Spark the Conversation: Sabrina Fendrick, Berkeley Patients Group

6/16/2017

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Sabrina Fendrick is the Director of Government Affairs for Berkeley Patients Group, a licensed medical cannabis dispensary serving patients throughout the greater Berkeley area.

Prior to working at BPG, Sabrina spent seven years at the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) in Washington D.C. In 2010, she founded the NORML Women’s Alliance — the first nationwide women’s outreach organization in the cannabis space — and she was a founding advisor for Women Grow. She is a member of the Students for Sensible Drug Policy Advisory Council, sits on the Marijuana Majority Advisory Board, and is a member of the Council for Responsible Cannabis Policy’s National Packaging and Labeling Standards Committee.

In this episode of the Spark the Conversation podcast, Sabrina joins host Bianca Green for a discussion at the Emerald Cup about the state of the industry, the history of cannabis activism, her work to educate lawmakers about the realities of cannabis, and more.

Listen to the podcast (recorded live at the Emerald Cup) below, or continue scrolling down to read a full transcript of the interview.

Listen to the podcast:

Read the transcript:

Bianca Green: Welcome to the Spark the Conversation podcast in partnership with Ganjapreneur.com. I’m your host Bianca Green. Thanks for so much for tuning in today. I have the pleasure of sitting down in our Emerald Cup series with a dear friend and fellow drug war veteran, Sabrina Fendrick, who works at Berkeley Patient’s Group as the Director of Government Affairs. Prior to her work at BPG, she spent seven years at the Washington DC-based NORML, National Organization of the Reform of Marijuana Laws. In 2010, Sabrina founded NORML Women’s Alliance, which I think was a huge stepping stone to females coming out of the closet as consumers, advocates, and entrepreneurs. It really helped solidify that we were a part of the movement. That was in 2010.

She also did the first nationwide women’s outreach organization in the cannabis space and was a founding advisor for Women Grow; which a lot of women entrepreneurs are very familiar with Women Grow. She is a member of Students for Sensible Drug Policy Advisory Counsel and she sits on the Marijuana Majority Advisory Board and is a member of the Council of Responsible Cannabis Policy’s National Packaging and Labeling Standards Committee. As a consumer, we get our medicine and we buy it, but there’s a lot of behind the scenes that go into actualizing how the processes go down, and Sabrina’s been a huge integral part of, not only the advocacy side of it, but the industry building side of it. I’m excited for you guys to hear our conversation because she’s an overall badass, really dedicated obviously to the movement and a very, very dear friend.

Hi this is Bianca Green. I’m here at the Emerald Cup, live with Sabrina who is the Director of Government Affairs for Berkeley Patient’s Group. Welcome, Sabrina.

Sabrina Fendrick: Thank you for having me.

Bianca Green: I love you, first of all. That is very true.

Sabrina Fendrick: I love you too.

Bianca Green: Thank you. You have been a female advocate in this crazy movement for a lot of years. I would really love to give our audience some of your background so that they know kind of what a badass I’m sitting talking to right now. Why don’t you tell us how you got into drug policy reform.

Sabrina Fendrick: Well, initially I had an interaction with law enforcement in college in Virginia and that’s sort of what really turned me on to understanding why is this illegal in the first place. I started researching and the more  I researched, the angrier I got. I was just like, this is the most fucked up shit ever. I don’t know if we’re allowed to curse.

Bianca Green: Yes, you are. Yes, especially if you’re an advocate-

Sabrina Fendrick: Okay.

Bianca Green: -in drug policy reform.

Sabrina Fendrick: Okay, good, because I curse a lot.

Bianca Green: It’s almost like you need to curse, right?

Sabrina Fendrick: Yeah.

Bianca Green: In the Culture High I’m in four scenes and I say fuck in three, okay?

Sabrina Fendrick: Okay. Yeah. Good.

Bianca Green: Sometimes it gets the point the across.

Sabrina Fendrick: It’s for emphasis.

Bianca Green: Yeah. Yeah. It is. It is.

Sabrina Fendrick: Yeah. I changed my senior thesis in college my senior year from this foreign affairs analysis to the history of marijuana prohibition and the evolution of government-sponsored reefer madness propaganda. From the beginning of it being illegal up until modern day and how they, before it was sort of like marijuana makes you crazy and rape women and all this insane shit, then it goes to-

Bianca Green: Literally insane shit.

Sabrina Fendrick: Literally insane shit and marijuana just makes you lazy and lethargic, and oh it’s a gateway drug and just how they keep changing it with what the public will buy. I was just lucky enough to be from DC, so I moved home after college and MPP is actually the first place I worked.

Bianca Green: Really? I didn’t hear about that?

Sabrina Fendrick: Yeah. I was a temp at MPP.

Bianca Green: Okay.

Sabrina Fendrick: I stuffed envelopes.

Bianca Green: Awesome.

Sabrina Fendrick: I was 22-23-years-old.

Bianca Green: For some people who don’t know, MPP is the Marijuana Policy Project, which is basically … Is it a project of Drug Policy Alliance?

Sabrina Fendrick: No.

Bianca Green: It’s an affiliate?

Sabrina Fendrick: No. They just work together.

Bianca Green: Okay.

Sabrina Fendrick: No, it’s independent.

Bianca Green: Okay.

Sabrina Fendrick: Yeah. That was in 2008 in the beginning, early spring of 2008. I saw that NORML, I actually randomly found it on Craigslist, that NORML was hiring. I applied for a job at NORML. The position I ended up getting wasn’t one they were hiring for.

Bianca Green: Really?

Sabrina Fendrick: They just created a new position for me-

Bianca Green: That’s awesome.

Sabrina Fendrick: -which was Assistant to the Executive Director, Allen St. Pierre.

Bianca Green: Wow.

Sabrina Fendrick: Yeah. That’s how I started. 22, I think 23. It was right after my 23rd birthday.

Bianca Green: Wow. I forget you’re so young. Not because you don’t look it, but I just yeah.

Sabrina Fendrick: That was a long … It was almost 10 years ago now.

Bianca Green: Yeah, yeah. Wow.

Sabrina Fendrick: It was a really long time. Bush was still President.

Bianca Green: Wow.

Sabrina Fendrick: Yeah.

Bianca Green: Yeah.

Sabrina Fendrick: That’s how long … It was the primaries-

Bianca Green: Okay. There’s some context. Okay.

Sabrina Fendrick: -but it was Bush was still President. You weren’t talking about legalizing pot then. Nobody was having that conversation. It was just stop arresting people.

Bianca Green: Yeah.

Sabrina Fendrick: Nobody could have imagined back then that this is where we would be now-

Bianca Green: Sure.

Sabrina Fendrick: -and you would have this many states with legalized marijuana for adult use. It’s incredible how fast it happened.

Bianca Green: Yeah. What do you think played into that?

Sabrina Fendrick: I think it was a variety of things. I think the internet actually had a lot to do with it. I think people on social media, actually Facebook and all those sort of online organizing tools, created a place for all these people that were like-minded in this issue, were able to sort of come together on finding each other in these networks, in these forums and communicate and spread information. You were actually for the first time able to really challenge the traditional media, because all they put out there was no real legitimate articles. It was just sort of jokey, stonery. It was just something you would laugh at.

Bianca Green: Yeah.

Sabrina Fendrick: Oh, these stone- Obama, when he first came into office started this sort of we the people-

Bianca Green: Campaign?

Sabrina Fendrick: It was a campaign where it was on their website and you would send in your questions. You could ask him anything and then people would vote the questions up. The top questions he would answer them in a public forum. He did it on YouTube. He did one with CNN, he did a variety of them. Pretty much every single time, the top question was, will you legalize marijuana?

Bianca Green: Yeah. I remember that.

Sabrina Fendrick: This is the very beginning. This was right when I started the NORML Facebook page. It was something I pushed really, really hard and was like share with everybody. This is the only way we can actually get him to say something about it. One or two times they actually took it out. They said it was inappropriate. It was an inappropriate question. Now, when you have Obama saying that marijuana is becoming as legitimate it should be treated like alcohol, just to see how far we’ve come from that.

Bianca Green: Yeah. In such a short amount of time too.

Sabrina Fendrick: In such a short amount of time.

Bianca Green: It’s one of the fastest social justice reform revolutions that has ever really happened.

Sabrina Fendrick: Yeah. Well, at least in its what I think is coming to fruition, I hope, but it’s actually been going on for 50 years.

Bianca Green: Sure, yeah.

Sabrina Fendrick: Now it’s just speeding up like light speed. It was very slow and incremental with its hiccups and challenges throughout the years. Who knows what’s going to happen now with Trump and Sessions and all of that? That’s just the new … Activists have never had it easy and so it’s just more of making sure that we find the stability and security and legitimization to keep on keeping on.

