State officials expressed fears it would keep money flowing into legacy cannabis markets and stall the growth of the legal industry, a claim dismissed by proponents.

“Just because you craft brew or have a pizza oven at home doesn’t mean you won’t grab a beer and a slice of pizza,” said Chirali Patel, a New Jersey-based attorney, cannabis entrepreneur and executive board member on the New Jersey State Bar’s Cannabis Law Committee. “Home grow is a basic right and certainly one for patients at a minimum.”

Looking ahead

Attention in the state’s developing cannabis industry will now shift to the formation of the CRC and the way it chooses to implement its rules and execute on its new mandate. Bridgewater, who predicted adult-use sales will begin in 12 to 18 months, also pointed out the importance of the personnel leading the state’s new cannabis agency. Dianna Houenou, former senior adviser to Murphy and policy counsel for the state’s ACLU chapter, will chair the CRC. Murphy announced the appointment of the final two members of the five-person commission last week.

Above all, cannabis legalization advocates are hoping it will help lead to additional reforms that continue addressing the longstanding racial disparities in New Jersey law enforcement. 

“The intentional targeting and tormenting of people and communities of color in this state has been a massive money maker for the prison industrial complex,” said Bridgewater. “Cannabis legalization only took away one tool out of a box filled with many others. Ending the targeting and tormenting of Black and brown communities for prison profits is how we truly begin to heal together as a state and nation.”

 

CannabizTeam Opens New Offices in Newark

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NEWARK, N.J.,  March 2, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE – CannabizTeam, a cannabis-focused executive search and staffing firm, announced the opening of its new offices in Newark, New Jersey. Newark is CannabizTeam’s 10th office location in the U.S., joining recently opened offices in Denver, previously established branches in Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Dallas, Miami, Orlando and Santa Rosa, California, and the company headquarters in San Diego. 

“CannabizTeam is growing to accommodate the explosive growth of the cannabis industry and leverage talent in top cannabis markets across the country,” said Liesl Bernard, founder and CEO of CannabizTeam. “We expect to see tens of thousands of cannabis jobs created by New Jersey and its neighbors in the tristate area, and predict this developing market will further the case to legalize adult-use cannabis across the East Coast. We look forward to helping new and expanding cannabis companies alike connect with qualified talent that will up their competitive advantage and position them for success as the industry continues to evolve.” 

With the addition of the Newark offices, CannabizTeam now holds 10 offices in eight states across the U.S. Since its inception in 2016, CannabizTeam has matched thousands of top candidates from entry level to specialized C-suite leadership at the leading private and public cannabis companies in North America and Europe. Multi-state clients include TerrAscend, Justice Grown, Ascend Wellness Holdings, Jushi, LEEF Holdings, NewTropic and Benzinga.

“We engaged CannabizTeam executive search to help TerrAscend fill a CFO position and three other executive-level roles in the U.S. and Canada over the last 12 months,” said Jason Ackerman, CEO of TerrAscend, a leading North American cannabis operator with vertically integrated operations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and California, and operating as a licensed producer in Canada. “We have been highly satisfied with CannabizTeam’s search capabilities and customer service. They evaluated a large number of candidates from inside and related industries, and the quality and depth of the candidates presented was exceptional. We are very pleased with the candidates we chose to hire as they were not only technically qualified, but they are also a great fit for our company’s culture.” 

Cannabis is officially America’s fastest-growing industry as the 2021 Leafly Jobs Report found that the U.S. cannabis industry now supports 321,000 full-time equivalent jobs, a 32% increase over the previous year. As cannabis legalization continues to spread and demand for qualified talent continues to increase, CannabizTeam plans to continue its expansion initiative to meet these needs.

To learn more about CannabizTeam, visit CannabizTeam.com. 

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BDSA Reports Global Cannabis Sales Exceeded $21 Billion in 2020, Forecasts $55.9 Billion by 2026

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When she worked in the fields of natural products and dietary supplements, policy attorney Amber Littlejohn started doing some work in the hemp and CBD space. And not only for that reason, the career change to serve as senior policy adviser for the Minority Cannabis Business Association (MCBA) in some ways placed her in a comparable atmosphere.

The cannabis and hemp markets are similar to the natural products and dietary supplement industries, Littlejohn said, because all of them are “heavily regulated,” “emerging” and “embattled.”

Photo courtesy of Amber Littlejohn

Amber Littlejohn

“Another really significant overlap [is that] while there are big players, innovation and culture around the products are really driven by small companies,” she said. “And I wanted to make sure that as we’re growing the cannabis industry that there are adequate opportunities for small and especially small minority businesses.”

