by HempingtonPost | Nov 18, 2020
After receiving government approval, the bills will be rewritten into a new law under the supervision of Blue and White MK Michal Cotler-Wunsh.
After four months in which the inter-ministerial committee for the regulation of Israel’s cannabis market had been convening every week, it published its conclusions on Thursday and handed them over to the Justice Ministry.Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn said that a legal memo will be drafted in the coming days for government approval, and that a bill could come to the Knesset floor for an initial reading even before the end of 2020, with the entire legislative process expected to take around nine months.
After receiving government approval, the bills will be rewritten into a new law under the supervision of Blue and White MK Michal Cotler-Wunsh, chairwoman of the Knesset’s Special Committee on Drug and Alcohol Use.”I see great importance that these two bills [for decriminalization and legalization] be put forth as a single bill, which will be a responsible, holistic step for Israel without compromise. I am committed to leading, advancing and supervising the application of these recommendations for reform, while doing the preparations required in the memo on time,” Cotler-Wunsh said.In a special discussion on Thursday, Deputy Attorney-General Amit Merari presented the main conclusions of the extensive and in-depth staff work done by the committee and the experts who appeared before it on the subject of regulating cannabis.The recommendations were formulated after an in-depth study of the successes and failures in the implementation of cannabis legalization and decriminalization policies in the countries where the field was regulated.
FIRSTLY, anyone who was expecting to be able to smoke a legal joint will have to wait until some time near the final quarter of 2021, since there are still certain areas of both research and legislation which the various government offices need to prepare.
The committee said there is an essential need for detailed and thorough legislation concerning all possible aspects of the regulation, a lesson from the Colorado model, which had much less data to go on when the Rocky Mountain state chose to legalize cannabis in 2012.A significant and early budget will be dedicated for data tracking, enforcement, mental health treatment and addiction rehabilitation, in order to prepare the public for the move.A major emphasis in the policy will be put on preventing teen cannabis use and addiction, similar to the Canadian model.Establishment of a forfeiture fund from the tax profits on cannabis will be dedicated to social and community action.The new law is expected to go to a first reading in the Knesset within the next month, and clear the entire legislative process within nine months, according to Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn. In that time, the different offices will cooperate to regulate the market, each in their own department.After the process is complete, Israelis and tourists will be able to buy cannabis at special dispensaries, provided they are above the age of 21 and present a valid form of identification.
MERARI PRESENTED the reasons for the committee’s recommendations, saying the drug is very common in public use, there is no justification for its prohibition, and that its legal consequences currently outweigh its medical consequences.A majority of the committee members agreed that the advantages of cannabis legalization outweigh the disadvantages.The nine months will be used to answer some of the legislation’s many questions, and to prepare a network of data, so that the Health Ministry will be able to research and monitor the market in real time before it legally opens.The amount which will be allowed for possession of cannabis has still not been decided.Home growing will initially be illegal, but will be reconsidered once the market has been established.In the field of transportation, an emphasis will be placed on education regarding the dangers of driving under the influence of cannabis, particularly when mixed with alcohol.However, many questions remain regarding the accuracy of THC breathalyzer tests used today, leading to this area to be possibly the largest loophole in need of fixing before legislation can pass.
PROF. ITAMAR GROTTO said after the announcement that there are three reasons they are satisfied with the recommendations. The first is the harm-reduction approach taken by the recommendations, which aim to work incrementally towards reducing the overall harm which comes from both cannabis criminalization and addiction.Secondly, the field of medical research into the long-term societal and health effects of cannabis would be greatly aided by legalization, Grotto said.Lastly, there is a need for better prevention and treatment methods, seeing as criminalization has not lowered the amount of users, despite being Israeli law since the country’s founding in 1948.Grotto also mentioned the need to separate the medical and recreational cannabis markets, saying they are still at the start of the journey on that aspect.
MK RAM SHEFA, who proposed the legalization bill which passed in a preliminary hearing in June, addressed the meeting via Zoom while in isolation, thanking the team for their hard work.”We can’t close our eyes to what is happening. Israel is a relative leader in cannabis consumption, and the market needs to be regulated,” Shefa said. “I say that also as the chairman of the Knesset’s Education Committee. I think we have a responsibility to address the problems of addiction, and the best way to deal with them is when your eyes are open.”I know we still have a few roadblocks ahead of us, and that the legislation will take many months, which will force us to find all kinds of solutions and compromises. But I am certain that with the wide consensus around this table, we can do it in a safe, responsible manner, that I think will succeed in freeing a lot of people of the stigma of feeling like criminals, for something that can and should be regulated,” he said.Shefa noted an urgency in the need to pass the legislation, most likely due to the looming specter of a possible dissolution of the Knesset for an election, which could complicate the chance for legalization if the bill has not yet passed in a first reading.”I’m here to push with full force, whether in isolation or not, for this legislation to be completed. We won’t let any party or MK – or anyone – stop us from leading a move that would help a lot of people in a responsible manner,” Shefa said.
