THC Crossover Brand from Seattle-Based Jones Soda Now Available on Dispensary Shelves Across the Evergreen State

SEATTLE, Sept. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Jones Soda Co. (CSE: JSDA, OTCQB: JSDA), the original craft soda known for its unconventional flavors and user-submitted photo labels, today announced its crossover cannabis brand Mary Jones is now available at dispensaries in Washington state. The award-winning THC craft soda features the same pure cane sugar recipes as mainline Jones, adapted for cannabis. The sodas are uniquely packaged and labeled for Washington in 12-and 16-ounce cans infused with 10mg or 100mg of THC respectively. Flavors include Root Beer, Berry Lemonade, Green Apple, and Orange & Cream, with additional releases planned for the future.

Seattle-based Jones Soda was among the first mainstream CPG brands to crossover into cannabis with its Mary Jones brand. Launched in 2022, Mary Jones first debuted in California, where it quickly soared in popularity among cannabis consumers and expanded to include THC-infused syrup. Based on this success, Mary Jones quickly followed this launch with plans to expand into Washington State, as well as into Michigan and Nevada. The arrival of Mary Jones products in Jones’ home state has been highly anticipated by local dispensaries and THC fans. Manufacturing and distribution in Washington are through CompCanna Inc., and Washington-licensed cannabis processor, Dogtown Pioneers, Inc.

“Washington is our home state. We have a deep connection to the community and market,” said David Knight, CEO of Jones Soda. “It has been a top priority to bring Mary Jones here and meet the local demand for our cannabis products. Our strong strategic partnerships with CompCanna, their best-in-class emulsion, and Dogtown Pioneers are a perfect fit for what we want to accomplish.”

“Washington was one of the first states to legalize cannabis in 2012 and ranks in the top 10 U.S. cannabis markets, with annual sales of roughly $1.5 billion in 2021 and a projected $2.5 billion in annual sales by 2025,” said Rodney Boast, director at CompCanna. “Jones Soda’s exceptional recognition in the state has driven enormous local demand for Mary Jones. It has uniquely positioned the brand for rapid expansion and success.”

Washington dispensaries currently carrying Mary Jones products can be found on the brand’s store finder page at www.gomaryjones.com.

About Jones Soda Co.
Jones Soda Co.® (CSE: JSDA, OTCQB: JSDA) is a leading craft soda manufacturer with a subsidiary dedicated to cannabis products. The company markets and distributes premium craft sodas under the Jones® Soda brand and a variety of cannabis products under the Mary Jones® brand. Jones’ mainstream soda line is sold across North America in glass bottles, cans and on fountain through traditional beverage outlets, restaurants and alternative accounts. The company is headquartered in Seattle, Washington. For more information, visit www.jonessoda.com, www.myjones.com, or https://gomaryjones.com

This article was published by CFN Enterprises Inc. (OTCQB: CNFN), owner and operator of CFN Media, the industry’s leading agency and digital financial media network dedicated to the burgeoning CBD and legal cannabis industries. Call +1 (833) 420-CNFN for more information.

About Ryan Allway

Mr. Allway has over a decade of experience in the financial markets as both a private investor and financial journalist. He has been actively involved in the cannabis industry since its inception, covering public and private companies.

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Following the seizure of bank accounts by federal prosecutors tracking down assets held by fallen FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and others, Farmington State Bank, the tiny Washington state institution that received a $11.5 million investment in March from FTX offshore hedge fund, Alameda Research Ventures – and subsequently changed its name to Moonstone Bank – has decided to reverse course, discontinue its plans to provide financial services to the crypto and cannabis industries, return to its roots serving the local community, and retire the Moonstone moniker.

“The bank is returning to its original mission as a community bank and is discontinuing its pursuit of an innovation-driven business model to develop banking services for industries such as crypto assets or hemp/cannabis,” said the company in a Jan. 19 announcement. “The change in strategy reflects the impact of recent events in the crypto assets industry and the resultant changing regulatory environment relating to crypto asset businesses.”

As Cannabis Business Executive reported in November, the bank became the focus of attention following revelations that Alameda had invested heavily in the bank. Further questions were raised when the bank’s chief digital officer, Janvier Chalopin, suggested that the minuscule institution – which had three employees prior to Alameda’s investment – had a valuation of $115 million, more than double the bank’s worth at the time.

The source of that valuation became clearer in early January after prosecutors announced that they had “seized $49,999,500 that Bankman-Fried had deposited with Farmington State Bank,” per Yahoo Finance. In addition to that haul, added the site, “they have seized just over $100 million in an account with the crypto-focused bank Silvergate Capital and $21 million with the brokerage firm ED&F Man Capital Markets.”

