CCMA Political greenBrief
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
www.cannabismanufacturers.org
Inside President Trump’s “War On Weed” And His Secret Anti-Marijuana Committee Of 14 Federal Agencies
“We have to respond with the facts and continue to be an example to the nation on how to safely and effectively regulate marijuana. In Congress, we also must pass legislation to prohibit the federal government from going after states that have legalized marijuana. We already have bipartisan support for the STATES Act.Congressmen Jared Polis, The Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate, On President Trump’s “War On Weed”
“Marijuana cultivation on our nation’s public lands is unlawful and is causing significant harm to communities across the West. The clear evidence shows that this dangerous activity is polluting our streams and rivers with toxic pesticides, harming protected fish and wildlife, and endangering the health and safety of the American people who otherwise look to our national forests and national parks for recreation and conservation.”Acting Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio On The Illicit Market Grows
Inside The Trump Administration’s Secret War On Weed (USA – Federal Policies)
Buzzfeed News (August 29, 2018) The White House has secretly amassed a committee of federal agencies from across the government to combat public support for marijuana and cast state legalization measures in a negative light, while attempting to portray the drug as a national threat, according to interviews with agency staff and documents obtained by BuzzFeed News. The Marijuana Policy Coordination Committee, as it’s named in White House memos and emails, instructed 14 federal agencies and the Drug Enforcement Administration this month to submit “data demonstrating the most significant negative trends” about marijuana and the “threats” it poses to the country.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/a
Has White House Launched War on Weed? Colorado Pols Respond. (USA – Federal Policies)
Westworld (August 30, 2018) Has the Trump administration secretly organized a committee of federal agencies to “combat public support for marijuana,” as Buzzfeed reported on August 29? The article describes White House memos and emails instructing fourteen federal agencies and the Drug Enforcement Administration to submit “data demonstrating the most significant negative trends” about marijuana to the Marijuana Policy Coordination Committee. According to an unclassified summary obtained by Buzzfeed, committee notes are not to be distributed externally and require a close hold. Among other things, “departments should provide…the most significant data demonstrating negative trends, with a statement describing the implications of such trends.”
California Officials Say 90% Of Illicit Market Cannabis Grows Use Lethal Pesticides (CA – Illicit Market)
Merry Jane (August 29, 2018) After a summer focused on corralling illicit cannabis cultivation in the dense mountains of Northern California, Golden State officials claim to have found lethal pesticides at nine out of every ten black market grow sites. According to the Associated Press, researchers at the Integral Ecology Research Center tested soil, water, and other ecological samples from backwoods cultivation sites that were raided in the past year, and found “highly deadly toxic chemicals” in 89% of the results. So far, California authorities have finished cleaning 160 toxic cannabis grow sites this year, but there is still a list of more than 800 potentially deadly cultivation sites waiting in line for ecological help. Some of these sites were discovered eight years ago, but have not yet been cleared.
California Operation Forest Watch Marijuana Grow Eradication and Reclamation Project Results Announced (CA – Illicit Market)
Sierra Sun Times (August 29, 2018) On Tuesday, federal, state, and local leaders joined with experts to announce the results of Operation Forest Watch, a coordinated effort to address the devastating damage done to our national forests by illegal, public-land marijuana grows. This months-long effort, led by U.S. Forest Service and joined by various federal, state, county and local law enforcement agencies, as well as the California National Guard, focused on the eradication of marijuana grows on public lands and sought to remediate the environmental damage caused by such activity.
California And Feds Agree: No Pot Grows On Public Lands (CA – Illicit Market)
Courthouse News Service (August 28, 2018) A coterie of federal, state and local law enforcement officials, forest managers and scientists unveiled the results of their efforts to combat the environmental degradation associated with marijuana grows on public lands in California Tuesday. The California Department of Justice has teamed up with its federal counterparts, county sheriffs, officials from the United States Forest Service, and environmental researchers in Operation Forest Watch, an effort first revealed in May to catalog and dismantle illegal marijuana grows on public lands in California.