Bianca Green: When people get too celebratory, I’m like, I appreciate your enthusiasm and I’m all about celebrating, but I’ve seen people believe that cannabis legalization has been imminent in the past. My uncle and some of the partnerships that he had, people really believed that some of the times were changing. Tell me about, in the sixties, I don’t know if this is a rumor or if this is a reality, but somebody recently told me that in the sixties, marijuana was legalized for like three years and … Yeah, yeah.

Sabrina Fendrick: Federally?

Bianca Green: Yeah.

Sabrina Fendrick: I’ve never heard that.

Bianca Green: Okay. We need to look into that.

Sabrina Fendrick: Yeah.

Bianca Green: It was a very credited source-

Sabrina Fendrick: Interesting.

Bianca Green: -and I think that I need to find out what that information is. Anyway, and then-

Sabrina Fendrick: In the sixties?

Bianca Green: Yeah. They went back and put it back into prohibition.

Sabrina Fendrick: I don’t think so.

Bianca Green: Okay.

Sabrina Fendrick: I’m not sure, but I feel like I would know that.

Bianca Green: Yeah, you would. That’s why I asked too. You never know. I’ll definitely see if I can’t find-

Sabrina Fendrick: The Nixon Commission was in the early seventies.

Bianca Green: Yeah, but that was after. The early sixties was-

Sabrina Fendrick: The early sixties … Yeah.

Bianca Green: -just kind of a different time. Anyway, I think that I’ve just seen so many opportunities where people thought it was a shoe-in. Just the same way people thought that Hillary was a shoe-in and didn’t even bother voting. There’s all different things that people don’t take responsibility for. From my perspective, what I do with Spark the Conversation, is make consumers advocates. What do you think that people can do to get more involved from a consumer advocacy perspective being that you handle government affairs? What can people actually do to become more active in advocating for their freedom to consume the plant and have access to it? Those are really big deals.

Sabrina Fendrick: They are. They are and I definitely have got that question a lot. I think there’s different layers to it. It depends on so many factors. Your time ability, how far you’re willing to put yourself out there, how publicly you’re willing to put yourself out there, but even down to the basic person who doesn’t have the capacity to join a local organization or go to protests or write letters to the editor. The most important thing and the easiest thing is to just talk to your friends and family.

Bianca Green: Yeah.

Sabrina Fendrick: Honestly, that is-

Bianca Green: That’s what I was thinking.

Sabrina Fendrick: -really what has, I think, been a huge part of what’s changed the public’s perspective on marijuana legalization, because that was a message that we pushed online.

Bianca Green: Yeah.

Sabrina Fendrick: Talk to your friends and talk to you family.

Bianca Green: Change the stigma.

Sabrina Fendrick: Everybody loves somebody who smokes marijuana.

Bianca Green: Yeah.

Sabrina Fendrick: That person has a responsibility to educate those people around them about how important it is that this is a social justice, a criminal justice issue and they really need to understand the history and the implications of current policy and the potential for change.

Bianca Green: The social media revolution really helped change the stigma of cannabis-

Sabrina Fendrick: Absolutely.

Bianca Green: -and the people who use it. I know when I was running The High Times Instagram and their social media, a lot of people were still leery about putting their faces on it. I started to encourage patients, because they’re consumers, right?

Sabrina Fendrick: Yeah.

Bianca Green: To just get out there and be-

Sabrina Fendrick: Yeah, get out there.

Bianca Green: -a part of it.

Sabrina Fendrick: That’s the next layer.

Bianca Green: Yeah.

Sabrina Fendrick: Absolutely.

Bianca Green: It’s super important. That’s the thing that I say with Spark the Conversation all the time. It is not illegal to have a conversation so-

Sabrina Fendrick: Exactly.

Bianca Green: -start there. Start there.

Sabrina Fendrick: First amendment exists for a reason.

Bianca Green: Start there.

Sabrina Fendrick: Yeah.

Bianca Green: Everyone has to have a starting point.

Sabrina Fendrick: Have a conversation.

Bianca Green: What’s it like? What does your job entail at Berkeley Patient’s Group? What does it mean to even be Director of Government Affairs? It’s a niche industry, I guess, right? You’re dealing with things that if you worked for Nike, this position might not necessarily exist, right?

Sabrina Fendrick: Well, it’s sort of … I’m sure Nike actually has one, because any corporation or industry that wants to be able to sort of take part in the shaping of policy that impacts their-

Bianca Green: Business.

Sabrina Fendrick: -business is going to have somebody there just sort of keeping an eye on what’s going on-

Bianca Green: Sure.

Sabrina Fendrick: -sort of trying to educate the lawmakers who deal with a gazillion issues. Marijuana’s not their main thing and they don’t know anything about how to run a business or what the marijuana industry is facing and their challenges. They honestly need people who can articulate that perspective to them so that when they start to craft these laws and these regulations, on every level: local, state and Federal. Not so much … I mean Federal is taking longer, but you just need to be able to show them what sort of the impact and the implications of these regulations will have on the businesses as they currently exist and as they continue to grow or as they will exist under the new regulations.

Bianca Green: Yeah.

Sabrina Fendrick: It’s a lot of educating. It’s a lot of educating and a lot of just sort of-

Bianca Green: You educate lawmakers?

Sabrina Fendrick: Educate lawmakers.

Bianca Green: Yeah. You lobby for permanence and different types of things like that.

Sabrina Fendrick: Yes. Then that’s the second part is it’s an interesting time. I think sort of the nature of what I do is not exactly the nature of what a Nike government affairs person would do because-

Bianca Green: Sure. Shoes aren’t illegal.

Sabrina Fendrick: Right. Exactly. I was going to say the policy and the business are very intertwined and you have to just be really on top of sort of what the local regulations are if you even want to get a permit and be a part of that whole process-

Bianca Green: Yeah.

Sabrina Fendrick: – to even put in a permit application. Yeah, they sort of go hand-in-hand. Just keeping an eye out on what’s going on and what jurisdictions and municipalities are doing. Where would it be a good place to look into and where wouldn’t and what’s in the pipeline?

Bianca Green: What do you think some of the greatest things that are going into reform right now are? Is it education? Is it regulation and compliance? Permitting? What do you think is the tipping point as-is? I mean, we see 64 and we see this whole new field of opportunity, but how do you think that that’s the most … What do you think is next basically for a government relation opportunity to help influence and create and shape new laws under 64 and MCRSA? Merging your business into a model that has recreational and medicinal opportunities? You guys are a dispensary so you’re a retail operation, but what are we looking at?

Sabrina Fendrick: That part, it basically depends on the local jurisdiction.

Bianca Green: Okay.

Sabrina Fendrick: That’s where the local government affairing occurs. I go to these Berkeley Medical Cannabis Commission meetings every month and they’re a sort of appointed group of individuals who create proposals, suggested ordinances and model language for the city council to consider on different aspects of the industry and on the commercial operations. Keeping on track of that and seeing sort of where they are kind of determines where everything is. Sometimes the city council will just pop a random thing or two in that they want to do and sometimes you know and sometimes you don’t, but that’s local politics. Local politics versus state politics versus federal politics-

Bianca Green: They are so different.

Sabrina Fendrick: -is so different. It’s so different. In DC, I was very much on the sort of federal-state.

Bianca Green: Sure.

Sabrina Fendrick: I wasn’t local. I was not involved in … In DC and surrounding areas, the local politicking only is important in places what are called home rule states, versus Dillon rule states. Home rule states, the localities can basically create their own rules and laws, where you’ll have one city sort of deprioritizing or decriminalizing marijuana or not arresting, where another won’t be and they can just have all their ballot initiatives and all kinds of stuff like that. In Virginia and a lot of other places, they’re mostly western states that have that option, but not all. There’s Massachusetts has it, Florida has it. In Dillon rule states the localities have to go with what the state law says. There’s not local control. I tried in, of course, the county I lived in in Virginia. I was like I’m going to try to decriminalize it over here.

Bianca Green: Of course you did.

Sabrina Fendrick: Let’s start with Arlington.

Bianca Green: You’re the bad ass that way. I love that. Arlington, you just decided to take on legalization.

Sabrina Fendrick: Yeah. I was like why not? It’ll be a pet project.

Bianca Green: I love that. In Arlington, Virginia.

Sabrina Fendrick: I met with the head of the County Board, who I went to high school with his kids so we kind of knew each other. Really sat down and talked to him and he said, “No, Dillon rule was like every other word.” Which is actually not entirely true. I started really researching it and realized that there were places. Right now Charlottesville tried to do it a couple years ago and it was weird, but now it sounds like Newport News, Norfolk and Virginia Beach area have done it.

Bianca Green: Wow.

