California Cannabis Farmer Gets $1M Payout for Thomas Fire Crop Damage

3/20/2018

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A cannabis cultivator in Carpinteria, California has won a $1 million insurance payout after ashes from the Thomas Fire destroyed thousands of his plants, the Santa Barbara Independent reports. However, because of the payout total, the carrier has decided it would no longer cover cannabis farmers.

The farmers paid $30,000 in premiums with a $25,000 deductible. The coverage was provided by Brown & Brown Insurance, who have about 20 clients in Carpinteria and Lompoc, and Vice President Matt Porter indicated they expected to get up to $8 million in payouts for their Carpinteria clients. The policy for the farmers included the precise language “change in atmospheric conditions.”

Tests found the plants were contaminated with high levels of asbestos, lead, arsenic, and magnesium following ash-fall and the farmers were able to get market price for the damaged products – or about $1,000-$1,600 per-pound.

Porter indicated that of the 50 times he has presented crop insurance, just about 10 percent of the clients decided to purchase it. Although the carriers who had to make the payout will no longer work with cannabis businesses, Porter said he is working with other European carriers to provide the insurance.

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A doctor's stethoscope sits on top of a patient's medical chart.

Applications for Physicians to Recommend MMJ Open in Ohio

3/20/2018

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Physicians in Ohio can now apply to the state to recommend medical cannabis for qualified patients after completing a two-hour course on the subject. The first round of approvals is expected by the State Medical Board on Apr. 11.

“Please note that just because physicians have an approved CTR, the Ohio Medical Marijuana Program is not fully operational. The program is anticipated to be in place by September 2018.” – State Medical Board of Ohio in a press release

According to the release, the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy is currently structuring the patient registry and officials anticipate the registry will go live “sometime this summer.”

The announcement includes a short video for physicians on how to apply to participate in the program, an application guide, and steps to apply for the state program via eLicensing. Only fully licensed medical doctors and doctors of osteopathic medicine are eligible to recommend medical cannabis to patients in the state.

Progress comes amid lawsuits. Last month six medical cannabis cultivator applicants sued the state claiming that regulators failed to follow their own rules in scoring and awarding the 12 licenses to grow cannabis for the state program. State Sen. Bill Coley has introduced legislation that would suspend the licensing process for 30 days as Auditor David Yost completes his review of that process.

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Display of RW products in a line on a wooden surface.

Ricky Williams Launches ‘Real Wellness’ Cannabis Line in San Diego, California

3/20/2018

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Former National Football League running back Ricky Williams has unveiled his Real Wellness line – available today at five dispensaries in his hometown of San Diego, California. The line is organized into three categories: Solutions, which includes Head Ease and Serenity vape cartridges; Everyday, including Serenity Tonic and Ricky’s Choice vape cartridge; and Sport, which includes Maintenance and Repair Salve and the Optimize Tonic.

For Williams, a former Heisman Trophy winner who was suspended by the NFL for one year after failing a drug test for cannabis, his foray into the cannabis industry started “more than a decade ago.” Following a decision to temporarily retire from football in 2004, Williams attended the California College of Ayurveda, studying the ancient Indian system of holistic medicine. After his football career, he said he had “no idea” what he was doing or “where he was headed,” but he knew “there was something next.”

Former NFL running back Ricky Williams. Photo credit: Plain Jane Photography

“Now that things are really starting to come to fruition it’s very rewarding,” Williams said in an interview with Ganjapreneur, adding that launching the products in San Diego “made sense” because, not only is it his hometown, but it’s where RW’s manufacturing partners are located.

Like most entrepreneurs interested in the cannabis industry, Williams said that finding partners was “a tough process,” explaining that when he first entered the space he was primarily “a content provider,” speaking at conferences and authoring articles but those opportunities allowed him to meet cultivators, manufacturers, and processors already entrenched in legal markets.

“I think in any industry – but especially a controversial one like this – it’s so important to find who to partner with,” he said, explaining that his first partnership with Weedmaps helped him curate industry contacts but he didn’t really meet anyone that had the same vision as he did.

That vision, the two-time NFL rushing leader explains, is utilizing cannabis as part of an overall wellness lifestyle. The formulations incorporate various herbal extracts like arnica, lavender, and turmeric. Williams said that one of the lessons he learned while studying herbalism was “you never use just one herb … and when you use other supporting herbs that have similar actions people can get more out of all of the ingredients” – in essence, Williams is seeking to enhance the entourage effect.

Linnea Miron, CEO of RW, called Williams a “pioneer and a visionary” who has “always been 10 steps ahead of what’s trending, especially as it relates to Eastern approaches to medicine.”

“While most cannabis-related brands are still catering to today’s recreational user, we’re developing a brand for tomorrow’s wellness user who is primarily female and interested in alternative therapies,” Miron said in a statement. “Our products are designed to help target certain conditions, which is a new way of approaching the cannabis market and one that complements the larger wellness movement.”

RW is partnering with Southern California’s largest, licensed, integrated cannabis company, OutCo to help cultivate, extract, and develop the line. Williams said that partnership took about a year to come to fruition, after nearly two years of searching.

“They asked what I want to do. I said ‘I want to make medicine,” Williams said. “We shared our philosophies and they were so closely aligned that we said ‘Let’s do it.’”

Williams’ idea to incorporate herbal extracts came during his time at the California College of Ayurveda when he was an intern at the institution’s herb lab, when, at about the same time he received his first medical cannabis recommendation. He said that during his NFL career, league and team physicians could only offer him prescription drugs for the pain, but after his career ended he was able to experiment with more “effective and gentle” herbal remedies – which he credits with keeping him healthy eight years after he played his last professional football down.

“The way I see it, cannabis is a reintroduction in the West and America to herbalism,” Williams explained. “But I want to capitalize on this momentum and reintroduce people to the whole world of herbal medicine and I thought ‘What a great way to enter into this market by teaching people, not just about cannabis, but other herbs and the philosophy behind herbal medicine. A big part of our push is empowering people to take their own wellness into their own hands.”

A part of that empowerment process, Williams said, is education: educating consumers about both cannabis and other medicinal herbs, but also educating cannabis industry operators as to how they can incorporate other herbs into cannabis products. To that end, RW has launched a program to educate budtenders on their products which allows them to learn directly from a member of RW staff.

And while RW and Williams are primarily focused on the medical side of the cannabis industry, Williams is certainly aware that there are overlaps between the medical and recreational sector. He said that some of his products – such as the Serenity cartridges – would also appeal to recreational users who want a lower-dose THC product with other herbs to help with relaxation.

“If the reason someone is using recreationally is to help calm them down or slow their mind down, now they’ll have a product that might be better than cannabis alone to accomplish that and they’ll still feel the euphoria from the THC,” Williams said. “It’s really about putting more sophisticated products into the market so people have more options.”

Starting today, RW products will be available at A Green Alternative, Golden State Greens, Mankind Cooperative, The Tree House Balboa and Urbn Leaf-Golden Hill in San Diego, and the company expects the products to roll out at dispensaries in Orange County and Los Angeles within the next few weeks. Additionally, starting later this spring, consumers will be able to purchase RW’s CBD-only products online at its website.

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A man dumps red-colored pharmaceuticals into the palm of his hand.

Study Finds 51% of Participants Replace or Reduce Painkiller Use with MMJ

3/20/2018

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According to a study by California-based Dr. Francis D’Ambrosio, 74 percent of his 4,276 patients were able to use cannabis to “replace or reduce intake of their medications.” The study purports that 51 percent of those medications reduced or replaced by cannabis were painkillers, followed by antidepressants (27 percent), and anxiolytics, which are used for anxiety (10 percent).

