CCMA Political greenBrief
Friday, September 7, 2018
www.cannabismanufacturers.org
The Hemp-Derived CBD Market Will Continue To Expand Into A Multi-Billion Dollar Industry In The Coming Years
“Research is quickly ramping up. Particularly, clinical trials for sleep, pain, and addictions will act to provide a larger market. In spite of tight FDA rules against making claims, CBD is getting a ton of word-of-mouth and social sharing about the good health outcomes of zero-THC CBD formulations for treating pain, mood, inflammation, and anxiety.”Dr. Lloyd Covens, Cannabis Industry Analyst, On The Growing CBD Market
“I get asked more and more by older patients if they should try marijuana, mostly for sleep or pain. Marijuana may be therapeutically useful for a variety of symptoms and medical conditions, but the research in this area is extremely limited.”Dr. Benjamin Han, Lead Author Of A Study On Baby Boomer Cannabis Patients, On How The Market Is Growing To Various Age Groups
Three Cannabis Bills To Watch (CA – Cannabis Legislation)
SF Weekly (September 6, 2018) At any given time, California’s politicians are arguing about marijuana. Some want to treat cannabis like any other business, while others wish to keep the cumbersome web of restrictions and regulations they’ve spun intact. These debates are to be expected, given how the recreational industry has yet to celebrate its first birthday, but the questions speak to how much work must yet be done before we can truly expect this market to thrive. Should tax rates be reduced? Are environmental laws strong enough? What is the proper metric for defining when someone is driving under the influence of cannabis? Such concerns are as plentiful as the strains at your nearest dispensary. Of all the tweaks — or major overhauls — the industry may require, three notable changes are currently at the precipice of becoming California law.
http://www.sfweekly.com/news/t
OPINION: High Taxes Help Protect The Illicit Market For Marijuana (CA – Illicit Market)
Los Angeles Daily News (September 5, 2018) About one out of every five of California’s marijuana consumers is still sticking with the black market, a report published by the San Francisco-based marijuana company Eaze recently noted. One of the major reasons they cite is California’s high rate of taxes on the burgeoning legal market for marijuana and marijuana products. Another practical reason is the lack of legal options in many communities. As of April, only about one of seven California cities permitted the legal sale of marijuana.
https://www.dailynews.com/2018
VIDEO: California Cannabis Retail Is Our Focus, Says I-5 Holdings CEO (CA – Cannabis Sales)
Smallcap Power (September 6, 2018) In this interview with SmallCapPower at the recent Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Toronto, I-5 Holdings CEO John MacPhail discusses the Company’s Washington and California cannabis assets as well as a few of its strategies in deploying capital in the cannabis sector. I-5 Holdings is a subsidiary of Captor Capital Corp.
https://smallcappower.com/vide
Farm Bill Passage To Shake Up CBD Oil Industry, Lower Prices: Industry Insider (USA – CBD Market)
Pot Network (September 6, 2018) Business is good for hemp-based CBD with 2018 expected to surpass $600 million in sales in North America according to New Frontier Data. The next two years are shaping up to be critical for the CBD market. Industry analyst Dr. Lloyd Covens, industry insider and publisher of West420 NewsWeekly asks, “will you be ready” as he gears up for the 5th CBOutlook Conference to be held at the University of Denver, October 16-17. Fittingly, the theme of this season’s conference is “Race for Market Share.”
Marlboro Maker ‘Evaluating Opportunities’ In Cannabis Industry (USA – Cannabis Investments)
Marijuana Business Daily (September 5, 2018) Altria Group, one of the largest tobacco companies in North America, is assessing its market opportunities in the cannabis industry. The entry of Altria – owner of Marlboro maker Philip Morris USA and an investor in alcohol giant Anheuser-Busch InBev – would be another major milestone for the marijuana sector, coming on the heels of Constellation Brands’ bombshell investment in Canopy Growth last month. But the company is also “mindful of the possibility” that cannabis’ legal status may change, he noted. “We’re studying and evaluating market opportunities,” Garnick said.
