Business
New California Bill Would Allow Cannabis Catering
If you’re a cannabis consumer in California tired of having to sneak outside for a toke or worry about your hidden edibles melting in your pocket at events, there may be welcome news coming your way.
According to KTLA 5, a new bill in the California legislature could finally allow private events to have cannabis catering. While society is becoming much more accepting of cannabis as an alternative to booze, the California state legislature (and obviously the feds, who have still not declassified cannabis at this time) is often called out for its regressive cannabis policies, which do not reflect the will of the people. Finally, however, there could be a step in the right direction, thanks to Assembly Bill 471, which was written by Assemblymember Ash Karla (D-San Jose). Kalra is the first Indian-American to serve in the California State Legislature and previously authored bills such as AB-2542 (California Racial Justice Act of 2020) and AB 572 (California Deforestation-Free Procurement).
AB471 (which was introduced on February 6th and, at the time of reporting, is still pending review) hopes to change the current cannabis laws by expanding the existing language to grant licensed caterers the ability to serve cannabis at private events, just like a wedding venue would hire a florist for the flowers, a caterer for food, and an alcohol provider for wine. The bill would simply allow for commercial cannabis activity, so you wouldn’t have to hide your weed at your wedding but serve it responsibly to guests in the same manner as food or wine.
However, if you like your red and green, aka mixing wine and cannabis, you’re going to have to continue to sneak one or the other or choose sides. Naturally, the bill comes with plenty of rules and restrictions. For one, the area designated for cannabis consumption must be limited to people 21 and older. And no, the caterer can not provide alcohol services. Additionally, the cannabis caterer can not sponsor, advertise, or host the event (limiting the publicity your event will get). If you are a caterer licensee, it is illegal to provide cannabis or any related paraphernalia at any one premises for more than 36 events in one calendar year, meaning that if you’re a cannabis caterer and have a favorite venue, you can only serve cannabis there 36 times in one year, aka three a month, so chose your business carefully.
If you’re confused reading this, as you’ve been to plenty of parties in California where weed was served, here’s what this bill would change: At the moment, in accordance with California law, only the event organizers can provide cannabis for themselves. Naturally, plenty of folks bend this rule, but that’s the law. However, if AB471 is passed, cannabis companies could be hired to get their catering licenses and then provide their cannabis at private events. At the risk of killing the vibe, dear reader, one must also remember that red tape and money often make it challenging for cannabis companies to obtain such licenses in the first place, especially those without a financial leg up.
Unfortunately, it’s also worth noting that a similar bill was proposed by Karla last legislative session and rejected. So we don’t even know if AB471 will pass. However, on a positive note, and highlighting Karla’s care for the enviornment, if it does pass, under the bill, cannabis catering companies can repurpose unused cannabis from one event to another party, minimizing waste (and ensuring no one wastes their weed).
Source: https://hightimes.com/news/new-california-bill-would-allow-cannabis-catering/
Business
New Mexico cannabis operator fined, loses license for alleged BioTrack fraud
New Mexico regulators fined a cannabis operator nearly $300,000 and revoked its license after the company allegedly created fake reports in the state’s traceability software.
The New Mexico Cannabis Control Division (CCD) accused marijuana manufacturer and retailer Golden Roots of 11 violations, according to Albuquerque Business First.
Golden Roots operates the The Cannabis Revolution Dispensary.
The majority of the violations are related to the Albuquerque company’s improper use of BioTrack, which has been New Mexico’s track-and-trace vendor since 2015.
The CCD alleges Golden Roots reported marijuana production only two months after it had received its vertically integrated license, according to Albuquerque Business First.
Because cannabis takes longer than two months to be cultivated, the CCD was suspicious of the report.
After inspecting the company’s premises, the CCD alleged Golden Roots reported cultivation, transportation and sales in BioTrack but wasn’t able to provide officers who inspected the site evidence that the operator was cultivating cannabis.
In April, the CCD revoked Golden Roots’ license and issued a $10,000 fine, according to the news outlet.
The company requested a hearing, which the regulator scheduled for Sept. 1.
At the hearing, the CCD testified that the company’s dried-cannabis weights in BioTrack were suspicious because they didn’t seem to accurately reflect how much weight marijuana loses as it dries.
Company employees also poorly accounted for why they were making adjustments in the system of up to 24 pounds of cannabis, making comments such as “bad” or “mistake” in the software, Albuquerque Business First reported.
