Business
Dorms, Student Center, Library, Dispensary – UBC First to Add a Dispensary to Their College Campus
Canadian College Campus Is First to Get Weed Dispensary
The University of British Columbia in Canada is in line to be the first university in the nation to house a marijuana dispensary with the recent authorization of a Burb retail shop to launch on the campus. For Burb Cannabis Corporation, this location will be their eighth authorized marijuana retail store in British Columbia. Thus, bringing the corporation to the regulatory boundary on the number of recreational dispensaries that one authorized body can operate in the province.
Burb is a global cannabis brand that claims to be on a mission to spread the “BC Bud” culture of British Columbia around the world by way of a chain of retail stores, cannabis-related goods, clothing, and accessories. Additionally, the business owns and runs the Light Culture podcast, which is presented by Paper Magazine’s co-founder and former editor-in-chief, David Hershkovits.
Burb’s cannabis dispensary, intended for the University of British Columbia, got authorized by the Board of Directors of the Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), the local governing body for the area surrounding the campus, as the dispensary is actually situated just off the campus. The authorization came regardless of the voiced opposition from local community members, along with an online petition that got close to 1900 signatures.
Co-founder and CEO at Burb, John Kaye, in a statement from the corporation, said that this occurrence was a great victory for them following a controversial debate around how it fits into the community and public safety. Notwithstanding the concerns which are founded on the archaic stigma on cannabis from residents who live nearby, a number of whom were residential owners that are off-shore, an informed decision that aligned with the staggering voice of the student body, was made by the board.
He added that they are excited to take Burb to campus and provide safe access to residents and students this fall.
NEIGHBOURING RESIDENTS OPPOSE CAMPUS CANNABIS DISPENSARY PLAN
The dispensary’s proposed location was opposed by locals who claimed that it would be too close to two elementary schools and a nearby high school. They also launched a campaign to prevent the authorization of the shop. According to a CBC News article, a nearby resident named Connie Chen launched an online petition that said the store would draw visitors for reasons that have nothing to do with the university.
The petition stated that in permitting cannabis retail to come into the business plaza, they are creating a high risk of exposing children to substances they are not old enough for.
The suggested cannabis dispensary had the support of the Alma Mater Society (AMS) of the university, the organization that represents over 56,000 students on campus. Another online petition competing with the first is in support of the dispensary, which was put online by Sean Safaei, who is associated with Burb and has received over 2,000 signatures.
Eshana Bhangu, the president of AMS, said about the approval of the application that since the project had the support of the Alma Mater Society right from the onset, it is good news for the students.
She added that they think the student body of the University of British California really deserves a safe area close by where they can buy marijuana in a stress-free environment and is accessible.
Bhangu pointed out that the absence of a dispensary nearby would mean the university students would need to walk or board a bus to the closest cannabis retailer, which is slightly more than 1.5 miles ( more than 2.5 kilometers). The only other choice will be to purchase cannabis from illegal dealers.
These types of locations really do help in reducing illicit activities, and we do not think that this will pose any threat to families and underage children, added Bhangu.
According to Burb, the new store will be the first not only to be situated on a college campus in Canada but also in the entire world. Burb is seeking to expand outside British Columbia now that it has reached the highest number of outlets permitted there. Beaver Tail, Butter Tarts, and Zyrup, three cannabis strains from British Columbia, made their California debut thanks to a recent expansion into the country.
We are west coast pioneers, and we infuse all of our brand expansions with the illustrious past of BC Bud, added Kaye. British Columbia has become known worldwide for producing superior, winning craft cannabis strains through breeding and cultivation. We’re proud to use rigorous selection and our original innovation to bring this tradition, expertise, and enthusiasm to California.
BURB IS EXPANDING INTO THE MARKETS IN THE U.S.
Burb is growing in American markets.
The business revealed its expansion into the fiercely competitive adult-use cannabis wholesale market in California in May. Burb’s products are now available on the shelves of dispensaries at stores like Dr. Greenthumb, Cookies, Mainstage, and The Pottery. The business also intends to enter Florida’s burgeoning medical marijuana market.
Kaye said they are delighted to be partnering with TRP, which is the Cookies Retail group wholesale division, to bring their Los Angeles cultivated premium flower products to California and also looking forward to launching in Florida state exclusively through Cookies retail stores this fall.
TRP licenses the Burb brand for both Florida and California. It collaborates with Jason McKnight’s Los Angeles-based production partner, Green Label, to supply the brand with high-quality indoor flowers.
“We’re coming with the flavors we love and are familiar with to the California market,” said Kaye. “We’re inventing with Jason, working with wonderful genetics providers, and doing our best to do that.”
BOTTOM LINE
It would seem as though the Burb cannabis organization is planning some kind of total world cannabis market domination, with their branches now expanding into the United States markets after taking over the British Columbia province in Canada.
Their recent approval to put a cannabis dispensary at the University of British Columbia was a huge one in their goal of world domination. Still, it raised eyebrows and more in the community nearby the University, as about 1,900 residents signed a petition in disapproval, rating concerns about unnecessary visitors and how it might influence young children.
Business
New Mexico cannabis operator fined, loses license for alleged BioTrack fraud
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/
Business
Marijuana companies suing US attorney general in federal prohibition challenge
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.”
Business
Alabama to make another attempt Dec. 1 to award medical cannabis licenses
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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