Tag Archives: legalization

Using Spreadsheets as Your ERP? Your Supply Chain Could Take a Hit

By Tom Brennan
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The cannabis supply chain – from seed to sale – is rife with intricacies including regulations and compliance. It requires coordination from multiple vendors responsible for different aspects of the end product. And as the industry either grows or retracts, use of data is vital to right-size supply to demand, enhance operational efficiencies and boost cost effectiveness.

However, there’s an industry-wide, data-management vulnerability among many cannabis companies, and it’s this: many are using spreadsheets in different aspects of data collection, management and analysis. This becomes a shaky foundation on which to manage processes, especially for applications like quality management. And to be fair, it’s not just this industry, but arguably cannabusinesses have more on the line in light of the ever-changing regulatory environment.

Many cannabis companies have some systems in place for order processing, inventory management, production management and the like, but they often still use spreadsheets to fill the intelligence gaps among various systems that don’t talk to one another. Managing supplier quality often falls into one those gaps.

The Problem with Spreadsheets

Most businesspeople understand spreadsheets. They know how to build and use them. Spreadsheets are incredibly powerful tools that are used to run more business processes than perhaps any other software product in the world. When a cannabis business first starts out, spreadsheets offer an affordable data management capability. But there comes a time when the business will need a more sophisticated, end-to-end enterprise solution.

Consider a recent incident in which the use of spreadsheets went terribly wrong. The British Government recently misplaced nearly 16,000 COVID-19 test results due to an Excel spreadsheet error. As a result, potentially infectious people may not have been notified by contact tracers that they should self-quarantine.

Companies can outgrow spreadsheets quickly as their business grows

In the ERP space, spreadsheets have been an issue since the 90’s, but this recent incident serves as a reminder that an overreliance on spreadsheets is still alive and kicking. One of the problems is that spreadsheets are often pushed beyond their intended use. Microsoft Excel has become the software Swiss Army Knife. There’s a development environment inside the software, and the system is often used as a database, not just as a calculation engine.

Companies outgrow spreadsheets when the volume of data fields increase, multiple users need access to the data, iron-clad audit trails are needed and when processes become more complex.

There’s also a breaking point. Cannabis companies may enter a dangerous zone of “too many spreadsheets,” when data security and integrity are at risk. Interestingly enough, this also happens in large companies, as they often have a mish-mash of on-premises legacy systems, acquired systems and new cloud-based systems – and spreadsheets are then used as the data consolidation tool for all these applications.

Applicability to the Cannabis Supply Chain

Visibility into the cannabis supply chain requires detailed track and trace capabilities across many suppliers. Anything left out means guesswork and more opportunities for mistakes. In other words, cobbled-together spreadsheets are the last thing cannabis businesses should rely on. Aggregating data into a spreadsheet from various systems and paper-based processes invites errors and can result in insights that are weeks or months out of date. Worse yet, there’s no drilldown capability when questions arise and no easy roll-up of information for decision-making.

Modern cloud ERP software can integrate an entire supply chain with ease

When supply chain quality must be sustained, the role of a common and integrated cloud platform for quality and ERP cannot be understated. Such a platform can capture sales, operations, inventory and purchasing data, and also integrate with production and quality control. This makes your quality processes and data integral to ERP and eliminates the data fragmentation, control and auditability issues associated with spreadsheets. In addition, companies can leverage operational insights from data reporting and analytics to find areas where they can enhance productivity, optimize inventory, improve planning accuracy and build better forecasts.

Moving to the Cloud

Modern cloud ERP provides this type of seamless platform. It’s easier to implement and does not consume as many IT resources as traditional on-premise ERP systems. Better yet, the more recent versions of cloud ERP are built using low-code technology which enables business users to customize screens, modify workflow processes, build their own apps and embed AI without needing expensive IT consultants or waiting for busy IT staff.

