BudDigest

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On Wednesday, April 17, 2024 at 12:00 pacific time, Harris Sliwoski managing partner Vince Sliwoski (Portland), Harris Sliwoski partner Griffen Thorne (Los Angeles), and Andy Shelley of CannXperts will present a free webinar entitled “How to Buy or Sell a Cannabis Business.”

Drawing on their extensive experience from representing businesses and entrepreneurs through numerous M&A transactions, including crucial state license transfers throughout the United States, our panelists will share insights and practical wisdom from their firsthand experiences in the legal cannabis industry.

Crafting and understanding Letters of Intent Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of Asset Sales v. Business Sales Conducting thorough Due Diligence Drafting and Negotiating purchase agreements and ancillary documents Navigating State-Specific Regulatory Concerns Managing Escrow Challenges Optimizing Financial Arrangements: Purchase Prices, Holdbacks, Earnouts Tackling Post-Closing Considerations

As always, we’ll also take Q&A, so please feel free to either submit questions when registering or you will be able to ask comments in chat during the webinar.

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Scott Rudder.

Scott Rudder, the original founder of the New Jersey CannaBusiness Association, is opening his own dispensary, Township Green, on Monday in Riverside, aiming to help revitalize the downtown Burlington County city.

A former Republican mayor, assemblyman and veteran, Rudder dedicated nearly the last decade of his life to the legalization and entrepreneurial expansion of medical and adult-use cannabis. In 2016, he founded the New Jersey CannabisBusiness Association to serve as the state’s premier cannabis trade industry association. Rudder helped organize and was a top consultant to statewide campaigns to legalize cannabis in New Jersey in 2020, the same year NJ.com dubbed him the “Mayor of Cannabis.”

Located at 15 Scott St., Township Green will employ approximately 20 people, with the majority of them being local residents, some of whom can walk to work.

According to a release, the dispensary was born out of the idea that, in this new era of responsible, legalized cannabis, community matters most. It’s about making a connection with customers and sharing a passion and expertise so there can be a positive impact in the community.

“Township Green exemplifies what we hoped to achieve by legalizing cannabis in New Jersey,” Rudder said. “We’re focused

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Michigan regulators said this week that a Lansing-based cannabis processor is surrendering its medical and adult-use cannabis licenses after mixing illicit material into its products, the Lansing State Journal reports.

TAS Asset Holdings, also known as Noble Road Company, has been shut down since February 2023 after regulators suspended its license for using unregulated THCa powder to create its ‘Space Rocks’ product line under the Fwaygo Extracts brand. Officials confirmed in the report that the company’s license will never be renewed, reinstated, reissued, or reactivated — limited or otherwise.

“Based on its investigation of the conduct alleged in the complaint, the CRA determined at the time that the safety or health of patrons or employees was jeopardized by TAS’ continued operation and that emergency action was required.” — CRA statement, via the Lansing State Journal

During their investigation, CRA staff uncovered video evidence of employees bringing unregulated product from their vehicles into the business. Investigators found dirty and cluttered areas on the company’s premises including leaking containers of various stages of processed cannabis and waste. Additionally, officials noted the company was utilizing an unapproved, unlicensed warehouse without surveillance cameras, and none of the cannabis products in the room were registered

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The Indigenous Cannabis Industry Association (ICIA) and its member tribes have agreed to launch a lobbying and campaigning effort to pressure Wisconsin voters and lawmakers to legalize medical access to cannabis, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

“Wisconsin is landlocked with a hypocrisy of prohibition,” ICIA founder Rob Pero said following the organization’s second annual Wisconsin Cannabis Industry and Policy Summit.

“The welfare of our communities are at stake while we wait for policy reform to provide clear access to cannabis for our communities in need, including Wisconsin’s veteran population, but also people of all ages who seek relief.” — Pero, via the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Wisconsin is one of the few remaining U.S. states where cannabis remains strictly prohibited, even for medical purposes. “There are people who need this medicine, regardless of political affiliation,” Pero said in the report.

The ICIA represents the Lac du Flambeau, St. Croix Ojibwe, and Sokaogon Mole Lake Ojibwe tribes in Wisconsin, and other tribes in Minnesota, Michigan, and South Dakota.

Wisconsin lawmakers this year considered a GOP proposal seeking to establish a heavily restricted medical cannabis program but the bill is likely dead for the year, the report said.

Meanwhile, a study published last

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The Prairie Island Indian Community has announced plans to open an adult-use recreational cannabis dispensary this summer. 

The new business venture will be called Island Peži (pronounced pay-zhee, meaning grass), the tribe announced March 21. It’ll open next to Dakota Station, the tribe’s convenience store and gas station on Prairie Island. It is owned and operated by CBH Inc., a PIIC corporation created to manage its cannabis-related economic development interests. 

The tribe is excited for the prospects of the cannabis industry for Indian Country, specifically for Prairie Island, according to the announcement.

“Island Peži is a step forward in our efforts to diversify our economy and strengthen our tribe’s long-standing financial sovereignty,” Prairie Island Tribal Council President Grant Johnson said in a statement. “We’re excited to be among the first to enter the cannabis market and create new opportunities for the future of our tribe.” 

Island Peži’s entrance into the cannabis industry will create another avenue of economic diversification for PIIC and develop opportunities for the tribe’s members for generations to come, according to the announcement. 

