Marijuana Business Daily

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte now says he will support any legislation to legalize medical marijuana, giving a cannabis bill currently before the country’s House of Representatives a much greater chance of success. The Philippine Compassionate Medical…

British Columbia-based Tilray reached an agreement with a subsidiary of Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG in which the Canadian firm’s medical marijuana will eventually be produced and distributed in countries where MMJ is legal. Tilray’s deal with…

Pennsylvania is giving out another 23 permits to sell medical marijuana through dispensaries for an MMJ program that opened for business last February. The state Department of Health said the 23 remaining permits will bring the number of dispensaries to 79 in…

Arkansas will wait until early next year to award the first dispensary licenses, the state’s Medical Marijuana Commission announced. Here’s what you need to know: The panel had planned to meet this week to announce the dispensary scores, but on Tuesday it…

A week after approving medical marijuana, New Zealand’s government announced that a binding referendum on ending cannabis prohibition will be held alongside the general election in 2020. If the prohibition is struck down, New Zealand would be the first Group…

Ohio’s medical marijuana regulatory agencies have been approved for a $2.1 million loan to help cover legal fees. The $2.1 million, approved by the state’s Controlling Board, is needed to cover legal costs from lawsuits brought by companies denied medical…

New Jersey regulators doubled the number of medical marijuana dispensaries that can operate in the state, adding six more for a total of 12. The move could help alleviate a product shortage that arose from a growing patient pool amid limited business licenses.…

Florida’s $250 million medical marijuana market is poised to swing its doors open to new companies next year after two judicial rulings in recent months that could reshape the competitive landscape. More competitors would be a change for the Sunshine…

A businesswoman in Reno, Nevada, is suing Terra Tech, accusing the California-based, vertically integrated marijuana company and various defendants connected to the firm of alleged theft, stock manipulation and filing false reports with government agencies,…

A class action lawsuit filed in San Francisco County Superior Court is asking a California judge to block the state’s highway patrol from seizing and turning over cash and other assets from state-legal marijuana companies to federal authorities. The…

A temporary scientific committee launched by the French National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) has recommended that medical marijuana be authorized – five years after the country passed legislation to allow cannabis-based…

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he’d like to see the legalization of adult-use marijuana in the state early next year, which could create a $1.7 billion market, generate significant new business opportunities in the cannabis industry and curtail the…

Cannabis cultivators, product manufacturers, retailers and laboratories coast-to-coast are facing closure, failed mandatory tests and increased scrutiny from regulators over pesticide concerns. In Massachusetts, the state’s health department ordered medical…

A Denver court issued an $8.8 million judgment against the owners of the once-thriving Colorado marijuana chain Sweet Leaf for unpaid rent, late fees and interest in breaching four commercial leases in Denver. Denver District Judge Edward Bronfin issued the…

Several major hurdles undermining hemp cultivators’ ability to run successful, profitable businesses are set to crumble once President Donald Trump signs the 2018 Farm Bill. Challenges such as finding processors or accessing banking services – problems…

New Jersey lawmakers won’t vote on legalizing adult-use marijuana before the end of the year after failing to reach a compromise deal. The failure likely means that legalization won’t be taken up again until 2019, dashing hopes for now that the state would…

U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner plans to introduce an amendment to a criminal justice reform bill that would fully protect state-legal marijuana programs as well as resolve banking and taxation issues that currently vex the MJ industry, his office confirmed Friday. The…

Ohio’s medical cannabis regulators are asking for an additional $2.1 million from state funds to cover the legal fees incurred from lawsuits lobbed by companies that were denied MMJ licenses. By March 2018, at least three lawsuits had been filed against the…

Canada’s largest marijuana market is set to adopt a phased approach to cannabis retail due to “severe supply shortages across the country,” the Ministry of Finance announced Thursday, capping the early rollout to no more than 25 stores. The licenses will…

At least one bank in Massachusetts is willing to do business with medical marijuana companies. Swansea-based BayCoast Bank said it will take deposits from MMJ businesses, according to the Boston Business Journal. BayCoast Bank is offering to work with medical…

Nevada issues 61 additional provisional recreational marijuana retail permits, Connecticut doubles the number of medical cannabis dispensary licenses in the state, and some publicly traded MJ firms release third-quarter results. Here’s a closer look at some…

After months of back and forth with cannabis-infused products makers and MJ trade associations, the Washington state Liquor and Cannabis Board approved new packaging, labeling and product design regulations for edibles. The rules: Designate approved colors and…

Two lawmakers in conservative Nebraska revealed plans to place a medical marijuana legalization measure on the 2020 ballot. Sens. Anna Wishart and Adam Morfeld, both Democrats from Lincoln, announced the formation of Nebraskans for Sensible Marijuana Laws. The…

What is believed to be Maine’s first medical cannabis convenience store is scheduled to open in Portland this week. Atlantic Farms Gas N’ Grass says it will sell cannabis-infused gummies, tinctures and smokable marijuana on Thursday, the first day…

Ohio has given the first medical marijuana dispensary the approval to open, but it’s still uncertain when sales will begin. State regulators gave the go-ahead to Cresco Labs’ CY+ dispensary near Steubenville, on the eastern side of the state, making it…

(This story has been updated to include a statement from a Tilray spokesperson.) Amid growing scrutiny of cross-border deals in the marijuana industry, Nanaimo, British Columbia-based Tilray has formed an International Advisory Board consisting of global…

The recently released final drafts of California's marijuana industry rules received mixed reviews from some cannabis experts.…

Hemp legalization awaits the pen of President Donald Trump after the U.S. House on Wednesday followed the Senate and approved a 2018 Farm Bill that removes hemp from the U.S. Controlled Substances Act. The House voted 369-47 to agree to a Farm Bill compromise…

Utah state regulators are advertising for a program manager to oversee the newly formed medical cannabis market in the state, industrialized hemp and CBD regulations. The cannabis program manager job would be based in Salt Lake County, and regulators will be…

To help people of color gain entry into the cannabis market, one marijuana industry veteran has developed a grant-funding program to give them a leg up.…