Opinion

In 2014, Colorado made history as the first state in the country to open recreational dispensaries for legal cannabis sales. No one really knew what to expect, but one thing was clear right away: The infant industry was growing fast. As consumers became more savvy and product lines became more diverse, entrepreneurial-minded individuals working in the space saw a wealth of opportunity. One sector that provided this opportunity hinged on growing interest in vape products. Two Colorado budtenders at a… Read more.

The Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) of 1970, also known as the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act, requires banks and other financial institutions to report cash deposits over $10,000 in order to help the federal government detect and/or prevent money laundering and other financial crimes. Financial institutions are subject to audits by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to make sure they are in compliance with BSA reporting and recordkeeping requirements. It is extremely important for plant-touching businesses to understand… Read more.

In the United States, we have an amazing variety of choices in our beverage alcohol marketplace—and every choice a consumer makes can be made with confidence knowing that the beverage they are about to consume is safe, free of illicit or dangerous ingredients and the proof is exact. More than 50 percent of the U.S. population lives in a legal adult-use cannabis state, yet these same regulations and testing standards that keep American beverage alcohol consumers safe don’t exist for… Read more.

Everyone talks about the homeless problem, and now the DUI problem, but never addresses what has really changed in Arizona. The decision to legalize cannabis was a major mistake, especially after seeing the negative effects it had on Colorado after that state legalized recreational marijuana before the pandemic. The gateway drug is now legal, and the access to all drugs is out of control. We cannot blame this on our county officials. Unfortunately, we the voters created this new environment. (Full Story) Read more.

The status of federal legalization in the United States is still a topic of conversation, though more so abroad than at home. Once a hot topic on domestic trade-show panels and podcasts, the energy and excitement admittedly have died down in what many refer to as the “post-pandemic” period. Legalization has lost its place on most national news outlets’ broadcasts and proverbial front-page news slots. Online, a keyword search for “federal legalization” and related terms yields few results. Instead, most search-engine returns… Read more.

When you apply for a marijuana business license in California, one of the many documents you must sign is a sworn statement that your business will enter into a labor peace agreement, or LPA. Almost every licensed cannabis entrepreneur will eventually have to sign an LPA, which is a preliminary contract between your business and a labor union. However, many in the industry sign an LPA without even reading it or understanding what it means for their business – let… Read more.

The cannabis industry is in distress. Marijuana companies across North America are laying off employees, retailers are closing their doors and cultivation facilities are turning off the grow lights. It is not all doom and gloom, though. Cannabis producers can take steps to adopt a craft-at-scale model built to handle the downturn. Improve efficiency and quality The decrease in cannabis wholesale prices can be mitigated by limiting operational expenses. Automation is one way to reduce labor costs. As general labor is… Read more.

In an industry that once had an unusually high percentage of female CEOs, the marijuana sector now has fewer women in leadership positions than the U.S. average. According to MJBizDaily’s 2022 report, “Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in the Cannabis Industry,” the percentage of women executives in cannabis fell from 36.8% in 2019 to 23.1% last year. Meanwhile, the Russell 3000 index of publicly traded companies reports that women now hold 28% of board seats of the 3,000 largest U.S. stocks it tracks. How did… Read more.