Author: Tom Hymes
[ad_1] If the United States Supreme Court overturns the longstanding Chevron deference, which is not unlikely considering the mien of certain justices during recent oral arguments as well as a general antipathy to the doctrine that has developed over the years, the impact is anticipated to be felt far and wide, though some court watchers think it would be a long overdue rebalancing act. As explained by Politico in the run-up to the orals held last Wednesday, “Named after the 1984 Supreme Court case in which it was articulated, the doctrine says that when a law Congress has passed is…
[ad_1] Arizona-based Timeless Refinery, which celebrated its ten-year anniversary in 2023, is a self-funded multi-state lifestyle house of brands that owes its longevity to creating and sustaining a local following in every market it enters. As explained by President Josh Hirschey, who joined the company in 2019, this almost impossible task was made possible because of the founders’ ability to pivot when necessary while maintaining an almost obsessive focus on quality and control. These skill sets combined with quality products that resonate with customers has resulted in a longevity that has escaped many cannabis companies, and put Timeless on a…
[ad_1] Lost among the many, many cases denied certiorari by the United States Supreme Court in its order list for the week of Monday, January 8, 2024 was Reimers V. U.S. Citizen & Immigration Services, a case the plaintiff was desperately hoping would be seen by SCOTUS as the perfect opportunity to right an injustice by a government agency that was following rigidly interpreted rules and probably never intended to harm an innocent person, especially not a 45-year-old mother of two with permanent resident status in the United States and no criminal record. But Marian Elena Reimers, who emigrated legally…
[ad_1] The emergency meeting of New York’s Cannabis Control Board (CCB) called for last Friday (December 29) started 20-minutes late, a seeming eternity, but that was forgotten as soon as the meeting began and it became clear that something was off in New York Regulatorland, where even the worst of times are called the best of times. The meeting lasted all of 30 minutes when all was said and done – and a lot was said, with little done – but within that brief window a curtain was opened that revealed a palpable tension not only among the board members…
[ad_1] As 2023 ends, the focus of the cannabis industry shifts to 2024 and the trends that will determine the health of individual markets, specific market sectors, and the overall industry, which could possibly see movement at the federal level in the form of rescheduling, banking reform, or even profound (if unlikely) changes such as full descheduling. Shedding some informed light on the subject, market research firm BDSA has identified some of the challenges and unknowns facing the industry in 2024. These include: The impact of the development and availability of intoxicating hemp products on the legal cannabis market, which…
[ad_1] The 5pm ET deadline to submit applications for five license types for New York State’s adult-use cannabis market came and went yesterday, with a robust last-minute rush as anticipated. The license types – cultivation, processor, retail dispensary, distributor, and microbusiness – represent the spine of an industry that has had a rough start out of the gate, to say the least. But if states are indeed still laboratories of democracy in America, as they are supposed to be, New York’s effort to establish something resembling an identifiable legal adult-use cannabis market is truly only at the start of what…
[ad_1] Wikipedia describes a captive market as “a market where the potential consumers face a severely limited number of competitive suppliers; their only choices are to purchase what is available or to make no purchase at all. The term therefore applies to any market where there is a monopoly or oligopoly.” Dictionary.com focuses on the monopoly piece of the term, but the outcome for consumers is the same no matter the reason why or on whose behalf a captive market is created, and sadly, the forces that are so easily unleashed in a captive market are usually ones that are…
[ad_1] It has been about 18 months since Cannabis Business Executive profiled Artie Minson, who had just joined New York-based LeafLink after five years at WeWork, joining the executive team as the online cannabis wholesaler’s new president and chief operating officer. It was long-past time to catch up with the now CEO to get his feedback on his experience engaging with a highly regulated and unruly industry, the lessons he’s learned along the way, and the changes LeafLink has made during his tenure. “It has been a very interesting 18 months,” said Minson during a recent call. He added, after…
[ad_1] As the industry waves goodbye to 2023 and the “tough times” that characterized it for so many cannabis companies, we are starting to receive predictions about what to expect in 2024, only this time few people are expressing any confidence that external catalysts (descheduling, SAFER Banking, etc.) are coming to the rescue. If there is optimism – and there is – it is about individual markets, internal company achievements, and the overall growth of the industry. Beyond that and the usual expressions of hope that Congress will finally get its act together, no one is making any bold prognostications.…
[ad_1] It only took a year for Thailand’s cannabis economy, if you will, to create so much concern in the easygoing nation of 70 million that a newly elected government in September announced plans to “rectify” its predecessor’s nascent cannabis policy, marked by its light (i.e., nonexistent) regulatory touch, to be replaced by an as-yet-undefined medical market the regulations for which may be issued as soon as this month. In that regard, it has been a maelstrom of a year for anyone who had invested in the prospect of a more or less orderly rollout of even a limited recreational…
[ad_1] That penetrating sound emanating from New York Friday evening was the collective sigh of relief from hundreds of provisional CAURD licensees upon hearing the news that Supreme Court Judge Kevin Bryant has signed the stipulated settlement that had been reached between the parties in the Fiore lawsuit against state cannabis regulators. That lawsuit had resulted in a preliminary injunction that halted the state’s troubled (and probably unconstitutional) CAURD program…until now. Judge Kevin Bryant had ten days from the presentation of the settlement stipulations to the court on November 28 to approve the deals before they became null and void,…
[ad_1] Denver, Colorado-based Safe Harbor Financial (Nasdaq: SHFS) was profiled by Cannabis Business Executive back in February 2022, in the middle of a De-SPAC transaction that, once completed, would greatly expand the fintech platform’s reach and ability to provide its long-established banking services to the cannabis industry. The newly christened SHF Holdings began trading shares in late September of 2022, and as CEO/President Sundie Seefried explained during a recent call, making the arduous transition to public markets was a protracted learning experience that included several surprises. “Oh, yeah, I think there were lots of surprises,” she said when asked. “The…