SA to begin consultation on medical marijuana access

The State Government will soon begin consultation on regulations to allow patients to access medical marijuana in South Australia.

Bension Siebert

Last month, InDaily revealed the State Government had thrown its weight behind a medicinal cannabis industry for South Australia, and was helping a prospective business lobby the Federal Government for licences to grow and sell it.


Prescribing cannabis-based medication was legalised around the country at the beginning of this month, but each state and territory must develop its own regulations under which their local industry may operate.

“SA Health will soon commence consultation with a broad range of stakeholders to further develop the patient access pathway,” a Government spokesperson told InDaily this morning.


 “Following the Commonwealth changes, from 1 November 2016, South Australian laws allow medicinal cannabis to be prescribed by authorised medical practitioners and dispensed by pharmacists and for research, including development and commercialisation of new pharmaceutical products.


“The law changes that make medicinal cannabis available do not legalise other uses of cannabis, including industrial (hemp), recreational use and self-medication.”

Australian Cannabis Corporation co-founder Ben Fitzsimons told InDaily this morning that he had been in talks with the State Government about the regulation model planned for the industry.

“We’ve been having solid, progressing discussions with the State Government about positioning South Australia as the best state in the country for (medical cannabis regulation),” he said.

He said he hoped the Government would select a less restrictive regulatory model than that which operates in Western Australia.

“We’re hopeful that the South Australian Government won’t be discriminating against anyone, as other states have done.”

In WA, a specialist doctor must gain approval from the Therapeutic Goods Administration before she or he may supply a patient with a prescription for cannabis-based medication.

That process can take up to a month, and is only available to patients suffering particular illnesses.
Medicinal cannabis has been linked to reducing chemotherapy-related nausea, chronic pain and epileptic seizures.

Medical marijuana use approved in Florida

By Baylor Lariat

 

FILE - In this Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016 file photo, Nikki Lastreto trims "little buds" from last season's harvest at her home near Laytonville, Calif. California's lopsided U.S. Senate is nearing a historic end and voters are pondering a long list of ballot questions that could legalize marijuana, end the death penalty and slap cigarette smokers with a $2-a-pack tax increase. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli,File)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The movement to legalize marijuana faced its biggest test yet Tuesday as voters in nine states, including the nation’s most populous, considered proposals to expand legal access to the drug, which is still forbidden by the federal government.

California, the first state to approve medical marijuana two decades ago, was among five states weighing whether to permit pot for adults for recreational purposes. The other states were Arizona, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada.

Florida, one of three states deciding whether to permit marijuana for medical purposes, approved the idea. Montana voted on whether to ease restrictions on an existing medical marijuana law.

If California votes “yes,” recreational cannabis would be legal along the entire West Coast, giving the legalization movement powerful momentum. That could spark similar efforts in other states and put pressure on federal authorities to ease longstanding rules that classify marijuana as a dangerously addictive drug with no medical benefits.

In general, the proposals for recreational pot would treat cannabis similar to alcohol. Consumption would be limited to people 21 or older and forbidden in most public spaces. Pot would be highly regulated and heavily taxed, and some states would let people grow their own.

State-by-state polls showed most of the measures with a good chance of prevailing. But staunch opponents that included law enforcement groups and anti-drug crusaders urged the public to reject any changes. They complained that legalization would endanger children and open the door to creation of another huge industry that, like big tobacco, would be devoted to selling Americans an unhealthy drug.

The Massachusetts measure, for example, was opposed by Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, which contributed $850,000 to the “no” campaign.

In Maine, opponents included some major players in the medical marijuana industry who worried about disruptions to their business model. In Arizona, the issue evoked uncertainty about how legalization might affect the flow of smuggled illegal drugs across the border with Mexico.

The latest polling showed 55 percent of likely voters supporting California’s 62-page proposal. Still, it sowed deep division among marijuana advocates and farmers. In Northern California’s famous Emerald Triangle, a region known for cultivating pot for decades, many small growers have longed for legitimacy but also fear being forced out of business by large corporate farms.

If “yes” votes prevail across the country, about 75 million people accounting for more than 23 percent of the U.S. population would live in states where recreational pot is legal. The jurisdictions where that’s already the case — Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington state and the District of Columbia — have about 18 million residents, or 5.6 percent of the population. Twenty-five states allow medical marijuana.

According to national polls, a solid majority of Americans support legalization. Gallup’s latest survey gauged support at 60 percent, up from 14 percent from when the question was first posed in 1969. Gallup says 13 percent of U.S. adults currently report using marijuana, nearly double the percentage who reported using pot in 2013.

California voters rejected a similar initiative in 2010 after campaign leaders struggled to raise money and support for the lengthy ballot question that was hastily written by the owner of a small medicinal marijuana store.

Proposition 64 would allow people 21 and older to legally possess up to an ounce of weed and grow six marijuana plants at home. Varying tax rates would be levied on sales, with the money deposited into the state’s Marijuana Tax Fund.

Most of the money would be spent on substance-abuse education and treatment. Some would go to repair environment damage inflicted by illegal marijuana growers and to train police to detect when people are driving under the influence of pot.

US: Turning the Corner on Marijuana

3 States Vote to Legalize Possession for Personal Use

A marijuana plant

© 2012 Reuters

(Washington) – Voters in three states approved ballot measures on November 8, 2016, to legalize the use and possession of small amounts of marijuana, part of a continued shift in United States drug policy, Human Rights Watch said today. In addition, Oklahoma voted to reduce its criminal penalties for drug offenses by making possession a misdemeanor instead of a felony.

“Personal drug use shouldn’t be addressed by the criminal justice system, and the results on election day helped move things in the right direction,” said Antonio Ginatta, US advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “The US continues to move away from criminalizing marijuana use and toward rational drug policy grounded in a respect for privacy and human rights.”

The three states that legalized marijuana for personal use are California, Massachusetts, and Nevada. Results are pending on a similar ballot measure in Maine. Arizona’s legalization measure failed.

California, Massachusetts, and Nevada join four other states – Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington – that have legalized marijuana use and possession over the past four years.

The state ballot measures are similar: they apply only to people age 21 and older – use by someone under 21 is still prohibited. People are allowed to possess up to one ounce (28.5 grams) of marijuana and grow up to six plants for private use – Massachusetts allows people to keep up to 10 ounces in their homes. People may transfer marijuana to other adults so long as the transfer is not a sale.

California and Massachusetts also give local governments the authority to license establishments where marijuana can be used on-site.

US enforcement of drug possession laws ruins individual and family lives, discriminates against people of color, and undermines public health., Human Rights Watch said. A recent report by Human Rights Watch and the ACLU shows that police make more arrests for drug possession than for any other crime. The long-term consequences can separate families, exclude people from job opportunities, welfare assistance, public housing, and voting; and expose them to discrimination and stigma for a lifetime.

“In its decades-long failed attempt to combat drug use, the US has unfairly and excessively punished communities, harmed families, and made it more difficult for individuals who’ve used drugs to get a job and a home,” Ginatta said. “These election results should push more states to consider their own legalization measures.”

Marijuana continues to be illegal under federal law, though the Obama administration has stated that it would not interfere with state policy related to marijuana use. President-elect Donald Trump’s position on state marijuana policy is not clear.

