Grow Life 420

#KahliBuds #MMJ #CBD #THC

In the burgeoning cannabis market, grow facilities are facing more and more competition every day. New indoor cultivation enterprises are often being set up in formerly vacant industrial buildings and commercial spaces, while in other cases, companies are planning and constructing new grow facilities from the ground up. For all these establishments, continually lowering production costs while supplying the highest possible quality in ever-increasing yields is the way forward.

Whether in existing or new structures, concrete floors are ubiquitous throughout the majority of cannabis growing facilities. With the right treatment, these indoor concrete traffic surfaces can greatly contribute to a company achieving its operational objectives. Alternatively, insufficiently protected concrete floors can create annoying and costly barriers to accomplishing company goals.

Challenges in Cannabis Grow Facility Construction

As with any emergent industry, mainstream acceptance and market growth is bringing regulation to cannabis cultivation. Local governments are paying more attention to how cannabis growing facilities are constructed and operated. In addition to the standard business matters of building safety, employee working conditions and tax contributions, elected officials are increasingly under pressure from constituents to analyze the overall effect of grow facilities on their communities at large.

High consumption of energy for grow room lights and high water usage are just part of the equation. The temperature and humidity needs of a grow facility can be similar to that of an indoor swimming pool environment. While warmth and moisture are ideal for cannabis growth, they also provide the ideal conditions for the growth and proliferation of fungi and other undesirable microorganisms. Therefore, to help preserve plant health in the moist indoor climate, fumigation often comes into play.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) enrichment of grow room air, a common practice proven to increase crop yields, presents another set of safety and health considerations in dense urban environments.

Adding to these challenges, many cannabis grow facilities are producing plants destined for either pharmacological or nutritional use. This in itself demands scrutiny by regulators for the sake of the consuming public.

As a result, grow room managers and owners must stay informed about the evolution of the industry in terms of local and federal agency regulations concerning their facilities, their overall operation and their products.

Bare Concrete Floors in Grow Rooms

As a foundational construction material, concrete continues to lead the way in commercial and industrial construction. Despite the many advantages of concrete floors, when left unprotected they can present significant challenges specific to cannabis grow rooms.

• Untreated, bare concrete is naturally porous, easily absorbing liquids and environmental moisture. Substances found in grow rooms, such as fertilizers, fungicides and other chemicals, can leach through the porous concrete floor slab into the soil and ground water. Whether organic or synthetic, concentrations of such substances can be highly detrimental to the surrounding environment.
• Whether in an existing or newly constructed facility, it is not uncommon for the under-slab vapor barrier to be compromised during construction. When this occurs, moisture from the soil beneath the floor slab can enter the concrete and move osmotically upward, creating a phenomenon known as Moisture Vapor Transmission (MVT). The resulting moisture and moisture vapor tends to become ever more alkaline as it rises upward through the concrete slab. MVT can result in blistering, bubbles and other damage to floor coverings.
• The warm temperatures, regular watering of plants and high relative humidity maintained within many grow rooms can contribute to a weakening of the structural integrity of unprotected grow room slabs.
• Within the confined space of a grow room, the warm, moist air invites microbe proliferation. Food and pharmaceutical plants are high on the priority list when it comes to facility hygiene levels, as demanded by code.

Public health guidelines for cannabis cultivation facilities in various parts of the country are increasingly mirroring those of food processing. Typical requirements include having smooth, durable, non-absorbent floor surfaces that are easily cleaned and in good repair, possessing proper floor slope towards a sanitary floor drain, with no puddling, as well as an integral floor-to-wall cove base. These directives cannot be met with bare concrete alone.

Optimal Grow Room Flooring Performance

In some locations, cannabis growing facilities are already subject to strict building codes and regulations. This will no doubt be spreading to other regions in the near future. For example, the Public Health Agency of Los Angeles County publishes construction guidelines to ensure cannabis facility floors meet standards mirroring the food processing and pharmaceutical manufacturing industries, where sanitation, facility hygiene and safety are paramount. In these types of facilities, bare, unprotected concrete floor slabs are not allowed as a general rule, due to the material’s innate porosity and absorbency.

Flooring in grow rooms, like in their food and pharma industry counterparts, should optimally:

1. Provide a monolithic and virtually seamless surface to help eliminate crevices, grout lines and other dark, damp locations where soil and pathogens tend to hide
2. Be impervious and non-porous, providing a surface that can isolate toxic materials on the surface for proper clean-up where needed
3. Enable correction or improvement of the floor slope for proper drainage, with no low spots to help avoid puddling
4. Be installed with integral floor-to-wall cove options for easier wash-down and sanitizing
5. Have the strength and thermal shock resistance, plus the tenacious bond, to undergo steam-cleaning and/or hot power washing, where needed
6. Enable seamless, continuous surface installation over concrete curbs and containment areas
7. Offer antimicrobial options for highly sensitive locations
8. Demonstrate high compressive strength and impact resistance for durability under heavy loads

1. Display excellent abrasion resistance, allowing the system to perform under grueling daily wear-and-tear
2. Present customizable slip-resistance options that can be balanced with easy clean-ability
3. Facilitate the use of floor safety markings, such as color-coded traffic and work area designations

12. Be formulated with low odor, low-VOC chemistries that meet all EPA and similar regulations
13. Be able to contribute LEED Green Building Credits, where desired
14. Include options for refurbishing old or damaged concrete surfaces to allow reuse of existing facility resources, as opposed to having to be demolished, thus unnecessarily contributing to landfill waste
15. Withstand and perform in continually damp grow room conditions, without degrading
16. Be compliant with FDA, USDA, EPA, ADA, OSHA, as well as local regulations and/or guidelines
17. Include MVT mitigating solutions where Moisture Vapor Transmission site issues are present
18. Provide waterproofing underlayment options for multi-story facilities
19. Demonstrate excellent resistance to a broad range of chemicals, fertilizers and extreme pH substances

Finding an affordable floor system with all the above features may seem like a tall order. Luckily, innovative manufacturers now offer cannabis facility flooring that meets sanitation, regulatory compliancy, durability and budgetary needs of growers.

Resinous Flooring Value for Cannabis Facilities

Choosing the right floor solutions for a given cultivation facility may be one of the most important decisions an owner or manager makes. Since floors are present throughout the structure, poor selection and compromised protection of concrete slabs can end up wreaking havoc with profits and yields over time.

Few facilities can afford the inconvenience and expense of an otherwise unnecessary floor repair or replacement. Having to suddenly move cumbersome plant beds and heavy pots in order to give workers access to the floor area can be headache. In addition, the unscheduled downtime and overall juggling of resources that invariably must take place make a strong case for investing in optimal grow room flooring from the start.