Littlejohn has now been with MCBA for almost two years, first working on its federal policy program as senior policy adviser, then taking the helm as executive director this past November.

“Our leadership has done an extraordinary job of creating policies and building the reputation of the organization,” Littlejohn said of MCBA’s work. “And so, now, we really want to leverage that to be a strong resource for our community, both in providing the resources that people need to enter and succeed in the industry, as well as driving policy around the country.”

In an interview with Cannabis Business Times, Cannabis Dispensary and Hemp Grower, Littlejohn expands on the importance of strengthening small businesses and businesses owned by people of color—and how it can be done.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

 

Patrick Williams: What are you currently most excited about that’s going on at MCBA?

Amber Littlejohn: I am most excited about our growing ability to engage a broader cross-section of our membership and community. We are seeing new opportunities through committees and advisory boards to be able to really leverage the voices and have the voices of both operators and community members become a more meaningful part of the discussion. So often around the country, the voices of minority operators are absent in the discussion. And so, we want to make sure that that’s heard. The large corporate interests—the multi-state operators—do a great job of advocating for their interests. The criminal justice and social justice activists have been doing this for quite some time and are great at advocating for the needs of the community in that regard. But we really want to make sure that economic justice is part of the discussion and that as we are … building any sort of a functioning legal cannabis framework that equity is a cornerstone of that and that equity is inclusive of policies that create and sustain opportunities for small, minority-owned businesses.

 

PW: Could you talk about how the challenges and opportunities surrounding representation and social equity compare when you’re looking at both the state-legal market and the hemp market?

AL: Some of the ways that they’re similar is that there is a gigantic opportunity and resource gap between small minority businesses and some of the larger operators. When you are entering a heavily regulated, capital-intensive industry, there is a gigantic learning curve in terms of making the connections you need to within the supply chain, the technical compliance issues, and even just some of the foundational business knowledge that in the communities that have been most impacted by prohibition are not always there or accessible. And I would say that carries through to the hemp industry as well. I would say the one major difference there is that while access to capital is an issue in the hemp industry, it is an extraordinary issue when it comes to the cannabis industry and to federal prohibition on lending to cannabis businesses.

 

PW: In states where cannabis is fully legal and state-legal programs are set up, could you talk about what social equity programs are doing right and what they’re doing wrong?

AL: One thing that’s happening the right way is that around the country, we are definitely seeing that there is a commitment to equity being a part of any legal framework. And that’s promising, and that’s heartening. I feel one of the biggest challenges, though, is ensuring that the language that’s included and the provisions that are put forth are truly actionable and meaningful. Social equity language can sound good, but if there isn’t funding, if there are extraordinary regulatory hurdles baked into either the qualification or the framework itself, that can yield results that are inequitable. Again, another issue is going to be access to capital, access to properties and real estate, zoning laws—all of these things are hurdles that need to be addressed as we’re going through these frameworks if we want the end result to be equitable and not just the language in the law.

 

PW: Why don’t we see more social equity programs in medical-only states?

AL: So, that’s interestingly enough something that we’re looking at in the state of Virginia, and looking at the possibility of expanding the medical program there with a focus on social equity and small business. [Why] I don’t think we see more of that is that—again, this is baked into the regulations of many medical programs: a requirement to create hurdles that are insurmountable for all small businesses, especially minority-owned small businesses.

So, we want to make sure that when we’re looking at medical programs—either new medical programs [or existing ones]—that they are ensuring that there are opportunities created within that framework that are accessible and sustainable. A good example is extraordinarily high canopy minimums that require tens of thousands of dollars in startup capital. … Also, most states have … medical programs [that] have limitations … [on] who can operate that exclude some of the individuals that have been most impacted by prohibition.

I really do think it’s important that as we are going through the legalization process, that in addition to expanding the medical program—or expanding medical programs throughout the country with an eye towards equity and small business—that we’re also reevaluating existing medical programs to provide opportunity, because what we’re seeing is a push toward co-location of adult-use licenses with medical operators. And this can have—depending on the market, this could have a very [big] impact from completely consuming the market and leaving little for anyone else, as we see in Arizona, to potentially providing the opportunity for medical operators to incubate or support small minority businesses. So, again, it’s something that absolutely has to be revisited because we don’t want to see non-diverse medical operators control any market.

 

PW: Did Americans’ increased outspokenness about systemic racism and police brutality last year shift the focus of the cannabis and hemp industries at all—or highlight how focuses should be shifted—to better suit the needs of people of color?

