BUSINESS
Title: Deal-Making in the Cannabis Industry Hits an All-Time High: What It Means for Marijuana Stocks
Author: Motley Fool
Date: 27 November 2017
Extract: While it’s true that more people have accepted legalization of both medical and recreational marijuana than ever before, the cannabis industry hasn’t entirely been viewed as part of the mainstream economy in the past. I think Constellation Brands’ partnership with and investment in Canopy Growth changes that significantly.
FEDERAL
Title: Nevermind State Law, Federal Employees Still Can’t Use Medical Marijuana
Author: Merry Jane
Date: 17 November 2017
Extract: A friendly reminder: if you work for the Feds, medical marijuana use — even if legal in your state — is still cause enough to lose your job. In a statement published in the Federal Register this week, the U.S. Department of Transportation clarified that even cannabis patients have no excuse for failing a drug test.
“It has always been the intent of this program to follow the [Controlled Substances Act] regarding what constitutes a legally valid prescription. The term ‘prescription’ has become more loosely used in recent years,” writes Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. “Some state laws allowing marijuana use the term ‘prescription,’ [however most use “recommendation” because cannabis isn’t FDA-approved] even though a recommendation for someone to use marijuana under state law is not a prescription consistent with the Controlled Substance Act.”
Title: Medical Marijuana, The DOJ and Broken Promises. When it was still Obama’s White House in 2016, the administration announced that they’d be taking away some of the barriers to medicinal marijuana research.
Author: The Fresh Toast.com
Date: 27 November 2017
URL: https://thefreshtoast.com/cannabis/medical-marijuana-doj-broken-promises/
Extract: For months now, Sessions has been at a stalemate when it comes to expanding medical marijuana research, therefore breaking a promise made to the People by their government. Willfully ignoring the 25 submitted proposals to grow cannabis in conjunction with the feds for research purposes and a bipartisan letter written specifically requesting his support in this matter, Sessions and the DOJ have fervently resisted all – leaving Mississippi with the continued monopoly.
STATES
Title: Will anti-marijuana Democrats hold back legalization in New Jersey and Pennsylvania?
Author: Philly.com ( Thanks to Andrew Sacks SWD for the pointer)
Date: 28 November 2017
Extract: Although the national Democratic Party adopted a “pathway to legalization” for marijuana in 2016, some key figures holding up reform carry a “D” after their political title. A few have launched pointed challenges to their own party’s efforts in an attempt to keep the war against cannabis consumers from going cold.
After a personal struggle with alcohol and prescription drugs, former Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy co-founded Project SAM, the only national group focused on fighting marijuana legalization. But now Kennedy has been appointed to cannabis-positive N.J. governor-elect Phil Murphy’s transition team.
Kennedy’s approach to cannabis consumers is simple: Treatment or jail. To say he is firmly against legalization would be an understatement. His active presence in Trenton at a critical moment for the future of marijuana in the Garden State could be a significant factor in delaying the passage of any law.
COLORADO
Colorado Budget Committee Anticipating Less Cannabis Tax Money Following Sales Tax Changes
Colorado credit union continues marijuana banking crusade with new lawsuit, strategy
DETROIT
Detroit City Council Wants to Challenge Voter-Approved Medical Marijuana Measures in Court
INDIANA
MICHIGAN
Title: Is recreational marijuana about to be legalized in Michigan?
Author: Press & Guide
Date: 27 November 2013
Extract: “Through legalization and regulation, we have an opportunity to raise significant revenue to help pay for state services, like repairs to our roads and bridges,” he said. “I look forward to the ongoing conversation as it continues into 2018.”