Cannabis Industry News - Cannabuzz Columnist

The “Cannabis During COVID-19” Chronicles

- May 7, 2020June 14, 2020 01827

I last wrote about the virus on March 9, 2020. Six days later, the newspapers carrying my column lost 90% of their revenue, and I lost 100% of my syndicated column. At that time, Governor Kate Brown declared a statewide State of Emergency the night before, and the scope of

Why The Cannabis “Black Market” Continue To Thrive

- February 27, 2020April 24, 2020 0809

The rapidly growing cannabis industry has a complicated relationship with the competing retail sector often described with a loaded term: the Black Market. “Black Market” is a reference to exchanges where seller and buyer deal in illegal goods and/or avoid taxes and regulations by conducting their business “in the shadows,” hence

Cannabis Now Employs Nearly 250,000

- February 12, 2020April 24, 2020 01354

Leafly has released their fourth annual Cannabis Jobs Report, and despite the troubling news of hundreds of recent industry layoffs, cannabis remains a fast track growth industry. The numbers and industry expansion are impressive, but are still just a fraction of what would be possible when cannabis is eventually made legal.

Oregonians Produce Record Amounts of Cannabis in 2019

- February 4, 2020April 24, 2020 0774

A new report by the Oregon Liquor Control Commision (OLCC) gives us a clearer answer to the question "how many cannabis growers are there and how much cannabis did the state produce in 2019?" (Albeit with data limited to licensed recreational growers, and not your “four plants” or however many your

OLCC Hits Cura With Record $110,000 Fine

OLCC
Oregon

- February 2, 2020April 24, 2020 0931

In news from the “Department of Dubious Achievements,” local cannabis powerhouse Cura Partners, which promotes itself as the “largest cannabis oil company in Oregon and California” now lays claim to another “largest”—the largest ever fine in OLCC history, be it cannabis or alcohol. This was well covered by Pete Danko at

Drones Delivering The Dro Coming To Seattle?

- January 13, 2020May 15, 2020 01320

When cannabis was legalized in Washington in 2012, jokes soon followed that it was just a matter of time until Amazon “starts a service to deliver cannabis to your front door via drone.” That hasn’t happened—yet—but recent news indicates it may not be that far off. Last month, Seattle based GRN

Cannabis Loses in the Legislature

- December 23, 2019April 25, 2020 0819

In 2019, optimism was in short supply no matter the subject, save cannabis. Numerous blogs, columns, and discussions revolved around how this was the year things were going to change, with many adding that 2020 would see full scale federal legalization. It’s all happening now, people! Except it didn’t, and likely

Is High Times On It’s Way Out?

- December 9, 2019April 25, 2020 0871

I recently wrote about how the cannabis industry has been rocked by losses and layoffs in 2019, and this troubling news hasn’t been strictly limited to growers, producers, delivery services, and dispensaries. Last week brought the news that cannabis media organizations are being hit hard, and one of the giants

The Year in Review for Cannabis 2019: Reviewing The Year In Cannabis

- December 5, 2019April 25, 2020 0769

As 2019 draws to a close, let’s review WTF just happened in cannabis, because this year was akin to consuming too many strong edibles, followed by multiple shots of very expensive tequila. The cannabis industry had a tough year, losing money for investors and, as a result, thousands of industry-related jobs.

What Chance Does the MORE Act To Legalize Cannabis Have of Passing?

- November 19, 2019April 25, 2020 0743

On Wednesday, Congress is expected to begin voting on an important piece of legislation regarding cannabis—the MORE Act. We’ve touched on the MORE Act before, and how its chances fared in comparison to its cannabis banking cousin, the SAFE Act, which received a vote on September 24, and passed with a

Cannabis Stocks Are Getting Smoked

- October 16, 2019April 26, 2020 0841

Until recently, there was much ado about investing in the “Green Rush” of cannabis stocks. Those with a stomach for the risks of investing in cannabis saw some returns hit 400 percent or more. But those high returns won’t be happening for many other investors, as 2019 has thus far served

Future of the SAFE Act Not Looking So Safe

- September 24, 2019April 26, 2020 0711

This year has generated increasing hope that a long-overdue bill for addressing the lack of banking options for cannabis businesses would finally be passed, thus alleviating the hassle, expense, and dangers that come with operating as an all-cash businesses. That solution manifested as the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act, AKA

This Column Was Written by a Stoned Bot

- August 29, 2019April 26, 2020 0740

[COLUMNIST’S NOTE: As a cannabis columnist, I receive endless press releases, emails, and marketing materials relating to new cannabis and hemp products, projects, events, conferences, and expos. I gathered 1,000 of these pieces, and forced a stoned bot to read them and then write the following press releases—because if there’s anything independent

Women Executives In Cannabis Outpaces Other Industries

- August 21, 2019April 26, 2020 0702

Where do women stand in the labor force, aside from underpaid? According to the US Department of Labor, "Of the 123 million women age 16 years and over in the U.S., 72 million, or 58.6 percent, were labor force participants—working or looking for work. Women comprised 47 percent of the total

Canadian Government Does Not Want “Fun” Used To Market Cannabis. Um, Okay.

- July 23, 2019April 26, 2020 0685

Oregon has some issues with how we regulate our cannabis programs, with truly baffling and seemingly self-defeating rules and regulations. For example, those who grow and process cannabis are forbidden from sharing samples with legal-aged consumers, because, um... look, don’t worry about why, they just are, okay? Rules are rules! Even if