The study shows that 63 percent of Dr. D’Ambrosio’s patients used cannabis to treat anxiety and 60 percent for insomnia. Another 43 percent of patients used cannabis to treat depression, while 36 percent used it for pain, 35 percent for general well-being, and 25 percent for headaches. Sixty-one percent of his patients used cannabis daily, and 71 percent used less than 1 gram per day.

The research found that men and women used medical cannabis almost equally – men had slightly higher rates at 53.7 percent, while women used at a 46.3 percent rate; although women preferred products with high CBD levels and edibles. Smoking was the preferred method of ingestion (41.7 percent), followed by edibles and vaping (28 percent each).

Most of the patients in the study obtained their products from a dispensary, with home delivery being the next most common, followed by “friend.” Home-growing was not common.

This is just the latest study to show that legal cannabis access reduces opioid use rates. A study published in February in the European Journal of Internal Medicine found 18 percent of 2,736 patients over age 65 were able to stop or reduce their opioid use. A November 2017 University of New Mexico study found a 47 percent reduction in daily opioid dosage in patients who also used cannabis. An October 2017 study published in the American Journal of Public Health suggested that cannabis legalization has led to a 6.5 percent decrease in opioid-related deaths in the state.

In May of 2017 the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a division of the National Institutes of Health, updated their website to reflect recent NIDA research on the effects of medical cannabis legalization on prescription opioid use outcomes.

A report by the Center for Disease Control released earlier this month found that opioid overdose rates rose by an average of 30 percent throughout the U.S. between June 2016 and September 2017.

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Two plastic baggies of cannabis sit on a wooden surface.

Washington Cities Join in Vacating Cannabis Convictions

3/20/2018

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In February, the city of Seattle, Washington announced it would vacate all misdemeanor cannabis convictions issued prior to the 2012 legalization of adult use cannabis. Mayor Jenny Durkan cited the need to reverse some of the damage done by the War on Drugs, especially to communities of color. The city attorney is also looking into possibly vacating felony cannabis convictions.

Now, neighboring Pierce County’s prosecutor Mark Lindquist has announced the county would follow Seattle’s lead and vacate cannabis convictions. Pierce County’s plan, unlike Seattle, who will clear the convictions with no questions asked, but will require those seeking their crimes vacated to come to the courthouse, fill out a form, and ask for a judge’s approval.

“We’re concerned about how these convictions might affect the ability of people to get jobs, get housing, and just generally do the things we hope people will do, right? We don’t want an old marijuana conviction, especially now that it’s legal, to be an obstacle,” Lintquist told KIRO News.

Seattle and Pierce County are just among the latest jurisdictions to vacate cannabis convictions. Last year, when California passed adult-use cannabis legalization, the initiative included a provision to expunge cannabis convictions that would no longer be considered crimes under the new law. Local governments like San Diego and San Francisco have followed the state’s lead and began expunging misdemeanor charges.

Other states, like Maryland, Colorado, and Oregon, have also sought to lessen the burden of these outdated convictions on their citizens. Last year, Vermont’s governor pardoned 192 individuals with low-level cannabis charges.

Currently, Washington has a bill in the House that clears cannabis related misdemeanors. Despite the bill having 12 sponsors, it has stalled two years in a row.

 

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A green cannabis leaf, backlit by the sky, hangs down into the frame of this photograph.

Colorado State University-Pueblo Professor Challenges Critics of Recent Study to Debate

3/20/2018

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One of the Colorado State University-Pueblo professors who worked on the study which concluded that legalized cannabis is not the cause of Pueblo County’s crime and homeless challenges has offered to debate the study’s critics, the Pueblo Chieftain reports. Sociology professor Tim McGettigan is defending the study after Pueblo Police Chief Troy Davenport argued that his officers see a connection between legal cannabis and homelessness on the streets and after the Chieftain ran an editorial calling McGettigan’s section of the report “junk science.”

“The authors of the impact study stand by their research. Science is a force for good because good scientists pursue the truth wherever it leads — even (or especially!) when doing so debunks lies propagated by the powerful. … Throughout history, scientists have often been attacked by narrow-minded egotists who prefer ignorance over enlightenment. The authors of the Social Impact of Cannabis Study encourage those who are interested in this subject to read the impact study and draw their own conclusions.” – McGettigan in an email to the Chieftain

McGettigan challenged the critics – including Davenport and members of the Chieftain editorial board – Publisher and President Jane Rawlings; General Manager Brad Slater; Editorial Page Editor Blake Fontenay; and Editorial Research Editor Tom McAvoy – to a debate at the Cannabis Research Conference at CSU-Pueblo in late April.

The editorial board did not indicate whether they would accept McGettigan’s challenge.

What portion are critics taking issue with? In the study, McGettigan argues that the homelessness is more likely due to the policies of utility company Black Hills Energy.

“When you have a utility kicking thousands of families out of their homes in a community where there are no more than 35,000 family homes in one year, that’s 20 percent of the homes with utilities cut off. And pushing those families out into the streets, you are definitely going to see an increase in homelessness.” – McGettigan in the study

The Chieftain editorial contends that McGettigan has already admitted that his number for the total households is incorrect and Black Hills said that service is restored to customers after their bills are paid.

“It’s reasonable to think that some number of people, while experiencing financial problems that eventually will lead to them become homeless, might have their utilities cancelled. But even if there are a significant number of these people — and the institute’s study offered no evidence that’s true — then blaming Black Hills for their fates would be like blaming the undertaker for the dead body on the slab in the morgue.” – Chieftain editorial board

However, the editorial board offers no counter-evidence – just rehashing Chief Davenport’s assertions, which must be taken at his word. The board says that the Institute of Cannabis Research could have used the funds from the study “to do more solid scientific research in areas like the medical benefits of marijuana” and hemp cultivation improvement.

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Photo of the Boston city skyline on a clear, sunny day.

Licensing for Some Massachusetts Rec. Cannabis Businesses Opens Apr. 2

3/19/2018

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Licensing for some prospective Massachusetts retail dispensaries will begin on Apr. 2 as the state will open up the process for priority certification, which includes any dispensaries that have secured final or provisional licenses through the Department of Public Health and Economic Empowerment Applicants.

The priority licensing will run until the 16th, when priority applicants will begin applying for all other license types approved by the Cannabis Control Commission.

On May 1, the agency will begin accepting applications for cultivators, craft cannabis cooperatives, microbusinesses, and testing laboratories.

Beginning June 1, manufacturers, transporters, and non-priority prospective retailers will be able to begin applying for licenses.

“The Commission’s decision balances the significant progress we have made over six months with our responsibility to launch an efficient, orderly, and thorough application process in April. Our approach supports the unknown number of applicants who will be utilizing our licensing system for the first time, and staff who will be charged with certifying that establishments and agents are qualified to serve residents throughout Massachusetts. This choice will help ensure the process moves smoothly, which is in the best interests of the industry and the Commonwealth.” – Executive Director Shawn Collins in a press release

The commission will hold its next meeting tomorrow in Boston.

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Dog lies face-first on a black shag carpet.

New York Bill Would Allow MMJ Products for Pets

3/19/2018

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Legislation introduced in New York would allow veterinarians to certify pets and animals for the state’s medical cannabis program. The measure was introduced in the state Assembly last week by Democrat Amy Paulin but has yet to gain a sponsor in the Senate.