An excellent long-term value, professional-grade resinous floor systems present cannabis growers with a unique set of solutions for cultivation rooms. Not only does this type of flooring offer all the desirable features listed above, but also furnish a host of added benefits to grow room operations, including:

Very High Gloss Finish

• Highly reflective floor surfaces enable light entering the space from overhead to bounce back upward, exposing the underside of leaves to the light and potentially increasing yields
• Exceptionally high gloss floor finishes in light colors help make the most of your existing lighting sources, significantly increasing room illumination
• Achieving greater illumination without adding fixtures helps reduce energy consumption and associated costs

Virtually Seamless Surface

• Fluid-applied resin-based flooring provides an impermeable, monolithic surface that is exceptionally easy to clean and maintain
• The virtually seamless finish of resinous coated floors greatly reduces the number of locations for soil, pathogens and microbes to gather
• Resinous floors, by incorporating integral cove bases to eliminate ninety degree angles, correcting floor slope to eliminate puddling, and allowing for a virtually seamless surface, provide an optimally sanitary flooring solution

Outstanding Moisture Tolerance

• Designed specifically for use in wet industrial environments, cementitious urethane flooring is a top choice for humid grow rooms
• Also called “urethane mortar”, this type of floor can help mitigate certain undesirable site conditions, such as Moisture Vapor Transmission (MVT)

Chemical, Acid and Alkali Resistance

• Whether organic or synthetic, many soil enhancers and substances used to eradicate undesirable fungi and pests can damage concrete and shorten the usable life of foundational slabs
• Protecting concrete slabs with monolithic, non-absorbent and appropriately chemical resistant coating systems allows concrete to perform as designed, for as long as intended
• A proper barrier coating on the floor allows spilled or sprayed substances to be properly cleaned up and disposed of, rather than allowing the liquids to seep through the porous slab, and into the surrounding natural environment

Added Safety

• Resinous coating systems’ slip-resistance is completely customizable at the time of installation, enabling growers to request more traction in pedestrian walkways and less slip-resistance under raised beds.
• Epoxy, urethane and polyaspartic resinous flooring systems accommodate the installation of safety and line markings, as well as varying colors to delineate specific work areas
• The antimicrobial flooring options available from some manufacturers offer further hygiene support in highly sensitive facilities
• Today’s industrial resinous floor coatings from reputable suppliers are very low to zero V.O.C. and compliant with EPA and other environmental regulations

Resinous coating systems provide ideal value to informed growers who require durable, reliable and long-lasting high performance flooring for their facilities.

Support from the Ground Up

From incredible medical advances to high tensile fiber in construction materials, the expanding cannabis industry is bringing exciting opportunities to many areas of the economy. As more and more growers enter the market, so increases the pressure to compete.

By choosing light reflective, seamless and moisture tolerant resinous flooring that meets regulatory guidelines for grow rooms, managers can help reduce their overhead costs on multiple fronts — and get a jump on the competition.

The post Flooring Tips for Cannabis Growing Facilities appeared first on Cannabis Industry Journal.

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Aaron Biros, KahliBuds, 420GrowLife

#KahliBuds #MMJ #CBD #THC

The first article of this series discussed resource management for cannabis growers. In this second piece of the series on how indoor farming has a reduced impact on the environment, we’re going to look at land use & conservation. There are really two aspects and we have to be up front and acknowledge that while our focus is on legal cannabis farming, there’s a significant illegal industry which exists and is not subject to any environmental regulation.

“Streams in Mendocino run dry during the marijuana growing season impacting Coho salmon and steelhead trout who lay their eggs in the region’s waterways.” One biologist reported seeing “dead steelhead and Coho on a regular basis in late August and September, usually due to water reduction or elimination from extensive marijuana farming.” The quotes are from an extensive article on cannabis land use by Jessica Owley in the U.C. Davis Law Review.The concept that land will stay in its natural state is a mixture of idealism and reality.

This is going to continue until it’s more profitable to go legit. For this article, we’re going to focus on the legitimate cannabis grower. On the land use side, we usually hear four main reasons for indoor growing: remaining land can stay in its natural state, fewer space usually translates to fewer waste, you conserve land and natural resources when you don’t use fossil fuels, greenhouses can be placed anywhere.

The concept that land will stay in its natural state is a mixture of idealism and reality. Just because someone only has to farm five acres of land instead of one hundred acres doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to leave the rest in its pristine natural state. Granted the footprint for automated greenhouses is significantly less but the key is what happens to that extra space. Assuming that it will all be preserved in its natural state isn’t realistic. What is realistic is the fact that a developer may not want to build tract houses abutting a commercial greenhouse operation. If they do, likely there’s going to be more land set aside for green space than if a farm was sold outright and a series of new homes were plunked down as if it were a Monopoly board.

Combined with workforce development program funding, urban indoor farming is getting more attractive every day.That’s not the same kind of issue in urban areas where the situation is different. Despite the economic boom of the past ten years, not every neighborhood benefitted. The smart ones took creative approaches. Gotham Greens started in Greenpoint, Brooklyn and has expanded to Chicago as well. “In early 2014, Gotham Greens opened its second greenhouse, located on the rooftop of Whole Foods Market’s flagship Brooklyn store, which was the first ever commercial scale greenhouse integrated into a supermarket.”

Green City Growers in Cleveland’s Central neighborhood is another example. “Situated on a 10-acre inner-city site that was once urban blight, the greenhouse—with 3.25 acres under glass–now serves as a vibrant anchor for the surrounding neighborhood.”

The beauty of greenhouse systems even those without greenhouse software, is they can be built anywhere because the environmental concerns of potentially contaminated soil don’t exist. The federal government as well as state and local governments offer a myriad of financial assistance programs to encourage growers to develop operations in their areas. Combined with workforce development program funding, urban indoor farming is getting more attractive every day.

As for the argument that greenhouses save energy and fossil fuels, I think we can agree that it’s pretty difficult to operate a thousand-acre farm using solar power. To their credit, last year John Deere unveiled a tractor that will allow farmers to run it as a fully autonomous vehicle to groom their fields while laying out and retracting the 1 kilometer long onboard extension cord along the way. It’s a start although I’ll admit to my own problems operating an electric mower without cutting the power cord.

In a 2017 article, Kurt Benke and Bruce Tomkins stated, “Transportation costs can be eliminated due to proximity to the consumer, all-year-round production can be programmed on a demand basis, and plant-growing conditions can be optimized to maximize yield by fine-tuning temperature, humidity, and lighting conditions. Indoor farming in a controlled environment also requires much less water than outdoor farming because there is recycling of gray water and less evaporation.”

The overall trend on fossil fuel reduction was verified this week when the Department of Energy announced that renewables passed coal for the first time in U.S. history.  And on the water issue, Ms. Owley had a salient point for cannabis growers. “The federal government will not allow federal irrigation water to be used to grow marijuana anywhere, even in states where cultivation is legal.” That’s not a minor detail and it’s why outdoor farming of cannabis is going to be limited in areas where water resources and water rights are hotly debated.

The post Environmental Sustainability in Cultivation: Part 2 appeared first on Cannabis Industry Journal.

