May 2016| News Nuggets

Bay Area

San Jose City Council Discusses Medical Cannabis Delivery Services

With only 16 medical cannabis collectives running legally in the city of San Jose, some patients need an alternative to access medicine that is more convenient than traveling long distances to a collective. Councilman Ash Karla recently addressed this issue in a memo asking city leaders to consider allowing the 16 collectives to offer delivery services. On April 13, the council reviewed this idea along with Measure C, which calls for the city to allow more medical cannabis collectives, according to The Mercury News. During this meeting a couple of council members shared how they have heard little complaints from local about delivery services. “I haven’t seen one raising a concern or even an instance where that has affected a resident in some form or another,” said Councilman Donald Rocha. Although the council has addressed Karla’s idea, the council is expected to vote on the matter at the end of the year.

CA’s First Canna-Business Owner Overturns 19-Year-Old Conviction

Lynnette Shaw, one of California’s first cannabis business owners celebrated a great victory on April 13 when she successfully overturned a 19-year-old injunction banning her from the cannabis trade for life. According to East Bay Express, Shaw was able to overturn the ruling by arguing that Congressional Law forbids the Department of Justice (DOJ) from spending any money interfering with the operation of legally permitted cannabis operations. In March, the DOJ tried to appeal Shaw’s case but realized that they would not succeed and was approved by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to dismiss the case in April. “This to me, I believe, is the end of the medical marijuana war,” Shaw said. Shaw is now legally permitted to run a collective or any other medical cannabis business in the state of California.

Colorado

Outdoor Grow Site Approved for Operation in Aspen

Pitkin County commissioners voted in March to allow an already established indoor cannabis grow to take its cultivation outdoors. This is part of a one-year agreement between the growers, cannabis dispensary called Stash, and commissioners that will allow Stash to grow as many as 250 outdoor cannabis plants starting this summer, according to The Aspen Times. Garette and Shawna Patrick are the owners of stash and have been legally cultivating cannabis indoors since 2011 without complaint. Conditions placed on the growers by county commissioners include installing a security camera that oversees the establishment’s driveway, building a fence around the grow site and allowing commissioners to shut down production immediately if complaints arise from surrounding residents. To keep the facility safe Shawna Patrick stated that an outdoor grow site needs to be as guarded as an indoor facility and will require a barbed wire fence and infrared cameras that trigger alarms when interrupted.

Federal and Local Agents Raid Illegal Home Cultivation Sites Throughout Colorado 

Federal Drug Enforcement worked with local and state authorities to conduct a raid on cannabis grows from the south of Colorado Springs to the north Denver Metro, according to The Denver Post. During these raids roughly 30 grows were targeted, all linked to one another. The North Metro Task Force was the lead agency in this operation and stated that it is being prosecuted by the Colorado Attorney General’s Office. These raids are a part of federal and state efforts to reduce cannabis grows in Colorado, preventing illegal sale to other states. According to CBS Denver, many linked to the grow operation came from Texas to grow cannabis and ship it out of state. Currently Colorado residents are allowed to grow a limited number of plants within their homes, Denver has a maximum of 12.

Los Angeles

Movement Proposed by Cannabis Coalition May Have to Wait Until General Elections

A 4th Appellate Court seems to be set on allowing the California Cannabis Coalition to overturn the city of Upland’s current ban on medical cannabis collectives. According to the Daily Bulletin, the Coalition sued the city in 2015 with the intent to get its proposed movement on a special election ballot as soon as possible. The city however believes that the movement cannot be voted on until general elections in November. According to the city because the Coalition’s movement requires collectives to pay $75,000 of licensing and inspection fees, this is a tax and any new tax can only be voted on in general election. Although the Court sided withe the Coalition, Upland is appealing the decision again. The proposed ballot initiative will go back to the council for review in about two months,and is expected to be on the November ballot.

Cannabis Could Help Shelter Los Angeles’ Homeless Population

The Los Angeles City Council is considering implementing a 15 percent tax on medical cannabis to help fund a $2 billion housing project that will provide affordable housing for its homeless population. Chief Administrative officer Miguel Santana stated at a recent council meeting, “Even as our economy improves, we do not anticipate to have an additional $1.78 billion over the next 10 years to dedicate for this purpose.” If this tax is approved it could bring in $17 million annually with that number rising if recreational cannabis is legalized in November elections, according to SF Gate. This is one of nine proposals that the Los Angeles City Council has made to help decrease its homeless population and the council is expected to make a decision on the medical cannabis tax proposal in July.

