CCMA Political greenBrief
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
www.cannabismanufacturers.org
Canada Becomes Second Country In The World To Fully Legalize Cannabis
“The fact that we are moving away from a Prohibition model is a victory for human rights and social justice, an economic windfall for the Canadian economy and a sign of social progress.”Adam Greenblatt, A Canopy Growth Director, On The Legalization Of Cannabis In Canada
“When you look at every industry where pot could potentially compete, there might be as much as a half a trillion dollars in sales that are going to be disrupted, everything from carbonated beverages, beer, sports drinks, tea, coffee, tobacco, and snacks to all sorts of medications.”CNBC’s Jim Cramer On The Effects Of Legal Cannabis In Major Industries
Sonoma Patient Group Seminar, October 26 (Santa Rosa)
Sonoma County’s longest permitted dispensary, is hosting an educational seminar regarding Prop 65 warnings and labeling requirements for the Cannabis industry. This will take place on Friday, October 26, 2018 starting at 10am with a 2-hour seminar followed by lunch and networking opportunities until 2pm, taking place at the Hyatt Regency in Santa Rosa. We are excited for attendees to have the opportunity to meet other licensed cannabis entities and professionals throughout the cannabis industry.
https://spg606.wixsite.com/prop65
Canada Makes Marijuana Legal, And A National Experiment Begins (Canada – Legalization)
The New York Times (October 17, 2018) Canada on Wednesday became the first major world economy to legalize recreational marijuana, beginning a national experiment that will alter the country’s social, cultural and economic fabric, and present the nation with its biggest public policy challenge in decades. On Wednesday morning, the government announced that it would introduce legislation to make it easier for Canadians who had been convicted of possessing small amounts of marijuana to obtain a pardon. While the government is not offering a blanket amnesty, Ralph Goodale, the public safety minister, said at a news conference in Ottawa that as “a matter of basic fairness,” the government would seek to end the minimum waiting period of five years to apply for a pardon as well as waiving the fee of 631 Canadian dollars.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/17/world/canada/marijuana-pot-cannabis-legalization.html
Bloom Farms Brings California Cannabis Industry Together To Fight Hunger (CA – Cannabis Advocacy)
Cannabis Business Times (October 16, 2018) Bloom Farms, one of California’s manufacturers and distributors of cannabis products, is leading an effort that brings together a cross-section of the California cannabis industry to fight hunger in the state in recognition of the United Nations’ World Food Day, Tuesday, Oct. 16. The month-long program brings together many of the leading product and distribution companies and their dispensary partners throughout California to raise consumer awareness of pervasive food insecurity, drive donations to local food banks across the State, and support the UN’s mission of a zero hunger world by 2030. As part of the initiative, Bloom Farms will donate two meals to food banks for each sale it makes on Oct. 16 through participating dispensaries in addition to its ongoing 1-meal-for-1-sale program.
http://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/bloom-farms-california-hunger/
California Court Says Police Have To Give Back Marijuana They Seize During Arrests (CA – Cannabis Convictions)
Civilized (October 16, 2018) Marijuana legalization has created several new wrinkles in law enforcement, such as what happens if you find cannabis on a person you’re arresting on other charges. But now a California court says the cops have to give you back your stash. The California Superior Court ruled that police officers who seize legal amounts of marijuana from a suspect are required to return it to the owner. A judge ruled earlier this year that officers did not have to give the marijuana back because they could possibly be seen as illegally distributing the drug and opening themselves up to criminal prosecution since cannabis is illegal at the federal level.
https://www.civilized.life/articles/police-give-back-seized-legal-marijuana/
U.S. Cannabis Firms Urge Trump To Update Laws To Keep ‘Competitive Advantage’ As Canada Legalizes (USA – Cannabis Market)
Global News (October 16, 2018) An American cannabis producer is warning U.S. President Donald Trump that Canada is poised to dominate the North American marijuana industry unless the United States takes steps to eliminate barriers to financing and market capital south of the border. A full-page ad in Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal, framed as a plea to the White House and its most prominent occupant, warns the U.S. is “rapidly losing” its competitive advantage to Canada, where recreational pot is poised to become legal at midnight. “The cannabis industry is legal in 31 states, yet most domestic companies do not have access to traditional banking or institutional financing,” reads the ad that is signed by Derek Peterson, chairman and CEO of California-based Terra TechCorp .
