Latest

While cannabis-infused salves, rubs, lotions and oils are still powerhouses when it comes to reducing inflammation, healing dry, patchy skin and going deep into tissue to soothe pain or irritations, a new batch of beauty products has also cropped up, most of them infused with CBD.

Why do they work so well on the skin?

Aside from most companies using high-quality carrier oils to deliver the cannabinoids, the skin itself is riddled with our body’s endocannabinoid system, meaning that there are CB2 receptors all over our epidermis just waiting to be filled.

“Apparently most, if not all, skin functions are controlled to a certain extent by the local skin endocannabinoid system,” Tamás Bíró, Ph.D., said to Elle. Bíró is an adviser for Phytecs, a biotech company researching and developing products targeting the endocannabinoid system for medical, nutraceutical and cosmetic industries.

You put it directly where the pain is

Most people using topicals are using them for aches, pains, arthritis and other sore spots. The beauty of a topical is that you massage it into your skin right where the pain is affecting you most. Different carrier oils go deeper than others, but most topicals seem to have the miraculous property of getting in there and addressing what hurts.

Speaking of massage…

Take your massage to the next level by going to one of the many CBD-themed massage parlours cropping up (in the U.S.). Or, if you’d rather be frugal, have a loved one give you one of the best rubdowns of your life. The soothing cannabinoids don’t just alleviate sore muscles and stress, they also keep the masseuse’s hands from getting sore and keeps them well hydrated.

Topicals treat skin psoriasis

The itchy, irritated, red skin that happens with psoriasis is painful, as anyone with the disorder will tell you. Psoriasis affects 7.5 million Americans, according to the National Psoriasis Foundation, and the disease can be associated with more serious health conditions like heart disease, diabetes and depression. Topicals can help relieve the inflammation caused by psoriasis while the moisturizing properties can combat the scaly build-up.

How to tell if you’re getting the right rub…

To begin with, make sure that the ingredients are from sustainable sources and are of the highest quality. Companies that care about what they’re putting into their products care even more about the patients who are using them.

As stated earlier, having some activated THC in the lotion is most effective due to marijuana’s entourage effect. However, CBD topicals are little miracle-workers, too, so don’t be down if you’re living in a THC-dry state.

CBD cosmetics are the big thing right now!

From Renew Pure Radiance Oil to Crème de la Mer facial moisturizing cream, a new, high-end market of CBD beauty products has hit the shelves and online stores. They absorb quickly and use concoctions that won’t clog pores and will keep skin tones even and soothed. Milk Makeup’s KUSH High Volume mascara is another recent and trendy addition to the CBD beauty world.

All the benefits add up

Topicals are a natural way to slow or halt the use of synthetic pain relievers, which wreak havoc on the liver and other organs.

Topicals, of course, address inflammation and the other previously mentioned afflictions and with so many applications, the vast appeal has not only provided relief to hundreds of thousands of patients, it’s further legitimized cannabis use among unlikely demographics. Lotions, balms, and rubs offer relief for the growing amount of seniors who want to mitigate aches and pains with weed.

Topicals are discrete and non-psychoactive

Even if other herbs or essences like menthol are being utilized in the cream, once it absorbs, there is no visible or sensory giveaways that you’ve just used marijuana. Creams and such are perfect before or during work, especially if you’re on your feet all day, and they won’t show a positive result on a drug test or get you high, making topicals the work accessory that should always be at the ready. You can even use it on a paper cut. The possibilities are endless.

Alcohol impairment is binary: You are either drunk or sober. But marijuana impairment might linger longer: You are still impaired even after intoxication. This is yet another hurdle for the trucking industry as it grapples with an evolving North America with more legal cannabis.

Adding to the complications of legal pot is the inability of science to accurately determine if a driver is currently under the influence with the same accuracy as alcohol detection.

Data on marijuana and its effects on U.S. roadways “is all over the place and you have people who manipulate that data to serve their own purposes,” Dr. Todd Simo, chief medical officer for HireRight, an employee background screening service, told a group of trucking executives and leaders during last week’s American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference & Exhibition in San Diego.

“The reality of the situation is impairing drugs are different in and of themselves,” Simo said, noting that alcohol impairment might be the most understood of all drugs. “You drink tonight, you’re impaired. When you sober up tomorrow morning, your blood-alcohol level is zero, you’re no longer impaired.”

“When you start looking at marijuana as a substance — and there are emergency studies out there in the occupational medicine world — that people when they go out and smoke pot, they’re intoxicated. And when they’re intoxicated, they’re high, they’re impaired, right? That impairment is an impairment where they know they’re impaired, therefore they compensate.”

