The post How Data & Technology are Driving the Cannabis Industry appeared first on Investing in Cannastocks.
]]>As with any agricultural crop, cannabis only needs three fundamental things to grow: soil, sun, and water. However, as a commercial crop, the process becomes significantly more complex.
Modern, legal cannabis operations rely on a significant amount of technology in their day-to-day operations. Regardless of the cultivation method, cannabis producers need technology to help them maintain consistency in the environment and in their production processes.
However, while cultivation, manufacturing, and retail technologies are undoubtedly necessary, data is still king in a highly regulated, track and trace environment. And what we learn from that data is shaping the industry.
In the world of consumer goods, the consumers’ purchasing habits drive retail and manufacturing decisions. If there’s a great demand for a particular product, common sense tells us to produce more. Likewise, in the cannabis industry, consumer data is helping retailers and manufacturers make intelligent decisions about the products they produce.
Several SaaS solutions exist for collecting various types of consumer data. Jeff Harris, Co-founder, and CEO at springbig mentioned during a recent conversation, in addition to the raw data, retailers need “the ability to absorb and consume first-party data, meaning actual purchase data from the consumer.”
An expert in his field, Harris has spent most of his career managing customer loyalty marketing programs for other industries, including small businesses like pizza shops, yogurt chops, and nail and hair salons. But when Harris noticed that cannabis retailers were using their platform at a much greater level than other businesses and spending ten times the average of other businesses, they pivoted to focus solely on cannabis retail.
springbig may have only started with five or six people, but today it is now a cannabis data giant with more than 150 employees.
In the early days of cannabis, ancillary businesses with the experience and expertise didn’t want to approach the cannabis industry because of the stigmas and stereotypes therein. So, the entire ecosystem had to be built to support the industry. So, here’s this industry that has the same logistical needs as any other manufacturing and retail industry, without the traditional support systems afforded to more mainstream products.
Technology support and data collection only help businesses function better. Harris said, “What’s so amazing about this industry is that you essentially have this other planet, and on that planet, you need to build an ecosystem, and people saw the opportunity and built that ecosystem.”
He continued, “The technology was built to support the industry, and the reason it had to be built is that people from the outside didn’t want to come near cannabis.”
But today, as the cannabis industry gains acceptance and cannabis use becomes less stigmatized, companies who’ve spent decades providing services to other industries are starting to rethink their position on cannabis. As federal decriminalization and banking changes continue to move forward, more traditional companies are recognizing opportunities.
Loyalty programs allow businesses to collect data in real-time and allow retailers to know who the customer is, when they’ll likely visit the store, how much they typically spend, and what products they purchase. Data like this can be invaluable for businesses but learning how to harness that data is priceless.
Data platforms, like springbig, allow cannabis retailers to not only utilize the sales data from their consumers they also allow them to communicate more effectively with their clientele. Harris explains, “Not all communications need to carry a discount or sale; we’re using data to help our clients be smarter about how they communicate.”
From a real-world example, a cannabis consumer in Puerto Rico recently posted on social media, “When your favorite dispensary messages to say they have ounces of your favorite strain at a very discounted price, that’s amore!”
Clearly, not only did her dispensary delight her by knowing her favorite product, but they also gained a brand advocate for their level of customer service, as well as free influencer marketing and visibility.
“What’s interesting about that example,” Harris explained, “is that if you let the customer know that the product they like is in the store, sometimes that’s enough to get them to get off their chair, get into the car, and drive to the dispensary.”
“It’s also a perfect example of how data can be used to drive traffic into the store by simply letting the customer know the product they like is available,” he continued.
With the data collected across the industry, we start to see trends, and many of those trends aren’t what many producers expected. “Initially, people were amazed to see women in their 30s and 40s going into the stores to buy cannabis,” Harris stated.
“Now, here in Florida, not only are we finding more seniors coming into the stores, we are seeing senior-only communities opening dispensaries, too,” he pointed out.
As the industry advances, Harris believes the demand for data is only going to increase. Although the laws will likely change to open interstate commerce and allow for broader means of advertising and marketing, Harris said, “Our job is to change along with how the industry changes… cannabis will become less stigmatized and more accepted, which will drive the growth this industry.”
The post How Data & Technology are Driving the Cannabis Industry appeared first on Investing in Cannastocks.
]]>The post How hemp growers can employ crop scouting for pests, diseases appeared first on Investing in Cannastocks.
