Nov 10, 2016 | California Marijuana Laws, Marijuana Legalization, Proposed MMJ Law Changes
Tuesday, November 8th 2016 was indeed quite a day. We got a new President, and we got the right to recreational cannabis in California (via Prop 64). What’s more, Massachusetts and Nevada followed suit, with Arkansas, Florida and North Dakota conceding medical marijuana.
When California joined the movement it became possible to share a joint along the entire U.S. west coast. This will put pressure on dissenting states, and ultimately on Washington whence a decision must ultimately come. Some folk who spent time in jail may be thinking of recourse.
Tuesday’s decision is only fitting for the Golden State, where the first medical marijuana approval passed two decades ago. Los Angeles Times reports that law enforcement does not necessarily see cause for merry making, and plans to monitor implementation of “substandard advertising restrictions and lack of prosecutorial tools for driving under the influence of marijuana closely”.
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Nov 8, 2016 | Marijuana Legalization
The purpose of the Adult Use of Marijuana Act is to establish a comprehensive system to:
Legalize, control and regulate the cultivation, processing, manufacture, distribution, testing, and sale of nonmedical marijuana, including marijuana products, for use by adults 21 years and older, and to tax the commercial growth and retail sale of marijuana. It is the intent of the People in enacting this Act to accomplish the following:
(a) Take nonmedical marijuana production and sales out of the hands of the illegal market and bring them under a regulatory structure that prevents access by minors and protects public safety, public health, and the environment.
(b) Strictly control the cultivation, processing, manufacture, distribution, testing and sale of nonmedical marijuana through a system of state licensing, regulation, and enforcement.
(c) Allow local governments to enforce state laws and regulations for nonmedical marijuana businesses and enact additional local requirements for nonmedical marijuana businesses, but not require that they do so for a nonmedical marijuana business to be issued a state license and be legal under state law.
(d) Allow local governments to ban nonmedical marijuana businesses as set forth in this Act.
(e) Require track and trace management procedures to track nonmedical marijuana from cultivation to sale.
(f) Require nonmedical marijuana to be comprehensively tested by independent testing services for the presence of contaminants, including mold and pesticides, before it can be sold by licensed businesses.
(g) Require nonmedical marijuana sold by licensed businesses to be packaged in child-resistant containers and be labeled so that consumers are fully informed about potency and the effects of ingesting nonmedical marijuana.
(h) Require licensed nonmedical marijuana businesses to follow strict environmental and product safety standards as a condition of maintaining their license.
(i) Prohibit the sale of nonmedical marijuana by businesses that also sell alcohol or tobacco.
(j) Prohibit the marketing and advertising of nonmedical marijuana to persons younger than 21 years old or near schools or other places where children are present.
(k) Strengthen the state’s existing medical marijuana system by requiring patients to obtain by January 1, 2018, a new recommendation from their physician that meets the strict standards signed into law by the Governor in 2015, and by providing new privacy protections for patients who obtain medical marijuana identification cards as set forth in this Act.
(l) Permit adults 21 years and older to use, possess, purchase and grow nonmedical marijuana within defined limits for use by adults 21 years and older as set forth in this Act.
(m) Allow local governments to reasonably regulate the cultivation of nonmedical marijuana for personal use by adults 21 years and older through zoning and other local laws, and only to ban outdoor cultivation as set forth in this Act.
(n) Deny access to marijuana by persons younger than 21 years old who are not medical marijuana patients.
(o) Prohibit the consumption of marijuana in a public place unlicensed for such use, including near K-12 schools and other areas where children are present.
(p) Maintain existing laws making it unlawful to operate a car or other vehicle used for transportation while impaired by marijuana.
(q) Prohibit the cultivation of marijuana on public lands or while trespassing on private lands.
(r) Allow public and private employers to enact and enforce workplace policies pertaining to marijuana.
(s) Tax the growth and sale of marijuana in a way that drives out the illicit market for marijuana and discourages use by minors, and abuse by adults.
(t) Generate hundreds of millions of dollars in new state revenue annually for restoring and repairing the environment, youth treatment and prevention, community investment, and law enforcement.
(u) Prevent illegal production or distribution of marijuana.
(v) Prevent the illegal diversion of marijuana from California to other states or countries or to the illegal market.
(w) Preserve scarce law enforcement resources to prevent and prosecute violent crime.
(x) Reduce barriers to entry into the legal, regulated market.
(y) Require minors who commit marijuana-related offenses to complete drug prevention education or counseling and community service.