“Medical marihuana has helped countless people in the management and treatment of chronic and debilitating illnesses. Research suggests that animals can also benefit from cannabis use to similarly treat their ailments. … Animal owners and care-givers would therefore be given an alternative option to alleviate their pets’ pain. This could be helpful to many animals in need of relief, especially those that have chronic illnesses and for whom more traditional medical treatment has not proven to be effective.” – A.10104 text

According to the bill text, lawmakers in Nevada and California have also introduced legislation to allow animals to access medical cannabis.

It’s not likely to gain much traction. With no Senate sponsor and no co-sponsors in the Assembly, it will face an uphill battle in the Legislature. Pair that with Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s tepid support for medical cannabis and the bill could be dead-on-arrival if it passed both legislative chambers and hit his desk.

The good news: The bill was sent to the Assembly Health Committee which is chaired by Rep. Richard Gottfried – a longtime proponent of medical cannabis and the lead sponsor for the state’s medical cannabis program legislation in 2014.

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A small jungle of indoor commercial-grade cannabis plants in Washington state.

Major Pharmaceutical Company Partners with Canadian MMJ Firm for Non-Smokable Products

3/19/2018

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The fourth largest pharmaceutical company in the world by revenue, Novartis International AG, is partnering with Canadian medical cannabis company Tilray to develop and distribute medical cannabis products. The partnership will be spearheaded by Sandoz Canada, an arm of Sandoz International GmbH, which is the generics-focused branch of Novartis.

The companies will co-develop and market non-smokable medical cannabis products and, if regulations allow, Sandoz will wholesale and distribute the products to Canadian hospitals and pharmacies.

“This agreement is a major milestone on the long road to legitimizing medical cannabis as conventional medicine. Tilray is pleased to be, what we believe is, the first federally licensed producer of medical cannabis to form a strategic alliance with a local affiliate of a global pharmaceutical company to improve the availability and quality of medical cannabis products for Canadian patients in need.” – Brendan Kennedy, Tilray CEO, in a press release

In January, Tilray announced it would provide medical cannabis products to Shoppers Drug Mart, Canada’s largest provider of pharmacy products and services. The company also distributes its products in Germany through a partnership with NOWEDA – one of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical distributors.

According to a Financial Post report, Sandoz has not taken any financial stake in Tilray.

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A cannabis worker plucks long leaves off recently harvested cannabis buds.

Colorado Lawmakers Form Colorado Cannabis Caucus

3/19/2018

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State lawmakers in Colorado have launched the Colorado Cannabis Caucus – the first of its kind for any state Legislature, according to a report from Westword. The state caucus comes more than a year after federal lawmakers from states with legal cannabis access formed the Congressional Cannabis Caucus.

So far, only Democrats have indicated they would attend the first meeting, including Reps. Dan Pabon, Leslie Herod, Matt Gray, Chris Hansen, Jonathan Singer, and Dylan Roberts.

The meeting is organized by NORML, whose Denver-based outreach director Kevin Mahmalji indicated the organization had been looking at it “for quite some time.”  

“We’ve had several internal discussions about a Colorado cannabis caucus over the last year or two. But during Denver NORML’s lobby day last year, I ran into Rep. Leslie Herod and she latched onto the idea of facilitating an informal space for colleagues who maybe weren’t supportive of marijuana to learn about it and brush up on policy – something that’s not necessarily formatted like a debate on the floor of the House, which can get pretty hostile.” – Mahmalji to Westword

Mahmalji hopes the caucus will be able to bring some Republicans on board – “to balance it out” – in order to advance more cannabis-related legislation.

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The California state flag flies high among several skyscrapers in San Francisco, California.

Bi-partisan Bill to Temporarily Reduce Cannabis Taxes Introduced in California

3/16/2018

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Lawmakers in California have introduced legislation to temporarily reduce taxes on the state’s recreational cannabis industry in order to help the sector compete with the illicit market, according to a report from Reuters. The measure was introduced by Republican Tom Lackey and Rob Bonta, a Democrat, who said the bill is directed at “keeping customers at licensed stores and helping ensure the regulated market survives and thrives.”  

“California cannabis businesses are making significant investments as they embrace the regulated marketplace while, at the same time, being undercut by unregulated competitors.” – Bonta, in a statement, to Reuters

The measure would suspend the $148-per-pound tax on cultivation and reduce the excise tax on sales from 15 percent to 11 percent. The relief would expire in June 2021.

“We need to give legal businesses some temporary tax relief so they do not continue to be undercut.” – Lackey to Reuters

The measure has not yet been referred to an Assembly policy committee, which would need to approve it before putting to the floor to a vote. It would also need to be cleared by the state Senate. Under the current tax regime, the California cannabis industry is expected to generate at least $1 billion per year in tax revenue.

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Many pounds of cured and trimmed cannabis bagged up inside of a large plastic bin.

Michigan Officials Shut Down 40 MMJ Businesses Who Did Not Apply for Licenses

3/16/2018

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At least 40 medical cannabis dispensaries throughout Michigan were ordered by state officials and the Michigan State Police to stop operating as the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs begins its crackdown on dispensaries that did not apply for a license by the Feb. 15 deadline, the Detroit Free Press reports. LARA spokesman David Harns said that the department expects to issue “hundreds more” cease-and-desist letters.

“Any business that didn’t apply for a license by Feb. 15 isn’t in compliance with the emergency rules that were set up.” – Harns to the Free Press

According to a copy of a cease-and-desist letter, the rule “permits an applicant for a state operating license to temporarily operate a proposed marihuana facility under certain conditions.”

“A person that does not comply with this rule shall cease and desist operation of a proposed marihuana facility and may be subject to all penalties, sanctions, and remedies under state and federal law, the act, or the Emergency Rules.” – LARA Cease-and-Desist letter, dated Mar. 15, 2018.

If a business owner does not comply, they risk not being able to receive a state license. According to Harns, officials did not confiscate any products. The Free Press reports that 378 applications have been submitted to LARA to pre-qualify for a license and while those owners are undergoing background checks, their facilities still need local approval.

(h/t MINORML board member Rick Thompson/The Social Revolution)

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Skyline view of downtown San Francisco.

Social Cannabis Use Lounge Opens in San Francisco

3/16/2018

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A cannabis smoking lounge has opened in San Francisco, California, the Associated Press reports, and the Barbary Coast lounge is the first of its kind in the state. Nicole Elliot, the city’s cannabis “czar” indicated that more shops will be licensed once city health officials finalize the regulations.

Other California cities are also considering allowing these lounges: According to the report, West Hollywood has plans to approve eight, Alameda will permit two, Oakland and South Lake Tahoe will allow one. Sacramento and Los Angeles are still considering regulations but have not announced any plans.

Social use provisions are still not popular among cannabis regulators. Colorado does not allow social-use; however, Denver voters passed a ballot initiative to allow on-site cannabis consumption and last month the first license of its kind in the city was awarded to the Coffee Joint.

Alaskan regulators, in theory, support social use; however, there hasn’t been much movement on the issue since last August. Those draft rules would allow licensed cannabis retailers to obtain an on-site consumption endorsement and allow use in a designated area.

Massachusetts regulators voted 4-1 last month against allowing social-use; while lawmakers in Maine tasked with implementing the voter-approved law voted 10-4 to remove all references to social-use licensing from the proposed regulations.

Neither Oregon, Washington, nor Nevada allow social cannabis use.     

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An amateur cannabis grower's seedling, bathed in the purple light of an LED-based grow closet.

Washington State Court of Appeals Upholds Local Cannabis Bans

3/16/2018

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A three-judge panel of the Washington State Court of Appeals has ruled that local unincorporated jurisdictions in Washington have the right to ban cannabis businesses within their borders.

