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Because there is a dwindling number of states that haven't legalized medical and/or recreational marijuana, it is easy to be fooled into believing opportunities to get a cannabis business license would likewise be shrinking.

Opportunities abound, however.

The question is, where?

In mature markets such as California, Colorado, Michigan, Oregon and Washington state, many marijuana businesses that initially thrived are now struggling.

The owners of distressed businesses often put their licenses up for sale, presenting opportunities to entrepreneurs and investors aspiring to break into or expand in the marijuana industry.

While many cannabis businesses with potential can be had on the cheap, others might pose significant risk to their new owners.

How do you distinguish between a diamond in the rough and a disaster?

Heidi Urness and Rudy Cerone, attorneys for the McGlinchey law firm, walk the MJBizDaily audience through the process. Read story >

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Insights on growing & manufacturing cannabis

Agrify sells cannabis cultivation business for $7 million

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Agrify Corp. is selling its cannabis cultivation operation for $7 million to an investment firm affiliated with the company's former CEO, Raymond Chang.

The Troy, Michigan-based operator sold the unit to CP Acquisitions, which is affiliated with Chang, who resigned from Agrify's top post and as board chair in a November management shake-up.

The transaction includes vertical farming units, related assets and Agrify Insights software applications; assumption of liabilities related to the cultivation business; and the termination of two convertible notes held by CP Acquisitions totaling roughly $7 million. Read story >

Marijuana goes national: 7 industry predictions for 2025

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Congress failed to pass marijuana reform bills, and the Drug Enforcement Administration delayed reclassifying the drug as a legitimate medicine until this year.

Voters largely rejected adult-use legalization - including in Florida, where marijuana multistate operators spent nearly $150 million in a losing effort - giving credence to the idea that easy and available reform efforts have maxed out.

Yet very big changes loom on the horizon.

Relief from the tax burden of Section 280E is closer than ever, and President-elect Donald Trump will soon become the first POTUS to have endorsed an adult-use marijuana legalization measure.

Here are MJBizDaily's seven cannabis industry predictions for 2025. Read story >

California issues list of approved pesticides for cannabis cultivation

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California regulators have released a list of 261 pesticide products they've approved for use on cannabis products.

The guidance from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation comes on the tail end of another trying year for the state's industry and its primary regulator, the Department of Cannabis Control, which has struggled to contain a monthslong pesticide scandal.

The fallout has shaken confidence in the world's largest regulated marijuana market, undermined the credibility of testing labs and forced licensed operators to establish new vetting protocols with single-source suppliers. Read story >

How to start a successful marijuana brand in a down market

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Ryan Clark was 19 years old with a baby on the way when the Tulare County (California) Sheriff's office raided the hobbyist grower's first small-scale commercial cannabis grow: a lone plant in a house he and a few friends rented.

One thing led to another over the next two decades, and after stints running a hydroponics store and overseeing construction and cultivation for the first large, regulated operator in California's Central Valley, Clark launched his own flower business in 2021, which was considered by many a down market for cultivators.

Today, Clark is a co-owner and head cultivator of upscale (and profitable) flower brand Bosky Genetics in Woodlake, California, in the same county policed by the sheriffs who raided his house as a teenager.

Clark launched the company with a $2.6 million startup budget, cash secured via a five-year loan from a private investor. Read story >

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More Headlines

• Farm Bill protections remain for hemp amid federal budget chaos. Read story >
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• Hawaii governor protects medical marijuana caregivers with executive order. Read story >
• Keef brands moves to top of competitive cannabis beverage sector. Read story >
• Finance experts mixed on marijuana capital infusion. Read story >
• Minnesota adult-use cannabis license applicants face uncertainty, hope. Read story >
• Fight over disputed Arkansas medical marijuana permit escalates. Read story >
• What cannabis investors should watch for in 2025. Read story >

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