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Aaron Biros, KahliBuds, 420GrowLife

#KahliBuds #MMJ #CBD #THC

Editor’s Note: In Part 1, Jennifer Whetzel introduced the concepts of branding, marketing and advertising for cannabis companies. Part 2 takes a closer look at the benefits of branding. Stay tuned for Part 3 coming next month.

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The Value of Branding

Think back: do you remember the very first Nike ad you saw? Probably not.

But when you see the swoosh, you immediately think of Nike. When you see the swoosh, you probably even think “Just do it.” A whole sensibility, one that signifies perseverance and athletic excellence, gets conjured up by that swoosh. A lot of people think that’s the power of advertising, but they’re only partially correct.

The fact that you don’t just know the swoosh but have thoughts and feelings that bubble up when you see it is due to branding. Companies like Nike don’t spend millions on branding reflexively. They do it because brand recognition and the feelings that come with it turn potential consumers into buyers. Branding success is necessary, measurable and valuable – especially for brands looking to establish themselves.Strong branding is what will increase the chances that your marketing and advertising will be effective, and it’s why branding must be one of your top priorities.

Branding: The Precursor to Advertising

You might not know specifically what ads work on you. But the ones that do work are driven by a strong brand.

For example, check out this ad campaign run by McDonald’s: Essentially, the fast food giant used fractions of its logo to make a wayfinding system on highway billboards. It’s clever and memorable, but it only works thanks to McDonald’s strong branding. McDonald’s has spent years building that shorthand because they understand that immediate recognition pays off in the literal and figurative sense.

Similarly, you know an Apple or an Under Armour ad when you see one. And you know this because there’s a consistent look and sensibility that these companies have worked to codify – that’s the branding piece. If you immediately recognize who these messages are coming from even before you engage with the ad, you’re more focused on the message rather than trying to suss out which company it’s coming from or what they’re selling.

This is why branding has to be a precursor to advertising. If you create ads before you build your brand, you may get a message out about what you’re offering. But if you do this, you’re talking at your customer rather than building a relationship with them. Strong branding is what will increase the chances that your marketing and advertising will be effective, and it’s why branding must be one of your top priorities.

The Benefits of Branding

Branding is about building a lasting, positive relationship with your customer. When you present a consistent brand personality and identity to your audience, you build trust. Consider how you form any long-term relationship; it’s through repeated positive, consistent encounters that allow you to see the other party for who they are. You trust them because you feel that you understand them and that they understand you.

Strange as it seems, it’s also true of brands. Building that bond with your customers will give you an advantage against brands that aren’t very distinct. With proper branding, a company can build and solidify consumer trust, trust that pays off in the form of increased sales, loyalty and good reviews. These brands aren’t constantly introducing themselves to consumers because over time, the branding itself does the selling and makes it easier to introduce new products down the line. Companies that don’t build that trust will have to fight for recognition, and things only get worse with more competition.

The Dollar Value of Branding

And of course, there are numbers to back this up. Every year, Forbes puts out a list of the world’s most valuable brands, and they use complex math to determine the actual value of this intangible thing called a Brand. Based on their thinking, a branded product should earn an 8% premium over a generic product. You can see some of their findings in the table below for a few categories that are traditionally very well-branded.

Industry	Brand	Brand Value (Billions)[1]
Technology	Apple	$205.5
Technology	Microsoft	$125.3
Consumer Packaged Goods	Coca-Cola	$59.2
Restaurants	McDonald’s	$43.8
Apparel	NIKE	$36.8
Restaurants	Starbucks	$17.0
Apparel	Adidas	$11.2
Consumer Packaged Goods	Kellogg’s	$8.0

These numbers, however, make it difficult to compare how well a company’s branding works for them because the brand’s total value is influenced by the size of the company. After doing a few simple calculations, we compared the Brand Value to the total Enterprise Value of each company to determine what we will call their Brand Contribution, which demonstrates how their branding efforts paid off.

When you compare the percentage of total company value that solely comes from the value of the brand, we can see that Nike significantly outperforms competitor Adidas, McDonald’s has a stronger brand than Starbuck’s, and Apple comes close to doubling the brand performance of Microsoft — none of which is surprising.

What might surprise you is the brand at the top of the list when it comes to contribution versus overall company value. Kellogg’s is one of the smallest companies to make the list in terms of Brand Value, and it has the lowest enterprise value in our list. Yet, Kellogg’s has the highest brand contribution. This makes sense in the high-stakes world of consumer-packaged goods; the competition is fierce, well-funded and global, which means that branding that resonates with customers is extremely important.

Industry	Brand	Brand Value	Enterprise Value[2]	Brand Contribution[3]
Consumer Packaged Goods	Kellogg’s	$8.0	$28.4	28.2%
Apparel	NIKE	$36.8	$133.4	27.6%
Restaurants	McDonald’s	$43.8	$187.2	23.4%
Consumer Packaged Goods	Coca-Cola	$59.2	$254.8	23.2%
Technology	Apple	$205.5	$950.3	21.6%
Apparel	Adidas	$11.2	$59.0	19.0%
Restaurants	Starbucks	$17.0	$109.7	15.5%
Technology	Microsoft	$125.3	$990.9	12.6%

These companies are all massive and wealthy because they prioritize trust and consistency as part of their long-term plan to sell products. Branding promotes loyalty, but its ability to promote trust can be even more powerful by paying off in the long-term. And in this new legal cannabis market, trust is going to be just as critical as it is for traditional companies. After all, the power of branding isn’t just getting people to know who you are — it’s getting them to believe in you.

1.  https://www.forbes.com/powerful-brands/list/#tab:rank
2. Enterprise value gathered from ycharts.com on 6/20/2019. Ycharts defines enterprise value as: Enterprise Value (EV) is a valuation metric alternative to traditional market capitalization that reflects the market value of an entire business. Like market cap, EV is a measure of what the market believes a company is worth. Enterprise value captures the cost of an entire business, including debt and equity. It is a sum of claims of all preferred shareholders, debt holders, security holders, common equity holders, and minority shareholders – unlike market cap, which only captures the total value of common equity securities.
3. Ladyjane’s valuation of the strength of a brand. What percentage of the company’s overall valuation can be attributed to the brand? Brand Contribution = Brand Value / Enterprise Value

The post Branding for Cannabis Companies 101: Part 2 appeared first on Cannabis Industry Journal.

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Aaron Biros, KahliBuds

#hemp #cannabis #thc #cbd

Fouser Environmental Services LTD, a laboratory based in Versailles, Kentucky, became the first cannabis testing laboratory accredited in the state last week, according to a press release. The American Association of Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) announced the lab’s successful accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025:2017.