The case involved Emerald Enterprises LLC, who opened a retail cannabis shop in unincorporated Clarke County. They argued the state law legalizing cannabis for adult use overruled the local bans. The court disagreed. In a unanimous opinion, the judges affirmed a lower court ruling, indicating the County had the right to ban businesses on the basis that I-502, the 2012 legalization initiative, did not specifically compel counties to allow the production, processing or selling of cannabis in their jurisdictions. The ruling parallels Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s 2014 legal opinion that counties have the right to ban cannabis businesses.

In a statement issued after the decision, AG Ferguson said, “I have said from the beginning: if the Legislature or the drafters of Initiative 502 had intended to require local jurisdictions to allow the sale of recreational marijuana, they could have done so in a single sentence. They did not.”

The bans have been around since the beginning of Washington’s adult-use experiment and, with six counties and 80 cities implementing bans, they have an effect on the Washington cannabis market. Since the decision, counties like Yakima are already seeking abatements to enter and shut down the twenty-six cannabis businesses in their county.

Emerald Enterprises plans to appeal to the State Supreme Court, which may stall action by the counties.

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View of the Ochio Rios bay photographed from a nearby hillside.

First Jamaican MMJ Dispensary Opens in St. Ann

3/16/2018

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Kaya Herbhouse in St. Ann, Jamaica has opened its doors and is the first legal medical cannabis dispensary in the nation to make products available to patients, the Jamaica Gleaner reports. Their first patient was Gloria Palomino, who suffers from lupus. Palomino said she didn’t “want to be taking medication forever” and sought something more natural to ease her joint and arthritis pain.

The country’s medical cannabis regime requires a physician to recommend medical cannabis and Kaya has one on site for patient convenience and discretion.

The first sale comes nearly five months after the Cannabis Licensing Authority granted approvals for the nation’s first cultivation and processing licenses. Last October, regulators indicated that three other industry applications had been approved but still had to complete their requirements, while 57 others had received conditional approval, and some 200 other applications were being processed.

The CLA website does not indicate whether any subsequent applications have been approved, but there are no companies listed in the “Find a Licensee” section.

Jamaica legalized medical cannabis, hemp production, and broader decriminalization in 2015. The law also legalized the use of cannabis for religious or spiritual purposes.

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A large, sideways hemp fan leaf.

Indiana Legislature Approves CBD Bill; Heads to Governor

3/15/2018

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Indiana’s CBD bill is finally headed to Gov. Eric Holcomb’s desk, FOX59 reports. The bill, which was unanimously approved by the House, allows CBD products derived from industrial hemp to be sold at retailers throughout the state.

State officials had taken a hardline stance on the products. Last year, Indiana Excise Police confiscated CBD products from retailers throughout the state, announced a policy change indicating they would stop the practice, only to continue pulling products off of shelves. In November, the Association of Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys sent a letter to the chairman of the state Commission to Combat Drug Abuse urging them to “formally oppose” cannabis legalization in any form – including CBD.

Attorney General Curtis Hill Jr. declared CBD products “unlawful” later that month, and Holcomb ordered retailers to remove products with “any level of THC” from their shelves within 60 days. And just when it seemed like the Legislature would finally pass a bill to explicitly legalize CBD product sales, lawmakers turned one of the bills into gun legislation.

The measure all but negates a bill passed last year that allows individuals with epilepsy to access CBD oils. Indiana does not have a medical cannabis program; however, the House voted in January to study medical cannabis legalization before next year’s session.

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A man wearing a blue shirt holds a silver iPhone in front of him.

UMass Psychology Professor Designs Mobile App to Remove Subjectivity from Cannabis Impairment Testing

3/15/2018

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Psychology professor at the University of Massachusetts, Boston Michael Milburn has developed a mobile application that tests response time as a means to measure impairment which, he contends, would be a more accurate tool than either saliva tests or drug recognition experts to determine whether a driver is impaired by cannabis or other drugs.

The app, called DRUID – an acronym for Driving Under the Influence of Drugs – uses a series of tasks to measure impairment: reacting to different shapes, multi-tasking tests, and one familiar to anyone who has been tested for impairment on the side of a road – standing on one leg, while your device measures how stable you are.

Throughout Milburn’s 40-year career he’s specialized in research methods, measurements, and statistics and he explained that he created the app “to try to eliminate an argument that opponents of legalization were consistently using” – that there is no way to accurately measure cannabis impairment.

“The big advance that DRUID does is it measures actual impairment, so law enforcement doesn’t have to rely on what is a subjective test – the standard field sobriety test that research shows doesn’t reliably identify impairment from cannabis or drug tests which don’t measure impairment at all,” Milburn said in an interview with Ganjapreneur. “The drug-testing industry is very powerful and that’s ruined lives and cost people their jobs when they might have used a substance over the weekend but they report to work perfectly sober.”

Photo credit: Chase Elliott Clark

Although Millburn said his intent for the app was not “to bust people who are stoned” rather to “prevent people who are impaired from getting in the car,” he has pitched the app to “a few” law enforcement agencies, and the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Board. A Massachusetts Regional Police Academy trial found no false positives with the app, Milburn said, adding that whatever rules policymakers set for cannabis-impaired driving, the levels for impairment must be “just the same for the level of .08 [percent blood-alcohol content] impairment of alcohol.”

“Otherwise it’s discriminatory against users of cannabis,” he asserted. “Policymakers now are saying ‘if you use cannabis don’t do anything for at least six hours.’ Which sort of assumes that people use cannabis, are intoxicated, and that level stays the same for hours, which is just not true; it goes up and down.”

In one study conducted last July by the Regional Municipal Police Academy in Randolph, Massachusetts, 20 volunteers used DRUID to test for alcohol impairment and the app proved useful in these tests – able to confirm impairment as the group reached a BAC of .08 percent. Data derived from app users found that the DRUID scores from the community were significantly higher than the baseline when they were under the influence of cannabis – supporting the police academy findings. The study found that just three people out of the 90 in unimpaired condition would have been considered “impaired” by DRUID but raising the impairment cutoff to the same as alcohol found no false positives.

“What we are doing is collecting a couple hundred different data points and integrating them statistically into a single impairment score that is … really reliable and essentially maps the process of the chemicals through the brain,” Milburn explained. “It starts, there aren’t any, then it goes up and reaches a peak and goes down as the body processes the THC and various psychoactives.”

Milburn explains that in addition to its use as a tool for testing impairment, the app also serves as an entertainment device and one that can help cannabis consumers determine whether the strain they are smoking this week is more potent than the one they consumed last week.

“DRUID gives people a tool to measure things, previously, you could never measure outside of a [Drug Enforcement Agency]-approved, Schedule I, barbed-wire, lab,” Millburn said. “Now you have it in the palm of your hand.”

In a home experiment, Milburn tested what’s known as the Mango Hypothesis – that eating a mango before getting stoned actually gets you higher. His test, using a Volcano vaporizer and mangoes of varying ripeness, found a non-result and busted the lore.

Milburn said that “way beyond” the fun and potential law enforcement utility of DRUID, it could be used by the private sector to accurately determine whether an employee is impaired on the job and could be used by physicians in concussion assessment but ultimately, his hope is to make law enforcement “more precise.”

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The Washington State Capitol Building photographed at night in Olympia, Washington.

Washington State Budget Includes $100K for Hemp Program

3/15/2018

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Washington state’s budget includes $100,000 to license hemp farmers and market hemp products, according to a Capital Press report. The funding – $187,000 less than requested by the Department of Agriculture – allows the program to continue for another year; however, the agency has not yet resumed licensing producers.

