Tag Archives: Los Angeles

June 6, 2018

EVIO Labs Expands Ahead of California Testing Deadline

By Aaron G. Biros

In a few short weeks, the regulations in California’s cannabis market will expand to include more laboratory testing. The previous exemption for selling untested product will be eliminated come July 1^st, meaning that every product on dispensary shelves will have to be tested for a number of contaminants.

EVIO labs photo — Pesticide testing, expanded residual solvent testing and foreign materials testing will be added come July 1st.

According to William Waldrop, chief executive officer and co-founder of EVIO Labs, the state is currently finalizing a revision to the existing emergency rules, which is designed to target the potential supply bottleneck situation. “To help alleviate the bottleneck, the state is eliminating the field duplicate test on every batch of cannabis or cannabis products,” says Waldrop. “This will give the labs additional bandwidth to process more batches for testing.” So one test per batch is the rule now and batch sizes will remain the same. This, of course, is contingent on the state finalizing that revision to the emergency regulations.

William Waldrop, chief executive officer and co-founder of EVIO Labs

In addition to that change, the state will expand the types of testing requirements come July 1^st. New mandatory pesticide testing, expanded residual solvent testing and foreign materials testing are added in addition to the other tests already required.

With July 1^stquickly approaching, many in California fear the rules could lead to a major market disruption, such as the previously mentioned bottleneck. Waldrop sees the elimination of duplicate testing as a preventative measure by the state. “It is a good move for the industry because it allows labs to test more batches, hopefully reducing the bottleneck come July,” says Waldrop. Still though, with only 26 licensed laboratories in the state as of March, testing facilities will have to meet higher demand, performing more tests and working with more clients.

EVIO Labs is preparing for this in a number of ways. They already have a lab in Berkeley and are working to expand their capacity for more analyses. In addition to their lab in Berkeley, the company is working to get three more locations operational as quickly as possible. “Right now, EVIO Labs is expanding through the identification of new market locations,” says Waldrop. “We have announced the acquisition of a facility in Humboldt and we are outfitting it for state-mandated testing. We have secured a location in LA, and licensing for LA just began as of June 1^stso we are going through the local licensing process at this time. We are still moving through the licensing process for our facility in Costa Mesa as well.”

“In the meantime, we have expanded capacity of personnel in our Berkeley facility to support our client base until these other locations come online,” says Waldrop. “We are refining our business, bringing on additional equipment and more resources.” While the rules haven’t been implemented yet, Waldrop says he’s seen an uptick in business with licensed operators requesting more testing for the new July 1^ststandards.

While some might feel a bit panicky about how the new standards could disrupt the market, Waldrop says his clients are looking forward to it. “Our clients are very happy with the proposed new rules, because it reduces the cost of testing per batch, which will inherently reduce wholesale costs, making cannabis more affordable for patients and recreational users.”

January 31, 2018

Growing Pains a Month Into California’s Market Launch

By Aaron G. Biros

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For about a month now, California’s adult use market has been open for business and the market is booming. About thirty days into the world’s largest adult use market launch, we are beginning to see side effects of the growing pains that come with adjusting the massive industry.

Consumers are also feeling sticker shock as the new taxes add up to a 40% increase in price.While the regulatory and licensing roll out has been relatively smooth, some municipalities are slower than others in welcoming the adult use cannabis industry. It took Los Angeles weeks longer than other counties to begin licensing dispensaries. Meanwhile, retailers in San Diego say the first month brought a huge influx of customers, challenging their abilities to meet higher-than-expected demand.

Businesses are struggling to deal with large amounts of cash, but California State Treasurer John Chiang may have a solution in store. Yesterday, his department announced they are planning to create a taxpayer-backed bank for cannabis businesses.

Reports of possible supply shortages are irking some businesses, fearing that the state hasn’t licensed enough growers and distributors to handle the high demand. Consumers are also feeling sticker shock as the new taxes add up to a 40% increase in price.

CA cannabis testing chart — California’s plan for phasing in testing requirements.

In the regulatory realm, some are concerned that a loophole in the rules allows bigger cultivation operations to squeeze out the competition from smaller businesses. The California Growers Association filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Food and Agriculture to try and close this loophole, hoping to give smaller cultivators a leg up before bigger companies can dominate the market.

