Cannabis News

Missouri did not launch medical cannabis sales until Oct. 16, 2020, but a report released earlier this month revealed the extent to which licensed patients were lined up for access.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) issued 56,448 new patient licenses and 12,062 renewed patient licenses between Dec. 6, 2019, and Dec. 5, 2020, according to the department’s second annual report of the Missouri Medical Marijuana Regulatory Program.

The DHSS approved 23,000-plus patients and caregivers in program year 2019—before commercial sales began—with roughly 33% also approved to home cultivate. That year, Missouri home cultivators were comprised of 7,276 patients and 298 caregivers.

But with the state’s first medical cannabis sales launching this past October, the number of approved patients grew by roughly 200% during 2020. In addition, approved caregivers grew from 563 to 2,146, and home cultivators grew from 7,574 to 19,831.

DHSS is required by law to annually submit a report to the governor regarding the efficient discharge of its responsibilities.

“It is an honor to be a part of the great success of this new medical industry in Missouri,” Lyndall Fraker, director of the section of medical cannabis within the DHSS, said in a news release Aug. 19, when the second annual report was published.

“I continue to be amazed at how hard our team is working in order to help our facilities provide this alternative medicine for the state’s fast growing patient base,” he said. “Our goal is to provide a safe, well-regulated and patient-focused program second to none in our great nation. Our success undeniably proves we have accomplished this goal in a timely manner, meeting all of our constitutional obligations as decided by the citizens of the great state of Missouri.”

Sixty-five percent of Missouri voters passed Amendment 2 to legalize medical cannabis during the November 2018 election. A month later, it was added to the Missouri Constitution, granting the DHSS the authority and responsibility to create a well-regulated program to ensure the availability of, and safe access to, medical cannabis.

Including Missouri, 21 states implemented medical cannabis laws since 2005, according to DHSS. While the national average for implementation is 29 months, Missouri implemented its program in just over 23 months. Only five states implemented programs faster: Pennsylvania (22), New York (18), Utah (16), Minnesota (13) and Oklahoma (4), according to DHSS.

The quickest state in the nation to implement an effective medical cannabis program, Oklahoma had roughly 376,000 registered patients as of earlier this month. Voters there approved State Question 788 to legalized medical cannabis on June 26, 2018.

Missouri, by comparison, had 69,387 registered patients as of December 2020. Among those patients, the most common qualifying medical condition listed was a physical or psychological dependence on another drug, with 20,988 individuals checking that box.

Meanwhile, 17,492 patients with non-defined chronic medical conditions were the second most common. Psychiatric disorders accounted for 11,914 patients. Migraines accounted for 3,843 patients. And those suffering from terminal illnesses, such as cancer, represented 2,304 of the qualifying patients.

Those aged 30 to 39 years represented 24.7% of the patients, while 40 to 49 years (20.2%), 50 to 59 years (18%), 60 to 69 years (16.9%), 18 to 29 years (15.1%) and those 70 years and older (4.7%) followed suit. Those 17 and under accounted for 0.3% of patients.

Beginning in December 2019, DHSS issued licenses to all types of medical cannabis facilities after reviewing more than 2,000 applications. As of December 2020, 192 dispensary licenses were issued, as well as licenses for 86 manufacturing and 60 cultivation facilities. However, as of December 2020, only 17 dispensaries, one manufacturer and 10 cultivation facilities had completed a DHSS Commencement Inspection and been given the final approval to operate.

The 192 dispensary licenses allowed in Missouri represent approximately 3.1 dispensaries per 100,000 population in the state, which is third only to Oklahoma (51.8 dispensaries per 100,000) and New Mexico (5.2 dispensaries per 100,000) among the 21 states that have implemented programs since 2005, according to DHSS data compiled from August 2020. Both Oklahoma, which was up to 2,325 dispensaries as of earlier this month, and New Mexico have unlimited licensing systems.

In the current and upcoming program years, DHSS will continue to monitor facilities’ progress and ability to meet the needs of patients, according to the news release.

“We will continue to pursue public engagement and transparency, which has always been a key component of this program’s success, and further develop consistent regulation, enforcement and education in order to ensure it is successful in providing safe and secure access to medical marijuana for qualifying Missouri patients,” Fraker said.

