Israel, Canada Want A Piece Of New York's Medical Marijuana

For years the United States worried about drugs crossing our borders from other countries, now it seems other countries are crossing our border to get into drugs. Namely – cannabis. While most believe that the U.S. is conservative in its approach to marijuana, the recent push for legalization has suddenly thrust America’s marketplace into a cannabis leadership position. The potential for the U.S. market is so big, that companies from other countries want in. Israel wants in on the action in New York. Marijuana is illegal in the country, but in a twist, the country is a world leader on its research into the medical uses of marijuana. Tikun Olam, which means ‘healing the world’ in Hebrew, is the only large-scale industrial producer of cannabis in Israel and operates under a license from the Israel Ministry of Health. Tikun Olam announced that it was partnering with Compassionate Care Center of New York and applying to be a Registered Organization under New York’s Compassionate Care Act. credit should read HAZEM BADER/AFP/Getty Images) Tikun Olam has the most extensive patient treatment database in the field of medical marijuana with over 10,000 patients being monitored for nearly a decade. A Tikun Olam spokesman said, “We have been waiting for the climate in America to be right for us to enter the market with pharmaceutical-grade products, and now that New York and other states have taken an FDA-styled extract-only approach, we feel we will have the greatest impact on patient health without the risks associated with a more loosely-regulated system.” If the CCC of NY gets a license from the State of New York, it will have exclusive rights to the Tikun strains which are unique and known as being the highest quality cannabis grades in the world. MedReleaf , another Canadian manufacturer of medical-grade cannabis announced it entered into an exclusive partnership with New York State Compassionate Care Center of New York. CCCNY has also applied for one of the five licenses to be awarded in New York State and while it hasn’t gotten any approvals, it has established a greenhouse in Newark, NY ready for immediate production. MedReleaf operates a 55,000 square foot facility in Markham, Ontario and is one of the largest suppliers in the Canadian market. Tikun Olam is also partnered with MedReleaf in Canada and grows some of Tikun’s proprietary strains. Canada has been very progressive in setting up its medical marijuana program and the companies there want to expand. Tilray, a leading cannabis cultivator in the country is busy sponsoring events in this country and has applied for a New York State medical marijuana license. Tilray prides itself on its product quality and ethics. The producer formed a new ethics group in Canada after it was learned that some medical marijuana producers were offering kickbacks to doctors. The Canadian Cannabis Medical Industry Association was unable to agree on a code of ethics causing Tilray to create the Canadian Medical Cannabis Council. No doubt that will look good to the Americans. The changes taking place in the US are also affecting Mexico, another long time black market partner. Marijuana seizures at the border are half of what they were five years ago. Mexican farmers are ripping up their cannabis plants and turning to subsidized tomatoes. Mexico decriminalized small amounts of pot, but hasn’t gone as far as the US in legalization. The drug cartels are switching to more expensive products like heroin and luxury strains from Colorado are in demand in Mexico according to Bloomberg and creating a reverse in the trafficking. The exchange goes both ways. Jamaica may have an established black market business, but its looking to U.S. firms to become legitimate. Jamaica only recently decriminalized marijuana, which is hard to believe that it wasn’t already legal. Any tourist to the country was usually offered ganja on the shuttle bus from the airport to their hotel. Jamaica, the biggest supplier of black market pot to the U.S., kept it illegal to make officials in this country happy. With our laws easing up, they felt like they had the green light to acknowledge that marijuana shouldn’t be punished within its country. United Cannabis Corp based in Colorado has launched a partnership with Jamaican agencies for a marijuana research and development facility. The Cannabinoid Research & Development Company is considering a headquarters in Kingston Jamaica for pharmaceutical research and with the goal to standardize strains. As the domestic cannabis growers become more established, it isn’t inconceivable they too will want to take their knowledge and experience to other markets. As the medical marijuana market matures, global partnerships will become more frequent blurring those old drug wars.