In other words, the flexibility that’s been the lure of spreadsheets is now available in cloud ERP, but the system utilizes proverbial governance guardrails that keep business users from swerving off the road and completely wrecking the system. For example, templates for apps and workflows are provided as a starting point. Business rules and “drag and drop” customization capabilities offer guided options, clearly defining what can and cannot be changed.Rootstock will be presenting during the Cannabis Quality Virtual Conference episode, Supply Chain Quality, on October 27. Click here to learn more

And as a result, quality steps aren’t skipped; audit trails remain intact and data is protected with rock-solid security permissions and data backups. And unlike spreadsheets, new ERP systems are designed for multiple users and remote access via mobile devices. In short, with the latest generation of ERP, companies can leverage the best of both worlds – an end-to-end cloud platform that provides data integration across an organization’s operation and the flexibility and ease-of-use of spreadsheets.

Supply Chain Case in Point

One customer we worked with previously coordinated its supply chain via email and Excel spreadsheets. It cut and pasted requisitions into individual supplier spreadsheets and emailed those out, and it kept a master spreadsheet to keep track of all supplier performance. Team members had to sift through spreadsheet columns and rows to find information they needed.

Today with a cloud platform, the company built an online community so processes could be automated and conducted via real-time connection and communications. Another immediate benefit was the customized supply chain dashboard. All relevant data across their entire supply chain was displayed in one place and in a user-friendly manner.

The dashboard showed production forecasts over a certain period of time. The company could detect whether the supply chain was on track or having issues with certain suppliers. It could see planned requisitions and monitor them until fulfillment was complete. It could also monitor the performance of various suppliers, whether they had on-time deliveries or not – and trace back items received. The company essentially has a snapshot of the overall health of its supply chain and all the underlying activity.

Let’s face it. 2020 has been a difficult year, but perhaps it’s the year that companies finally forego spreadsheets and enlist an industrial-strength cloud platform.

Where Is Cannabis Reform Expected to Move by the End of 2020?

By Marguerite Arnold
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The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly impacted the cannabis industry, no matter where you are. However, the impact of a global virus outbreak and subsequent economic recession has had a mixed impact overall on the industry, and further against a backdrop where the entire conversation of reform is also now an international one.

While the big international decisions were slowed down deliberately, as a result of the pandemic, there is a clear indication almost everywhere that this might also have been taken to allow countries to catch up to the inevitable.

Even in the world of cannabis there is a level of diplomacy. The good news of course is that as a result, the topic of reform is now on official agendas, and those are now moving forward with an air of authority.

As a result, here is a look at some of the most significant events that will impact the discussion long after this fall.

The WHO Vote In December Is A Massive Global Benchmark

There is little indication that the global health organization will punt on their reclassification discussion in December. This starts with the fact that Germany, ever cognizant of things like health management leadership is moving ahead with its medical program, full steam ahead.

Further, there are indications all across Europe that the individual countries where cannabis reform has clearly landed are having an impact on their neighbors, if not a more global discussion. European countries like France are quietly announcing medical trials to begin before the end of the first quarter of next year. And Italy just added hemp to its official list of medical plants. Bureaucracies do not move unless they have to, and in this case, they are clearly in transit on the cannabis conversation well beyond the interdiction only phase.

The New Zealand Recreational Vote Is Also Highly Important

Whether the Kiwis actually take this ground-breaking recreational decision across the finish line is almost immaterial at this point. The ballot measure is being decided during a national election within a week and further set against another one (the U.S.) where it is clearly not on the agenda in the immediate future.

That said, of course if the measure does pass, and there is late breaking evidence to suggest that it might, the bar, beyond whatever the UN decides, will have clearly been set.

With recreational reform, New Zealand will also join the ranks of Canada and Uruguay when it comes to this issue. If not, Luxembourg will most likely take this spot at the end of next year if plans continue to unfold as so far promised in country.

Without it, the country will join the many who are implementing plans to integrate the drug into formal medical infrastructure, which is far from a “loss,” at any level. That said it is a sign that individual countries, rather than regional or international bodies, will lead on the issue of reform and will continue to, no matter what the WHO does.

