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MJTK AND-
the MJ SECTOR ARE SMMMMMMMOKIN HOTT $$$
https://marijuanaindex.com/
I totally agree !
ZEN- sounds like-
you are preaching to the choir. this company does need better communication with the shareholders.
ACCUMULATION is under way here-
the smart money has been loading PAOG shares here for months now.
when this runs, its gonna be EPIC $$$
VOLUME ALWAYS PRECEDES-
BIG MOVES UP $$$$$
GO PAOG $$$$$$$
our time is coming here !
I still say JANUARY will be -
our month. looking for .10-.20 cents to hit.
GO PAOG $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
its time for PAOG-
to start making some moves UP-
many MMJ SECTOR STOCKS are on FIRE-
Biotech Market Banking on Big Cannabis Returns
Date :
12/19/2017 @ 8:45AM
Biotech Market Banking on Big Cannabis Returns
CannabisNewsWire Editorial Coverage: Relatively insulated from economic cycles, the innovation of today’s biotech companies puts them in a position to potentially deliver outsized returns regardless of overall conditions. Medicinal cannabis, a key sector in this industry, is currently driving the largest returns, and it is on pace to exceed US$50 billion in revenues by 2025. As more investors are noticing, positive news continues to flow into the sector in terms of new drug applications, product approvals and pipeline updates. For InMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (CSE: IN) (OTCQB: IMLFF) (IMLFF Profile), a preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company at the vanguard of cannabinoid-based bio-pharmacology, market awareness of the company’s drug development pipeline and biosynthesis technology has led to gains of more than 400% over the last year. This level of activity places InMed, currently valued at $100 million, among the ranks of larger cannabis biotechs like GW Pharma (NASDAQ: GWPH), Zynerba Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZYNE), Cara Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CARA) and Isodiol International Inc. (CSE: ISOL) (OTC: ISOLF).
Backed by mounting scientific data on the curative effects of CBDs, specialty biotech companies have the opportunity to capitalize on the explosive growth expected in the cannabis-derived pharmaceutical market. The discovery of the human endocannabinoid system dramatically changed both the understanding and the vast potential of cannabinoid therapeutics, and thus has increased acceptance and awareness of the potential of cannabinoids to affect a much broader range of physiological functions than previously considered. With a tsunami of innovation, cannabinoid pharmaceutical companies now research, identify and develop new drug candidates to create unique therapeutics to treat multiple maladies and unmet medical needs.
InMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc.’s (CSE: IN) (OTCQB: IMLFF) market traction is based on the company’s proprietary cannabinoid biosynthesis technology, one of three of its core assets and one which serves as the base for its development of its drug-development pipeline of novel therapeutics that leverage the pharmacological benefits of cannabinoids like CBD. As TheSeedInvestor.com asked in a recent article, could InMed be the “next big thing in cannabis?” (http://cnw.fm/JS9lv).
To date, most CBD research and drug development has focused on the most easily isolated CBDs, but multiple curative opportunities are believed to be found in the other 90+ cannabinoids of the marijuana plant. InMed is the only known company with the ability to isolate and bio-identically manufacture all of the naturally occurring CBDs found in the cannabis sativa plant (http://cnw.fm/5BfmB).
Conducted in-house, InMed’s cost-effective biosynthesis process enhances the production, purification and quality control compared to other chemical manufacturing methods, such as chemical synthesis. InMed’s ability to produce its own pharmaceutical grade, bio-identical CBDs also sets it apart from other companies that rely on outside cultivators for their product supply.
In September, InMed filed a provisional patent to protect its biosynthesis program (http://cnw.fm/B7PDd). Once the patent application is converted into an international Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) application and pursued in key jurisdictions throughout the world, InMed will have significant commercial protection of its technology as it explores the various ways it could have a medical impact on important human diseases. Release of the patent filing sent shares of InMed from $0.27 at market open to an intra-day high of $0.40 a day later – with volume increasing roughly 8-fold to over 2.1 million for two consecutive days. Shares of InMed trading on the U.S. OTC market have continued to climb and just recently clipped a new 52-week high of $0.86.
It’s important to note that InMed’s market gains hinge on more than its biosynthesis program. The company’s portfolio of biomedical assets also includes a proprietary bioinformatics assessment tool that enables the high-efficiency prediction of the therapeutic potential and medicinal properties of individual CBDs against particular medical conditions.
