​Just a few weeks ago, President Joe Biden was asked about his campaign pledge to release people who have been incarcerated for non-violent cannabis offences.

At that time, he said “I don’t think anyone should be in prison for the use of marijuana.” He then added, “We’re working on the crime bill now.”

No further clarification or explanation was given for how or what exactly they were working on.

Yesterday at a White House news briefing, a New York Post reporter, Steven Nelson, tried to follow up on that issue. Nelson asked the White House Press Secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, if the president believes people with federal convictions for selling cannabis should qualify for relief and if the crime bill that Biden referred to “rules out potential mass clemency.”

Karine Jean-Pierre first reminded him that the president did grant clemency to 78 people for non-violent federal drug convictions in April. She pointed out that this was more than any of his five most recent Presidential predecessors have done.

​She continued, “He continues to evaluate further uses of clemency powers. We just don’t have any additional announcement to make at this time—but I can tell you that’s what he’s been doing during his administration.”    

​Illinois’ governor announced on Monday that Illinois “has seen a 50% increase in total tax reported from adult-use cannabis, from $297.7 million in fiscal year 2021 to $445.3 million in fiscal year 2022.”

This has come from the 50% increase in overall adult-use cannabis sales, from $1 billion in fiscal year 2021 to $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2022.

Democratic Governor JB Pritzker said, “The $1.5 billion in sales of adult-use cannabis in Illinois translates into significant tax revenue, with a portion of every dollar spent being reinvested in communities that have suffered for decades.”

Pritzker signed a measure legalizing recreational cannabis use for adults in 2019, and the state’s regulated cannabis market officially opened sales in the beginning of 2020.

Just this past week, Illinois named 185 social equity applicant license winners who are now in their 6 month compliance period where after which they can receive their final licenses and open their stores.

Once these new stores are open, Illinois will have more than doubled it’s existing retail stores, which are currently numbered at 110, to a new total of 295!

​And that, combined with the fact that Illinois and Michigan are the only two states in the Midwest that currently allow recreational adult use sales, the state of Illinois should expect that cannabis tax revenue to just keep on growing!

​New York Governor Kathy Hochul has just signed new legislation that officially prohibits smoking of any kind - cannabis or tobacco - on any state beach, boardwalk, marina, playground or campsite. Violations will incur a $50 state fine, as well as any local municipality fines.

The ban does not apply to state parks in the Adirondacks and the Catskills, and surprisingly it is still legal to smoke in parking lots or on sidewalks next to parks or beaches, including cannabis vapes and e-cigarettes, at least on the state level.

Local municipalities may have their own zoning laws to check with. New York Senator Toby Ann Stavisky said, “No one, especially children, should be subjected to secondhand smoke while playing on a playground or enjoying the day at a public beach or camp site. Our parks also shouldn’t be tainted by non-biodegradable cigarette butts scattered throughout their grounds. I am proud to sponsor this legislation to protect and improve our beautiful network of parks and I thank Governor Hochul for helping New Yorkers enjoy the beauty of our parks by signing it into law.”  

The Oregon Department of Agriculture has just sent out notification via a tweet that they are seeking volunteers to serve as the state’s Hemp Commissioners.

There will be a total of nine positions to be filled, appointed by the director of the Agriculture Department.

The nine positions will be for six producers or growers, two handlers or processors, and one member of the public who is not associated with the production or processing of hemp.

The application window closes next month, on August 22nd, and those ultimately chosen for the positions will begin their terms on September 25th, 2022.

Click here for application: https://www.oregon.gov/oda/shared/Documents/Publications/MarketAccess/HempCommissionApplication.pdf

A couple days ago we spoke about tax code 280E. What it is, and why it’s so detrimental to cannabis businesses.

Today, we’re looking at more tax information, specifically we’re looking at how the IRS is actively prioritizing auditing the cannabis industry.

And that’s not a guess, or a presumption…. that’s coming from their own documentation.

Earlier this year, MJBizDaily obtained 212 pages of internal IRS documents through the Freedom of Information Act.   They then asked three attorneys who have extensive cannabis industry and federal tax law experience to review it. What they found was detailed information on how IRS agents have been reporting for years that auditing cannabis companies is a better return on their time than auditing mainstream industries. Cannabis businesses have generated far more revenue, per hour for the agency than audits of mainstream industries, sometimes as much as four times more. Because of this, the IRS have studied and refined their methods for examining cannabis industry tax returns, and are really putting emphasis on collecting money from cannabis audits.

One of the attorneys who reviewed the IRS documents, Denver-based tax attorney Nick Richards, is a former IRS lawyer that’s worked with cannabis businesses since 2013. He said of their documents, “It clearly indicates that the IRS is interested in auditing the cannabis industry. What we see in here, from the results … is they feel like they’re getting good bang for their buck.”

In response to this internal direction to go after cannabis businesses, the IRS is hiring 10,000 new employees. Part of this hiring is to help them work through 20 million backlogged, unprocessed returns that are leftover from the pandemic. But another reason for the hiring is pursuing audits of the cannabis industry.