Sabrina Fendrick: It really doesn’t actually have to be a law, but it can just be sort of like a policy based on the police chief or the city attorney can just say this is your lowest priority, we’re not going to prosecute these cases. That’s the only legal explicit way, but then you have when you’re determining how to prioritize enforcement-

Bianca Green: Sure.

Sabrina Fendrick: -of society-

Bianca Green: Yeah. Yeah.

Sabrina Fendrick: -that falls to the bottom and you put that where earlier it didn’t.

Bianca Green: It’s crazy because I don’t think most of the consumers know what goes on to get product to them, right?

Sabrina Fendrick: Seriously. I do too. I always tell people marijuana didn’t legalize itself.

Bianca Green: Me too. You and I have so many parallels. That’s one of the reasons why I love you, not that I love myself, but it’s good to find people who have like-minded visions because not everyone thinks that way. People are like, “Weed is legal.” I’m like, “But, you know … ”

Sabrina Fendrick: It’s legal on the backs of so many people who have put in so much blood, sweat and tears and risked so much.

Bianca Green: So much. What do you think the regular, everyday consumer can do, really, to be more advocates? I know you mentioned online opportunities to share information, which I always encourage and that’s one of the things that why we created Spark the Conversation is to do just that-

Sabrina Fendrick: Yeah.

Bianca Green: -have people get online and share information with their family and friends. I always say it’s not illegal to have a conversation. How else can people be active either locally, statewide or federally? Because we need more support. I would say one thing off the top and I try to always encourage people is to donate-

Sabrina Fendrick: Absolutely.

Bianca Green: -to organizations that are leading the change, but is there anything else that you would add other than donating-

Sabrina Fendrick: Yeah.

Bianca Green: -and getting on Facebook?

Sabrina Fendrick: Right.

Bianca Green: What are actual actions that people could do?

Sabrina Fendrick: I understand, donating especially for a majority of the public, it’s hard. People are on budgets and the thing I identify with this cause versus maybe other more corporatized causes is that we may not have a lot of financial resources, but there is a lot of human resources. It’s the human resources that are sometimes worth more than the financial resources. If the people can’t do that, can’t donate the money, then they can contact their local government office, their local county commissioner or their state representative on a local level or on a federal level and meet with them and really talk to them.

Bianca Green: Why it’s important. What do they talk to them about though? When they get there or they make the contact-

Sabrina Fendrick: Well, what are they passionate about? Everyone has as different reason for the most part as to why they think it should be illegal, or legal, excuse me.

Bianca Green: Yeah.

Sabrina Fendrick: Well, that too. Absolutely. That too. I think the way you talk to them is what you feel most passionately about because that comes across-

Bianca Green: The most authentic.

Sabrina Fendrick: -the most authentic way.

Bianca Green: Yeah, it’s so true.

Sabrina Fendrick: If it’s for medicine and you just want access to medicine, then that’s your angle. If you or someone you love got caught up in the criminal justice system, then that’s your angle.

Bianca Green: Yeah.

Sabrina Fendrick: There’s so many reasons marijuana should be legal and so many reasons it’s current illegal status fucks up society-

Bianca Green: True.

Sabrina Fendrick: -there’s a whole menu of things that you can go from. If you had to pick, go with the one that you’re most passionate about and get educated on it.

Bianca Green: Yeah.

Sabrina Fendrick: Especially also follow what’s going on in your local government in terms of marijuana, because there might be something in the pipeline. If they are having hearings and they all have to have public hearings when these laws are being created. Well, I don’t do sort of the national stuff anymore, but if there are places that are looking to make it stricter or change certain policies that are working or more progressive, then know when those public hearings are, show up to them and speak at them. Write letters to them, do all of that. You just have to get a huge turnout to all of these things so that they know that there’s people that are watching. Their constituents are there, they’re paying attention, they know what they’re doing and you don’t always win, but you certainly make a statement and the lawmakers and elected officials have no choice but to recognize you’re there. Your existence and the fact that you could potentially affect their position.

Bianca Green: Yeah. It is important that we fight for our civil liberties.

Sabrina Fendrick: Yeah.

Bianca Green: I really enjoy this narrative that we’re talking about because I rarely hear people talking about this anymore.

Sabrina Fendrick: Yeah.

Bianca Green: Drug policy reform has kind of been slid under the rug with legalization and the new opportunities coming about. The drug war is still far from over and a lot of people don’t understand the small different nuances of difficulties that businesses go through. What’s next for Berkeley Patient’s Group and why Berkeley Patient’s Group? What is it about that particular retail outlet that drew you in? What are you guys’ plans for 2017?

Sabrina Fendrick: That’s a lot of questions. I would say when I was coming to the point where I was … Well, how do I say this? I was deciding what direction to go in my life and I was living in Colorado and becoming very familiar with the industry and somewhat disillusioned with the industry. I really was not a huge fan of how I saw things unfolding and decided that I really needed … If I was going to be somewhere and stay in the industry, it had to be somewhere that I knew was actually passionate about drug reform, the cause and really had deep roots in that whole movement. That was the only way I would stay. I was very familiar with Berkeley Patient’s Group because they have been sponsors of NORML conferences forever.

Bianca Green: Yeah, yeah.

Sabrina Fendrick: They’ve single handedly started non-profit groups, kept them afloat. Probably one of the groups that’s had the biggest impact on sustaining these organizations. That ethos that I knew existed with that organization was something that I could believe in and work for. That’s why I was interested. Really, it was going to be Berkeley Patient’s Group or I was going to find another cause.

Bianca Green: Yeah. Really?

Sabrina Fendrick: I do think that it was an interesting transition going from the movement, activist word to the industry world. I don’t think this is as like industry as others are, just because they have those deep, deep roots in the movement.

Bianca Green: Yeah.

Sabrina Fendrick: They come from the movement so that’s part of the philosophy. Just really coming to the understanding that the whole evolution and creation of these regulations and these new policies of how you’re actually going to contain and control a regulated industry is literally what the movement has been fighting for, it’s just the other half of it. You have to make sure that the regulations work so that we can prove that marijuana legalization is actually good public policy. I think it is almost equally important to make sure we do it right, because we’ve been fighting to do it. Now we have to make sure we do it right. That’s how I feel like I’m contributing to the movement through what I do in that capacity in ensuring that the industry, the movement and the space is sustainable and will be able to withstand the scrutiny that may or may not come. Being able to just show that cannabis businesses can have a positive impact on society and the sky is not going to fall.

Bianca Green: The sky is not going to fall. Sabrina, the industry and the community is lucky to have you. You are a pioneer and all of your contributions have been really, really, really great to seeing this whole concept that we can be conscious cannabis consumers, we can be articulate and have the opportunity to, not only advocate, but put that advocacy into the business models of businesses that either already exist or are coming the industry. That’s really important and you do it very well and very gracefully.

Sabrina Fendrick: Thank you.

Bianca Green: I’m not only glad to know you, I’m glad that you came on the podcast today. Let our audience kind of know where they might be able to find you, information about Berkeley Patient’s Group.

Sabrina Fendrick: Well, thank you very much. It’s an honor to be on this show and thank you for what you’re doing, because I think it’s very important too.

Bianca Green: Thanks.

Sabrina Fendrick: Yeah. Well, okay so you can find me online.

Bianca Green: Okay.

Sabrina Fendrick: Social media. I’m on Facebook. Sabrina Fendrick. I don’t know what my actual-

Bianca Green: Instagram handler is?

Sabrina Fendrick: Well my Instagram handler is Sabrina but it’s not … Let’s just be honest, I’m not really on there all that much. You’re more than welcome to follow me.

Bianca Green: But Berkeley Patient’s-

Sabrina Fendrick: I’ll try to do better.

Bianca Green: Okay.

Sabrina Fendrick: Berkeley Patient’s Group is Mybpg.com.

Bianca Green: Great.

Sabrina Fendrick: All the hashtags and codes are mybpg.

Bianca Green: Awesome. Thank you Sabrina for joining us at the Emerald Cup live, literally. We are in this awesome space.

Sabrina Fendrick: The awards are happening right now.

Bianca Green: The awards are happening right and it’s exciting.

Sabrina Fendrick: Yeah.

Bianca Green: Sparking the Conversation for our awesome media partners Ganjapreneurs.com. Thank you, again, Sabrina from Berkeley Patient’s Group.

Sabrina Fendrick: Thank you so much for having me.

Bianca Green: Spark the Conversation is really excited to do this partnership with Ganjapreneur.com creating these podcasts. It’s a resource for cannabis professionals, advocates, patients, business owners, anyone really who’s in favor of responsible growth. Visit Ganjapreneur.com for daily cannabis news, career openings, company profiles and, of course, more episodes of this podcast. We’re thankful to them and the partnership that we have with them and we appreciate the fact that they spark the conversation and help Ganjapreneurs grow.