The Oklahoma ballot measure – State Question 780 – while not legalizing personal use, is still an important step toward reducing the harm caused by criminalizing drug possession, Human Rights Watch said. Prior to approval of this ballot measure, a person could serve up to 10 years in prison for possession of a controlled substance other than marijuana. With passage of this measure, all drug possession crimes are now capped at a one-year maximum.

TAMUCC educates students on marijuana

By Danielle St. Marie

Legalization laws for marijuana are changing around the country. Following the recent election, 7 states have now legalized the drug completely. Yet, under the Obama administration, marijuana remains in the category for quote "the most dangerous drugs.
"
Texas A&M Corpus Christi held a cannabis educational summit where various community members spoke about effects, legal framework, trafficking and the local impact on the community.

Claudia Ayala, the Assistant Director of TAMUCC counseling, says that the goal of this event is to correct some of the misconceptions about marijuana use.

Organizers say events like this are important in order to educate students on actual facts of the drug, especially as legalization laws continue to change in the United States.

District Attorney Mark Skurka was one of the speakers at the event. He says the use of marijuana is a re-occurring problem in Nueces County.

Although for first time users that get caught, there are several divergent programs to get them out of the criminal justice system. "They can do some type of probationary term and if they finish it completely, they can have their case dismissed," Skurka said.

Several students attended the event today and many of them say they believe it should be decriminalized. "I don't think it's anywhere as dangerous as alcohol is. You don't see people overdosing on weed and crashing cars and killing people," Sophomore Lauren Brangers said.

"I think Texas may move towards the decriminalization of marijuana, making it a lower offense or lower penalty, but I don't think they're heading towards legalization of marijuana," Skurka said. 

Marijuana scores big on Election Day, fueling push for wider legalization

by Sam Wood,

Donald Trump wasn’t the only one to emerge triumphant on Tuesday.

Marijuana scored  major victories in eight states, so many that some believe Nov. 8, 2016, will be remembered as the day the nation reached a marijuana tipping point. A key Pennsylvania advocate thinks the commonwealth isn't far from full legalization.

“Nine states, red and blue, voted on measures and we saw legalization prevail overwhelmingly,” said State Sen. Daylin Leach (D., Montgomery), who has introduced a bill to allow recreational use in Pennsylvania. “Tuesday’s results are only going to accelerate nationwide legalization. I think we can expect to see that in about five years.”

Pennsylvania approved medical marijuana in April. Growing operations and dispensaries are expected to open in 2018.

Tuesday, eight initiatives to expand access succeeded despite the federal government’s prohibition on its use.

 “I think Tuesday was, without a doubt, the most successful day the marijuana reform movement has had in its history,” said John Hudak, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution  and author of the recently published Marijuana: A Short History.

Despite the uncertainty that Trump's coming presidency brings to the enforcement of federal drug laws, Patrick Nightingale, a former Allegheny County assistant district attorney,  thinks the momentum will be difficult to stop. Twenty-nine states now allow consumption of marijuana for either recreational or medical use.

“We are getting to a critical mass where complete federal prohibition cannot withstand state reform efforts,” said Nightingale, now an attorney in private practice and executive director of Pittsburgh NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws).

On Tuesday, California, Massachusetts, Maine, and Nevada fully legalized recreational use of marijuana. Florida, North Dakota, and Arkansas approved the rollout of cannabis for medical purposes; voters in Montana expanded access to it.

"It's part of a continuing trend," said Bridget Hill-Zayat, a Philadelphia attorney and a regional director of the Pennsylvania Medical Cannabis Society. "There’s a lot of money on the table, and the states are looking at collecting millions of dollars in taxes."

Only Arizona rejected its marijuana referendum question.

 California’s vote on Tuesday makes the use and sale of cannabis legal along the entire West Coast. Massachusetts became the first state east of the Mississippi River to legalize it for all adults,  despite bipartisan opposition by top elected officials.

In the states that approved their measures, marijuana was more popular than the presidential candidates. Pro-cannabis votes outnumbered those cast for Trump nearly 2-1. Marijuana garnered 14.5 million, compared with the president-elect’s 8.4 million.

The support could spark similar referendums in other states and put pressure on federal authorities to ease longstanding rules that classify marijuana as a dangerously addictive drug with no medical benefits.

The Obama administration has maintained a hands-off approach to marijuana in the states. In 2013, a Department of Justice memo recommended federal resources should not be used against individual patients.

How the president-elect will act on cannabis has yet to be seen.

“He’s been wishy-washy on marijuana issues,” said Bill Caruso, founder of New Jersey United for Marijuana Reform. But even if a staunch anti-marijuana figure such as Rudy Giuliani is named attorney general, there's no immediate threat to state laws, he said.

 “I’m not sure the federal government would be able to roll much back," Caruso said. "A more likely scenario is the federal government will catch up with the states.”

SF Pot Task Force Recommends 1% Tax, Legal Pot Smoking Lounges, And More

by Caleb Pershan


Pot smoking lounges for those 21 and over? Weed smoking areas or tents at permitted events? Those are some of the items on the to-do list created by San Francisco’s Cannabis Legalization Task Force, the Chronicle reports, and that group's mandate just got real with the passage of Prop 64. 

The task force, which was selected last December, has been mulling the likely possibility of legalization since then, and these are their conclusions so far. The city should pass a one percent excise tax on marijuana sales, and in general it should move swiftly. “We’re saying, ‘This is what we think you need to do first, second and third, and this is how you need to do it,’” task force Chairman Terrance Alan, who also chairs the SF Late Night Coalition, told the Chron.

The task force would also like to see fast permitting for recreational pot shops, however, those won't be arrive until legal recreational sales kick in after January 1, 2018, according to the language of the successful proposition. Further, the task force wants to work with schools to address how marijuana use is taught and understood — and sometimes punished.

Mayor Lee, naturally, may have ideas of his own. "I want our city to work immediately to pass the best laws and regulations we can,” the Chronicle quotes him.

And with real estate so tight in San Francisco, Lee doesn't want to see big buildings become grow ops, encouraging the city to bar growers from “entering existing industrial buildings until the full impact of this emerging industry is better understood.”

That's a front on which the pot task force agrees. San Francisco is likelier to become a hub for testing, marijuana technologies, and other businesses, rather than larger scale grows or farms.

As there are many in San Francisco with past marijuana crime convictions, Lee indicated that Supervisor Malia Cohen was "interested in crafting legislation to address the social justice component of decriminalization,” perhaps a sign that the city would make efforts like those in Oakland, which include setting aside pot business licenses for those who have been jailed or arrested for marijuana crimes. But Oakland's measures, it should be said, are hitting some bumps and are being criticized by industry leaders.

At least we in SF aren't moving in the direction of San Jose: That city preempted recreational pot legalization entirely by banning legal sales altogether ahead of the state vote.

How to Cash In on Weed Legalization

Shelly Banjo

A bevy of state ballot measures passed this week reveal it's only a matter of time before legalized marijuana use is the law of the land in the U.S. Investors are already finding ways to buy into it.

