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So much news:

Politics


Almost nothing is known” about U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ review of federal marijuana policy, which is expected to issue recommendations by July 27. US News learned that the marijuana subcommittee, part of a larger drugs and crime task force, is led by Michael Murray, counsel to Deputy U.S. AG Rod Rosenstein.

 

Murray is a young Yale Law grad who previously clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy. The Justice Department declined to comment on the committee’s other members, the issues under review or outside parties consulted during the process. Sessions declined to discuss the issue with pro-cannabis Congressman and fellow President Trump ally Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.).


Sessions’ reputation took some hits during former FBI director James Comey’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Sessions also reportedly offered to resign over tensions with Trump

 

Los Angeles City Council released preliminary regulations for the world’s largest urban cannabis market. City Council President Herb Wesson has reportedly tapped Drug Policy Alliance’s Cat Packer to lead the city’s forthcoming Cannabis Licensing Commission.

 

L.A. County extended a ban on dispensaries in unincorporated areas.

 

The Florida legislature passed MED rules. It bans smoking but not vaping or edibles. Wealthy lawyer and prospective cannabis investor John Morgan said he may sue to allow smoking. “Usually when I sue I win,” he said.

 

The Florida bill includes language benefitting citrus companies who want to join the industry. Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) said he’d sign the bill, but vetoed funding for MED research.

 

A deal in Florida could be a model for native tribes to become major players in cannabis nationwide. Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) signed legislation that will make it easier for native tribes to enter the industry.

 

Nevada needs to finalize its REC rules ahead of July 1 sales.

 

REC legalization has fresh momentum in the New York State legislature. Rolling Stone goes inside the fight to legalize Vermont.

 

It was revealed that New York City mayoral candidate Bo Dietl consults for Digipath, a cannabis lab company that has been under federal investigation for stock fraud since 2014. A court later blocked Dietl from the Republican primary ballot for unrelated reasons.

 

Rhode Island lawmakers proposed a compromise that would legalize REC, but hit pause on retail sales.

 

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) declined to sign a cannabis research bill because it mistakenly replaced an ‘and’ with an ‘or.’

 

Washington state’s cannabis regulator fired an employee who leased land to a prospective grow.

 

Cannabis activists in Massachusetts don’t want the legislature to change the law voters passed. State lawmakers there may offer incentives to towns that allow REC businesses. Plus, tobacco wholesalers want in. 

 

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) wants to ban MED on college campuses.

 

The ACLU and Drug Policy Alliance are suing Fontana, Calif. over homegrow rules the plaintiffs say are too restrictive.

 

Texas businesses want to know why only three of 43 applications to sell low-THC products won approval.

 

Canadian conservatives are worried about legalization.

 

In the U.K., Liberal Party leader Tim Farron wants to legalize cannabis, but says his kids can’t use it. The party garnered less than 2% of the vote in this week’s election.

 

Filipinos are fleeing President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs. The N.Y. Times meets Gen. Ronald dela Rosa, Duterte’s point man on drug enforcement.


Business

In a consolidated case, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that neighbors can sue a pot farm for smells and other nuisances. Since it considers the odor a form of racketeering or property damage, the decision opens the door to lawsuits against all cannabis businesses. This was the initial intention of Safe Streets, a Washington D.C. anti-drug group which supported a group of Colorado horse ranchers to pursue this case.

 

The case of the horse farmers vs. the pot farm now returns to federal district court. In a win for the industry, the 10th circuit also ruled that Oklahoma and Nebraska to block Colorado’s pot industry.


Cannabis Wheaton, a Canadian "streaming" company that seeks to finance grows in exchange for a cut of the proceeds, cancelled an C$80M financing deal amid what it said were "misleading reports" aimed at discrediting the company. Wheaton CEO Chuck Rifici co-founded Tweed, now a part of major MED producer Canopy Growth. Despite reports, Rifici says the business is on track. The company also denied being contacted by law enforcement or regulators regarding the cancelled deal.

 

After he was rejected for a Maryland license, Black entrepreneur Darryl Hill has a new plan to integrate the industry. A court fight over lack of diversity is delaying Maryland’s MED rollout.

 

Ethnic Hmong families from southeast Asia, with experience farming opium poppies, are applying their expertise to cannabis farming in northern California.

 

More banks are serving the industry.

 

There’s 4.2M square feet of grow space in the Denver area. And vertically integrated chains are consolidating the Colorado market.

 

Possibly related: Colorado has the country’s lowest unemployment rate.

 

Canada’s largest cannabis IPO yet, MedReleaf, plunged 28% on its first day of trading. The company raised C$100M at a valuation just below C$900.

 

Concentrate sales are booming in Washington.

 

Women are underrepresented on Canadian producers’ boards of directors.

 

Federal authorities have seized 1,000 lockable, odor blocking bags by Boulder start-up Stashlogix at the Port of Long Beach, saying they are drug paraphernalia. The company is appealing and exploring the more expensive option of manufacturing its products in the U.S.

 

MJBizDaily looks into the legal battle over whether New York State will double the number of MED licenses to 10. The existing companies think five is enough.

