Tuesday Tuesday March 30 2021
In todays report
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Nebraska Lawmakers Approve Medical Marijuana Legalization Bill
The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Anna Wishart (D), would allow #patients with certain qualifying conditions to purchase and possess up to two and a half ounces of cannabis from licensed dispensaries. It would not allow patients to smoke marijuana, however.
Members of the Judiciary Committee #approved the measure in a 5-2 vote, sending the bill to the full unicameral legislature for consideration.
Wishart and Sen. Adam Morfeld (D) have been consistent champions of cannabis reform, and while this bill is a fairly limited proposal to legalize #mediclalmarijuana, the pair announced in December that they’re working to put the question of legalization for adult use before voters in 2022.
Their campaign—Nebraskans for Medical Cannabis—is separately collecting signatures for a medical cannabis legalization measure that they hope to place on the 2022 ballot as well.
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/nebraska-lawmakers-approve-medical-marijuana-legalization-bill/
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Chicago Cannabis Company Allegedly Involved in Pay-to-Play Scandal
The company is now responsible for a number of different grows, as well as 56 retail stores across 15 different, legal states. The bulk of those stores, nine in total, are in Illinois. The brand also produces its own product offerings, including prerolls, cannabis gummies, oils, and other materials for vaping and legally consuming.
As of now, what GTI is being accused of is still up in the air. It is not clear if it is coming under scrutiny for political giving, hiring, or something else, but there is reportedly a federal investigation targeting the company. Records reveal that GTI has been known to spread cash to a number of politicians and political action committees who helped to legalize, as many businesses do, but it’s unclear if that is what the business is under fire for.
It also isn’t clear if the company’s profitability is under fire, but GTI certainly is profitable. Their revenue doubled since 2020 as of earlier this month, and they are projecting even bigger numbers for the rest of 2021. Nevertheless, shares for the company have dropped 13% following The Tribune’s article.
https://hightimes.com/news/chicago-cannabis-company-allegedly-involved-pay-play-scandal/
As of now, what GTI is being accused of is still up in the air. It is not clear if it is coming under scrutiny for political giving, hiring, or something else, but there is reportedly a federal investigation targeting the company. Records reveal that GTI has been known to spread cash to a number of politicians and political action committees who helped to legalize, as many businesses do, but it’s unclear if that is what the business is under fire for.
It also isn’t clear if the company’s profitability is under fire, but GTI certainly is profitable. Their revenue doubled since 2020 as of earlier this month, and they are projecting even bigger numbers for the rest of 2021. Nevertheless, shares for the company have dropped 13% following The Tribune’s article.
https://hightimes.com/news/chicago-cannabis-company-allegedly-involved-pay-play-scandal/
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An accusation of betrayal mars the rising star of cannabis giant Green Thumb Industries.
HOW KOVLER ENDED UP AS THE ZUCKERBERG OF THIS STORY, and Neiman with nothing, is a little murky. The lawsuit only hints at what happened, and Neiman’s lawyers are limiting what he can say. By the beginning of May 2014, a core team had coalesced and it consisted of the two of them plus Peter Kadens, Ari Levy, Jeff Goldman, Ryan Suma and Mitch Kranitz, according to the emails. They traveled to Denver together, where they made some business contacts. They held regular meetings and discussed hunting for real estate to establish dispensaries and how to reach influential Illinois politicians.
But even while they worked together, Kovler allegedly began to mislead Neiman. On May 27, without telling him, Kovler registered Green Thumb Industries as a limited liability company. In mid-June, according to the lawsuit, he told Suma and others in the “core team” that he planned to “box Mr. Neiman out of GTI.”
By July 6, the boxing out had apparently happened, because Kranitz sent an email pleading with Kovler to bring Neiman back. “I caught up with Cary this morning – He gave me the scoop on his situation,” Kranitz wrote. “He indicated that he is 100% squeaky clean on file… Did you complete background checks on him?” Whatever issue might have come up in Neiman’s background is not clear. “If all looks good on your end, I think we should pull him back into the team.”
Kranitz gave three reasons. First, Neiman was critical to the founding of the group: “Without him, who knows if GTI/Clinic would even exist!” Second, the team could use the “ground work” he provided. And third, while the rest of the team were business people, Neiman knew cannabis. “He’s the only resource on the GTI side with cultivation experience,” Kranitz wrote.
Two days later, Kovler texted Neiman with false reassurance. “Don’t worry, Cary,” he wrote. “Everything I am doing is with the intent to win a license and put us in business. I am not turning my back on you.”
Neiman believed him. In an email a few days later, he wrote: “Hope to talk soon regarding what you see as my role in the future with GTI. Can you believe how far this has come from our lunch that started this all?” Kovler responded with a terse email, entirely ignoring Neiman’s nostalgic pleading.
Johnson says the dispute over the founding of Green Thumb Industries sounds familiar. “In the past, people were hastily putting deals together,” he says. “It’s a lot of trust and the need to get to the starting line that may have precluded formalizing the legal aspect. A lot of attorneys are dealing with issues that started with a handshake. But it’s like getting married, you have to know who your partner is.”
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Proposed ban on CBD in cosmetics alarms Chinese stakeholders
A notice seeking public comments on the proposed ban released last Friday hit Chinese hemp stocks on Monday. Meilleure Health International Industry Group saw its share price dip by about 15%, while shares in Yunnan Baiyao, China’s leading medicine producer, declined 6.89%.
Fifty-four companies in the industrial hemp sector are listed on China’s A-share market, with a total capitalization of more than 500 billion yuan ($76.21 billion), according to online financial data provider Tonghuashun.
Betting on CBD
A growing number of Chinese health and bio-technology companies are staking out positions in CBD and other cannabinoids as they promote hemp’s fit in traditional Chinese medicine, a critical health product sector marked for fast growth by the Chinese government and #bio-pharma industry.
https://hemptoday.net/proposed-ban-on-cbd-in-cosmetics-alarms-chinese-stakeholders/