CCMA Greenbrief October 19: Cannabis Can Now Be Sold & Consumed At Special Events In CA…CA Hemp Farmers Struggling From Previous Prohibition…Cannabis Prices Dropping As Fall Harvest Commences…

CCMA Political  greenBrief

Friday, October 19, 2018

www.cannabismanufacturers.org

Gov. Jerry Brown Signs Bill That Allows Sale & Consumption Of Cannabis At Special Events

“Marijuana’s impacts are being felt every day across the country—with or without research. It is imperative that our nation’s brightest scientists have access to diverse types of federally-approved, research-grade marijuana to research both its adverse and therapeutic effects. Such research is the critical foundation of sound policymaking that puts public health and safety first.”
Rep. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) & Rep. Kamala Harris (D-CA) In A Letter To AG Jeff Sessions Urging Him To Stop Blocking Medicinal Cannabis Research
“While there have been a lot of reports of falling prices, that is not the only story. Retail data shows us that while not the majority, there are premium and craft cannabis growers whose products sell for $10–$15 a gram—even in saturated markets like Oregon and Colorado. The trends point to what many people expected: a segmentation of the flower market into commodity products and, importantly, premium craft products that consumers will pay top dollar for at retail.”
Jeannette Horton, Head Of Global Marketing And Communications For MJ Freeway, On Dropping Prices In The Cannabis Market

Sonoma Patient Group Seminar, October 26 (Santa Rosa)

Sonoma County’s longest permitted dispensary, is hosting an educational seminar regarding Prop 65 warnings and labeling requirements for the Cannabis industry. This will take place on Friday, October 26, 2018 starting at 10am with a 2-hour seminar followed by lunch and networking opportunities until 2pm, taking place at the Hyatt Regency in Santa Rosa. We are excited for attendees to have the opportunity to meet other licensed cannabis entities and professionals throughout the cannabis industry.

https://spg606.wixsite.com/prop65

 

California Legislation Allows Cannabis To Be Sold And Consumed At Special Events (CA – Cannabis Legislation)

Pot Network (October 19, 2018) California governor Jerry Brown signed legislation which allows cannabis to be sold and consumed at special events. Prior to the passage of AB 2020, California required an 11-step procedure for cannabis-related business licenses. While the Bureau for Cannabis Control could issue temporary licenses to businesses interested in establishing temporary events celebrating cannabis, the application process was lengthy and cumbersome to small, independently owned businesses. The requirements for establishing a temporary event included submission of fingerprints as well as a background check, a licensing fee, and an established labor peace agreement.

https://www.potnetwork.com/news/california-legislation-allows-cannabis-be-sold-and-consumed-special-events

 

Hemp Farming In California Plagued By Roadblocks (CA – Hemp Industry)

Natural Products Insider (October 17, 2018) Gov. Jerry Brown recently signed a bill in California that could promote the growth of industrial hemp farming, but the nascent industry is still at the mercy of what it perceives as a slow-moving state bureaucracy. Senate Bill 1409 authorized the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to carry out agricultural hemp pilot programs under Section 7606 of the 2014 Farm Bill, the legislation signed by former President Barack Obama. California’s agricultural sector contributes tens of billions of dollars to the economy. Efforts to grow hemp, though, have faced hurdles for more than a decade. Partly to blame: federal law’s long-held prohibition on cultivation of the crop.

https://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/regulatory/hemp-farming-california-plagued-roadblocks

 

California Marijuana Policies At Play On Election Day, Even In Republican Strongholds (CA – State Policies)

The Mercury News (October 19, 2018) Marijuana will once again be a hot topic on Election Day, with the future of local, state and federal cannabis policies in the hands of voters Nov. 6. But this time, voters in states that typically lean Republican will be the ones weighing legalization measures at the ballot box. A number of red communities in California, from the Inland Empire town of Hemet to rural El Dorado County, also will join dozens of blue communities in voting during the midterm elections on whether to allow commercial marijuana businesses.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/10/19/california-marijuana-policies-at-play-on-election-day-even-in-republican-strongholds/

 

Oakland County Gets First Licensed Medical Marijuana Business (CA – Cannabusiness)

Detroit Free Press (October 18, 2018) Oakland County got its first medical marijuana business approved Thursday when a state licensing board gave the green light to the Green House dispensary in Walled Lake. The dispensary, located at the main intersection in the small west Oakland County community, won’t open, however, until January, said owner Jerry Millen, because there won’t be state-approved products — actual marijuana and pot-infused edibles — available that have been grown, processed and tested before then. “I’m ready to go, but there’s no product yet. I want to make sure that I have consistent supply at a fair price,” he said. “But it’s a huge relief to get the license. This has been one of the hardest things I’ve been through in my life.”

https://www.freep.com/story/news/marijuana/2018/10/18/oakland-county-medical-marijuana-business-license/1687087002/

 

Members Of Congress, Businesses Push For Homegrown Weed (USA – Cannabis Research)

Politico (October 17, 2018) Washington just got some major peer pressure to embrace the bong. Its vast northern neighbor Canada legalizes the retail sale of marijuana nationwide Wednesday. The Canadian cannabis sector is already estimated to be worth $31 billion and upstart marijuana companies have soared on the New York Stock Exchange. But America’s patchwork of state laws — and federal ban on marijuana — put American pot companies at a high disadvantage. It’s unclear whether the push to liberalize U.S. marijuana laws will get very far: Attorney General Jeff Sessions has declared war on marijuana, though his efforts have been dampened by a not-so-hostile White House. Yet Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) said last week that the White House plans to address cannabis reform following the midterms.

