NCIA Director of Communications Bethany Moore checks in with what’s going on across the country with the National Cannabis Industry Association’s membership, board, allies, and staff. This week Bethany is joined by NCIA CEO Aaron Smith and Deputy Director of Government Relations Michelle Rutter Friberg. Join us every other Thursday on Facebook for NCIA Today Live.
Where are they now? This month, NCIA’s editorial department continues the monthly Member Spotlight series by following up with three of our Social Equity Scholarship Recipients as part of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program. Participants are gaining first-hand access to regulators in key markets to get insight on the industry, tips for raising capital, and advice on how to access and utilize data to ensure success in their businesses, along with all the other benefits available to NCIA members.
For reference, previous member spotlights
First off, we have rebranded. We are now Cannvas Events. The name change was part of our evolution and maturation as a startup. As we scaled, more resources became available for things like branding. We brought in Greg Hill of Brand Birth to deploy the science of branding and the end result was a new name, new logo, and new understanding of where we were situated in the regulated cannabis ecosystem. The transformation led to the planning and production of our signature Cannabis Event 2.0 offering, the inaugural Saturnalia Canna Carnival, taking place at the Trinity Health Arena in Muskegon, MI on August 2oth. We are powering a traditional indoor/outdoor carnival – rides and attractions included – with a hassle-free, normalizing consumption solution. If you’re in the Midwest, come join us as we celebrate the first year of an iconic, perennial cannabis festival. Tickets and info at cannvasevents.com and follow us @saturnaliacannacarnival
The Spotlight feature presented tremendous value. The first year of the cannabis startup journey is devoid of financial revenue. Unless you’re needle-in-the-haystack lucky, it’s not even a consideration. The money is flowing in the opposite direction. So, the only available revenue, or currency, are the relationships. If you’re fortunate, these become renewable resources upon which you can draw repeatedly, and managed properly, they have no expiration date. You can bank them like any currency and you have much more influence on their stability, than on fiat currency. For me, that one relationship was with Michael Schwamm, who leads the Duane Morris cannabis practice out of New York. Michael opened doors for me and got me into rooms that I was previously unaware existed. That access has made all of the difference for me, personally, and for Cannvas Events. And had it not been for the Spotlight, I would have never been in position to enjoy that access.
I’m impressed by the brilliant folks on the committee, and their dedication to making cannabis equitable. It takes time out of our grueling work days to contribute time on these committees but the contribution to making the industry better is crucial during these developmental years of cannabis. Perhaps our current misguided, harmful CA cannabis policies could have been prevented with more early participation from stakeholders who are stewards of the plant. However, there were many factors involved with the way CA policies were created, including special interest money from those who don’t care or want to see the industry fail.
It’s been a painful journey living through the consequences of these challenging policies as a cannabis operator. It takes a long time to change once it’s been passed. However, companies who are willing to work together in these important processes will survive and write a new path to move forward. Most of us can’t wait anymore for things to change so we need everyone’s active participation now, whether it’s writing an email to your constituents or being a part of NCIA!
Overburdensome taxes and high barriers to entry for licensing throughout the state are most obvious right now. The lack of diversity and equity, consumer education, state and federal funding for further research and development also play a huge role in CA’s struggles. I’m frustrated that the State doesn’t understand that those who have been dedicated to the industry, collaboration and this plant are the only ones who can truly guide this industry forward.
NCIA members can lend support by truly including legacy, equity, and other diverse teams into your conversations and partnerships, and opening our eyes to value brought to the table by different communities. I would also encourage members to think about ways we can create awareness to our consumers to make better buying decisions. We have left all the medical properties of cannabis while legalizing, and that’s also why the industry is failing. Lastly, we need to keep pushing for more consumption lounges and events!
At Endo Industries, we built our company on principles of collaboration, science, equity and inclusion. Most notably, we offer critical supply chain support through our tissue culture services, and certified virus-free clean clones for growers, breeders and brands. If you know good operators who could benefit from our support, please send them our way. I cannot stress enough that the work Endo is doing is crucial for the success of the supply chain right now.
We’ve gotten great exposure for being featured in Spotlight. Endo and myself are more internet searchable, which in this day in age means we are real people!
People started sharing the link to the Spotlight to use as an introduction to Endo and myself as a founder. We’ve been told by clients who decided to work with us because they came across the feature when researching Endo. It solidified their desire to pick us because we are bullish about our values because our business model is strategic and collaborative.
It’s great to be co-signed by a credible organization like NCIA, and it goes a long way for a small business that doesn’t have an abundance of marketing and PR resources. I’ve hid in the shadows for far too long. My journey and passion for cannabis needs to be told and celebrated. Endo as a company needs exposure so we can reach a larger audience. I’m grateful for NCIA and look forward to our continued relationship.
There is a lot new in the world of Next Level since our Equity Spotlight in September of 2021. In December, we had a booth, sponsored by the awesome team at The People’s Ecosystem, in Moscone Center at NCIA San Francisco. It was our first time attending an expo, let alone having a booth, and it was a great opportunity to grow our brand while creating relationships for future business opportunities. In the second week of the new year we launched our 1000 mg full spectrum coconut oil in Ivy Hill Oakland. And, later that month, we were welcomed into the Third Cohort of Momentum, Eaze’s Cannabis Business Accelerator. Two weeks before classes began, in early April, we launched our infused fast-acting brown sugar in 7 Star Holistic Healing Center. And in May, we attended MJ Unpacked NYC with other graduates of Our Academy.
California Cannabis is facing challenges on many fronts. Countless unnecessary hurdles to legal entry, political red tape, and excess packaging waste to name a few. But the biggest challenges are around security. Every week there is news of a new dispensary, farm, distributor, and friend being burglarized. High tech security systems, gates, and cameras are no match for organized thieves and slow police responses. Until we can get a portion of our excessive taxes dedicated to funding police divisions that specifically targets cannabis thieves, the best solution to combat this is to support your favorite brands by purchasing their products through legal cannabis retail sources.
Being in the Spotlight helped our company tremendously. It allowed us to grow our cannabis network as plant-touching and ancillary companies reached out from all over the country. In addition, the visibility it provided us helped connect with the team at The People’s Ecosystem which led to our booth at NCIA’s Cannabis Business Summit and our new supply chain partners. It provided the traction we needed to help us get to the next level.
By Charlena Berry, Cannabis Business Growth
The following is adapted from Breaking the Stigma.
The vast majority of U.S. adults support the legalization of cannabis, with 60 percent supporting legalization for medical and adult use, and 31 percent supporting medical use only. Only 8 percent say it should not be legal for use by adults in any scenario. These numbers are promising for those of us in the industry, but behind the numbers, many stigmas still exist.
Breaking the stigma against cannabis is the responsibility of each and every individual currently working in the cannabis industry. In particular, for those of us working in retail, we are on the front lines of changing the criminal and negative perceptions associated with cannabis.
As front-line workers, it is important to understand how the stigma against cannabis came about and how it has harmed not just the cannabis industry and cannabis users, but our entire country. We’ve all been lied to. These Big Lies have shaped our beliefs about race, cannabis, and addiction, and it’s time to unmask these Big Lies for what they are: lies.
The lie that Black men are inherently dangerous extends far, far back into our country’s history, but we’re going to start in the 1930s, with a man named Harry J. Anslinger. Anslinger became the commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics in 1930.
Anslinger initially spent most of his time chasing down bootleggers. When Prohibition ended in 1933, he suddenly found himself out of a job. For the Federal Bureau of Narcotics to continue to have purpose — and receive the funding that paid his salary — Anslinger had to find a new bogeyman to prosecute.
He chose marijuana, a term that itself has racist roots and was a way to otherize cannabis as a “Mexican drug.” At this time, cannabis was not regulated in any way in the United States, so he first had to make it illegal. In order to do that, he needed people to fear it. He figured, why not link it to something people already fear: Black people — particularly Black men.
And so, the propaganda began. Anslinger sparked a national anti-cannabis movement by tying cannabis usage to the Black community and other marginalized groups.
Obviously, Anslinger didn’t invent racism, but his propaganda propagated and amplified it. In short, Anslinger used the lie that Black men are dangerous to help make cannabis illegal, and then he weaponized cannabis against minority communities.
To this day, people of color are disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs. In fact, though Black and white people use cannabis at similar rates, a Black person is 3.64 times more likely to be arrested for possession. And, as industry professionals, we need to understand the racist roots behind the stigma of cannabis and do our part to elevate those groups disproportionately and unfairly impacted by the war on drugs.
Using fear of Black men, Anslinger convinced people that cannabis was dangerous. The idea that cannabis makes people dangerous is ludicrous to me. I grew up during the war on drugs, and I bought into many of the lies. I truly believed cannabis was bad, but never once did I think of cannabis users as dangerous.
As a child, I spent time around both alcoholics and cannabis users, and the difference was clear to me. Drunk people were violent, abusive, and dangerous. High people were safe, normal, and most importantly not violent.
However, in the drug education I received, I learned that all drugs are fundamentally bad, with no differentiation. Cannabis, meth, heroin, LSD, cocaine — they were all grouped together. And even when people acknowledged that cannabis was less harmful and addictive than harder drugs, they emphasized that it was still incredibly dangerous because it was a “gateway drug.”
Today, despite all the evidence that cannabis is safe for most people, the lie persists. Cannabis is classified as a Schedule I drug, meaning it has “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” Other Schedule I drugs include heroin and meth.
As a country, it’s long past time that we focused our attention on true dangers. As a cannabis retailer, it’s important to recognize that even though you know cannabis is not dangerous, your customers might not.
Because of the lie that cannabis is dangerous, it was not normalized (or legal) as a method of pain management. There was a need for pain management, though, and so in 1996, Purdue Pharma, under the direction of the Sackler family, developed and patented OxyContin.
It was hailed as a miracle drug that took all the pain away, as if by magic. Magic often comes at a cost, though, and in this case, the cost was hundreds of thousands of American lives — more than five hundred thousand, to be specific.
Within a few years, evidence emerged that the drug was addictive and led to overdose deaths. While we were all being told that cannabis was the gateway drug, Purdue Pharma was flooding our country with the real gateway drug—opioids. They funded research studies that supported the use of OxyContin, and Richard Sackler put intense pressure on sales managers to sell more.
This Big Lie has harmed hundreds of thousands of Americans. Opioids destroy lives, and the ripples extend beyond the addict alone. An entire generation of children will be shaped by addiction and the absence of their parents.
You may not be personally connected to the Opioid Endemic, but as a cannabis retailer, you are in the business of pain management. By understanding this Big Lie and providing people with an alternative to addictive opioids, you could literally save lives.
I understand the impulse to blame addiction on the addict. An addict’s struggles with addiction can be enough to tear their loved ones apart inside. You want to scream, “Why can’t you just quit?” But blaming addiction on the addict makes as much sense as blaming someone for having cancer, asthma, or migraines.
Who is responsible for addiction, then? The people who caused the Opioid Endemic, people like the Sackler family. As Patrick Radden Keefe puts it in Empire of Pain, “Prior to the introduction of OxyContin, America did not have an opioid crisis. After the introduction of OxyContin, it did.”
So, if you want to blame someone for addiction, blame the Sacklers. Blame Big Pharma. Blame the people who knew this drug was addictive but lied to us, told us it was safe, and pumped it into our communities.
Every single person I know who got addicted received their first pill or hit from a trusted source. This is how the Opioid Epidemic started. It didn’t start with irresponsible drug dealers on the street. It started between patients and doctors. Opioids moved through our world via trusted sources.
Cannabis and opioids are very different drugs. Cannabis is far safer than many people realize. Due to the nature of cannabis, I do not believe cannabis retailers will be creating addicts the way Purdue Pharma did, but it’s still important to understand this Big Lie because some of your customers may have struggled with addiction and need compassion from you.