Tax experts, such as Denver tax attorney Rachel Gillette of Holland & Hart firm, have said they are seeing a significant increase in audits of cannabis companies.

So all those working in the industry, from budtenders to cultivators, delivery drivers to CEOs, even those in ancillary businesses, such as selling equipment or gear, all need to be aware that they are now targets for an audit from the IRS.

Some areas of particular concern to be aware of, which the IRS specifically looks for errors in with cannabis businesses, include:
• Improper deductions
• Missing supporting documents
• Inaccurate reporting of gross profit
• Late or unfiled taxes
• Consecutive losses
• Comingling funds from one business to another, or from personal to business
• Unrecorded cash sales
• Failure to properly use Form 8300, which is an IRS requirement that must be filed any time $10,000 in cash is part of a business transaction.  

So if your business, or your employment, has any connection to cannabis, make sure you use extreme caution when keeping records and filing your taxes.

And consult a CPA or attorney if you have questions.

Earlier this week, former President Donald Trump spoke a meeting for the “America First Policy Institute’s” during their two day summit. Among other suggestions, Trump spoke about how he believes drug dealers and traffickers should and must receive the death penalty. He also said they should be quick, two hour trials. He laid out his argument for it, by specifically praising China and Singapore for their handling of drug dealers with quick trials and death penalties.

Just one day before Trump said these words, Singapore executed a man convicted of trafficking cannabis. He was executed by long-drop hanging. This was the sixth man in less than four months who was executed for drug crimes. In Singapore, possession of anything more than 1.1 pounds of cannabis is considered “trafficking” and receives a mandatory death penalty sentence.

Just one day after this latest execution, Former President Trump said in his speech:
“If you look at countries throughout the world, the ones that don't have a drug problem are those that institute a very quick trial death penalty sentence for drug dealers,"
"It doesn't take 15 years in court. It goes quickly. And you absolutely, you execute a drug dealer,"
"It’s time to get brutally tough,"
"And yes, these drug traffickers should and must receive the death penalty. But you look at Singapore, you look at other countries where they have the death penalty, they have no drug problem whatsoever. You know what a quick trial is right? Two hours. That’s what. Not two years. Not twenty years.”

This is not a new idea for Trump. He espoused the same ideas years back as well, even saying he couldn’t understand how the United States could not be ready to support the death penalty for drug dealers.

Also in this week's speech, Trump said China was sending drugs into the United States, and he specifically said three times that he “had it stopped.” However, the facts show that opioid deaths increased more than a third during his presidential term, from approximately 46,000 in 2017 when he took office, to close to 70,000 when he left office in 2021.


​
The following is the complete transcript from the above portion of Trump's speech:
“If you look at countries throughout the world, the ones that don't have a drug problem are those that institute a very quick trial death penalty sentence for drug dealers. It sounds horrible, doesn't it? But you know what? That's the ones that don't have any problem. It doesn't take 15 years in court. It goes quickly. And you absolutely, you execute a drug dealer and you'll save 500 lives, because they kill on average 500 people. It's terrible to say, but you take a look at every country in this world that doesn't have a problem with drugs, they have a very strong death penalty for the people that sell drugs. If we're going to stop this scourge, it’s time to get bruttally tough on the dealers and trafickers and narco terrorits cartels who are stealing over 200,000 American lives a year. And that’s a very low number compared to what the real number is. That’s a very… think of it, you don’t lose that number in wars, you don’t lose that in wars. And yes, these drug traffickers should and must receive the death penalty. And I’ll tell ya, just from dealing with the heads of other countries. I said to President Xi [Jinping] of China, do you have a drug problem? No No No, why do we ask such a question. No. He almost didn’t know what I was talking about. No no. I said why do you think? Well, if somebody is selling drugs they get the quick trial. Quick trial. Never forget. What is quick trial? Meaning it goes fast. And they get the death penalty. But when I asked him. But when I asked him, do you have in any way, no drug problem. They do have a drug problem, you know what they do? They make drugs and send them into our country. But I had it stopped. That was the drug problem they have. But we had it stopped. Now it’s bigger. Fentanyl, they make it, most of it, and they send it through Mexico through the border. And we had it just about stopped. And now the border as you know is just a horrible situation. But you look at Singapore, you look at other countries where they have the death penalty, they have no drug problem whatsoever. And if we did that, in one year, even if it’s not strong, because it’s never gonna be quite like China. I would say, what do you think Kevin? You think it will ever be like, I don’t think so, no matter what we do, no matter how tough we get, it won’t be quite. You know what a quick trial is right? Two hours. That’s what. Not two years. Not twenty years. No we’re not gonna have that. But just by the mere fact that you have that… immediately, Newt, drug dealing would go down drug dealing would go down, and deaths would go down by at least 50%. Five O. Five O.”

Cannabis businesses face many challenges, to say the least.

While states have legalized medicinal and recreational use, the federal government keeps cannabis illegal, listed as a “schedule 1 drug” under the Controlled Substances Act.

