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On Saturday, March 4, Curious Appetites hosted a cannabis-infused dinner at Cluster Studios that took everyone down the rabbit hole. An “Eat me” sign sat on the edibles table; on the bar was a sign that said, “Drink me,” and on the dab bar, a sign urged guests to “Smoke me.”

Those guests were given an hour to mingle, then invited to sit down at a long, single table, where chef Hosea Rosenberg and his staff from Blackbelly served a four-course meal, paired with four strains of cannabis. Hungry to know more? Here are ten tips for an Alice in Wonderland-themed dinner.

It would be the first in the country.

Here’s your daily round-up of pot-news, excerpted from the newsletter WeedWeek

Denver’s social use initiative is in the lead with some ballots still uncounted. If approved it would be allow bars and other businesses to apply for on-site pot consumption permits.

After Election Day, there are now eight more Senators and 68 more members of the House representing REC states, and six more Senators and 33 more members representing MED states. Marijuana.com predicts that it will be harder for them to reject cannabis reform legislation out of hand.

Massachusetts treasurer Deb Goldberg says she may need an extension of the October 2017 deadline to begin accepting license applications. Additional tweaks on taxes, edibles and DUI are anticipated.

How Florida’s MED program will work remains hazy.

Marijuana Business Daily calls it an $8 billion-night based on the combined annual sales projected in the newly legal states. Vox explains the votes. The New York Times has a round-up.

Rob Sands, CEO of Constellation Brands, whose portfolio includes Svedka Vodka and Robert Mondavi wine, said the company is interested in going green. “There are going to be alcoholic beverages that will also contain cannabis.”

The New York Stock Exchange accepted cannabis real estate investment trust (REIT) Innovative Industrial Properties’ listing. It will be the first cannabis REIT to trade on the exchange. It’s ticker will be IIPR.

Canadian producer Aphria announced a C$35M raise, the largest by a public company to date. Legal Canadian growers have raised more than C$313M in the last 13 months.

The New York Times profiles Denver-based Dixie Brands as it builds a national presence.  (For more on interstate trade, see my April story in The Washington Post.)

WIRED tells us to “Get ready for the Budweiser of bud.”

Adrian Sedlin, CEO of California grower CannDescent, told Fortune that leaving California companies without bank accounts is “ not a tenable position.

LAWeekly finds some psyched local cannabis executives. The San Jose Mercury News talks to some pumped-up Investors.

Hosea Rosenberg greets the cannabis-friendly crowd.

A joint of Gorilla Glue makes its way to a guest who trades biscuits, Palisade peach marmalade and butter for a hit. Welcome to Yoga With a View, a cannabis-themed event that has been growing exponentially over the years. Kendal Norris of Mason Jar Event Group says the concept “came to her in a dream” — and now regulars dream about it all year until the next Yoga With a View.

The third edition started on Sunday, August 28, at Shupe Homestead with coffee and sticky buns as well as a nice, cannabis-infused Gentle Green tea from Stillwater, similar to a cucumber-laced Arnie Palmer. A dab bar from Healthy Headie was stocked with a fruit basket of 710 Labs concentrates, playing off the limonole terpine. The Tangerine Haze live resin may be the best way to taste the tangerine flavor profile of this strain, and the highly awarded 710 Labs does it justice.

The long awaited decision was a disappointment for cannabis activists.
The following is excerpted from the newsletter WeedWeek. Get your free and confidential subscription at WeedWeek.net.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will not reschedule marijuana. The 186-page decision was published Thursday in the Federal Register. The DEA also  put hemp growers on notice .

Following the decision, The Washington Post’s Christopher Ingraham wrote: “The FDA cannot determine it has a medical use in part because of the highly restrictive legal status of the drug. It’s a classic bureaucratic Catch-22.” Ingraham also collected responses from members of Congress.

For additional details and analysis on the DEA decision see Scientific American,  John Hudak atBrookings and  Wednesday’s  special edition  of WeedWeek. The industry weighs in here and here.

Federal law will continue to view cannabis as a Schedule I drug, meaning that it has high potential for abuse and no recognized medical value. Other Schedule I drugs include heroin, LSD and ecstasy (MDMA).

