Property Casuality 360 (May 28, 2018) Nearly 22 years ago, California voters enacted a ballot measure legalizing the medical use of cannabis. Today, cannabis is now legal in 47 states (adult-use, cannabinoid only, hemp, and medicinal). For years, California has been depicted laxly when it comes to marijuana. But when it comes to marijuana and the insurance coverage needed to protect citizens and businesses, it is anything but.

24/7 Wall St (May 28, 2018) Legal sales of marijuana for recreational use began last July in Nevada and in January in California. Although California sells a lot more legal weed than Nevada, California sales are much lower than projected while Nevada’s are much higher. First the good news. From July 2017 through March 2018 (the first nine months of Nevada’s fiscal year), combined taxable sales of marijuana totaled $386 million, of which nearly $305 million represents sales for recreational use. Sales in March posted a record total of just over $41 million. Through March, the state has collected almost $49 million in taxes, about 97% of its estimated full-year take of $50.32 million.

BBC News (May 29, 2018) In the blistering heat of the Coachella desert, armed security guards ensure there are no unwanted visitors at a gated industrial complex. The smell is a giveaway before you step inside the nondescript buildings. With dozens of fans whirring, and under bright lights, Lars Havens shows us thousands of cannabis plants being cultivated by his company, Del-Gro. Most of the seven-acre (2.8ha) site is still being developed but several rooms are already operational.

The Mercury News (May 28, 2018) For generations, famed grower “Farmer John” Muller has delighted residents of this small town, donating his time, tales, and truckloads of orange, white, green, red and butter-hued gourds. But in an era of Big Ag, pumpkins and produce don’t pay the bills anymore. And his next crop — baby cannabis plants — is carving a rift through the community like a slice into a jack-o’-lantern.

Midas Letter (May 29, 2018) Cannex Capital Holdings Inc, who has already become the most dominant player across the cannabis stratosphere in Washington State, is now making concrete moves to repeat its successful recipe in California. There are numerous reasons to be thinking about U.S. cannabis producers generally now, and California cannabis producers in particular.

Forbes (May 28, 2018) A powerful U.S. Senate panel is directing agriculture authorities to begin building up the nation’s stockpile of cannabis genetics, and they’re setting aside half a million dollars to support the work. Specifically, the Senate Appropriations Committee wants the federal Agricultural Research Service to spend $500,000 to maintain an industrial hemp seed bank.

NBC News (May 29, 2018) Attorney General Jeff Sessions called it “one of the largest residential forfeiture actions in American history.” In early April, local and federal authorities descended upon 74 marijuana grow houses in the Sacramento area they say were underwritten by Chinese organized crime. They filed court paperwork to seize the properties, worth millions of dollars.

Marijuana.com (May 28, 2018) Mike Krawitz, 56, is a disabled US Air Force veteran who believes in medical cannabis’ ability to save lives by keeping people off the drugs with dangerous and deadly side effects — primarily opioids. Krawitz believes there is a correlation between the number of opioid prescriptions and suicides among veterans. “Use cannabis, die less,” Krawitz told Marijuana.com, his tone completely serious. “The scientific community has confirmed that cannabis saves lives by avoiding overdoses. VA [Veterans Administration] doctors know this but are obliged not to recommend cannabis for pain and PTSD.

Leafly (May 28, 2018) Rep. Tom Garrett (R-Charlottesville, VA), a rising conservative voice for cannabis legalization in Congress, announced Monday that he would drop his bid for re-election. In a video statement released over the weekend, Garrett said he was ending his campaign in order to treat his alcoholism.

PR Newswire (May 29, 2018)  Medical Marijuana, Inc., the first publicly traded cannabis company in the United States, today announced that at the 5th Annual Cannabis World Congress and Business Expo (CWCBE), taking place in New York City from May 31-June 2, the company’s Chief Executive Officer Dr. Stuart Titus will speak on medical cannabis and cannabidiol (CBD) research on May 31.

Civilized (May 29, 2018) You might think smoking up is a young person’s pastime, but one cannabis researcher says that the older crowd shouldn’t turn up their noses at joints. “It’s never too late to start smoking marijuana,” according to Dr. Gary Wenk. The professor of behavioral neuroscience at Ohio State University added that moderate cannabis use is actually very beneficial to elderly people. And moderate consumption doesn’t have the same drawbacks for the older crowd that it does for youths.

Civilized (May 28, 2018) Live resin is the terpene-rich, flavor-packed cannabis concentrate that you should keep an eye out for next time you’re at the dispensary. It is distinguishable from other forms of cannabis extracts by its use of whole plants, as opposed to ones that have been cured. Terpenes are fragrant oils that occur naturally in cannabis. These are the basis of the plant’s signature aroma and taste. But, conventional ways of processing cannabis can lead to extreme reductions of terpene content.

CBC (May 28, 2018) When recreational marijuana went on sale in Colorado in 2014, the government’s goal was to regulate and tax a drug that was already widely used and to squeeze out dealers and traffickers in the process. But law enforcement authorities in the state say legalization has done the exact opposite. Even though there are more than 500 recreational marijuana dispensaries in the state, the black market is booming. It’s being driven by criminal organizations that grow weed in Colorado and smuggle their crop into states where it is still illegal and can be sold for a much greater profit.