]]>While the vast majority of insects don’t cause economically significant damage, preventing a pest outbreak before it gets out of hand is the ultimate goal of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) plan, according to Charlie McKenzie, founder of Florida-based CropWalk, a national IPM consultancy for high-value, controlled environment crops like cannabis.
Crucial to an IPM plan is proper crop scouting, yet McKenzie sees many growers failing at the task. CropWalk recently launched an online academy teaching foundational IPM skills, including crop scouting.
“They are either not scouting at all because of the fear of not doing it right or not having it set up,” McKenzie said.
“Or they’re scouting but don’t have the full foundational nature of what to be looking for and how to be looking for it.”
Crop scouting is more involved than walking the crop every so often and flagging a bug outbreak, McKenzie said.
Identify key cannabis pests
Medical marijuana grower Sam Konchan calls his five-person cannabis crop scouting crew his “special ops team.”
Konchan, the IPM manager for Arizona-headquartered multistate cannabis operator Harvest Health & Recreation, said his scouting crew:
Based in Gainesville, Florida, Konchan battles the state’s hot, humid and wet weather that favors pests and diseases.
Spider mites, tobacco whitefly, three species of Florida flower thrips, cotton aphids and rice root aphids are all on his team’s key pest list.
Most cannabis growers outside Florida will have a shorter list of key pests, McKenzie said, usually at least five and not more than 10, including pathogens.
He advises reaching out to neighbors and state extension agents to ask what problem cannabis pests they have seen in the region.
Scouting crews should note sightings of occasional pests that generally don’t cause significant damage versus key pests if only so “you don’t worry yourself to death” concerned about a pest that ultimately won’t be a problem, McKenzie said.
Monitoring beneficial insects is another task for the scouting crew. Natural predator populations help growers understand if their management practices are working and determine the effectiveness of biological product applications.
Choose which data to collect
Growers need to know which data is important to collect and how to organize it, McKenzie said.
Specific data points to include:
There are also data points that a scouting crew doesn’t need to collect because they don’t trigger a response, McKenzie said, such as how many insects are on a leaf or exactly where a pest was spotted.
Growers should keep their scouting data organized and informative. Many growers use a numerical system of one through five to indicate the severity of an outbreak and letters to show what they are seeing. For example, 3E indicates a midrange population of pest eggs (E), whereas 5N notes a large population of pest nymphs (N).
Noting signs of pests versus symptoms of a pest outbreak are also important.
Tools for crop scouting
There’s a long list of tools and supplies a scouting crew needs. It comes down to “having the right tools for the job and knowing how to use them,” McKenzie said.
He recommends that every crop scouting crew member have:
Avoid common mistakes
McKenzie reminds growers not to scout the “same day of the week, at the same time and in the same pattern.”
Different insects are active at specific times of the day. If the crew always scouts the same weekday, they won’t get an accurate picture of the effectiveness of products applied earlier in the week.
Growers that have been in the crop a lot tend to become numb to new problems unless they walk a different route, McKenzie said.
“You don’t see the little details because you walk by the same way every time,” he added.
Growers setting up IPM programs should vet advice carefully, Konchan warns.
“The misinformation across the internet is rampant,” he said, and doesn’t contain much university-backed research to reference.
“The advice is horrible, or it is too broad. If I didn’t know what I was doing, I wouldn’t be able to do it well.”
Konchan recommends reaching out to cannabis-savvy IPM consultants for practical, actionable advice.
“We don’t have a lot of research from universities to reference, but we do have a lot of fieldwork,” Konchan said.
“There is really no excuse we can’t be more on the point for IPM and what people should be doing.”
Fuente: https://hempindustrydaily.com/how-hemp-growers-can-employ-crop-scouting-for-pests-diseases/
The post How hemp growers can employ crop scouting for pests, diseases appeared first on Investing in Cannastocks.
]]>The post How To Spot A Fake Vape Cartridge appeared first on Investing in Cannastocks.
]]>Fake vape cartridges are a serious problem. They’re often made to mimic well-known brands, and they can reduce consumer confidence in the industry. Worse still – they can make you very sick, or even kill you if you don’t know how to spot them.
Unfortunately, the packaging for these vape cartridges can be incredibly professional. In this article, we’ll give you some tips on how you can spot the fakes. But first, a piece of advice:
The easiest way to avoid fake vape cartridges is to only purchase from trusted sources. You can get lab test results from legal vendors, as cannabis producers have to provide them. In those test results, you can see exactly how much THC – and other chemicals – are present in the cartridge you’re purchasing.Getting your products from trusted producers like PAX Labs, makers of the Era Pro, Era Life, PAX 2 and 3, will significantly reduce your risk of ending up with a fake vape cartridge.
