CannaScore

Insurance Industry has New Loss Control Measures to Evaluate Risk and Insure the Cannabis Industry

Posted on December 29, 2016 by cannascore

CS Compliance Systems (www.cscomply.com), developers of CannaScore (www.cannascore.net) – the world’s first real-time regulatory compliance auditing program for the cannabis industry, has developed insurance loss control measures for the cannabis industry.

The International Risk Management Institute defines loss control as a risk management technique that seeks to reduce the possibility that a loss will occur and/or reduce the severity of those that do occur.

Unfortunately, from an insurance perspective, the cannabis industry is not mature enough to identify all of the types of potential losses that a Cannabis Related Business (CRB) might experience. Read More

Medical cannabis research gets boost in Connecticut

Posted on December 29, 2016 by cannascore

Two medical institutions in Connecticut have received the go-ahead to research the healing properties of cannabis, news that can potentially bolster the MMJ industry’s credibility.

Connecticut Hospice Inc. in Branford, the nation’s first hospice, announced Monday it will research how marijuana can alleviate pain and stimulate appetites in terminally ill patients, according to the Associated Press. Read More

Harvard Professor Evaluates Legal Marijuana in Massachusetts

Posted on October 17, 2016 by cannascore

We are either facing the end of the world or utopia, depending on whom you ask.

Either way, both pro and con forces say life will change based on the vote for referendum Question 4, which asks if Massachusetts marijuana should be legalized for recreational use.

Proponents say legal marijuana will raise tax revenue, reduce crime, stimulate the economy and improve public health.

Opponents say legal marijuana will increase the use of alcohol and other drugs, increase crime, cause traffic accidents and cause teenagers to skip school.

But Colorado, Oregon, Washington and Alaska say don’t worry about it. No matter which way the vote goes, nothing much will change, according to Harvard professor Jeffrey Miron. Read More

The Story Behind the Denver Marijuana Ballot Measure

Posted on October 10, 2016 by cannascore

When Colorado started selling legalized recreational marijuana in 2014, it gave most tourists and some residents no place to consume what they lawfully bought.

A Denver initiative on ballots being sent out Monday aims to change that, and one state lawmaker said it could be a “shot across the bow” that persuades the legislature to act on a statewide policy.

While some smaller Colorado cities and towns have allowed cannabis clubs, Denver voters are being asked to approve a potentially even more expansive program: Initiative 300 would create a four-year pilot program allowing regular businesses, such as bars or cafes or even yoga studios, to seek permits for bring-your-own marijuana, over-21 consumption areas that are indoors (allowing vaping and edibles, but not smoking) or outdoors (allowing smoking). Read More

Colorado Will Use Marijuana Tax Revenue to Prevent School Bullying

Posted on October 3, 2016 by cannascore

Colorado plans to distribute millions of dollars in surplus marijuana tax revenues to schools in an effort to prevent bullying.

The money, totaling about $66 million, is available due to Proposition BB, which permits the state to keep the surplus tax revenues from marijuana, Denver7, an ABC affiliate, reported.

About $2.9 million of the surplus funds will go toward bullying prevention grants offered to approximately 50 schools by the Colorado Department of Education for the 2016-2017 fiscal year, the CDE announced. The schools will receive grants up to $40,000 per year for bullying prevention.

Schools that receive the grant will get specialized training from a prevention coach and form a bullying prevention committee including teachers, staff and parents.

“It’s a lot of money,” Dr. Adam Collins, bullying prevention and education grant coordinator for the CDE, told Denver7. “It’s a great opportunity for schools to apply and make sure the social and emotional wellness of their students is taken care of.”

Colorado schools have until Oct. 21 to apply for the grant.

Study Marijuana at College

Posted on September 26, 2016 by cannascore

It’s every college student’s dream… Study the effects of marijuana, and get credit for it!

A university in Philadelphia plans to offer communications students the opportunity to take a class that analyzes marijuana policy and its history of prohibition.

Temple University Professor Linn Washington tells The Philadelphia Inquirer he’s partnering with a marijuana reform advocate to teach the Marijuana in the News course next spring.

The class will be available to communications students who could encounter the issue in their professions, including aspiring journalists and public relations specialists.

The course will be available to undergraduate and graduate students at the university’s main campus.

The class will be cancelled if minimum registration requirements aren’t met, though Washington says they’re anticipating a “high enrollment.”

Several other universities throughout the country also offer marijuana policy courses, including the University of California-Berkeley and the University of Denver.

Oregon’s New Compliance Rules: What You Need to Know

Posted on September 19, 2016 by cannascore

Testing, packaging, labeling and concentration limit requirements have changed, with some interesting restrictions on strain names.

Oregon cannabis regulators began enforcing new rules over the weekend when the October 1^st compliance deadline passed. Compared to the relatively cut-and-dried new Colorado regulations, the Oregon cannabis market faces more complex and changing regulatory compliance issues.

The new rules in Oregon address changes to testing, packaging and labeling regulations along with concentration and serving size limits, according to a bulletin published by the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP) earlier this week. Most of the new rules are meant to add safeguards for public health and consumer safety, while putting an emphasis on keeping cannabis away from children. Read More

Colorado Cannabis Shops Break Sales Record in August 2016

Posted on September 12, 2016 by cannascore

The summer of 2016 turned out to be quite lucrative for Colorado’s marijuana industry.

Legal marijuana shops tallied up $126 million in medical and recreational cannabis sales in August, setting a new monthly record, according to Colorado Department of Revenue data made public Wednesday. The young industry’s previous monthly high was set just a month before, with $122.67 million of revenue in July.

At that time, economist Adam Orens, with BBC Research and the Marijuana Policy Group, attributed the sales surge to a seasonal spike:

“That’s when I think more people — Colorado residents plus tourists — people are just out and about,” he said. “There are backyard parties, it’s events of all different kinds, concerts, festivals. I believe it drives more people to consume more alcohol and marijuana.”

How has Legalized Cannabis Changed Colorado 4 Years Later?

Posted on September 5, 2016 by cannascore

Coloradans voted to legalize marijuana for adults in 2012 under Amendment 64.

Washington also approved recreational pot that year, with Oregon, Alaska and Washington, D.C., soon to follow. Colorado was the first state to open shops in January 2014, though, making it ground zero for the nation’s growing legal cannabis movement.

It’s early for definitive answers on how legalizing marijuana impacts serious issues such as teen use and drugged driving. For now, most studies suggest little change. But with California weeks from voting on a similar marijuana legalization measure, coincidentally called Proposition 64, my husband and I dedicated a portion of our anniversary road trip to surveying life in a state with legal weed.

We found that marijuana is now part of the Rocky Mountain landscape, with shops, grow sites and tours scattered throughout the state. But it also isn’t as prevalent as we expected, with public consumption illegal and alcohol still the more common intoxicant of choice. Read More

Cannabis businesses dip their toes into world of franchising

Posted on August 29, 2016 by cannascore

Turn-key dispensary franchises may still be a ways off, but some ancillary cannabis businesses aren’t waiting for federal legalization to dip their toes into all that franchising can offer.

The legal cannabis industry is becoming big business, after all, projected to hit $20.6 billion in revenue nationwide by 2020 pending voter approval next month of adult-use legalization in five states and medical marijuana in two.

“Whether it’s frozen yogurt or senior care, the more opportunity that presents itself in any given industry the more franchising becomes involved,” said Tom Portesy, CEO of MFV Expositions, producer of Franchise Expo West. “They seize a void and they come up with a great business model in an industry that’s growing. That’s where you find most of your success in franchised concepts.” Read More