November 18, 2017
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ALEX HALPERIN
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Here's the news.
POLITICS
California released its hotly anticipated regulations for the REC market, while much of the industry was at MJBizCon in Las Vegas . (For more on MJBizCon see here .) The rules total nearly 300 pages and came out of the Bureau of Cannabis Control as well as the state Food and Agriculture and Public Health departments.

The new rules do not follow previous iterations which limited grows to one acre until 2023, as a way to nurture smaller businesses. California Growers Association head Hezekiah Allen, who represents many smaller growers, called the rule a “catastrophe” and has started a petition to oppose it .   

Also of note: Delivery businesses will be allowed to apply for licenses; Cannabis can’t be transported by drones and self-driving cars and; Edibles will be limited to 100 mg of THC in 10 mg doses.

Canna Law Blog’s Hilary Bricken weighs in on the rules here . She also discusses what California law means for the existing collective business model .
Canna Law Blog’s Daniel Shortt says President Donald Trump “ s eems not to care much one way or the other about cannabis legalization .”

Republican state assemblyman and former California Highway Patrolman Tom Lackey has become a “ go to Republican ” on regulatory issues.

REC won’t be available in San Francisco on January 1 after a vote on regulations was delayed. San Jose will allow REC sales next year.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh (D), a legalization opponent, wants high pot taxes . The blog’s Daniel

The N.Y. Daily News profiles the politician who could stop REC in New Jersey .

Michigan legalization activists are submitting a petition with 360,000 signatures for a REC vote in 2018. Some Michigan gubernatorial candidates support it.

A New Hampshire House committee rejected a REC bill . The Arkansas National Guard warned against MED use .

Ohio Supreme Court Judge and pro-cannabis gubernatorial candidate Bill O’Neill (D) bragged about his sexual history . And told his critics to “lighten up.”  

Colorado-neighbor Wyoming moved to tighten its cannabis laws .

While testifying before the House Judiciary Committee Attorney General Jeff Sessions had an opportunity to defend his 2016 comment that “Good people don’t smoke marijuana.” Without apologizing he said it should be understood in the context of 1981. Sessions also clarified his belief that heroin is more dangerous than cannabis. “It’s a little odd when a guy’s anti-weed but seems to forget every conversation he’s ever had," about Russia, Jimmy Fallon Quipped.

Changing 280E, the provision which over-taxes cannabis businesses relative to federally legal businesses, got nowhere close to the tax bill House Republicans passed this week.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau criticized Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte on his human rights record. Trump declined to answer whether he brought up human rights with the strongman who has been internationally condemned for extrajudicial killings in his war on drugs.

Canada’s Justice Department calls REC regulation an “ ongoing source of uncertainty .”
BUSINESS
Lawsuits!

Master P is suing Leafly-parent company Privateer Holdings for $25M, alleging it backed out of a deal to distribute his cannabis brand, Master P’s Trees. Master P alleges Privateer strung him along to gain insight “ into the urban and hip-hop demographic of cannabis users .” Privateer did not respond to TMZ or WeedWeek’s requests for comment.

Two former employees have hit upscale Oregon dispensary chain Serra with a $550,000 lawsuit alleging they were fired after reporting their supervisor for packaging untracked shake, a violation of state rules. Serra declined to comment to Willamette Week.
Baker, the “Salesforce of cannabis,” which helps dispensaries maintain relationships with customers, acquired competitor Grassworks for undisclosed terms. Denver-based Baker is now in 850 dispensaries nationwide.


Cannabis prices are falling , The Economist says.

Software company BioTrackTHC provided a patch as Washington transitions to a new seed to sale system.

Canadian pot stocks have soared since alcohol company Constellation invested in producer Canopy Growth. Canadian pharmacy chain Shoppers Drug Mart is hiring a marijuana brand manager .

Mendocino County, Calif. growers say the “ firestorm of capitalism ” has been worse for their genetics than the wildfires.

Canopy Growth announced a partnership with O.Pen Vape’s parent company, and Dutch Company Green House Seeds to bring those brands into the Canadian market.

Canadian producer Aurora launched a “potentially hostile” takeover bid for competitor CanniMed. The stock deal would value CanniMed at C$600M a 57% premium on its pre-news close. CanniMed didn’t announce whether it would accept the offer. Instead it said it would acquire Newstrike Resources, a company developing the Up Cannabis brand with the Tragically Hip.

(A recent WeedWeek Forum piece argues Canada has a branding problem .)  

Colorado cannabis executive Todd Mitchem dropped his Libertarian Party bid for Congress .

The Verge reports “Big Vape” (e-cigarettes) is following the Big Tobacco playbook and marketing to kids.

Two Canadian former ex-senior cops, one of whom has compared marijuana to murder, are opening a cannabis business .

In Michigan, employers don’t know what to do about MED.

Greece hopes MED will boost the national economy .

Quebec will sell cannabis online through the agency which runs its booze shops.

Business Insiders 19 New York Start-Ups to watch, include indoor agriculture company Bowery .

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HEALTH & SCIENCE
A medical school professor criticized New Jersey Gov. and national opioid commission chair Chris Christie (R) for warning Trump about MED . “ Some experts say the commission's fixation on marijuana was bizarre and troubling,” CNN reports.

A University of New Mexico study found access to MED may reduce opioid addiction .
Business Insider runs through the research and decides “ alcohol's effects seem markedly more extreme — and riskier — than marijuana's.”

Three female Michigan eighth graders were hospitalized after unwittingly eating Cookie Crisp cereal doused in cannabis oil. A ninth-grader is in custody. The three patients appeared to have made full recoveries.

This week, headlines of the first fatal marijuana overdose appeared after a report on the death of a Colorado 11-month old living in an unstable situation. A causal relationship has not been established , the Washington Post reports.

Without federal guidance, testing companies may be tempted to fudge the numbers , Chemical & Engineering News reports. Growers, for example, can shop around for labs which offer generous potency scores.  

A University of Florida study will examine how MED affects patients with HIV .

Canadian company RavenQuest BioMed announced a cannabis genetics study in partnership with McGill University.

A nurses group says Arizona MED access is too expensive.
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CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Daniel Rush, the former chair of the Berkeley, Calif, cannabis commission was sentenced to three years in federal prison for fraud and money laundering. The counts alleged he used his position to enrich himself and offer favorable treatment to a dispensary applicant in exchange for a good paying job with benefits.
A top Alberta cop called Canada’s REC legalization timeline too aggressive .

Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Luis Roberto Barroso said the country must legalize .

An Oregon producer’s license was suspended after he was arrested in Nebraska with $1.1M in product.

A Florida man who ate his stash and then led police on a 10 mile car chase called 911 and demanded to speak to Trump. (With audio.)

Melissa Etheridge plead guilty to pot possession in North Dakota. She’ll pay a fine and serve unsupervised probation.

A suit alleges a Pennsylvania couple was arrested for growing hibiscus . Hibiscus looks like this .
CULTURE
Politico reports on former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Jack Ham’s conversion to MED .
A group called Sativa Science Club claims to be Portland’s first independent source of budtender education .

A class in Vermont teaches the complications of growing cannabis.
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Alex 

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