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A man uses a lighter and glass pipe to smoke some cannabis.

Denver’s Proposed Social-Use Rules Draw Heavy Criticism

6/16/2017

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Denver, Colorado’s proposed social use rules are so restrictive that the director for the Initiative 300 campaign – approved by 53.7 percent of city voters during November’s election – said “99 percent” of interested businesses would not apply for a social consumption license under the rules, according to a Denver Post report.

Included in the proposal are national criminal background check requirements for on-site employees; compliance with the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act; evidence of community support; restrictions on advertising; and a security plan.

Emmett Reistroffer, the campaign director, argued that business owners would not spend the thousands of dollars necessary for clean-air systems, walled patios, and security measures when the profit margins are questionable.

“When I read the rules today, we can’t even get off the ground,” he said in the report.

Additionally, the rules bar social consumption areas from being located within 1,000 feet of child care businesses, city-owned recreation areas and pools, and drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities. Businesses that serve alcohol would also be unable to receive a social-use permit. Advocates argue that the zoning regulations force social consumption businesses to mostly industrial zones.

“We’re still fighting to overcome stigma that is rooted in a history of prohibition, and now it appears the city is trying to keep consumers hidden and as far away from the mainstream as possible,” Reistroffer said.

Under the measure, social-use businesses would not be allowed to sell cannabis directly to consumers; instead, they would have to bring their own and sign a waiver to consume.

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The flag of Germany with a misty cannabis leaf collage spliced over the top.

German MMJ Market Attracting Canadian Firms, Maricann Leads Pack

6/16/2017

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On January 19, the German parliament unanimously legalized medicinal cannabis use, paving the way for patients with a doctor’s prescription to purchase cannabis products from pharmacies. Unlike America’s fractured medical cannabis system, German patients will be able to have their medicinal cannabis treatments covered by insurance, and access is not based on qualifying conditions – a physician writes a prescription, the patient brings that to a pharmacy, which dispenses.

Previous German law only allowed seriously ill patients with no other therapeutic alternative to access a very limited program and, currently, under that regime, only about 1,200 people out of Germany’s population of 80 million have been given the green light by a physician to use therapeutic cannabis – which, until the rule change, had to be imported.

Following the reforms, several Canadian companies have entered Germany’s nascent market. In July 2016, Tweed, Canada’s largest medicinal cannabis producer, received approval from both national governments to begin importing cannabis to Germany. In November, Canopy Growth – which counts Tweed among its brands – agreed to acquire MedCann GmbH Pharma and Nutraceuticals, a company that had successfully placed Tweed-branded medical cannabis products in German pharmacies.

More recently, Maricann (CSE:MARI), a licensed medical cannabis producer based in Langton, Ontario, secured US$32.2 million (C$42.5 million) in non-dilutive financing to expand their operation in Ebersbach, Germany. Maricann’s German arm was founded in December 2016.

Ben Ward, CEO of Maricann, said the decision to enter Germany was due to the nation’s “rational market” and “strong economy.” He calls the national reforms “the most significant federal legalization in the world” because as Germany moves forward, “the rest of the European Union usually follows” – a total population of 500 million.

“Germans have the propensity to use natural therapies, complementary therapies, that are herbal,” he explained in an interview with Ganjapreneur. “They have a strong tradition of using herbal medicines…and I decided it was a perfect opportunity, it was just a matter of how long we’d have to wait.” Ward said he and his team were “completely shocked” when the January decision was announced; unexpected but welcome news.

Under Germany‘s rules, only companies that have produced 50 kilograms (110.2 pounds) of cannabis in the last three years are considered for market entry. To enable companies with no prior cannabis experience to enter the space, the rules allow for companies who produce qualifying amounts of other medicinal herbs for consideration. In Canada, Maricann has served a base of nearly 8,000 patients. The German regime allows only for indoor grows, but they do not outline energy-use requirements.

In March, Germany was ranked 19th in the World Economic Forum’s Global Energy Performance Index, which “ranks the performance of countries’ energy systems, as well as looking at trends in the global energy transition” based on whether the economies provide “secure, affordable, and sustainable energy.” (Comparatively, the U.S. and Canada rank 52 and 32, respectively.) This means it was important to the Maricann team to design an “efficient” facility, partly to adapt to German culture, and partly because it makes economic sense.

“For us to be profitable, we have to be as efficient as possible with both energy and water,” Ward said, explaining that they use LED instead of sodium lights and recycle water, and air and cooling. “To be efficient you have to operate with a green mandate.”

The “main regulation,” Ward says, is product safety. Currently, patients do not have legal access to edibles and concentrates but as the program progresses that is likely to change. Testing requirements are also in place, with regulators capping the allowable THC content in products at 22 percent and dividing cannabis products into three categories based on THC and CBD content.

Patient counts in Germany are estimated to reach between 800,000 to 1.6 million, Ward said, and even if counts reach the higher figure the company is prepared to serve the whole market. However, until they gain final approval for THC products, the company will focus on cultivating female cannabis plants with .2 percent THC or less and “extracting cannabinoids such as CBD, CBG, and CBN, in addition to the natural terpenes and flavonoids to assist with absorption.”

One of the issues for Maricann was finding German talent, because without a robust medical cannabis infrastructure, few nationals have experience in the industry, and there is still a stigma associated with medical cannabis.

“It’s been more of a challenge to find people because not everybody is so excited about joining in the cannabis world there because they haven’t had the groundswell movement like the U.S. and Canada,” Ward said, outlining that the German company is comprised of people with backgrounds in insurance, law, medicine, and politics. “People we can have a conversation with to destigmatize, understand, and move ahead.”

As the most populous nation in Europe, German legalization of medical cannabis marks “a massive windfall and change” for the medical cannabis industry, Ward said, adding that many operators might have missed the “groundbreaking” nature of January’s announcement – a nation with an established, universal, healthcare system has a federally-approved medical cannabis program.

Presently, Maricann is working their way through the wholesale licensing process, which will allow them to import and distribute products from Canada. Ward indicated that they are already moving ahead with non-THC cannabis plants to provide other cannabinoid-based products and “could have product ready” from their German operation by February, 2018.

“It’s imminent,” he said. “It’s close.”

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A jumble of young cannabis plants before a white background.

Federal Bill Would Allow CBD Research, Entrench Pharmaceutical Companies

6/16/2017

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The leaders of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), have introduced the Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act, which they say will support research on the potential benefits of CBD by allowing it to be conducted using Schedule II registration.

However, by reclassifying CBD, the measure – if approved – would likely put that research in the hands of pharmaceutical companies. Notably, opioid-derived drugs such as fentanyl, morphine, and codeine fall into the Schedule II category. THC would remain a Schedule I substance.

The measure would require the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services to complete an analysis of the potential therapeutic value of CBD within one year from the bill’s passage; create a pathway for commercial production of pharmaceutical drugs containing CBD; and require the Department of Health and Human Services to expand research on CBD and other non-psychoactive components of cannabis.

Under the measure, accredited research institutions, medical schools, and practitioners – in addition to pharmaceutical companies – could apply to conduct CBD medical research.

“Cumbersome research regulations have made it difficult to conduct research on the potential medical benefits of marijuana,” Feinstein said in a press release. “I strongly believe such research is necessary, especially for cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive component of marijuana. This bill paves the way for new research to be conducted with greater ease to determine if cannabidiol can be an effective medication for serious illnesses such as intractable epilepsy.”

The Food and Drug Administration last month recognized trials for GW Pharmaceuticals’ anti-seizure drug Epidiolex, which is expected to be fast-tracked by the agency; however, to date, there are no approved cannabis-derived medicines approved at the federal level. Sativex, a GW Pharma-produced CBD-based drug was approved in the United Kingdom in 2011.

The bill was referred to the Judiciary Committee.

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Massachusetts House Speaker Pulls Rec. Bill for ‘Clean Up’

6/16/2017

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Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo pulled the recreational cannabis bill from consideration yesterday, following pushback from advocates that the proposal would, in fact, raise cannabis taxes 56 percent, according to a MassLive report. On the surface, the bill appeared to double taxes on recreational cannabis products from 12 percent to 28 percent; however the measure adds a 21.75 tax from wholesaler to retailer, and 28 percent from retailer to customer – totaling 56 percent including state sales taxes.

In an interview with reporters following his decision, DeLeo said the bill needed a “clean up” but did not specify that it was being pulled over the tax concerns of advocates. He said the legislation, which he called “terrific,” would be taken up next week.

“I think it’s important that with a bill of this magnitude that we try to get it right, or as close as right the first time,” De Leo said. “So I’d rather do that than…try to rush it.”

