Business

‘The Haymaker’ is Leafly Deputy Editor Bruce Barcott’s weekly column on cannabis politics and culture. If you caught new White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci’s debut press conference today, you know a few things about the Mooch. He is: Slick Articulate Confident A sharp dresser Reassuring in tone Handy with the quip and joke A big fan of President Trump Fox News’ idea of a devilishly handsome gentleman No longer available for that role as the third Shark in “West Side Story” Say what you will about the man’s employment choices and his boss’s behavior: Mooch is a three-step upgrade for the shop that brought you Shrub-Hiding Spicey. Not ten minutes into Scaramucci’s Briefing Room debut, though, the indefatigable Tom …

At present, Germany is experiencing massive delays in the delivery of medical cannabis. The supply at most pharmacies is limited to three or four of the 16 available medical strains. More than 10 of Germany’s medically-approved strains originate from the Canadian medical cannabis program, but currently, only smaller stocks of Pedanios’ 18/1 are available — the other five Pedanios Strains are sold out. None of the five strains produced by Tweed are available in German pharmacies. Due to the lengthy import and export process, Canadian cannabis could return to the German market in September, at the earliest. Shortages from Canada are not the only problem, Dutch producer Bedrocan has not been able to deliver all of its six available medical …

One year ago this month, Hawaii’s medical marijuana law permitted dispensaries in the state to begin selling medical cannabis to registered patients. But even though many of these dispensaries are stocked with product and ready to do business, the state Health Department has prevented them from opening their doors until three cannabis testing labs are approved.   The initial July 2016 rollout of medical cannabis had already been delayed by the Health Department in order to approve a statewide seed-to-sale tracking system. Earlier this year, the contract was granted to BioTrackTHC, but dispensaries were put on hold again so that the department could implement a testing system for the cannabis that will be sold. The Department of Health is now …

A senator in the US Virgin Islands is trying to bring medical marijuana to the islands. Sen. Terrance “Positive” Nelson announced Thursday that he has submitted a medical marijuana legalization bill to the Legislature, according to the Virgin Island Consortium, which reports that the move has broad support in the US territory. It’s the second time Nelson has submitted a medical marijuana bill. In 2014 he introduced a measure that also had majority support in the islands. However, then-Attorney General Claude Walker warned at the time that passing a law legalizing medical cannabis would put the islands in a precarious position with the federal government. Lawmakers ultimately scrapped the bill after a number of public forums and legislative hearings. “The …

NORML | July 21, 2017 According to recently released polling data from Gallup, nearly half of all Americans have tried marijuana at one point in their lives, an all time high since they began asking the question in 1969 when only 4% of Americans admitted to having tried the substance. Additionally, 12% of survey respondents said they currently consume marijuana. Gallup concludes: “With 29 U.S. states allowing medical marijuana use, and eight allowing recreational use, legal cannabis is taking hold in American society. There may be obstacles to marijuana becoming fully “accepted” in the United States. Attorney General Sessions appears to be cracking down on marijuana use, and driving under the influence of pot continues to be a concern for …

Earlier this week, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that a medical cannabis patient could sue her former employer for handicap discrimination after they fired her for testing positive for cannabis on a drug screening. According to her lawyers, the decision by the court was “very significant” but acts neither as a de facto protection for registered medical cannabis users in the state nor makes them “untouchable.” “Before this ruling [medical cannabis patients] were the opposite of untouchable,” said Matthew Fogelman, an attorney for the plaintiff and owner of Massachusetts-based employment law firm Fogelman & Fogelman. “They were sort of without remedy because if they failed a drug test, they failed a drug test and that was the bottom line.” …

Activists in Wichita, Kansas collecting petition signatures to reduce cannabis possession penalties were thwarted by police at City Hall who cited court decisions that interior spaces in public buildings are not unlimited forums for First Amendment activity, according to a Wichita Eagle report. The activists usually collect signatures on the sidewalk outside of the building, but had moved inside due to extreme heat. City Hall Security Supervisor Mark Ingram said that he was enforcing a building rule and, while he allowed the petitioners to hold clipboards in order to permit people to sign the petition, the activists were not allowed to verbally ask people to sign. Ingram said he consulted with the city attorney before stopping the solicitations. The petitioners …

Secret meetings taking place this week in Colorado involving some of the federal government’s leading agencies against the drug culture could be an indication that it is just now just a matter of time before U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions launches a full blown attack against the legal cannabis trade. According to a recent report from CBS affiliate KKTV 11 News in Colorado Springs, some of Uncle Sam’ top hammers, including the Department of Justice, the DEA and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) have been meeting this week with local officials to discuss the issue of marijuana enforcement. An anonymous figure close to the situation apparently tipped off the news source prior to the meeting, …

Arizona-based medical cannabis operator Harvest has merged with cannabis cultivator and supplier Modern Flower, making Harvest the largest medical cannabis operator in the state by giving them more cultivation facilities and dispensary licenses than anyone else in Arizona. Steve White, Harvest CEO, said the deal “allows Harvest to meet the demand from an increasing number of seriously ill patients who are turning to medicinal cannabis to confront a variety of illnesses.” “What I find particularly exciting about this merger is the growth of our Harvest team,” White said in a press release. “We have an incredibly engaged group of team members who are passionately committed to the care of our patients. You can easily see that energy, that genuine desire to improve …

Partner Colorado Credit Union has created a Credit Union Service Organization to serve other credit unions interested in serving the cannabis space, according to a Credit Union Times report. The program, called Safe Harbor Private Banking, is designed as a stand-alone company that seeks to “expand the (Partner Colorado) cannabis banking program nationally and help other financial institutions solve the issue of the unbanked cannabis industry,” said Sundie Seefried, Partner Colorado CEO. Currently, the Safe Harbor program run by the credit union banks $80 million monthly from state-approved cannabis industry operators. Seefried will continue to oversee Partner Colorado’s Safe Harbor program as well as the credit union. Matthew Cochran, a business and product development with more than 20 years of …