California Marijuana

Each year, the cannabis industry attracts new entrepreneurs and businesses because of its immense potential for growth. By 2025, the total annual United States cannabis market has the ability to generate $45.8 billion. Within the projected U.S. market , states such as New Jersey, Florida, New York, Ohio and Virginia are expected to emerge as leaders in the growing cannabis landscape. In preparation, cannabis businesses continue to enter these markets and build for the future. While it is important to look ahead, industry leaders must remain aware of the changing trends in states that have already fortified strong cannabis industries. Currently, California is home to the largest U.S. cannabis market by sales and consumers are rapidly shifting their purchasing habits within the Golden State. With that in mind, industry leaders should remain up to date on the needs of California consumers and examine where the marketplace could be headed next. Examining Falling Flower Sales In The Golde...

Anyone in cannabis will tell you that complex transportation and supply issues are stalling industry growth and impacting employers’ ability to hire teams for the critical roles that keep product moving on schedule. Since the onset of COVID-19 in March 2020, global and domestic supply chains have suffered bottlenecks caused by ever-changing public health policies and ongoing materials and labor shortages. While the status of transportation as an essential business kept other essential sectors, such as cannabis and grocery, chugging along, the current situation is still challenging. Transportation remains the biggest supply-side problem, with the American Trucking Association reporting a shortage of an estimated 80,000 truckers in October 2021. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also continues to report high numbers of job openings across supply-chain jobs such as warehousing and transportation. Cannabis businesses, from multistate operators to distributors to delivery service startu...

Fraud The THC content you see on a label when you walk into a dispensary? There is a very good chance the number is false. In every state with regulated cannabis, there is a requirement to label the potency of products so consumers can make informed purchasing and medicating decisions. The regulations usually state that the THC/cannabinoid content on the label must be within a particular relative percent difference of the actual tested results for the product to be salable. In California, that threshold is +/- 10%. The problem is, with all the focus on THC percentage in flower and concentrate products, enormous pressure has been placed on cultivators and manufacturers to push their numbers up. Higher numbers = higher prices. But unfortunately, improving their growing, extraction and formulation processes only gets companies so far. So, they proceed to ‘lab shop’: giving their business to whichever lab provides them the highest potency. There are roughly 50 Department of Cannabis Co...

In 2021, a record-breaking flurry of merger-and-acquisition (M&A) deals reshaped the cannabis industry. While the pace of M&A activity in 2022 seems unlikely to exceed last year’s in terms of sheer numbers, there is a good chance we will see a perpetuated trend of consolidation deals as market economics continue to mature. What’s new for 2022 is how the drivers behind M&A activity continue to evolve with the industry. As cannabis further entrenches into established markets and spreads to newly legalized states, the battle for brand dominance is heating up. Multistate operators (MSOs) are competing with local operations for both shelf space and the hearts of patients and consumers. At the same time, the lack of regulatory progress at the federal level and general market disruptions like wholesale flower price fluctuations mean turning a profit in cannabis hasn’t gotten any easier. As a result, operators of all sizes are seeking opportunities to boost operational and financ...

The time, energy, and money spent to acquire customers come at a premium cost. So why let them slip through your fingers? While producing a stellar product or service is an important part of the customer-retention recipe, successful strategies must be much broader. “Consumer retention is universal,” according to Flowhub Chief Executive Officer Kyle Sherman. “It’s about creating a positive experience and an incentive to come back — from atmosphere to having the right technology in place to training staff on standard operating procedures and every product detail. Look at the Apple store, Ritz Carlton, and your favorite local dispensary. These companies provide standout experiences but operate in completely different industries. Each company makes its customers feel like royalty.” Sherman has watched brands and retailers acquire, lose, reacquire, retain, and otherwise dance with consumers since early in the second decade of the twenty-first century. While working for industry powerhous...

SAN DIEGO, CA, July 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — via  NewMediaWire  –  Medical Marijuana, Inc.  ( OTC: MJNA ) (the “Company”), the first-ever publicly traded cannabis company in the United States that launched the world’s first-ever cannabis-derived nutraceutical products, brands, and supply chain, announced today that its CEO Blake Schroeder has published an article in Nasdaq News to provide the industry with insight on the future of federal cannabis legalization in the U.S. In his article titled,  “​​How Using the CBD Marketplace Can Set a Strong Stage for U.S. Cannabis” , Blake explains how the non-psychoactive hemp CBD market presents a unique opportunity to build a customer base and lay the groundwork for psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) product sales once federally legal. He explains how the THC market, which is currently only legal on a state-by-state basis, can learn from the regulatory, testing, banking, legal, and other business related challeng...

BEND, Ore. — Dutchie — the technology platform powering cannabis commerce — today announced the launch of Dutchie Pay, a fully-integrated digital payment solution that dispensaries and consumers can trust. Dutchie Pay is designed to reduce reliance on cash by providing dispensaries and consumers a convenient and secure way to pay. A closed-loop automatic clearing house (ACH) solution, Dutchie Pay allows consumers to purchase their favorite cannabis products online while automating compliance so that dispensaries can focus on growing their business. “Cash creates too many safety risks and is inefficient. Our industry cannot meet its full potential without modern payment solutions available at scale,” said Dutchie Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder Zach Lipson. “Dutchie exists to create safe and easy access to cannabis. Dutchie Pay advances our mission by integrating a simple and secure product that makes cannabis purchases safer, easier, and more accessible for dispensaries and...