Jim Borghesani, spokesman for the Yes on 4 campaign, which backed the ballot initiative in the state, said the bill was written in a “rapid and sloppy” manner and only “encourages the illicit market.”

The legislation was crafted behind closed doors by the House Marijuana Policy Committee.

“The House bill, they set out to improve what was passed in November – they did the exact opposite. This is a much weaker regulatory system that they put forward,” he said, adding that he believes the compounding tax structure was a mistake. “It’s the worst example of Massachusetts lawmaking. What we’ve seen is a bill that was written in the dark, behind closed doors. Not even the members of the committee knew what was in the bill.”

Rep. Mark Cusack, who is credited with authoring the legislation, defended the measure, saying that his goal was “to get this right for the commonwealth, and the people, and the industry.”

The Senate could decide to write their own version of the legislation and work with the House on a compromise measure to send to Gov. Charlie Baker. The July 1, 2018 target date for adult-use sales remains intact.

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Governor Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania addresses a group during his 2017-2018 budget address.

Pennsylvania Gov. Threatens Legal Action if Feds Attempt MMJ Crackdown

6/16/2017

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In a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf warned that if the federal government interferes with the state’s medical cannabis program he would ask the state attorney general “to take legal action to protect [Pennsylvania] residents and state sovereignty.”

“We do not need the federal government getting in the way of Pennsylvania’s right to deliver [patients] relief through our new medical marijuana program,” the Democrat wrote in the letter dated June, 15. “Your action to undo the protections of the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment, which prevents the use of federal funds to disrupt states’ efforts to implement ‘their own state laws that authorize the use distribution, possession or cultivation of medical marijuana,’ is misguided.”

Sven Hosford, the spokesman for the Pennsylvania Medical Cannabis Society, applauded the governor taking action, calling him an “exemplary leader.”

“Every level of state government, in fact, has been in favor of medical cannabis,” Hosford said in a KDKA report. “There is full-throated support in the legislature.”

In March, the state’s Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, recommended legalizing cannabis for adult use in the state to “help address revenue and spending issue[s].”

Pennsylvania became the 24th state to legalize medical cannabis in April 2016 and regulators have been crafting rules and regulations to govern the program ever since. The program is expected to launch in 2018.

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A heaping pile of pharmaceutical medications.

New Mexico Health Secretary Rejects Adding ‘Opioid Use Disorder’ to MMJ List

6/15/2017

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New Mexico Health Secretary Lynn Gallagher has rejected several recommendations by the state Medical Cannabis Program advisory board, including their proposal to add “opioid use disorder” to the list of medical cannabis qualifying conditions, the Santa Fe New Mexican reports.

The board had approved the measure 5-1 last November, which drew wide bipartisan support among lawmakers, who also passed legislation to add the disorder — but that was vetoed by Gov. Susana Martinez in April.

Gallagher struck down every recommendation proposed by the board, including adding Alzheimer’s disease to the condition list, allowing telemedicine as a means to enroll new patients, and increasing plant counts for nonprofit caregivers.

In her decision, Gallagher wrote that while there are anecdotal reports of patients addicted to opioids finding relief from medical cannabis, there “appears to be little if any medical literature that actually addresses the effect of cannabis usage on persons with a diagnosed opiate use disorder.”

The National Institute on Drug Abuse would disagree, however, concluding in May after two studies that “the reduction in [opioid] deaths was present only in states with dispensaries (not just medical marijuana laws) and was greater in states with active dispensaries.”

“I am concerned that utilizing one addictive substance to treat dependence on another without reliable medical evidence and human research studies is problematic at best considering our current opiate epidemic,” Gallagher wrote, echoing language included in Gov. Martinez’s veto message.

In April, the advisory board also recommended adding attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; autism; anxiety; depression; chronic headaches, including migraines; sleep disorders; and dystonia, a neurological condition that causes muscle spasms, tremors and other problems with movement. Gallagher has not yet decided on those recommendations.

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Rhode Island Gov. Proposes Huge MMJ Expansions & Increased Licensing Costs

6/15/2017

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Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo submitted a budget amendment which, if approved, would allow six more medical cannabis dispensaries in the state – bringing the total to nine – while increasing dispensary application fees from $250 to $5,000 and the annual licensing fees from $5,000 to $25,000, the Providence Journal reports. The plan, an effort to raise $1.5 million in general revenue, is being opposed by the three existing dispensaries in the state who argue there is no need to increase operations.

Under the proposal, the three existing centers, which operate in Providence, Warwick, and Portsmouth, would be allowed to operate a second location. It also removes the requirement that dispensaries must operate as a nonprofit.

Norman Birenbaun, the state’s medical cannabis regulator, said the administration moved to increase the number of dispensaries because of dispensary-to-patient ratios. Rhode Island has the highest number of patients per allowed number of dispensaries of any state.

Additionally, lawmakers approved a measure creating a cannabis study commission that will explore to what effect adult-use legalization would have in the state. The House approved a 19-member panel that is expected to make recommendations to the General Assembly by March 2018. Although the measure easily passed the House, 67-2, cannabis proponents called the move “a flawed delay tactic.”

Of the $1.5 million increasing dispensary counts and fees is expected to bring, $603,000 would be used to support medical cannabis program operations.

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MediPen Launches UK Research Facility, Welcomes Other Cannabis Researchers

6/15/2017

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The United Kingdom’s first publicly available cannabis research facility is launching this summer as MediPen Ltd. is opening an 1,800-square-foot facility which will provide a platform for individuals and companies to conduct their own medical cannabis research, the Independent reports.

The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approved national CBD use in Oct. 2016 after studying the health benefits of MediPen’s CBD vaporizer.

MediPen is currently working to secure a license from the Home Office that would allow them to research controlled compounds in cannabis, namely THC, with regard to cancer patients with the goal of minimizing the negative effects of existing chemotherapy–based treatments, such as nausea and vomiting. The firm will also study whether the compounds suppress metastasis by inhibiting cancer cell proliferation.

“As it stands there is a significant amount of scientific data available detailing the powerful effects of cannabinoids within cell culture systems and in vivo,” a MediPen representative said in the report. “However, we plan to be amongst the first in the world to begin clinical trials on humans.”

The company will encourage those who use their facilities to take advantage of their established research and development network, in-house testing laboratory, and its board for legal and business advice.

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Cova Software Aims to Elevate the Cannabis Dispensary Experience

6/15/2017

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As Cova settles down from a recent launch party at the NCIA Business Summit & Expo in Oakland, California, the software startup is officially moving forward on its primary goal: to redefine and streamline the experience of shoppers, employees, and business operators in the modern cannabis dispensary.

While calling Cova a “startup” is technically accurate — it’s a new company with a new product making a splash in the cannabis space — this may slightly misrepresent the brand. Cova is actually a splinter company from the established enterprise iQmetrix, which offers integrated point-of-sale (POS) software that is used in more than 19,000 locations across a wide variety of industries.

However, because of the industry’s unique regulatory environment — and because startups are typically more maneuverable and responsive to rapid changes than established companies, who are often entrenched in their strategies — the larger enterprise decided to dedicate an entirely new company to the cannabis space with some of their best designers at the helm.

In fact, iQmetrix designers eyed the cannabis space for several years, considering and identifying the issues that plague many canna-specific POS providers.

The Cova point-of-sale system displayed on a tablet inside the Vancity Weed dispensary in Vancouver, B.C.

“We did a lot of research and worked closely with dispensary owners, managers, budtenders and industry experts,” said Faai Steuer, Senior Marketing Strategist for Cova. “Our goal is to make sure that we build the right product that really relieves their pain points and creates great experiences for everyone.”

According to Steuer, market research unveiled a trend of cannabis operators who were unhappy with their POS software. Some business owners complained that software was either confusing or not user-friendly, others complained about a lack of support services from their current provider, and some have experienced system downtime due to their provider’s security issues — which, in an industry so heavily focused on regulatory compliance, can lead down a slippery slope of non-compliance.

“We know that soon dispensaries in California and other states will have to deal with compliance. Our POS is geared to help dispensaries simplify their compliance process and run their store efficiently,” Steuer said.

Cova software is designed to limit budtender errors and includes helpful information in the POS itself, so even inexperienced budtenders have all the information they need to provide patients a helpful and informative shopping experience.

“Dispensaries are in a unique and complex retail environment that requires an advanced software solution. Cova brings 18 years of retail and technology expertise into this emerging industry,” said Gary Cohen, CEO of Cova. “Our POS is designed to make the complex simple, so we can elevate the dispensary experience.”

A dispensary worker and a patient discuss options using the Cova POS display.

