THE STATE OF MARIJUANA

September 26, 2015

Real Office Centers, Santa Monica
604 Arizona Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90401
#SOMJ

Considered to be the fastest growing industry in the United States, the legal cannabis market has grown to a worth of $2.7 billion.  Four states have legalized marijuana for adult use, and 20 states have legalized it for medical use.  It is projected that by 2016, California will have legalized marijuana for adult use.

Event promoter Cory Wray, 32, is excited to bring the inaugural Northwest Cannabis Classic to the Tacoma Armory the weekend of Aug. 29-30. Approximately 70 vendors are scheduled for the trade show with an expected attendance of 4,000-5,000 visitors.

Previous cannabis-related conventions and trade shows in Washington have lacked only one thing: cannabis.

That is about to change.

Given what he’s about to bring to Tacoma, the “M” in Cory Wray’s MBA might well stand for marijuana, a substance of which he claims to be a longtime consumer.

What if you could choose exactly the type of high you felt when you smoked a joint or ate a pot brownie?

Scientists at the cannabis company Ebbu are creating marijuana extracts to conjure up the kind of mood you’d like to feel. They want consumers to experience one of their five branded feelings: giggle, create, energy, chill, and bliss.

“Consumers don’t purchase edibles based on flavoring, they purchase based on how it’s going to make the person feel,” says Dooma Wendschuh, co-founder of Ebbu.

According to experts, marijuana in its raw form is totally unpredictable, which is why most first-time users don’t know what to expect when they try it. Ebbu is trying to take that unknown factor out of the equation.

Zynerba Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ZYNE) had a solid run on Monday following the prior week’s initial public offering. The problem is that this deal was so small, and it came out during a serious week of selling in the equities market, that most investors may not even know about this company at all.

Zynerba Pharmaceuticals sold 3 million shares of common stock at $14.00 per share in its IPO last week. All 450,000 shares in the overallotment option were used, and the pricing range had been $13.00 to $15.00 per share.

Jefferies and Piper Jaffray were the joint book-running managers for this offering. Canaccord Genuity and Oppenheimer were listed as co-managers for the IPO.

Green Man Cannabis Ranch and Amphitheater is set to open early next year in Denver. It will grow marijuana in greenhouses.

Wineries and breweries should brace themselves for some unusual competition. Colorado, which legalized marijuana for recreational use in 2012, will get its first “weedery” in early 2016.

The Oregon Medical Marijuana Business Conference (OMMBC) is just over a month away. Attendees will get the latest info on both medical marijuana regulations and upcoming recreational regulations as the conference bridges the gap between the two Oregon systems. This is the fourth OMMBC that has already sold out the first conference in Ashland and two in Eugene.

UNDERSTAND THE MARKET

Figuring out the demand for product in a particular area determines so much about one's business, according to Kayvan Khalatbari, founding partner at Denver Relief Consulting. 

Once someone knows how much marijuana they should grow and/or sell, they can establish how much room they will need for their establishment.

ANCHORAGE -- The Marijuana Control Board presented the final set of proposed regulations at a meeting Monday, a chapter some pro-pot advocates consider controversial because it includes an article banning marijuana social clubs.

“It was the campaign to regulate marijuana like alcohol so we’re taking a hard look at our alcohol rules and statutes and see whether or not they fit,” said Cynthia Franklin, director of the ABC Board.

The language is based on an alcohol regulation.

“It’s been a law for over 30 years, that someone cannot open a place for people to come together, drink and pay an entry fee, and not be a licensed liquor establishment, by virtue of inviting people from the public and pay a free to come and drink with them,” said Franklin.

How is it possible that on the same day New York’s Department of Health was announcing the five companies that can legally manufacture and distribute medical marijuana next year, a credit union was suing in Colorado federal court for the right to provide banking services to legal marijuana businesses? Quite simply, the federal government has adopted a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy with regard to one of our nation’s most high profile issues.