These Big Lies are all connected. Without racism, cannabis wouldn’t have been stigmatized. Without the stigma against cannabis, we would have had a nonaddictive alternative to opioids. Without the lies that opioids are safe and that addicts are to blame for addiction, hundreds of thousands more people would still be alive today.
When it comes to breaking the stigma, you are on the front lines. In knowing the truth about where the stigma came from and why it’s so harmful, you can begin to change it.
One customer at a time, you can begin to undo the Big Lies and share the reality of cannabis.
For more advice on how to undo the Big Lies and share the Big Truths of cannabis, you can find Breaking the Stigma on Amazon.
Charlena Berry is the author of Breaking the Stigma: Racism, Lies, the Opioid Endemic, and Inviting Grandma to the Dispensary. In this book, she exposes lies that created the stigmas associated with cannabis, and how these stigmas must be addressed to see continued growth in the marketplace. She then outlines a framework that provides key strategies for retailers to implement to improve the customer experience and increase profitability.
Writing from her experiences in the industry, Charlena is a global cannabis business executive and the founder of Cannabis Business Growth, a premier cannabis business consulting firm. Prior to that, she spent more than a decade in Supply Chain and Retail Operations for Fortune 500 companies like Whirlpool and Office Depot/Office Max. She also serves as the Chief Operating Officer for The Cake House, a chain of dispensaries in Southern California.
By Michelle Rutter Friberg, NCIA’s Deputy Director of Government Relations
As Congress gets ready to beat the D.C. heat and leave Washington for their annual August recess, there’s at least one thing on their minds: cannabis.
Last week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) along with Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced their much anticipated Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), which is now the Senate’s only pending legislation that would provide comprehensive cannabis policy reforms across the nation.
The landmark bill would remove cannabis from the federal Controlled Substances Act and move regulatory responsibility from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and other agencies to protect public health and safety. The bill would also institute a federal excise tax of 5-25% on cannabis on top of the already-hefty state taxes imposed on the industry, concerning advocates for small cannabis businesses and equity operators.
The long-awaited CAOA was introduced after sponsors circulated a discussion draft last year. NCIA and other advocacy organizations provided comprehensive feedback to the bill’s authors last year. Notable changes to the legislation include:
While the historic nature of the CAOA cannot be understated, the bill has a multitude of challenges ahead of it. Not all Senate Democrats support the legislation, making the 60-vote filibuster threshold nearly impossible. Plus, with only a couple dozen legislative days between now and the end of the session, time is also working against advocates.
Dovetailing with the introduction of the CAOA, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Criminal Justice and Counterterrorism will hold a hearing titled “Decriminalizing Cannabis at the Federal Level: Necessary Steps to Address Past Harms” this Tuesday. While the witness list has not been made public as of publication, expect the hearing to focus on the newly introduced legislation and how it would affect communities most impacted by the war on drugs.
In other news, the House and Senate will vote on a revised research bill, the Cannabidiol and Marihuana Research Expansion Act, this week. The bill is expected to pass both chambers and be sent to President Biden’s desk for his signature. The Senate bill is sponsored by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Brian Schatz (D-HI) and passed by unanimous consent in March. The House bill is sponsored by Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Andy Harris (R-MD), and passed 343-75 in April. One of the notable areas of compromise? The House bill would have allowed researchers to do their studies on cannabis that’s actually being sold to consumers in dispensaries. That was removed during negotiations, meaning that researchers will still have to obtain their cannabis from the University of Mississippi’s cultivation facility.
There’s still time before recess begins, so make sure you stay tuned to NCIA’s podcast, social media, and newsletter to stay up-to-date on all the latest from Washington, D.C.! Interested in making more of an impact? Don’t forget to register for our upcoming 10th Annual Cannabis Industry Lobby Days on September 13-14, 2022!
by Aaron Smith, NCIA’s CEO and Co-founder
History was made today as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) along with Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act which would finally remove cannabis from the federal Controlled Substances Act and begin the process of federal regulation.
For the last year, NCIA has been working behind the scenes to ensure this landmark legislation not only ends prohibition but also creates an environment where small and medium-sized businesses can thrive under national legalization. These businesses – who we now call “Main Street Cannabis” – are the heart of our industry and we’re proud to have been giving them a seat at the table in our nation’s halls of power for over 12 years.
We will continue working with our allies in the Senate to advance this bill and advocate for some necessary amendments to better ensure that small, equity, and women-owned businesses (in particular) are well-positioned to thrive after the end of federal prohibition.
We would not be where we are today if not for your support which has allowed us to effectively represent the interests of small businesses like yours in the halls of Congress and in the court of national public opinion.
I hope you’ll join us in making national legalization a reality by making your voice heard at our upcoming 10th Annual Cannabis Industry Lobby Days in Washington, D.C. September 13 & 14!
Thanks to your membership, NCIA’s government relations staff represents Main Street Cannabis in D.C. every day but Lobby Days is your chance to show up and tell your unique story to our nation’s lawmakers, firsthand.
Lobby Days is also the best opportunity to connect with your fellow industry leaders who are truly invested in the future of cannabis and sensible national policy. Please register today so you don’t miss out on making history with us! Reach out to my colleague Madeline Grant to learn more about how you can be as impactful as possible at this year’s Lobby Days.
Thanks, as always, to all NCIA members for their support of the cannabis industry. If your company is not yet a member of NCIA, now’s the time to join and have your voice heard in the halls of Congress.
Watch this video update with Aaron Smith and Michelle Rutter Friberg:
By Eric Rahn, Managing Director, S2S Insurance Specialists
Harassment, wrongful termination, race, gender and age discrimination, and hostile work environments are wreaking havoc on the cannabis industry, resulting in an upswing of recent lawsuits that are costing companies hundreds of thousands of dollars and causing harm to the workforce and brand damage that is – oftentimes – beyond repair.
With the average claim costing small-to-mid-sized cannabis companies between $100,000 and $500,000, there needs to be more of a focus on creating a workplace environment free from harassment, discrimination, and bias. Furthermore, cannabis businesses need to be proactive in having the proper insurance policies in place.
You may make a mistake and be exposed to liability. You may do everything right, yet still be sued. Employer’s Protection Liability Insurance (EPLI) is key to protecting your business from employee-related risks and detrimental lawsuits.
EPLI is a type of management liability insurance that helps safeguard businesses against employee claims alleging inappropriate or unfair treatment. Former, current, and potential employees who believe the company has violated their legal rights can file lawsuits for a variety of reasons. The most frequent types of claims covered under EPLI include sexual harassment, discrimination, and wrongful termination/retaliation. However, EPLI can also cover a broader array of employment issues, such as breach of an employment contract, negligent evaluation, failure to employ or promote, wrongful discipline, deprivation of a career opportunity, wrongful infliction of emotional distress, defamation, invasion of privacy and mismanagement of employee benefit plans.
While policies vary, EPLI generally covers settlement, judgment, legal costs, fines and penalties. EPLI also protects a company’s directors and officers, management, and other employees from being held personally liable in a lawsuit.
Sexual Harassment. According to the 2020 report, Prospects and Pitfalls: Confronting Sexual Harassment in the Legal Cannabis Industry, “sexual discrimination and harassment plague the legal cannabis industry. Moreover, the industry’s past illicit nature threatens to perpetuate employer misconduct.”
Over the past few years, there has been a surge in sexual harassment claims in the cannabis industry. One such suit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleged that a general manager at a medical marijuana dispensary in Maryland engaged in “unwelcome touching,” made “highly offensive sexual comments to and about staff and customers,” and “showed an employee a nude picture on his phone.” Although employees complained for months about the harassment, the company did not investigate until after it learned a complaint had been filed with the EEOC. The courts ruled in favor of the plaintiff, and the dispensary and its parent company were remanded to pay $175,000 to settle the suit.
The cannabis industry is plagued by many of the same gender issues as other mainstream industries. In a study conducted by WeedMaps, 53% of women in the cannabis industry have experienced workplace harassment with 46% reported feeling sexually harassed. However, it’s not just women and lower-level employees making claims. Last February, a large publicly traded California cannabis flower distributor came under fire when its former Chief Revenue Officer – a male – accused the company of fostering a culture of sexual harassment and coverup. In the official complaint, the executive said he was subject “to severe and pervasive sexual harassment, both hostile work environment and quid pro quo, as a result of unwanted sexual advances and other discriminatory conduct.” The pending court case seeks an unspecified amount of damages from the company and also names three of its related companies liable.
Discrimination. Title VII is the Federal Civil Rights Law that prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, and religion. For women, the cannabis industry remains a harassment-filled boys club. The latest in the battle to fight misogyny in the cannabis growing and retail industry, is a lawsuit filed by two workers at cannabis-growing companies in California who claim they were “wrongly fired after protesting workplace conditions and gender bias, including prohibitions on women working in growing rooms and pregnant women working at the companies.” The complaint also alleges that the companies conducted “a sham investigation of their complaints of bias, to further create pretense for firing them.” The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as other penalties against the companies.
Wrongful Termination/Retaliation. According to the EEOC, this is the most common claim brought against employers. The latest case to make headlines was filed in June 2022 by a former employee of a Chicago-based health center who claims she was fired under the pretense that she had bullied a coworker, but in reality she was terminated because she had reported her supervisor’s unwelcome behavior. In the suit, she alleges “violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Illinois Human Rights Act, and asked the court for damages for emotional distress, humiliation and her loss of employment, as well as punitive damages.”
Navigating employee-related issues can be tricky business. Cannabis companies that land in legal hot water are often more focused on boosting profits and growing their business rather than implementing HR policies and ensuring they have the proper insurances in place to protect themselves against legal claims. The dozens of companies over the years that were embroiled in legal litigation and did not have EPLI learned the hard way that they are solely responsible for paying significant defense fees, compensatory and punitive damages, fines and penalties.
When considering an EPLI, it is critical to negotiate policy limits, selection of counsel and defense limits, when you are first obtaining EPLI insurance or when you are renewing your policy. A qualified cannabis insurance broker can walk you through all the options and guide you on the policy that best meets your needs and budget.
While EPLI can be offered as a stand-alone policy, it is typically more affordable to combine EPLI with an existing policy, such as Directors & Officers Liability (D&O). Certain policies automatically include sexual harassment, but others do not, or you may be required to get a special endorsement for sexual harassment. Keep in mind that coverage is specific and EPLI cost is based on the business type, employee numbers and past lawsuits associated with the organization. Your broker should do the leg work for you and present coverage options and cost comparisons, so management can make an informed decision.
Prevention is the cornerstone of reducing the risk of employee-related lawsuits. However, even if you develop and enforce a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment, discrimination, and other harmful issues, and take immediate and appropriate action when a complaint is made, claims can and will happen.
As you hire more employees, your risk of discrimination and sexual harassment increases. An EPLI policy can help your legal defense and settlement of such claims. In today’s climate, business owners and managers need to be proactive and understand the risk management tools and options available to them to protect their business.
Eric Rahn, Managing Director of S2S Insurance Specialists, is a highly specialized insurance broker and risk management professional with over 30 years of experience providing C-Suite executives strategies and solutions that protect and safeguard their businesses.
Eric has held several executive positions in the maritime and casino/gaming industries, including CEO of the largest privately own casino concessions company operating on cruise ships around the world. He transitioned his knowledge of corporate business practices in highly regulated industries into the burgeoning cannabis space, establishing S2S Insurance Specialists in 2017.
Eric has served on the National Cannabis Industry Association’s (NCIA) Risk Management Insurance Committee since 2016. He is also a national speaker on cannabis insurance and author of NCIA’s Risk Management and Insurance’s “Introduction into Cannabis Insurance.”
NCIA’s Service Solutions series is our sponsored content webinar program which allows business owners the opportunity to learn more about premier products, services and industry solutions directly from our network of established suppliers, providers and thought leaders.
In this edition originally aired on Wednesday, July 13, 2022 we were joined by e2b Teknologies whose team of leading integration & technology experts discussed some easy steps to prepare your business for funding and accelerated growth. As you all know, competition was stiff for funding prior to 2022 but with the current economy and rising interest rates, capital is much harder to acquire today. You should be taking steps get noticed and get the MONEY you need to grow your business now.