AL: Yeah, absolutely. We had started to see a shift before that in some circles. But as of last year, we really have seen a recommitment and a recognition that this can’t move forward without equity being a strong element of the program. Last year, MCBA worked with the U.S. Hemp Roundtable to create the Minority Empowerment Committee there, which was an extraordinary step for the hemp industry, in both recognizing its own history as an industry and the need to move forward with a greater focus on diversity. So, we’ve done, again, some great work, both in bringing some new … programming and even shifting the policy priorities of the hemp industry to focus on issues like the drug felony exclusion that’s in the 2018 Farm Bill.

 

PW: Also last year, you joined the board of the U.S. Hemp Authority. Are you working with them on issues of representation as well? 

AL: The U.S. Hemp Authority focuses primarily on standards-setting for the industry. Regulatory compliance and having the ability to have guidance and support in creating safe and effective products is something that is necessary for all businesses. But when it comes to the ability to navigate a crowded market, we want to make sure that we are making accessible to smaller businesses the advantage of third-party certification, [for them] to be able to stand out in that industry, so definitely wanting to reach a broader audience to provide greater understanding on the labyrinth of compliance. We had some individuals from the Hemp Authority participate in some educational events and really helping to better inform the community on [the] … framework that we have for hemp.

 

PW: What types of policy and funding do you feel need to be built into a federal cannabis legalization bill so that legalization helps repair the harms of prohibition?

AL: We need to … incentivize [government] to create frameworks that are supportive and inclusive of the communities that have been most impacted by the war on drugs. We also want to see a significant amount of the revenues directed back into the communities in ways that are beyond just the industry, but working at restoring some of these generational [funds that address] … prohibition and the incarceration that surrounded prohibition. It’s also really necessary to take a look at the framework itself that’s created because again, if you’re excluding from the industry individuals that have been most impacted, that is an unacceptable result. We need to make sure that we are able to [assign] appropriate regulatory burdens to small businesses so that, again, small businesses and small minority-owned businesses are just not buried in costly and unnecessary regulations.

 

PW: We have heard that nonprofits have been compelled to pay taxes in the cannabis industry. How can that be remedied?

AL: So, in 2018, [the government] passed a rule that any organizations that advocate for the cannabis industry are not able to receive a determination letter from the IRS, which means that we can’t get federal nonprofit status. There are some organizations that were grandfathered in, but at that time, MCBA was not officially recognized as a federal nonprofit. So, this means that older, established organizations that had previously completed the [registration] process can advocate, and organizations that advocate against the cannabis industry can receive federal nonprofit status. But organizations like MCBA or any of the newer, emerging social equity organizations, cannot get those same protections. So, it leaves us, firstly, paying taxes on what we raise. And then additionally, it limits contributions from organizations that are looking for opportunities to get to actually federally [recognized] nonprofit [status]. So, it does limit the growth of organizations like ours. We are of the mind that it is pretty clearly unconstitutional, given the fact that it only keeps from nonprofit status organizations that are advocating for, not organizations that are advocating against, [cannabis].

 

PW: What can the cannabis industry do to honor Black history and the history of people of color throughout the entire year and recognize how Black history has led to where we are today? (This interview was conducted in February, Black History Month.)

AL: It’s important to realize that equity is woven throughout everything that we do. Equity is not just D&I [diversity and inclusion]. It is not just a statement that you’re making on social media. And it’s not just narrow, one-off initiatives. It is woven through your practices from seed to sale and beyond. It is your supply chain. It is how you are reinvesting money. It’s about policy. And it’s important that when, especially the larger companies are moving throughout markets and communities that they’re understanding how the policies that they are supporting are going to impact communities. And so, if you’re looking at [supporting] monopolies, that is not promoting equity.

If you are supporting a system or a framework that doesn’t have meaningful opportunities for communities of color, you are not actually supporting and creating equity. If there is not community reinvestment, if you are not focused on ensuring that alongside legalization comes the restoration of communities, that’s not true equity. So, equity needs to be a part of all decision-making, from, again, your events and DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] policy to your regulatory policy. And so, it’s important that industry is looking for Black voices and voices of color, and representation, throughout the company, and not just in departments that are handling either community outreach or DEI.

New Jersey Finally Legalized Cannabis. What’s Next for Equity in the State’s Industry?

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When she worked in the fields of natural products and dietary supplements, policy attorney Amber Littlejohn started doing some work in the hemp and CBD space. And not only for that reason, the career change to serve as senior policy adviser for the Minority Cannabis Business Association (MCBA) in some ways placed her in a comparable atmosphere.

