CCMA Greenbrief August 31: BCC Cracks Down On Illicit Dispensaries… Cannabis Workers Comp Hits CA… Long Beach Begins Recreational Sales…

CCMA Political greenBrief

Friday, August 31, 2018

www.cannabismanufacturers.org

Former Mexico President Vicente Fox Wants Cannabis To Be Part Of Free Trade

“We can change criminals for businessmen, we can change underground, illegal non-taxpayers into an industry, a sector of the economy. I think it should be part of NAFTA and that’s what I’m pursuing.”
Former Mexico President Vicente Fox On Adding Cannabis To NAFTA
“This new program from Atlas is a crucial step in the right direction for this evolving industry I encourage more insurance companies to offer cannabis business insurance products with the department to meet the needs of this emerging market.”
California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones On A New Workers Compensation Insurance Program For California’s Cannabis Industry

New Workers’ Comp Program For California’s Cannabis Industry (CA – Cannabis Industry)

Insurance Journal (August 30, 2018) California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones today announced a new workers’ compensation insurance program for California’s cannabis industry. The program was created by Atlas General Insurance Services to serve businesses and workers in the cannabis industry. This program is designed to accommodate workers’ comp risks involved in all aspects of the cannabis industry – including growers, extractors, analytical labs, medicine manufacturers, food and beverage products manufacturing, packaging, warehousing and distribution, transportation and dispensaries.

https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/west/2018/08/30/499801.htm

California Cannabis Market Trends Emerge (CA – Cannabis Market)

New Cannabis Ventures (August 30, 2018) As the California recreational cannabis market matures, trends are starting to emerge. In reviewing the sales data since legalization at the start of the year, we see California behaving in a significantly different manner than other recreational markets, suggesting that trends from other markets may not apply in California. When comparing California to more mature markets both today and in the early days of those markets, we see that California has charted a different path than its predecessors.

https://www.newcannabisventures.com/california-cannabis-market-trends-emerge/

California Cannabis Regulators Start Shutting Down Unlicensed Dispensaries (CA – Illicit Market)

Merry Jane (August 30, 2018) After nearly nine months of legal adult-use marijuana sales, California regulators began enforcement efforts to weed out unlicensed canna-businesses from the Golden State’s green rush this week, starting with a black market pot shop operating in Costa Mesa. According to the Orange County Register, Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC) officials teamed up with Costa Mesa police to take down the Church of Peace and Glory, a retailer acting and advertising as a recreational pot shop, despite a total lack of permits and paperwork.

https://merryjane.com/news/california-cannabis-regulators-start-shutting-down-unlicensed-dispensaries

The Pluses And Minuses Of Allowing Medical Marijuana At School (CA – Medicinal Cannabis)

ABC News (August 30, 2018) Every school day at noon, Karina Garcia drives to her son’s South San Francisco high school to give him a dose of cannabis oil to prevent potentially life-threatening seizures. But she can’t do it on campus. She has to take Jojo, a 19-year-old with severe epilepsy, off school grounds to squirt the drug into his mouth, then bring him back for his special education classes. It doesn’t matter that Jojo has a doctor’s note to take the drug, nor that the medication is legal for both medicinal and recreational purposes in California. Marijuana use is strictly forbidden on school sites because it violates federal law.

https://abcnews.go.com/Health/pluses-minuses-allowing-medical-marijuana-school/story?id=57498234

Another Group Files Marijuana Racketeering Suit – This Time Against Illicit California Grower (CA – Illicit Market)

Marijuana Business Daily (August 30, 2018) A neighborhood group in Sonoma County, California, filed a racketeering lawsuit against an allegedly illegal cannabis operation that claims the grower is creating a “skunk-like stench”  near their homes and causing health problems. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Francisco, makes similar claims to ones that have been made in recent racketeering suits involving licensed marijuana operations across the country. The nine plaintiffs in the Sonoma County case allege that Green Earth Coffee, owned by Carlos Zambrano, operates about 40 greenhouses that emanate a “stench of cannabis” that pervades their homes, makes them sick and prevents them from enjoying their properties, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

https://mjbizdaily.com/another-group-files-marijuana-racketeering-suit-this-time-against-illicit-california-grower/

Recreational Marijuana Sales Will Begin In Long Beach On Friday (CA – Cannabis Sales)