The government’s DEA website says, “Schedule I drugs, substances, or chemicals are defined as drugs with no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.”

While we know there is plenty of evidence that cannabis does have medicinal value, the government has not yet been able to come to an agreement on deschedulizing cannabis.

Because cannabis is ‘stuck’ as a schedule 1 drug, cannabis businesses are unable to access traditional banking options. Banks are federally insured, and since the government classifies cannabis as an ‘illegal’ activity, they will not insure or back up any banks that work with cannabis companies. Because of this, very few banks across the country will agree to work with cannabis companies. This leaves 99% of all cannabis businesses dealing in all cash.

Besides this side effect of schedule 1 classification, cannabis businesses are also subject to the IRS Tax Code 280E, which states that "no deduction or credit shall be allowed in running a business that consists of trafficking a controlled substance." This means that in short, cannabis businesses cannot take normal tax deductions, such as rent, utilities, payroll, insurance, and so much more. Cannabis businesses are then taxed off of their gross sales, rather than the net after expenses. This can often put a company out of business.

But it brings up an interesting question of why? Why is the government taxing something they call ‘illegal’? Well that’s an easy answer: they want money, no matter the source!

It’s been well established through constitutional amendments and court rulings that the government has the power to “collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived.”

The United States v. Sullivan (274 U.S. 259) is a Supreme Court case from 1927 that established allowing the prosecution of criminals for evading income tax on their criminal activity. Many criminals have since been prosecuted for tax evasion, including the notorious gangster Al Capone.

But while the government took income tax money from these criminals for years, it was never challenged until 1981 in the landmark case of Edmondson v. Commissioner. In that case, Tax Courts allowed a trafficker of amphetamines, cocaine, and cannabis to deduct ordinary and necessary business expenses related to his illicit drug business. The expenses included rent, packaging, telephone, automobile expenses and the purchase of a small scale.

The following year, 1982, Congress enacted Tax Code Section 280E. That tax code’s official ‘Explanation of Provision’ from the Senate Report reads as follows: “All deductions and credits for amounts paid or incurred in the illegal trafficking in drugs listed in the Controlled Substances Act are disallowed.”

However, at the time of passing 280E, Congress had some concern over challenges to the new law. To help combat this, they added one small exclusion to the rule, which was to allow for the deduction of the cost of goods sold.

So other than the cost of goods, literally just about everything else is not deductible for cannabis businesses. Some, but not all, of these items disallowed include:
• Rent
• Salaries
• Contractors
• Equipment & equipment repairs
• Furniture
• Office Supplies
• Hardware & Software
• Legal Fees
• Maintenance
• Storage
• Interest
• Utilities
• Advertising & Marketing
• Bad debt
• Theft and Loss
• Insurance
• Licenses and fees
• And even charitable donations

So, if we know basically nothing can be deducted except the cost of goods, how are those defined? What does the government consider cost of goods in regards to tax code 280E?

Well, for a dispensary or retail store, unfortunately their cost of goods deductions are fairly limited. They can deduct the cost of product and, the costs of acquiring the merchandise, including the transportation costs to purchase the wholesale cannabis. They could also claim deductions for electric bills for designated inventory areas. And that’s about it.

Cultivators, producers, extrators, and infusers have a few more cost of goods options they can deduct. Payroll and 280E tax experts, Wurk, share this information on some potential types cost of goods that are allowed include: Raw materials and supplies such as seeds, clones, fertilizer, and nutrients; Indirect product costs, such as equipment maintenance, utilities used to grow cannabis, supervisory wages, and costs of quality control and inspection; And labor for pre-wholesale, such as Trimming and Packaging

However, there is nothing provided by the government that lists the specific items that are or are not allowed, so working with a reputable CPA and using extreme caution when taking any potential deductions is strongly advised.

From the outside, it may seem that the cannabis industry is a guaranteed gold mine of profits. But the reality isn’t so. In addition to many other industry issues, tax code 280E can cost many businesses more in taxes than they make in profit, and thereby making it untenable.

Even those cannabis businesses who can pay their taxes, are often still not able to make a profit, and put all their money into government taxes, rather than back into the business for things such as expansions, improvements, employee benefits and pay raises, and even giving back to the community.

The general public needs to be aware of the exorbitant tax burden that is being placed on the cannabis industry. This situation, if left as is, it will lead to higher prices of cannabis for the consumer. It will lead to more black market sales. And, it will lead to many businesses failing.

To make things right, cannabis needs to be more than just decriminalized; it needs to be removed from the Controlled Substances Act as a schedule 1 drug, so that it no longer falls under tax code 280E at all.

Every cannabis consumer’s help is needed to contact our local government representatives and let them know cannabis does have medicinal value (as studies and testimonials have shown), so it does not meet the definition of a Schedule 1 drug, and therefore it must be removed now from that list of controlled substances.

Only by speaking up will the will of the people be heard. We’re the people! Let’s all speak up.

​Take a few minutes and click here to access an easy way to let your representatives know: Take Action - NORML

​New Jersey’s cannabis legalization program has done very well. Almost too well! Supply is now a legitimate concern.

