Grow Life 420

When international tourists finally return to the canal-lined historic streets of Amsterdam, one of the city’s main travel attractions might be off limits.

Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema has proposed a new policy that would ban foreign visitors from accessing the city’s coffee shops.

There are 166 cannabis coffee shops in Amsterdam, accounting for almost 30% of the Netherlands’ coffee shops.

– Read the entire article at CNN .

Cannabis just had a victory in Congress. But the industry and its supporters may not want to get too excited just yet.

The US House of Representatives on Friday passed a bill to end the federal prohibition on cannabis. But the historic vote on the landmark legislation — which if put into law would be momentous for the emerging multibillion-dollar cannabis industry and broader social justice movements — ultimately is largely symbolic.

For now, the House is likely to be the last stop on the line for the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act of 2019 (MORE Act), which would effectively legalize cannabis by removing marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act and creating a shared federal-state control of cannabis programs — although it does not force states to legalize. The bill also would reduce barriers to research, solve current banking and tax woes, expunge some cannabis offenses and further diversify efforts in the industry.

– Read the entire article at CNN.

Amid recession and social unrest, the cannabis industry sees its moment.

Actions by states to reduce criminal penalties for marijuana use and possession are fueling momentum for the broader movement to legalize cannabis and have it serve as an economic engine for cash-strapped coffers, industry members and policy experts say.

“I expect a record number of states to legalize marijuana in 2021, in part due to the financial pressures, along with the racial injustice imperative to reduce unnecessary police-civilian interactions,” said Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project, the lobbying organization behind many state cannabis policies in place today.

– Read the entire article at CNN.

This time last year, it appeared that Colorado’s industry was plateauing. Now it’s surging.

Colorado cannabis shops notched sales of nearly $1.75 billion during 2019, setting a new annual sales record for the state home to the nation’s longest-established recreational cannabis industry, according to Colorado Department of Revenue data first reported by the Denver Westword.

The new high water mark for sales netted more than $302.4 million in tax revenue for the state’s coffers, where that money is divvied up into various buckets to fund programs such as school construction, law enforcement, public health, drug education and public safety.

– Read the entire article at CNN.

New York wasn’t able to legalize cannabis last year, but Governor Andrew Cuomo vows it’ll happen this time around.

Cuomo on Wednesday highlighted adult-use cannabis legalization as one of his 2020 priorities. His proposal includes forming an Office of Cannabis Management to regulate medical, adult-use and hemp programs; ensuring that social equity and social justice needs are met; working in concert with neighboring states; and creating a cannabis and hemp research center at the State University of New York.
If Cuomo is successful, New York would become the 12th US state to legalize cannabis for recreational use, and it would follow on the heels of Illinois in being the second state to legalize via a legislative measure.

– Read the entire article at CNN.

Illinois’ first day of legal recreational cannabis translated to a good chunk of green — nearly $3.2 million in sales.

The state’s 37 dispensaries churned through 77,128 transactions to tally more than $3.17 million in first-day sales, said Toi Hutchinson, Governor JB Prtizker’s senior adviser for cannabis control, in a news conference on Thursday.

“The amazing thing about that is that there’s a significant portion of these dollars that go directly into this community reinvestment fund, so we can continue to rebuild communities that have been hardest hit by the war on drugs,” Hutchinson said. “So sales are great but let’s never lose sight on the impact that we’re having on families around this state.”

– Read the entire article at CNN News.

When we released “Weed” in 2013, few people had ever heard of cannabidiol, or CBD. Now, two-thirds of Americans are familiar with the compound, and 1 in 7 have tried it. Most of the country, 93%, are in favor of medical marijuana and hemp-derived CBD itself, which has less than 0.3% THC, has been legalized in every state.

It’s not just public perception. The science over the last six years has grown by leaps and bounds, as well. Epidiolex, a pharmaceutical-grade CBD oil, went through clinical trials and is being prescribed for thousands of patients with seizures. The founder of GW Pharmaceuticals, the maker of Epidiolex, told me they are now developing cannabis medications for everything from autism to anxiety.

The lives of characters we introduced you to in “Weed” have completely changed, as well. The Stanley brothers of Colorado — who literally bet the farm on CBD and couldn’t even afford a reliable car six years ago — now grow CBD on 800 acres in three states and have a marijuana empire worth an estimated $2 billion.

– Read the entire article at CNN.

The House will vote later this month on a bipartisan bill that will allow cannabis businesses access to the federal banking system.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer intends to bring the SAFE Banking Act to the House floor for a vote this month, his office confirmed to CNN.

Hoyer announced at the whip meeting Thursday on Capitol Hill that he would like to advance the legislation, according to his office.

“We’re discussing it with members, but it hasn’t been scheduled just yet,” Mariel Saez, a spokesperson for Hoyer, told CNN via email.

– Read the entire article at CNN News.

Mike Tyson isn’t shy about his love for marijuana.

On Monday’s episode of his podcast, aptly named “Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson,” the former heavyweight champion shared just how much he spends on the psychoactive drug.

“What do we smoke a month?” he asked his co-host, former NFL player turned marijuana advocate Eben Britton. “Is it $40,000 a month?”

“We smoke 10 tons of weed at the ranch a month,” Britton said, referencing Tyson Ranch, the boxer’s forthcoming 40-acre marijuana farm and “resort.”

– Read the entire article at CNN.

It’s common these days to hear about a food or beverage company investing in cannabis. It’s more unusual for a cannabis company to, say, snap up a soda brand.

In recent months, an emerging cannabis firm has quickly acquired a significant position in Jones Soda (JSDA) with an eye on bringing the wild child of soft drinks into CBD beverages.

Late Thursday, Heavenly Rx, a hemp portfolio company of cannabis investment firm SOL Global Investments (SOLCF), invested $9 million to buy 15 million shares of Jones Soda, bringing its ownership stake in the Seattle soda company to 25%. The infusion is a welcome sum for Jones, which has been accumulating losses.

– Read the entire article at CNN News.

A 30,000-square-foot cannabis museum is coming to Hollywood.

Weedmaps, a Los Angeles-based cannabis technology and media company, is behind the new museum, which is aimed at destigmatizing cannabis and will open later this summer.

“We’re at this point now where there is some cannabis normalization,” Weedmaps CEO Chris Beals told CNN Business, “where they’re already starting to forget that there have been people who have been in jail (because of prohibition).”

The Weedmaps Museum of Weed, slated to be open from Aug. 3 through Sept. 29 at 720 North Cahuenga Boulevard, will take visitors on a chronological walk through history — from the early uses of the cannabis plant to the “Reefer Madness” and “War on Drugs” eras through to the present-day legalization efforts.

– Read the entire article at CNN News.

A pediatric epilepsy drug containing cannabis that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration is now permitted on flights, according to the Transportation Security Administration.

The agency recently updated its guidance to passengers on what can be brought aboard aircraft, indicating that — subject to “special instructions” — there are forms of medical marijuana that can be brought on board or placed in checked luggage.

TSA confirmed the updated rules to CNN, noting that “possession of marijuana and certain cannabis-infused products” remains illegal under federal law, but said the agency “was made aware of an FDA-approved drug that contains CBD oil for children who experience seizures from pediatric epilepsy.”

– Read the entire article at CNN News.