Teens Don’t Smoke More Pot After Medical Marijuana Laws Passed, Study Finds

Researchers find no measurable impact from legalization of marijuana in 21 states New research has cast serious doubts on the argument that legalization of medical marijuana would lead to more widespread use among teenagers. The study, which was published Tuesday by Columbia University researchers in the The Lancet Psychiatry, examined marijuana use among more than a million teenagers over 24 years. The researchers found no discernible impact in the 21 states that had legalized the drug for medical use. “The risk of marijuana use in states before passing medical marijuana laws did not differ significantly from the risk after medical marijuana laws were passed,” the co-authors wrote. While researchers observed no discernible change after the laws were passed, they did find drug use rates were generally higher in states that had legalized marijuana. “State-level risk factors other than medical marijuana laws could contribute to both marijuana use and the passage of medical marijuana laws, and such factors warrant investigation,” the authors concluded.

Colorado Supreme Court: Employers can fire workers for off-duty marijuana use

The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday affirmed lower courts' rulings that businesses can fire employees for the use of marijuana, even if it's for medical use and even if it's off-duty. The 6-0 decision comes nine months after the state's highest court heard oral arguments in Brandon Coats' case against Dish Network. Coats, who had a medical marijuana card and consumed pot off-duty to control muscle spasms, was fired in 2010. Coats challenged Dish and its company policy, claiming that his use was legal under state law. The firing was upheld in both trial court and the Colorado Court of Appeals. DOCUMENT: Colorado Supreme Court affirms ruling When the case went to the Colorado Supreme Court, legal observers said the case could have significant implications for employers across the state. They also noted that the ruling could be precedent-setting as Colorado and other states wrangle with adapting laws to a nascent industry that is illegal under federal law.As such, the question at hand is whether the use of medical marijuana — which is in compliance with Colorado's Medical Marijuana Amendment — is "lawful" under the state's Lawful Off-Duty Activities Statute. That term, the justices said, refers to activities lawful under both state and federal law. "Therefore, employees who engage in an activity such as medical marijuana use that is permitted by state law but unlawful under federal law are not protected by the statute," Justice Allison H. Eid wrote in the opinion. Colorado law allows employers to set their own policies on drug use. The justices' ruling would establish a legal framework in how employers tolerate medical marijuana use by workers when off the job. It also could provide clarity in recreational marijuana use. Six of the seven justices decided on the case. Justice Monica Marquez recused herself because her father, retired Senior Judge Jose D.L. Marquez, was on the Court of Appeals panel that upheld Coats' firing.

Marijuana-Roasted Coffee Is Now Legally Available for Purchase

A Los Angeles-based coffee company has figured out a way to sell marijuana-infused coffee all around the world regardless of state or country laws.. According to Fast Company, Kian Abedini's Compelling & Rich is now selling "herb conditioned" (in which the herb is marijuana) Ethiopian Yirgacheffe coffee beans. While the beans smell exactly like the green stuff, they won't actually get anyone high because they don't contain any THC. Abedini tells LA Weekly that he makes the coffee by "essentially hot-boxing the roast room," when he infuses the green coffee beans with marijuana. However, the product isn't, er, medicated because the THC is burned off in the roasting process. Instead it just tastes and smells like cannabis. It was a lawyer who advised Abedini to label the bags at "herb-conditioned" coffee, instead of writing marijuana on the bags. While it might not get people high, the product — which can be purchased online — is in high demand. Abedini says his company's server has crashed in the past from excited customers. Those who want to actually wake and bake with a morning cup of coffee will have to head to Washington. A company called Fairwinds Manufacturing has created a marijuana-infused coffee — sold as grounds or in a k-cup format — that are now available in stores across the state.