“An alcoholic driver drives through the red lights, the intoxicated marijuana smoker stops at the green lights,” Simo said to a room full of laughter. “They are stopping there, wondering if they should go, right? Because they are so aware they are messed up. Well, the problem is that the studies are showing that the impairment of marijuana lasts longer than the intoxication window. So it’s different than alcohol.”

He added that the marijuana lobby has done a good job making the point that alcohol and marijuana are either the same or pot is better for you than alcohol. “Well from an occupational impairment perspective, marijuana is much worse than alcohol,” the doctor said. 

As more states legalize both recreational and medical marijuana, professional truck drivers are more likely to be sharing the roadway with car drivers operating under the influence of marijuana. Without an accurate way to test for pot-impairment, the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) has been studying ways to deter these drivers from getting on the roads.

States shaded in light green have medical marijuana laws.

Twenty states have introduced legislation to legalize recreational marijuana, to join the first 11 states and the District of Columbia that are already there. This increase in legal recreational and medical marijuana is making it more difficult for trucks to find safe passage in the U.S, according to an ATRI study released earlier this year.

Tetrahydrocannabinol, the intoxicating agent in weed known as THC, is processed differently by the body than alcohol, “therefore different approaches are needed to identify and prosecute marijuana-impaired driving,” the ATRI report reads. Standard drug tests can show past marijuana use but it is not “generally indicative of intoxication.”

“As ATRI’s research identifies, a key tool for combating drugged drivers is deploying additional drug recognition experts,” said Mark Savage, Deputy Chief of the Colorado State Patrol. “A DRE can bring critical evidence to prosecutors that other tests simply cannot measure.”

The lingering effects of cannabis 

Marijuana was an illegal substance across the U.S. for decades. But now 33 states have legalized medical marijuana and 10 states have legalized recreational pot, spurring a new industry. While the states have made these changes, the U.S. federal government still considers the production, sale, possession and use of marijuana to be a criminal activity.

States shaded in dark green have legalized recreational marijuana.

While it may be legal to consume marijuana in various settings and scenarios, operating a vehicle on public roads while impaired is still a criminal offense. Issues associated with marijuana impairment, according to the ATRI study, are poor judgment, decreased motor coordination and decreased reaction time.

Citing some studies of marijuana smokers who are challenged to perform spacial-discriminating tasks 24 hours after using pot, they still struggle. “The people no longer feel intoxicated,” Simo said. “They feel fine.” But they struggle with challenges such as multiple object tracking, spacial determination and quick decision making. 

“Well, what job did I just describe?” he asked the crowd. “It’s all three of those tasks right away: It’s all of your drivers out there. And it’s also all of your warehousemen that are out there. People working in distribution centers, manufacturing plants. So again, when we look at this, you really have to look at it from a safety perspective: what is right for the company, what is right for safety, what is right for the safety of the public, the individual and their coworkers.”

Paul Enos, CEO of the Nevada Trucking Association, noted there is a lot of tension between state and federal laws about marijuana. “Not so much with drivers, but it is for a lot of those other categories like somebody working in a warehouse, maybe a dispatcher.”

Enos is co-chairman of ATA’s newly formed Controlled Substances, Health & Wellness Working Group, which is tasked with tackling marijuana’s effect on trucking. 

In Nevada, residents cannot be denied employment if they test positive for marijuana in pre-employment screening. But Enos said the NTA successfully pushed for that not to apply to drivers (it also doesn’t apply to first-responders and to other businesses that involve safety). The ATA last week officially took the same position as the NTA: “Maintaining that employer’s right to test if they believe that job can adversely impact safety,” Enos said. 

More companies in other industries are not testing for drugs these days. “I know a lot of casinos in Nevada have stopped testing,” Enos said. “They stopped testing because they couldn’t find anyone who could pee clean anymore. So we have businesses that are making some of those determinations. But that’s one that we don’t have the luxury of because safety is paramount to everything that we do. And I think that if a company wants to have a zero-tolerance policy, a drug-free policy, they should be able to do that.”

As marijuana becomes legal in more jurisdictions across the U.S., there are going to be civil rights challenges to companies that want to still test and not employ medical- or recreational-cannabis users. Enos said there is one argument that wins out for trucking: “We as an industry need to be prepared when we have this conversation, to always bring it back to safety,” he said. “Always bring it back to the safety, especially, on our roads and highways. We cannot change the conversation from that because every other one, I think, is a loser for us.”

Different jobs, different rules

While it's obvious that drivers need to be tested, Simo said, it’s more complicated for other fleet employees. 

“You have to craft a policy for your nonregulated workforce,” Simo said. “You can’t treat them like your regulated workforce, you have to craft a policy that says what we do with someone who makes the allegation of medical marijuana. Because of the states out there, there are 15 of them that have some sort of protection in place for medical marijuana users.”