Regional Reform Is Shaping Up In Europe

Beyond this, of course, there are also signs that the issue of cannabis access, no matter what bucket it is being lumped into, is headed for a showdown in Europe on a regional level that has never been seen before.

The state of the Spanish industry now has a date with the European Court of Human Rights at Strasbourg over basic access issues. If that is decided for the plaintiffs, it will mean that not only will Spain be forced to formalize its own cannabis laws, but so will countries across Europe.

What that will mean for nascent recreational reform is also unclear, but at minimum, it spells good news for those who want to participate in the industry in a new way, and with a non-profit model so far not given much official traction across Europe so far.

Do Varying Cannabis Laws Adequately Serve Patients, Businesses or Government?

By Jason Warnock
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Cannabis laws are changing at a rapid pace across all 50 states and around the world. Currently, Cannabis is legal in 11 states for adults over the age of 21, and legal for medical use in 33 states.

Across the nation, many states have been struggling to enact a viable medical and potential adult use cannabis system since Initiative 59 and the “Legalization of Marijuana for Medical Treatment Initiative of 1998.”

Unfortunately, the program has been continuously impacted by the federal government’s presence, first with the passage of the Barr Amendment by Congress overturning the early legalization progress and continuing to delay the onset of the first medical sale at a dispensary until 2013. The federal government continues to exert influence and control over the program expansion including adding Congressional riders on every proposed update including the latest “Safe Cannabis Sales Act of 2019.”

In Washington DC for example, 18 organizations including the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), the ACLU and Law Enforcement Action Partnership petitioned the US House and Senate Financial Services Subcommittees to remove the rider given that “[the] Current law has interfered with the District’s efforts to regulate marijuana, which has impacted public safety. Without the ability to regulate marijuana sales, the grey market for marijuana flourishes despite the need and want of the District leadership and residents alike to establish a regulatory model.”

States with limited availability of medical cannabis, possession laws or with the ability to legally gift up to one ounce and the constant pressure by the federal government, the grey market has expanded with public safety and the safety of these pop-up businesses put at risk. The current state health and safety laws require a seed-to-sale tracking system and testing at independent labs for all medical cannabis, however the grey market consumers are afforded no such protection. The District of Columbia is unique in the US cannabis landscape as it grapples with the local government trying to provide clarity, safety and equity to a medical and adult use community, but it is hampered by what it can and cannot control through federal influence.

As the United States continues to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, control and use of tax revenue will move to center stage in all these communities and the cannabis tax revenue will return to focus.

Cannabis tax revenue has shown a massive disparity between projection and reality. In 2018, California projected upwards of one billion dollars in cannabis tax revenue, but in reality was only able to recover a third of that amount. California in response continues to increase the excise tax and even proposed changes to taxes dependent on the amount of THC, creating new pressure on producers, in-part pushing some back into the grey market.

During the pandemic, Colorado enacted emergency rules to extend cannabis sales online. Allowing customers to pay for cannabis via the web and then pick up their purchases at the store. In a testament to what is considered a “critical businesses” the cannabis industry is given opportunity to expand during the pandemic, but still hampered by severely limited access to standard e-commerce options as credit card merchants still remain concerned that cannabis sales are illegal under US federal law. Alaska, Massachusetts, Michigan, Illinois and Oregon also allowed online sales and curbside pick-up, but remain limited in sales as federal banking and access to credit is limited as the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act remains in limbo.

Overarching technologies such as DNA tracking that provide a clear indicator that the cannabis is produced and tested from legal sources, can be proven safe and protects local legal businesses’ products against out of market cannabis would provide such clarity.

As the country moves forward from the COVID-19 health crisis, all legal and safe ways to rapidly restart the economy will be needed, the cannabis economy will be no exception. We should be looking to this emerging market right now to help safely drive revenue and taxes into our states.

Former Denver Cannabis Regulator Joins Allay Consulting

By Cannabis Industry Journal Staff
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Last week, Allay Consulting announced a new hire, a previous cannabis regulator for the city of Denver. Kara Lavaux has earned her Certified Professional-Food Safety (CP-FS) certification and supervised the Denver Department of Public Health & Environment’s cannabis program before joining Allay Consulting.