“We congratulate Fouser Environmental Services on becoming the first cannabis testing laboratory accredited in the state of Kentucky. Their completion of this milestone in such a timely manner through the A2LA accreditation process is a testament to their hard work and commitment to quality”, says Adam Gouker, A2LA General Manager. “A2LA realizes the vital role that accreditation plays in the cannabis industry to support compliance with regulatory requirements, and we are thrilled to see that our service has been adopted in a new state. We look forward to our continued relationship with Fouser Environmental Services in the provision of their accreditation needs.”

Fouser Environmental Services has been an environmental testing lab in Kentucky for more than 30 years. A statement by the lab in the press release says they want to support the hemp industry as it continues to grow in Kentucky. “It is our great honor to be the first A2LA ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited laboratory for cannabis testing in the Commonwealth as we continue to strive to perform accurate analysis and release reliable data to the growing hemp industry within Kentucky and throughout the country,” reads the press release.

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Aaron Biros, KahliBuds, 420GrowLife

#hemp #cannabis #thc #cbd

Core values often get wrapped into buzzwords such as sustainability, locally sourced and organic. In the first part of a series of four articles exploring greenhouses and the environment, we’re going to take a look at indoor vs. outdoor farming in terms of resource management.

Full disclosure; I love the fact that I can eat fresh blueberries in February when my bushes outside are just sticks. Is there a better way to do it than trucking the berries from the farm to a distribution plant to the airport, where they’re flown from the airport to a distribution center, to the grocery store and finally to my kitchen table? That’s a lot of trucking and a lot of energy being wasted for my $3.99 pint of blueberries.The largest generation in the history of the country is demanding more locally grown, sustainable and organic food. 

If those same blueberries were grown at a local greenhouse then trucked from the greenhouse directly to the grocery store, that would save diesel fuel and a lot of carbon emissions. People who can only afford to live near a highway, a port or an airport don’t need to ask a pulmonary specialist why their family has a higher rate of COPD than a family who lives on a cul-de-sac in the suburbs.

Fact: 55% of vegetables in the U.S. are grown under cover. The same energy saving principles apply to indoor cannabis and the reasons are consumer driven and producer driven. The largest generation in the history of the country is demanding more locally grown, sustainable and organic food. They want it for themselves and they want it for their kids.

The rapid proliferation of greenhouses over the past ten years is no coincidence. Millennials are forcing changes: organic fruit and vegetables now account for almost 15% of the produce market. A CNN poll last month revealed that 8 of 10 of registered Democrats listed climate change as a “very important” priority for presidential candidates. The issue is not party I.D.; the issue is that a large chunk of Americans are saying they’re worried about the direct and indirect impacts of climate change, such as increased flooding and wildfires.

So how does the consumer side tie into the cannabis industry? Consumers like doing business with companies who share their values. The hard part is balancing consumer values with investor values, which is why many indoor growers are turning to cultivation management platforms to help them satisfy both constituencies. They get the efficiency and they get to show their customers that they are good stewards of their environment. The goal is to catch things before it’s too late to save the plants. If you do that, you save the labor it costs to fix the problem, the labor and the expense of throwing away plants and you reduce pesticide and chemical usage. When that happens, your greenhouse makes more money and shows your customers you care about their values.

The indoor change is happening rapidly because people realize that technology is driving increased revenue while core consumer values are demanding less water waste, fewer pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers.Let’s add some more facts to the indoor-outdoor argument. According to an NCBI study of lettuce growing, “hydroponic lettuce production had an estimated water demand of 20 liters/kg, while conventional lettuce production had an estimated water demand of 250 liters/kg.”  Even if the ratio is only 10:1, that’s a huge impact on a precious resource.

Looking at the pesticide issue, people often forget about the direct impact on people who farm. “Rates in the agricultural industry are the highest of any industrial sector and pesticide-related skin conditions represent between 15 and 25% of pesticide illness reports,” a 2016 article in The Journal of Cogent Medicine states. Given the recent reports about the chemicals in Roundup, do we even need to continue the conversation and talk about the effects of fertilizer?

I’ll finish up with a quote from a former grower. “The estimates I saw were in the range of between 25%-40% of produce being lost with outdoor farming while most greenhouse growers operate with a 10% loss ratio.”

The indoor change is happening rapidly because people realize that technology is driving increased revenue while core consumer values are demanding less water waste, fewer pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers. Lastly, most Americans simply have a moral aversion to seeing farms throw away food when so many other people are lined up at food banks.

The post Environmental Sustainability in Cultivation: Part 1 appeared first on Cannabis Industry Journal.

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Aaron Biros, KahliBuds, 420GrowLife

#hemp #cannabis #thc #cbd

As cannabis reform finally begins to hit the UK, the same confusion, lack of standards and uneven application of the “law” reigns supreme.

Just like other places (notably Israel, the United States and Canada), in the early days after medical reform hits, the English situation is instructive if not reminiscent of other fights elsewhere – no matter how much individual stories may differ on the surface. Just like in Israel for example, sick children had to be hospitalized before anyone moved forward on reform.

Just like in the United States, Canada and Israel, the people who were able to get into the changing industry first and early had money and political connections.

And just like everywhere else, who survives and who gets hit with red tape, is largely a matter not of entrepreneurial savvy, but connections, inherited privilege, race, gender and of course, bank account. In a place like the UK, where “class” is still a valid force on its own (beyond access to money), this is already obvious. As a theme, it is one that is sadly, not over yet for too many in or affected by “the industry.”

There are still, per the estimates available, less than 100 legal patients in the UK. Those served by the NHS are also well aware of their “second class” status when it comes to healthcare. This one issue, after all, drove Brexit, and may yet cause it to fail, just on this one issue. Cannabis may be a side note in the debate. But it is also, by this time, clearly in the room.

A Chelsea Popup Shop Survives While A Brighton Eatery Fails To Open

In January, two graduates of Imperial Business School (a private, prestigious university in London) opened a “pop up shop” (kind of like a kiosk) in Chelsea. This is a part of the city frequented by Royals on the hoof, reality stars of a certain vintage, and a lot of highly priced real estate.

So far, with the predictable fawning press coverage, the almost too “cutely” named TheDrug.Store (which by its own admission is selling non-medical products) has been doing brisk business.

Meanwhile, in the historic if less slightly less elite but almost as expensive touristy seaside town of Brighton, The Canna Kitchen, a CBD eatery with the catchy slogan of “let food be thy medicine”, was closed by the police right before it was supposed to open at the end of May (although there is no mention of this or the negative press on the website, which despite having no telephone number, still allows visitors to “book a table.”) The owners, who also seem to be quite well-heeled millennials themselves, appear to be on the verge of “losing hundreds of thousands of pounds and laying off 15 staff,” to quote The Guardian story on the subject.

Never mind the irony that they also seem rather well positioned financially. Or that many, many more people, usually called poor patients, are still at risk of being hospitalized because they cannot get (or afford) their medication.

As the industry, such as it is, and patient rights group organize in earnest this summer, reform in the UK also hinges on whether and what the country decides to do in the fall.