Presentation Slide Deck: [View Here]
After viewing you’ll walk away with a better understanding of:
• How to leverage a team properly
• What’s most important – It may not be what you think.
• What’s necessary in terms of reporting, compliance, and record-keeping
• Evaluating potential technology partners
Sit back and settle in for an informative and timely program outlining the challenges facing operators and how you can position yourself for success with the right tools to help succeed at scale.
Panelists:
Joshua Gilstrap
Marketing Manager
e2b Teknologies
Mary Jo Mahood
Practice Manager
e2b Teknologies
Lynne Henslee
President
e2b Teknologies
Tyler Evinsky
Sales Manager
e2b Teknologies
Sponsored By:
Want to know more about the products and services offered by e2b Teknologies? Head to https://thecannasuite.com/ to learn more today!
by NCIA’s Education Committee
Brand drives revenue. Companies – in any industry – with a strong brand are able to sell their product at a premium price over the non-branded (or perhaps generic) products in their market or sector. Think of a few of the household names with strong brands (e.g., Apple, Tide, Chevron, or Peet’s Coffee). These companies have direct competitors but they are able to charge a higher price point because of their brand and the loyalty that comes with a positive brand experience. The companies also draw customers for repeat business every time they are in the market for the product. Loyalty drives repeat business. Revenue increases from investing in your brand far outweigh the costs, and many of those revenue increases are rewarded directly from training and developing employees.
Continuing our theme from a previous blog, investing in your employees has a direct correlation to building a strong brand, which leads to increased profits. Brand for most consumer products is experiential. Your customer has an experience from which they establish their association with your brand – both positive and negative. The experience may start with where the purchase was made, how the employees (e.g., budtenders) explained the product through the experience of using the product, and finally disposing of the product. Each touchpoint creates a personal brand experience and demonstrates the importance of training your employees throughout the sales and use cycles to provide exceptional customer service and education. Some key reasons cannabis employers should invest in their employees with a focus on brand include:
A strong company culture of collaboration, employee investment, and thoughtful branding increases your product’s value in a highly competitive market. Customers want to invest, via their purchase power, in businesses that value their employees through a commitment to the personal and professional success of their workers. A company that is able to and focused on enriching its staff is reaping the benefits of flourishing profit margins. The cannabis industry, and general industry as a whole, needs to focus beyond a feast or famine mindset. Investing in your employees builds trust, respect, and loyalty; this can be translated to customers. Building a stable and balanced community of educated employees and happy customers that is sustainable provides repeat sales.
Well-educated and trained employees work as teams, supporting each other and your business. They give back to their employer in many ways both tangible and intangible. For example, they will go out of their way to assist a customer, work a little faster towards the end of the day to get through the line of customers or help to recruit their friends to work at your company, minimizing hiring and onboarding expenses. Invest in your employees, and your teams will succeed. Training doesn’t require extensive budgets. Check here for access to a set of learning tools offered by NCIA. Team members will help each other, not let others fail. They will also drive product recommendations to the products they know (e.g., have been trained on the benefits). Happy employees reward their employer with increased profits by creating a positive brand association to your customers.
NCIA’s Education Committee assists with the design and development of educational programming for NCIA, and helps identify emerging topics in the cannabis space. Learn more about our members here.
by NCIA’s Facilities Design Committee
Jacques Santucci, Brian Anderson, David Vaillencourt, and David Dixon
Continuing our five-part series on the behind-the-scenes workings of the legal cannabis industry. This series focuses on all of the inner dealings and industry advice from established professionals to craft this unlimited How-to-Guide to assist you in setting up your own facility. These articles cover cultivation, extraction, infused products, and retail facilities as well as support activities. In general, remember to be compliant with all local rules and regulations and contact a licensed contractor and industry expert.
All parts of a facility are important when you are planning and designing your project, including cultivation, extraction, and retail. And let’s not forget the general services and the core structure of the facility. Your design must account for safety and security as well as employee relations and administration. Listed below are a number of guidelines that an operator should consider from a general standpoint as they are in the process of designing their operation. Always remember to be compliant with all local rules and regulations.
Production and facility lockers need to be separate for male and female and it will have a minimum square foot per employee requirement. Knowing your employee count and the number of shifts will allow you to calculate the minimum space needed.
Consider a break room that can host all employees for breaks and lunches, with a sink, fridge, microwave, and tables and chairs. This will help employee productivity and retention. Where the break room is located is important to keep employees separated from internal business practices while eating and resting. This area can also be a space for coat hangers and small bag lockers when a specific locker is not required or available. The gowning area is used as the dividing line in a mix-used facility.
You need to limit doors access and key sets for employees as part of your overall security plan. Additionally, do not forget about appropriate labels for doors and the need for access to space only. The idea is to prevent unauthorized personnel from accessing the extraction space and complaining about the local regulatory body.
An adequate number of First Aid and Burn Kits should be fully stocked and readily available to all of your employees, at all times. Ideally, these kits will be within a 10-15 second walking distance from workstations.
Regardless of the facility type, you will need appropriate secured areas for servers, security equipment, and other IT racks, as well as camera systems with specific features for night, license plate reading abilities, and more. Specific HVAC might be needed for this room.
Emergency showers are determined by code and the type of activities performed at the location. Eye wash stations may also be required or suggested.
Emergency showers are located in the facility where corrosives and skin irritants could pose harm to employees and require immediate remediation. It could be considered as a benefit to employees so they can eliminate any odors as they leave the facility. Calculate the number of employees and determine based on the code requirements for the number of showers needed.
Eye wash stations are to be located within 10-15 seconds’ walking distance for a potential risk area. Check local requirements for additional needs.
Consider the flow at the entrance of your facility, to optimize not only security but also the comfort of the visitors and employees as well as environmental control. And think about the comfort of your employees as they enter the facility, such as awnings. Create a separate mantrap-style entrance to allow for better safety at the entrance point, to monitor visitors as well as avoid weather-related issues (i.e. wet areas due to rain or snow, temperature variance due to heat, etc.). Check for compliance with local rules and regulations.
You should have 100% minimum security coverage; any area where cannabis products will exist. And keep in mind it is best that the security room has its own dedicated HVAC system.
The basic security footage storage requires are 90-days of on-site storage, then five years of off-site storage. Off-site data storage for future legal needs is 1080p minimum.
Make sure a reputable company is monitoring your facility’s security. Redundancy might not be needed. In compliance with local rules and regulations.
Do not forget that your employees, at least at the management level and above will need space to do paperwork and hold staff meetings. Plan to have a minimum of 90 square feet of office space available for each manager and meeting space. Try not to underestimate the need for administrative space (i.e. payroll, human resources, accounting, marketing, etc.) and plan for general storage space. Your basic corporate services need the appropriate space to run the business efficiently, in a confidential manner.
When it comes to parking, consider the flow of the employees and your customers as you design your facility so you have adequate parking for all, in a safe and secure manner. Remember to reserve spaces for handicapped drivers as well as motorcycles.
Keep in mind how you will keep your facility clean and in working order at all times. Avoid dusty surfaces, standing water, and all environmental and other hazardous issues. Consider enough storage for janitorial and facility maintenance items, including a workbench if necessary.
Remember considerations for the environment around your facility. Certain plant types and species are known to both harbor insects and pests that may be beneficial or harmful to cannabis plants. This will result in long-lasting effects on your plant health. Proper considerations of landscape design can become beneficial to your overall integrated pest management program and to your operation. Material used around your cannabis facility will also have an impact. We recommend using crushed stones around a building for example.
Check Out These Related Articles for More Top Things to Consider When Planning:
Part 1 – Cannabis Cultivation Facilities
Part 2 – Cannabis Extraction Facilities
Part 3 – Cannabis Food Production Facilities
Part 4 –Cannabis Retail & Dispensary Facilities
Part 5 – Cannabis Facility Support Areas
By Sadaf Naushad, NCIA Intern
With midterm elections just four months away, cannabis activists are paving the path for major reformations to take place nationwide.
In order for voters to see cannabis legalization on their state’s midterm ballot, cannabis advocates are scrambling to collect the number of signatures necessary. Fortunately, residents within various states are in support of cannabis legalization, as demonstrated through the high volumes of submitted signatures.
The rapidly emerging cannabis industry has led to spiked encouragement of cannabis legalization across the U.S., emphasizing the demand for lawmakers to implement safe and secure cannabis policies.
Cannabis activists are highly optimistic after their recent efforts to push for legalization on Arkansas’ midterm ballot. Last week, advocates turned in more than twice as many signatures to the Secretary of State’s office as required to appear on the ballot. According to Responsible Growth Arkansas, 89,151 signatures are needed to qualify for the measure. Advocates stunned the Secretary of State when they delivered just over 190,000 signatures.
Provisions on the measure would permit anyone at least 21 years of age to possess up to one ounce of cannabis. Additionally, Arkansas would grant its current medical shops permission to add adult-use sales on March 8, 2023. A lottery would also distribute 40 additional licenses for adult-use dispensaries, and municipalities would need to hold a referendum if they prefer to prohibit adult-use businesses. On the other hand, the measure does not include expungements of prior marijuana convictions.
While many view the signatures as enhanced legalization support, Arkansas True Grass and Arkansans for Marijuana Reform have raised concerns about the potential provisions. Both organizations state that the measure would favor large businesses in the present medical cannabis industry. But Steve Lancaster, Responsible Growth Arkansas’ spokesperson, believes that the “constitutional amendment provides a sound infrastructure for reform that prioritizes regulations.” If voters approve legalization, Lancaster intends to advance further reforms in the legislature.
At the moment, however, two weeks remain for Arkansas to verify the submitted signatures.
Cannabis consumers find themselves one step closer to legalization in North Dakota. Just three months ago, lawmakers approved the cannabis legalization ballot language, clearing the procedural obstacle to begin gathering signatures.
On Friday, cannabis activists collected numerous signatures, exceeding North Dakota’s 15,582 minimum requirement. The New Approach North Dakota campaign claimed they obtained 21,400 valid signatures and anticipate that number to increase before today’s deadline.
The measure’s initiative would allow those 21 years of age and older to purchase and possess a maximum of one ounce of cannabis, along with permitting adults to cultivate a maximum of three plants for personal use. Furthermore, the Department of Health and Human Services would be responsible for conducting regulations and overseeing licensing for cannabis businesses. The department’s regulators would have until October 1, 2023 to incorporate rules regarding security, advertising, labeling, packaging and testing standards. To mitigate the possibility of a monopolized market, North Dakota’s initiative specifies that any individual or organization can only own up to four retail locations or one cultivation facility.
Tremendous momentum builds across Nebraska, as activists exceed the amount of signatures to qualify medical cannabis legalization initiatives for the midterm ballot.
Nebraska requires each proposal to have 87,000 valid signatures from registered voters to qualify for November’s ballot. On Wednesday, however, advocates encountered a legal hurdle when a federal court overturned a lower federal court’s ruling that had momentarily eased ballot prerequisites. The ruling states that signatures “must come from a minimum of five percent of voters in at least 38 counties across the state.” The Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana Campaign, in addition to many activists, deem this ruling as unconstitutional, stating that it generates a detrimental burden that gives oversized influence to small, rural communities that are more challenging to reach.
Nevertheless, these barriers have not fazed activists assembling cannabis legalization support. In May, the campaign collected 20,000 signatures on each petition, and now that number has increased to over 90,000. To guarantee sufficient valid signatures, the Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana campaign aim to gather several thousand more signatures before Thursday’s turn-in deadline.
With Minnesota’s recent legalization of edibles and drinks infused with low amounts of THC, consumers remain excited for what’s to come.
But for lawmakers, this means acknowledging Minnesota’s current absence of statewide cannabis regulations. For now, local governments are responsible for enacting market rules within their jurisdictions. According to U.S. Representative Heather Edelson (DFL), “the ability for municipalities to offer important guidance and clarity on day-to-day operations and compliance within a city is vital.”
