Marijuana Business Magazine October 2018

Hawaii The state health department gave the green light for a medical cannabis dispensary to start growing on the Big Island. Hawaiian Ethos is the seventh dispensary to open a production center in the state and the first on the island of Hawaii. The Big Island, which has the second-highest patient count behind Oahu, was the last of the major islands to begin MMJ cultivation. Hawaii began legal MMJ sales a year ago. Illinois Approximately one in five medical marijuana dispensa- ries in Illinois had to temporarily close Aug. 30 because of a problem with the state’s seed-to-sale tracking system, which is a software developed by BioTrackTHC. The Fort Lauderdale, Florida, company reported 16 of roughly 80 dispensaries in Illinois were affected. BioTrackTHC spokes- man Jefferey Gonring said there was “a complication with a third-party integrator that caused issues.” He also said the problem existed for 1-2 hours and no data was lost. Louisiana The state may boost the cap on the number of patients whom doctors can serve to avert potential bottlenecks in its medical marijuana program. The Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners established a limit of 100 medical marijuana patients per physician in 2016, with doctors allowed to seek waivers for more. The current patient limit combined with relatively low physician interest sparked concerns that patients will be stuck on waiting lists when the program starts late this year or in early 2019. Massachusetts State regulators approved two labs to test recreational marijuana, a critical step to starting sales in a program delayed beyond a July 1 launch target. CDX Analytics in Salem and MCR Labs in Framingham were issued provi- sional licenses by the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission. Both have been involved in the state’s medical marijuana program. 24 • Marijuana Business Magazine • October 2018