This computer-assisted system employs comprehensive algorithms to integrate data from various bioinformatics databases, including a vast database of the chemical structures of approved pharmaceuticals, with InMed’s proprietary cannabinoid database and know-how. This assessment tool, in combination with the company’s biosynthesis technology and drug development pipeline, provides InMed a competitive advantage and serves as its fundamental value driver for drug discovery.
This unparalleled approach to cannabinoid production, research and targeted drug development could be a game-changer for the market, as many drug development efforts with synthetic derivatives have failed. InMed’s production of CBDs identical to naturally occurring compounds has already led to a growing pipeline of potentially blockbuster drug candidates.
The company is currently developing two products in its drug pipeline headed for clinical trials; INM-750, for the treatment of Epidermolysis Bullosa, and INM-085, for the treatment of Glaucoma. Additionally, the company continues to advance its INM-405 candidate for the treatment of chronic and severe pain.
InMed’s INM-750 for Epidermolysis Bullosa, an orphan disease characterized by extremely fragile skin, has potential global market revenues estimated at $1 billion per year. Another candidate in the pipeline, INM-085 for Glaucoma, has a global market potential in excess of $5 billion, and the company’s development of INM-405 targets the $36+ billion pain market.
In October, InMed provided an update on its pain program with additional pre-clinical results suggesting that peripheral application of certain CBD compounds, either alone or in combination, is effective in the treatment of craniofacial muscle pain disorders without any observed side effects to the central nervous system (http://nnw.fm/1Os9A). With increased pressure for the pharma industry to find non-addictive pain management alternatives with limited side effects, InMed continues to research the potential of non-THC cannabinoids to treat pain using a topical formulation.
Leveraging its proprietary technologies, InMed is rapidly expanding its pipeline of novel cannabinoid therapeutics for a variety of medical conditions. Historically, biotech companies are valued at about three times the peak annual sales of a company's lead candidate. With a market cap around $100 million, InMed may be significantly undervalued based on its capabilities.
Researching and developing cannabinoids for medical use since 1998 is cannabis biotech leader GW Pharma (NASDAQ: GWPH). Focused on discovering, developing and commercializing novel therapeutics from its proprietary cannabinoid product platform in a broad range of disease areas, GW Pharma has only identified 15 of the 90+ CBDs in the cannabis plant, as noted by TheSeedInvestor.com, and yet currently occupies a market cap of over $3 billion.
GW Pharma commercialized the world's first plant-derived cannabinoid prescription drug, Sativex, which is approved for the treatment of spasticity due to multiple sclerosis in numerous countries outside the United States. The company has submitted an NDA to the FDA for its leading development candidate, Epidiolex, a formulation for the treatment of childhood-onset epilepsy disorders like Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome. The company also has several other product candidates in development for treating glioblastoma, schizophrenia and epilepsy.
TheSeedInvestor.com also points out that Dr. Ado Muhammed, chief medical officer of InMed and previously the associate medical director at GW Pharmaceuticals, was instrumental in leading GW Pharma when shares rose from less than $9 in 2013 to more than $130 today.
Another biotech cannabis leader is Zynerba Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ZYNE), a clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative pharmaceutically-produced transdermal cannabinoid treatments. Zynerba’s ZYN002 CBD gel is the first and only pharmaceutically produced CBD formulated as a patent-protected permeation-enhanced gel and is being studied in children with Fragile X Syndrome, adult epilepsy patients with focal seizures and osteoarthritis. Currently trading around $12, shares of Zynerba have ranged from $5.42-$25.95 over the last year, and the company has a market valuation in excess of $160 million.
Trading between $9 and $28.50 over the last year with a market cap near $430 million, Cara Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CARA) is a clinical-stage biotech company looking to change how pain is treated. Its portfolio includes opioid-based products, anesthetic-based drugs and analgesics that seek to alleviate itch and pain. Cara is developing a new class of medicine called Kappa Opioid Receptor Agonists (KORAs). KORAs target a completely different receptor in the body, the kappa opioid receptor, to treat pain in a fundamentally new way. The company’s lead pipeline product, CR845, is a peripherally acting KORAs. To date, CR845 has shown in phase 2 clinical trials promising pain relief without many of the traditional side effects of opioids and NSAIDs.
