CCMA Political greenBrief
Monday, October 22, 2018
www.cannabismanufacturers.org
Andrew Freedman, Also Known As Colorado’s ‘Cannabis Czar,’ Is Setting His Sights On Shaping The U.S. Cannabis Market
“In some of these tight races, marijuana is more popular than the people who are running. The momentum is very much on our side. It’s not about should we legalize marijuana, it’s about when and how.”Michael Collins, Interim Director For Drug Policy Action, On Cannabis Being A Topic Of Discussion For The November Election In CA
“In Europe, many countries are now being governed by rational and forward-looking individuals. The war on drugs was always much more of an American thing than a European thing, and the way and rate of speed the playing field is evolving in Europe is much faster, because they are looking at this in an unemotional way, as a possible job creator and a much better choice to some conventional drugs—we have to be ready to go fast and hard here”.Bruce Linton, CEO Of Canopy Growth, On The Upward Expansion Of A Global 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 Drops ‘Bombs’ In Updated Draft Of Permanent Rules For Cannabis Businesses (CA – State Regulations)
Marijuana Business Daily (October 19, 2018) California’s proposed marijuana business regulations continue to evolve, this time in an updated draft of permanent industry rules released Friday by state officials. The proposed rules – from the state’s Bureau of Cannabis Control, Department of Food and Agriculture and Department of Public Health – touch on areas including marijuana delivery, packaging and events. Regulators are slated to finalize the rules by early December, following input from the public. If permanently adopted, the latest proposed rules would deliver a raft of significant changes for MJ businesses, according to Juli Crockett, compliance director for Los Angeles-based consultancy MMLG, and Omar Figueroa, a California marijuana attorney.
California Marijuana Policies At Play On Election Day, Even In Republican Strongholds (CA – State Regulations)
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. Republican candidates — and incumbent Democrats who haven’t traditionally supported marijuana reform — are talking about their support for regulated cannabis, too.
Sheriff’s Office Posts Results Of Marijuana Eradication Efforts (CA – Illicit Market)
Noozhawk (October 19, 2018) For some 25 years, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office has received federal grant funding through the Domestic Cannabis Eradication Suppression Program, administered by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Purpose of the grant is to provide financial assistance to local law enforcement agencies to help eradicate illegal marijuana cultivation sites. Now that the federal fiscal year funding has concluded, the Sheriff’s Office is releasing the results of the eradication efforts conducted utilizing the grant funding.
https://www.noozhawk.com/article/sheriffs_office_posts_results_of_marijuana_eradication_efforts
Will Nov. 6 Become Cannabis Tax Day? Redding Voters To Decide Fate Of Measure C (CA – Local Ordinances)
Record Searchlight (October 20, 2018) The price of marijuana for medical patients is already high, making it hard for low-income people to afford the cannabis products they need, says Brittany Benson, a Redding mother about to head out with her baby for a walk on the Sacramento River Trail earlier this week. Should voters approve the first-ever municipal tax on the growing number of cannabis-related businesses that are operating in the city, Benson said that retail cannabis stores would likely “up their prices to account for that tax. In the long run, the patients would be paying.”
National Expungement Week Aims To Provide Reparations From War On Drugs (USA – Cannabis Convictions)
The Fresh Toast (October 20, 2018) In 2017, almost 660,000 people were arrested for cannabis-related charges in the U.S., the FBI reported recently. This means that, according to a recent open letter about equity and justice released by Equity First Alliance, even as legalization sweeps the nation, over half a million people are still losing their liberty, voting rights, and access to education, housing and future employment every year. To make things worse, while many jurisdictions that have already legalized marijuana have promised to clean up the records of those convicted for non-violent cannabis offenses, most of them are still on the hook.
Colorado’s ‘Marijuana Czar’ Is Setting His Sights On The Rest Of America (USA – Cannabusiness)
Men’s Health (October 18, 2018) Things were looking bad for Andrew Freedman in March 2014. It was just two months after Colorado became the first state to make cannabis fully legal, and Freedman had been tasked with seeing cannabis safely into the hands (and lungs, and bellies) of Coloradoans, when a Congolese exchange student, Levy Thamba, ate too much of a cannabis cookie, freaked out, and jumped to his death from a balcony in Denver. Weed was barely ten weeks on the open market and it had claimed a victim. “That was the hardest phone call I ever got,” says Freedman, a veteran of the cannabis legalization wars now at the ripe old age of 35. When Thamba died, Freedman was a year into his role as the first director of marijuana coordination in Colorado — marijuana czar, for short.
