CCMA Political greenBrief
Thursday, October 11, 2018
www.cannabismanufacturers.org
Women-Run California Cannabis Company Yummi Karma, LLC Plans To Take Cannabis Advocacy To The Federal Level
“It’s going to change the global debate on drug policy. There’s no other country immediately considering legalizing the nonmedical use of cannabis, but I think Canada will provide almost the permission for other countries to move forward.”Hannah Hetzer Of The New York-Based Drug Policy Alliance On Canada Making The Shifts For More Countries To Legalize Cannabis
“This is a population that, in many cases, had firsthand experience with cannabis during their young adulthood, and have now returned to cannabis in older age. Seniors are turning to cannabis as a potential option to provide symptomatic relief while potentially avoiding the dramatic side-effects associated with other medications and improving their quality of life.”NORML Political Director Justin Strekal On Older Adult Cannabis Use
Contracts & Agreements in the Cannabis Supply Chain, October 16 (Los Angeles)
Join the CCMA and a group of lawyers and licensed operators along the cannabis supply chain to talk about contracts and agreements between cannabis operators – from cultivators to manufacturers, distributors, labs and retailers. We even have a lawyer focused on deal terms for companies raising $$ or getting acquired.
http://futurecannabisproject.org/2018/10/cannabis-contracts-legal-agreements-operators/
An All-Women Cannabis Company Just Won A Manufacturing License In California—And Is Now Taking Advocacy Efforts To The Federal Level (CA – Cannabusiness)
Cannabis Business Times (October 11, 2018) Yummi Karma LLC became the first cannabis manufacturer to get a state license in Orange County, Calif., last week. Now, the women-led company plans to keep doing what it does best—create cannabis products for women, by women—while taking its advocacy efforts all the way to the federal level. Launched in 2014, Yummi Karma produces a full line of tinctures, as well as an award-winning beauty line called High Gorgeous. The company has been active in its local community, showing residents in Costa Mesa that cannabis businesses can be good neighbors. It has also been working to prove that the legal cannabis community is taking steps to produce safe and consistent products, and the owners hope to discuss cannabis policy reform with lawmakers on every level—and eventually with President Trump.
California Pursues Stop-Gap Plan To Issue Provisional Cannabis Licenses (CA – Cannabis Licensing)
Marijuana Business Daily (October 10, 2018) California regulators are moving ahead with a second round of nonpermanent licensing to allow marijuana companies to continue operating without a permanent license while state and local officials process a backlog of permit applications. The move is intended to help California’s MJ industry avoid supply disruptions, the Orange County Register reported. State Senate Bill 1459, which was signed into law by state Gov. Jerry Brown on Sept. 27, will allow cannabis companies to apply for provisional licenses as their temporary permits start expiring at the end of the year.
https://mjbizdaily.com/california-pursues-stop-gap-plan-to-issue-provisional-cannabis-licenses/
Cannabis Farmers Yearn For Appellations (CA – Cannabis Cultivation)
SF Weekly (October 11, 2018) For most Californians, concerns regarding where precisely a given strain of cannabis was grown have often been directly proportional to the number of available options. I don’t recall asking my high school pot supplier wherein the Emerald Triangle his wares hailed from, but with the advent of boutique dispensaries and their menus of products, such queries have become more commonplace. One long-standing idea has been to treat cannabis similarly to the way wines denote an appellation of origin. A given appellation refers to where the grapes were grown, which becomes a shorthand for the specific characteristics of taste and quality associated with certain regions. The best-known example is likely Champagne, which is why we refer to similar products grown outside that region of France as “sparkling white wine.”
http://www.sfweekly.com/news/cannabis-farmers-yearn-for-appellations/
Why Republicans Fear ‘De Facto’ Marijuana Legalization (USA – Cannabis Market)
The Fresh Toast (October 9, 2018) Republicans are starting to panic when it comes to the legalization of marijuana. They are seeing the big push to pass medical marijuana laws in many states as a way for interested parties to eventually weasel into entirely legal markets. And for a good reason. Nine states and District of Columbia have all jumped into their version of recreational marijuana over the years after first legalizing for medical use. This method is considered a gateway to “de facto” legalization, according to Politico. This has been the move for the past two decades, with California serving as the best model the United States has for turning a free medical marijuana program into a taxed and regulated market that mimics the alcohol trade. Now with states like New York and New Jersey on the verge of passing similar laws, the country could soon be in a position where legal weed is available in some of the most influential parts of the country.
https://thefreshtoast.com/cannabis/why-republicans-fear-de-facto-marijuana-legalization/
U.S. Government Loosens Border Policy For Canadian Marijuana Industry Workers (USA – Cannabis Industry)
Marijuana Moment (October 10, 2018) Roughly one week before Canada’s legalization of marijuana goes into effect, the U.S. government has issued a clarification to an earlier policy announcement that many feared would prevent people who work or invest in the marijuana industry from entering the country. Previous statements by Trump administration officials led to concerns—and resulting pushback from members of Congress—that any Canadian who is affiliated with the cannabis industry would be barred from visiting the U.S. The new CBP clarification will likely be met with a sigh of relief from Canadians who work for or invest in marijuana businesses. However, the updated statement does have a big caveat.
