WASHINGTON, D.C. – PRESS RELEASE – On , the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) joined other trade organizations and policy groups, as well as dozens of cannabis businesses, in submitting a letter to members of Congress urging them to address the racially disparate harms caused by prohibition. The letter, which was signed by more than 100 businesses and organizations, calls for federal legislation to remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, allow banks and other financial institutions to work with cannabis businesses and provide loans to people from marginalized communities who are trying to participate in the industry, and reform the federal tax code to remove the provision that imposes a discriminatory tax rate on cannabis businesses and creates a significant barrier for entry into the legal cannabis market.

The letter also calls for allocating federal funds for programs that would help provide restorative justice and promote equity in the cannabis industry. These include providing financial support for state programs that promote equity, allowing cannabis businesses to access Small Business Administration programs and benefits, expunging cannabis convictions and improving access to services that have been denied to people with cannabis-related criminal records, and reinvesting in the communities that have been most harmed by prohibition. The full text of the letter is available at http://www.DescheduleMarijuana.com.

“As representatives of the legal cannabis industry, we have a responsibility to help undo the harms caused by prohibition and ensure that people most impacted by failed federal policies have access to the opportunities being created every day in this market. We are pleased to join this distinguished group of business leaders and advocates in calling on Congress to incorporate these ideas into legislation,” said Aaron Smith, executive director of NCIA. “Past Congresses have played a major role in marginalizing people of color through the war on cannabis, and it is the duty of current and future lawmakers to make up for this.”

“4Front is proud to stand with NCIA, the Minority Cannabis Business Association, and the other organizations that have signed this letter in support of federal cannabis policy reform that will not only help foster a more inclusive industry, but begin to address some of the harm done to communities disproportionately impacted by the War on Drugs,” said Kris Krane, co-founder and president of multi-state cannabis company 4Front Ventures and NCIA board member. “This is a cause that many of us have been pursuing for decades and it’s been tremendously gratifying to watch as the conversation has shifted from whether or not to legalize cannabis to how should we go about legalizing it.”

Last week, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security held a historic hearing entitled "Marijuana Laws in America: Racial Justice and the Need for Reform” to begin a larger conversation in Congress about these problems and how to start fixing them.

In May, NCIA released a set of guidelines in conjunction with lawmakers and stakeholders called Increasing Equity in the Cannabis Industry: Six Achievable Goals for Policy Makers, which provides legislators with simple paths toward addressing many of the issues referenced in the letter.

The SAFE Banking Act, which would remedy the current cannabis banking situation discussed in the letter while increasing public safety and industry transparency, was approved by the House Financial Services Committee in March, and is expected to be voted on by the full House soon. The Senate Banking Committee will hold a hearing on a companion bill on Tuesday.

There are currently 47 states that allow cannabis in some form. Thirty-three states and several territories have comprehensive medical cannabis laws, and 11 states as well as the District of Columbia and the territories of Guam and CNMI have made cannabis legal for adults.

LOS ANGELES -- July 17, 2019 -- PRESS RELEASE -- tökr, the cannabis e-commerce and recommendation platform that connects consumers to cannabis lifestyle brands, has announced that it has secured super seed funding led by a $1 million investment from private equity fund, Merida Capital Partners.

The funds raised in this round will be used to continue growth and expansion nationally, scale the company’s CBD e-commerce store, and launch its THC delivery service slated to roll out in Los Angeles later this month. The funds will also support software development, sales and marketing, and enhanced operations.

“Merida Capital Partners is an industry-leading cannabis private equity fund and we are thrilled to begin a strategic partnership with them,” said Matt Singer, CEO and founder of tökr. “Their existing operations across multiple states will allow us to integrate with additional partners and quickly scale to more markets nationwide.”

Since its inception in 2018, tökr has aimed to bridge the gap between the modern cannabis consumer and cannabis lifestyle brands by providing a safe and trusted platform for users to discover and learn about credible cannabis products. The direct-to-consumer e-commerce marketplace curates and recommends personalized products based on consumers' diverse needs and lifestyles.

"Merida sees the power of predictive data and curated content as a major influence on the next phase in the fast-evolving cannabis consumer landscape,” said Mitch Baruchowitz, managing partner of Merida Capital Partners. “tökr fits well within our data-driven ecosystem and can efficiently collaborate with our existing portfolio companies in the digital and branded products verticals to drive brand awareness and personalize the consumer discovery to delivery process."

According to a recent report, the U.S. cannabis market will be a $26 billion industry by 2025 and more than 24 million Americans above the age of 18 consume cannabis regularly.

Consumers can visit trytokr.com to begin their personalized cannabis experience. Interested brands can visit trytokr.com/contact to inquire about potential partnerships.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., July 17, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- PRESS RELEASE -- PathogenDx, Inc., the Arizona-based technology company which provides a DNA-based pathogen testing platform for the cannabis, hemp, agriculture and food safety industries, has announced that they have entered into a strategic partnership with Nationwide Laboratory Services/The Hayes Division, a national medical lab testing company based in Florida, to deploy PathogenDx's proprietary microarray technology for rapid strain identification in the dermatological and podiatric fungal testing industry. As part of the terms of the agreement, Nationwide Laboratory Services will create a Laboratory Developed Test (LDT) based on PathogenDx's testing technology. PathogenDx will serve as the Research & Development platform and Nationwide Labs will serve as the validator and launchpad for the services.

In making the announcement, CEO and Co-Founder Milan Patel said, "PathogenDx'sagreement with Nationwide Laboratory Services will offer doctors, patients and insurers ultra-rapid and less expensive fungal testing results in 6 hours or less, versus the industry standard of 72 hours or more. We all know that DNA-based tests are far more rapid and accurate than plating cultures, but what PathogenDx uniquely offers is multiple pathogen testing as one multiplex test in six hours or less. We have already developed analogous testing for the fungal species needed in the microbial testing market in our other industry verticals. What this partnership with Nationwide Labs will allow us to do is to take that knowledge and expand into the medical testing market. A breakthrough moment for our multi-patented technology, this partnership allows us to move into the multi-billion dollar medical microbial testing market. This is a very exciting announcement for us."

Nationwide Laboratory Services/The Hayes Division COO Dean Morris said, "What is exciting about this announcement for us is that the fungal medical testing market is underserved and the current 72-plus hour testing turnaround time takes too long. In addition, there has not been a new technology to serve this market in a long time. The use of microarray technology could change the U.S. market for clinical dermatology and podiatry for years to come."

Vice President of Business Development Trent Hayes remarked, "Our scientists will work together with the PathogenDx scientists to create a Laboratory Developed Test to be validated and the results of the fungal tests in the study will be brought to market, after review by the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) and the College of American Pathologists (CAP)."

The partnership between the two companies begins immediately. It is expected that a multiplex fungal assay, with capacity to identify up to 44 different pathogens at a time, will be ready for beta testing by the first quarter of 2020.