Sacramento News & Review (July 19, 2018) Only 30 companies have been licensed for testing statewide, with just two in Sacramento. Six months after adult-use cannabis became legal in California, dispensaries are struggling to meet regulatory requirements, and customers are suffering the consequences. The situation has gotten so bad that some dispensary owners are longing for the days of California’s medical marijuana system, which was in place for two decades before voters approved recreational weed in November 2016. Under the medical marijuana system, customers had to have a doctor’s recommendation, which theoretically reduced the potential number of customers. But medical marijuana was sold without the state regulations that are causing headaches now.

San Francisco Business Times (July 18, 2018) The introduction of recreational cannabis in California has opened up a multi-billion dollar business opportunity as the industry moves mainstream, but it also poses questions about what will happen to the medical market that paved the way for legalization. Even with though many fewer companies than anticipated jumped into the legal market this year due to uncertain regulations, cannabis research firm BDS Analytics estimates $3.1 billion in recreational spending for 2018.

Marijuana.com (July 17, 2018) The blazing heat of summer is here, and while we’re feeling the climate change, barely a year has passed since the Northern California fires torched Napa, Sonoma, Lake, and Mendocino counties. These areas are well-known for cannabis cultivation farms, and many were destroyed or impaired in these wildfires. Families are still attempting to put the fragile pieces back together and bring normality back to their lives. The effects of the California wildfires on cannabis producers has gone beyond the damage to crops and loss of revenue — for some, it’s resulted in the loss of life, too.

High Times (July 18, 2018) There are no completely accurate methods to measure the size of illicit markets, no matter what is being bought and sold. There are, however, some figures that can be taken as proxies of these markets. In the case of cannabis, it could be argued that seizures and confiscations can be, in a way, interpreted as surrogates of the actual illicit market sales. Now, while establishing a univocal multiple to convert confiscations into actual sales is really hard, seizure figures can help us better understand the direction of the illegal markets: are they growing or shrinking? At what pace?

The Fresh Toast (July 17, 2018) Although there has been a lot of action in 2018 in the realm of cannabis reform — Canada legalized a nationwide recreational pot market, while a few more states legalized in some fashion or another — there is still nothing happening in the United States with respect to this issue at the federal level. Some of the Trump administration’s most dedicated critics continue to blame U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions for the nation’s stagnant drug policy, while others boast that Congress is finally ready to make a change. In fact, some reports point to legislative happenings on Capitol Hill as to the reason the cannabis industry has a “love-hate relationship” for the attorney general. But the truth of the matter is Sessions is no longer a problem for legal weed. Yet Congress still is.

PR Newswire (July 17, 2018) The marijuana market has seen some big changes this year. For example, Canada just passed Bill C-45 (the Cannabis Act), which could add up to $5 billion in annual sales to a budding industry. Even California, which legalized its use in early 2018, could see sales of more than $7.7 billion in the next three years, according to analysts at Arcview Market Research. That could provide significant revenue to legitimate cannabis players include High Hampton Holdings Corporation, CannaRoyalty Corporation, CannTrust Holdings, Canopy Growth, Aurora Cannabis, and MedReleaf Corporation.

Equities (July 18, 2018) Today, 29 states and Washington D.C. have medical marijuana laws on the books. In 9 states and D.C., recreational marijuana is legal. However, it is still federally prohibited and considered a Schedule 1 drug – meaning that the DEA more stringently limits access, which has made it incredibly difficult to do any meaningful research into cannabis. There is little doubt amongst industry insiders that the cannabis industry as we know it today will be vastly different in only five years. Already we are witnessing a massive societal shift towards acceptance of cannabis use and efforts from around the country towards deschedulization, decriminalization, and legalization.

Forbes (July 19, 2018) With 61% of Americans supporting the legalization of cannabis, it’s no secret that people are curious about marijuana. They want to know how it works, ways to incorporate it into their lifestyle and how to use it without having an experience that’s overwhelming and unpleasant. Microdosing cannabis has been a steadily rising trend in the last couple years, particularly among women who are now the biggest consumers of low-dose edibles. It’s a market that continues to grow as more companies offer products with lower amounts of THC made for the mindful consumer.

Forbes (July 18, 2018) Two recent studies from the journal Prevention Science explored the social effects of smoking pot. Study No. 1 deals with the effects on those who use marijuana before they smoke cigarettes and/or alcohol; Study 2 relates to the effect of marijuana laws on adolescents and young adults. Recent coverage of the studies led thedrinksbusiness.com to state the researchers “found that increased exposure to recreational cannabis could lead to a decline in sales of beer, wine, and spirits, as well as decreasing cigarette sales.”

Crain’s New York (July 18, 2018) Nugg, a telemedicine service that helps people obtain a medical-marijuana card, is launching a platform in New York that will enable patients to order from various dispensaries for home delivery. Starting July 18, getnugg.com will begin listing the medical marijuana purveyors along with menus of their offerings. The dispensaries will perform the actual deliveries to approved marijuana users and will require either a minimum order or a delivery fee. The Department of Health allows dispensaries to handle only cannabis products.

The Guardian (July 19, 2018) Sean Berte is the first to admit that marijuana ruined his life. A decade ago, he was a Boston firefighter raking in a second income by illegally growing and selling marijuana. He figured it was harmless enough. Attitudes towards the drug were changing; he was growing a plant he thought should be legal and selling only to friends. He didn’t push other drugs, he didn’t sell to kids and he wasn’t part of a gang.