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July 22, 2020

Sustainability Roundtable at Virtual MJBizConNEXT

RII Hosts Sustainability Roundtable at Virtual MJBizConNEXT Dialogue Ranged from Energy to Water to Waste On Wed., July 1, Executive Director Derek Smith joined MJBiz’s John Schroyer in leading an open dialogue on “What sustainability practices are you implementing at your company” as part of MJBiz’s mid-year “NEXT” conference. The conversation began with questions about…
Blog
July 8, 2020

Resorative Justice for Black Cultivators in the Cannabis Industry

Allocating Cannabis Taxes to Communities Impacted by the War on Drugs As conversations about defunding police departments mount across the country, RII is focusing on our collective opportunity to influence the reallocation of cannabis taxes. In Portland, Oregon, 45% of cannabis taxes go to the police, and while a portion is to be provided to communities most harmed by the war on drugs, the percentage to be reinvested has not been defined. It is unacceptable that communities of color have to wait for a determination while police budgets continue to grow. Nationally, only 4% of cannabis business owners are Black (Marijuana Business Daily, 2017). Black entrepreneurs face larger and more…
Blog
June 1, 2020

DLC Updates Horticultural Lighting Technical Requirements

DesignLights Consortium Releases Draft Horticultural Lighting Technical Requirements v2.0 RII invites you to provide feedback on the recently released first draft of the DLC Horticultural Lighting Technical Requirements V2.0. V2.0 continues the transition from using traditional lighting metrics to using horticultural-specific metrics that better represent horticultural lighting performance, and should increase the quantity and quality…
Blog
June 1, 2020

Massachusetts PowerScore Comply & Benchmark

New PowerScore Service Launched for Massachusetts Cultivators As of July 1, Massachusetts cannabis cultivators can use a unique portal of RII’s Cannabis PowerScore to easily report, benchmark, and improve performance of their greenhouses and indoor facilities. The upgrades were funded by Massachusetts Dept. of Energy Resources in coordination with the Cannabis Control Commission’s specification of…
Blog
April 23, 2020

How to Weather COVID and Improve Cannabis Energy Efficiency Now

Tighten your belt to ensure survival and reduce operating costs today and beyond   The president of an RII member company that manufactures cultivation HVAC equipment recently let us know that during the downtime presented by coronavirus, they have taken the opportunity to upgrade to highly efficient LED solutions for their business’ offices. An especially…
Blog
March 30, 2020

Incorporating Energy Guidelines in Cultivation Licensing

Advice for State and Federal Governments Looking to Incorporate Energy Guidelines in Cultivation Licensing Peer-reviewed Guidance for State and Federal Lawmakers   There are a number of opportunities for state and federal agencies, and, to a certain extent, utilities, to influence the cannabis industry with effective targeted policies. These suggestions are organized by time frame:…