Selling a single cookie for $400 and then "gifting" the customer with an ounce of cannabis was a business model that was never going to last. Now that cannabis has been mostly-legalized in New York and New Jersey, several entrepreneurs came up with creative ways to try and skirt the laws prohibiting the unlicensed sale of cannabis by selling ordinary items and then "gifting" the cannabis to the customer. The attorney general decided to play nice with these companies (in my op

If you do, mazal tov! You're positioned to get involved in New York and New Jersey's emerging adult-use cannabis industries (directly and/or indirectly). If you're interested in getting into the adult-use cannabis industry as an applicant and/or landlord for a cannabis tenant, send me a DM to discuss #cannabis business applications in NY and NJ's upcoming round of adult-use licenses. Property types which qualify: 🏪 Retail 🛎 🏭 Industrial/Light Manufacturing 💊 🌱Agricultura

One of the primary benefits of doing this is with respect to the real estate. Social Equity applicants only need to provide a plan for having sufficient real estate, while non-Equity Applicants need to own or have a contract for a specific location. Here’s who qualifies as an Equity Applicant: The MRTA identifies the following applicants as Equity Applicants: - Individuals from communities disproportionately impacted by the enforcement of cannabis laws. - Minority-owned busin

Obtaining one of the competitive cannabis business licenses, and doing cannabis-related business compliantly requires extensive experience. Working with the right advisors is paramount. -Licenses for commercial cultivators, processors, distributors, retailers, cooperatives and nurseries, with a prohibition on vertical integration except for microbusinesses and existing medical cannabis operators. -Social consumption sites and delivery services would be permitted. -Cannabis pr

If so, hold on to your seats. New York is the final frontier of major markets, and it’s a rocket ship just waiting to take off 🚀 🚀 🚀 Legislators claim they reached a deal with Cuomo’s office on a plan to license up to 900 dispensaries, allow home delivery and home-grow for a limited number of cannabis plants. The legislation, which could pass both chambers by as early as next week, imposes a 9% state tax on retail sales and counties would be able to add an additional 4% le

I remember when Vireo health got caught doing virtually the same exact thing in NY.. transporting a massive amount of cannabis oil from their facility in Minnesota to New York... and then SOLD IT TO MEDICAL PATIENTS in NY. Inexplicably, they experienced a very very different outcome. Even Assistant County Attorney Shane Simonds, the lead prosecutor in that case, described it as “a uniquely lenient outcome of a criminal case.” “Medical marijuana in New York: Deal reached on sm

The #cannabis industry that's about to emerge here in NY and NJ is going to be an absolute monster. If you want to get in, get on it now... or better yet, get on it yesterday. The next two years could make some of the biggest names in cannabis if they properly focus on building brand loyalty. Capturing a portion of this massive new market requires engaging with the diverse and unique demographics that exist in New York and New Jersey transparently. The bourgeoning east coast

Medical cannabis patients just got huge win as N.J. court says company must pay injured worker’s bills. “The decision upheld an Appellate Division ruling from January 2020. That court said Vincent Hager’s former employer, M&K Construction, must foot the monthly bill for medical marijuana he uses to treat injuries he sustained on the job in 2001. As of early 2020, those costs were about $616 a month, according to court documents. Private health insurers and government aid prog

You can smoke weed, just not in public places — similar to the restrictions that are historically used with alcohol and cigarettes. Under the law, anyone in New Jersey can possess or use up to 6 ounces of marijuana without any penalty — even a minor ticket, like some cities or states which have decriminalized but not legalized weed. However, a marijuana user can still be charged with a DUI if they operate a vehicle while high. And the laws still ban the consumption of marijua

"The governor signed the bills after both the Senate and Assembly held last-minute voting sessions Monday morning to pass a third bill establishing civil penalties for those under 21 caught with marijuana. Protracted debate drew the voting sessions out, and the bill passed both chambers with only 20 minutes left for Murphy to act on the first two measures. Murphy said the legal marijuana marketplace would begin forming in the coming months. He will still have to fully seat th

