Hi all,

Little late today, so let’s get to it.

In the newsletter:

• SCOOP: An attempt to resolve a California tax issue could make it worse

And lots more,

Alex

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ATTEMPT TO RESOLVE CALIF. TAX ISSUE COULD MAKE IT WORSE: INDUSTRY

California’s tax agency is attempting to resolve confusion about how dispensaries in Los Angeles and some other cities calculate taxes. Industry groups, however, warn that the agency’s proposal would make the simmering problem worse.

Read the story…

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In case you missed this SCOOP: A manufacturer sued California over the state’s labor peace agreement mandate.

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Federal:

• A federal judge upheld Virginia’s hemp law, which aims to regulate intoxicating hemp-derived products. The ruling is a loss for two Virginia hemp companies and contradicts federal and state rulings which favored the hemp industry.
  Green Market Report
• Duane Morris lawyer Seth Goldberg argues Congress did not intend to legalize intoxicating products with the 2018 farm bill which legalized hemp. The bill is up for renewal this year.
• Marijuana Moment reports on the right- and left-leaning groups advocating for federal reform.
• Longtime reform advocate Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) said he will not seek re-election.
  Politico

Business:

• Alleged “fake unions” that don’t try to organize workers have a presence in several additional states, besides California, MJBiz found. A company has sued California alleging that its pro-union cannabis law is unconstitutional.
  WeedWeek
• A new group called the Cannabis Hospitality Coalition aims to support the sector’s specific needs.
• Five reasons written contracts beat handshake deals.
  Canna Law Blog
• MSO Ayr Wellness is revamping its debt and will be able to access $50M in the process.
• A real estate study found home values in legal states have outperformed prohibition states.
  Marijuana Moment
• Green Thumb Industries’ Incredibles’ brand has a new partnership with New York City-based Magnolia Bakery.
  CNN
• Ag-tech company Agrify received a note of non-compliance from the NASDAQ exchange.
• Cartoonist Brian “Box” Brown takes on lab shopping.
  @boxbrown

State and local:

• Colorado regulators proposed banning industry activity at unlicensed events as well as changes to rules governing advertising, tracking and decontamination.
  Westword
• Businesses say corruption and backroom deals are marring New Jersey’s REC rollout.
  NJ.com
• MSOs Curaleaf and Green Thumb Industries were among the winners of consumption licenses in Las Vegas.
  Business of Cannabis
• Polls close Tuesday in Ohio’s REC ballot initiative. Turnout has been strong as voters also weigh in on an abortion measure.
  WOUB
• Missouri regulators will allow 15,000 products to reenter the market, about 25% of the amount recalled due to the THC possibly being sourced from out of state.
  Cannabis Business Times
• Oklahoma has too much weed, and hundreds of licensees are going out of business.
  Politico

Equity:

• More discussion of equity hasn’t led to more minority business ownership, Green Market Report reports.

Health and Science:

• The Food and Drug Administration published a paper on cannabis research and drug development.
• A study suggests hemp could be a cover crop for wine grapes.
• “Cynical stoner” Kristen Yoder posted about her experience with cannabis withdrawal.

Fun and interesting:

• Former WeedWeek California editor Donnell Alexander interviewed Madison Margolin, founder of psychedelics magazine Double Blind, about her new book Exile & Ecstasy: Growing up with Ram Dass and coming of age in the Jewish psychedelic underground.
  West Coast Sojourn
• Writer Andrew Ward says the industry needs “an injection of punk ethos.“
• Several pot-related treats made it into the L.A.Times‘ 16 self-care gift ideas.
• Six pot tarot decks.
  GreenState

State:

• The Department of Food and Agriculture is hiring a firm to raise awareness for the OCal seal on commercial products. It seeks to associate the logo with “organic cultivation,” “state oversight,” and “certification integrity.”
  O’Dwyer PR 

Business:

• Thousands of California growers have quit amid the state market’s difficulties.
  Green Market Report
• Cookies‘ flagship store on Melrose Ave. is closing next week. In an Instagram post, CEO Berner said they couldn’t come to terms with their landlord. The West Hollywood store was among the most prominent in LA, and attracted racially tinged complaints about attracting loud crowds.
• LA-based automation company Sorting Robotics raised $2M in debt financing from Kiso Capital and Prospeq.
• Vertically-integrated Glass House said it has settled a dispute with retailer Element 7 and APB.
• Starting in January most state employers won’t be able to ask job applicants about cannabis use.
  North Bay Business Journal

Local:

• Chula Vista (San Diego Co.) has not taken regulatory action against its first licensee, Grasshopper dispensary, even though the license holders are facing an unrelated 11-count federal indictment for wire fraud and related charges.
  San Diego Union-Tribune
• Oceanside (San Diego Co.) plans to allow two or three shops.
  San Diego Union-Tribune
• A U-Haul containing 1,000-2,000 pounds of weed crashed into the fire department headquarters in Sierra Madre, (Los Angeles Co.) after the driver was shot in the arm by someone in another vehicle.
  Mercury News
• Pot shops are thriving in Chico.
  Chico Enterprise-Record
• SFGate detects some optimism in the Emerald Triangle.
• At least one child consumed an infused gummy and got sick at a Bay Area elementary school’s halloween party. It’s not clear how the gummy made it into the event’s food chain.
  SF Chronicle

Health and science:

• The non-profit Public Health Institute, which supported a stricter cannabis labeling bill vetoed last month by Gov. Newsom, released its annual scorecard for local cannabis policy in California.
  California City News

Community:

• Oakland entrepreneur and equity activist Amber Senter said she needs a double lung transplant and shared ways to support her.
  @itsmeambere
• The Transbay Challenge Final went down in LA.

Job moves:

• Marketer Angela Pih is now a strategic advisor to The Emerald Cup.
• Glass House named former California Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez to its board. Lawyer Robert Hoban stepped down from the company’s board.

Company milestones:

• Planet 13 unveiled renderings for Dazed! the consumption lounge it’s building in Vegas. It plans to open by 4/20. (Pictured above)
• Vertically integrated Statehouse closed a previously announced deal to up its stake in Harborside SF, a shop in the Haight-Ashbury district.
• Tag Nation partnered with Airgrean to distribute Tag harvest bags nationwide.
• Edibles company Pantry is bringing back the ultra-low dose brand Zeno.
• Operational Security Solutions said it has joined Green Check Connect, a “marketplace and commerce ecosystem.”