The start-up world can expect to see a different kind of green in the next few years if the marijuana business grows as rapidly as some expect. Legal marijuana sales grew to $5.4 billion in 2015, up from $4.6 billion in the prior year, and sales are expected to grow by 25 percent to about $6.7 billion this year, according to research firm Arcview’s latest marijuana market report. “We are going to see the legal cannabis industry create, tailor to and adapt technology for agriculture, plant compound extraction, security and finance,” said Leslie Bocskor, a funds manager who focuses on marijuana businesses for Electrum Partners. Will marijuana sales growth be enough for these start-ups to continue business?

“As the industry grows, it will rely on technology to facilitate the development of businesses from an innovation perspective, which will create a more fertile environment for investment. “We at Electrum expect the legal cannabis industry to be the leading creator of new jobs, leading provider of new tax revenue, and the overall leading creator of wealth in the U.S. for the next 10 years,” said Bocskor, who wouldn’t disclose how much his firm has invested in marijuana-related businesses.

But Bocskor likens the marijuana industry now to the advent of antibiotics in the 1920s.

Different varieties and strains of marijuana are available for patients at Harborside Health Center, a large medical marijuana dispensary in Oakland. “We’re only at the very beginning, essentially like being at the very beginning of Sir Alexander Fleming discovering penicillin as mold in a petri dish. That’s how it started, and now how broad are antibiotics as a category of medicine? In the same sense we’re just looking at the very beginning of cannabis,” Bocskor said.

But with opportunity comes risk. The growth of marijuana businesses, including marijuana tech businesses are limited by legal hurdles. Medical marijuana consumption is allowed in 23 states, the District of Columbia and Guam. The federal government considers marijuana a dangerous drug and its distribution is still a federal offense. But marijuana tech start-ups held back from further growth expect that dam to break, and soon, releasing pent-up demand for legal medical and eventually recreational marijuana use.

Isaac Dietrich, founder of cannabis-focused social media site Massroots, said he expects to see his company’s revenue and site user growth to accelerate this year. Last year, Massroots firm applied to be the first marijuana-related tech firm listed on the Nasdaq. It still hasn’t achieved that listing, but shares of the company are currently traded over the counter on the OTCQB, Dietrich said.

And the budding marijuana tech sector is more than social. It includes companies focused on hard science as well. Weed tech firm Potbotics, for example, uses patient brain scans to help determine the best strains of marijuana to treat specific diseases.

“Technology is at the core of the transformation of cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, retail and delivery. Industrial agriculture best practices and technology are in the process of migrating over to the cannabis space, allowing for optimized yields, water and energy efficiencies,” said Paul Warshaw, founder and CEO of Greenrush, a marijuana delivery service. Eventually, the consumer experience could be so streamlined that it will be a far cry from a shady, street-corner transaction.

“Payments for marijuana will be processed online, with the same security and ease of an Amazon checkout. Drivers and patients will be protected from the dangers presented by cash sales,” Warshaw said.

“Once the order is placed, algorithms will determine the fastest transportation staff, modalities and routes for delivery. Driver tracking tools will provide unparalleled efficiency, comfort and security throughout the delivery process. And completion of the order will be as simple as tipping and rating your Lyft driver at the end of a ride,” Warshaw said.

But for now, the fact that marijuana is still illegal under federal law makes it impossible major banks to get into the business. Why online meal kit sales are poised for growth

JPMorgan Chase, for example, recently closed an account owned by Green Flower Media, a company that provides information on marijuana and its use.

“As a federally regulated institution, we don’t process payments for businesses participating in federally prohibited activities,” Mary Jane Rogers, a Chase spokeswoman, told CNBC. In an email to CNBC, Green Flower Media founder Max Simon said: “I understand the long-standing stigma about cannabis, but it’s unfair, unjust and ignorant to make an emotional decision to shut down our account when we have already been approved, followed their guidelines and changed nothing. This is not protecting their risk. This is discrimination.