And despite the huge disparities that exist in terms of who has access (let alone to entrepreneurial capital), or perhaps because of them, look for a healthy debate from patients about policy, access and fairness.

The post A Cautionary Tale of Two British CBD Start-Ups appeared first on Cannabis Industry Journal.

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Aaron Biros, KahliBuds, 420GrowLife

#hemp #cannabis #thc #cbd

Hold your hats and book your seats! The Limeys, no matter what they are doing on Brexit, are getting organized on the cannabis front. A unique coalition of “home-grown” as well as cross-European, American and Canadian industry insiders are already making travel plans for London during the last week of June.

Unlike Trump’s recent visit to the British capital, however, they are likely to meet nothing but enthusiasm if not a growing understanding in the British populace at large that the Great Green Cannabiz Has FINALLY Landed.

Now the question is getting the entire industry mainstreamed (just on the medical side).

On the CBD “recreational” discussion, the entire enchilada is still being formed and reformed. A high-end CBD “pop up” shop opened in a ritzy part of London in January while a more crunchy CBD restaurant in the seaside town of Brighton was shuttered right as it planned to open. Just another innocent victim in all the fuss about novel food still working its way through the entire British conversation (as it is elsewhere in Europe, including most recently Germany and Italy), certainly, but hopefully one of the last.

However, for that very reason, enthusiasm is already high as organizers continue to add events even three weeks out.

What Is On The Agenda?

Check the event website for details and scheduling. There is also a lot that is not on the official website, but has clearly been organized around it. That includes a patient advocacy and policy formation gathering on Thursday being organized by the United Patients Alliance and other events not on the “official” ECW list (or website) but clearly all with the goal of networking, interacting and gaining ground (such as the internationally organizing Cannabis Tech Society).

The first two days are reserved (at least during the day) for Cannabis Europa – the “other” major European cannabis business conference that got its start in 2018 in London. Earlier this year, the event was also held to a standing room only audience in France. Organized by two of the leading cannabis consultancies in the UK who are making a clear play towards both North America and Europe- Prohibition Partners, and Hanway Associates, the event is primed to bring together those in the international industry curious about changing times and opening opportunities not only in the UK but across Europe.

The rest of the week, events are spread out across the city (and are already selling out). Of note on Wednesday is an investors conference as well as an introduction to the growing ranks of British doctors (one hopes for the future of nascent doctor training programs everywhere across Europe, without borders), even if nascent at the moment, who are joining the medical cannabis crusade.

Thursday’s planned events also include a focus on connecting women in the industry to investors – particularly of the medical kind – and MedPayRx’s third pilot to market workshop (Unveiling The Digital Prescription). It will also include a ground-breaking seminar about cannabis certification for doctors at King’s College (long known for its critical studies about the supposed connection between cannabis and a host of nasty mental illnesses and conditions starting with schizophrenia).

There is also a round of private parties, events, industry soirees and more that are invite only. However, as with most cannabis industry events, showing up and tagging along is one of the best ways to network and meet people.

It will be a busy week, for sure.The entire cannabis debate is absolutely hitting in this space in the UK in a way that it has not in other places

Why Is This Significant?

The British are finally kicking off their version of “the industry.” That said, problems abound, including of the kind seen in places like Germany, with the added whiff of further disruptions thanks to a still-pending Brexit. On the healthcare discussion at least, it is hard to find a fan of the NHS in the ranks of average cannabis patients (who are still struggling to get their numbers over 100 for the entire country six months after Schedule II prescriptions were authorized). However, it is also equally hard to find anyone in the ranks of the chronically ill at least, who would welcome a more U.S. style approach to healthcare provision – even if they can avail themselves of private healthcare coverage. That is just 10% of the population.

The entire cannabis debate is absolutely hitting in this space in the UK in a way that it has not in other places (including Germany). This is, beyond Brexit discussions, in part a testament to the creakiness of the British system, although the German one at present also leaves a lot to be desired.

Nobody wants an “American” system. And the Canadians in the room are also dealing with the problem that so far, Canadian public health insurance does not cover medical cannabis either.

Like it or not, this is also a theme that colors cannabis politics in Europe as much as the industry does not know how to channel and harness it. The Green Vest movement is certainly alive and well in the UK. Nor should it be underestimated. And that resentment at the moment also is hitting some of the biggest industry players who are the only ones allowed market entry where it counts (the regulated ones including medical).

On the CBD front, despite assurances by activists as late as last year, and certainly overflowing enthusiasm about the potential of this market, novel food still applies.

Where the conversation will certainly get interesting is the ability to distribute through online pharmacies (unlike in Germany where this is still verboten– and for all drugs, not just cannabis). But even here, don’t look for the UK to become just another Amazon outlet. New rules, including GDPR, still affect the UK and will continue to do so no matter what happens in the fall. This has to do with what is called “trusted nation” status that affects regulatory issues including pharmaceuticals but also financials (which is why the idea of the UK sailing off entirely on its own or as an American subordinate state is also ludicrous).

Not to mention of course, that supply and demand has yet to be effectively linked anywhere in Europe.

Cannatech, beyond distribution platforms, will also become more of a focus in climate change conscious Europe.

And of course, with a focus in London, there will be a much greater opportunity for both the concentration of specialty equity and the industry itself (in English) that will impact issues across the continent.

In a nutshell, in other words, the week-long events in London (held in conjunction with an equally interesting gathering now coalescing in Berlin just the weekend before) is proof positive that not only is the European cannabis industry in the middle of another seismic year, but the British and German movements are connecting, coordinating, cooperating, and driving change both at home and elsewhere across the region.

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Disclaimer: European Cannabis Holdings and Prohibition Partners are sponsors of MedPayRx and a business relationship exists between them.

The post European Cannabis Week Kicks Off First Year In London appeared first on Cannabis Industry Journal.

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Aaron Biros, KahliBuds, 420GrowLife

#420GrowLife #cannabis #thc #cbd

Within two days of announcing the opening of license applications for growing hemp, the Illinois Department of Agriculture received roughly 350 applications. According to the Lincoln Courier, that number has since grown to 575 applications in the past couple weeks. The Illinois Department of Agriculture has already issued 341 licenses for growing and 79 for processing, as of last Friday.

According to Jeff Cox, Chief of the Bureau of Medicinal Plants at the Illinois Department of Agriculture, a lot of this excitement comes from farmers wanting to branch out from the state’s traditional crops, such as corn and soybeans. “Corn and soybean prices have not been the best over the past few years, and so I think they see this as an opportunity to have a different source of income on their farm,” Cox told the Lincoln Courier.

Morgan Booth, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Agriculture told the Chicago Tribune that they were expecting this kind of enthusiasm among farmers. “We knew there was a lot of interest in it,” says Booth. “We were very pleasantly surprised.”

