businesses

While the legal marijuana industry already generates billions of dollars across the United States, the industry has one big difference with other sectors of the economy. The majority of those transactions happen in cash. Because federal law continues to list marijuana as an illegal drug, banks...

Denver — Denver started work Wednesday on becoming the first city in the U.S. to allow marijuana clubs and public pot use in places such as coffee shops, yoga studios and art galleries. Voters narrowly approved the "social use" measure last November. But the ballot proposal didn't spell out...

With recreational marijuana use on the verge of becoming legal in Maine, real estate brokers are seeing a jump in demand for industrial spaces that could become indoor marijuana farms in the not-too-distant future. Marijuana is scheduled to become legal to use and possess Jan. 30, but the...

Democratic firebrand Senator Elizabeth Warren is known for championing the working class. Now Warren is pushing to create a framework that would allow marijuana-based businesses to access the banking system. If the question of whether your friendly neighborhood cannabis cooperative can access...

Cannabis leaders and community members gathered this week to discuss details for the roll-out of the voter-approved Initiative 300, which allows qualifying businesses to apply for cannabis consumption permits in Denver. The campaign behind I-300 organized the public forum at the Denver law...

Laura Harris directed the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division when all the state knew was the medical market. Now she's joining the Colorado Cannabis Chamber of Commerce (C4) to help businesses work with legislators and understand the laws put in place. C4 is a nonprofit chamber of...

Marijuana businesses are one step closer to becoming a legal reality in Grover Beach. The Grover Beach Planning Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to recommend approval to the City Council for an overlay to city code that would allow commercial cannabis uses in a 70-acre industrial area...

MATT WALSTATTER FELL INTO THE CANNABIS BUSINESS LIKE MANY PEOPLE DO; HE GOT SICK. REALLY SICK. In 2003, a bad case of flu and pneumonia turned into painful gastrointestinal symptoms that wouldn't go away. For 10 years he vomited every day. He lost 50 pounds in the first six months. After...

Westbrook, Maine – Banks and credit unions are keeping their distance from the marijuana industry because the federal government still considers marijuana illegal. Legal marijuana businesses can't accept credit cards, they can't secure bank loans or get any other business services provided by...

Henderson - Henderson is considering banning all commercial activity related to recreational marijuana for one year. The Henderson City Council is proposing the moratorium to give officials time to weigh concerns about zoning and public health. Council members have also discussed a six-month...

Willlow – At the far end of Willow, an hour and a half outside of Wasilla, David Straub's 500-square-foot limited marijuana cultivation facility sits on his five-acre lot. The former dog musher and carpenter from Kansas moved to Alaska in 1997 to follow a dream to run in the Iditarod, and has...

This year could prove contentious between Yakima County authorities and recreational marijuana businesses in unincorporated areas of the county, where an ordinance prohibits them from operating. County authorities have revamped policy and staff in their code enforcement office, enabling them...

Freeport is the latest Maine community to enact a moratorium on recreational marijuana establishments and social clubs. The Forecaster reported that the Freeport Town Council approved a six-month moratorium on Tuesday, almost a month after imposing a similar moratorium on medical marijuana...

Boston – As marijuana shops sprout in states that have legalized the drug, they face a critical stumbling block — lack of access to the kind of routine banking services that other businesses take for granted. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, is leading an effort to make...

With marijuana now legal – at least for medical purposes – in more than half the states, a small but growing number of federally insured banks have allowed pot retailers and other legitimate marijuana-related businesses to open accounts. Still, some 97% of U.S. banks won't work with these...

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission approved temporary rule changes Dec. 19 that take effect Sunday for recreational marijuana businesses. In one change, growers who accept responsibility for illegally applying pesticides will receive a warning for a first violation, according to an OLCC news...

Both businesses are in the first week of a three-week required public notice period. The notice informs the public of the businesses' intent to apply and allows the public to submit comments or objections to their local government, the applicant, and to the Alcohol and Marijuana Control...

Los Angeles – Viewed optimistically, it looks like Kyle Kazan's investment fund got an unbelievable deal when it loaned $2 million to Bud and Bloom. Terms call for the recently opened Los Angeles-area marijuana dispensary to pay a hefty 10 percent annual interest rate and, once Kazan and his...

Portland on Wednesday blessed "marijuana couriers" and other pot-related "micro" business types in a move to ease financial barriers for entrepreneurs. The council voted unanimously to immediately adopt the additions and other changes to the city's marijuana code. "Since the state...

The Biddeford City Council on Tuesday gave initial approval for a 180-day moratorium on recreational marijuana businesses in the city. Biddeford joins a growing number of communities across the state that have implemented or considered temporary bans on businesses that could open within about...