Kara Lavaux, Allay’s newest hire

“Demand is increasing for compliance assistance in the industry,” says Kim Stuck, CEO and founder of Allay Consulting. “Kara brings a robust background as a pioneer for cannabis public health regulations. With the hemp market gearing up for federal regulation, this was the ideal time to expand our team.”

“As one of the first Marijuana Specialists in the nation, I wanted to stay in the cannabis industry,” says Lavaux. “Joining the Allay team allows me to utilize my regulatory knowledge to support hemp and cannabis companies and help them thrive.”

Lavaux brings more than 14 years of experiences as a regulator in Colorado, with six years of experience overseeing the cannabis program.

WSLCB

Washington Suspends License for Shipping Out of State

By Cannabis Industry Journal Staff
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WSLCB

On October 7, 2020, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) issued an emergency suspension for El Rey De La Kush, based in Riverside, Washington, for allegedly distributing cannabis products across state lines. This information was found in an email sent out by the WSLCB late Wednesday night on October 7. El Rey De La Kush does not have a website, but it looks like they own this Facebook page.

This picture taken from their Facebook page, appears to show an El Rey De La Kush-branded package of cannabis

Back in September, the Wenatchee Police Department told the WSLCB that they were investigating 4.3 pounds of cannabis they found shipped from a residence in Wenatchee via UPS. When they served a search warrant, they found roughly 620 pounds of cannabis with traceability tags leading them back to El Rey De La Kush.

The suspect in the case is Brandi Clardy, who is affiliated with the company in question and listed on their license. The original licensee, Juan Penaloza, passed away in July this year and Clardy had been the chief operator following Penaloza’s death.

In an interview with the police, the WSLCB says that Clardy admitted to the crime of removing cannabis from the premises with the intent to distribute across state lines.

The WSLCB says cannabis products were actively being diverted to Texas, where adult use cannabis sales is still very illegal.

The license remains suspended for 180 days, after which point the WSLCB will “pursue permanent revocation.” This marks the first and only emergency suspension issued in 2020.

Vermont Legalizes Cannabis

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On Tuesday, September 22, the Vermont Senate voted (23-6) to pass a bill that would legalize, tax and regulate adult use cannabis sales. The bill, S. 54, was approved by 92-56 in the Vermont House of Representatives earlier in the month.

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott

Governor Phil Scott did not sign the bill, but let it become law anyway without his signature late Wednesday night on October 7. He did however sign separate legislation that will expunge previous cannabis-related convictions.

With this piece of legislation becoming law, Vermont  is now the 11th state to regulate and tax cannabis sales. The Marijuana Policy Project has a helpful summary of the legislation you can find here.

Back in 2018, Vermont actually voted to legalize adult use possession and cultivation of cannabis, just not to tax and regulate it. Governor Scott signed that bill into law a couple years ago.

Previously, Vermont and Washington D.C. had legislation that legalized cannabis, just not the sale of it. Technically speaking, it is still illegal to sell cannabis in D.C.

ZOSI Analytical Accredited to ISO:17025

By Cannabis Industry Journal Staff
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ZOSI Analytical, a third-party hemp testing lab based in Georgetown, Texas, announced last week that they have achieved ISO 17025:2017 accreditation from Perry Johnson Laboratory Accreditation (PJLA). ZOSI Analytical is actually the very first hemp lab in Texas to be DEA-registered.

A sample prepared from hemp flower, following extraction of cannabinoids at ZOSI Analytical

The 2018 Farm Bill has a stipulation for all hemp compliance testing labs to be ISO 17025:2017 accredited by October 2021. ZOSI is a bit ahead of that deadline, but ready to test products for retailers and processors looking to confirm their potency levels below the 0.3% THC federal legal threshold.

