CanBreed, an Israeli cannabis genetics seed company, announced this week its acquisition of a 3.5-acre hemp farm in San Diego. The company is part of the Smart-Agro R&D Partnership, a publicly traded firm on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.
Construction of new facilities and greenhouses on the San Diego site is expected to begin early in the new year, with CanBreed selling stable genetics into the market by the end of 2021. Initial output, according to the company, is estimated at 12.5 million seeds annually. CanBreed’s goal runs up to 50 million seeds annually.
In September, CanBreed secured a licensing agreement for foundational CRISPR-Cas9 patents held by Corteva Biosciences (MIT) and Broad Institute (Harvard) allowing the company to selectively edit its cannabis plants’ genetic material. In November, the company announced that its genome editing research had led it to a powdery mildew-resistant chemotype.
“We want to be world leaders in using CRISPR technology for cannabis,” CERO Ido Margalit told the Times of Israel after signing the CRISPR-Cas9 agreement. “The idea is to sell stable enhanced cannabis seeds to the entire global market.”
Two years ago, the European Union declared that CRISPR-edited crops are deemed genetically modified organisms (GMOs), making them illegal to sell. In the U.S., however, shortly after the EU decision, the federal government stepped aside to allow for more product innovation in the agricultural space.
“While these crops do not require regulatory oversight, we do have an important role to play in protecting plant health by evaluating products developed using modern biotechnology,” U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said at the time.
Scanrail | Adobe Stock
New Jersey Attorney General Directs Prosecutors to Halt Possession Charges for Small Amounts of Cannabis
Attorney General Gurbir Grewal has asked the state’s top law enforcement officers to put a hold on cases as lawmakers work on legislation to implement an adult-use cannabis program.
New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal has directed prosecutors to halt possession charges for small amounts of cannabis as the state’s lawmakers work on legislation to implement an adult-use cannabis program, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Guidance distributed by Grewal on Nov. 25 instructs all municipal, county and state prosecutors to put a hold on cases until at least Jan. 25, 2021, the news outlet reported, although the directive does not cover driving under the influence or order police to stop arresting people for the possession of small amounts of cannabis.
A decriminalization bill stalled in the New Jersey Assembly earlier this month after the Senate approved a version of the legislation that included an amendment to lessen the penalty for the possession of up to one ounce of psilocybin, or psychedelic mushrooms.
Also pending in the legislature is legislation that would roll out an adult-use cannabis program in the state, following voters’ approval of legalization on Election Day. Lawmakers passed two different versions of the bill earlier this month and must now agree on a unified proposal before the legislation can receive floor votes.
Lawmakers are expected to take up the bill again on Dec. 7, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Paul | Adobe Stock
New Jersey Court Says State Needs Better System for Licensing Medical Cannabis Operators
An appellate court ruled that the state wrongly rejected applicants when it awarded six additional licenses in 2018, and that the Department of Health must establish a new scoring system.
A New Jersey appellate court ruled Nov. 25 that the state needs a better system for licensing its medical cannabis operators, according to an NJ.com report.
According to the ruling, the state wrongly rejected applicants when it awarded six additional licenses in 2018, and the Department of Health must now establish a new scoring system, the news outlet reported.
The decision will not revoke the licenses of the state’s current medical cannabis operators, according to NJ.com, but it could give other applicants a second chance at licensing in the future, as well as create a more transparent licensing process going forward.
The New Jersey Department of Health accepted applications in 2018 for six new medical cannabis licenses, and seven of the rejected applicants filed a lawsuit over the scoring process, NJ.com reported.
In its decision last week, the court said that it does not have the authority to issue licenses to the rejected applicants, according to the news outlet, but the ruling could change how licenses are issued in the future, especially as New Jersey works to implement an adult-use cannabis program after voters approved legalization in the November election.
Under the voter-approved initiative, the medical and adult-use licensing processes will transition from the Department of Health to a newly created Cannabis Regulatory Commission, NJ.com reported.
Photo courtesy of Shryne Group
Meet Cindy De La Vega, San Francisco’s First Latina Equity Partner
The part owner and CEO of STIIIZY Union Square plans to give back in more ways than one.
Cindy De La Vega, in her own words, has “been through a lot of things.” A victim of domestic violence, a witness to shootings, but also a mother of two daughters and decades-long community activist with United Playaz, she has seen the good with the bad.
Now, she’s the first Latina dispensary owner in San Francisco. On Oct. 9, De La Vega opened STIIIZY Union Square, where she serves as CEO and a part owner alongside Shryne Group, which oversees the STIIIZY brand.
“I want people to know that when you purchase from my location, it's not just purchasing for a company,” De La Vega tells Cannabis Dispensary. “We're putting back into the community, and we're doing this for equity, really.”
In 2018, De La Vega, a Latina, first applied to be a social-equity dispensary owner through the San Francisco Equity Program. The process to become verified as an equity applicant, obtain a license and permit, and become a 40% owner in STIIIZY Union Square was a long one. (Shryne Group’s employees are 51% Latinx, and it several women serve in company leadership, according to a press release.)