The bank also closed the business and personal accounts of marijuana entrepreneur Martin Tobias, CNBC reported last year. “We need to solve the banking problem, and I think the solution is going to have to be legislative or come from the government,” Bocskor said. Also: billions of dollars in cash per year are changing hands, raising concerns about personal safety among those involved in transactions.

“It’s a risk. And we need to get that cash out of the system and we need to give them electronic banking to be able to keep the cash out of the system,” Bocskor said.

Correction: The quotation that began “Technology is at the core …” should have been attributed to Paul Warshaw of Greenrush.

Source: Tech start-ups hope for marijuana sales growth

A new pro-marijuana billboard that plays off the slogan promoting the Waste Management Phoenix Open was unveiled in Phoenix on Monday by the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol.

“If beer and golf make for the ‘greatest party on grass’…Why can’t adults enjoy a safer party on grass?” reads the billboard on the southwest corner of Seventh and Lincoln streets.

It tweaks the Phoenix Open’s slogan, “Greatest show on grass,” just days before the main events of the PGA tournament that draws an estimated 500,000 attendees each year.

The campaign believes the Phoenix Open is the perfect opportunity to highlight social acceptance of alcohol versus the stigmatization marijuana users face.

“There’s certainly going to be a lot of alcohol consumption there,” said J.P. Holyoak, campaign chairman. “That’s not something that I’m opposed to, but why should we continue to criminalize and arrest people for choosing something that is objectively safer than alcohol?”

Their message highlights the importance of personal responsibility when adults use any substance.

“Our message is simple,” Holyoak said. “Enjoy alcohol responsibly, but adults should be able to choose the safer alternative and enjoy cannabis responsibly

Source: Marijuana Supporters Unveil Waste Management Phoenix Open Themed Billboard | Phoenix New Times

Campaigners on Monday handed in nearly double the number of signatures needed to qualify for the ballot. Some will be bad, but that’s a pretty big cushion.

“Over the past eight months, we’ve talked to more than 100,000 voters across the state, from Kittery to Caribou,” said campaign manager David Boyer. “Most Mainers agree it is time to end the failed policy of marijuana prohibition, and they will have the opportunity to do it this November.”

According to a poll last spring from the Portland marketing firm Critical Insights, a whopping two-thirds (65%) of Mainers support legalizing the weed, with nearly four out five (79%) saying it should be sold in licensed establishments.

The initiative would let people 21 or over possess up to 2.5 ounces of pot and grow a limited number of plants in their homes. It would also set up the framework for a tightly regulated system of licensed marijuana retail stores, cultivation facilities, product-manufacturing facilities, and testing facilities, and it would create rules governing the cultivation, testing, transportation, and sale of marijuana. The initiative would enact a 10% tax on marijuana sales.

“This initiative will replace the underground marijuana market with a tightly controlled system of legitimate, taxpaying businesses that create good jobs for Maine residents,” Boyer said. “It will also make Maine safer by allowing enforcement officials to spend more time addressing serious crimes instead of enforcing failed marijuana prohibition laws.”

So far, only four states—Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington—all in the West, have voted to legalize it at the ballot box. Washington, DC, legalized possession and cultivation, but not sales and distribution. If the measure actually makes the ballot and passes, Maine could become the first state east of the Mississippi to legalize it.

But Vermont is moving toward legalization through the legislative process. That bill has won a first committee vote, but its prospects for passage this year are uncertain. And Massachusetts could well end voting for a legalization initiative this year, too. Whether it’s Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, or some combination of the above, New England is becoming a real hotbed for reefer reform this year.

Read the full article from the source: Maine Joins the Growing List of States to Vote on Marijuana Legalization This Year | Alternet

Regardless of discussion of recreational or adult use marijuana coming soon, it is a relief to see companies like Columbia Care staying focused on the availability and research of medical marijuana. Columbia Care now has multiple locations in New York, Massachusetts, Arizona and Washington DC. Nick Vita, the CEO of Columbia Care was interviewed last week regarding the company’s new Rochester, New York dispensary.

