CCMA Political greenBrief
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
www.cannabismanufacturers.org
Scott Gottlieb, Commissioner For The Food & Drug Administration, Stated That Federal Action On Marijuana Policy Is Inevitable And Will Happen “Soon”
“It starts with local control. Without those localities playing ball with the state, the entire notion of legalization is very poorly executed.”Kenny Morrison, President of CCMA & CEO Of VCC Brands, On The Difficulties For Cannabis Businesses To Enter The Regulated Market
“The legalization of recreational weed has felt like the Peanuts comic strip where Lucy pulled the football away right as Charlie Brown was going to kick it. The lack of local ordinances is creating a huge backlog of products that can’t be distributed. It’s really hurting people who are legitimately trying to enter a regulated market,.”David Quintana, Lobbyist For The California Cannabis Manufacturers Association, On The CA Cannabis Market
Doing A Weed Start-Up? Wait In Line (CA – Cannabusiness)
Capitol Weekly (November 19, 2018) Though recreational marijuana has been legal in the state since January, good luck trying to open a marijuana business in much of the state. The state gives local jurisdictions the power to decide what type and how much cannabis businesses to allow. While big cities like San Francisco and San Jose allowed commercial activity right away, many other communities have banned it or are still debating how much to let in.
http://capitolweekly.net/weed-start-wait-line/
7 Signs Cannabis Legalization In California Is Hitting Its Stride (CA – Legalization)
Leafly (November 19, 2018) Nearly a year after recreational sales kicked off in California, the world’s largest legal cannabis market is far from a well-oiled machine. But as the system takes shape, it’s hit a few notable benchmarks that show the industry’s slow, steady movement toward stability. The final regulations, currently expected to be issued in early December, are the “culmination of a tremendous amount of stakeholder engagement, public comment meetings and work amongst all three licensing authorities and the administration.”
https://www.leafly.com/news/industry/6-signs-legalization-in-california-is-hitting-its-stride
Hundreds Of Marijuana Grower Opportunities Could Result From This California County’s Election (CA – Cannabis Cultivation)
Marijuana Business Daily (November 20, 2018) Amid this month’s election hubbub, one Northern California county’s vote tally opened the door to potentially hundreds of marijuana growers entering the state’s legal cannabis market. In rural Calaveras County – which enacted a commercial MJ cultivation ban in January – two candidates beat out anti-marijuana officials on the five-member county board of supervisors, making the repeal of that restriction a possibility.
Federal Marijuana Action Is An ‘Inevitability,’ Trump FDA Chief Says (USA – Cannabis Reform)
Marijuana Moment (November 19, 2018) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb could be alluding to a bipartisan bill that would amend the Controlled Substances Act to exempt state-legal marijuana activity from its provisions—a piece of legislation that Gottlieb’s boss, President Donald Trump, said he “really” supports. Gottlieb’s comments could be interpreted as a suggestion that legalization is happening at the state level and the end of federal cannabis prohibition is the inevitability. Or the “policy reckoning” could be some kind of increased enforcement of federal marijuana laws.
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/federal-marijuana-action-is-an-inevitability-trump-fda-chief-says/
Cannabis-Related Transactions Spike At Banks, Credit Unions (USA – Cannabis Banking)
Bloomberg Law (November 19, 2018) More banks and credit unions are pot-banking, government data show. The number of depository institutions conducting banking transactions for marijuana cultivators and related businesses rose to 486 at the end of the third quarter from 400 in the year-ago period, according to the Treasury Department’s anti-money laundering bureau.
Congressman Crist Fights To Protect Veterans Access To Medical Cannabis (USA – Medicinal Cannabis)
Weed News (November 20, 2018) Last week marking Veterans Day, Congressman Charlie Crist (D-St. Petersburg) joined U.S. Reps. Seth Moulton (D-MA), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), and Lou Correa (D-CA) in introducing legislation aimed at reforming VA medicinal cannabis practices. The Department of Veterans Affairs Policy for Medicinal Cannabis Use Act amends and codifies the VA’s medicinal cannabis policy, protecting a veteran’s benefits if they disclose medicinal cannabis use.
https://www.weednews.co/congressman-crist-fights-to-protect-veterans-access-to-medical-cannabis/
Racial Justice And Legal Pot Are Colliding In Congress (USA – CAnnabis Reform)
Politico (November 18, 2018) Thanks to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the farm bill includes an amendment that would permanently remove hemp from the list of federally banned drugs like heroin and cocaine, freeing hemp from the crippling legal stigma that has made it economically unviable for the past four decades. But that amendment also includes a little-noticed ban on people convicted of drug felonies from participating in the soon-to-be-federally-legal hemp industry.
Immigration Lawyers, Cannabis Executives Bracing For Outright Bans From Entering U.S. For Pot Use (USA – Cannabis Use)
Financial Post (November 20, 2018) Marijuana has been legal in Canada for a month already but immigration lawyers and cannabis executives say when it comes to getting into the United States, the worst may be yet to come. Customs and Border Protection officials have made it clear that anyone who admits to using marijuana prior to Oct. 17, the day it became legal in Canada, could be banned from entering the country.
Marijuana Is Getting Cheaper. For Some States, That’s A Problem. (USA – Cannabis Prices)
Cannabis Business Times (November 19, 2018) Wholesale marijuana prices in Colorado have fallen by a third in just the past 12 months, continuing a price crash that began soon after the drug was legalized. Although this implies that some marijuana entrepreneurs are going to go bankrupt, the bigger financial hit will be felt by states that tax marijuana based on its price.
https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/cannabis-price-decreasing-state-markets
Weed And Pregnancy: How Cannabis Laws Are Hurting Mothers (USA –
Rolling Stone (November 17, 2018) Cannabis use among pregnant women has increased, based on a survey of more than 300,000 women published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in December 2017. According to that survey, Marijuana is now the “most commonly used illicit drug during pregnancy,” and from 2009 to 2016, prenatal use increased from 4.2 percent to 7.1 percent.
Recreational Marijuana Sales To Begin In Massachusetts (MA – Recreational Cannabis)
USA Today (November 19, 2018) The long wait for recreational marijuana sales to begin in Massachusetts is almost over with the first commercial pot shops set to open on Tuesday. Massachusetts voted to legalize recreational marijuana in 2016, but it’s taken more than two full years to reach this point.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/11/19/marijuana-massachusetts/2056662002/
Oregon Marijuana Prices Dive – And Sales Soar (OR – Cannabis Sales)
Seattle Times (November 19, 2018) Rampant overproduction in Oregon’s market for legal, recreational marijuana has produced a 50 percent drop in prices, according to state economists. That widely documented collapse has been tough on farmers and retailers – but a boon for consumers. Recreational marijuana sales in Oregon will be nearly $543 million this year, up 29 percent from 2017 and well above economists’ expectations, forecasts show.
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/oregon-marijuana-prices-dive-and-sales-soar/
