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California May Get Every Licensed Cannabis Business Loaded Into Track-and-Trace System by Next Month

Statewide, the state has issued more than 6,700 cannabis business licenses.

September 19, 2019

Finance Compliance Dispensary News Distribution News State by State: California

By the end of October, if all goes according to plan in California’s often-unpredictable cannabis market, all licensed cannabis businesses will finally be enrolled in the state’s track-and-trace system. Statewide, the state has issued more than 6,700 cannabis business licenses. Getting each one of those businesses on the same page has been a feat.

The California Cannabis Track-and-Trace system (CCTT) is powered my Metrc. “Well over half the market” is onboard as of now, according to Nicolas Maduros, director of the state’s Department of Tax and Fee Administration. The roll-out began in January, but adoption has been slow.

As Capital Public Radio points out, the timely hook at this point in the year is clear. Vaping-related lung illnesses have been rising throughout the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; while it’s unclear whether any of those illnesses may be tied to the state-legal cannabis industry, it’s become paramount now to revisit supply chain transparency and engage the consumer with straightforward information about the products they’re purchasing.

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Shopify Expands to U.S. CBD Industry

CBD product manufacturers and retailers in the U.S. will now have access to Shopify’s suite of marketing tools.

September 19, 2019

Eric Sandy

Dispensary News

Online commerce platform Shopify is now moving into the U.S. CBD space, expanding its hemp-derived CBD product movement in Canada and harnessing the momentum behind the 2018 Farm Bill’s passage.

CBD product manufacturers and retails in the U.S. will now have access to Shopify’s suite of marketing tools, including online features like Store Design Experience, Reliable Payment and Shipping Providers. All told, CBD sales will join the platform’s 800,000+ merchants worldwide as hemp-derived products quickly grow more popular among mainstream consumers.

Regulatory uncertainty abounds in the CBD space, of course, but the legal underpinnings are there for an e-commerce company to find room to grow. The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp and its whole-plant chemical constituents.

“It wasn’t that we had to adjust Shopify,” Loren Padelford, general manager of Shopify Plus, told Adweek. “It was this industry adjusted itself where Shopify made the most sense.”

The platform pointed to Josie Maran Cosmetics as an early entrant into Shopify’s CBD offerings. “This is an exciting time for the CBD skincare industry. Consumers are eager to connect with us and try our Skin Dope products. Until recently, we didn’t have a simple solution to manage and sell our CBD Oil and Hemp Seed Oil assortment online,” Roger Wason, director of e-commerce for Josie Maran Cosmetics, said in a public statement. “Shopify has helped us focus more on our relationships with our consumers and growing our business.”

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Alaska Marijuana Control Board Considers Allowing Outside Investment in Testing Facilities

Regulators are seeking public comment on a set of regulations that would allow limited investment from outside the state.

September 19, 2019

Melissa Schiller

Finance Legislation and regulation News State by State: Alaska Dispensary News

The Alaska Marijuana Control Board is seeking public comment on proposed rules that would allow limited investment in cannabis testing facilities from outside the state, reversing an earlier policy that prohibited such investments.

Testing is currently a bottleneck for the state’s cannabis industry, according to an Alaska Journal of Commerce report. All cannabis products must pass through one of the state’s three operating testing facilities before ending up on retail shelves. The labs are located in Anchorage, Wasilla and Ketchikan, with a fourth facility approved to open in Juneau, pending final inspection, according to the Alaska Journal of Commerce.

High costs have been a barrier to entry for testing facilities, the news outlet reported; on top of the $2,000 license application fee, labs must employ a scientific director with very specific qualifications, and the fee to renew a testing facility license is currently $2,000 with a separate proposed regulation pending that would raise the cost to $5,000 for renewals.

The Marijuana Control Board originally stipulated that only Alaska residents could own or invest in testing facilities, in part to keep the state’s cannabis industry in the hands of Alaskans, according to the Alaska Journal of Commerce. Now, however, the state’s small population and the industry’s lack of banking and loan services have limited the capital available for testing facilities, prompting a change in rules.

The Marijuana Control Board voted to gather public comment on its proposed rules to allow new cannabis testing facility license applicants to seek funding from investors outside the state, the Alaska Journal of Commerce reported.

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Adult-Use Cannabis Sales Would Be Banned in Most of Chicago Under Mayor’s Zoning Plan

Under Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s proposed rules, sales would be prohibited in most of the downtown area, and the rest of the city would be split into seven zones where dispensaries could operate.

September 19, 2019

Melissa Schiller

Finance Dispensary News Legislation and regulation News State by State: Illinois

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has proposed banning adult-use cannabis sales in most of the downtown area as part of a new zoning plan.

The rest of the city would be split into seven “cannabis zones,” where licensed dispensaries could set up shop when adult-use sales launch on Jan. 1, according to a CBS Chicago report.

Illinois’ adult-use cannabis law caps the number of dispensaries in Chicago, and Lightfoot’s proposal aims to ensure the shops are distributed evenly across the city, CBS Chicago reports. Lightfoot said her plan would also give areas impacted by the war on drugs an opportunity to participate in the market.

Lightfoot’s proposal includes an exclusion zone in the Central Business District, according to CBS Chicago, where adult-use cannabis sales would be prohibited, and dispensaries would not be able to locate within 500 feet of a school or within any designated residential zoning district.

Existing medical cannabis dispensaries in Chicago would be allowed to transition to the adult-use market under the plan, CBS Chicago reports.

Lightfoot introduced the proposed rules at a City Council meeting Sept. 18 and faced opposition from several aldermen, according to an ABC 7 Chicago report. Some argued that the Central Business District is a prime area to generate revenue from cannabis sales to tourists and visitors, ABC 7 reported, while Lightfoot maintained that her plan would keep the area “family friendly.”

Lightfoot’s proposal requires approval from the City Council before it can be enacted, and some alderman hope a compromise can be reached before the next meeting in October, ABC 7 reports.

California May Get Every Licensed Cannabis Business Loaded Into Track-and-Trace System by Next Month

Shopify Expands to U.S. CBD Industry

Four Products Added to Colorado's List of Pesticides that Can Be Used on Cannabis

Alaska Marijuana Control Board Considers Allowing Outside Investment in Testing Facilities

Adult-Use Cannabis Sales Would Be Banned in Most of Chicago Under Mayor’s Zoning Plan

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