HempNova Lifetech Corp., a company offering hemp post-harvest services based in Eugene, Ore., recently announced it has acquired Seven Oaks Hemp Center in Central Point, Ore.
The $2.03 million acquisition includes all assets from Seven Oaks, including:
45 acres of farmland
a newly built 9,600-square-foot drying shop with three mesh belt mechanic dryers and one floor dryer
a newly built 6,000-square-foot insulated warehouse
a newly built 8,000-square-foot greenhouse
various farming and processing equipment
The acquisition allows HempNova to continue its expansion into Southern Oregon and build out its existing hemp service offerings.
"We are very excited about this strategic acquisition. Southern Oregon produces the premium smokable hemp flowers in the world,” says Ken Cai, the chairman and CEO of HempNova, in a news release. "After our success in biomass drying in 2019, this strategic acquisition not only permits our company to expand its business into Southern Oregon quickly, but also helps HempNova in reaching its goal to become a leading vertical integrated one-stop service provider to hemp growers."
HempNova says it plans to expand its new acquisition into a “major hemp service center” for smokable flower and hemp crude oil over the next two years.
The company says it is growing 35 acres of hemp at Seven Oaks this year and plans to “provide drying services to local hemp growers.”
NJ CAN 2020 Aims to Advance the Social Justice Conversation Ahead of New Jersey’s Cannabis Legalization Vote This Fall: Legalization Watch
The campaign is supporting the state’s 2020 ballot initiative to legalize adult-use cannabis and plans to lobby for social equity policies if voters approve the issue in November.
New Jersey’s cannabis advocates have united to form NJ CAN 2020, a campaign coalition that is not only supporting the state’s adult-use legalization ballot initiative this November, but also plans to lobby for social equity policies in the state’s adult-use marketplace if the measure is ultimately approved by voters.
The group includes members of New Jersey United for Marijuana Reform, which comprises the ACLU of New Jersey, Doctors for Cannabis Regulation, Latino Action Network, American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp, Law Enforcement Action Partnership and the NAACP New Jersey State Conference, as well as industry partners such as the NJ CannaBusiness Association, political strategists and other industry leaders.
“The roots of this campaign go back many, many years,” Bill Caruso, an attorney with Archer & Greiner and a member of both New Jersey United for Marijuana Reform and NJ CAN 2020, told Cannabis Business Times.
The cannabis legalization movement in New Jersey was largely founded on a racial and social justice discussion that had not yet fully taken hold in the early days of legalized cannabis, he says.
“The arrests that were going on … had a negative impact on the economy, and [there was] the prospect of revenue that would be both directly related to cannabis shops and then ancillary economies that would come around that would benefit the region,” he says.
The NJ CAN 2020 campaign brings new life to the social equity conversation in the state ahead of renewed efforts to legalize.
The initiative is a constitutional amendment that would broadly legalize adult-use cannabis in the state, as well as authorize a taxed and regulated system for distribution.
“It allows certain taxations for sales tax and a local tax, but doesn’t give a lot of detail on how the regulatory process works,” Caruso says. “That’ll be sorted out later.”
Therefore, NJ CAN 2020 has two main priorities: ensure the ballot measure is successful, and then work with industry stakeholders and the New Jersey Legislature to implement an adult-use marketplace with social equity at the forefront.
First and foremost, the campaign plans to use polling to see where there might be opposition and vulnerabilities. Although the campaign has yet to launch its first poll due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a recent poll conducted by Monmouth University found that 60% of respondents plan to vote in favor of New Jersey’s legalization initiative this fall, which Caruso finds encouraging.
If voters ultimately approve the legalization measure, NJ CAN 2020 will advocate for a robust automatic expungement process in the state’s forthcoming adult-use cannabis program, among other provisions.
“We’ve been advocating for a very long time on the issue of expunging criminal records—an automatic expungement process that goes back in time and erases some of these marijuana offenses off criminal records without the offender having to go back and jump through a lot of burdens,” Caruso says. “That has a cost associated with it, so cannabis revenue … helps [with] paying for that.”
The campaign would also like to see language included in the state’s adult-use cannabis law that allows ex-offenders to participate in the legal industry.
“All of these issues that we’ve been fighting for [will help] shape this industry in a positive way from a racial and social justice standpoint,” Caruso says. “This group is adamant about making sure those things are done."
Capjah | Adobe Stock
California Offers License Fee Deferrals to Cannabis Businesses, Massachusetts Adult-Use Dispensaries Prepare to Reopen with Curbside Pickup: Week in Review
This week, California regulators unveiled a plan to defer license fee payments for 60 days to provide financial assistance to cannabis licensees affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This week, California’s three cannabis licensing authorities announced that businesses with licenses expiring between now and June 30 may request a 60-day deferral of their licensing fee payments. Elsewhere, in Massachusetts, adult-use cannabis dispensaries may reopen on Memorial Day, with restrictions, as part of the governor’s plan to reopen the state.
Here, we’ve rounded up the 10 headlines you need to know before this week is over.
