NY Cannabis Insider’s week in legal weed for Oct. 15, 2022
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We had another busy week at NY Cannabis Insider this week. Let’s take a look at what we covered:
Yesterday, NY Cannabis Insider Editor/Publisher Brad Racino posted an alarming story about the difficulty state officials are having in finding a bank willing or able to service NY’s legal cannabis industry. And the deadline to secure a bank is Monday (as in the day after tomorrow).
On Friday, we also ran the transcript of a Q&A session Cannabis Control Board Chair Tremaine Wright did with the Cannabis Association of New York’s retail committee. Over the course of the hour-long conversation, Wright answered questions about the state’s planned timeline for general licensing, transitioning from conditional licenses to general licenses, and plenty more.
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Earlier in the week, Brad wrote about a virtual sit-down Wright participated in with members of the NYS Society of CPAs. In a private meeting following the session on Oct. 6, Wright talked about the state’s licensing process for reviewing CAURD applications.
I wrote a profile this week on Garden City testing lab Talon Analytical as part of NY Cannabis Insider’s effort to profile each of the state’s cannabis labs as they prepare for the adult-use market. Talon President Michael Bianco told me he expects the lab – which has been testing for medical weed companies – to nearly double its revenue when New York’s adult-use market is in full swing.
Wayne Margulies, a cannabis insurance specialist with HUB International, penned a guest column last week about life insurance for cannabis industry professionals. For the majority of those who work in the cannabis sector, life insurance protection is not available, Margulies writes, and that’s partly because the insurance carriers appear to be staying on the side of the federal illegality of the cannabis sector.
In another guest column last week, NYC Cannabis Industry Association President and Co-founder David Holland takes a look at an odd legal argument MSO MedMen is currently making in court. MedMen sent a shock wave through the cannabis industry when it sought summary judgment from a New York federal court in efforts to void its obligation to pay almost $1 million in back rent. MedMen’s legal reasoning is that federal law doesn’t allow federal courts to recognize marijuana-related contracts. While the filing is a bold strategic play, Holland writes, the gambit may not pay off in MedMen’s favor.
Continuing our People to Know in NY Cannabis series, last week we featured Anne Forkutza, the head of strategic growth at Dutchie, an all-in-one dispensary platform solution designed for the cannabis industry.
Lastly, we posted attorney Jeffrey Hoffman’s latest Ask Me Anything segment on Friday. During the talk, Hoffman answered and opined on questions about Court rulings, Gov. Hochul’s retail announcement and more.
Until next week!
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