“You have Nevada that has protections for the recreational user. Also, Maine has protections for the recreational user,” Simo added. “So as you go through that, you will have to look at your policy and say hey what do we do here? Because safety-sensitive employees may not just be drivers. They may be that person working on an assembly line, working at a distribution center, working on a forklift or doing something else.”

Simo said it’s important to think through how each position applies to safety because “marijuana is impairing in a different way. Do you want that person who no longer feels intoxicated not being able to spacially discriminate how far their forklift is away from someone? That could be a bad day for someone there.”

An example that Simo likes to use is an ammunition plant: Do you apply the same rules to the overhead crane operator at the plant as you do the receptionist? “So look at your policy and craft a policy that defines who’s safety-sensitive, who isn’t.”

“Just because a state says you have to consider accommodation, doesn’t mean that you have to accommodate. You just have to have a compelling business reason as to why you can’t accommodate,” Simo said, adding the regulations are somewhat similar to ADA laws. “Reasonable accommodation doesn’t mean you have to accommodate. You just have to reasonably accommodate. 

The FBI is investigating whether public officials in Sacramento, California accepted bribes in return for favorable treatment for applicants for licenses to operate cannabis businesses in the city, according to a report in local media. Three sources with direct knowledge of the probe have told the Sacramento Bee that the FBI has questioned several local cannabis businesses over the last three months about the potential corruption of city officials.

The sources of the information declined to be identified so that the identities of the marijuana businesspeople questioned by the FBI would remain confidential. The sources said that those interviewed by agents were asked if they had knowledge of any bribes paid to public officials in return for favorable treatment during the cannabis business licensing process.

Gina Swankie, a spokeswoman for the FBI, refused to comment on a possible investigation into public corruption in Sacramento related to the city’s cannabis industry.

“The FBI neither confirms nor denies such an investigation,” Swankie wrote in an email. “Who is making such a claim?”

However, only two months ago, the FBI said in a podcast that it was “seeing a public corruption threat emerge in the expanding cannabis industry” and asked for tips from anyone with knowledge of corruption among public officials and marijuana businesses.

City Officials Probe Ukrainian Connection to Local Cannabis Industry

City officials in Sacramento are investigating how cannabis business owner Garib Karapetyan and his associates have been able to amass eight licenses to operate dispensaries in the city, or about one-third of the permitted retailers. One of Karapetyan’s partners, Ukrainian businessmen Andrey Kukushkin, was one of four men indicted by federal prosecutors for involvement in a scheme to direct foreign funds into campaign donations and investments in legal marijuana businesses in Nevada and other states.

Two other men indicted in the case, Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, are also associates of Rudy Giuliani, President Trump’s personal attorney, and have been implicated in a reported plot by the former mayor of New York City to discredit Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg’s spokeswoman Mary Lynne Vellinga said on Sunday that the mayor wanted to know how Karapetyan and his partners were able to obtain so many licenses under city regulations, which were designed to prevent a concentration of ownership in Sacramento’s cannabis industry.

“If this story is true, then our cannabis licensing process, which was designed to protect consumers and reward local law-abiding businesses, is being improperly exploited,” Vellinga said in a statement. “The mayor is calling for an immediate investigation and will lead an effort to add additional safeguards to the licensing process.”

Dale Gieringer, the director of the California chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), said that under state law, local governments have too much authority over the licensing of cannabis businesses.

“Corruption is always worse at the local level because there are so many more local officials and they aren’t under as much scrutiny as those in Sacramento,” Gieringer said. Sacramento is also the state capital of California.

State agencies, he added, “have been doing their best to expedite licensing, but too many local players have been getting their hands in the pie.”

Europe is at risk of losing the market share to Africa in the medicinal cannabis industry, and Eco Equity have spotted the global potential.

There is a reluctance by some European policy and law makers to embrace the economic potential of medicinal cannabis and as a result they are seeing opportunities lost to more progressive markets. Europe could lose more ground following Lesotho and Zimbabwe’s decisions to allow cultivation of medicinal cannabis for mass export.

African and Caribbean countries such as Zimbabwe and Antigua have identified the economic opportunity of supporting the growth of the growing global medicinal cannabis industry. Whilst in parts of Europe, some parliamentarians and policy makers have been slower in spotting the commercial benefits of supporting a new industry, governments across the developing world are embracing the export potential, income and job creation that the industry brings.

In order to deliver maximum benefit to national economies, governments are partnering with the private sector in order to ensure these projects are successful.

London-based Eco Equity has spotted the global potential and is at the heart of supporting governments around the world, turning their policy ambitions into a reality.

There is no dispute that the medicinal cannabis industry is one of the fastest emerging markets globally, and the UK – along with other European nations – are only now starting to sit up and take notice.

