Susan Duggan

An ambitious campaign to decriminalize psychedelics in Washington, D.C., is one step closer to placing their measure on the November ballot with the formal submission of tens of thousands of voter signatures. Organizers have been scrambling for weeks to collect enough signatures from D.C. voters by Monday’s deadline amid historically difficult circumstances: a global pandemic, months of stay-at-home orders and protests over racism and police violence that filled the streets of the nation’s capital. But with the help of innovative signature-gathering techniques and allies flown in from across the country, advocates said they had successfully submitted upwards of 35,000 signatures—more than enough to qualify the initiative. If approved by voters, Initiative 81 would make enforcement of laws against plant- and fungus-based psychedelics among the “lowest law enforcement priorities” for the Metropolitan Police Department. It would not, however, legalize or reduce penalties for the subs

Nevada’s Cannabis Compliance Board is getting up and running this month in a transition of oversight power from the original industry regulator, the state Department of Taxation. According to KUNR Public Radio, the new board will be in charge of company site inspections, overseeing marijuana lab testing and more. The transition began last year at […] New regulatory agency takes reins of Nevada’s marijuana industry is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs Original Article Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/cannabis-compliance-board-takes-reins-of-nevada-marijuana-industry/

An ambitious campaign to decriminalize psychedelics in Washington, D.C., is one step closer to placing their measure on the November ballot with the formal submission of tens of thousands of voter signatures. Organizers have been scrambling for weeks to collect enough signatures from D.C. voters by Monday’s deadline amid historically difficult circumstances: a global pandemic, months of stay-at-home orders and protests over racism and police violence that filled the streets of the nation’s capital. But with the help of innovative signature-gathering techniques and allies flown in from across the country, advocates said they had successfully submitted upwards of 35,000 signatures—more than enough to qualify the initiative. If approved by voters, Initiative 81 would make enforcement of laws against plant- and fungus-based psychedelics among the “lowest law enforcement priorities” for the Metropolitan Police Department. It would not, however, legalize or reduce penalties for the subs

Does marijuana ruin an exercise routine? You might be surprised. A new study of older Americans found that cannabis consumers tended to do more formal exercise and engage in more physical activities than non-consumers during the course of a four-month trial. While authors cautioned the findings are preliminary, they contribute to a growing body of evidence challenging the lazy-stoner stereotype. “Compared to older adult nonusers,” says the study, out of the University of Colorado at Boulder, “older adult cannabis users had lower [body mass index] at the beginning of an exercise intervention study, engaged in more weekly exercise days during the intervention, and were engaging in more exercise-related activities at the conclusion of the intervention.” In other words, not only were adults over 60 who used marijuana generally in better shape than their peers who abstained from cannabis, they were also more responsive to an assigned four-month “exercise intervention trial”—essentiall

As executive director of the Los Angeles Department of Cannabis Regulation, Cat Packer has overseen one of the most turbulent marijuana licensing programs in the nation since being appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti nearly three years ago. While L.A.’s cannabis licensing seems to have gone off the rails since allegations of corruption arose over 100 […] Big changes in Los Angeles marijuana licensing: Q&A with cannabis czar Cat Packer is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs Original Article Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/los-angeles-cannabis-czar-cat-packer-talks-about-citys-big-licensing-changes/

Only a day after a new marijuana decriminalization law took effect in Virginia, top state lawmakers are announcing that they’re already looking ahead to full legalization. A group of Democratic legislators on Thursday announced plans to introduce a bill to legalize and regulate a commercial cannabis market in the state. While the measure isn’t set to be filed until next year, lawmakers framed legalization as necessary in the fight for social and racial justice. “Decriminalizing marijuana is an important step in mitigating racial disparities in the criminal justice system, but there is still much work to do,” House Majority Leader Charniele Herring (D) said in a press release. “While marijuana arrests across the nation have decreased, arrests in Virginia have increased.” Other lawmakers backing the broader legalization push include Sens. Adam Ebbin (D) and Jennifer McClellan (D), as well as Del. Steve Heretick (D). On Wednesday, the state’s new marijuana decriminalization policy t

The case of UK’s not-for-profit farming co-operative Hempen illustrates the extra hurdles British hemp farmers face, not being able to use the flowers, the most valuable part of their crop. In the UK, a license from the Home Office is required to grow hemp. Applications must be done online. The fee for new applications is £580 ($645) […] One of the largest hemp farms in the UK forced to destroy crop is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs Original Article Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/one-of-the-largest-hemp-farms-in-the-uk-forced-to-destroy-crop/

Ancillary firm GreenGro Technologies announced on Thursday that it has acquired four acres of real estate in southern California for propagating low-THC, high-CBD hemp seeds. “We expect the sale of those seeds during to have a significant positive impact on both our revenue and bottom line since the costs associated with producing hemp seeds are […] GreenGro Technologies acquires California real estate for hemp CBD seed cultivation is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs Original Article Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/greengro-technologies-acquires-california-real-estate-for-hemp-cbd-seed-cultivation/

