July 2015 | News Nuggets

BAY AREA

Legalization efforts begin in San
Francisco

A 22-person committee is being organized that will help
create a strategy to prepare San Francisco for the expected legalization of
cannabis. The breakdown of this task force is made up of seven advisory members
(representing police, fire and city planning officials), and the rest are
considered “voting” members who vary from neighborhood groups and a variety of
business owners, according to the San Francisco Examiner. It’s
clear from other state’s experiences that getting ahead on regulation is key to
long term success, “If we don’t formulate policies in advance of legalization,
we are going to end up having a chaotic fire drill,” stated Supervisor Scott
Wiener, who proposed the idea. The task force, once assembled, will meet by the
end of summer, and the members will spend one year coming up with a plan to
address legal, social, land use and enforcement issues.

Lawyers in Bay Area create the
National Cannabis Bar Association

California Lawyers have launched the National Cannabis Bar
Association (NCBA): The very first group that assists businesses in complying
with cannabis regulations. The organization aims to help cannabis businesses
understand and follow the various regulations and rules in their respective
cities and states. Many of the thousands of people who work in the cannabis
industry are in needed of legal advice when it comes to state law. The NCBA’s
intellectual property lawyer, Shabnam Malek, noted that they’ve advised countless
people on the formation of a company, how to negotiate agreements and
step-by-step guides on following the demands set by local and state laws, “As
more and more states decriminalize or legalize cannabis—and set up their own
regulatory structures—the legal conditions that cannabis  industry clients and their attorneys face are
likely to get even more complex before they get simpler,” Malek stated.
Although the association just began, the demand for well-informed lawyers
throughout the country will soon be in high demand, especially if more states
legalize.

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COLORADO

Single-day tax holiday set for
Colorado

On September 16, the day following the end of the
end-of-year fiscal report certification, Colorado will be host to the first
ever, one-time-only reprieve from the state’s normal 10 percent sales tax on
recreational cannabis. This unique holiday comes as a result of the Taxpayer’s
Bill of Rights, which require that any new taxes based on the state’s
collections and state pending estimate must be approved by voters. Should that
amount be larger than the estimates, refunds are to be given. The
aforementioned holiday will cost the state $100,000 in revenue, and it is
estimated that Colorado will lose over $3.6 million in revenue on that day.

Supreme Court gives employers ability
to fire medical cannabis users

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that employers will now
have the ability to fire an employee who uses medical cannabis in their free
time, despite not being affected by the medicine while on the clock. This
ruling came as a result of Coats v. Dish Network, a battle
between a quadriplegic cannabis user who medicates during his free time as
according to state law, and his former employer, Dish Network, who fired him
for testing positive for THC in a random drug test in 2010. However, in defining
“lawful” as activities that are lawful under both state and federal law, the
Supreme Court ruled that employees who use medical cannabis are not protected
by the lawful activities statute
(24-34-402.5, C.R.S. [2014], which makes it unfair to fire an employee based on
their out-of-work activities). The fight for nationwide legalization is ramping
up speed, but sadly in this instance, the fact that cannabis is still federally
illegal means that Brandon Coats and many patients like him, will continue to
be considered as un-“lawful” users to their employers.

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LOS ANGELES

UCLA reveals that cannabis is
safer than tobacco

A UCLA professor has conducted research and found that
cannabis is much safer to smoke than tobacco, according to LA Weekly. Dr. Donald
Tashkin, professor emeritus of medicine at UCLA has studied cannabis for over
30 years. As a result of his studies, he found sufficient proof that find
cannabis to be much safer to smoke. His works have been published in many
publications, directly researching the effect of cannabis on human lungs, “The
likelihood is, that despite the fact that marijuana smoke contains carcinogens,
we don’t see the same heightened risks of cancers that we see in tobacco,”
Tashkin states. He also notes that smoking cannabis does not cause obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD) either, “Reasoning for this may be that marijuana is a
potent anti-inflammatory and suppressive, but COPD is activated by tobacco
smoke and other toxic substances.”

