BUSINESS
Canadian cannabis company to pay $1.6M for California dispensary
Title: California Weed Entrepreneurs Will Make $5.2B In 2018 With Almost No Banks To Put It In
Author: Forbes
Date: 26 November 2017
Extract: California cannabis entrepreneurs will earn $5.2B in revenue in 2018 as recreational use becomes legal there. The state of California will collect about one billion dollars in accompanying marijuana taxes. These numbers, estimated by Matt Karnes, industry analyst and managing partner of New York’s GreenWave Advisors, point to the giant need for banking and financial services in the nascent legal cannabis industry. These services however are generally not available says Karnes, and are federally illegal. Some glimmers of change though, are on the horizon.
Banking is severely limited for cannabis industry businesses. As a “schedule one” substance, cannabis is categorized to be as harmful as heroin and banks risk losing their federal charter if they work with cannabis companies. Financial institutions need to go on record with the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen) when they establish a relationship with a known Marijuana Related Business, and Karnes estimates that just 5% of all banks have done that. He believes that fewer than 1% of all banks in the United States are currently working with cannabis related companies.
STATE
Title: How California Is Leading the Way on Marijuana Criminal Justice Reform
Author:Pacific Standard
Date: 27 November 2017
Extract: Across California, attorneys and drug reform advocates say implementation of Proposition 64 hasn’t been perfect; more resources are needed to process petitions and conduct outreach to people who may be eligible to clear their records and just don’t know it. But overall, they believe the law is an effective tool to undo the collateral damage of felony pot convictions, and they hope it will serve as a model for the rest of the country.
Title: California’s New Edibles Limits Will Ban Popular Products
Author: Leafly
Date: 27 November 2017
URL: https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/californias-new-edibles-limits-will-ban-popular-products
Extract: The new limits will apply to medical marijuana products, too, though more potent edibles should still be available for several months. Stronger products are allowed at medical marijuana dispensaries until July 1 provided they have an extra label that identifies them as exceeding the 100-milligram limit.
The new restrictions are among a smorgasboard of changes to rules around cannabis-infused gummies, cookies, candies, and other edible products unveiled in emergency regulations released this month by the California Department of Public Health (DPH).
Edibles resembling fruit, animals, or humans will be prohibited beginning Jan. 1, and products may not resemble or be referred to as “candy” after that date. Labels can’t have cartoons, images, or other messaging that could potentially appeal to children, and they may not include any kind of health promises or guarantees that aren’t scientifically proven. The health department also reserves the right to ban any future product that it deems appealing to children.
EL CERRITO
Title: El Cerrito sets rules for recreational cannabis dispensaries
Author: East Bay Times
Date: 26 November 2017
URL: http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/11/26/el-cerrito-sets-rules-for-recreational-cannabis-dispensaries/
Extract: El Cerrito has set the ground rules for a pair of cannabis dispensaries that will be allowed after recreational marijuana use becomes legal in California next year.
The action taken by the City Council Tuesday marks an end to the lengthy process of repealing a 2006 ordinance prohibiting medical marijuana dispensaries and allowing cannabis sales within the city.
El Cerrito will issue permits to two dispensary operators who will be allowed to sell cannabis and cannabis-related products as well as deliver the cannabis to customers within the city.
LAKEPOINT
Title: Lakeport City Council looks at new commercial marijuana rules
Author: Lakeco News
Date: 28 November 2017
Extract: At its meeting last week the Lakeport City Council took a first look at proposed new rules related to commercial marijuana activities and approved vehicle purchases for two departments.
Community Development Director Kevin Ingram introduced to the council a new ordinance to permit and regulate commercial marijuana, or cannabis, operations along with an ordinance amending current rules permitting and regulating personal cannabis cultivation.
Public hearings on both sets of rules are set for the council’s Dec. 19 meeting.
Ingram said the changes were necessary due to changes in state law as a result of Proposition 64 and SB 94.
LOS ANGELES
Title: Weed shops, lounges, delivery services can apply for licenses in WeHo starting in January. The city is bracing for the legalization of recreational pot sales
Author: Los Angeles Curbed
Date: 27 November 2017
URL: https://la.curbed.com/2017/11/27/16707998/west-hollywood-recreational-marijuana-stores-delivery
Extract: The city of West Hollywood will start accepting applications in January from businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs looking to open weed shops, pot delivery services, and smoking lounges, WeHoville reports.
Under an ordinance adopted last week, the city will dole out eight licenses each for retail sales, medical dispensaries, cannabis smoking lounges attached to cannabis stores, and lounges attached to cannabis stores where cannabis-laced candies, brownies and other edibles can be consumed, according to Wehoville. (A plan for the latter is already in the works at The Standard on the Sunset Strip.)
SAN LUIS OBISPO
Title: SLO County supervisors vote 3-2 to pass ordinance regulating cannabis
Author: KSBY
Date: 27 November 2017
URL: http://www.ksby.com/story/36937082/3-2-vote-in-slo-county-brings-forth-cannabis-ordinance
Extract: The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors held its fifth meeting on Monday to discuss an ordinance regulating cannabis in unincorporated areas of the county.
In a 3-2 vote, it was decided that growers who want to grow more than six cannabis plants have to apply for a land use permit. There are currently more than 300 cultivation sites in the county. This new ordinance will only allow 141 permits, putting a lot of growers out of business or forcing them to go elsewhere.
During the first year of this ordinance, only growers in the county who have a permit through the urgency ordinance currently in place can apply for a land use permit. That urgency ordinance has been in place for more than a year now.
Under the newly instated ordinance, growers would also have to own the land. Agriculture sites would be required to be 10 acres, 50 acres for rural lands, and 20 acres for areas considered residential rural.
SHASTA COUNTY
Title: Petition drive seeks public vote on Shasta County’s commercial marijuana ban
Author: Record Searchlight
Date: 25 November 2017
Extract: In October, the county’s Planning Commission recommended an ordinance that bars all commercial pot activity in the county, including storefronts and deliveries, which the board adopted this month. The planning panel did not address cultivation for personal use.
