November 4, 2017
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ALEX HALPERIN
IN OTHER WEEDWEEK NEWS:
WeedWeek has introduced a new feature called  WeedWeek Forum . Think of it as the cannabis world's Op-Ed page. Many of you are are eager to share your thoughts and expertise. Here's your chance to publish on the WeedWeek site.

WeedWeek publishes 400-600 word essays, arguments, observations and fact-based criticisms by outside contributors.  We do not accept payment for publishing work.

Check out the first WeedWeek Forum piece "Marijuana Brands: Born in America, Made in Canada" by Patrick O'Malley, owner of MJ Launchpad.

Interested? Check out the  writer's guidelines here .

In a recent interview, Washington Post opinion writer Greg Sargent says, " President Trump openly rages at checks on his authoritarianism."
Here's the news.
POLITICS
Pro-legalization Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) called out , “People that are privileged in society who smoke pot and just don’t feel like there’s any chance of consequences in their lives…Their indulging in that kind of behavior [and] not being a part of the activist community is hypocritical because there’s too many children, too many young people, too many people in my neighborhood and in my community who are suffering for doing the same thing that you’re doing.” See the whole Slate interview here .
Many California cities won’t be ready to license cannabis businesses by Jan. 1 , when the state starts accepting applications.

A San Francisco panel suggested allowing consumption in dispensaries . The Chronicle looks at the city’s new equity proposal .

L.A. may allow unlicensed grows and manufacturers to continue operating while they apply for licenses. ( Michigan agreed to something similar .) This week there’s a fundraiser in Downtown L.A. for growers affected by the wildfires.

Pro-cannabis congresswoman Dina Titus (D), who represents Las Vegas, said cannabis won’t be allowed in the casinos before federal legalization. With permanent legislation pending, Nevada extended emergency REC regulations .

The Atlantic explains the strict MED program in Hawaii, where cannabis is called pakalolo. Most homegrown in the state is tainted by pesticides and other contaminants , according to the lab Steep Hill Hawaii.

Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R) vetoed the legislature’s REC bill , leaving big questions about the state’s REC rollout. The AP compares the legalization process across New England.

High Times explains the “misleading” effort to legalize REC in New York through a constitutional convention.

Florida lawmakers are tussling over smokeable MED .

A year before a likely MED vote, here's a look at the state of cannabis in Oklahoma .

A survey by the American Legion found widespread support among veterans for cannabis legalization and research.

Trump ally and cannabis activist Roger Stone was suspended by Twitter after a series of insulting posts. He promised to sue.

According to Lift, a survey found Canada’s market may be much larger than the government expects. A bill in Ontario would legalize MED use in some hotel rooms .

Cannabis activists in the U.K. say the powerful tabloids’ anti-cannabis views are holding back legalization.

Under its newly formed government, Germany could be moving towards REC legalization . (Europe’s largest legal MED grow is in a nuclear bunker in southern Germany.)

Visiting French Guiana, French President Emmanuel Macron detected some weed and told kids it “ won’t help with your school work. ”
BUSINESS
Beer and spirits company Constellation Brands will acquire 9.9% of Canopy Growth Corp . the world’s largest public cannabis company. The $191M deal values Ontario-based Canopy Growth at more than $1.7 billion.

Constellation CEO Rob Sands said New York-based Constellation plans to work with Canopy to develop drinks containing cannabis but not alcohol , but not sell them in the U.S. while cannabis is federally illegal. (Canada anticipates legalizing edibles in 2019.)

Canopy shares jumped on the news. The deal marks the first time a public U.S. company has invested in a plant-touching cannabis company. Canopy CEO Bruce Linton spoke to New Cannabis Ventures about the deal.
Pamela Johnston, who says she was fired from Nevada firm Electrum Partners for having cancer, has posted a video about her situation. “I think we’ve got a little of a Harvey Weinstein moment in the cannabis industry where you’ve got a lot of people willing to look the other way,” she said.

California approved Golden Bear Insurance Co., to be the state’s first insurer for cannabis businesses.

Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson (R), compared the cannabis industry to big tobacco , for targeting youth.

A new report from Fitch Ratings suggests REC taxes in California could reach 45% , pushing more consumers into the illegal market. For more see here .

Bloomberg looks at the “marijuana machine” as it rolls ahead into 2018.

National Law Review sees a trend in favor of MED users in employment cases.


California cannabusinesses looking for space face a landlord’s market . Weedmaps billboards have attracted opposition in Arizona.

The Cannabist takes us through enterprise software company MJ Freeway’s annus horribilis . Partially due to an MJFreeway delay, Washington has been operating without a seed to sale tracking system since November 1. Some question whether it’s necessary.

A Florida vendor is suing the state for choosing a competitor to produce the state’s patient ID cards. Rejected MED license applicants are suing Arkansas .

Canadian pot stocks had a good October . Alberta may be well positioned for the industry due to agricultural expertise, cheap land and the pro-business climate.

