Early last week Denver city officials released over 28,000 packages of marijuana-infused edibles back into the market following a recall on the products late last year. The edible products tested positive for pesticides that are banned from use on cannabis.

Colorado governor John Hickenlooper issued an executive order in early December mandating the destruction of pesticide-tainted products as a risk to public health and a threat to public safety. Hickenlooper, a Democrat, opposed the legalization of marijuana for recreational use in the state.

Denver officials released the edible products that contained trace-levels of the banned pesticides because “the [executive order] doesn’t tell us, the city, to do anything,” according to a report in the Denver Post. The city had enforced 19 separate recalls related to pesticide use.

According to the report the state is not able to enforce the governor’s order because officials have not developed standards to certify private labs that test cannabis products for safety. The state health department has plans to begin certifying labs over the next 6 to 12 months.

Mormon Church Against Madsen’s Utah Marijuana Bill; ‘No Objection’ to Other Measure
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opposes a bill sponsored by Sen. Mark Madsen that would make Utah the 24th state to legalize medical marijuana, citing unintended consequences that could come with use of the drug.

The state’s predominant faith is not taking a position on another measure, sponsored by Sen. Evan Vickers, R-Cedar City, and Rep. Brad Daw, R-Orem, that would allow extracts from the plant that do not contain the psychoactive chemical THC.

“Along with others, we have expressed concern about the unintended consequences that may accompany the legalization of medical marijuana,” LDS Church spokesman Eric Hawkins said in a statement to The Tribune. “We have expressed opposition to Senator Madsen’s bill because of that concern. We are raising no objection to the other bill that addresses this issue.”

Lobbyists for the Utah-based faith have conveyed to Madsen, as well as House Speaker Greg Hughes, R-Draper, and Senate President Wayne Niederhauser, R-Sandy, that the church opposes the bill, but did not explain its objections.

Madsen said he asked to discuss the reasons for the church’s stance but was rebuffed.

Read more at The Salt Lake Tribune.

Legal Marijuana Sales Hit $5.4 Billion in 2015, Report Says
It’s not just heat lamps in closets and nickel bags anymore: Marijuana is getting some respect as legal sales take off.

This week two marijuana analysis and investment firms released a summary of a report that appeared to confirm that the industry hasbecome a gold rush. National legal sales of cannabis grew to $5.4 billion in 2015, up from $4.6 billion in 2014, according to the firms, the ArcView Group, based in San Francisco, and New Frontier, based in Washington.

Demand is expected to remain strong this year, with a forecast of $6.7 billion in legal sales, the report said.

The promises and headwinds of the industry are potentially far-reaching and attracting notice on Wall Street. As more states legalize marijuana sales, analysts are weighing the stock market benefits of new businesses as cannabis goes corporate. Funds are considering the ethics of investing in marijuana. Parents are even debating whether to allow their children to buy the stocks.

Read more at The New York Times. An executive summary and the full report are available from New Frontier.

Top Five Characteristics a Marijuana Business Should Look For in a Landlord
It’s tough finding a landlord for a Marijuana company. Building owners worry that federal policies or rogue operators could cause their building to be seized. More attention has to be paid to specific regulations. Landlords don’t want to be seen as bad neighbors bringing in an unsavory element. The upside to these risks for landlords however is that they can often charge a higher rent and garner a greater overall return.

I asked George Stone and Potter Polk, partners at  Kalyx Development the factors that marijuana businesses should consider when looking for a landlord. Kalyx Development is a Manhattan-based real estate company that specializes in marijuana production, retail distribution and production facilities, with properties in Colorado, Oregon, Washington, New Mexico and soon California.

Stone and Polk take an active role financing and designing the facilities on their properties. They also help navigate the regulatory landscape for renters, and work with local law enforcement officials. This is a typical arrangement in the industry for two reasons according to the pair. The first is that marijuana businesses typically have a hard time finding loans so it is often the landlord who has the money to acquire the property for cash and assist with the tenant improvements and construction. Also, the landlord is at risk if the operation is run illegally, so has a stake in making sure regulations are followed to the letter.

Read more at Forbes.

Facebook Deletes Medical Marijuana Pages
Medical marijuana is legal in 23 states including New Jersey, but the ubiquitous social media giant Facebook apparently doesn’t “like” it. Home pages run by three Garden State dispensaries and at least handful of others across the country have been deleted.

The surprise move stunned dispensary owners and angered patients, who said Wednesday they rely on the up-to-the-minute information these sites provide about the latest strains that help alleviate debilitating symptoms.

“It seems high-handed to simply shut down important resources for sick patients without even saying why or giving organizations a way to ask for reconsideration,” said Peter Rosenfeld, one of the 5,668 registered patients in the state program. “What better use of a social media than having sites where parents of sick children can ask questions about medication and treatments?”

In an email, the Facebook media relations office declined to answer questions, and referred NJ Advance Media to the community standards section on its homepage.

Read more at NJ.com.

 

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