The program has been on hold since late last year and officials have not set a timetable for when they will begin licensing farmers for the next season, an Agriculture Department spokesperson told Capital Press. Licensing fees – set at $750 – paired with grower registration fees of $1,300 were expected to sustain the program but those fell short of the department’s expectations.

Cory Sharp, owner of HempLogic which grew half of the state’s 180 industrial hemp acres planted last year, said he still had unused hemp crops from last season and warned farmers not to plant too many acres. HempLogic will not participate in this year’s program because the company is developing a mobile hemp processor with a Colorado-based equipment maker.

“The processing has just not caught up with the growing. If you do 5 acres and you lose the whole thing, you’re still a hemp farmer, but you didn’t lose the whole farm. … “Maybe in a weird way, Washington, by throwing cold water on it, saved people from making big mistakes.” – Sharp to the Capital Press

Last season the agency issued seven one-year licenses throughout the state and collected $8,139 from licensees; the agency spent $146,000 overseeing the program.

End

The North Dakota Capitol building.

North Dakota MMJ Rules Take Effect Apr. 1

3/15/2018

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The laws governing North Dakota’s medical cannabis program will take effect April 1 after getting the green light from the Legislature’s Administrative Rules Committee, the Bismarck Tribune reports. The voter-approved law was re-written by lawmakers last year, who said that the ballot version was flawed.

Jason Wahl, director of the Health Department’s medical marijuana division, said the agency anticipates opening up applications for manufacturing facilities by the end of this week and, depending on a “number of factors,” medical cannabis could be available to patients before the end of this year.

“Without the rules, this program really cannot move forward. The department is committed to implementing this program as quickly as it can, but needs to ensure that this program is implemented in well-regulated manner.” –  Wahl to the Tribune

There are some concerns that medical cannabis producers could be considered “corporate farms” which would run afoul of a state law preventing corporate farms in the state. Rep Robin Weisz, who as a member of the House Human Services Committee worked on the legislation last session, said that the body added language to “make it clear” medical cannabis companies “were not considered agricultural operations.”

Last August, Health Department regulators announced they were seeking non-binding letters of intent from laboratories interested in testing medical cannabis products.

End

The leafy ceiling of a large, commercial cannabis grow in Washington state.

Arkansas Judge Halts MMJ Cultivator Licensing Following Lawsuit

3/15/2018

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An Arkansas judge has put the state’s licensing of medical cannabis cultivators on hold as one of the unsuccessful applicants vying for a cultivation license is suing the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission over the application evaluation process, ArkansasOnline reports. Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen said that the lawsuit by Naturalis Health “asserts facts showing a substantial likelihood of success on the merits regarding violations of the Administrative Procedure Act, due process and equal protection.”

The order ties the hands of the state Department of Finance and Administration, Alcoholic Beverage Control Division, and Medical Marijuana Commission from moving forward with the program pending a preliminary injunction hearing, which is set for tomorrow.

Naturalis was one of two companies that sued the agency yesterday; Attorney General Leslie Rutledge’s office indicated that the state would respond “in due course.” The medical cannabis board had anticipated issuing the five medical cannabis cultivation licenses yesterday, after announcing preliminary approval for the companies March 1.

State regulators have already approved 4,410 medical cannabis patient applications and are expected to approve 32 dispensaries later this year. The Medical Marijuana Commission had received about 95 cultivation applications and 227 dispensary applications.

End

Tim Fair: Launching Vermont’s First Cannabis Law Firm

3/14/2018

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Tim Fair is a Vermont-based cannabis consultant and the owner/founder of Vermont Cannabis Solutions, the state’s first cannabis law practice.

In this episode of the Ganjapreneur.com podcast, Tim joins our podcast host TG Branfalt in his Vermont studio for a conversation about the landmark cannabis reform law passed earlier this year by Vermont’s legislature, the differences between legalization and decriminalization, the state’s vibrant hemp and CBD industry, and what the industry might look like when a tax-and-regulate system is eventually put in place.

Listen to the interview through the player below, or scroll further down to read a full transcript of this week’s Ganjapreneur.com podcast episode!

Listen to the interview:

Read the transcript:

TG Branfalt: Hey there. I’m your host, TG Branfalt, and you’re listening to The Ganjapreneur.com Podcast where we try to bring you actionable information, and normalize cannabis through the stories of ganjapreneurs, activists, and industry stakeholders. Today I’m actually joined in studio by Tim Fair. He’s the owner of Vermont’s first cannabis law practice, Vermont Cannabis Solutions.

Just before we get started, we’ve got to know that nothing that Mr. Fair says should be considered legal advice. Don’t say “Well, Tim Fair said on The Ganjapreneur Podcast that this was totally cool,” because that’s not going to hold up in court. How are you doing this afternoon, man?

Tim Fair: Thank you, TG.

TG Branfalt: Tell me about yourself, man. How’d you end up in the cannabis space?

Tim Fair: At a very early age, I realized that I liked cannabis. As a teenager growing up, seeing all the messages, all of the propaganda, the DARE, all of the anti-drug propaganda we were fed, I started seeing a disconnect. What I was experiencing and what I was hearing were two different stories.

As I got older, I started realizing that everything that we were taught wasn’t necessarily true, and in that line of reasoning, I went ahead and tried to start a chapter of NORML in my very first community college, Long Island Nassau Community College, when I was 17.

Didn’t work out so well, but ever since that point, I’ve always been focused on drug policy reform. Specifically cannabis reform.

TG Branfalt: How long have you been working with cannabis cases from a criminal level?

Tim Fair: I graduated law school in 2012. Lucky enough to pass my bar on the first attempt. Got my first legal job as an attorney in 2013, but didn’t really start learning cannabis law until the last two years. I would say around 2016 I started pretty indepthly studying the subject, and I’ve taken my first cannabis clients about six months ago.

TG Branfalt: So what’s been your experience as an attorney defending cannabis cases in Vermont? I guess what I want to ask you is, did you know racial disparities in these arrests, and how did prosecutors approach such cases?

Tim Fair: A little bit of background before I can fully answer that. We have a unique system here in Vermont. We have 14 counties and each county has its own elected state’s attorney. So, when we’re talking about racial disparities, you have to talk about it in terms of county, as opposed to state, because some counties much better with the issue. Other counties, horrible with it.

Another exacerbating factor has been the surge in opiates, cocaine, crack cocaine, that come in from out of state. That has created a sense of, I don’t want to say racism amongst law enforcement, but definitely focuses their attention on brown and black people.

TG Branfalt: How do prosecutors approach these cases? There’s decriminalization, we just passed legalization, which hasn’t taken effect yet, but are prosecutors still aggressive, even with decriminalization?

Tim Fair: You have to talk about individual prosecutors, individual state’s attorneys. For example, in Chittenden County, where Burlington is located, the state’s attorney’s office does not pursue cannabis cases. They’ve got bigger, better things to do. There is an understanding that in the spectrum of illegal activities, cannabis use is pretty low as you get.

However, I’ve had a client in Essex County, Vermont, who was charged with a felony offense for 2.1 ounces. In Bennington County, for example, the state’s attorney has come out publicly with her opinion that cannabis is a dangerous drug, it’s a gateway drug, and the only way to deal with it is strict law enforcement.

TG Branfalt: Law enforcement, when legalization happened, one of the things that we saw was the police chief’s association, or whatever it actually is, they were talking about what they wanted to see in the legalization law, and one of the things that they’ve really been pushing for, and I think this goes back even a little before legalization was rolling out this oral swab test to test for cannabis impairment, or intoxication.

