Tag Archives: regulations

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.

OLCC-Logo

OLCC Suspends Testing Lab License

By Cannabis Industry Journal Staff
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OLCC-Logo

Back in late September, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC), the regulatory body overseeing the Oregon cannabis market, issued an “Order of Immediate License Suspension” for Ecotest Labs, based in Phoenix, Oregon. In a press release, the OLCC says that the licensee, Proper Rental Management, LLC doing business as Ecotest Labs, made a number of violations.

The Oregon Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (ORELAP) is the regulatory body that oversees cannabis testing labs in the state. Back in July, they told the OLCC that they suspended Ecotest’s accreditations for failing to meet required procedures and standards.

The OLCC said that “continued operation represents a serious danger to the public health and safety.” ORELAP had suspicions that the lab moved testing instruments to an unlicensed location in Hillsboro, just outside of Portland, where they were conducting unlicensed testing. OLCC then launched an investigation into the lab.

Ecotest Labs told the OLCC they were having problems with their accreditation and thought they had been recertified. In August of this year, Ecotest Labs told the OLCC they were moving products for testing to the Hillsboro location, but said (incorrectly) that ORELAP rules allowed that to happen.

After digging into the METRC accounts for tracking cannabis products, the OLCC found the lab was continuing to move products for testing to the unlicensed location. There was no application submitted for the Hillsboro location.

The OLCC expanded their investigation to include other Oregon regulatory agencies in September. But on or around September 9, Ecotest’s lab was destroyed by the Almeda wildfire. At that point, they no longer had a licensed facility to conduct testing, but were still doing so in that Hillsboro location.OLCC-Logo

The OLCC says more than 160 cannabis businesses in the state sent products for potency testing through the lab after August 21, which now need to be re-tested. Regulators placed an administrative hold in METRC to prevent products from being distributed that were tested by Ecotest Labs.

While the investigation is still ongoing, Ecotest Labs has the ability to challenge the regulators’ actions and call for an administrative hearing. While the OLCC works with licensees impacted by the wildfires to help them in relocating, they said many of the violations occurred prior to the wildfire destroying their business.

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.”

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.

Trichome Analytical Accredited to ISO 17025

By Cannabis Industry Journal Staff
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According to a press release sent out last week, the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) announced the accreditation of Trichome Analytical to ISO/IEC 17025:2017. Trichome Analytical is the first cannabis testing lab accredited to the standard in the state of New jersey.

Based in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, Trichome Analytical is a DEA-registered third-party cannabis testing lab that offers hemp compliance testing for state and federal guidelines.

Kristen Goedde with Trichome Analytical says they are hoping to provide testing for consumer safety and accurate labeling for the state’s new hemp market. “The evolution of the hemp and cannabis industries increasingly demands rigorous, high quality analytical testing,” says Goedde. “Obtaining accreditation is an essential measure for laboratories seeking to ensure consumer safety and reliable labeling. Trichome is honored to have our quality systems validated by A2LA, and we look forward to elevating cannabis and hemp operations to new heights – right here in our home state.”

C4 Labs Accredited, Ready for Compliance Testing

By Cannabis Industry Journal Staff
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Since Arizona legalized medical cannabis in 2011 , regulators have not required testing for cannabis products. That is about to change in a little more than a month.

After a long and hard-fought battle by patients and stakeholders in the Arizona cannabis industry, Governor Ducey signed SB1494 into law last year, a bill that requires independent labs to test cannabis products for contaminants. More specifically, the bill requires that cannabis products be tested “to determine unsafe levels of microbial contamination, heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, growth regulators and residual solvents and confirm the potency of the marijuana to be dispensed.”

Ryan Treacy, co-founder of the ACLA and founder/CEO at C4 Labs.

Ryan Treacy, CEO/Founder of C4 Labs and co-founder of the Arizona Cannabis Laboratory Association (ACLA), has been a vocal advocate for mandatory product safety testing since 2016. After several failed lobbying attempts and forming the ACLA with three other labs in Arizona, SB1494 finally passed in May of 2019.

Under this bill, the Arizona Department of Health Services has been in charge of building the new laboratory regulations. Those rules include certifying and regulating labs, establishing requirements like health and safety protocols, mandatory quality assurance program and standards, chain of custody and sampling policies, adequate records, accreditation, proficiency testing, among other requirements.

In a press release published by Perry Johnson Laboratory Accreditation (PJLA), they announced that C4 Laboratories was accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 this week, in time for the new requirement in Arizona.

According to Treacy, the Department of Health Services is still in the process of finalizing the technical accreditation for labs in the state. He says C4 Labs will be ready to accept compliance samples in the coming weeks. “There will no doubt be a flood of samples and a lot will be asked of the lab operators to continue to build their business to better accommodate sample volume,” says Treacy. They want to minimize any disruption to the supply chain, keeping patients and clients at top of mind.

C4 Labs has been preparing for the flood of compliance testing samples beyond just their accreditation. “Over the last 16 months we have added a new fully renovated lab space, doubled our lab staff and have invested significant monetary resources in additional state of the art analytical instruments to allow for more analysis and expanded lab sample capacity,” says Treacy. “We intend to make efficiency and capacity our focus while maintaining our commitment to sound science and data integrity for our clients and patients alike.”

C4 Labs is currently in its sixth year of operating and was one of the original labs to serve Arizona patients. “We are very proud of the work we have put in to advocate for safe, lab-tested cannabis products and we intend to continue to lead from the front as Arizona’s premier cannabis testing laboratory.”