https://www.courthousenews.com
Supervisor Proposes Labor Overhaul For Cannabis Industry (CA – Cannabis Jobs)
SF Weekly (August 30, 2018) Ever since California’s recreational-cannabis industry launched this year, there’s been plenty to talk about. From profiles on budding entrepreneurs to scientific primers extolling the virtues of terpenes, the breadth of potential narratives has, at times, felt staggering. Whether your interest lies in economics, the environment, social justice, or health, the cannabis industry has something to entice you. However, San Francisco District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safai feels there’s one group that has yet to receive their due focus: workers.
http://www.sfweekly.com/news/s
Gala Pharmaceutical Positioned To Significantly Benefit From California’s Cannabis Testing Regulations (CA – Cannabis Research)
Nasdaq (August 28, 2018) Gala Pharmaceutical, Inc., an emerging cannabis testing company, today announced that it plans to develop a network of cannabis testing laboratories in an effort to capitalize on the bottleneck caused by California’s stringent cannabis testing regulations. The Company, through its subsidiary Gala Pharmaceutical California, Inc., having its application to operate a TYPE 8 Medical Cannabis Testing Lab been deemed complete by the City of Long Beach, is moving forward on its Department Review portion of the application process. The Company, anticipating the approval of its initial corporate owned cannabis laboratory in the city of Long Beach, is actively seeking its second and third testing facilities in Southern California by year-end.
This Bill Would Make It Legal To Ingest Cannabis On California Campuses (CA – Medicinal Cannabis)
The Fresh Toast (August 29, 2018) A bill regarding children and cannabis was passed Monday and is on its way to California Governor Jerry Brown. It would allow some youth with certain medical conditions to be administered cannabis on campus, as long as it’s given to them by their parents. In California, the law has allowed medical use somewhat since medicinal marijuana was barely a thing, but parents had to meet the child off premises or take them out of school in order to administer the medication. This new bill has its strict points, too, though.
Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds Approved To Host Cannabis Events (CA – Permitted Events)
Santa Cruz Sentinel (August 29 2018) Getting elevated at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds could mean more than a Ferris wheel ride after officials approved up to four cannabis events at the site per year. The events — which would not coincide with the annual Santa Cruz County Fair itself — could include sale of cannabis and smoking and vaping in permitted outdoor areas. The temporary event permits were unanimously approved by the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. Authorization would function similar to a filming permit, with each event subject to a list of conditions and restrictions — some standardized, and some specific to each proposed event.
http://www.santacruzsentinel.c
Do Cannabis Stores Attract Crime? (USA – Cannabis Crime)
The Stranger (August 29, 2018) Some people have argued that cannabis shops attract crime to the surrounding neighborhood. I’m not really sure how this came to be an argument. If it was “opium dens attract crime,” I might agree. But—and this is an important distinction that some prohibitionists don’t make, bless their hearts—pot shops are not anything like opium dens, or crack houses, or meth mini-malls, or heroin hideaways. Let’s look at three recent studies about cannabis and crime. Cannabis stores are extremely regulated, and they have more cameras than you’ll find anywhere outside of a Kardashian set, with multiple locks, gates, and other security measures.
https://www.thestranger.com/we
What Investors Need to Know About Investing In Marijuana Stocks (USA & Canada – Cannabis Investments)
Yahoo! Finance (August 28, 2018) Marijuana has come a long way since California legalized cannabis for medicinal use back in 1996. Today, the industry and marijuana look to be on the cusp of unprecedented acceptance, with major international giants investing billions into publicly traded cannabis companies. So let’s take a look at what investors need to know about the marijuana industry and how to invest in the future of pot. More than 20 years have gone by since California legalized medical marijuana. Now we are roughly a month away from the entire country of Canada allowing the use of recreational marijuana. In doing so, Canada will become just the second country in the world to legalize the drug nationwide.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news
New York Governor Announces Marijuana Legalization Listening Sessions (NY – State Legalization)
Marijuana Moment (August 30, 2018) New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced that state officials will hold a series of “listening sessions” about marijuana legalization starting next week. The move is the latest in an intensified evolution of the cannabis policy debate in New York and for Cuomo’s position on the issue personally. Last year, Cuomo called marijuana a “gateway drug” and said he was opposed to legalization. But that has changed amid a contentious primary challenge from Cynthia Nixon, with whom he clashed over cannabis and other issues during a debate on Wednesday night.
