CCMA Political greenBrief
Thursday, November 29, 2018
www.cannabismanufacturers.org
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Wants Congress To Legalize Hemp By The End Of The Year, Citing The Positive Outcomes Of The Plant And The Growth Of Industrial Hemp Farming
“This is huge. The farm bill hemp provision is going to provide a much-needed regulatory certainty for the market. We’ve got a lot of people that are interested in investing in this but have been sitting on the sidelines.”Eric Steenstra, President Of The Hemp Advocacy Group Vote Hemp, On The Latest Farm Bill Provisions
“We want the tobacco belt to become the hemp belt. We use everything from the roots all the way down to the base fibers. The bark on it. There’s nothing wasted from this plant.”Gator Williams, A North Carolina Hemp Farmer, On His Hope For More Hemp Farming In The U.S.
McConnell’s Hemp Measure Will Be In Final Farm Bill (USA – Hemp Industry)
Bloomberg Government (November 29, 2018) Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s proposal to legalize industrial hemp will be in the final farm bill, the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee tells Bloomberg Government’s Teaganne Finn.
https://www.bgov.com/core/news_articles/PIYP896KLVR5
Could Industrial Hemp Farming Mean Billion-Dollar Green For Central Valley Ag? (CA – Hemp Farming)
The Sacramento Bee (November 29, 2018) Can San Joaquin Valley farmers and entrepreneurs make industrial hemp agriculture’s next big commodity? California voters approved the growing of industrial hemp as part of the 2016 landmark ballot measure making recreational marijuana legal. But rolling out the registration process and regulations for growing industrial hemp has taken some time. Recently, the California Department of Food and Agriculture issued draft regulations along with some cleanup language that will allow for the growing of industrial hemp.
https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/article221978935.html
Hemp Legalization Is Officially In The Final Farm Bill (USA – Hemp Industry)
Marijuana Moment (November 29, 2018) The 2018 Farm Bill will include a provision to legalize industrial hemp, the top Republican and Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee confirmed, according to a Bloomberg reporter. On Thursday, lawmakers in the Senate and House Agriculture Committees announced that they’d reached an agreement in principle on the large-scale food and agriculture policy legislation and were in the process of finalizing “legal and report language.” But while there’s still “more work to do,” it seems that hemp legalization made the cut.
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/hemp-legalization-is-officially-in-the-final-farm-bill/
CBD Infused Products Continue To Dominate Cannabis Market As Diverse Product Offerings Are Booming (USA – CBD Market)
Market Watch (November 29, 2018) The demand for CBD-based products is steadily rising as the cannabis market continues to gain momentum via sweeping legalization in North America, as well as natural economic growth as it settles into the mainstream consumer markets. Consumer interest in CBD products has dramatically spiked over the past year, with searches on Google nearly doubling in frequency from last year at this time.
Challenges – And Controversy – Swirl Around Marijuana Social Equity Programs In California (CA – Equity Programs)
Marijuana Business Daily (November 29, 2018) In a bid to reverse the fallout from the war on drugs, California is hoping to bring more minorities and economically disadvantaged individuals into the state’s cannabis industry through so-called social equity programs. However, despite the best intentions, some in the marijuana industry charge the execution of social equity programs has been less than perfect.
https://mjbizdaily.com/controversy-marijuana-social-equity-programs-california/
The ‘Green Dimension’: Inside The Lives Of California’s Marijuana Trimmers (CA – Cannabis Jobs)
The New York Times (November 29, 2018) Hundreds of seasonal workers converge every year, eager to help harvest the region’s most lucrative cash crop — marijuana. These workers, known as “trimmigrants,” patiently cut off the shaggy leaves and brittle stems of marijuana buds, trimming each one into a compact green nugget primed for bongs and brownies. Trimming weed is a tedious daily grind, requiring hours of manual labor. Once beautified, the buds are bound for California’s legal dispensaries.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/29/us/marijuana-trimmers-emerald-triangle.html
Cannabis Cash From High-Less Hemp Beckons To Ailing U.S. Farmers (USA – Hemp Cultivation)
Bloomberg (November 29, 2018) Where tobacco once flourished on Gator Williams’ North Carolina farm, he now plants 1,380 acres of cannabis. Like a growing number of struggling U.S. farmers, Williams is betting on hemp as an entirely new cash crop. Lumped in with its intoxicating cousin for decades under federal laws restricting controlled substances, Congress is on the verge of fully legalizing hemp under a new farm-bill agreement struck Thursday.
