HERBL Becomes Exclusive Distributor of Craft Cannabis Brand Henry’s Original

The supply chain company now distributes Clean Green Certified, handcrafted Henry’s Original cannabis products.

July 16, 2021

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., July 13, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE – HERBL, California’s largest cannabis supply chain company, announced its exclusive distribution partnership with Henry’s Original, a vertically integrated craft cannabis brand. HERBL will aid Henry’s Original in scaling its current collection of products, including craft flower and pre-rolls throughout California.

Henry’s Original was launched by co-founders Jamie Warm and Joshua Keats, two farmers who have cultivated cannabis in the Emerald Triangle for over two decades each. Henry’s Original grows its own flower across multiple farms in Mendocino County to bring small-batch, craft cannabis to the California market. All Henry’s Original flower is sun-grown using sustainable, organic methods and is Clean Green Certified.

With this partnership, the HERBL catalog will now feature a full line of Henry’s Original craft and value-priced flower and pre-rolls in a variety of convenient offerings. This includes flower available in eighths, half ounce and 1-gram jars as well as eighths and half-ounce mylar pouches. Pre-rolls come in 1-gram singles and 2-gram multipacks with four half gram pre-rolls.

“Henry’s Original’s handcrafted and premium-quality products will be met with high demand as more conscious consumers gravitate toward sustainable brands,” HERBL founder and CEO Mike Beaudry said. “Henry’s Original is a welcome addition to our portfolio of unique and thoughtfully cultivated brands, and we are excited to offer products that honor Mendocino County’s strong cannabis heritage.”

“This partnership with HERBL is a tremendous opportunity to put a spotlight on Mendocino County, which has played an instrumental role in the American cannabis story,” Henry’s Original co-CEO Joshua Keats said. “Our team is dedicated to showcasing the region’s exceptional flower to the wider legal market.”

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Illinois Set to Award New Cannabis Dispensary Licenses After Lawsuits, Delays

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office has announced that a series of lotteries to award the 185 licenses are planned for later this month and August.

July 16, 2021

Melissa Schiller

Dispensary News Legislation and regulation News State by State: Illinois

After lawsuits and lengthy delays, Illinois is finally set to award 185 new cannabis dispensary licenses.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office announced July 15 that a series of lotteries to award the licenses are planned for later this month and August, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. State officials have also notified the preliminary winners of 213 cultivation, infuser and transporter licenses, which were awarded to social equity applicants, according to the news outlet.

Seventy-five retail licenses were initially announced in May 2020, and 110 new licenses were created this past spring.

The 110 new licenses will be doled out first in two lotteries on July 29 and Aug. 5 that will award 55 licenses in each round, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The July 29 lottery will be for social equity applicants who previously received 85% of a total of 250 points on the state’s scoring scale, and the Aug. 5 lottery will be for applicants who qualify for “Social Equity Justice Involved” status, which gives licensing priority to those who live in an area disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs or who have past arrests for cannabis-related offenses.

A third and final lottery will be held Aug. 19 to award the original 75 dispensary licenses, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

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Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission Receives Final Appointments

The 14-member board is now fully staffed and ready to oversee the state’s forthcoming medical cannabis program.

July 16, 2021

Melissa Schiller

Legislation and regulation Medical Cannabis News State by State: Alabama

The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission received its final appointments this week, and the 14-member board is now fully staffed and ready to oversee the state’s forthcoming medical cannabis program.

State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris has appointed Dr. Jerzy P. Szaflarski, professor and director of the UAB Epilepsy Center in the Department of Neurology, according to an AL.com report. Szaflarski was also a member of a study panel that recommended medical cannabis legalization in 2019, the news outlet reported, and was a lead investigator in a UAB study on using CBD oil to treat seizure disorders.

In addition, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) Secretary Hal Taylor has appointed Dion Robinson, an ALEA special agent senior, to the board. Robinson has worked in the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) since 2018, and also works with the U.S. Marshals’ Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force as an SBI special agent.

These final two appointments follow 12 others by Gov. Kay Ivey, Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth, House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, Senate President Pro Tem Greg Reed, Agriculture Commissioner Rick Pate and Attorney General Steve Marshall. Those appointments were:

Dr. William Saliski Jr., a pulmonologist from Montgomery;
Sam Blakemore, a pharmacist at Children’s of Alabama hospital in Birmingham;
Dwight Gamble, a bank executive from Headland;
Dr. Angela Martin, a pediatrician from Anniston;
Dr. Eric Jensen, a biochemist from Brownsboro;
Loree Skelton, a healthcare lawyer from Birmingham;
Rex Vaughn, a farmer in Madison County and north region vice president for the Alabama Farmers Federation;
Charles Price, a retired circuit judge from Montgomery;
Dr. Steven Stokes, a radiation oncologist from Dothan;
Taylor Hatchet, operator of Boozer Farms in Chilton County; and
James Harwell, former executive director of the Alabama Nursery and Landscape Association and president of Green Thumb Nursery in Montgomery.

