New Attorney General nominee raises concerns ... They’re coming for your guns, pot smokers ... Global leaders call for total decriminalization ... A possible solution to the cannabis banking problem ... and more.
LEGISLATION
Attorney General nominee unsettling to legalization movement // McClatchy News Service
“At a Senate hearing in April, [Alabama Senator Jeff] Sessions called marijuana ‘dangerous’ and said that ‘good people don’t smoke marijuana.’”
Colorado offers some tips to California’s newly legal pot industry // LA Weekly
“California has until January 2018 until formal regulations go into effect, giving the Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation, currently being created by the Department of Consumer Affairs, more than a year to figure out how the industry will transition from medical marijuana to recreational pot. For insights into the recreational marijuana landscape, California's industry insiders can look to other Western states that have already legalized weed, such as Washington and Oregon.”
They're coming for your guns — if you're a pot smoker // The Cannabist
Thinking of buying a gun? Then you should heed this updated warning from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms.
Previously the ATF declaration asked gun buyers if they were "’an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance?’ Since gun sellers are relying on their customers to tell the truth — and because lying on a U.S. government form is equated to committing a federal felony crime — the ATF added a more explicit warning to the newly revised form, which goes into circulation on Jan. 16, 2017:
“’Warning: The use or possession of marijuana remains unlawful under Federal law regardless of whether it has been legalized or decriminalized for medicinal or recreational purposes in the state where you reside.’”
COPS & COURTS
High level commission calls for total drug decriminalization // StoptheDrugWar.org
“In a report released Monday, global leaders denounced harsh responses to drug use, such as the mass killing of drug users in the Philippines under President Rodrigo Duterte, and called for worldwide drug decriminalization.”
Outdoor grows banned in Healdsburg // Press Democrat
“The justification is that marijuana cultivation can create offensive odors and lead to criminal activity, and that cities need time to study the impacts of legalization.
“Healdsburg still allows medical marijuana patients to grow up to three plants outdoors."
BUSINESS
Cannabis companies still fear arrests // NYT
“Thousands of cannabis companies in California are now weighing whether they should register with local governments, pay local taxes and be regulated like all other businesses, or continue to operate in the gray market.” The concerns are about how federal regulators will oversee the industry.
L.A. firm offers possible solution to the federal banking problem // The Leaf Online
The list of legal marijuana states is growing, but banks still can’t do business with firms selling it, due to federal concerns. ”’PayQwick has solved the banking problem for the legal and medical marijuana business in Washington and Oregon, so its well tested and ready for the California market,” says the head of the company.
Cannabis cultivation OK in Sacramento // CBSlocal.Sacramento
“To shape a legal industry in Sacramento, the council voted to require cultivation businesses to have a community outreach, security, and odor control plan. Permit applicants will need background checks as well.”
Dispensaries discover Black Friday // The Cannifornian
Holiday shopping got you stressed? Some Bay Area dispensaries are offering specials.
“4/20 is the biggest holiday for cannabis aficionados. But with more states legalizing pot, industry observers predict Black Friday will also become a pot shopping bonanza.”
HEALTH
“No tax” medical cannabis lowers prices, for now // OC Register
“The Board of Equalization recently sent notice that anyone who has both a doctor’s recommendation for marijuana and a county-issued ID card identifying them as a patient no longer has to pay state sales tax thanks to Proposition 64.”
OPINION
Attorney General nominee should follow Trump’s lead on marijuana // East Bay Times
President-elect Donald Trump says marijuana legalization should be “a state issue.” Jeff Sessions, his nominee for Attorney General, says “We need grown-ups in charge in Washington saying marijuana is not the kind of thing that ought to be legalized, it ought to be minimized, that it is in fact a very real danger.” Who will win out on this issue?
[New content is generally posted on Friday.]