LIKUD MK Sharren Haskel, who wrote the decriminalization bill, thanked Nissenkorn and the committee for their work, while also criticizing fellow Likud member and current UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan for his previous attempts at decriminalizing cannabis.”The recommendations which came out today are righting an injustice that was done during the previous cannabis committee led by [former public security minister Gilad] Erdan, where there was a majority for these recommendations to go through, but they were disregarded, and a completely different set of regulations passed,”
Haskel said.”These recommendations confirm what I and many in the public have already known for years: that the current policy has failed and we must change and repair it,” she added.Haskel seemed to echo Shefa’s urgency in the need to pass the bill during a time of election uncertainty, saying: “I promise the citizens of Israel that I will make a tremendous effort to cooperate and finish this legislation before the Knesset dissolves” – before being interrupted, and changing her remarks to reflect a vague optimism that the bill will likely pass.”We expect that within the final quarter of 2021, we will have completed the outline for the regulations,” Nissenkorn said. “The legislative outline can be approved very soon. Afterwards, there is the process of applying performance regulations, which we expect will be done by the last quarter of next year. We still need to discuss the intermediary period.”
GROTTO SAID that there is no plan for changes in the reform to the medical cannabis market, though he added they will need to think of ways to differentiate between the amount of regulations placed on cannabis for recreational use and cannabis for medicinal use.However, Grotto added, the fact that Israel has already established regulations for the medicinal market, provides an infrastructure through which recreational cannabis can more easily be regulated.”We intend to release a legal memo to the public and hand it to the government for approval within the coming days. At the beginning of next month it can be sent to the Knesset along with the bills from MKs Shefa and Haskel to continue for a first reading in the Knesset plenum. Our goal is that within nine months, the first offices will have completed the important infrastructural work needed to combat addiction, to regulate the market and other processes.” When asked about issues which arose from Erdan’s 2018 cannabis reform (disproportionately high fines, criminalization still optional for possession, black market unaffected), Nissenkorn said a discussion would be had on the topic due to its complexity. However, Merari said no changes to the reform are planned to take place until new legislation passes.
MERETZ MK Tamar Zandberg, a long-time advocate and pioneer for cannabis legalization in Israel, congratulated Nissenkorn for “finally joining the 21st century and the list of ministers who promise legalization.”The direction is clear: Smoking cannabis in one’s spare time should not be a criminal offense – and soon will not be,” she said. “The legalization train has already left the station; it will soon become a reality. Congratulations to those who are struggling and joining.” Blue and White leader and alternate Prime Minister Benny Gantz said: “As I promised all along – today we bring an outline for responsible legalization that is adapted to the needs of the State of Israel.”He congratulated Nissenkorn, Shefa and Haskel for their achievements, adding that “We will lead the completion of the legislative process in the Knesset, and I look forward to the cooperation and substantive discussion of all parties in the political system. Too many civilians have suffered too long – it’s time to make amends.”
This story first appeared at The Jerusalem Post.
by HempingtonPost | Nov 10, 2020
A bill to remove federal penalties on marijuana and scrap some cannabis-related records will receive a vote on the House floor in December, according to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. In a letter to colleagues Monday, Hoyer outlined the legislative schedule for the lame-duck session in November and December.
“The House will vote on the MORE Act to decriminalize cannabis and expunge convictions for non-violent cannabis offenses that have prevented many Americans from getting jobs, applying for credit and loans, and accessing opportunities that make it possible to get ahead in our economy,” the letter read.Hoyer’s letter did not specify which week the vote will come up, but the House is scheduled to be in session Dec. 1-4 and Dec. 7-10.
What’s the background? The House was scheduled to vote on the bill in September, but someDemocrats in tight races worried that voters would not look kindly on a marijuana legalization votewhen a deal on coronavirus aid remained elusive. At the time, Hoyer promised the bill would still come up for a vote after the election.
Momentum is growing on marijuana policy. More than a third of Americans now live in states with full legalization, and a record 68 percent support federal cannabis legalization, according to Gallup. This past Election Day, five states passed medical or recreational legalization referendums — including staunchly conservative states such as Montana and South Dakota — bringing the total number of legal states up to 15.