That being said, Representative Edelson has conducted meetings with mayors, city council members, city managers and the League of Minnesota Cities to inform them about how the new law could shape their areas and how they can execute parameters within local markets.
Oklahoma is yet another state pushing for cannabis legalization to surface on the November ballot. Last Tuesday, The Oklahomans for Sensible Marijuana Laws campaign submitted over 164,000 signatures to the Secretary of State’s office, surpassing the minimum number of 94,911 signatures necessary to qualify for the ballot.
If passed, the measure would permit adults 21 and older to possess and purchase up to one ounce of cannabis. Adults would also be able to grow a maximum of six mature plants and six seedings for personal use. The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority Department is in charge of regulating the market, as well as issuing cannabis business licenses. The department would impose a 15% tax on adult-use cannabis products, in which its revenue would go towards the “Oklahoma Marijuana Revenue Trust Fund.” These funds would initially cover the costs of managing the program, while the rest of the funds would be allocated between municipalities where the sales followed, the State Judicial Revolving Fund, the general fund, public education grants and grants for organizations involved in substance abuse treatment and prevention.
Finally, for those serving time due to prior cannabis convictions, the measure allows inmates to “file a petition for resentencing, reversal of conviction and dismissal of case, or modification of judgment and sentence.” Those who previously served a sentence for past cannabis convictions can petition for expungement.
Altogether, the cannabis industry is witnessing a growing number of legalization support nationwide. From Minnesota to Oklahoma, cannabis consumers are eager to have their voices heard and addressed on November’s midterm ballot. The recent legalization efforts across states shine a light on the mounting acceptance of the industry’s movement, setting the stage for crucial cannabis reformations to follow.
Stay tuned for more updates on cannabis policy reforms. If you are interested in learning more about NCIA’s government relations work and how to get involved, please reach out to Madeline@thecannabisindustry.org.
Founded in 2010, NCIA is the oldest, largest, and most effective trade association serving the cannabis industry. Our membership consists of hundreds of small businesses and tens of thousands of cannabis professionals who know that we are stronger and more prosperous when we work together to lift up our entire industry.
As the only national advocate for small cannabis businesses, NCIA works every day to advance policy reforms favorable to the whole industry — not just the wealthiest few.
NCIA’s editorial department continues the Member Spotlight series by highlighting our Social Equity Scholarship Recipients as part of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program. Participants are gaining first-hand access to regulators in key markets to get insight on the industry, tips for raising capital, and advice on how to access and utilize data to ensure success in their businesses, along with all the other benefits available to NCIA members.
My name is Adolfo Castillo. People who know me call me Ace. Before I started my first cannabis business, I had a 10-year career in the banking industry. I started in a call center as a customer service associate. I then moved into a traditional banking center where I learned sales and eventually became the assistant manager. It was at the end of my tenure in 2008 that my Tia Eloise was diagnosed with terminal cancer. At the request of my mother, she asked me to get some cannabis in hopes that it would help her sister eat. Although it did not cure cancer, it really helped her appetite and gave her a bit of relief. Unfortunately, my Tia Eloise lost that battle, but it was the relief that I was able to provide that helped bring me peace when she passed away. This all happened around the same time that bill SB 420 was signed into California law, establishing statewide guidelines for Prop. 215. This law paved the way for cooperatives and collectives to begin operating legally in my city. It was at that moment that my love for cannabis became a passion. I felt a need to help more people gain access to cannabis, so I partnered with a friend of mine who sold weed and I took what I had learned about business and applied it to opening my first medical cannabis dispensary.
I named the dispensary Banyan Tree after an experience I had in Maui about 13 years ago. It was my first visit to Maui so I decided not to bring any cannabis products to avoid any problems at the airport. When I arrived, I asked a few locals where I could find some good smoke and they all pointed me to the Banyan Tree. It was true. As soon as I found the Banyan Tree, I could tell this was the place to be. The smell was in the air and I met some really nice Hawaiians who were happy to hook me up. I want our guests to have the same experience when they visit our dispensary. Banyan Tree is a destination. A place where friends can meet to find quality cannabis.
As a local native, I understand the cannabis culture in my town. The legacy market has thrived for so long in Fresno. One of our biggest challenges will be convincing medicinal users and cannabis connoisseurs to buy their cannabis from a licensed facility and not from the streets. In order to create the best experience possible, it starts with a well-trained, knowledgeable staff. I am lucky to have two educators on my team who have helped me put together a robust employee development program that will ensure that the Banyan Tree staff will be primed for success.
My goal for Banyan Tree is to be the #1 dispensary to work for. I truly believe that the success of your business relies heavily on its employees. I want our employees to have purpose and feel proud of the work they do. Banyan Tree was built upon the idea of helping our surrounding community achieve wellness and enjoyment through cannabis. When you come to Banyan Tree, you will not be rushed, you will feel safe, your questions will be answered, and the price you pay will not shock you.
I am hopeful that I will see full legalization in my lifetime. As a cannabis business operator, I would like cannabis to be recognized as a normal commodity and not this taboo substance that has so much negativity around it and red tape. As a business owner, I would like cannabis commerce to transact and be accepted without any special rules in regards to banking and filing federal income tax. As outdated stereotypes are finally fading away, more and more consumers view cannabis as an integral part of their health and wellness routine. I’m confident that in 20 years we will look back at the history of cannabis and just laugh at all the nonsensical rules surrounding cannabis in the early 2000s.
Most cannabis operations are running all-cash businesses because mainstream, national banking institutions are not willing to support a federally illegal industry. A small number of state-chartered banks and credit unions have offered financial services to compliant operations, but establishing these relationships continues to be a significant challenge for operators.
An equally frustrating financial challenge is IRS Tax Code 280E, which states that “no deduction or credit shall be allowed in running a business that consists of trafficking a controlled substance.” This archaic code impacts cannabis businesses across the nation, causing unnecessary fiscal and operational stress.
I joined NCIA through the Social Equity Scholarship program to extend my network of cannapreneurs and to help develop best practices and guidelines that will shape the future of our industry. I would say for me, the best part of being a member of NCIA is the synergy. One of my favorite parts of the program is the “Power Hour.” Each week, Mike Lomuto hosts a zoom meeting dedicated to Social Equity members. It is where we have an opportunity to share ideas and find solutions to the issues we all face in our industry. I am very capable, but I recognize that by fostering relationships and collaborating with others in my industry, I can achieve far more than I could ever achieve on my own.
NCIA Director of Communications Bethany Moore checks in with what’s going on across the country with the National Cannabis Industry Association’s membership, board, allies, and staff. Join us every other Thursday on Facebook for NCIA Today Live.
NCIA’s Service Solutions series is our sponsored content webinar program which allows business owners the opportunity to learn more about premier products, services and industry solutions directly from our network of established suppliers, providers and thought leaders.
In this edition originally aired on Wednesday, June 28, 2022 we were joined by the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR) to discuss the benefits of using alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods (including arbitration and mediation) in cannabis contracts, thus bypassing the courts.
The cannabis industry continues to grow rapidly, both in the United States and globally. However, cannabis companies face issues when entering into contracts that they hope to enforce. Because the federal Controlled Substances Act prohibits cannabis sales as a matter of federal law, many courts will not enforce a contract between cannabis companies, even if state law permits the legal sale of cannabis. Therefore, cannabis investors, businesses, and those who do business with them need a tool that makes their contracts enforceable.
Benefits of using ADR methods include greater enforceability plus faster speed to a decision, decision-makers with industry expertise, privacy and confidentiality, and the parties’ ability to create a process to fit specific needs and timelines. Participants will also learn how to include an ADR clause in their contracts, so they can take advantage of these benefits.
Panelists:
Mia Levi
Vice President of Global Development for Dispute Resolution
International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution (CPR)
Robert Copple
President @Copple & Associates PC
Sponsored By:
Want to know more about the products and services offered by International Institute for Conflict Prevention? Head to https://www.cpradr.org/dispute-resolution-services to learn more today!
Any cannabis insider knows that New York is poised to become the next cannabis epicenter since legalizing last year. As such there is naturally incredible interest in learning about the business opportunities, how to best position yourself for success, as well as networking with potential future partners and clients. To meet these needs for our members and supporters, NCIA hosted the “Insights & Influencers: NY Opportunity Tour”, a weeklong series of events across New York featuring stops in Rochester, Albany and Brooklyn in partnership with founding members Canna Advisors, a trusted advisor to cannabis entrepreneurs who are starting or expanding a cannabis business.
Returning with our first in person events of the year, we couldn’t have been more thrilled to meet face-to-face with nearly 150 attendees who were either current or prospective business owners operating in New York and interested in expanding their operations or trying to break into the industry. With stops in Rochester, Albany, and New York City, the events brought together attendees from across the Empire State to not only learn about the developing regulatory landscape and opportunities to get involved with the burgeoning cannabis industry, but also the latest developments with NCIA’s work on federal cannabis policy.
Speakers were NCIA CEO and co-founder Aaron Smith and representatives from Canna Advisors including Bob Wagener, Vice President of Real Estate Development; Sumer Thomas, Director of Regulatory Operations; and Vincent DiMichele, Regulatory Content Manager. During the hour long presentation, numerous topics were covered that were relevant to business owners in the cannabis industry such as:
• The possibility of federal legalization and the work NCIA is doing to ensure small — or “main street” — cannabis businesses have a seat at the table as legislation is written
• Benefits of starting the license application process early and the importance of community engagement efforts
• Understanding zoning requirements and ensuring your business can operate in the best location possible
• Developing staffing needs and protocols so the team behind your operations is positioned for success and growth
• Engaging in public comment periods including the New York Office of Cannabis Management’s (OCM) current 60 day comment period open now through August 15 surrounding regulations for packaging, labeling, marketing, advertising, and laboratory testing of adult-use cannabis
Throughout the tour, representatives from the OCM were on-site to chat with participants, answer questions that attendees had, and generally get to know those interested in owning or operating a cannabis related business in the state. We are proud to facilitate those connections at our events time and time again, so that regulators and business owners alike can meet in person to build relationships which in turn helps break down the barriers to communication down the line.
Nevillene White, Manager of Community Relations and External Affairs for OCM, joined our Albany gathering right next door to The Egg performing arts venue located inside of Empire State Plaza. Throughout she was able to supplement the presentation by providing comments directly to crowd feedback during updates on the licensing process in the Capitol.
Trivette Knowles, Press Officer and Manager of Community Outreach for the OCM, was present in Brooklyn and commented ”We need more events like this to show people that cannabis touches all walks of life,” he said. “It’s part of the culture.”
NCIA’s Aaron Smith closed out each of the events with a final call to action for everyone in the room: Contact New York’s U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand to urge them to support the SAFE Banking Act and bring it to the floor for a vote. As the Majority Leader in the Senate, Sen. Schumer has the power to allow the legislation to be voted on but has not done so, stating a preference for more comprehensive legislation. Smith also discussed the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), which addresses federal legalization on a broader scale. A final version of that bill is still yet to be introduced however, and passage of the SAFE Banking Act would provide protections to financial institutions working with cannabis business and would have a positive impact on the cannabis industry while support for CAOA and comprehensive reform builds in Congress.
Of course we encourage anyone reading to take this call to action even further, and plan to join NCIA at our upcoming 10th Annual Cannabis Industry Lobby Days from September 13-14 in Washington, D.C. Find out more details and register online here.
We can’t thank all our members and supporters who attended the events on our “Insights & Influencers: NY Opportunity Tour” enough, as well as our co-hosts, Canna Advisors, for making these events possible!
For additional coverage, be sure to check out the piece published by Honeysuckle Magazine, our exclusive media partners for the events.
Interested in attending our next in-person event this Summer? Register now for the Colorado Industry Social taking place on Thursday, July 28 in Denver, CO.
