Business
Ticker: Pot grower fined, fishing gets relief
After imposing a cumulative $800,000 in fines last month, the Cannabis Control Commission slapped a $120,000 fine Thursday on a cultivator and manufacturer that sold vaporizer cartridges that exceeded allowed state limits for ethanol. The commission unanimously approved the fine and a four-month probation period for Revolutionary Clinics, which grows marijuana and manufactures marijuana products in Fitchburg, after the two sides reached a settlement. The company said one of its lab technicians, who has since been fired, did not read the complete test results showing that the cartridges exceeded the state’s ethanol limit and therefore could not be sold. “In September 2019, we participated in a voluntary dispute resolution conference with the CCC and subsequently provided a full account of t...
Grandmother sues after she was arrested at Disney with CBD oil in her purse
Published: Aug 6, 2020, 1:15 pm • Updated: Aug 6, 2020, 1:16 pm By Cnn.com Wire Service By Gregory Lemos | CNN Attorney Ben Crump has filed a civil lawsuit against several entities including, The Walt Disney Co. and the Orange County Sheriff, on behalf of Hester Burkhalter, a 69-year-old White woman from Hickory, North Carolina, and her family. Crump said she “was wrongfully arrested and taken into custody at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, for possessing federally legal CBD oil” in 2019. Read the rest of this story on MercuryNews.com.
New cannabis coworking space in Santa Ana aims to boost industry access, diversity
Published: Aug 6, 2020, 8:26 am • Updated: Aug 6, 2020, 8:29 am By Brooke Staggs Anyone with experience in the legal cannabis industry will tell you that, given the steep regulatory costs, it typically takes north of $1 million to open a marijuana business in California. And with cannabis still illegal under federal law, it’s also notoriously hard for industry entrepreneurs — and particularly entrepreneurs of color — to borrow money to cover those startup costs. Those two factors are behind another often-quoted industry statistic: an estimated 81% of marijuana business owners are white. Read the rest of this story on ocregister.com.
Clint Eastwood sues CBD sellers over use of his name, image
Published: Jul 23, 2020, 6:52 am • Updated: Jul 23, 2020, 6:53 am By Associated Press By ANDREW DALTON | The Associated Press LOS ANGELES — Clint Eastwood sued several companies that sell CBD supplements on Wednesday, alleging that they are falsely using his name and image to push products he would never agree to endorse. Two lawsuits filed in federal court in Los Angeles include allegations that companies have spread phony articles reporting that the 90-year-old actor-director is quitting the movie business to focus on a CBD business. Read the rest of this story on MercuryNews.com.
Richmond marijuana company owner doused in Pine Sol and sugar as coup de grâce to home invasion robbery
In the early morning of April 4, the owner of a Richmond marijuana concentrate company walked into his Concord home after spending the night in San Francisco, he almost instantly felt the muzzle of a gun press against the back of his head. “Get on the ground,” an armed robber told him. He did as he was told, and crawled on his hands and knees into the kitchen. A few seconds, a woman he was with, Brittney La Pierre, walked into the home and was greeted with the same treatment. Over the next few minutes, two robbers would threaten the man with a gun, hog tie him with wires from a television, and — in a move that has baffled chemistry experts — doused him with a mixture of Pine Sol and sugar. They searched the home for valuables, and made off with nearly $50,000 in cash and jewelry, along wit...
Colorado cannabis sales hit new all-time high in May at more than $192 million
Published: Jul 13, 2020, 2:24 pm • Updated: Jul 13, 2020, 2:25 pm By Tiney Ricciardi Cannabis sales in Colorado set a new monthly record in May, hitting their highest level since recreational sales began in 2014. Dispensaries sold $192,175,937 worth of products in May, according to data from the Department of Revenue’s Marijuana Enforcement Division. That’s up about 29% from April and an increase of 32% from May 2019. Related Articles Read the rest of this story on DenverPost.com.
