MMJ Business Daily

CA cities pass temporary bans, controls on rec cannabis

California cities across the Bay Area and the state are scrambling to impose temporary bans and controls on recreational cannabis ahead of Tuesday’s statewide vote on legalizing adult-use marijuana.

Polls show the state favors legalization. Cities, in response, are taking preemptive moves. San Jose is considering adopting an emergency ordinance to ban the use of non-medical marijuana, a move intended to give local officials time to decide whether and how to regulate adult-use cannabis, according to the Mercury News.

The law would also prohibit commercial cultivation, processing, manufacturing, distributing, testing and selling of recreational cannabis.

Other cities

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CA cities pass temporary bans, controls on rec cannabis is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

The Big Picture: State-by-state marijuana ballot initiative update

By John Schroyer

This year could prove a historic turning point for the legal cannabis industry, with pro-cannabis ballot measures in front of voters in nine states Tuesday.

If some or most are approved, that could translate into untold business opportunities for cannabis entrepreneurs across the nation.

But there are risks, too, particularly if California’s proposed recreational marijuana ballot measure is rejected on Election Day. That could set back marijuana legalization in California – and the entire country – by years.

Below is Marijuana Business Daily’s latest update on the states that have cannabis on the ballot, following our

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The Big Picture: State-by-state marijuana ballot initiative update is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

California dispensary ruling ‘great’ for marijuana industry

A federal judge in San Francisco has tossed out the last remaining forfeiture action filed against a medical marijuana business in California.

The action, filed against Berkeley Patients Group three years ago by the U.S. attorney’s office in Northern California, was dismissed with prejudice on Tuesday, said BPG’s attorney, Henry Wykowski.

That means the DOJ will not be able to bring the case again, which equates to total victory for the dispensary.

“This is good for BPG, but significantly overall this means we have now successfully concluded all four of the forfeiture actions that were filed by the

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California dispensary ruling ‘great’ for marijuana industry is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Draft Ohio cultivation rules: 18 licenses, huge fees

As many as 18 licenses would be available for medical marijuana growers in Ohio under proposed rules released by the state.

The draft regulations suggest two types of cultivation licenses: one for grows up to 15,000 square feet, and another for those totaling no more than 1,600 square feet. The state would award a dozen licenses for large cultivation operations and six for the smaller facilities.

Fees for cultivation licenses would be some of the most expensive in the country, behind only Illinois and New York, if the regulations are adopted.

Application fees for large grows would run $20,000, while

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Draft Ohio cultivation rules: 18 licenses, huge fees is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Australian entrepreneurs can now apply to grow medical cannabis

Australian cannabis business owners can now apply for licenses to grow medical marijuana under the country’s new MMJ law.

The Australian government’s Narcotics Drug Amendment Act 2016 took effect on Oct. 30, according to Australia Network News. It allows businesses to grow marijuana for medicine, conduct research on the plant and create marijuana products for medicinal purposes.

Would-be growers must pass a security test and meet other stringent requirements, according to Australia Network News. Each Australian state territory will have the power to decide who can use MMJ.

Health Minister Sussan Ley said that passing the law does

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Australian entrepreneurs can now apply to grow medical cannabis is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

CA deputies seize $10M of marijuana at licensed grow

Deputies seized $10 million of marijuana at a licensed cultivation operation in Northern California, citing a misunderstanding of Calaveras County marijuana laws for the weekend bust.

Thirty-five workers were arrested during the raid at an abandoned airport outside of San Andreas, California. Some of those arrested were from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Bulgaria and Finland, Sacramento TV station KCRA reported. Authorities said all the workers were in the U.S. legally.

Sheriff Rick DiBasilio acknowledged the owners possessed a cultivation permit but said the enforcement action was taken because the business was involved in other activities aside from simply growing cannabis.

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CA deputies seize $10M of marijuana at licensed grow is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Third lawsuit filed against Maryland medical marijuana licensing

A third Maryland applicant for a medical cannabis business license has filed suit against the state and is claiming the commission that awarded MMJ business permits didn’t follow its own rules.

The suit could further delay the rollout of the state’s MMJ program, which has already been pushed back by nearly a year.

The new lawsuit, filed Monday in Baltimore City Circuit Court by Alternative Medicine Maryland, is asking a judge to stall the program “until the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission takes action to ensure racial and ethnic diversity among licensed growers,” the Washington Post reported.

The

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Third lawsuit filed against Maryland medical marijuana licensing is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Denver public-use ballot measure aims to curb possible loss of MJ tourists

By Bart Schaneman

Supporters of a ballot measure to permit people to consume cannabis in restaurants, bars and other public venues in Denver hope to preempt a potential loss of marijuana tourists.

Nevada and California, both major tourist draws, have adult-use legalization initiatives on their Nov. 8 ballots. 

If those measures pass, industry watchers in Colorado fret Nevada – which is home to Las Vegas – and California will permit public marijuana use sooner versus later. That could attract cannabis tourists to those states instead of Colorado and result in lost sales for Denver MJ shops and those across

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Denver public-use ballot measure aims to curb possible loss of MJ tourists is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

PA issues temporary rules for MMJ cannabis growers, producers

Pennsylvania’s Department of Health has issued temporary regulations for medical marijuana growers and processors, and some noteworthy changes have been made from the draft version issued in August.

However, the regulations are good for only a 24-month period, and a different set of rules could be established by the time medical cannabis is expected to hit the market in the third quarter of 2018, said Steve Schain, an attorney who practices in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

“These regs may have little permanent impact,” Schain wrote in an email to Marijuana Business Daily.

Perhaps the most significant change in the

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PA issues temporary rules for MMJ cannabis growers, producers is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

First AK rec marijuana shop opens to long line; another bid nixed

Alaska’s first recreational marijuana store opened Saturday with dozens waiting in line in the rain, one day after the state’s cannabis licensing board for the first time rejected a retail license application amid concerns over an out-of-state company’s stake in the business.

Herbal Outfitters opened in Valdez at noon local time Saturday, almost two years after voters in the state gave their OK to legalize recreational marijuana.

Herbal Outfitters owner Rick Ballow is a Valdez native who returned from Arizona for the opportunity to enter Alaska’s cannabis business. Ballow said he felt “honored to be the

First AK rec marijuana shop opens to long line; another bid nixed is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs