Switzerland is easing its medical cannabis restrictions, allowing doctors to prescribe medical cannabis to their patients without federal authorization starting Aug. 1, according to Le News.
The Federal Council announced the move June 22, the news outlet reported.
The change removes a requirement for doctors to seek authorization from federal health authorities when prescribing medical cannabis.
Medical and adult-use cannabis became illegal in Switzerland in 1951, Le News reported, and medical use was only permitted in “exceptional circumstances,” in which case the prescribing doctor had to apply to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH).
The FOPH grants roughly 3,000 authorizations annually, usually for patients with cancer, multiple sclerosis or neurological diseases, according to Le News. The process is typically “long and costly,” the news outlet reported, which has prompted the change in law.
Cultivating cannabis for medical purposes will still require authorization and oversight by Swissmedic, Switzerland’s drug regulator, Le News reported, and home cultivation for personal use remains illegal.
jiawangkun | Adobe Stock
New York Regulators to Open Application Process for Adult-Use Cannabis Processors
The Cannabis Control Board will begin accepting applications June 28, and the application period will close Aug. 31.
As New York regulators continue taking steps to launch the state’s adult-use cannabis market, the Cannabis Control Board on June 22 unanimously approved opening the application process for adult-use cannabis processors, according to a Buffalo News report.
Those seeking a conditional adult-use cannabis processor license can apply starting June 28, and the application period will close Aug. 31, the news outlet reported.
Questions on the processor application include inquiries about the manufacturing processes the applicant will use and what type of cannabis products the applicant intends to manufacture, according to Buffalo News.
Applicants ultimately awarded processor licenses will be permitted to acquire plant material grown by state-approved cultivators to manufacture it into cannabis products with a THC concentration exceeding 0.3%, the news outlet reported.
The temporary processor license will be valid until June 1, 2023.
The Cannabis Control Board also issued 41 additional adult-use cannabis conditional cultivator licenses at its June 22 meeting, according to Buffalo News. The application window for cultivator licenses ends June 30, and the state has approved 203 of the more than 250 applications that have been submitted to date, according to Buffalo News.
The New York Office of Cannabis Management has not yet issued any adult-use cannabis retail licenses, the news outlet reported; the Cannabis Control Board is still developing regulations for dispensaries and preparing for the application process, which is expected to launch this summer.
“The future is bright and we really do have a wonderful team pushing this forward,” Office of Cannabis Management Chair Tremaine Wright said at Wednesday’s meeting, according to Buffalo News.
The Source+
Cannabis Companies Lend Support for Pride Month 2022
Cannabis brands are supporting the LGBTQ+ community this month with deals and donations to the community.
Pride Month occurs every year in June and honors the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan. The first Pride march was held in New York City in June of 1970, the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, according to the U.S. Library of Congress, and has become a staple in cities across the globe every June. The month aims to show support and appreciation for the LGBTQ+ community across the world. Pride parades and festivals happen everywhere as well as many companies offering donations to LGBTQ+ communities. Many cannabis companies have been following suit and offer special deals for Pride and donations to different LGBTQ+ charities around the nation.
Companies such as Lowell Farms and The Source+ make it a priority to show support for the LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month. These companies are offering deals and donating some of their proceeds from this month to different LGBTQ+ organizations. These companies believe it’s important to show support to the LGBTQ+ community and prove it with their actions.
“Inclusivity is one of the pillars of our company—we like to make sure everybody is included and treated equally,” says Brett Sprau, the director for The Source+ Massachusetts in Northampton.
This month, The Source+ is doing a round-up promotion with the Venture Out Project. The Venture Out Project is a local Northampton program for the queer and transgender community to go on wilderness and backpacking trips. It also offers inclusion workshops for summer camps, educators and more. On all purchases this month, The Source+ is asking customers if they want to round up their change to the nearest dollar for a donation to the program. The store is also hosting an in-store raffle where customers can purchase raffle tickets in-store and be entered for a chance to win tickets to a RuPaul Drag Race show in Boston at the House of Blues Boston on Aug. 7. The store has been offering Pride Flags and Pride-themed drawstring bags to customers.
Sprau says that Northampton is a very LGBTQ-friendly community and a community-driven area, so partnering with a local organization was a “no brainer” for the company. The Source+ also works with several other organizations aiming to better the area. For example, they partnered with OneHolyoke Community Development Corporation, which is an organization that focuses on helping the local area. They have launched campaigns that helped clean up the streets of Holeyoke and helped to distribute COVID tests to lower income areas. It also hosts tutoring programs for students during the school year.
