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Here we go again… more tainted bunk weed smoked by naive Tilray customers… SAD
Marijuana recalls too slow to recover possibly contaminated product.
Chris Roberts, Reporter
August 5, 2024
Most marijuana recalls are issued too late to recover cannabis products potentially containing unhealthy levels of mold or pesticides, according to analysis by MJBizDaily.
Amid growing concerns over product safety – and allegations of labs allegedly tampering with results – most cannabis products already have been sold and potentially consumed by the time state regulators flag them as unsafe.
MJBizDaily recently analyzed product recalls in five state-regulated marijuana markets: California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Michigan and New York and Canada.
In some of those markets, product recalls are rare despite allegations from whistleblowers and state authorities that testing labs deliberately manipulated results to please naive clients.
In others, recalls nearly always are issued too late for retailers to pull the products from shelves before they’ve been sold to consumers.
Recalled products sold last year
California regulators issued six hundred mandatory product recalls in July in the wake of a Los Angeles Times/WeedWeek investigation that reported detectable levels of pesticides found in marijuana products cleared for sale.
In fifty five of those instances, the products in question – vaporizer cartridges and all-in-one vaporizers sold under the Backpack Boyz or West Coast Cure brands – first went on sale in September 2023.
Since 10 months passed between the products being offered for sale and the recalls, it’s almost certain the affected items had long since been ingested by consumers or discarded.
“Recalling something from 2023 is not going to result in many products still being on shelves or in possession of consumers,” Wesley Hein, the president of the California Distributors Association, told MJBizDaily.
“Operators are able to get compliance tests in under a week,” he added.
“The state should be able to do the same thing, so I expect that we’ll begin to see more timely recalls.”
Recalls lag by months
MJBizDaily tracked the most recent mandatory recalls issued by state regulators in the aforementioned states, information that is publicly available online in every state except for New York, which provided the information after an inquiry.
California regulators have issued 120 product recalls since May 6, identifying pre-rolls and vaporizer cartridges as potentially unsafe after discovering prohibited levels of pesticides and mold during reference lab testing in products initially cleared for sale.
In all but twenty two cases, products were recalled three to 10 months after initially being cleared for sale.
In the two other cases, the recalls were issued seven weeks after the products were eligible for sale.
But even seven weeks is too late to capture most of the affected products, retail operators told MJBizDaily, adding that most products are gone within two months.
“I’ll go bust if I hold onto something for much more than 60 days,” said Elliot Lewis, the chief executive and cofounder of Catalyst Cannabis Co., which operates 28 locations in California.
Catalyst carried Lowell 35’s 10 Tall Pre-Rolls, which the DCC recalled Aug. 1, at five of its stores, Lewis said.
At two of the stores, the offending product was “sold out,” he added.
In Colorado, the state Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) has issued four recalls since June 6.
Two recalls issued July 12 were for “Retail Marijuana Flower (bud/shake/trim)” potentially contaminated with “Total Yeast and Mold above the acceptable limits.”
One recalled product hit shelves March 21, with the final sale reported on April 27.
Another batch went on sale May 1, with the final sale reported in late June.
But for the June 6 and June 20 recalls, affected products were sold starting April 14, 2023, and Aug. 16, 2023, respectively.
In the case of the June 6 recall, the product was “found to contain methylene chloride (a solvent not approved for use in the production of marijuana concentrates) and pesticides not approved for use on marijuana,” regulators said.
A spokesperson for MED did not provide comment by press time.
Regulations evolving
The $36 billion regulated cannabis industry is still new, and regulators stressed that product safety is an evolving concept that states are steadily moving to improve.
“The Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) continuously assesses the effectiveness of its recall actions,” David Hafner, a spokesperson for the California regulator, told MJBizDaily via email.
“We are focusing on improving response times and prioritizing products that pose significant health risks to consumers.
“Our recent recalls demonstrate these improvements.”
The introduction of state-run reference labs that regulators use to double-check products cleared for sale by commercial labs is not yet universal.
For example, Michigan is not due to open a reference lab until the end of this year, the agency said in an April news release.
Oklahoma only recently granted its state Medical Marijuana Authority the power to open a reference lab in a batch of rules that went into effect July 25.
The new rules also clarified the OMMA’s power to seize product it declares a health and safety risk.
“States have different capacity and authority to recall products,” said Gillian Schauer, the executive director of CANNRA, an organization of state marijuana regulatory authorities.
“In some cases, testing and recall authorities in a state are dictated by statute and legislative action would be needed to change the approach,” Schauer told MJBizDaily via email.
Additionally, recalls often must proceed cautiously in order to avoid legal challenges.
“Regulators are typically extremely cautious in their investigations to ensure that enforcement actions are based on due process and sufficient evidence,” she added.
“Regulators typically cannot share public information about in-process investigations, and often investigations can take months to complete.”
Recalls sometimes rare
In Michigan, state regulators remain locked in litigation with a lab at the center of a November 2021 recall, and the state Cannabis Regulatory Authority has issued only three recalls since.
CRA spokesman David Harns told MJBizDaily the agency would not comment.
Despite detailed whistleblower allegations that labs are inflating THC potency and passing cannabis that should fail for pesticides or mold, the last product recall in Massachusetts was in 2021.
On April 11, 2023, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) issued a bulletin alerting the public that the manufacturer of a test kit used to measure microbial contaminants informed buyers the kit had “a potential defect.”
“It is possible that some products which passed testing based on the recalled test kits may have moved into the market … or have been sold,” wrote the CCC, which said only two of the state’s independent testing labs had purchased the potentially faulty kit.
Though the CCC said its “Investigation and Enforcement department is actively identifying cannabis products tested for microbial contaminants that may not be compliant with Commission regulations,” the agency did not issue any subsequent recalls.
How much affected product was later sold to consumers remains a state secret.
The CCC did not identify the labs and did not comment to MJBizDaily.
Unclear how much product sold
All states have track-and-trace programs in place.
But no state would share with MJBizDaily the track-and-trace data that would definitively indicate how much recalled product was sold to consumers.
In California, public-records laws protect that data from disclosure.
A spokesperson for Michigan’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency directed MJBizDaily to file a public-records request and refused further comment.
That public-records request is pending.
Unsafe bunk moldy large producers weed is not popular.
Not because it test good, but because it tastes like shit.
You are correct - great buying opportunity. Long Term Investor with a big SACK!!!
The ENTIRE Market is crashing and not just Tilray. WTFUp...
0.12$ DOWN
Negative
Net loss of $222.4 million for fiscal 2024
Adjusted cannabis gross margin decreased to 36% from 51% in the prior fiscal year
Beverage-alcohol gross margin declined to 44% from 49% in the prior fiscal year
Net cash used in operating activities was $(30.9) million compared to $7.9 million net cash from operating activities in the prior year
Not doing too well.
Just like someone i know.
FORBES
Why Sustainability Eludes The Cannabis Industry
Doomed
Contributor
I write about cannabis business and culture.
August 2, 2024
Why Sustainability Alludes the Cannabis Industry
Cannabis has a sustainability problem. This news may come as a surprise to you. Cannabis and hemp have been sold by advocates (like me) as a ‘green’ crop producing ‘green’ products. While that fundamental statement is true, public policy mistakes and market conditions have led to polluted outcomes on par with the coal industry.
When a pound of indoor dried cannabis flower has a larger carbon footprint than the longest roundtrip commercial airplane flights in the world, something feels wrong with that picture. Something is wrong with that picture.
