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Close to Home: Cannabis is an essential, but unsupported, business
May 11, 2020
Suppose everyone who bought cannabis in California purchased it in the legal market. The tax base would increase, and the industry would quadruple in size. With that growth would come tens of thousands of new jobs — many of them well-paid union jobs — at a time when the state sorely needs them.
How To Know If You're Buying High Quality Marijuana
May 06, 2020
Smoking weed and having fun is easy. It’s only once you get to know the plant and have had different experiences with it that you start to grow interested in the details and how it can produce different effects. Although we don’t normally think about it, there’s more to weed than the strain and THC content.
Sweeping Weedmaps subpoena underscores US government’s continued scrutiny of marijuana industry
April 27, 2020
When the U.S. marijuana industry learned of a federal grand jury subpoena served to Weedmaps owner Ghost Management Group, the news was an eye-opener for many in the business.
Dispensary Execs On Cannabis Delivery During Coronavirus: 'A Lasting Shift In Consumer Behavior'
April 27, 2020
As regulations have shifted around cannabis delivery as a result of stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus pandemic, there is optimism that aspects of the new market could outlast the virus.
Edibles dosage chart: How strong is your cannabis-infused edible?
March 02, 2020
Edible forms of cannabis, including food products, lozenges, and capsules, can produce effective, long-lasting, and safe effects. These forms of cannabis are also most likely to produce unwanted effects and overconsumption symptoms, which can be very unpleasant. The difference is, of course, the dose.
Santa Clara County Superior Court to expunge 11,500 marijuana convictions next week
April 26, 2020
SAN JOSE, Calif. - By the middle of next week, the Santa Clara County Superior Court will reduce or expunge over 11,500 backlogged marijuana conviction records for more than 9,000 people, the court said in a news release Friday.
Cannabis May Ease Opioid Withdrawal Symptoms, Johns Hopkins Study Finds
April 10, 2020
Researchers are calling for formal clinical trials into the efficacy of marijuana for treating opioid use disorder after a newly published study found that cannabis may ease many common symptoms of opioid withdrawal.
KGB Reserve steps into the Market
July 18, 2019
New from KGB Reserve: Several different flavors of sauce pen, and dozens of strains for the Torpedo Prerolls. Now in stock at Higher Elevation!
Please take some time and check out KGBreserve.com !
Ontario scraps government monopoly, adopts private retail plan for adult-use cannabis market
August 14, 2018
Ontario’s new retail framework for recreational cannabis will start with online-only sales when legalization takes effect Oct. 17, with a network of privately owned stores expected to be in place by April 1.
California Adds 6421 Cannabis Licenses in First Half of 2018
July 21, 2018
During the first six months of 2018, since California began issuing temporary marijuana licenses for adult-use cannabis, the number of granted licenses jumped from 1,272 licenses on January 17th to 6,421 licenses on June 30th. That’s a growth rate of 405%!
According to the Cannabiz Media research team, which tracks marijuana licenses across the United States and Canada in the Cannabiz Media License Database, the growth rate was significantly higher during the first quarter of 2018 (322%) compared to the second quarter of the year (20%), but the team explains that numbers don’t tell the full story at first glance.
California Cannabis Lab Bottleneck
July 11, 2018
The bottleneck could belie an imbalance in the legal cannabis market. While 599 temporary manufacturing licenses and 3,105 temporary cultivation licenses are active in California, the state has only granted 31 temporary licenses for labs. Confronted with rising demand after July 1, lab managers have spent the past three weeks staffing up, only to find their turnaround times are still double or triple what they were before the new regulations.
Backers of the Chalice Festival sue California
June 19, 2018
After reviewing the issue, Dracup said their attorneys deemed that the “fairgrounds itself was the local jurisdiction,” and that the state fair organization “was sovereign to the local ordinances.” So, with support from the fairground’s board, he said they filed an application with the state on May 1, within the 60-day window now required as part of the permitting process.
However, state spokesman Traverso said the cannabis bureau couldn’t approve the request at that time because Chalice didn’t have written permission from Victorville city leaders.
California Bill To Slash Marijuana Taxes Suffers Setback
May 26, 2018
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s legal marijuana industry will have to wait for a tax cut.
Legislation that would have slashed taxes on legal pot for three years to entice people away from the black market failed to advance out of a key legislative committee Friday.
