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Cannabis News Roundup: Senate ignores Attorney General's request

By Pixabay user StayRegular. Licensed under Creative Commons CC0/cropped.
Untitled

Senate committee ignores Attorney General ... Sunset district dispensary to see court date ... “Mother’s little helper” for the 21st century ... Watch Jay Leno drive a hemp car ... and more. 

[Click the blue hyperlink headline to read the full story.]

LEGISLATION & REGULATION

U.S. Senate committee ignores Attorney General, approves medical marijuana // Leafly.com

“The amendment, led by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), passed in a voice vote with strong Republican support.”

West Berkeley inches towards grow site approvals // Berkeleyside

“The Berkeley City Council has finally set criteria for the medical cannabis grow houses voters approved.

Contentious San Francisco dispensary to be challenged in court // KRON/4

“The Pacific Justice Institute ... said it will appeal the [San Francisco] commission’s 5-1 decision of July 13 to approve a conditional use authorization for the new dispensary at 2505 Noriega St. on behalf of a church and preschool located nearby.”

Beach town says no to recreational marijuana // L.A. Times

“ The Huntington Beach [CA] Planning Commission approved a zoning amendment Tuesday night that would prohibit the sale or distribution of non-medical marijuana by businesses in the city.”

[Editor’s note: And if you can’t smoke on the beach, how about vaping on your board? No can do, brah. See the next story.]

COPS & COURTS

Toke at home, but not on your boat // Leafly.com

Thinking of a mellow afternoon on a pleasure boat? That’s fine, so long as you leave your marijuana at home. Open waters are under federal control, where the plant is still highly illegal.

Group sues Attorney General and the DEA // New York Post

“Former Jets defensive end Marvin Washington is one of five plaintiffs in a ... federal lawsuit against [Attorney General Jeff] Sessions, the DOJ and the Drug Enforcement Agency.

“The suit challenges the constitutionality of the 1970 Controlled Substance Act that classifies marijuana as a dangerous substance, in the same category as heroin or LSD.”

BUSINESS

Mill Valley moms redefine “mother’s little helper” // Green State

“Kikoko is one of the latest contenders in a rapidly expanding marketplace of sleekly branded, explicitly dosed, sustainably sourced products aimed expressly at women. Here in Marin, some mothers with young children are becoming regular users — and on some nights, replacing their nightly cocktail with a cup of tea.”

SPARC converts turkey ranch to cannabis // Sonoma News

The  San Francisco Patient and Resource Center (SPARC) made the move after their former grow site “was zoned out of legal production by recent changes in Sonoma County regulations. That was in a rural residential area, which the Board of Supervisors decided wasn’t suitable for cannabis cultivation, after many RR residents complained about the smell, fears of home invasion and other concerns.”

“Their advisor is Mike Benziger, founder and former owner of the winery that bears his name, long acknowledged as a pioneer in biodynamic farming in the wine industry. ‘I have seen it work in the wine business,’ said Benziger. ‘To have Erich embrace this type of farming with his cannabis could create a whole new prototype for how that crop is farmed in America.’” [See related item under “Event” heading below.]

California needs to scale back pot production // L.A. Times

““We are producing too much,’ [Hezekiah] Allen said, adding state-licensed growers ‘are going to have to scale back. We are on a painful downsizing curve’.” And they can’t ship it to Nevada, where there’s a potential shortage.

Allen is executive director of the California Growers’ Assn.

EVENT

Wine & Weed symposium in Santa Rosa // Wine & Weed

The legalization of cannabis in California will undoubtedly have an impact on the wine industry, but in what ways?

“This one day conference [on August 3] will explore, in depth, what the California wine industry can expect the impact to be over the next year and what opportunities, as well as threats, will exist.” [This event is sold out, but worth noting here.]

Hempcon at the Cow Palace next weekend // Hemp.com

Click on the headline for all the details for this even in Daly City August 4 – 6.

Attendees surprise organizers of cannabis competition // The Tribune

San Luis Obispo (SLO) is a central California college town, so organizers of the first SLO Cup were surprised when “those who have expressed the most excitement and intrigue are older people, ‘who want to treat their medical ailments.’”

IN OTHER NEWS....

Veteran pot farmer, recalls the good old paranoid days // L.A. Times

Tim Blake “is a longtime cannabis grower and [founder of the Emerald Cup]. His Healing Harvest farm produces top-quality product, and he owns Area 101, an iconic dispensary and gathering spot just off Highway 101 near tiny Laytonville, about three hours north of San Francisco.”

Watch Jay Leno drive a hemp sports car // NBC

“It was ‘carbon neutral’ to produce and made from woven cannabis hemp.”

[New content is posted on Fridays.]

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