On Monday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tweeted that it‘s “past time to end the federal prohibition on marijuana.“
“With the success of all the cannabis ballot measures across the country last week, it’s more important than ever for Congress to catch up,” said Cannabis Caucus Co-chair Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), after Hoyer’s office announced the vote. “We’re going to continue building momentum so that Congress takes action to end the failed prohibition of cannabis before the year is out. Too much is at stake for communities of color.”
This story first appeared at Politico.com
by HempingtonPost | Nov 10, 2020
Puration, Inc. has released an online multimedia presentation detailing the launch of their new lifestyle branded business initiative targeting the acquisition of hemp consumer advocates as participants in an innovative hemp-solution-development-ecosystem.
PURA is evolving from a CBD beverage company into a hemp lifestyle company. The company views the hemp market as being in its infancy. Little is understood in the market about hemp other than it being a source of CBD. And little is known about all the benefits of CBD.
The U.S. industrial hemp market is expected to reach a valuation of $26.6 billion by 2025. It was valued at $4.6 billion in 2019. We believe the future value of industrial hemp is substantially larger than current analyst projections because the industrial potential of hemp is not pervasively understood.
PURA is introducing a business plan with the objective of raising awareness for the comprehensive potential of industrial hemp by developing multiple products that demonstrate that potential.
Their target market is the hemp consumer advocate that believes in the personal, environmental and economic benefits of hemp. The PURA customer considers their preference for hemp products over conventional alternatives as an expression of their identity – committed to naturally derived personal health products, and environmentally sustainable industrial solutions. Hemp is essential to the lifestyle of the hemp consumer advocate and the hemp consumer advocate is eager to convert others to the benefits of hemp.
PURA is introducing a platform to interact with hemp activist consumers – to hear and act on their ideas regarding hemp derived products from pharmaceuticals to an array of textile and construction solutions. Operationally, PURA is reorganizing its existing business concerns, contracts, and intellectual properties to parallel its reprioritization of efforts in conjunction with the new hemp lifestyle brand.
The lifestyle brand will be built around a hemp-solution-development-ecosystem that facilitates the interactive participation of consumers, engineers, designers, medical professionals, entrepreneurs and investors to conceive, pilot, validate and produce hemp solutions.
The ecosystem will be founded on a physical property where participants can tangibly interact in the process to conceive, pilot, validate and produce hemp solutions. The hemp-solution-development-ecosystem lifestyle business plan is well beyond concept phase. PURA has acquired a 72-acre property form UC Asset LP (OTC: UCASU) as the foundation for the hemp-solution-development-ecosystem. The property, in Farmersville, Texas is the inspiration for the hemp lifestyle brand name, “Farmersville Brands.”
PURA has established a hemp-solution-development-ecosystem partnership with PAO Group, Inc. (OTC PINK: PAOG) to participate in the co-development of hemp derived nutraceutical and pharmaceutical solutions. PURA has also established a hemp-solution-development-ecosystem partnership with Alkame Holdings, Inc. (OTC PINK: ALKM) to act as a dedicated copacker for hemp derived beverages, foods and oils.
More partnerships are in the works. A corporate name change is underway and new website is under construction.
In addition to the recent land purchase and new partnerships, PURA brings a host of historical momentum to the new hemp-solution-development-ecosystem business plan. In January of this year PURA launched an acquisition campaign targeting CBD product acquisitions that could be enhanced with PURA’s patented technology. Those assets will be valuable in propelling the hemp-solution-development-ecosystem business strategy forward.
PURA owns a license to a U.S. Patented cannabis extraction process backed by extensive university medical research. The license, issued by NCM Biotech, is exclusive for beverages, edibles and cosmetics among other uses. NCM Biotech is focused on medical research and Puration has access to that research. See a recent research report on CBD extracts derived from NCM Biotech’s patented extraction process: Journal of Cannabis Research.
In the course of this year, the company has acquired a CBD confections business, a CBD pet products business and CBD sun care business. Combined with its existing beverage industry product line, PURA’s combined horizontal market opportunity ranges across $2 trillion in market value.
PURA’s new hemp-solution-development-ecosystem business will maintain its existing beverage business. PURA’s EVERx CBD Sports Water remains a leader in the sports nutrition market place accounting for the lion’s share of PURA’s $2.7 million in revenue reported last year in 2019.
As we near the conclusion of this presentation for all of you already familiar with PURA, yes, the one for one dividend of PAOG stock coming from the PAOG acquisition of PURA’s hemp cultivation operation is still on track to be issued soon.
