Aurora Cannabis announced deals to acquire two companies on Thursday – H2 Biopharma Inc., a late-stage Canadian medical cannabis production applicant, and Larssen Ltd., a greenhouse design firm. In total, Aurora will pay $25 million for H2, with an initial $10 million payment; all of which will be paid through the issuance of Aurora common shares. According to a press …
Illinois State Senator to Introduce Bill Allowing Opioid Patients Access to MMJ Program
Illinois State Senator Don Harmon is set to introduce a bill to allow people prescribed opioids for a medical condition to apply for a temporary medical cannabis card instead in an effort to help curb the state’s opioid epidemic. In a press release, Harmon, a Democrat, pointed to research that shows “medical cannabis is a safe alternative treatment for the …
Australian MMJ and Hemp Firm Expands into China
Australia’s Creso Pharma is expanding its reach into China, announcing the company has established a strategic partnership and commercial distribution agreement with hemp-producer Zhejiang Kingdom Create So., Ltd. Kingdom Creative will import hemp and cannabis-derived animal and human health products and invest in the marketing and distribution of the products. Dr. Miri Halperin Wernli, Creso Pharma CEO, said the partnership …
Montana MMJ Draft Rules Released
The Montana Department of Health and Human Services has proposed draft rules for the medical cannabis program under the expanded regime approved by voters last year. The rules put the state program in line with others throughout the U.S., requiring product testing, and seed-to-sale tracking. Under the plan, providers with more than 10 registered patients would need to pay the …
University of New Mexico Study Finds MMJ Program Enrollees Decrease Opioid Use
A University of New Mexico study is the latest to suggest that cannabis could be a tool in the opioid epidemic. The study, which observed 37 habitual, opioid-using, chronic pain patients who chose to enroll in the state’s medical cannabis program, and 29 patients with similar conditions who chose not to enroll in the program, found a 47 percent reduction …
Kentucky’s Secretary of State Convenes Medical Cannabis Task Force
Kentucky’s Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes has formed a task force to study a legislative proposal to legalize medical cannabis and to look at the implementation and regulatory processes involved. “Too many Kentuckians are suffering from debilitating physical and mental illnesses. Most have lived with the effects of these illnesses for years. We must do more to relieve their …
California Releases Emergency Regulations; Sales Set for Jan. 1.
Retail cannabis sales will begin on-time in California after regulators released an emergency rules package allowing operators a six-month transition period, and providing for grows much larger than the 1 acre proposed by the Department of Food & Agriculture. The rules prohibit combined cannabis and alcohol sales at shops, the word “candy” from being used in branding, and drones and …
Aurora Makes ‘Unsolicited Offer’ for CanniMed Takeover
Canada’s Aurora Cannabis Inc. is seeking to takeover CanniMed Therapeutics in an all-stock $455 million deal, according to a Bloomberg report. The deal values CanniMed stock at C$24 a share, 57 percent above Tuesday’s Toronto Stock Exchange closing price. Aurora Executive Vice President Cam Battley told Bloomberg that the firm is “making a very big push into Europe” and the …
California Regulators Propose Capping Cannabis Grows at 1 Acre
According to cannabis industry environmental regulations proposed by the California Department of Food & Agriculture, cultivators would not be allowed to grow more than 1 acre of cannabis, regardless of municipal rules, until 2023, the Eureka Times-Standard reports. Operators expressed mixed reviews of the plan as some would have to completely overhaul their business plan, while others say it would …
Northern Michigan University Receives Grant to Purchase Cannabis Testing Instrument
Shimadzu Scientific Instruments, providers of cannabis testing instruments, has awarded a grant to Northern Michigan University for the purchase of a triple quadrupole liquid chromatograph mass spectrometer for students enrolled in NMU’s medicinal plant chemistry program. The device is widely used in the cannabis industry, screening for pesticides and analyzing mycotoxins. “Over the last few years, the medicinal cannabis industry …