It begs the question, why?
“There are a lot of pain points in the cannabis space, from packaging to certain cultivation methods,” said journalist Cara Wietstock at Greenstate. “But fixes are going to be complicated and multi-pronged.” She has written extensively on cannabis and sustainability.
Why Sustainability Alludes the Cannabis Industry
Large indoor cannabis cultivation requires large amounts of power especially in hot or cold ...
“Look at cultivation: Growing indoors in states with heavy winter snow takes a lot of energy,” Wietstock said. “The most logical fix would be to have a farm in an ideal locale like Northern California wholesale cannabis to other states or BC Bud in Canada. Unfortunately, this would require multiple policy changes that would take years. My view is that there’s a lot of work to be done, and more barriers than doorways.”
While other factors like pesticides, water use, packaging, transportation, and land use play a part in the sustainability of cannabis, growing weed indoors is the primary driver of carbon emissions. Sungrown farmers in California and B.C. have been practicing sustainable cannabis cultivation for decades, as chronicled in author Fine’s 2012 book, Too High To Fail.
“Ever since I began my research into regenerative cannabis in California's Emerald Triangle in 2011 for my book,” said Fine, “I’ve strongly believed that healthy cannabis cultivated outdoors in a manner akin to organic produce is a win-win model.”
A lot has happened to cannabis cultivation since Too High To Fail was published. Legalization has swept across the nation and with it, a lot of indoor cultivation. The reason most legal weed is grown indoors is due to public policy requiring it, or zoning and other regulations that mandate it.
Elected officials and their regulators feel safer if their communities cannot see or smell cannabis cultivation. In many cases, those communities agree and demand cultivation happen indoors. In these communities the environmental impacts are not as strong as the stigma that weed is bad and needs to be hidden away.
Federal prohibition does not allow the state-level legal supply chain to engage in interstate commerce. That means high-quality outdoor California marijuana cannot be transported and sold in New York (except in the underground market). In a post-legalization reality, that hurts the craft farmer in the west by eliminating their market for weed in the east.
Even in California, sungrown craft farmers cannot sell directly to consumers—the regulations don’t allow it. They have to go through a licensed distributor or become a distributor themselves (not a farmers core competency). This does not incentivize outdoor farmers to plant more but strangles them by cutting them off from their fans and best consumers.
Market conditions also play a role as some consumers demand indoor-grown weed thinking it’s “better” weed (not entirely true). When policy and market conditions align like that, entrepreneurs don’t have much choice but to build indoor grows. As more jurisdictions legalize cannabis, this pattern is repeating itself over and over. Before anyone notices, the electrical grid is taxed, more fossil fuels are burned, and the problem just gets worse—and harder to fix.
Some companies are seeing the writing on the wall and taking action to get more ‘green.’ When I recently toured the indoor but regenerative Snowtill cannabis farm in San Francisco, there were no inputs used at all. No nutrients (other than worm poop and compost) and no pesticides. This reduces the carbon footprint of the farm significantly. They’re also in a mild climate that does not require as much power to grow indoors. While cultivating regeneratively indoors takes skill and practice, small farms like Snowtill are proving it can be done. Stoners seem to agree, as the brand is flying off the shelves at California dispensaries.
Why Sustainability Alludes the Cannabis Industry
Regenerative Sungrown cannabis offers consumers high quality with lower carbon footprints than ... [+]THE WASHINGTON POST VIA GETTY IMAGES
“Regenerative cannabis can win in the marketplace—just like craft beer will soon overtake mass market beer,” said Fine. He absolutely believes that craft cannabis can be the dominant choice for consumers over time. “Think Organic and Fair Trade. As a regenerative hemp polyculture farmer myself, I want to know who my farmer is, whether it’s for tomatoes, hemp or ganja. And where I live in New Mexico, our hemp and cannabis farmers do provide their harvests at farmer’s markets.”
The state of New Mexico learned from places like California to give farmers direct access to consumers. This will help the land of enchantment put more craft cannabis on dispensary shelves (or farmers markets) and contribute to a more sustainable industry.
On the other end of the supply chain, another company putting serious resources into becoming more sustainable is Pax. Pax is one of the world's largest manufacturers of vape pen hardware and accessories. Their sales are in the millions of units so they’re able to scale their green initiatives. Once a big ship like Pax can get pointing in the right direction with sustainability, a lot can be done.
Scott Collins, senior director of product and design, focused on two areas he’s pushing sustainability forward. “At PAX, our ethos is ‘durability over disposability,’ and we’re integrating sustainability into our design philosophy to create long-lasting products,” said Collins. “Our cutting-edge heating technology in all devices prolongs the life of cannabis products, bettering consumer experience and reducing material demand, thereby supporting industry sustainability.” Some of these measures include eliminating virgin plastics from all products and improving packaging materials.
Collins was also clear that public policy has to play a role in greening the industry. “Crucial to our strategy is the push for regulatory reforms to reduce unnecessary packaging, aligning our practices with those of established industries to decrease packaging waste,” he said. For those consumers (like myself) who struggle to open “child resistant” and other cannabis packaging, reducing some of that would work wonders for our fingers and our planet.
Why Sustainability Alludes the Cannabis Industry
The planet depends on all industries green up. The cannabis industry has work to do to acheive ... [+]HERITAGE IMAGES VIA GETTY IMAGES
For all of this to work at scale, consumers have to demand sustainability. Consumer education is critical for the greening of the cannabis industry. Farmers like Fine are doing that with the power of storytelling.
“In my own work, I emphasize making consistent sustainability decisions in as many facets of life as possible,” said Fine. “My new film American Hemp Farmer follows three digital-age farming families for a year as they attempt to grow a healthy crop and business while fighting climate change. All three families are dedicated to sustainable values. I decided to make this film, by the way, after a wildfire nearly turned my family (and goats) into refugees.”
As America tries to survive another hot summer of wildfires and hurricanes, the urgency to green up all industries will get stronger. Against this dystopian backdrop, the cannabis industry works to get federally legal and sustainable at the same time. Not an easy task and yet, the planet cannot afford to give birth to another unsustainable billion-dollar industry. If elected officials, regulators, and the cannabis industry do not get it together, that’s exactly what the industry will become.
The future of cannabis is in low cost green outdoor crops and not bloated large corporations.
What does Simon says about cannabis grows. Is it good or bad?
If you’ve never sparked one, how do you know if it’s any good?
Say what?
You only care about share prices?
Figured!!!
I cannot speak to the calibre of their cannabis as I have never tried it.
I am aware of the negative impacts of alcohol on both the body and the spirit. I understand alcohol is to blame for many negative things. I believe people are drinking less and will continue to drink less overtime. But I also believe that there will still be a large alcohol market by the time cannabis becomes legal in the United States, and if that is the case TIL RAY Will be happy they've got the distribution already set up cannabis beverages
Thanks for sharing these Bazwar6.
We are in great hands with Irwin Simon. Like he said we are only a 5 year old company and once canibus is rescheduled in the US this will jump 1000 percent in a day. It will happen and it is exactly why I and posters like doomed are buying all the can in the range. I am just honest about my purchases while doomed likes to lie while he is loading his boat.
Oh and interesting thing this morning Doomed - my 50K are green LOL. Keep on counting how many pennies I am down or up because this train has not even started its engines.