Isodiol International (CSE: ISOL) (OTC: ISOLF) is a leader in pharmaceutical and nutraceutical grade phytochemical (plant-based) compounds and an industry leader in the manufacturing and development of phytoceutical consumer products. Isodiol is one of the world’s largest sources for phyto-cannabinoids and offers high quality, bioactive products from seed to finished product. Isodiol was one of the first to commercialize 99%+ pure, bioactive pharmaceutical grade cannabinoids, micro-encapsulations and nanotechnology for high quality consumable and topical skin care products. Isodiol’s growth strategy includes the development of over-the-counter and pharmaceutical drugs, expanding its phytoceutical portfolio and continued international expansion. Trading around $1.15 per share, Isodiol has a 52-week range of $0.05 to $1.69 and carries $380+ million market capitalization.
Historically, the biotechnology sector has been volatile but it also has delivered some of the market’s greatest returns. Cannabinoid biotechs now lead the way in the sector and, as research continues, a myriad of compounds may soon be developed to unlock a vast range of new therapeutics that could benefit millions of ailing people. New-found cannabinoid therapeutics have the potential to create a bonanza in the biotech sector and early investors could reap extraordinary returns.
As more investors plot their way through biotech opportunities, an increasing number of them recognize the potential value of cannabis-focused contenders like InMed pursuing ways to apply CBDs to treat unmet medical needs.
MJ SECTOR STILL SMMMMMMMOOOOOKIN-
GO MJTK-
https://marijuanaindex.com/
buck- I couldn't agree more-
and they are finally realizing the U.S. public is majority pro- MJ . the tide has turned in favor of MJ LEGALIZATION across this country. CANADA IS going full leagle REC.2018-, with the U.S. to follow soon after. there's way too much money involved. GRNH is slowly making its move UP. keep an eye on the volume. and just look back at early September 2016- it's starting to look very familiar.
California Considers Green Banking
Posted by CN Staff on December 17, 2017 at 07:04:15 PT
By Patrick McGreevy
Source: Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles -- California has a possible solution to the problem of banks being unwilling to handle money from the state’s multibillion-dollar legal marijuana industry, one that officials say would be the first system of its kind in the nation.
Talks are underway between the state, banks and federal regulators on a plan to allow banks to serve a marijuana market that is expected to grow to $7 billion annually by 2020 in California. Starting Jan. 1, it will be legal to grow and sell marijuana for recreational and medical uses.
State officials say without banks taking pot money, thousands of cannabis businesses will be storing and transporting billions of dollars in cash for paying employees, suppliers and state and local taxes, which could result in robberies and violence.
“We know there is a concern with having so much cash flowing around on the street in transactions for what is now a state legal product,” said Peter Williams, deputy secretary and general counsel for the state Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency. “The administration is looking for a solution to the problem. We are all concerned about the public safety issue here, and we think this is an idea to help mitigate that problem.”
For those who use, it could eventually mean you could use a credit card to buy. At the moment, purchases must all be made in cash. For those who live near pot shops, the banking system could mean fewer robberies and less violence in the neighborhood because large amounts of cash will no longer be sitting in shops or driven to tax offices.
The issue has implications beyond California. Twenty-nine states have legalized the possession and sale of marijuana for medical uses, and eight of those have approved cannabis for recreational purposes. Several other states are expected to have marijuana legalization measures on the ballot next year.
Marijuana remains illegal under federal law so federally regulated banks have refrained from handling industry proceeds.
Officials in Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration have quietly met with representatives of 65 banks and credit unions over the past few weeks about creating a network of financial institutions that would accept funds from pot businesses in a way that would guarantee federal banking regulators that the cannabis industry money is subjected to special tracking, oversight and transparency.
The green banking proposal: To designate one bank as a central correspondent bank that would hold accounts from other banks that are doing business with marijuana firms.
When a pot retailer wants to pay a distributor for a crop, the transaction would go from the retailer’s bank through the central correspondent bank, which would instantly clear payment through the distributor’s bank.
Setting up a special clearinghouse for marijuana money would allow the state to provide a second level of compliance oversight by assigning examiners to make sure special restrictions set by the federal government are followed, suspicious activity reports are filed and the number and scope of transactions through the central bank are tracked.
