Political greenBrief
Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Why Cities Should Get Moving On Their Cannabis Ordinances (CA – Cannabis Ordinance)
League Of California Cities (October 10, 2017) The State of California is not delaying implementation of either the emergency regulations, or the implementation of state licensing on Jan. 2, 2018. The state is moving ahead on schedule. It is in cities’ best interest to continue work on local adult use and/or medical ordinances at whatever pace they can effectively do so.
http://www.cacities.org/Top/News/News-Articles/2017/October/Why-Cities-Should-Get-Moving-on-Their-Cannabis-Ord

Cannabis-Related Butane Bill Vetoed By Gov. Brown (CA – Cannabis Legislation)
Sacramento Business Journal (October 10, 2017) A bill that would have placed limits on the amount of butane a consumer could purchase has been vetoed by Gov. Jerry Brown. Some retailers opposed Assembly Bill 1120, which would have would made it unlawful for retailers or manufacturers to sell more than 600 milliliters of non-odorized butane to a customer within a 30-day period. The bill was sponsored by California Professional Firefighters and co-authored by Assemblymen Jim Cooper, D-Elk Grove, and Brian Dahle, R-Redding.
https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2017/10/10/cannabis-related-butane-bill-vetoed-by-gov-brown.html

The Fire Ravaging Parts Of California Wine Country Threatens The Region’s $1 Billion Agriculture Industry (CA – Cannabis Industry)
Yahoo Finance (October 10, 2017) More than a dozen wildfires are sweeping across Northern California’s wine country. The fires in Napa and Sonoma counties have killed at least 10 people and destroyed more than 1,500 homes and businesses, the Los Angeles Times reported. More than 100 people have reportedly checked into local hospitals for fire-related injuries or health issues, like burns, smoke inhalation, and shortness of breath, according to CNN.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fire-ravaging-parts-california-threatens-164200715.html

Fires Threaten California’s First Legal Pot Crop (CA – Cannabis Industry)
East Bay Express (October 9, 2017) As if there isn’t enough uncertainty right now for Northern California weed farmers, this week’s fires are threatening the 2017 harvest. That is for those farmers who are lucky enough to have a harvest. Fires are raging in 14 counties, according to the California Department of Forestry, and an estimated 1,500 residential and commercial structures have been destroyed. Since late Sunday night, 57,000 acres have burned and tens of thousands people have been evacuated.
https://www.eastbayexpress.com/LegalizationNation/archives/2017/10/09/fires-threaten-californias-first-legal-pot-crop

California’s Countdown To Legal Cannabis: Facing Regulatory And Permitting Uncertainty (CA – Cannabis Legalization)
JD Supra (October 9, 2017) As of January 1, 2018, it will be legal for adults in California to buy and sell cannabis for recreational purposes. That’s the simple version.  But as is true for virtually every other “legal” enterprise in the state, the regulatory landscape will make things much more complicated—and not just because cannabis remains illegal at the federal level.
http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/california-s-countdown-to-legal-94861/

Marijuana-Related Contracts Get California Blessing Under New Law (CA – Cannabis Contracts)
The Recorder (October 9, 2017) Legislation aimed at bolstering contracts involving legal marijuana-related businesses has been signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown. AB 1159 clarifies that cannabis contracts that comply with state and local law can be enforced so long as they carry a disclaimer that marijuana remains illegal under federal law. Medical marijuana has been legal in California since 1996. But the legality of contracts involving dispensaries, growers and related businesses has often been challenged in state courts.
http://www.therecorder.com/id=1202799994234/MarijuanaRelated-Contracts-Get-California-Blessing-Under-New-Law?mcode=1202617072607&curindex=0&slreturn=20170910180927

Pot Valet Joins ‘Weed On Wheels’ Panel To Get Delivery Services Working Together (CA – Cannabis Panel)
Market Insider (October 10, 2017) Pot Valet is a leading provider of premium-grade cannabis in California. With its medical marijuana delivery service growing to every city in the state, and soon the whole country, the company offers patients safe, legal, and discreet access to their medicine, eliminating their need to visit a cannabis dispensary.
http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/Pot-Valet-Joins-Weed-on-Wheels-Panel-to-Get-Delivery-Services-Working-Together-1001746141

Why California’s Legal Weed May Cost More (CA – Cannabis Industry)
High Times (October 9, 2017) Despite the many stories about the recent drop in weed prices, some in the industry fear that cultivation, production and retail regulations could drive up weed prices in California—just when consumers can finally buy it legally. Jonathan Rubin of New Leaf Data Services thinks prices will go up because of compliance costs and testing.
https://hightimes.com/news/why-californias-legal-weed-may-cost-more/