https://globalnews.ca/news/4556606/us-cannabis-firms-trump-canada/
Why Big Tobacco Entering The Cannabis Space Makes Sense (USA – Cannabis Market)
Forbes (October 16, 2018) The cannabis market is booming, with tremendous growth expected in the coming years. According to Canopy Growth Corporation, the potential global opportunity is expected to exceed $200 billion by 2032. On the other hand, tobacco companies have been faced with a shrinking cigarette market. Altria, in particular, has been most susceptible to this decline, given the fact that it operates in just the U.S. It is not an unknown fact that the smoking rate has been falling, with the U.S. witnessing one of the steepest declines in the world. In the face of this, a majority of the company’s revenue growth in the past has been a result of increasing the prices of tobacco products.
The Cannabis Industry Is Still Seeking Clarity Around Organic Posts On Instagram (USA – Cannabis Ads)
Adweek (October 15, 2018) It was Alex Pasternack, head of business development for edible cannabis products provider Binske, describing his efforts to learn why Instagram temporarily removed Binske’s account last month, without warning, before eventually reinstating it. Binske is far from alone in trying to understand what’s kosher and what’s not. Several cannabis firms have told Adweek about Instagram’s seemingly disabling accounts arbitrarily without communicating why such actions took place. Cannabis, which is poised to be a $200 billion annual industry, faces some digital advertising headwinds, as Facebook and Google each refuse to allow marijuana companies to buy ad inventory.
Pot Stocks Get Investors Buzzing After Canada Legalizes Use Of Marijuana (Canada – Cannabis Investments)
USA Today (October 17, 2018) Investors are buzzing over pot stocks. Recreational use of marijuana is now legal in Canada, a move Wall Street pros say is akin to the end of prohibition in the U.S. back in the 1930s that legalized the sale of beer and booze after a nearly 15-year ban. Weed stocks, as a result, have been all the rage this year as investors at home and north of the border looked to get in early on the budding but speculative business. A confluence of factors, ranging from Canada’s legalization, pot’s growing use for medical purposes and major investments from big companies like Corona brewer Constellation Brands, has shifted investing in pot from the fringe to the mainstream.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/10/17/pot-stocks-canada-legalizes-marijuana/1668186002/
Marijuana In The Mail: Canadian Postal Services Ready For Legal Cannabis Deliveries (Canada – Delivery Services)
Global News (October 16, 2018) Legal cannabis is set to usher in a wave of high-value, age-restricted parcels in the mail system, and delivery companies say they’re ready. The test of the system will come as Ontario relies entirely on the postal system for deliveries when pot is legalized on Wednesday while other provinces expect to see a fair portion of sales from online. All provinces will require strict age verification of deliveries, but a combination of existing practices and new systems will help Purolator with the challenge, said Ramsey Mansour, vice-president of corporate strategy and marketing at the company.