“We think that adds to the transparency of our system that will also be looked upon favorably to the federal government,” Williams said.
Some banks have expressed interest in participating, he said. The state will now await decisions by the boards of directors of banks that are willing to voluntarily participate in such a network. It will be up to those banks to design the network with contracts.
It would not take legislation, Williams said.
Similar central correspondent bank arrangements exist to help the credit union industry, according to Russ Heimerich, a spokesman for the state Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency.
Brown is not the only official concerned about the lack of banking for the cannabis industry. Last month, a task force created by California Treasurer John Chiang, who is running for governor in 2018, recommended that officials consider creating a separate, government-owned bank that could serve cannabis businesses.
The idea of a correspondence bank has been discussed by financial experts in the cannabis industry including Chiang’s working group and has merit, according to Hezekiah Allen, head of the California Growers Assn.
The idea, Allen said, is “clearly the most feasible, most direct path to expanded banking services.” The correspondence bank is a completely different proposal than Chiang’s government-owned bank.
Some leaders of the federally regulated banking industry are skeptical of any solution short of action by federal law enforcement and Congress.
“Until the federal government changes its position on the classification of the drug, a bank would be jeopardizing its charter by providing services to entities that take in money from these businesses,” said Beth Mills, a spokeswoman for the California Bankers’ Assn. “The drug is still illegal at the federal level, and working through a correspondent bank were there to be one, would not change that fact.”
Until federal law changes, the only solution would be direct immunity to banks dealing with the pot industry, Mills said.
Those who think the Brown administration’s proposal has merit include Jim Brush, president and CEO of Summit State Bank in Santa Rosa.
“It will probably work,” Brush said, noting banks already do business with the federal and state governments who accept taxes directly from the marijuana industry.
The Brown administration has consulted with federal officials on its proposal and has incorporated some suggestions from Washington, Williams said.
State officials don’t expect the federal government to formally approve any plan.
“They don’t sign off on anything,” Williams said. “You will know that they don’t like it because they will start shutting down banks that are doing it.
MJTK- .03 - .05= 2018-
MARK THIS POST $$$$
its really good to see all the 'ole posters coming back here-
to MJTK, and all the positivity about MJTK.
this stock is going to SKYROCKET on NEWS $$$$$
we should have LEGAL REC. MJ on the ballet-
here in MARYLAND next NOVEMBER. it'll be a "shoo-in". MARYLAND LOVES TO TAX,TAX,TAX, LOL.
GO MJTK $$$$$
GROOVE- I agree- PAOG-
is gonna FLY in 2018. MJ MANIA IS ABOUT TO HIT THE MJ STOCK SECTOR, and PAOG will PROSPER HUGE from it.
GO PAOG $$$$
GOOD LUCK TO ALL US LONGS $$$$$$$$
you have to love what this company is doing-
AND its the "perfect storm"- they are in the right business, with the current opioid crisis in this country. many people are still saying we will be the next owc$, and I must agree. we are all very fortunate to be in on the "ground -floor opportunity of a lifetime" with PAOG. Patience will pay off HUGE here.
PAOG= BUY-ACCUMUALTE-HOLD = HUGE $$$$$$
groovemaster- thank you- AWESOME JOB -
on the IBOX! ITS MUCH APPRECIATED BY ALL HERE.
also- it will help out a lot of new investors for PAOG $$$
the next 2 weeks leading into the start of CALIFORNIA REC. MJ legalization is already creating a lot of "chatter" in the MJ SECTOR, and stocks like POAG will definitely be on the radars .
GOOD LUCK TO YOU AND ALL OF US PAOG LONGS $$$
GO PAOG !!!
LOOKING FORWARD TO A VERY PROSPEROUS 2018 $$$
PAOG IS A "ONE-OF-A-KIND" MMJ STOCK-
and it will soon be discovered by the masses. gotta wonder how much money all those new "bitcoin millionaires " will be pouring into PAOG ?? I imagine quite a bit of new money $$$$
GO PAOG $$$$$$$$$$$$
perhaps-the mods. here can add some-
PAOG info. to the "ibox " here ?
t.i.a.
it's great to have you here, maronti- and all the
excellent D.D. you post is much appreciated. stay the course with us longs, and you'll be fine. we are sitting on a GOLD MINE. yes- it has been frustrating at times with the lack of communication with the shareholders, but it really looks like the company is growing, and i'm sure we'll be getting updates very soon.
let's all get the word out about this new MMJ board-
AND PAOG $$$$
yes, we are G.M.- and
we will soon be hitting new highs.
