May 19, 2018
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ALEX HALPERIN
IN OTHER WEEDWEEK NEWS:

Legal ain't easy

This week, Hayley and Alex talk to Janice Hardoon, who runs the longtime dispensary KTown Collective in L.A. on surviving legalization.





The episode lands Monday by 4:20 p.m. Pacific.

Don't forget to  rate us five stars on iTunes  !

Previous episodes:
-Episode 18 Alan Brochstein, founder of New Cannabis Ventures, on how to get rich investing in pot stocks.
-Episode 17 Oakland veterinarian Dr. Gary Richter on pot for pets
-Episide 16 Jennifer Lujan, director of social impact at Eaze.
-Episode 15 Combat veteran and IHeartJane CEO Socrates Rosenfeld.
-Episode 14 Chef   Holden Jagger of SoCal caterer  Altered Plates discusses the alchemy of cooking with cannabis
-Episode 12 Cannabis attorney   Hilary Bricken on what's not working in the California market.  A must listen for professionals!
-Episode 11  Jim McAlpine founder of the  420 Games
-Episode 10 Previously incarcerated activist and entrepreneur   Lukas Lucas on L.A.'s equity program
- Episode 9 Journalist  David Bienenstock on social justice within the industry and his new podcast  Great Moments in Weed
-Episode 8  Jackie Fox (Hayley's mom) on becoming a MED user later in life.
- Episode 7  Dr. Peter Grinspoon, Harvard Medical School, on cannabis, opioids and the medical establishment.
- Episode 6  Anja Charbonneau, editor of design forward cannabis magazine  Broccoli

Comments or feedback?  Don't be shy.

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WeedWeek Canada is a Saturday morning newsletter for professionals in the world's largest fully-legal cannabis market. It's the best way to keep up with the vast Canadian green rush.

In today's issue:
-Lots on the big Aurora deal
-Anti-legalization drama in Parliament
-Quebec holds out on home grow

And much more!

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The 2018 U.S. midterm elections are coming. And the primaries are already here. Register to vote and/or get the information you need to register here.

California residents , the deadline to register is Monday , to vote in the June 5 primary.
Here's the news.
POLITICS
While it has been in effect since 2014, the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment which protects state-legal MED businesses, passed a House committee (Appropriations) for the first time. Tom Angell has more.

House Republicans moved to block hemp legalization .
Rob Kampia, the Marijuana Policy Project founder who was pushed out amid concerns over past sexual harassment, has started a PAC to defeat Texas Congressman Pete Sessions (R) , no relation to Jeff. As chairman of the rules committee, Sessions is “ the sphincter who's constantly blocking all of the marijuana amendments,” Kampia said.

Legalization has become central to the Democrats’ platform, the Toronto Star reports.

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of a state's right to legalize sports betting, has been interpreted as a show of support for a state’s right to legalize cannabis. 

The NRA is worried about legalization costing gun owners their guns.

Colorado lawmakers sent legislation to Gov. Hickenlooper which would enable public companies and more out-of-state investors to pour into the industry. The Colorado Springs Independent runs through the state legislature’s other marijuana bills .

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) increased his projections for pot taxes , despite a disappointing first quarter. California rules may force transporters to report themselves to the feds.

California cannabis businesses which received cease and desist letters have begun to comply with state licensing requirements. If elected, California state treasurer candidate Fiona Ma (D) says banking cannabis businesses will be her top priority .

Amid criticism from black leaders, New York gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon (D) said she would stop calling legalization a form of “reparations.” But some cannabis activists defended her .

Ohio granted an additional grow license , to compensate for a scoring error.

MJBizDaily rounds up the four state ballot initiatives likely this year.

In Utah, the fight over MED petition signatures continues. Utahns could vote on MED in November. In Oklahoma, business and medical leaders have banded together to oppose the June MED vote.

Michigan won’t pass REC legislatively before the November ballot initiative, the state's speaker of the house said.

Alabama lawmakers are not ready for legalization . Same in Texas.

In Leafly, WeedWeek Canada writer Jesse Staniforth looks at Quebec’s fight against home grow . 🍁For more, sign up for a FREE MONTH of WeedWeek Canada!

An anti-pot U.K. MP has been accused of hypocrisy since her husband owns a legal cannabis farm.
BUSINESS
A San Diego woman sued California delivery app Eaze saying the company broke federal law by spamming her with text messages. Similar suits based on the Telephone Consumer Protection Act have cost companies like Bank of America and Wells Fargo tens of millions.

The main danger is many more plaintiffs joining a class action suit against the company. Eaze declined to comment.
In the biggest industry deal yet, Canada’s Aurora plans to acquire MedReleaf for C$3.2 billion . A piece in Motley Fool warned investors to avoid Aurora “like the plague.” 🍁For more, sign up for a FREE MONTH of WeedWeek Canada!

Multi-state operator IAnthus landed a $50M investment from private equity firm Gotham Green Partners.