Businessman sentenced to prison for involvement in black market marijuana organization
A California businessman described as the mastermind behind an illegal marijuana trafficking organization was sentenced to 12 years in prison for conning people out of money and shipping drugs out of state. Scott Pack, 42, was sentenced Thursday by Arapahoe County District Court Judge Michael Spear on two counts under the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act, including a first-class drug felony, as well as two counts of securities fraud, according to a news release from the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. Spear characterized Pack as one of the leaders of the operation. He emphasized the sophistication of the criminal operation is cause for concern as the state seeks to enforce its marijuana laws, the news release said. Read the rest of this story on DenverPost.com.
Ticker: CCC says don’t change pot tax; Google selects Mississippi site; Mortgage rates hit another low
Changing the way Massachusetts taxes legal marijuana could produce more revenue for the state, but it could also disrupt the fledgling cannabis industry, a report found. In a report by the Cannabis Control Commission, regulators and state revenue experts considered taxing pot based on its weight or potency, rather than the current price-based tax. Although almost every single alternate tax structure studied in an analysis conducted by KPMG is likely to generate more tax revenue, the CCC determined the relatively small increases would not be worth the hassle. “The Massachusetts adult-use cannabis industry is in a nascent stage. A large-scale change in taxation scheme would cause disruptions that are not worth the potential short-term revenue gain, especially in a market with currently stabl...
The struggle to enter California’s cannabis market: ‘So much heartache, so much pain’
Linda Grant sold weed in the streets of East Oakland for 35 years before California legalized marijuana in 2016. She’s been “going through hell” trying to open a licensed business ever since. Five years and two frustrating partnerships later, Grant still has to get a loan to pay for a business storefront before she can even apply for a license to operate. “It’s just ridiculous,” Grant said. “So much heartache, so much pain.” The process is daunting: business plans, tax returns, seed money. Even with state programs designed to close the gap, experts and advocates say the cost of entry and long list of requirements are still keeping people of color and low-income applicants from entering the state’s lucrative legal market. Read the rest of this story on MercuryNews.com.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis says pardons for marijuana convictions can start in 90 days
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill into law Monday that allows him to mass-pardon Coloradans with minor marijuana possession convictions, although he has not said exactly how the process will work. Lawmakers passed House Bill 1424 on June 15, the last day of the 2020 legislative session. The bill aims to make the legal marijuana industry more accessible to people of color and those who were previously convicted on drug charges that wouldn’t be crimes now. It expands the social equity program for marijuana business licenses to Colorado residents who have been arrested or convicted on a marijuana offense, been subject to civil asset forfeiture from a marijuana offense, or lived in an area designated as high crime or economically disadvantaged. “For decades now, the Black community has b...
Not your typical grow house: Bay Area buyers paid cash, moved in the marijuana
Published: Jun 29, 2020, 12:44 pm • Updated: Jun 29, 2020, 12:45 pm By Bay Area News Group Custom-built house, wraparound porch, great views, perfect for … a grow house. A marijuana raid in Merced County allegedly found an extensive growing operation in an unlikely-looking home. Three buyers, from San Francisco and San Leandro, paid $590,000 cash for the house in April, the Merced County Sheriff’s Department said on Wednesday. Read the rest of this story on MercuryNews.com.
2019 Monterey County Crop Report lists leaf lettuce in top spot, cannabis in fifth
SALINAS – The 2019 Monterey County Crop Report released Tuesday shows the overall production value of the agriculture industry in the county was up 3.5% to $4.4 billion. Leaf lettuce is the top crop followed by strawberries, head lettuce, and broccoli rounding out the top four in the main report. The Crop Report also includes, for the first time, a supplemental Cannabis Production report that shows the overall production value of Cannabis at $449,688,000 in 2019, putting it fifth in line of top crops. “It’s a historic day,” said Aaron Johnson, of Monterey County National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and the Coastal Growers Association. Read the rest of this story on MercuryNews.com.
.png "Growing Elite Marijuana")