Tilray one day will be a 300 plus dollar stock. It's only a matter of time...
Down 2 cents.
Home / Legal
Is hemp the enemy of Florida’s adult-use marijuana initiative?
author profile pictureBy Chris Roberts, Reporter
August 1, 2024
Florida hemp businesses are lining up to oppose an adult-use marijuana legalization initiative that will appear on the state’s November ballot, according to campaign finance forms and MJBizDaily interviews.
They’re aggrieved by what they say is a monopoly play for a future adult-use market deliberately engineered by marijuana multistate operators.
And with more than 10,000 hemp businesses registered in the state – compared with a few dozen large marijuana companies – hemp operators opposed to Amendment 3 believe they have enough money and votes to defeat the recreational marijuana measure largely funded by Tallahassee-based MSO Trulieve Cannabis.
In response, advocates for regulated marijuana operators say the hemp firms are being used as pawns in a game played by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who will move to squash intoxicating hemp products as soon as the adult-use measure is beaten back.
Marijuana opposition
Amendment 3, which would grant first-mover status to licensed medical marijuana operators in Florida, a potentially multibillion-dollar adult-use market, is already the most expensive adult-use legalization campaign in U.S. history, with $61.6 million and counting contributed toward the effort to date, according to the most recent disclosure records.
The vast majority of that – nearly $55 million – comes from Tallahassee-based Trulieve Cannabis; the next-biggest donor, Curaleaf Holdings, has contributed $2 million.
A spokesperson for the Smart & Safe Florida campaign did not respond to several MJBizDaily requests for comment.
Patrick O’Brien, principal of Apopka, Florida-based hemp company Chronic Guru, last month donated $100,000 to the Florida Freedom Fund, a DeSantis-controlled political action committee formed to defeat both Amendment 3 as well as an abortion-rights measure.
O’Brien, who also runs cannabis trade school Sativa University and the organization SaveFLHemp.org, did not return MJBizDaily‘s call seeking comment.
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Hemp versus marijuana, again
Florida hemp companies have pledged to raise an additional $5 million to defeat Amendment 3, which DeSantis railed against during a speech at the recent Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
That money will be donated to the Florida’s Republican Party.
Exactly how much hemp companies have contributed is unknown: State records do not include donations made in the past month; those will be reflected after the next reporting deadline.
The hemp companies’ pledge followed DeSantis’ surprise June veto of a proposed law that would have strictly regulated hemp products in the state.
The sequence of events raised suspicions of a quid pro quo arrangement in which hemp operators would oppose Amendment 3 – which DeSantis also opposes – as political payback for his veto.
Both the hemp companies and the DeSantis administration have denied the existence of any such deal.
Instead, as several operators told MJBizDaily, the opposition is merely the natural response to an existential threat.
It was regulated marijuana companies, after all, that advocated loudly for the hemp restrictions.
And it’s regulated marijuana companies that would benefit most if competition from hemp were outlawed.
Money and votes
State law requires 60% of voters to support a ballot initiative, a uniquely high threshold that would have defeated legalization in states such as Ohio, which voted last fall to legalize adult-use marijuana.
If hemp retailers motivate their customers and employees to vote against Amendment 3, that could tip the scales, hemp operators argue.
And that’s what they plan to do.
“Everyone is focusing on the money,” Ernie Ciaccio, owner of Honest PP&D, an Orlando-based hemp manufacturer, told MJBizDaily.
“Nobody is focusing on the 100,000 employees, the boots on the ground educating clients at the stores.”
Ciaccio pointed to the more than 10,000 businesses registered with the state of Florida to sell hemp products, according to St. Petersburg-based Spectrum Bay News 9.
By contrast, only 25 companies in the state are licensed as vertically integrated medical marijuana treatment centers (MMTC), which allow holders to operate an unlimited number of dispensaries.
Limited licenses
State regulators were required by law to have issued almost two-dozen additional permits by now, but they have yet to do so – and have not indicated when they might.
In contrast to marijuana legalization proposals in other states, Amendment 3 does not require the Florida Legislature to issue any more new licenses.
It also does not legalize home cultivation of cannabis, nor are there any social equity programs or provisions to allow small businesses to enter the marijuana industry.
“This isn’t really a battle of (marijuana) and hemp, per se,” Ciaccio added.
“The battle is really small business against a couple of giants who have been trying to put us out of business for many years.”
Negative impressions
Hemp companies opposing marijuana legalization is a bad look, said David Culver, senior vice president of public affairs at the U.S. Cannabis Council, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying for regulated marijuana companies, including several of the MSOs active in Florida.
DeSantis’ surprise veto of proposed restrictions on hemp products is deluding hemp operators into thinking the governor is an ally, marijuana industry critics argue.
“The optics certainly are not good,” Culver said in a statement emailed to MJBizDaily.
“Gov. DeSantis is raising millions from makers of unregulated intoxicating hemp products in an effort to block Florida’s Amendment 3, which would implement a carefully regulated adult-use cannabis program.
“If Gov. DeSantis has his way, adults will have easy access to unregulated, potentially dangerous intoxicating hemp products, but they will continue to have to jump through numerous hoops in order to buy safe, legal cannabis.”
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Room for everyone
Smaller-scale legalization advocates such as Christopher Cano, an Air Force veteran and the co-founder of Tampa-based Suncoast NORML, also are siding with Amendment 3.
“For all the shortcomings, the amendment does one thing: It ends marijuana arrests in Florida,” he said, noting the 66,000 charges prosecutors filed last year for possession of small amounts of the drug.
Whatever happens with Amendment 3, Cano said, the logical future is one where laws allow hemp and marijuana companies to coexist.
“We believe there’s space for both a regulated hemp industry and a robust adult-use and medical marijuana industry in the state of Florida,” he said.
“We believe competition is the best thing for all, and that’s the problem: There really is no competition in Florida.”
Competition or collaboration?
For the state’s hemp operators, competition is at the heart of the matter.
State medical marijuana law allows few players into the regulated market.
Amendment 3 does nothing to change that imbalance, instead enshrining it for adult use and rewarding those who managed to enter during the medical marijuana era.
“For us, it would be great to have equal footing (with medical marijuana) and let the consumer choose,” said Arby Barroso, a Fort Lauderdale-based partner at Arvida Labs, a Florida hemp product manufacturer.
Arvida plans to organize about $250,000 in contributions toward defeating Amendment 3, Barroso said.
“We love the plant,” he added. “This has nothing to do with the plant.
“How can we support an amendment that gives no freedom to thousands of small businesses?”
That tells me Simon knows what he is doing… not!
As long as nsrrr5 cops shares every Wednesday , we are golden.
Tilray is going all in alcool. Smart move!
They are desperate for cash. Bunk weed has no traction and they turn to alcool. Alcool IS a cancer agent. Google it!
They going crazy not knowing what to do after 6 years running a government approved cannabis venture. Suits don’t know cannabis. They know how to sell cannabis shares to equally canna naive suckers. nnsssr5 is scarfing them up like there is no tomorrow but, leaving good cash behind.
You are down a cent and a half…
Mtl is killing it. Tilray is not.
RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA NEWS MARIJUANA BUSINESS NEWS CANNABIS JOBS
MTL Cannabis Reports Record 2024 Financial Results with $83.1M Revenue
Doomed
Posted July 31, 2024
ImageMTL Cannabis Reports Record 2024 Financial Results with $83.1M Revenue
MTL Cannabis Reports Record $83,1M Revenue for 2024, Marking a 165,7% Increase.
