AP: Medical cannabis taxes go mainstream

 Business, Dispensaries, Marijuana News, Ordinances
Nov 132010
 

OAKLAND — Californians may have rejected legalizing recreational marijuana, but voters across the state are more than ready to reap revenue from the state’s largest cash crop. On Election Day, all 10 cities with local measures on their ballots approved new or higher taxes on marijuana sales that put the need for cash above the stigma of a federally banned drug. The same was true in Colorado, where medical marijuana was approved in 2000, the AP’s Marcus Wohlsen reports in a story picked up by the Sacramento Bee. Nine municipalities approved higher sales taxes on [...]

Eureka taking apps for medical marijuana facilities

 Business, Cultivation, Marijuana News, Medical marijuana
Nov 012010
 

A three-person committee selected to evaluate submissions for proposed commercial medical marijuana facilities in Eureka is taking applications and will host a workshop to help applicants. If things go according to plan, Councilman Jeff Leonard said the chosen business plans can move forward to apply for the proper permits and possibly open next year. The workshop designed to help applicants understand the process will be Nov. 4 at Eureka’s City Hall, 531 K St. The Eureka City Council passed a medical marijuana ordinance that went into effect Sept. 3, allowing a limited number of medical [...]

CalChamber ad blitz: Stoners in the workplace!

 Advocates, Business, Legalization, Marijuana News, Media
Oct 272010
 

A statewide radio advertising blitz paid for by the California Chamber of Commerce’s Business PAC features a commercial depicting a stoned California workforce. The spot calling for a “no” vote on the Proposition 19 marijuana initiative is bound to get your attention. But it merits a closer look – and some chilling out on its more colorful claims. Here is the text of the CalChamber commercial, as reported by “Weed Wars” blogger Peter Hecht, followed by some of Hecht’s observations: Imagine coming out of surgery and the nurse caring for you was high – or [...]

Facebook co-founders prop up Prop. 19 funding

 Advocates, Business, Legalization, Media
Oct 092010
 

SAN FRANCISCO — California’s ballot measure to legalize marijuana has a new friend: Facebook co-founder Sean Parker has given $100,000 to back the proposal. Parker’s donation was reported in Proposition 19 campaign finance filings this week. And he’s not the first big Proposition 19 donor with ties to the social networking site. Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz has made two donations totaling $70,000, including a $50,000 contribution last month, the Associated Press reports in the San Jose Mercury News. Neither Parker nor Moskovitz are still with Palo Alto-based Facebook, but both still have ownership stakes. Recent [...]

L.A. Times profile: Prop. 19 backer Lee stresses pot politics

 Advocates, Business, Legalization, Marijuana News, Medical marijuana
Oct 042010
 
L.A. Times profile: Prop. 19 backer Lee stresses pot politics

Reporting from Oakland — Richard Lee rolled his wheelchair up the ramp and glided onstage, steering himself to a table draped in a green cloth with “Oaksterdam University” spelled out in gold, varsity-sweater letters. The founder of the nation’s first marijuana trade school was there to deliver a few inspirational words to about 70 students hoping to become the next Richard Lee, an entrepreneur who says his medical marijuana dispensary, nursery and other pot-related businesses bring in as much as $7 million a year. Lee fiddled with a camera pointed at a leafy plant until [...]

Panel: Marketing is key to growing cannabusinesses

 Bud's Blog, Business, Featured Content, Marijuana News
Sep 302010
 
Panel: Marketing is key to growing cannabusinesses

While Prop. 19 was on the minds of many at the International Cannabis and Hemp Expo, the panel presentations were focused on issues unique to cannabusiness. Among the best was “Branding Cannabis: An Industry Talk.” You’ll want to hear what these experts say about the importance of branding, social media, packaging and building relationships with other growing businesses. Also, take notice of how they name-drop their own brands frequently as they talk. Good stuff, and easy to put into practice at a chamber mixer, farmer’s market or Facebook page. To see other INTCHE panel presentations [...]

Bud’s Blog: Cannabis standards, self-regulation urged

 Bud's Blog, Business, Cultivation, Legalization, Marijuana News, Medical marijuana
Sep 282010
 
Bud’s Blog: Cannabis standards, self-regulation urged

You don’t hear much in the Prop. 19 debate about cannabis standards and self-regulation, but they’re important concepts to consider regardless of what happens in November. The co-founders of Steep Hill Lab in Oakland, Addison DeMoura and David Lampach, joined with Bret Bogue of Apothecary Genetics for a panel presentation at the International Cannabis and Hemp Expo this weekend. To see other INTCHE panel presentations and excerpts from the Prop. 19 debate, go to the INTCHE 2010 playlist on my YouTube channel. =================== Bret Bogue, a noted grower and cannabis consultant, discusses the need for [...]

Bud’s Blog: Edibles take spotlight at Cannabis Expo

 Bud's Blog, Business, Marijuana News, Medical marijuana, Video
Sep 242010
 
Bud’s Blog: Edibles take spotlight at Cannabis Expo

So I’m at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, watching folks set up for the International Cannabis and Hemp Expo. There are large areas indoors and outdoors for Prop. 215 patients (bring current recommendation and California ID) to sample all sorts of cannabis products, but the new focus on edibles is readily apparent. And that’s a good thing, folks, because oral ingestion is better for you than smoking. To see videos of INTCHE panel presentations and excerpts from the Prop. 19 debate, go to the INTCHE 2010 playlist on my YouTube channel. Before you go, [...]

Tax board takes a pass on Prop. 19 revenue estimate

 Business, Government, Legalization, Marijuana News
Sep 242010
 

The state Board of Equalization, which last year famously declared that legalizing marijuana could generate $1.4 billion in new tax revenues for California state coffers, has an updated analysis out for Proposition 19, the November ballot measure to legalize marijuana for recreational use. This time, the BOE says it is clueless on what legal weed can bring in, Peter Hecht reports in “Weed Wars.” Officials also said it may take them months – or years – to implement potentially needed systems for collecting new marijuana taxes that may result from Proposition 19. In its previous [...]

Beer group’s No-on-19 stance falls flat for Sierra Nevada

 Business, Legalization, Marijuana News
Sep 242010
 

CHICO — This week, the name of Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. has been popping up on the Internet in connection with Proposition 19, the ballot measure that would legalize marijuana in California. The unlikely link between the brewery and the ballot measure occurred because Sierra Nevada belongs to the California Beer and Beverage Distributors, a trade association for beer distributors, said Bill Manley, communications coordinator for the Chico brewery. The trade association took a public stand against Proposition 19, and somehow Sierra Nevada’s name was tied to that political position, the Chico Enterprise-Record reports. Suddenly, [...]

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