Four companies, Cannatech firm Baker, modular cultivation unit company Briteside, east coast operator Sea Hunter and Sante Veritas Therapeutics, which is awaiting a BC growing license, have decided to combine into a new multi-national organization called TILT Holdings. They anticipate 2018 revenue of $80M and 2019 revenue of more than $200M.

Investor Gary Vaynerchuk acquired half of cannabis oriented marketing firm Green Street.

Deeper pocketed investors are arriving in Oregon .

Colorado-based data firm BDS Analytics raised $3.5M , led by CanopyVentures, the accelerator’s new investment arm, and Altitude Investment Management. 

Experts expect only a few stores to be ready when the Massachusetts REC market opens in July. Prices are likely to be high at first.

WeedWeek podcast co-host Hayley Fox reports California’s co-working licenses (Type S) could boost racial equity in the industry.

Acreage Holdings, the 11-state company where former Speaker of the House John Boehner is an advisor, plans to open a large grow in New Jersey .

Pennsylvania imposed new restrictions on accessing license information. MED licensees say the state’s MED research initiative would harm their business.

WestWord is skeptical of a study which suggests legalization has created a shortage of workers who can pass a drug test. Canna Law Blog dives into what legalization means for employment law .

SoCal-based KindPay is rolling out a credit card payment system for cannabis customers, powered by Microsoft’s Azure platform.

In Herb, I wrote about The Cannabist’s untimely demise and the effort to revive the site.


An heir to the Jim Beam fortune sees opportunity in cannabis . 🍁For more, sign up for a FREE MONTH of WeedWeek Canada!

Major Canadian producer Canopy Growth plans to be the first marijuana company to list on the New York Stock Exchange . CEO Bruce Linton sat down with CNBC’s Jim Cramer. 🍁For more, sign up for a FREE MONTH of WeedWeek Canada!

Cannabis companies with their core operations in Colombia may soon list on a Canadian exchange.

The major US liquor distributor Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits is entering the Canadian market in partnership with producer Aphria. 🍁For more, sign up for a FREE MONTH of WeedWeek Canada!

Canadian cannabis companies see opportunity in Europe and Latin America. 🍁For more, sign up for a FREE MONTH of WeedWeek Canada!

Afraid of the competition, Canadian beer companies want the government to raise pot taxes . 🍁For more, sign up for a FREE MONTH of WeedWeek Canada!

Craft BC growers are worried about survival in the age of corporate weed. 🍁For more, sign up for a FREE MONTH of WeedWeek Canada!

Canadian head shops fear papers and accessories sold at government shops will hurt their businesses.


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HEALTH & SCIENCE
On the brink of becoming the first cannabis-derived drug to win FDA approval, data published in the New England Journal of Medicine found GW Pharma’s Epidiolex can reduce seizures by up to 42%.
A University of Montreal study found boys who start using cannabis before age 15 are much more likely to have a drug problem by 28.

Cannabis activists blame Jeff Sessions and the Justice Department for holding up permits to grow MED . The University of Mississippi remains the only federally sanctioned marijuana grow.


Researchers worry legalization will expose more young children to secondhand smoke.

Lawyers for a Florida strip club owner and MED patient want the state supreme court to intervene in his legal fight to grow his own.


USAToday visits a clinical trial in Israel studying MED on young people with autism .

At New York’s The Cut, a writer tries to treat her anxiety with CBD gummies.

Denver’s WestWord reports on a course for seniors on the health benefits of cannabis use.

A column in Psychology Today argues the risks of cannabis use depend on ones’ genes .

The Environmental Magazine asks if legalization is good for the environment .

A new technology will enable the feds to track weed with DNA .

Canada cut MED benefits for veterans.
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CRIMINAL JUSTICE
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio ordered NYPD to have a plan to reduce marijuana arrests in 30 days. Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said his offie would stop prosecuting minor pot offenses this summer.
Pittsburgh decriminalized marijuana possession, but arrests are climbing . In a challenge to the presiding DA, the ACLU says Allentown, Pa. can decriminalize if it wishes.

Oregon federal prosecutor Billy Williams vowed to crack down on cannabis leaving the state.


In the new book Homeward: Life in the year after prison , Harvard researcher Bruce Western tells some very sad stories .

San Francisco is working on software to automatically clear minor pot convictions.

Authorities suspect three men in Los Angeles died after snorting cocaine laced with fentanyl , raising fears of more widespread abuse.

Someone carrying a potted plant sprinted away, after he was captured on camera in a news spot about a marijuana grow.
CULTURE
Rolling Stone recounts how Tupac Shakur delivered a big bag of weed to Snoop Dogg , when Snoop was dry and hosting Saturday Night Live.

Some Vermont innkeepers are working to promote “ organic tourism. ”

Scientists believe cannabis grew wildly in Europe during the Stone Age , but disappeared before the first farmers arrived.

Following recommendations from the Internet, the Estonian town of Kanepi has adopted the cannabis leaf as its new symbol.

A seven-part History Channel documentary will visit growers in BC’s Okanagan Valley . 
You made it!
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Bye,
Alex 

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