Zimbabwe is a pioneer of the cultivation of medicinal cannabis with many elements suitable for treatments including cannabidiol (CBD Oil). Facing the prospect of an international ban on one of its largest exports, the tobacco industry, the Zimbabwean government has been proactive in finding an alternative in the form of cannabis and related products. The government realised the economic opportunities in the emerging market, and Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa announced in August that law changes are set to be introduced to legalise the mass-produced hemp for export overseas.

Governments of any nation will be aware of the challenges surrounding the legalisation of cannabis or any of its derived products. Cannabis for medicinal use is different to recreational use and the stronger strains, but the stigma remains. This arguably explains the reluctance of some European nations to support the industry, but the economic opportunities are sizeable. Governments are turning to experts to help cultivate, manufacture and produce cannabis and its derived products for medicinal use, and the relationship between the Zimbabwean government and Eco Equity is the perfect example of this.

European policy makers need to catch up with public opinion. Eco Equity are seeing the public appetite for medicinal cannabis and the opportunities to get ahead in Africa and the Caribbean, with ambitions to become the lead exporter to Canada, the US and Europe.
Eco Equity was borne out of a common goal from a set of highly skilled business experts and the generosity of several investors; to become a driving force in the medicinal cannabis industry. The company was formed in 2018 and has since become the first cannabis company to have acquired a licence for the cultivation of cannabis, manufacture of products, supply, store, import and export for medicinal purposes and or scientific use in Zimbabwe.

Why Zimbabwe?

The answer is quite simple. Africa has proven itself more progressive in terms of cannabis, particularly in terms of cultivation, and there is plenty of opportunity to grow, which the continent will benefit from. There is a deep and respectful relationship between policy makers and Eco Equity following the recognition of the need for expert assistance and the decision by military to seek out expertise will only provide benefits to both the country and Africa as a whole.

Eco Equity can highlight recent examples of European countries’ struggles with cultivating cannabis, such as in Italy where the army were instructed to grow their own cannabis, resulting in very little actual growth. The Italian government has since been forced to tender for a cultivator, again highlighting the difference between the attitude and proactivity of policy and law makers in Africa and those in Europe.

There is plenty of work to be done. Eco Equity has learnt from the mistakes of others and looks to use the industry expertise of its various consultants to find the best land, economy and regulations to begin its journey. The company is intent on investing in communities and economies in every country it acquires a licence to aid them in the long term.

The African medicinal cannabis industry is still expanding, and consultancy firm Prohibition Partners estimated that the legalisation of growing cannabis for medicinal use across the continent could result in the market growing to $7.1bn (~€6.4bn) annually.

African countries are learning faster than their European counterparts and with Zimbabwe following Lesotho as the second country on the continent to permit the growth of cannabis for medicinal use, the tools and desire have always been there, they just needed to be utilised. With the proven effects of CBD oil as a medicinal treatment in other countries such as the US and Canada, the willingness of the Zimbabwean government provides an excellent opportunity for Eco Equity to grow.

The company is not working by itself in Zimbabwe. The process of acquiring a licence requires a lot of vetting and Eco Equity had to prove it was the right company for the job. An intimate knowledge of Zimbabwe’s landscape – the place of birth of company CEO and founder Jon-Paul Doran – and strong governmental ties, has placed Eco Equity in a unique position to achieve its mission of growing one of the best medical cannabis products and to be able to provide high-quality infused products to all qualified dispensaries and retail stores on a global scale.

The opportunity in Zimbabwe has never been greater as cannabis is set to compete with tobacco to become the country’s second largest export. The willingness of the Zimbabwean government to amend laws to allow industrial production and export of cannabis shows how serious the government is regarding policy in the cannabidiol industry.

Eco Equity and Zimbabwe

In 2019, Eco Equity Limited acquired a licence for the cultivation of cannabis, manufacture of products, supply, store, import and export for medicinal purposes and or scientific use. The company owns up to 2,000 hectares of long-term leased land in Marondera, approximately 40 miles east of Harare.

The facility is the ideal location for travel to and from the nation’s capital and the perfect setting for a cannabis plant facility, thanks to ideal climate conditions. Eco Equity has acquired a licence to produce ‘export only,’ distribution of Cannabis products to international regulated markets.

The company has set itself the target to be one of Africa’s largest licensed producers of cannabis seed, medicinal extracts, Africa’s leading exporter of CBD and extract into regulated international markets. The company wants to build a successful commercial cultivation facility and build a recognisable brand in a rapidly growing industry, whilst becoming fully compliant with all Zimbabwe state and local municipalities.