TV and cannabis personality Montel Williams is suing several Arizona companies for using his name in alleged CBD scams.

Some Nova Scotia farmers were annoyed by a talk on pot growing.

Checkpoint trays at SoCal’s Ontario airport remind travelers not to bring their stash with them.

MJBizDaily asks if public banks can help the industry.


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HEALTH & SCIENCE
The FDA s e nt wa r n i ng le tter s to four MED companies who it says claim their products cure cancer. Letter recipients included the Stanley Brothers, the Colorado company/family known for the Charlotte’s Web strain, which appeared in the CNN documentary Weed about a girl with severe seizures. For more see he re. S e e t he FDA lette r t o the Stanley s here .
Healthline asks why so many cancer patients use MED. NB, there’s a distinction between taking cannabis to relieve cancer-related symptoms and taking it with the expectation that it will attack the cancer.

President Trump’s opioid commission made dozens of recommendations but didn’t say how much to spend to mititgate the crisis. The recommendations included anti-drug ads which may actually increase drug use .

N.J. Gov. and opioid commission chair Chris Christie (R) said marijuana legalization will lead to more addiction and death . Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) called the remark “ outrageous. ”

Activists worry about California’s legalization patchwork creating “cannabis deserts” in California.

A study found cannabis growing to be worse for the environment than the lumber industry. For more see here .

University of Colorado cannabis researchers have set up a mobile lab known as the “CannaVan” to conduct research while staying compliant with regulations.

A New Jersey appellate court ruled New Jersey can reschedule cannabis in light of its MED law and its “abundantly and glaringly apparent” health benefits .

Indiana threatened to take a 20 month-old girl away from her parents because they gave her CBD for epilepsy. A state legislator intervened on the parents’ behalf.

The conservative billionaire Koch Brothers gave $4.5M to start a drug policy research center at Ohio State to be led by legal scholar Doug Berman. The focus will be on opiates and cannabis legalization.

Pennsylvania has begun patient enrollment . Patients inundated a Pennsylvania doctor with appointment requests when a newspaper article said she would recommend MED. The office had to inform many of the callers that as a gynecologist, the doctor only sees women.

WIRED suggests virtual reality programming could help treat chronic pain.

An opinion piece in the Guardian suggests legalizing cannabis to fund the U.K.’s National Health Service.

The new “fire bible,” the National Fire Protection Association Guide to Fire and Explosion Investigation, discusses cannabis grows .

New York state banned vaping everywhere cigarettes are banned.

Poland has legalized MED but it’s hard to find and expensive .


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Affiliations: CA State Bar; Board Member, Adelanto Growers Association
Critical Mind, Inc. is a Medical Cannabis Cultivation and Manufacturing Facility located in Adelanto, CA. Providing the highest quality Cannabis products. Compliance without Compromise!
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
L.A. Weekly profiles Deedee Kirkwood, 68, a penpal to inmates serving life sentences for pot . “I’ve done stuff in my life like any one of them but I was lucky. They were not,” Kirkwood said.
An L.A. Times opinion piece argues legalization can atone for the war on drugs.

In the upcoming Weediquette, Vice talks to Camille Brown who blames a bad batch of pot she smoked for her murder of a pastor when she was 19.  

The Marshall Project asks if Trump advisor Jared Kushner can save criminal justice reform from hardline Attorney General Jeff Sessions (R).

Two New York City cops are charged with kidnapping and raping an 18-year old woman who they caught with some weed.

Hmong growers charge discrimination during the crackdown in Siskiyou County, Calif.

Growing hub Pueblo, Colo., has attracted illicit operators from all over the world. (But plans for a cannabis museum have stalled .)

Butte County, Calif., prosecutors ruled a SWAT sniper acted in self-defense when he shot and killed an armed grower this year.


A native tribe is suing San Joaquin County, Calif., and the DEA for removing 26 acres of hemp fields.

A proposal to legalize psilocybin mushrooms would save California millions in law enforcement costs, according to a state analysis.

Public Radio International rides with Albanian narcs .

A bill before D.C. city council would make it the first U.S. city to decriminalize sex work .

Virginia will take public comment on decriminalization.

Central American nation Belize decriminalized .
CULTURE
Comedian Ron Funches took a month off from smoking pot. He tweeted his return on November 1: “I wanted to prove that I don’t NEED anything.”
For Dia de los Muertos, Cannabis Now honors the movement’s deceased heroes .

The Seattle Museum is displaying cannabis artifacts from before U.S. prohibition in 1937.

Jeopardy host Alex Trebek doesn’t consume cannabis after a bad experience with some hash brownies.

Cypress Hill’s Sen Dog is happy to see everyone else catch up with him on the “little herb.”

Detroit Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy said legalization puts the NBA in a tough spot .

Dominique Ansel, inventor of the cronut, opens his first west coast bakery this week in L.A. (FYI)
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Bye,
Alex 

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