MTL Cannabis reported a revenue of $83.1M for the full year 2024, a 165.7% increase from the previous year, making the company about 25% of the size of Aurora Cannabis.
The company has positive net income and achieved a $13.2M Adjusted EBITDA, a 122.2% rise from the prior year.
The company has a higher one-year cash flow and adjusted EBITDA than its market cap!
MTL Cannabis Corp.(CSE:MTLC) has announced its Q4 and full-year 2024 financial results with revenue of $83.1M, up 165.7% from the previous year. Those are very large revenue numbers for a company that most people might not be familiar with. As a comparison, the company’s revenue would be about 25% of that of its Canadian competitor, Aurora Cannabis, which is widely known.
Before we continue with their earnings, let’s take a detour to share some company background. The company is based in Montreal, Canada, and is focused on sustainable and advanced cultivation practices. It is also still focused on Canada’s medical market, which allows insurance reimbursement of medical cannabis. The company’s history is also linked to Canada House Cannabis, which it merged with last year. The company also has an international expansion plan with established exports already to established in Germany, Australia, Poland, Portugal, and the United Kingdom.
The company’s gross margin significantly improved from cost-cutting to reach 45.6%, an increase of 9.9% from the previous year. This gross margin level aligns it with other smaller US MSOs. Operating income surged by 486.7% to $4.6M, a dramatic turnaround from a loss of $1.2M in the prior year. Net and comprehensive income were $2.4M, marking a substantial recovery from a loss of $2.2M the previous year. The company is one of the cannabis companies that are fully profitable after all taxes and costs are paid.
The company’s adjusted EBITDA reached $13.2M, up 122.2% from the prior year. This growth reflects enhanced operational efficiencies and the company’s ability to scale its business effectively. The company also reported positive cash flows from operations, with net cash inflows of $13.8M, a significant improvement compared to a net outflow of $0.7M the previous year.
This is where the story takes a twist. Although the current market capitalization is only $9.14M, the one-year cash flow and adjusted EBITDA are higher than its market capitalization! It is rare to find a company trading at its one-year cash flow! Like many Cannabis companies, the chart below shows how the stock has been affected over time.
What is management doing with this positive cash flow? Management is reinvesting the cash flow into the business to produce future earnings. Investment activities saw a net cash outflow of $2.2M, primarily reflecting the capital expenditure on facility upgrades and expansion projects. Key business reinvestments included the completion of retrofits at MTL’s facilities in Montréal, Louiseville, and Pickering. These upgrades have expanded the company’s consolidated cultivation capacity by 6,500 kg annually, bringing the total estimated cultivation capacity to 19,500 kg annually.
Consumers are also becoming big fans; the MTL cannabis brand received significant recognition within the Canadian recreational cannabis market, winning Brand of the Year at the 2024 Grow Up Conference. Additionally, Canadian budtenders named it the #1 recommended brand in a survey conducted by the Brightfield Group and O2O.
Far away from Tilray’s many recalls…
This earnings report shows a company that is not well known yet has been quietly producing tremendous results. At these valuations, a deeper analysis is warranted
You are down one cent
Home / Cultivation
Sustainable cannabis cultivation methods boost efficiency and the bottom line
Doomed
July 31, 2024
For decades, we cannabis cultivators honed our craft in secret, often in small spaces that were designed primarily to operate optimized for energy efficiency or sustainability.
As states transitioned to regulated markets, those legacy practices persisted.o
Newly licensed growers outfitted facilities with less expensive lighting and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems to get up and running quickly.
Those lower upfront expenses often came with longer-term costs to financial and environmental sustainability. I
But with increased state regulation and growers no longer feeling compelled to grow in secret, the clandestine approach to marijuana cultivation facility design and operations has receded, Brian Anderson, a partner at Massachusetts-based cannabis industry design and architecture firm Anderson Porter Design, said in an interview with MJBizMagazine.
“This very close-to-the-vest, special-sauce attitude that has existed for decades now is shining the light of day on, say, what are the engineering techniques, what are the engineering principles by which we keep plants happy?” Anderson said.
“Then, how do we do it sustainably?”
Cannabis cultivation energy use
Indeed, applied science and the grow environment are now just as important to cannabis cultivation as plant genetics, Anderson said.
It’s no secret, however, that indoor grows rely on a massive amount of energy: Each kilogram of final cannabis product contributes 4,600 kilograms (10,141.3 pounds) of carbon dioxide emissions.
That’s far higher than emissions for most agricultural and food products, ranking among beef products such as hamburger and steak, according to research published in 2021 in Nature Sustainability.
One pound of cannabis grown indoors produces more carbon emissions than a flight between Tokyo and San Francisco, the study noted.
While the environmental imperative for energy efficiency and sustainability in facility design is clear, the economic benefits and necessities driving these design changes often are overlooked.
Concurrently, some states have enacted stringent – and sometimes expensive – environmental regulations, such as the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
On the bright side, many energy-efficiency requirements come with rebates, although accessing them often requires a lot of administrative work.
Modernizing indoor cannabis cultivation
There are three categories of common upgrades that improve efficiency in cannabis cultivation facilities, but they all are linked and affect one another, according to Anderson.
It’s well-established that light-emitting diode (LED) lights are far more efficient but more expensive than high-pressure sodium (HPS) lights, which historically have been preferred by many growers, particularly for the flowering stage.
LEDs convert electrons to photons, using roughly 90% less energy than incandescent bulbs and about 50% less than compact fluorescent bulbs.
That’s a significant savings, with lighting accounting for 38%-75% of the total energy used in indoor cannabis cultivation, according to a 2021 report by electric utility company Southern California Edison.
For example, Michigan-based cannabis technology company Agrify Corp. says its lights deliver up to 60% more photosynthetic photon flux density (or light intensity) to plants than HPS lights.
Another critical difference: HPS lights produce much more heat than LED lights.
That means that HPS require more work – and more cost – from HVAC systems than LED lights.
Cool control
Depending on the grow, the mechanical system (or HVAC/HVAC-D system) might require tweaking or a full replacement.
For cooling, Southern California Edison recommends chilled-water systems over direct expansion, air conditioning systems.
Chilled-water systems cool the air and return heat from the building using water, while air conditioners use large amounts of refrigerant chemicals, Anderson explained.
Chilled-water systems also offer lower operating costs and more flexible air-handling capabilities.
For smaller to midsize grows seeking better energy efficiency, mini-split systems, which are also ductless, are good choices.
Edison recommends having a dedicated dehumidification system that’s separate from air conditioning.
Having dehumidification and air conditioning independent of each other is more energy efficient.
Plus, if one fails, the other will continue functioning. The architecture of an indoor grow will also impact energy efficiency, according to Anderson.
Vertical grows are less of a burden on HVAC systems.
But they also can benefit from energy-efficient upgrades, such as reducing or eliminating any wood in the structure, which can house mold and require more dehumidifying.
Insulation
Also, many first-generation marijuana facilities lack ceilings, leaving the grow exposed to a steel truss in the roof that’s vulnerable to the elements outside.
When temperatures change, the steel conducts the heat and cold and can create problematic moisture and even dripping on the plants indoors.
But there are solutions, Anderson said.
“You either want to insulate the outside of your building, which is expensive, or you want to insulate the truss itself, which is difficult and fussy,” he said.