Of course, this advice is only so good when you’re purchasing your cartridges online, or if you’re living in a state where cannabis is still a black market product. In light of that, here are a few tips for spotting fake products.
Websites like Leafly are incredibly good at listing reliable brands and reviews for those brands. Before you purchase or vape a cartridge, look up the brand and name on Leafly or a similar resource site. There are so many different vaporizer cartridges cataloged on these sites that if yours is legitimate, you’re almost sure to find it.
Once you find the product in question, check reviews. You should also visit the website of the brand you’ve purchased. Then, compare the packaging you find with the packaging on your vape cartridge.
This is not a foolproof method – some of the nefarious actors creating these fake cartridges go out of their way to make their packaging match the real thing. Some of them create very high-quality websites. But doing your research can seriously help reduce your risk.
This technique isn’t flawless, but it can help when you otherwise can’t tell whether or not the cartridge is legitimate.
Check the regulatory requirements for vape cartridge packaging in your area. In California, for example, you’re required to have:
Check state laws or federal laws (in Canada) to see what information is required on the package, then check your package to see if it complies with those regulations. A weed store in Winnipeg is going to have different packaging requirements for its products than a weed store in Denver.
See a cartridge that promises 99.9% THC for $10?
Be very suspicious.
Check online or at your local licensed vendor to see how much cartridges go for, what ingredients they have, and the amount of THC in the cartridge. Compare those values to the values of the cartridge you’ve purchased – if things are drastically different, you probably have a fake cartridge.
If something feels like it’s too good to be true, it probably is. You might not be able to tell by taste, smell, or sight. You might just feel like something is wrong.
That’s okay. Trust that instinct. It’s better you waste a few bucks throwing out a real vape cartridge than it is to take a gamble on a fake one and lose.
We hope this brief article helps you avoid fake vapes. Stay safe out there!
Fuente: https://www.greenmarketreport.com/how-to-spot-a-fake-vape-cartridge/
The post How To Spot A Fake Vape Cartridge appeared first on Investing in Cannastocks.
]]>The post Large US cannabis companies look to debt funding versus equity and sale-leaseback deals appeared first on Investing in Cannastocks.
]]>Multistate operators Curaleaf, headquartered in Massachusetts, and Cresco Labs, based in Chicago, have led the way by announcing debt raises of up to $300 million and $200 million, respectively, in recent weeks.
New York-based Acreage Holdings joined the bandwagon last Friday, announcing it secured up to $100 million through a credit facility with an unnamed institutional lender.
Acreage CEO Kevin Murphy said in a news release the debt funding comes at “a time of limited capital availability for our industry.”
He noted his company had “cemented a relationship with a well-capitalized institutional lender that has the capacity to provide additional credit facilities as necessary.”
Such deals might be a sign of things to come, said Jeff Schultz, a partner at cannabis-focused investment bank Navy Capital in New York.
For starters, falling cannabis stock prices have made equity a less attractive source of funding for marijuana companies.
At the same time, large cannabis companies increasingly have been selling their cultivation, processing and storage facilities and immediately leasing them back as a way to instantly raise tens of millions of dollars.
But such sale-leaseback transactions tend to lock in the asset seller for a much longer period than straight debt deals that are typically, for now, set up with similar interest rates, analysts said.
In addition, the cannabis company continues to incur added expenses leasing back the property.
“The well will eventually run dry on pure sale-leasebacks, so we expect to see more debt financings like the one announced recently by Curaleaf,” Schultz predicted.
That deal is believed to be the largest amount of debt raised in the U.S. marijuana industry.
Debt beckons as equity fades
Recent data bears out a trend toward debt and away from equity.
While equity investment still far outpaced debt in 2019, the overall equity figure was down versus 2018, according to New York-based cannabis data group Viridian Capital Advisors.
Debt raises globally, by contrast, were up almost 30% in 2019 versus the previous year, with much of that activity in North America.
Such trends were particularly noticeable in the latter part of last year.
While equity raises in the last three months of the year amounted to $700 million – or just 8.7% of the year’s total of $8.1 billion – debt financing totaled $110.3 million in December of last year compared with $45.5 million in the same month in 2018, according to Viridian.
