Susan Duggan

Although California’s final cannabis industry regulations will reportedly be completed Monday, many industry insiders likely won’t be able to read them until January. That may be a disappointment to marijuana businesses that were anticipating being able to see the final rules sooner than later. “We expect to send our final version of permanent regulations to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) on Monday, Dec. 3,” Alex Traverso, spokesman for the California Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC), wrote in an email to Marijuana Business Daily . “That will kick off a 30-day review period for OAL. The regulations will not be made public while OAL conducts its review,” he added. Traverso wrote that the anticipated public release of final regulations after the OAL has given approval is “likely in early- (or) mid-January.” He noted the BCC is exploring possible ways to make the regulations public sooner. The state’s Department of Food and Agriculture, which oversees cultivators, and th...

Outgoing Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) reflected on his 30 years of service in Congress in a wide-ranging farewell speech on Wednesday, and he dedicated several minutes to talking about progress he helped achieve on marijuana reform. “I cannot think of a life I would rather have lived—the highs and the lows, the idealism and the pragmatism, the courage and the weakness, the disappointments, and yes, the joyous outcomes that I have seen here as part of this living institution in its 230 years of legislative service to the people of the United States,” he said. Rohrabacher, who lost his seat to Democrat Harley Rouda in this month’s midterm election, ran down a list of achievements he was proud of and also defended himself against claims that he was Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “favorite congressman.” About half-way through the speech, which he titled, “Standing Against The Tide,” he turned his attention to cannabis. The “conservative credentials” that he earned during his time ...

(This is an abridged version of a story that appears at  Hemp Industry Daily .) Iowa’s five CBD dispensaries open for business Saturday to serve roughly 1,000 patients in one of the nation’s most limited medical cannabis markets. The state’s law authorizes cannabidiol, not marijuana – though Iowa’s lone operating producer is selling THC capsules that, according to federal standards, is derived from marijuana. THC levels in the state’s products are limited to 3% THC – 10 times the federal limit for the plant and its derivatives to be considered hemp. The five Iowa shops are operated by three retailers. Iowa bans the sale of smokable or vaporizable flower, as well as edibles. Still, MedPharm Iowa, which grows medical cannabis in an indoor facility in Des Moines and operates two of the shops, said it hopes the state’s slow CBD rollout will give it a market advantage if business opportunities expand. ( Click here to read more about Iowa’s new cannabis market.) Original Arti...

Hotly anticipated draft regulations to allow legal sales of cannabis edibles and concentrates in Canada are expected to be released before Christmas, according to sources, paving the way for a new wave of businesses and entrepreneurs aiming to capitalize on the country’s recreational marijuana industry. Edibles sales will begin next year, opening a potentially huge new market for a variety of products, including infused beverages, as well as concentrates. Marijuana Business Daily has learned that the draft regulations for edibles and concentrate products will soon be published in the Canada Gazette, the government’s official newspaper. The Gazette – published every Saturday – is where new and proposed regulations are first posted. A public consultation process will follow to allow industry executives, the general public and local government officials to weigh in on the draft rules. “We have until Oct. 17, 2019, but with the expectation of the election next October, it would m...

Brazil’s Committee of Social Affairs (Comissao de Assuntos Sociais) of the Senate  approved a bill  this week that would legalize home growing of medical marijuana – a move that highlights the need for better and more affordable access to MMJ products in the South American country. Only patients, patients associations or relatives would be authorized to grow and produce medical marijuana if the measure becomes law. Currently, the only legal way of accessing medical marijuana in Brazil is to import product individually, with approval on a case-by-case basis . Because importing products is so expensive, home growing would increase access to a large number of patients that “today can’t even dream of having access to legal imported cannabis,” Margarete Brito, general coordinator of APEPI, an association of medical cannabis patients, told Marijuana Business Daily . “This means that businesses looking for commercial opportunities trying to export to the Brazilian market sho...

Several studies have linked behavioral problems among young people to marijuana use. But what comes first—the chicken or the egg? According to new research published in the journal Addiction, cannabis consumption doesn’t cause adolescents to act out. “Cannabis use in adolescence does not appear to lead to greater conduct problems or association with cannabis‐using peers apart from pre‐existing conduct problems,” the study concluded. The inverse does seem to be true, though. Conduct problems like school truancy or shoplifting can predict whether a young person uses marijuana. To investigate the trend, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Oregon and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia created a series of hypothetical models based on self-reports from 364 young people who enrolled in the Philadelphia Trajectory Study in 2004. Via Addiction. Does cannabis use lead to conduct problems? Do conduct problems make it more likely that a person uses...

