Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

CONCENTRATIONS OF BUSINESS AND CREDIT RISK

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CONCENTRATIONS OF BUSINESS AND CREDIT RISK
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2018
Notes to Financial Statements  
NOTE 3 - CONCENTRATIONS OF BUSINESS AND CREDIT RISK

California Licensed Vendors Requirement

 

The Company sources cannabis products for retail, cultivation and production from various vendors. However, as a result of the new regulations in the State of California, the Company’s California retail, cultivation and production operations must use vendors licensed by the State effective January 1, 2018. As a result, the Company will be dependent upon the licensed vendors in California to supply products as of that date. If the Company is unable to enter into a relationship with sufficient members of properly licensed vendors, the Company's sales may be impacted. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, we did not have any concentration of vendors for inventory purchases. However, this may change depending on the number of vendors who receive appropriate licenses to operate in the State of California.

 

California Phase-In of Laboratory Testing Requirements

 

The Bureau of Cannabis Control (“BCC”) is the lead agency in developing regulations for medical and adult use cannabis in California. The BCC is responsible for licensing retailers, distributors, testing labs and microbusinesses. Prior to July 1, 2018, the BCC allowed for a “transition period” in which they allowed exceptions from specific regulatory provisions. However, beginning July 1, 2018, cannabis goods must meet all statutory and regulatory requirements. A licensee can only sell cannabis goods that have been tested by a licensed testing laboratory and have passed all statutory and regulatory testing requirements. In order to be sold, cannabis goods harvested or manufactured prior to January 1, 2018, must be tested by a licensed testing laboratory and must comply with all testing requirements in Section 5715 of the BCC’s regulations. Cannabis goods that do not meet all statutory and regulatory requirements must be destroyed in accordance with the rules pertaining to destruction.

 

The laboratory testing requirements are being phased-in three tiers. Tiers 1, 2 and 3 have compliance deadlines of January 1, 2018, July 1, 2018 and December 31, 2018, respectively. With each phased-in tier, there are specific laboratory testing requirements for different types of cannabis products as outlined below:

 

Phase-In of Required Laboratory Testing Inhalable Cannabis Inhalable Cannabis Products Other Cannabis & Cannabis Products
Tier 1 January 1, 2018      
         
  Cannabinoids Testing x x x
  Moisture Content Testing x    
  Category II Residual Solvents and Processing Chemicals Testing   x x
  Category I Residual Pesticides Testing x x x
  Microbial Impurities Testing (A. fumigatus, A. flavus, A. niger, A. terreus) x x  
  Microbial Impurities Testing (Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp.) x x x
  Homogeneity Testing of Edible Cannabis Products     x
         
Tier 2 July 1, 2018      
         
  Category I Residual Solvents and Processing Chemicals Testing   x x
  Category II Residual Pesticides Testing x x x
  Foreign Material Testing x x x
         
Tier 3 December 31, 2018      
         
  Terpenoids Testing x x x
  Mycotoxins Testing x x x
  Heavy Metals Testing x x x
  Water Activity Testing of Solid or Semi-Solid Edibles x   x

 

On June 8, 2018 the BCC issued new guidance regarding the completion of the transition period from an unregulated to regulated state market. This guidance was provided to issue direction on how licensees should treat inventory from 2017 and 2018, which was not completely compliant with the BCC regulations that commenced on January 1, 2018. One of these components was that, in addition to tier 1 testing, all products must meet tier 2 testing by July 1, 2018 and tier 3 testing by December 31, 2018. While testing has not been a barrier to product availability for the Company, it is possible that as the market transitions from tier 2 to tier 3 testing, products meeting all three tier testing requirements will be limited in nature. Through industry discussions, the Company believes that cultivators and manufacturers are aware of the new requirements and are taking great measures to meet these requirements. Considering that other states have similar testing requirements, the Company does not expect that these new testing standards will be an actual barrier to product availability. However, the limited number of testing labs licensed by the state to perform all required tier testing may cause a backlog or delay in testing results, which could have an impact on product availability.