Denver – Nov. 6, 2019 – PRESS RELEASE – Simplifya, a provider of regulatory and operational compliance software for the cannabis industry, has announced the launch of Simplifya Verified, its latest service offering, designed to provide businesses with an independent verification system of cannabis licenses across the country.

“One of the major problems facing the cannabis industry is understanding exactly with whom you are doing business,” said Marion Mariathasan, CEO and co-founder of Simplifya. “Specifically, when a business is conducting due diligence on an acquisition candidate, it is often difficult to determine whether an operator’s license is current and valid. Simplifya Verified is a fast, easy-to-use search engine that provides all of the data points needed for verification, taking the guesswork out of business transactions and delivering companies a much-needed risk management tool to confidently grow their businesses.”

Twenty-nine out of the 33 states with legal cannabis make cannabis license information available to the public. Just as regulations differ from state to state, so does how this information is made available.  Simplifya’s in-house legal team has completed the data collection of more than 40,000 license records, and provides Simplifya Verified users with a clean, organized database available in one simple search. Unlike other cannabis license lists, Simplifya Verified provides near real-time verification, so users can feel confident the information they are receiving is current and accurate.

“Simplifya Verified can be utilized across several different segments of the industry – from the operator looking to prove compliance to a potential buyer, to the realtor who wants to validate a new operator before leasing space to them, to a financial institution or insurance carrier vetting a new client, to name a few. Our platform streamlines each of these difficult, lengthy and complicated processes into a simple tool for companies to mitigate risk and confidently pursue business deals within the cannabis space,“ added Mariathasan.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) released an emergency rule for medical cannabis facilities Nov. 4, and will accept public comment on the draft rule until Nov. 12.

The regulation addresses the method of payment for fees and taxes. Specifically, the new rule mandates that “all applicants for medical marijuana facility licenses or certifications and all licensed or certified medical marijuana facilities shall pay all fees, penalties, or taxes due to Missouri state governmental agencies via any payment method normally acceptable to those agencies other than cash.”

Public comment can be emailed to MMPublicComment@health.mo.gov.

Missouri voters approved Amendment 2 in November 2018 to legalize medical cannabis, and as of August, DHSS had received 2,163 business license applications, according to a local KRCG report.

In an effort to crack down on local corruption, U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling has convened a federal grand jury to investigate municipal cannabis contracts—called “host community agreements”—in Massachusetts.

Great Barrington, Eastham, Leicester, Newton, Northamptom and Uxbridge have received subpoenas from Lelling’s office inquiring about the cities’ host community agreements with the cannabis businesses operating within their borders, according to The Boston Globe.

Under state law, each adult-use cannabis company must sign a host community agreement with the municipality in which it hopes to operate prior to applying for a state license, the news outlet reported. The contracts typically require the cannabis business to pay the municipality, a system that has long been criticized as one that could attract local corruption.

And these fears have not been unfounded. Falls River Mayor Jasiel Correia II was arrested in September and charged with extorting hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and campaign contributions out of local cannabis business owners by accepting bribes in exchange for license approval. Correia has pleaded not guilty, The Boston Globe reported.

Massachusetts law limits the value of payments under host community agreements to 3 percent of the company’s annual revenue for a maximum of five years, according to the news outlet, and mandates that any payments be “reasonably related” to the costs the community might rack up by hosting a cannabis businesses. But many communities have sought additional funds through separate fees or mandatory donations to local nonprofits in exchange for license approval, The Boston Globe reported.

Lelling’s subpoenas request myriad documentation from the targeted municipalities, according to the news outlet, such as copies of host community agreements, communications between cannabis companies and local officials, communications among local officials regarding the contracts, records demonstrating community support or opposition to local cannabis businesses, records regarding municipal employees or officials attempting to win local cannabis licenses or work for cannabis companies, and records about public meetings or votes on cannabis business license applications.

Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commissioner Shaleen Title welcomes the investigation into the host community agreements, according to a WBUR report.

“I receive complaints almost every day that the process is out of control,” Title told the news outlet. “Just yesterday, I received a complaint from a business that a town told the company representatives that only businesses who offered a ‘donation’ of $15,000 would be considered. When they suggested they would rather not voluntarily donate, they say they were told ‘perhaps this isn’t the right town for you.’”

Commission members have long expressed frustration that Massachusetts’ cannabis law is vague regarding the regulation of host community agreements, WBUR reported, and cannabis business owners asked the courts at the beginning of the year to grant the Cannabis Control Commission the authority to more strictly regulate the contracts.

