BudDigest

WOULD WE WELCOME A MUNICIPAL CANNABIS DISPENSARY IN ST CLOUD?

Should St. Cloud consider the option of having a municipal cannabis dispensary? It should be something our community members wanting to be involved in the industry should be discussing.

OTHER CITIES IN MINNESOTA CONSIDERING THE POSSIBILITY

The city of Wyzata, Minnesota is seriously considering it; and they are getting closer and closer to opening a city-run cannabis dispensary after the council and mayor of the city approved a contract with a consulting firm out of Colorado called Point7 recently, to help them create a business plan for the municipal dispensary should they decide to create one.

Photo by CRYSTALWEED cannabis on Unsplash

Photo by CRYSTALWEED cannabis on Unsplash

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CENTRAL MINNESOTA

Wyzata already operates a liquor store and restaurant, so they understand how a dispensary could generate money for their city. If St. Cloud created a municipal store, does that mean our surrounding cities here in Minnesota should also create those opportunities? Sauk Rapids? St. Joseph? Waite Park?

Cannabis Cultivated For Hemp

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LICENSING FOR MUNICIPALITIES

According to an article with kstp.com, DFL Representative Zack Stephenson said, “I won’t be surprised if a lot of cities look at it. The experience for a lot of cities has been very positive on

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On April 1, 2024, the Florida Supreme Court gave the green light to a ballot initiative to legalize adult-use marijuana. The court’s 5-2 opinion, penned by Justice Grosshans, brings an end years of judicial hairsplitting that saw earlier legalization proposals derailed. At long last, Florida voters will have their say on whether recreational marijuana should be legal in the Sunshine State.

As Justice Grosshans explained, the court’s role was limited to assessing “whether the amendment conforms to the constitutionally mandated single-subject requirement, whether the ballot summary meets the statutory standard for clarity, and whether the amendment is facially invalid under the federal constitution.” With regard to the first consideration, the court found that the initiative’s components “have a natural and logical connection,” hence meeting the single-subject requirement.

The court then turned to the ballot initiative summary, which must use “clear and unambiguous language.” According to the summary, the proposed amendment “allows Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers, and other state licensed entities” (emphasis added) to sell marijuana. Opponents of the initiative argued that this language is misleading, as it would suggest that “other state licensed entities” would immediately be allowed to sell marijuana, when in fact they would have to undergo licensure.

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Many cannabis retailing sites call themselves “dispensaries,” a pharmaceutical-tinged word that connects to their role in selling medical marijuana. But Joyleaf, in Roselle, N.J., very intentionally draws its design and merchandising inspiration from supermarkets rather than pharmacies. That’s hardly surprising considering the pedigree of its Founder, CEO and Executive Chairman, Jason Ackerman, who founded and served as CEO of Fresh Direct for over two decades.

Joyleaf, which opened in late 2023, is organized and merchandised by type of product rather than by brand: all the edibles, for example, are grouped together as a category, as they would be in a supermarket. Products are displayed out of their packaging (though behind glass), allowing customers to see exactly what they’re buying, supplemented with information cards providing product details. Additionally, the entire 2,500-square-foot selling space is designed to encourage browsing.

Ackerman shared how his experience and retailing philosophy informs Joyleaf’s upscale, female-friendly store.

Retail TouchPoints (RTP): What attracted you to cannabis retailing?

Jason Ackerman: After I left Fresh Direct, I was looking for an industry and found cannabis to be extraordinarily close to food retailing. [They both start] with agriculture and farming, which is where the quality starts; then there’s the packaging and

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Good Day Farm has repurposed a once-popular bank on East Sunshine to create Springfield’s newest marijuana dispensary.

The new store, located at 1510 E. Sunshine St., officially opened its doors on March 13, with a grand opening celebration about a week later, Amy Dailey, vice president of marketing, said in an email to the Springfield Daily Citizen. The dispensary is a relocation from the previous retail store located at 1868 S. Glenstone Ave.