“Or you want to separate your plant entirely with a ceiling in the room.”
The costs of these renovations can vary widely depending on the size and scale of the grow, but LED and HVAC typically will compromise approximately half of the total cost of building a new facility.
“The heaviest, biggest, most costly things that you can spend on, they’re the most important to plant health: lights and air quality, air movement and cooling, heating through that space,” Anderson said.
Demands for regulatory compliance
The CEQA, in effect since 2019, offers an interesting case study in cannabis industry energy-efficiency policy.
One challenge is that local jurisdictions have been slow to write-in their respective regulations, according to Chelsea Haskins, a member of the National Cannabis Industry Association’s Cannabis Cultivation Committee and the director of state and local licensing at MWG Holdings, which owns and operates California cannabis company Perfect Union.
The cost of complying with the CEQA likely is driving many operators away from the legal market, and they aren’t renewing their licenses, Haskins said.
The administrative and reporting work alone can cost $30,000 because specialized work such as biological surveys and cultural reports, which examine whether the site contains archeologically significant remains, are required.
Complying with CEQA rules can be especially hard on legacy operators, said Haskins, who is working to help educate the market on best practices for water use, energy consumption and other issues.
Most Canadian large producers have mold issues for growing at scale.
When mold sets in, the entire production is destroyed.
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Carbon credits
Since 2022, as part of California’s license-renewal process, cultivators also have been required to report their own average weighted Greenhouse Gas Emissions Intensity to the state’s Department of Cannabis Control, as well as the energy suppliers for the license period.
If the cultivator’s number is higher, they’re asked to buy carbon credits, which motivates many growers to conserve energy.
That’s why a growing number of cultivators are using mixed-light greenhouses, where the sun and artificial light can be used in tandem.
Breathable blackout curtains prevent light pollution, keep air flowing through the grow and don’t block ventilation.
Some blackout curtains also have a thermal layer that can be used to regulate the temperature inside the greenhouse.
Tech controls
Environmental sensors also can make cannabis grows more efficient.
Growlink’s Environmental Sensor Module, for example, tracks temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide and light sensors to fine tune growing conditions.
But implementing these technologies and complying with the CEQA are expensive endeavors, and the process likely is driving many cultivators away from the regulated market, according to Haskins.
She recommends reaching out to energy suppliers to discuss how to access rebates.
In the long term, Haskins said she hopes that, with enough support, cultivators will be able to both adhere to the environmental regulations and thrive.
“It’s my opinion that if we educate about environmental regulation, what’s going to be required, then cultivators can make a road map for how to plan out their license application and opening their business,” she said.
“Then we’re going to start to see a better cultivation market in California.”
Don't let this guy steal your shares - we are all smart enough to know he is buying all he can down here.
Now back to my vacation...
Home / Legal
DEA still has doubts about marijuana rescheduling, GOP lawmakers claim
author profile pictureBy Chris Roberts, Reporter
July 30, 2024
Two leading congressional Republicans wrote a letter to Biden administration officials expressing concern with the marijuana rescheduling process’ “unusual” circumstances and suggesting that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has similar doubts.
The recategorizing of marijuana from a Schedule 1 drug to Schedule 3 left “several unanswered questions and policy gaps,” wrote Washington state Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Kentucky Republican Rep. Brett Guthrie, who chairs the Subcommittee on Health.
“We support research into innovative therapies to improve patient outcomes, but we are concerned with how the normal process was circumvented to achieve a result for political purposes and we have a number of unanswered questions,” the letter, addressed to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Health Secretary Xavier Becerra, reads in part.
New rescheduling standard questioned
Among the departures from “normal” policy, the lawmakers wrote last week, was Becerra’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ditching a standard used by the DEA to establish “currently accepted medical use” in favor of “its own two-part test.”
That’s the new criteria the HHS used when it informed the DEA in August 2023 that marijuana does have a medical use in the United States and should be moved to Schedule 3 of the Controlled Substances Act.
The DEA in April presented a change to federal law regarding marijuana along with a detailed legal justification.
A public comment period on the proposed change ended last week with a record amount of public input.
Nearly all of it was positive.
The Department of Justice will analyze those public comments before publishing a final rule.
DEA still doubting marijuana rescheduling?
But, as the lawmakers pointed out, “It is notable that the proposed rule states, ‘DEA has not yet made a determination as to its views of the appropriate schedule for marijuana,’ seeming to indicate that the DEA is not yet convinced of the merits of this review.”
The letter also adds that a New Drug Application has not been filed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration “for a drug product containing botanical marijuana to treat any medical condition(s).”
As MJBizDaily first reported last summer, the HHS analyzed data submitted by states with medical marijuana programs – including conditions that cannabis was used to treat patients in state-regulated markets along with outcomes – to arrive at its determination.
The letter from the two Republicans went on to express concern that rescheduling could be used as a cover for criminal organizations to cultivate and traffic cannabis and also repeated fears about marijuana’s increased potency.
Unanswered questions
The letter ended with several questions for Garland and Becerra, including:
When was the last time a president requested “an expedited review of a Schedule I substance through a public statement?”
What are other examples of using the new two-factor analysis, and why wasn’t it used when evaluating other drugs recently?
Why do other Schedule 1 drugs such as heroin still receive a “more rigorous analysis” than marijuana?
Would the DOJ “ … enforce federal law” to make sure cannabis was “legally dispensed pursuant to a valid prescription?”
How many “resources … from HHS and DOJ (were) dedicated to this rulemaking process?”
The letter is the latest example of Republican skepticism or opposition to marijuana rescheduling.
One of the public comments submitted to the DEA was a letter from Republican state attorneys general opposing the move.
And House Republicans tucked language that would block rescheduling into a spending bill, though such a caveat is unlikely to become law.
Tilray sells expensive hard on throath Gamma irradiate bunk weed to naive suckers.
But you would not know that…
They are doomed as stoners avoid its bad taste.
Tilray is into alcool when alcool consomption is down… cancer agent. Good ☎️ call!
It’s really easy to make good money with cannabis.
BC Bud is killing it.
Tilray Gamma Irradiated bunk weed is not but.🥅 Suits and weed… you know…
I am killing it and you are not!
Why Tilray Stock Jumped Today
By Chris Neiger – Jul 30, 2024 at 4:31PM
The cannabis company delivered better-than-expected results on the top and bottom lines.
Shares of the cannabis company Tilray Brands (TLRY 9.84%) climbed higher Tuesday after it reported fourth-quarter results that beat analysts' consensus estimates on the top and bottom lines.
The company's shares jumped by as much as 17.5% early today and were up by 10.1% as of 3:53 p.m.
Rising earnings and revenue
Tilray generated $229.9 million in sales in the fourth quarter, up 25% from the year-ago quarter and ahead of Wall Street's consensus estimate of $227 million.
Revenue was driven higher mostly by the company's alcoholic beverage segment, thanks to new products and contributions from its craft beer acquisitions last year. Sales from this segment spiked 137% to $76.7 million, surpassing Tilray's cannabis revenue of $71.9 million.
Tilray acquired eight beer brands from Anheuser-Busch last year, making it the fifth largest craft brewer in the U.S.
Fourth-quarter earnings were also impressive. Adjusted earnings per share of $0.04 blew past analysts' consensus estimate of a loss of $0.02.
CEO Irwin Simon said on the company's earnings call, "Over the past fiscal year, our strategic acquisitions have significantly benefited our financial results, which we expect will continue to benefit us well into the future."