As a company that is very involved in the local community, it’s easy to see why The Source+ wanted to help support Pride Month. This company believes it’s important to support the community “We just want to be a part of the community,” Sprau says. “That’s what I think the easiest way to support the community is, to be involved in it and do whatever the community needs for us to do.”
The cannabis community and the LGBTQ+ community are very similar, Sprau says. Both have faced tough battles, though the LGBTQ+ community has faced more. “Cannabis has a history of being seen as an outsider community,” Sprau says. “I think there’s just that relationship of understanding. I think it’s just two groups of people that understand each other better.”
Another company that is celebrating Pride Month is Lowell Farms. The company is offering limited-edition Pride Packs this month, which include six premium prerolls packaged with a Pride Rainbow Lowell Farms logo. Lowell Farms has been partnered with GLAAD for many years now, and this month it is donating $1 from every sale to go to GLAAD.
George Allen, chairman of the board for Lowell Farms, states why it’s important to support the LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month. “The ‘why’ is very easy to answer,” Allen says. “It’s because we support the LGBTQ+ community. We support human rights and the personal freedoms that all people deserve, without exception. Diversity and inclusivity are foundational to Lowell Farms’ mission, and we will never waver from our support.”
“We are honored to renew our Pride partnership with Lowell Farms for the second year in a row,” says Melissa Harris, GLAAD’s senior director of strategic partnerships. “The support of allies in every space is tremendously important in our collective effort to accelerate LGBTQ acceptance. As we celebrate queer joy, GLAAD encourages everyone to remember that allyship extends far beyond the month of June. Brands like Lowell Herb are using this opportunity to educate the public on LGBTQ issues, and it is vital that allies commit to continue this kind of support for the community year-round. This is an ongoing movement—for customers and corporations alike.”
The mission for these companies is the same—lend support and appreciation during this Pride Month and beyond. With many cannabis companies showing their outward support for Pride month, they are an example for others to celebrate Pride month and LGBTQ+ community.
AUTHOR BIO: Carlie Reese is an editorial intern for Cannabis Business Times.
Jocelyn Sheltraw
‘Why a Data Driven Mindset is Crucial at this Stage of the Cannabis Industry’: Q&A with Headset’s Jocelyn Sheltraw
Sheltraw, the director of industry relations at Headset, talks industry trends and Cannabis Conference 2022.
Jocelyn Sheltraw is involved heavily within the cannabis industry, from serving on the Board of Directors of the California Cannabis Industry Association (CCIA) to her role as the director of industry relations at Headset, a provider of cannabis data and market intelligence. She’s also one of the creators of CannaPac, a meetup for cannabis founders and executives. Sheltraw is an industry thought leader and dedicates her time to serving and helping the cannabis industry and believes using data can help cannabis companies grow their business effectively.
In this Q&A Sheltraw talks about what’s happening within the cannabis industry, what product trends she sees in the market and why you should attend the Cannabis Conference.
Editor's note: Jocelyn Sheltraw will speak at Cannabis Conference from 10:00 a.m. to 11:20 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 23 on the "ALL ACESS PASS: Product Trends Of 2022 and Predictions for What’s to Come” session. In this session, experts from some of the industry’s leading data and research companies will present their findings on product and shopping preferences by generation, region and other demographics and categories—providing key insights into today’s consumer demands and how plant-touching businesses can rise to meet them.
Carlie Reese: What are some product trends you see in Headset’s data that operators should be paying attention to?
Jocelyn Sheltraw: This is hard to answer as trends can differ greatly by market, and based on factors like policy, regulation, supply chain dynamics, and existing cannabis culture. However, a broad trend we’re seeing in the US and Canada that tends to surprise people is declines in flower market share, as well as pricing.
According to a recent Headset analysis, from March 2019 to April 2022, Flower market share dropped from 78.8% to 42.5% in Canada, and 41% to 40.4% in the U.S. Regardless, flower sales are twice as large as the next highest grossing categories, which are pre-rolls in Canada and vapor pens in the U.S. At the same time, the price of flower is decreasing in both countries. From January 2021 to March 2022, the average EQ price of flower in the U.S. dropped by -22% and -17% in Canada.
Retailers should use category, pricing, and discounting data when planning their assortment and marketing strategies, and brands should use this data when thinking about what types of products to make, the competitive landscape and how to price those products, especially given categories like flower are more saturated than, say, topicals.
CR: What are some ways that data can be helpful to retailers and brands? Are there tangible ways they can use data to increase their sales??
JS: Using data and technology is imperative for retailers and brands in any industry, but especially for a nascent industry like cannabis. For example, imagine you’re a vape manufacturer. … You’re going to want to know how your different SKUs are performing at your retail stores. You’re going to want to understand the sell thru rates, which products are overstocked and understocked, and what discounts or promotions perform well.
