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| One Barrier After Another |
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| ‘A Very Long and Hard-Fought Battle:’ Inside One Company’s Quest to Secure Licenses in Illinois’ Adult-Use Cannabis Market |
| A court recently allowed High Haven to win five dispensary licenses in a corrective lottery. Now, the company is on a mission to secure a craft grow license. More >> |
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| Regulatory Turnover |
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We’ve written in this newsletter about the high turnover rate among dispensary employees, but a similar trend can be seen within the regulatory agencies overseeing state-legal cannabis markets. This is often by design (due to term limits or other guardrails), but the revolving door of regulators remains an important piece of context as the cannabis industry grows up. The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) marked its fifth anniversary this month, and the milestone came with the appointment of Shannon O'Brien as CCC chair. "You're probably aware of this, that you're joining the commission at a pivotal time," Commissioner Ava Callender Concepcion told O'Brien, somewhat cryptically, at her first CCC meeting, as reported by NBC Boston. At stake is nothing less than the future of the cannabis industry in Massachusetts, judging by the tenor of CCC members’ banter. A new law signed by Gov. Charlie Baker charged the CCC with even more power to elevate the diversity of the state’s cannabis industry and to dial in local municipalities’ roles. O’Brien now has a chance to forge a legacy—not only for her and the current era of the CCC, but for all licensed cannabis businesses in the state. One hope voiced by the CCC is to strengthen host community agreements—the formal contracts inked as part of the local approval process in Massachusetts’ cannabis industry. The idea is to ensure that applicants aren’t merely paying lip service to the notion of local community engagement; the CCC intends on taking a closer look at those agreements to make sure that those relationships are meaningful and impactful. The same idea goes for licensed businesses and the CCC itself: relationships matter. When new folks come into office, it’s important for everyone involved to take notice and acknowledge one another. With each cycle of regulatory turnover, new possibilities and interpretations emerge. Business owners would do well to follow their state’s work closely. -Eric Sandy, Digital Editor |
| Go For Launch! |
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| 3 Vermont Dispensaries to Begin Adult-Use Sales at Their Discretion |
| There’s nothing specifically saying the licensed businesses must wait until Oct. 1, state regulator says. More >> |
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| Bioplastics Future |
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| National Hemp Growers Cooperative Sets Sights on Bioplastic Opportunities |
| Nick Walters, NHGC managing partner, describes how the cooperative’s recent partnership with Troy University will help create more marketing opportunities for its members. More >> |
| WATCH: Sativa-Indica Myth |
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How far back in our webinar archives have you traveled? Throwing it back to 2019, our “Moving Beyond the Sativa-Indica Myth” webinar offers an educational take on new ways of thinking about the words “sativa” and “indica,” exposing scientific truths about the cannabis plant and helping business owners find new ways to teach consumers what it is they’re buying and using. How much has changed since then? |