Marshall also appointed Katherine Robertson, chief counsel for the attorney general’s office, for a non-voting advisory position.

The Alabama Legislature passed a medical cannabis bill in May, which Ivey signed into law May 17.

The law created the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission to license cultivators, processors, transporters, testing labs and dispensaries, as well as to oversee the program. Once the program is up and running, doctors will be able to recommend medical cannabis to patients for the treatment of autism; cancer-related weight loss or chronic pain; Crohn’s; depression; epilepsy or other conditions causing seizures; HIV/AIDS-related nausea or weight loss; panic disorder; Parkinson’s; persistent nausea that is not related to pregnancy; PTSD; sickle-cell; spasticity associated with ALS, multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries; terminal illnesses; Tourette’s; and chronic pain where conventional therapies or opiates should not be used or are ineffective.

Katherine | Adobe Stock

Ohio Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Legalize Adult-Use Cannabis

The legislation, introduced by Reps. Casey Weinstein and Terrence Upchurch, also includes provisions that would seal the records of those convicted of past low-level, cannabis-related crimes.

July 16, 2021

Melissa Schiller

Legislation and regulation News Politics State by State: Ohio

Two Democratic Ohio state representatives have introduced a bill to legalize adult-use cannabis in the state, marking the first time that the legislature will consider the issue, according to Cincinnati.com.

The legislation, introduced by Reps. Casey Weinstein and Terrence Upchurch, would not only legalize the personal and commercial cultivation of cannabis, as well as its sale, but it would also seal the records of those convicted of past low-level, cannabis-related crimes, the news outlet reported.

The bill would allow adults 21 and older to buy and possess up to 5 ounces of cannabis, as well as grow up to 12 mature plants for personal use. Ohio’s medical cannabis program would remain intact, and licensed operators in the medical market could pursue adult-use licenses under the legislation.

The bill calls on the Ohio Department of Commerce to oversee the adult-use cannabis industry, according to Cincinnati.com, and a 10% excise tax would be placed on sales, in addition to a state and local sales tax. The tax revenue generated would fund education, road and bridge repair, and local governments, and for the first two years, up to $20 million of the annual tax revenue would flow to research for treating veterans and preventing veteran suicide.

Weinstein and Upchurch have also included a social equity component in the legislation, Cincinnati.com reported, to encourage disadvantaged entrepreneurs to participate in the adult-use market.

Weinstein and Upchurch are currently seeking cosponsors for the bill, which Cincinnati.com said could face opposition from the Republican-controlled legislature.

NationalLink Inc. Celebrates 25th Business Anniversary in Providing Complete ATM Solutions and Serving Cannabis Businesses

National Link has a network of over 16,000 ATMs in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, and serves cannabis retailers nationwide.

July 15, 2021

Posted by Melissa Schiller

Vendor News

NationalLink, Inc., one of the nation’s largest providers of ATM Solutions, headquartered in Glendora, Calif., is celebrating their 25th business anniversary in the ATM Business.

Company President Sam Kandah founded NationalLink in 1992 with a focus on credit card processing. With the deregulation of ATMs in 1996, Sam took the opportunity to add the ATM product line, allowing businesses of all sizes to earn additional income through managed ATM programs. National Link now has a network of over 16,000 ATMs in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, and is proud to serve Cannabis retailers nationwide.

Since the U.S. has yet to legalize cannabis at the federal level, this poses challenges to cannabis retailers operating in states where it is legal to conduct cannabis sales. Sales that involve a card transaction or credit card processing of any kind may be flagged as suspicious, but cash remains an acceptable form of payment. The solution to this issue is having an ATM inside cannabis retail locations so customers can withdraw cash to pay for purchases. NationalLink serves cannabis retailers across the country, providing turn-key ATM placements at no cost to merchants.

Over the past 25 years, NationalLink has expanded their product and service offering in providing comprehensive cash management solutions, adding smart safes, cash recyclers and cash handling equipment to their product line. Sam explains, “We responded to customer demand for expanded services in reliable, secure and efficient cash logistics solutions.”

NationalLink serves a diverse B2B marketplace including: banks, financial institutions, credit unions, hotels, malls, convenience stores, gas stations, hospitals, universities, entertainment centers, and cannabis businesses across the nation.

Business Development Director Herman Trejo, a NationalLink employee for 20 years, states, “We’re always innovating so we can offer customers even better ways to manage cash and payment processing in the ever-changing Cannabis business platform."

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