In addition to new point-of-sale options, Cova also offers touchscreen menu technology and digital signage to help patients and shoppers find and learn about the products they want. With Cova’s tech, dispensaries can even customize their menus individually so that customers who are unfamiliar with cannabis can be given a soft exposure to the world of choices offered in most dispensaries, while experienced consumers can dig a bit deeper into a retailer’s inventory and various cultivars.

“Our philosophy is to simplify your life, not create more work,” Steuer said. “Our purpose is to create a great experience for people who use the software and for consumers.”

To learn more about Cova’s exciting new software suite, visit www.CovaSoft.com, schedule a demo, or contact a company representative at hello@covasoft.com.

 

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A judge's gavel rests on a desk inside of a U.S. court room.

Lawsuit Filed Challenging Kentucky MMJ Ban

6/15/2017

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A lawsuit has been filed in Kentucky challenging the state’s criminal ban on medical cannabis, claiming that it violates privacy protections set forth by the state constitution and that the government cannot arbitrarily restrict the ability of patients to use effective medicines, the Associated Press reports. Three plaintiffs are named in the suit including Dan Seum Jr., the son of a Republican state senator.

Another plaintiff, Amy Stalker, was able to access medical cannabis in Colorado and Washington to treat symptoms of bipolar disorder and irritable bowel syndrome but maintains her health has deteriorated after she moved back to Kentucky to be with her sick mother.

“She comes back to her home state and she’s treated as a criminal for this same conduct,” said plaintiffs’ attorney Daniel Canon in the report. “That’s absurd, it’s irrational and it’s unconstitutional.”

The suit also touts cannabis’ role in stemming the opioid epidemic in states with legal cannabis access. Kentucky ranked third in the nation in opioid-related deaths in 2015.

Seum, the son of state Sen. Dan Seum Sr., admitted that he has struggled with opioid addiction after being prescribed OxyContin for chronic back pain and began using cannabis to manage withdrawal symptoms. Once he began using cannabis, no pain management doctor would treat him, he said.

The suit says that left Seum with “an impossible choice.”

“Should he stop using cannabis and experience excruciating pain in order to explore the chance that another pain management option might be more effective? Or should he continue using cannabis, preventing him from receiving medical care from Kentucky doctors for the rest of his life?” the suit contends.

Gov. Matt Bevin and Attorney General Andy Beshear are named as defendants in the lawsuit. Bevin has said he is “not opposed to the idea” of medical cannabis but would prefer to see it administered like other pharmaceutical drugs – which is impossible due to the plant’s federal Schedule I status.

In 2014, Kentucky lawmakers did approve a measure allowing limited use of CBD products, but attempts at a comprehensive program have been consistently thwarted by the legislature.

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A student reads her notebook at a classroom desk.

Study: Cannabis Laws Do Not Lead to Increased Teen Use

6/14/2017

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According to a June 10 study published in the journal Addiction, the enactment of medical cannabis laws is not associated with so-called cannabis use disorder. The researchers did conclude that while recreational cannabis laws are associated with increased cannabis consumption, it occurs primarily in adults 26 and older and not teenagers or children.

“Our findings do not show increases in prevalence of marijuana use among adults in states with medicalized [cannabis] programs,” the authors state. “Additionally, there were no increases in adolescent or young adult marijuana outcomes following [medical cannabis] passage, irrespective of program type.”

The study, led by researchers from Columbia University, contradict a recent, widely circulated paper published this month in JAMA Psychiatry which concludes that “the risk for cannabis use and cannabis use disorders increased at a significantly greater rate in states that passed medical marijuana laws than in states that did not.”

There have been at least six additional studies dating back to 2012 that have concluded that medical cannabis laws have neither given rise to adolescent cannabis use nor problematic use by adults. One such study, from February 2016, found that while adult cannabis use increased 19 percent between 2002 and 2013, the researchers “didn’t notice any increase in marijuana-related problems.” That study was also published in JAMA Psychiatry.

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The Massachusetts Statehouse in Boston, Massachusetts — the state's largest and capital city.

Massachusetts Lawmakers to Vote on Changes to Voter-Backed Cannabis Law

6/14/2017

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Massachusetts lawmakers are expected to vote Thursday on a bill that would more than double the total tax on adult-use cannabis sales and give municipal officials the power to ban cannabis business operations rather than local voters, according to a Boston Globe report. The bill would raise the tax from 12 percent – as approved by voters – to 28 percent.

The core of the measure would remain intact. Adults 21 and older would still be permitted to possess, purchase, and consume cannabis, and grow up to 12 plants per household. However, the voter-approved bill had called for a 3.75 percent state tax and a 2 percent local-option tax on top of the state’s 6.25 percent sales tax. The proposal by Rep. Mark Cusack, a Democrat, raises the state-imposed cannabis tax rate to a whopping 16.25 percent, paired with a mandatory 5 percent local tax and the 6.25 percent sales tax. Medical cannabis sales would remain untaxed.

“The voters voted to allow people 21 years of age and above to be able to access a regulated and safe marketplace. That is exactly what this bill does,” Cusack said in the report. “The ballot question is fundamentally flawed.”

Additionally, the legislation would strip Treasurer Deborah Goldberg of her cannabis industry oversight, restrict some edible products, and set limits on cannabis advertising.

The proposal drew the ire of advocates and state Sen. Patricia Jehlen, co-chair of the marijuana committee, who said the tax rate and the changes to how municipalities can ban cannabis operations undermine the will of the voters.

“Both will preserve the illicit market,” she said.

The measure moves to remove Goldberg’s power over a three-person Cannabis Control Commission and instead would add two chairs to the commission appointed by public officials. The treasurer, the governor, and the attorney general would each appoint a commissioner. The other two would be appointed by a majority vote of the three.

The House will likely vote on the bill tomorrow, and if approved it will head to the Senate. Legal sales are still expected to begin July 2018.

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Freshly cut cannabis plants inside of a licensed grow facility in Washington state.

Green Party in Racine, Wisconsin Launches Petition Drive for Cannabis Reforms

6/14/2017

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Members of the Green Party in Racine, Wisconsin have launched a petition campaign for direct legislation to reduce cannabis possession fines in the city to $1, Gary Storck of the Cannabadger reports. The proposed ordinance also specifies that possession of up to 25 grams on private property would be subject to only forfeiture rather than any criminal penalty.

The campaign has to collect a minimum of 3,870 signatures, and as of June 9 activists have already collected more than 1,000 after beginning the drive on June 2.

In an interview with Cannabadger, Green Party co-chairs Fabi Maldonado and Sondra Plunkett explained that under current Racine law, first-time offenders are subject to a $250 fine; however local police are encouraged to enforce the state statute which calls for a $1,000 fine and a misdemeanor charge. Second offenses can lead to felony charges, $10,000 fines, and jail time. Under the Green Party proposal, first offenses would be prohibited from being recorded and “virtually all arrests will be treated as a first offense,” the co-chairs said.

“The real and much more serious costs are the social and economic obstacles that result from prosecution,” they said in the interview. “Families are broken and further impoverished by incarceration and fines, and once a felon is released from incarceration, securing gainful employment is nearly impossible.”

If activists are successful, the city would join Dane County, and the municipalities of Milwaukee, Monona, Fitchburg, and Stevens Point in reducing fines for cannabis possession in Wisconsin.

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Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein speaking at a memorial service hosted by the U.S. Marshals in May, 2017.

Deputy Attorney General Toes Anti-Cannabis Line During Senate Hearing

6/14/2017

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Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein doubled down on the anti-cannabis stance of the Trump Administration during testimony in front of the Senate Appropriations Committee Tuesday, testifying that cannabis is, “from a legal and scientific perspective…an unlawful drug” adding that cannabis policy would be “a high priority” as new U.S. attorneys are appointed, the Alaska Dispatch News reports.

“We do have a conflict between federal law and the law in some states.” Rosenstein said during a line of questioning from Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). “It’s a difficult issue for parents like me, who have to provide guidance to our kids… I’ve talked to Chuck Rosenberg, the administrator of the DEA and we follow the law and the science.”

Rosenstein’s remarks come just one day after a May 1 letter from Attorney General Jeff Sessions to members of Congress urging them to restore Justice Department funding for cannabis enforcement was published by Massroots’ Tom Angell.

In April, Sessions had indicated the 2013 Cole Memo – which directed the department to maintain a hands-off approach on legal cannabis programs – was “not too far from good policy.”

The Cole Memo, which Sessions has also called “valid,” remains in effect, and in April governors from four states with legal adult-use regimes sent a letter to Sessions and Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin explaining that overhauling the policy would “produce unintended and harmful consequences.”

“Changes that hurt the regulated market would divert existing marijuana product into the black market and increase dangerous activity in both our states and our neighboring states,” the governors wrote.

A supermajority – 90 percent – of Americans support medical cannabis laws, while 60 percent support broader legalization, according to an April 20 Quinnipiac poll.