The cannabis and hemp markets are similar to the natural products and dietary supplement industries, Littlejohn said, because all of them are “heavily regulated,” “emerging” and “embattled.”

Photo courtesy of Amber Littlejohn

Amber Littlejohn

“Another really significant overlap [is that] while there are big players, innovation and culture around the products are really driven by small companies,” she said. “And I wanted to make sure that as we’re growing the cannabis industry that there are adequate opportunities for small and especially small minority businesses.”

Littlejohn has now been with MCBA for almost two years, first working on its federal policy program as senior policy adviser, then taking the helm as executive director this past November.

“Our leadership has done an extraordinary job of creating policies and building the reputation of the organization,” Littlejohn said of MCBA’s work. “And so, now, we really want to leverage that to be a strong resource for our community, both in providing the resources that people need to enter and succeed in the industry, as well as driving policy around the country.”

In an interview with Cannabis Business Times, Cannabis Dispensary and Hemp Grower, Littlejohn expands on the importance of strengthening small businesses and businesses owned by people of color—and how it can be done.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

 

Patrick Williams: What are you currently most excited about that’s going on at MCBA?

Amber Littlejohn: I am most excited about our growing ability to engage a broader cross-section of our membership and community. We are seeing new opportunities through committees and advisory boards to be able to really leverage the voices and have the voices of both operators and community members become a more meaningful part of the discussion. So often around the country, the voices of minority operators are absent in the discussion. And so, we want to make sure that that’s heard. The large corporate interests—the multi-state operators—do a great job of advocating for their interests. The criminal justice and social justice activists have been doing this for quite some time and are great at advocating for the needs of the community in that regard. But we really want to make sure that economic justice is part of the discussion and that as we are … building any sort of a functioning legal cannabis framework that equity is a cornerstone of that and that equity is inclusive of policies that create and sustain opportunities for small, minority-owned businesses.

 

PW: Could you talk about how the challenges and opportunities surrounding representation and social equity compare when you’re looking at both the state-legal market and the hemp market?

AL: Some of the ways that they’re similar is that there is a gigantic opportunity and resource gap between small minority businesses and some of the larger operators. When you are entering a heavily regulated, capital-intensive industry, there is a gigantic learning curve in terms of making the connections you need to within the supply chain, the technical compliance issues, and even just some of the foundational business knowledge that in the communities that have been most impacted by prohibition are not always there or accessible. And I would say that carries through to the hemp industry as well. I would say the one major difference there is that while access to capital is an issue in the hemp industry, it is an extraordinary issue when it comes to the cannabis industry and to federal prohibition on lending to cannabis businesses.

 

PW: In states where cannabis is fully legal and state-legal programs are set up, could you talk about what social equity programs are doing right and what they’re doing wrong?

AL: One thing that’s happening the right way is that around the country, we are definitely seeing that there is a commitment to equity being a part of any legal framework. And that’s promising, and that’s heartening. I feel one of the biggest challenges, though, is ensuring that the language that’s included and the provisions that are put forth are truly actionable and meaningful. Social equity language can sound good, but if there isn’t funding, if there are extraordinary regulatory hurdles baked into either the qualification or the framework itself, that can yield results that are inequitable. Again, another issue is going to be access to capital, access to properties and real estate, zoning laws—all of these things are hurdles that need to be addressed as we’re going through these frameworks if we want the end result to be equitable and not just the language in the law.

 

PW: Why don’t we see more social equity programs in medical-only states?

AL: So, that’s interestingly enough something that we’re looking at in the state of Virginia, and looking at the possibility of expanding the medical program there with a focus on social equity and small business. [Why] I don’t think we see more of that is that—again, this is baked into the regulations of many medical programs: a requirement to create hurdles that are insurmountable for all small businesses, especially minority-owned small businesses.

So, we want to make sure that when we’re looking at medical programs—either new medical programs [or existing ones]—that they are ensuring that there are opportunities created within that framework that are accessible and sustainable. A good example is extraordinarily high canopy minimums that require tens of thousands of dollars in startup capital. … Also, most states have … medical programs [that] have limitations … [on] who can operate that exclude some of the individuals that have been most impacted by prohibition.

I really do think it’s important that as we are going through the legalization process, that in addition to expanding the medical program—or expanding medical programs throughout the country with an eye towards equity and small business—that we’re also reevaluating existing medical programs to provide opportunity, because what we’re seeing is a push toward co-location of adult-use licenses with medical operators. And this can have—depending on the market, this could have a very [big] impact from completely consuming the market and leaving little for anyone else, as we see in Arizona, to potentially providing the opportunity for medical operators to incubate or support small minority businesses. So, again, it’s something that absolutely has to be revisited because we don’t want to see non-diverse medical operators control any market.

