CCMA Greenbrief September 28: CA Governor Signs Bill That Supports Local Cannabis Equity Programs… CBD Drug For Epilepsy Set To Hit The Market…Cannabis Tax Fairness Vote Blocked By House GOP…

CCMA Political greenBrief

Friday, September 28, 2018

www.cannabismanufacturers.org

image.png

After Months Of Battle, CBD-Based Epilepsy Drug Gets DEA Seal Of Approval & Is Set To Hit The U.S. Market

 

“The passage of SB 1294 is an important step toward creating more equity in California’s cannabis industry. Senator Bradford’s bill – and the $10 million allocated for it – will support local programs that are minimizing barriers to ownership and ensuring the sustainability of cannabis businesses. It is our hope that this will be the first of many victories to ensure equity in this growing industry.”
Rodney Holcombe, Legal Fellow With The Drug Policy Alliance, On The Passage Of Cannabis Equity Programs
“The main thing is that CBD as approved by the FDA is pharmaceutical-grade CBD. It’s manufactured under stringent standards, the same as other FDA-approved drugs
Shlomo Shinnar, President Of The American Epilepsy Society, On The DEA Rescheduling CBD-Based Drug Epidiolex For Epilepsy Patients

California Governor Signs Bill That Will Support Local Cannabis Equity Programs (CA – Equity Program)

Weed News (September 27, 2018) On Wednesday afternoon, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law the California Cannabis Equity Act (SB 1294), authored by Sen. Steven Bradford and sponsored by the Drug Policy Alliance. With his signature, Brown approved the distribution of grants to cities with local cannabis equity programs – such as Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, and San Francisco – that assist persons most harmed by cannabis prohibition and generational poverty enter the cannabis industry. The grants will be used to offer equity applicants and licensees business loans or grants, licensing fee waivers, technical assistance, and other supportive services. SB 1294 reflects a nationwide movement to ensure that this growing industry is representative and accessible to all persons, no matter their financial or criminal history background.

https://www.weednews.co/california-governor-signs-bill-that-will-support-local-cannabis-equity-programs/

 

California Governor OKs Way More Cannabis Events (CA – Cannabis Events)

Leafly (September 27, 2018) Get ready to pack legal bowls at the Hollywood Bowl, the Rose Bowl and maybe even the location of California’s next Super Bowl. While still pipe dreams, all will be legal possibilities next year under a bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday. Assembly Bill 2020 vastly expands the type and number of venues than can host licensed cannabis events. Currently only two state fairgrounds have been able to host cannabis competitions, smokeouts and sales. Now that AB 2020 is law, promoters can stage events at loads of public and private venues and outdoor spaces — concert halls, amphitheaters, art museums, stadiums, parks and urban streets; basically anyplace local officials allow them to be held.

https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/california-governor-oks-way-more-cannabis-events

 

Unraveling California’s Complex Cannabis Banking, Employee-Rights, Other Regulations (CA – Cannabis Industry)

Not Bay Business Journal (September 27, 2018) Ruthann Ziegler is a founding principal of Meyers Nave’s Sacramento office and has more than 35 years of experience in public law, representing municipalities and special districts throughout California. She serves as chair of the firm’s statewide California Public Records Act Practice Group. Ziegler also leads Meyers Nave’s new Cannabis Law Practice Group serving the needs of public entities. As state and local entities continue to debate and fashion regulations for cannabis, the federal government continues to consider the drug illegal. The Journal asked Ziegler about how that process of regulating this new industry is coming along.

https://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/northbay/sonomacounty/8750364-181/california-cannabis-law

 

A Tale Of Two Markets: Cannabis Delivery In California And Oregon (CA – Delivery Services)

Forbes (September 28, 2018) There are a lot of differences between California and Oregon. Ten months of sun versus ten months of rain. In-n-Out versus Voodoo Doughnuts. Vans; Doc Martens. Sure, we now have recreational cannabis in common. In certain regions in both states, you can even have it delivered to your home. But that’s where the retail cannabis trends in California and Oregon differ most: the home delivery scene. In southern Californian cities, delivery is king. It was king before recreational laws even passed, when medical marijuana patients were able to have cannabis delivered prior to this year. The LA Times reports 128 permits have been issued throughout the state to marijuana retailers allowing them to deliver to homes, and gives an example of magnitude via online cannabis marketplace and delivery app, Eaze, which facilitated more than 500,000 deliveries since the sale of pot for recreational purposes began in January.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurenterry/2018/09/28/a-tale-of-two-markets-cannabis-delivery-in-california-and-oregon/#3d72dcf170db

 