Steve Schain, a New Jersey-based cannabis attorney with Smart Counsel said, “At this point, New Jersey has been rapidly depleted, and I don’t see a whole lot of other grows.”

Robert DiPiza, co-chair of the cannabis practice at New Jersey law firm Cole Schotz said, “We are going to be in a bottleneck anywhere from the next maybe six to 12 months, maybe even longer.”

New Jersey CannaBusiness Association’s President, Edmund DeVeaux, told MJBizDaily that they are working on options to make, “sure that there are cultivators that are up and running sooner rather than later.” He added that they could potentially take steps to issue more conditional licenses, as well as more conventional, annual licenses, too, to address any potential gaps in the product supply that could come.

But Steve Schain said, “The provisional licensees lack financing and industry know-how to put product on shelves.”

​If New York is able to get their recreational adult use market open and operating later this year, that could alleviate some of New Jersey’s supply concerns. 

​On Tuesday, the US Senate held a committee hearing on cannabis legalization for the first time.

Five witnesses were called, three in support of the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, and two opposed.

Senator Cory Booker and his three experts in favor argued that the criminal justice system’s application to cannabis issues is unevenly applied and racist. Senator Booker said, “What frustrates me is the exclusion of communities that have been most persecuted by the prohibition of marijuana are not represented by the billion-dollar industry that continues to grow and have influence.”  

Opponent Tom Cotton, the Republican Senator from Arkansas, called the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act the “Marijuana Reparations Act” and said legalizing cananbis would be “an enormous gift to the cartels and gangs.”

​No action was taken during the meeting, and the committee adjourned.

​There has been a lot of information on the incarceration of WNBA Basketball star Brittney Griner. But while her case is certainly high profile, given her celebrity, and the fact that she is jailed in Russia, she is far from the only American behind bars for cannabis. The numbers are debatable on exactly how many people are currently serving time for non-violent marijuana convictions, but we do know they’re there. And without the fame and the notariety, they are being forgotten.

Issues such as legalization and taxation often take time, but that time is effecting people who are currently sitting in prison, and for many of them, their crimes have been legalized since they were convicted, yet they’re still behind bars.

The Mississippi Clarion Ledger reported last year that there were 86 people serving life-without-parole sentences in Mississippi prisons for nonviolent crimes under the state’s habitual offender law. And that’s just one state.

One of those people serving a life sentence in Mississippi for a non-violent cananbis crime is Allen Russell. Mr. Russell was convicted of possession of marijuana in an amount greater than 30 grams but less than 250 grams—an offense punishable under Mississippi law by a $3,000 fine, up to three years in prison, or both. Mr. Russell had three prior nonviolent convictions, involving burglary and posession of a firearm, but neither was defined by the state as a violent crime. Despite that, the prosecutors argued that Mr. Russell should be sentenced to life in prison, without the possibility of parole.

There are groups, such as Equal Justice Initiative, who are working hard to free prisoners such as Allen Russell. But there is room for more work to be done. There are more prisoners who’s crimes need to be expunged. There are more people who need a voice. Telling their stories, advocating for them, and overall bringing awareness to this issue is a step in the right direction. 

Please contact that Equal Justice Initiative or other justice groups for more information on how you can help:
Equal Justice Initiative

​In a small bar in Southern Israel, just before midnight, a masked man barged in, grabbed a handful of something in his bag, and then proceeded to fling it at the customers in the bar.

What he was throwing … were joints! A lot of joints!

After throwing the joints around, he yelled, “I’ll be back,” and then left in a getaway car.

The bar owner thinks it may have been an unorthodox way to market his weed to students at the nearby University. Many of them are customers at his bar.

So who knows … maybe the happy joint thrower was just spreading some joy!

Medicinal cannabis is legal in Israel with a permit. And although recreational use is not legal, small amounts for adult use in private has been decriminalized.

​We all know CBD is a good thing. But do you know why? We hear reports of it being able to help in a myriad of ways, but what do we know for sure that it can do?

Well, research does show that CBD really can do quite a lot.   One of the longest recorded uses of CBD is for pain relief. Records go back as far as 2900 BC showing this use. Recent research has confirmed that CBD has analgesic benefits. Some specific diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis and Arthritis have both been shown to respond well to a combination of CBD and THC in human trials.  More research needs to be done, but experts do find merit in treating pain with CBD, particularly when combined with THC.

Another established benefit from CBD is the effect it has on anxiety and mood disorders. Issues such as depression and post traumatic stress disorder can impact day-to-day life and often also cause physical and emotional stress. Research seems to imply that CBD does have favorable benefits on anxiety and mood disorders.

CBD studies have shown some evidence of cancer tumor reduction, as well as blocking the spread of malignant cells in various types of cancer. CBD has also been shown to help with side effects of cancer treatments like chemotherapy. CBD can lessen the severity of some of these such as nausea, vomiting, and weight loss due to lack of appetite. The FDA has even approved three medications derived from cannabis in the hopes that they can reduce some of these cancer treatment side effects, and also for use in appetite stimulation for those with AIDS.

