WeedWeek, September 17, 2016

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The Intercept reports that Insys Therapeutics, the company that donated $500,000 to oppose REC in Arizona, is about to release a synthetic THC spray to relieve side effects associated with chemotherapy that would compete directly with MED. It’s been more widely noted that Insys’ only current product is an opioid spray. Insys noted in a 2007 SEC filing that legalization is a threat to its business.

Forbes surveys a list of cannabis-involved pharmaceutical companies that are takeover targets. Insys is among them.

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said the military should scale back hiring restrictions for those who’ve used pot and other drugs. In 2014, FBI director James Comey suggested that banning anyone who has smoked marijuana was hampering the Bureau’s hunt for top hackers.

If California legalizes, Mexico will be under immense pressure to follow, Reuters reports. The Orange County Register asks what the $1 billion in tax revenue will do if California goes REC.

The San Jose Mercury News asks what will happen if California votes yes. The L.A. Times goes through California’s 100-year flirtation with legalizing. The San Francisco Chronicle endorsed REC.

Millions of dollars are pouring into Massachusetts’ REC election. George W. Bush’s cousin Jonathan Bush donated $10,000 in favor. A poll found that the yes camp has a small lead. State regulators may also soon allow nurse practitioners to offer MED recommendations.

A Canadian official said it’s “ ludicrous” that the U.S. can block Canadians from entering the U.S. if they admit to having used cannabis in the past. (Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who smoked while he was in Parliament, should take note.) Also, Canada said it is in talks with the U.S. about its plan to legalize next year.

Scotia Bank, one of Canada’s largest, will stop working with marijuana companies. Royal Bank of Canada also said it doesn’t serve the industry.

Canada legalized prescription heroin which doctors can give to addicts.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), a vocal legalization opponent and potential attorney general in a Trump Administration, added PTSD to the state’s list of qualifying conditions for MED.

In the U.K., a group representing MPs and Peers from concluded that banning MED is “ irrational.” It is being touted as a major step towards legalization.

Cannabis is an issue in Berlin’s upcoming election.

Vermont’s legislature is revisiting REC after failing to pass it last year. Arkansas Gov. and former DEA chief Asa Hutchinson (R) criticized supporters of the state’s upcoming MED votes for misleading the public about the plant’s medical benefits.

There’s a fight in Alaska over consumption clubs. I wrote about public consumption in SFWeekly.

Nebraska weed activists are already preparing for 2018.

The Conversation asks why legalization is taking so long. RAND Corporation legalization scholar Beau Kilmer did an Ask Me Anything on Reddit.

New Zealand mom Rose Renton is organizing nationwide rallies today to legalize MED. Her son Alex Renton died last year after his parents successful petitioned the government to treat his epilepsy with cannabis oil. Activists will wave photos of him outside police stations. “This particular rally is really focused on standing with the police,” Rose said. “We want to change the laws so the police don’t have to deal with peaceful people that choose to used medicinal cannabis.”

Snowflake, Az., may have broken state law by charging a grower $800,000 to open.

Investment bank Cowen & Co. predicted that the legal industry will be worth $50 billion in a decade. The report, by 10 analysts, is the most extensive piece of research that a large bank has published on the industry. Cowen also initiated analyst coverage of packaging company Kush Bottles, becoming the first bank to cover a cannabis stock that’s traded over the counter. It gave Kush an “Outperform” rating.

In one of the largest mergers ever, the German chemical and pharamaceutical giant Bayer will buy seed company Monsanto for $66 billion. Mainstream reports did not bring it up, but both companies have long been seen as interested in the plant. (Bayer has a partnership with GW Pharmaceuticals.) In July, the far-left site Counterpunch published a piece called “ Monsanto, Bayer and the Push for Corporate Cannabis.”

Cannabis Reports CEO David Drake publicly shamed Leafly and Weedmaps for poor cybersecurity. Social network MassRoots and data firm Headset announced a strategic partnership.

At an L.A. conference, Viridian Capital Advisors president Scott Greiper said legalization will bring about the next industrial revolution.

Colorado dispensaries sold $122.7M in July, the best month yet.

Canna Law Blog discusses what makes for a weak brand mark? New cannabis business lawyer Daniel Shortt explains why he’s chosen the specialty.

Recode spoke to Keith McCarty, CEO of California delivery service Eaze.

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Business school student Cameron Lehman writes about opening a dispensary with his plastic surgeon mom. U.C. Berkeley’s Haas business school is starting a speaker and case study series on the green rush.

Medical testing company Quest Diagnostics says the number of Americans testing positive for illegal drugs reached a decade high of 4%. Among “safety-sensitive” workers it was 1.8 %, a slight increase.

A new study found that states with legal, accessible MED saw decreases in opioid use in adults 21-40.

Reason asks “ What will control freaks ban next?” The answer appears to be the southeast Asian plant Kratom, which the DEA is adding to the list of schedule I drugs. Wired calls Kratom a promising treatment for opiate addition.

A study found that cannabis users have slightly lower body mass index than non-users. Parents are growing at home to provide MED to kids with autism, The Atlantic reports.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute blogged on whether MED benefits cancer patients.

Food Safety News picked up a Leafly story about how to know if weed is past its sell-by date.

Some of the prisoners granted clemency by President Obama will still have to serve months or years more of their sentences.

An emerging evidence-tampering scandal in Boston-suburb Braintree has jeopardized hundreds of drug prosecutions. Former inmates explain drug dealing in prison to The Daily Beast.

A man has come forward to claim that he was part of a death squad under the command of Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte when the politician was mayor of Davao City. The former militiaman said the group carried out daily killings of suspected criminal. Duterte’s office denied the accusations, though as president he openly calls for vigilantes to kill drug dealers.

Some states are reducing the size of drug-free school zones, a policy that's under new scrutiny. The State University of New York, one of the country’s largest systems, will stop asking applicants if they have a felony conviction.

A U.K. dealer was incriminated by photos on his phone where he flashes huge wads of cash.

A video narrated by Jay-Z with artwork by Molly Crabapple calls the war on drugs an “ epic fail.”

Singer Merle Haggard will join the weed industry posthumously.

Merry Jane counsels on pot-related relationship problems.

Non-psychoactive cannabis beer is becoming a thing. One company, which makes a beer called General Washington’s Secret Stash, received the first federal approval for such a product.

Variety goes through a host of new weed-themed TV and celebrity tie-ins.

A chihuahua needed medical attention after eating a THC cookie. There's a picture of a very high chihuahua.

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

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Bye,

Alex

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