PURA management looks forward to revealing additional specific details of the hemp-solution-development-ecosystem. Look for announcements with more details on the existing and developing partnerships and the development of the Farmersville property. Look for the launch of the new website that will include more information on how to become an early PURA participating hemp consumer advocate. The company also plans to soon release more details on the plans to integrate an innovative investment strategy into the overall ecosystem solution.
by HempingtonPost | Oct 19, 2020
New Jersey is expected to approve a ballot initiative to legalize adult-use (aka recreational) marijuana on Election Day next month. Aside from stoking up the 61% of likely Garden State voters in favor of the measure, its passage is projected to generate up to $400 million in adult-use sales in its first year and $950 million by 2024, translating then to nearly $63 million in annual state tax revenue and an additional $19 million in local taxes, as estimated by Marijuana Business Daily. In an economy shattered by the coronavirus pandemic, legal weed looks like a great idea.
That may not be the only good news for legalization proponents after Nov. 3. They’re hoping New Jersey’s pro-pot vote will trigger a domino effect in neighboring states considering similar efforts. “Once New Jersey goes, it’s going to set off an arms race along the East Coast, putting New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania on the clock,” said DeVaughn Ward, senior legislative counsel for the Marijuana Policy Project, a cannabis advocacy group in Hartford.
Those three states already permit medicinal marijuana sales and have been moving toward legalizing adult-use for several years, considering tax revenue, job creation and the will of the majority of residents in favor of full legalization. The legislative stars appeared aligned following the 2018 midterm elections’ blue wave, yet ultimately there weren’t enough yea votes in the respective state houses last year. Then the pandemic hit in March, keeping legalization bills in lockdown until next year.
Three additional states — Arizona, South Dakota and Montana — have adult-use legalization initiatives on their November ballots, and Mississippians will vote on a bill allowing medicinal sales. If all five measures pass, medicinal marijuana will be legal in 38 states, as well as Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, and adult-use in 14 of those, plus D.C.
Legalization is another leg on the long, strange trip the U.S. cannabis industry is experiencing in the Year of Covid. Marijuana sales have gone up during the pandemic, thanks to stay-at-home orders and federal stimulus money. And the prospects for continued growth are high.
Total cannabis sales in the U.S. this year are projected to reach $15.8 billion, according to Arcview Market Research/BDSA, up from $12.1 billion in 2019. In adult-use states, the numbers are eye-popping. Illinois, for instance, recently reported its fifth straight month of record-breaking marijuana sales, which hit $67 million in September. Oregon has seen adult-use sales rise 30% above forecast since the pandemic began, averaging $100 million a month over the summer.
“As a whole, the industry is doing fairly well,” said Chris Walsh, CEO of Marijuana Business Daily. “Some companies have struggled, but in general we haven’t seen an overwhelming number of layoffs or companies going out of business.” A big boost, he added, was that most states deemed cannabis businesses as essential during the pandemic. “They were able to stay open while the economy virtually came to a grinding halt,” Walsh said.
Even so, because marijuana remains illegal on the federal level, the industry was ineligible for funds distributed through the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program. “It’s just another irony on top of irony about how the country handles cannabis in general,” Walsh said. House Democrats have included the industry in previous and proposed Covid stimulus packages, but to no avail.
Federal stance on pot legalization
Depending on the outcome of next month’s presidential and Congressional elections, the likelihood of full federal legalization — which means removing it from its highly restrictive Schedule I drug classification under the Controlled Substances Act — could be greater than ever. What’s more, there’s a good chance that the rampant injustices inflicted during the nation’s nearly century-old cannabis prohibition, disproportionately upon people of color, may be overcome.
The Trump administration has had an enigmatic relationship with cannabis. It rescinded an Obama-era policy that prevented federal prosecutions for marijuana offenses and made immigrants ineligible for citizenship if they consume marijuana or work in the cannabis industry. Yet Trump has previously favored states’ rights to legalize pot and signed the 2018 Farm Bill that legalized hemp, its non-intoxicating variety. He’s running for reelection on a law-and-order platform and has never promoted federal legalization, so even if Congress turns solid blue, it’s hard to predict where he might come down on the issue.
Trump’s Democratic opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, has a complicated history with cannabis, too. As a senator, he championed the 1994 crime bill that sent tens of thousands of minor drug offenders to prison. Yet while serving as Obama’s vice president, the administration issued the Cole memo, which cleared the way for state-legal marijuana businesses to operate largely without federal interference. Biden and running mate Senator Kamala Harris support adult-use marijuana decriminalization, moderate rescheduling, federal medicinal legalization, allowing states to set their own laws and expunging prior cannabis convictions — though not federal legalization.