Kind Idaho Chair Jackee Winters is laser-focused on qualifying the group’s medical cannabis legalization initiative for the state’s 2022 ballot in order to help her daughter, who suffers from a brain tumor, get legal access to cannabis.

“It’s time for Idaho to grow up,” she told Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary. “There are people here who suffer, and we’re behind the times. We need medical advancements in Idaho, and I don’t want to have to relocate my entire family. … It’s not fair that she’s got to suffer, and they basically try to turn us all into criminals by not letting us have our own choice.”

Winters said Kind Idaho has a “skeleton crew” of volunteers in different parts of the state, and has collected roughly 5,000 of the 65,000 total signatures needed to get the group’s medical cannabis legalization measure, the Idaho Medical Marijuana Act for 2022 (IMMA), before voters next year.

IMMA would legalize the possession of up to 4 ounces of cannabis for medical purposes, as well as the home cultivation of up to six plants for patients with a “hardship waiver.” The measure would also create a system of dispensaries to sell medical cannabis to qualified patients in the state.

“We’re asking for regulated medication—cannabis—that would be available to [patients] when they need it,” Winters said. “We really need something … for the people in Idaho who suffer.”

Recruiting volunteers has been challenging, Winters said, and speculated that people simply may not be familiar with the Kind Idaho campaign.

“People may not know of us because it’s our first time doing this, or [word] hasn’t gotten out there,” she said.

Kind Idaho just finished a push to gather signatures at Hempfest, an educational event held Aug. 14 in Boise, and plans to send volunteers to upcoming fairs in the state.

“We just keep trucking along, wishing for the best,” Winters said.

The Idaho Way, formerly known as the Idaho Citizen Coalition for Cannabis, is also working to bring cannabis policy reform to Idaho in the form of a decriminalization initiative called the Personal Adult Marijuana Decriminalization Act (PAMDA).

PAMDA would not create a commercial adult-use cannabis industry in Idaho, but would legalize the personal possession of up to 3 ounces of cannabis in private for adults 21 and older.

Like Kind Idaho, The Idaho Way is currently in the process of collecting roughly 65,000 signatures to place PAMDA on Idaho’s 2022 ballot.

RELATED: Idaho Cannabis Advocates Launch Legalization Efforts in ‘The Most Hostile State’ Toward Policy Reform

During its last legislative session, the Idaho Legislature passed S.B. 1110, which changed the signature-gathering requirements for groups like Kind Idaho and The Idaho Way to get their measures before voters.

Under Idaho’s previous law, which went into effect in 2013, campaigns had to collect signatures from 6% of the registered voters in 18 of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts. Under S.B. 1110, they must gather signatures from 6% of registered voters in all 35 districts to qualify their initiatives for the ballot, which Winters said is “virtually impossible.”

Kind Idaho submitted IMMA before the new law took effect, allowing the campaign to qualify its initiative with signatures from 18 of the state’s districts, while The Idaho Way had to operate under the new law and gather signatures from all 35 districts.

Reclaim Idaho, a campaign behind a ballot initiative for Medicaid expansion, sued over S.B. 1110 in May, and the Idaho Supreme Court ruled Aug. 23 that the new law is unconstitutional, according to an Idaho Statesman report.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court said the law infringed on the public’s right to enact laws outside of the Legislature, and that both the Legislature and the Secretary of State’s Office “failed to present a compelling state interest for limiting that right,” the news outlet reported.

Kind Idaho and The Idaho Way were both watching the case closely.

“Should the decision go in Reclaim’s favor, and the law returns with the 18-district threshold, then we’ll be moving forward with our PAMDA initiative,” Russ Belville, a spokesman for The Idaho Way, told Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary earlier this month. “If it doesn’t go in our favor and we’re stuck with 35 districts, we’ll probably fold the PAMDA initiative and put all our efforts into the IMMA medical initiative.”

Winters said Belville had been helping the Kind Idaho campaign prior to launching the PAMDA initiative, and the two groups are continuing to work together as much as possible.

“Everyone working together is how we’re going to get this done,” she said, adding that she is gathering signatures alongside Kind Idaho’s volunteers. “I’m actually out there in my community getting signatures because it’s very important to Idaho and I want to be part of this changing of times, making history in Idaho.”