Federal: A bipartisan group of attorneys general for 34 U.S. states and territories sent a letter to Senate and House leadership May 19, urging them to include cannabis banking reform in upcoming coronavirus relief legislation. The U.S. House passed the SAFE Banking Act, which would allow cannabis businesses to work freely with banks, on May 15 as part of the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, a $3-trillion relief bill aimed at the economic pressures of the coronavirus pandemic, although the Senate has yet to take any action on the bill. Read more
California: The state’s three cannabis licensing authorities announced this week that businesses with licenses expiring between now and June 30 may request a 60-day deferral of their licensing fee payments in an effort to provide financial assistance to licensees affected by the coronavirus crisis. The Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC), California Department of Food & Agriculture (CDFA) and California Department of Public Health (CDPH) will immediately start accepting requests for fee relief, and with a deferral, licensing fees will be due 60 days from the date of expiration. Read more
Louisiana: The Louisiana House of Representatives approved legislation this week that would expand the state’s medical cannabis program. House Bill 819, sponsored by Rep. Larry Bagley (R-Stonewall), would add nine qualifying conditions to the program, as well as allow doctors to recommend medical cannabis for any condition they deem “debilitating to an individual patient.” Read more
Oklahoma: The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) issued its first medical cannabis product recall this week, recalling vape cartridges and infused mints produced by Moon Mix after testing revealed concentrations of myclobutanil. Patients were advised to return the recalled products to the point of sale, with each dispensary issuing its own refund process. Read more
Missouri: The Missouri House of Representatives has approved legislation that places restrictions on medical cannabis edibles, sending the bill to Gov. Mike Parson for his signature. The legislation prohibits certain forms of edible products in the state’s forthcoming medical cannabis market, including those resembling “the shape of a human, animal, or fruit, including realistic, artistic, caricature, or cartoon renderings.” Read more
Massachusetts: Adult-use cannabis dispensaries in Massachusetts that have been temporarily closed for the past two months as part of emergency orders to shut down nonessential businesses will be allowed to offer curbside pickup beginning Memorial Day. The plan is to reopen the economy slowly in phases, and as part of the first, retailers in the state can offer curbside pickup starting May 25. Read more
Maine: Portland, the state’s largest city, opted in to hosting the cannabis industry and approved a local ordinance May 18 to create a licensing system, fee schedule and rules for businesses. Forty other Maine communities have agreed to host adult-use cannabis businesses, although Office of Marijuana Policy Director Erik Gunderson has warned that authorization from the state’s municipalities could be the next obstacle in launching the market, especially as many communities remain shut down due to the coronavirus. Read more
Michigan: Michigan’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA) has announced it is expanding its social equity program eligibility criteria, benefits and fee reductions. Effective June 1, MRA will again increase the number of “disproportionately impacted communities” in Michigan, this time from 41 to 184. Read more
Virginia: Gov. Ralph Northam has signed legislation to decriminalize cannabis into law, making Virginia the 27th state in the nation to decriminalize simple cannabis possession. With the governor’s signature, the law will take effect on July 1, 2020. Read more
U.S. Virgin Islands: Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. has introduced a revised cannabis legalization bill based on public consultations and meetings with lawmakers. The legislation, called the Virgin Islands Cannabis Use Act, would allow adults 21 and older to purchase and consume cannabis, and would create a regulatory framework to license businesses for cannabis cultivation, processing and on-site consumption. Read more
USDA Announces New Coronavirus Relief Program, Charlotte’s Web Reports a Loss in Q1: Week in Review
Hemp producers may be eligible for the program if they can prove they’ve experienced at least a 5% price decline between January and April and face additional marketing costs due to COVID-19.
This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a coronavirus relief program that hemp producers aren’t automatically eligible for, but they may be able to make their case if they’ve suffered economically from COVID-19 by submitting comments to the USDA. Meanwhile, Charlotte’s Web released its financial earnings for the first quarter of 2020, reporting a loss due to a decline in sales and a jump in operating expenses.
National: In a new Hemp Market Insider post, Hemp Benchmarks and Colorado State University’s Daniel Mooney provide some perspective on the USDA guidance to state and county offices on hemp-producer loans. Read more Meanwhile, the USDA has announced a coronavirus relief program for producers, but hemp is not one of the crops automatically eligible for the program. Hemp producers may be eligible, however, if they “believe they’ve suffered a 5% or greater price decline between January and April 2020 and ... face additional marketing costs due to COVID-19,” the USDA says on its website. Read more
Colorado: Declining sales coupled with a spike in operating expenses have resulted in a loss for Charlotte’s Web, the Denver-based cannabidiol (CBD) manufacturer, in the first quarter of 2020. The company recently released its Q1 earnings for 2020, reporting a loss of $11 million versus a profit of $2.3 million the first quarter of 2019. Read more
Kentucky: A U.S. bankruptcy judge has approved the $77 million sell-off of GenCanna's assets as part of a deal to reorganize, liquidate and then allow the company's creditor, MGG Investment Group, to recoup what it had put into the Kentucky hemp firm. Read more
Oregon: Oregonized Hemp Co. has filed a lawsuit against Josephine County in Oregon for seizing and destroying approximately 5,000 pounds of what OHC and Pitts claim was industrial hemp. The case is among a growing number of lawsuits across all facets of the hemp industry, from crops to CBD. Read more
South Carolina: The Hemp Mine is building on its partnerships to not only expand its research capabilities, but also give its customers an advantage in the process. The vertically integrated hemp genetics company recently announced that it has partnered with PHR Labs to offer discounted testing services and guidance for The Hemp Mine’s genetics customers. Read more
Photo courtesy of Green Peak Innovations
Green Peak Innovations and Last Prisoner Project to Launch Two Joints Brand to Fund Criminal Justice Reform Efforts
One percent of proceeds from the sale of Two Joints products sold in Green Peak’s Michigan Skymint stores will go toward LPP.