In markets like Washington, where the median retailer carries more than 1,500 distinct products, supply chain management can be challenging when retailers and brands aren’t working together in lockstep. In April 2021, Headset found that nearly 300 of those 1,500 products hadn’t sold after 90 days on the shelves.
Traditionally, brands do not get access to this information given the retailer holds this data. However, that doesn’t have to be the case. Retailers can use tools like Headset to collaborate with their brand partners, by giving them access to this SKU-level data so that the brand can have a better understanding of these insights to best support their retail partners.
CR: It’s no secret that in many ways, this has been a challenging year for cannabis industry operators. Do you have any glimmers of hope you’re seeing in the data?
JS: I have a metaphor I like to use for retailers and brands working in the cannabis industry that I feel is a good reminder when times are particularly tough. I think about navigating the industry with the same mindset that one would use in preparing for climbing a mountain. For example, I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro right before the pandemic and during the climb, there were peaks and valleys, and to ensure I reached summit I had to pack light (i.e., retailers and brands should be hyper focused on inventory and demand planning). I cut dead weight (focus on conserving cash and reducing burn), I worked with my fellow climbers (per my response above, brands and retailers should collaborate and share important data), I had a compass (i.e., your customers are your compass),? and I kept perspective that there would be ups and downs.
We should remember that the cannabis industry is in a valley right now, and soon enough the industry will experience another peak. If we zoom out, in 2021, U.S. cannabis sales reached nearly $25B, while natural supplements reached $55B, wine $78B, and beer $94B. We’re already at the heels of major industries so just imagine what sales will look like without as much restriction and when federally legal.
We are just at the start of this journey, and so we should be cognizant of that and remain focused and positive so we can have the best chances of completing the summit.
CR: What do you hope attendees will bring back to their business from your session at the Cannabis Conference this year?
JS: I hope I will leave people with tangible takeaways for how utilizing data and technology can impact a retailer and brands’ bottom line in the immediate. As an industry, we don’t have the luxury of being too future thinking given how much is always changing in real time and learning something new or changing the way we normally do business is hard because most companies are so resource limited, so I hope that by sharing actionable insights, people will see it is worth the investment of their time.
Editor's note: This interview has been lightly edited for style, length and clarity.
Item 9 Labs
'The Future is Franchising': Item 9 Labs Corp.'s Plans for Cannabis Expansion
Item 9 Labs CEO Andrew Bowden and Chief Franchising Officer Mike Weinberger detail the company's recent acquisitions and ongoing expansions in this exclusive interview with Cannabis Business Times.
The company, with cannabis licenses in 15 states, is also expanding operations in Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, and more states in effort to ‘keep cannabis local,’ the company’s motto.
But behind the ongoing expansions and acquisitions, Item 9 Labs Corp.—with its name inspired by the Seth Rogen and James Franco stoner flick “Pineapple Express”— believes its franchising model puts the company “in the right spot at the right time to do the right thing,” says Chief Franchising Officer Mike Weinberger.
Weinberger and CEO Andrew Bowden joined Cannabis Business Times for an exclusive interview on Item 9 Labs Corp.'s recent accomplishments, and where the company sees itself and the future of U.S. cannabis next.
Zach Mentz: Item 9 Labs Corp. recently acquired Sessions Cannabis, based in Ontario, and all 43 of its locations. How did you identify Sessions Cannabis, specifically? What were some of the criteria that led you to wanting to acquire them?
Mike Weinberger, Chief Franchising Officer at Item 9 Labs
Mike Weinberger: So we're always open to any acquisition or merger that makes sense. We're looking for good people, good brands, good systems. And strangely enough, Sessions is a franchise system and that's what we do. There aren't many franchisors in cannabis. We call ourselves the only one in the U.S., there's a few that are in its infancy, and then in Canada, there's about three of them.
But the Canadian Council for Sessions is our Canadian Council; Steven Fry is the CEO and the founder there [at Sessions Cannabis]. And they saw a lot of synergies between our team, between Andrew and me and between Steven. We went on our first date, met him, we talked the same way on franchising, about our vision for putting local people in business, about growing a franchise system, about taking care of patients and guests, and just had the same moral compass.
And from there, it kind of just developed. We started talking in October [2021], and then you get the lawyers involved and go through the diligence and it really just became something pretty special. We're very excited about it.
We moved fairly quickly when, after we had the first couple calls, Andrew and I realized there was a good working groove. Steven's going to be staying on and running the Canadian division and doing what he does just with more resources, more support, and obviously Sessions will become Unity Rd. That'll give us more brand recognition, penetration [and] saturation in both the U.S. and in Canada. So it's great.