Pete Sessions And Republicans Block Another Marijuana Amendment (USA – Cannabis Politics)
Marijuana Moment (November 29, 2018) Anti-marijuana Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) may have lost his reelection bid in the midterms, but for another few weeks he still has the power to prevent cannabis amendments from advancing as chairman of the House Rules Committee—and that’s just what he did on Wednesday. This time, Sessions, who has overseen the blockage of more than three dozen separate cannabis-related proposals from even being considered on the House floor during the 115th Congress, shot down an amendment to ensure tax fairness for legal cannabis businesses.
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/pete-sessions-and-republicans-block-another-marijuana-amendment/
Federal Cannabis Studies Panel To Tiptoe Around Prohibition (USA – Cannabis Research)
Marijuana.com (November 27, 2018) A federal agency is sponsoring a workshop in December 2018 that will touch on various aspects of marijuana research, specifically focusing on how to study cannabinoids under the “current regulatory framework” of prohibition. Separately, federal agencies have recently made calls for research projects to investigate how cannabinoids other than THC work and whether they treat pain, for example.
https://www.marijuana.com/news/2018/11/federal-cannabis-studies-panel-to-tiptoe-around-prohibition/
Herb & Hospice: How Medical Marijuana Is Helping End-Of-Life Care (USA – Medicinal Cannabis)
Merry Jane (November 28, 2018) Cannabis’ federal illegality not only deters discussions between doctors and patients seeking relief for various ailments, but it also greatly limits scientific research that could help assist medical experts seeking to determine cannabis’ efficacy as a treatment for certain disorders. With staffers at assisted living, nursing home, and hospice facilities uneasy about discussing medicinal cannabis use, families with loved ones receiving end of life care are left to their own devices — often times led by a younger member of their family who discovered the benefits of such products on their own.
https://merryjane.com/health/herb-and-hospice-how-medical-marijuana-is-helping-end-of-life-care
The 1 Marijuana Stock That Investors Should Keep An Eye On (USA – Cannabis Investments)
The Motley Fool (November 29, 2018) As the legal marijuana industry explodes in North America, there is plenty of money to be made by selling the supplies that producers and vendors of cannabis products need to operate. A little-known Canadian company just unlocked what some experts think could be the key to profiting off the coming marijuana boom. And make no mistake – it is coming.
https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/11/29/the-1-marijuana-stock-that-investors-should-keep-a.aspx
With GAS, 2 Chainz Sets An Example For Cannabis Entrepreneurship (USA – Cannabusiness)
Forbes (November 28, 2018) Based off his lyrics alone, 2 Chainz clearly knows his way around marijuana. In his own words, “lots and lots of testing” went into personally selecting the final trio for GAS Cannabis Co., his foray into the burgeoning adult-use market. As more and more cities and states decriminalize and move towards the taxable monetization of cannabis, 2 Chainz also hopes to broaden the availability of GAS beyond California.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/garysuarez/2018/11/28/2-chainz-cannabis-entrepreneurship/#3dc5a237302c
Michigan May Become A Haven For Cannabis Entrepreneurs If It Learns From California’s Mistakes (MI – Cannabis Investments)
Forbes (November 29, 2018) Unless something drastic happens, it looks like adult-use recreational marijuana will become legal in Michigan on December 6. When it rolls out, Michigan will be the first state in the Midwest to legalize adult recreational use marijuana. But recreational marijuana introduces a level of business opportunities, innovation, and investment that far exceeds what a small medical market demands, and that has excited cannabis advocates in the region.