“The cannabis industry has for the most part seen that equity financing has all but dried up,” said Brett Hundley, senior analyst at Seaport Global, an investment bank headquartered in New York and New Orleans. “It is clear that the industry is now turning to debt financing.”
The recent string of debt offerings could also be signs that the industry’s current flirtation with sale-leaseback deals might not be a favored option in the long term.
The leases “are usually in place for 15 years, locking in that expensive financing rate, while the recent Curaleaf and Cresco deals were for only a couple of years,” said Mike Regan, an equity analyst for Marijuana Business Daily’s Investor Intelligence.
The shorter term of debt provides more flexibility to possibly refinance at lower rates in a few years instead of “locking in a 14% lease rate for the next 15 years,” Regan added.
Hundley of Seaport Global agreed that debt offers better terms than a typical sale-leaseback transaction.
“Companies would 100% choose debt financing if they could. It’s not even close in my opinion,” Hundley said.
“With leasebacks, you are selling an asset – sometimes a very valuable asset – to access financing at a very high cost and then leasing it back. It’s an expensive way to raise capital.”
Debt still not an easy option for many
All that said, debt deals might still prove difficult for struggling companies.
“We anticipate that tier 1 operators will be able to negotiate materially better terms than the rest of the industry who will also likely seek debt financing, but perhaps on much more onerous terms,” Navy Capital’s Schultz said.
Debt will, however, increasingly be an option for well-run cannabis companies that are nearing profitability, agreed Regan of Investor Intelligence.
“Companies usually need positive EBITDA against which to borrow,” he said. “As more companies in the industry become EBITDA positive, there should be more debt deals. Companies that cannot show positive EBITDA will have more difficulty accessing capital.”
Looking ahead, multistate operators such as Acreage, Cresco, Curaleaf and possibly Arizona-based Harvest Health & Recreation – as well as some cash-heavy Canadian producers – will likely continue to be able to access debt.
Moreover, the apparent availability of such debt should also act as a significant incentive for smaller companies that might face a harder path to profitability.
“I think many companies would have liked to be negative cash flow for the next couple of years and build a business at losses, but this is now acting as a strong motivating factor for them to pivot towards profitability, ” Seaport Global’s Hundley said.
The post Large US cannabis companies look to debt funding versus equity and sale-leaseback deals appeared first on Investing in Cannastocks.
]]>The post Is Drake The Next Superstar Of The Cannabis Industry? appeared first on Investing in Cannastocks.
]]>Born to an African-American/Jewish family living in Canada, Aubrey Drake Graham first saw fame as a teenage actor in the Canadian TV drama Degrassi: The Next Generation. After a 7-year collaboration with the show, Drake began releasing Rap singles that would subsequently lead him to become the superstar icon he is today, collaborating with giants like Rihanna, Kanye West, and Eminem.
Being the hit sensation of the record industry is apparently not enough for the Toronto-born songwriter.
In November 2019, Drake announced his first involvement in the cannabis industry would be a joint venture with Canadian giant Canopy Growth Corporation CGC 0.95%. The collaboration is more than just another celebrity endorsement. The cannabis and wellness brand More Life Growth is majority-owned by Drake, who has a 60% share of the company, with Canopy holding the other 40%.
More Life Growth has set up operations in Drake’s hometown of Toronto and plans to grow premium cannabis with a producer’s license granted by Health Canada. The brand, working under Canopy’s wing, also holds processing and sale licenses.
Although the company has not yet launched its products into the market, official announcements are building up expectations around consumers and fans. More Life is positioning itself to be more than just a cannabis brand. According to a release, the brand “is centered around wellness, discovery and overall personal growth with the hope of facilitating connections and shared experiences across the globe.”
Combining Drake’s position as a cultural icon with Canopy’s expertise in the manufacturing has been an A-class move. We’re eager to see More Life’s products roll out.
About Benzinga Events: The Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference series is held throughout the year in North American cities. Each event brings investors face-to-face with top cannabis companies to hear about advancements in the rapidly evolving sector. Benzinga’s Cannabis Capital Conference returns to Miami on February 24-25, 2020.
The post Is Drake The Next Superstar Of The Cannabis Industry? appeared first on Investing in Cannastocks.
]]>The post Illinois social equity cannabis applicants laud licensing help from consultants, technology appeared first on Investing in Cannastocks.
]]>However, experts also note that for all the Illinois program’s positive intent, it is still a sometimes prohibitively expensive and burdensome undertaking for any social equity applicant.