As a sovereign nation, PIIC has enacted its own cannabis regulatory ordinance authorizing a comprehensive licensing and regulatory system to regulate cannabis within its jurisdiction. The tribe is committed

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Horn Lake denied a request by a medical marijuana dispensary to consider changing the requirement to have a full time security guard at the business and to allow them be able to sell drug paraphernalia and also to allow for Sunday sales.

Lucas Todd, manager of Wyze Medical Dispensary, which has two dispensaries in Horn Lake, said the restrictions are hurting their ability to make a profit. 

“We have made, in my opinion, substantial changes to try to avoid having to come back and ask for certain amendments to be made,” Todd said.

Horn Lake allows for the sale of medical cannabis, but put restrictions in their ordinance when they oped-in to the state’s medical marijuana law in 2023 to require that all dispensaries have a full time security officer be present on-site during hours of operation. The city added further restrictions banning Sunday sales and sales on some holidays, and prohibited the sale of drug paraphernalia.

Alderman Jackie Bostick said the city spent months and worked hard to come up with an ordinance that would allow citizens who need medical marijuana the ability to buy it, but also placed additional restrictions to protect the safety and welfare of

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By Laura Parkin For Mailonline

Published: 06:23 EDT, 22 March 2024 | Updated: 12:52 EDT, 22 March 2024

Cruz Beckham put on an edgy display as he stepped out in West Hollywood on Thursday with friend, Skye Ladell. 

The aspiring singer, 19, who split from his girlfriend Tana Holding in October was previously linked to Norwegian singer Bby Ivy and social media star Issey Moloney. 

Heading out on Sunset Boulevard, Cruz wore an oversized T-shirt with loose fitting jeans and trainers.

He accessorised with a yellow beanie and tied a grey sweat across his chest to complete his casual look. 

Cruz also carried a bag from cannabis dispensary company Urbn Leaf during the outing. Cannabis is legal in California and can be purchased by anyone over 18 for medicinal purposes and over 21 for general use.

Actress Skye, 23, opted for a black crop top with low-waisted jeans, throwing a jumper over her shoulder. 

Skye, who is from South Africa but grew up in Australia, is working on her acting career and has completed a project called 1 Million Follwers, according to her IMDB page.

MailOnline has contacted the Beckham’s representatives for comment. 

It emerged Cruz had split from his

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In an “hours-long discussion,” the officials on a Costa Mesa panel considered various ways of amending the city’s laws governing legal cannabis shops. Those laws “have engendered complaints from neighbors and proprietors alike,” according to the Los Angeles Times, which said that Tuesday’s meeting “ended with a flurry of motions from City Council members that, if approved, could have sweeping local impacts on the industry.”

The Times reported that the council “considered a slate of recommendations submitted by the Planning Commission in three earlier public hearings and cataloged in a draft revision of the original 2021 ordinance.”

“But where commissioners went in with scalpel-like precision, carefully weighing potential edits against real-world consequences before posing eight specific suggestions, the City Council adopted a somewhat scattershot approach,” the Times said.

The publication Voice of OC reported that the Costa Mesa City Council is “looking to limit the number of retail cannabis shops to 35 after city officials began questioning just how many should operate within the city,” while also “eying how close the shops should sit next to homes, youth centers and other cannabis storefronts.”

“Part of my intent today is to not only figure out the new buffers and also the

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The Horseheads Village Board approved a special use permit for Mooney’s Cannabis, paving the way for the establishment of a licensed marijuana dispensary in the former Denny’s restaurant location. At a village board meeting, Mayor Kevin Adams announced the decision, highlighting the community’s support for the new business venture on Chemung Street. The decision came after a public comment session where the proposal received backing, leading to a unanimous vote in favor of the dispensary.

The initiative to convert the long-vacant storefront into a cannabis dispensary is seen as a significant economic boost for the area. Mayor Adams expressed his satisfaction with the investment in renovating the derelict property, emphasizing the positive impact on the village’s economic and aesthetic appeal. The substantial financial requirement for refurbishing the site underscores the commitment to revitalizing local commerce through such entrepreneurial endeavors.

“Mooney’s Cannabis” now moves forward without the need for further approval from the state’s Office of Cannabis Management, signifying a milestone for the village in attracting cannabis-related businesses. This follows the recent approval of another marijuana business, “Upsate Cannabis,” further signaling Horseheads’ openness to embracing the cannabis industry as part of its local business landscape.

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The lack of legal dispensaries and the overwhelming proliferation of illegal ones are the biggest concerns of the rollout three years after legalization.

After three years of fits and starts, the rollout of New York’s recreational cannabis market gained speed in 2024, most notably with the opening of about 50 licensed dispensaries so far this year.

But the licensed retailers, who number about 85 in total, are far outnumbered by more than 2,000 rogue head shops, the target of complaints that they siphon customers, sell to children and attract criminals.

The quick and brazen takeover has left many people frustrated with the government’s slower and stricter approach to expanding the legal market and has emerged as the most pressing challenge facing the rollout, as the authorities struggle to keep the state’s promise to deliver a $5 billion market to diverse small businesses and people harmed by past anti-marijuana policies.

“They need to get a handle on that quickly,” said James Stephenson, a co-founder and chief executive of oHHo, a wellness brand that depends on dispensaries to sell its cannabis-infused chocolates, gummies and seltzers. “You can’t have one set of people playing by the rules.”

While the illicit shops multiplied, legal dispensary openings stalled for

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