CCMA Political greenBrief
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
www.cannabismanufacturers.org
How Biopesticides Are Making Waves For Cannabis Cultivators
“We’ve got barrels of cash buried all over the state, businesses being ransacked, and it’s clear that the federal government won’t act. It’s a shock to me that the state government may not act this year either – especially after this bill passed through nearly every step with bipartisan support and little to no opposition.”Senator Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) On Cannabis Banking In California
“As the regulated market in CA continues to evolve, it will likely experience ongoing sales pressure in the near term. However, we remain optimistic that these ‘growing pains’ will ultimately be resolved to achieve a $7B retail market over the next 5 years.”Matt Karnes, Founder Of GreenWave Advisors, On On The Shortfall Of Cannabis Taxes
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
CannaConvos August Mixer: Cannabis Legislation (CA – Sacramento Event)
From patient access to taxation to consumer legal rights, this year’s California legislative session has been incredibly busy for the cannabis industry. Come hear the latest intel and what bills are likely to hit Governor Brown’s desk from leading cannabis advocates in Sacramento. Our discussion will also focus on impacts to YOU and your family/friends.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/
Marijuana ‘Farmers Markets’ Won’t Happen In California Yet After Bill’s Failure (CA – Cannabis Legislation)
Marijuana Moment (August 18, 2018) Popular marijuana events in California like the Emerald Cup will take on a different flavor than hoped for this year, after a bill that would have allowed licensed growers to sell directly to consumers at temporary events was defeated in the state Legislature. Cannabis producers like the small and medium growers in the northern California counties that make up the Emerald Triangle have for years sold directly to consumers at “marijuana farmer’s markets” and events like the Emerald Cup, a long-running end-of-the-harvest celebration.
Class Action Suit Filed On Behalf Of Cannabis Growers In California County (CA – Cannabis Cultivation)
Marijuana Business Daily (August 20, 2018) A class action lawsuit was filed in an attempt to win back roughly $16 million in taxes and fees paid to a California county by cannabis growers that were hoping to gain local and state licenses. The suit, filed Aug. 3 against Calaveras County in eastern California, alleges county officials “unlawfully compelled” cannabis growers to pay “exorbitant, mandatory registration taxes and fees” in 2017 before banning all commercial marijuana cultivation in January 2018.
https://mjbizdaily.com/class-a
California Could Reshape Pot Rules As Legal Market Struggles (CA – Cannabis Market)
The Philadelphia Tribune (August 20, 2018) The nation’s largest legal marijuana market is struggling. Illicit sales continue to thrive. A shaky supply chain has customers looking at barren shelves in some shops. There are testing problems. And a proposal to allow home marijuana deliveries in cities that have banned pot sales could lead to a courtroom fight. A Los Angeles hearing Tuesday provided a window into the state’s emerging cannabis economy, in which early enthusiasm for broad legal sales has been followed by anxiety and frustration across a swath of the industry.
California Cannabis Tax Receipts Fall Short Of Plans, But MedMen Grabs 6% Of Sales (CA – Cannabis Sales)
Green Market Report (August 20, 2018) The state of California released its tax data for Q2 cannabis sales last week. Tax revenue from the cannabis industry totaled $74,240,257.00 million from April 1, 2018, through June 30, 2018, which includes state cultivation, excise, and sales taxes. It does not include tax revenue collected by each jurisdiction. According to GreenWave Advisors, that means that the implied recreational retail revenues increased 36% to ~$290M from $213M in Q1. In addition to the retail revenues, the implied wholesale revenues would have reached roughly $29.9M vs $10.7M quarter-over-quarter.
Job Offer Rescinded After Woman Tested Positive For Cannabis, Only Used Pot Lip Balm (CA – Cannabis Screening)
ABC 30 (August 21, 2018) It’s fairly well known that Proposition 64 made recreational marijuana use legal in California, but there’s one aspect of the law many may not know. Employers can still screen for marijuana use. This story idea came from a viewer. She wrote “My drug test came back positive for weed, except I don’t smoke or eat weed products. What I discovered is I use a lip balm that has weed in it.” The sale of recreational marijuana in the first six months generated nearly 135 million in tax revenue for the state. Some of that tax revenue also came from the sale of topical products such as ointments, creams and even lip balm.
Contamination Threatens Medicinal Cannabis Market, New Frontier Data CEO Warns (USA – Pesticide Use)
Benzinga (August 21, 2018) North American cannabis producers must tackle and reduce contamination of their product by pesticides and herbicides to ease consumer concerns, New Frontier Data CEO Giadha Aguirre de Carcer said Friday at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference. The CEO pointed to a recent industry report from California, the biggest cannabis producer in the U.S., that revealed 84 percent of product tested was found to contain some pesticides.
Cannabis Is Creating A Boom For Biological Pesticides (USA – Pesticide Use)
Forbes (August 19, 2018) As legal cannabis farms take the spotlight, safer methods of pest control are also taking root in more ‘mainstream’ agriculture. With more states enacting medicinal and adult recreational cannabis laws each year, health officials have increasingly warned about the potential hazards of products made from crops treated with certain chemicals. In particular, chemical pesticides have been identified as a threat to cannabis consumers’ health, with potential risks that can vary depending on whether products are eaten, smoked, vaped, or topically applied.
New Bill Would Make Financial Aid Available To Students With Cannabis Convictions (USA – Cannabis Convictions)
Merry Jane (August 20, 2018) Even though cannabis has been legalized in some form in the majority of U.S. states, decades of federal prohibition have left millions of Americans saddled with criminal convictions for smoking, selling, or even possessing weed. The presence of a cannabis conviction on one’s criminal record, no matter how minor the offense, can permanently block access to housing, employment, and education. In 1998, the federal government began denying financial assistance to any student that was convicted for using or selling drugs while receiving federal aid. Every year since, around 1,000 students have had their financial aid fully or partially revoked because of a drug charge.
At The Ballot Box: These Four States Could Legalize Some Form Of Marijuana In November (USA – Legalization)
Forbes (August 21, 2018) Election Day is less than three months away, and voters in four states will have the opportunity to weigh in on marijuana policy. Those ballot initiatives, combined with the Vermont Legislature’s passage of a non-commercial legalization bill in January, Oklahoma’s passage of a medical marijuana ballot initiative in June, and the potential for New Jersey to become the first state to legalize adult-use sales and production through a state legislature, could make 2018 one of the biggest years for cannabis reform yet. With many contested House and Senate races across the country, cannabis is also shaping up to be a major campaign issue.
America’s Invisible Pot Addicts (USA – Cannabis Use)
The Atlantic (August 20, 2018) The proliferation of retail boutiques in California did not really bother him, Evan told me, but the billboards did. Advertisements for delivery, advertisements promoting the substance for relaxation, for fun, for health. “Shop. It’s legal.” “Hello marijuana, goodbye hangover.” “It’s not a trigger,” he told me. “But it is in your face.” When we spoke, he had been sober for a hard-fought seven weeks: seven weeks of sleepless nights, intermittent nausea, irritability, trouble focusing, and psychological turmoil.
https://www.theatlantic.com/he
Arizona Judge Rejects Autism As A Medical Cannabis Condition (AZ – Medicinal Cannabis)
Leafly (August 20, 2018) Autism is a qualifying condition for medical cannabis in a handful of states, but Arizona won’t be among them anytime soon. An administrative law judge in Phoenix has upheld the Arizona Department of Health Services’ denial of a petition to add autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to the list of debilitating conditions covered by the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act.
https://www.leafly.com/news/po
