Wanda James looked at the 300-plus attendees of the inaugural NJ Cannabis Summit and asked a simple question.
“How many of you consume cannabis?”
For James, the CEO of Simply Pure and an applicant for one of six Alternative Treatment Centers in New Jersey, openly talking about cannabis isn’t just a lifestyle issue – it’s vital to growing a successful industry.
“You’re going to hear from people: If you don’t get it all right in the beginning, don’t move forward,” Barbara Brohl, the former executive director of the Colorado Department of Revenue, told 300-plus attendees at the inaugural NJ Cannabis Summit on Oct. 24. “You’re not going to get it all completely right at the beginning. What you really want to do is get as much done as you can, but create a process in which you can be very flexible and fix issues as they come along.”
Multistate marijuana firm iAnthus Capital agreed to acquire the U.S. assets of Toronto-based cannabis company MPX Bioceutical Corp. in an all-stock deal valued at 835 million Canadian dollars ($640 million), the second mega-acquisition in the American MJ industry in less than a week.
The acquisition positions New York-based iAnthus as one the largest U.S. cannabis operators and expands the firm’s footprint to 10 states, nearly doubling its reach.
From Terrapin Care Station: Boulder, Colo.-based national cannabis company Terrapin Care Station is excited to announce the hiring of Nico Pento as its government affairs director.
Pento joins Terrapin after a two-year stint serving as a Policy Director in the Colorado Legislature. He advised House Republicans on developing and implementing a comprehensive legislative agenda.
When the details of the legislation were first made public last week, there were reports almost immediately that the proposed initial 10 percent tax rate was too low for Governor Phil Murphy.
That 10 percent rate would be the lowest in the country among states that allow recreational marijuana sales.
Determining the appropriate rate requires legislators to weigh two critical but competing factors: revenue versus black market. It’s an issue directly addressed in the bill:
From beer to bongs.
Adolphus Busch V, the great-great grandson of the founder of Anheuser Busch (BUD) , is throwing back to his grandfather's roots and starting his own company. ABV Cannabis Co. is a cannabis company based in Colorado. Right now, Busch's startup focuses on making a disposable vaporizer pen.
So why no Bud?
Former Democratic Gov. Jim Florio is adding a new title to his resume: adviser to a cannabis edibles manufacturing company.
Nuka Enterprises of Colorado is expected to announce Thursday that Florio will be joining the company's advisory board, and "will be supporting Nuka's expansion initiatives into New Jersey through his law firm, Florio Perrucci Steinhardt & Capelli," according to a statement obtained by NJ Advance Media.
At such an early stage in the growth process, the cannabis industry is unlike any other industry in the world right now, especially in the retail/dispensary sector. But while cannabis is extremely unique in its own way, it still carries a number of similarities to established industries and businesses that operate in more traditional retail capacities.
There’s a new green monster in town: Legal recreational marijuana sales are about to hit the East Coast for the first time -- a possible tipping point for the surging, multi-billion dollar weed industry.