As I’ve long said, some investors will make millions in marijuana, but many more will lose a lot of money. When I wrote “ How to potentially become a marijuana millionaire, albeit carefully ,” the most important word in the headline was “carefully.” When I first started writing that investors with less experience think that all they have to do is buy a few marijuana stocks and they will become rich, there was a lot of criticism. Many could not fathom as to why I was saying that. Since then, I have published many more examples, and investors who were previously criticizing are now beginning to understand. Read: The collapse of this cannabis stock offers a valuable lesson to every investor It takes skill, knowledge and the proper mindset to make money in marijuana stocks. Let us explore with another example that, on the surface, appears unbelievable because this is a story of perhaps the biggest marijuana-related achievement. Let’s explore with the help of a chart. Chart Please ...

Original Article Source: https://www.livescience.com/64202-vaped-weed-gets-you-higher-than-smoking.html

Independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont said he’s still “thinking about” a possible run for the presidency in 2020 — and if he does run, it’s a safe bet that marijuana reform will be one of his priorities. That might not be news to anyone who followed Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign, during which he regularly railed against the failed drug war and made a powerful call for federal cannabis legalization while introducing the Senate’s first-ever bill to deschedule marijuana. But in his new book, “Where We Go from Here: Two Years in the Resistance,” the senator again emphasized the harms of prohibition. “How many young people’s lives got off to a bad start because of a police record related to marijuana?” he writes, noting that even a simple possession conviction can make it more difficult to find a job, rent an apartment, or get admitted to college. “The good news is that many states and cities across the country are taking action to undo the damage caused by the war o...

One of the longest-operating cannabis consulting firms in Arizona, Dispensary Permits, has been acquired by publicly traded corporation Item 9 Labs for $1.5 million and 3 million shares of stock. Here are the basics of the deal: Item 9 Labs (OTC:  INLB)  said in a news release the agreement includes ownership of websites dispensarypermits.com and dispensarytemplates.com, along with all the intellectual property held by Scottsdale-based Dispensary Permits and its owner, Sara Gullickson. Item 9, based in Phoenix, already owns and operates a 50-acre medical marijuana cultivation site. Gullickson founded Dispensary Permits in 2010 and since then has helped clients win plant-touching business licenses in more than 12 states. Gullickson has also been tapped by Item 9 to be the company’s new CEO for at least the next three years – subject to an employment agreement. Item 9 CEO Bryce Skalla will transition into the firm’s presidency. Gullickson also was appointed to ...

Outgoing Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) reflected on his 30 years of service in Congress in a wide-ranging farewell speech on Wednesday, and he dedicated several minutes to talking about progress he helped achieve on marijuana reform. “I cannot think of a life I would rather have lived—the highs and the lows, the idealism and the pragmatism, the courage and the weakness, the disappointments, and yes, the joyous outcomes that I have seen here as part of this living institution in its 230 years of legislative service to the people of the United States,” he said. Rohrabacher, who lost his seat to Democrat Harley Rouda in this month’s midterm election, ran down a list of achievements he was proud of and also defended himself against claims that he was Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “favorite congressman.” About half-way through the speech, which he titled, “Standing Against The Tide,” he turned his attention to cannabis. The “conservative credentials” that he earned during his time...

Study: Marijuana and beer ingredient are related; Connecticut lawmakers plan legal cannabis focus; South Korea approves medical cannabis Subscribe  to receive Marijuana Moment’s newsletter in your inbox every weekday morning. It’s the best way to make sure you know which cannabis stories are shaping the day. Your support makes Marijuana Moment possible… This issue of Marijuana Moment, and our original reporting that is featured in it, are made possible by the generous support of 347 Patreon sponsors . Cannabis industry professionals receive valuable rewards for pledges of $25 and up. Check out the perks of being a sponsor on our Patreon page. https://www.patreon.com/marijuanamoment / TOP THINGS TO KNOW Key New Jersey Senate and Assembly committees approved a marijuana legalization bill. They also voted to pass separate legislation expanding the state’s medical cannabis program and creating a process for expunging marijuana convictions. Prior to the vote, the panels took abou...

