- Landmark ruling strikes down federal law that bans states from allowing sports gambling
- Legal experts posit that the U.S. Supreme Court’s 7-2 decision has important implications for state-legal marijuana programs
- Sunniva’s core subsidiaries, licensed tenant cultivators gear up to supply multibillion dollar recreational, medical cannabis industries in Canada, California
Sunniva Inc. (CSE: SNN) (OTCQX: SNNVF), a vertically integrated medical cannabis and services provider operating in Canada and California, joins a growing cadre of voices lauding the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to strike down a federal ban on sports gambling. The 7-2 landmark ruling in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association (http://ibn.fm/qOuwm) is hailed as a positive move for the cannabis industry by legal scholars, cannabis insiders and others interested in cannabis law reform (http://ibn.fm/0wzEc).
There currently are nine states in the U.S. with legalized sales of recreational cannabis on the books – with the District of Columbia legalizing its use, but not sales – while some form of cannabis use is allowed in 30 states and the District of Columbia. Meanwhile in Canada, which has allowed medical cannabis since 2001, lawmakers are poised to finalize a law allowing recreational adult-use cannabis throughout the country sometime later this year.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision could have implications for the cannabis industry at large, according to SCOTUSblog’s Amy Howe, who wrote: “Challenges to the federal government’s recent efforts to enforce federal marijuana laws in states that have legalized the drug for either recreational or medical use may also be based on the 10th Amendment” (http://ibn.fm/Ep5ER).
Sunniva is actively targeting cannabis markets in Canada and California as it constructs cannabis grow facilities in both locations and diversifies its products and service offerings. A 126-acre Canada Campus at Okanagan Falls, British Columbia, will house a 700,000 square foot facility with an expected output capacity of 100,000 kg annually (http://ibn.fm/uiM6A). Phase one of the company’s California Campus, a 325,000 square foot greenhouse in Cathedral City, is well underway and is expected to produce 60,000 kg annually once it’s up to full operational scale in Q3 2018.
Sunniva CEO Dr. Anthony Holler notes that the company has received all temporary state licenses required in California. Sunniva’s U.S. subsidiaries hold eight 10,000 square foot cultivation licenses, two manufacturing licenses, one 22,000 square foot cultivation license, one 22,000 square foot nursery license and one 10,000 square foot nursery license. Another seven 22,000 square foot cultivation bays will be leased to selected licensed tenants, with all of Sunniva’s annual state license applications completed and submitted under state mandated deadlines.
“This is a very significant milestone for Sunniva’s operations in California. An important aspect of the licensing process has been completed and now our focus is on completing construction on time and entering into supply contracts with distribution partners, leading brands and creating Sunniva branded products for the California marketplace,” Holler said in a company update (http://ibn.fm/X1s94).
The economic impact of legalized cannabis continues to evolve, with New Frontier Data estimating the state-licensed cannabis market in the U.S. to be worth over $24 billion by 2025 (http://ibn.fm/i6yuw). Support for legalization of cannabis continues to rise, with 64 percent of respondents in a national survey voicing support, according to a Gallup poll (http://ibn.fm/vEFQa). While the full impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision is still being debated, Sunniva and its management team firmly believe the ruling ushers in good news for the future of state-legalized cannabis and related industries.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.sunniva.com
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