Want to know how you can sponsor events like these? Please contact our Events Team at events@thecannabisindustry.org to explore possibilities.
Profit margins are tight for every business in the cannabis industry. From plant through product development to retail sales at a dispensary, keeping a keen eye on costs and managing those costs can be the difference between profit and loss in any given month. The concept of investment – in employees, in technology, in building a culture for success – can also be elusive in an environment when private equity wants their multiple and the taxman is always around the corner. However, successful companies invest in their people and successful teams drive revenue growth. This is as true in the cannabis industry as it is in every industry.
Employee expenses, including salary, are significant for every company in the cannabis industry. A line-level employee costs about $4,100 to hire and onboard according to the Society of Human Resource Management. Senior-level leadership is exponentially more expensive. According to the 2022 Cannabis Industry Salary Guide, “the costs of acquiring and keeping quality team members keep rising fueled by competition for available talent and nationwide salary inflation. Cannabis salaries rose 4% on average in 2021 with compensation for senior executives rising as much as 10%.” Salary is just one component of a successful employee/employer relationship. Hard costs such as benefits as well as soft costs such as culture, training, and long-term development need to be factored into the decision to hire an employee.
The savvy business owner realizes that hiring is just the first step in developing a successful employment program, and just the beginning of the investments required. Training and developing your employees has significant benefits for your corporation. Business owners will reduce turnover, increase sales, and improve morale – all key components of driving profit – through investing in their employees. Let’s outline a few key benefits of training employees with a specific focus on cost and lost revenue:
Paying competitive salaries may seem like enough to keep a happily employed workforce with your company, but it’s not enough today. Easy employee mobility and the expectations younger generations have of their employer require a more nuanced approach. The risks of not investing in your employees’ future are analogous to buying a car and never changing the oil. Complete engine failure is exponentially more expensive than adhering to the maintenance schedule. Your employee relations are similar. Providing training, development, and growth opportunities may have a short-term cost, but the long-term benefit is that your cannabis company will produce revenue for many years to come.
As the cannabis industry matures, more and more training resources become available to enrich your staff, invest in their professional development, and educate them so they are able to perform at their highest level onsite. As an NCIA member, your company has access to a plethora of blog posts, webinars, podcasts, and in-person events which can be shared with employees. Utilizing these readily available resources will bolster company culture and impress upon workers their value and importance to your business.
NCIA’s Education Committee assists with the design and development of educational programming for NCIA, and helps identify emerging topics in the cannabis space. Learn more about our members here.
by Ann Allworth, Ph.D. and Cynthia Shelby-Lane, M.D.
Members of NCIA’s Scientific Advisory Committee
There is abundant anecdotal evidence showing that people can live with cancer for decades after diagnosis. Several books and films describe various alternative approaches to traditional medicines that patients have used to help them heal, many citing the use of cannabis. For example “Weed the People” is an excellent film documenting the cannabis experiences of children with cancer and advocating for the sorely needed research on the healing potential of this powerful plant.
This blog will explain how cannabis can help our cells and the endocannabinoid system (ECS) components work together to weaken the ability of cancerous cells to survive. Let’s begin with a quick overview of cells and how they work. Cells are the smallest living unit in the body. There are about 200 different types of cells that come in different shapes and sizes, depending on their job. All cells are enclosed by a cell membrane which holds the cell’s contents and houses receptors, structures that allow cells to communicate with each other via ligands. Ligands carry specific messages and include, but are not limited to, neurotransmitters, hormones, growth factors, endocannabinoids, and phytocannabinoids. They circulate throughout the body in our bodily fluids and bind to specific receptors. Receptors have a binding site with a distinct shape that matches the shape of specific ligands. In other words, each ligand is like a key that fits a lock to “open” the receptor so that the message the ligand carries can be received and transmitted to the cell.
Receptors and ligands are two of the main components of the ECS. Even though it is called a system itself, the receptors and ligands of the ECS are found in other systems of the human body, such as the neurological, gastrointestinal, and immune systems. This means most cells in the body contain cannabinoid receptors, known as the first cannabinoid receptor, CB1, and the second cannabinoid receptor, CB2. These receptors are activated by cannabinoids our body makes itself, known as endocannabinoids [anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG)], cannabinoids made by plants, known as phytocannabinoids, and some enzymes [e.g., fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL)].
This is an excellent basic understanding, but the ECS is much more complex. It is incredibly important to human health as its function is to maintain balance throughout the body and it helps to regulate many facets of physiological, behavioral, immunological, and metabolic functions in humans. The vast medicinal value of cannabis comes from the mixture of cannabinoids, terpenoids, and flavonoids that interact in some way with the ECS. Although research is still being performed to better explain how the ECS is involved with cancer, it has been demonstrated in animal and cell experiments that cannabis stops a number of vital functions in cancer cells, including proliferation, angiogenesis, and metastasis, and also causes apoptosis of malignant cancerous cells.
Proliferation is the scientific term for how quickly a cell can divide into two cells. Cancer cells can quickly proliferate because the molecules that regulate how often a cell can divide and create new cells have been disabled. This process allows cancer cells to grow in an uncontrolled fashion and to compete with healthy cells for space and nutrients. Animal and cell studies have shown that the compounds in cannabis can stop cancer cell proliferation in a wide variety of cancer types including breast, lung, prostate, liver, pancreatic, and many others.
Angiogenesis means the formation of new blood vessels. As cancer cells multiply and form large clumps, they secrete chemicals, many of which are ligands, that bind to receptors on cells in the tumor microenvironment. These cells receive the messages and begin building blood vessels. The newly formed blood vessels guarantee the growing clump of cancer cells will be fed all the nutrients and oxygen it needs to survive and flourish. A growing number of studies demonstrate that cannabis can inhibit angiogenesis in experimental cancer models.
Metastasis occurs when cancer cells spread to another part of the body other than where the cancer began. Cancer cells physically extend into the normal cells in their microenvironment, or they can pass through the walls of nearby blood or lymph vessels to get to distant locations. When they stop moving, they secrete messages that direct angiogenesis. Metastasis is a feature of more advanced cancer stages, such as stage 4 cancer. Experimental data shows that cannabis can hinder metastasis.
Apoptosis is a form of programmed cell death. Apoptosis is a process that cells perform if specific genes are turned on. The cell then goes through a series of steps that end in its death. Cannabis has been shown to induce apoptosis, which is an excellent fate for a cancer cell. Although the experimental data here is predominantly from animal and cell cancer models, it is likely that these critical cellular processes are happening when cancer patients improve using cannabis.
Hopefully soon, more research will help scientists elucidate the exact mechanisms by which patients experience relief using cannabis!
Ann Allworth Ph.D. is founder and CEO of Cannabis Education Solutions. In her first year of undergrad, Ann Allworth Ph.D. developed a great interest in embryology while taking Anatomy & Physiology. After graduating, she enrolled in a Ph.D. program in cell biology and studied mammalian eggs and embryos. For several years after completing the program, she continued this research at Tufts University Health Sciences Center while working as a Gross Anatomy instructor. Next, Ann worked as an assistant professor at Howard University College of Medicine, continued teaching Gross Anatomy and began studying breast and ovarian cancer cells.
After 19 years in medical academia, Ann did a 180 and moved on to the natural product industry, where she learned there were many alternatives to pharmaceuticals to achieving health. And among other topics, taught the immense value phytonutrient rich foods and herbs have to optimal health and well-being for almost 15 years. Upon learning of the existence of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in March 2019 she was shocked she had never heard of it, but she is far from alone. The general public is for the most part clueless about the ECS and the medical establishment by and large ignores its existence. So, she decided to create a company dedicated to illuminating minds to the expansive nature of the ECS and its unparalleled importance to human health.
Cynthia Shelby-Lane, MD, is an emergency physician, board-certified in anti-aging and functional medicine, and a certified Marijuana Doctor practicing medicine in Detroit, Michigan. Dr. Shelby-Lane has certified more than 10,000 medical cannabis patients in the State of Michigan. She coaches patients on their use of cannabis in conjunction with their current medications and medical conditions. She has been a member of NCIA and the Scientific Advisory Committee for the past five years, in addition to membership in multiple cannabis associations and organizations. She speaks at conferences/webinars and in the community on the use and benefits of cannabis and the evolving landscape of cannabis research. Dr. Shelby-lane has worked closely with the Last Prisoner Project.
by Michelle Rutter Friberg, NCIA’s Deputy Director of Government Relations
There’s no getting around it: last week was a mixed bag for cannabis policy in Washington, D.C. While there was excitement around the introduction of two bills in the House of Representatives, it was tempered by the fact that congressional leaders removed the SAFE Banking Act language from the America COMPETES/USICA trade bill.
The cannabis industry (and many others) were disheartened to learn that the SAFE Banking Act language that had been attached to the House’s America COMPETES Act was stripped out during negotiations last week. Over the last couple of months, both parties have been scrambling to negotiate the legislation into something that could pass both chambers and get across the President’s desk. Unfortunately, Majority Leader Schumer (D-NY), Minority Leader McConnell (R-KY), Speaker Pelosi (D-CA), and Minority Leader McCarthy (R-CA) decided to put the SAFE Banking Act on the chopping block again despite pleas from businesses, financial institutions, and numerous state officials.
While SAFE will not be included in this legislative package, lead sponsor Rep. Ed Perlmutter went to Twitter to talk about what’s next:
“By excluding the #SAFEBankingAct from the #USICA/#COMPETES bill, the Senate continues to ignore the public safety risk of forcing cannabis businesses to deal in all cash. In the wake of the Senate’s inaction, people continue to be killed and businesses continue to be robbed. I will continue to push for #SAFEBanking to be included in COMPETES, other legislative vehicles, or for the Senate to finally take up the standalone version of the bill which has been sitting in the Senate for three and a half years.”
But don’t give up just yet: there’s been much talk on Capitol Hill about a “SAFE+” package of some type. Read more about that here.
Last week, we saw the introduction of two cannabis bills in the House: one was a new bill that’s never been introduced, while the other has been introduced in many Congress’ past. The former: the Capital Lending and Investment for Marijuana Businesses (CLIMB) Act; the latter: the Veterans Equal Access Act.
Led by Reps. Troy A Carter, Sr. (D-LA) and Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), the CLIMB Act looks to:
The Veterans Equal Access Act has been introduced in the past; this session, the bill is again led by champion Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and newcomer to the legislation and Cannabis Caucus co-chair Brian Mast (R-FL).
The bill states that the secretary of the VA must “authorize physicians and other health care providers employed” by the department to 1) “provide recommendations and opinions to veterans who are residents of states with state marijuana programs regarding the participation of veterans in such state marijuana programs” and 2) “complete forms reflecting such recommendations and opinions.”
The bill has previously cleared the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee and was then turned into an appropriations rider; however, it has never been passed into law.
One thing is clear: we have our work cut out for us as we look to the last six months of this Congress. Want to get more involved with our government relations efforts? Consider becoming an Evergreen Roundtable member today, and mark your calendar for September 13-14, as we return in-person for lobby days in Washington, D.C.!
NCIA Director of Communications Bethany Moore checks in with what’s going on across the country with the National Cannabis Industry Association’s membership, board, allies, and staff. Join us every other Thursday on Facebook for NCIA Today Live.
Happy Juneteenth, Happy PRIDE!
The Clio Cannabis Awards, September 29, 2022 in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand
During the winter of 2021, when vaccines were not yet widely available, and many people were still in lockdown, the NCIA Marketing and Advertising Committee was determined to shine a light on those in our community who were fueling opportunity and growth during a difficult time for many businesses.
MAC Chair Kary Radestock of Hippo Packaging assembled a subcommittee tasked to amplify top member marketing efforts and thus the Best of 420 Award program was born. The 2021 event received dozens of submissions from all over the U.S. across all business sectors and budget sizes and was conducted and presented virtually. See last year’s winners here.
For 2022, NCIA and the Marketing and Advertising Committee are bringing it back and this year, it’s going to hit differently.
