Industry News

Republican Sen. Cory Gardner on Friday announced he’d received assurances from the president that federal agents would leave alone states like Colorado that have legalized recreational cannabis. Gardner had been blocking nominees to the Department of Justice since January over the issue, and on Friday relented.

“President Trump has assured me that he will support a federalism-based legislative solution to fix this states’ rights issue once and for...

Prominent figures from the nine recreational marijuana markets in the United States reacted defiantly to the announcement that Attorney General Jeff Sessions is throwing out Obama-era protections for the legalized cannabis industry.

From Alaska to Maine, industry insiders in states with legal adult-use programs and politicians from both sides of the aisle spoke out against the action.

But most seemed relatively calm as they prepared to sort out what the demise of the Cole Memo might mean for the industry.

In fact, the majority opinion seemed to be that the marijuana industry should conduct “business as usual.”

Here’s a look at the U.S. recreational markets:

Alaska

Alaska’s...

http://pmd.cdn.turner.com/money/big/news/2017/10/10/caption/northern-california-wildfires-orig.cnnmoney_1666564_1024x576.mp4

by Aaron Smith @AaronSmithCNN

Deadly wildfires in Northern California are burning up marijuana farms in the so-called Emerald Triangle.
Blazes have destroyed a number of farms in Mendocino County right before legal recreational sales begin in California.
Cannabis business owners who lose their crops have little reprieve.
"Nobody right now has insurance," said Nikki Lastreto, secretary of the Mendocino Cannabis Industry Association. "They might have insurance on their house, but not on their crop."
Cannabis cultivators cannot insure their businesses because federal law prohib...

PR Newswire
Aug. 15, 2017, 08:30 AM
NEW YORK, August 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Within America's explosive legal cannabis market-projected to potentially reach a staggering $50 billion valuation by 2026[1]-legal uncertainties and blockades continue to pose challenges. One of these challenges is a lack of banking options for marijuana merchants, who are largely forced to conduct cash transactions, as cannabis businesses currently do not have the backing of the FDIC and, consequently, do not have access to traditional banking options. Necessity is the mother of invention, and enterprising companies are endeavoring to skirt federal restrictions and provide cannabis companies with innovative finan...

Oct 4, 2017

MjBizDaily.com

BCC

California’s Bureau of Cannabis Control will hold three public workshops to educate hopeful marijuana business licensees on how to obtain state permits.

The first is Oct 12th in Los Angeles

http://cannabis.ca.gov/2017/10/05/bureau-of-cannabis-control-to-hold-public-licensing-workshop-in-los-angeles/

The state’s departments of Public Health, Food and Agriculture, and Tax and Fee Administration also will have representatives at the workshops.

The seminars are scheduled for Oct. 12 in Los Angeles, Oct. 13 in Riverside and Oct. 17 in Sacramento, though the bureau hasn’t released exact sites for each workshop. Each seminar will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p...

Oct 5 2017

Mjbizdaily.com

San Diego Weed

San Diego has decided to allow indoor cultivation and manufacturing, making the city among the first in California to establish regulations for the entire marijuana supply chain.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, new rules passed by the City Council include two key changes:

Marijuana production businesses must have “odor-absorbing ventilation and exhaust systems.”
Testing labs are now permitted in the city.

Council members approved the supply chain with the belief it “will eliminate the need to truck marijuana in from elsewhere and prevent a local ‘black market’ of unregulated cultivators and manufacturers that would ...

Oct. 5, 2017 MJBizdaily

Oh Canada!

Canada’s federal government floated a possible recreational marijuana taxation plan this week, pitching a 10% excise tax on top of the 5% GST levy that’s applied to most goods and services sold in the country.

Provinces haven’t weighed in with their own sales tax, but once those are included (a near certainty) recreational cannabis could be taxed at between 20%-25%.

In a meeting with premiers, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau proposed the excise tax of 1 Canadian dollar (80 cents) per gram for cannabis sales up to CA$10, rising to 10% thereafter, the Straight and The Globe and Mail reported.

The country’s largest producers – who h...

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By MJBizDaily.com

Bart Schaneman

Years after legal markets have come online, marijuana businesses are still at a loss when it comes to what’s considered acceptable advertising on social media.

They’re throwing spaghetti at the wall, and absent any feedback from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and the like, it’s almost impossible to know what’s going to stick.

It’s still not uncommon for marijuana businesses – whether plant-touching or ancillary – to have their social media pages taken down.

For instance, two cannabis retail stores in Fort Collins, Colorado, were kicked off Facebook and Instagram earlier this year, and little to no reason was provided.

But t...

By Kristen Nichols

A recent memo from Nebraska’s top law-enforcement official – in which he called cannabidiol products “illegal” – has underscored the challenges faced by CBD manufacturers and retailers nationwide.

The memo, and a CBD brouhaha in Indiana, have meant lost sales, confiscated product, legal uncertainty – and even the loss of a job.

CBD oils low in THC are legal in 50 states and can be sold everywhere from grocery stores to head shops, right?

Not so fast. It’s far from certain, creating headaches for CBD businesses in states where law enforcement may respond with legal action.

The memo from Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson advised...