 

Fast Company looks at how a packaging fix saves a dispensary $50,000 a year.

 

Washington pot sales are a rare bright spot for retail in the state.

 

A year after Gov. John Kasich signed the law, Ohio’s MED program is moving towards sales

 

Cannabist founding editor Ricardo Baca suggests the recent High Times sale is an opportunity to reinvigorate its journalism. Baca is too nice a guy to add that nothing the new owners have said suggests they will. He also highlights the “legitimately insane” life of High Times founder Tom Forcade.

 

The industry is pushing up industrial rent prices in L.A. and Boston.

 

Cannabis-friendly soap company Dr. Bronner’s is contributing $125,000 to Cannabis Certification Council, a non-profit in Colorado and Oregon that will certify products for organic style growing, paying a living wage and other benchmarks.

 

McDonald’s ordered the removal of a New Mexico billboard with a weed joke.  

 

I caught wind of @StocksandBongs, a potentially ill-advised Twitter feed for investors. 




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Health and Science


More pregnant women are using cannabis and doctors aren’t happy.

 

There’s new insight into how a study of a synthetic cannabinoid in France killed one volunteer and hospitalized five others.

 

An Australian study in rats suggests CBD may be helpful in treating schizophrenia.

 

Researchers found that a low dose (7.5 mg) of THC can reduce stress associated with public speaking, but that a slightly higher dose (12.5 mg) can increase that stress.

 

Colorado added PTSD as a qualifying condition for MED. Connecticut added three conditions and rejected some others.

 

A U.K. study found that CBD and THC boost the efficacy of chemotherapy drugs.

 

Toronto’s public health chief wants pot decriminalized now. More than 15,000 Canadians have been arrested, and 2,000 convicted, on pot charges since P.M. Justin Trudeau won election on a legalization platform in October 2015.

 

A study found that Millennials use less cannabis and cocaine than previous generations, but more painkillers.



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Criminal Justice

High school students in Sylvester, Ga. filed a civil rights suit against the Worth County Sheriff following a school wide drug sweep that included pat downs of students’ breasts and genitals. The sheriff told local media that the searches were justified though it did not turn up any drugs. Washington Post excessive force and civil liberties expert Radley Balko has more.

 

Deputy U.S. AG Rosenstein supports AG Sessions’ tough on crime outlook. This appears to reverse views he recently held as U.S. Attorney for Maryland.

 

An attorney representing the raided San Diego cannabis business Med-West has been charged with conspiracy to commit a crime, obstructing justice and manufacturing a controlled substance.

 

Industry attorney’s say the felony charges are retaliation by District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis after a judge ordered Dumanis to return $100,000 to Med-West. The DA’s office declined to comment.

 

A judge temporarily reinstated a cop fired after a 2015 dispensary raid in Santa Ana, Calif. This was the raid where officers harassed an amputee and later argued that video footage shouldn’t be admissible because they believed they had disabled all the shop’s cameras.

 

The Marshall Project asks if bipartisan criminal justice reform can be salvaged in the Trump/Sessions era. The Marshall Project also found a contraband vegetable garden at California’s Folsom Prison.

 

Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) proposed tougher penalties for possessing synthetic opioids.

 

The U.S. Supreme Court limited asset seizures from individuals convicted of drug crimes.

 

Jessica Laycock, 25, who was arrested by U.S. Capitol police during a 420 rally is suing to get her cannabis back now that charges have been dropped. The case highlights the conflict between local and federal law in D.C.

 

Marine combat veteran Kris Lewandowski, who was facing years in prison for growing six plants in Oklahoma, reached a plea deal to avoid further incarceration.  A Texas pot smuggler was sentenced to 24 years.

 

Colorado REC sales became the first to start funding law enforcement against illegal operations. Authorities in the state are “up to their necks” in seized weed.

 

Cops trained in “drug recognition” are in demand in southern California. The technique uses tests pulse rate, blood pressure and 10 other factors.

 

Local prosecutors are at a loss after AG Sessions disbanded the National Commission on Forensic Science.

Product reviews:

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Culture


The NFL players’ union is reaching out to players’ families to help reform the league’s cannabis policy. A group of NFL players wrote an editorial for CNN in favor of criminal justice reform.

 

The NFL banned cannabis ads during game broadcasts, but will allow ads for hard liquor. (I’m not aware of any cannabis ads that have aired on broadcast or cable television.)  

 

Vice investigates why music sounds so good on drugs.

 

Former Miami Dolphins star Ricky Williams who was suspended twice by the league for marijuana use, made a semi-triumphant return to South Florida for a “Pro Football, Pro Cannabis” event. 

 

A man busted selling lots of fake drugs at the Bonnaroo festival said he was “doing God’s work.


An industry group in Massachusetts joined a local fun run to fight the "lazy stoner" stereotype.

 

@NurseMaryJInk tweeted this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have never been discovered.”


Here's the WeedWeek list of pot journalists on Twitter and the list of cannabusiness people on Twitter. Both are works in progress. Recommendations welcome.


I've also created two political Twitter lists you can subscribe to: Real News and Tweeting the Resistance. 


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Bye,

Alex 


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