CEO Nicholas Vita said he expects a reasonable ramp-up for patients.

The clusters of chairs and small tables in the waiting area bring to mind a hotel lobby. The counters and islands in the pharmacy make the well-lit, airy space look more like the interior of a high-end jewelry store than a place to buy medication.

Unlike other areas where it took days or weeks for patients to arrive, Columbia Care of New York officials said patients arrived at its medical marijuana dispensary at Eastman Business Park within hours of Thursday’s opening.

The company did not release a figure, but the turnout bested opening days in other locations.

“Just to give you a little background, we managed the first dispensary that opened in Washington, D.C.,” Columbia Care chief executive officer Nicholas Vita said Thursday morning. “We were open for a month before we saw our first patient. That’s not unexpected.”

The Rochester dispensary, the third of Columbia Care’s four in the state, officially opened in Building 28, (Theatre on the Ridge) by appointment only on Thursday afternoon. The pharmacy is accessible only to patients who are registered with the state, and patients will be accompanied by a staff person once they are in the dispensing area.

Columbia Care also operates in Arizona and Massachusetts. Vita addressed the political climate in New York surrounding medical marijuana , the potential for research and the cautious approach of the area’s medical establishment and other topics before the pharmacy opened, which was three weeks after the state launched the medical marijuana program.

 Dr. Len Vilensky, who runs Vilensky Upstate Medicine, a private practice in Pittsford, is debating whether to stay listed on marijuanadoctors.com.

In the first few days his name was on the site, he said his office received about a dozen calls.

“You cannot be too cautious,” said Vilensky, who is aware that some patients may shop around for a doctor to certify that they qualify. “We need proof of every diagnosis.”

Vilensky, who has practiced pain management for about 10 years, said he plans to discuss medical marijuana with the 30 percent to 40 percent of his existing patients could qualify for the treatment.

Asked about the seeming secrecy surrounding the program, Vita said, “When you’re looking at a traditional industry, that may be a reasonable conclusion. But the reality is this is a brand new program, it is a brand new product, it’s a different area of health care than anyone has seen in New York state before.”

Vita said there still is a stigma that medical marijuana is a “gateway to a recreational program and that’s just not the case. Everything we do is designed around the idea that we are treating patients as part of health care solution.”

Now that the dispensary is open, Columbia Care’s next goal is to finalize a research partnership with URMC that focuses on how effective marijuana is at helping patients.

Read the full article and see video of the interview with Nick from the Source: Rochester’s medical marijuana dispensary, Columbia Care, opens at Eastman Business Park, Democrat and Chronicle. 1/28/16

Floridians will decide this November whether to allow medical marijuana in the state.

On Wednesday, a constitutional amendment to legalize the drug gained enough signed petitions to qualify for the ballot next November. If passed, the amendment would allow doctors to prescribe marijuana for people with “debilitating conditions” such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, epilepsy or multiple sclerosis.

“This November, Florida will pass this law and hundreds of thousands of sick and suffering people will see relief,” Orlando lawyer John Morgan said in a written statement. “What Tallahassee politicians refused to do, the people will do together in this election.”

Legalizing medical marijuana has been a contentious issue for years in Florida politics as 23 states and Washington, D.C., have approved the drug for medical use and voters in four have legalized it for recreation.

A similar amendment gained the support of 58 percent of voters in 2014, falling just shy of the required 60 percent threshold to amend the state constitution.

 

Read more from the Source: Medical marijuana will be on Florida’s ballot in November | Miami Herald

Instagram users who post pictures of themselves smoking marijuana could unknowingly be getting themselves into a lot of trouble.

As marijuana laws get looser around the country, the trend is becoming more and more prevalent. And though Instagram guidelines prohibits people from posting “unlawful” photos and other content, users are posting the pictures fast than the site can take them down. “Even though 23 states have legalized medical marijuana and four states have legalized recreational marijuana, marijuana remains illegal federally,” said former Drug Enforcement Administration agent Patricia D’Orsa-Dijamco to Fox News.