Four states voted on Tuesday to legalize recreational pot use, while four others approved marijuana for medicinal purposes. That brings the number of Americans living in states where recreational marijuana is legal up to 20 percent of the U.S. population. That percentage rises to 58 percent and 66 percent of the U.S. population when counting states where medical marijuana is legal and where states have decriminalized the drug, respectively.

Federal legalization of recreational marijuana use is probably not around the corner. But that's almost beside the point. States are following their own course, and will likely be even more emboldened once states-rights advocates move into the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives.

It also doesn't hurt that President-elect Donald Trump has touted his support of medical marijuana -- although his constantly shifting views on just about everything, along with Vice President-elect Mike Pence's opposition to marijuana, cloud that stance. Perhaps that's why a Bloomberg Intelligence index of 32 public companies involved in cannabis-related products fell 7 percent on Tuesday.

Still, despite that drop -- which was concentrated in three pharma companies -- the index is up 181 percent year-to-date.

Besides companies directly related to the production of cannabis, many of which are characterized as pharma firms, plenty of other businesses stand to benefit.

For one, you can bet big tobacco giants R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Altria Group Inc., and Phillip Morris International Inc. are not standing still here. As one top tobacco executive told me last March, these companies already know how to make money in the tightly regulated industry of cigarettes, and marijuana will be no different.

It's no secret e-cigarettes and products that heat tobacco rather than burn it are also used by marijuana smokers. My colleague Tara Lachapelle points out there's $45 billion in potential annual demand for recreational weed in the U.S., and the tobacco companies are a perfect fit to serve this market.

How Pot Can Save Big Tobacco's Future

Then there are companies such as The Scotts Miracle-Gro Co., which benefit from growing marijuana. In the past 18 months Scotts has been on a buying spree of companies that make fertilizers, lighting and other supplies for growers. The company's hydroponics business now brings in $250 million in annual sales. Also benefiting are home-and-garden retailers and hardware stores such as Home Depot Inc. and True Value Co., whose sales in this area have skyrocketed in the past year.

To find the other side of this trade, look for companies spending big bucks to oppose pot legalization.

The alcohol industry, for example, worries that making marijuana more available will make people drink less alcohol, Bloomberg News's Jennifer Kaplan points out. Sam Adams brewer Boston Beer Co. and Jack Daniel’s exporter Brown-Forman Corp. are among those that call legal weed a threat to their companies.

Pharmaceutical companies, fearing competition for their anti-anxiety and other drugs, have also funded anti-pot measures. One painkiller producer, Insys Therapeutics, scored a victory on Tuesday as Arizona voted down a measure to legalize recreational marijuana. Medical marijuana has been legal in that state since 1996.

Nevertheless, if Tuesday's election taught us anything, it's that America is changing, as are truths that some take for granted. Legalizing marijuana is no different.

Prop. 64: Bay Area voters back California pot measure by big margin

The initiative, Proposition 64, won 56 percent of the state vote. Some of its greatest support came from Bay Area counties.

Lisa M. Krieger

Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, a key leader behind Proposition 64, celebrated the victory of the measure at an election night party at San Francisco’s Verso Club.

By Lisa M. Krieger

PUBLISHED: November 9, 2016 at 7:47 am | UPDATED: November 9, 2016 at 4:03 pm

Strong backing from the Bay Area — in money and votes — helped propel the measure to legalize recreational marijuana to victory in California, ending the ban on a long-illicit drug in a state with the world’s sixth largest economy.

Proposition 64 won 56 percent of the state vote, and more than two-thirds support in most Bay Area counties. The measure carried more than 73 percent of the vote in San Francisco; 70 percent in Santa Cruz County; more than 69 percent in Marin; 66 percent in Alameda; 60 percent in Contra Costa; and nearly 58 percent in Santa Clara County.

Funding for the effort came, in large part, from a Silicon Valley tech billionaire: former Facebook president and Napster co-founder Sean Parker contributed more than one-third of the pro-Proposition 64 budget. He gave more than $8.6 million of the $22.1 million raised by supporters; in contrast, opponents donated only $2.1 million.


In one day, California ended a century of prohibition. Cannabis was legal in the state until 1915, when an amendment to The Poison Act forbade the sale and possession of “loco weed.”

Still, Wednesday’s celebrations were muted in a state where weed is already widespread — and where the shock of Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential race hung over the Bay Area.

The Oakland-based “herb shop” Magnolia Wellness planned an afternoon party.  Also on Wednesday, cannabis-related businesses like Santa Ana’s Kush Bottles Inc., which produces the mandatory child-proof packaging, said it would move forward on buying more tools, boosting overseas manufacturing and upgrading space in warehouses.

The measure’s victory was part of a sweeping win for cannabis across the nation, where eight of nine states approved either recreational or medical use. In addition to California, the states of Nevada, Massachusetts and Maine voted to legalize its recreational use.

About 20 percent of all Americans now live in a state that has legal marijuana, said Beau Kilmer, co-director of the RAND Drug Policy Research Center in Santa Monica.

“Yesterday, the population covered by the four states that legalized and District of Columbia was roughly 20 million. California, alone, has put on another 40 million,” he said. With passage in other states, “we’ve gone from 20 million to 65 million,” in a nation with a population of 318 million.

Doorman “Big Mike,” of Oakland, right, and Lauren Phillips, of San Francisco, celebrate during a Proposition 64 election night party at The New Parish nightclub in Oakland on Tuesday.  (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group) 

The map of where pot is legal now includes the entire West Coast, raising a stronger challenge to the federal government’s ban.

Starting Wednesday morning, an ounce of marijuana in your purse or backpack is perfectly legal. So is eight grams of “concentrate.” You can grow up to six plants inside your home, keeping what you harvest.


But it is not yet legal to buy or sell the drug, because the state has until January 2018 to establish licenses for commercial operations; you can only obtain it as a gift. Smoking pot in public is against the law.

It remains illegal under federal law. While Trump seems to support medical marijuana,  a “wait and see” approach will continue on recreational marijuana, according to attorney Aaron Herzberg, a partner at CalCann Holdings, Inc., a California medical marijuana real estate company.

Recently, Trump supported state’s rights to choose how to legislate medical marijuana, but has not expressly called for legalization, said Herzberg.

Along with legalizing weed for adults, Proposition 64 also changes the status of cannabis in California in other ways, said RAND researcher Kilmer. They are:

• Criminal justice system. Adults can possess up to one ounce and grow up to 6 plants at home. For those under age 18, it eliminates criminal penalties for possession and selling. It also allows those convicted of marijuana offenses to potentially be re-sentenced.
• New state revenue. The proposition levies a 15 percent excise tax at the retail level and a $9.25 an ounce tax at the wholesale level.
• Commercialization. There will be more advertising, and local jurisdictions will be allowed to license “marijuana bars,” where it is served.
• Large-scale production. Currently, growers are restricted to one acre outdoors and a half acre indoors; within five years, those caps are removed.

14% of LGBT people voted for Donald Trump and other loathsome election facts

Bil Browning 

 
9% of self-described Democrats voted for Donald Trump according to the New York Times. If that shocks you, you might want to sit down for the rest.

14% of LGBT people admitted to pollsters that they voted for Donald Trump – who has said he thinks businesses should be able to discriminate against LGBT people. Let that sink in for a moment.