Harris and Rep. Jerry Nadler were co-sponsors last year of the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and eliminate criminal penalties under federal law. The MORE Act also would expedite expungements, impose a 5% tax on cannabis products to fund criminal and social reforms and prohibit the denial of any federal public benefits based on marijuana use. Congress was scheduled to vote on the bill in September, but it was delayed, probably until next year.
Alongside tax revenue and job creation, social justice reform is the strongest argument for legalization, on both the federal and state levels. Dating back to the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, criminalization and incarceration, especially of minorities, have been foundational to drug laws. “The war on drugs has historically and continues to disproportionately target communities of color,” said David Abernathy, vice president of research and consulting for Arcview Group, an Oakland-based firm that matches cannabis businesses and investors, who also is on the board of the Minority Cannabis Business Association.
Business opportunities in the cannabis market
While decriminalization and expungement are paramount to legalization, providing business opportunities for minorities in legal cannabis is equally vital, Abernathy said. “It’s harder for communities of color to participate in the industry as it gets better capitalized and folks from other industries move into it with their connections,” he said. That’s why there’s been pushback in some state initiatives that disqualify individuals with drug convictions from working with cannabis.
On the investment side of the equation, Abernathy noted that even before Covid, there was a significantly slower capital market than in recent years. But with the industry’s uptick during the pandemic, for some investors it’s been “a good place to put money in this volatile time,” he said. Next year, especially if legalization initiatives pass, “we expect this growth trend to continue.”
Another positive trend is the increasing sophistication of cannabis businesses, with publicly-traded companies such as Tilray, Cronos Group, Aurora Cannabis, GW Pharmaceuticalsand Canopy Growth as prime examples. They are among start-ups involved in medicinals, CBDs, edibles, vaping and smokable products, as well as cannabis cultivation and distribution, where allowed in the U.S. and other countries. If and when marijuana becomes federally legal in the U.S., those endemic players are likely to be joined by conventional food, beverage, tobacco and other consumer product companies that for years have been anticipating a multi-billion-dollar global cannabis market.
Additionally, the industry has the potential for significant job growth, said Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association in Washington. There are already nearly 244,000 people working full-time in legal cannabis, according to a report by Leafly earlier this year, “but with new states coming on board and [possible] federal legalization, that could turn into tens of millions of jobs,” Smith said. “Given the state of the economy, policy makers and voters ought to look to this industry for its economic potential.”
This story originally appeared at CNBC
by HempingtonPost | Oct 2, 2020
In addition to the U.S. presidential election, the cannabis legalization movement has a lot riding on the November election.
It’s been another difficult year for marijuana investors, with the ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF MJ 0.14% down 39.5% in 2020. However, the election could be a major catalyst for cannabis stocks, especially multi-state operators (MSOs).
On Thursday, DataTrek Research co-founder Jessica Rabe took a look at the latest polling data in the four states that are voting on recreational cannabis legalization initiatives in November.
State-By-State Breakdown: In New Jersey, a new poll by law firm Brach Eichler found that 65% of likely voters support legalization, suggesting recreational legalization is likely.
In Arizona, a recent poll conducted by Smart and Safe Arizona found 57% of likely voters support recreational cannabis legalization, but a poll by OH Predictive Insights this week found only 46% of respondents support legalization compared to 45% who do not.
In South Dakota, a marijuana opposition group recently found that 60% of respondents favor legalization.
Finally, a University of Montana poll back in February found that 54% of potential voters support statewide legalization in Montana.
Federal Disappointment: Rabe said New Jersey could be key in triggering a cannabis domino effect among neighboring states.
“Should New Jersey allow retail sales, it will show all the tax revenue and jobs its neighboring states are missing out on, especially amid huge budget shortfalls and job losses due to COVID-19,” she said.
Unfortunately, cannabis investors have little to be excited about on the federal level at the moment. Neither President Donald Trump nor Democratic nominee Joe Biden support federal legalization, which Rabe said is one of the primary reasons for the weakness in cannabis stocks this year.
“Should the tipping point for federal legalization not come this election cycle, this group will continue to struggle with a limited addressable market and fragmented industry,” Rabe said.
Benzinga’s Take: The best thing that could happen for cannabis investors may be for the election race to tighten heading into its final weeks. Biden could feel pressure to use the cannabis legalization issue to rally more voters to the polls if he feels he is losing momentum heading into Election Day.
This story originally appeared at Benzinga.