With associated expenses potentially in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and an application package running up to 700 pages, many are put off from the get-go.
That’s why Seun Adedeji is one social equity applicant who is grateful for the financial expertise offered him in December during a one-day workshop to prepare applications ahead of the Jan. 2 deadline for adult-use dispensary licenses in Illinois.
The Chicago event, which brought together consultants, lawyers and certified public accountants, among others, was the brainchild of Seke Ballard, founder of Seattle-based investment group Good Tree Capital, which is aiming to breach the gap between cannabis industry opportunities and social equity applicants.
“We went from a B+ application to an A+. It was night and day for us,” Adedeji, a Nigerian immigrant and resident of Chicago’s south side, told Marijuana Business Daily.
“The professionalism they showed us – the way they used the laws and were able to position us – they were so precise about it, and that was one of my favorite parts.”
Adedeji, who made two separate applications for dispensary licenses for his company, Elev8 Cannabis, as well as five others in conjunction with social equity partners, estimated the total costs for the consulting help were $7,000.
He said he knows people who have paid up to $300,000 for such work just to file one application.
Adedeji’s main help was from Oakland, California-based Green Rush Consulting, a company owned by a husband-and-wife team who developed a technology platform that automates much of the application process.
Green Rush was among the experts providing services at the so-called Hackathon in Chicago.
Many applicants who had struggled for several months to get an application together said the daylong workshop offered a huge relief.
“Our aim was to level the playing field and provide access and resources to communities who might not have such things otherwise,” Sarah Ceti, chief strategy officer and co-founder of Green Rush Consulting, told MJBizDaily.
And applicants got to use the company’s technology platform at the event for a “negligible amount” of money, Ceti said.
“We have seen people who have spent almost $800,000 and still not won a license,” she added. “It’s heartbreaking.”
The workshop resulted in 22 “complete and compelling” applications, half of which were from women-owned businesses, Good Tree’s Ballard said.
Closer to a total of 50 applications were submitted by the Jan. 2 deadline, according to Ceti.
Adedeji, who was arrested as a 13-year-old for marijuana possession, said the business help he has received was life-changing.
“The American dream is alive, and we are grateful to have the opportunity to participate in this historic moment,” he said.
Illinois will issue licenses for this round of applications in May.
Good Tree’s Ballard also said he is working with Chicago officials to hold a similar event next month to help social equity applicants in an upcoming round of craft grow, infuser and transporter license applications.
The post Illinois social equity cannabis applicants laud licensing help from consultants, technology appeared first on Investing in Cannastocks.
]]>The post In the Era of Information, Cannabis Media in High Demand appeared first on Investing in Cannastocks.
]]>In 1937, when lawmakers prohibited marijuana, the public depended on mass media much more than we do in present times. Back then, newspapers, radio, and movie theaters were the major outlets that delivered specific messages to the American people. Unfortunately, many of these messages, advertisements, and slogans used through mass media intentionally set out to manipulate the reader, listener, and watcher for what the government considered “in the best interest of society.” As such, many people found themselves watching wartime calls for action and exaggerated scenarios, as portrayed in Reefer Madness. Access to information was minimal, and keeping the masses in the dark was relatively easy to accomplish.
Taking advantage of the lack of information in society, prohibitionists, fueled by racism and personal political gain, created a terrifying narrative aimed to strike fear into communities. However, a modern-day digital media and display company is attempting to correct the course of history.
Today, in the era of information, and thanks to the internet, accessing research is just a few simple keystrokes away. Add the decreasing costs of electronics, along with the development and proliferation of smartphones and wearable technology, not only do modern people have a steady stream of information flowing through their fingertips at any given moment – they become data points themselves.
Cannabis Tech caught up with Jeremy Jacobs, CEO, and Founder of Enlighten, a digital display company with a vision that shifts the cannabis information paradigm.
As a self-prescribed medical patient, Jacobs himself uses cannabis in place of pharmaceuticals. With a long history in digital signage, Jacobs jumped at the opportunity to combine his knowledge and expertise in technology with his passion for cannabis. “It was one of the most exciting phone calls of my life,” Jacobs exclaimed, “combining two things I cared dearly about.”
Jacobs describes the early days of Enlighten and the recreational cannabis market in Denver as the “wild west.” He said, “People wouldn’t pay their bills, or they’d just ghost you, so we took a step back and watched what was happening.”
Quickly, Jacobs learned that he had underestimated market demand. “Initially, when we started building the network, we expected a demand for lifestyle content like snowboarding videos, concert clips, and strobe lights, but we realized we were wrong.”
