In the days of the Armada, a fleet of warships, the scuttlebutt was the rumor or gossip that would spread throughout the ship. Today, Armada Law Corp presents The Scuttlebutt, a daily summery of news articles that people within the cannabis, hemp and plant medicine industries are chatting about along with links to the full articles.
In today’s news:
Governor Signs McGuire’s ‘Cannabis Licensing Reform Act’ Into Law, Allowing Growers to Save Money by Pausing or Reducing Cultivation
#californiacannabis – “From Senator Mike McGuire’s office:
Sacramento—Across California, small-family licensed cannabis farmers are struggling to make ends meet amidst historic market instability. Many can’t even afford to put plants in the ground, only to harvest a product that won’t make a profit.
Yet, growers are required to pay full freight for their state cultivation license—up to tens of thousands of dollars annually—even if they don’t plant that year. This harsh economic reality, paying for a license they may not even use, doesn’t make any sense and it’s helping drive instability into the market.
That’s why Senate President Designee Mike McGuire advanced SB 833, the Cannabis Licensing Reform Act, this year….”
Read More: https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2023/nov/27/governor-signs-mcguires-cannabis-licensing-reform/
Marijuana lab-testing analysis finds routine THC inflation, data manipulation
#cannabisindustry – “The THC potency of marijuana flower sold in legal stores in four states is routinely and systematically inflated, sometimes by as much as 25% or more, according to an independent analysis of licensed cannabis testing-laboratory data obtained by MJBizDaily.
But perhaps even more troublingly, the analysis – conducted by Yasha Kahn of MCR Labs, a state-licensed cannabis testing laboratory in Massachusetts – also found evidence of data manipulation in lab testing for yeast and mold….”
Read More: https://mjbizdaily.com/marijuana-lab-testing-analysis-finds-routine-thc-inflation-data-manipulation/
German Lawmakers Reach Agreement On Revised Marijuana Legalization Bill, With Final Vote Expected Next Week
#cannabispolitics – “German lawmakers have reached an agreement to revise a marijuana legalization bill, relaxing certain provisions that were challenged by cannabis reform supporters and setting the stage for a final vote in the national parliament next week.
Advocates were disappointed when a planned vote in the Bundestag was postponed last week, but there’s renewed optimism that the legislation as agreed upon by the traffic light coalition will advance, with legalization proposed to come into effect next spring….”
Joint interest litigant wants 3rd pot shop spot
#californiacannabis – “A business partnership that had plans to open a marijuana dispensary in Placerville went up in smoke when its application to open was not approved by the city’s selection process has offered a “win-win resolution” to its ongoing legal dispute with the local government.
The proposed resolution was laid out in a letter sent to the Placerville City Council, El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce, Police Chief Joseph Wren and other parties by Max Del Real, a Sacramento-based lobbyist and business consultant who has worked in the commercial cannabis industry for 15 years…..”
Dude, Where’s My Liquidation?
#cannabisbusiness – “Every election it seems like the country inches closer to cannabis being legal at the federal level. Until that day comes, however, the question of whether those in the cannabis industry can seek bankruptcy relief remains. Because cannabis remains illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA), for the past decade bankruptcy courts have routinely held that cannabis businesses are ineligible to seek bankruptcy relief (see In re Burton, 610 B.R. 633 (B.A.P. 9th Cir. 2020);see also In re Malul, 614 B.R. 699 (Bankr. D. Colo. 2020)).
Earlier this year, however, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California opened the door for distressed cannabis businesses to pursue bankruptcy under federal law. The court in In re: Hacienda Company, LLC denied the trustee’s motion to dismiss, even after the trustee argued that the bankruptcy should be dismissed due to the debtor’s engagement in the sale of cannabis products in violation of the CSA. The court held that the trustee failed to establish the debtor was still violating the CSA because the debtor had recently transferred its intellectual property to a Canadian cannabis business in exchange for stock in that company — meaning the debtor was no longer operating a cannabis business. Additionally, the court reasoned that Congress did not adopt a “zero tolerance” policy for any illegality and that violation of the CSA is not enough to dismiss the bankruptcy. Critically, the court highlighted that the specific facts of the case warranted the denial of the motion to dismiss, thus emphasizing that future cannabis-related bankruptcy decisions will depend heavily on the facts….”
Read More: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/dude-where-s-my-liquidation-6594304/
Sentencing Guidelines Boosted For Atty In Pot Bribe Case
#cannabislawsuit – “An attorney convicted in a marijuana licensing bribery scheme faces a potentially stiff sentence after a Boston federal judge on Monday rejected the defendant’s math, showing he only benefited $15,000 from the crime, but stopped short of adopting prosecutors’ calculations pegging the gain at $100,000 or more.
Ruling from the bench after an evidentiary hearing, U.S. District Judge William G. Young said Somerville, Massachusetts, attorney Sean O’Donovan benefited at least $40,000 but less than $95,000 from allegedly attempting to bribe the police chief of nearby Medford, who sat on a board tasked with reviewing and scoring applications to open retail marijuana stores in the city.
The finding, offered without explanation, pushes the nonbinding federal sentencing guidelines up six levels as Judge Young weighs O’Donovan’s sentence for wire fraud and federal programs bribery convictions. Sentencing is scheduled for February 2024….”
(PAYWALL) Read more at: https://www.law360.com/cannabis/articles/1769961?nl_pk=bb2d2862-9f62-42b6-ab85-0c7a674438c1&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cannabis&utm_content=2023-11-28&read_main=1&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=1?copied=1