Ensuring Entrepreneurs and Businesses Stay Informed of Developments in the Burgeoning Cannabis Industry

Coalition Confirms Community Conscious Commitment From Cannabis Company

by Simon Fleischmann | Mar 4, 2020 |

According to a press release issued yesterday, the Cannabis Equity Illinois Coalition signed what is believed to be a first-in-the-nation Community Benefits Agreement with a cannabis operator attempting to open a new dispensary in Chicago. The operator, Nature’s Care Company, is currently seeking approval from the Zoning Board of Appeals for the City of Chicago, which has the power to grant a special use permit that is required to open a state-licensed cannabis business.

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Sen. Gardner: SAFE Banking Act Could be Passed “In a Matter of Months”

by Douglas Sargent | Mar 3, 2020 | , |

As we’ve written about extensively, the SAFE Banking Act has gone through several twists and turns. The proposed bill would remove restrictions on banks and insurance companies that effectively prohibit them from offering services to marijuana-related businesses. Because of these restrictions, most cannabis businesses are forced to operate in cash only, which causes a multitude of problems, from safety to logistics to tax oversight.

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New Jersey Continues to be an Epicenter of Marijuana-Related Employment Issues

by Ryan Holz | Feb 17, 2020 | , , |

In November, we wrote about a lawsuit filed against Amazon by a New Jersey man claiming he was wrongfully terminated due to a failed marijuana drug test despite being a patient in the state’s medical marijuana program. Now, New Jersey state lawmakers have advanced a bill that would require workers’ compensation to cover medical marijuana.

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The Joint Status Report, A Cannabis Industry Podcast Presented by Locke Lord – Season 2, Episode 4

by Douglas Sargent and David Standa | Feb 14, 2020 |

On this episode of the Joint Status Report, Doug and David check back in on the bribery scandal involving the former mayor of Fall River, Massachusetts and how the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission is now involved (:30), analyze whether a federal judge can appoint a receiver to oversee a company providing financial services to cannabis companies (3:01), discuss Leafly’s annual cannabis jobs report (6:19), and chat about Politico Pro’s recent article regarding the environmental impact of the cannabis industry (10:34).

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Leafly Jobs Report 2020: Cannabis Jobs Continue to Grow

by Douglas Sargent | Feb 12, 2020 | , | , , , ,

Last Friday, Leafly released its latest annual jobs report and the numbers are encouraging. Leafly reports that the legal cannabis industry supports 243,700 full-time-equivalent jobs as of January 2020. That number grew by 33,700 new jobs over the past 12 months, which makes legal cannabis the fastest-growing industry in the United States.

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The Joint Status Report, A Cannabis Industry Podcast Presented by Locke Lord – Season 2, Episode 3

by Douglas Sargent and David Standa | Feb 10, 2020 |

On this episode of the Joint Status Report, Doug and David discuss how laws regarding marijuana in the workplace are evolving, and how a pending case in front of the Supreme Court of New Jersey could change the landscape (1:05), a recent decision out of the Ninth Circuit regarding marijuana and deportation (7:54), the surprising decision of MedMen’s founder to step down (11:05), and the record numbers set in Illinois’s first month of recreational sales (14:11).

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New Massachusetts Bill Would Rein in Host Community Agreements

by Jay Myers | Feb 6, 2020 | , |

Yesterday, the Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a bill  impacting Host Community Agreements. These State-required contracts are the lynchpin of the license application process in Massachusetts because marijuana businesses must enter into such agreements with the city or town where they operate as a precursor to getting a license from the State. In particular, the bill would provide the Massachusetts’s Cannabis Control Commission with the explicit power to regulate and enforce Host Community Agreements and would prohibit Host Community Agreements from including any financial obligations for the company other than a “community impact fee” of up to 3% of gross sales. The bill also authorizes cities and towns to waive the State’s Host Community Agreement requirement. However, it is unclear if any cities or towns would actually exercise that right.  

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