SACRAMENTO August 1, 2018 – California State Treasurer John Chiang today announced the selection of San Diego-based Level 4 Ventures to determine the feasibility of establishing a public cannabis bank. The need for a public cannabis bank has stirred intense interest and debate among financial experts, public officials, and the cannabis industry, as well as […]
The M Files
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Cannabis tax measure before the Nevada County BOS on Tuesday for the November ballot
NEVADA CITY, Calif. July 5, 2018 – On Tuesday, July 10 at 10:30 am, the Nevada County Board of Supervisors will vote on a proposed ordinance/ballot measure to establish a cannabis business tax on all commercial cannabis activity in the unincorporated areas of Nevada County. The tax measure’s initial 2.5% rate on gross receipts on cultivation […]
Posted inCalifornia, The M Files
Cannabis Tax Revenues Total $60.9 Million in First Quarter
Sacramento May 11, 2018 – The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) today released revenue numbers for cannabis sales in the first quarter of 2018. Tax revenue from the cannabis industry totaled $60.9 million since January 1, 2018, which includes state cultivation, excise and sales taxes. It does not include local tax revenue […]
Posted inCalifornia, The M Files
Sen. Harris Cosponsors Landmark Bill to End Federal Prohibition of Marijuana
WASHINGTON, D.C. May 10, 2018 – U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) today became the fourth U.S. senator to cosponsor Senator Cory Booker’s (D-NJ) landmark bill to end the federal prohibition on marijuana. The Marijuana Justice Act would remove marijuana from the list of controlled substances, making it legal at the federal level. Harris announced her […]
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Survey: Medical marijuana could reduce opioid use in older adults
May 1, 2018 – A questionnaire of older men and women suffering from chronic pain who were given medical marijuana found that the drug significantly reduced pain and their need for opioid painkillers, Northwell Health researchers report. The results of the study, “Older Adults’ Use of Medical Marijuana for Chronic Pain: A Multisite Community-Based Survey,” […]
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Commentary: Is CEQA sine qua non for changes to cannabis cultivation ordinance in Nevada County?
NEVADA CITY, Calif. April 30, 2018 – The Nevada County Board of Supervisors (BOS) will hold another special meeting tomorrow, May 1st, to discuss changes to the Cannabis Cultivation Ordinance. CEQA, the California Environmental Quality Act, looms large in the discussion. But, is a full Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and CEQA analysis necessary to make […]
Posted inRegional, The M Files
Nevada County Draft Cannabis Cultivation ordinance released
Nevada City, Calif. April 26, 2018 – The agenda for a special Board of Supervisors meeting on May 1st has been released. Only one item on the agenda: Review of draft ordinance and related issues regarding long-term cannabis cultivation regulations, and direction to staff. The supporting documents, available here, explain the draft ordinance included in […]
Posted inThe M Files, US
Schumer Announces Support For Decriminalizing Marijuana At Federal Level
April 20, 2018 – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today announced his support – for the first time – for decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level, as well as plans to introduce new legislation in the United States Senate to do so. Specifically, Leader Schumer’s legislation would remove marijuana from the list of scheduled […]
Posted inRegional, The M Files
Nevada County Cannabis Ordinance Meeting and Environmental Review Process
April 13, 2018 – The Board of Supervisors will hold a special meeting on Tuesday, May 1st to review and discuss a draft ordinance, and to hear public comment on the direction the Board provided in past meetings on the future of cannabis regulations in unincorporated Nevada County. The direction provided by the Board at […]
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Op-ed | Jonathan Collier: Let’s Get Down to Business
March 25, 2018 – Imagine if Nevada County announced that over the next three years it would be creating 600-1,000 new businesses, employing thousands of people and generating taxes to help solve some of our county’s most pressing issues? It would be extraordinary as these businesses draw in ancillary help from consultants and accountants, attorneys […]
Posted inCalifornia, The M Files
New Federal Spending Bill Maintains Protections For Medical Marijuana
