Author: News Room

Female-led cannabis companies have a harder time raising capital compared to their male counterparts, Yahoo Finance reports. “What has ended up happening is that as states have adopted more limited license models, it’s become much more expensive to get in the game,” Nancy Whiteman, CEO of Wana Brands, recently told Yahoo Finance. “And so, it favors the people who’ve traditionally had access to capital, which are men — white men.” According to a 2021 MJBizDaily report titled Current State of Diversity in the Cannabis Industry, only 19.9% of cannabis businesses are owned by women, only 8% of cannabis CEOs are…

The Vermont credit union that announced last week it would stop accepting cannabis accounts due to an uptick in applications said that the pause is likely temporary. Vermont State Credit Union (VSCU) CEO Robert Miller told WCAX that the pause was necessary in order for the financial institution to meet its current demand.     “I fully intend that this is going to be temporary. I don’t have a timeline in terms of when we will be making that available again. But fortunately, we have been traditionally the really, the only financial institution serving the industry previously.” — Miller to…

LEUNE is a California-based cannabis company that has expanded into Arizona and Maine since its launch. The lifestyle company was founded by Nidhi Lucky Handa, a former celebrity talent manager, and a luxury brand communications expert. LEUNE brands and sells packaged cannabis flower, one-time-use vape pens, and rosin gummies. In this written interview, Nidhi breaks down the reasoning behind LEUNE’s branding and market expansion, how they source their products, the quality control that goes into sourcing and branding the company’s consumer packaged goods across multiple states, and more. Scroll on to read the full interview! Ganjapreneur: What have you enjoyed…

“We did hear you loud and clear, and we did include in our report that no money should be used for law enforcement programs.” By Sophie Nieto-Muñoz, New Jersey Monitor Testimony gathered last week during three public hearings by the state Cannabis Regulatory Commission will help determine how officials will invest social equity fees raised from legal marijuana sales. Advocates offered plenty of suggestions for the money, from buying baby bonds for low-income newborns and funding Black maternal health care centers to supporting reentry services for people leaving prison and creating a fund to help people harmed by the war…

The ongoing federal prohibition of marijuana is getting between consumers and safe products, according to a new study resulting from a year-long investigation into the prevalence of various contaminants in lab-tested cannabis. Looking at disparities in legal states’ approach to contaminants, as well as robust data from samples collected in California, the team helmed by Dr. Maxwell C.K. Leung at Arizona State University concluded that a lack of consistent federal guidelines around marijuana contaminants puts consumers at greater risk of developing health issues. Since cannabis remains a Schedule I controlled substance, it is not subject to Food and Drug Administration…

For the third season in a row, the National Basketball Association (NBA) will reportedly not be randomly testing players for marijuana—a policy that insiders expect could become permanent. Players can still be screened for probable cause during the 2022-2023 season, but sports journalist Ben Dowsett said league sources told him random testing for cannabis will continue to be suspended, as it was for the first time in the height of the coronavirus pandemic. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver signaled in late 2020 that the policy could eventually become codified after the league initially suspended cannabis testing when players competed in a…

A new legislative report delivered to Maryland lawmakers this week projects that the nationwide market for legal cannabis could climb to $72 billion per year by 2030, more than double the current market estimation of $32 billion annually. But the report also shows that some states that have legalized cannabis have failed to set clear social equity goals and that the regulated marijuana market nationwide lacks a proportionate representation of Black-owned businesses. Lawmakers in Maryland are exploring how legalized adult-use cannabis would impact the state, where voters will decide on recreational marijuana legalization in this month’s general election. On Tuesday,…

Can y’all believe this is number 30 already?! That means there are already over 300 picks published for this silly lil’ collection of dank. That’s a lot of smoke in my lungs… god I love this job.  Anyway, the past month has been a whirlwind. Having not really slowed down since August, this one has selections from across my travels over the past month and a half that I’m just now getting the time to scribe. From the Bay, to New York, New Orleans, and back to SoCal, the past few weeks have been a blast, and I’ve got a…

Luckily for us, cannabis was made illegal. After all, if the U.S. government had not decided to criminalize marijuana, starting with a tax for growing it, we wouldn’t have nearly as many different types. When cannabis growers and breeders were forced underground, they used male and female plants to create their own seedstock. The illegal distinction borne by the cannabis plant has led to it being one of the most diverse botanicals on the planet. When the War on Drugs meant Americans could no longer get landrace genetics like Acapulco Gold from Mexico, we looked further toward Amsterdam’s marijuana melting…

The co-founders of the cannabis brand Swami Select, Nikki Lastreto and Swami Chaitanya, have spent many years on a spiritual path that includes residing in India, frequently visiting temples, and conversing with holy men. When their journey brought them back to California, they created a sanctuary with a unique, spiritual approach to growing cannabis. With Swami Select, they pride themselves in embracing regenerative farming and praise cannabis as a way to heighten the senses and connect with others, as well as the world around them. Lastreto and Chaitanya took time to chat with High Times about the events that led…