(z) Authorize courts to resentence persons who are currently serving a sentence for offenses for which the penalty is reduced by the Act, so long as the person does not pose a risk to public safety, and to redesignate or dismiss such offenses from the criminal records of persons who have completed their sentences as set forth in this Act.
Read the full Adult Use of Marijuana Act text
Nov 7, 2016 | California Marijuana Laws, Marijuana Legalization, Proposed MMJ Law Changes
The Proposition 64 Ballot is on November 8, 2016. Stripped of the hyperbole, voters have a choice of saying ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to the following proposal.
– Legalize marijuana under state law for use by adults 21 or older
– Impose state taxes on sales and cultivation
– Provide for industry licensing and standards for marijuana products
– Allow local regulation and taxation
– Receive additional tax revenues, mostly for specific purposes
– Reduce costs of criminal justice
That’s a broad palette to give to politicians. MMJ Info decided to dust off the crystal ball and figure out what they will do if, and we think likely voters approve.
Benefits for Consumers from Legalized Marijuana
Adults will be free to grow, purchase, transport, and possess a small but significant amount of marijuana for personal use without requiring a medical script. There are however still some limitations.
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Oct 30, 2016 | California Marijuana Laws, Proposed MMJ Law Changes
Since Gov Jerry Brown appointed Lori Ajax as his marijuana mogul, the rules for California medical cannabis are fleshing out. Lori brings an impressive profile to the party. She has a Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice and ten years commercial experience before entering the administration in 1995. Before assuming her current position, she was Chief Deputy Director (yep these things exist) since January 2014.
The primary purpose of the rules, due to implement in 2018 when regulations are in place, is to protect patients, the public and the environment, according to Lori Ajax. “If you are engaged in commercial medical cannabis, you need a license,” she told a meeting hosted by the Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation.
The Current Situation Largely Speaking
The industry has been pretty much frontier country since Proposition 215 appeared in 1996. This “Compassionate Care Act” exempted patients and defined caregivers who possess or cultivate marijuana for medical treatment, recommended by a physician, from criminal prosecution, but had not much else to say about how the industry was supposed to behave. This opened the door to the good, the bad, and the ugly who did things their own way.
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Oct 12, 2016 | California Marijuana Laws, Marijuana Legalization, Proposed MMJ Law Changes
California’s medical marijuana extractors can rest a little easier, now that Gov. Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill AB 2679 into law on September 29. This “exempts collectives and cooperatives that manufacture medical cannabis products from criminal sanctions for manufacturing medical cannabis” until January 2018 when formal regulations take effect.
During this bridging period, extractors must follow stated manufacturing requirements and possess valid local permissions. Assembly Bill AB 2679 describes the two permitted extraction methods as follows (the underlining is ours):
Permitted Medical Marijuana Extraction Methods
“(A) Utilizes only manufacturing processes that are either solvent-less or that employ only nonflammable, nontoxic solvents that are generally recognized as safe pursuant to the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. Sec. 301 et seq.).
(B) Utilizes only manufacturing processes that use solvents exclusively within a closed-loop system that meets all of the following requirements:
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Oct 4, 2016 | California Marijuana Laws
Medical marijuana is now legal in over twenty states plus the District of Columbia. Washington, Colorado, Alaska and Oregon have agreed adults may enjoy it for the pleasure it provides. There is an opportunity for credit unions to make money from shopkeepers and producers, at least as long as commercial banks refuse involvement.
But there is a catch to work around. The devil is in the detail of a document issued by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network under Guidance 2014 G001. In summary, the document says prosecution of financial institutions, including credit unions lending money to marijuana businesses may be appropriate, if they interfere with any of the following Congress priorities, and we quote:
- Preventing the distribution of marijuana to minors;
- Preventing revenue from the sale of marijuana from going to criminal enterprises, gangs and cartels;
- Preventing the diversion of marijuana from states where it is legal under state law in some form to other states;
- Preventing state-authorized marijuana activity from being used as a cover or pretext for the trafficking of other illegal drugs or other illegal activity;
- Preventing violence and the use of firearms in the cultivation and distribution of marijuana;
- Preventing drugged driving and the exacerbation of other adverse public health consequences associated with marijuana use;
- Preventing the growing of marijuana on public lands and the attendant public safety and environmental dangers posed by marijuana production on public lands;
- Preventing marijuana possession or use on federal property;
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Sep 22, 2016 | Collective Operations
What you need to know – we must admit, we have started/incorporated X number of entities in California over the years but even we got confused recently when looking at the California Secretary of State’s website. They have seven different forms for filing Articles of Incorporation! They are:
General Stock (From ARTS-GS), Closed (ARTS-CL), Professional (ARTS-PC), Nonprofit Mutual Benefit (Form ARTS-MU), Nonprofit Public Benefit (ARTS-PB-501c(3), Nonprofit Religious (Form ARTS-RE), and Common Interest Development (Form ARTS-CID)
This alone can be confusing. So we figured we would discuss the subject in more detail and provide specific instructions for people looking to start a medical marijuana dispensary (or various related activity) in California. You can use their template (fill-in PDF) or create your own from scratch. Both will lead to the same result – a new California entity! Almost anyone can sign/serve as the incorporator (for the most part) it is not required that the incorporator be an officer or even a future member of the organization (but it can be and is usually the case).
