Hi all,

This is the last WeedWeek newsletter of 2024. In the coming days I’ll have one more story for you as well.

Thanks for your ongoing interest and support. I wish you all a very happy and healthy holiday season and will see you in 2025. (When WeedWeek will turn 10!). I’ll refrain from predictions other than it won’t be boring.

In the newsletter:

• LA Times: “Hidden” pesticides widespread in Calif.

Read up,

Alex

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Introducing the Environmental & Consumer Compliance Organization (ECCO)

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Place your press release here!

An LA Times investigation found that “hidden” pesticides, for which California doesn’t require testing, are far more prevalent than has been previously reported.

Reporter Paige St. John found that the use of pymetrozine, for example, a carcinogen which is effective at killing aphids, was so common that farms routinely reported their use of it to the state.

While the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) says they believe the majority of legal products meet state standards, this doesn’t include pymetrozine, and more than 40 other identified pesticides the state doesn’t track. “The contamination is so widespread there is evidence of insufficient clean-grown weed to supply the state’s $1-billion cannabis vape market.”

The Times’ analysis found pymetrozine in 13 of 14 Stiiizy vapes tested, at the highest concentration of any products tested and analyzed for the report. Stiiizy, the best-selling brand in California, says it’s not in violation of state regulations because the state doesn’t monitor pymetrozine. “Nevertheless the company has joined other brands in now testing for pesticides not on California’s screening list.”

Additional findings:

• The DCC, which declined to be interviewed, said in a statement that it is still developing a way to trace pesticides back to the farms that applied them.
• A Times review of records from track and trace software provider Metrc, found they “can reveal very little as well as contain erroneous information about products.”
• A sidebar found that unlicensed products aren’t necessarily cleaner than licensed ones.

Read the whole thing

Here’s some of WeedWeek‘s best work from an eventful year, in chronological order:

• Glass House products spotted in NYC raid
• The dirty secret of California’s legal weed, an LA Times/WeedWeek investigation
• Stiiizy sues equity partners who “got greedy”
• Amid pesticide questions, Catalyst stays with Stiiizy
• Calif. destroyed hemp for pesticides used on weed
• DCC ignored pesticide warnings, former staffer alleges
• What happened to Statehouse?
• How does Metrc add value?
• Metrc seeks growth in licensed supply chain
• Muha Meds founders had Calif. license revoked
• Stiiizy’s prices anger competitors

Federal:

• A federal funding bill would have extended the current farm bill, and therefore the hemp-derived industry, for another year. The bill was then killed.
  Capital Press (Oregon), NY Times

Business:

• In the biggest deal in a while, MSO Vireo announced it had raised $75M in equity capital and was acquiring operators in Nevada, Florida, Missouri and Utah.
  MJBiz
• The IRS warned that companies are claiming deductions for industry-hated tax rule 280E “without a reasonable basis.“
  Marijuana Moment
• California operator LEEF Brands is becoming one of the first public cannabis companies to adopt bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset.
• Shares of Weedmaps surged after its founders said they wanted to take the ailing Yelp of pot private.
  MarketWatch
• Hemp-derived beverages are “having a moment” Cultivated News reports.
• The famed glass bongmaker Roor is closing its German factory. RoorUSA said it would remain open.
• Kiva exec Caren Woodson and attorney Kimberly Simms talked compliance as it applies to M&A.
  Beard Bros. Pharms
• Industry entrepreneurs “promised a windfall from tribal lands.” It isn’t working.
  High Country News

State and local:

• MJBiz checks in on Ohio, the only REC market to open in 2024.
• Local brands are thriving in New York.
  Green Market Report
• New York Rastafarians would like to see laws updated to accommodate those who use cannabis in worship.
  NY Times
• Nearly 70 Michigan businesses were fined for violations.
• Out of state companies landed almost all of Kentucky’s first MED licenses.
  Louisville Public Media
• The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel assesses the legalization sitch in Wisconsin.
• South Carolina legalization activists held their third annual rally at the statehouse.
• The chaotic Massachusetts regulator may soon have another boss.
  State House News Service

Health and science:

• Two New York men died after contracting a rare fungal infection from the bat feces they used to fertilize their plants.
  NY Daily News
• Teen alcohol, tobacco and cannabis use is at its lowest level since 2017, according to a large national survey.
  AP

Fun and interesting:

• From a hotel room in Vegas, Mary Jane Gibson looked back at how she became a weed journalist.

State:

• In a podcast interview, Jennifer Morris, former supervisor of the cannabis enforcement team for Riverside Co. said “the state has not been very supportive in the illegal [unlicensed] cannabis arena…there is a lot more they could have done or could be doing to help us out.”
  Cannabis Law Now
• United Cannabis Business Association executive director Jonatan Cvetko warned that the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) is “strongly considering license fee increases” following a meeting this week of the Cannabis Advisory Committee.
• Public health group Getting It Right from the Start, which has pushed for stricter labeling requirements, released its annual scorecard of cannabis policy by jurisdiction.
• And taxes are set to rise in mid-2025.
  San Jose Inside

Business:

• NorCal tech consultant Daniel Cook posted on his attempts to buy small-farm outdoor cannabis.
• Stiiizy is facing another lawsuit involving teens who claim they suffered from psychosis after using its products which it alleges are marketed in a way that appeals to teens. Stiiizy has denied marketing to minors.
  Green Market Report, KRON

Local:

• LA pot shops are still struggling to find locations.
  BisNow
• NorCal’s 2024 harvest was “one for the ages.“
  North Bay Business Journal
• Sacramento approved cannabis lounges.
  SacCity Express
• Petaluma (Marin Co.) chose three dispensaries to open. Mercy Wellness, which wasn’t selected, plans to appeal.
  Petaluma360
• Santa Barbara Co. supe and industry ally Das Williams got a “love fest” at his final board meeting.
  Independent
• A state assemblymember is calling for an ethics investigation into state senator Susan Rubio, who was allegedly at the center of a bribes for license scheme. No arrests have been made.

Recalls etc.

• DCC announced a voluntary recall for some Flavorz vapes due to the presence of methylene chloride, a chemical used in industrial processes such as paint stripping and metal cleaning.

Crime:

• New details were revealed of a 2020 massacre of seven people at an unlicensed farm in Riverside County.
  KTLA