Marijuana Business Magazine March 2020

March 2020 | mjbizdaily.com 37 Michigan The Detroit City Council voted to extend a temporary ban on recreational marijuana sales through March 31 as the city grapples with implementing a social equity program and a burgeoning illicit market. The extension allows “additional opportunity to continue to develop a social equity program,” according to City Councilman James Tate’s office. Recreational marijuana sales in Michigan launched Dec. 1, 2019, but because communities are allowed to opt out, business opportunities are uneven. About 1,400 communities have opted out, so far. Minnesota The two vertically integrated medical marijuana companies that serve the entire MMJ market in Minnesota lack formal contracts with a testing laboratory as well as other issues, according to a report from the state’s Office of the Legislative Auditor. An audit of the Minnesota Department of Health found: • Failure to ensure that Minnesota Medical Solutions and LeafLine Labs each had a formal contract with a testing laboratory. • Inadequate controls to ensure the two companies accurately tracked and tested medical marijuana before it was sold. • Lack of controls to help prevent and detect diversion or loss of medical marijuana by the two companies. Mississippi A business-friendly medical cannabis initiative qualified for the state’s November ballot. The constitutional amendment put forth by Mississippians for Compassionate Care would prohibit the state from limiting the number of business licenses or setting prices for medical marijuana. The Mississippi Department of Health would regulate the industry. However, the Mississippi Board of Health says it opposes the initiative and that the state health department doesn’t have the capacity to oversee such a program. Missouri State regulators awarded six permits to medical marijuana seed-to-sale companies. Each seed-to-sale tracking system must be able to interface with a statewide system, allowing cannabis to be tracked through the entire process. Companies receiving licenses include: • Akerna. • Artemis Agtech. • Bio-Tech Medical Software. • Retail Innovations. • Swin. • Validated Housing. Seed-to-sale applications remain open in Missouri, unlike some other license categories in the state.