JANUARY has been good for PAOG- and January 2018 will be the BEST MONTH yet $$$$$
this new MMJ board -
could not have come at a better time !
with CALIFORNIA ONLY 2 WEEKS to go before LEGAL REC. MJ starts .
lots of new money will be pouring into PAOG $$$$$$ the MJ STOCK SECTOR is catching FIRE !!
GOOD LUCK LONGS, WE GOT THIS ONE .
THIS IS AWESOME -
board for MMJ stocks.
GO PAOG - # 1 MMJ STOCK FOR 2018 $$$$
thanks, maronti- its
good to see you here. looking for PAOG to make a serious move UP
in the next 2 weeks.
PAOG- ITS "GO TIME". $$$$$$$$$$$
it's time to send this elf -
back to the NORTH POLE for good !-
Jeff Sessions Isn’t Giving up on Weed. He’s Doubling Down.
Congressional dysfunction may do what the pot-hating attorney general hasn’t managed to do all year: Remove protections for the booming legal weed industry.
By JAMES HIGDON 12/16/2017
A year ago, when president-elect Donald Trump announced Senator Jeff Sessions would be his attorney general, advocates for marijuana law reform were suddenly seized with panic. The longtime Alabama senator, they knew, had once joked that he considered the Klan to be OK guys until he found out they smoked pot. Only they weren’t quite sure he was kidding.
Sessions’ appearance at his confirmation hearing in early January did little to allay those fears. During testimony best remembered for the attorney general’s commitment to recuse himself from any investigation related to the 2016 election, the nominee was asked about medical marijuana by Vermont Senator Pat Leahy: “Would you use our federal resources to investigate and prosecute sick people who are using marijuana in accordance with their state laws, even though it might violate federal laws?”
“I won’t commit to never enforcing federal law, Senator Leahy,” Sessions replied, suppressing a slight smirk. That double negative tightened the knot in every drug policy reformer’s gut. Exactly how vulnerable were the nascent marijuana industries in the 29 states where it was now legal? Would Sessions, who rarely misses an opportunity to bemoan the scourge of marijuana, sweep aside the paper-thin order imposed by the Obama administration that had stayed the enforcement hand of the Department of Justice? Would SWAT teams arrest wheelchair-bound medical marijuana patients, raid marijuana dispensaries and shut down the high-tech growhouses that supplied them?
The dreaded crackdown never materialized. Sessions, perhaps preoccupied with other priorities like keeping his volatile boss from firing him, remained largely inactive on the subject. Meanwhile, a series of incremental advancements on the pro-marijuana front helped to further enmesh the $9.7 billion industry into the commercial fabric of the nation, 60 percent of whose residents support some form of legal pot. California opened the doors to recreational marijuana and issued regulations for outdoor marijuana festivals; Florida began its implementation of a medical marijuana program; and Denver and Las Vegas are vying to become the first city in America to legalize “marijuana consumption lounges” (think high-end bars with expensive weed choices instead of booze). Sessions, for his part, has spent his time in testy exchanges with DOJ interns and convening meetings with small groups of like-minded anti-pot activists determined to roll back state-level momentum. “I do believe … that the public is not properly educated on some of the issues related to marijuana,” he told one such group on Friday.
But things are suddenly looking rosier for Sessions. Thanks to Congress’ fumbling over the spending bill, the AG’s yearning to battle legal marijuana may get a major boost without him having to lift a finger. That’s because Rohrabacher-Farr, a little-known and even less discussed amendment that protects state-legal medical marijuana programs from federal interference, is close to expiring. If the government shuts down at the expiration of the current continuous resolution on December 22, or if negotiations in an upcoming appropriations conference committee fail to insert it in the final draft of the spending bill—entirely possible given House Republicans’ hostility to marijuana—Sessions would be free to unleash federal drug agents on a drug, which according to federal drug law, is considered the equal of heroin and LSD.
The politics on this issue has shifted so dramatically that reform advocates, instead of quaking in their boots at Sessions’ saber rattling, are actually itching for the fight.