Growing financial strength
Management highlighted some of company's increasing financial strengths, including reducing its net convertible debt by $300 million and its adjusted gross profit of $235.6 million in fiscal 2024.
The company finished fiscal 2024 with a net loss of $224.4 million, which is a significant improvement over its loss of $1.4 billion in 2023.
That improvement likely also spurred investor optimism, along with the company's 2025 revenue outlook. Management estimates full-year sales between $950 million and $1 billion, which would represent a nearly 24% increase at the midpoint.
With the company's better-than-expected fourth-quarter results and its craft beer acquisition already paying off, it's no surprise to see investor optimism about Tilray's future.
https://www.fool.com/investing/2024/07/30/why-tilray-stock-jumped-higher-today/
Why when I post YouTube links they don't appear?
MARIJUANA POLITICS
Germany’s Domestic Cannabis Cultivation Market Poised for Significant Growth as 3 New Licences Issued
Posted July 30, 2024 on Business of Cannabis
ImageGermany’s Domestic Cannabis Cultivation Market Poised for Significant Growth as 3 New Licences Issued
Germany Expands Domestic Cannabis Cultivation with New Licenses.
Germany’s Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) has now issued the first three new licences for domestic cannabis cultivation, expected to see the amount of product grown in the country at least double this year.
Following the passage of CanG on April 01, Germany has made significant amendments to its Medical Cannabis Act, which has been in place since 2017.
This has lifted the severely restrictive cap on those licenced to grow cannabis in the country, done away with the tender process to receive a licence, and will soon see BfArM relinquish its obligations to sell medical cannabis, instead allowing the companies to sell it to local distributors themselves.
Prohibition Partners’ Senior Analyst Alex Khourdaji told Business of Cannabis: “It is expected that we will witness more companies receiving cultivation permits in Germany which in turn will drive a competitive domestic cultivation market and potentially a new international export contender.
“Although it is unclear if domestic producers will be able to compete against cheap imports, patients will certainly benefit from a greater selection of domestically produced products.”
What happened?
Last week, Business of Cannabis reported that US cannabis giant Tilray had received one of the first licences in half a decade to cultivate cannabis in Germany.
These updated licences were also issued to Canada’s Aurora and Germany’s Demecan, all three of which were the initial winners of the tender to cultivate limited amounts of cannabis in 2019.
These licences covered a strict production quota, 10,400 kg over four years, equating to 2,600 kg annually.
Under the original tender, the selected companies sold their products at a fixed average price of roughly €2.20 per gram to the BfArM’s Cannabis Agency, which is sold to pharmacies at a fixed price of €5.80 per gram.
In Q3 2023, domestically produced medical cannabis volumes were approximately set at 650 kilograms, whereas sales in pharmacies reached 4,895 kg; a sevenfold difference between domestic supply and demand needed to cover patients.
The restrictions on domestic production have left a market in need of imports to meet patient demand, however, the amount of medical cannabis imports that enter Germany is almost double the amount (Q3 2023 – 8,355 kg) of what is actually sold in German pharmacies (4,895 kg).
While the German medical cannabis market is still overwhemingly dominated by imports from other countries, the Federal Council called for the removal of these limits ‘in order to appropriately curb the sharp rise in imports of medicinal cannabis in favour of domestic production of the appropriate quality.’
The German government itself expects this will see 100 medical cannabis cultivation facilities set up in the country. These will be small in size and will be better suited for BC Bud quality cannabis growing.
Germans came to Canada to investigate the medical cannabis market and found that most of it was destroyed due to mold issues. They visited Canopy Growth and Tilray and were not impressed.
The Canadian cannabis market was set up with huge facilities growing vast amount of cannabis.
That creates mold issues and crops have to be destroyed.
Furthermore, growing canna in cold climate is not cheap, adding to the cost and making Equatorial/poor countries king of the hills. And these poor countries are growing fire.
Aurora Europe GmbH
Aurora’s European subsidiary announced last week that it had been granted two licences by BfArM under the newly revised Medical Cannabis Act.
One such licence enables the company to continue its domestic cultivation at its large-scale, GMP-certified cultivation facility in Leuna, Saxony-Anhalt.
This facility has been cultivating roughly 1000kg of medical cannabis a year since 2021 as part of its initial tender agreement with BfArM. Most was destroyed
Now that it has its new licence, Aurora says it plans to cultivate ‘an approved additional product, and plans to expand (its) offering to the rapidly growing German patient base’.
Despite this, Aurora told Zeit Online that while it could now ‘grow significantly more’, it does not plan to increase production at its 3600-square-meter facility in Leuna ‘for the time being’.
Sales are slow.
Instead, the company plans to test new products before gradually expanding production.
Aurora was also granted a new dedicated R&D licence allowing for the trial of up to seven additional novel cultivars at the same facility.
Last month, Aurora said that its medical cannabis revenues for the year to March 31, 2024, rose by 20% to C$45.6m, due largely to increasing sales in Europe, suggesting it is likely to pursue further expansion in the region.
However, this came around a year after it sold its operations in Denmark in order to move production to Canada in an effort to lower costs, but noted that this was ‘not a reflection of its European operations’.
Miguel Martin, Aurora’s CEO, highlighted last month that international expansion was key to Aurora’s future growth.
Demecan
At the same time, Germany’s Demecan announced that it had also received an expanded cultivation permit.
With the strict limits on which strains can be cultivated now greatly expanded, Demecan says it plans to ‘cultivate several different phenotypes’ for the German market.
It added that, with its new permit, it can now ‘double its production capacity and fully utilise existing production capabilities’ and achieve an annual yield of around two tonnes.
Dr. Adrian Fischer, doctor and managing director responsible for cultivation, commented: “This approval is a huge step forward for Demecan and the entire industry. We are proud to be the first German company to take this step and look forward to making our high-quality cannabis varieties available soon. Our goal is to further increase production and thus improve the security of supply, because unfortunately there are currently many bottlenecks in patient care.”
Alongside the announcement, Demecan says it has seen ‘strong sales growth since April’, due to the ‘sharp increase in demand’ for medical cannabis.
Tilray
Elsewhere, Tilray’s European subsidiary, Aphria RX GmbH, which it acquired in 2021, confirmed that it has also received a new domestic cultivation licence.
Aphria RX’s initial licence was already the most comprehensive, allowing it to cultivate all three strains of medical cannabis approved by BfArM.
Now, with the issuing of its new licence, Aphria RX will be able to cultivate 31 approved strains and is expecting to increase its production by 5x.
Tilray’s Chief Strategy Officer and Head of International, Denise Faltischek, commented: “We are thrilled to receive this licence as it will provide greater access to some of the highest quality medical cannabis produced in Germany and enable us to expand the range of treatment options available to patients.
“We appreciate the trust that the German Government has placed in Tilray, and we are proud of our team for their groundbreaking work in medical cannabis cultivation and patient care.”
LOLOLOLOL...you've SAID NEVER BELOW $2 MANY TIMES.
MAMALUKE!!!
TLRY...$2.13s clearing here...off the $1.76 range alert...🥳
georgie18
Member Level
Re: georgie18 post# 646090
Monday, July 29, 2024 4:39:35 PM
Post#
651706
of 651777
TLRY...$2.04 on earnings...🥳
georgie18
Member Level
Re: None
Wednesday, June 05, 2024 11:22:15 AM
Post#
381197
of 382177
TLRY...$1.76...Nearing a Bottom here...Watch for Reversal to the Upside...🥳
We are wing surfing in Turkey until friday.