“Sure, there was a certain group of people who liked the lifestyle content,” he continued. “But the vast majority of people didn’t really know much about it [cannabis], and they aren’t comfortable buying something they don’t understand – there was a massive education gap.”
Factor in the lack of advertising opportunities for cannabis companies and Jacobs saw an opportunity for a win-win solution for businesses and consumers alike. So, he set out on a new mission – build a multi-channel, educational-based network with integrated digital menus, and advertising opportunities for cannabis brands.
No small task, but Jacobs and his team went to work. “We started to look at the problems dispensaries faced with rapid inventory turnover and small batches, so we had to modify our software to integrate with 25-30 different POS systems. All of those feed into one smart hub for online ordering, self-service kiosks, and up-to-date, in-store digital menus,” he explained.
Additionally, Jacobs saw an opportunity for information streamlining. Where once, budtenders in cannabis dispensaries found themselves repeating the same information over and over, Enlighten offers a familiar solution. “Through an on-demand menu, similar to Netflix, a budtender can simply hit a button to queue up a video, to answer repetitive questions easily and consistently,” Jacobs elaborated.
Similarly, Enlighten offers a breakroom TV option to help dispensaries better engage with their staff, ensure retainable, consistent training, and provide fun, motivational content to help improve morale and sales.
Unlike other displays, Enlighten actually interacts with consumers and provides key data points for the business owner. Using IoT technology, the displays track the number of cell phones in the room, so businesses not only know how many impressions their ad served but how frequently consumers return to that location. “With that data, we know that we serve 2.5 billion impressions per year,” Jacobs elated.
Earlier this month, Enlighten announced the acquisition of Cannabis Club TV (CCTV) and its substantial library of licensed industry content, as well as the millions of consumers that subscribe to the content. Speaking of the partnership, Jacobs said, “Danny Keith is more cannabis than I am, and I’m more of a tech guy, so while I was spending my nights trying to figure out how to relate better to cannabis, he was spending his nights trying to make his technology work better. Now we both get to sleep at night.”
With the merger, Enlighten is broadcasting in more than 1,000 locations and seeing an estimated 190 million monthly impressions. Jacobs mentioned they expect to grow their user base even further with other OTT devices, such as Roku, and is contemplating an entire “Weed TV” network in the future.
As a stakeholder and advisor to CCTV, Tommy Chong stated in a press release, “I’m very proud to be one of the founders of Cannabis Club TV, and I’m really excited about this partnership. This is a natural evolution as this industry continues to grow. It’s going to be interesting to see how high we can go!”
Feeling like expo booths weren’t serving his technology justice, Jacobs wanted to bring the feel of a real dispensary to his clients. So, he bought a 43-foot RV, gutted it, and remodeled it to have the look and feel of an upscale cannabis dispensary on wheels, a traveling showroom for Enlighten, and an advocacy roadshow that bravely goes into unchartered territory of non-legal states.
Citing lack of education, Jacobs said, “Based on surveys, many lawmakers in non-legal states still believe cannabis dispensaries are dungeon-like places with black lights, playing Jimi Hendrix music, and I don’t think they understand that some of these places are nicer than Apple stores or Starbucks.” Jacobs wants to “pull right up to the capital building of a state, and invite them in” not just to learn the truth about cannabis, but to get a glimpse at the massive amounts of tax dollars these late bloomers are missing out on.
Jacobs recognizes his own obligation as his company grows and gains notoriety. “The big guys need to carry the torches; it’s our job to protect the industry and move the platform forward.” With technology as the catalyst, Enlighten is pioneering a new era of cannabis information dissemination.
“Changing society is not an event; it is a process,” Jacobs concluded. Armed with technology and data, Jacobs and Enlighten are certainly doing their part to change how the world views cannabis.
The post In the Era of Information, Cannabis Media in High Demand appeared first on Investing in Cannastocks.
]]>The post New Year, New Weed: Illinois Kicks Off 2020 with Recreational Cannabis Sales appeared first on Investing in Cannastocks.
]]>Chicago resident Renzo Mejia spent the last hour of 2019 standing in line. But by the time the sun rose on the first day of 2020, Mejia made history as the first person to legally purchase adult-use weed in the state of Illinois.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the Midwest’s newest legal weed market made its first sale at 6:08am on January 1st, finally ending decades of prohibition and persecution in the Prairie State. To celebrate the momentous occasion, cannabis users across Illinois waited in long lines through the early morning hours of New Year’s Day to get their hands on the state’s first batch of legal bud.
