CCMA Greenbrief November 1: Marijuana Ads Are Appearing at TSA Checkpoints at California Airport… High Taxes on Legal Pot in California Could Mean Black Market Will Thrive… Santa Cruz County Supervisors Approved an Ordinance to Allow Medical Cannabis Dispensaries to Sell Recreational Cannabis…

 


Political greenBrief
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
“High effective tax rates on California cannabis may complicate the state’s efforts to establish legal markets”
Analysts Stephen Walsh And Karen Ribble In A Fitch Ratings Report On California’s Marijuana Taxes
 
“If taxes increase the price of cannabis beyond a certain point, the legal market becomes less competitive than the illicit market and then consumers become less likely to make the transition from the illicit market to the legal market.”
John Kagia, Analyst For New Frontier Data, Which Tracks The Cannabis Industry
Sacramento Audit Finds Pot Dispensaries Under-Report Taxable Revenue, Other Violations (CA – Cannabis Dispensaries)
The Sacramento Bee (October 31, 2017) Medical marijuana dispensaries in Sacramento are under-reporting revenue to tax collectors and failing to comply with city operating requirements, according to an audit that will be discussed at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. The critical audit comes as some of the city’s 30 dispensaries are ramping up to sell pot to recreational users on Jan. 1, when state law allows sales of non-medical marijuana to begin.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/california-weed/article181805796.html
California To Tax Pot As Much As 45% (CA – Cannabis Taxes)
CNN Money (October 31, 2017) Between customers, retailers and growers, taxes on cannabis may reach as high as 45% in parts of the state, according to a Fitch Ratings report. Those high taxes may keep consumers away from legal marijuana stores once the recreational retail market goes live on January 1.
http://money.cnn.com/2017/10/31/news/economy/california-cannabis-tax-fitch/index.html
With 9 Weeks To Go, California’s Cities Not Positioned To Start Recreational Marijuana Sales (CA – Cannabis Sales)
The Cannabist (October 30, 2017) Ready or not, California kicks off recreational marijuana sales on Jan. 1. And, mostly, it’s not. Los Angeles and San Francisco are among many cities still struggling to fashion local rules for pot shops and growers. Without the regulations, there could be limited options in many places for consumers eager to ring in the new year with a legal pot purchase.
http://www.thecannabist.co/2017/10/30/california-marijuana-cities-regulations/91196/
Federal Prohibition Left California Cannabis Farmers Without Insurance Or Banks When Wildfires Struck (CA – Cannabis Industry)
Reason (October 31, 2017) Northern California has been devastated by a series of vicious wildfires over the past month. Some 8,900 buildings have been destroyed, 43 people have been killed, and another 100,000 were forced to evacuate their homes. The fires have hit agribusiness hard as well, with the flames sparing neither the region’s famous vineyards nor its newly legal marijuana fields. (California legalized recreational marijuana by ballot initiative last year.)
http://reason.com/blog/2017/10/31/federal-prohibition-ensures-california-c
Willie Nelson’s Cannabis Products Are About To Hit California (CA – Cannabis Industry)
High Times (October 30, 2017) At this point, it’s hard to know if Willie Nelson is more legendary for his music or for his love of weed. In truth, it’s probably both. But over the past few years, the aging folk music icon has been capitalizing on his status as a cannabis celebrity to market and sell ‘Willie’s Reserve,’ his signature brand of marijuana. And after successful rollouts in other weed-legal states, Willie Nelson’s cannabis products are about to hit California.
https://hightimes.com/news/willie-nelsons-cannabis-products-hit-california/
Supervisors Clear Way For Marijuana Sales (CA – Cannabis Sales)
Register Pajaronian (October 31, 2017) The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved an ordinance that will allow medical marijuana dispensaries to sell recreational marijuana starting on Jan. 1. The move made Santa Cruz one of the first counties in the state to lay the groundwork for legal marijuana sales.
https://register-pajaronian.com/article/supervisors-clear-way-for-marijuana-sales
Another Cultural Tipping Point? Cannabis Ads Appear In TSA Checkpoint Trays At Ontario Airport (CA – Cannabis Industry)
Los Angeles Times (October 31, 2017) Every now and then, the culture experiences a watershed, a moment when we look up and say, wow, things really have changed. I know you think I am talking about sexual harassment, but I’m not. It’s far too early to say whether the torrent of revelations about sexually predatory men will shame them (and future generations) into changing how they behave.
http://www.latimes.com/local/abcarian/la-me-abcarian-cannabis-tsa-20171031-story.html
Finding The ‘Green Zone’: How Specialty Realtors Are Cashing In On Cannabis (CA – Cannabis Industry)
Leafly (October 31, 2017) It was five years ago that Luke Maroney decided to uproot his indoor cannabis grow in Oakland and move to a small estate farm in Northern California’s Nevada County. He relished the ability to work outdoors—and sure he didn’t mind trading the outsized electrical bill for free sunshine.
https://www.leafly.com/news/industry/finding-the-green-zone-how-specialty-realtors-are-cashing-in-on-cannabis
Better Than Brownies: LDS Replaces Pot Edibles With Equal Dose CannaStrips (CA – Cannabis Edibles)
Inside Sources (October 31, 2017) Medical marijuana has been legal in certain states for more than a decade. Smoking and the ingestion of “edibles” remain the most common ways of getting THC and CBD, the two active ingredients in the cannabis plant, into the bloodstream. Neither of these methods allows for consistent dosing. One California company is working to address the problem. Lifestyle Delivery Systems (LDS) makes CannaStrips, sublingual oral strips coated with CBD or THC, the active ingredients in the marijuana plant.
http://www.insidesources.com/lds-replaces-edibles-with-equal-dose-cannastrips/
Marijuana Activist Pictured Handcuffed On Cover Of Metro Times Now Running For Office (CA – Cannabis Industry)
Detroit Metro Times (October 31, 2017) A political activist who was targeted by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office after he helped spearhead a marijuana decriminalization initiative is running for office in Oak Park. Andrew Cissell, 29, is one of three people vying for two seats on the city’s council. His challengers are Regina Weiss and Mayor Pro Tem Carolyn Burns.
https://www.metrotimes.com/news-hits/archives/2017/10/31/marijuana-activist-pictured-handcuffed-on-metro-times-cover-now-running-for-office
Virginia Senate Majority Leader Pushes Cannabis Decriminalization Bill (VA – Cannabis Decriminalization)
Merry Jane (October 31, 2017) Virginia may be the next state in line to decriminalize low-level cannabis offenses, if new legislation proposed by the state’s Senate majority leader makes it through the state legislature next year. The Virginian-Pilot reports that State Senator Tommy Norment has announced plans to propose a bill in 2018 that would make first-time cannabis possession a civil offense. The exact language of the bill is still being drafted, but an initial offense would be punished by a fine, mandatory education, and a driver’s license suspension, rather than jail time.
https://merryjane.com/news/virginia-senate-majority-leader-pushes-cannabis-decriminalization-bill-news