Massachusetts Grower Advisory Council President Peter Bernard told MassLive.com at the time that the large fees required by many host community agreements are “a barrier to entry to the smaller operator.” The Massachusetts Grower Advisory Council reviewed 77 host community agreements and found that the majority of them require cannabis businesses to pay fees well above 3 percent of the companies’ annual revenues, as mandated by state law.

“These documents reveal systemic abuses of power by municipalities in their negotiations with marijuana establishments,” the organization and its attorneys wrote in their petition to the courts.

Mexico was poised to legalize adult-use cannabis as October drew to a close, but lawmakers missed a Supreme Court-imposed deadline to pass the legislation before the end of the month, leaving many stakeholders wondering what’s next.

The story began when Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled Oct. 31, 2018 that the country’s ban on the recreational use of cannabis was unconstitutional. This ruling marked the fifth time that the court had reached such a decision, according to The Motley Fool, and thus the Supreme Court gave lawmakers one year to draft legislation that would implement an adult-use cannabis market in the country.

Senate committees released such legislation Oct. 17 in a proposal that set the legal age at 18, mandated that consumption occur in a private setting, established packaging regulations aimed at discouraging youth use, banned edibles and infused beverages from the adult-use market, created The Cannabis Institute to oversee the industry, and included provisions to ensure that big businesses would not have licensing priority.

The global industry then watched in anticipation as the Supreme Court deadline approached.

Due to pressure from companies trying to influence the legislation, Mexico delayed the vote. Senate Leader Ricardo Monreal has since vowed to keep these outside parties from influencing the vote or the legislation itself, The Motley Fool reported.

So, what happens now?

According to Tim Conder, COO of TILT Holdings, a holding company that owns a combination of cannabis brands and services and that has interest in expanding to Mexico, the biggest impact of the delayed vote is simply the wait for a new vote to occur. The Supreme Court has extended its deadline to April 30, 2020, and industry stakeholders are continuing their preparations for the rollout of an adult-use market.

“I don’t think that it has far-reaching ramifications other than just delta in time between when the vote was originally scheduled and when it’s now scheduled,” Conder tells Cannabis Business Times. “We haven’t seen any delay in preparations for local distributors or brands that are looking to enter the market there, but obviously, it delays orders.”

Industry conversation indicates that stakeholders are still actively engaged in understanding Mexico’s regulatory landscape and educating potential consumers on the benefits of cannabis or the benefits of particular brands or products, Conder says.

“As long as the vote does take place on that timeline, … I don’t think there will be any kind of specific disturbance to the industry’s rollout in Mexico,” he adds.

TILT Holdings is focusing its business development efforts for its subsidiary Jupiter Research, a provider of vape hardware, in Europe, Canada and Latin America, and the company has been in discussion with brands and potential distribution partners about expanding existing relationships or building new ones in the Mexico market.

READ MORE: TILT Holdings Acquires Jupiter Research in $210-Million Deal

“We’ve done some hardware sales already in Mexico to companies that are planning for adult-use in that country, but it’s pretty limited thus far,” Conder says. “We participated in at least one trade show there, and we’re really excited about the partnerships that we’re laying the groundwork for in that country. One of the most exciting things is we have existing clients that are excited about expanding into that market, either from the U.S. or Canada, and [we’re] getting to talk to potential new clients about the launch of their new businesses in that region.”

As Conder points out, Mexico is roughly two times the size of Canada, and although a finalized regulatory system remains to be seen, the market’s sheer size and its addressable population make it desirable for cannabis companies. It is also an attractive target for Canadian LPs and U.S.-based multi-state operators due to its proximity to the U.S. and Canada, Conder adds.

“We’re really looking forward to Mexico actually initiating the rollout of an adult-use cannabis program so that we can follow on the heels of that with our own ramped-up expansion efforts,” he says.

While Conder is hopeful that a vote will materialize soon on Mexico’s legalization bill, he acknowledges that delays are common, and often expected, when dealing with cannabis policy reform legislation.

“My assumption would be that these things always take time, and I feel like we’re subject to delays regardless of the municipality, state [or] country,” he says. “It’s just par for the course with the implementation of a regulated cannabis market.”

In the meantime, the TILT team, and likely the rest of the global cannabis market, will be watching Mexico very closely as the April 30 deadline approaches.

“TILT and specifically Jupiter Research are really excited about the Mexican market and looking forward to seeing what the Mexican government does on or before April 30,” Conder says. “We’re very excited about this opportunity in Mexico and excited for the population to be able to purchase cannabis legally in that country."