“Part of me just thinks: Let ‘em try. There will such a ferocious backlash,” Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Portland, Oregon, told POLITICO Magazine in response to a question about a potential Sessions-led crackdown. (Blumenauer replaced Sam Farr as the amendment’s Democratic co-sponsor after Farr’s retirement, so in a turn that does not help its branding efforts, Rohrabacher-Farr is now called Rohrabacher-Blumenauer.)
Morgan Fox, communications manager of the Marijuana Policy Project, agreed with Blumenauer: “There’s no way that Sessions can start rolling back medical marijuana policies or attacking patients and providers without looking like the bad guy.”
Still, with the legislative barrier gone, there would be plenty of ways for Sessions to make life difficult for marijuana businesses without creating dramatic footage for the nightly news. Fox worries less about SWAT team raids than the possibility the Department of Justice would quietly send letters to landlords who rented to legal marijuana businesses to threaten them with asset forfeiture.
People would be forgiven for thinking that state-legal medical marijuana was a settled issue, but in fact it is hanging by a thread, and Congress is poised to hand Jeff Sessions the scissors.
From the beginning of his tenure, Attorney General Sessions’ public rhetoric seemed to promise that he would waste no time before he undid the protections of the Cole Memo, the four-page memorandum issued in 2013 to all U.S. attorneys that granted them a great degree of prosecutorial discretion as to how to use the federal government’s limited crime-fighting resources.
“I, as you know, am dubious about marijuana,” Sessions told the National Association of Attorneys General in February. “States can pass whatever laws they choose, but I’m not sure we’re going to be a better, healthier nation if we have marijuana being sold at every corner grocery store.” In early April, he announced that the DOJ’s Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety would include a new subcommittee to evaluate marijuana enforcement policy, marking, in the eyes of many marijuana observers, the start of Sessions’ effort to roll back the needle-threading compromises of the Obama administration.
Less publicly, Sesssions was going after Rohrabacher-Farr. In May, he wrote a letter to members of Congress asking them to undo the protections provided by the amendment: “I believe it would be unwise for Congress to restrict the discretion of the Department to fund particular prosecutions, particularly in the midst of an historic drug epidemic and potentially long-term uptick in violent crime,” Sessions wrote in the letter, which was first obtained by Tom Angell, an advocacy journalist and founder of the nonprofit Marijuana Majority, and confirmed by the Washington Post.
First introduced in 2001 as Rohrabacher-Hinchey, the amendment was first passed as Rohrabacher-Farr in 2014 after seven tries, and reauthorized with a greater majority in 2015. But after the near-passage of a gay rights-related amendment in June 2016 that embarrassed House leadership, Paul Ryan and Pete Sessions, chairman of the House Rules Committee and no relation to the attorney general, shut down the amendment process, leaving measures like Rohrabacher-Farr unprotected even though it could easily pass given that 66 members of the House signed a letter addressed to House and Senate leadership urging its passage. (Pete Sessions declined multiple requests for comment.)
Sessions isn’t the only one fighting against Rohrabacher-Farr. He has help from Smart Approaches to Marijuana, or SAM, an anti-legalization group run by Kevin Sabet, one of the handful of attendees at Sessions’ meeting December 8 at DOJ. “We’ve been fighting behind the scenes to remove Rohrabacher-Farr because it really ties the hands of law enforcement,” Sabet told POLITICO Magazine. “On the Hill this year, we’ve had really good progress, like what we did in the Rules Committee.”
During the summer, all signs pointed to Jeff Sessions’ imminent action against legal marijuana, but in August, the DOJ’s Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety, which had been at work behind closed doors since April, reported back with no new policy recommendations to curb legal marijuana programs, advice that would have remained secret if the Associated Press hadn’t obtained the documents. It signaled that maybe that the federal prohibition on marijuana was practically unenforceable without state and local police doing the feds’ dirty work.
“I will push back on any federal effort to interfere with our laws and not share information if it’s not related to a criminal investigation under our own law or ordered by a court,” Rep. Jared Polis, a Colorado Democrat and fierce advocate of marijuana legalization, said on Monday in a Reddit “Ask Me Anything” thread. “So as long as we don’t cooperate it would be hard, almost impossible, for there to be a major federal-only enforcement action.”