29% of Latinos chose Trump over Clinton. That’s a larger percentage than Mitt Romney got in the last election. Sit with that. Just sit with it.

42% of women voted for the man who bragged about using his celebrity status to sexually assault women and described them in the most vulgar and sexist ways possible. It almost seems impossible, doesn’t it?

45% of college graduates and 49% of white college graduates picked the candidate who is least experienced and capable of running the American government. What sense does that make? You don’t need a degree to see how stupid that is.

41% of people making under $30,000/year, 42% of those with annual incomes between $30,000 – 49,999, and an amazing 50% of those with incomes between $50,000 – $99,999 voted for the man who pledged to raise their taxes to give it to those making millions every year. Why would you choose to take money out of your own pocket to put in some random billionaire’s?

81% of white evangelicals voted for the candidate who literally embodied the seven deadly sins.

They said God would work “through him” so it didn’t matter what sins he committed – like allegations of pedophilia, tax dodging, or swindling people.

More Republicans told exit pollsters that they disliked Hillary Clinton more than they liked Donald Trump. Maybe “I don’t really like him either” will salve their conscience.

America has turned itself inside out to elect a conman and racist. That’s not a statistic from the Times. That’s just a fact.

Nasdaq Cannabis Stocks Rally After Recreational and Medical Use Passes

Cannabis stocks listed on the Nasdaq continued to rally after voters ended prohibition and approved the recreational use of marijuana in California, Massachusetts, Maine and Nevada.

Ellen Chang

Cannabis stocks listed on the Nasdaq continued to rally on Wednesday after voters ended prohibition and approved the recreational use of marijuana in California, Massachusetts, Maine and Nevada while Arkansas, Florida and North Dakota adopted medical marijuana laws.

Arizona rejected its measure for recreational use while Montana voters approved a measure to improve access to medical marijuana providers.

"Whether they live in blue or red states, voters have spoken in an overwhelming majority that they want media and recreational marijuana," said Jason Spatafora, co-founder of Marijuanastocks.com and a Miami-based trader and investor known as @WolfofWeedST on Twitter. "One election night we witnessed not just a political shift, but a paradigm shift for cannabis where prohibition has become untenable."

Interest in cannabis-related stocks continues to increase from micro cap to Nasdaq-listed equities and will only continue its upward trend as investors should be poised for several decades of additional expansion as more states legalize either recreational or medical use and could emerge as acquisition targets.

"The legal cannabis movement scored its most significant victory yet," said Michael Berger, a former Raymond James energy analyst and founder of Technical420, a Miami-based company that conducts research on cannabis stocks. "Although the results of the election will be a turning point for the legal cannabis industry, we are only in the first inning of what will be a multi-decade growth cycle.

As legalization measures continue to go into effect, market sentiment will improve for cannabis stocks and this should serve as a catalyst for many companies."

The economic impact for these states is immense - California is estimated to increase to $10 billion market by 2020, while Florida's medical market should be a $1 billion industry by 2020, he said.

"I expect the cannabis industry to be a $75 billion dollar industry by 2020," Berger said. "Although many people's estimates are below this, I take into account more than just the sale legal cannabis because the ancillary business will benefit significantly."

Several stocks have been undervalued as investors were skittish and the use of drugs produced by major cannabis-focused biopharmaceutical companies have not been widely adopted.

The current options for mainstream investors in this budding sector are limited to a handful of companies listed on the Nasdaq, including GW Pharmaceuticals (GWPH) , a U.K.-based biotech company with a cannabis-based epilepsy drug; Insys Therapeutics (INSY) , a Phoenix company known for its cancer pain management drug but is developing a cannabis-based drug for the treatment of epilepsy; Cara Therapeutics (CARA) , a Shelton, Conn.-based clinical state biopharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes pain relief drugs and Zynerba Pharmaceuticals (ZYNE), a Devon, Pa.-based company focused on developing and commercializing synthetic cannabinoid therapeutics.

Being undervalued means many of these companies such as Cara, Zynerba and GW Pharmaceuticals are also attractive acquisition targets, said Spatafora. All three companies are appealing candidates because of their intellectual property and their pipeline of current and upcoming drugs.

"The intellectual property for GW Pharmaceuticals is based on having cannabis plant-based drugs rather than synthetic alternatives and in my estimate is worth $6 billion or roughly $190 per share if bought out," he said.

Since GW Pharmaceuticals is the bellwether company of the cannabis industry and tends to benefit from positive developments in the sector, the stock could be poised for headwinds as a result from the increased market volatility.

"We continue to view GW Pharmaceutical as the best long-term cannabis investment due to its deep pipeline of products, its successful FDA testing results, its Wall Street coverage and its valuation as its shares are trading well below the average Wall Street price target," said Berger. "We continue to view GWPH as a buy opportunity on weakness from today."

While there is less research available from analysts, some cannabis stocks listed on the OTC are also worth consideration, because they will benefit from the laws that passed in Florida, Nevada and California, Spatafora said.

Florida's adoption of medical marijuana use could be advantageous for Arcturus Growthstar Technologies (AGSTF) , which entered into a letter of intent to purchase a Florida farm that is zoned for cannabis. The state currently has six licensed producers and expansion will be needed to meet "massive demand," he said.

"They hedged on the LOI to wait and see if the law passed," Spatafora said. "The company was pretty wise in this potential acquisition because the farm already produces $2.6 million in revenue annually."

With Nevada voters approving adult use of cannabis, mCig Inc. (MCIG) , which used to specialize in lifestyle brands in the vaping and cannabinoid markets, could benefit. The company founded a construction division called Scalable Solutions geared toward the Nevada cannabis cultivation market.

"We are about to see an explosion of new money come into the state in order to support the licensed holders and see capitalized holders of licenses ramp up construction operations to expedite production as the cannabis supply has already been running at a deficit," he said. "Supply and demand issues will be an absolute windfall for mCig and this division."

Other stocks which are expected to rise higher include Medicine Man Technologies (MDCL) , which provides cultivation consulting services and the company has clients in Arizona, California, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Puerto Rico.

"We are favorable on MDCL's leverage to the cannabis industry and the company stands to benefit from ballot initiatives passed in California, Florida and Nevada," said Berger.

American Cannabis Company (AMMJ) provides advisory and consulting services for cannabis businesses in the U.S. and Canada and generates revenue from the sales of products used in the cultivation, processing and sale of cannabis.

"Although AMMJ is poised to benefit from the election results, the shares are up more than 1,600% since September 1, and we are watching how AMMJ trades to see if there are legs left in this run," he said.

MassRoots (MSRT) has been called the Yelp of the cannabis industry and its mobile app can be downloaded only in states where medical cannabis is legal.

"The election will be a catalyst for MSRT because its user base and businesses network will benefit from ballot initiatives passing in California, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, North Dakota and Arkansas," Berger said.

Three other stocks to keep an eye on include Kush Bottles (KSHB) , which is focused on providing exit bag products that are in compliance with regulations; Finore Mining Inc. (FIN: CSE) (FNREF: OTC); and Terra Tech ( (TRTC) ).

"We see a lot of opportunity for growth now that new state markets will open and existing markets will expand and develop," he said. "We are favorable on Kush Bottles due to the product it provides, its geographic diversity and its continued execution and shares should continue to move higher off this news."