Back in late December of 2018, after the Farm Bill was signed into law, the Illinois Department of Agriculture was quick to jump on the hemp train. They announced their intentions to submit plans for a program to the federal Department of Agriculture, opened a 90-day public comment period, and finalized the rules in April. The state’s regulators hoped to expedite the process and have farmers growing hemp by June 1, which appears to be successful. Dozens of hemp farmers throughout the state are anticipating their first crops will be in the soil by the end of the month.

The post The Illinois Hemp Industry Is About To Explode appeared first on Cannabis Industry Journal.

420GrowLife

via https://420growlife.com

Aaron Biros, KahliBuds, 420GrowLife

The first German cannabis bid may have come to an end more or less, and with a whimper rather than a bang (not to mention the inevitable still-to-be-settled legal challenges). However even as the dust settles, one of the biggest “names” in cannabis and the company formerly expected to win at least a few of the tender lots is looking elsewhere.

Namely Canopy Growth, which was a finalist in the first round of the tender, has not shown up as a finalist firm in Germany this time (at least not so far).

However, it is clear the firm has other intentions afoot, namely U.S. expansion.

In an unprecedented move, Canopy announced its intent to buy the largest U.S. based producer of cannabis, a firm called Acreage Holdings, just before Easter. The conditional deal is being consummated in both cash ($300 million) plus stock swaps, and will not finally close until federal reform has come in the U.S. In fact, the deal makes the bet that the entire issue of U.S. federal reform will be solved within the next decade.

In the meantime, however, what this also does is place one of the world’s largest cannabis companies in the middle of what is largely seen as the world’s most valuable overall cannabis market. Further it does so in an environment where the company benefits from Acreage’s considerable market and political clout. Former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives John Boehner (a fierce opponent of legalization until it was personally convenient and profitable) is on the board of Acreage.

But there are those who might still be confused about why this deal happened. Canopy after all is fond of saying that its first focus is the “more valuable” medical rather than recreational market. And the U.S. market has many challenges still, that stem from a lack of federal reform. In fact, Canopy has frequently said in the past that they would not enter the U.S. until federal reform occurs. What gives?

What The Deal Also Does…

It is not “just” entry into the U.S. recreational market, albeit still on a state level that is significant about the deal. That starts with its timing.

When trying to understand the motivations of Canadian cannabis companies, especially ones who have eschewed the U.S. market in the past (at least until federal reform passes), it is also necessary to understand that they operate in a shifting world of global strategy that is never as straightforward as one might think. And often has nothing to do with cannabis per se.

Namely, while this deal places Canopy in the middle of the U.S. state industry it also does something else. It positions Canopy as a U.S. producer just two months after a new international pharmaceutical trade deal went into force (on February 8) called an MRA.

MRA agreements, also known as Mutual Recognition Agreements, are essentially trade deals between countries to accept the equivalency of their pharmaceutical production and supply chain.

On the cannabis front, the existence of MRAs between existing countries as cannabis has become legal, has also largely dictated the new international cannabis trade (see Canada and Germany as a perfect example) although this has been held as a closely held secret by the largest cannabis company executives (some of whom have previously denied that this was driving their expansion across Europe).

However, thanks to the agreement on this MRA in February, as of July of this year, Europe and the U.S. will formally kick off a situation where the European and therefore German health authorities will formally recognize American GMP processes.

That means that on the pharma front, Canopy has also essentially re-entered the European market, albeit by a bit of a backdoor. It also means that Canopy can immediately start to import cannabis drugs at least, made in the U.S. into the European and by extension, German market.

Cannabis drugs have been going in the opposite direction across the Atlantic to the U.S. for at least a year now (see the GW Pharma’s Epidiolex adventure last year). And further over the U.S.-Canadian border if now only bound for academic research (see Tilray).

It also may mean that they can import medical cannabis itself to be used as “medicine” or processed into one in Europe.

Does This Mean That U.S. Federal Reform Is Imminent?

Not necessarily. In fact, keeping the U.S. market in general out of the global cannabis trade, while allowing the top companies to participate both in the cross-state market and the global pharmaceutical one benefits the biggest companies. Conveniently, this also allows U.S. cannabis “pharmaceutical” producers to enter the EU in force just as Israel is expected to (third quarter this year). This also puts the “deal” U.S. President Trump and Israeli President Netanyahu cut on the subject to delay Israeli sales in an entirely new light (and one that should outrage both Americans and Israelis in the industry on this front even more). Not to mention every European hopeful producer unaware of the larger game afoot.

That said, what federal U.S. legalization will do is drop the operating costs of the larger U.S. entities now engaged in multi-state operations.

Cannabis in other words is not likely to be legalized in the U.S. before the next presidential elections for reasons that have everything to do with the profits of a few – and for that reason will certainly be a major theme in the next national political race.

And in the meantime, the biggest companies, Canopy included, are not only laughing all the way to the bank (although their shareholders are another story), but setting themselves up to be at the ground floor DNA of the global cannabis business as it establishes itself in every country of the world.

The post Canopy Growth Makes Multi-Billion Dollar Conditional Acquisition Deal appeared first on Cannabis Industry Journal.

http://bit.ly/2I68Fi3 April 30, 2019 at 06:10AM, 420GrowLife, KahliBuds

According to a press release published on April 3, Keystone State Testing (doing business as Dakota State Testing) became the first laboratory authorized to test cannabis in North Dakota. The lab also obtained their ISO 17025 accreditation for cannabis testing from the American Association of Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA), which is another first achievement for cannabis testing in the state of North Dakota.

Dr. Kelly Greenland, chief science officer at Keystone State Testing, says the North Dakota Department of Health set a high standard for the cannabis lab testing industry in the state. “Keystone State Testing is once again proud to of this monumental achievement and critical milestone in the company’s history to have met the highest levels of standards set forth by both A2LA and the North Dakota Department of Health,” says Greenland. “Keystone chose A2LA as its Accreditation Body due to their reputation in the industry, their diverse clientele, and the quality of their assessors.  A2LA’s assessors have spent decades in their respective fields, which helps to ensure that Keystone is providing the best services possible to their clients, regulators and patients.”

Keystone State Testing’s ISO 17025 accreditation scope covers 11 testing methods at their facility in Fargo, North Dakota. Those methods include: Cannabinoid potency analysis, cannabinoid profile, moisture content, residual solvents, water activity, along with microbiological tests like total yeast and mold count, E. coli, Salmonella, total aerobic microbial count, among others.

The post First Lab Authorized for Cannabis Testing in North Dakota appeared first on Cannabis Industry Journal.

http://bit.ly/2I68Fi3 April 17, 2019 at 10:15PM, 420GrowLife, KahliBuds

The Frankfurt-based newspaper Handelsblatt Zeitung is reporting that three Canadian firms (actually two Canadians and a German start-up cofounded by another Canadian company) have now been selected as the first cannabis cultivation bid finalists, however insiders on the ground say that this is not necessarily a final decision.

A Berlin-based subsidiary of Wayland in Germany called Demecan, along with Aphria and Aurora have all been named as bid finalists pending a normal review period.