 

PW: Did Americans’ increased outspokenness about systemic racism and police brutality last year shift the focus of the cannabis and hemp industries at all—or highlight how focuses should be shifted—to better suit the needs of people of color?

AL: Yeah, absolutely. We had started to see a shift before that in some circles. But as of last year, we really have seen a recommitment and a recognition that this can’t move forward without equity being a strong element of the program. Last year, MCBA worked with the U.S. Hemp Roundtable to create the Minority Empowerment Committee there, which was an extraordinary step for the hemp industry, in both recognizing its own history as an industry and the need to move forward with a greater focus on diversity. So, we’ve done, again, some great work, both in bringing some new … programming and even shifting the policy priorities of the hemp industry to focus on issues like the drug felony exclusion that’s in the 2018 Farm Bill.

 

PW: Also last year, you joined the board of the U.S. Hemp Authority. Are you working with them on issues of representation as well? 

AL: The U.S. Hemp Authority focuses primarily on standards-setting for the industry. Regulatory compliance and having the ability to have guidance and support in creating safe and effective products is something that is necessary for all businesses. But when it comes to the ability to navigate a crowded market, we want to make sure that we are making accessible to smaller businesses the advantage of third-party certification, [for them] to be able to stand out in that industry, so definitely wanting to reach a broader audience to provide greater understanding on the labyrinth of compliance. We had some individuals from the Hemp Authority participate in some educational events and really helping to better inform the community on [the] … framework that we have for hemp.

 

PW: What types of policy and funding do you feel need to be built into a federal cannabis legalization bill so that legalization helps repair the harms of prohibition?

AL: We need to … incentivize [government] to create frameworks that are supportive and inclusive of the communities that have been most impacted by the war on drugs. We also want to see a significant amount of the revenues directed back into the communities in ways that are beyond just the industry, but working at restoring some of these generational [funds that address] … prohibition and the incarceration that surrounded prohibition. It’s also really necessary to take a look at the framework itself that’s created because again, if you’re excluding from the industry individuals that have been most impacted, that is an unacceptable result. We need to make sure that we are able to [assign] appropriate regulatory burdens to small businesses so that, again, small businesses and small minority-owned businesses are just not buried in costly and unnecessary regulations.

 

PW: We have heard that nonprofits have been compelled to pay taxes in the cannabis industry. How can that be remedied?

AL: So, in 2018, [the government] passed a rule that any organizations that advocate for the cannabis industry are not able to receive a determination letter from the IRS, which means that we can’t get federal nonprofit status. There are some organizations that were grandfathered in, but at that time, MCBA was not officially recognized as a federal nonprofit. So, this means that older, established organizations that had previously completed the [registration] process can advocate, and organizations that advocate against the cannabis industry can receive federal nonprofit status. But organizations like MCBA or any of the newer, emerging social equity organizations, cannot get those same protections. So, it leaves us, firstly, paying taxes on what we raise. And then additionally, it limits contributions from organizations that are looking for opportunities to get to actually federally [recognized] nonprofit [status]. So, it does limit the growth of organizations like ours. We are of the mind that it is pretty clearly unconstitutional, given the fact that it only keeps from nonprofit status organizations that are advocating for, not organizations that are advocating against, [cannabis].

 

PW: What can the cannabis industry do to honor Black history and the history of people of color throughout the entire year and recognize how Black history has led to where we are today? (This interview was conducted in February, Black History Month.)

AL: It’s important to realize that equity is woven throughout everything that we do. Equity is not just D&I [diversity and inclusion]. It is not just a statement that you’re making on social media. And it’s not just narrow, one-off initiatives. It is woven through your practices from seed to sale and beyond. It is your supply chain. It is how you are reinvesting money. It’s about policy. And it’s important that when, especially the larger companies are moving throughout markets and communities that they’re understanding how the policies that they are supporting are going to impact communities. And so, if you’re looking at [supporting] monopolies, that is not promoting equity.

If you are supporting a system or a framework that doesn’t have meaningful opportunities for communities of color, you are not actually supporting and creating equity. If there is not community reinvestment, if you are not focused on ensuring that alongside legalization comes the restoration of communities, that’s not true equity. So, equity needs to be a part of all decision-making, from, again, your events and DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] policy to your regulatory policy. And so, it’s important that industry is looking for Black voices and voices of color, and representation, throughout the company, and not just in departments that are handling either community outreach or DEI.