https://mjbizdaily.com/marlbor
“Organism Engineering” Company Signs $122 Million Deal To Create Lab-Grown Ganja (USA – Cannabis Research)
Merry Jane (September 6, 2018) As the body of research on cannabis grows, scientists have been increasingly focusing their sights on isolating and studying the individual cannabinoids naturally present in the plant. Researchers have begun to more fully understand some of the better-known cannabinoids, like CBD and THC, but the plant also contains a number of other compounds which are difficult to extract and study due to their low concentrations. That may soon change thanks to a new partnership between an American organism engineering company and a Canadian cannabis producer, who intend to produce these individual cannabinoids in a lab environment, without needing to grow a single plant.
https://merryjane.com/news/fra
Number Of Cannabis Racketeering Suits Increases, Posing Financial Threat To Targeted Firms (USA – Cannabusiness)
Marijuana Business Daily (September 6, 2018) Federal civil racketeering lawsuits are proliferating against marijuana businesses, forcing companies to sometimes spend tens of thousands of dollars to cover legal costs. Experts are divided about the risk the lawsuits pose to the industry. But the growing number of cases is proving worrisome to industry watchers. “There is a greater risk of (racketeering) litigation at this point because of the greater publicity, and the potential for copycat litigation is heightened,” California cannabis attorney Omar Figueroa said. The cases, filed under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), are being waged against state-licensed and unlicensed marijuana companies on the premise such enterprises are illegal under federal law.
Legal Marijuana: The $9 Billion Industry That Most Banks Won’t Touch (USA – Cannabis Banking)
Forbes (September 6, 2018) Imagine an industry with $9 billion in sales — equivalent to the entire snack market — where only 30% of businesses had a bank account. That’s the situation we face today in the legal marijuana business. Hardworking commercial operators are struggling to find banks that will work with them, forcing these entrepreneurs to conduct most business with cash. Serious security concerns and a lack of funding to scale these businesses are just two of the unfortunate outcomes. While medical marijuana is legal in most U.S. states, it remains illegal under federal law, and is currently labeled a Schedule 1 drug under the Controlled Substances Act. That puts cannabis, a powerful plant offering significant medical benefits, on par with such harmful narcotics as heroin, at least in the eyes of the federal government.
More Baby Boomers Turning To Marijuana, Study Says (USA – Medicinal Cannabis)
CNN (September 6, 2018) Seniors are increasingly passing the pipe. About 9% of US adults between the ages of 50 and 64 have used marijuana at least once during the survey year, while 3% of those over 65 have done so, new research finds. For middle-age adults, the percentage of cannabis users has doubled over nearly a decade, according to the study, published Thursday in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Older adults have seen a seven-fold increase in that period. Though marijuana use is increasing among older Americans, “most of these people are not first-time users,” said Joseph Palamar, senior study author and an associate professor in the Department of Population Health at New York University Langone Medical Center.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/06
Across America, CBD Begins Appearing In Hotel Rooms (USA – Cannabis Products)
Ganjapreneur (September 6, 2018) Non-psychoactive CBD-infused products are making their way into restaurants and hotel mini-bars in cities across America. Several high-end hotels in New York have begun offering room service from a menu of CBD-infused comfort foods and others are stocking CBD gummies in the minibar. Restaurants and hotels both in Los Angeles and New York have also begun offering CBD-spiked cocktails, ice cream sundaes, and multiple-course CBD dinners. CBD-only infusions — legal across the country — are a huge boon for businesses looking to sidestep the federal prohibition of cannabis but still participate in the growing cannabis economy. Coffee shops offering CBD lattes have also opened up in many states across the U.S., as well as endless companies offering CBD hemp extracts online.
https://www.ganjapreneur.com/a
How Michigan Medical Marijuana Testing Works (MI – Cannabis Regulation)
MLive (September 5, 2018) A major part of Michigan’s new regulations on medical marijuana involve lab testing for safety compliance. In the past, marijuana testing hasn’t been required by the state. Now, it’s a new aspect of the medical marijuana industry in Michigan and, no — testing does not involve anything like puff, puff, pass. Labs for testing marijuana look exactly like a lab you’d find at a university or research facility: there’s an eyewash station, hoods, microscopes and equipment whirring away. Tests on marijuana and marijuana-derived products determine how potent the product is and how much THC or CBD the product contains.
https://www.mlive.com/news/ind