 Michigan

University of Michigan Finds that Cannabis Use Decreases Opioid Use

A study conducted by the University of Michigan revealed that chronic pain patients who medicated with cannabis showed a decline in use of opioid pain medication. According to Michigan Radio, researchers surveyed registered cannabis patients in Ann Arbor and found that cannabis use is associated with a 64 percent decrease in opioid use amongst patients who suffer from chronic pain. Lead author of the study, Kevin Boehnke, stated that this doesn’t prove that cannabis can replace opioids when it comes to chronic pain relief because effects vary for each individual. “Just because some people found that it was useful enough for them that they could completely cut out their opiate use that doesn’t mean that would be the case for everybody,” Boehnke said. The study also revealed that cannabis use decreased the side effects caused by opioid pain medications, giving chronic pain patients a 45 percent increase in quality of life.

Lansing Unsure of How to Regulate Medical Cannabis Collectives

Since medical cannabis became legal in Michigan in 2008, the state has had a variety of issues concerning how the plant should be regulated. Currently, the city of Lansing is going through issues concerning a 2011 ordinance it passed regulating medical cannabis collectives. In 2013 the Michigan Supreme Court ruled collectives illegal, but many remain in operating in Lansing and elsewhere. In late March, the Lansing Public Safety Committee held a meeting to address this issue and how state late is supposed to be addressed on a city level. Many opinions were expressed at this meeting, mostly in opposition of one another, collective workers opposed the idea of a ban and concerned citizens opposed of regulating. “We’re not going to make everybody happy but at least we can come to some kind of mutual ground and be satisfied,” said Nancy Mahlow of Eastside Neighborhood Organization.

Oregon

Oregon Allows Recreational Users to Purchase Extracts and Edibles

Governor Kate Brown Signed a Bill in late March that will allow any age 21 and older to purchase cannabis extracts and edibles from Oregon dispensaries. According to Oregon Live, this comes as part of the dialogue in Senate Bill 1511, which allows recreational cannabis dispensaries to sell tax free cannabis to patients. Following this news, The Oregon Health Authority said that it needs to regulate how extractions and edibles will be sold before they are seen on dispensary shelves. Before this change in legislation dispensaries were only allowed to sell a limited amount of flower to individuals 21 and older, and extracts and edibles were forbidden, according to Oregon Live. Currently, the cannabis market is in the hands of the Oregon Health Authority but by the end of this year is expected to be taken over by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission.

Deschutes County Commission to Review Cannabis Regulations

Although The Oregon Control Commission began accepting applications for recreational cannabis businesses in January, Deschutes County is just getting around to regulating the industry locally. According to The Bulletin, a “marijuana advisory committee” has been reviewing a series of laws set on regulating cannabis in unincorporated areas in the county since Deschutes County Commission decided to “opt-out” on commercial cannabis in December 2015. The Commission’s decision blocked future licensing for medical and recreational cannabis businesses, according to the Washington Times. However, the Commission was set to review the regulations compiled by the advisory committee to determine whether or not it would continue to opt-out on cannabis. The Commission’s review was set to take place on May 2, shortly after this issue went to press.

San Diego

San Diego County to Review Changes in Regulation for Collectives

In March, San Diego County supervisors voted to place a 45-day moratorium on medical cannabis collectives so they could address issues that are present in the county’s current medical cannabis regulations. The Supervisors set a meeting date for April 27 and reviewed regulations concerning changes in buffer zones, requiring collectives to have major use permits, increased enforcement and increased penalties for those found in violation of regulations. In 2010, San Diego County Board of Supervisors passed regulations that restricted medical cannabis collectives to industrial zones with buffer zones of 1,000 feet between themselves and other collectives, churches and schools, to name a few. Since then, the county has had a number of cases with illegally run collectives and hopes that the new prospective regulations will help to eliminate them.

