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After abruptly ending their successful sports careers, Greta Gaines and Ricky Williams found new callings through marijuana reform and activism before launching their own cannabis brands.

Gaines, the first woman world-champion snowboarder, is a national authority on cannabinoid law and a longtime advocate for consumer and patient cannabis access as a NORML director, caregiver and entrepreneur.

Now, Gaines is turning her passion toward treating terminal patients with plant-based medicines.

"Cannabis is the cornerstone of my practice," said the Tennessee-based clinical herbalist and CEO of the Love + Hemp skin care brand.

"I really shifted my focus to patients out of time and learning everything I could about the makeup of the plant – and everything about the plant that makes it healing," Gaines told MJBizDaily.

Meanwhile, Williams, an award-winning college football player, launched the Highsman cannabis lifestyle brand in 2021 – nine years after he retired, for a second time, from the NFL.

The athlete's activism about the healing powers of cannabis led him to lobby on Capitol Hill in an effort to loosen federal restrictions on marijuana as a Biden administration decree to reschedule the drug eventually moved to a Dec. 2 hearing.

"A lot of my advocacy work has really been toward pushing for federal legalization," Williams told MJBizDaily.

Williams and Gaines will join former professional basketball player Al Harrington, founder of Viola Brands, and former NFL lineman Eugene Monroe, co-founder of New Jersey-based vertically integrated cannabis company Collective 60, as headline speakers at MJBizCon this week. Read story >

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More Headlines

• Nebraska medical cannabis legalization signatures are valid, judge rules. Read story >
• Marijuana company Cansortium secures $96.5M loan before RIV Capital merger. Read story >

Weekly roundup of MJBizDaily's most-viewed stories

R E T A I L

Florida approves 22 applicants for medical marijuana dispensary licenses

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The wait is over for 74 applicants in Florida hoping to secure Medical Marijuana Treatment Center licenses.

The state's Office of Medical Marijuana Use on Tuesday published the list of 22 companies that received "letters of intent to approve" their license applications.

In Florida, medical cannabis dispensaries are called Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers (MMTCs).

The 74 applicants in this licensing round initially applied for MMTC permits in April 2023. Read story >

R ET A I L

Metrc debuts labeling feature to ease MJ inventory challenges

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Marijuana track-and-trace software provider Metrc is rolling out a new feature for brands and retailers to streamline product labeling and inventory management.

Metrc's new product, Retail ID, combines QR codes that contain product information with inventory barcodes in a single label that can be affixed to a stock-keeping unit (SKU) after clearing testing requirements.

The add-on is free and voluntary, Metrc said.

"We think the standardization of cannabis product labeling requirements is what's going to benefit consumers at the end of the day," David Eagleson, Metrc's director of product, told MJBizDaily during a product demo.

"In addition to benefiting consumers, we see a lot of efficiency opportunities." Read story >

G L O B A L 

Medical cannabis is where the profit is, Bedrocan CEO Jaap Erkelens says

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Netherlands-based Bedrocan International, one of the oldest medical marijuana companies in the world, is returning to Canada after exiting that market five years ago.

CEO Jaap Erkelens told MJBizDaily that Bedrocan was awarded a new medical cannabis production license from Health Canada on Sept. 27 and is returning to the same building in Scarborough, Ontario, where it previously operated.

The facility can produce up to 3,600 kilograms (7,937 pounds) of flower annually but will only produce a fraction of that to start, Erkelens said, with production starting in early 2025.

Erkelens spoke with MJBizDaily about a variety of topics, including the profitability of medical cannabis for Bedrocan and the company's plans in Canada and Europe. Read story >

L E G A L

Judge halts adult-use marijuana licensing lottery in Minnesota

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A judge halted the lottery to award adult-use marijuana licenses to prospective business owners after some applicants denied access filed a lawsuit claiming the process lacked clear criteria and didn't allow for appeals.

After an hourlong online hearing, Ramsey County District Court Judge Stephen Smith sided with the applicants and called off the lottery scheduled for Nov. 26.

The state can file an appeal, the judge said.

In a lawsuit filed Nov. 21, Cristina Aranguiz and Jodi Connolly alleged that the OCM made an "arbitrary and capricious decision" in denying their applications to participate in the lottery and offered no explanation. Read story >

 P O L I C Y

New Trump attorney general pick Pam Bondi has anti-marijuana record

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Pam Bondi, the second choice of President-elect Donald Trump to lead the U.S. Justice Department, was an opponent of marijuana reform while serving as Florida's attorney general and later in the first Trump administration.

But it's too soon to tell how Bondi might treat the issue if she's confirmed as the attorney general for Trump, who has signaled his support for marijuana rescheduling and cannabis banking reform.

If she is confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Bondi will be tasked with appointing a new leader of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

That's a key appointment for the cannabis industry since, beginning Dec. 2, a DEA administrative law judge will hear arguments for and against moving marijuana to Schedule 3 of the Controlled Substances Act.  Read story >

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M J B I Z C O N

REGULATORY ROUNDUP

Cannabis at a Crossroads: The DEA Hearings, Rescheduling, and the Path Forward with the Trump Administration 

Friday, Dec. 6 • 12:30 - 1:10 p.m. | Room N09 

David Culver, SVP of Public Affairs, U.S. Cannabis Council 

Kelly Fair, Partner, Cannabis Healthcare Practice, Dentons 

Aaron Smith, Executive Director, National Cannabis Industry Association 

Bryan Lanza, Partner, Mercury Public Affairs 

R E S O U R C E S

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