WeedLife News Network

Mint Cannabis will soon be the first dispensary in Arizona, and one of a handful of dispensaries in the country, to have the ability to offer 24-hour service, 365 days per year to those 21 and older.

The Mint will operate 24-hours a day at this location on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays as a starting point and may expand the extended hours to additional days of the week based on demand.

The celebration of the new, around-the-clock operations will officially start when the clock turns from 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 13 to midnight on Friday, Oct. 14, at the Mint’s Tempe dispensary on the southwest corner of Baseline Rd. and Priest Dr. (5210 S. Priest Dr.).

The first extended hours offering will take place Friday, Oct. 14, when the clock strikes midnight all the way until 7 a.m. that morning. During this seven-hour timeframe, customers and patients 21 years and older will find a live deejay, a variety of “Midnight Madness” buy-one-get-one deals, and free prizes and giveaways.

Everyone 21 and older who shops at this dispensary location during this 7-hour window will receive 25% off the purchases they make in the entire store. The first 100 people over the age of 21 who shop at this location starting at midnight on Friday, Oct. 14 will receive a medicated goodie bag, and everyone 21 and older who visits the Tempe dispensary between midnight and 7 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 14 will receive a free pre-roll.

Recently, New York regulators unveiled proposed marijuana packaging and labeling rules that include provisions to boost sustainability in the state’s recreational industry. (Benzinga)

A Sustainable Program

As part of its sustainability program, New York requires cannabis businesses to incorporate “at least 25% post-recycled consumer content into their packaging and annually report key metrics on the implementation of their sustainability initiatives.”

“I just want to underscore the balance of the wide array of different critical public policy goals in releasing the packaging and labeling regulations,” Hunt added. “We’re really excited to move the needle and to be leading here on the environmental component. We’re really excited to work to help continue those good efforts.”

Taking Care Of The Environment Is A Priority

As Benzinga previously reported, the draft regulation on the packaging and labeling of marijuana products, with strict provisions, must not be attractive to children. That means the packaging must be child-resistant, tamper-proof, and non-toxic.

Since the state began issuing conditional adult marijuana licenses to growers and processors, regulators have been releasing updated guidance as it becomes available to licensees, Hunt said. “When we looked to crafting regulations in New York’s market, we always looked to learn from other states and incorporate best practices [and] lessons learned.”

Hemp has the potential to make Scotland's agricultural sector carbon neutral as well as providing huge economic benefits, a new report has found.

For the first time a detailed analysis has been carried out on the market opportunities for the Scottish hemp sector with time-bound recommendations to revamp the supply chain provided.

Hemp was once widely grown in Scotland and its cultivation dates back more than 6000 years. It has many uses including offsetting carbon dioxide, as a food, and as an eco-friendly fertiliser and pesticide. It is currently being used in building materials, as a biofuel, textile fabric and even as an alternative to plastic. As a food source it is high in protein, fibre and micronutrients, as well as having an exceptional fatty acid profile.

The report is a collaboration involving the University of Aberdeen’s Rowett Institute and Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), partnering with the Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society (SAOS) and the Scottish Hemp Association (SHA). It analysed the supply chain for hempseed and fibre in Scotland using data collected from farmers predominantly in the north east of Scotland as well as the Borders.

At present the supply chain for Scottish-grown hemp is underdeveloped with no well-established market routes for farmers. The supply chain is also exposed to many threats limiting its development, including low profitability, lack of technical support, weather limitations, lack of financial assistance, and stringent legislation.

Funded by the Scottish Government’s Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services through a Scottish Environment, Food and Agriculture Research Institutes (SEFARI)-Gateway fellowship, the study also looked at HMRC trade data as well as Mintel’s Global New Product Development Data. The trade data shows that the UK is a net importer of hempseed and hemp fibre.

A cannabis cultivation project encompassing more than 60 acres southeast of Santa Maria was approved Wednesday by the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission after removing one landscaping requirement.

Commissioners voted 4-1, with Chairman and 1st District Commissioner C. Michael Cooney dissenting, to approve a conditional use permit for Gary Teixeira’s application to grow 60.4 acres of cannabis inside hoop structures along with a 2-acre nursery.

The project represents an expansion of a previously approved 37 acres of cannabis and an expansion and relocation of an existing 1-acre nursery at 4301 Dominion Road, according to a County Planning and Development Department staff report.

The condition was added to Teixeira’s landscaping plan in order to meet the Land Use Development Code requirement that all cannabis cultivation be screened from public view, the staff report said.

“I don’t think it’s our job to change the ordinance,” Cooney said, although he agreed to eliminate screening where it wasn’t needed and to not specify the type of vegetation. “To me, the farmer is the best one to pick the screening solution.”

He was also concerned that dropping the screening requirement would prompt other growers to object to similar landscaping conditions.