Further to the growing of cannabis, Eco Equity is looking to create a long-term legacy by rolling out new initiatives, including plans for university research centres and establishing a well-integrated Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program in collaboration with and benefiting the Zimbabwean people and government.

Eco Equity also works alongside partners to help build their greenhouses and sites as well as promote the legalisation of cannabis for medicinal use in various countries. Partners Delta Tetra have long been involved in advocating medicinal cannabis as a treatment to be legalised in Australia, and the two companies will work alongside each other to implement Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) with teams on the ground in Zimbabwe to ensure the site is ready.

The GMP processes include manufacturing, operational and security standard operating procedures (SOP) and Eco Equity has partnered with other cannabis companies to ensure the best practice is in place at the facility.

Eco Equity’s link to Zimbabwe is not solely business driven either, as Doran also believes in the importance of investing in the community in which the country operates, creating 100 new jobs in Zimbabwe. Returning to the country of his birth to give back to the community and help rebuild the economy was an important part of the process in Doran’s decision making.

As one of the fastest emerging markets, the medicinal cannabis industry is a new concept to the Zimbabwean government and Eco Equity is helping to shape policy, aiding them through every step of the process, such as measuring quantities of CBD.

Eco Equity

The acquisition of a licence from the Zimbabwean government for the cultivation of cannabis for medicinal purposes is only the beginning for this team of ambitious directors. The company has already laid out its blueprint for success with the cannabis markets booming across Europe and the Caribbean.

In an industry full of creative, successful entrepreneurs, Eco Equity had to make its mark early, and the licence acquisition in Zimbabwe is reflective of the drive and expertise of the company’s directors. Coming together from different sectors such as finance, media and the medicinal cannabis industry itself, the team of directors and consultants understand that CBD and its derivative products could help millions of people recover from illness.

Eco Equity has partnered with the Zimbabwe Ministry of Health to develop, own and operate a medicinal cannabis facility in Zimbabwe with the objective to export the products derived from the facility to Canada, USA and Europe. Combining research, development, cultivating, growing and manufacturing, Eco Equity’s mission is to advance the medical extracts, related products and sector as a whole and developing products that are safe, effective and affordable for export.

Doran has over 10 years’ experience in finance having started his career at Citigroup. In 2018 he set up his own wealth management and private equity firm Axium Capital and through Axium has successfully raised capital and taken part in some of the UK’s biggest IPO’s of the last two years. He was born in Zimbabwe and through his strong connections in the region has enabled eco-equity to navigate a successful licence application.

Doran said, “I and the team of directors at Eco Equity are committed to producing the highest quality cannabis and CBD oil for medical treatments. We chose Zimbabwe as the ideal location for our first plantation due to the progressive nature and willingness of the government to allow cannabis cultivation. Our goal is to expand our operations to other markets including the Caribbean and Europe. Our current belief is that European governments are not acting quickly enough to realise the benefits of medicinal cannabis or CBD oil, and hopefully our success in this field will create opportunities for the industry to grow.”

Who are Eco Equity?

Eco Equity is run by a team of highly motivated, driven business experts with a common interest; cannabis. The company has pulled together various specialisms and used the extensive knowledge of the markets to transform Eco Equity into a force in the cannabis market.

Eco Equity has a team of 11 based in London, Zimbabwe and Antigua headed by Doran, Timothy Ambrose and Soheil Ghaffari as Master Horticulturist.

Ambitions for the future

Having already formed partnerships with renowned cannabis companies in DutchGreenhouses and Delta Tetra in Holland and Australia respectively, Eco Equity is continuing to attract investors and potential future partners. A team from Delta Tetra is on the ground and is actively assisting Eco Equity with the process of writing, implementing and training the Eco Equity team on GMP certification is critical in attracting the right partners to continue the grow the company into the appropriate markets.

Eco Equity is at the forefront of the medicinal cannabis industry revolution in Africa, and with a new licence acquired in Antigua and new opportunities in North American markets, the future is bright for the company and as policy makers begin to take notice of the growing industry, it is set to become one of the most respected and renowned cannabis companies in the UK and on the continent.

JPD Capital fund

The continued work of Eco Equity in Zimbabwe from its headquarters in London has not gone unnoticed. The medicinal cannabis industry growth in the UK – from zero to £300 million – is reflective of the global acknowledgment of cannabidiol as a treatment. The Guernsey based UK hedge fund counts Eco Equity as part of its portfolio, as well as other ventures in Europe, the UK and Antigua.

The growth in the market shows that investing in the medicinal cannabis industry will result in positive returns and the time is right to invest as the market diversifies, leaving plenty of opportunities across Europe as it plays catch up to the other markets.

The strong belief that medicinal cannabis has the potential to save lives forms the sole investment policy of the capital fund. It is accessible for many and has the potential to provide a natural cure for people in need.

