Article by TG Branfalt, Ganjapreneur Medical cannabis laws have been loosened in New Zealand as patients will no longer need to gain approval from the Minister of Health, according to a report from Stuff. Instead of patients having to bring their case all the way to the top, the Ministry of Health, as an agency, can sign-off on all applications. ...

Article by TG Branfalt, Ganjapreneur The Oregon Liquor Control Commission will allow alcohol brewers and distillers to use hemp in their products but have declined to allow the use of THC-rich cannabis in alcohol production, according to an advisory document from the commission released today. The hemp used by brewers must meet the federal standards and the formulas and labeling ...

Article by Will Houston, Eureka Times-Standard via The Cannifornian Last month, hundreds of Emerald Triangle cannabis farmers received letters from the state threatening penalties unless they complied with California water quality regulations. Thousands of growers in Northern California have complied with these regulations, to be extended statewide by 2018. But State Water Resources Control Board Office of Enforcement Director Cris ...

Article by ABC 13 News Recreational marijuana shops could open to people age 21 and older as early as July 1 in Nevada under a timeline proposed by the state’s top tax official. Regulators at the state Department of Tax have been crafting rules and deadlines to govern recreational marijuana since voters legalized it in November. Executive Director Deonne Contine ...

Article by Alicia Wallace, The Cannabist It’s a billion-dollar business — and then some. In 2016, Colorado’s dispensaries bagged $1.3 billion in recreational and medical cannabis sales, based on Colorado Department of Revenue tax data released Thursday. To put the state’s third year of regulated recreational marijuana sales in perspective, Year One totaled $699.2 million (combined with medical sales) and ...

Article by TG Branfalt, Ganjapreneur Republican Virginia Rep. Griffith H. Morgan has introduced legislation to reschedule cannabis under the federal Controlled Substances Act, and exclude cannabidiol from the definition of marijuana. According to the bill text, CBD would be defined exclusively as cannabis not containing more than 0.3 percent THC “on a dry weight basis.” The proposal does not include ...

Article by TG Branfalt, Ganjapreneur The Alaska Marijuana Control Board has voted 3-2 not to allow cannabis consumption at retail stores, according to a report from the Associated Press. The measure would have made Alaska the first state in the nation to approve consumption at legal cannabis shops. Board member Mark Springer said he rejected the measure partly over concerns ...

Article by Civilized More than 12,000 cannabis enthusiasts are expected to descend upon Seattle’s Smith Cove Cruise Terminal & Event Center for the fourth annual CannaCon, Feb. 16 to 18. The tradeshow, which will move on from Washington to Santa Rosa, CA on April 20, is considered one of the world’s largest cannabis business and culture expos. The three-day convention will ...

Article by Mahita Gajanan, Time Now that recreational marijuana is legal in San Francisco, college students will have a chance to learn all about the budding industry. The City College of San Francisco announced that it would offer marijuana-focused curriculum starting January 2018. “Obviously, with the potential growth of this industry being substantial, particularly in California, we want to offer ...

Article by The Kindland Colorado voters said yes to Amendment 64 in 2012, which legalized the retail recreational sales of cannabis. The adult-use market has made a $2 billion-plus impact on the state economy, and gone a long way toward normalizing marijuana in the Rocky Mountain State. In Denver, legal and pungent dope is everywhere––so much so that the local ...