Daily Breeze (August 30, 2018) Four cannabis dispensaries in Long Beach can start selling recreational marijuana on Friday, Aug. 31, according to the city’s cannabis program manager. The program manager, Ajay Kolluri, said the dispensaries passed their final inspections on Thursday, Aug. 30. Adam Hijazi is the general manager for both the The Long Beach Green Room and The Station. He said he is “extremely happy” about the news. “For us, one of the biggest things is not being able to — is having to turn people away,” Hijazi said. “So many people are not renewing their (doctor recommendations) because they think Prop. 64 applies everywhere.”

https://www.dailybreeze.com/2018/08/30/recreational-marijuana-sales-will-begin-in-long-beach-on-friday/

Marijuana Should Be Added To Nafta, Mexico’s Fox Says (USA – Cannabis Trade)

Bloomberg (August 30, 2018) Cannabis should be added to the North American Free Trade Agreement just like any other form of produce, says former Mexican President Vicente Fox. Fox, who sits on the board of Vancouver-based medical marijuana producer Khiron Life Sciences Corp., said he expects Mexico’s new government to legalize recreational cannabis in 2019. The country legalized medical pot in 2017. Fox has long advocated for legal cannabis, arguing that it will help defeat the cartel violence that has plagued Mexico for years.

Whole-Plant Marijuana ‘Entourage Effect’ Helps Patients More Than Purified CBD, Study Finds (World – Cannabis Research)

Marijuana Moment (August 29, 2018) In a recent review of studies by Brazilian researchers, it was found that epilepsy patients treated with CBD-rich whole-plant hemp extract saw significantly better effects than epilepsy patients treated solely with refined CBD. Some sources currently call this whole-plant effect the “Entourage Effect” and it has been anecdotally reported on and speculated about for years. The review found that CBD is an effective treatment for epileptic seizures. Two-thirds of patients in the 11-study review had fewer seizures with CBD treatment. The interesting part is that only 36 percent of patients treated with refined CBD saw improvements, while 71 percent of those treated with whole-plant hemp extracts saw a reduction in seizures. That difference is significant.

https://www.marijuanamoment.net/whole-plant-marijuana-entourage-effect-helps-patients-more-than-purified-cbd-study-finds/

Canadian Cannabis Prices Continue Falling Ahead Of Legalization (CA – Cannabis Sales)

Marijuana Business Daily (August 30, 2018) The average combined price for nonmedical and medical cannabis has fallen 10.6% since the first quarter of 2016, according to new data from Statistics Canada. The latest data from StatsCan pegs the average combined cost of nonmedical and medical cannabis at 6.74 Canadian dollars ($5.19) per gram in the second quarter. Wholesale marijuana prices are expected to decline drastically as cannabis multinationals bring their large cultivation facilities online over the next year.

https://mjbizdaily.com/canadian-cannabis-prices-continue-falling-ahead-of-legalization/

Italian Farmers Solve National Wheat Crisis With Hemp (Italy – Industrial Hemp)

Ganjapreneur (August 30, 2018) Low wheat prices, cheap international imports, and eroded soil have created a crisis for farmers in Italy. Some are turning to hemp to save their farms. Hemp has been legal for farmers to grow in Italy since 2016. Starting with pilot programs in 2013 cultivating 400 hectares, hemp cultivation in Italy has reached 4,000 hectares as of this year. In Italy, wheat profits the average farmer 250 euros per hectare. Hemp, however, profits over 2500 euros per hectare and not only is it more profitable, growing hemp is also a boon to Italy’s desiccated soil, eroded after years of growing only durum wheat.

https://www.ganjapreneur.com/italian-farmers-solve-national-wheat-crisis-with-hemp/

Medical Marijuana Home Delivery Under Consideration In Michigan (MI – Medicinal Cannabis)

MLive (August 29, 2018) Medical marijuana patients could soon have their medicine delivered to their homes, under a proposed set of rules Michigan officials are considering. Home delivery of medical marijuana has only been possible in Michigan if a patient had a relationship with a caregiver. Now under a set of permanent rules the state is now considering adopting for the medical marijuana industry, that could change. Provisioning centers could send out an employee to deliver products to patients directly in a transaction as simple as ordering a pizza or Chinese food.

https://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2018/08/medical_marijuana_home_deliver.html

Stockton Offering Minor In Cannabis Studies (NJ – Cannabis Education)

CBS Local Philadelphia (August 31, 2018) New Jersey is among 29 states that have made medical marijuana legal, so Stockton University is offering students a chance to minor in ‘Cannabis Studies’ in their school of General Studies. Their site says, “The interdisciplinary minor in Cannabis Studies offers students a foundation for understanding the burgeoning Cannabis Industry.”

https://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2018/08/31/stockton-offering-minor-in-cannabis-studies/