Illinois has issued 14 “same-site” adult-use cannabis dispensary licenses to existing medical cannabis retailers in the state, which will be the first businesses to serve the adult-use market when it launches Jan. 1, 2020, according to a local ABC News report.

These licensees are also permitted to open a second adult-use dispensary at a separate location, the news outlet reported.

The state plans to award 75 adult-use licenses to new businesses, including social equity applicants, starting next year, according to ABC News.

Illinois released a “disproportionately impacted areas” map in September that outlines regions in the state where adult-use cannabis business applicants will get preference under the law’s social equity provision, and began accepting a new round of cultivation and dispensary licenses Oct. 1.

The Wisconsin Assembly voted Nov. 12 to approve updated hemp regulations that align the state’s rules more closely with guidelines in the 2018 Farm Bill, according to a Wisconsin Public Radio report.

The legislation re-authorizes hemp cultivation in the state and implements several technical changes to Wisconsin's existing hemp law, which was enacted in 2017, Wisconsin Public Radio reported. Under current law, hemp cultivators and processors must undergo background checks and are not permitted to work in the industry if they have state or federal drug convictions, according to the news outlet.

In addition, current law requires Wisconsin’s hemp crops to pass tests for THC levels, and any crop containing more than 0.3% THC must be destroyed. Last month, some farmers blamed more potent crops on testing delays, and under the new legislation, the state agriculture department would be able to hire third-party contractors to assist with testing, Wisconsin Public Radio reported.

The state Senate approved the proposal last month, and the bill now heads to Gov. Tony Evers’ desk for his signature.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, House Speaker David Ralston and Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan appointed seven members to the Georgia Access to Medical Cannabis Commission Nov. 12, as reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, in a move that kickstarts the state’s medical cannabis program seven months after Kemp signed a law allowing patients to access medical cannabis oil in the state.

The commission includes three doctors, a police chief, a health policy professor, the president for the Georgia Board of Pharmacy and a small business owner, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and is chaired by Dr. Christopher Edwards, the principal surgeon for the Atlanta Neurological & Spine Institute.

State law mandates that commission members cannot have financial interests in a cannabis oil firm during their four-year terms and five years afterward, the news outlet reported, and officials screened more than 50 candidates for the seven spots.

The commission is responsible for overseeing Georgia’s medical cannabis program, which Kemp signed into law in April. Prior to the new law, Georgia patients could legally possess up to 20 fluid ounces of cannabis oil since 2015, but the sale or transportation of the oil was prohibited, leaving patients no legal way to obtain their medicine.

Now, the seven-member board, which is charged with licensing and regulating businesses to grow and sell the low-THC cannabis oil (which must contain less than 5% THC), can set to work establishing a medical cannabis distribution network throughout the state.

The state plans to license up to nine acres of indoor cultivation space, and licenses are to be awarded to two large companies and four smaller companies, The Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported. The University of Georgia and Fort Valley State University will pursue licenses, according to the news outlet.

(November 12, 2019) Los Angeles -- PRESS RELEASE -- Glass House Group, one of the fastest-growing, privately-held, vertically integrated cannabis and hemp companies in the U.S., announced the appointment of Graham Farrar as president. Farrar was a founding team member at Sonos (NASDAQ: SONO) and Software.com, and the founder of Glass House Group’s cultivation division, Glass House Farms, a sustainability pioneer and a serial entrepreneur with decades of experience creating successful businesses and organizations in emerging markets.

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In his role as Glass House Group President, Farrar will report to Glass House Group CEO Kyle Kazan, and is charged with: establishing short and long-term company goals, plans and strategies and culture; streamlining the organization’s cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, sustainability, cannabis and hemp operations; overseeing budgets; and properly allocating resources.

“We have placed a premium on building the strongest team of serial entrepreneurs in the cannabis and hemp industries,” said Glass House Group CEO Kyle Kazan. “Graham has already leveraged his decades of experience and leadership in the tech sector to drive efficiencies across our company’s operations. We look forward to expanding his role as we continue to integrate state-of-the-art technologies across our business and leveraging his leadership of crucial aspects of our portfolio.”

“After helping found several successful emerging-market companies, I am excited to take on my new role and strategically build another successful venture with Kyle and the team at Glass House Group,” said Glass House Group President Graham Farrar. “Using data, analytics and the latest hardware and software has allowed us to dial-in our grows, drive efficiency and consistency across our operations, growing the highest quality cannabis with an earth-friendly approach while expanding our footprint in cannabis’ most competitive marketplace."

As pioneer in the tech space, Graham served as part of the original team at Software.com, a company that enabled the collection and delivery of email, which he helped take public in 1999. Shortly thereafter, Farrar served on the Board of Seacology, a nonprofit focused on protecting island habitats and assisting local communities. The organization has already protected roughly 1.3 million acres of some of the world’s most vulnerable ecosystems on islands in 61 countries.

Farrar went on to serve as a member of the founding team at Sonos (NASDAQ: SONO), an American consumer electronics company based in Santa Barbara, Calif. In his role at Sonos, Farrar served in a variety of different capacities, including product design, global support, business development and sales.

Farrar ventured into the regulated cannabis industry, founding Elite Garden Wholesale, an agricultural technology company focused on developing products for the hydroponics industry and creating soil enrichment products for cannabis crops. He then founded Glass House Farms, which now operates as Glass House Group’s cultivation and manufacturing division.

Farrar continues to capitalize on his years of experience at Glass House Group as its president, and has helped create one of the most earth-friendly, efficient cannabis and hemp companies in the U.S.

Most recently, Farrar helped ink a deal with Cadiz, the first NASDAQ-listed company to enter into a joint venture with a cannabis and hemp company; played a role in developing specific strains for artists Bella Thorne and Jenny Lewis; and opened The Farmacy, the first walk-in recreational cannabis dispensary in the City of Santa Barbara.