However, there are other complications still looming. This is far from over.

The first issuance of the bid in 2017 went down in court over a technical fault on the part of the issuing agency. The current iteration was posted last summer and saw its application moved several times because of further legal challenges.

As Peter Homburg, partner and head of the European Cannabis Group at Dentons said when contacted by Cannabis Industry Journal, “This is of course not an official announcement. I have a tendency to believe that others involved in the tender process historically may well challenge this decision.”

BfArM, the federal German agency in charge of the cannabis cultivation tender process, did not respond to a request for a comment as of press time.

The Decision Is Far From Over

Here are the basic challenges still ahead:

There is a lawsuit pending against the bid itself from applicants that has yet to be decided. The Klage (formal hearing in court) is due next week. If that does not derail the process, here are the next considerations.

While all three firms named in the bid have international reputations, there are some pending questions.

Wayland is far ahead of the other two firms in terms of production capability in the country. Their facility in eastern Germany has just been certified GMP standard – which means they are qualified to produce the quality of flower required for medical consumption. This news is also far from a surprise.

As Ben Ward, CEO of Wayland Group, commented when contacted by CIJ for a response via email: “At Wayland, we believe in meaningful partnerships, investing in Germany from day one, demonstrating a long-term commitment to the market,” says Ward. “Wayland GmbH is a German company, operated by Germans, existing in Dresden and Munich and is committed to this market. The companies awarded lots received the allocation based on a rigorous application process, not media sensation.”

Of all the Canadian firms, in fact, despite its lack of high-flying stock price, Wayland has made the most concerted effort to show its commitment to producing in Germany by a large investment of capital and expertise. Further, the firm has shown itself to be the most culturally sensitive to German culture, including hiring a female member to the board (a hot topic far from the cannabis industry). However, there are other issues looming. On the same day that Wayland issued a press release announcing its position in the bid, it also issued one announcing the merger talks with ICC had failed.

The second is that Aphria’s main cultivation center in Canada is not EU-GMP certified although they have applied for the same and now also own one of Germany’s largest distributors (with approximately a 6% market share).

Other firms not only kicked off the entire cannabis discussion in Germany, but have established GMP-compliant facilities both in Canada and across Europe, namely Canopy Growth, which was widely believed to have also applied to the second tender. However prevailing rumours about a Canadian “crop failure” in British Columbia (described by the company as a deliberate destruction of plants created by delays in the licensing process) last fall may have also played a role in the German decision.

Aurora is also in interesting waters. Having distinguished itself as Canopy’s closest rival across Europe, winning significant kudos in Denmark, Italy, Poland and Luxembourg last year, the company is also clearly not “just” a medical cannabis company and apparently was refused an opportunity to go public on the Deutsche Börse last fall. The selection of the firm by BfArm for the bid in a situation where the company is on a watch list created by the stock market regulatory agency in Frankfurt is also an intriguing one. Especially given the company’s announcement of its Polish success on the same day as the decision to import was announced, and the fact that so far it is the only Canadian cannabis company to successfully import to Luxembourg.

And The Import Game Is Just Getting Hot…

The unsurprising news that the bid appears to be moving forward is actually not the hottest news in Europe right now. The reality on the ground is already shifting. Several weeks ago, a Frankfurt-based distribution start-up announced that they had successfully imported cannabis into the country from Macedonian-based Nysk Holdings via Poland.

At the International Cannabis Business Conference (ICBC) in Berlin last weekend, Australian producers (for one) were also reporting a German demand for their product that was greater than they could fill. And there were many Israelis present for what is expected to be an official opening of their import ability by the third quarter of this year.

Price Wars Are Looming

The bid itself is going to have a powerful impact on pricing in both the German and European market beyond that. It represents the first time in any country that a government has attempted to pre-negotiate prices for the drug as a narcotic beyond Israel and in this case, it will have at least regional implications.

At the same time, it is also clear that producers like Nysk and beyond them, Israeli and Australian firms (in particular) are actively finding ways to have their product enter the country- and further at prices that are catching the Canadians on the hop. Indeed Aurora is reporting that it actually lowered its “usual” prices to win European contracts which have been reported as being 3.2 euros a gram in Italy and 2.5 euros a gram in Luxembourg.

To put this in perspective, this is a range of about CA$3-5 a gram of flower which is also well below what Canopy (for one) has reported selling its product even to recreational users in Canada and significantly below medical export prices as reported by recent company corporate reports.

Wayland in contrast, is reporting that its production price in Germany will be at least a euro-per-gram cheaper than this. Or in other words, more in line with prices expected to be generated from both the bid itself and the cannabis now entering the country from other sources.

And of course, this is only the first of what is expected to be a series of new tenders. The original amount, itself increased in the two years the issue has been pending, is clearly not enough to even begin to meet demand as proved by the levels of competitively priced imports now entering the country.

Beyond questions about whether this time the tender will actually stand, are those now pending about new ones potentially in the offing – and not just in Germany but across Europe as cannabis continues to see a very green spring.

The post German Cultivation Bid Appears To Have Three Finalists appeared first on Cannabis Industry Journal.

http://bit.ly/2I68Fi3 April 17, 2019 at 10:14PM, 420GrowLife, KahliBuds

Cannabis is the most highly regulated crop in California, and the state just added another layer of regulation. This article breaks down the State Water Resources Control Board’s (SWRCB) recently updated Cannabis Cultivation Policy – Principles and Guidelines for Cannabis Cultivation (“Policy”) into six key takeaways.¹ These guidelines impose new rules on cannabis cultivation activities that have the potential to impact a watercourse (stream, creek, river or lake). Most of these rules apply to cultivation of sun-grown cannabis, which is currently allowed in some form in 12 counties. Compliance with these new requirements will be implemented through the CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing Program.

1. When developing farmland, hillsides should be avoided and erosion must be controlled.

The Policy provides specific rules for growing pot on undisturbed land. To prevent erosion, numerous limitations are placed on earthmoving and activities in sensitive areas, and cultivators are not allowed to grade hillsides that exceed a 50% slope.²

Cultivation prepping activities must minimize grading, dust, soil disturbance, erosion, and impacts on habitat, especially during the winter season.³ No vehicles or heavy equipment may be used within a riparian setback⁴ or watercourse,⁵ and cultivators must avoid damaging native riparian vegetation⁶ and oak woodlands.⁷ All farm equipment, fuel, and hazardous materials must be carefully stored away from creeks and sensitive habitat.⁸ The Policy also governs road construction.⁹

2. Cultivators should avoid work in or near a surface waterbody.¹⁰

If a cultivator’s activities impact a river, stream, or lake, they must consult with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW).¹¹ Cultivators must maintain minimum riparian setbacks for all cannabis activities, including grading and ancillary farm facilities. Before grading land, a biologist must identify any sensitive flora or fauna, and if any is located, consult with CDFW and provide a report to the Regional Board.¹² No irrigation runoff, tailwater, chemicals or plant waste can be discharged to a waterbody.¹³ Diversion facilities for the irrigation of cannabis may not block fish passage, upstream or downstream, and must be fitted with a CDFW-approved fish screen; new facilities are subject to all applicable permits and approvals.