For Silvergate, the fallout has been calamitous; it announced this month that it was cutting 40 percent of its staff after FTX’s collapse “triggered a run that forced the bank to sell assets at a loss to cover roughly $8.1 billion in withdrawals,” reported BankingDive, which noted other banks also leaving the space. “Metropolitan Commercial Bank, once a partner to bankrupt crypto firm Voyager Digital, said this month it would exit the sector.”

Its coffers no longer bulging with crypto-cash, and apparently free of any liability in the matter, the resurrected Farmington seems to want to forget it ever happened. “The return to its role as community bank will be seamless for the bank’s local customers in the Farmington community with no change or disruption of services,” it assured the public. “The bank has consistently remained committed to safe and sound practices, has kept its balance sheet liquid and customer deposits have remained secure and fully accessible.”

Children are no longer barred from marijuana processing plants in Washington, as the state adjusts its laws in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board said Thursday that it will temporarily relax enforcement of a provision in a statute that bars minors from the premises of such facilities. Under the revised rules, which will be in effect until April 30, children under the age of 16 will no longer be prohibited from the processing plants so long as they are a child or grandchild of the licensee, not engaging in any work or act of employment for the licensed business, and not in possession of any products associated with the production, processing, or sales of marijuana. 

The board said that the “temporary allowance is to accommodate families that have been impacted by school closures,” and that it “ covers only the licensed marijuana facility for producers and processors, and does not include or cover retail locations or transportation vehicles.” 

“We’re saying these are extraordinary times,” Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board spokesman Brian Smith told local television station KING5 News. Joshua Gonzales, the cultivation manager for Washington processor Walden Cannabis, told KING5 that the revised rules allow him to work with his 10-year-old son alongside him. 

“They can’t be working. They can’t be employed, but they can still be here because a lot of us have our kids at home (most of the time),” Gonzales told the station.

But not everyone is in favor of the change. Courtney Popp, a board member of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), told KING5 that “the state could do a better job of extending safer childcare options to the workers.” 

“Parents are not going to be able to monitor their children around these substances, they’re going to do their job,” Popp said. “That’s why they are there.”

The Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board has also temporarily expanded curbside sales of marijuana to both medical patients and recreational customers as a way of promoting social distancing during the COVID-19 outbreak.

State lawmakers passed a bill last week to bring a social equity program to Washington’s cannabis industry, eight years after voters approved a ballot initiative that legalized the recreational use and sale of marijuana. The measure, House Bill 2870 (HB 2870), now awaits action from Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee.

If Inslee signs HB 2870, a task force would be created to form the state’s Marijuana Social Equity Program. The new program would allow regulators with the Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) to award canceled, revoked, and forfeited licenses for cannabis businesses to members of communities disproportionately affected by the War on Drugs.

The bill was passed on March 9 in the Washington Senate by a vote of 28 to 20. The state House of Representatives voted 57 to 40 to approve the measure as amended by the Senate the following day. The House originally passed an earlier version of the bill on February 16.

Legalization Initiative Lacked Social Equity Provisions

Rick Garza, the director of the LCB, said the bill is designed to address social equity issues that were not addressed by the initiative passed by voters in 2012.

“Initiative 502 missed an opportunity to incorporate a focus on social equity,” Garza said last month as HB 2870 made its way through the legislature. “The history of cannabis prohibition shows abundant evidence there was disproportionate harm in communities of color, and that those harmful effects remain with us today.”

The bill was sponsored in the House by Democratic Rep. Eric Pettigrew, who had originally drafted a bill that would have provided minority-owned cannabis businesses with low-interest loans. But provisions that would have also allowed out-of-state investment were strongly opposed by many who feared the move would lead to corporate ownership of Washington’s cannabis industry and the end of small, independent businesses.

“I had a chance to meet with some proponents and opponents a little more … and really came to understand that this is beyond the issue of licenses,” Pettigrew said. “This is potentially a different distribution of wealth as we move forward in this industry.”

Pettigrew then drafted HB 2870 with the help of stakeholders including Paula Sardinas of the Commission on African American Affairs. She said that she was afraid that the bill would be amended by the legislature and rendered ineffective. One proposed amendment would have replaced the social equity program with funding for a group to study the issue instead.

“We don’t need any more studies,” Sardinas said.

‘Toxic Culture’ Among Regulators

But some social equity advocates are leery of the plan for the program to be administered by the LCB. An independent review of the agency released in December determined that it acted more like law enforcement than a regulatory body and was in need of a “culture change.” 

“There’s a consequence to the toxic culture,” said Aaron Barfield of the activist group Black Excellence in Cannabis. “And African Americans are the victims.”

Sardinas said that HB 2870 is a good start toward social equity and that reforming the LCB should be the next order of business.

“People are concerned that the LCB will hand them a license with the right hand and claw it back with the left,” Sardinas said.

Pettigrew’s bill has been sent to Inslee for his consideration. If he signs the measure, the first licenses granted under the new social equity program could be issued by December 1.