The High Price Of Cheap Weed (CA – Cannabis Industry)
Grist (October 9, 2017) The drive to Casey and Amber O’Neill’s Happy Day Farms winds up a dirt track off Highway 101, three hours north of San Francisco. The road climbs to 3,000 feet along a ridge with stunning views of pine-covered mountains and the blue band of the Pacific Ocean, 25 miles to the west.
http://grist.org/article/california-emerald-triangle-cheap-marijuana-economics-prop-64/

Bad Cannabis Headlines Dangerously Misinform Readers (CA – Cannabis Industry)
Marijuana Moment (October 9, 2017) Marijuana laws are changing rapidly these days, so much so that even specialized news organizations solely dedicated to tracking cannabis policy sometimes have a hard time making sense of reforms. Coverage this week by The Cannabist and Marijuana Business Daily provides a perfect example.
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/bad-cannabis-headlines-dangerously-misinform-readers/

California Regulators Launch Website And Rebranding Efforts (CA – Cannabis Industry)
Cannabis Industry Journal (October 9, 2017) Ahead of the state’s implementation of their full adult use legalization in early 2018, California is working on improving their public outreach. Last week, the California Department of Public Health launched “Let’s Talk Cannabis”, a website dedicated to consumer education.
https://www.cannabisindustryjournal.com/news_article/california-regulators-launch-website-and-rebranding-efforts/

With Cannabis Legalization Around The Corner, Los Angeles Contemplates Another Dumb Move (CA – Cannabis Legalization)
Los Angeles Times (October 9, 2017) Like countless Californians in the last few years, Roberta Koz Wilson and her brother Jeff saw the coming revolution in cannabis and decided they wanted a piece of it. Or in their case, a bite. Using a recipe perfected by their mother, they created Dr. Norm’s Cookie Co., a Los Angeles-based edible cannabis company named after their father.
http://www.latimes.com/local/abcarian/la-me-abcarian-cannabis-regulations-20171009-story.html

Shield Protecting MMJ From Jeff Sessions Is Under Assault (USA – Cannabis Industry)
High Times (October 9, 2017) The 85 words crammed into a congressional bill at the end of the Obama administration, known then as the Rohrabacher–Farr amendment, which prohibits the Justice Department from prosecuting medical marijuana in MMJ-legal states, is under assault with the threat of disappearing. We can’t allow that happen. We have until December 8 before Congress may decide to exclude the amendment from its 2018 spending bill.
https://hightimes.com/news/shield-protecting-mmj-jeff-sessions-assault/

Online MMJ Card Company Expands To New York, Maryland & Pennsylvania (USA – Cannabis Industry)
Ganjapreneur (October 10, 2017) Software provider OnePath Medical, which connects would-be medical cannabis patients with physicians to recommend its use, has expanded its services to Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania. The company, founded earlier this year, previously only served Washington D.C. and is the only firm offering the software solution on the East Coast.
https://www.ganjapreneur.com/online-mmj-card-company-expands-new-york-maryland-pennsylvania/

Inaction In Congress Threatens Maryland Medical Marijuana (MD – Medical Cannabis)
The Baltimore Sun (October 10, 2017) Maryland’s medical marijuana program, finally about to launch, could remain grounded if Congress fails to extend limits on federal prosecutions for using and selling the drug. Under pressure from the anti-cannabis Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the House of Representatives is balking at preserving an Obama-era provision that gives the states space to decide their own approaches to regulating the drug.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-congress-medical-marijuana-20171010-story.html

Arkansas AG Denies Adult-Use Ballot Initiative Over Language ‘Ambiguities’ (AR – Cannabis Legalization)
Ganjapreneur (October 10, 2017) Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge has rejected a proposed cannabis legalization ballot initiative over “ambiguities” in the measure which she claims are “sufficiently serious” enough to prevent the campaign from ballot consideration.
https://www.ganjapreneur.com/arkansas-ag-denies-adult-use-ballot-initiative-over-language-ambiguities/

Michigan MMJ Regulators Hosting Educational Sessions Throughout November (MI – Cannabis Education)
Ganjapreneur (October 10, 2017) Michigan’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs is hosting a series of five educational sessions throughout the state next month aimed at the state’s new medical cannabis licensing regime. The sessions will feature members of the regulatory agency and the Bureau of Medical Marihuana Regulations to answer questions from individuals and businesses interested in state grower, processor, transporter, dispensary, and compliance facility businesses.
https://www.ganjapreneur.com/michigan-mmj-regulators-hosting-educational-sessions-throughout-november/