California

On Tuesday afternoon in Santa Ana, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) held the first in a series of public hearings that aim to collect constructive criticism about newly proposed medical marijuana regulations.
Back in 2015, the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act represented the first attempt to regulate California’s medical marijuana industry since its inception. The set of three bills called for the creation of a committee known as the Bureau of Marijuana Control that would be tasked with drafting the framework of what would become California’s new medical program.

Some California municipalities have figured out one way to run illegal medical marijuana dispensaries out of town – shut off their electricity, water and other utilities they need to survive.

According to a report from the Pasadena Star-News, the city of Pasadena is planning to disconnect the utilities of those businesses that continue to violate the citywide ban on medical marijuana sales.

It’s no secret that the American cannabis industry is booming. But with Nevada set to start recreational sales early and California and Massachusetts following closely behind, it might be time to take a new look at the immediate financial possibilities of legal weed.

Thankfully, the 2017 Marijuana Business Factbook is here to do just that.

A federal appeals court has sidestepped making a ruling on whether U.S. prison officials can hold people who were convicted of marijuana offenses that were legal under state medical marijuana laws.


In a decision Wednesday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals focused instead on a narrower issue.
The court was considering a legal challenge by prisoner Matthew Davies, who was convicted of federal marijuana charges.

The National Cannabis Industry Association has announced that former Mexican President Vicente Fox will be the keynote speaker for the 4^th annual Cannabis Business Summit & Expo. The summit, which will be held in Oakland, California this June, will host over 100 speakers over the course of three days.

The nation is slowly, but surely turning ganja green.

As of now, Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Oregon are all part of the growing list of states leading the legalization campaign. But Illinois may also be getting in on the fun, and you have two Democrats (of course) to thank for paving the groundwork to make it happen.

In Illinois, Senator Heather Steans and Representative Kelly Cassidy are putting in the work to get the ball rolling by introducing a bill to legalize marijuana (Senate Bill 316 and House Bill 2353).

Former Kern County Deputies plead guilty to stealing and trafficking marijuana.
On Monday, two former Kern County deputies pled guilty to possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute.
According to a press release from the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Eastern District of California, “Logan August, 30, of Bakersfield, and Derrick Penney, 34, of Star, Idaho,” admitted to being part of the problem – not the solution:
“Between June 2014 and October 2014, while sworn peace officers working with the Kern County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO), August and Penney abused their positions of trust and authority by

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is ready to deal with any federal actions that would interfere with his state’s legal pot laws.

In an interview with Politico California’s David Siders and Carla Marinucci on Wednesday, Becerra said he won’t back down to the possibility of a federal crackdown, should U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions take any action against both the recreational and medical marijuana laws in place.
“I would love to see Jeff Sessions come to California and tell us we’re not going to move forward on cannabis.

California lawmakers are still trying to figure out how to regulate the state’s impending recreational cannabis industry, but while the debate over new rules rages on, there is one thing that the Golden State officials can agree on - a need to right the environmental wrongs caused by illegal cannabis cultivation in the Northern California hills.

According to a press release sent out by the office of North Coast Assemblyman Jim Woods, Governor Jerry Brown has allocated $1.5 million of state funds to help curb the damage done to the north coast’s environment by black market cannabis grows.

“These illegal

An issue quietly plaguing Northern California’s forests for decades is finally coming to the surface as legalization sweeps the Golden State and mountain growers are forced out of the woodwork.
A press release issued Wednesday from the office of North Coast Assemblyman Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg) expressed the immense concern the California Governor’s office holds regarding trespass grows in the Humboldt, Trinity, and Mendocino counties.
According the release, Governor Jerry Brown has earmarked $1.5 million to fund the Fisheries Restoration Grant Program, which will address the environmental cleanup of trespass grow sites throughout the forests of Northern California.