Kind Idaho Chair Jackee Winters is laser-focused on qualifying the group’s medical cannabis legalization initiative for the state’s 2022 ballot in order to help her daughter, who suffers from a brain tumor, get legal access to cannabis.

“It’s time for Idaho to grow up,” she told Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary. “There are people here who suffer, and we’re behind the times. We need medical advancements in Idaho, and I don’t want to have to relocate my entire family. … It’s not fair that she’s got to suffer, and they basically try to turn us all into criminals by not letting us have our own choice.”

Winters said Kind Idaho has a “skeleton crew” of volunteers in different parts of the state, and has collected roughly 5,000 of the 65,000 total signatures needed to get the group’s medical cannabis legalization measure, the Idaho Medical Marijuana Act for 2022 (IMMA), before voters next year.

IMMA would legalize the possession of up to 4 ounces of cannabis for medical purposes, as well as the home cultivation of up to six plants for patients with a “hardship waiver.” The measure would also create a system of dispensaries to sell medical cannabis to qualified patients in the state.

“We’re asking for regulated medication—cannabis—that would be available to [patients] when they need it,” Winters said. “We really need something … for the people in Idaho who suffer.”

Recruiting volunteers has been challenging, Winters said, and speculated that people simply may not be familiar with the Kind Idaho campaign.

“People may not know of us because it’s our first time doing this, or [word] hasn’t gotten out there,” she said.

Kind Idaho just finished a push to gather signatures at Hempfest, an educational event held Aug. 14 in Boise, and plans to send volunteers to upcoming fairs in the state.

“We just keep trucking along, wishing for the best,” Winters said.

The Idaho Way, formerly known as the Idaho Citizen Coalition for Cannabis, is also working to bring cannabis policy reform to Idaho in the form of a decriminalization initiative called the Personal Adult Marijuana Decriminalization Act (PAMDA).

PAMDA would not create a commercial adult-use cannabis industry in Idaho, but would legalize the personal possession of up to 3 ounces of cannabis in private for adults 21 and older.

Like Kind Idaho, The Idaho Way is currently in the process of collecting roughly 65,000 signatures to place PAMDA on Idaho’s 2022 ballot.

RELATED: Idaho Cannabis Advocates Launch Legalization Efforts in ‘The Most Hostile State’ Toward Policy Reform

During its last legislative session, the Idaho Legislature passed S.B. 1110, which changed the signature-gathering requirements for groups like Kind Idaho and The Idaho Way to get their measures before voters.

Under Idaho’s previous law, which went into effect in 2013, campaigns had to collect signatures from 6% of the registered voters in 18 of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts. Under S.B. 1110, they must gather signatures from 6% of registered voters in all 35 districts to qualify their initiatives for the ballot, which Winters said is “virtually impossible.”

Kind Idaho submitted IMMA before the new law took effect, allowing the campaign to qualify its initiative with signatures from 18 of the state’s districts, while The Idaho Way had to operate under the new law and gather signatures from all 35 districts.

Reclaim Idaho, a campaign behind a ballot initiative for Medicaid expansion, sued over S.B. 1110 in May, and the Idaho Supreme Court ruled Aug. 23 that the new law is unconstitutional, according to an Idaho Statesman report.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court said the law infringed on the public’s right to enact laws outside of the Legislature, and that both the Legislature and the Secretary of State’s Office “failed to present a compelling state interest for limiting that right,” the news outlet reported.

Kind Idaho and The Idaho Way were both watching the case closely.

“Should the decision go in Reclaim’s favor, and the law returns with the 18-district threshold, then we’ll be moving forward with our PAMDA initiative,” Russ Belville, a spokesman for The Idaho Way, told Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary earlier this month. “If it doesn’t go in our favor and we’re stuck with 35 districts, we’ll probably fold the PAMDA initiative and put all our efforts into the IMMA medical initiative.”

Winters said Belville had been helping the Kind Idaho campaign prior to launching the PAMDA initiative, and the two groups are continuing to work together as much as possible.

“Everyone working together is how we’re going to get this done,” she said, adding that she is gathering signatures alongside Kind Idaho’s volunteers. “I’m actually out there in my community getting signatures because it’s very important to Idaho and I want to be part of this changing of times, making history in Idaho.”