OPINION: Marijuana Legalization Prompts Socioeconomic Concerns (CA – Cannabis Research)

The Miscellany News (September 26, 2018) Like many California residents in November of 2016, I was happy to hear that marijuana would finally be legalized in early 2017. Around the same time, I, like many other Americans, felt demoralized following the news of the concurrent presidential election. Although Trump’s victory seemed imminent, I still could not help but feel discouraged watching his poll numbers climb higher and higher throughout the course of the night. The next morning, alongside a notification that Trump had won the presidency, I awoke to a text message from a friend saying, “Well, at least weed is legal.”

http://miscellanynews.org/2018/09/26/opinions/marijuana-legalization-prompts-socioeconomic-concerns/

 

Santa Rosa Family Wins Fight For Daughter To Go To School — With Her Cannabis Meds (CA – Medicinal Cannabis)

KQED (September 21, 2018) A California administrative law judge ruled on Friday that a 5-year-old Santa Rosa girl with a severe form of pediatric epilepsy is entitled to attend public kindergarten with her cannabis oil. And her one-on-one nurse, provided by the school district, will be able to administer it to her whenever she needs it. Brooke Adams was diagnosed with Dravet syndrome when she was just 3 months old. The rare and severe seizure disorder often causes developmental delays. Like a lot of kids with Dravet, Brooke didn’t respond to a long list of heavy-duty pharmaceutical drugs. Every time she had a seizure, her mother, Jana Adams, said, “we’d have to call 911 to have her ambulances to the ER, to load her up with all kinds of drugs. Her longest one was three hours.”

https://www.kqed.org/news/11693703/santa-rosa-family-wins-fight-for-daughter-to-go-to-school-with-her-cannabis-meds

 

GW Pharma Cannabis Drug Set To Hit Market Following DEA Nod (USA – Medicinal Cannabis)

Reuters (September 27, 2018) U.S.-listed shares of GW Pharmaceuticals rose 8 percent on Thursday as its marijuana-based treatment Epidiolex cleared the last hurdle after the Drug Enforcement Administration labeled the drug as having a low abuse potential. The company said it would bring the drug to the market within the next six weeks. The DEA gave Epidiolex a “Schedule V” classification, the lowest of the five schedules into which controlled substances are categorized, marking the drug as a chemical with medicinal properties and a low potential for abuse. Marijuana, from which Epidiolex is derived, is classified as a Schedule I substance.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gw-pharma-dea/gw-pharma-cannabis-drug-set-to-hit-market-following-dea-nod-idUSKCN1M71WI

 

House GOP Blocks Marijuana Tax Fairness Vote (USA – Cannabis Legislation)

Marijuana Moment (September 27, 2018) The powerful House Rules Committee has blocked lawmakers from voting on another marijuana-related measure. This time, the panel prevented an amendment to allow cannabis growers, sellers and processors to deduct business expenses in the same manner that companies in other sectors can from advancing to the House floor. Under a federal provision enacted in the 1980s—known as 280E—cannabis businesses are forced to pay effective tax rates that can approach 70 percent, a much higher tax rate than companies in other industries. The law was originally meant to stop drug cartel leaders from writing off yachts and expensive cars, but today its language means growers, processors and sellers of marijuana—still a Schedule I substance under federal law—can’t take business expense deductions that are available to operators in other sectors.

https://www.marijuanamoment.net/house-gop-blocks-marijuana-tax-fairness-vote/

 

A Drug Derived From Marijuana Has Triggered The First Federal Shift On Cannabis In Half A Century, And Experts Predict An Avalanche Effect (USA – Medicinal Cannabis)

Business Insider (September 27, 2018) A new drug derived from marijuana has led to a landmark change in the US government’s stance on cannabis. After being greenlighted as the first federally approved cannabis-based medication at the end of June, the drug has triggered the nation’s top drug enforcer to change how it regulates marijuana. It’s the first time in 46 years that the agency has shifted its stance on a marijuana compound. The drug, Epidiolex, is designed to treat two rare forms of childhood epilepsy using cannabidiol, or CBD, the compound in marijuana not responsible for a high. The latest move means people can now access the drug with a doctor’s prescription — though it won’t be cheap.

https://www.businessinsider.com/marijuana-epilepsy-drug-approved-dea-cbd-2018-9

 

Some Cannabis Stocks Rise As DEA Rethinks CBD Stance (USA – Cannabis Investments)