Registration opens for Minnesota's medical marijuana program

Enrollment opened Monday for Minnesota’s medical marijuana program, and Shelly Rapp was ready and waiting to sign up her son. The Rapp family recently moved here from California, where 18-year-old Scott had been taking cannabis oil — a few drops, a few times a day — to treat the intractable seizures that have racked him since birth. His mother, skeptical at first about the drug’s usefulness, watched as Scott’s seizures dropped from hundreds a day to just a handful. He started smiling. His eyesight improved. They weaned him off his other epilepsy medications and treatments. “Scott has so many seizures, I never really had any hope of anything working,” Rapp said. “But we had amazing success.” Medical cannabis will be legal in Minnesota as of July 1. Monday was the first day health care providers could begin certifying their patients to participate in the Minnesota Medical Cannabis Registry. Scott’s new neurologist, Rapp said, has been “totally supportive” of her request to help him enroll. The Minnesota Health Department will release its first-day enrollment figures Tuesday. Assistant Health Care Commissioner Manny Munson-Regala, who is overseeing the program’s rollout, said the first day seemed to go smoothly. The state has estimated that 5,000 patients will enroll in the program in its first year — although the exact number is anyone’s guess. By midday Monday, the Minnesota Medical Association had heard from 11 physicians who were registering for accounts with the Health Department, a spokesman said. “Don’t get too excited, one way or the other, about the first month’s [enrollment] data,” Munson-Regala said. Patients are already booking July 1 appointments at Minneapolis’ first and only medical cannabis clinic. Minnesota Medical Solutions, which operates the clinic and is responsible for growing and refining half the state’s medical marijuana crop, plans to open its doors at midnight to accommodate patients who want access to the drug the moment it’s legal. “Things are moving along,” said company CEO Dr. Kyle Kingsley, who began to hear from patients and doctors Monday morning and expects even more to enroll as the program revs up. The Minneapolis dispensary will open in the old League of Catholic Women building on 207 S. 9th St. The location will be “beautiful,” Kingsley said, and staffed with nurses and pharmacists, ready to talk patients through their options. “It’s going to make patients very comfortable.” Strict regulations Minnesota’s medical cannabis program is one of the most strictly regulated in the nation. It is limited to patients with certain conditions, including epilepsy, cancer and glaucoma, and the drug will only be sold as pills and liquids. Cannabis will be sold at just eight clinics, scattered across the state. The first three will open July 1 in Minneapolis, Eagan and St. Cloud. Once a doctor, nurse or other health care worker certifies that a Minnesota resident has one of the nine qualifying conditions, there is a $200 annual enrollment fee — less for low-income patients. Scott Rapp has been taking his seizure medications again since he moved to Minnesota, and his mother is eager to get him back on cannabis oil. Some parents are understandably leery about letting their kids get “high,” she said. But the dose Scott was taking was the equivalent of one-fiftieth of a teaspoon of THC — the compound that gives marijuana its buzz — and its effect was much gentler on him than most of the legal prescriptions he’s taken. “Kids do not get high from this medication, because they need such a low dose,” she said. But even if he did get a buzz from the oil, she said, “What’s better? A life-threatening seizure, or sitting in a wheelchair with a little grin on your face?”

