Featured guests: Chris Driessen, who’s president of Organa Bands, the parent company of OpenVape; and Marques Harris, co-founder of cultivation business District 8.
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LOTS TO TALK ABOUT
• Juggling marijuana licenses in multiple states and countries, growing to be an international brand in cannabis.
• Where the cannabis industry sits moving forward into a new era under President-elect Donald Trump.
• The NFL’s cannabis controversy and managing your pain as an athlete.
TOP MARIJUANA NEWS
Here’s why marijuana legalization is suddenly in big danger: Attorney general nominee Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., is a fervent foe of marijuana legalization. But if he were confirmed as President-elect Trump’s top law enforcement official, would he really have any power to put his anti-pot views into practice? To review the postelection state of play, a majority of states have legalized medical marijuana and eight (plus the District of Columbia) have legalized recreational marijuana. But the federal Controlled Substances Act still defines production and sale of marijuana as serious crimes. –Report by The Washington Post’s Keith Humphreys
Bars nixed from seeking Denver social marijuana use permits: State licensing officials delivered a blow to Denver’s voter-passed Initiative 300 by announcing a new rule that will keep bars and many restaurants from applying for new social marijuana use permits. The new regulation starting Jan. 1 will make clear that liquor licensees cannot allow the consumption of marijuana on their premises. It greatly expands the types of businesses that likely will be disqualified from applying for the new permits for on-site marijuana consumption areas when the city makes applications available in late January, as required by Initiative 300. Already, licensed marijuana businesses, including dispensaries, can’t allow consumption on site under state law. Now add to that all bars and other businesses that serve alcohol, potentially including event venues. –Report by The Denver Post’s Jon Murray
Looking ‘Future Forward,’ 2016 Cannabist Awards honor marijuana industry’s biggest innovators, influencers: California’s lieutenant governor, Dr. Bronner’s, Vicente Sederberg LLC and a host of others were honored with Pinneapple d’Or trophies at the 2016 Cannabist Awards on Wednesday night in Las Vegas. In its second year, the Cannabist Awards went big: offering 40 awards in nine categories across a broad spectrum of the burgeoning marijuana industry, as well as naming a Cannabist Person of the Year. The theme for this year’s event was “Future Forward,” honoring the leading innovators, companies and individuals in sectors such as technology, hemp, medical advancement, community, public service and education. –Report by The Cannabist’s Alicia Wallace
QUICK HIT
Thank this man for helping medical marijuana make surprising headway in America’s Heartland: A small yet scrappy force led the charge behind North Dakota’s new medical marijuana law. Among the many surprises of Election Night 2016, one of the biggest happened in America’s Heartland — even to the folks steering the effort. “In this conservative state … it was a head-scratcher to see the numbers come in, I tell you,” said Rilie Ray Morgan, chairman of North Dakotans for Compassionate Care. –Report by The Cannabist’s Alicia Wallace
POT QUIZ
Test your current-events knowledge about Denver marijuana laws, businesses still testing employees for THC, a newly-legal MMJ capital city with skyrocketing pot arrests and more.
This story was first published on OCRegister.com