According to Amy Lummus, CEO of ZOSI Analytical, they have a turnaround time of about 48-72 hours from receipt of a hemp sample. “Although regulations continue to change at the Federal level and vary widely at State levels, one thing has remained consistent and that has been the understanding that third-party testing laboratories need to show a level of commitment and accountability to quality,” says Lummus. “Our accreditation is one more step in our commitment to helping the industry to produce and sell safe products.”

The West Coast Wildfires: What is the Impact on the Cannabis Industry?

By Aaron G. Biros
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Since the beginning of this year, more than 8,100 wildfires have burned in California, torching a record 3.7 million acres of land in a state with one of the largest cannabis economies in the world. With the effects of climate change continuing to wreak havoc on the entire West Coast, smoke from those fires has spread across much of the country throughout the summer.

As we approach October, colloquially referred to as Croptober in the outdoor cannabis market for the harvest season, we’re seeing the August Complex Fire creep towards the Emerald Triangle, an area in northern California and southern Oregon known for its ideal cannabis growing conditions and thousands of cultivators. The wildfires are close to engulfing towns like Post Mountain and Trinity Pines, which are home to a large number of cannabis cultivators.

Hezekiah Allen, executive director of the California Growers Association, says losses could reach hundreds of millions of dollars. Fires across Oregon have torched dozens of cultivation operations, with business owners losing everything they had. The Glass Fire has already affected a large number of growers in Sonoma and Napa Counties and is 0% contained. None of these cultivators have crop insurance and many of them have no insurance at all.

The impact from all of these fires on the entire cannabis supply chain is something that takes time to bear witness; a batch of harvested flower typically takes months to make its way down the entire supply chain following post-harvest drying and curing, testing and further processing into concentrates or infused products.

Image: Heidi De Vries, Flickr

The fires affect everyone in the supply chain differently, some much more than others. Sweet Creek Farms, located in Sonoma County, lost all but one fifth of their crops to fires. Other cultivators further south of the Bay Area have lost thousands of plants tainted by smoke.

Harry Kazazian, CEO of 22Red, a cannabis brand distributed throughout California, Nevada and Arizona, says he is increasing their indoor capacity to make up for any outdoor flower loss. But he said it has not impacted his business significantly. “Wildfires have been a part of California and many businesses have adapted to dealing with them,” says Kazazian. He went on to add that most of his flower comes from indoor grows in the southern part of the state, so he doesn’t expect it to impact too much of his supply chain. Kazazian is right that this is not a new concept – the cannabis industry on the West Coast has been dealing with wildfires for years.

George Sadler, President of Platinum Vape

George Sadler, President of Platinum Vape, has a similar story to tell – the fires have impacted his supply chain only slightly, saying they had a handful of flower orders delayed or cancelled, but it’s still business as usual. “It’s possible this won’t affect the supply chain until later in the fall,” says Sadler. “There has definitely been an effect on crops that are being harvested now. It may end up driving the price of flower up, but we won’t really know that until January or February if it had an effect.”

Sadler believes this problem could become more extreme in years to come. “Climate change definitely will have an effect on the industry more inland, where we’re seeing fires more commonly – it could be pretty dramatic.”

One beacon of hope we see every year from these fires is how quickly the cannabis community comes together during times of hardship. Sadler’s company donated $5,000 to the CalFire Benevolent Foundation, an organization that supports firefighters and their families in times of crisis.

A large number of cannabis companies, like CannaCraft, Mondo, Platinum Vape and Henry’s Original, just to name a few, have come together to help with relief efforts, donate supplies, offer product storage and open their doors to families.

If you want to help, there are a lot of donation pages, and crowdfunding campaigns to support the communities impacted. The California Community Foundation has set up a Wildfire Relief Fund that you can donate to.

This GoFundMe campaign is called Farmers Helping Farmers and still needs a lot of funding to reach their goal. Check out their updates section to see how they are helping cultivators in real time. This Leafly page is also a very useful guide for how you can donate supplies, volunteer and help those impacted the fires.

CannaSafe Accredited to ISO 17025

By Cannabis Industry Journal Staff
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According to a press release sent out last week, Perry Johnson Laboratory Accreditation, Inc. announced the accreditation of CannaSafe Labs to ISO/IEC 17025. CannaSafe is based in Van Nuys, California and provides a number of different testing services, including full regulatory compliance testing for the state’s requirements.

