LEGISLATION
California Lawmakers Kill Cannabis Bills as Session Winds Down; 7 Remain
Key California marijuana bills face June 1 hurdle at state Capitol
CPA CALIFORNIA CANNABIS UPDATE
This week, we have cannabis updates from the cities of Ojai, San Luis Obispo and Fillmore. Plus: a few cities are accepting cannabis manufacturing applications on an ongoing basis. Not every city has a hard application deadline!
- Ojai recently had a second reading and adopted an ordinance that would allow for testing labs. The city has yet to release further details. In the past, Ojai has accepted applications for dispensaries and delivery services.
- San Luis Obispo’s city council adopted an ordinance that amended regulations for commercial cannabis business and cultivation. The ordinance goes into effect on June 14.
- NOTE: voters need to approve the cannabis revenue measure first before permits are issued. This ordinance would allow medicinal and adult-use cannabis delivery, retail, cultivation (indoor), distribution, non-volatile manufacturing, nursery, microbusiness and testing.
- It may be a bit of time before we see these permits issued, as the city council wants to put this on the ballot in November. Let’s see if voters approve this new tax that will create additional revenue for the city.
- Fillmore presented an ordinance that would allow indoor and mixed-light commercial medical cultivation. This would be a big step for Fillmore, though they would still prohibit outdoor cultivation and other commercial cannabis activities.
While most of our newsletters focus on upcoming and open cannabis application windows, it’s also important to note that some cities accept applications on an ongoing basis. For example, the following cities accept manufacturing licenses on an ongoing basis:
- Sacramento
- Cathedral City
- Port Hueneme
- Desert Hot Springs
- City of Adelanto
- Palm Springs
- Willits
- Point Arena
PESTICIDES
Title: Study: Deadly pesticide use is up at illegal California pot farms
Author: KCRA
Date: 29 May 2018
Extract: An alarming increase in the use of a highly toxic and banned pesticide at illegal marijuana farms hidden on public land in California is leading U.S. and state officials to team up on an issue that recently divided them: pot.
They announced Tuesday that they will use $2.5 million in federal money to target illegal grows even as they remain at odds over the drug and other issues. Federal law still bans pot, but U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott said he will prioritize illegal weed rather than going after the world’s largest legal recreational marijuana market, a decision U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has left to the discretion of top federal prosecutors.
“The reality of the situation is there is so much black market marijuana in California that we could use all of our resources going after just the black market and never get there,” Scott said.
“So for right now, our priorities are to focus on what have been historically our federal law enforcement priorities: interstate trafficking, organized crime and the federal public lands,” said Scott, whom President Donald Trump appointed last year as U.S. attorney of inland California, from Bakersfield to the Oregon border.
ALCOHOL RETAIL & CANNABIS
Title: Liquor Store Owners Are Getting Into the Pot Game
Author: Voice of San Diego
Date: 29 May 2018
URL: https://www.voiceofsandiego.org/topics/news/liquor-store-owners-are-getting-into-the-pot-game/
Extract:
The Neighborhood Market Association has emerged in recent years as a powerful lobbying arm of the region’s many convenience and liquor stores. Its representatives have funded political campaigns and its former president, an advocate for Iraqi refugees, earned an invitation to the White House.
Now, some of those same businessmen are carving out a corner of the marijuana marketplace.
A VOSD review of state, county and city records, as well as interviews with vendors and store owners, found that at least 20 people who are members of the NMA or do business with other trade group members have owned or managed properties with dispensaries. Authorities have investigated or hauled 16 of those businessmen into court — some on multiple occasions. All but one of the court cases ended in fines, and others were the target of private disability access complaints.
VOSD also found that three of San Diego’s 13 legal dispensaries have direct connections to NMA leaders. Two of those leaders were punished by San Diego officials for hosting illegal dispensaries on their properties. This has occurred despite threats by authorities to keep black market players out of the legitimate commercial space.
They are not the only business people in San Diego attempting to break into the marijuana game. Since the passage of Proposition 64, which legalized marijuana for adults, professionals of all types have been elbowing one another for space.
But their presence in the industry might not have been so predictable in November 2016. Prop. 64 prohibited alcohol and tobacco sellers from also obtaining a marijuana license. Last summer, however, the California Legislature gutted that provision when it converted the ballot measure into a set of rules.
CONFERENCE