Luxembourg’s incoming coalition government agreed to include recreational cannabis legalization as part of the policy goals, a significant milestone as the landlocked nation looks to become the first country in Europe to permit and regulate adult-use marijuana. The three parties that comprise the ruling coalition government – the Democratic Party (DP), Luxembourg Socialist Workers’ Party (LSAP) and the Greens (déi gréng) – announced Thursday at a news conference that they will legalize recreational cannabis and its commercial distribution. The full text of the coalition agreement could be signed Monday, according to the Luxembourg Times. Although Luxembourg itself has only about 600,000 people, the potential market could exceed 10 million if nonresidents are allowed to participate as consumers – a significant opportunity for businesses vying to get a foothold in the broader EU market. Because Luxembourg is a member of the European Union, neighboring citizens...

An Alaska credit union has joined the growing ranks of state-chartered financial institutions to announce plans to serve the legal cannabis industry. Credit Union 1 – a 66-year-old, Anchorage-based business – announced Thursday it is kicking off a pilot program to provide financial services to the state’s approved marijuana-related businesses – otherwise dubbed MRBs in the state. “Since 2014, when marijuana was legalized in Alaska, the lack of financial services for MRBs has flooded local streets with cash, resulting in a community safety issue,” the credit union explained in a news release. “Credit Union 1 hopes to help relieve this is issue by providing financial services to MRBs.” Only legally operating MRBs will be served, the credit union noted – adding that those firms’ accounts “will be under constant, comprehensive monitoring by our compliance team to ensure all aspects of their businesses stay legal.” Earlier this week, Ohio-based Wright Patt Credit Union announced pl...

Getty Getty Ever since marijuana began down its path to mainstream commence six years ago, there has been some discussion about whether the THC buzz is on a seek and destroy mission to take down the brewing industry. Some projected  early on that the average consumer would eventually smarten up, realize that marijuana was safer than beer and make the transition from booze to bud in the interest of personal health. Even the brewing industry seemed convinced at first that this scenario was something to fear. Perhaps not to the point of full-blown extinction – because that’s just ridiculous — but there were some concerns that the big dogs of the beer world were at risk of losing profits to pot… and that just couldn’t happen. Fast forward a few years, however, and some of the larger brewing companies have figured out just how to combat the possibility of destruction at the hands of legal marijuana. Companies like Constellation Brands and Molson Coors have dived head first i...

Outgoing Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) reflected on his 30 years of service in Congress in a wide-ranging farewell speech on Wednesday, and he dedicated several minutes to talking about progress he helped achieve on marijuana reform. “I cannot think of a life I would rather have lived—the highs and the lows, the idealism and the pragmatism, the courage and the weakness, the disappointments, and yes, the joyous outcomes that I have seen here as part of this living institution in its 230 years of legislative service to the people of the United States,” he said. Rohrabacher, who lost his seat to Democrat Harley Rouda in this month’s midterm election, ran down a list of achievements he was proud of and also defended himself against claims that he was Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “favorite congressman.” About half-way through the speech, which he titled, “Standing Against The Tide,” he turned his attention to cannabis. The “conservative credentials” that he earned during his time...

The number of banking institutions that are actively servicing accounts for marijuana businesses has grown by nearly 20 percent since the beginning of the year, according to newly released federal data. As of the end of September, there were 375 banks and 111 credit unions maintaining financial services for cannabis businesses, according to a report published this month by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). It is the latest in a series of quarterly updates the agency has issued, which together have shown steady growth in the number of financial services providers that are willing to work with the cannabis industry despite its continued federal illegality. FinCEN The new data comes as marijuana reform continues its political ascendancy. During this month’s midterm elections, Michigan voters approved marijuana legalization and those in Missouri and Utah passed medical cannabis measures. Several new pro-legalization governors are set ...

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. The new initiatives are generating high hopes among supporters – and harsh criticism from marijuana industry insiders who believe the programs have unleashed more problems than remedies. At least four California cities have established social equity programs: Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento and San Francisco. And earlier this year, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation  – the California Cannabis Equity Act of 2018   – intended to help municipalities increase participation in the programs. Lawmakers have allocated $10 million toward the effort. California state Sen. Steven Bradford, the bill’s author, said that “if people of color with financial capital and high business acumen are having difficulty gaining licenses, one can only imagine ...