Marijuana Business Daily

Justice Department could help marijuana industry via Cole Memo 2.0 – or hurt reform

Published

2 years ago

March 28, 2023

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As federal marijuana reform inches forward in a Congress paralyzed by partisan gridlock, more immediate “progress” might have to come from the Biden administration.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland’s Department of Justice might address the thorny issue of cannabis banking when his office revisits its approach toward the state-legal but federally prohibited marijuana industry, Washington insiders believe.

A friendly – or at least hands-off – Justice Department would be welcome news to marijuana businesses frustrated and exhausted with inaction in Congress, where bipartisan reform bills such as the SAFE Banking Act remain stalled.

However, a policy memo by itself, much like the landmark 2013 “Cole Memo,” is unlikely to convince more banks to offer basic services to marijuana businesses, several observers said.

And such a document – dubbed by some insiders as a Cole Memo 2.0 – could even backfire.

Pro-cannabis GOP lawmakers and the lobbyists

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Building cannabis brands that reach across markets

Published

2 days ago

March 7, 2025

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(This is a contributed guest column. To be considered as an MJBizDaily guest columnist, please submit your request here.)

Richard Proud (Courtesy photo)

Consumers can be a perplexing group – and even contradictory – especially in an industry as new and complex as cannabis.

This makes the task of building cannabis brands that resonate across geographical areas a significant challenge.

The best brands find ways to connect, knowing their audience will react to brands that help them feel good about themselves, their community and the decisions they make.

As former Starbucks CEO Howard Shultz said, “If people believe they share values with a company, they will stay loyal to the brand.”

Consumer appeal and connection

For marijuana businesses, consumer nuances pose a unique challenge: How

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From client to co-founder, Storz & Bickel executive on US tour to drum up cannabis business

Published

6 days ago

March 3, 2025

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Jürgen Bickel is not only the founder and managing director of Storz & Bickel, he’s also a longtime client of the company’s iconic cannabis smoking device.

The medically certified product manufacturer, based in Tuttlingen, Germany, is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its Volcano vaporizer, which has sold hundreds of thousands of units worldwide since its early days on the market when Bickel first tried it as a consumer.

“It’s really for people who are frequently using cannabis,” he told MJBizDaily during a recent interview and product demo at a private cabana at The Woods in West Hollywood, California.

“There’s a lot of patients who really need to use it several times a day.

“They need reliability and reproducibility.”

The Woods, owned by

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Virginia governor expected to veto recreational marijuana sales legislation

Published

1 week ago

February 28, 2025

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Virginia appears set to remain the only state in the country with recreational marijuana legalization but without legal sales.

That status quo would continue if, as widely expected, Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin again vetoes adult-use sales legalization bills that state lawmakers recently sent to him.

For the second straight year, Virginia’s Democratic-controlled General Assembly passed legislation that would finally set up adult-use sales in the state.

Youngkin’s Democratic predecessor, Ralph Northam, signed legalization into law in 2021, but that bill had a clause that required further action to create a market projected to be worth hundreds of millions.

The most recent legislation would give exclusive adult-use sales rights to the state’s existing medical marijuana businesses, which include major multistate operators such as:

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