PepsiCo has said that it will take a look at participating in the cannabis industry as other beverage makers explore the market. Elsewhere, in California, a new law will make it easier for people will past marijuana convictions to get their sentences reduced or expunge their records completely.
Here, we’ve rounded up the 10 headlines you need to know before this week is out.
- Federal: PepsiCo is taking a hard look at the cannabis industry as other beverage makers explore the market. "I think we'll look at it critically, but I'm not prepared to share any plans that we may have in the space right now," Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston told Jim Cramer and Sara Eisen on CNBC's Squawk on the Street on Tuesday. Read more
- California: Hailed by advocates as a chance for people to “reclaim their lives,” a new California law will soon make it easier for people with past marijuana convictions to get their records expunged completely, or their sentences significantly reduced. Assembly Bill 1793—passed by overwhelming majority in the California State Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown—will streamline a previously tedious process that made it difficult for residents with a prior cannabis-related conviction to clear their names. Read more
- Ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline to either approve or veto bills passed by the state legislature, however, Brown also struck down a string of cannabis-related proposals, including multiple bills granting financial leeway to cultivators and another that would have taken a step toward allowing students to use medical marijuana at school. Brown gave various reasons for the vetoes, often citing the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana act—or state Proposition 64—which legalized recreational cannabis in California in the first place. Read more
- Ten months after San Francisco permitted retail sales of cannabis, officials are developing plans for a new committee to assess how the regulations are working. The Cannabis Oversight Committee, proposed by Supervisor Sandra Fewer, is intended to examine the work being done by the Office of Cannabis, gauge the effectiveness of existing regulations and make sure those hardest hit by the War of Drugs are benefiting through retail permits and living wage jobs. Read more
- The Sonoma City Council last week struggled to reconcile competing elements in a proposed ordinance to regulate cannabis cultivation and cannabis sales in the city, so city officials on Sept. 24 split the issue into two parts—and narrowly approved limited personal cultivation of cannabis both indoors and out. The other issue at hand—whether or not to allow commercial marijuana sales—will come back to the council for a likely extension of its moratorium on Oct. 22. Read more
- Illinois: Many cancer patients in Illinois are seeking medical marijuana throughout and after their treatment. According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, between 2014—when it began approving applications for medical marijuana—and September 2017, it had OK’d 24,000 patients; a year later, the total is 44,000. Read more
- Utah: Backers of the Utah medical marijuana initiative joined other organizations and lawmakers at a press conference Oct. 4 to announce they have reached an agreement on an alternative medical cannabis law that will be enacted in a special session following the election. Proposition 2 will still appear on the 2018 ballot, but it will no longer determine the final outcome for Utah medical cannabis patients. Read more
- Michigan: Legislation going to Gov. Rick Snyder for his expected signature would prohibit marijuana-infused alcoholic drinks in Michigan. The state House approved the bill Oct. 4, on a 101-4 vote, and the measure would bar the use, possession or sale of marijuana-infused beer, wine, liquor and mixed drinks. Read more
- Guam: Senators on Oct. 3 wrapped up debate on a bill that would allow eligible patients to grow their own medical marijuana. They also debated a separate bill, which would allow the governor to request a waiver of laboratory and dispensary requirements for the medical marijuana program. Read more
- Canada: The city of Montreal is not ready for marijuana to become legal, according to members of Ensemble Montreal. During a press conference Wednesday morning, the opposition party said the city should move quickly to implement bylaws that would ban cannabis consumption in public spaces like parks and bike paths before the law to legalize marijuana comes into effect in just two weeks. Read more
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