You are a huge bag holder!
Nobody reads these silly posts…
Adding some colourful display makes buying Tilray’s shares more colourful in me opinion.
Good Morning Doomed - I think this one is my favorite copy and paste job as you made sure to highlight it in all RED lol. I don't think it worked. And what do you know, there is a lot of Great Things out this morning you can copy and paste and repost here that is just the opposite of your normal gibberish.
At 2.05 I will be Green and in short order this will never trade BELOW 2.05 again - as I have told you many times, this is a game you will lose.
Have a great day - on vacation here with a round golf this morning and beach this afternoon.... Life is good!
Why SOO RED??? It's hard to read
All is well...Thank you...took some time off from trading...🥳
Up 80k after hours was going to sell the 100k but might see 3$ soon I like to make 20k with a good call in a day but I am learning patience and staying to my game.
Yes, I had 300,000 bought another 100k today maybe it will see 7$ in November, I also got Vrnof on election ballot in Florida looks like going to pass in Florida. If Harris and Biden change schedule to 3 before election these are a home run. They are having to show profit in an all cash business. Institutions can’t buy until schedule changes or we see 5 bucks. I am in it before the rest just going to sit here til November and make some money
What’s up Georgie
How you been ?
Very long time since I’ve seen you around
Yes they do
I take it your in this too ?
Between now and elections I think this is going to do very well
Drug ford is a better dealer underground. Taxes and tracking inventory are not his strong suit. Vote better get better
TLRY...$2.04 on earnings...🥳
georgie18
Member Level
Re: None
Wednesday, June 05, 2024 11:22:15 AM
Post#
381197
of 382177
TLRY...$1.76...Nearing a Bottom here...Watch for Reversal to the Upside...🥳
They have a lot of wave to make money
Tilray Brands Reports Record Financial Results, Achieves 26% Net Revenue Growth - not so doomed after all.
A very good possibility my 50K shares wake up in the morning GREEN!!!
And this is only the start of things!!!!
Canadian government finally come to their senses… and downgrade.
Folks don’t like Tilray’s offerings. Suits simply cannot cut it…🎯
CANNABIS JOBS
Changes coming to Canada’s largest Cannabis market
Posted July 29, 2024 on Strat Cann
ImageChanges coming to Canada’s largest Cannabis market
Ontario Cannabis Store Plans Major Reduction in Product Offerings to Streamline Supply Chain.
The Ontario Cannabis Store is planning to begin reducing the number of products it carries in its warehouse by several thousand in the coming year and a half as it moves to create a more efficient supply chain amid a glut of product.
The move, which will begin this September, comes as several other provincial distributors have made similar moves to handle a growing number of products, limited storage space at central distribution warehouses, and slowing market growth as demand seems to be reaching a saturation point.
While growth in the Canadian cannabis industry was exponential following legalization in late 2018, that growth has slowed considerably in recent years, matched by a slowing or even contraction in the retail and production space due to poor quality products and way too many recalls.
To address this, provincial distributors like the OCS, LDB, AGLC, and the MBLL, have been paring down their offerings and shortening the time they give products to grab consumer interest. But there was no interest so far.
One way Ontario has been seeking to address the large array of products (currently 5,000 SKUs) and limited warehouse space is through its flow-through program, which creates an on-demand list of products that can be ordered through the OCS without being permanently stored in its distribution centre.
Introduced in 2021, the flow-through program has continued to expand and evolve over time. The newest announcement will introduce changes like a multi-tier delivery platform that will try to reduce the program’s end-to-end lead times, a common complaint from producers and retailers, as well as additional tools.
In addition to these changes, the OCS is also increasing from four product calls a year to five while reducing the time needed to launch a product into the market and creating a single, harmonized submission process.
In late August, the OCS will also introduce more detailed wholesale metrics through its Supplier Data Program, ideally giving producers a chance to improve product availability. The provincial agency will provide more information to the industry on these proposed changes in the coming weeks and months.
Most Republican including nsr5f don’t want no cannabis.
I don’t care. I grow my own.
MARIJUANA POLITICS MARIJUANA BUSINESS NEWS
Cannabis Rescheduling Challenged by Lawmakers as Future of Project Looks Likely to Depend on Election Outcome
Posted July 29, 2024 on Business of Cannabis
ImageCannabis Rescheduling Challenged by Lawmakers as Future of Project Looks Likely to Depend on Election Outcome
Two Republican lawmakers are questioning the Biden administration’s proposed rescheduling of cannabis, citing concerns over the process.
House Energy & Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Subcommittee on Health Chair Brett Guthrie have sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra.
The lawmakers argued that the review process leading to the recommendation to reschedule cannabis is unusual and lacks transparency, suggesting that the process may have been politically motivated.
According to Marijuana Moment, the pair pointed out that previous cannabis scheduling reviews involved rigorous analyses of medical value and abuse potential, typically using a five-factor analysis. They questioned why HHS used a two-factor analysis this time, suggesting it is an unusual deviation from standard procedures.
They also noted that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) indicated more information was needed before accepting the rescheduling determination.
Alongside concerns regarding the gaps and conflicts in federal-state policy, the lawmakers also highlighted opposition from former DEA administrators and federal prosecutors, who argue that reduced penalties could hinder law enforcement.
It comes as the Biden administration’s rescheduling project moves into its next phase after the deadline for public comments passed last week, seeing the DEA recieve more than 40,000 submissions, over 90% of which were in favour of the move.
During the International Cannabis Bar Association conference in Chicago last week, legal experts and industry insiders discussed the potential outcomes, challenges and prospective timeline of rescheduling, Green Market Report reported.
No consensus was reached on the timeframe in which rescheduling could take place, with some members suggesting the ‘final rule’ could be announced as early as August, while others remained skeptical of this expedited timeline, citing the slow pace of regulatory processes in Washington.
With the Presidential election looming, the conversation soon turned to how each candidate’s administration would handle the project, with the group agreeing that a Kamala Harris White House would likely take a ‘more aggressive’ approach to enforcement than that of the current administration.
A Trump administration, on the other hand, could derail the project altogether if the process is not completed by January, 2025, the group suggested.
Americans want to have cannabis decriminalized and not just legalized…
So they will have a choice without repercussions.
With decriminalization folks can buy from whomever they want.
And we all know folks don’t like tilray’s moldy smelling bunk.
They much prefer little Johnny’s better offerings.
Suits don’t cut it!
CANNABIS TECHNOLOGY NEWS RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA NEWS MARIJUANA POLITICS
Nearly 43,000 people commented on the DEA reclassifying Cannabis
Posted July 29, 2024 on The Guardian
ImageNearly 43,000 people commented on the DEA reclassifying Cannabis
Analysis shows 59% of commenters want the proposed rule change to go further and for marijuana to be decriminalized.
The two-month public comment period for the US Drug Enforcement Administration’s proposed rules to reschedule cannabis closed this week and the agency will now review the submissions – taking into account the American public’s views on cannabis for the first time ever.
Nearly 43,000 citizens, organizations and researchers submitted comments – the most the DEA has ever received over a proposed rule change.
The volume of responses showed how motivated Americans are to speak on this issue, said Cat Packer, director of drug markets and legal regulation at the Drug Policy Alliance.