So first, what are the baseline problems, if there are any, which we’re going to assume that there are, with this oral swab test?

Tim Fair: A baseline problems, the entire thing is a problem. The entire concept of having to worry about drugged driving and accurate tests is ridiculous. It’s just an issue that is used by prohibitionists to stoke fear, to get the average citizen against legalization.

I’ll try to keep this short, but when I talk about drugged driving, I need to talk about DUI. DUI is an example of a pre-crime. What I mean by that is you’re taking two legal activities, drinking alcohol, and driving a car, putting them together, and making it a crime. Not because anyone has been injured or anyone’s been hurt, but because we as a society have accepted the fact that the risk, the risk that is created by operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol is so high that we are going to make it a crime because of what might happen, because you might be involved in an accident, because you might cause injury to yourself or others.

That risk is so greatly elevated, we have made it a crime. Now, let’s look at cannabis use. Because we have become so used to the idea of DUI and testing for alcohol, and legal limits, humans like patterns. They like things to make sense. So, therefore, there is this inherent belief that cannabis use will result in the exact same thing as alcohol use, when behind the wheel of the car. It’s not true. It’s simply not true.

The most recent National Highway Safety Administration study that I’ve seen has shown I believe a 5% increase in the likelihood of a serious auto accident with moderate cannabis use. That’s very subjective, what’s moderate cannabis use? But the point being that the human functions that cannabis impairs are very different from the functions that alcohol impairs.

Number one being the understanding of self. When somebody’s intoxicated on alcohol, they think they can drive real well. “I can drive, I can make it there. I’m the best driver in the world.” When somebody’s consuming cannabis, they don’t think they can drive well. They don’t think they can walk well. They say, “You know what? I’m going to sit right here on this couch for a little bit.”

The functioning that is affected by cannabis use is not the same as alcohol. We don’t need to make a new pre-crime. we don’t need to be able to test people to see if they’re impaired. If they’re impaired, they will drive outside of the law, they will commit violations, they will swerve, they will drive under the speed limit, they will run a stop sign. Law enforcement can observe that, pull them over, and arrest them.

Put them through the DRE, or Drug Recognition Expert protocol, and prosecute them. End of story. We don’t have such a high level of risk to warrant or necessitate some sort of test to establish impairment when there are no signs of impairment.

TG Branfalt: One of the things that they talk about in the literature that we saw when we were out at capital during the debate, are these per se intoxication standards. Can you explain what those per se intoxication standards mean and do they differ from the current alcohol laws?

Tim Fair: So they’re designed to mimic the current alcohol laws. We like legal limits. Above this, guilty. Below this, innocent. That’s not actually how it works, but that’s how most people accept it to work, and they like that consistency. It’s a very comforting idea to have, if you have over five nanograms of THC metabolized in your system, you’re above a per se limit. Doesn’t work. It doesn’t work, because cannabis is not alcohol.

People metabolize drugs differently, they metabolize cannabis differently, metabolites can stay in the human body in different levels for different amounts of time. It’s a fat soluble compound, therefore it can stay in the fat cells much longer than alcohol, and the presence of metabolites, the presence of whatever they’re testing for, does not correlate to impairment on any level.

One person with five nanograms could be at a very, very different functional state than somebody else with the exact same amount.

TG Branfalt: I want to talk to you more about Vermont policy, specifically this idea that we talked about when we first met, this decriminalization versus legalization premise. Before we do that, we’ve got to take a break. This is the Ganjapreneur.com Podcast, I’m TG Branfalt.

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TG Branfalt: Hey welcome back. This is the Ganjapreneur.com Podcast. I’m your host, TG Branfalt, here with Tim Fair. He’s the owner of Vermont’s first cannabis law practice, Vermont Cannabis Solutions, and a guy I really like talking to since I’ve got to Vermont. When we first met, we were in the capital, it was during legalization law and we got talking about decriminalization versus legalization.

Vermont’s legalization law has been criticized by some as being a more broad decriminalization rather than legalization because there is no tax and regulate provisions under the laws passed, and signed by Governor Scott. They make this argument, despite Vermont actually decriminalizing cannabis possession five years ago.

For those people who make that argument, who criticize this law as not being full legalization, which I mean, we could talk about the nuances of full legalization, but let’s not do that. How does this legalization differ from decriminalization?

Tim Fair: You’re certainly right about it not being full legalization. Any sort of regulation is not full legalization. This is a step. Honestly, it’s more of a psychological step. As far as practicality, how this is going to impact your average citizen’s life, not much. Those who choose to consume cannabis do so now. Those who choose not to consume cannabis don’t.

What this is going to do is act as a psychological milestone for the industry as a whole. It’s going to serve to help kill the stigma. Normalization, getting the people who still believe the propaganda that this is a dangerous drug an opportunity to see that no, in fact, it’s not.

How it’s actually going to play out as far as legality, that’s a great question. After legalization, will the smell of cannabis still be sufficient for law enforcement to apply for a warrant to search your vehicle, to search your home? With the reasoning being, “Well, maybe it’s over the legal amount, and therefore might be a crime.”

With decriminalization, the legislature specifically stated that decriminalization did not change the fact that cannabis was contraband. Even though it was no longer a criminal offense, it was a civil violation, and still provided probable cause for law enforcement to then apply for a warrant to search your vehicle, to search your person, to search your home.

That I’m hoping will change. We’ve seen a lot more positive signs from the judiciary in Massachusetts. They’ve taken a much more liberal approach to it than the Vermont Supreme Court, but as far as actually practical changes, not a lot. It’s a step, though, and it’s an important step, because we wouldn’t be getting to tax and reg without it, and that’s where we’re eventually heading.

TG Branfalt: In Vermont, now we’re entering a whole new era, come July 1st. But we already have a small hemp industry, very CBD focused. In your role as a cannabis consultant, this is a smaller industry than other states, and we’re not talking about tax and reg right now. What does a cannabis consultant in Vermont do? What do you do working within this industry, and looking forward, are you already looking forward to tax and reg?

Tim Fair: A couple of questions rolled in there. No doubt. I’ll say that for the last year, majority of what I’ve been doing is learning and lobbying. Learning about much about the industry as I possibly can, learning about the areas of law in cannabis law that I have not practiced for the last five years, getting myself up to speed, and spending a lot of time in Montpelier, working with a lot of really, really good people and advocates, moving this agenda forward.

Trying to talk to legislators, trying to dissuade some of the apprehensions, to maybe dispel some of the myths. That’s what I’ve been doing for the last year. Right now, we are an interesting place. Vermont is unbelievably supportive of the hemp industry. The legislature went as far as to put a signing statement into the statute, reaffirming their support for the hemp industry.

I’m trying to think of the exact number. I don’t know if it’s 14 or 17 states that allow hemp growing at this point, and Vermont by far is the least regulated. $25 a year, you fill out a one page form, you get your card, and you can grow hemp, which is fantastic. We’re an agricultural economy here in Vermont, and this is the beginning of what I believe to be the rejuvenation of that economy.

TG Branfalt: When you’re talking to people right now who are in the hemp industry, are there a lot of questions right now, even several months before legalization takes effect, and possibly years before tax and reg, are people already trying to figure out what that industry could look like?

And the other thing is this. Do you think that it’s going to be more representative, it’s going to be similar to the hemp industry that we have here, which is primarily small farmers?

Tim Fair: That’s a great question. I think we have to wait and see. Regulations for Vermont’s taxed and regulated system are going to be coming out this year. There’s definitely a very, very strong desire to keep this as local as possible, to keep things on the Vermont scale, and one of the things about the cannabis industry right now is that it is extremely state specific.