ZM: So all 43 of those Sessions locations in Ontario will be rebranded to Unity Rd.?
MW: Yup, we're shooting for by the end of this calendar year.
ZM: Item 9 Labs Corp.'s motto is ‘keep cannabis local.’ Can you explain the meaning behind that message and why it is so important to ‘keep cannabis local’?
Andrew Bowden: Giving back to the local community and allowing other people to have opportunities in the cannabis industry is a big push for me. The ‘keep cannabis local’ motto is near and dear to our hearts because we do have a few different aspects. We've got multi-state operators which are really trying to jump into different states, but mainly at the limited licensing stage. And then you have the state conglomerates, which are essentially these single-state operators that are trying to just take over a state.
We’re trying to give the MSO power to local entrepreneurs to get them into business, to keep them in business, and show them how to run their own business. That's really what the franchise model does; even though it looks as though we're a multi-state operator, we are really helping those local entrepreneurs with every single part of their business, which both Mike and I are extremely passionate about.
MW: My background is franchising. I went to law school to help people and realized that lawyers don't always help people. And I was fortunate enough to find franchising about two decades ago. So for the last two decades, I put people in business, and that's what we're doing here.
It might be cliché, ‘It's the American dream.’ Maybe it's the Canadian dream now, too, of just helping people. That's where Andrew and I come together. That's why Unity Rd. got acquired by Item 9 Labs a year ago, and that's why we bring Sessions in. Steven has that same vision and moral compass and values of taking care of people.
If you take it a step further, all these dispensaries that are opening with these big MSOs, they're all corporate, right? They got employees, but they're not invested. These are just jobs.
And dispensaries are new, depending on the market. So you got local business people there. These are people from your community. … The people you go to church with or kids go to the same school, those are the people you're going to resonate with, that you’re going to trust your medicine or your recreation with. So we believe there's a secret sauce, a little bit of a competitive edge and some authenticity of having those local business people own it.
The local businesspeople should own it. It shouldn't be owned by the same big corporations across the board. This is an opportunity to level the playing field a little bit. Those are some of the tenants that Andrew and I and now Steven all stand behind—keeping the business in the community keeps money in the community, and it can grow that community up from within.
ZM: What's it like operating in the Arizona market, specifically, where Item 9 Labs Corp. is headquartered? What are some of your challenges, and what are some of the opportunities that also exist in that market?
AB: Arizona is the fastest growing cannabis market right now, and it's pretty incredible to watch. We've grown our product brand pretty massively over the last few years. Year over year, [revenue was] about $4.7 million [in 2019] to $8.7 million [in 2020] all the way up to $22 million last year, so massive growth on just the product brand side.
I think there is a ton of opportunity in this market, but some of the biggest challenges in cannabis are financing. Not a lot of people want to walk into the industry because they don't necessarily trust it yet, even though it’s definitely a proven market. The United States surpassed $25 billion [in sales] in 2021, and that's just the legal cannabis market. There’s obviously a black market out there … but again, we're also seeing by 2024 [the U.S legal market] surpassing $50 billion. This is a real industry, it's a real market, and you're going to be seeing that in Arizona as well as California and all these other markets. But in Arizona, Item 9 Labs is usually battling for the number one, number two, or number three spot as we really do have a great product plan. We make a great product and we got one of the biggest SKU selections out there.
ZM: What is something most people don't realize about the cannabis industry?
AB: I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that it's not a medicine. I came into the industry specifically targeting the medicinal factors because, back in 2016, my mom was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer. And we got her some of the Item 9 Labs products through one of my good friends, who is one of the founders of Item 9. She was utilizing the product all the way through chemotherapy and radiation, and it's what gave her the strength to battle and become, now, five years cancer-free through the help of cannabis. So I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that it's not a medicine and it's just a drug.
I see it as completely the opposite direction. I think it is a medicine, and opening it up to the recreational platforms, what that does is it also opens up to medical patients that don't necessarily see it as legal until it's passed on a state level. Once it's passed on a state level, I think people are realizing, ‘okay, well maybe I'll try it for sleep. Maybe I'll try it for my anxiety. Maybe I'll try it for the different ailments I've got.’ I think that's going to open the actual medical-recreational market. I think it's going to change the industry.
And when they break things into medical and rec, I think we're seeing another market, too, that’s also opening up, which is kind of that medical-rec market where people are okay with buying it.
An artist rendering of a Unity Rd. franchise location.ZM: What are Item 9 Labs Corp.'s short- and long-term goals?
