WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: STATE CRAFTS WATER RIGHT AND NEW RULES UNIQUE TO MARIJUANA FARMS, BUT WILL GROWERS ACCUSTOMED TO THE SHADOWS COMPLY? For decades, cannabis has been grown in California – hidden away in forested groves or surreptitiously harvested under the glare of high-intensity indoor lamps in suburban tract homes. In the past 20 years, […]
Policy & Legal
Michigan’s new marijuana agency will regulate a market in turmoil
When Michigan officially consolidates pot business oversight into the Marijuana Regulatory Agency on Tuesday, state officials will be expected to tackle tough issues that are roiling the medical and recreational marijuana markets. There are lingering fears among Michigan’s marijuana businesses about the viability of a fully licensed market that has yet to produce a steady, tested supply that can meet the […]
Half Of Americans Think The Smell Of Marijuana In Public Is A Real Problem
Just over half of Americans think the smell of weed in public has become a problem, and nearly a quarter of the country say they sincerely “hate” the stench while they’re out, according to a major new survey conducted by PSB Research, Civilized, Burson Cohn & Wolfe, and BuzzFeed News. Attitudes in Canada, which legalized […]
Cansativa GmbH Becomes First European Company to Import Latin American Medical Cannabis for Initial Testing
PRESS RELEASE Test samples to be provided by leading licensed producers from Colombia and Uruguay Frankfurt, Germany (April 24, 2019) – Cansativa GmbH (“Cansativa”), a German cannabis distribution and wholesaler, has become the first European company to import Latin American medical cannabis samples for initial testing. The samples will be provided by Clever Leaves, a leading […]
Beer and cigarette makers join the pot lobbying parade
Pot may be illegal at the federal level but corporate giants and K Street are preparing for the push to legalize The push to legalize marijuana quickly transformed the cannabis industry into a multibillion dollar legal business. And now Fortune 500 companies and elite K Street lobbying firms have joined the green gold rush. Altria, the […]
Washington Lawmakers Poised to Redefine the WSLCB’s Role in Washington Marijuana
By Daniel Shortt, Attorney, Harris Bricken Senate Bill 5318 is making its way through the Washington legislature and seems destined for Governor Jay Inslee’s desk. As of April 16, the bill had cleared both the Washington House and Senate. If signed into law, which seems increasingly likely, SB 5318 would drastically change the way the Washington State […]
Pot company’s claims lead to a state inquiry over medical marijuana licensing rules
A top West Coast marijuana firm has been asked to produce records to the Wolf administration in what amounts to a compliance check on whether it is keeping to rules designed to keep one firm from dominating Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana market. The state Health Department has asked Harvest Health & Recreation Inc. to supply any […]
Federal Marijuana Legalization Is Close, Suggests Canopy-Acreage Deal
Sometimes it is necessary to read between the lines. So, when the largest cannabis company in the world enters into a multi-billion dollar deal with a well-known American cannabis firm — one that is set to take effect only after the federal government repeals marijuana prohibition — it is hard not to consider the possibility […]
The Cannabis Industry Moves Closer to SAFE Banking
By Matthew Zandi The House Financial Services Committee recently voted in approval of legislation intended to increase the cannabis industry’s access to banking, and that’s huge. With a 45 to 15 vote that followed several days of debate and amendment considerations, the legislation advances to the full body of Congress. While action on the floor has […]
Maine releases draft rules for its recreational marijuana market
More than two years after residents voted to legalize recreational marijuana, Maine released draft rules Monday that detail how the state’s new adult-use market woud be launched, monitored and regulated by the Office of Marijuana Policy. The state released the rules in response to a Freedom of Access request by the Portland Press Herald. The […]
America’s Boom in Illegal Weed
Legalization has meant nearly every part of the market is thriving — including the illicit one It seems former Attorney General Jeff Sessions was correct about one thing: Pot legalization has provided cover for criminals, allowing illicit production to thrive. Experts estimate that at least 30 percent of cannabis cultivated in legal states is being “diverted” to illicit markets […]
Marijuana is legal in Massachusetts, but your boss doesn’t have to allow it — yet
Using marijuana is legal in Massachusetts — but that doesn’t mean your boss has to allow it. Business advocates say company policies about marijuana use are currently all over the map. But a bill sponsored by Sen. Jason Lewis, D-Winchester, would change that. Lewis’ bill, S.978, would forbid employers from penalizing or discriminating against an employee […]
US authorities: Marijuana involvement imperils citizenship
Immigration authorities on Friday said that anyone with any involvement with marijuana, regardless of whether it’s legal in the state where they live, can be denied citizenship because the drug is still illegal under federal law. The announcement comes weeks after officials in Colorado, where recreational marijuana is legal, began warning residents that working for a dispensary […]
Germany to launch home-grown cannabis farming as Aurora, Aphria subsidiaries win contracts
Germany has depended on imports of medical cannabis, mainly from Canada and the Netherlands FRANKFURT — Germany has awarded contracts to supply domestically grown cannabis to two Canadian companies, as it seeks to develop its own medicinal marijuana industry and reduce reliance on imports. Drugs regulator BfArM said on Wednesday it would purchase 4,000 kg […]
Medical marijuana licenses granted for eight more Florida operators
Florida is adding eight more medical marijuana operators to the 14 businesses currently selling cannabis throughout the state. The new additions to Florida’s rapidly growing medical-marijuana industry — projected to generate more than $2.5 billion in annual revenue within five years — come from a pool of applicants that lost out in the first round […]
Georgia Gov. Kemp signs medical marijuana bill
Some Georgia patients will soon be allowed to legally buy the marijuana they are already allowed to possess. Because of a legal quirk, patients and families have regularly broken the law to obtain low-potency medical marijuana oil. Gov. Brian Kemp on Wednesday signed a bill that would fix that problem, calling the new law a carefully crafted, […]
Top 5 Buzzkills Keeping Cannabis Down And Out (And Emerging)
Unfortunately, most of these are here to stay thanks to the Department of Justice and the Controlled Substances Act. By Hillary Bricken, Co-Founder Harris Bricken There’s no question that cannabis remains a rocky, emerging industry even though entire countries and more than 30 U.S. states now have cannabis legalization or “medicalization.” The reasons why though […]
The Army Has A Message For Soldiers: Even Where Marijuana Is Legal, Don’t Use It
As more states legalize recreational marijuana, there’s at least one place where the rules haven’t changed: the military. Active service members are strictly forbidden to use marijuana, whether it’s recreational or medicinal. Standing in a rec center at Fort Carson, Col. is a doorframe-sized poster headlined, “The Costs of Marijuana.” Through charts and graphics, it […]