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Attorney General Jeff Sessions waving his right hand to a crowd of people.

Sessions Urges Congress to Restore Funding for Cannabis Enforcement

6/13/2017

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Attorney General Jeff Sessions last month sent a letter to Senators Mitch McConnell (R), Chuck Schumer (D), House Speaker Paul Ryan (R), and Representative Nancy Pelosi (D), asking them to allow the Justice Department to crackdown on state-legal cannabis programs, according to a letter acquired by Massroots’ Tom Angell. Specifically, Sessions asked the lawmakers to oppose the language of the Rohrabacher-Farr amendment which prohibits the Department from interfering in state-approved regimes.

“I believe it would be unwise for Congress to restrict the discretion of the Department to fund particular prosecutions, particularly in the midst of an historic drug epidemic and potentially long-term uptick in violent crime,” Sessions writes in the letter. “The Department must be in a position to use all laws available to combat the transnational drug organizations and dangerous drug traffickers who threaten American lives.”

Furthermore, Sessions claims that “Cuban, Asian, Caucasian, and Eurasian criminal organizations have established marijuana operations in state-approved marijuana markets.”

The Justice Department under the Obama Administration also attempted to undermine the amendment. According to a Washington Post report, that regime circulated misleading talking points among members of Congress in order to influence the debate. Subsequently, a federal judge ruled that the agency has attempted to enforce the amendment in a way that “defies language and logic,” “tortures the plain meaning of the statute” and is “at odds with fundamental notions of the rule of law.”

“Mr. Sessions stands athwart an overwhelming majority of Americans and even, sadly, against veterans and other suffering Americans who we now know conclusively are helped dramatically by medical marijuana,” said a spokesperson for Rep. Dana Rohrabacher to the Washington Post.

In May, 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 cannabis legalization on prescription opioid use. Sessions’ trope is out-of-touch with the NIDA research, which concluded that “reduction in [opioid] deaths was present only in states with dispensaries (not just medical marijuana laws) and was greater in states with active dispensaries.”

According to an April 20 Quinnipiac poll, 94 percent of Americans support medical cannabis laws, while another 60 percent support outright legalization.

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The golden dome on top of the Vermont Statehouse in Montpelier, Vermont.

Vermont Lawmakers Send Cannabis Legalization Compromise to Gov.

6/13/2017

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Vermont lawmakers have sent a cannabis legalization compromise proposal to Gov. Phil Scott after the Republican vetoed a measure last month that would have allowed small home-grows and allowed adults 21-and-older to possess up to 1 ounce of cannabis, according to a Vermont Press Bureau report. In his veto message, Scott said there would be a “path forward” to an agreement if legislators addressed his concerns over the measure before the June 21 veto session.

According to the Senate proposal, sent to the governor on June 8, the new measure includes changes to the language defining “public place,” new language allowing seizure if an individual is caught possessing more than the law allows, or in a place where cannabis is explicitly not permitted, such as a child care center, or in a car or public space. The seizure language was approved by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Defender General, and the Attorney General.

Additionally, $200 civil penalties are included for passenger consumption of cannabis in a car, and $500 for consumption in a car with a child present. The measure imposes a fine of $500 and a misdemeanor charge for cultivation in a child care center or after-school program.

Sen. Dick Sears said it was the first attempt to negotiate with the Republican executive on the bill and the lawmakers key in crafting the legislation have gone “a long way to meeting what [Scott] wanted.”

“If, in fact, he gets on board with this I think it’s up to the House Republicans to decide if they want to go against their governor,” Sears said in the report. “That’s the hold-up.”

Rebecca Kelley, spokeswoman for Scott, said the executive’s office is “encouraged to get a good counterproposal to what the governor put forward.”

“All of our conversations on this have been productive,” she said. “We think we’re working towards an agreement and appreciate everyone putting forward a good-faith effort.”

If approved and signed into law, Vermont’s legislature would be the first to pass laws allowing adult possession and consumption. The proposal includes provisions to create a commission to explore setting up a more comprehensive taxed and regulated system.

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Leaf hanging off the side of a large cannabis plant in an indoor grow environment.

Nevada Gov. Signs Rec. Rules Bills, Vetoes Measure Vacating Some Convictions

6/13/2017

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Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval has signed three bills related to the state’s forthcoming recreational cannabis industry, but also vetoed a measure that would have allowed the vacating and sealing of some cannabis-related crimes, the Nevada Independent reports.

The rejected bill (AB.259) would have allowed misdemeanor cannabis convictions related to possession of 1 ounce or less to be vacated and sealed while allowing judges to diverge from mandatory minimum sentences on some drug-related crimes. In his veto message, the Republican governor said there was “much to commend” in the legislation but said it went a bit too far because other bills passed during the session made it easier to seal some criminal records. He also expressed concerns that the bill might have unintended consequences.

“Presumably this provision would permit vacated judgments and record sealing for all marijuana conduct that is now lawful, potentially including marijuana trafficking and possession of large quantities of marijuana, since such activity is now allowed in Nevada, although limited and subject to significant regulation,” he wrote, adding that departing from mandatory sentences “is an incomplete solution, and one that opens the door for potential inequities depending on the preferences and practices of each individual judge.”

The cannabis-related bills signed by Sandoval include a measure aiming to limit labeling, packaging, and advertising of cannabis products (SB.344) in ways that appeal to children, a measure (AB.422) to keep the state’s medical cannabis program relevant with the introduction of a recreational market, and a measure (AB.487) to add a 10 percent tax on adult-use sales.

The labeling measure outlaws edibles appearing “to be a lollipop” and “bears the likeness…or a real or fictional person, animal or fruit, including…caricature [or] cartoon.” It also prohibits shapes such as balloons and toys and bars concentrated cannabis from being applied to commercially-available candies.

The bill to keep the medical program intact imposes limitations on the taxes and fees a municipality can impose on the medical cannabis market. The 10 percent tax is expected to bring $64 million per biennium to the state’s “rainy day” fund.

Adult-use cannabis sales are expected to begin under Early Start provisions on July 1.

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The Statue of Liberty, pictured in front of New York City's Manhattan Island.

Venture Capital Firm Agrees to Acquire New York MMJ Licensee

6/13/2017

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Toronto, Ontario, Canada-based iAnthus Capital Holdings has agreed to acquire Valley Agriceuticals LLC, which holds a conditional medical cannabis license in New York, for $17.3 million, in what is the venture capital firm’s largest transaction to date. The deal, once completed, will expand iAnthus’ portfolio into five states.

Randy Maslow, president of iAnthus, said the proposal, coupled with their holdings in Massachusetts, “sets the stage” for the company to be a “key player” in the northeastern United States.

“With a population of nearly 20 million residents, a rapidly growing patient base, and only 10 medical cannabis licenses, New York is an ideal market for iAnthus to enter,” Maslow said in a press release. “The state’s move to eliminate some of the Program’s initial limitations has created an incredibly potent opportunity for accelerating patient growth.”

The deal includes $2.3 million payable in cash and $15 million payable in common shares of iAnthus priced at $2 per share. The proposal includes Valley Ag’s cultivation campus which consists of about 136 acres of real estate currently zoned for cannabis cultivation and a 6,500-square-foot cultivation and processing facility.

Philip Green, CFO of Valley Ag, said New York could “potentially be one of the largest medical marijuana markets in the U.S.,” having removed some of the initial program roadblocks by expanding the qualifying condition list and allowing nurse practitioners and physician assistants to certify patients for the program. There are currently 21,009 patients registered under the program, which does not allow whole-plant or smokeable cannabis.

The deal is subject to final approval from the New York State Department of Health and the Canadian Securities Exchange. It is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.

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A view of the North Coast Growers cannabis canopy in their Anacortes, Washington grow facility.

North Coast Growers: Competitive Cannabis Cultivation in Washington State

6/13/2017

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North Coast Growers is a Tier 2 licensed cannabis producer/processor in Washington state with 22 employees. State law allows Tier 2 producer/processors to dedicate between 2,000 sq. feet and 10,000 sq. feet to plant canopy — and we recently got a tour of their grow facility to take some pictures and learn about the history and goals of North Coast Growers.

Their operation in Anacortes, Washington focuses on flower production, but the company’s start began with selling clones. North Coast Growers takes pride in cultivating their own flower genetics while also distributing flower and pre-rolls on the adult use market.

A close look at the North Coast Growers’ clone selection.

This year has been big for NCG since finding huge success in the flower section of the 2017 Washington Dope Cup Awards. NCG came home with two Dope Cup Awards: “Best Nose” for Fruity Pebbles and “Best Hybrid Flower” for Gorilla Glue #4. They also were named runner-up for “Most Potent Flower” with Gorilla Glue #4, “Best CDB Flower” with Sour Tsunami, and “Best Indica Dominant Flower” with Strawberry Banana; in fact, North Coast Growers placed or won in all but one category.

