COVER STORY
26 Going Maine-Stream
Jar Cannabis Co.’s Erika Morrotta (/e/t) and Meowy
Jane’s Noelle Livas share their outlooks on Maine’s
shifting market, strain selection under production
limits, the power of social media and more.
FEATURES
CULTIVATION
What Lies Beneath.........34
Properties, potentials and perceptions of
cannabis substrates.
BUSINESS
Create a Winning License
Application: 15 Tips.....46
COMPLIANCE
Packaging Perspectives...58
Four industry insiders share their insights
on cannabis packaging dos and don'ts in
this comprehensive overview.
SPECIAL SECTION:
EXTRACTION ESSENTIALS
5 Best Practices for Extraction
Laboratory Safety................64
From employee protection to adhering
to widely recognized manufacturing
standards, follow these tips to ensure
a safe working environment for your
employees and your business.
By Markus Roggen, Ph.D.
8 Extraction Tips................65
Cannabis Business Times reached out
to two extractors to gather their tips on
best practices, safety measures, and
increasing quality and yield for COz and
butane extraction.
Extraction Glossary............72
A quick reference on extraction terminology.
By Mark june-Wells, Ph.D.
Tomorrow in Cannabis............74
Extracts Series - The Economics of
Extraction: Part II of this extracts series
examines the considerations business
owners should keep in mind when building
their extraction lab business plan.
By Kenneth Morrow
DEPARTMENTS
UPFRONT
COLUMNS
From the Editor..................................6
Contributors.....................................8
CBTonthe Web....................................10
Fast Stats.........................................................12
Marketplace/Ad Index............................97
End Notes.......................................98
Quick Tips.............................14
4 Tips to Make Your Benching More Efficient
By John W. Bartok, Jr.
Sales Trends...........................16
Lessons from 4/20: Here’s what shoppers
bought over the holiday.
By Douglas Brown
10 Questions...........................18
... with Asaf Shaked
The head of cultivation for Pharmocann, one
of Israel’s top medical cannabis producers,
explains Hydro-Gel products, the challenges of
international expansion and why Israel is such
a hotbed for cannabis production and research.
By Scott Guthrie
Growing Pains.........................78
The Curse of Kush: A detailed look at the
history, evolution and challenges surrounding
these popular varieties.
By Mojave Richmond and Robert C. Clarke
Guest Column..........................86
Beginner's Guide to Growing Up: A grower’s
personal account of lessons learned during
his transition to large-scale cultivation.
By Max White
MAINE’S CANNABIS INDUSTRY IS AMID AN ADULT-USE AND
MEDICAL EXPANSION PURGATORY, SO IT SEEMS. Recreational
legalization squeezed past Governor Paul LePage’s veto with an
override in May. But while limited home cultivation is currently permissible
under the new law, the state’s adult-use regulatory framework likely won't be
established until the next governor takes office in 2019.
In addition, Maine's medical program improvements made their way
to fruition after state lawmakers again overrode Gov. LePage’s veto in July.
The amendments allow retail storefronts, expansions for current businesses
(including increased quantities of medical cannabis a patient can purchase
within a 15-day period, as well as the number of employees a facility may
hire—which is currently limited to one employee per caregiver), and the
elimination of a qualifying conditions list, among other victories.
The flurry of recent changes has caused confusion among caregivers and
patients in the current marketplace. Looking ahead, however, the state's five-year
market projection is $222 million, according to a June 2018 forecast by Brightfield
Group. Therein lies great opportunity for Maine’s market, whose robust program
already serves approximately 42,000 current registered medical patients.
Two state-registered caregivers—Noelle Livas, the co-owner and lead
cultivator for Meowy Jane, and Erika Morrotta, co-lead cultivator and director
of sales and marketing of Jar Cannabis Co.—realize that potential and intend
to capitalize on it. Despite technically being “competitors" in a currently
saturated market, with their facilities just a 20-minute-drive apart, they don’t
see each other as rivals. In fact, they even share their cultivation experiences
and methods with one another. “I feel way it’s more of a collaborative process,
like having a friend in an industry," Morrotta says.
In this behind-the-scenes guest interview, Livas and Morrotta share what it’s
like running a small facility and being female growers among the male-dominated
cultivation space, and talk about their daily cultivation challenges, their social
media efforts, expansion plans for the adult-use rollout, and more...