Golden Roots was fined $298,972.05 – the amount regulators allege the company made selling products that weren’t properly accounted for in BioTrack.
The CCD has been cracking down on cannabis operators accused of selling products procured from out-of-state or not grown legally:
- Regulators alleged in August that Albuquerque dispensary Sawmill Sweet Leaf sold out-of-state products and didn’t have a license for extraction.
- Paradise Exotics Distro lost its license in July after regulators alleged the company sold products made in California.
Golden Roots was the first alleged rulebreaker in New Mexico to be asked to pay a large fine.
Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/new-mexico-cannabis-operator-fined-loses-license-for-alleged-biotrack-fraud/
Business
Marijuana companies suing US attorney general in federal prohibition challenge
Four marijuana companies, including a multistate operator, have filed a lawsuit against U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in which they allege the federal MJ prohibition under the Controlled Substances Act is no longer constitutional.
According to the complaint, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, retailer Canna Provisions, Treevit delivery service CEO Gyasi Sellers, cultivator Wiseacre Farm and MSO Verano Holdings Corp. are all harmed by “the federal government’s unconstitutional ban on cultivating, manufacturing, distributing, or possessing intrastate marijuana.”
Verano is headquartered in Chicago but has operations in Massachusetts; the other three operators are based in Massachusetts.
The lawsuit seeks a ruling that the “Controlled Substances Act is unconstitutional as applied to the intrastate cultivation, manufacture, possession, and distribution of marijuana pursuant to state law.”
The companies want the case to go before the U.S. Supreme Court.
They hired prominent law firm Boies Schiller Flexner to represent them.
The New York-based firm’s principal is David Boies, whose former clients include Microsoft, former presidential candidate Al Gore and Elizabeth Holmes’ disgraced startup Theranos.
Similar challenges to the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) have failed.
One such challenge led to a landmark Supreme Court decision in 2005.
In Gonzalez vs. Raich, the highest court in the United States ruled in a 6-3 decision that the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution gave Congress the power to outlaw marijuana federally, even though state laws allow the cultivation and sale of cannabis.
In the 18 years since that ruling, 23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized adult-use marijuana and the federal government has allowed a multibillion-dollar cannabis industry to thrive.
Since both Congress and the U.S. Department of Justice, currently headed by Garland, have declined to intervene in state-licensed marijuana markets, the key facts that led to the Supreme Court’s 2005 ruling “no longer apply,” Boies said in a statement Thursday.
“The Supreme Court has since made clear that the federal government lacks the authority to regulate purely intrastate commerce,” Boies said.
“Moreover, the facts on which those precedents are based are no longer true.”
Verano President Darren Weiss said in a statement the company is “prepared to bring this case all the way to the Supreme Court in order to align federal law with how Congress has acted for years.”
While the Biden administration’s push to reschedule marijuana would help solve marijuana operators’ federal tax woes, neither rescheduling nor modest Congressional reforms such as the SAFER Banking Act “solve the fundamental issue,” Weiss added.
“The application of the CSA to lawful state-run cannabis business is an unconstitutional overreach on state sovereignty that has led to decades of harm, failed businesses, lost jobs, and unsafe working conditions.”
Business
Alabama to make another attempt Dec. 1 to award medical cannabis licenses
Alabama regulators are targeting Dec. 1 to award the first batch of medical cannabis business licenses after the agency’s first two attempts were scrapped because of scoring errors and litigation.
The first licenses will be awarded to individual cultivators, delivery providers, processors, dispensaries and state testing labs, according to the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission (AMCC).
Then, on Dec. 12, the AMCC will award licenses for vertically integrated operations, a designation set primarily for multistate operators.
Licenses are expected to be handed out 28 days after they have been awarded, so MMJ production could begin in early January, according to the Alabama Daily News.
That means MMJ products could be available for patients around early March, an AMCC spokesperson told the media outlet.
Regulators initially awarded 21 business licenses in June, only to void them after applicants alleged inconsistencies with how the applications were scored.
Then, in August, the state awarded 24 different licenses – 19 went to June recipients – only to reverse themselves again and scratch those licenses after spurned applicants filed lawsuits.
A state judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Chicago-based MSO Verano Holdings Corp., but another lawsuit is pending.
Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/alabama-plans-to-award-medical-cannabis-licenses-dec-1/
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