Kind Idaho Chair Jackee Winters is laser-focused on qualifying the group’s medical cannabis legalization initiative for the state’s 2022 ballot in order to help her daughter, who suffers from a brain tumor, get legal access to cannabis.

“It’s time for Idaho to grow up,” she told Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary. “There are people here who suffer, and we’re behind the times. We need medical advancements in Idaho, and I don’t want to have to relocate my entire family. … It’s not fair that she’s got to suffer, and they basically try to turn us all into criminals by not letting us have our own choice.”

Winters said Kind Idaho has a “skeleton crew” of volunteers in different parts of the state, and has collected roughly 5,000 of the 65,000 total signatures needed to get the group’s medical cannabis legalization measure, the Idaho Medical Marijuana Act for 2022 (IMMA), before voters next year.

IMMA would legalize the possession of up to 4 ounces of cannabis for medical purposes, as well as the home cultivation of up to six plants for patients with a “hardship waiver.” The measure would also create a system of dispensaries to sell medical cannabis to qualified patients in the state.

“We’re asking for regulated medication—cannabis—that would be available to [patients] when they need it,” Winters said. “We really need something … for the people in Idaho who suffer.”

Recruiting volunteers has been challenging, Winters said, and speculated that people simply may not be familiar with the Kind Idaho campaign.

“People may not know of us because it’s our first time doing this, or [word] hasn’t gotten out there,” she said.

Kind Idaho just finished a push to gather signatures at Hempfest, an educational event held Aug. 14 in Boise, and plans to send volunteers to upcoming fairs in the state.

“We just keep trucking along, wishing for the best,” Winters said.

The Idaho Way, formerly known as the Idaho Citizen Coalition for Cannabis, is also working to bring cannabis policy reform to Idaho in the form of a decriminalization initiative called the Personal Adult Marijuana Decriminalization Act (PAMDA).

PAMDA would not create a commercial adult-use cannabis industry in Idaho, but would legalize the personal possession of up to 3 ounces of cannabis in private for adults 21 and older.

Like Kind Idaho, The Idaho Way is currently in the process of collecting roughly 65,000 signatures to place PAMDA on Idaho’s 2022 ballot.

RELATED: Idaho Cannabis Advocates Launch Legalization Efforts in ‘The Most Hostile State’ Toward Policy Reform

During its last legislative session, the Idaho Legislature passed S.B. 1110, which changed the signature-gathering requirements for groups like Kind Idaho and The Idaho Way to get their measures before voters.

Under Idaho’s previous law, which went into effect in 2013, campaigns had to collect signatures from 6% of the registered voters in 18 of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts. Under S.B. 1110, they must gather signatures from 6% of registered voters in all 35 districts to qualify their initiatives for the ballot, which Winters said is “virtually impossible.”

Kind Idaho submitted IMMA before the new law took effect, allowing the campaign to qualify its initiative with signatures from 18 of the state’s districts, while The Idaho Way had to operate under the new law and gather signatures from all 35 districts.

Reclaim Idaho, a campaign behind a ballot initiative for Medicaid expansion, sued over S.B. 1110 in May, and the Idaho Supreme Court ruled Aug. 23 that the new law is unconstitutional, according to an Idaho Statesman report.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court said the law infringed on the public’s right to enact laws outside of the Legislature, and that both the Legislature and the Secretary of State’s Office “failed to present a compelling state interest for limiting that right,” the news outlet reported.

Kind Idaho and The Idaho Way were both watching the case closely.

“Should the decision go in Reclaim’s favor, and the law returns with the 18-district threshold, then we’ll be moving forward with our PAMDA initiative,” Russ Belville, a spokesman for The Idaho Way, told Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary earlier this month. “If it doesn’t go in our favor and we’re stuck with 35 districts, we’ll probably fold the PAMDA initiative and put all our efforts into the IMMA medical initiative.”

Winters said Belville had been helping the Kind Idaho campaign prior to launching the PAMDA initiative, and the two groups are continuing to work together as much as possible.

“Everyone working together is how we’re going to get this done,” she said, adding that she is gathering signatures alongside Kind Idaho’s volunteers. “I’m actually out there in my community getting signatures because it’s very important to Idaho and I want to be part of this changing of times, making history in Idaho.”