3. During the dry season, cultivators may not use surface water.

The use of surface water supplies in California requires a valid water right and the use of water for cannabis cultivation is no different.¹⁴ Anyone seeking to appropriate “water flowing in a known and defined channel” or from a watercourse must apply to the SWRCB and obtain a permit or license.¹⁵ Alternatively, a landowner whose property is adjacent to a watercourse may have a riparian right to divert the water for use on her land. Riparian users do not need permission from the SWRCB to divert water, but they must report water use annually.¹⁶

The biggest obstacle that growers face under this Policy is that they cannot divert anysurface water during the dry season—the growing season (April 1 through Oct. 31). It should be noted:

• The seasonal prohibition of surface water diversion applies regardless of the nature of the water right or what has been historically used to irrigate other crops.
• During the dry period, cultivators may only irrigate using stored water (see no. 5 below) or groundwater.
• It remains to be seen whether a legal challenge will be brought against the state for their draconian prohibitions on irrigating cannabis during the six-month growing season. Because this prohibition applies to all watersheds in California, singles out one low-water use crop, and ignores established water rights, it is overly broad and may constitute a constitutional “taking” of property rights.

4. During the wet season, surface water diversions must be monitored closely.

Cannabis-specific restrictions also apply during the wet season. From Nov. 1 to March 31, cultivators must comply with instream flow requirements and check in with the state daily. All surface water diversions for cannabis are subject to “Numeric and Narrative Instream Flow Requirements,” to protect flows needed for fish migration and spawning. To ensure diversions do not adversely impact fish flows, cultivators must also “maintain a minimum bypass of at least 50% of the streamflow.”^17,18

While valid appropriative right holders may divert more than 10 gal./min. for cannabis irrigation during the wet season, riparian right holders are not allowed to exceed that diversion rate.¹⁹ All cultivators (including small diverters <10 acre-feet (“AF”)/yr) are required to employ water-saving irrigation methods, install measuring devices to track diversions daily, and maintain records on-site for at least five years.²⁰ Cultivators must inspect and repair their water delivery system for leaks monthly,²¹ and inspect sprinklers and mainlines weekly to prevent runoff.²²

5. Cannabis cultivators may obtain a new water storage right for use during the dry season.

To address dry season irrigation limitations, cultivators are urged to store water offstream during the wet season, including rainwater, for dry season use. Growers may not rely on onstreamstorage reservoirs, except if they have an existing permitted reservoir in place prior to Oct. 31, 2017.²³ Alternatively, small growers (storage is capped at 6.6 AF/yr) may benefit from the new Cannabis SIUR Program, an expedited process for cultivators who divert from a surface water source to develop and install storage offstream. Only diverters with a valid water right that allows for diversion to storage between Nov. 1 and March 31 qualify.

6. Groundwater is less regulated, but cultivators should avoid drilling or using wells near waterbodies.

Groundwater is generally the recommended water supply for cannabis because, unlike surface water, it may be used during the dry season and is not subject to many of the restrictions listed above. It should be noted however:

• Many groundwater basins are now governed by California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (“SGMA”), which requires water agencies to halt overdraft and restore balanced levels of groundwater pumping from certain basins. Thus, SGMA may result in future pumping cutbacks or pumping assessments.
• In some counties, moratoriums and restrictions on drilling new wells are on the rise.
• Under this Policy, the state may step in to restrict groundwater pumping in the dry season in watersheds where there are large numbers of cannabis groundwater, wells located close to streams, and areas of high surface water-groundwater connectivity.²⁴

In short, groundwater pumpers are at risk of cutback if the state deems it necessary to maintain nearby creek flows.Noncompliance can bring lofty fines, revocation of a grower’s cultivation license, or prosecution

Final Takeaways

This cannabis policy presents one of California’s most complex regulatory schemes to date. Before investing in a property, one must understand this Policy and have a robust understanding of the water rights and hydrology associated with the cultivation site. Growers looking to reduce permitting time and costs should invest in relatively flat, historically cultivated land with existing wells and ample groundwater supplies, or alternatively, grow indoors.

This article attempts to synthesize the maze of water supply and water quality regulations that make compliance exceedingly difficult; more detailed information can be found here. Noncompliance can bring lofty fines, revocation of a grower’s cultivation license, or prosecution. Growers are encouraged to contact a hydrologist and water lawyer before making major investments and to designate a water compliance officer to monitor and track all water diversions and water used for irrigation. Growers should also consult with their local jurisdiction regarding water use restrictions and stream setbacks before moving any dirt or planting cannabis.

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References

1. The Policy is available at: https://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/cannabis/cannabis_policy.html (will go into effect on or before April 16, 2019.)
2. Policy, Appendix A, Section 2, Term 4. The Policy defines “Qualified Professional” as a: California-Licensed Professional Geologist, including Certified Hydrogeologist and Certified Engineering Geologist, California-Licensed Geotechnical Engineer, and Professional Hydrologist. (Policy, Definition 72, p. 11.)
3. Policy, Appendix A, Section 2, Terms 4 and 10.
4. Policy, Appendix A, Section 2, Term 3.
5. Policy, Appendix A, Section 2, Term 40.
6. Policy, Appendix A, Section 2, Term 33.
7. Policy, Appendix A, Section 2, Term 34.
8. Policy, Appendix A, Section 2, Term 7.
9. Policy, Appendix A, Section 2, Terms 15 to 29.
10. Policy, Appendix A, Section 1, Term No. 41.
11. Policy, Appendix A, Section 1, Term No. 3; see also 1602.
12. Policy, Appendix A, Section 1, Term No. 10.
13. Policy, Appendix A, Section 1, Term No. 326.
14. Policy, Appendix A, Section 2, Term 69.
15. Wat. Code §1225; See alsoWat. Code §1201 [providing that the state shall have jurisdiction over, “[a]ll water flowing in any natural channel” except water that is appropriated or being used for beneficial purpose upon land riparian to the channel.”]
16. Wat. Code §§ 5100–02.
17. Policy, p. 12.
18. Policy, Attachment A, pp. 60, 63.
19. Policy, Section 2, Term 78.
20. Policy, Section 2, Term 82.
21. Policy, Section 2, Term 95.
22. Policy, Section 2, Term 99.
23. Policy, Section 2, Term 79.
24. Policy, p. 11.

The post Water Policy in California: Six Key Takeaways from the State Water Board’s New Cannabis Cultivation Policy appeared first on Cannabis Industry Journal.

http://bit.ly/2I68Fi3 April 17, 2019 at 10:14PM, 420GrowLife, KahliBuds