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/17/marijuana-canada-legal-imports-854012

 

Cannabis Price Collapse Putting Billions In Consumers’ Pockets (USA – Cannabis Sales)

Leafly (October 18, 2018) Wholesale cannabis prices could hit as low as $30 an ounce in some parts of the country by Christmas as another record crop of outdoor cannabis floods markets and sinks prices. For example, the legal recreational market in Oregon continues to drown in a multi-year surplus. Oregon produced 10 times the cannabis it needs each year, and approximately 825,000 pounds of unsold dried wholesale flower now sits in the state’s tracking system, says Jonathan Rubin, CEO of Cannabis Benchmarks, which tracks wholesale prices. Nevada’s wholesale prices are the most expensive at $4 per gram, followed by California at $2.43, Colorado at $1.93 and Oregon at just $1.33 per gram wholesale.

https://www.leafly.com/news/industry/cannabis-price-collapse-putting-billions-in-consumers-pockets

 

Thousands Respond To FDA’s Marijuana Rescheduling Comment Request (USA – Cannabis Legalization)

Marijuana Moment (October 16, 2018) It’s not every day that the federal government requests public input on international marijuana laws, but that’s exactly what the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did last week. And the comments are pouring in. So far, the agency says it has received more than 2,100 comments—a small fraction of which have been published. The comments range from personal anecdotes about how cannabis has helped patients to arguments about the economic benefits of legalization. Others put the issue more bluntly:

https://www.marijuanamoment.net/thousands-respond-to-fdas-marijuana-rescheduling-comment-request

 

Marijuana Research Could Get A Boost With New Bill (USA – Cannabis Research)

Stamford Advocate (October 16, 2018) Cannabis business owners have long complained about the lack of scientific research in the industry to back their claims of the medicinal properties of the plant. Now a bill that would allow an expansion of medical marijuana research in the United States has cleared an important committee and is awaiting a vote by the full House of Representatives. If approved by both the House and the Senate, the Medical Cannabis Research Act of 2018 could dramatically increase the amount of research done on marijuana in the U.S. Thankfully, it would bypass the need for approval from the Department of Justice, where Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been accused of holding up further research on medical marijuana.

https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Marijuana-Research-Could-Get-A-Boost-With-New-Bill-13310673.php

 

Canada’s New Legal Weed Economy Is A Testing Ground For The U.S. Market (Canada – Cannabis Market)

Forbes (October 17, 2018) Cannabis is now legal in Canada, making it the first major country (sorry Uruguay) to sell marijuana freely and without the threat of criminal prosecution. Yet, there’s another element that makes this milestone even more fraught with significance. A great deal of money is at stake. Top cannabis researchers ArcView Market Research in partnership with BDS Analytics estimate that the Canadian medical and recreational markets combined will pull in a total of $5.4 billion by 2022.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/irisdorbian/2018/10/17/canadas-new-legal-weed-economy-should-boost-u-s-market-maybe/#3f45a8786a38

 

Here Are The Most Popular Marijuana Stocks As Canada Becomes The Largest Country To Legalize Pot (Canada – Cannabis Investments)

CNBC (October 17, 2018) Popular marijuana stocks fell across the board Wednesday, paring extreme gains so far this year, as investors cashed in a bit of their bet as Canada became the largest country to legalize the recreational use of cannabis. After months of political haggling and legal debate, Canada joined the U.S. states of California, Massachusetts, Maine, Alaska, Colorado, Washington, Nevada, Vermont and Oregon as the first Group of Seven country to OK adult use of pot. The major cannabis stocks ran up in anticipation of this day and offered investors on Wednesday a reminder of just how volatile some of the young pot companies have become amid a flurry of news and speculation.

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/17/marijuana-stocks-lose-ground-as-canada-ushers-in-a-new-era-of-legal-cannabis.html

 

Cannabis Stocks Mixed As Investors Digest The Latest Deals And Capital Raises (Canada – Cannabis Investments)

Market Watch (October 19, 2018) Cannabis stocks were mixed on Friday, with the big Canadian players mostly higher on day three of fully legalized recreational weed as investors digested the latest crop of deals and capital raises. Canopy Growth Corp., the company armed with a $4 billion war chest thanks to an investment by Corona beer maker Constellation Brands Inc. led the pack in early trade with a more than 4% gain. Canopy CGC, has more cash than its rivals and has the largest square footage available to grow cannabis and has agreements with every Canadian province to sell its products.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/cannabis-stocks-mixed-as-investors-digest-the-latest-deals-and-capital-raises-2018-10-19