Business
Canadian Indigenous cannabis producer eyes global expansion: Q&A with All Nations executives
An Indigenous-owned and -operated cannabis producer in British Columbia has its sights set on domestic and international expansion.
In an interview with MJBizDaily, All Nations executives said one of their big advantages is the company’s story.
“We’re giving people (consumers) all of the things they look for when they want to buy into something; it’s good product, has a good story, and consumers are ethically paying into something they know is going to help the economy and development,” said Stacey Duffy, the company’s director of retail.
CEO Darwin Douglas added that “we’ve focused on the production of quality cannabis. That’s our foundation. That’s our bedrock – to grow premium and ultra-premium cannabis.
“That’s the sweet spot – to be successful in business and also support positive social change in the communities where we work.”
All Nations, which is majority-owned by the Shxwhá:y Village Indigenous community near the city of Chilliwack, is one of a handful of licensed producers located on a reserve in Canada.
“Connecting people with Indigenous culture through our cannabis and products is a competitive advantage,” Douglas said.
“We’re also about connections, telling our story and the stories of Indigenous people,” Douglas said.
Shxwhá:y Village and the province recently entered a government-to-government agreement to support cannabis-related economic development under Section 119 of B.C.’s Cannabis Control and Licensing Act.
Douglas said the agreement allows the company to own eight stores and supply up to half the products on the shelves.
Soon, he wants to bring his Indigenous brand to the rest of the world.
“There’s not a lot of Indigenous businesses that are involved in international trade, so it’s new ground for us and we’re happy to be part of that work,” he said.
MJBizDaily spoke with Douglas, Duffy and All Nations Director of Cultivation Todd Scarlett about the company’s strategy, hurdles and opportunities.
What trends are you seeing in the Canadian industry?
Stacey Duffy, director of retail: We’re finding a lot of people are wanting to learn more about the brands and products they’re consuming.
We’re starting to find that the consumer is coming in with a little bit more of a sophisticated concept of what they want.
Years ago, it was “give me the cheapest ounce.”
Now we’re seeing more people who are wanting better quality and want to know where products are coming from.
One of the trends we’re seeing is people wanting to understand more of who’s producing their product; who’s behind it; is it hang-dried, hand-trimmed.
One of the things we’re seeing is local “BC bud” is the best-moving product on our shelves.
How do international cannabis markets, so far very small, play into your strategy?
Darwin Douglas, CEO: We want to produce (medical) cannabis here on Indigenous lands and export it to countries around the world.
Right now, we’re in discussions with countries with (federally regulated) medical markets.
As new countries come online with legalization and regulation, we’ll be looking to those markets and where we can supply, and hopefully where we can have our Indigenous brand represented.
Why is Indigenous participation relatively low in Canada’s adult-use cannabis industry?
Douglas: Adequate and meaningful consultation (with Indigenous communities) did not take place when the legislation was rolled out.
We talk about “reconciliation,” but it hasn’t happened yet. There was an opportunity with the cannabis legislation, but it didn’t happen.
I think it goes back to the fundamental issues that still exist in our country related to the recognition of Indigenous inherent rights and title and treaty rights.
These have been continuously overlooked in many areas.
Do you have any advice for other businesses looking to follow in your footsteps?
Douglas: For other Indigenous groups, come and talk to us. We’re happy to help, even if it’s advice and not in a consulting fashion.
Seeking advice from other producers who have gone through the process successfully is very important, because we’ve made some mistakes, been through the ups and downs, and we’re happy to share those experiences with other Indigenous groups.
Can you share any of those hurdles and how you overcame them?
Douglas: There were big challenges in getting Shxwhá:y its Section 119 deal for retail with the province (of British Columbia). That was a long process. It took years.
My advice is, don’t give up. Keep working toward your vision. A lot of willpower, work and resources will make it happen.
Can you share any innovative ways you save money?
Todd Scarlett, director of cultivation: From a cultivation standpoint, what may be relevant to us compared to most other shops is we maintain our own mother (plants) and take all of our own cuttings.
We don’t do any out-of-house propagation.
You can’t not be efficient in this business. You won’t make it.
Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/canadian-indigenous-cannabis-producer-all-nations-eyes-global-expansion/
New Mexico regulators fined a cannabis operator nearly $300,000 and revoked its license after the company allegedly created fake reports in the state’s traceability software.
The New Mexico Cannabis Control Division (CCD) accused marijuana manufacturer and retailer Golden Roots of 11 violations, according to Albuquerque Business First.
Golden Roots operates the The Cannabis Revolution Dispensary.
The majority of the violations are related to the Albuquerque company’s improper use of BioTrack, which has been New Mexico’s track-and-trace vendor since 2015.
The CCD alleges Golden Roots reported marijuana production only two months after it had received its vertically integrated license, according to Albuquerque Business First.
Because cannabis takes longer than two months to be cultivated, the CCD was suspicious of the report.