“To be able to have [recreational marijuana] here is just mind-boggling,” Mejia, who purchased an eighth of Motorbreath flower, told the Sun-Times. “To be able to now make the first purchase in Chicago… it’s just surreal.”
Along with Mejia and hordes of other cannabis lovers, Illinois Lieutenant Governor Julianna Stratton was also on hand at Chicago’s Sunnyside Lakeview dispensary to make her own purchase — a pack of clementine-flavored THC-infused gummies. In an interview after her pot shop visit, Lt. Gov. Stratton told reporters that she was proud to see the state’s social-equity focused legalization program reach fruition.
“We believe the social equity aspects of this legislation should be a model for the entire country,” Stratton said outside of the cannabis shop. “Yesterday, Governor Pritzker pardoned 11,017 low-level cannabis arrests and convictions. That’s just the beginning. We have hundreds of thousands more who will be eligible for having their records expunged. That’s a big deal.”
But amidst the long lines and New Year’s cheer, Illinois first day of legalization came with its own share of concerns and complications.
For starters, Illinois weed immediately became some of the most expensive in the nation, with eighth ounce packages of flower selling for as much as $80. And since the recreational supply was limited across the state, a number of dispensaries set customer purchase limits. By the end of the day, a number of Chicago dispensaries had already run out of product and had to refuse service to hopeful customers.
The post New Year, New Weed: Illinois Kicks Off 2020 with Recreational Cannabis Sales appeared first on Investing in Cannastocks.
]]>The post Cost of ‘Cannabis-crime’ Offset by Sales Revenue, Study Finds appeared first on Investing in Cannastocks.
]]>A new study has found that streets with recreational dispensaries in Denver experienced significantly higher levels of property crime since cannabis sales were legalized in 2014. However, the costs of these crimes were largely nullified by the dispensaries’ sales revenues.
The researchers found that for every dollar lost with the rise in property crime, Denver dispensaries generated more than $309 in sales revenue and almost $13 in tax.
The cost of crime
Using data from the Denver Police Department, the researchers measured changes in the levels of violent, disorder, drug, and property crime from the three-year period before recreational cannabis was legalized (2011-2013) against the three-year period after (2014-2016).
Of the 186 street segments in Denver that opened a recreational marijuana dispensary, the team from the City University of New York (CUNY) noted an 18.8 percent increase in property crime compared to segments of streets without dispensaries.
“The increase in nonviolent crimes must be a consideration when assessing the legalization of recreational marijuana,” said Nathan Connealy, a CUNY doctoral student who led the study.
After comparing the costs of criminal justice, victim cost, and total crime cost with the local sales and tax revenue generated by Denver’s cannabis market, Connealy and his team found that the dispensaries’ sales alone outweighed the cost of the property crime boost.
“The significant revenue these dispensaries generated in Denver may lead other jurisdictions to ask whether the public will tolerate increases in nonviolent crime given the potential monetary benefits of legalizing recreational marijuana,” he wrote in a press statement.
When it came to other offences, the study, published in the Justice Evaluation Journal, found that streets with recreational dispensaries saw no changes in violent, disorder, and drug crime. Areas adjacent to dispensaries did see higher levels of drug and disorder crimes, but these increases weren’t deemed statistically significant.
Streets with and adjacent to medical cannabis dispensaries saw no significant changes in any type of crime.
While the CUNY authors found the jump in property crime rates near dispensaries to be significant, other researchers may have their doubts.
Another study assessing marijuana’s effect on crime rates recently concluded that although incidences of property crime had jumped in Colorado, the increase wasn’t significant.
“Property crime rates increased temporarily after the legalization, and aggravated assaults also temporarily increased in Washington,” Ruibin Lu, an assistant professor of criminal justice at Stockton University and that study’s first author, told Analytical Cannabis in October.
“And if we look at a long term, the changes [that] occurred in Washington [and] Colorado are not significantly different from the changes [that] occurred in other parts of the country.”
The CUNY researchers also note that the study has its limitations. Any unreported crimes couldn’t be analysed, and the study’s conclusions are ultimately relevant to Denver and may not be applicable to other legal jurisdictions considering legalization.
The post Cost of ‘Cannabis-crime’ Offset by Sales Revenue, Study Finds appeared first on Investing in Cannastocks.
