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• Riverside licensing reversal angers retailers

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Riverside licensing reversal angers retailers

Riverside’s city council suspended the city’s nearly complete dispensary licensing process this month, jeopardizing local investments from some of California’s largest retailers.

The move, which owes to the council’s concerns about shop locations and other issues, has left retailers fuming as they contemplate what will happen with the 14 city- approved store locations. To reach this point they had to secure properties, which meant signing leases and making additional significant…

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Federal:

• The prospects for bank reform look slim under the Senate’s new Republican majority.
  Cannabis Business Times

Business:

• A federal judge ruled that leading MSO Curaleaf owes a Michigan farm $32M for breaching a purchasing agreement.
  Crain’s Detroit Business
• Since Meta’s recent “free speech” oriented update, many cannabis businesses report shutdowns and ‘shadow bans’ on Instagram.
  MJBiz
• A lawsuit against MSO Acreage Holdings, now owned by Canadian company Canopy Growth, creatively argues that vape cartridges should be considered edibles because they don’t use combustion.
  MJBiz
• REIT Innovative Industrial Properties reported it had reached a resolution with PharmaCann over the MSO’s default.
  New Cannabis Ventures
• When will weed reach convenience store shelves?
  CStoreDecisions
• Sundie Seefried, CEO of Safe Harbor Financial, said she would retire.
  Cannabis Business Times
• MSO Ayr Wellness said COO George Denardo is now president as well.
• Leading track and trace software provider Metrc secured the contract for the U.S. Virgin Islands.
• Bill Gates discusses his youthful experimentation with weed in his forthcoming memoir.
  Marijuana Moment

State and local:

• A Florida state senator said the sponsors of last year’s unsuccessful REC ballot initiative mislead then-candidate Donald Trump into supporting it.
  Marijuana Moment
• Smaller players are gaining in Florida’s MED-only market.
  Green Market Report
• Massachusetts regulators plan to resolve confusion over employee badging.
  Talking Joints Memo
• Colorado Springs voters will have a “re-do” after voting in November to allow dispensaries.
  Colorado Sun
• Ohio lawmakers fast-tracked a bill to rollback the state’s REC laws and raise the tax rate.
  Statehouse News
• Pennsylvania’s budget crisis could accelerate REC legalization.
  MJBiz
• Nebraska lawmakers proposed bills to implement a MED program.
  Nebraska Examiner

Health and science:

• The U.S. FDA approved a non-addictive pain medicine that could be used instead of opioids.
  NY Times
• Scientists found CBD in a common Brazilian plant.
  Science Alert

R.I.P.

• @worldofcannabis.museum mourned the death of David Watson, a.k.a. Skunkman Sam “by many accounts the most influential cannabis breeder in history.”

Fun and interesting:

• Cartoonist Brian “Box” Brown pays tribute to longtime Canadian activist Dana Larsen.
  @boxbrown
• How Amsterdam’s cannabis tourism is evolving.
  GayCities

State:

• State Senator Susan Rubio (D- East LA Co.) was reappointed to a key chairmanship involving insurance related legislation as she faces scrutiny related to a federal cannabis-related corruption probe. She has not been charged with any crimes.
  LA Times 

Business:

• Here’s how the industry is supporting fire victims.
  LA Times
• Martin Olive, owner of the Vapor Room dispensary in San Francisco, was shot repeatedly outside his store. Police killed the suspect in a standoff and a motive for the shooting is unclear. Olive is expected to survive but faces a difficult recovery. Donate to his GoFundMe here.
  SF Chronicle
• Stiiizy founder Tony Huang listed his Newport Beach mansion for $60M. He purchased it for $38M, the most expensive home purchase in Orange County last year.
  SFGate
• Despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ban, California companies are still jumping to hemp.
  SFGate
• Hemp OG Chris Boucher says California has the country’s worst hemp laws.
  Lancaster Farming
• Stiiizy is coming to New York.

Local:

• Pot tax revenue in growing hub Santa Barbara County continue to fall. And authorities moved towards requiring farms to install state of the art odor control systems.
  Coastal View, Independent
• Sutter County extended its ban on industrial hemp, despite grower pushback.
  SacBee
• Palm Springs is adding a ballot question on whether MED collectives should be taxed.
  Desert Sun
• Woodland’s (Yolo Co.) first dispensary is opening.
  Sacramento Business Journal
• Same in Manteca (San Joaquin Co.).
  Hoodline
• Pot tax revenue continues to drop in San Diego County.
  CBS