Introduction The cannabis industry remains fixated on compliance, but not in the right way. Heavy regulations and looming financial consequences have created a paradoxically cost-avoidant approach to compliance: invest capital to protect against more significant loss. It’s a zero-sum-game– read growth-regressive standard –reinforced across all industry verticals. It needs to change immediately. I’d wager compliance […]
Compliance and Regulations
NIST and FDA May Be the Cannabis Quality Assurance Heroes We Need
By Hillary Bricken, Co-Founder Harris Bricken Over the years, we’ve pointed out when federal agencies opt to ignore the federal illegality of cannabis. It happens more often than you might think depending on the topic (see, for example, the NLRB). One agency, though, that has surprisingly never lifted a finger against state-legal cannabis–though it is […]
Cannabis Reference Standards
Overcoming Labryinthine US Regulations By Angelo DePalma, PhD All analytical sciences rely on reference standards—standardized, punctiliously prepared and characterized samples—to guarantee the veracity of their results but even more importantly, of their methodology. Cannabis is a complex botanical capable of generating numerous downstream products, each with unique critical quality attributes. And, as a botanical, it […]
Proposed Cannabis Standard Presents Strategies for Post-Harvest Laboratory Analyses
PRESS RELEASE W. CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa., July 28, 2020 – A proposed ASTM International standard will establish sound sampling strategies for post-harvest flowers, leaves, and other cannabis or hemp biomass. ASTM’s cannabis committee (D37) is developing the proposed standard. The proposed standard (WK64336) will provide protocols to ensure that statistically representative samples relative to the batch […]
Cannabis industry in regulatory crosshairs
A recent U.S. Department of Treasury Inspector General report suggests that an increase in tax enforcement measures for the legal marijuana (cannabis) industry are imminent, with or without a corresponding increase in IRS guidance. The legal cannabis industry has expanded prodigiously over the last decade and, as of 2020, a majority of states now allow […]
How to make sure your cannabis is the real deal?
This same question is asked by many consumers across various categories of products we consume everyday. Do I really know the chicken I’m about to buy is raised on a free-range farm? Is the medicine I’m about to take authentic? Is the fish I’m planning to eat for dinner from Boston as advertised? We all […]
Data Privacy and Cybersecurity: Essential Risk Areas to Address in a Cannabis Compliance Program
by Eliyahu S. Scheiman, JD and Stephanie M. Garfield, JD Even during this unprecedented time, as millions of Americans confine themselves to their homes and companies temporarily shutter their retail operations, cybersecurity incidents will continue to affect the business world. Cannabis companies are particularly attractive targets for hackers because they possess a wealth of personal […]
Simplifya Closes $1.5 Million in Over-Subscribed Bridge Round; Increases Round to $2.5 Million In Response to Strong Interest from Investors
PRESS RELEASE Denver – April 23, 2020 – Simplifya, the leading provider of regulatory and operational compliance software for the cannabis industry, announced today that it has closed $1.5 million of its currently over-subscribed bridge round. Based on strong interest and preliminary commitments, Simplifya expects to close an additional $1 million as part of the […]
Environment, Health and Safety from Home, Resources to Rely on while Social Distancing
You are a cannabis industry professional navigating the “new normal.” You have scheduled a productive day of workbooks, crafts and electronic device time for the children. You have negotiated workspace allowances with your cohabitants (“You can pace the family room on your calls all you want, but the kitchen table is mine!”). A professional coffee […]
Keeping Pace With Creative Compliance in the Fast-Moving Cannabis Space
Last year, when censors rejected a Super Bowl ad from cannabis brand Acreage Holdings, it was both a sign of cannabis’ mainstream emergence, and also an indication of America’s ongoing complicated relationship with the plant. Now, the political headwinds around legalization are starting to turn, and the cannabis industry has reached a critical point in […]