Legal Marijuana Dealers -- And The Government -- Need Bankers And Lawyers

As of today, 23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medicinal marijuana and four have legalized its recreational use as well. Despite that, marijuana remains a so-called Schedule I controlled substance – alongside “hard” drugs like heroin, cocaine, and LSD – and federal law still makes the distribution of marijuana a crime, even in those states where it is legal. It is not unusual for legal marijuana businesses to become entangled in government investigations. Although it wasn’t my focus, as a former federal prosecutor I sometimes investigated unlawful drug trafficking organizations. Following the drugs and money back to their source increasingly led to marijuana businesses in states that had legalized it. In many cases, the “legal” marijuana business was knowingly involved in the unlawful distribution. But on more than one occasion, legitimate marijuana businesses were victims of circumstance. In one case, for example, a licensed grower in California had a handful of workers who were diverting a portion of the crop to a criminal organization. In another case, a dispensary in Colorado was purchasing unlawfully-produced marijuana. In both cases, the guilty were arrested and the innocent business owners were not, but the businesses were adversely affected – each was the subject of a government investigation, its premises were searched by law enforcement agents, and its bank accounts and property were subject to seizure. In the case of the grow operation, for instance, law enforcement raided the farm and seized all of the plants on the property as well as all of the marijuana being processed. It is simply the case that all legal marijuana businesses remain subject to investigation and potential prosecution so long as marijuana is illegal at the federal level. Companies without stringent compliance programs are particularly at risk. As a result, virtually every bank of any size has decided not to do business with legal marijuana companies, concluding that the so-called “regulatory risk” outweighs the benefits of doing business with them. This is a perfectly rational conclusion. Banking marijuana businesses is not especially profitable; it typically involves hosting checking accounts and making relatively small loans. On the other hand, regulators and law enforcement have recently imposed a series of multi-billion dollar penalties on banks for failures in their anti-money laundering (“AML”) obligations – that is, their responsibility to detect and report suspicious financial transactions. In addition, banking marijuana businesses carries with it the regulatory burden of filing Suspicious Activity Reports, or SARs, for virtually every transaction, as well as the heightened risk of investigation or seizure. Banks can hardly be faulted for turning away marijuana-related customers. Major law firms, ever risk-averse, have also decided not to advise marijuana companies. One state’s bar (Maine’s) has even said that it would be unethical for a lawyer to advise a marijuana company, on the theory that doing so would constitute advising a client to violate the law. Ironically, medical marijuana is legal in Maine, meaning that legal marijuana businesses are required to navigate Maine’s state-specific regulatory scheme without the assistance of a Maine lawyer. While the other state bars that have considered the question don’t go that far, most major law firms have decided that the risk that they will be deemed an aider and abettor of criminal activity makes advising marijuana businesses untenable. The result is that legal marijuana businesses are forced to deal primarily in cash or, if they’re lucky, with the handful of small, local banks that are willing to bear the regulatory risks. Similarly, they are typically advised by local lawyers – often criminal defense lawyers who have developed an expertise in marijuana law. While smaller banks and local lawyers are certainly capable of handling that business well and responsibly, they lack the resources and often the sophistication of larger operations. Large regional and international banks, for example, have extensive AML controls, including well-staffed compliance functions and state-of-the-art technology. Similarly, national and international law firms enjoy the wider perspective that comes with representing not only marijuana businesses, but also the other industry players – banks, investors, and the like – that have an important voice in how legal marijuana businesses conduct themselves. Large law firms also have expertise in other matters that may weigh heavily on legal marijuana businesses. For example, legal marijuana businesses face knotty tax problems resulting from the drug’s federal status; sophisticated tax lawyers are in the best position to help them navigate these complicated waters. The lack of access to banks and lawyers is a problem not only for legal marijuana businesses, but for regulators and law enforcement, as well. Though marijuana remains a controlled substance, legalized marijuana is a reality in many states – and arguably an inevitability, even at the federal level – and it is in the government’s interest for companies in that market to have robust compliance programs. Likewise, the government has no desire for marijuana businesses to be conducted in cash: the use of cash makes it significantly harder for the government to trace the proceeds of the marijuana businesses, not to mention the fact that businesses that deal in large volumes of cash present opportunities for robbery and other crimes of violence. But for marijuana money to be both traceable within the legitimate financial system and subject to stringent compliance programs – both within the marijuana businesses and at the institutions that handle their money – means having access to banks and lawyers. Even the federal government has recognized the importance of access to professionals. In August 2013, the Department of Justice issued guidance to prosecutors, instructing them not to prosecute people or entities for marijuana crimes so long as they operate within the confines of valid state regulatory schemes. Following that, early last year, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, issued guidance to financial institutions informing them that banks and other financial institutions “can provide services to marijuana-related businesses consistent with their [AML] obligations,” so long as they take an appropriate risk-based approach. FinCEN also lightened the regulatory burden on banks doing business with marijuana companies, allowing them to submit abbreviated Suspicious Activity Reports for marijuana-related transactions. According to published reports, FinCEN officials are also meeting privately with bank executives to “remind them” about the marijuana guidance. The issue has also gained traction in the legislature. Although Congress is not yet prepared to de-schedule marijuana – though a bipartisan bill was introduced in the last Congress to reclassify marijuana as a Schedule II controlled substance, which would recognize its medical uses and, among other things, expand the opportunities for in-depth scientific research – Congress has voted to withhold funding from the Department of Justice to enforce the marijuana laws in states where it is legal. Similarly, a bipartisan Senate committee voted just this month to allow Veterans Affairs doctors (i.e., federal employees) to help their patients who want to use medical marijuana, in states where it’s legal. The amendment was sponsored by a Montana Republican and an Oregon Democrat. Until marijuana businesses have regular access to the financial system and can turn to a broad array of sophisticated lawyers for counsel, they will remain half-way in the shadows. This is by no means an argument for legalizing marijuana; it doesn’t have to be legal for marijuana businesses to have access to professional services. Last month, the Marijuana Business Access to Banking Act was introduced in the House of Representatives; among other things, it would prohibit banking regulators or criminal prosecutors from investigating or penalizing a financial institution for “providing financial services to a marijuana-related legitimate business.” Congress could easily pass similar protections for lawyers. Doing so would recognize a basic proposition: when a bank or a lawyer provides services to a legal marijuana business, it is not helping that business to break the law. To the contrary, lawyers and banks – especially sophisticated and responsible ones – help businesses to comply with the law. That helps the marijuana business and government alike.