Having worked the cannabis trade show circuit for several years now, I have excellent insight into marketing via the frontline. At the height of my time on the road, I spoke at or attended forty-six expos, events, and shows around the world. My team as a whole worked sixty-eight events total in one year. MardiGrass in Australia, Spannabis in Spain, Expoweed in Chile, Lift & Co. in Canada , and CannaTech in Israel were just a handful of several on the roster that year. You know you travel too much when you keep several currencies in your safe. I vividly remember adding up the miles to more than 120,000 in the air. I was building a brand one conversation at a time. The money was good, but ultimately it was a sacrifice that paid handsomely for my then-employer. The true heydays for the circuit were the mid- to late-2010s. Investor money was still being thrown about, and valuations for limited partnerships rivaled those only seen in the dotcom days. It really was a unique time to be ...

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — Mellow Vibes, a leading multi-state edible brand in cannabis has partnered with The Studio at Artist Tree Cannabis Lounge in West Hollywood to host a free three-week series of movie screenings. The movie nights will begin on July 19, 2022 and screen classic stoner titles such as Dazed and Confused, How High and Friday. Consumers will be able to snack on Mellow Vibes infused popcorn during the movie. Anyone over the age of 21 is welcome to attend this free event provided they RSVP at:  mellowvibes.com/theartisttree . “Consumers love edibles but have a hard time finding any that are savory. Mellow Vibes gourmet Potcorn fills a huge hole in the edible category and will certainly elevate any movie night.” said Joseph Lanzarin, CEO at Mellow Vibes. “This will be the first event of its kind at a consumption lounge, and the sizable local cannabis community is understandably stoked.” Mellow Vibes Potcorn contains up to 100MG of THC that is infused in the co...

TAMPA, Fla. — Mystic Labs , the manufacturer and distributor of Delta-8 THC products and Delta-9 THC Gummies, announces its newest line of gummies, High Potency Delta-8 THC Gummies. “Delta-8 is one of the most popular cannabinoids being utilized alongside CBD products,” said Kevin Collins, co-founder of Mystic Labs. Mystic Labs High Potency Delta-8 THC Gummies contain 50mg of Delta-8 THC per gummy and come in five flavors: Atomic Apple, Blue Raspberry Breeze, Hypnotic Pink Lemonade, Mango Madness and Mixed Berry Magic. All flavors will be available in a 50-count bottle with an MSRP of $99.99. Customers can also take advantage of new bundle savings by choosing three flavors of 50-count bottles at a total discount of $100 off the retail price. By purchasing three bottles, a customer would be paying just $0.025 per milligram of Delta-8 THC, the best value for customers in the industry. Similar bundle savings have been applied to Mystic Labs Delta-9 THC Gummies — three 50-count bott...

LAS VEGAS — Canapa has announced that its market leading JuanaRoll automated pre-roll machine is now available in 8 different configurations to fill most every production rate need. The JuanaRoll is the industry’s most flexible pre-roll machine with a straight-line design that allows users to expand production as needed. Customers can now start with a 1-channel model and produce up to 4,000 pre-rolls in an 8-hour shift and then expand up to an 8-channel model or anything in between to produce up to 32,000 pre-rolls per 8-hour shift. Featuring the most edge weight cell technology with 2/1000g resolution, an integrated PreCheQ check weigher and stations for compacting, tamping, twisting, trimming and crowning, this high-performance machine also includes no cone-no fill detection, a cone open camera vision system, and two digital cameras with free online support and training. The JuanaRoll is designed for speed, accuracy, flexibility and expandability. This highly productive machine i...

One of the most spectacular aspects of a legal cannabis industry is the research and development that’s permitted to take place. In legal markets, scientists and cultivators alike can work together to develop some incredibly innovative products and unlock new opportunities that reach far beyond the traditional cannabis industry. Case in point we have fermented cannabinoids which are cannabinoid molecules identical to the ones found in cannabis plants but produced from a microbial organism such as bacteria or yeast. “Much like a cannabis plant has native biochemical processes for producing cannabinoids, as well as many other complex functions, a simple microbe can be reprogrammed to perform the same types of biochemistries, without all of the complexities of a plant that requires soil, light, and time,” said Prakash Iyer, associate director of commercial strategy and operations at Ginkgo Bioworks . Iyer added that there are many applications for fermented cannabinoids in today’s cann...

WASHINGTON – The long-awaited Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA) was finally introduced to the Senate Thursday after being unveiled to the industry by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) last year. The CAOA would decriminalize cannabis on a federal level — a crucial step leading up to the federal legalization for which so many operators and consumers are holding out hope. The bill would also allow states to set comprehensive cannabis laws without operators experiencing constant worry over federal intervention. This would-be dream-come-true has been a long time coming, as Schumer proposed the draft alongside Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) over a year ago. Many also believe the odds of it passing the Senate are slim, facing an uphill battle with little reward for cannabis. “Although we see the long-awaited introduction of CAOA as another positive sign for eventual federal cannabis reform, the Democrat-proposed bill will have a tough time passin...

Oregon is the nation’s first adult-use state to ban the sale of cannabinol (CBN) products, and operators throughout the North American industry are voicing mixed sentiments about the state’s new law and the impact it could have on the rest of the country. While some believe the ban is a responsible step that will help the cannabis industry move further away from its decades-long stigma, others are of the opinion that a restriction on CBN products will have the exact opposite effect, ultimately slowing down the industry’s progress and growth. CBN is recognized as a mildly psychoactive cannabinoid and is often touted by brands for its sedative and pain-relieving properties. Oregon Becomes the First State to Ban the Sale of CBN Products The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) made the decision to adopt regulations that would reflect what they’ve interpreted as the intent of House Bill 3000, which passed in 2021 with nearly unanimous support. HB3000 defines “adult-use cannabi...