BLACK MARKET
Title: Cannabis Illicit Market Shrinking, New DEA, Homeland Security Numbers Suggest
Author: High Times
Date: 18 July 2018
Extract:
There are no completely accurate methods to measure the size of illicit markets, no matter what is being bought and sold. There are, however, some figures that can be taken as proxies of these markets. In the case of cannabis, it could be argued that seizures and confiscations can be, in a way, interpreted as surrogates of the actual illicit market sales.
Now, while establishing a univocal multiple to convert confiscations into actual sales is really hard, seizure figures can help us better understand the direction of the illegal markets: are they growing or shrinking? At what pace?
To help us figure this out, GreenWave Advisors shared some exclusive data based on reports from the DEA and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security with High Times.
Courtesy of Greenwave Advisors, Dept. of Homeland Security, DEA
For reference, GreenWave estimates that last year cannabis sales hit $8.2 billion, with California boasting a 34 percent market share.
As it can be appreciated above, total confiscations (as measured in U.S. dollars) declined by 35 percent from 2016 to 2017, signaling a similar drop in illicit market marijuana sales over last year – and an even larger drop when compared to previous years.
POLICE EFFECTIVENESS
Study: After Legalizing Cannabis, Police Effectiveness Up in Washington & Colorado
COLORADO
On Thursday, July 26, 2018 the Division is facilitating a work group meeting on the following topic:
• Legislation Implementation: SB18-187 – Waste Recycling; HB18-1280 – Court Appointees; HB18-1389 – Centralized Distribution; and HB18-1381 – Vertical Integration.
Information regarding this work group meeting, including proposed rule redlines, may be located at the Division’s website.
The work group meeting is open to the public and will offer an opportunity for oral comment. Stakeholders can submit written comments through October 16, 2018. Please submit your written comments to DOR_MEDRuleComments@state.co.us
FLORIDA
Florida Approves $13.3 Million In New Funding for MMJ Office
MICHIGAN
Title: Police Raid Michigan Cultivation Facility; Business Owners, Investors React
Author: Cannabis Business Times
Date: 18 July 2018
URL: http://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/viola-extracts-detroit-michigan-raid/
Extract:
Attorneys for the company told local reporters that Viola Extracts had obtained its temporary cannabis business permit from the city of Detroit. Viola investor Al Harrington, a former NBA star and longtime industry advocate, told Cannabis Business Times, “We’re a company that’s doing everything by the books. … They just decided to completely disregard all the paperwork that our company spent a lot of time obtaining.”
A spokesperson at the city’s Law Department confirmed to Cannabis Business Times that Viola Extracts had been granted zoning approval for its medical marihuana business (the “marihuana” spelling is a characteristic of the regulated Michigan market). Such approval is a prerequisite for earning a state license.
Michigan’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) could not confirm whether Viola had submitted an application for a state license; a spokesman told Cannabis Business Times, “We are unable to discuss individual applicants and/or applications until or unless they are brought before the Medical Marihuana Licensing Board at a public meeting.” (Harrington said the company has submitted the application and is awaiting word from the licensing department.)
NEW MEXICO
Title: New Mexico Warns Medical Cannabis Dispensaries on Cannabidiol Sales
Author: Cannabis Business Times
Date: 19 July 2018
URL: http://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/new-mexico-out-of-state-cbd-sources/
Extract: State health officials are warning medical marijuana dispensaries against selling cannabidiol produced outside of New Mexico or from plants grown outside the state.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports Medical Cannabis Program director Kenny Vigil wrote to dispensaries June 7 that the practice is “in violation of the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act and must cease.”
OHIO
PENNSYLVANIA
Pennsylvania Auditor Anticipates $1.66 Billion Adult-Use Cannabis Market
