Texas' Compassionate Cultivation Starts Growing Medical Marijuana

The company said it will start planting cannabis plants this week.

November 2, 2017
Houston Press

Grower/Agriculture Medical News State by State: Texas

Texas will soon have its first working grow facilities for cannabis.

Compassionate Cultivation, one of the companies licensed to grow and produce medicine under Texas’s limited medical marijuana program, said in a news release Wednesday it would start planting cannabis plants this week.

The announcement comes one day after the Texas Department of Public Safety gave Compassionate Cultivation final approval to participate in the Compassionate Use Program. Cansortium Texas was the first business to be approved, on September 1.

Under the medical marijuana law, the DPS has one final license to give out. That license will almost certainly go to Surterra, the other company—besides Compassionate Cultivation and Cansortium Texas—to receive conditional approval from the DPS earlier this year.

Texas legalized medical marijuana in 2015 as part of the Compassionate Use Act. The DPS has been setting up a regulatory structure for the program ever since, with the goal of providing medicine to patients by early 2018.

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Pacific Grove, Calif., to Address Future Cannabis Policy

The future of commercial cannabis within city boundaries will be a topic of conversation at the Nov. 1 city council meeting.

November 1, 2017
montereyherald.com

Legislation and regulation News State by State: California

Pacific Grove >> The future of commercial cannabis within Pacific Grove boundaries in response to new state legislation will be a topic of conversation at Wednesday’s city council meeting.

While currently, there is a prohibition on medical marijuana dispensaries, cultivation and distribution in Pacific Grove, the ordinance is meant to comply with new state law that allows its cultivation, manufacturing, distribution and dispensing for recreational use. It’s because of additional legislation that gives cities the ability to prohibit some activity, that city officials are proposing to continue the current prohibition on commercial cannabis activities. But, city officials must include an exception for the personal indoor cultivation of up to six cannabis plants per private residence by adults 21 or older, to meet state requirements.

STATE BY STATE: California Cannabis News

Police Chief Amy Christey helped facilitate a public workshop last week presented by consulting firm HdL Co. that addressed aspects of cannabis activities and subsequent issues of concern. She pointed out the importance of defining the future of personal cultivation.

“The law says the city can reasonably regulate how that’s done,” said Christey. “But because direction was to prohibit commercial activity in the city we still have to acknowledge that people over the age of 21 can grow six plants.” Christey is recommending the implementation of certain rules on cultivation that would help restrict access of minors to marijuana.

Sacramento's Chief of Cannabis Policy and Enforcement Prepares for Legalization of Adult-Use Sales

Joe Devlin readies to enforce tax collection.

November 1, 2017
ABC News

Business and finance Compliance Dispensary news Legislation and regulation News State by State: California

As California barrels toward the legalization of recreational marijuana Jan. 1, Sacramento officials are tying up loose regulatory ends to ease the way here in the capital.

But the city auditor's office found a stumbling block in terms of tax collection. Some of Sacramento's 30 medical marijuana dispensaries have been under-reporting their earnings, meaning the city isn't receiving all the tax dollars it's owed. The current tax rate for dispensaries is 4 percent of gross receipts, and that's on top of the annual $20,000 permit fee.

Joe Devlin's official title is Chief of Cannabis Policy and Enforcement, but in other words-- he's Sacramento's first ever "Pot Czar."

Even with dispensaries under-reporting income, he said, the city has raked in a pretty penny from medicinal marijuana.

"Last year, our 30 dispensaries generated about $4.8 million in General Fund revenue. That goes towards contributing towards everything that's funded through the General Fund, such as police, firefighters, parks," Devlin said, further explaining that the $20,000 annual permit fee "pays for the inspection and administration of the Cannabis Office."