Uruguay ready to legalize… CBDs could benefit stroke victims… Take part in online poll… Sonoma Emerald Cup this weekend… and more.
LEGALIZATION
AP // Uruguay is set to become the first nation on earth tolegalize marijuana after Congressional approval of a bill Tuesday. The bill awaits the President’s signature.
NPR // A member of a Washington human rights group discussed the Uruguayan situation on “Morning Edition” yesterday. Tourists will not be welcome.
MMJ Business Daily // Is next November the best time for The Control, Regulate & Tax Marijuana Act to be on the California ballot? Even the organizers seem unsure, despite a new Field Poll showing a 56 percent approval rating.
REGULATION
Cal NORML // Alameda County and the City of Los Angeles are considering rules next week to restrict electronic smoking devices (e-cigs, vaporizers), despite research showing them to be safer than traditional smoking. Find details here.
Seattle Times // Banks are worried about doing business with cannabis dispensaries and related businesses because of the federal illegality of their operations. A meeting yesterday with the Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group in Washington, DC was expected to address this concern. The group’s deliberations are confidential, so there’s no public record of the proceedings.
COPS & COURTS
Contra Costa Times // Dhar Mann, who once called himself a “ganjapreneur,” entered five “no-contest” pleas to felony charges of defrauding the Oakland Redevelopment Agency.
SF Gate // It was nearly a year ago that the name “Mr. Teeth” came into the news. This relative of the crocodile was said to guard 34 pounds of pot in Castro Valley. Assif Mayer, Mr. Teeth’s owner, was sentenced to four months in jail, and four years probation Wednesday. No explanation was given for how the reptile was capable of guarding anything, since it was malnourished and stayed in an aquarium-style tank.
HEALTH
SF Gate // Score another health benefit for cannabinoids(CBDs): they appear to help in restoring brain function after a stroke. CBDs are non-psychoactive components of cannabis.
ASA // Cannabis is reclassified as a botanical medicine by the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia. Preview the first part of their two-part cannabis monograph here.
SF Gate // Take part in this Global Drug Survey, which is expected to be widely quoted when the results are released in the spring. Over 70,000 people participated this year.
DISPENSARIES
Denver Post // Dispensaries say they’re having a tough time finding the right child-resistant packaging that will be required on all recreational cannabis products sold in Colorado, starting January 1.
SF Gate // Legalization advocates are working to get cannabis taken seriously. That task might be easier if the strains offered by dispensaries didn’t go by such outrageous names.
EVENT
Emerald Cup // There’s quite a line-up of speakers planned for this weekend’s tenth annual Emerald Cup, at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. Pioneering pot proponent Dennis Peron plans to get married at the event. He’s also getting a lifetime achievement award. (See item here; scroll down below the online ad.)
IN OTHER NEWS
KALW/Crosscurrents // It’s harvest time in the Emerald Triangle, and “Crosscurrents” takes you on a tour of the process.
KALW // ‘Tis the season for giving, as we all know, so if you wish, please remember the non-commercial radio station that makes the Cannabis News Roundup possible. Here’s the link.
And just so it’s clear, none of the money will go to me, but I’d appreciate you mentioning the CNR in the comments section of your contribution.
# # #