CCMA Political greenBrief
Monday, August 20, 2018
www.cannabismanufacturers.org
The DEA Announces The Need For Cannabis Cultivation & Research
“It’s time that Congress look at the 28,000 plus peer-reviewed studies currently hosted on the National Institute of Health’s online database and reform federal law by removing marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act all together.”Justin Strekal, NORML’s Political Director, On The DEA’s Announcement For Growing Cannabis For Research Purposes
“This significant drop in prescriptions by doctors and DEA’s production quota adjustment will continue to reduce the amount of drugs available for illicit diversion and abuse while ensuring that patients will continue to have access to proper medicine.”A Statement By The DEA In Regards To Authorizing The Cultivation Of Cannabis For Research Purposes
California Cannabis: The Path Forward, August 29th (CA – San Jose Event)
Join the CCMA, the California Cannabis Industry Association, Lori Ajax, Bureau of Cannabis Control and licensed operators from across the California cannabis industry two days after the end of the 45 day public comment period.Board member Gavin Kogan will be speaking. This is an opportunity for brands and manufacturers to voice their hopes and concerns to the regulators. August 29th from 6-9pm in San Jose. Event details below.
http://futurecannabisproject.o
California Growers Association Provides Update On California Cannabis Legislation (CA – Cannabis Industry)
Cannabis Business Times (August 17, 2018) California Growers Association (CGA) Executive Director Hezekiah Allen had “some good news and some bad news” for California cannabis industry stakeholders in the wake of several committee hearings in California’s legislature. In a late-night letter emailed to stakeholders on Aug. 16, Allen outlined key legislative updates from the state’s lawmakers.
Illicit Market Cited As CA Nets Only $74 Million On Second-Quarter Marijuana Taxes (CA – Cannabis Market)
Marijuana Business Daily (August 16, 2018) California cannabis taxes continued to miss expectations in the second quarter of 2018, bringing in roughly $74 million to state coffers. The state’s thriving illicit market is likely a big reason, as is the fact that most local governments in California still prohibit legal marijuana businesses and sales. Businesses say hefty tax rates that can approach 50% in some areas are driving business underground.
California’s Cannabis Industry Is $35 Million Less Profitable Than Expected (CA – Cannabis Market)
Newsweek (August 17, 2018) California’s cannabis industry is struggling to reach its projected potential and has earned almost $35 million less than expected in the first half of the year. Between April 1 and June 30, excise, cultivation and sales taxes on marijuana sales brought in $74.2 million, raising the total amount earned by the state during the first half of the year to $135.1 million. Governor Jerry Brown had predicted that the state’s recreational cannabis industry would bring in $175 million during the year’s first six months.
https://www.newsweek.com/calif
After 20 Years Of Medical Marijuana, California Still Bans The Medicine In Schools (CA – Medicinal Cannabis)
Cannabis Now (August 16, 2018) At the time of Brooke Adams’ birth, five years ago, California had legal medical marijuana. In 2013, California citizens had enjoyed the right to use cannabis medicinally, with permission from a board-certified physician, for almost 20 years. When Brooke Adams’s family welcomed her into the world, marijuana was openly sold in commercial storefronts, who bought advertisements in local newspapers and paid state and federal taxes, all over the state, from Mexico to Oregon.
California Marijuana Tax Revenue Reveals This Good, And Bad, News About Market (CA – Cannabis Market)
Investor’s Business Daily (August 16, 2018) California brought in around $74.2 million in marijuana industry tax revenue during the second quarter, up 22% from the first three months of the year, in what the government said was a “growing” trend toward complying with regulations. But the figures continued to show a much slower-than-expected start for what is expected to be the world’s largest pot market. The figures, released late Wednesday by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, arrive as taxes and differing community regulations appear to keep many customers partially encamped in the state’s illicit market.