“Today was another big win for the black market,” said Assemblyman Tom Lackey, who co-authored the measure. “All we wanted to do is to level the playing field financially.”
The Marijuana Justice Act- The End Of Federal Prohibition
May 23, 2018
Last year, I introduced the Marijuana Justice Act—a bill that aims to end the federal prohibition of marijuana in the United States and incentivize states to legalize it at the state level if they disproportionately arrest or incarcerate poor people or people of color.
Since introducing the Marijuana Justice Act I’ve been working to build support in Congress, and today I’m excited to announce our 5th co-sponsor, my friend and colleague Senator Jeff Merkley.
California Bill May Stop Local Bans of Marijuana Delivery Services
April 11, 2018
LaCroix gets cannabis delivered once or twice a week to his home to help with pain, reduce inflammation and keep up his spirits. He wouldn’t be able to get cannabis without those deliveries. Neither he nor his wife, who can’t leave him alone in his condition, could have made it to a dispensary.
He’s one of the lucky ones.
Trump Extends Cannabis Protections 'Til December As Plans For Study, States Remain Hazy
September 25, 2017
In his temporary budget-dealing with Democrats, President Trump has agreed to continue a ban on using federal funds to interfere in states' legal cannabis practices, but as 2018 nears, a government stance is largely still up in the air.
Earlier this month, the president and congressional Democratic leaders reached a budget agreement to approve hurricane relief, federal spending, and raising the debt ceiling through the end of the year. The agreement included a Rohrabacher-Blumenauer clause (a.k.a. Rohrabacher-Farr), which will effectively serve to protect state medical marijuana programs from intrusion by federal authorities until Dec. 8, 2017.
L.A. is set to be a hot market for marijuana sales. But there might not be many places to smoke it
September 24, 2017
Los Angeles lawmakers are laying the groundwork for what is widely expected to be one of the hottest markets for marijuana in the country, one that could bring more than $50 million in taxes to city coffers next year.
California is about to open its first legal cannabis shops and it's posing a huge problem for local pot farms
September 06, 2017
Growing marijuana has run in June’s family for three generations, a stretch that has seen universal prohibition give way to accelerating legalisation.
For well over a decade, June – who asked her real name not be used – and her husband have been among the thousands of Californians who cultivate pot in a state where the marijuana leaf has become as much of a symbol as the surfboard.
But, despite the grand opening of California’s recreational marijuana industry being mere months away, many of the people who have tended their plants beneath the evergreens and oaks of the state’s undulating hills aren’t sure they can stay in the business. A crop that should be becoming a boon risks becoming a burden, as many will have nowhere to sell what they’ve grown.
Anti-legalization group urges feds to “systematically shut down” cannabis industry
August 30, 2017
Jeff Sessions has more reading about marijuana regs on his desk.
Last week, governors from Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington, the first four states to legalize recreational marijuana, each sent letters to the attorney general defending their respective regulatory regimes, designed to uphold the Cole Memo. That Obama-era memo outlined law enforcement and financial oversight priorities for states that have legalized marijuana for medical or recreational use.
On the fourth anniversary of the memo, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), a nonprofit group opposed to marijuana legalization, announced it had sent a report to Sessions and other lawmakers detailing how those states have failed to live up to the responsibilities outlined.
Cannabis Shows Promise In Treating Schizophrenia And Tourette Syndrome
August 28, 2017
Despite cannabis' history in folk pharmacopoeias, clinical studies of its medicinal impact remain limited in many areas. Based on some promising early results, researchers are now calling for a closer look at its applications for certain mental health conditions for which more 'traditional' treatments have come up short.
According to recent studies, the cannabis-derived chemical cannabidiol (CBD) may offer meaningful relief with schizophrenia, a frequently chronic condition which can significantly interfere with how we think, feel, and behave.
Lagunitas Unleashes New IPA Made With Cannabis
August 24, 2017
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California-based brewery Lagunitas, which was recently purchased by Heineken International, has unleashed a beer containing cannabis extracts. The IPA, however, does not contain any THC, the compound that causes the marijuana-related high; instead, the SuperCritical IPA simply tastes like weed, without any of the side benefits of weed consumption.
The cannabis industry has a clear favorite in the race to be California's next governor
August 24, 2017
The fundraising dinner for Gavin Newsom in Salinas was in most ways a typical night for a political candidate. Local business leaders paid up to $5,000 for a chance to talk with the man aiming to be California’s next governor over cauliflower bisque, strip steak and Meyer lemon pudding cake.