Canopy Growth Completes First Legal Medical Cannabis Export From Canada To The United States (USA – Cannabis Imports)
New Cannabis Ventures (October 9, 2018) Marking a major milestone in cannabis history, Canopy Growth Corporation has completed a legal transfer of cannabis products to a research partner in the United States. To the Company’s knowledge, this transfer is the first export of legal cannabis products from Canada to the United States pursuant to an import permit issued by the federal United States Drug Enforcement Administration. The shipment was completed for the sole purpose of supporting medical research and development. Currently, sources of federally regulated cannabis in the United States are limited in scope and genetic diversity. Canopy Growth believes that it can add value to the market and enable the development of rigorous testing standards for products, while advancing the understanding of the risks and benefits of medical cannabis.
Jerry Brown’s Cannabis Signing Spree, Utah’s Cannabis Compromise, And More Of The Top Cannabis News You Need To Know For The Week (USA – Cannabis Industry)
Pot Network (October 9, 2018) California governor Jerry Brown has been an essential fixture in forming the state’s marijuana policy not only as Governor but as the former Attorney General and also the former mayor of Oakland. Brown is ending his eight years as governor delivering a mixed bag in signing and vetoing some key marijuana and hemp bills last week. A historic compromise has been made among Utah’s power structure and cannabis proponents to bring medical marijuana to the western state of 2.76 million citizens. The deal replaces next month’s all or nothing vote, the passage of which was not assured. Amendment 2 will become law. Chicago-based Cresco Labs raised $100 million in private funding which is earmarked for continued expansion in Illinois and nationwide.
Survey Finds Cannabis Use Becoming Common Among Older Adults (USA – Cannabis Use)
Weed News (October 10, 2018) Aurora, CO: The use of cannabis is relatively common among those over the age of 65 who reside in a legal marijuana state, according to data published online in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Investigators from the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus anonymously surveyed older adults at a pair of ambulatory geriatric primary care clinics in Colorado. Thirty-two percent of respondents reported having used cannabis following legalization, and 16 percent reported that they were current users. Subjects were most likely to report using cannabis to mitigate symptoms of pain, anxiety, and depression, or to stimulate appetite.
https://www.weednews.co/survey-finds-cannabis-use-becoming-common-among-older-adults/
Countdown To Cannabis In Canada: World’s Largest Country With Legal Pot Sales (Canada – Legalization)
CTV News (October 10, 2018) Mat Beren and his friends used to drive by the vast greenhouses of southern British Columbia and joke about how much weed they could grow there. Years later, it’s no joke. The tomato and pepper plants that once filled some of those greenhouses have been replaced with a new cash crop: marijuana. Beren and other formerly illicit growers are helping cultivate it. The buyers no longer are unlawful dealers or dubious medical dispensaries; it’s the Canadian government. On Oct. 17, Canada becomes the second and largest country with a legal national marijuana marketplace. Uruguay launched legal sales last year, after several years of planning. It’s a profound social shift promised by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and fueled by a desire to bring the black market into a regulated, taxed system after nearly a century of prohibition.
Canada Expected To Face Cannabis Supply Shortage After Legalization Debuts (Canada – Cannabis Sales)
Merry Jane (October 9, 2018) On October 17th, Canada will open the doors to the world’s second nationwide cannabis marketplace. The Great White North’s pro-pot transition is years in the making, and has already sparked a stock market surge, concerns over border crossings, and new rules for domestic travel. But just eight days before Canada debuts its legal cannabis industry, economic experts are already flagging potential supply shortages. According to a new report from Toronto-based think tank C.D. Howe — and first reported by the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) — licensed cultivators will only be able to produce about 210 tons of pot during the first year of legalization, well short of the country’s estimated consumer demand of 610 tons.
Marijuana Backers Look For Midwest Breakthrough In November (USA – Legalization)
Fox 59 (October 9, 2018) Backers of broad marijuana legalization are looking to break through a geographic barrier in November and get their first foothold in the Midwest after a string of election victories in Northeastern and Western states. Michigan and North Dakota, where voters previously authorized medical marijuana, will decide if the drug should be legal for any adult 21 and older. They would become the 10th and 11th states to legalize so-called recreational marijuana since 2012, lightning speed in political terms. Meantime, Missouri and Utah will weigh medical marijuana, which is permitted in 31 states after voters in conservative Oklahoma approved such use in June. Even if Utah’s initiative is defeated, a compromise reached last week between advocates and opponents including the Mormon church would have the Legislature legalize medical marijuana.
https://fox59.com/2018/10/09/marijuana-backers-look-for-midwest-breakthrough-in-november/