A man smokes marijuana.Photograph by — Sean Gallup Getty Images

A six-digit fine and jail time, to be exact

Instagram users who post pictures of themselves smoking marijuana could unknowingly be getting themselves into a lot of trouble.

As marijuana laws get looser around the country, the trend is becoming more and more prevalent. And though Instagram guidelines prohibits people from posting “unlawful” photos and other content, users are posting the pictures fast than the site can take them down. “Even though 23 states have legalized medical marijuana and four states have legalized recreational marijuana, marijuana remains illegal federally,” said former Drug Enforcement Administration agent Patricia D’Orsa-Dijamco to Fox News.

Though the consequences could be different depending where you are, social media strategist Shannon Self told Fox that in states with harsh laws against marijuana, “a photograph of someone smoking weed documents a possession felony.” In Arizona, for example, that alone could cost you a $150,000 fine and an 18-month jail sentence.

Read more from the Source: Marijuana Photos on Instagram Could Cost You Big – Fortune

California marijuana growers face new crop of local bans – Hawaii News Now – KGMB and KHNL

Medical Marijuana legalization is spreading throughout the country. As additional medical research is completed and data on usage is collected, additional conditions are being added to the list of qualifying conditions.

“A bill introduced Thursday in the New Hampshire state assembly seeks to add post-traumatic stress disorder to the list of ailments eligible for medical marijuana treatment, which was legalized in 2013 but remains hard to obtain in the Granite state.

The proposed legislation comes as New Hampshire grapples with an opioid and heroin addiction and overdose crisis.

Medical marijuana advocates argue that better access to cannabis would offer an alternative means of pain relief to people now using painkillers or heroin. In 2015 the state’s medical examiner attributed 385 deaths to opiates, almost double the 192 fatalities in 2013, according to New Hampshire Public Radio.

Also, adding PTSD to the list of illnesses approved for cannabis treatment could provide another option to people who’ve found no relief with standard anti-anxiety or antidepressant medication, advocates say.

A University of New Hampshire poll last year found strong backing for the legalization of both medical and recreational marijuana, with support levels growing each year.”

Read more from this Source: PTSD Latest Battleground for Medical Pot | Al Jazeera America

Just as it is important for us o continue medical research, it is important for marijuana businesses to be collecting information, not just from seed to sale, but from seed to use.

To discuss strategies for collecting additional data on patients, contact us.

Medical Marijuana Establishment licenses are currently being reviewed by the Maryland Medical Marijuana Commission.

The Commission anticipates medical cannabis could become available to patients in Maryland in the second half of 2016. Awardees will have 1 year to complete all license requirements including a request for final inspection by the commission.

Meanwhile this week, Md. Lawmakers Override Veto of Marijuana Paraphernalia Decriminalization. A Press Release by the Medical Marijuana Policy Project also reports a recent poll indicating 53% of Maryland voters support regulating marijuana like alcohol. 

This is sure to be a busy year for Marijuana Businesses in Maryland developing seed to sale practices.

Arizona’s nearly 88,000 medical marijuana patients smoke, ate or otherwise consumed more than 19 tons of the drug last year. An estimated $184 million was spent on the drug legally. This is just the beginning of the medical marijuana consumed in Arizona.

The disclosures come as the Marijuana Policy Project, which successfully got voters to enact the medical marijuana law in 2010, is now trying to open the door for legal recreational use.

It also comes as several legislators are trying to curb the ability of some patients to obtain the drug as well as who can write the legally necessary recommendations.

 That 2010 law allows those with certain specified medical conditions and a doctor’s recommendation to obtain up to 2½ ounces of marijuana every two weeks. Those conditions include glaucoma, seizures, nausea as well as Alzheimer’s disease and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The 2015 sales numbers are nearly double what was purchased in 2014.

Health Department figures also show the vast majority of what was purchased was in whole marijuana form, meaning leaves and flowers that could be smoked or made into tea. Less than 10 percent of the sales were edibles, including candy bars and drinks.

Source: 19 tons of medical marijuana consumed in Arizona last year