“You need to find your location, you have to have finances—and someone like me, where I come from, I don't come from money,” says De La Vega, who grew up in housing projects in San Francisco’s Sunnydale neighborhood. “I wouldn't have been able to do it on my own because you have to secure the location once you put in your application.”
San Francisco is currently only processing cannabis business applications from “Equity Applicants,” “Equity Incubators,” former medical operators and certain businesses that are already verified with the city’s Office of Cannabis. De La Vega was the 11th social-equity applicant to receive a permit from the city. In this climate, she says investors tried to take advantage of her situation.
“I had a few letters that I had received where people were offering me a lot of money to sell my permit, basically,” she says. “So, when I realized how much people were willing to give for it, I knew that it was something very valuable that I had to hold onto, that it wasn't about the money; it was more about the platform and … the opportunity that I'm going to have to better our community, our city.”
United They Stand
As a community activist with the violence-prevention and youth-development group United Playaz, De La Vega participates in programming such as gun buybacks—then working with the youth to make art from those weapons parts—and feeding the homeless. Based in San Francisco, United Playaz now has chapters in New York and the Philippines, De La Vega pointed out.
“My goal is that now that I've gotten this opportunity [at STIIIZY Union Square], I'll be able to help expand [United Playaz] and give our support to our communities because that's what we need; we need more support; we need to know that there is a better way out,” she says. “You just have to put in the work.
“I think that a lot of the people in the communities where I come from—we don't know that. We weren't taught that. So, I really want to make sure that I answer everyone's question and that they understand that I am just like them. I'm no different. My title may be different now, but I'm still Cindy De La Vega and live in the low-income units.”
During a session of the National Association of Cannabis Businesses’ (NACB) virtual 2020 Social Equity Conference on Nov. 16, De La Vega said she may not have the college degree or the funds that many other cannabis business owners do, but she puts in the work required to run a business. She encouraged people to not give up on their social-equity plans because “that's just when all these investors and people parachute into your communities, your cities, and they take over.”
“I honestly did this because in my heart I felt that being a CEO was the only way that I would be able to show people like me, that look like me, that come from where I come from, that you could actually make it,” De La Vega said during the session. “It's sad because it's bittersweet. … [T]here are still people that are being deported because of cannabis. There are still people that are in prison. And that's the bittersweet.”
Photo courtesy of Shryne Group
Education in the Cannabis Market
In addition to her goal of expanding United Playaz and giving back to minority and low-income neighborhoods in San Francisco, De La Vega has committed to providing 20% of her business earnings to the San Francisco Equity Group (SFEG). She says those funds will go toward supporting other equity partners and making sure they don’t get taken advantage of.
De La Vega originally learned of the opportunity to become a part owner in a cannabis business from Rudy Corpuz, Jr., who is executive director of United Playaz and a leader of SFEG. (Corpuz, Jr. started United Playaz in 1994 and recruited De La Vega to join that year.)
Prior to opening her and STIIIZY’s store in October, De La Vega’s work experience included serving as a budtender and a receptionist. She also attended Oaksterdam University, the Oakland, Calif.-based cannabis college; sat in with a buyer; and trained and shadowed with STIIIZY, including at its flagship store in Los Angeles.
As education plays a role in the area of cannabis-business equity, there’s also education surrounding the product itself at STIIIZY Union Square. “I just want to continue to influence and inspire and innovate,” she says, taking a page from what the three I’s in STIIIZY stand for.
Tourists like pre-rolls, while flower, concentrates, vape pens and edibles are also all big sellers at the store, De La Vega says. But now, an increasing number of consumers ask about tinctures.
“That goes with not wanting to smell like it, or some people have never been consumers of it, like my mom, for example,” De La Vega says. “My mom had never consumed cannabis, so I had to start her off with tinctures.”
De La Vega says her mother uses cannabis tinctures, edibles and topicals for medical reasons, recently switching over from opioids and over-the-counter pain medications. Her mother was diagnosed with various ailments, including diabetes, high blood pressure and a fractured cervical spine that was causing paralysis. Since receiving a cervical spine fusion, she is no longer paralyzed but sometimes loses feeling in her legs.
“My mom is Christian Pentecostal, and I would have never thought that she would give me the time of day to actually trust me to treat her with the tinctures, and she did, and I am so happy because I've seen a change in her,” De La Vega says. “She's—no more zombie or depressed one minute or just sleeping all day.
“She's happy, and she giggles, and she talks about things, and she enjoys her food. It’s just such a difference when you treat someone with cannabis than when you treat them with opioids.”
COVID-19 Complications
Rolling with the punches in 2020 has led to some pleasant surprises since opening day, including an outpouring of support for Cindy De La Vega from Sunnydale.
She and STIIIZY originally planned to open the store on March 20, 2020, but she says they had to delay that timeline because of the COVID-19 pandemic and a flood.
