For all you caffeine junkies out there, BrewBudz has what you’ve been waiting for: a line of CBD- and THC- infused coffee, tea and cocoa. “It’s an opportunity to bring together two different rituals in life,” says BrewBudz Vice President Jeffry Paul. “Drinking coffee or tea is something that’s part of your every day…. There’s also a ritual for marijuana, whether it’s medicinal or recreational.”
BrewBudz is creating Keurig-compatible cups that are 100 percent compostable. The bottom of the cups is made of a soft mesh material, not a hard plastic; the cap looks and feels like plastic, but it’s made from coffee beans. “When the bean is being processed, the outside skin that comes off of it is known as the chafe,” Paul explains. “They take that and use that to make the ring.”
It hasn’t even been three weeks since Proposition 205 went down to defeat on election day, but advocates for cannabis-law reform in Arizona already have three new proposals to consider.
Here is a roundup of the three proposals:
Well, that was an interesting start to November. While the country argued with itself and my Facebook feed became full of hot takes, misinformation and vitriol (don’t blame the media when you’re so good at getting it wrong all by yourself), I was ready to roast a bone and wait for it all to blow over. A heavy hybrid was in need to put my mind and body at ease, so I went on the hunt for one of my favorites from the Bay Area, Bubbleberry.
The City of Aurora will award just one more license for a retail marijuana store — the last of 24 — and applicants have only until November 30 to make a bid. The city plans to award the final license no later than February 1.
The new store will be located in Council Ward IV, an area of southeast Aurora extending from about Quincy Avenue to County Line Road east of E-470. Aurora permits a maximum of four retail marijuana stores in each of its six wards; though the city accepted applications for the Council Ward VI stores in 2014, it received only three complete applications. All three applicants were successful — which leaves one license still up for grabs.
There are many questions surrounding Initiative 300, the social-use measure that Denver voters passed on November 8 (although the final count took a week). The city has been getting calls from people asking everything from how businesses can apply to how a new state rule will affect I-300. As we reported last week, shortly after the initiative passed, the Colorado Department of Revenue announced that it was adopting additional language in the “Conduct of Establishment” section of the Colorado Liquor Rules, declaring that a venue that already holds a liquor license cannot apply for a license to serve marijuana.
Niki D’Andrea
The 2016 edition of New Times‘ Best of Phoenix is out now, making an argument for our status as a border town. Here’s our list of the best our town has to offer when the subject is weed.
In Maryland, Black lawmakers are furious that the state is moving forward to award dispensary licenses, despite outrage that none of the initial grow licenses were given to African-Americans.
Reason tracks the “ uneven course” of REC sales in Oregon. California may amend a tax rule favorable to MED consumers.
A few cities in south Florida have created a six-month moratorium on MED dispensaries. The new year could bring new vigor to the push for MED in Georgia.
Arkansas may delay its MED program. North Dakota too.
MED won a substantial victory in South Africa.
Cannabis private equity firm Privateer Holdings, which has raised $122M, has its eye on overseas markets.
The Financial Times does a deep dive into how the alcohol industry thinks about cannabis.
The New York Times visits a Washington grow that’s experimenting with energy efficient lights. Theworld’s largest marijuana factory could be built in Alberta. USAToday explores the $25 billion business opportunity in California.
LAWeekly asks if cannabis is a better business for Native Americans than casinos. The paper also says cannabis marketing is getting “ classier.”
The Texas Standard explains the huge proposed jump in CBD-oil business fees.
Due to safety concerns, Denver’s new social use rule will not include bars and other establishments with liquor licenses. Bar owners are not happy.
The NYTImes asks whether insurers will pay for patients’ MED.
New York broadened its MED law. Utah is studying its very-limited MED program.
The Onion weighs in on the possibility that weed weakens heart muscles.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has strengthened language confirming that marijuana users can’t buy guns.
The Inlander tells the story of Isaiah Wall, a teenaged police informant who ended up dead.
The Global Commission on Drug Policy, which includes former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, recommended that all drugs should be decriminalized.
Cannabis should be legalized, according to an new report from the Adam Smith Institute, a U.K. think tank. It has the equivalent of bipartisan support.
In Scotland, a court accepted a man’s explanation that his £25,000 in plants are for personal consumption.
Air travelers out of Fairbanks, Alaska can keep their weed, the TSA confirmed.
A barely-clothed model was hired to serve as a charcuterie platter during an industry party in Las Vegas. A photograph of her covered in what looks like salami, prosciutto and other cold cuts sparked some outrage. (Robert Weakley, CEO of Altai Brands, took responsibility and apologized.)
Marijuana may be the main attraction for many in the cannabis world, but Colorado also leads the way in hemp cultivation. In fact, as of this week, there are approximately 400 active industrial hemp businesses registered with the state’s Department of Agriculture. Still, misconceptions around the differences (or lack thereof) between hemp and marijuana run rampant, so let’s clear the confusion.
Marijuana legalization is going more smoothly in some states than in others. A major reason that four more states legalized recreational marijuana this year is the tax revenue that pot brings in. Last year, Colorado collected over $70 million in tax revenue from marijuana — nearly double the $42 million brought in by alcohol, Time reports. But one state that voted to legalize recreational marijuana this year actually cut the amount of tax revenue it will see from marijuana sales over the next year.
Trying to pass marijuana legislation in Texas “is akin to trying to clean the Statue of Liberty by licking it,” State Representative Harold Dutton (D-Houston) said in a recent interview with Houston NORML.
Sure, it’s no doubt been tough. But after four more states legalized recreational marijuana on November 8, might Texas be a little more inclined to at least take more baby steps?
Dutton is hoping the answer is yes. Last week, lawmakers filed several key marijuana-reform bills or proposals in the Legislature, ranging from a proposal allowing Texas voters to decide whether weed should be legalized to various bills that decriminalize possessing an ounce or less.