Cannabis petition
draft submitted to allow collectives in Costa Mesa

Attorney David Welch submitted a petition to allow for
regulated collectives in Costa Mesa. The petition must first be reviewed and
summarized by attorneys, followed by a pending resubmission that would start
the 180-day signing period, according to the Orange County Register. This will mark Welch’s second attempt at
bringing collectives to Costa Mesa, the first was in October 2014, when he
gained enough signatures to force the city to hold a special election. However,
the initiative hit a road block when the City Council decided because taxes
would be necessary in his plan that the decision must be held for a general
election instead. Welch filed for writ of mandate after the city voted against
its own attempt towards allowing collectives back in March, and is currently in
the beginning stages of taking the city to court. Welch hopes that his petition
to begin collecting signatures will be the better alternative towards progress.

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MICHIGAN

Two cannabis
legalization initiatives begin to gather signatures

Two of the three current initiatives to legalize cannabis
for recreational use in 2016, the Michigan Cannabis Coalition (MCC)  and Michigan Comprehensive Cannabis Law
Reform Committee (MCCLRC), were both approved in Lansing. Now, the groups can
begin to circulate petitions and gather signatures, according to Mlive.com. Both groups aim to legalize
cannabis recreationally for all adults over 21, and would legalize the sale of
said cannabis in retail shops. However, the MCC’s proposal would also give
lawmakers a role, allowing them to set a tax rate—the benefits of which would
only be useable for education, public safety and public health. The MCCLRC
proposes its own 10 percent excise tax that would go directly towards fixing
roads, funding schools and local government, and the law would also allow
residents to grow up to 12 plants on their property. Each initiative must
provide 252,523 valid signatures in order to be considered for the 2016 ballot.

Committee to consider
medical cannabis for autistic patients

Soon, Michigan state law might consider autism as a
qualifying condition for patients who desire medical access to cannabis. Under
the current law, Michigan only considers cancer, glaucoma, HIV, hepatitis C and
a few other conditions qualifiers for medical cannabis. Lisa Smith and her son
Noah, who has autism, are helping usher in a new era for children with autism.
When asked about Noah’s transition (he qualifies for medical cannabis because
he also suffers from epilepsy), she found that cannabis helped treat him in a
number of ways: “He’s more focused. He’s calmer. He sleeps better through the
night. He has a better appetite. You can tell he’s growing; gaining weight,”
said Smith. Although an attempt to add autism as a qualifying condition back in
2013 failed, this current attempt has garnered more positive opinions by local
doctors who support the cause. 

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OREGON

Oregon Senate
approves tighter cannabis regulations

The Oregon Senate has passed a new bill that is aimed at
organizing its current medical cannabis industry. Senate Bill 964, which passed
29-1 in the Senate, will create an organized licensing system for all cannabis
businesses, and will be prone to state inspections. Gardens will be limited to
a maximum of 12 plants in residential areas, and 48 in non-residential. The
limitations set by the new bill are intended to have an impact on the black
market, and those supporting the bill hope that it will help Oregon set itself
apart from the issues seen in both Colorado and Washington when faced with the
presence of both recreational and medical cannabis, “If we can’t get our hands
around the medical market, it will undermine the recreational market,” stated
State Senator Ginny Burdick.

OLCC plans to
regulate cannabis edibles

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) is making plans
to regulate cannabis edibles and set distinct rules regarding packaging,
similarly to how Washington has approached the topic. An advisory committee has
been organized, which will soon provide recommendations on how to enforce new
rules regarding edibles. Originally, the sale of cannabis edibles was to be
delayed until one year after recreational cannabis was sold, however, now the
sale of edibles is on the horizon and the OLCC is taking action. “Clearly we
need to take a little extra time with this, because there are health issues,”
stated Tom Towslee of OLCC Public Affairs/Media Relations. The main concern is
the unregulated dosage of edibles, with the wide variety of doses for each
edible. The trial and error of both Colorado and Washington’s edibles market
will make the OLCC committee’s job much easier in determining how to approach such
regulations.

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SAN DIEGO

Cannabis collective
openings delayed by co-op applicants

The strict regulation of cannabis collectives in San Diego
County has been a welcome sight, compared to having no regulation at all.
However, as time has passed, resistance between competitors has risen
exponentially. The San Diego City Council listened to two appeals last month
regarding environmental determinations for proposed collective businesses,
according to KBPS.com. Because the
competition is fierce for potential collective owners to obtain a permit over
other applicants, some have decided that an appeal against competitors will
open new doors for themselves instead, “They are simply an attempt to delay the
opening of licensed facilities for medical marijuana patients in San Diego,”
stated Eugene Davidovich, from the Alliance for Responsible Medicinal Access,
on the matter. Ultimately, these appeals are causing progress to slow,
following an already slow but steady process of approving and giving business
owners permits.