Some in cannabis circles expected the agency to reclassify the plant as a Schedule II drug, the next most restrictive classification under the Controlled Substances Act. Schedule II drugs include cocaine, methamphetamine and several prescription opioids. (See a more complete list here.)

Cannabis activists and businesses generally want to see marijuana de-scheduled and regulated like alcohol. Rescheduling, which still could happen in the future, raises problematic questions for the pro-cannabis community about regulations governing businesses and access to MED. One lawyer called the prospect of rescheduling a “ nightmare” for the industry. My reporting suggested that the changes wouldn’t be as drastic.

NPR quotes DEA chief Chuck Rosenberg saying that he gave “enormous weight” to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)  view that marijuana has “no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States”

“This decision isn’t based on danger. This decision is based on whether marijuana, as determined by the FDA, is a safe and effective medicine,” Rosenberg said, “and it’s not.”

The DEA says it will, however, expand the number of facilities allowed to grow marijuana for research. For a long time, a facility at the University of Mississippi has grown all of the marijuana ordered by the federal government. Scientists who want to study MED will still need to obtain permission from the federal government.

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I spoke to Hilary Bricken, a cannabis business attorney at Seattle firm Harris Moure, about the decision. The transcript has been lightly edited for clarity:WW: This is what you predicted. What do you think were ultimately the main factors in the decision?
HB:My honest conclusion is it’s politics. It’s totally political. It’s so strange that there’s not been more transparency regarding the dialog between the DEA and the FDA. All of a sudden the DEA is saying the decision is not being based on danger to consumers. Now they’re saying quote,
“It’s based on whether marijuana as determined by the FDA is a safe and effective medicine, and
it’s not.” And that allegedly this is based on science, which is interesting because there’s a
significant lack thereof. Only recently have scientific research barriers been removed by the feds.
What’s your interpretation of the ruling to increase the number of growing facilities?
Basically, Ole Miss has had this monopoly for years. Even though the [request for proposals], to be able to cultivate cannabis for the federal government gets issued publicly, they’ve always chosen Ole Miss on a contract basis.
[The potential is] to start expanding those cultivation licenses to other researchers that may not have such, I don’t know if the word is bias, but certain types of opinions that they haven’t changed for two decades. I think it’s a positive PR piece, but I’ll believe it when I see it, if they actually do [grant more licenses].
What’s going to be the next big thing to look out for?
It’s a hurry up and wait situation with the federal government, like it always is.
Even if Hillary Clinton won the presidency, even though we have the Democratic platform calling for a reasonable pathway to legalization, I think she’s going to follow through on what she’s maintained regularly, which is: We need more research before we can unleash this product on the American public, even in the medical capacity.
To me what that also means, is that states are going to continue to lead the way on marijuana law reform and policy. I think [cannabis]just turned more into alcohol then let’s say pharmaceuticals because states are going to continue to legalize, despite what the federal government may do. It could take years now for legalization or even some type of pathway for medical marijuana. I think the states are actually going to be the ones that force [the federal government’s]hand eventually. I think it’s going to be a hurry up and wait situation, even with a Clinton administration.
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Additional reactions:

Rep. Earl Blumenauer, (D-Ore.):

“This decision doesn’t go far enough and is further evidence that the DEA doesn’t get it. Keeping marijuana at Schedule I continues an outdated, failed approach—leaving patients and marijuana businesses trapped between state and federal laws. …It’s not enough to remove some barriers to medical research. Marijuana shouldn’t be listed as Schedule I; it shouldn’t be listed at all.”

Tom Angell, Chairman, Marijuana Majority:

“President Obama always said he would let science — and not ideology — dictate policy, but in this case his administration is upholding a failed drug war approach instead of looking at real, existing evidence that marijuana has medical value…A clear and growing majority of American voters support legalizing marijuana outright and the very least our representatives should do is let states implement their own policies, unencumbered by an outdated ‘Reefer Madness’ mentality that some in law enforcement still choose to cling to.”

Kevin Sabet, CEO of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, an anti-legalization group:

This is not on surprising at all to scientists and people who follow this issue. What we’ve seen in the last couple of years is actually the science pointing in the direction of marijuana being more harmful, not less harmful…It’s also a huge blow to medical marijuana companies who were ready to press send on marketing emails touting a decision to reschedule and pushing their goods on to people who might now think that the feds totally gave up on the issue.