San Diego Approves its 14th Legally Collective Despite Location Concerns

The San Diego Planning Commission has approved its 14th legal collective, set to open in Linda Vista. The approved collective will be located in a 2,452 square-foot 40-year-old warehouse, in a relatively industrial area, near a martial arts school, Jiai Aikido, and a Toys ‘R’ Us, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. Despite its closeness to these establishments city officials stated that the collective does not violate buffer zone regulations because neither Toys ‘R’ Us or Jiai Aikido are “minor oriented.” This means that minors are not the majority of customers at either business. This newly approved collective is expected to be one of the last approved under San Diego’s 2014 ordinance that allowed medical cannabis collectives to run legally under its jurisdiction.

Washington

Washington Remains Optimistic Toward Cannabis Market Despite Competition from Oregon

When Oregon legalized recreational cannabis in October of 2015, Washington collective owners did not expect their sales to drop exponentially. This reigned true for business owners such as 68-year-old collective owner Margie Lemberger, whose clientele consisted of residents from Hood River Oregon. According to the Bellingham Herald, Lemberger saw a more than 50 percent drop in sales between October 2015 and February of this year. This drastic change is what economist Josh Lermer dubbed “The Border Effect,” which is defined by tax policy, convenience, selection and price, as reported by the Herald.  Currently, Washington’s cannabis tax is higher than Oregon’s, with an average gram of cannabis in Washington costing $14.68 and in Oregon $13.67. Mark Kleiman, a public policy expert who was a consultant for Washington’s cannabis program, believes that Washington and Oregon should create similar tax rates to prevent “interstate trafficking.” Although some may see this as a bad omen for Washington’s cannabis market, the state’s chief economist believes cannabis revenue will increase this year to $207 million, as the state’s medical and recreational cannabis markets merge in July.

Cannabis Outsells Commodities Like Bread and Milk in Spokane County

Sales numbers collected by the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, and a survey of household expenses conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, revealed that legal cannabis sales in Spokane County outsold household essentials like milk and bread this past March. According to The Seattle Times, this number only represents residents of Spokane County as there are 17 access points in the county with a license to sell to anyone 21 and over. This is the first time that cannabis sales in Spokane County reached $5 million, and that number is expected to grow, surpassing revenue from arts and entertainment, according to the Washington Department of Revenue. Although cannabis sales have surpassed sales of products like bread, milk and wine, it has not surpassed beer sales. The Seattle Times reports that last year cannabis sales in Spokane County reached $225.64 per household and beer $232.70 per household.

Universal 

Recreational Cannabis in Canada Proposed for 2017

Cannabis progress in Canada has been a constant topic in the industry, with a demand that could support a healthy and well-balanced market offering plenty of business opportunities. Now, Canada is finally making the jump towards decriminalizing and legalizing cannabis, according to Canadian Federal Health Minister Jane Philpott, who announced on April 20 that legislation for allowing the widespread use of recreational cannabis in Canada is in the works and will be introduced in Spring 2017. The rules will pay special attention to keeping cannabis out of the hands of children as well as public safety, according to Philpott. “I am proud to stand up for our drug policy that is informed by solid scientific evidence and uses a lens of public healthy to maximize education and minimize harm,” Philpott stated in her announcement to the United Nations General Assembly special session on drugs. If, or when, Canada legalizes cannabis next year, it will be the first G7 country—made up of the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the U.K.—to have made such a decision.

New Zealand Health Board Officially Approves Cannabis Spray for Tourette’s Syndrome Patient

In 2015, Dixie Brands released a line of health products under the name Aceso, and one of its cannabis sprays called Calm has been approved for use by a single patient in New Zealand. Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne approved the spray for an unidentified patient with Tourette’s syndrome hours after receiving an application from the patient’s doctor. This is only the second time that a patient has been approved by Dunne to medicate with a cannabis based-product. The first patient to receive Dunne’s approval was teenager, Alex Renton who was given a hemp based oil called Elixinol. Currently, the only cannabis based product in New Zealand that does not need Dunne’s approval to be used is Sativex. Although Dunne did not want to share the recently approved patient’s name he commented on why he approved the Aceso product. “While Sativex has previously been shown to be efficient in treating, the Aceso product has been chosen due to its reduced psychoactive effects,” Dunne stated. Though in small this is one more step toward full medical access in New Zealand.