So, it would be very difficult for somebody from out of state to come into Vermont, let’s say a large scale operation out of Colorado. They may know the Colorado regulations very well, they may know how to function and run their business under the Colorado regulations, they won’t know anything about Vermont. They won’t know anything about the Vermont regulations, so that factor helps keep it local.

I’m hoping that we are going to maintain accessibility for the average Vermonter. That’s what Vermont Cannabis Solutions is about. We’re not taking out of state clients, we’re working with Vermont small business and entrepreneurs who want to get involved in this industry. Whether the legislature will help that or hinder it, we have yet to see.

TG Branfalt: Speaking of the legislature, I mean, it’s the first in the nation to pass legalization via the legislature. It was cool to be here when that happened, but how long … You’ve spent a lot more time in Montpelier than I have. How long do you think the legislature’s going to let this gray market exist? I mean, we both hear things about donations and these things that are already happening in Massachusetts, and Massachusetts, to their credit, is allowing it to go on pretty much in the open. How long do you think that’s going to jive with the legislature, just watching the money fall out of their pockets?

Tim Fair: There’s two ways they can go. The gifting cannabis economy, we see it in D.C., we see it in Maine, we’re seeing it develop in Massachusetts. This is a function of going halfway. Legalization without a taxed and regulated system. I was having an email exchange with a former professor of mine at Vermont Law School the other day, and when you look at the statutes in Vermont, gifting is allowed. Gifting is allowed.

The statutes specifically state that it is illegal to sell quantities of cannabis under one ounce, but when you talk about distribution, it’s only addressed in quantities above one ounce. There’s noticeably lack of any mention of prohibition of distribution under an ounce. Meaning, you can give away up to an ounce perfectly legally. What does that lead to? That leads to the $100 Snickers bar that comes with a free quarter ounce, or in D.C., the juice bars that serve $50 glasses of orange juice with a free eighth.

It’s runarounds, it’s loopholes. It’s entrepreneurs looking at the system and figuring out how they can move forward with the framework as it is. I believe this is not going to last long. The two options the legislature has is A, they can go back and try to reconvene and pass a bill to close the loophole, which will take a whole session, or they can establish tax and regulation.

This year we will most likely be seeing Canada come online with it’s recreational program. We’ll be seeing Massachusetts come online, Maine hopefully after LePage gets out. People will be actually seeing functioning, well-functioning cannabis systems and once they’re seeing it with their own eyes, once they’re seeing all the gloom and doom predictions of the prohibitionists are not coming true, the sky is not falling, six year olds aren’t running around with joints, what they will see is a good functioning systems that are generating significant tax revenue. I think when people see that, tax and reg is inevitable.

TG Branfalt: I mean, it’s coming. I mean, briefly, I just want to talk to you very briefly, just before we started recording, we were looking at that lawsuit that’s happening on a federal level. I mean, at some point, right, the crest has got to come? I mean, New England is basically decriminalized throughout. All of Vermont’s borders, save for New Hampshire, right? No, New York, sorry, my bad. But I mean, New York, you look at New York, what have they got? Pennsylvania, that’s it. Jersey’s on its way. I just want to, just point out what we’re looking at from our perspective in Vermont, you know?

Tim Fair: Jersey is the East Coast key. Once Jersey goes, New York will go, and once New York goes, then we’ve got the East Coast. For me, it was California legalizing recreational. That was the point for me where I fully believed that the toothpaste can’t be put back in the tube. The genie ain’t getting back in the bottle, no matter what we see from the federal government. Once California estimated 6-7 billion dollar a year industry-

TG Branfalt: Which the whole industry did nine billion last year I think is the number.

Tim Fair: Yeah, with a B. That to me was the point of no return. But the federal government goes kicking and screaming. It’s very difficult to get anything done under the best of circumstances in Washington, and where we find ourselves now, I’ll just say are not the best of circumstances. That’s why another kind of benefit of the state specific nature of this industry that has allowed the states to really take it and run with it on their own.

Yes, inevitability. That’s a great word. The industry is inevitable. How long it’s going to take, how long we have the prohibitionists kicking and screaming. That’s impossible to tell right now.

TG Branfalt: So I want to get your advice for current operators and other people within Vermont’s market. Before we do that, we’ve got to take a last break. This is Ganjapreneur.com Podcast with TG Branfalt.

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We believe that this fear is totally unreasonable, and that cannabis business owners deserve access to the same services and resources that other businesses are afforded, that they should be able to hire consultation to help them follow the letter of the law in their business endeavors, and that they should be able to provide employee benefits without needing to compromise on the quality of coverage they can offer.

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TG Branfalt: Hey welcome back to the Ganjapreneur.com Podcast. I’m your host, TG Branfalt, here with Tim Fair, owner of Vermont’s first cannabis law practice, Vermont Cannabis Solutions, and kindred spirit, especially when it comes to the sole federal government issue. So, I wanted to ask you, your advice for current operators in Vermont. That’s what you focus on, that’s where we are. Do you think that those who are focused on hemp right now have a slight headstart as we inch towards tax and reg?

Tim Fair: Absolutely. I mean, there’s no question about it. They’re getting the experience in the industry, they’re getting the experience, whether it’s growing the crop, whether it’s extracting whether it’s selling. Whatever people are doing, they’re getting that experience now. As far as non-hemp cannabis, higher THC level cannabis, that’s limited really right now to our medical dispensaries.

The average entrepreneur’s not having that opportunity, so the people right now who are in the hemp and CBD, yeah, they’re getting a headstart. The question is are they all going to want to transition into cannabis? Some yes, some no. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t steps that can be taken right now for those who want to get into the legal cannabis market. Whether it’s recreational or medicinal.

TG Branfalt: Earlier you said that you think it’s going to be harder for out of state people to enter the Vermont market. If people wanted to start looking at that market now, what would advice be for those who are or might be interested in entering Vermont’s market when it starts to become established?

Tim Fair: You mean people from out of state who might want to come in?

TG Branfalt: Yeah, yeah.

Tim Fair: Learn the Vermont way. Learn Vermont.

TG Branfalt: It’s tough. I mean, neither one of us are from Vermont.

Tim Fair: No, no, absolutely. Growing up in New York City, it blew my mind here. But Vermont is a lot more about who you are. It’s about face to face connections. It’s about knowing people. In order to succeed in the Vermont market, especially at this point in time, who you know, the impression you’ve made on people, the reputation that you have within the cannabis community here in the state, that is going to carry a lot more weight than what you’ve done somewhere else, or how much money you may have.

It really comes down to knowing each other, and if somebody from out of state had a real serious interest in coming into Vermont, come to Vermont. Come to some events. Come to some lobbying events. Meet people in the community. We’re a small state, we’re a relatively small community, and it’s very accepting.

The thing people don’t want to do is just simply come in and try to buy their way into the industry. That’s just not really going to work here in Vermont.

TG Branfalt: You’ve had your own interesting path to sit in this chair, talking about cannabis, lawyer. What’s your advice for other entrepreneurs who are seeking to enter the cannabis space? Just people who may not be in this industry now.

Tim Fair: Know why you want to get into the industry. If the answer is, “Because I think I’m going to make a bunch of money,” pick another industry. Know why you want to get into it. Once you’ve figured out why you want to get into it, my next piece of advice is learn the industry. It’s not simply about hanging around and getting stoned all day, and growing some pot.

This is a growing industry. When you factor in the CBD, industrial hemp, all of the uses, the sitting around, getting stoned, a piece of the pie. But there’s a lot more to the industry than that. The nuances of the industry, what has happened over the last five years in Colorado and California, in Oregon, in Washington, in Alaska. These are lessons that can be learned. These are real lessons. Some of them will be applicable to Vermont, some of them will not.