The Street (September 28, 2018) Cannabis stocks had a strong session Thursday thanks to a victory handed down by the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the sector continued those gains Friday, September 28. The DEA announced that it has placed certain drug products that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration that contain cannabidiol (CBD) in schedule V, which means the government believes the products have the lowest potential for abuse. GW Pharmaceuticals PLC will directly benefit from the new classification as it can now sell Epidiolex, a treatment for pediatric epilepsy that contains cannabidiol. GW Pharmaceuticals stock jumped nearly 7% on the news Thursday and was rising another 1.4% Friday. 

https://www.thestreet.com/investing/cannabis-stocks-rise-as-dea-rethinks-cbd-stance-14726390

 

How These Three States Are Handling The CBD Boom (USA – CBD Industry)

Pot Network (September 27, 2018) The 2018 U.S. Farm Bill is set to remove hemp from the DEA’s list of controlled substances, priming the CBD industry for a huge explosion in sales should it pass. Presently, however, the bill still sits in Congress, with the current bill set to expire on Sunday. And despite the backing of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, the hemp industry waits with bated breath to see what happens next. CBD, of course, is the non-psychoactive cannabinoid derived from the hemp plant that many people use for its supposed therapeutic properties. The market for CBD grew sixteen percent last year in the United States alone. But, despite the fact that CBD is technically legal in all fifty states, many states continue to restrict the extract in some way.

https://www.potnetwork.com/news/how-these-three-states-are-handling-cbd-boom

 

These 3 States Could Legalize Recreational Cannabis Next (USA – Recreational Cannabis)

Money Morning (September 27, 2018) Legalizing recreational cannabis could create a $24.5 billion industry by 2021, and we’re giving our readers an insider advantage by showing them which states experts believe will legalize recreational marijuana next. You know what’s going to happen when more states legalize recreational Demand is going to skyrocket when anyone 18 or older is able to buy it legally. Marijuana growers will need more equipment to grow more plants, and that’s more money for manufacturers of specialty lights, indoor grow systems, farm real estate, and financiers. With more equipment to grow more cannabis, growers will have more marijuana plants to sell to dispensaries. Dispensaries can then sell more cannabis products to consumers. Legalized cannabis isn’t a fad. And it’s a life-changing opportunity for those who invest early.

https://moneymorning.com/2018/09/27/these-3-states-could-legalize-recreational-cannabis-next/

 

A New Cannabis Infusion Bubbles Its Way Into The Non-Alcohol Wine Category (USA – Cannabis Products)

Forbes (September 27, 2018) In August, the Southern California Terra Tech Corporation, a self-described “vertically integrated cannabis-focused agriculture company,” announced its partnership with a beverage production company, the Valiente Group LLC based in Woodway, Washington. Valiente specializes in cannabis infusions; other than that, it is quite difficult to find out anything about the company. The collaboration between these two companies is to produce a line of cannabis-infused beverages under Terra Tech’s IVXX brand. The intended products include an apple cider, lemonade, Margarita mix, zero calorie lemon-lime soda, cherry-lime sparkling water and a sparkling wine—all non-alcoholic

https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomaspellechia/2018/09/27/a-new-cannabis-infusion-bubbles-its-way-into-the-non-alcohol-wine-category/#2241daa763b1

 

Local Medical Marijuana Applicants Disappointed Over Losing Permits Race (VA – Cannabis Licensing)

The Virginian-Pilot (September 27, 2018) Shock, disappointment and confusion are just some of the emotions that local companies expressed this week after failing to obtain the only medical marijuana processing permit in Hampton Roads. It took a full day of deliberation Tuesday for the Virginia Board of Pharmacy to decide which five companies would receive permits to operate dispensaries in the state’s five health districts. Those five will be able to grow cannabis and turn it into oil, capsules and creams that can be prescribed for state-registered patients. The products can only be distributed from these facilities.

https://pilotonline.com/business/article_b357bb66-c1d1-11e8-8f4c-53353768c0c2.html

 

Opioid Alternative? For Some, Marijuana Helps Control Chronic Pain (AZ – Medicinal Cannabis)

Mohave Daily News (September 27, 2018) More than 5,000 of the 178,000 medical marijuana cards issued in Arizona are held by residents of Mohave County, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services, which published its latest monthly report on the state’s medical marijuana program in August. The August report also stated that more than 87 percent of medical marijuana patients suffer chronic pain as their qualifying medical condition — that’s nearly 155,500 people. Other illnesses cited by at least 1,000 cardholders were cancer, post-traumatic stress disorder, seizures and glaucoma.

http://www.mohavedailynews.com/news/opioid-alternative-for-some-marijuana-helps-control-chronic-pain/article_171a4ede-c227-11e8-8299-dbc1a98ea57e.html