Finore Mining is likely to benefit from the passage of Proposition 64 following its acquisition of KushTown USA, a California-based cannabis infused products company whose products are sold in more than 500 dispensaries across the state. The company is focused on penetrating new markets within California as demand for cannabis infused products continues to grow, Berger said.

Terra Tech is levered to the results in California and Nevada through its multiple subsidiaries. The company's Blum medical cannabis collective has one location in California and four locations in Nevada with two that are already operational.

"TRTC will also benefit as we expect to see its IVXX subsidiary sell more cannabis products out of its California and Nevada dispensary locations," Berger said.  

One in every five Americans is about to get legally high AF after this election

Elijah Wolfson & David Yanofsky

In the early hours of Nov. 9, Americans found out that their next president is Donald Trump; they also learned that marijuana’s slow drive to nationwide legality had shifted into the next gear.

These two facts may seem incongruous, but that’s only if you’re stuck in 20th-century politics. In 2016, marijuana has become one of the least contentious matters in US partisan politics, and is likely the issue on which most liberals find Trump to be least offensive.

On Nov. 8, which included not only presidential and congressional elections but ballot initiatives in 35 states, voters in Arkansas, Florida, and North Dakota made it legal for doctors to prescribe medical marijuana to their patients. Montana voted to ease recent restrictions on its decade-old medical marijuana law. That, for the first time, means smoking weed is legal, at least for medical and in some cases for recreational purposes, in 29 states.

Perhaps more importantly, four states voted to pass new laws that make marijuana use equivalent to liquor consumption. In California, Massachusetts, Maine, and Nevada, it is now legal for anyone over 21 years old to smoke pot.

Those states join Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and the District of Columbia in a sort of loose coalition strongly challenging the federal government, which still classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug, meaning it has “no currently accepted medical use” and a “high potential for abuse.” 

The Nov. 8 votes create a strong western bloc—the entire Pacific coastline is now on board with legal weed—and establishes a stronghold in the northeast, where Massachusetts could set the agenda for other liberal states.

Of the nine states where weed was on the ballot, eight made access to the plant easier. Only in Arizona—where medical marijuana is already legal, and which was considering legalizing recreational use—did a new law not pass.

That’s less surprising than it seems at first glance. Legalization of marijuana is one of the few issues on which Republicans and Democrats appear to be coming together. 

While Democrats and Independents are still far more likely than Republicans to favor legalizing recreational use, support in both parties is increasing sharply:

This shift is due largely to growing research into marijuana and awareness that it can have health benefits and few risks. But it’s also in part due to a growing recognition that legalizing a robust underground pot industry could provide serious fuel for local economies.

Just last month, the Marijuana Policy Group published a report (pdf) crediting legal weed in Colorado with creating some 18,000 full-time jobs and adding about $2.4 billion to the state’s economy in 2015. The five states that just legalized weed could therefore be in for a financial windfall. All of the new laws passed on Nov. 8 include state taxes on retail marijuana sales: 15% in California and Nevada, 10% in Maine, and 3.5% in Massachusetts.

It’s not entirely clear where president-elect Donald Trump stands on the issue. He has said he believes “100%” in the medical value of marijuana, and has also made clear that he wouldn’t interfere with states’ rights to set their own marijuana-related laws and agendas.

But what about the federal restrictions? The CARERS Act, introduced in the Senate in March 2015, would move marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II, allowing doctors to prescribe it, but it has been stuck in committee. Since the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is part of the executive branch of government, a Trump appointee as DEA head could bypass the legislative branch and make the schedule change directly. But Trump hasn’t made made his drug policy (or many others) clear yet.

Even moving marijuana to Schedule II would still be a far cry from allowing it for recreational use, though. And it would still trail behind changing public opinion. According to Pew Research, in 2015, 53% of Americans supported legalizing marijuana for medical or recreational use, and 44% were opposed.

The bipartisan support for legal recreational weed may make its continued federal criminalization untenable. On Nov. 4, President Barack Obama explained on TV the challenges the new legalization laws would create for federal regulators:

“You’ll now have a fifth of the country that’s operating under one set of laws and four-fifths in another. The Justice Department, DEA, FBI, for them to try to straddle and figure out how they’re supposed to enforce laws in some places and not in others, they’re going to guard against transporting these drugs across state lines—you’ve got the entire Pacific Corridor where this is legal. That is not going to be tenable.”

Given the financial incentives, and the fact that over 21% of Americans now live in a state that says they have the legal right to get high for fun, it’s likely now a question of when, and not if, the rest of the country will follow suit.

Meanwhile, all nine states and districts where weed is is now legal—California, Massachusetts, Maine, Nevada, Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, and DC—voted for the losing candidate, Hillary Clinton, last night. At least they will now have a way to ease the anxiety of life under Republican leadership. 

Despite Legalization, Colorado Remains a Battleground for Weed

Randy Robinson

Is this prohibition’s pushback? Legalization’s growing pains?

While the rest of the world sees Colorado as the beacon of legal weed, the battle for access still rages on.

The Denver area has, for the most part, embraced its recreational cannabis industry. Today, voters in Denver may pass a social-use initiative, which would allow adults to smoke weed at Denver’s bars, nightclubs, and other private venues, regulating marijuana like alcohol.

Meanwhile, in southern Colorado, things aren’t so jovial.

Pueblo

Pueblo is Colorado’s third largest city. Before 2014, Pueblo was a struggling industrial town. Today, its economy is booming because of weed. But two initiatives on the ballot this November could stamp out the town’s economic revival for good.

Propositions 200 and 300, if approved, would ban all licensed recreational marijuana businesses. Prop 300 only bans rec licensing in the city of Pueblo. However, most Pueblo-area retailers and grow operations aren’t in the city. They’re in the periphery of Pueblo County.

Prop 200, the Big Bad, would ban all recreational businesses throughout Pueblo County.

Prop 200’s anti-market measures look vicious—because they are. The law wouldn’t just ban weed retail shops. It would also ban any recreational testing facilities, grows, edibles manufacturers, and other marijuana-infused product (MIP) companies.

In other words, Prop 200 would put a lot of people out of business. Overnight, it would eliminate 1,300 jobs. For business owners, it would destroy hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of investment, with no compensation for the entrepreneurs who devoted countless hours to kickstart a new, flourishing industry. Pueblo County, which just rose above a decades-long depression, would sink right back into a serious economic slump.

Why get rid of a good thing? Prop 200’s supporters claim legal pot led to an explosion of gang violence in Pueblo.

The Mesa Organics dispensary, in Pueblo, Colo., is fighting Prop 200 to stay in business.

Retired Air Force lieutenant colonel Jim Parco, who is now a professor of economics and a cofounder of the Mesa Organics dispensary, has been leading Pueblo’s efforts against Prop 200, and he says there’s no substance to Prop 200’s claims.

“Anytime you’re arguing for a new policy, both sides come up with all the goods and all the bads, and everything is hypothetical. But we’re at a point now where our side has facts. We have data,” says Parco. “They don’t have any data. They don’t have any facts."