CannaSafe was allegedly the first to break the news about vaping health issues caused by EVALI, the lung condition responsible for the 2019 vape crisis. According to the press release, they provided testing data that proved black market vapes contained dangerous chemicals, likely including vitamin E acetate, the chemical that the CDC says is linked to EVALI.

CannaSafe say they have plans to expand into a number of states beyond California. They are also planning to build a facility dedicated to CBD testing to meet market needs in the near future.

Former Vice Chancellor of Germany Joins Swiss Company Board

By Marguerite Arnold
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Dr. Philipp Rösler, the former federal Minister of Economics and Technology and Vice Chancellor of Germany from 2011-2013 has just joined the board of Swiss cannabis company Pure Holding AG.

The move is interesting for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it signals how political currents are moving in Germany, if not Europe beyond that.

To American eyes, Pure Holding looks like a very organized, corporate farm and cannabis manufacturer, organized to produce and test high quality cannabis, extracts and white label products for the coming storm of interest – no matter where European regulatory winds may temporarily go on hemp extracts.

Geopolitics At Play
The fact that the farm is on the Swiss side of the border is also a signal that many Germans (at least) expect the EU to drag its feet on what kind of animal even low-THC and THC-free cannabinoids are while consumers vote with their pocket books across the continent and buy online imports.

The fact that Rösler is politically associated with the Free Democratic Party (FDP) of which he was also chair, is another indication that Germans in general are deeply upset about the slow movement of the CDU party (the Christian Democratic Union) on this issue (just like many others).

The FDP, like all other parties (except the extreme right wing Alternativ für Deutschland or Afd) has been much more forward about cannabis reform. That said, the party currently at the helm of the ruling coalition (CDU) has also been repeatedly accused of dragging its feet on the issue – no matter that medical cannabis was approved here as a therapy mandated for coverage by public health insurers.

The difficulties however that most patients have had to go through is not over. Reform has come here, but still for most, in name only.

The fact that Rössler was also a cardiothoracic surgeon before his stint in national politics is also a sign that the medical community is taking notice of the health effects of cannabis. That he was also federal minister of health of Germany (between 2009 and 2011 in Angela Merkel’s second cabinet) is also a clear indication that the topic of more cannabis reform is on the agenda at home in Germany, including Europe beyond that.

Even if, right now, certainly compared to what is developing in the UK, on a much slower boat to at least commercially accessible, low THC reform.

Philipp Rösler, former vice chancellor of Germany

The Current Debacle Over Hemp In The EU

It is unclear what the fate of hemp is in the EU at present. With the region’s administrators coming to a legally non-binding and decidedly non-scientific holding pattern on “CBD,” (namely that it is a narcotic) it could very well be that the Swiss, English and importers from the rest of the world bring in flower, extracts and products that the region cannot keep out, but is not quite copacetic about embracing, just yet.

That said, with major health food producers now stocking hemp seed extract on the stores of major German grocery stores, it is clear that the worm is turning, one former politician and now board member at a time.

Why The Fuss Over Hemp At All?

The bigger debate is actually a scientific one. It boils down to parsing cannabinoids from the same plant correctly, while also understanding the role that they play together.

That this is now happening, roughly twenty years after the discovery of the human endocannabinoid system – and the recognition that the human body itself creates cannabinoids that are mimicked by external phyto (or plant sourced) cannabinoids, is a victory, even if a late one.

It also signals that at a high level, the debate about cannabis as a drug if not a tool for maintaining overall body wellness, is not abating, but indeed proceeding even as the debate stymies politically at a country-by-country if not regional level.

What Will Reform In The EU Look Like?

While the analogy is not exactly the same, and for a variety of reasons starting with the fact that European countries are sovereign and independent states of Europe and not part of a single federal country, it appears that cannabis reform will look very similar to the progress of the same as it has unfolded so far in the United States.