CBD has also been extensively researched in treating neurological illnesses, including epilepsy and multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease. While studies in this field are still in their infancy, early findings have been encouraging. CBD has been proven to improve their quality of life and sleep.

There have also been many personal experiences showing an incredible improvement in epilepsy patients, in reducing the number of seizures.

And lastly, CBD has also shown potential to improve cardiac health in certain people.

​This isn’t the extent of the CBD benefits, but rather just some of the many areas that have shown evidence in clinical research that CBD is truly a good thing. 

​MJBizDaily has reported allegations of illegal black market advertisements on the incredibly popular website and app, Weedmaps.

The complaints against Weedmaps were filed with the California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, alleging that Weedmaps has been carrying listings for and promoting advertisements for unlicensed cannabis retailers and illegal products. They go even further, though, and allege that this is not an accident, saying Weedmaps is, “allowing vast amounts of black market activity through their website, and they know about it but won’t do anything about it.”

The complaints were lodged by executives from a licensed cannabis delivery service in California, based in Los Angeles, called Canex Delivery. Those executives, CEO Jim Damask and Chief Financial Officer Joseph Bitzer, said they repeatedly tried to reach out to Weedmaps directly, but felt Weedmaps took little to no action. So, they contact the authorities, and handed over nearly 50 documents and screenshots to back up their allegations which specifically include:
• Posting advertisements for retailers with no license information.
• Showing ads for products that are illegal in the state, such as edibles with more than 100 milligrams per package.
• Not verifying the state licenses in many ads, which has led to both the selling of license usage and the theft of license numbers.

Damask and Bitzer say that their actions in promoting illegal vendors and products directly harms licensed and legal businesses by undercutting the legal delivery operations and sales. The executives said their company had “suffered significant losses,” “quite possibly into the tens of millions (of dollars),” and that they had been paying Weedmaps roughly $1 Million a year to advertise on their site.

The also state that Weedmaps actions are “misleading [their] investors by unethically increasing their revenue, which is being reported as legitimate in quarterly reports.” Bitzer said, “They want to show increased revenue,” and added, “They are intentionally accepting black-market revenue and using that to report – falsely – the revenue that they are making, to mislead their investors."

Ultimately, Damask and Bitzer say what they really want is for the illegal ads to be removed. They said, “What we really want is for Weedmaps to just do the right thing, before suing anyone. And if they can do the right thing, then we’re happy.” But, they added that they will consider all options, though, including filing a civil lawsuit against Weedmaps if needed.

MJBizDaily did their own investigative work on these allegations and they say they were able to confirm several of the allegations. Some were for multiple delivery companies who appeared to violate California state laws, such as promoting 1,000 milligram THC edibles, failing to display a company’s state license, displaying state license numbers that do not match the businesses posted, and illegal operating hours, such as deliveries available until midnight. They were also able to confirm that several companies said their license numbers had been stolen, while others were being used illegally in a franchise type situation.

Some operators using other’s license numbers defended their ads. Drew Director is a manager at L.A.-based High Tide. The license number on his ad with Weedmaps is also being used on the site by delivery company DreamCali. Director said he has a “management agreement” with the license owner, who also runs similar contracts with other delivery services. He said, “My management agreement lets me use the license. I can name two other deliveries using the same license as me, “ but he declined to name them.

A check with the Department of Cannabis Control’s database shows that the license in question belongs to Magnolia Extracts and is operated under the High Tide DBA (doing business as), but no mention of DreamCali or any other DBAs. The Department of Cannabis Control said in an email that, “Licenses are issued to a specific person – which may be an individual, corporation, partnership, or other entity – … and may not be assigned to another ‘person.” And an executive with the department’s predecessor, the California Bureau of Cannabis Control said it, “Seems obviously illegal to me.” “If one outfit doesn’t have their own license, the state isn’t going to allow any business to subcontract per se off that same license. It just seems like Weedmaps is using licensed businesses to shield the fact that they’re still advertising and profiting off the illegal market.”

California’s Division of Cannabis Control confirmed the matter is currently under investigation and said, “Those dealing with unlicensed activity are immediately referred to our law enforcement division.”

In 2018 Weedmaps was in a similar situation with California state regulators who sent them a cease-and-desist letter for similar advertising practices.  

In March of this year their Technology CEO Chris Beals told MJBizDaily they have a, “trust and safety team that reviews all business listings,” and Weedmaps “firmly puts itself … front and center of vetting who is on the marketplace.”

Weedmaps has declined to comment on this latest complaint directly.

​Earlier today in Russia, the trial of American Basketball Star Brittney Griner focused on testimony regarding the legitimacy of cannabis for medical use.

A Russian neuropsychologist testified on the accepted medicinal use of cannabis across the world.

Griner has admitted to carrying cannabis oil in vape cartridges when she arrived at Moscow airport in February, but has said she did not have any criminal intention.