Kind Idaho Chair Jackee Winters is laser-focused on qualifying the group’s medical cannabis legalization initiative for the state’s 2022 ballot in order to help her daughter, who suffers from a brain tumor, get legal access to cannabis.

“It’s time for Idaho to grow up,” she told Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary. “There are people here who suffer, and we’re behind the times. We need medical advancements in Idaho, and I don’t want to have to relocate my entire family. … It’s not fair that she’s got to suffer, and they basically try to turn us all into criminals by not letting us have our own choice.”

Winters said Kind Idaho has a “skeleton crew” of volunteers in different parts of the state, and has collected roughly 5,000 of the 65,000 total signatures needed to get the group’s medical cannabis legalization measure, the Idaho Medical Marijuana Act for 2022 (IMMA), before voters next year.

IMMA would legalize the possession of up to 4 ounces of cannabis for medical purposes, as well as the home cultivation of up to six plants for patients with a “hardship waiver.” The measure would also create a system of dispensaries to sell medical cannabis to qualified patients in the state.

“We’re asking for regulated medication—cannabis—that would be available to [patients] when they need it,” Winters said. “We really need something … for the people in Idaho who suffer.”

Recruiting volunteers has been challenging, Winters said, and speculated that people simply may not be familiar with the Kind Idaho campaign.

“People may not know of us because it’s our first time doing this, or [word] hasn’t gotten out there,” she said.

Kind Idaho just finished a push to gather signatures at Hempfest, an educational event held Aug. 14 in Boise, and plans to send volunteers to upcoming fairs in the state.

“We just keep trucking along, wishing for the best,” Winters said.

The Idaho Way, formerly known as the Idaho Citizen Coalition for Cannabis, is also working to bring cannabis policy reform to Idaho in the form of a decriminalization initiative called the Personal Adult Marijuana Decriminalization Act (PAMDA).

PAMDA would not create a commercial adult-use cannabis industry in Idaho, but would legalize the personal possession of up to 3 ounces of cannabis in private for adults 21 and older.

Like Kind Idaho, The Idaho Way is currently in the process of collecting roughly 65,000 signatures to place PAMDA on Idaho’s 2022 ballot.

RELATED: Idaho Cannabis Advocates Launch Legalization Efforts in ‘The Most Hostile State’ Toward Policy Reform

During its last legislative session, the Idaho Legislature passed S.B. 1110, which changed the signature-gathering requirements for groups like Kind Idaho and The Idaho Way to get their measures before voters.

Under Idaho’s previous law, which went into effect in 2013, campaigns had to collect signatures from 6% of the registered voters in 18 of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts. Under S.B. 1110, they must gather signatures from 6% of registered voters in all 35 districts to qualify their initiatives for the ballot, which Winters said is “virtually impossible.”

Kind Idaho submitted IMMA before the new law took effect, allowing the campaign to qualify its initiative with signatures from 18 of the state’s districts, while The Idaho Way had to operate under the new law and gather signatures from all 35 districts.

Reclaim Idaho, a campaign behind a ballot initiative for Medicaid expansion, sued over S.B. 1110 in May, and the Idaho Supreme Court ruled Aug. 23 that the new law is unconstitutional, according to an Idaho Statesman report.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court said the law infringed on the public’s right to enact laws outside of the Legislature, and that both the Legislature and the Secretary of State’s Office “failed to present a compelling state interest for limiting that right,” the news outlet reported.

Kind Idaho and The Idaho Way were both watching the case closely.

“Should the decision go in Reclaim’s favor, and the law returns with the 18-district threshold, then we’ll be moving forward with our PAMDA initiative,” Russ Belville, a spokesman for The Idaho Way, told Cannabis Business Times and Cannabis Dispensary earlier this month. “If it doesn’t go in our favor and we’re stuck with 35 districts, we’ll probably fold the PAMDA initiative and put all our efforts into the IMMA medical initiative.”

Winters said Belville had been helping the Kind Idaho campaign prior to launching the PAMDA initiative, and the two groups are continuing to work together as much as possible.

“Everyone working together is how we’re going to get this done,” she said, adding that she is gathering signatures alongside Kind Idaho’s volunteers. “I’m actually out there in my community getting signatures because it’s very important to Idaho and I want to be part of this changing of times, making history in Idaho.”

It’s no secret that many of California’s legal cannabis businesses have been struggling to thrive since the state launched its first adult-use sales in 2018.