Marijuana Business Daily is closed for the Fourth of July holiday and will resume publishing Sunday with a limited schedule. MJBizDaily will return to its usual publishing schedule Monday. Marijuana Business Daily on holiday schedule is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs Original Article Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/marijuana-business-daily-to-resume-publishing-friday-2/

A campaign to legalize medical marijuana in Idaho is preparing to potentially collect signatures again, as they are likely to seek the same relief that a federal court recently granted a separate campaign that found its petitioning efforts crippled by the coronavirus pandemic. The judge said activists behind Reclaim Idaho, which is pushing an initiative on school funding, can start collecting signatures in-person and electronically for 48 days starting July 9. While the Idaho Cannabis Coalition wasn’t involved in that case, they feel the ruling will apply to them and they’re actively monitoring the situation . “We are in the process of working with the local medical marijuana campaign to assess whether Judge Winmill’s order provides a route for the medical marijuana initiative to still qualify for the November ballot,” Tamar Todd, legal director for the New Approach PAC, which is lending support to the state cannabis effort, told Marijuana Moment. “The medical marijuana campaign i

The national marijuana dispensary chain MedMen has temporarily closed down all of its stores after several of its Los Angeles-based locations were looted over the weekend. While the company strongly condemned the looting, it said it recognizes the tragedies that led up to the incidents and is offering to support its black employees during this time. Businesses in cities across the country have been impacted by outrage over recent police killings of black Americans. That includes George Floyd, whose death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer ignited mass protests, some of which have been followed by looting. In an internal memo to MedMen employees that was obtained by Marijuana Moment, the company said that its locations in downtown Los Angeles, West Hollywood and Beverly Hills “were heavily damaged, as were a number of other businesses, including those in the cannabis community.” #medmen pic.twitter.com/Bk0Uv99EYe — inVerse, inc (@junbangu) May 31, 2020 “Effective imm

Several drug policy reform campaigns are in the final stretch as deadlines to submit signatures for proposed ballot initiatives loom this week and next. While the coronavirus pandemic dealt serious blows to marijuana, psychedelics and other drug reform groups in jurisdictions across the country, forcing some to end their campaigns, activists in Arizona, Idaho, Nebraska, Oregon and Washington, D.C. are still in the game, with some running against the clock to turn in enough valid signatures to qualify and others now waiting for officials to validate petitions they’ve already submitted. That’s in addition to measures that have already qualified for November ballots in states like Mississippi, New Jersey and South Dakota. The proposed ballot measures would accomplish everything from legalizing cannabis to decriminalizing psychedelics such as psilocybin and ayahuasca. Here’s a status update on where they stand: Arizona Deadline: July 2 Smart & Safe Arizona is a campaign to put

Eli McVey, research analyst for Marijuana Business Daily, presented his research this week on how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced cannabis sales and the behavior of adult-use and medical cannabis consumers. An up-close look at COVID-19’s impact on US marijuana sales is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs Original Article Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/how-has-covid-19-impacted-american-marijuana-sales/

San Francisco cannabis companies were warned this week that expected July Fourth weekend protests could lead to further burglaries, akin to how some criminals targeted marijuana businesses during Black Lives Matter marches in May. In the warning bulletin, the San Francisco Office of Cannabis wrote that “several protests” scheduled for the holiday weekend could create […] San Francisco advises marijuana businesses to prep for possible attacks is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs Original Article Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/san-francisco-advises-marijuana-businesses-to-prep-for-more-possible-attacks/

Employees at New England Treatment Access, a cannabis company based in Massachusetts, voted to form a union under the United Food and Commercial Workers – becoming the latest marijuana industry workers to affiliate with the UFCW. Sixty workers at NETA’s grow facility in Franklin cast the votes to unionize, the Boston Business Journal reported. If […] Employees at Massachusetts marijuana firm vote to unionize is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs Original Article Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/employees-at-massachusetts-marijuana-firm-vote-to-unionize/

Several drug policy reform campaigns are in the final stretch as deadlines to submit signatures for proposed ballot initiatives loom this week and next. While the coronavirus pandemic dealt serious blows to marijuana, psychedelics and other drug reform groups in jurisdictions across the country, forcing some to end their campaigns, activists in Arizona, Idaho, Nebraska, Oregon and Washington, D.C. are still in the game, with some running against the clock to turn in enough valid signatures to qualify and others now waiting for officials to validate petitions they’ve already submitted. That’s in addition to measures that have already qualified for November ballots in states like Mississippi, New Jersey and South Dakota. The proposed ballot measures would accomplish everything from legalizing cannabis to decriminalizing psychedelics such as psilocybin and ayahuasca. Here’s a status update on where they stand: Arizona Deadline: July 2 Smart & Safe Arizona is a campaign to put