Collective approved
for Pacific Beach

The Pacific Beach Planning Group (PBPG) originally voted to
deny a conditional use permit for the proposed collective in Pacific Beach,
however their vote was overridden the city Planning Commission by a 4-0 vote.
Opposition from the PBPG was originally due to the location being deemed
hard-to-access, claiming that it was not built with high-traffic in mind, but
one of the group’s members, Scott Chipman, was quoted as speaking out against
cannabis in general as well. Fortunately, the city Planning Commission decided
against that and unanimously voted in the approval of Pacific Beach’s first
collective. San Diego County now has five approved collectives; one of which is
currently open, the other three are predicting a summer opening.

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WASHINGTON

Merit system
implemented by Liquor and Cannabis Control Board

The Washington Liquor Control Board is now called the Liquor
and Cannabis Board, and that small name change will bring many other changes as
well. A merit system will be the method of handling cannabis business license
distribution, unlike in the past when a lottery or qualification guide was previously
used to select applicants. Under the new law, the “first tier” applicants to
receive licenses must have been in business before 2013, and have also paid the
necessary taxes and applied for a recreational license, according to The News Tribune. Second tier are those
who didn’t apply for a recreational license, and third sums up the rest of the
applicants. An estimated 2,000 unlicensed cannabis access points will not
qualify for the first tier because they are simply too new. The Department of
Health will also have a hand in implementing the new law, including defining
specifically was qualifies as “medical-grade” cannabis, choosing the team that
will set up a patient registry that will grant protection from arrest and
lessen regulations on possession limits.

Cannabis access point
progress in Bellingham delayed

Initially, the seven-person city council was prepared to
enforce a one-year moratorium on any new medical cannabis access points.
Bellingham has been guided by the city’s policies on emergency ordinances,
which have been effective since July 2013, according to The Bellingham Herald. Alongside those rules, there were specific
interim zoning rules that allowed patients and qualified providers to be able
to grow cannabis for personal use. However, Assistant City Attorney Alan
Marriner suggested that the ordinance wait until the Washington State Liquor
and Cannabis Control Board finalize all details regarding its new direction in
access point regulation with the “Cannabis Patient Protection Act.” 

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NATIONAL

Hospitals in
Minnesota now allowed to manage medical cannabis

During the final days of legislation, Minnesotan lawmakers
decided to expand the law that listed which businesses would be allowed to
dispense medical cannabis to patients. Now health care facilities have been
added to the list of groups that can “control, dispense and manage” cannabis.
This doesn’t mean that hospitals can acquire cannabis on behalf of their
patients, rather it simply allows hospitals to allow their patients to possess
and use the medicine on hospital property if they so choose. And have it
managed with their other medications by hospital staff. Medical cannabis will
be legal in pill and liquid form, and is expected to only be available after
the July 1 opening deadline in Minneapolis and Eagan. In order to obtain
cannabis as medicine, patients must be listed on the Minnesota medical cannabis
patient registry, and so far, only patients with the following conditions are
allowed to legally participate in the state program: Certain cancers, terminal
illnesses, epilepsy and glaucoma.

INTERNATIONAL

Israeli police chief
wants to help legalize cannabis

Israeli Police Chief Inspector General Yohanan Danino stated
that he aims to establish a committee dedicated to investigating cannabis
policies of other nations that have experienced great success with legalizing
cannabis, according to Israel Hayom.
In order to get ahead of regulating the inevitable, Danino hopes to best
prepare himself and his department for those who receive medical cannabis
permits and those who don’t have money, thus resorting to the black market.
“Things are happening in the world, so we can’t stick our heads in the sand. We
need to deal with this issue,” Danino stated. He also mentioned that in 2011,
only 400 Israelis had permits for medical cannabis—and the number has increased
to 20,000 since then. With such a high number of patients seeking relief,
Danino hopes to implement his proposed committee as soon as possible, “Because
if we really want to change the law and decriminalize use, or make some drugs
legal, let’s do it properly.”