Contact details

Working with Eco Equity is an opportunity to increase your returns as well as contributing to an industry that can help save and better lives. To find out more information about working with Eco Equity, or investing with the JPD Capital Fund, please call the London office on +44 (0)207 043 1541 or email: info@eco-equity.com.

In a move uncharacteristic of the cannabis market in Florida, an Atlanta broker is searching for the next owners of two highly sought Florida medical marijuana licenses.

Aubrey Logan-Holland, the CEO of a relatively new firm called Blue Dream Industries, is listing the licenses, or “paper” in industry speak, for about $95 million in total.

One license is going for $40 million and allows the owner to operate no more than 30 retail stores. The other license is selling for about $55 million, with the rights to open up to 35 retail stores. In addition to the actual license, this deal includes a greenhouse for cultivation.

“Whoever acquires this asset will get a chance to stake their claim in one of the biggest medical markets in the world,” Logan-Holland told the Miami Herald. “It’s a good state to do business.”

The process of acquiring a medical marijuana license in Florida is arduous, and running the company is also challenging. Florida’s medical marijuana industry is vertically integrated, meaning the license holder is responsible for growing, processing, testing, marketing and selling the product without middlemen or contractors.

Marijuana licenses in Florida have been historically scarce and expensive. Until April, there were just 14 businesses licensed to sell medical marijuana in the state. Now there are 22, but only 13 are active. Eight more were awarded as a result of a settlement in a suit that applicants filed against the state Department of Health after being denied licenses the first time they applied.

Licenses in Florida have been flipped for as much as $67 million, making it attractive for those looking to invest.

Once acquired, the licenses are lucrative. The Florida medical marijuana industry is projected to generate more than $1.1 billion in annual revenue by 2022, according to Arcview Market Research, a subsidiary of an investment group for the cannabis industry.

According to the most recent weekly update from the state’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use, more than 270,000 Floridians are card-holding medical marijuana patients, and that number continues to grow.

Logan-Holland says his company has a 50-50 partnership with a group called Young America Capital, with whom he’ll split the 10% commission made “on the back end.”

Logan-Holland said the two licenses for sale are from inactive license holders. He didn’t say which ones, citing a non-disclosure agreement.

He added that the license holders are looking for majority cash offers. One publicly traded company was being considered but had too few liquid assets.

Two private companies have already expressed interest, Logan-Holland said.

The fact that these licenses are being marketed for sale may not be such a good sign for the state.

While the licenses have value, finding a buyer willing to front the cost is getting harder and harder. Stock in publicly traded cannabis companies has plummeted, and big, multistate operators able to front a cash offer have either looked or bought licenses in Florida already.

When licenses first went on the market, companies were standing in line.

“The acquisitions are not as attractive as they were last year,” said Jeff Sharkey, lobbyist and director of the state’s Medical Marijuana Business Association. “All of (the licenses) have been shopped for sale, to my knowledge.”

He said the fact that someone is brokering the deal and taking a cut of the money may reflect a shift in the market.

“It’s really interesting,” said Sharkey, who has helped companies through license sales himself. “Maybe the market has really softened.”

Most cannabis stocks are listed in Canada, which has become a top market for the industry following the country’s legalization of recreational marijuana sales last year. But the total market value of Canada’s cannabis market, dominated by five main companies, plunged from about $40 billion in September 2018 to roughly $17 billion this month.

In the United States, the use, sale or possession of marijuana is illegal under federal law.

The fast pace of change in the cannabis market is also a cause for concern among buyers. According to John Lockwood, a lawyer who represents medical marijuana operators and license seekers, “what worked in January doesn’t work anymore.”

“Everyone went into this thinking all these [licenses] would be sold,” he said. “But a lot of things changed.”

The most active buyers in the cannabis market are the large, multistate operators like Trulieve, Surterra and Curaleaf, and those companies already operate in Florida. Those that aren’t operating in the state yet surely have looked into it, he added.

“There’s not too many people out there with $50 million that haven’t heard of the Florida cannabis market,” he said.

Less than a month after Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf called on state lawmakers to draft a bill to legalize recreational cannabis, Senators Sharif Street and Daylin Leach have delivered. And what the two Democrat lawmakers are proposing with SB350 could be the most comprehensively progressive marijuana legalization bill to date. The bill includes provisions for home grow, total expungement of prior cannabis-related convictions and delivery services. It also opens the door to the industry, making it easy for individual and small-scale growers and retailers to open businesses and placing checks on large out-of-state corporations.