As recently as late November, Sessions signaled that his Justice Department remains committed to re-evaluating the Cole Memo: “In fact, we’re working on that very hard right now. We had meetings yesterday and talked about it at some length,” he said during a press conference meant to highlight the DEA’s new tools in fighting the opioid crisis. Exactly what he plans to do remains a mystery.
With Sessions keeping his cards close to the vest, it’s hard to say what might happen because of the otherwise chaotic nature of this administration. Where is the president on this issue? In February 2016, candidate Donald Trump told FOX News host Bill O’Reilly, “By the way -- medical marijuana, medical? I’m in favor of it a hundred percent.” At CPAC later that month, Trump responded to a question on Colorado’s legalization of marijuana by saying, “I think it’s bad. Medical marijuana is another thing, but I think it’s bad,” seeming to draw a line between medical use and adult recreational use.
In March of this year, President Trump put “solving the opioid crisis” in the basket of responsibilities for his son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner, who then handed off the opioid crisis to his reported frenemy, Chris Christie, the soon-to-be-former governor of New Jersey, in the form of a task force called the Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis. One of the first acts of Christie’s task force was to seek public comment for suggestions. Its interim report touted “more than 8,000 comments from the public,” of which the ONDCP later admitted to Vice News that more than 7,800 were suggestions to legalize marijuana as a means of combating the opioid crisis. It was a suggestion the task force promptly ignored. In May, Christie said taxes collected on medical marijuana was “blood money,” and that the whole concept of medical marijuana was “beyond stupidity.”
Kevin Sabet is encouraged. “When you have [the task force] agreeing that marijuana legalization is a bad idea and that it would not help the opioid epidemic, the White House hears that. They hear that loud and clear,” Sabet told POLITICO Magazine. Translation: Sabet thinks Trump will do what Sessions wants when it comes to marijuana.
With the threat of a government shutdown delayed until December 22, there is now some breathing room, but Rohrabacher-Blumenauer is still at risk of not making it through the conference committee because of Paul Ryan and Pete Sessions have bottled up the amendments process in the House.
“I don’t know what went through his head, in terms of preventing us from having a vote on the floor of the House,” Blumenauer said, referring to Pete Sessions. “I think before the year is over that Pete is going to find out that position is not popular in Texas.”
For now, marijuana amendments are out of order. That means that the extension of these protections rests squarely on the shoulders of the Senate, where a companion amendment to Rohrabacher-Blumenauer sponsored by Pat Leahy passed by a voice vote in July without much fanfare or controversy.
Leahy’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this story, but Leahy’s counterpart, Senate Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran, R-Mississippi, told POLITICO Magazine through a spokesman, “As you know, medical marijuana-related provisions in the Senate bills were approved with bipartisan support,” a statement that is sure to leave House Republican leadership feeling a little frosty with their Senate Republican colleagues seemingly unwilling to back them up on a fight that House leadership has picked.
It’s still unclear how marijuana reform will fare in the conference committee. “It all comes down to how much Leahy cares to fight about this behind closed doors,” Tom Angell told POLITICO Magazine. “That’s what it comes down to.”
At time of writing, Congressional leaders had not yet settled upon top line numbers for military and nonmilitary spending to even begin negotiations that would lead to a conference committee, where smaller issues like marijuana will get sorted out. Still, with a certain amount of confusion in the air, optimism for continued reform was winning the day.
Story Continued Below
“It’s more trouble than it should be, but I think it will ultimately be protected,” Blumenauer told POLITICO Magazine. “And what’s going on right now is going to accelerate further reform.”
Looking forward to the 2018 midterm elections as Congress continues to hemorrhage incumbents (including House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, a powerful anti-marijuana voice), even safe Republican seats are likely to be filled by younger Republicans who tend to support marijuana law reform. “Just by the generational shift, replacing older members with younger members, is going to put us in a better situation whether or not those districts flip parties,” Angell said. “If you look towards next year, there’s like 35 gubernatorial races, and there’s a ton of major party candidates who are on the record in favor of legalization.”
As for Kevin Sabet and his anti-marijuana group SAM, “We have raised more money this year than ever before,” Sabet said, meaning they will be out there fighting against the forces of legalization in 2018. That’s a challenge Blumenauer welcomes.
“The public is behind us. Both chambers of Congress are behind us, and if they choose to make it a partisan issue,” Blumenauer said, “it won’t go well for them.”