Through the guidance of our subcommittee co-chaired by Melinda Adamec of Gabriel Marketing and myself, Tara Coomans of Avaans Media, we’ve also enlisted Michael Kauffman of the Clio Awards, Angela Wong of The People’s Ecosystem, and Vanessa Valdovinos of Hush Chicago to provide support to this year’s process and expand this award.
The winning honoree will be presented live at the 2022 Clio Cannabis Awards to be held on September 29th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
NCIA invites all cannabis companies and brands, both B2B and B2C to submit their 420 campaigns—NCIA membership is not required. Budgets of all sizes and companies of all types, B2B and B2C, are encouraged to apply.
It’s still FREE
A jury of NCIA members and peers who will evaluate submissions and recognize the top entry.
Winners: There will be one winner and this winner will be chosen based on three criteria.
Criteria: Judges will evaluate entrants in three ways: Community Impact, Creativity, and Results.
Community Impact: How did your campaign bring your community together? How did it highlight the best of the cannabis community to others? Did it support an advocacy campaign such as DEI, sustainability?
The cannabis industry is showing the world how an industry-aligned can create positive change. How does your campaign positively impact either the cannabis industry, your customers, the environment, underserved or unrecognized cannabis users, or businesses?
Creativity: How creative was your overall 420 campaign? How creative are you in getting out your message and implementing the campaign?
Results: Was it an effective campaign by your own goals and KPIs?
This category is one of the most important because our judges will judge the results based on your goals. Regardless of budget size or market size, show us your results. Results are those KPIs that are important to YOU. Make sure you grab those baselines so we can see your progress!
Selected from a diverse slate of NCIA members, including past winners and NCIA committee members from a cross-section of perspectives, including the Sustainability Committee, the Diversity and Equity Committee and the Marketing and Advertising Committee.
Submit your company’s campaign today by following the link below! Act fast as entries will be collected over the following six weeks, with a deadline to submit by Friday, Jul 22, 2022.
Good luck to everyone and have a fantastic 420! Submissions are being accepted now! We look forward to seeing your exceptional campaigns!
About Clio
Clio is the premier international awards competition for the creative business. Founded in 1959 to celebrate creative excellence in advertising, Clio today honors the work and talent at the forefront of the industry in a variety of specialized fields, including: sports, fashion, music, entertainment, cannabis, and health. As a leading authority on the diverse and ever-changing creative landscape, Clio celebrates creativity 365-days-a-year via its global ad database Ads of The World and its content platform Muse by Clio.
https://clios.com/
https://musebycl.io/
https://www.adsoftheworld.com/
About Clio Cannabis
Expanding on Clio’s enduring reputation for establishing best-in-class programs honoring creative ideas in a variety of specialized verticals, Clio Cannabis celebrates the creators at the forefront of cannabis marketing and communications. Launched in 2019, Clio Cannabis sets the bar for creative work in a rapidly growing industry, builds a greater understanding of a developing category, and elevates creative contributions from top talent and agencies.
https://www.cliocannabisawards.com/
For hints and tips on winning award programs, with hints and tips from the entire Marketing and Advertising Committee, listen to the replay of our recent webinar:
By NCIA’s Marketing and Advertising Committee,
Helen Mac Murray, Mac Murray & Shuster LLP, and Dan Serard, Cannabis Creative Group
The requirements and restrictions surrounding paid advertising on social media are hardly a secret. Cannabis businesses have to tread carefully to avoid getting shut down or banned completely from online platforms.
However, there is one popular way to leverage the power of social media without risking your account: Influencer Marketing.
An influencer is any public figure, celebrity, creator, or individual that has the power to affect the purchasing decisions of others because of their authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with the audience. Influencers are typically content creators that actively engage in a select niche online, such as Lifestyle, Fashion, and even Cannabis.
Influencer marketing is a fantastic way for cannabis brands and dispensaries to leverage the power of social media without getting tangled up in the mess of rules and regulations. However, that doesn’t mean there are no rules and regulations for influencer marketing.
Here are some do’s and don’ts of cannabis influencer marketing on social media:
Marketers and business owners can be quick to forget that influencers are not just marketing tools, but rather, people as well. In that regard, influencers are their own brand. Their entire digital presence is curated carefully to align with their unique values and interests.
This means that when cannabis brands are interested in working with influencers, they have to be extremely careful who they choose. Not only does their character reflect on your brand, but also because it’s going to cost you a pretty penny.
Therefore, focus on building meaningful relationships with influencers and popular creators. Add value to their community and don’t view them as a tool in the toolkit. When you manage these relationships the right way, you turn one-time influencers into long-time brand ambassadors.
If you are partnering with someone who will be making claims about your brand or promoting your product in any way, be sure to:
One of the biggest benefits of influencer marketing across industries is that it is a relatable way to sell products. If your influencer partners or brand ambassadors do not actually use and love your product, the partnership will lose its value. Both your brand and the influencer will lose credibility.
When selecting influencers to partner with on campaigns, take time to do your research. Observe their regular social media activity as a follower, be patient during the agreement phase, and understand that this is a long-term partnership.
After the Borat debacle in Massachusetts, cannabis brands have (rightfully) become paranoid about using influencers or celebrities in their marketing campaigns.
While memes on social media are perfectly fair game, a disclaimer or two never hurt anybody if you want to cover your tracks. However, paid ads are a completely different ball game.
For those who are wondering what you can and can’t do when it comes to using a celebrity or cannabis influencer’s image or likeness, here’s a general rule to keep in mind: Do not run or re-run any paid advertising with a public figure without express legal consent.
When it comes to influencers, this means you need to be very specific on the terms of your engagement. For instance, if you are simply looking for a one-time product endorsement on their own channels, you can share these assets from their account to yours. However, you are not allowed to take those assets and use them in future campaigns, especially paid ones, unless you have explicit permission from the influencer.
In other words, if you want to be able to run any cannabis advertising campaigns with partner content, be sure to let the influencer know during the agreement phase, and prepare your budget accordingly.
Disclaimers are extremely important on social media and other marketing platforms when working with influencers. They provide your audience with transparency and protect all parties from any legal backlash.
If you have any relationship with a cannabis influencer of any kind (celebrities, bloggers, etc.), make sure they disclose that to their own audience when engaging in formal partner campaigns with your brand.
These disclosures should be clear and unambiguous and made directly within the endorsement content. Some ways they can do this are by:
Disclosing material connections with a brand is an important requirement for influencers, but brands are also liable for influencer posts that violate the law. You never want your cannabis brand to be associated with anyone that might find themselves in hot water, so be sure to make these terms clear when partnering with influencers.
This may go without saying, but when it comes to paid advertising in cannabis, throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks isn’t really a good idea. When you’re running ads – whether it is on a traditional medium, like a billboard, or a digital medium, such as pay-per-click ads – it is important to do your due diligence.
Don’t wait to prove your product claims until after the ads have run. Not only will this get you in trouble with the FTC, but you will appear deceitful to your customers and quickly lose their trust.
Instead, ensure you have third-party lab testing, credible experts (like cannabis doctors or budtenders) able to speak to your specific product, and/or the receipts to back up your claims if challenged.
Existing customers are the best marketers for your brand. Using reviews to show social proof of your product is a great idea. In fact, any cannabis marketing professional will tell you that it is encouraged to show off testimonials on social media, websites, email lists, and more.
However, do be cautious when using these testimonials to sell your product.
Only use the words of your customers if you have express permission to use them on other channels, or if they are already posted in public forums, such as Google Reviews.
It is also highly recommended that you only use testimonials if they reflect the results of most of your customers. You can’t use consumer testimonials if you do not have substantiation that the endorser’s experience is representative of what consumers will generally achieve unless the advertisement clearly and conspicuously discloses the generally expected performance in the depicted circumstances, and the advertiser must possess and rely on adequate substantiation for that representation.
While it’s always helpful to highlight benefits that real people have experienced, disclaimers should always be made if anything sounds too close to a health claim. For instance, if a customer comments on an Instagram post that your product has made their anxiety disappear, you’ll want to gain express permission from them to use their words as a testimonial, and you should add a note when posting that such claims one customer’s unique experience and can’t be interpreted as medical advice.
Cannabis marketing agencies are a powerful tool for a brand or dispensary. From social media and email marketing to search engine optimization, branding, website design and development, and more, these companies are experts at crafting a digital presence for your business.
However, good marketing only goes so far. Even the best cannabis marketing professional or influencer can’t cover up for false information, a bad product, poor customer service, or just bad business overall.
Additionally, even when marketing companies have industry-specific expertise, they are not lawyers. As a brand, you can’t rely on your agency to know the exact letter of the law.
Instead of using social media or your marketing efforts as damage control, be intentional about building a high-value brand and bringing on a marketing agency that can make you stand out from the crowd in good conscience.
That means, start from the ground up, provide accurate information, and protect yourself and your brand from any liability by being cautious of any cannabis advertising and marketing rules and regulations.
Developing a strong presence on social media isn’t just impressive, it’s important for your audience and potential customers to buy into your brand. Whether it’s paid or organic, influencer marketing is a great workaround to some of the more harsh realities of social media rules and regulations for cannabis brands and dispensaries.
When you harness the power of these public figures and their engaged communities online, you can take your brand to new heights.
By LaKia Bourne and JoAnne Williams, Green Space Accounting
Every entrepreneur knows that staying ahead of business demands is challenging and time-consuming. Unless you have access to enough capital to hire a large team of dedicated employees, you’ll probably have to juggle a wide range of tasks. From promotional marketing to financial forecasting, it seems cannabis business owners always have their plates full.
With this being said, it’s important to understand that taking on too many tasks at once can have negative consequences. The quality of your work is likely to suffer, and you could end up making mistakes that impede your ability to drive growth. Not to mention, doing everything on your own can leave you feeling tired and burnt out.
Unlike companies in many other industries, the cannabis industry is closely regulated, meaning entrepreneurs have to conduct rigorous administrative work. Failure to stay on top of state regulations could result in reputational damage, lost revenue, and even the loss of your business.
So, what’s the solution? Whether you’re a grower, manufacturer, or dispensary owner, outsourcing your accounting burden could significantly lighten your workload. As well as ensuring your accounts are accurately maintained, enlisting the services of a reliable firm will free up time for other important jobs, such as product and vendor management, marketing and promotion, partnership-building, and much more.
Of course, you shouldn’t rely on the first accounting firm you stumble across to look after your financial affairs. As an entrepreneur in the cannabis industry, you must find an accounting firm with knowledge of the sector – and, of course, a non-judgmental approach to hemp and cannabis sales.
This article will explore three key ways working with a cannabis-oriented accounting firm could significantly improve business outcomes.
To see long-term success in your business endeavors, it’s important to know your numbers forwards and backward. Your financial records tell the story of how your company has evolved from start to finish. If you don’t have a comprehensive understanding of your business’s story, you’re not getting the full picture.
By hiring an accountant, you can rest assured knowing that you have someone on your team to oversee all of your accounting and record-keeping initiatives. An accountant will keep track of tax costs, payroll expenses, retirement plan costs, office equipment purchases, marketing & promotional fees, and much more. This means you can avoid unnecessary expenses and ensure your business is as fiscally responsible as possible.
If you’re overspending, they’ll help you cut back and offer valuable advice about maximizing profits while fulfilling key business goals. If you’re prone to overspending or don’t feel confident with complex mathematics, hiring an accountant could represent one of your smartest business moves.
The rules and regulations surrounding cannabis sales can be confusing and hard to follow. While many states have legalized the sale of medical marijuana, the substance remains a class 1 substance under federal drug laws. Because of this, there is uncertainty surrounding whether banks should service clients working in the cannabis industry and how to handle the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) tax regulations surrounding “illicit substances.”