“When they were doing the buildout, they hit a pipe and it ended up flooding the entire floor; it was just right before we laid the floor down. So, that pushed us down for another month,” she says. “So, our next plan was April 20, for 4/20, to open. And unfortunately, COVID hit, and that pushed us down until October 9.”
De La Vega says she is glad that STIIIZY Union Square is an essential business during the pandemic. The store’s employees, who wear masks, face shields and gloves, accommodate six customers at a time. They also require customers to wear masks and stay six feet from others, and they limit groups to two people.
“Health is our priority; we want to make sure no one gets sick,” De La Vega says. “Everyone's been pretty understanding about it, which is great because it's not easy to tell people, like, ‘Oh, no, you can't be with two other people; it can only be one or two at a time.’”
De La Vega says the turnout since opening day has exceeded her expectations. Her customers, who have formed lines around the block, have included people who heard about her story and wanted to show their support. “I'm so honored that I have people coming from Arizona, people from Sacramento and people that I've never met that heard about the story, and they're really passionate about equity and they want to support this partnership,” she says.
Virginia Medical Cannabis Coalition Hopes State Builds on Existing Medical Program to Launch Adult-Use Market: Legalization Watch
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam plans to introduce a legalization bill in January, following the release of a study on the potential impacts of legalization in the state.
VMCC is a coalition of vertically integrated cannabis operators that had won conditional approval from the Virginia Board of Pharmacy with the goal of advancing the medical market through patient education and connecting the state’s industry stakeholders with legislators, according to Jack Page, VMCC member and the founder and CEO of medical cannabis operator Dharma Pharmaceuticals.
Dharma opened for business Oct. 17, marking the first day of medical cannabis sales in Virginia. From his experience in the medical market, Page says the state has a lot to consider when it comes to legalizing and regulating adult-use cannabis, as well as fine-tuning the medical program.
Photos courtesy of Dharma Pharmaceuticals
Dharma currently operates one location that houses its cultivation, processing and retail operations.
Virginia law requires medical cannabis operators to be vertically integrated, and Dharma currently operates one location that houses its cultivation, processing and retail operations. Page says patient response has been positive in the month or so since the market launched, and in January, Dharma will be able to open up to five additional retail locations within its health service area.
Page and the VMCC support adult-use legalization, but want to ensure that the medical program remains part of the overall cannabis industry in Virginia, and that changes are made to the medical program to make it more accessible to patients.
For example, although Dharma can deliver to its patients, the current medical regulations mandate that a patient’s first visit to the dispensary be on-site.
“We’ve been contacted by numerous hospice organizations and nursing homes across the state that have patients that could benefit from the medicine but are not physically able to travel,” Page says. “So, that’s one of the things that we need to look at fixing in the medical program.”
Another change the VMCC has been lobbying for is access to flower in Virginia’s medical market. Right now, it is an extract-only market, which increases costs for both patients and operators.
“That is a dose form that a lot of patients are asking for, and there are certain conditions that botanicals just treat better and the cost is lower to patients because there’s not all the processing with the expensive lab equipment that we have in the back to extract the oil, refine the oil and make the product,” Page says. “Right now, we’re vertically integrated, and that’s a barrier of entry to most people because the cost associated with a vertical organization is pretty high. We’d like to see some way for small business to be included in the adult-use market, as well.”
Virginia has an extract-only medical cannabis market, but Page says allowing patients to access flower would decrease costs for both operators and patients.
Although the medical program still has its pain points, Page would like the opportunity for Virginia’s medical cannabis operators to roll out the adult-use program to ensure a speedy market launch.
“Allowing the medical producers to jumpstart the adult-use market, you’re providing tax revenue pretty much immediately for the commonwealth, and that can pay for some social equity programs and pay for the infrastructure that will be required, and of course provide those jobs faster if we’re able to join the market as early as possible,” he says.
However, Page is still keeping his main focus on the state’s patient base.
“We definitely want to make sure that we also continue to serve our medical patients first and foremost,” Page says. “We want to make sure, too, that any kind of adult-use market has the same testing requirements so that we ensure that the product that’s being delivered is safe for Virginians to use.”
Virginia’s medical cannabis operators are required to submit their products for third-party testing for pesticides, heavy metals and mycotoxins.
“The thing, too, is with the medical cannabis market, there are more specialized dose forms that are used to treat specialized conditions, so that’s why it’s important to keep the medical market also viable in Virginia,” Page says. “For example, Dharma is producing a nasal spray and a suppository. You’re not probably going to find those kinds of products in an adult-use market, but we are seeing there’s a high demand for those products in the medical market.”
VMCC is advocating for one regulator that would oversee the medical and adult-use cannabis programs in Virginia, he adds, as well as the ability for medical operators to co-locate adult-use dispensaries with their medical storefronts.
“I just think in the discussions of bringing adult-use to Virginia, we need to realize that the medical program and the adult-use program are both necessary to serve patients across the commonwealth,” Page says. “We have to carefully think about how the adult-use market needs to be rolled out so that we don’t make all of the time and effort that’s been put into establishing the medical program be wasted."
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