New Jersey is FINALLY moving forward with grading and issuing medical #cannabis licenses from the 2019 application round. It's about freakin' time! Companies which had submitted applications in 2019 have been stuck in an expensive holding pattern while this lawsuit went on, forced to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on leases for buildings they hoped to be able to use for licenses they hoped to win. This was an atrocious and outrageously wasteful "pause," a saga which h

Hemp farmers are laying the groundwork for a lawsuit against New York in response to proposed state regulations that would prohibit the sale of hemp flower. A ban on hemp flower would be particularly problematic for small farmers in New York, who are hoping to become boutique style retailers, like a craft brewery. The state Department of Health has argued that the prohibition is in keeping with the state’s effort to curtail smoking generally. The legislative memorandum notes

Once #cannabis is legalized in a state, they shouldn’t force people to buy high-priced, over-taxed cannabis from dispensaries. Home-grow should be a basic right. If they made growing your own tomatoes illegal, people would be outraged. Same goes for making your own alcoholic beverages. Why should cannabis be treated any different? Although the Democratic senator’s bill is a good start, four plants is more restrictive than the measure put forth by Sen. Gerald Cardinale (R-Berg

Oh and also, in other totally unrelated news, tobacco companies are hurting, losing more and more ground every day to the cannabis industry. I feel like this lawsuit may be about a bit more than interlocking o’s. While there’s an argument (a weak one) that there may be a possibility of wrongful association between the two companies...These products are different, they’re targeted to different consumers, they’re sold in different retail locations. The likelihood of confusion (

The USDA has finally addressed "hot hemp." The decision is great news for the hemp industry. Although legal hemp may contain up to 0.3% THC, occasionally the THC levels of a hemp crop may unexpectedly rise, rendering the industrial hemp just as illegal as cannabis. Spikes in THC levels are often attributed to a number of suspected causes, including the climate. However, varying environmental conditions aren’t the only reason for plants testing with high THC levels. According

"Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a proposal to legalize and create a comprehensive system to oversee and regulate #cannabis in New York as part of the 2021 State of the State. Under the Governor's proposal, a new Office of Cannabis Management would be created to oversee the new adult-use program, as well as the State's existing medical and cannabinoid hemp programs. Additionally, an equitable structure for the adult-use market will be created by offering licensing op

Governor Murphy is holding the entire New Jersey adult-use cannabis market hostage, demanding civil penalties for those under the age of 21 who are caught with cannabis. Although voters overwhelmingly supported the development of an adult use cannabis industry, Murphy has refused to sign the current version of the legislation. The current decriminalization bill on Murphy's desk eliminated all penalties for possession of up to 6 ounces of marijuana, including for those under 2

Whoa, New York #cannabisindustry is heating up!!! 8 new cannabis bills have just been introduced in the Assembly and Senate. (1) Requiring a study on how taxes and banking are managed for the medical cannabis market. (2) Expanding who qualifies as a cannabis caretaker who can possess products on a patient’s behalf, to include workers in hospitals, adult care facilities and mental health institutions. (3) Expanding qualifying “serious conditions” to any condition for which the

Fraud is a MAJOR problem in the #cannabis industry. One area which really needs to be addressed is: Who really owns a cannabis business license? Unfortunately, all too often, license "ownership" devolves into a murky cesspool of corporate-shell-game alchemy, through which "non-transferrable licenses" somehow change hands multiple times, miraculously without triggering any violations or corrective actions by the licensing authorities, who watch as meticulously scrutinized, and

This is a really BIG deal. Under this newly passed bill, scientists will be able to conduct #research on #cannabis using high quality cannabis products from in-state providers, rather than the dirt-weed they were previously required to work with. This new system drastically reforms and fixes the clunky and intentionally complicated old system which inhibited legitimate research by forcing researchers who wanted to study cannabis to get their cannabis from the University of Mi