JACKSON - What a difference a few months have made. The Mockingbird facility, which we first toured in January, is up and running and developing medical marijuana.

3 On Your Side has an update on Mockingbird and the work to make sure those who need the product will have access to it.

This is what Mockingbird looked like in January and then in February. This is the facility today. Employees are on site and work is underway for medical marijuana.

8th Wonder Cannabis, a partnership with Bayou City Hemp, plans to have locations across Texas.

After plants have been cured and trimmed, there remains a large mound of natural cannabis scraps to deal with

RENO - A Las Vegas-based facility that intentionally manipulated cannabis testing results will likely face disciplinary action after state regulators denied the company’s motion to dismiss the action Tuesday.

The Cannabis Compliance Board voted unanimously to reject Lettucetest LLC’s motion to dismiss disciplinary action against the company that could see it lose a marijuana business license and be barred from operating in the industry for 10 years.

Ontario Cannabis Stores, the province's pot supplier, charges a 31% mark-up to retailers.

2022 has been a tough year for a lot of cannabis brands. On the one hand, more markets than ever have opened.

But between inflation and taxation many are feeling the pinch.

That doesn’t mean it’s all doom and gloom, some brands are standing out, and they’re doing it by exploring those new markets and having a unique business model. 

On the retail side, The Artist Tree just launched their fifth location and the first licensed cannabis dispensary in Fresno, California. From nearly 100 applicants for a retail cannabis permit, The Artist Tree emerged victorious to become the first dispensary to serve the community of the Golden State’s 5th largest city. 

KANSAS CITY - When Missouri voters go to the polls in November to decide whether recreational use of marijuana should be legal there’s a lot more than pot use at stake.

Approval could mean big money for the state and cities.

Marijuana is estimated to be an almost two-billion-dollar market in Missouri. Most of that is due to illegal sales with no benefit to the state. But if voters approve the amendment, the hope is that those underground buyers would move their business to stores, creating revenue by way of taxes.

If approved, Amendment 3 would allow those 21 and over to  possess, purchase, consume and cultivate marijuana. A recent SurveyUSA poll showed that 62% of Missouri voters favor the amendment.

An emphasis on corruption and enforcement downplays the very real influence of regulation and taxes on California's booming black market.

The Los Angeles Times has released a heavily researched, heavily reported investigation on the many, many ways that California's legalization of marijuana has been a disastrous mess.

Titled "Legal Weed, Broken Promises," the four stories of the series painstakingly illustrate the breadth of the illegal grow operations scattered across much of the rural parts of California, the political corruption and bribery that has come from the way the state has given politicians control over licensing, and the spread of unlicensed dispensaries that are seemingly uncontainable.

A late start for both outdoor and indoor growers, compounded by supply chain and testing problems, will mean a limited supply of recreational cannabis available in retail stores when they start opening for business on Oct. 1, according to growers, regulators and retailers.

“We’re looking at probably 20, maybe 30 outdoor licensees with product this year,” said Geoffrey Pizzutillo, executive director of the Vermont Growers Association. “That’s nothing.”

In retrospect, James Pepper, chair of the Cannabis Control Board, said the board should have started to issue outdoor growing licenses in February, allowing growers to plant their seedlings in seedling pots ahead of the growing season. 

Mark Barnett is the founder of the Maine Craft Cannabis Association, one of six state organizations part of the National Craft Cannabis Coalition.

Private businesses in Thailand are looking to network with hemp suppliers in order to capitalize on the plant’s industrial and medical potential.

The Thai Industrial Hemp Trade Association (TIHTA) recently signed a cooperation agreement with 12 manufacturing industries to showcase innovations and technology related to the hemp industry later this year.

TIHTA President Pornchai Patthaminthara said this development will promote networking and allow for better access to quality raw materials.

The agreement will also contribute to product research and development, knowledge sharing, improved production standards and planning, and forward management of prices.

Minnesota's new hemp-derived THC edible law is facing its first major legal challenge from one of the state's medical cannabis companies, which claims it should be able to sell its "chemically identical" marijuana edibles on the open market.

Here are some of the most popular and noteworthy approaches to weed packaging today to help you get a sense of how far this simple afterthought has evolved into a deciding factor in the industry.

Marijuana used to come in little, difficult to open yet easy to rip baggies. If the supplier happened to be in a festive mood, maybe the bag had some trees or smiley faces on it. Times sure have changed.

With the major shifts in marijuana legalization and production over the last decade, it’s easy to forget the old days when it was illegal and there were no frills involved in the packaging.

Retail FUEL dispensary will be located at former dance studio site.

ANTIOCH - Antioch has approved its first downtown cannabis dispensary after revisiting a proposal that was denied weeks earlier.

Mayor Lamar Thorpe brought back the item to the council after a check with the city’s legal team revealed that City Councilwoman Monica Wilson did not need to recuse herself at the previous hearing, which failed on a split vote.