The facts on Parco and Mesa Organics’ side, pulled from government data, show Pueblo’s pot industry generates $3 million in annual tax revenues. That tax has gone into infrastructure, arts programs, and college scholarships. And nearly 40 percent of Pueblo’s construction contracts involve cannabis, somewhere to the tune of $25 million.

Pueblo’s crime rates are higher than the national average, but Parco points to the county’s heroin epidemic as the main culprit. Homicides fell in September after federal agents teamed up with local police to nab suspected gang-affiliated triggermen.

Crime is not the only prohibitionist bait luring folks to the rec ban. Prop 200’s supporters like to bring up Pueblo’s swelling homeless population, too.

“Pueblo County does provide amenities for a lot of homeless people,” notes Richard Kwesell, one of the owners of the Strawberry Fields dispensary. “But none of those folks are shopping for more expensive product in recreational stores. I run two stores, and I certainly never see them coming in either store.”

The other Strawberry Fields shop can be found in Colorado Springs, just 40 miles north of Pueblo.

Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs is Colorado’s second largest metropolitan area. Unlike Pueblo and Denver, Colorado Springs leans very much to the conservative side of the political spectrum. It’s not only home to the uber-right-wing Christian groups Focus on the Family and the Family Research Council, it also hosts four military bases: Ft. Carson, Peterson AFB, Schriever AFB, and—most famous—NORAD.

Over the last two years, the city of Colorado Springs has done everything in its power to curtail legalization’s successes—all while (supposedly) remaining within the confines of state law. 

Amendment 64 isn’t just any ol’ law; it’s a constitutional amendment. Under A64, every adult citizen in Colorado has a right to grow six cannabis plants. Every adult citizen has a right to possess small amounts of cannabis for personal use.

A64 didn’t come without caveats, though. It contains an “opt-out” clause allowing cities and counties to ban recreational cannabis businesses. Colorado Springs was one of the first cities in Colorado to enact a rec ban, even though most voters in El Paso County approved A64.

Colorado Springs’ city council didn’t stop at the rec ban. In late 2015, it enacted a moratorium on cannabis clubs. Cannabis clubs are like bars, but instead of serving alcohol, they provide a space for people to meet and share weed (or dabs, edibles, etc.). The city charged cannabis clubs with bringing crime, yet officials couldn’t produce evidence that pot clubs could be blamed for anything other than increased tax revenues.

Determined to march on, the city council followed up with an eight-year plan to phase out the clubs. The council presented the plan as a courtesy, so business owners could recoup investments. Then, just six months later, the city issued cease-and-desist orders to nine of the town’s clubs, effectively shutting down these businesses seven years before the scheduled phase-out.

An elaborate dab setup like this can cost “over $800,” says Ambur Rose Racek, owner of the endangered cannabis lounge Studio A64, in Colorado Springs, Colo. “Most people can’t afford that on their own, but they can always use the rigs here.”

Ambur Rose Racek owns Studio A64, one of Colorado Springs’ clubs appealing the cease-and-desist. 

She says the city needs these clubs because tourists have no other place to legally consume cannabis.

Colorado Springs doesn’t allow cannabis use in public. Most hotels don’t allow cannabis, either. 

She adds that local newbies also rely on cannabis clubs. Here, they can learn the nuances of safe, responsible cannabis use, which can be incredibly complex to navigate alone.

“Dispensaries have a high volume [of customers]. They don’t have time to sit down and educate every person. That’s not their goal,” Racek says. “Their main goal is selling weed. We’re different. 

That’s not our main objective here.”

Racek believes the current city council won’t budge on cannabis. She says the city’s soft prohibition will only end with a new, educated council. Their seats are up for grabs in April 2017.

Colorado Springs city council passed a few other restrictions on cannabis over the last year. The ordinances include:

1. ·0 A moratorium on dispensary expansions, new licenses, and renovations. Cannabis businesses seeking license renewals are currently in a state of limbo.
2. ·1 A cap on home-grow plant counts to just 12 plants. This cap overrides patient plant counts assigned by doctors under Amendment 20, Colorado’s medical marijuana law.
3. ·2 A ban on all cannabis oil extractions in private residences. This is the same life-saving oil that kids with seizure disorders need to live normal lives.

Although the city council claims these restrictions tackle problems caused by recreational pot, the people most affected by these ordinances aren’t stereotypical stoners. They’re medical marijuana patients. Many of them can’t work because they’re disabled. Others are just kids. Others are dying.

That home-extraction oil ban may seem trivial given all the pot that’s available in Colorado, but cannabis oil isn’t sold at most dispensaries. Hell, most dispensaries won’t even make the stuff because it’s “cost prohibitive,” and those that do charge a heavy fee. Unfortunately, some patients need entire bottles of oil just to function on a day-to-day basis.

The oil ban and plant-count caps made Colorado Springs a lot less appealing to the cannabis refugees who settled there. As a result, many caregivers and patients have left Colorado Springs for more cannabis-friendly towns.

Ironically, one of those towns is Pueblo.

Medical marijuana amendment approved

By Michael Auslen

TALLAHASSEE

Patients suffering from debilitating illnesses will soon have access to medical marijuana in Florida after voters approved Amendment 2 Tuesday.

By 8:30 p.m. it was clear that Amendment 2 would pass with well above the required 60 percent threshold. The amendment inserts language into the Florida Constitution allowing those with cancer, HIV/AIDS, epilepsy and a host of other conditions to use marijuana if it is recommended by their doctor.

“Getting over 60 percent at this point means so much both symbolically and legally because we’re able to relinquish the name of criminals that has been forced on us,” said Moriah Barnhart of Brandon, whose daughter Dahlia uses cannabis as treatment for brain cancer after being diagnosed at age 2.

Just two years ago, a similar provision fell short. That makes this victory particularly sweet for John Morgan, the Orlando trial lawyer who bankrolled the marijuana campaign’s effort to secure a spot on the ballot this year.

Florida becomes the 26th state to legalize marijuana for either medical or recreational use. Arkansas and North Dakota voters are considering similar ballot issues this year as well.

In addition to the medical marijuana measure, Floridians approved two property tax-related amendments to the state Constitution. Amendment 3 creates a tax exemption for firefighters, law enforcement and correctional officers disabled after being injured in the line of duty. Amendment 5 allows cities and counties to extend a tax exemption for low-income seniors if the value of their home grows beyond the $250,000 cap already on the books.

Marijuana’s effects can vary from person to person, and scientists are not quite sure what to make of the common distinction users and growers make between cannabis sativa and cannabis indica.

Courtesy of The New York Times

 

Questions remain about how the medical marijuana amendment will be implemented.

The Florida Department of Health has until July 2017 to pass regulations under the new amendment. By October, the state must start registering growers, dispensaries and other facilities and start issuing identification cards for patients approved to use marijuana.

In recent weeks, polls suggested that Amendment 2 would likely pass with wide support. Still, a group of medical marijuana opponents funded by St. Petersburg developer and Republican fundraiser Mel Sembler and Las Vegas casino mogul Sheldon Adelson mounted an aggressive campaign against it.

The “No on 2” campaign argued that passing Amendment 2 would lead to thousands of unsafe pot shops cropping up in the state, the introduction of cannabis candy marketed for children and an unregulated drug industry. However, Amendment 2 allows the Legislature and the health department to closely regulate medical marijuana.