Sunshine Street ” data-image-caption=”

The 1510 East Sunshine St. building housed Guaranty Bank and is undergoing renovations, including exterior painting.
(Photo by Jym Wilson)

” data-medium-file=”https://i0.wp.com/sgfcitizen.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/0040Z6II_-copy_v2_4web.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://i0.wp.com/sgfcitizen.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/0040Z6II_-copy_v2_4web.jpg?fit=780%2C519&ssl=1″ src=”https://i0.wp.com/sgfcitizen.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/0040Z6II_-copy_v2_4web.jpg?resize=780%2C519&ssl=1″ alt=”(EDS NOTE: AS OF 4/3/2023, THIS IS THE CURRENT COLOR OF THIS BUILDING. I am unclear on the future use of this building.)” class=”wp-image-52301″ srcset=”https://i0.wp.com/sgfcitizen.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/0040Z6II_-copy_v2_4web.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/sgfcitizen.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/0040Z6II_-copy_v2_4web.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/sgfcitizen.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/0040Z6II_-copy_v2_4web.jpg?resize=768%2C511&ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/sgfcitizen.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/0040Z6II_-copy_v2_4web.jpg?resize=1536%2C1022&ssl=1 1536w, https://i0.wp.com/sgfcitizen.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/0040Z6II_-copy_v2_4web.jpg?resize=1200%2C799&ssl=1 1200w, https://i0.wp.com/sgfcitizen.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/0040Z6II_-copy_v2_4web.jpg?resize=600%2C400&ssl=1 600w, https://i0.wp.com/sgfcitizen.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/0040Z6II_-copy_v2_4web.jpg?resize=1568%2C1044&ssl=1 1568w, https://i0.wp.com/sgfcitizen.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/0040Z6II_-copy_v2_4web.jpg?resize=400%2C266&ssl=1 400w, https://i0.wp.com/sgfcitizen.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/0040Z6II_-copy_v2_4web.jpg?w=1600&ssl=1 1600w, https://i0.wp.com/sgfcitizen.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/0040Z6II_-copy_v2_4web-1024×682.jpg?w=370&ssl=1 370w” sizes=”(max-width: 780px)

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Hulu has unveiled the trailer for the upcoming reality series “High Hopes,” executive produced by Jimmy Kimmel. Following the employees of the Los Angeles cannabis dispensary MMD, the series is set to premiere April 20 with the release of all episodes.

The show is described as “a workplace reality series following Belarus-born brothers Slava and Mishka, and their stoned crew through the trials and tribulations of taking their cannabis business to new heights. As one of the oldest cannabis dispensaries in Hollywood, MMD attracts a wild mix of weed-loving customers and is a home away from home for their OG employees who work hard and smoke harder! This season builds to their biggest day of the year—4.20—as the gang attempts to expand nationwide and release their own top-shelf cannabis brand. Will they find what they’re looking for or will their hopes go up in smoke?”

Watch the trailer for “High Hopes” below.

Popular on Variety

The cast includes Mishka Ashbel, Slava Ashbel, Jared Brady, Sumaiya Islam, Morgan Chanel Lee, Dani Martin, Freddie Miller and Uriel Valenzuela.

Kimmelot and ITV America produce the series. In addition to Kimmel, “High Hopes” is

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The Florida Supreme Court on Monday approved the state’s cannabis legalization amendment for November ballots, ruling against a challenge brought by Attorney General Ashley Moody, USA Today reports.

The campaign behind the legalization amendment submitted the necessary signatures to qualify for the ballot last year but AG Moody asked the court to block the initiative, arguing the amendment’s ballot summary was “misleading to voters.” Five out of seven justices ruled against the attorney general’s challenge — “In light of those limited considerations, we approve the proposed amendment for placement on the ballot,” Justice Jamie Grosshans wrote in the majority opinion, according to the report.

If approved by more than 60% of state voters, the amendment will legalize the possession of up to three ounces of cannabis for personal use and up to five grams of cannabis concentrates; additionally, the state’s current medical dispensaries would be allowed to sell adult-use cannabis. The amendment was brought by the Smart & Safe Florida campaign, which is primarily funded by Trulieve, the state’s largest medical cannabis operator.

“We look forward to supporting this campaign as it heads to the ballot this Fall,” Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers said in the report.