By selecting a skilled accountant with knowledge of the cannabis industry, you can avoid such confusion and avoid penalization. By hiring the services of a company like Green Space Accounting, you can ensure the following:
One of the primary reasons entrepreneurs outsource tasks is to make time for the creative aspects of growing a business. Driving business growth requires much more than smooth day-to-day operations and well-maintained accounts. It also requires the ability and motivation to set your business apart from competitors and present customers with dynamic new offerings.
Doing the creative work involved with entrepreneurialism is tricky if you’re faced with a pile of administrative tasks. By enlisting the help of a professional accounting firm, you’ll enhance the quality of your business’s accounting work while freeing up plenty of time for other tasks, such as:
Managing the financial side of your business can be daunting, complicated, and most of all: stressful. If you own a business in the cannabis space, it’s wise to consider outsourcing your accounting initiatives to an industry professional.
Whether you are a start-up, a growing business, or a multi-state operator, specialized firms like Green Space Accounting can help you with intimate knowledge of cannabis rules and regulations.
Green Space Accounting is one of the leading cannabis accounting, tax, and advisory firms in North America. Our client service philosophy has helped forge an excellent working relationship with dispensaries, grows and ancillary businesses in the space. From accounting and tax services to business consulting and financial planning, we possess the knowledge and experience needed to assist you with your current and future needs.
LaKia Bourne has 20+ years of experience as an accomplished and trusted accounting professional. As a women-owned and minority-owned accounting firm, LaKia has a passion for working with other small businesses and engaging in the local community, and her values drive her overall career goals and mission to uplift businesses and encourage financial competency through reliable accounting services.
With her exceptional credentials and years of accounting experience, JoAnne Williams is a leader in every area of accounting and business consulting. Driven by a deep commitment to client satisfaction, JoAnne has helped non-profits and businesses of all sizes across various industries. Client satisfaction is her number one goal, making her a leader in every area of accounting and business consultation.
by NCIA’s Facilities Design Committee
Jacques Santucci, Brian Anderson, David Vaillencourt, and David Dixon
Continuing our five-part series on the behind-the-scenes workings of the legal cannabis industry. This series focuses on all of the inner dealings and industry advice from established professionals to craft this unlimited How-to-Guide to assist you in setting up your own facility. These articles cover cultivation, extraction, infused products, and retail facilities as well as support activities. In general, remember to be compliant with all local rules and regulations and contact a licensed contractor and industry expert.
Retail and dispensary design presents challenges that are distinct from the other areas of cannabis production and manufacturing. The biggest difference is that the design must now account for customers as well as employees. Listed below are a number of issues that an operator should consider as they are in the process of designing their retail or dispensary operations. Always remember to be compliant with all local rules and regulations.
Most states require a hundred percent minimum security coverage in any area where marijuana products are stored, displayed, or sold. Designing a camera system and placements to avoid “dead spots’ ‘ (i.e. areas with no camera coverage) can be challenging, especially if the operation is taking over an existing space, as opposed to building a new facility from scratch.
Bonus Consideration: Think about having an HVAC system specially dedicated to your security room. Security rooms for video monitoring and storage can sometimes be an afterthought. But these locations should be treated more like computer server rooms as opposed to standard office space. And with the amount of technology placed in a (typically) small space, things can overheat rather quickly. This can lead to damage to the system and ultimately, you could be out of compliance for video storage and retention.
Another Bonus Consideration: do not forget about placing security cameras to cover the entrance and exit points to the parking lot. Think about the field of view around doors, especially if the door is near the corner of the building or if there are other obstructions that can block the camera’s view of the area. Multiple cameras may be needed for this critical function. Contact a licensed professional.
Video storage and retention requirements for cannabis facilities are fairly stringent. Typical requirements include 90-days of on-site storage and up to five years of off-site storage. Off-site data storage is required for future legal needs. Many states require a minimum video resolution of 1080p. The video storage needs for even a moderately sized facility can amount to petabytes of data. For this reason, many facilities outsource this function at least in some measure. If you do decide to handle this all yourself, you should be sure that you have the technical expertise on your staff to handle this potentially complex technical issue.
Like it or not, retail cannabis facilities will probably always be targets for crime. Having a security system probably seems like a no-brainer. But simply having an alarm system isn’t typically enough. You will need a system that is actively monitored. This allows the company to initiate actions on your behalf depending on the alarm status (e.g., call the police or fire department in response to a remote alarm). Your alarm should be monitored by at least one reputable company. Redundancy might not be needed, but check to be sure that you are in compliance with local rules and regulations. Talk to your licensed professional.
Customers should only see the public retail area of the location. Customers should not see the back-of-house operations. There is no need for them to see how business is conducted other than at the sales counter. Similarly, there is no need for customers to be able to view the offices, inventory areas, working areas, employee break room, etc. Keeping these areas private helps to avoid bad actors from learning operational routines that might make it easier for them to exploit.
This is an easily overlooked area but can definitely get your dinged upon inspection. Be sure you have the appropriate amount of first aid kits and burn kits onsite as reunited by local regulations. Pay particular attention to the regulations about the placement of these kits as they are sometimes required to be within visual distance of specific rooms within your facility. It can be a hard pill to swallow to not be able to get your operation certificate for forgetting such a simple item, but it happens all too frequently.
Having a non-customer door or access point is a best practice. Non-customer access points are where employees and products are brought into the facility without customer line-of-sight. In some states, this is a requirement so check to be sure your facility is in compliance with laws and regulations.
Getting cannabis products into a retail facility is a critical part of the merchandise flow and one of the most vulnerable points for theft. For maximum safety and control, consider the use of an air-lock/man trap/sally port door arrangement. If not possible due to location or architecture, planning for business hours separation and process can keep customers separated from deliveries.
The counters where transactions occur in a cannabis retail setting can pose some risks especially since most facilities are cash-based operations. An open style counter can open up opportunities for theft. Consider a security barrier counter. The idea is to attempt to prevent customers from having access to products, cash, or employees where possible.
Customer flow can be somewhat challenging, especially in facilities that have a registration lobby that is physically separated from the retail sales floor. Having separate entry and exit doors for customers can help with the flow of customers. Not a requirement but potentially a good customer experience design.
Dispensaries and retail locations can be busy places at times. In COVID times, this can be a big issue. But even under non-pandemic circumstances, there may be a need to control the number and spacing of customers for both safety and privacy. Social distancing- the process of limiting the number of customers for the available space within the building- can be enhanced through various design elements. These can range from the use of rope and stanchion barriers, to signage and floor stickers.
Lobby design for restricted access – if access to the sales floor is restricted to registered customers, a secure lobby space should be provided with a separated check-in space and access-controlled doors both for customer entrance and egress.
And do not forget bathroom access for customers. You can have a single facility that is unisex but it should also be ADA compliant.
Unfortunately, like most other retail spaces, cannabis retail still generates a significant amount of waste. And much of it may be recyclable. Business recycling bins should be provided.
Energy-saving considerations can also be important for retail facilities. Motion detecting light systems can reduce energy consumption in non-occupied spaces. At the very least, interior lighting switches should be located in the same area for easy use upon space exit. HVAC systems should have an occupied and unoccupied night setback capability.
Depending on the total number of employees and customers you anticipate visiting your business at its peak times, you will need to design a minimum number of accessible parking spots.
If curbside pickup is legally allowed in your area, be sure to map out and reserve spaces exclusively for this activity. It should be close to the exit door where the product will be delivered to the customer. Remember to keep parking spaces for handicapped people and even maybe for motorcycles.
Check Out These Related Articles for More Top Things to Consider When Planning:
Part 1 – Cannabis Cultivation Facilities
Part 2 – Cannabis Extraction Facilities
Part 3 – Cannabis Food Production Facilities
Part 4 –Cannabis Retail & Dispensary Facilities
Part 5 – Cannabis Facility Support Areas
Happy PRIDE! NCIA Director of Communications Bethany Moore checks in with what’s going on across the country with the National Cannabis Industry Association’s membership, board, allies, and staff. Join us every other Thursday on Facebook for NCIA Today Live.
Make the investment, take the time, and do the work to position yourself for success in the Empire State!
Join us on the “Insights & Influencers: NY Opportunity Tour” coming to Albany, Rochester, and NYC next week!
NCIA’s editorial department continues the Member Spotlight series by highlighting our Social Equity Scholarship Recipients as part of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Program. Participants are gaining first-hand access to regulators in key markets to get insight on the industry, tips for raising capital, and advice on how to access and utilize data to ensure success in their businesses, along with all the other benefits available to NCIA members.
Hello, I’m Adrian Adams, EdD. I spent a decade teaching Biology and Chemistry as well as coaching football. I chose to spend several years as a stay-at-home dad (the hardest job by far) and then worked in the pharmaceutical industry. I know many of the physicians in my area. While at dinner one night with a couple of doctors, the conversation revolved around having to combat the misinformation that patients come in with from “Dr. Google.” Minutes later, one doctor asked the others what they were saying to the increasing number of patients who come in asking about cannabis therapy. There was a prolonged silence until another doctor said “I just tell them I don’t know anything about that and to look online.”
Another doctor said, “me too.” The irony within the few-minute span was worthy of a fork drop. The FDA has approved CBD as a medicine. To me, not educating a patient about a legal, safe, and effective treatment option meant they just didn’t have the cannabis knowledge. That also meant more legal, safe, and effective products needed to be made for doctors and their patients. In that moment, Ontogen Botanicals CBD was born.
We offer reduced costs, which can be a barrier to entry for consumers. And a deep knowledge of the intersection between cannabis and medicine. Physicians are a choke point for the industry that is overlooked. Simply put, doctors are good people. Most of them have simply had zero training on the endocannabinoid system as it was only identified in the 1990s. Ontogen Botanicals believes if they knew better, they’d do better. We offer doctors the information to make an informed decision on the utility of cannabis for their patients. We also offer the ability for doctors to provide legal cannabis products for their patients right in their office as part of a sound treatment plan.
Ontogen provides effective CBD products that are truly full-panel lab tested for safety. We strongly believe in starting at a low dose, which also lowers cost. Using the least medication necessary is part of medical training. Low-dose products work for many people and reduce the cost barrier of entry to try CBD and other cannabis products.
We want to increase the healthcare provider and patient knowledge of what this plant can do, as well as provide quality of life-improving products. Now we’re expanding to help the population at large. Medically speaking, cannabis is as good as advertised. The more people use it, the more legitimate the industry becomes.
Cannabis gets a bad rap for being a gateway drug to the opioid crisis. In fact, doctors are beginning to address the pain that often starts and underlies chronic opioid use. You cannot pull opioids and not address the pain that drives many folks back to opioids. Regulated cannabis can reduce pain without the many harmful side effects of opioids – especially unregulated heroin.
With industry growth, and Ontogen Botanicals‘ growth, will come the capital for Ontogen to address the challenges that poverty creates for people who may have much less access to healthcare and prescription drugs to get the medicine they prefer. There is enough money in cannabusiness to use it for social good.
A big problem for any small business is finding the right people to do business with. Minority business owners face discrimination and mistrust when trying to do business in general. Now add cannabis to the equation. I’ve been asked for $5K just for the right to open a business checking account.
Groups like NCIA, MCBA, and Minorities for Medical Marijuana help us find each other to do business with as well as bridge the gap between us and traditional business communities like banking for access to capital.
This industry has shown the ability to help remediate the cannabis criminalization harms done to minorities during the war on drugs. Big tobacco and many other industries are already investing and awaiting federal law changes. I fear that once the flood gates open to large companies investing billions of dollars, the feeding frenzy will create an extinction-level event for smaller minority-owned companies. We need federal and state-level legislative dams in place before then to protect minority-owned smaller businesses.
I joined to try to help advocate for social equity and social justice for minorities to have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to start an industry. The best part about the NCIA Social Equity program is that it brings minority entrepreneurs together weekly to support each other. We’ve locked elbows, pick each other up in hard times, and celebrated the good.
By Sadaf Naushad, NCIA Intern
Thanks to the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill), hemp is now federally legal, permitting U.S. farmers to cultivate, process, and sell hemp. Since its passing, however, businesses in the hemp industry have found themselves in a legal gray area.