As you probably realize, there is more than one “right way” to organize your medical marijuana dispensary (delivery or grow). Individual lawyers throughout CA might prefer or advise different methods. The gold standard has been the “Mutual Benefit Corporation” technically, a not-for-profit model, but you don’t seek non-profit status. As such you will owe $800 minimum franchise tax fee annually to CA Franchise Tax Board. Also, if the Corporation is profitable you will pay tax. Please note that this standard will be changing the with the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (MMRSA AB 243, AB 266, and SB 643), currently in the pipeline, and traditional for-profit entities will be allowed. We will do our best to keep you posted of technical requirements as they arise. Until then…
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Sep 21, 2016 | Marijuana Legalization
Supply and demand generally control prices in an open economy. Closet Colorado cannabis farmers got good prices during prohibition, because herb was relatively hard to get. There was also an element of thrill dodging the neighbors. Now your favorite medicine or smoke is becoming legal, the trend is boring.
Some California cultivators hope to hold prices high with talk of noble cultivars like Mendocino Covelo/Dos Rios OG Kush, and South Mendocino County Sour Diesel. This may work if you like your German auto with a star on the bonnet. In Colorado, this may not even break the ice. The truth is marijuana prices are plunging in the Centennial State.
Wholesale prices crashed from a median of $2500 per pound in October 2015, to $1500 in August 2016 according to The Motley Fool. This is not a result of healthy competition. For as long as Colorado holds back on new cannabis licenses – and fails to put a cap on the number of plants per grower – the monopolistic few will flood the market, drive prices down, and effectively snuff out the hopes of potential new entrants.
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Sep 10, 2016 | California Marijuana Laws, Marijuana Legalization, Proposed MMJ Law Changes
When Nevada medical marijuana patient S. Rowan Wilson stopped by a gun seller in late 2011, he thought his license would be a cakewalk of the non-edible kind. Unfortunately for him, the merchant was aware of an open letter the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives posted to federal firearms licensees on September 2011 that year. He refused the purchase because Wilson was a marijuana user which he technically was at the time. It would take another two years for the Silver State to regulate medical marijuana.
The gist of the ATFE open letter reads:
“[A]ny person who uses or is addicted to marijuana, regardless of whether his or her State has passed legislation authorizing marijuana use for medicinal purposes, is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance, and is prohibited by Federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition.
Such persons should answer “yes” to question 11.e. on ATF Form 4473 . . . and you may not transfer firearms or ammunition to them. Further, if you are aware that the potential transferee is in possession of a card authorizing the possession and use of marijuana under State law, then you have “reasonable cause to believe” that the person is an unlawful user of a controlled substance.
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Aug 31, 2016 | Marijuana Legalization
Now that the marijuana biscuit is out the closet, and the smoke can waft up freely the question arises who is going to dare, and who is going to hold back? This is heady stuff. Fortunes could hang on targeted advertising and the right locations for dispensaries.
The Cannabis Market Intelligence Platform Headset decided to find out. A key discovery was ‘the male-female ratio among buyers of legal marijuana is still well over 2:1 … while the customer base skews young with an average of 37.6 years’. Debra Borchardt writing in Forbes quite correctly wants to know where the hippies have gone. How come the over sixty-fives make up a scant 5% of customers.
Debra poses an interesting question. A large portion of the Woodstock Generation must still be alive, judging by the weight of baby boomers in healthcare. Many early dope heads went on to fill important positions in commerce and government. Perhaps they changed their habits in favor of corporate lunches. Could it perhaps be down to the more rebellious nature of youth? Certainly, many older American citizens are still not in favor of the marijuana mutiny.
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