CORP VS CRAFT
Corporate cannabis opposed to proposed craft grower canopy increase
Once hailed as creating a promising social equity program in cannabis, the State of Illinois is facing numerous challenges helping newly licensed craft growers, most of whom are minority-owned, get off the ground.
The details
- Craft growers would like to increase their canopy limit from 5,000 square feet to 14,000
- They say the current maximum isn’t enough to be profitable or attract investors
- Most larger cultivators are opposing the proposal, arguing that they do want minority-owned companies to succeed, but their licenses could be sold off to out-of-state entrepreneurs if the increase is allowed
Scott Redman of the Illinois Independent Craft Growers Association said that some licensees are aiming to sell their licenses. Half are trying to build businesses, and 10 aren’t decided. “Quite a few of the current 40 craft grower groups really are precariously positioned in not being able to attract financing” he said, attributing it to the canopy limit.
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WOMEN IN CANNABIS
The cannabis industry is growing, but women’s participation is slowing
The percentage of women in executive cannabis roles has dropped from approximately 37% to 22%, according to new data compiled by the Women in Cannabis Study, which looked at qualitative feedback from 1500 respondents from 2019 on.
“That’s despite the findings in a recent white paper from The Arcview Group and the National Cannabis Industry Association concluding companies with women in leadership roles are actually more profitable and produce more than twice the revenue per dollar invested than those without them,” reports Forbes.
See the full survey results here.
ALL CANNABIS IS POLITICS
MedMen amends its complaint, maintains its accusations against Ascend are true
The drama over MedMen’s New York license and Ascend Wellness’s failed attempt to acquire it continues. Last month, MedMen’s lawyers said they would be amending their original complaint against Ascend after alleging the company had inappropriately influenced the governor’s office at a fundraising event to rush the approval of the deal before it expired. Ascend had demonstrated that those accused of being at the event were not – in fact – in attendance.
But now, reports Green Market Report, MedMen says they aren’t backing down in the amended counterclaim, writing that despite perhaps not having all of the details correct, Ascend used improper “political pressure and undue influence.”
“On information and belief, individuals who were involved in Ascend’s lobbying efforts have acknowledged that MedMen’s original counterclaims, even if inaccurate with regard to some specific details, were nevertheless very close to the truth, saying, in sum and substance, ‘they are on to us.’”
The governor’s office denies any improper conduct and Ascend responded saying they are within their rights to make political donations. MedMen, for their part, donated a reported $25,000 to the previous administration’s campaign as well as a $65,000 loophole donation, according to the New York Post.
GDP ON CBD
Despite forthcoming legalization, Germany continues prosecuting CBD businesses
Lawyer Kai-Friedrich Niermann, who is representing several German CBD and hemp companies facing criminal charges, said that despite the country’s intention to legalize adult-use cannabis, court proceedings are ongoing.
“I am processing about 15 criminal cases against dealers of CBD and hemp leaf tea,” Niermann told BusinessCann. “I estimate there will be several hundred similar cases throughout the country, in addition to the 185,000 preliminary criminal proceedings against recreational users.”
The details
- Hemp and CBD sales remain banned because the courts believe low-THC hemp products can potentially be intoxicating
- This is despite a 2021 report by the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices concluding that the opposite is true
- Germany’s new government is now taking those findings into consideration and are aiming to adopt them, but that could be delayed by the Ukraine crisis
The timeline
“Theoretically, implementation of the amendments concerning hemp products could be quick,” Niermann said. “Realistically, however, it will take until the summer recess of parliament. In the worst case, everything will only be decided together with the new cannabis legislation, perhaps at the end of 2022 or beginning of 2023.”