With the 2018 Farm Bill eliminating restrictions on the psychoactive cannabinoid delta-8 THC, the companies deemed their delta-8 THC products within legal guidelines. Several jurisdictions disagreed, calling for clarification on the status of delta-8 THC.
Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit addressed the dilemma, claiming delta-8 THC products as federally legal.
Let’s consider what delta-8 THC legalization means for the future of the cannabis industry.
Because recreational cannabis use remains federally illegal, delta-8 THC products continue to gain popularity nationwide. Manufacturing developments have led to enhanced consumer products, in which cultivators safely extract delta-8 THC cannabinoids from hemp plants.
While delta-9 THC constitutes a major psychoactive cannabinoid in the marijuana plant, delta-8 THC appears in trace amounts of the plant. Its psychoactive properties grant consumers gentler side effects compared to delta-9 THC.
On Thursday, a three-panel judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals published their opinion regarding delta-8 THC, ruling products containing the psychoactive ingredient as federally legal. According to the panel, delta-8 THC qualifies as a legal substance under the present federal definition of hemp. Federal law outlines hemp as “any part of” the cannabis plant, in which “all derivatives, extracts and cannabinoids” with less than 0.3% delta-9 THC by weight are allowed.
Had U.S. Congress unintentionally created a loophole leading to the legalization of delta-8 THC, the U.S. Federal Appeals Court stated that Congress should be responsible for resolving the issue. The panel specified that they would not replace its own judgment with Congress’ policy rulings. In the meantime, the Court defines the federal hemp law as “silent with regard to delta-8 THC.”
According to a Politico article, “Members of Congress have proposed fixes to federal hemp laws that would close this loophole. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) introduced a bill in February to limit hemp and hemp products by calculating the total THC rather than focusing on Delta-9 THC. At the same time, state hemp regulators are voicing for a similar change advocating for the 1 percent total THC definition of hemp. Meanwhile, some states have moved to ban the sale of Delta-8 THC products or to regulate them similar to recreational marijuana.”
NCIA takes a strong position that Delta-8 products and any other psychoactive cannabinoids must be restricted to adults over 21 and regulated by the states so that these products are subject to the same testing requirements, track-and-trace rules, and excise taxes as other adult-use cannabis products.
Furthermore, if you are interested in learning more or getting involved with NCIA’s Government Relations work please contact Madeline Grant at madeline@thecannabisindustry.org to schedule a call. As the oldest and largest trade association, our Government Relations team has been hard at work for over a decade educating and working with congressional offices. NCIA held its Virtual VIP Lobby Days last week, May 16-19 on Capitol Hill. NCIA’s Evergreen members participated in congressional meetings all week long to advocate and educate members of Congress(s) and staff on the importance of cannabis policy reform. We discussed the importance of keeping the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking in the America COMPETES Act and descheduling cannabis at the federal level. You can read more about cannabis and banking from last week’s blog HERE.
NCIA members were able to share their personal stories about being in the cannabis space and relay their expertise to further understanding of the struggles and hurdles cannabis businesses face every day. There is never a time more important than now to support NCIA’s efforts for cannabis policy reform.
by Andrew M. Halbert, Fox Rothschild
Recently, after delays in issuing any adult-use dispensary licenses, Illinois has attempted to push ahead with simplifying the application and issuance process. Interestingly, this has occurred even as recent developments in ongoing litigation indicate potential further delays in issuing the previously awarded licenses that are currently in limbo, and in one case, even threaten to upend the entire process.
On September 3, 2020, after multiple delays, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Responsibility (“IDFPR”) announced the application scoring results for the initial 75 new adult-use dispensary licenses to be issued under the Illinois Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act (the “Act”). Only 21 of the 900-plus applicant groups had achieved a perfect score, and the available licenses would be awarded via a series of lotteries involving only those applicants. Although all 21 applicants with a perfect score were deemed too qualified for “social equity” status under the Act, there were public allegations that only 13 of the 21 accepted applicants were actually owned and controlled by people of color.
Faced with multiple lawsuits claiming various flaws in the process, the Governor suspended the initial lottery. He announced that IDFPR would distribute Supplemental Deficiency Notices explaining where applicants missed out on points, and providing an opportunity to correct any identified issues. Unfortunately, this satisfied neither the excluded applicants nor those applicants who had already received a perfect score, and litigation continued. As of May 1, 2022, none of the proposed new adult-use licenses have been issued.
In July 2021, the Illinois legislature adopted H.B. 1443 in an attempt to address social equity concerns and expedite the issuance of dispensary licenses. It established procedures for three adult-use dispensary lotteries to occur in July and August of 2021, in which a total of 185 adult-use dispensary licenses were to be issued.
The first lottery, for 55 new licenses, included only applicants that received 85% or more of the available points. The second lottery, also for 55 additional licenses, included applicants that received a score of 85% or higher and met the ownership and control requirements for Social Equity Applicants. Applicants that qualified for social equity status solely by hiring qualifying employees were excluded from this lottery. The final lottery, for the original 75 licenses, included the 21 applicants who initially received a perfect score, as well as an additional 134 applicants who perfected their application using the Supplemental Deficiency Notice process. Although IDFPR announced the winners, none of the licenses have been awarded yet due to the ongoing litigation.
More recently, on March 15, 2022, Governor Pritzker announced another planned lottery process to occur later this year to award 50 new adult-use dispensary licenses. The proposed rules governing this process were released on March 25, 2022, and include a new, simplified online application process and an administrative review provision designed to help address issues without the need for litigation.
As Illinois attempts to streamline its processes, three different ongoing lawsuits involving Illinois dispensary licenses have continued to progress, one of which threatens to upend the entire lottery process.
First, Wah v. IDFPR claims that the additional points given to veteran-owned applicants create a special class of applicants in violation of the Illinois constitution. The most recent relevant development, in this case, was the stay order that prevents IDFPR from issuing any of the 185 dispensary licenses until the issues raised in Wah have been resolved, which remains in place.
A second lawsuit, which is really a group of fourteen different lawsuits involving dozens of plaintiffs consolidated into one “supercase,” challenges the application process on the basis of alleged violations of Illinois administrative law, and asks that the plaintiffs be provided additional licenses beyond the 185 currently allocated. The judge in that case recently had the opportunity to take control over the stay in Wah, but declined. As a result, the resolution of this case will affect only the parties to the case, and will not affect the larger issue of the stayed licenses. At a recent hearing, the parties discussed a supplemental lottery process for the plaintiffs that would attempt to recreate the odds that those plaintiffs would have faced in the original lottery, had their applications not been improperly excluded, and the fact that plaintiffs would need to succeed in that lottery in order to have a viable claim to a license. IDFPR and the judge indicated their belief that this lottery should occur soon so that unsuccessful plaintiffs could avoid further litigation costs. However, not all plaintiffs were amenable to this proposal, raising the issue that if none of the plaintiffs were successful in the proposed lottery, IDFPR might never be held to account for any flaws in the application process.
Finally, a third case was recently filed that could upend the entire licensing process. That case, Finch, et al. v. Mario Tretor, Acting Secretary of IDFPR, 1:22-cv-0158 (N.D. Illinois, March 23, 2002), claims that granting additional application points to Illinois residents (as well as the Illinois residency requirements included in the qualifications for social equity status) should be deemed unconstitutional under what is known as the “dormant commerce clause” because it unfairly discriminates against residents of other states. The plaintiffs in Finch have already won a similar case in federal court challenging similar requirements in Missouri, so those watching the case closely are concerned that this court may reach a similar result. In addition, because this case challenges the constitutionality of the entire scoring process, a win for the plaintiffs could mean a reset for the entire licensing process, even affecting those 185 licenses that have already been awarded.
All that interested Illinois applicants can do now is wait, and hope that these issues are resolved soon and licenses are finally released. Once that happens, expect a flurry of activity as those lucky enough to receive a license seek capital and expertise, with some likely to explore options for selling their newly-acquired license.
Andrew Halbert is a member of the National Cannabis Law Practice at Fox Rothschild LLP, based in its Chicago office. He focuses his practice on representing public and private clients, including cannabis companies, in a broad range of transactions including: state and local cannabis regulatory and licensing transactions; stock and asset acquisitions and divestitures; mergers; tender offers; private equity investments; reorganizations; private offerings; and financing transactions facilitated through the issuance of equity and debt securities.
By Bethany Niebauer, Axial Compliance Consulting
North Carolina, one of the last holdouts for any kind of marijuana program, is finally considering a medical bill. As a North Carolinian, I always thought that I would greet this news with joy and pride. Instead, I feel disappointed at the regressive and paternalistic bill my home is likely to pass.
To give a little bit of context, the state has about 11 million residents. Famous for its tobacco production, the state is quickly becoming a leader in STEM jobs. In 2020, the capital of Raleigh was ranked the third best city in the country for technology, due to the rapid growth of that sector. Meanwhile, Charlotte remains a leader in banking. After New York City, it is home to the country’s second largest financial services hub. North Carolina has a reputation for being regressive, or even backwards, but its residents are at the forefront of some very progressive industries.
Despite all this progress, the proposed medical marijuana bill is a shining step in the wrong direction. North Carolina’s SB 711, also known as the NC Compassionate Care Act, was originally brought forth by Senator Bill Rabon (R- New Bern), in April of 2021. The bill is strangely modeled on Utah’s medical program. Utah has one of the highest rates of prescription drug abuse outside of the rust belt. Yet with a population of just over three million, state regulators licensed a mere 14 dispensaries. This is insufficient to meet the needs of a large, rural population. Still, Utah has 17 qualifying conditions for patients seeking entry into the program.
North Carolina recognizes only 14 conditions and chronic pain is not among them. Post-traumatic stress disorder is a qualifying condition so long as the patient can prove, (with evidence) that he or she experienced a traumatic event. The bill includes a presumption that if a servicemember served in an active combat zone that he or she experienced a traumatic event. North Carolina is a service dense area, but not every veteran will serve in an active combat zone. Many service members will be precluded from accessing the medicine they need. Furthermore, the bill is vague about what constitutes evidence. If a college student is raped at a fraternity party but doesn’t report it to the police, will there be sufficient evidence to qualify under the rules? The bill is unclear.
The bill requires vertical integration at a time when most states are moving away from that model. An application fee is a whopping $50,000. The bill seeks to award 10 licenses and each license will have the ability to cultivate, process, and dispense, (with up to four dispensaries per license). The bill currently requires 10% of gross revenue paid to the Department of Health and Human Services as a monthly fee. Clearly, this bill is designed to suit the interests of multi-state operators. No one else will be able to participate, much less survive, in such a costly environment.
By now, most states see the value in social equity. New York and New Jersey both made strong strides in promoting diversity amongst license holders. The North Carolina bill fails to mention social equity or even diversity. Sensible South, a lobbying group that claims to promote the interests of future North Carolina patients is working hard with some of the largest MSOs, including Cresco, PharmaCann, and Columbia Care to set the playing field in their favor. When I asked Garrett Perdue, the group’s founder, if there was any room for small operators in this legal framework, he shrugged his shoulders and said “I really don’t know.”
North Carolina is contemplating legalizing medical marijuana while looking down its nose at patients and the cannabis industry in general. Anyone in North Carolina interested in a more equitable program should contact their state legislators and make the following requests: (1) broaden the list of qualifying conditions so that more people can access the medicine they need, and (2) permit separate license types so that smaller operators have a chance of success.
Bethany Niebauer is the CEO and Founder of Axial Compliance Consulting. Based in Denver, Colorado, Axial Compliance assists clients across the country with all aspects of license management, including new license applications, renewals, modifications, and transfers. Bethany grew up in Greensboro, NC.
NCIA Director of Communications Bethany Moore checks in with what’s going on across the country with the National Cannabis Industry Association’s membership, board, allies, and staff. Join us every other Thursday on Facebook for NCIA Today Live.
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