NCIA Committees: Spring 2020 Update On Achievements And Projects

NCIA’s member-driven committees are an opportunity for individuals from NCIA member companies to get directly involved in specific industry issues and sectors. These volunteer-driven efforts engage members’ expertise and passion to drill down in those areas to effect change, provide professional development opportunities, and develop best practices and guidelines that will shape the future of our industry.

We recently checked in with these various committees to learn more about what they’re up to and what projects they’re working on this term. Get updated on their activities below.

Risk Management & Insurance Committee (RMIC)

The RMIC has recently contributed to several NCIA white papers and educational webinars. They are currently working on an insurance manual. The committee has divided into sub-committees responsible for managing white papers, webinars, and the manual. 

Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC)

SAC’s vision is to disseminate educational materials to NCIA members on scientific topics in the cannabis industry and to advise on other NCIA initiatives, ensuring that any formal recommendations produced are scientifically sound, sustainable, and legitimate. This term, SAC published a blog discussing why everyone should know about the endocannabinoid system.

SAC is working on other pieces addressing topics such as the recent vape illnesses from a physician’s perspective, indica versus sativa designation, how cannabis can help the opioid crisis, common scientific myths confusing the industry, and budtender and consumer education about the endocannabinoid system.

SAC is also developing a webinar that discusses what should be on a label, how to read a label, and how to associate what’s on a label with either statements on efficacy or marketing/branding.

Cannabis Cultivation Committee (CCC)

The committee has recorded two podcast episodes for NCIA’s Cannabis Industry Voice Podcast. The first was a Cultivation Best Practices Roundtable, hosted by Noni Goldman of the CCC. In that episode, Cody Hitchcock of Smokey’s 420 and James Cunningham of Fog City Farms were interviewed to shed light on their different growing styles and techniques, focusing on the ways that they implement sustainability in their operations.

The second soon-to-be-released interview was with High Times’ new CEO Stormy Simon, and was hosted by CCC Chair Mo Phenix and member Noni Goldman. This interview explored Stormy’s history and how she got to where she is today, as well as what High Times is up to, and where Stormy sees the industry going.

More podcasts to come in the next couple of months from the CCC! Keep an eye out for an episode or two on regenerative agriculture.

Packaging & Labeling Committee (PLC)

The PLC sub-committees have each contributed to a blog or presentation up to this date. The Sustainability sub-committee has worked with Kaitlin Urso and team in regards to their White Paper. A panel discussion proposal has been submitted for future NCIA conferences. 

NCIA’s Northeast Cannabis Business Conference in Boston (February 2020) Panel Discussion on the Future of Cannabis Packaging went great!

State Regulations Committee (SRC)

NCIA’s State Regulations Committee has continued to produce content to help educate and inform members on the latest developments in the world of state regulation of cannabis. As the industry’s law and regulations change quickly across the country, the SRC members stay ahead of the curve and share their insight in a variety of forms. These projects include panel presentations at NCIA conventions, published blogs, and interactive webinars. In this quarter, they published three blogs, produced one webinar, presented on two panels, and participated in an NCIA summit.

Blogs Published:

The Social Consumption Sub-Committee published “California Social Consumption Leads the Way” by Debby Goldsberry.

The Interstate Commerce Sub-Committee published two blogs: 

The first blog “Ending the Ban on Interstate Commerce” was published on January 15, 2020. 

Shortly thereafter, it followed-up with “Interstate Cannabis Commerce Will Benefit Public Safety, Consumer Choice, and Patient Access.”

Another sub-committee that aims to provide advice on governmental relations published the blog “Working With Your Local Government as a Cannabis Cultivator.”

Webinars:

As the committee strives to keep everyone updated on burgeoning legal topics, the SRC committee presented a webinar on Michigan, a newly regulated market. The webinar provided information on this key Midwestern state, “Michigan’s Adult-Use Market – What Comes Next?”

Conferences:

SRC members also traveled from across the country to share their expertise on panel sessions at NCIA’s Northeast Cannabis Business Summit in February 2020 in Boston.