Advocates of recreational legalization in Pennsylvania, an issue which enjoys majority support among state residents, are praising how SB350 centers criminal justice reform and focuses on equity in the industry. Even out-of-state cannabis officials are impressed with the bill. But the question is whether Sens. Street and Leach can win the support of the Republican opposition. When Gov. Wolf announced his support for recreational legalization late last month, Republic representatives in the House responded by saying they had “no plans or interest” to pursue a legalization agenda.

New Pennsylvania Legalization Bill is Progressive Cannabis Advocates’ Dream

Throughout 2019, Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman embarked on a statewide “cannabis listening tour.” Fetterman held public discussion forums online and in each of the state’s 67 counties, and in September, the governor’s office released a report on the tour’s findings. That report showed overwhelming support among Pennsylvanians for significant cannabis reforms, from criminal record expungement to decriminalization and recreational legalization. The overwhelming show of support ultimately pushed Gov. Wolf, who had yet to take a definitive stance on adult-use cannabis, to support legalization efforts.

At a press conference announcing his new position and the release of the listening tour report, Gov. Wolf issued three broad recommendations to legislators: decriminalization, expungement and a “serious debate” about recreational legalization. SB 350 gives Gov. Wolf what he wants, and then some.

Home grow? No problem; a $50 annual permit fee allows anyone to cultivate up to 10 plants and gift or use that cannabis for personal use. That’s more than any other state that allows home grow. Support for local small businesses and entrepreneurs? Absolutely; microgrowers and craft cultivators can grow up to 150 plants to sell raw cannabis to processors and dispensaries for just a $250 per year permit.

Compare that to the license fees for bigger growers, which the bill sets at $100,000 with an annual renewal of $10,000. The bill would also cap large cultivators at 150,000 sq. ft. of outdoor and 60,000 sq. ft. of indoor grow space. But in perhaps the biggest check on Big Cannabis, no one grower could have an ownership stake in more than one grow facility.

Radical Social Justice Provisions Included in New Legalization Bill

The support for small growers and small businesses, however, aren’t even the centerpiece of Street and Leach’s proposal; it’s their criminal and social justice provisions. The bill would support education through the Department of Agriculture, which would help schools offer classes to train students for careers as cannabis industry entrepreneurs. And colleges and universities could grow and process cannabis as part of any cannabis-industry related courses and curriculums.

The bill also aims to redress the past and ongoing harms of prohibition. SB 350 wouldn’t just expunge cannabis-related criminal offenses, it would actually commute sentences. And that means people who are behind bars right now for weed would regain their freedom. The bill would furthermore end state supervision of people on probation due to cannabis-related offenses. And state prosecutors would have to drop all pending criminal cases and charges related to marijuana.

To support equity, the state would also provide, under the bill, $2 million in interest-free loans for low-income Pennsylvanians previous convicted on marijuana charges who want to become entrepreneurs in the new legal industry.

Along with earmarking cannabis tax revenue for public schools, allowing public consumption lounges and more, these provisions add up to a highly comprehensive and progressive legalization package. But it’s one that is certain to cause serious debate between its sponsors and the GOP lawmakers staunchly opposed to cannabis reform.

Because cannabis is in a grey area, it’s not treated like an everyday plant or product coming from harvest, but rather something more comparable to a combination of prescription drugs and alcohol.

When you want to partake in the recreational cannabis market, either as a resident or tourist, the newness and novelty of everything could distract you from one very important truth: that marijuana is still an industry, a product, and a part of the consumer system. Because cannabis is in a grey area (outside of its taxation and sale), it’s not treated like an everyday plant or product coming from harvest, but rather something more comparable to a combination of prescription drugs and alcohol.

Even in legal states like Washington, where purchase is perhaps easiest for the layperson, you can see the locked down flower in plastic, labeled with strain analyses — and it’s not as affordable as an equivalent amount of some other substances. Decriminalized places are still worse off, considering even New York still arrests 50 people each day for cannabis possession, use, and sale, enforced primarily on New Yorkers of color. The issue of purchasing and using cannabis in a fully legal and normalized way still bears weight on a few of society’s most crucial concerns.

Farm Integrity

Make sure that the places you patronize are not only treating the cannabis plant with respect and care, but their staff and community as well. Dr. Jon Vaught, CEO of Front Range Biosciences tells The Fresh Toast how this practice pushes fans forward:

“Consumers can influence cultivation practices by purchasing products that are certified pesticide and pathogen free. One way to do this is to ask your dispensary agent which products have a third-party certification showing that the grower is transparent about their cultivation methods, practice sustainability and have fair labor conditions. Supply is directly impacted by demand, and consumer voice and purchase decisions have the power to drive producers to implement standards and certifications.”

Being careful where you spend is an essential tool for keeping your dollars in the right hands. Farms that have ethical programs will always perform in today’s awakened buyer market.