Her defense attorney Alexander Boykov said, “We are not arguing that Brittney took it here as a medicine. We are still saying that she involuntarily brought it here because she was in a rush. The Russian public has to know, and the Russian court in the first place has to know, that it was not used for recreational purposes in the United States. It was prescribed by a doctor.”

Another of Griner’s lawyers, Maria Blagovolina, said, “We have a lot of mitigating factors. So we do hope that the court will take it into consideration. And the courts in Russia, in fact, have very broad discretion with regard to the sentence.”

Griner could be facing up to 10 years in prison if convicted. The medical testimony and Griner's admission that she had the canisters is aimed at bringing her a mild sentence.

Today’s session was just 90 minutes before being adjourned until tomorrow. Griner’s trial began July 1st but has been very slow going. There have been five court sessions since the 1st, but they are each short, with some only lasting an hour or so, such as today’s.

​It is unclear how long the trial will last, but a court has authorized Griner’s detention until Dec. 20. 

​The National Conference on Weights and Measures voted to approve a measure to include federal guidance on cannabis.

Their federal standards handbook will now include a section on "cannabis potency measurement, packaging, labeling," along with other issues related to cannabis products.

This will be included in the next edition of the National Institute of Standards and Technology handbook, which will be released in January 2023.

The approved measure recommends that state officials use these guidelines to “establish individual cannabis standards for their respective jurisdictions."

However, the individual state departments overseeing weights and measurements aren’t obligated to use the recommended standards.

​While this move isn’t actually legalization progress per se, it is still a positive sign. Including cannabis standards into this federal handbook is another step forward in normalizing the cannabis industry and moving legalization forward. 

​California is the largest cannabis market in the united states, and Los Angeles is one of the largest hubs, as it oversees more than 2,500 different types of cannabis businesses.

Because of this, it’s always worth looking at how they are operating, as it could be helpful to other jurisdictions.

The Los Angeles Department of Cannabis Regulation’s Executive Director for it’s first five years was Cat Parker. She stepped down from that role earlier this year after frustrating battles with licensing in the city, due to what she said was an underfunded department. The agency has been mired in delays and bureaucratic red tape for years.

Since then, Michelle Garakian stepped into the position to serve as the new “LA Cannabis Czar”. She was a longtime insider at the LA Department of Cannabis Regulation and also a former aide to Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Recently Garakian spoke to MJBizDaily about her plans to speed up the licensing process by removing bureaucratic red tape and improving communication with operators and applicants. She said, “We’re really focused on business development and customer service. That has been a core tenet guiding me, in addition to centering social equity in every single one of those tenets.”

Regarding that business development and customer service, Garakian said they are making many changes to their implementation systems, as well as currently hiring a significant number of new staff to help with this.

As for social equity, Garakian said they will be improving programs there as well. They will be creating and offering a new online learning-management system, webinars, coaching consultants, a rental-assistance program, and career fairs and a permanent job board at their offices in downtown LA.

When Garakian was asked about how she planned to deal with the unlicensed, black market operators, she said it was an urgent matter and that there would be “more robust enforcement activity” going forward.

​However, she didn’t offer insight into how that would be done, and even seemed to imply that there wasn’t much they could do. She said the department asked the LA City Council for $10 M to create a fund for enforcement, which was denied. She also pointed out that her department actually has no authority to enforce the laws regarding unlicensed activity, and they do not have authority to influence other city agencies on this issue. The only option she spoke of was her department’s complaint portal, where citizens could provide tips on illegal activity, which would then go to the Police. She said, “But as we know, this is a ‘Whac-a-Mole’ game.”    

​The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation announced on Friday the tentative winners for new recreational cannabis retail permits. The department’s website lists the names of the 185 social equity applicants who were selected.

At this time, the licenses will be conditional for a 180-day period where applicants may begin to build out their dispensaries, but may not yet begin sales. During this period, applicants should do things like choose locations for their stores, send floor plans to the agency for approval, submit principal officer fingerprints to the state for records, and pay licensing fees, along with other compliance items.

After final approval, applicants may receive their final permits and can then begin sales.

​Currently, Illinois has 110 adult-use shops in operation. When these new applicant’s licenses are finalized and stores are opened, the state will then have a total of 295 retail cannabis locations in the state. 

​Close to two years after voters approved medical marijuana legislation in South Dakota, that market is finally expected to later this week.

The state lists approval of 29 cultivators, 11 processors, 2 testing laboratories, and a total of 69 certified dispensaries.

One of those dispensary owners told Sioux Falls TV station KELO that their location called “Unity Road” dispensary in Hartford would be open on July 27. It’s unclear when other dispensaries will open.

​As of July 18, there were just 1,614 medical marijuana patient cards which had been approved in the state. That’s 23 patients for each dispensary! Hopefully the state will approve more medical cards soon. Compare that to California, where a population of nearly 40 million people only have access to just under 900 retail stores. Which is something like 44,000 people for each retail store.

​All over the globe, countries are more and more looking into cannabis legalization.