Kendal Norris and her company, Mason Jar Event Group, have done it again. Her most recent of signatureseasonal Cannabis Pairing Dinners last weekend allowed guests to combine a high-end cannabis experience with fairy tale scenery and amazing food.

Beginning the night with a shuttle service from Sweet Leaf Dispensary to Shupe Homestead Farm in Boulder County, guests socialized, ate hors-d’oeuvres, and drank cannabis-infused iced tea, all under the backdrop of the Rocky Mountain skyline.

Sitting down to a dinner prepared by award-winning chef Hosea Rosenberg of Blackbelly

We were so inspired by the beauty, creativity and mastery Norris and her team created for their Summer Seasonal Dinner, we’ve created a list of tips for you, should you wish to host your own backyard cannabis-infused soiree.

Film Affinity

Danny Glover and Director Eugene Jarecki Will Hold Advance Screening of The House I Live In, Winner of Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize, in San Francisco on Monday, Sept. 24
Filmmakers Teaming Up with Advocacy Groups, Law Enforcement, Elected Officials across Country to Educate and Mobilize to End Disastrous War on Drugs
A special screening of the thought-provoking documentary, The House I Live In, will be held Monday, September 24, at 6 p.m., in San Francisco. The Drug Policy Alliance, ACLU of Northern California, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, and Californians United for a Responsible Budget will host the screening.
Immediately following the screening, there will be a Q&A session with the director, Eugene Jarecki, who is partnering with a vast array of advocacy groups, legislators and law enforcement to spread the film’s message about the disastrous consequences of the failed War On Drugs.

Patients Against I-502

The Unraveling of Dominic Holden
By Lee Rosenberg
The New Approach Washington campaign turned in its signatures this week for Initiative 502. This initiative would legalize personal possession of up to one ounce of marijuana and regulate the distribution and sale of the drug to anyone over 21 [in Washington state]. It also introduces a per se DUI limit for “active” THC – in layman’s terms, the amount of “unprocessed” THC in your body.
Over at Slog, Dominic Holden continues to lash out at the folks in the medical marijuana community who oppose it – primarily due to the DUI provisions. I’ve been trying to stay out of this fight for my own sanity, but Holden’s anger is so misdirected (and misinformed), I have to speak up.

Photo: NBC Bay Area

​​You should have been there, man. Marijuana lying everywhere on the street for the taking, and no cops around.

San Jose, California police said a white truck illegally carrying marijuana crashed and turned over on its side near Oakridge Mall early on Wednesday, scattering large bags of weed through the intersection as the driver shagged ass out of there on foot.
Several motorists and pedestrians who were lucky enough to be at the scene ran out and grabbed most of the marijuana and took off before police arrived, reports Mike Rosenberg of the Silicon Valley Mercury News.

Photo: Benton County, Washington
Gotta love Sheriff Steve Keane for speaking truth to power.

‘Put the money where the problem is’

~ Sheriff Steve Keane
From time to time, a public servant says something so obviously true, so resonantly sensible, that it’s startling. Yes, it’s kind of sad that we’re startled by the truth, but it’s also great that there are people out there willing to lay it on the line.

Today’s hero is Steve Keane, sheriff of Benton County, Washington.
In a lunch meeting with Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna, when the subject of controlling gang violence came up, Sheriff Keane told the A.G. it’d be nice if some money set aside for marijuana eradication could be used for gang prevention so they can “put the money where the problem is,” reports Paula Horton of the Tacoma News Tribune.

Photo: The Boston Phoenix
More than 80 people, mostly medical marijuana supporters, packed the conference room for the hearing before the Joint Committee on Public Health.

​Massachusetts lawmakers are considering a bill that would legalize the medicinal use of marijuana to ease symptoms of chronic and debilitating illnesses, and regulate the centers that distribute the herb.

“Marijuana has proven its medical efficacy,” Rep. Frank Smizik (D-Brookline) testified before the Legislature’s public health committee on Tuesday, reports the Associated Press. “This bill is about more than just common sense, it’s about compassion.”
Smizik is one of 27 House co-sponsors of H 625, which would legalize and regulate the use of cannabis for patients with specific illnesses.
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