“This is an unprecedented opportunity that folks have had to participate in public comment on the topic of federal marijuana scheduling or the legal status of marijuana at the federal level,” she said.
Commenters used the opportunity not only to share views on the policy in question, but to share their beliefs and experiences about cannabis and legalization in general. Some shared fears that rescheduling cannabis could be harmful to children, or that it is a “gateway drug”. Many commenters described positive experiences with cannabis, including as a way to treat seizures, anxiety and autism symptoms.
Preliminary analyses show most commenters felt rescheduling was not enough and wanted more significant steps toward federal legalization. The DEA’s proposed rules would reclassify cannabis from a schedule I to a schedule III substance, meaning that cannabis’s status will change from an illegal narcotic on the federal level to a medication that is eligible for FDA approval, but still federally illegal in most circumstances.
Still, Packer said rescheduling “doesn’t address the conflict between federal laws and state laws. And, significantly for the communities that we serve, rescheduling marijuana does nothing to acknowledge or address the racist origins of marijuana criminalization, or its resulting racial disparities.”
Most of the comments reflect Packer’s view. She noted that the Drug Policy Alliance used keyword searches to rapidly analyze the 43,000 comments and determine how many favored more significant steps toward legalization. They searched for keywords and phrases like “decriminalize”, “treated like alcohol” and “full legalization”. The result was that 59% of commenters wanted cannabis to be decriminalized or completely descheduled, meaning it would share its legal status with alcohol and cigarettes.
Headset, a cannabis data platform, also conducted a rapid analysis of the comments using the latest version of Open AI’s large language model, according to its CEO, Cy Scott. The AI would summarize each comment and then determine its position. The analysis yielded similar results: 57% of commenters supported descheduling cannabis, while 35% supported rescheduling and 8% wanted it to remain an illegal schedule I substance.
These numbers roughly align with Pew research showing that 57% of Americans think cannabis should be legal for medical and recreational purposes, while 32% think it should be legal for medical use only.
Scott said the AI analysis provided other insights. For example, comments from those opposed to medical cannabis tended to come in large spikes of form letters, while comments from those who supported different types of cannabis legalization seemed to flow in more organically.
Packer said that commenters might be responding, in part, to Biden’s past statements on cannabis legalization. During his 2020 campaign, he promised to “decriminalize marijuana”.
“Despite the fact that President Biden has repeatedly said that no one should be in jail for marijuana [possession], this rescheduling decision does nothing to end marijuana arrests or prevent folks from actually going to jail for marijuana,” she said.
What happens next is unclear, partly because the DEA is in uncharted territory with this process.
“In a perfect world, they’d say, since they have 60% of respondents who want marijuana to be legal, it’s legal for most people under state law already, let’s just deschedule it. But I recognize the reality that that’s not very likely,” said Aaron Smith, cofounder and CEO of the National Cannabis Industry Association.
Smith still saw rescheduling as a sign of progress, and was hopeful that it would go through by the end of the year.
Packer was less optimistic, saying: “There are lots of different ways to think that this process can be slowly delayed and not happen before the election and also could potentially not happen before the end of President Biden’s term.”
The DEA could decide to hold a public hearing on rescheduling, which would slow down the process, or there could be legal challenges to rescheduling. And even if rescheduling does go through, Packer said the federal criminalization of cannabis would continue to have a negative impact.
“This means that for the next decade or plus – because who knows how long we’ll be dealing with this policy – medical patients, adult consumers, state medical marijuana programs, the adult-use programs, the businesses that participate in these programs, the employees that are employed by those businesses, all of these folks are still in illegal activity, subject to collateral consequences and really burdened by federal criminalization,” Packer added.
Smith wondered how the DEA would process how few commenters actually supported rescheduling – if the agency actually does go through with rescheduling.
“In a way it’s not great because when you look at the total, 35% wanted it to be schedule III,” she pointed out. “So if you look at this and determine it’s going to be schedule III, only a third of people who took the time to comment are really going to be happy.”
Don’t matter … my weed is good and yours is not.
I’m not Trumpian.
You are.
Lost in space.
I don’t test my weed because its good. Tilray’s weed is irradiated for mold issues (growing at Bruce’s scale).
They need the numbers cuz they have’nt got the goods… BCBUG GOOD.
BC BUD is on fire while dude gets pennies to the dollar.
And get this!
Nsrc5 constant ripping on Tilray’s moldy bunk is the direct cause of his inability to see the obvious…
Yup! BC BUD rules!
California regulators revoke marijuana testing lab license for faking results
Chris Roberts, Reporter
July 29, 2024
California regulators canceled the license of a marijuana testing lab that allegedly faked test results and tampered with equipment so it could offer passing test results to cannabis products potentially contaminated with dangerous pesticides and mold.
Northridge-based California Cannabis Testing Labs was first discovered to have “engaged in activity that poses a threat to public health” by the state Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) in February 2022, according to documents obtained by MJBizDaily.
The July 24 notice from DCC Deputy Director Michael Cheng lists 20 alleged violations uncovered at California Cannabis Testing Labs (CCTL).
The DCC’s decision to cancel CCTL’s license was first reported by WeedWeek.
According to the letter, the DCC canceled the lab’s provisional license and denied its application for an annual license.
Alleged violations include:
“Deliberately” faking bench sheet records for pesticides and mycotoxins.
Retesting samples to produce “false and artificially inflated levels of THC.”
Manipulating lab equipment to be unable to detect solvents and pesticides identified as cancer risks by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
CCTL’s laboratory director, who was not identified in the DCC’s letter, also allegedly signed a certificate of analysis (COA) for a cannabis product that reported no detection of the pesticide chlorfenapyr.
But a test conducted later by the state “on samples collected from the same batch” found nearly 600 times the amount of chlorfenapyr allowed under state law, according to the DCC.
CCTL’s owners – listed as Roger Chivukula, Krishna Chivukula and Melissa Mabe – did not immediately return an MJBizDaily email seeking comment.
Calls to the phone number listed on the lab’s website went to a voicemail that was full.
Lab plans to fight back
Under state law, CCTL can request a hearing to contest the findings.
DCC spokesperson David Hafner told MJBizDaily that CCTL “has requested an ex parte hearing regarding the status of their license.”
The agency “plans to oppose the ex parte application and does not have any additional comment at this time,” Hafner said in an emailed statement.
CCTL’s license, which state records indicate was first issued in July 2019, was listed as canceled in a state database on Friday.
Lab-tested product later recalled
It’s not immediately clear how many products tested by CCTL were later sold to California consumers.
The letter notes three recalls in March, May and June of this year were for cannabis products the lab had passed that were later found to be tainted with the mold aspergillus.
Mandatory recalls issued July 17 for vaporizer cartridges sold beginning last fall cited “presence of the pesticide chlorfenapyr.”
While the July recall notices do not identify any involved labs, the DCC’s letter to the owners of CCTL note that “the Department initiated a commercial cannabis batch recall on July 17, 2024, due to the presence of the pesticide Chlorfenapyr which the Applicant inaccurately reported on the COA as ‘non-detected.'”
The recalls and subsequent license cancellation come at a time when the industry is facing increased concern over poor quality products, testing, including allegations of THC potency inflation and deliberate manipulation of test results across the industry.
“We’ve been saying this forever,” said Josh Swider, the co-founder and CEO of Infinite Chemical Analysis Labs, based in the San Diego area.
They all do it!
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