The North Coast Growers’ Dope Cup awards pictured among the company’s prize-winning cannabis crops. Photo credit: North Coast Growers

North Coast Growers began their journey in the cannabis industry for a few different reasons — but everyone involved brought a genuine love for growing superior cannabis. Matt Sampson, owner and CEO of NCG, decided to ditch his suit-and-tie job working for an investment bank in Palo Alto, California in 2005 in order to follow the Green Rush to Washington. It started with two licenses — one for the grow store and one selling clones.

Sampson saw a need for the business because there were no grow stores around. “Selling clones and grow gear was our first approach,” he said. “You know, the ‘selling picks and shovels’ approach by selling tools that growers need.”

An insider’s look at the North Coast Growers’ clone room.

Now, they have shifted their focus. Although they still are very proud of the quality and variety of clones they produce, they are focusing on the flower side of the business. Right now, they sell flower, pre-rolls, and rosin to about 15 stores in Washington.

Their approach is to find success in the markets that they can, rather than trying to sell to as many stores as possible.

The company provides clones, flower, and pre-rolls for participants in the Washington I-502 marketplace.

Sampson doesn’t compare NCG to companies with large, million-dollar budgets that have spread throughout 100+ stores — he wants their company to feel more personal than that. Their focus is based around providing a positive experience from label to the flower, and letting their product do the convincing. The killer, iconic labels that set NCG apart on crowded dispensary shelves are designed by Slow Loris Studios, while their screen printing style captures fun, visual spinoffs of strain names.

Rolls upon rolls of North Coast Growers product labels on a shelf inside the grow site.
From clones to the yellow-lit grow room in the back, NCG dedicates a lot of time and patience to producing top-quality cannabis.

Although the attitude at NCG is extremely positive towards the ever-changing cannabis industry, they have had to overcome some hardships during their journey. Their first concern is always trying to find good people to employ that bring a positive outlook and energy to the industry. Their team now is stacked with individuals they are proud of, but it’s a fact that managing and maintaining staff can be a struggle when focusing on a garden.

“I feel very lucky that we’re surrounded with good and positive people,” said Sampson.

Looking down from above the cannabis canopy in the North Coast Growers grow site in Anacortes, Washington.

Additionally, with the rules and regulations constantly changing in the cannabis industry, they have had to shift their business model a few times.

“The hardest part is adapting to last-second changes,” said Sampson. “And that completely changes the game for us.”

Shifts in policies regulated by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Control Board could happen at any point, which has been the source of many issues for NCG — especially when they are left with minimal time to comply and make the necessary structural changes to their business.

A closer look at the vibrant green plants produced by North Coast Growers, a premium cannabis producer licensed under Washington state’s I-502 adult-use cannabis regulations.
Nearly mature cannabis plants reaching for the ceiling in NCG’s indoor grow site.

Their next project is exciting (and I personally can’t wait). The company plans to release a killer collaboration sometime in June with the local Skagit County brewery Farmstrong Brewing. As part of the collaboration, North Coast Growers will be releasing a Farmstrong strain and Farmstrong will be working on a brew named after the garden.

A canopy of relatively young cannabis plants in the North Coast Growers indoor cultivation site.
A closer look at some of the products being grown in NCG’s cultivation facility in Anacortes, Washington.

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A cannabis worker inspects a fresh batch of concentrate as it cools on a sheet of wax paper.

Study: Legal California Cannabis Market Estimated at $5B

6/12/2017

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According to a study by the University of California Agricultural Issues Center, California’s recreational cannabis market could be worth more than $5 billion; however, the benchmark will only be achieved once cannabis consumers fully embrace the state’s legal market, the Los Angeles Times reports.

According to the study, about 29 percent of cannabis consumers may, at first, stay in the illicit market to avoid the costs of new regulations, which will add 15 percent to retail values. The new regulations include taxes and testing and tracking requirements, which Lori Ajax, director of the state Bureau of Marijuana Control, said might prevent consumers from entering the legal market on day one because of the price increases.

“It’s going to take some time,” Ajax said in the report. “While it’s unlikely that everyone will come into the regulated market on day one, we plan to continue working with stakeholders as we move forward to increase participation over time.”

The researchers estimated that, as of November, aggregate annual medical cannabis sales reached $2 billion a year, representing about 25 percent of total California cannabis sales. Illegal sales were $5.7 billion, 75 percent of all cannabis sales in the state. The study estimates that the voter-approved taxed and regulated model could bring in $1 billion in tax revenues and more than 1,200 jobs will be created for testing and handling cannabis under the new regime.

According to the study, medical cannabis sales are expected to decline tremendously from $2 billion to $600 million as people migrate toward the adult-use market to avoid medical cannabis ID fees. The researchers anticipate that in the early days of the program, medical cannabis will comprise 9 percent of the overall market, which recreational sales will make up 61.5 percent of the overall market, and illicit sales will make up the remaining 29.5 percent.

Legal sales are expected to begin in California on Jan. 1, 2018.

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Commercial-grade cannabis plants being grown in an indoor grow environment.

Vermont Gov. Signs MMJ Expansion Bill

6/12/2017

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Vermont Gov. Phil Scott has signed legislation expanding the state’s medical cannabis program, adding three qualifying conditions, one dispensary license, and allowing dispensaries to have two locations, according to a Vermont Digger report. The expansion comes less than a month after the Republican governor vetoed a bill that would have legalized adult cannabis use and possession in Vermont, but did not create an industry.

The measure adds post-traumatic stress disorder, Parkinson’s disease, and Crohn’s disease, as of July 1. PTSD patients are also required to receive regular psychiatric and therapeutic care to qualify for medical cannabis.

The new law, adding one dispensary license, brings the total permitted to operate in the state to five, each now allowed two locations. Another license will be created when the number of registered patients reaches 7,000. Right now there are about 4,000 people enrolled in the state program.

Sen. Dick Sears, who voted in favor of the expansion package, said the measure will “help an awful lot of people to relieve symptoms of various ailments” and adding dispensaries will improve access for patients.

Sears also indicated that lawmakers have drafted a new legalization bill, which was sent to the governor’s office last week for his opinion. The legislature could take up that bill during a veto session which is set to begin June 21.

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The Florida State Capitol building in Tallahassee, Florida.

Florida Lawmakers Pass MMJ Compromise, Lawsuit Likely Over No Smoking Provision

6/12/2017

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Florida’s legislature has passed a medical cannabis compromise measure, increasing the number of dispensaries and opening up the program for an estimated hundreds of thousands of Floridians, WLRN reports. However, the law does not allow smoking, which John Morgan, an Orlando-based attorney who bankrolled the Amendment 2 campaign, said will lead to a lawsuit.

“I do care about smoke, and I will sue them because of that,” Morgan said in the report. “It clearly was called for in the amendment, and so what they’ve done for me is allowed me to step back up on my soapbox and go get what the people of Florida wanted when they passed this bill with 71 percent.”

The new rules limit operators to 25 dispensaries – a compromise between the Senate and House, who wanted 15 and 99 per operator, respectively. Ten new cultivation licenses will also be made available; however, they will only be available to companies that were previously denied operation in the state. Currently, there are just seven licensed operators in Florida.

The constitutional amendment expands the qualifying condition list to include HIV, AIDS, post-traumatic stress disorder, ALS, Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis or other, similar conditions. Lawmakers included terminally ill patients, regardless of condition, as well as chronic pain caused by one of the conditions included in the amendment. Chronic pain on its own is not included in the legislative deal.

Gov. Rick Scott is expected to sign the measure into law.

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Kentucky Home Becomes First to Use Hempcrete Insulation

6/12/2017

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For the first time in Kentucky, a home is being insulated with hempcrete. According to an ABC36 report, the Lexington home, on York St., is being designed by the North Limestone Community Development Corporation.

“Basically what we are doing here is demonstrating how hemp can be used as a building material, specifically as an insulation,” said Kris Konn, director of design and construction for the development company said in the report. “So we are taking the ground up hemp stems, which aren’t good for anything else, and we are mixing them with lime and water and making this lightweight concrete mix. We are packing it into the forms up there, and that’s going to be the insulation for this house.”

Travis Robinson, a member of the North Limestone Community Development Corporation board, said that hemp doesn’t require as many pesticides as other crops and that hempcrete is eco-friendly, hypoallergenic, and fire and insect resistant. The product also allows moisture to move through it, allowing it to stay cooler in the summer.

“Hemp has had a history here in Kentucky and we haven’t been able to do it sooner,” Robinson said.

According to the report, lawmakers are considering reintroducing a bill that would allow large-scale hemp farming in the state.

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