Washington, DC, March 22, 2018 – In a blow to Attorney General Jeff Sessions anti-marijuana agenda, Congressional leadership included in the omnibus spending package language that was introduced by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) to prohibit the Department of Justice and its affiliated agencies from prosecuting state-lawful and compliant medical marijuana systems, businesses, and patients. “We […]
Posted inRegional, The M Files
Special Nevada County BOS meeting on proposed cannabis cultivation ordinance on March 6
NEVADA CITY, Calif. March 1, 2018 – The Nevada County Board of Supervisors will meet in a Special Meeting on March 6 at 9:00 am to hear more public input on the proposed permanent cannabis cultivation ordinance. The discussion is the sole item on the agenda: Additional discussion on Nevada County’s long-term cannabis cultivation decision […]
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Cannabis Conversation: Cannabis Taxation for Nevada County
February 26, 2018 – Last week the Board of Supervisors adopted their 2018 Board Objectives which included an objective to “Continue to develop long term County cannabis regulations and explore a cannabis revenue measure for the November Ballot.” In addition, the Board provided initial direction to County Counsel to begin drafting a revised cannabis ordinance, which […]
Posted inCalifornia, The M Files
First surety bond program for cannabis industry approved by,insurance commissioner
SACRAMENTO, Calif. Feb. 22, 2018 – Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones announced he has approved the first surety bond program for the cannabis industry in the State of California. Continental Heritage Insurance Company is the first insurer in the state to be approved to offer surety bonds for the cannabis industry. “Cannabis businesses should have insurance […]
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Study debunks claim that medical marijuana laws increase recreational pot use for US teens
Feb. 22, 2018 – Legalizing medical marijuana has not increased recreational use of the substance among U.S. adolescents, according to a new study conducted at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. The findings are published online in the journal Addiction. “For now, there appears to be no basis for the argument that legalizing medical […]
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Cannabis Conversation: Board to Discuss New Cannabis Ordinance
February 9, 2018 – At Tuesday’s February 13th Board of Supervisor’s meeting, the Board is scheduled to discuss cannabis policy areas for the County’s long-term cannabis ordinance. This will be the Board’s first cannabis discussion since the January 9th joint Board/Community Advisory Group (CAG) meeting where the CAG recommendations were presented and the CAG process […]
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Op-Ed | Don Bessee: Why should the neighborhoods suffer revisited?
February 8, 2018 – We have been having a long conversation about commercial marijuana’s impacts on communities and neighborhoods. During the prop 64 lead up and campaign there were some very interesting conversations and warnings. I set up a press conference in late oct. 2016 in the heart of the financial district in SF where […]
Posted inCalifornia, The M Files
California Growers Association Files Lawsuit to Close Loophole in Cultivation Regulations
Sacramento January 23, 2018 – Today the California Growers Association, a California Non-Profit Mutual Benefit Corporation and the largest cannabis trade association in the state, filed a lawsuit challenging the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s decision to allow unlimited stacking of cultivation licenses. Proposition 64 was clear that it “ensures the nonmedical marijuana industry […]
Posted inThe M Files, US
Re-criminalizing cannabis is worse than 1930s ‘reefer madness’
Miriam Boeri, Bentley University This article has been updated to clarify that ‘Reefer Madness’ is a film, not a documentary. January 18, 2018 – In the 1930s, parents across the U.S. were panicked. A new film, “Reefer Madness,” suggested that evil marijuana dealers lurked in public schools, waiting to entice their children into a life […]
Posted inCalifornia, The M Files
AG Becerra Urges Congress to Incorporate $6.7 Billion Cannabis Industry into Banking System
SACRAMENTO, Jan. 16, 2018 – Attorney General Xavier Becerra today joined a bipartisan group of 18 state attorneys general in urging Congress to advance legislation that will enable the cannabis industry to participate in the banking system in states that have legalized medicinal or adult use of cannabis. The recent decision by the Trump Department of Justice to rescind prior federal guidance rolled […]