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LEGISLATION & REGULATION
State regulatory agency has new name // bcc.ca.gov
The Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation is no more. It is now named the Bureau of Cannabis Control.
“The Bureau’s website, http://www.bcc.ca.gov/, has been overhauled to provide the public with new resources and updated information regarding upcoming regulations and licensing applications. In addition, California’s cannabis web portal, cannabis.ca.gov, has been updated with new information and resources from the state’s three main licensing agencies for commercial cannabis. The portal’s home page now features a countdown timer to symbolize the official moment of when temporary commercial licenses will be issued.”
No recreational sales in San Francisco in January // SF Chronicle
“The city won’t issue permits to sell recreational marijuana until it passes new laws to regulate the industry and creates an equity program to help low-income entrepreneurs, people of color, and former drug offenders break into the market.”
Similar decisions are taking place throughout the state. [See next story.]
Wine Country town bans cannabis // Press Democrat
No dispensaries, no cannabis businesses and no outdoor cultivation; that’s what the Windsor Town Council decided last week. The unanimous decision is partly to preserve warehouse space from being monopolized by the soon-to-be legal industry, a situation now happening in Santa Rosa.
Garberville takes on legal grow site water issues // kymkemp.com
“We have been working on an Ordinance which will address the higher water demand, while developing a process to educate the public, prepare for drought conditions and ensure responsible stewardship of the water we divert, treat and provide our customers.”
Locations to smoke limited in LA // LA Times
“Can’t smoke it outside. Can’t smoke it in a hotel. Can’t smoke it in a rental car. Where are these people supposed to use their cannabis?”
“Now is the time” for cannabis industry to get political // MJbizDaily
“’I’ll tell you, there are a lot of folks up there that are ready to support you,’ [Congress member Lou] Correa said of Congress. But, he added, more outreach and education is sorely needed from the MJ industry.”
Free samples could be OK next year at county fairs // Willits News
One of the cannabis rules that goes into effect next year “allows the new state marijuana regulatory bureau to issue temporary event licenses at county fairs where adults (age 21 and older) can sample cannabis and cannabis products, including edibles, concentrates and topical lotions.” Smoking pot, however, would be legal only where tobacco is allowed.
COPS & COURTS
DEA head resigns // NBC News
“A spokesperson for the DEA confirmed [Chuck] Rosenberg's resignation [as acting head of the Drug Enforcement Administration] but wouldn't comment on a report in The New York Times, which quoted law enforcement officials as saying Rosenberg had become convinced that Trump "had little respect for the law."
BUSINESS
California to issue temporary business licenses // MJbizdaily
“Although temporary license applications likely won’t be available until December ... the provisional permits will be a stopgap for companies that are already in the industry and want to continue operating without interruption while going through the process to obtain a full state license.”
Cannabis: major US job creator // Leafly.com
“Last year we found that 122,814 jobs relied on the legal status of cannabis in America.
“This year, we found that legal cannabis supports 149,304 Americans. That’s an increase of 22% in one year. In 12 months, the legal cannabis industry has added 26,490 jobs to the nation’s workforce.”
HEALTH
“Let’s talk cannabis” fact sheet from Public Health Dept. // cdph.ca.gov
Maybe you won’t be able to buy or sell marijuana right after the first of the year, but if you can find it, you can still use it. A lot of first timers are likely to get into trouble, so the California Dept. of Public Health has added this useful fact sheet to their website to help prevent that. Just scroll the moving banners.
Most California clones contaminated // New Cannabis Adventures
“California, which has not had a regulated market despite more than two decades of legal medical cannabis sales, suffers from widespread pesticide contamination, according to a study published today by Steep Hill, a leading global cannabis science and technology company with extensive expertise in lab testing.”
IN OTHER NEWS ....
Inside the Brownie Mary Democratic (cannabis) Club // SF Weekly
[T]he focus of the club is to work on cannabis policy within the Democratic Party, with a special focus on patients’ rights, education, and activism — and ensuring the Democratic Party gets its policies right.” And there’s no smoking during meetings.
[New content is posted on Fridays.]
