Political greenBrief
Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Napa Planners To Take Up Marijuana Sales, Home Growing (CA – Cannabis Sales)
Napa Valley Register (October 24, 2017) Napa land-use authorities on Thursday will work toward a framework to decide where medical cannabis can be sold – and pot products perhaps made – in the city. The Planning Commission will review an ordinance that would enable one or more dispensaries to sell marijuana for medicinal purposes, reviving a drive that stalled in 2013 when Napa backed out of the effort rather than run afoul of a federal ban on the drug.
http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/napa-planners-to-take-up-marijuana-sales-home-growing/article_53843594-958e-5223-be97-73cc35848908.html

Pot Ban: County’s Vote To Reject Commercial Marijuana ‘Just The Beginning’ (CA – Cannabis Ban)
Bakersfield (October 24, 2017) Kern County banned commercial cannabis Tuesday. Four of the five county supervisors said they did not want to be party to the permitting and regulation of an industry that wields such a destructive impact on the communities they represent. “The vast majority of the pot shops in the greater Bakersfield area are in Oildale,” Supervisor Mike Maggard said. He said his people, the residents and businesses in the poorest areas of his district, are being disproportionately impacted by marijuana dispensaries.
http://www.bakersfield.com/news/pot-ban-county-s-vote-to-reject-commercial-marijuana-just/article_095d0f4e-b8f4-11e7-8dc0-9b43c1664195.html

California Insurance Commissioner David Jones Wants Complete Coverage For Golden State Ganjapreneurs (CA – Cannabis Insurance)
Merry Jane (October 24, 2017) As the mass of wildfires blazing across Northern California have finally surpassed 90% total containment, the area has begun to rise from the ashes and start on the long road to recovery. But while Santa Rosa residents and Calistoga winemakers alike file insurance claims on their lost homes and product, the dozens of cannabis farmers affected by the uncontrolled infernos were largely not as lucky, with most insurance companies siding with banking institutions and the federal government, refusing their services to even state-approved canna-businesses.
https://merryjane.com/news/california-insurance-commissioner-cannabis-industry-coverage-push

Dixon Planning Commission Recommends Agreements With Cannabis Businesses (CA – Cannabis Businesses)
The Reporter News (October 24, 2017) Development agreements with two budding businesses that would manufacture cannabis products in Dixon were recommended Monday by the Dixon Planning Commission. The Dixon City Council would take up the agreements, along with an ordinance that will set zoning for both medical and recreational cannabis businesses, after press time Tuesday. Both businesses will need to return to the commission to obtain conditional use permits.
http://www.thereporter.com/general-news/20171024/dixon-planning-commission-recommends-agreements-with-cannabis-businesses

Devastated Northern California Marijuana Farms Are Ineligible For Insurance (CA – Cannabis Businesses)
Marketplace (October 23, 2017) As wine growers assess the damage from the Northern California wildfires, marijuana farms are also counting their losses. But unlike other businesses, they have little reprieve. Even though California will begin issuing licenses for commercial cannabis starting in January, farmers like Fussell do not qualify for crop insurance, because growing marijuana is still against federal law.
https://www.marketplace.org/2017/10/23/business/devastated-northern-california-marijuana-farms-ineligible-insurance

With Legal Marijuana On Its Way, Palm Springs Seeks To Expand Pot Tax Revenue (CA – Cannabis Taxes)
Desert Sun (October 24, 2017) One of two tax measures on the ballot now before Palm Springs voters seeks to expand the city’s marijuana tax to recreational pot as soon as sales become legal in January. The proposal, known as Measure E, which Mayor Rob Moon has called a “no brainer,” is expected to pass. But what no one is able to predict is how much the broader tax will help the city of Palm Springs’ troubled finances.
http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/local/palm-springs/2017/10/24/palm-springs-seeks-expand-marijuana-tax-revenue/780886001/

Cannabis Businesses In California Only Have A Few Months Left To Get Their Taxes Together (CA – Cannabis Taxes)
Merry Jane (October 24, 2017) We’re still a long way off from mid-April, but in California, an impending shift in the cannabis industry is creating a second busy season for the state’s Department of Tax and Fee Administration. With thousands of cannabis businesses trying to update their administrative processes to fit new regulations, and countless others trying to hop in the game as soon as midnight strikes on December 31st, the tax agency is doing its best to make sure everyone involved in the Golden State’s legal weed industry knows exactly how much they’ll have to kick back to the state if they want to stay in business.
https://merryjane.com/news/california-cannabis-tax-regulatory-breakdown

NCIA, CCIA Host Fundraiser For Those Impacted By CA Fires (CA – Cannabis Industry)
Cannabis Industry Journal (October 24, 2017) On Monday, the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) sent an email announcing their Cannabis Industry Fire Relief Fundraiser in Santa Rosa, CA on November 6th. Co-hosted by the California Cannabis Industry Association (CCIA), the fundraiser will take place 6:30-9:00 p.m. at the Hyatt Vineyard Creek (170 Railroad St, Santa Rosa, CA 95401). All proceeds from the event will go to the Redwood Credit Union’s North Bay Fire Relief Fund.
https://www.cannabisindustryjournal.com/news_article/ncia-ccia-host-fundraiser-for-companies-impacted-by-fires/

Senator Orrin Hatch Continues To Be All In On Medical Cannabis (DC – Medical Cannabis)
The Fresh Toast (October 24, 2017) The medical benefits of cannabis can clearly no longer be ignored. If Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Republican, Mormon senator from Utah is on board, even Attorney General Jeff Sessions has run out of excuses.
https://thefreshtoast.com/cannabis/senator-orrin-hatch-continues-medical-cannabis/

Nevada Marijuana Sales Eclipse $33 Million For August 2017 (NV – Cannabis Sales)
The Cannabist (October 23, 2017) Nevada marijuana sales are sizzling. Dispensaries sold more than $33 million in recreational cannabis products in August, the state’s second month of adult-use sales, according to The Cannabist’s calculations on tax data provided by a state official during a visit to Colorado last week. While monthly tax revenue figures have yet to be officially released, Deonne E. Contine, executive director of the Nevada Department of Taxation, disclosed the tax collection data Friday during the Denver Marijuana Management Symposium. She confirmed the numbers with The Cannabist following her presentation.
http://www.thecannabist.co/2017/10/23/nevada-marijuana-sales-august-2017/90687/

Maine Lawmakers Pass Adult-Use Implementation Bill, Gov. Veto Expected (ME – Cannabis Legislation)
Ganjapreneur (October 24, 2017) Maine lawmakers have passed a measure to implement the state’s voter-approved adult-use cannabis regime; however, the legislation failed to garner a two-thirds majority vote in either chamber opening it up to a veto by Gov. Paul LePage, according to several reports. The House rejected a LePage-backed proposal introduced by Republican Leader Rep. Ken Fredette to extend the state’s moratorium until 2019.
https://www.ganjapreneur.com/maine-lawmakers-pass-adult-use-implementation-bill-gov-veto-expected/

Arizona Judge Rules Extracts Fall Outside MMJ Law, Appeal Expected (AZ – Cannabis Industry)
Ganjapreneur (October 24, 2017) A ruling by Navajo County Superior Court Judge Dale Nielson could force Arizona dispensaries to stop selling vape cartridges, cannabis oils, and edibles, according to a Phoenix New Times report. Nielson’s ruling comes in the case of a 26-year-old registered medical cannabis patient who was arrested for cannabis possession after officers discovered the processed products.
https://www.ganjapreneur.com/arizona-judge-rules-extracts-fall-outside-mmj-law-appeal-expected/