A poll published in

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In a March 20 letter to members of Congress, 22 attorneys general called for “much-needed improvements” on provisions of the 2018 Farm Bill related to hemp, which they say “unleashed…a flood of products that are nothing less than a more potent form of cannabis.”  

The products, the AGs claim, are “often in candy form that is made attractive to youth and children – with staggering levels of potency, no regulation, no oversight, and a limited capability” for the attorneys general “to rein them in.” In the letter, the AGs argue that “The current law defining hemp has resulted in exploitation” and that, when applied to foods, the 0.3% THC limit – which distinguishes industrial hemp from cannabis – “is inadequate to distinguish the potential for intoxication.”  

“The result that has been seen is excessively potent products that are manufactured under fewer controls than in states that have legalized cannabis. Because of the ambiguity created by the 2018 Farm Bill, a massive gray market worth an estimated $28 billion has exploded, forcing cannabis-equivalent products into our economies regardless of states’ intentions to legalize cannabis use, and dangerously undermining regulations and consumer protections in states where adult-use legal

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The Delaware Senate on Thursday approved a bill to expand medical cannabis access by allowing healthcare providers to determine whether their patients can benefit from medical cannabis and permitting individuals 65-and-older to self-certify their medical conditions to obtain a program certification, the Delaware News Journal reports.

The bill was approved by the state House of Representatives in January and, with Senate passage, moves to Gov. John Carney (D) for final approval.

In a statement, Sen. Kyra Hoffner (D), one of the bill’s sponsors, said the “changes will allow healthcare providers to make sound decisions about which treatments best fit their patients, and make those treatments more readily accessible to people who need them the most.”

If approved by the governor, the measure would end requirements that patients must suffer from one of more than a dozen qualifying conditions to access the state’s medical cannabis program; eliminate the CBD-rich and compassionate use programs currently used to treat conditions outside of the specific qualifying conditions for medical cannabis; allow the state Department of Health and Social Services to issue registry cards that are valid for up to three years, and allow the issuance of permanent cards

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Since 1970, 3340 N Halsted St. had been the home of the Townhall Pub, the beloved cash-only dive bar known for its tasty drinks and friendly staff. But after Townhall’s former owner William Bucholtz passed away from COVID-19 in 2021, the pub closed down. Now, about three years later, a new business is set to open the space again for business—this time as a cannabis dispensary.

In the coming weeks, the Sway dispensary will become a new cannabis dispensary co-owned by entrepreneur Kevin Hauswirth (a one-time Windy City Times 30 Under 30 honoree), LGBTQ+ activists (and Sidetrack owners) Art Johnston and Jose “Pepe” Peña, cannabis policy advocate Edie Moore and other co-owners. Located in the heart of Northalsted, the Sway dispensary will be the first of three new locations, Moore told Windy City Times.

Peña planted the seed for a cannabis dispensary decades ago, Johnston recalled in an interview with Windy City Times owner Tracy Baim.

“I remember clearly in 1973,” Johnston said. “One day Pep said to me, ‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could make a living selling marijuana rather than alcohol?’ He was a bartender, and we both laughed at that. And now here we are all

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The dispensary sector has come a long way since San Jose-based Purple Lotus was established in 2010. In fact, it was established in response to what its founders saw as deficiencies in the customer experience at that time. Connect CRE sounded out CEO Matt Krishnamachari for insights on how the dispensary business has evolved since then. 

Q: Purple Lotus was established in 2010. How did you seek to provide an alternative to other Bay Area dispensaries? 

A: Purple Lotus opened its doors to provide safe access to cannabis in its surrounding communities. Purple Lotus was started by my wife and I with a $15,000 investment, we remained true to our roots and kept a family culture and vibe that exists to this day.  

As a cannabis patient, I visited many stores and saw a void in terms of customer service and experience. 

Purple Lotus focused on creating an incredible customer journey paired with varieties of products to create an industry-leading experience. 

Q: Prior to establishing Purple Lotus, you developed entrepreneurial experience in other sectors not related to cannabis. How did this experience translate into establishing a presence in cannabis? 

A: Purple Lotus evolved out of the customer care and high-level

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