https://www.menshealth.com/trending-news/a23847310/andrew-freedman-cannabis-legalization/
A Former Coca-Cola Executive-Turned Cannabis Startup Founder Reveals Why Crafting The Apple Store Of Weed Is A Multi-Billion Dollar Opportunity (USA – Cannabusiness)
Business Insider (October 21, 2018) With legal marijuana sweeping the United States and Canada, cannabis industry players are taking it on themselves to make cannabis not just okay, but completely normal. That means a proliferation of brands pushing all the markings of a tech startup — brightly colored products, an emphasis on quality, and open, airy shops — to joints, vaporizers, and dispensaries. According to Chris Burggraeve, a former Coca-Cola and AB InBev executive-turned cannabis startup founder, weed companies adopting minimalist colors and clean lines makes perfect business sense. Marijuana carries a historical baggage that most of its category rivals, from alcohol to pharmaceuticals, lack.
https://www.businessinsider.com/cannabis-companies-mimic-apple-store-marketing-2018-10
How 7 Brothers Became Pioneers In Hemp-Based CBD (USA – Cannabusiness)
News Times (October 19, 2018) Jesse and J Austin Stanley are two of the seven co-founders of Charlotte’s Web, a global social enterprise company dedicated to creating botanical wellness solutions. Charlotte’s Web’s hemp-based Cannabidiol (CBD) extracts started with a little girl named Charlotte and has reached millions of people through its full-spectrum, non-intoxicating cannabis solutions. Widely known for developing proprietary hemp genetics with high CBD, Charlotte’s Web products include full-spectrum oils, capsules, balms, lotions and a pet line. The company sells its products online and in more than 3,000 retail locations across the U.S. Jesse and J Austin sat down with Jessica Abo to discuss their company’s growth and their advice for entrepreneurs.
https://www.newstimes.com/news/article/How-7-Brothers-Became-Pioneers-in-Hemp-Based-CBD-13321094.php
More States Have Made Marijuana Legal, So Why Are More People Getting Arrested? (USA – Cannabis Convictions)
Chron (October 19, 2018) The latest crime statistics from the Federal Bureau of Investigations show a strange trend has continued. The more states that legalize cannabis, the more people across the country get arrested for marijuana-related crimes. According to the FBI’s annual Crime in the United States report, released in September, there were 659,700 marijuana arrests in 2017. In 2016, that number was 653,249. Overall, marijuana arrests made up more than 40% of the 1.6 million drug-related arrests in 2017 across the country. Based on the FBI numbers, arrests for sales and manufacturing are actually down slightly from 2016. However, what’s gone up are arrests for possession. About 91% of all the arrests were on possession charges.
https://www.chron.com/news/article/More-States-Have-Made-Marijuana-Legal-So-Why-Are-13318145.php
Following Canada’s Lead, Legal Cannabis Set To Take Off On A Global Scale (World – Cannabis Market)
PitchBook (October 18, 2018) With Canada legalizing recreational marijuana, the coming year could be the one that cements the mainstreaming of cannabis on a global scale. While the substance has long been decriminalized in Portugal and the Netherlands, on 17 October, Canada became the first G7 country to legalize recreational purchase from federally licensed vendors and the second overall, five years after Uruguay did so. In practice, this means adults in Canada can possess up to 30 grams and grow as many as four plants. With legalisation, the country is, in effect, moving towards a landscape in which cannabis is treated similar to alcohol and tobacco, namely, as a highly regulated product intended for adult consumption.
A New Crop Of Marijuana Merchants Forms The Future Of Cannabis Retail (USA & Canada – Cannabusiness)
Forbes (October 21, 2018) Legislators put the cannabis into Canada last week, as the nation became the first major world economy to legalize marijuana for recreational use. Now, as the barriers come crashing down across North America on the sale of what was once reviled as “Reefer Madness”, it’s fascinating to watch how retailers are responding. A whole new crop of “marijuana merchants” (and support services) are popping up, literally inventing the category as they go. In anticipation of what might be called “the green wave”, an event was recently held in Chicago to help puzzle out “The Future Of Cannabis Retail”.
Colorado’s Marijuana Market Just Hit This Huge Milestone (CO – Cannabis Market)
The Motley Fool (October 20, 2018) Marijuana has been legally available in Colorado for recreational use since 2014, and consumers’ appetite for marijuana products continues to grow due to the launch of new products, including concentrates and edibles. During the first six months of 2018, cannabis concentrate unit sales skyrocketed 94.6%, and edibles unit sales jumped 13.8% year over year. As a result, Colorado’s annual marijuana sales surpassed $1 billion in August — the earliest it has ever achieved that milestone. If Colorado’s cannabis market is any indication, the future is bright for companies participating in markets, including California and Canada, that legalized marijuana for adult use this year.
https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/10/20/theres-no-stopping-colorados-marijuana-market.aspx