Social Justice

As a customer you don’t always have to think about what your purchase means, but knowing how many people are still in prison or encumbered by cannabis charges is a chief concern of many cannabis activists. Sharpen that activism so that your love of cannabis can help those who have suffered to make sure that you can enjoy it.

On the less considered side of the coin, think about how the widespread and standardized use of cannabis could help so many people around the globe. Magical Butter CEO, Garyn Angel, envisions a patient-first future. He says:

Allowing reimbursement would reduce long-term insurance costs. Cannabis is a dietary essential and if consumed regularly may prevent disease- medical marijuana recommendations from physicians is frequently for ailments. Cannabis is a tool to improve public health we need to utilize it efficiently. The opioid epidemic is a significant social cost. Legalize cannabis because it reduces inflammation. Allow non-addictive plant-derived alternatives to disrupt the big pharma model.

Recycle

And how can we forget Mother Earth? Sure it’s exciting to run in the store and buy all of these products, but what about all of the packaging? Angel talks about this pile, saying, “Dispensary waste is out of control! Every gram of concentrate is individually packaged to be childproof creating an abundance of garbage. Vaporizer cartridges are not being recycled, reused, or refilled.”

Dr. Vaught agrees that this is a problem that we may not have fully considered in our excitement to get the good stuff. Another way that consumers can be conscious is to purchase products that are stored in environmentally friendly packaging. He says, “States with strict requirements on packaging materials make it difficult at times, but not impossible. Look for products housed in recyclable, compostable, child-resistant cannabis packaging, like that from Sana Packaging.”

Get stoked about cannabis, but like everything we consume, we should hold it to a certain standard. If anything, cannabis standards should be even higher, considering we have a chance to build the industry up from illegal to global, it should invoke everything we know about ethics until now.

As more consumers begin using cannabis products, cannabis e-commerce is becoming a more viable option for the industry.

Over the past several decades, the retail industry has drastically changed due to the development and propagation of e-commerce. Today, many consumers tend to prefer purchasing products online because they can simply browse stores anywhere at the palm of their hands.

However, transitioning towards a digital business is not as simple as it seems for certain industries. Specifically, the cannabis industry has faced countless legal barriers that have hindered its expansion into the digital marketplace.

For instance, because of cannabis’ legality concern, companies in industries like finance, marketing, and advertising have steered clear. However, as more regions continue to move towards legalisation, various industries have become interested in locking into agreements and partnerships with cannabis companies.

Cannabis commercialisation

In particular, the US passed the Farm Bill in 2018, which legalised hemp-derived CBD products. Initially, many companies explicitly noted that they wouldn’t partake in the cannabis industry because of legal concerns. Nonetheless, after the passage of the Farm Bill, large corporations had begun to commercialise and advertise CBD products.

As the cannabis industry continues to expand, it is expected that technology will play a pivotal role in the development of the industry paving the way for development of cannabis e-commerce. While brick-and-mortar dispensaries will still be popular in legal regions, digital platforms are projected to further accelerate overall sales. According to data compiled by Ameri Research, the global legal marijuana market was valued at USD $14.3bn (~€12.96) in 2016. By 2024, legal marijuana global sales are projected to reach USD 63.5 Billion while exhibiting a CAGR of 21.1% from 2017 to 2024.

CBD industry

The US is primarily limited to the CBD industry since other aspects of cannabis are still federally illegal. On the other hand, Canada has zero restrictions because it completely legalised cannabis in late 2018, joining Uruguay as the only two nations in the world to do so. The legislation has allowed the legal adult-use of both medical and recreational cannabis.

Notably, during the first day of legalisation, many dispensaries and online platforms experienced shortages throughout the country due to the massive number of consumers looking to purchase cannabis products. In efforts to provide consumers with convenience and comfort, some businesses launched delivery options where consumers can order online and then have cannabis products delivered right to their doors.

Continued legalisation

Moving forward, industry experts believe that cannabis will continue to be integrated into mainstream retail as the next waves of legalisation take hold. For instance, Canada’s second legalisation, which is expected to occur in late 2019, is focused on edibles and beverages. Furthermore, the third wave of legalisation is primarily expected to be focused on a variety of products such as shampoos, lotions, and other skincare products. In particular, the third wave is expected to be heavily integrated into mainstream retail operations.

Joresa Blount, Content Marketing Strategist at Early Growth Financial Services and former writer at Forbes, asked: “When you think about it, cannabis and e-commerce are a match made in heaven. If you’re at home and looking to pick up some cannabis or cannabis-derived products, would you want to get dressed, trudge down the store, wait in line, and potentially have to talk to strangers to place an order? Or would you rather get your cannabis at the click of a button?”

“As e-commerce continues to redefine retail, convenience will be the determining factor in cannabis consumer preferences.”