https://globalnews.ca/news/4557510/marijuana-mail-postal-services-legal-cannabis-delivery/
Cramer: ‘Legal Marijuana Might Be The Most Disruptive Force Since Amazon’ For Pharma, Beverage Industries (Canada – Cannabis Market)
CNBC (October 16, 2018) Canada’s full-fledged legalization of adult cannabis use will be a “watershed” moment for the marijuana industry, and the momentum will extend far beyond the official legalization date, CNBC’s Jim Cramer said. “I think that legal marijuana might be the most disruptive force since Amazon,” the “Mad Money” host said on Tuesday, one day ahead of Canada’s legalization deadline. Cramer’s $500 billion estimate came from speaking with business leaders in the cannabis industry, many of whom agree that marijuana has the power to disrupt major industries including alcohol and pharmaceuticals.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/16/cramer-cannabis-might-be-the-most-disruptive-force-since-amazon.html
Canada Is Legalizing Cannabis. Here’s What You Need to Know. (Canada – Legalization)
New York Times (October 16, 2018) Canada is poised on the edge of a cultural revolution and dramatic social experiment as it prepares to legalize marijuana on Wednesday. Although the move has been planned since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was elected in 2015, the country is scrambling to get ready for the big day because while the federal cannabis act sets a broad skeleton, Canada’s 13 provinces and territories set their own rules — including where marijuana will be sold and where it can be consumed. Not all of those rules have been announced yet. And they conflict from one part of the country to the other, leaving many Canadians confused.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/16/world/canada/marijuana-legalization-explainer.html
Dreams Of Big Profits As Marijuana Becomes Legal In Canada (Canada – Legalization)
The New York Times (October 16, 2018) Millions of dollars worth of marijuana plants sat under lamps brighter than the noonday sun as employees of Canada’s largest cannabis business bustled about the 47 giant growing rooms of its factory, which once made Hershey bars. Now it’s home to Tweed, whose parent company, Canopy Growth, was the first Canadian marijuana grower to debut on the New York Stock Exchange. Valued at more than $10 billion, Canopy is worth even more than Bombardier, the Canadian manufacturer that is one of the world’s largest makers of planes and trains, offering a stark example of this nation’s new get-rich-quick hope — the marijuana industry.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/16/world/canada/cannabis-legalization-industry.html
Burgeoning Cannabis Industry Means Opportunities For Journalists (Canada – Media Coverage)
Poynter (October 16, 2018) The growing cannabis industry is making for some interesting professional shifts in the media sphere, especially as Canada moves to legalization this week. Lots needs to be covered, but the established news media, including state and national newspapers, largely don’t have the resources to cover the marijuana industry in detail. This lack of in-depth coverage comes in the context of long-running lifestyle and pro-legalization publications, such as High Times, seeing an influx of attention (and money). This vacuum in hard coverage has led to a media opportunity, as journalists seek to carve a name for themselves and become ears-to-the-ground in the burgeoning industry. It involves publicly listing “cannabis” or “marijuana” as their beats.
https://www.poynter.org/news/burgeoning-cannabis-industry-means-opportunities-journalists
Adult-Use Cannabis Will Soon Be Able To Be Lab-Tested, As The Law Requires (MA – State Regulations)
WBUR (October 16, 2018) One of the last hurdles standing in the way of retail cannabis sales in Massachusetts is slated to be cleared this week. The Cannabis Control Commission is expected to vote Thursday to grant final licenses to two, independent marijuana-testing laboratories. The Cannabis Control Commission is expected to vote Thursday to grant final licenses to two, independent marijuana-testing laboratories. The final licenses to test adult-use marijuana will go to MCR Labs in Framingham and CDX Analytics in Salem, which both already examine products for the state’s medical marijuana market. Their operations are currently under the auspices of the Department of Public Health.
http://www.wbur.org/news/2018/10/16/legal-marijuana-testing-labs-final-licenses
UConn To Offer Cannabis Course, But It’s Not About Getting High (CT – Cannabis Education)
Hartford Courant (October 16, 2018) UConn students are going to have the chance to learn how to grow the ideal crop of cannabis next semester, but it has nothing to do with getting high. It’s all about research, hard science and finding a job in the burgeoning marijuana industry. UConn Professor Gerard Berkowitz, a plant scientist, said that for years people with an interest in growing cannabis or marijuana would go online and learn how from unaccredited, nonresearch-based programs. But now with the legalization of marijuana in many states — it’s legal in Connecticut and 30 other states for medical purposes and nine have legalized recreational use — the propagation of the plant has come out of hiding and become a growth industry.
http://www.courant.com/education/hc-uconn-cannabis-horticulture-class-20181015-story.html