Others, including Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, raised objections that medical marijuana should not be legalized by constitutional amendment and instead should be left up the Legislature. Latvala, who had no re-election opponent, funded an anti-marijuana advertising campaign using his own campaign funds.

But patients and their families who have been waiting for access to cannabis say state lawmakers had their chance to act.

Barnhart said she doesn’t believe much has changed in the last two years — except that more people have heard stories of patients and their families.

“For people who don’t have experience with this, and who are voting entirely based on the information and stories they receive from us and patients and families throughout the state, we’re extremely grateful for that faith,” she said.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/election-results/article113444523.html#storylink=cpy

Marijuana Company Prepares to Cross State Lines, as Legally as Possible

Dixie Brands wants to navigate complex
laws in multiple states to sell its marijuana-infused
drinks and edibles beyond Colorado.

By JULIE WEEDNOV. 9, 2016

Almost all small-business owners dream of the day when they can expand nationally. This has proved to be a unique challenge for those in the marijuana industry because the products they create are illegal under federal law, and the checkerboard of states that permit marijuana sales have complex and constantly changing regulations.

Dixie Brands, a company in Denver that creates drinks and other products using marijuana, is aiming to navigate those hurdles and become one of the first companies in the industry to build a national presence. 

Voters on Tuesday brought that dream a little closer to reality. California, Massachusetts, Maine and Nevada approved adult-use (a new term for recreational use) marijuana. Florida, Arkansas, North Dakota and Montana voted to legalize or expand medical marijuana use. Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia now have some sort of allowed use.

The legal cannabis industry is dominated by small businesses operating in individual states, so these new laws could open significant prospects for entrepreneurs. And for the companies that can figure out how to operate in multiple states, the opportunity is tremendous.

GreenWave Advisors, a financial research and advisory firm based in New York, estimates that marijuana product sales in the United States will be $6.5 billion in 2016 and about $30 billion in 2021, if products derived from marijuana are legalized in all 50 states in some capacity.

Tripp Keber, left, and Chuck Smith, the founders of Dixie Brands, in their manufacturing center in Denver. The company has set up manufacturing centers in five states. Credit Ryan David Brown for The New York Times

Chuck Smith and Tripp Keber, who founded Dixie Brands seven years ago, have been taking steps to be at the forefront of the growing market.

The company makes Dixie Elixirs, bottled beverages infused with THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. It also makes THC-infused chocolates, drops and topical lotions. All are sold at licensed recreational pot shops and medical marijuana dispensaries. Low-dose “awakening” and “relaxing” mints containing five milligrams of THC (half a serving) are among the company’s top sellers. Most of the company’s revenue comes from Colorado.

Because of federal laws on controlled substances, one challenge to expansion is that products cannot cross state lines, so a pot brownie baked in Oregon, for example, cannot be sold in neighboring Washington, even though the product is legal in both places.

Add the complications of financing as well as unique packaging, distribution and marketing laws for each state, and establishing a national brand seems daunting and expensive. Some states require marijuana businesses to be owned by in-state residents, further impeding multistate expansion.

Also, because the industry is in its infancy, rules are changing constantly, including regulations governing packaging, food production and agriculture management. When Colorado recently required all marijuana food products to be stamped with a THC symbol, Dixie Brands had to create all new molds for its chocolates and discontinue their Dixie Roll product, which is similar to Tootsie Rolls, because it could not be stamped efficiently. The new rule requires a THC stamp on all packaging as well.

Processing at Dixie Brands in Denver, clockwise from top left: preparing marijuana buds; removing ethanol from oil infused with THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana; putting chocolate bars, infused with THC, into a plastic sleeve; and THC-infused chocolate. Credit Ryan David Brown

“These changes are costly for small businesses,” said Joe Hodas, chief marketing officer for the company.

In addition, because of federal laws, marijuana companies cannot open bank accounts, cannot use credit cards and cannot deduct business expenses from their federal taxes. Giant safes full of cash and pickups by armored cars are the norm.

Many companies in the marijuana industry had been started by product aficionados with little business experience. As legalization spreads, the industry is quickly drawing more business professionals, as evidenced by Mr. Smith and Mr. Keber, who began their endeavor with experience in corporate finance, marketing and management.

When recreational marijuana joined medical marijuana as a legal market in Colorado in 2014, they were poised to expand Dixie Brands by adding to their line of products. Since that time, the number of employees has expanded from 20 to 100 and sales have increased about sixfold.

Expanding beyond Colorado, however, has taken creativity. Two years ago, in their first move outside of the state, the pair found a licensing partner to produce Dixie products in California. After a year, the founders decided to take a more hands-on approach.

Placing regulation stickers on packaging at Dixie Brands in Denver. The industry rules are changing constantly, including regulations on packaging, food production and agriculture management. Credit Ryan David Brown for The New York Times

“Our partner wanted to manufacture other companies’ products as well as ours, and we wanted more focus on absolute quality and consistency,” Mr. Smith said. “To have total legal, financial and operational control, we decided we would need to control the manufacturing and distribution facilities in any state we expanded to.”

To make this happen, Mr. Smith had to find a way to work within regulations that require owners of marijuana businesses to be residents of the state. He decided that Dixie Brands would own and run anything that did not “touch the plant” and therefore was not subject to local ownership regulations. A local partner would grow and process the marijuana, but only for Dixie Brands, and only under the company’s strict instructions.

Consistent product quality is critical, Mr. Smith said. “Coca-Cola in Denver and Seattle taste exactly the same, and we want Dixie Elixirs and our other products to have that reputation.”

Each new manufacturing site will cost about $2 million, according to Mr. Smith. The Dixie holding company will own and control a building that they will rent to the partner as well as the equipment that will be leased to them. All of the noncannabis raw materials and packaging, and the accounting, marketing and legal services, will be provided by Dixie Brands.

The state-based partner will own the marijuana itself and employ the personnel who work with the marijuana in any form: plants, concentrates, finished products and the like. This will allow Dixie to control the business while maintaining a clear separation from the federally illegal aspect of it. That separation also protects their investors and gives the company flexibility to react to changing state and federal regulations.

Jacob Silverstein is the manager of Silver State Wellness, Dixie Brands’ manufacturing and distribution partner at a production center in Las Vegas. Credit Brad Swonetz for The New York Times

To finance the expansion, Mr. Smith says he has tapped a handful of investors from among the 30 who have funded his efforts over the last seven years. Those sources helped to open manufacturing facilities in Arizona and Nevada last month, and one is scheduled to open early next year in Washington State.

For efficiency as it enters new locations, Dixie Brands follows the most stringent state’s laws in each area of its operations. For example, Colorado has the strictest packaging requirements encompassing child-safety measures, clear dosing and single-serving packaging. The state also bans cartoon or other child-friendly images, and has many other regulations.

Dixie Brands uses those packaging rules for the products they make in every state. “If it is safe enough for Colorado, it will work for the other states,” Mr. Smith said.

The company also uses the cleaner carbon dioxide extraction method to strip the oils from the plants instead of butane, even though it is not required everywhere.