No matter what happens, one can guarantee that the status quo won’t hold for long: Congressional leaders will soon tire of the drama surrounding the annual reauthorization of Rohrabacher-Blumenauer, and the Cole Memo is dust in the wind as soon as Jeff Sessions says so. “If I was a betting man, I’d say that the Cole Memo will not be the final word. Everyone knows that,” Sabet said. “It’s like ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell.’”
Of course, we know what happened after that was struck down.
yes, totally agree- and the last-
week of December and first week of January will be NUTS $$$
if COLORADO IS-
making BILLIONS from MJ INDUSTRY-
think about what CALIFORNIA will do for SIPC-
https://www.marijuana.com/news/2017/12/colorado-highly-desired-marijuana-sales-report-now-released-monthly/
COLORADO MAKING $ BILLIONS -
from MJ INDUSTRY-
https://www.marijuana.com/news/2017/12/colorado-highly-desired-marijuana-sales-report-now-released-monthly/
doc- PAOG will run hard with any -
kind of buying pressure. the float is locked tight !
let's hope we get some news in the next 2 weeks. we would be at new highs $$$$$
don't know about you guys, but-
you have to wonder how much of that bitcoin billions will be making its way into MJ SECTOR STOCKS like sipc ??
2018 MJ MANIA WILL BE EPIC $$$
SIPC TAKING OFF $$$$$$$$$
hey bears- we may have had to delay our -
party at thee dollhouse in tampa, fl. for a little bit longer, but we definately gonna be there in 2018!
and we'll be drinking a whole lotta SIPC HEMP BREWSKI'S !
agreed, BEANO- many MJ stocks -
are busting a move UP . only 2 more weeks til CALIFORNIA goes LEGAL REC. MJ. and the MJ SECTOR is definitely barreling out of its recent long slumber. MJ MANIA excitement is in the AIR !!!
GO MJTK-PAO$-SIP$-GRN$-MCO$-AMM$
PAOG- if this is going to move-
it should start in the next 2 weeks, as many other OTC/BB tickers are starting to make their moves UP.
NOW IS THE TIME FOR PAOG $$$$$$$
looking like the SIPC fuse has been lit-
.05-.10 by JANUARY ?
looking forward to another MJ sector EPIC RUN FOR 2018.
GOOD LUCK TO ALL $$$$$$$$
heya BEARS- things are shaping UP nice for a-
GREAT 2018 ! i'll drink some SIPC to that !!!
things are about to get very interesting again $$$$
time to make some SERIOUS SIPC MJ $$$$$$$$
I agree- LASKO, and the company should -
be taking advantage of the upcoming MJ SECTOR MANIA that's about to hit. there will be a lot of "fresh money" pouring into the MJ SECTOR, but management here has not done a very good job with updating any current events to the shareholders. still holding long here, and I would like to add to my position, but I have to diversify with MJ stock holdings. next 2-3 weeks will be interesting, as the current MJ SECTOR is really starting to heat UP .
LET'S GO PAOG $$$$$$$$$
most people have no idea just how huge the 2018 MJ STOCK MANIA -
is going to be. billions of dollars made from the bitcoin millionaires will be looking to buy the next "HOT SECTOR"= MARIJUANA STOCKS FOR 2018 $$
IT'S A NO-BRAINER ! just look what happened with RCGR TODAY- UP OVER 2,200 %%% IN JUST 1 DAY. THERE WILL BE MULTI- MJ RUNNERS IN 2018.
gonna be like nothing we have ever seen before!
THE 2018 MJ SECTOR MANIA IS COMING IN JUST 2 WEEKS-
better get your PAOG tickets NOW !
things are about to get pretty freakin NUTS in the MJ STOCK SECTOR.
HUGE MONEY WILL BE POURING IN TO STOCKS LIKE PAOG $$$
yes, SWIM- it sure does. I just don't see this stock going UP OVER 100 % on 1/4 BILLION shares traded , UNLESS huge news is about to get P.R.'D real soon. I could be wrong, but I gotta feeling we're getting a juicy p.r. some time this week, or possibly early next week.
my 15th post.
g'nite all ! see you guys at the opening .
gap UP to .002's ?
GOOD LUCK ALL MJTK LONGS $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$