After inspecting the company’s premises, the CCD alleged Golden Roots reported cultivation, transportation and sales in BioTrack but wasn’t able to provide officers who inspected the site evidence that the operator was cultivating cannabis.
In April, the CCD revoked Golden Roots’ license and issued a $10,000 fine, according to the news outlet.
The company requested a hearing, which the regulator scheduled for Sept. 1.
At the hearing, the CCD testified that the company’s dried-cannabis weights in BioTrack were suspicious because they didn’t seem to accurately reflect how much weight marijuana loses as it dries.
Company employees also poorly accounted for why they were making adjustments in the system of up to 24 pounds of cannabis, making comments such as “bad” or “mistake” in the software, Albuquerque Business First reported.
Golden Roots was fined $298,972.05 – the amount regulators allege the company made selling products that weren’t properly accounted for in BioTrack.
The CCD has been cracking down on cannabis operators accused of selling products procured from out-of-state or not grown legally:
- Regulators alleged in August that Albuquerque dispensary Sawmill Sweet Leaf sold out-of-state products and didn’t have a license for extraction.
- Paradise Exotics Distro lost its license in July after regulators alleged the company sold products made in California.
Golden Roots was the first alleged rulebreaker in New Mexico to be asked to pay a large fine.
Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/new-mexico-cannabis-operator-fined-loses-license-for-alleged-biotrack-fraud/
Four marijuana companies, including a multistate operator, have filed a lawsuit against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in which they allege the federal MJ prohibition under the Controlled Substances Act is no longer constitutional.
According to the complaint, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, retailer Canna Provisions, Treevit delivery service CEO Gyasi Sellers, cultivator Wiseacre Farm and MSO Verano Holdings Corp. are all harmed by “the federal government’s unconstitutional ban on cultivating, manufacturing, distributing, or possessing intrastate marijuana.”
Verano is headquartered in Chicago but has operations in Massachusetts; the other three operators are based in Massachusetts.
The lawsuit seeks a ruling that the “Controlled Substances Act is unconstitutional as applied to the intrastate cultivation, manufacture, possession, and distribution of marijuana pursuant to state law.”
The companies want the case to go before the U.S. Supreme Court.
They hired prominent law firm Boies Schiller Flexner to represent them.
The New York-based firm’s principal is David Boies, whose former clients include Microsoft, former presidential candidate Al Gore and Elizabeth Holmes’ disgraced startup Theranos.
Similar challenges to the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) have failed.
One such challenge led to a landmark Supreme Court decision in 2005.
In Gonzalez vs. Raich, the highest court in the United States ruled in a 6-3 decision that the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution gave Congress the power to outlaw marijuana federally, even though state laws allow the cultivation and sale of cannabis.
In the 18 years since that ruling, 23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized adult-use marijuana and the federal government has allowed a multibillion-dollar cannabis industry to thrive.
Since both Congress and the U.S. Department of Justice, currently headed by Garland, have declined to intervene in state-licensed marijuana markets, the key facts that led to the Supreme Court’s 2005 ruling “no longer apply,” Boies said in a statement Thursday.
“The Supreme Court has since made clear that the federal government lacks the authority to regulate purely intrastate commerce,” Boies said.
“Moreover, the facts on which those precedents are based are no longer true.”
Verano President Darren Weiss said in a statement the company is “prepared to bring this case all the way to the Supreme Court in order to align federal law with how Congress has acted for years.”
While the Biden administration’s push to reschedule marijuana would help solve marijuana operators’ federal tax woes, neither rescheduling nor modest Congressional reforms such as the SAFER Banking Act “solve the fundamental issue,” Weiss added.
“The application of the CSA to lawful state-run cannabis business is an unconstitutional overreach on state sovereignty that has led to decades of harm, failed businesses, lost jobs, and unsafe working conditions.”
Alabama regulators are targeting Dec. 1 to award the first batch of medical cannabis business licenses after the agency’s first two attempts were scrapped because of scoring errors and litigation.
The first licenses will be awarded to individual cultivators, delivery providers, processors, dispensaries and state testing labs, according to the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC).
Then, on Dec. 12, the AMCC will award licenses for vertically integrated operations, a designation set primarily for multistate operators.
Licenses are expected to be handed out 28 days after they have been awarded, so MMJ production could begin in early January, according to the Alabama Daily News.
That means MMJ products could be available for patients around early March, an AMCC spokesperson told the media outlet.
Regulators initially awarded 21 business licenses in June, only to void them after applicants alleged inconsistencies with how the applications were scored.
Then, in August, the state awarded 24 different licenses – 19 went to June recipients – only to reverse themselves again and scratch those licenses after spurned applicants filed lawsuits.
A state judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Chicago-based MSO Verano Holdings Corp., but another lawsuit is pending.
Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/alabama-plans-to-award-medical-cannabis-licenses-dec-1/
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