Hi all,

Little late today so let’s get to it.

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• SCOOP: Muha Meds founders had Calif. license revoked

Alex

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SCOOP: Muha Meds founders had Calif. license revoked

On July 6, Muha Meds celebrated the opening of a store on LA’s Westwood Blvd. WeedWeek‘s High Society section featured a photo of co-founders Ali and Muhammad Gawari in a shower of confetti.

Days earlier, the California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) had revoked the only California license where the agency lists the Garawi brothers as owners, an LA County manufacturer called Green Acre Management. Letters sent by the agency allege numerous packaging, tagging and other violations.

In a July letter to the agency, obtained through a Public Records Act request, the Garawis’ lawyer denied the allegations and said they would appeal.

Read the story

Federal:

• Won social media, the cannabiz generally cheered President-elect Trump’s controversial nominations of former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fl.) for U.S. attorney general and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Secretary of Health and Human Services.
  CNN
• Would-be participants in the upcoming DEA hearing on rescheduling had to “reconcile two seemingly counterintuitive arguments.“
  MJBiz
  
• Joe Rogan said Kamala Harris didn’t want to discuss weed in negotiations for an interview that didn’t happen.
  Marijuana Moment

Business:

• Assets of MSO Eaze Technologies have been acquired and revived after the company announced last month it would wind down. The new company, to be called Eaze, received a $10M infusion from Silicon Valley billionaire Jim Clark who was an investor in the previous company. The company has Green Dragon branded dispensaries in Florida and Colorado and 11 delivery hubs in California.
  MJBiz
• Current and former Weedmaps execs face shareholder derivative claims following an investor class action an regulatory fine.
  Law360
• Following an investment from MSO Green Thumb Industries, Agrify said it would acquire the Señorita brand of hemp beverages.
• St. Louis Magazine checked out trade show (and WeedWeek advertiser) MJUnpacked.

State and local:

• Massachusetts regulators formally classified ground cannabis dust as a workplace hazard.
  Grant Smith-Ellis
• The Florida market is melting, writes longtime analyst Alan Brochstein.
  New Cannabis Ventures
• Idaho activists filed for a longshot REC ballot initiative intended for 2026.
  Forbes
• Also in Massachusetts, The Green Lady dispensary received Nantucket’s first shipment of mainland grown bud after regulators changed the rules for boats on state waters.
  Ack.net
• New Mexico lawmakers proposed giving the pot regulator law enforcement capabilities.
  Santa Fe New Mexican
• Washington D.C. shops sued the city to stop enforcement actions.
  Green Market Report
• New Jersey said it would enforce portions of a hemp ban.
  New Jersey Monitor
• Texas lawmakers pre-filed a legalization bill for 2025.
  Marijuana Moment
• Small farmers in New York sued the state alleging the market set them up for failure.
  Albany Times-Union

State:

• While pot taxes have fallen, unit sales are up this year.
• Organizers behind an effort to record legacy genetics discussed their plans at an event.
  Marijuana Moment

Business:

• In a move that would hit the industry hard, the state excise tax is set to jump from 15% to 19% on July 1 unless legislators intervene.
  Green Market Report
• Glass House reported a Q3 loss of $3M but expects to recoup it thanks to a new tax strategy that it says exempts it from industry-hated tax rule 280E.
  Green Market Report
• Operator Unrivaled Brands declared bankruptcy, following “bitter activist litigation” by People’s California, its main creditor. The companies have been feuding for years.
• Broker Green Life Business Group posted a sale of Statehouse assets, being sold via a court-ordered receivership.
• UFCW NorCal organizer Jim Araby warns the Calif. industry is about to be consolidated by ‘private equity backed corporations.‘
  SFGate

Local:

• Oakland exempted cannabis from a residential smoking ban.
  CA Norml
• Americans are regularly getting arrested for pot smoking in Tijuana.
  Fox5
• Humboldt Co. supes met to discuss the excise tax.
  KRCR
• Santa Barbara County officials delayed a discussion of amendments to the county cannabis ordinance. The county also said it would appeal a ruling that found cannabis is illegal.
  Coastal View, The Independent
  

Upcoming:

• Ego Clash 2024 will be Dec. 7-8 in Northern California.
  @thebaysesh
• Mogu Magu is hosting Big Spicy, a six course hash pairing dinner celebrating Asian spices, on December 12 in LA.