To help support the industry, the County of Humboldt launched Project Trellis in 2019 as a three-tier initiative that provides business support and resources to the industry, covering cannabis business micro-grants, local equity, and marketing and promotion.

“It was created through a resolution that provided 10% of our local cannabis cultivation taxes to be returned to the community through this project,” said Peggy Murphy, economic development specialist for the County of Humboldt. “It covers three basic programs.”

The Micro-Grant Program offers grants of up to $10,000 for cannabis and ancillary businesses—including cultivators, retailers, distributors and manufacturers—for projects approved by the Project Trellis Committee. The grants are competitive, and applications go through the committee for scoring and ranking.

In its first year, Project Trellis awarded $180,000 in microgrants, and in its second year, it awarded $519,000. The grants have funded a variety of projects, Murphy said, including business’ organic certifications, water tanks and solar panels.

The Local Equity Program is based off California Senate Bill 1294, which encouraged the state’s counties to create a Cannabis Equity Assessment, and then a local equity program, in order to apply for state funds to support local equity programs.

Humboldt County ultimately won three awards—one from the Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC) for $1.3 million and two from the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development for $2.4 million and $1.05 million.

Murphy said Project Trellis initiated its Local Equity Program using the original BCC award and is in the final stages of contracting with those awardees.

Project Trellis launched an updated version of its equity program, “Version 2.0,” on Aug. 16, using the second award of $2.4 million and incorporating feedback from the community, stakeholders and funders.

Finally, the county-wide Marketing and Promotion Program aims to promote and maintain Humboldt-grown cannabis as a national and industry brand.

Qualifications for each program vary, Murphy said. Applications for the annual Micro-Grant Program were built in-house by the Project Trellis Committee and staff with oversight from the Project Trellis Board of Directors.

To qualify for a grant, a business must be operating in the cannabis industry, either as a startup or an established company.

“If your project includes finishing your establishment—like completing your permitting and licensure—then we will consider you, but it is really geared toward established cannabis businesses,” Murphy said.

Businesses must be licensed and registered to operate in Humboldt County, with at least 75% of their operations based in Humboldt County, in order to qualify for a grant.

In any given year, Murphy said Project Trellis receives approximately 70 applications for the Micro-Grant Program. During the first year, it funded 17 projects, and during the second year, it funded 16.

To qualify for the Local Equity Program, business owners must be at or below a certain income level, reside in Humboldt County, and be a shareholder or owner with at least 20% interest in a cannabis business. Once all those qualifications are met, applicants must meet a minimum of another set of criteria, including items such as minority ownership.

“A good amount of what we deal with is compliance-related, or conditional [license] approval, and that’s true for both the Micro-Grant as well as the Local Equity Program,” Murphy said. “I think overall, not just our program but the community itself, recognizes that the cost of becoming legitimate within the commercial cannabis marketplace is extreme, and with the fluctuations in the market, it’s incredibly tough even for those who have gone completely through the [licensing] process.”

Project Trellis Committee meetings are open to the public, and the program also hosts public town halls (now conducted via Zoom due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic) to receive feedback from the local community.

“We’re really intended to be there to help support the cannabis industry,” Murphy said. “I think that’s important to state because I think a lot of times, people assume that because we are the County of Humboldt, we aren’t necessarily looking out for their best interests. And we’re hoping to be an advocate for the community.”

ACS Laboratory, a cannabis and hemp testing lab based outside of Tampa Bay, Florida, announced the launch of their “Tested Safe Certified Seal” program. The program is designed to help raise standards and put more consumer trust in safe, tested products.

ACS Laboratory is an ISO 17025-accredited and DEA-licensed cannabis testing company founded in 2008. Last year they were certified by the Florida Department of Health to perform cannabis testing for state-licensed cannabis companies. In addition, the company acquired Botanica Testing, Inc. in 2020, adding more than 500 hemp and CBD clients to their portfolio. They now perform hemp testing for clients in more than 44 states.

The “Tested Safe Certified Seal” program allows companies to adorn their products with the trademarked seal following testing, informing consumers that their product has met safety standards and a full panel of compliance tests. “Unlike a mandated QR code that links to a Certificate of Analysis (COA) with detailed test results, the Seal shows visual proof at a glance that consumers can trust a brand,” reads the press release.