Colorado also requires multiple rounds of product testing in the manufacturing process, including testing of the raw plants, the extracted oil, batches of products and individual packages. Dixie Brands uses these guidelines everywhere it operates.

“We want to have the highest level of precise consistency and quality control, so we follow Colorado’s rules, even in states that are less strict,” Mr. Smith said.

Very few brands have made it to multiple states in the fragmented legal marijuana industry, so Dixie Brands is being watched closely. “We were pioneers to begin with seven years ago,” Mr. Smith said, “and I think we are well positioned to take this leap.”

 

Correction: November 9, 2016
An earlier version of a picture caption accompanying this article had transposed the names of the founders of Dixie Brands. Tripp Keber is on the left, and Chuck Smith is on the right, not vice versa.

Several states approve legal, medical marijuana use

By Claire Ricke

Budtender Trevor Hollis holds a pair of marijuana buds for a customer at the Denver Kush Club. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

U.S. (KXAN/AP) — Along with the selection of a new president, many states passed amendments during Tuesday’s election to allow medicinal and legalized marijuana use in their states.

The passing of medical marijuana means it can be grown and dispensed at licensed facilities approved by the state.

Arkansas: Medical marijuana

• Yes: 53 percent
• No: 47 percent

Florida: Medical marijuana

• Yes: 71 percent 
• No: 29 percent

Montana: Medical marijuana

• Yes: 57 percent
• No: 43 percent

North Dakota: Medical marijuana

• Yes: 64 percent
• No: 36 percent

Many states went beyond passing medical marijuana and will now allow adults to legally use marijuana for personal reasons. This will mean the plant will be taxed and placed into a regulation system in those states.
California: Legalized marijuana

• Yes: 56 percent
• No: 44 percent

Massachusetts: Legalized marijuana

• Yes: 54 percent
• No: 46 percent

Nevada: Legalized marijuana

• Yes: 54 percent
• No: 46 percent

3 More States Legalize Recreational Use of Marijuana: How the Map Looks Now

By Sara G. Miller, 

Voters in California, Massachusetts and Nevada decided yesterday (Nov. 8) to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in their states.


These three states joined Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and the District of Columbia, which had already legalized the drug for recreational use in previous votes.

In addition, four states voted yesterday to legalize using marijuana for medical reasons: Arkansas, Florida, Montana and North Dakota, Time magazine reported.

That means that medical marijuana is now legal in 28 states, and an additional 16 states have laws that allow for limited medical use of the drug, according to Time. In most cases, these limited-medical-use laws mean that only a specific type of cannabis extract can be used.

This extract contains concentrated cannabidiol but is low in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive compound of marijuana, according to the marijuana advocacy organization National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. [Marijuana Legalization in the US (Map)]


In California, Massachusetts and Nevada, the new laws limit marijuana use and possession to adults ages 21 and up. Residents of those states will legally be allowed to grow up to six marijuana plants, although in Nevada, cultivation will be allowed only for people who live more than 25 miles from a retail marijuana store.


In California and Nevada, employers will have the right to enforce rules about how their employees use marijuana. In Massachusetts, the ballot measure states that employers will be permitted "to prohibit the consumption of marijuana by employees in the workplace."

Marijuana use in public places, however, is still illegal in all states that have legalized recreational marijuana use.

A Gallup poll from October found that 60 percent of Americans now say marijuana should be legal.

Marijuana Legalization Wins in Maine

Noelle Skodzinski

Maine voters voiced their support for marijuana legalization by passing Ballot Question 1 -- a citizen initiative that legalizes adult use of marijuana and establishes a framework for regulating marijuana like alcohol in the state – according to the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. (However, as of 6:06 a.m. Wednesday, the Associated Press said the results were too close to call. The official 2016 state election results could not be found on the Department of the Secretary of State Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions.)


“Maine made history today by ending the failed policy of marijuana prohibition. Voters approved Question 1 because it represents a new, more sensible approach to marijuana policy,” said David Boyer, campaign manager for the Yes on 1 campaign and Maine political director for the Marijuana Policy Project, in a statement. “It will take marijuana production and sales out of the underground market. It will generate significant new tax revenue for our community. And it will allow law enforcement to spend more time addressing serious crimes,” Boyer continued.

“For the past few years, we have highlighted the fact that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol and questioned the logic of laws that steer adults toward the more dangerous substance. Once Question 1 goes into effect, adults in Maine will no longer be punished for making the rational, safer choice to use marijuana instead of alcohol, if that is what they prefer,” he said. “Our state’s laws are finally going to be based on the facts, rather than on the fear mongering and propaganda that produced marijuana prohibition.”

"The impact of Maine's decision won’t be limited to its own borders,” said Tom Angell, Chairman, Marijuana Majority, in a statement. "Lawmakers elsewhere in New England and other parts of the country are ready to move ahead, and now they have a reason to move a lot more quickly.

Maine voters just gave their state a leg up on reaping the job creation and tax revenue benefits of an emerging new industry that will soon spread throughout the region."

Question 1, regarding what is titled “Marijuana Legalization Act,” legalizes possession of a limited amount of marijuana by adults age 21 and older, and allows for adults to grow a limited number of marijuana plants in their homes for personal use. It also calls for establishing a regulated system of licensed marijuana retail, cultivation, processing and testing businesses under a tightly controlled set of rules.

Under the Marijuana Legalization Act, a 10-percent tax will be imposed on adult use sales. Medical marijuana sales, which have been legal in Maine since 1999 via state licensed dispensaries, will not incur the sales tax. Social clubs will be permitted (with a license from the state licensing authority).

While the state licensing authority -- the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) -- may not limit the total number of retail marijuana stores in the state, “municipalities may regulate the number of retail marijuana stores and the location and operation of retail marijuana establishments and retail marijuana social clubs and may prohibit the operation of retail marijuana establishments and retail marijuana social clubs within its jurisdiction,” according to the Act’s full text.

Under the new law, retail marijuana cultivation facilities are limited to 800,000 square feet of plant canopy, unless the DACF determines that a greater amount may be needed to meet demand.

Two types of cultivation licenses will be available: those with 3,000 square feet or less of plant canopy and those with more than 3,000 square feet of plant canopy. As the Act’s text explains, “The state licensing authority shall license marijuana cultivation at retail marijuana cultivation facilities by unit blocks of 10 feet by 10 feet, or 100 square feet, of plant canopy, with 40% of all licenses issued going to licensees of 30 unit blocks or less.”

Cultivators will need to plan for ramping up to more than 50 percent capacity of their unit blocks by the end of the first year of operation; if a licensed cultivation facility is using 50 percent or less of its authorized unit blocks at that time, the DACF may reduce the number of unit blocks the facility is authorized to use.

Cultivators will be eligible to apply for retail licenses if the retail store will be located on the premises of the licensed cultivation facility.

The DACF will be tasked with developing regulations and implementing an independent testing and certification program. “Testing must include, but is not limited to, analysis for residual solvents, poisons and toxins; harmful chemicals; dangerous molds and mildew; harmful microbes, such as Escherichia coli and salmonella; and pesticides,” the Act’s text states. Testing must also verify THC (the principal psychoactive compound in marijuana) potency.

The initiative is projected to generate potential market sales of $196.3 million, according to New Frontier Data and Arcview Market Research.