The Social Equity Sub-Committee leaders, Erin Fay, Chris Jackson, and Margeaux Bruner provided helpful insight during their session, “What You Need To Know For Winning Applications and Successful Operations That Promote Diversity and Inclusion.”

Sean Donahoe and Gabriel Cross of the SRC’s Interstate Commerce Sub-Committee presented on the issues surrounding interstate commerce and strategies for preparing for this anticipated change in the cannabis industry.

Also, SRC members participated in the NCIA’s summit about tackling the illicit market.

The State Regulations Committee is excited about its work and continues to stay knowledgeable about the ever-changing legal and regulatory landscape. Their projected work includes a webinar on the Illinois adult-use market and a wide range of written projects. Stay tuned!

Banking & Financial Services Committee (BFSC)

The committee’s vision is to provide the NCIA member base with current and actionable information related to Banking and Financial Services in the State legal cannabis industry.

They have implemented monthly newsletters for the member base and have been extremely active in response to the proposed federal legislation regarding banking and the cannabis industry.

Human Resources Committee (HRC)

The Committee’s vision is to provide best practices in all disciplines of Human Resources to NCIA members. They have worked on a couple of blogs this year around the recent reduction in force trend and will be releasing a few blogs providing some recommendations for how cannabis employers can navigate CV-19 when it comes to their workforces.

The HR Committee is working on a very exciting case study. They are looking forward to releasing the first few modules of it this summer!

Marketing & Advertising Committee (MAC)

The MAC coalesces the talents of 20 of the industry’s top-tier marketing and communications professionals around three focus areas: Education, Advertising Access and 2020 political goals. The committee uses their personal, professional and business skills and networks to help build a responsible, legal cannabis industry. The committee is producing best practices, webinars, workshops and social media campaigns to aggregate and generate support from NCIA members, the public, media, government and business leaders.

The MAC Education Subcommittee has focused its energies on developing a Speakers/Expert Directory with a goal to launch by year-end.

The 2020 Subcommittee has created its first infographic covering Oklahoma’s 2020 ballot initiatives; infographics for additional states with legalization initiatives on the ballot this year will follow soon.

The Advertising Access Subcommittee is adding more states (as they come online) to their overarching list of “Do’s and Don’ts” for compliant cannabis advertising. Those are pending editing and legal review and will be published on the NCIA website soon thereafter.

The committee is also working on upcoming webinars including “Advertising Best Practices.” 

Cannabis Manufacturing Committee (CMC)

The Cannabis Manufacturing Committee is focusing on reviewing existing business practices and state regulations of concentrates, topicals, vaporizers, and edibles ensuring the manufacturing sector is helping shape its destiny.

Their first informative blog using lessons learned from the e-cig sector exists in on-going discussions with NCIA’s Safe Vaping Task Force. 

They are also working on their second publication, “Facts About Current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs) And Their Role In The Cannabis Industry” which will be a resource for essential businesses.

In addition to the work the CMC is carrying out, they are collaborating with other committees to help create an NCIA resource library.

The CMC Testing sub-committee is working on writing blogs about “Positives of Testing” (from the operator’s view), and “Nomenclature: Cannabis Nomenclature Register” for publication.

Retail Committee (RC)

Members of the Retail Committee attended NCIA’s Northeast Cannabis Business Conference in Boston in February 2020 to participate in an educational panel on Retail 101. The committee has an upcoming webinar in April: “Retail: Tips and Best Practices” which will include 4 panelists that are currently license holders or working in licensed dispensaries in 3 different states (CO, CA, WA), and will also address some tips and best practices for the current CV-19 climate.

Facilities Design Committee (FDC)

Committee member David Vaillancourt of The GMP Collective appeared on NCIA’s weekly podcast, NCIA’s Cannabis Industry Voice, in February 2020 to discuss GMPs (Good Manufacturing Practices) in an episode titled “Revolutionizing How Cannabis Producers Achieve Success.”