The program is also endorsed by the American Cannabinoid Association (ACA). “It is exciting to see our industry legally providing cannabis and cannabis-derived products on a commercial scale,” says Matthew Guenther, founder of the ACA. “As with any consumer product, safety and quality control remain our absolute priority.”

To earn the seal, companies send their products to the ACS lab for a full panel of safety and potency tests. ACS has a scope of services that includes: potency testing for 21 cannabinoids, 38 terpene profiles, 42 residual solvents, screening for 105 pesticides, moisture content, water activity, microbiology panels, heavy metals screening, flavonoid testing for 16 profiles, micronutrient testing, mycotoxins, Vitamin E acetate, shelf life & stability, plant regulators (PGRS), PAH testing and Pharmacokinetic Studies (PK) aka human trials.

It’s no secret that many of California’s legal cannabis businesses have been struggling to thrive since the state launched its first adult-use sales in 2018.

To help support the industry, the County of Humboldt launched Project Trellis in 2019 as a three-tier initiative that provides business support and resources to the industry, covering cannabis business micro-grants, local equity, and marketing and promotion.

“It was created through a resolution that provided 10% of our local cannabis cultivation taxes to be returned to the community through this project,” said Peggy Murphy, economic development specialist for the County of Humboldt. “It covers three basic programs.”

The Micro-Grant Program offers grants of up to $10,000 for cannabis and ancillary businesses—including cultivators, retailers, distributors and manufacturers—for projects approved by the Project Trellis Committee. The grants are competitive, and applications go through the committee for scoring and ranking.

In its first year, Project Trellis awarded $180,000 in microgrants, and in its second year, it awarded $519,000. The grants have funded a variety of projects, Murphy said, including business’ organic certifications, water tanks and solar panels.

The Local Equity Program is based off California Senate Bill 1294, which encouraged the state’s counties to create a Cannabis Equity Assessment, and then a local equity program, in order to apply for state funds to support local equity programs.

Humboldt County ultimately won three awards—one from the Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC) for $1.3 million and two from the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development for $2.4 million and $1.05 million.

Murphy said Project Trellis initiated its Local Equity Program using the original BCC award and is in the final stages of contracting with those awardees.

Project Trellis launched an updated version of its equity program, “Version 2.0,” on Aug. 16, using the second award of $2.4 million and incorporating feedback from the community, stakeholders and funders.

Finally, the county-wide Marketing and Promotion Program aims to promote and maintain Humboldt-grown cannabis as a national and industry brand.

Qualifications for each program vary, Murphy said. Applications for the annual Micro-Grant Program were built in-house by the Project Trellis Committee and staff with oversight from the Project Trellis Board of Directors.

To qualify for a grant, a business must be operating in the cannabis industry, either as a startup or an established company.

“If your project includes finishing your establishment—like completing your permitting and licensure—then we will consider you, but it is really geared toward established cannabis businesses,” Murphy said.

Businesses must be licensed and registered to operate in Humboldt County, with at least 75% of their operations based in Humboldt County, in order to qualify for a grant.

In any given year, Murphy said Project Trellis receives approximately 70 applications for the Micro-Grant Program. During the first year, it funded 17 projects, and during the second year, it funded 16.

To qualify for the Local Equity Program, business owners must be at or below a certain income level, reside in Humboldt County, and be a shareholder or owner with at least 20% interest in a cannabis business. Once all those qualifications are met, applicants must meet a minimum of another set of criteria, including items such as minority ownership.

“A good amount of what we deal with is compliance-related, or conditional [license] approval, and that’s true for both the Micro-Grant as well as the Local Equity Program,” Murphy said. “I think overall, not just our program but the community itself, recognizes that the cost of becoming legitimate within the commercial cannabis marketplace is extreme, and with the fluctuations in the market, it’s incredibly tough even for those who have gone completely through the [licensing] process.”

Project Trellis Committee meetings are open to the public, and the program also hosts public town halls (now conducted via Zoom due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic) to receive feedback from the local community.

“We’re really intended to be there to help support the cannabis industry,” Murphy said. “I think that’s important to state because I think a lot of times, people assume that because we are the County of Humboldt, we aren’t necessarily looking out for their best interests. And we’re hoping to be an advocate for the community.”