AB: We're looking at right now expanding across the U.S. We currently have one franchisee in Colorado, and we own one store in Colorado that's going to open here [this summer] that's going to be a corporate store. We have another store that we're acquiring in the Washington Park (Denver) area, so we're going to have three stores there. Bringing our product brand into Colorado is one of the next steps while continuing our franchisees moving into that state as well.
We have an Oklahoma dispensary that we acquired. We also have won a franchisee a license in Chicago, and one in South Dakota. We've got three in New Mexico one in New Jersey. Our goals are to get these stores open in as short of order as we possibly can while also expanding across Canada, as well, and bringing our product brand to Canada and bringing our product brand into the states where our franchisees are located.
MW: Unity Rd. is the vehicle to bring the Item 9 products to the masses. We’re going to pick select markets—[Andrew] named Colorado in particular—and once we get a throughput on a number of locations or topline sales, then we bring our award-winning Item 9 prerolls and live resin products to these markets. So as we win in [New] Jersey and the rest, you're going to see our product across the country, which is pretty cool.
ZM: What are some of Item 9 Labs Corp.'s most proud accomplishments over the last year or so?
AB: We've had 24 cannabis industry awards. We closed the loan with Pelorus, which expands our Arizona facility from 20,000 square feet up to about 85,000 square feet. We are about to finish our Nevada facility, which is 20,000 square feet. It's about 98% complete. We acquired [a dispensary license in] Adams County, [Colorado]. We’re going to take that, bring it in house, flip it into a Unity Rd. and sell it to a franchisee. And then we’re also in the process of acquiring Herbal Cure, which is in the Washington Park area.
MW: For me, it's the same list, but obviously the Sessions deal is huge. Being able to complete [One Cannabis Group’s] merger in with Item 9 was a game-changer just to allow us to scale together. And then there's this magazine called Cannabis Business Times that we won one of the best places to work in retail. That's huge because that's what I always shoot for, and we've been able to recruit and bring in exceptional talent. Our team continues to grow with really, really strong people that believe in our mission. Andrew and I are about the people and winning the award for your magazine and having the people believe in the team, that's what gets me excited, man.
ZM: What do you think the future of U.S. cannabis ultimately looks like? And where does Item 9 Labs Corp. fit into that picture?
AB: It looks like franchising. That's one of the biggest things that we're seeing; 50% of retail [in the broader economy] is sold through a franchise, whereas only 10% of retail stores are franchisees. With every other industry that we look at, it all moves towards franchising and a common experience and being able to walk into a store and know exactly what you're going to get from that store. Historically, that hasn't necessarily been the case in the cannabis industry, so what we strive for is making sure we've got top-shelf products [and] we're helping you every step of the way. The future of cannabis is franchising.
MW: I think the counterpoint to that is there's going to be a lot of consolidation in the U.S. market. You got 11 or 12 billion-dollar MSOs that are gobbling up everything they can and squeezing on the mom and pops, trying to grab as much license and as much real estate, and it's going to be hard to compete with them.
But to Andrew's point, the answer is franchising because these municipalities and jurisdictions want to put local people in business, and they want them to be disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs and putting the right people in business. Those people won't be able to succeed against the bigger giants without support, without SOPs, without cash handling, without brand recognition, without volume buying. That's what we provide. They own that business 100%; we're just providing support to them.
It's going to come down to a lot of big MSOs owning the U.S. market and franchising being their competition, because it's that bifurcation of where the licenses are going to go and what it looks like. That's kind of been, to Andrew's point, how other businesses in the U.S. and around the world have gone. It's big business, and then it's locally owned with franchising behind it. So I think we're in the right spot at the right time to do the right thing.
ZM: What advice would you offer to either new or existing operators that really want to succeed in this industry?
AB: As much as it sounds cliché, the cannabis industry is different in that it moves in dog years. So it’s extremely fast-paced, and we've seen it all. What we're here to do is help those local entrepreneurs get into business and stay in business. But it's just a different industry for sure.
MW: My advice to anyone is pick your partners carefully; do your diligence, spend some time. It's a nascent industry. It's brand new and no one really knows where it's going to go and what it's going to do. So you need to spend an extraordinary amount of time on the strategic planning and making the best decisions you can with the data points. The other thing is just, have a safety net with some cash and then be flexible because—Colorado's a testament to this—things are going to change. And if you're rigid, cannabis is not for you because that industry is going to have some massive changes over the next one, five, 10 years. And that's okay, but just be aware of that.
Legislative Map
Cannabis Business Times’ interactive legislative map is another tool to help cultivators quickly navigate state cannabis laws and find news relevant to their markets. View More
Melissa Schiller