The hosts that March evening were in the agriculture business, in a region known for its lettuce, grapes and strawberries. But they left their signature dish off the menu: candy infused with marijuana.
California will soon have open sales of recreational marijuana, and it needs to decide how to regulate its newest cash crop. Hoping to influence those decisions, the cannabis industry is seeking access to the state’s political leaders.
Deputies Kill Northern California Illegal Marijuana Grower
August 24, 2017
DURHAM, Calif. (AP) — Northern California authorities have shot and killed an illegal marijuana grower they say confronted sheriff’s deputies with a gun.
The Butte County Sheriff’s Office says 56-year-old Mark Jensen died Tuesday night in the community of Durham.
Nevada Gaming Commission to Discuss Cannabis and Casinos
August 23, 2017
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Nevada Gaming Commission hopes to address the problems the state’s legalization of recreational marijuana present during an upcoming special meeting.
The Las Vegas Sun reports the commission will meet Thursday to discuss ways to not allow the state’s gaming companies to be associated with something that is technically illegal.
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FDA Declares CBD ‘Beneficial,’ Wants Your Input ASAP
August 14, 2017
The United Nations is trying to figure out how to categorize cannabidiol(CBD), a non-psychoactive and medically beneficial cannabinoid contained in cannabis. And UN officials, through the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), are asking for your help.
Judge Halts Feds’ Cannabis Case, Citing Rohrabacher-Blumenauer
August 11, 2017
Still need a reason to care about that obscure federal spending provision known as the Rohrabacher–Blumenauer amendment? Here’s one: The congressional measure, currently set to expire next month, may be the only thing keeping a pair of California cannabis growers out of prison.
State Leaders Respond to Sessions’ Criticism of Legal Cannabis
August 07, 2017
US Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired a warning shot at state-legal cannabis last week. In separate letters sent to leaders in Washington, Colorado, and Oregon, he raised what he called “serious questions” about the states’ cannabis laws. Now some state officials are shooting back.
Even with legalized weed, California’s black market will thrive
August 06, 2017
Legalizing marijuana, California voters were told last year, would create a “safe, legal and comprehensive system” allowing adults to consume the drug while keeping it out of the hands of children. Marijuana would be sold in highly regulated stores, the Proposition 64 campaign promised, and California would gain new tax revenue by bringing the cannabis marketplace “out into the open.”
California Authorities Seize 27,000 Cannabis Plants in 4-Day Calaveras Raid
August 04, 2017
SAN ANDREAS, Calif. (AP) — More than 27,000 marijuana plants were seized and 35 people arrested in a series of raids in a California county that is trying to crack down on illegal grows as the state prepares to become the world’s largest marijuana marketplace when recreational cannnabis is legalized next year.
A Tiny California Town May Become The Eco-Friendly 'Epcot Of Cannabis'
August 03, 2017
After spending a few years on the market with an asking price of $5 million, the unincorporated township of Nipton, CA has finally found a new owner in cannabis technology company American Green. Comprising 80 acres of land (plus another 40 that house solar facilities), a trailer park, a small hotel, and a couple of stores, the town will soon be transformed into a major center for cannabis production, commerce, innovation, and education, according to the company.
Officials Grapple With Limiting Cannabis Ads at Las Vegas Airport
August 02, 2017
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Officials are grappling with how to limit advertisements for marijuana at Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport.
Clark County commissioners on Tuesday discussed a proposed ordinance that would ban cannabis ads at the airport. But its language raised some concerns as it could be applied to taxis with advertisements that go through the airport every day.
August 02, 2017
California's Gold Country is dying. The marijuana industry has arrived, offering tax revenue and job opportunities. So why are the locals rejecting it?
In Rebuke to Sessions, Senate Committee OKs Medical Marijuana Protections
July 27, 2017
The Senate Appropriations approved an amendment to protect state medical marijuana patients this morning, delivering a setback to Attorney General Jeff Sessions. In May, Sessions delivered a letter to Congress specifically requesting that leaders reject that budget amendment, known as the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment
Does Closing Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Increase Crime? Study Says Yes
July 13, 2017
While Attorney General Jeff Sessions mulls over how to take down legal cannabis in the United States—making ludicrous comments like “DARE became fundamental to our success,” to a group of supporters of the war on drugs—a new study shows that closing medical marijuana dispensaries actually increases crime in the area where they operated.