UCLA Prof to oversee Washington State cannabis...If cannabis is medicine, why should the CA-ABC control it?...Forbes highlights cannabis angel investors...Another ton of pot found on CA beach … and more!
(MMJ-Business Daily) // The Washington State Liquor Control Board announced Tuesday that Botec Analysis will oversee the specifics of the state’s recreational cannabis program. While Botec is located in Massachusetts, there’s a California connection; Mark Kleiman, head of the firm, is a professor at UCLA.
(MMJ-Business Daily) // Meanwhile, Massachusetts plans to release proposed rules for covering that state’s medical marijuana industry next week. It’s not likely that a Washington State company will get that contract.
(SFGate) // And here in California, State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano has introduced AB 473, which would fold cannabis regulation into the already-existing Alcoholic Beverage Control Department. He tried a statewide regulatory bill last year, without success. But if cannabis is medicine, say critics, why would it be under the control of the department regulating alcohol?
(CA-NORML) // And in the Senate, the California chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws is fighting SB289. If approved, drivers with “any detectable amount” of illegal drugs in their systems would be breaking the law, even without evidence of impairment. THC levels in the bloodstream do not accurately measure cannabis impairment, according to the National Highway Safety Administration, because trace amounts can linger. A similar bill last year failed to win passage.
(Willits News) // The US Attorney’s request for records from Mendocino County’s medical marijuana records was scheduled for hearing Tuesday, but it has been removed from the court docket. A compromise may be brokered, but neither side is confirming anything just now.
(MMJ-Business Daily) // Sales of medical cannabis in 2013 could grow 10-15 percent over last year, according to this article, which estimates (legal) sales to potentially reach $1.5 billion.
(CNNMoney) // Those numbers are attracting attention from angel investors, such as The ArcView Group, which is profiled in an article titled “Yes we cannabis” in the current issue of Forbes Magazine.
>>It’s a controlled substance. So keep it under control.
(SFGate) // A ton of pot was discovered stashed on a beach near Santa Barbara last Sunday. This is not to be confused with the million dollar boatload of pot that we mentioned last week that was found on a southern California beach within Vanderberg Air Force Base.
(Smell the Truth) // Officers found marijuana in the car of a member of the New York State Assembly last week when he was stopped for speeding. Assemblyman Steve Katz, who voted against a medical cannabis bill last year, isn’t talking, beyond calling this “an unfortunate incident.”
~~
(Commonwealth Club) // Should Marijuana Be Legalized? That’s the topic for a debate sponsored by the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco at noon on Wednesday, April 3.
Rose Aguilar, host of “Your Call,” KALW’s public affairs program, will try to keep things civil and instructive as Clint Werner, author of “Marijuana Gateway to Health: How Cannabis Protects Us from Cancer and Alzheimer’s Disease” trades debate points with Kevin Sabet, former senior advisor to President Obama's advisor on drugs, and co-founder of Project SAM, with Patrick Kennedy.
#