The Bureau of Cannabis Control (known as just “The Bureau”) began holding meetings and workshops to help cannabis businesses get acquainted with the new rules. Public licensing workshops in Irvine and San Diego held last week were designed to focus on information required for licensing and resources for planning. The Bureau also held their first cannabis advisory committee meeting, as well as announcing new subcommittees and an input survey to help the Bureau better meet business needs.

On the lab-testing front, the state has phased in cannabinoids, moisture content, residual solvent, pesticide, microbial impurities and homogeneity testing. On July 1, the state will phase in additional residual solvent and pesticide testing in addition to foreign material testing. At the end of 2018, they plan on requiring terpenoids, mycotoxins, heavy metals and water activity testing as well.

September 13, 2017

CWCBExpo Removes Roger Stone From Keynote

By Aaron G. Biros

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Last week, the Cannabis World Congress & Business Expositions announced they have removed Roger Stone from their conference’s keynote talk. The news follows a month-long boycott led by a group of women with the #DisownStone campaign, exhibitors, activists and the Minority Cannabis Business Association (MCBA), among other organizations.

According to the press release, conference organizers met with a number of people and organizations to discuss inclusivity and made the decision to oust Stone, citing the distraction his keynote was causing. “Following collaborative discussions with numerous partners, participants, and interested parties who support the legalization of cannabis in an inclusive manner, Cannabis World Congress & Business Expositions, (CWCBExpo) is announcing that Roger Stone will no longer be featured as a keynote speaker at the upcoming CWCBExpo events in Los Angeles and Boston,” reads the press release. “The forums created by CWCBExpo are crucial to the growth and legalization of the cannabis industry and they supersede the distractions that have surrounded the events.”

When the Minority Cannabis Business Association announced they would boycott the conference unless Stone was removed, support poured in from throughout the cannabis industry and a Change.org petition was created. Shortly after, we published an op-ed in support of the MCBA and their boycott. The boycott received national attention from major news outlets across the country. New Frontier Data, prominent cannabis law firm Greenspoon Marder, Denver Relief Consulting, Cannabis Industry Journal and Dope Media are among the signatories on that petition.

The petition reached 750 signatures in just two weeks and now has 840 signatures. That petition launched the #DisownStone campaign, which was ultimately successful in their mission. According to a statement put out by the #DisownStone campaign, the movement was led Amanda Reiman, Betty Aldworth, Bonita Money, Lauren Padgett, Leah Heise, Tiffany Bowden and Wanda James. It quickly garnered support from organizations involved in the conference. 20 speakers and 11 sponsors and partners signed the petition.

The Facebook post from MCBA where they announced the boycott

The #DisownStone statement praises the CWCBExpo for their decision to remove Stone. “We applaud the leadership at the Cannabis World Congress and Business Expo for their decision to remove Roger Stone from the keynote slot at CWCBExpo in Los Angeles and Boston,” reads the statement. “In choosing to release Roger Stone and to remove the employee that displayed egregious and reprehensible behavior towards members of the industry, the CWCBExpo set an example for the industry to follow. We understand that this decision was a difficult one and respect that the conference chose this route.”

The campaign ended their statement with a forward-looking sentiment, vowing to fight racism in the cannabis industry. “We will continue to denounce racism whenever we see it in the cannabis industry and elsewhere, and look forward to the day when no person can be arrested and jailed for using cannabis,” reads their statement. “We are excited to attend CWCBExpo and continue the conversation in person with their leadership and with attendees.” The campaign is hosting a #DisownStone after party at the LA event to celebrate their victory on September 14^th.

Stone told LA Weekly that he plans on suing the conference organizers for $1 million. “The expo is in breach of contract,” Stone told LA Weekly. “I will be suing them for $1 million. I will not be deterred from my efforts to persuade the president to preserve access to legal medicinal marijuana consistent with his pledge to the American people.”

In an email to LA Weekly, Jesce Horton, chair of the board at MCBA, told reporters he is now willing to work with the conference organizers, given their decision to remove Stone. “Roger Stone’s deplorable rhetoric was just a piece of our inability to be involved,” Horton told LA Weekly. “More important is his history of advocating for regulations that work directly against an industry inclusive to small businesses and minority entrepreneurs. I look forward to working with CWCBE and support their decision to stand with us.”