]]>The post Financial Regulators Ease Banking Restrictions on Hemp Businesses appeared first on Investing in Cannastocks.
]]>Previously, banks were required to file suspicious activity reports (SARs) for banking customers who were engaged in the cultivation or processing of hemp, as hemp was a controlled substance.
The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp in the US a year ago, and included several provisions intended to normalize the agricultural crop, such as inclusion in the 1980 Federal Crop Insurance Act.
But despite the passage of the bill, hemp farmers still faced barriers in accessing bank services. Many banks have been wary of associating themselves with the still-stigmatized crop. The USDA’s nearly year-long delay to the publication of its draft rules for the hemp industry also complicated matters, as banking regulators have only recently been able to prepare their own guidance.
It’s hoped that the new joint statement clarifying requirements for financial service providers will help to improve the support available for hemp businesses.
Banks no longer required to submit SARs for hemp businesses
The joint statement was published by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors.
“Because hemp is no longer a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act, banks are not required to file a suspicious activity report (SAR) on customers solely because they are engaged in the growth or cultivation of hemp in accordance with applicable laws and regulations,” the joint statement stated. “For hemp-related customers, banks are expected to follow standard SAR procedures, and file a SAR if indicia of suspicious activity warrants.”
Banks aren’t required to accept hemp accounts, but if they do, the statement requires that those banks not treat hemp-related clients any differently to clients from other industries.
“When deciding to serve hemp-related businesses, banks must comply with applicable regulatory requirements for customer identification, suspicious activity reporting, currency transaction reporting, and risk-based customer due diligence, including the collection of beneficial ownership information for legal entity customers,” the memo continued.
It also re-iterates that it’s the responsibility of the hemp businesses to ensure that they are fully compliant with the requirements set forth in the 2018 Farm Bill, as well as any applicable state or local regulations.
Rob Nichols, the president of the American Bankers Association, told the New York Times that his members had been pushing for this sort of change for some time. Last month, he said, the ABA surveyed approximately 1,800 agriculture-focused banks and found that almost half had received questions from their farming clients about whether they would continue to do business with them if they began to cultivate hemp.
“We appreciate the steps regulators have taken today to clarify regulatory expectations for banks, and we look forward to working with them as they develop additional guidance,” Nichols said.
Relief for hemp sector shares
According to Investing Daily, the reluctance of financial institutions to lend money to ‘canna-businesses’ had generated a cash crunch among hemp and cannabis companies, which drove down their shares.
With this new banking clarification, it’s hoped that some of this pressure on shares might be relieved – at least for the hemp sector.
Global cannabis stocks are in a slump. While the cannabis industry hasn’t yet defaulted, stock prices in major companies such as Cronos Group (CRON) and Canopy Growth (CGC) have fallen by more than 65 percent since their highs earlier in 2019.
With banking support, such as start-up loans, unavailable to both cannabis and hemp companies until now, the capital supporting the industry largely came from individual retail investors, who invested money on the back of the media hype that surrounded the cannabis sector at its inception. When the profits didn’t match expectations, many of the more fickle individual investors pulled out and sold off their stocks, in a move which dramatically changed the trajectory of the stock market for the sector.
Larger institutional investors are generally slower to sell off stock, and it’s thought that if they were to start investing more freely in cannabis stocks this could help to reverse the current downwards trajectory.
With hemp businesses now able to access funds through banking loans and to properly manage their cash flow using banking services as a result of this new clarifying statement, it’s hoped that hemp businesses could see a lift in their market potential once again.
Might a similar instruction come soon for cannabis businesses?
The clarifying joint statement is very clear that financial should continue to file SARs for cannabis businesses, though reporting from Marijuana Moment has noted that the rate of these reports being submitted has appeared to level off in the last quarter.
This could indicate that banks are optimistic about the potential passage of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, a bipartisan bill that would shield banks which service cannabis firms from being penalized by federal regulators.
The House passed the legislation in September, though it is unclear whether there is enough support to also clear the Senate. The chair of the Senate Banking Committee has said that he would like his panel to vote on the legislation before the year’s end, though he also stated that would like to see a number of changes be made to the bill, including clarifications on interstate banking and money laundering issues.
If the bill were to pass the Senate and signed into law by President Donald Trump, it’s likely that financial regulators would also ask banks to cease filing SARs on cannabis companies, just as they have now done for hemp businesses.
The post Financial Regulators Ease Banking Restrictions on Hemp Businesses appeared first on Investing in Cannastocks.
]]>