https://www.investors.com/news
VIDEO: This California Regulation Is Killing The Birthplace Of Modern Cannabis (CA – Cannabusiness)
Civilized (August 18, 2018) Many in the cannabis industry believe that Big Sur is the birthplace of modern cannabis. With ideal amounts of sun, topography, temperature and overall climate, strains such as Big Sure Holy became legendary worldwide. But ridiculous regulations in Monterey county that ban outdoor-grown cannabis are essentially ruining the quality of cannabis strains endemic to this fertile region – making many classic Big Sur strains no longer available. The reason strains like Big Sur Holy are legendary is because they are grown in the Big Sur sun
https://www.civilized.life/art
California Legalized Weed, But That Doesn’t Mean Beach Cities Are Embracing Dispensaries (CA – Local Ordinances)
Daily Breeze (August 17, 2018) More than seven months after marijuana became legal in California for adults over 21, advocates have a lot to be thankful for and yet still much to be desired. Cities up and down the coast where Proposition 64 in 2016 passed by some of the ballot measure’s highest margins have banned dispensaries. They have prevented individuals from growing cannabis in their backyards.
Calaveras Cannabis Farmers File Class Action Lawsuit Over Cultivation Ban (CA – Local Cultivation)
Leafly (August 17, 2018) A rural California county that placed a major wager on a cannabis green rush—only to later impose a ban after taking in millions in taxes from cannabis farmers—now faces a massive collection demand from growers wanting their money back. Two of California’s most powerful cannabis attorneys have a filed class action lawsuit on behalf of former cultivators in Calaveras County who are demanding the return of at least $16.3 million in taxes and fees. Many farmers were forced out of business by the county ban.
The DEA Plans To Grow More Weed For Scientific Research In 2019 (USA – Cannabis Testing)
Merry Jane (August 17, 2018) After years of ignoring the growing evidence of cannabis’ safety and medical benefits, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) may finally be catching up with the times. In a soon-to-be-published Federal Register filing, the agency announced that starting next year, it will increase the amount of cannabis produced for medical research, while simultaneously curtailing the total number of opioids manufactured in the U.S.
https://merryjane.com/news/the
Don’t Fall Over, But The DEA Just Changed Its Tune On Marijuana (USA – Federal Testing)
The Motley Fool (August 19, 2018) Big changes are under way right now in our neighbor to the north. Beginning Oct. 17, recreational marijuana will officially go on sale in Canada, making it the first industrialized country in the world to give adult-use weed the green light. The legalization of marijuana in Canada is expected to generate up to $5 billion in annual sales once the industry is fully up to speed. Though some of this revenue will come from domestic markets, Canadian growers are angling to reap significant rewards from exports since roughly 30 countries having legalized medical cannabis to some degree.
https://www.fool.com/investing
Marijuana Is Going Corporate, And The Government Isn’t Ready (USA – Cannabis Market)
Quartz (August 18, 2018) An alcohol conglomerate pouring $4 billion into a marijuana startup shouldn’t surprise, but it might be cause for concern. This week, Constellation Brands invested in Canopy. The former’s products include Corona beer, Woodbridge wine, and Svedka vodka, while the latter is among the largest legal marijuana businesses emerging in Canada, the first major economy to legalize cannabis on a national scale.
https://qz.com/1362177/marijua
Federal Drug Cops Conflate Synthetic Cannabinoids With Marijuana (Deliberately?) (USA – Spice)
Marijuana Moment (August 16, 2018) “Synthetic marijuana” is a broad term that’s used by much of the media to describe plant material sprayed with any number of lab-derived chemicals. These chemicals may be intended to mimic the effect of plant-based cannabinoids on the brain; they also may not be. The similarities end there. The products, commonly sold under brand names like K2 or Spice (or “potpourri”) at head shops, gas stations and bodegas, is known to cause serious health complications, including death.
Canadian Cannabis Debut Delayed In Ontario (Canada – Cannabis Legalization)
Forbes (August 15, 2018) Ontario, the largest province in Canada, is pushing back the launch of private sector marijuana sales in retail shops until next April. Ontario is stepping entirely out of public-sector retail sales, and into a private-sector model — hence the need to push back the timeline to prepare the regulations. On Monday, Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government said government-controlled online cannabis sales will debut when cannabis is legalized on October 17 whereas private retail sales will initiate on April 1.