The week of May 24, Michigan’s vertically integrated Green Peak Innovations (GPI) and the nonprofit Last Prisoner Project (LPP) plan to launch a new brand, Two Joints. One percent of proceeds from Two Joints products sold in GPI’s Skymint provisioning centers will go toward LPP and its mission of advocating for criminal justice reform around cannabis crimes.
“When my partner, Jeff Radway, and I started Green Peak, we knew that Michigan was marching towards legalization, and we thought a big part of that effort needed to include criminal-record expungement of nonviolent marijuana offenders,” said Joe Neller, GPI’s co-founder and chief government affairs officer.
Green Peak’s team was looking for an organization to partner with on this effort, Neller said, and while many said they wouldn’t accept money from cannabis companies, LPP said it would.
LPP works with industry partners on brands, as it has with GPI on Two Joints, and in other ways, said Sarah Gersten, executive director and general counsel for LPP. “We have several industry partners that simply choose to donate proceeds from their total revenue to the organization,” she said. “We have folks that assist us in giving back through mentorship programs, with our reentry program, providing education, things like that.”
Photo courtesy of Green Peak Innovations
To start, Two Joints products will be available in Green Peak’s Skymint dispensaries in Ann Arbor, Bay City, Lansing and White Cloud, Mich. The dispensaries will package and sell Two Joints-branded eighth-ounce bags of flower and pre-rolls with LPP’s logo and website printed on the packaging, indexed at a lower value than Skymint’s other eighths and pre-rolls. This scope could expand in the future, Neller said.
“We're really excited about the partnership,” Neller said. “We think it's an important cause, and it feels good to do good. When you look at the arrest statistics, it's shameful that Michigan still [arrested] over 20,000 people every year for possession leading up to the legalization in 2018. We’re almost a year and a half after that, and our state still hasn't done anything on criminal-record expungement or clemency for what are largely very small infractions. And it's time that we do something about it.”
Laurie Gregory, GPI’s chief brand and product officer, shed some light on the concept of packaging two pre-rolls and the Two Joints name. “The name Two Joints refers to the shareable nature of our products, which inspire our customers to ask themselves, ‘What would you do with two joints?’” she said. “We have come a long way since the 1960s, when possessing just two joints could result in a 10-year jail sentence. At the same time, we know how far we have to go, and we are eager to help Last Prisoner Project shed light on wrongful incarcerations and rebuild lives.”
Neller, who worked in traditional health care lobbying before joining Michigan’s medical marijuana industry in 2017, said he and his team have been working to pass a series of criminal-record "clean slate" and expungement bills in the state, House Bills 4980-4985. Taking into account factors such as the type and number of crimes committed, the bills would clear convictions of and increase expungement eligibility for nonviolent crimes. Marijuana offenses that were committed before adult-use legalization but that are no longer offenses post-legalization would be eligible for expungement, Neller said.
Team members at Green Peak have helped LPP with mentorship and job placement, including jobs at Green Peak, Gersten said. They have also lent government-relations help on policy initiatives and lobbying.
Ahead of the launch of Two Joints, LPP continues its involvement in multiple other industry partnerships. LPP board member Damian Marley and Ocean Grown Extracts recently launched a product called "Evidence." “The product packaging is made to look like an evidence bag in a criminal offense of marijuana,” Gersten said. And 4Front Ventures and its Mission Dispensaries have teamed up with LPP on a letter-writing campaign, in addition to other initiatives like recently manufacturing hand sanitizer at one of their manufacturing facilities and helping LPP donate it to correctional facilities.
For months, LPP has been working to help clear jails of prisoners amid the coronavirus pandemic. “We set up a pretty robust compassionate-release program where we pair our constituents—particularly those that might be at risk to the virus, those that are part of the aging population, have underlying health conditions—with pro bono attorneys to actually take on their compassionate-release cases,” Gersten said. “And we're just starting to see the fruits of those labors.”
LPP had to wait 30 days after submitting a request with the Bureau of Prisons to take cases to court, she said, but judges are now starting to decide on compassionate-release cases.
“We are hopeful that judges and executives that have power in the states over releasing people will start to see the urgent need to do that and [we’ll] actually start to see some more movement on the prison level,” Gerseten said. “… We have successfully now engaged some industry partners to get donations into facilities, so we had a couple partnerships where we got hand sanitizer and masks into correctional facilities for inmates."
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