Last week, some European countries held a summit to discuss the prospect. Germany, Luxembourg, Malta and the Netherlands met in the first of what is expected to be a series of discussions. This could potentially expand to include other European countries.

Steve Rolles, a senior policy analyst for Transform Drug Policy Foundation, said in a tweet that this was historic, adding, “While these issues have already been discussed informally in various high level forums, this is the 1st EVER dedicated ministerial level multilateral meeting on non-medical cannabis regulation.”

The countries released a joint statement after the meeting and said, “A structured multilateral exchange on the vast spectrum of cannabis-related issues contributes to sharing knowledge, best practices and experiences and foster finding solutions … This first structured multilateral exchange is meant to facilitate further consultations regarding regulations of cannabis for non-medical and non-scientific uses.”

Currently, Malta is the only country in the group, and the first in Europe, which already has legalized cannabis.

Germany is in discussions to legalize cannabis now. Justin Haucap, director of the Duesseldorf Institute for Competition Economics, told The Guardian. “European countries that have a much bigger problem with illegal cannabis use, like France, are watching very closely what Germany is doing at the moment.” He also said, “There will be a domino effect, for sure.”

Luxembourg has a legalization proposal up for consideration at this time, as well. It still needs to go through a Parliment vote, but it is expected to pass.

​The Netherlands has historically been seen as very pro-cannabis, but it is not actually legal, just decriminalized. The Netherlands did not sign the joint statement, but Luxembourg’s Minister of Justice Sam Tanson said all of the countries who attended the meeting agree that keeping things the way they are now “is not an option” and that they must pursue a “new, structured and multilateral drug policy.” 

Research and Markets has released information on the Global Cannabidiol Oil numbers, otherwise known as CBD Oil.

They looked at the combined oils from both Hemp and Marijuana.

Their research shows that the world wide market is projected to reach $3.7 billion by 2027, from a compound annual growth rate of 27.24%.

The Americas CBD Oil Market size was estimated at $322 million last year, and is expected to be roughly $405 million this year. By 2027, they project it will reach $1.339 Billion by 2027.

The Asia-Pacific Cannabidiol Oil Market was expected to have the highest growth rate, followed by the Europe, Middle East & Africa markets.

​ https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/rwlwx

​Canada federally legalized cannabis in 2018. Since then, they have been a source of information for America as the states move through legalization measures, and the country works towards federal legalization.

Canada has recently been dealing with lower cannabis sales numbers, some shops closing, and job layoffs.

However, there has been some positive changes lately.

In April, Canadian cannabis sales were trending upward. And with 4/20 falling within that month, sales jumped even higher.

Statistics Canada released their sales figures for  adult-use cannabis sales and show that sales have again increased from April to May, even without May having a “4/20” holiday!

Figures show there was a modest increase in sales in the majority of Canada’s 10 provinces.

​The Yukon territory was the only location where sales shrank, down just 0.7%. 

• • CAOA full text can be found HERE
• • Summary of introduced CAOA can be found HERE

The much awaited cannabis legalization bill presented by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has finally been officially introduced.

The Cannabis Administration And Opportunity Act, otherwise known as the CAOA Act has been eagerly anticipated. And after several delays, it has now been presented to the US House.

The CAOA Act is sponsored by a trio of Democrat Senators, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden of Oregon, and Cory Booker of New Jersey. There were also two co-sponsors, Democrat Senators, Patty Murray of Washington, and Gary Peters of Michigan.

The CAOA, if passed, will de-schedulize cananbis, or in other words, it would officially remove cannabis from the federal list of controlled substances. It would then put legalization control into state hands, so each state may set up their own regulations.

The CAOA will automatically expunge federal cannabis convictions and encouraging states to do the same.  

The bill establishes strong cannabis health and safety standards, aimed at ensuring cannabis products are licensed and consistently labeled, keeping cannabis out of the hands of those under 21, and ensuring Veterans Affairs and Indian Health Services are able to provide assistance to their patients regarding cannabis.

It also attempts to protect public safety by implementing programs to combat illicit market sales, by establishing strong rules, establishing law enforcement grants, and establishing a new effort to combat driving under the influence.

The bill would also create a new federal definition for hemp that would increase the permissible THC by dry weight to 0.7 percent from the current 0.3 percent.

It requires funding into researching the impacts of cannabis on public health and safety, establishing clinical trials for the VA, and grants to increase cannabis research at colleges and universities, with a particular focus on those serving minorities.

The bill ends federal benefit discrimination for cannabis use in areas like federal housing and student loans, and removes all federal employee pre-employment and random drug testing for cannabis, with the exception of some positions such as national security or law enforcement, commercial transportation, and other safety positions.

The CAOA also eliminates cannabis being under the dreaded tax code 280E, which is the tax code that currently blocks the cannabis industry from taking any ‘normal’ business expenses on their taxes.

Jurisdiction over cannabis would be moved away from the DEA, and to the FDA and the Alcohol and Tobacco Trade Bureau. They would establish a regulatory system similar to alcohol and tobacco.