But by studying the industry, by seeing the problems and how they’ve been dealt with, it’s going to be the best way to have a realistic expectation of one’s experience here in Vermont in the industry.

TG Branfalt: I mean, this has been really cool, man. Like, I’m stoked to have you on the show. I mean, when we met in Montpelier, we both looked at each other like, “All right, I got you. I got you.” Where can people find out more about what you’re doing with the Vermont Cannabis Solutions, find out more about you? Plug it up, man.

Tim Fair: I’m not real good at self-promotion or plugs. I’ll say the website, www.VermontCannabisSolutions.com, is my first attempt at a website, so take it easy on me. But it’s got a lot of contact information, talks a lot about what we’re trying to do here in Vermont. Other than that, tfair@bwvlaw.com. Shoot me an email, happy to chat with anyone, anytime.

TG Branfalt: Dude, I really, again, I appreciate it, and I’m sure we’ll be sitting in these chairs chatting in a few months when legalization’s getting close, man. I appreciate it again.

Tim Fair: I certainly hope so, TG. I appreciate it, my man.

TG Branfalt: You can find more episodes of the Ganjapreneur.com Podcast in the podcast section of Ganjapreneur.com, and in the Apple iTunes Store. On the Ganjapreneur.com website, you will find the latest cannabis news and cannabis jobs updated daily, along with transcripts of this podcast. You can also download the Ganjapreneur.com app in iTunes and Google Play. This episode was engineered by Trim Media House. I’ve been your host, TG Branfalt.

End

Indoor cannabis plants under the pink-hued glow of LED grow lights.

Study: Cannabis Legalization ‘Not the Cause’ for Pueblo County, Colorado Crime and Homeless Challenges

3/14/2018

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According to researchers at Colorado State University-Pueblo’s Institute of Cannabis Research, legalization is not the cause of many of Pueblo County’s recent challenges, Colorado Public Radio reports in an outline of the study. In fact, cannabis sales led to $35 million for the region in 2016, after factoring in costs for enforcement.

Legalization is often cited as a factor in the increased number of homeless people in Pueblo. However, ICR sociologist Timothy McGettigan said that the increase in the number of homeless people in the city is more likely due to increased housing and utility costs.

“The idea that people have been coming to Colorado from out of state in droves, spending their last dime on cannabis and then lining up at soup kitchen queues and at social service agencies is not really accurate. The picture is much different than that.” – McGettigan to CPR

ICR Director Rick Kreminski suggested that the increase in crime in Pueblo since legalization is more likely attributable to the population increase, the decrease in law enforcement officers and the “lack of clarity on some on the marijuana laws.”

The study was split into three sections: social impact (demographics, poverty and homelessness, student use and prevention, crime, health); economic impact and prediction; and water and energy impact.

Social Impact

  • “The population characteristics have remained unchanged … population has increased … but the rate of population increase has remained roughly unchaged.”
  • “No direct quantifiable evidence” to support the notion that the city has been “inundated by migrants.”
  • “Out-of-state migrants to Colorado generally bring college degrees, experience and affluence that enriches Colorado.”
  • “Legal cannabis has not yet had an observable impact on Pueblo’s household incomes. It is possible that the enduring federal prohibition shrouds the true impact of legal cannabis on Pueblo’s household incomes. This is a phenomenon that requires more investigation.”
  • “Poverty rates have neither increased nor decreased. … Pueblo has experienced substantial increases to homelessness” but there is “no clear evidence to unambiguously determine the extent” to which cannabis legalization has attributed to that increase.
  • “It is possible that the largest source of homelessness in Pueblo may be attributable to utility costs. In 2016 alone, a local energy provider was reported to have disconnected utilities to more than 7,000 Pueblo homes.”
  • Cannabis legalization “has not greatly affected high school student use and perceptions towards cannabis in south central Colorado.”
  • Nearly half of the region’s middle and high schools do not provide cannabis prevention education.
  • Crime has increased but cannabis seizures in the city itself are down; although they are up in the county “likely due to the larger volume of illegal marijuana grown present in the county.”
  • The largest crime increase has been property crimes – particularly motor vehicle theft – and danger drug seizures – particularly heroin.
  • Violent crime in the city is up “marginally” but down throughout the county.

Health

  • No “statistically significant change” among women who use cannabis in the county post-legalization.
  • Individuals testing positive for cannabis at hospitals has increased 3 percent.
  • Legal cannabis is complicating the Pueblo County Department of Social Services work with families but “it’s impossible to draw any conclusion about the influence of legal cannabis. … One one hand caregivers appear to be more open and honest about their use of cannabis, but also less likely to comply with court orders to stop using due to the legal status of cannabis in Colorado. This leads to stress in the relationship between caseworkers and caregivers, which could reduce the effectiveness of services provided.”

Economic Impact

  • Real estate values, per capital income, and construction spending in Pueblo is higher post legalization but that could be attributed to the positive national economy.
  • Prices will drop over the next five years and that drop will “have some effect on tax revenue.”

Water and Energy Usage

  • The industry is “very far” from utilizing best practices but “water and energy use is likely to fall” as “growers learn what works.”

The study is the first of its kind. It was paid for largely by local and state cannabis taxes.

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Sonoma County, California DA Taking ‘Proactive’ Approach to Addressing Cannabis Convictions under New Law

3/14/2018

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The Sonoma County, California district attorney’s office will “proactively” search for cannabis convictions eligible for reduction or dismissal under the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation Safety Act. District Attorney Jill Ravich indicated that there have been “dozens” of convictions already reduced and dismissed but estimated there is still about 3,000 more that have not been acted upon.

“With Proposition 64 California voters clearly indicated their intent to offer people convicted of cannabis related offenses to have their records cleared. Further, the state legislature is currently contemplating legislation that would pave the way for the automatic expungement or reduction of cannabis related convictions. Therefore, my goal is to do whatever I can within the resources at my disposal to be consistent with this intent.” – Ravich in a press release

How does it work? The office has set up a website for citizens to determine whether their cannabis-related case is subject to any reduction or dismissal under the law. The district attorney’s office is working with cannabis consultants 421 Group and attorney Omar Figueroa in the process.

Almeda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley and San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón have each also announced that their offices would take a proactive approach to dismissing or reducing cannabis crimes under the state law.

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Colorado Considering Bill to Let School Nurses Provide MMJ to Students

3/14/2018

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Colorado’s Legislature is considering a bill to allow school nurses to administer medical cannabis to students registered with the state program, according to a KDVR report. The measure, called “Quintin’s Amendment” would be added to “Jack’s Law” which allows students to use medical cannabis in schools.

The bill is sponsored by Democratic Rep. Dylan Roberts and would allow school nurses to administer non-smokable forms of medical cannabis.

“A lot of times these kids, either because of their age or because of their condition, can’t administer the medical marijuana to themselves so they need somebody to do it for them.” – Roberts to KDVR

Hannah Lovato, the mother of Quintin Lovato for whom the bill is named, said that the third-grader requires three doses per day but, due to the family’s schedule, he is only getting two doses per day and his seizures persist.

“If a nurse was able to give him that third dose at school, that would open up his medication doses and help us out immensely. And it may mean the difference between where he’s almost seizure free right now and actually being seizure free if he was able to get that third dose.” – Hannah Lovato to KDVR

The measure is currently in the House Health, Insurance and Environment Committee. It’s expected to get heard by that committee March 29.

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