Join the CCMA and Metrc experts from California and Colorado, which has already implemented Metrc, and get to know some of the software vendors that integrate with Metrc. Metrc is the track and trace system chosen by the state of California. Every license holder up and down the supply chain, cultivators, manufacturers, brands, testing labs, retailers, will have to report to the Metrc system. Are you prepared?

July 17th in Santa Monica. 6-9pm

National Law Review (June 27, 2018) In recent years, medical marijuana has been used extensively and has gained acceptance amongst California residents. In keeping up with the trend, lawmakers recently introduced a bill that would amend California’s employment discrimination laws to impose liability on employers for alleged discrimination against medical marijuana users. Assembly Bill 2069 (AB 2069) was aimed at prohibiting employers from engaging in employment discrimination against a person on the basis of his or her status as a qualified patient or person with an identification card.

Marijuana Business Daily (June 28, 2018) Starting July 1, licensed operators in California’s marijuana market must be in compliance with the state’s readopted and updated emergency regulations. Retailers will no longer be able to sell product that hasn’t passed testing lab standards mandated by regulators. They were given six months to exhaust their supplies of cannabis products made before the new requirements, and the deadline is now looming.

Marijuana Business Daily (June 29, 2018) The cannabis-friendly city of Oakland, California, could wind up being home base for a host of marijuana startups, all working out of the same business campus, if a venture capital firm gets its way. According to the San Francisco Business Times, California-based Mesh Ventures is throwing $20 million into renovations for a 207,000-square-foot building it is leasing in Oakland, with the intent of transforming the facility into a business hub akin to a tech campus.

Leafly (June 28, 2018) California’s cannabis reckoning has arrived. That means pain for the supply chain, and deals galore for consumers. Retailers have until July 1 to purge their inventories of everything not compliant with new state testing and packaging standards. We’ve stocked up on $15 eighths of flower, $40 half-ounces, and much more. Now, we thought we’d share. Prep your stash. The reckoning has arrived.

The Sacramento Bee (June 28, 2018) The canine soldiers in Sacramento’s booming marijuana wars snarl and yap inside their kennels at the Front Street Animal Shelter. They are “guard dogs,” seized from illegal pot operations, and they are filling up the already overburdened shelter. Within the past week, at least 10 dogs guarding properties that police have identified as marijuana “grow houses” have been transferred to Front Street. Eight are German shepherds or shepherd mixes, which authorities said seem to be a favored breed among illegal pot growers.

Forbes (June 28, 2018) The non-psychoactive cannabis cousin of marijuana would finally become legal to grow in the United States under a bill overwhelmingly approved by the Senate. The wide-ranging agriculture and food policy legislation known as the Farm Bill, passed by a vote of 86 – 11 on Thursday, contains provisions to legalize the cultivation, processing and sale of industrial hemp.

The Weed Blog (June 28, 2018) Chuck Schumer (D-NY) introduced a bill on Wednesday June 27th that would remove marijuana from the DEA’s list of controlled substances, which would allow states to determine their own cannabis policies without fear of federal interference. The legislation, cosponsored by Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), intends to earmark $20 million annually to states and municipalities for administering, expanding or developing expungement and conviction-sealing programs for past marijuana possession convictions.

The Legal Intelligence (June 28, 2018) With society’s ever-evolving approach to marijuana, colleges and universities across the country, including those here in Pennsylvania, are now faced with a complex dilemma: enforce federal regulations in order to maintain federal funding or risk that funding by recognizing their state’s mandate to permit marijuana use. Colleges, universities and the students who matriculate them are caught in the middle of the legal tug-of-war between the federal government’s prohibition of marijuana use and the various states who allow its citizens to use the drug—either recreationally or for medical reasons.

BBC News (June 28, 2018) Claim: The legalization of cannabis by some US states has led to increased usage, particularly among young people. Reality Check verdict: There is no clear trend for increased usage by those 17 years or younger – but there are some signs of more usage by young adults. US drugs policy expert Kevin Sabet, a former White House adviser and opponent of legalization, told the BBC that in the US the illegal market for cannabis was flourishing in states where the drug had been legalized.

Pot Network (June 26, 2018) The North American Marijuana Index closed mixed on Tuesday following this week’s news that GW Pharmaceuticals won FDA approval for their CBD-based drug Epidiolex. A milestone for the medical cannabis community, news of the approval sent GW’s prices skyrocketing, with the company closing the day up 1.21 percent, and up a whopping 6.34 percent in after-hours trading

Rolling Stone (June 27, 2018) Despite a large body of research documenting cannabis’ effectiveness in treating epilepsy, there has yet to be a cannabis-based anti-seizure medication introduced on the U.S. pharmaceutical market – until this week. On Monday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a epilepsy drug utilizing plant-derived cannabidiol (CBD), a common non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in the Cannabis sativa plant. It’s the first time the regulatory body had greenlit a medication based on natural – not synthesized – CBD, and some experts are hailing this approval as a major step forward for the medical cannabis industry.

Huffington Post (June 29, 2018) At one point in cannabis culture history, mastering the art of baking the perfect weed brownie was considered a rite of passage, but those days are long gone. Thanks to the development of medical marijuana programs and the decriminalization and legalization of recreational cannabis in multiple states, the THC-infused world of eats has evolved far beyond brownies, cookies and admittedly impressive dispensary snacks and moved into the culinary space.

Marijuana.com (June 28, 2018) Just weeks after passing Bill C-45 and legalizing recreational cannabis on June 19, 2018, the Canadian government is already ironing out the details for its Oct. 17, 2018, implementation with new regulations for its emerging marijuana industry. For now, accessing the Cannabis Act’s new regulations, announced Wednesday, June 27, 2018, may take more than a quick google search.

Fox 13 Salt Lake City (June 28, 2018) New numbers from Nevada’s Department of Taxation show the Silver State has made a jaw-dropping 110% of its expected revenue from marijuana sales in 10 months. Nevada reported marijuana tax revenues through April total $55.53 million. Breaking it down, the wholesale tax paid for by cultivators, brought in $21.47 million as of the end of April. The recreational retail consumer tax brought in $34.6 million.