As for the downside, which of course was expected, there will also be a federal excise tax on cannabis products. For smaller companies, that excise tax would be 5% to begin, and increase to 12.5%. For larger companies, that excise tax would start at 10%, and increase to 25%.

There were many statements of support from the sponsors, extolling the benefits of the new proposed legislation. But perhaps the one that summed it up best was from one of the Sponsors, Senate Finance Committee Chair and Democrat Senator from Oreon, Ron Wyden. He said,
“It’s no longer a question of ‘if cannabis should be legal.’ The states are moving ahead, and not only do the overwhelming majority of American people support legalization, they now live in a state where some form of cannabis is legal,”  “I’d ask my colleagues in the Senate to think long and hard about what keeping the federal government stuck in yesteryear means for public health and safety. By failing to act, the federal government is empowering the illicit cannabis market, it’s ruining lives and propping up deeply rooted racism in our criminal justice system, it’s holding back small cannabis businesses from growing and creating jobs in their communities. Cannabis legalization is here, and Congress needs to get with the program.”

The CAOA is just a proposed bill, of course, and it still has to pass many hurdles among the Senate, including a Republican wall unwilling to cross party lines, and even some Democratic Senators still unsure about legalization.

But this is a great time to get discussions going, and take action. Now is the time to speak out to your own State representatives and ask them to support the will of the majority of people and get cannabis legalized now.

​
• CAOA text can be found HERE
• Summary of introduced CAOA can be found HERE
• Summary of revisions to the CAOA discussion draft can be found HERE

Democratic Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey will be chairing a key Senate subcomittee on cannabis reform. The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism will meet next week. The agenda for the committeee’s meeting is called, “Decriminalizing Cannabis at the Federal Level: Necessary Steps to Address Past Harms.” They plan to discuss cannabis reform, as well as the damage that criminializing it has done, and continues to do. Senator Booker is one of the sponsors of the the Cannabis Administration & Opportunity Act (or CAOA Act). That bill has been eagerly anticipated, and is now finally expected to be introduced any day now. The committee meeting on the same subject could be a good way to check in with legislatures and see how receptive they are to the forthcoming bill.  

Cannabis Business Times reported that four medical marijuana companies have just been served with a federal racketeering lawsuit.

The issue at stake are the THC levels listed on labels. The plaintiffs allege that the four companies in question worked together to purposely elevate the THC levels on labels which were sold to medical patients.

The companies being sued include Natural State Medicinal, Bold, Osage Cultivation, and predominately, Steep Hill Arkansas along with it’s parent company Steep Hill Inc.

The lawsuit originated with the plaintiffs suspicion that the THC levels of the cannabis were not accurate according to the labels. Don Plumlee, Jakie Hanan and Pete Edwards, said in the lawsuit that, over time, they noticed “that some marijuana was more potent than others, despite being labeled as having similar amounts of THC.”

The plaintiffs decided to take products purchased from the licensed dispensaries to be independently tested for THC levels. They said their results showed that THC levels were inflated by an average of 25%. Higher THC levels can be sold for higher prices, so consistently marking up the THC levels would lead to higher sales revenue than would be generated if labeled accurately.

The lawsuit alleges that the growers conspired and worked with Steep Hill Arkansas to generate labels showing the inflated THC levels, which is a violation of the RICO Act, which stands for Racketeer Influenced and Corupt Organizations Act.

They write in the suit, “Defendants used the telephone, email, or other communication facilities to take steps in furtherance of their efforts to unlawfully sell marijuana that had been mislabeled hundreds of times. “
​“The RICO defendants together formed an open ended association-in-fact enterprise for the purpose of cultivating marijuana in Arkansas and selling it to dispensaries in Arkansas for purchase by the plaintiff. To that end, they pooled their resources, knowledge, skills, and labor to achieve through the enterprise efficiencies in the cultivation and distribution of marijuana that none of them could have achieved individually.”   

​In 2012, recreational adult use cannabis became legal in Colorado, and since that time, the mile-HIGH city of Denver has been looked to as a leader in many cannabis trends. One area where they aren’t leading, though, is in cannabis deliveries.

Denver's Department of Excise and Licenses found that very few cannabis retail stores have opted to work with delivery businesses. One of the biggest factors for this is the high costs of fees for permits and licenses.

According to a new press release from Denver’s Department of Excise and Licenses, they are proposing a huge reduction in licensing fees for delivery companies and stores that need a permit to allow their product to be delivered. Some of the fee reductions would be as drastic as as going from $2000, down to $25!

The Departments are also proposing giving social equity applicants the exculsive rights to cannabis delivery licenses … forever!

Right now, social equity applicants already do have exclusive delivery license rights, but it’s only good through June 1, 2024. The new proposal would make that a permanent change. Part of that permanent change means that retail cannabis stores would never be able to do their own deliveries in the future.

​The news release wrote, “This is part of a concentrated effort by the City and County of Denver to bring equitable access to the industry, so more people can benefit economically from this billion dollar industry, especially those negatively impacted by marijuana prohibition.”