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Dank tank at Socal Cannabis Cup
The SoCal Cannabis Cup
Jeff Sessions Dunk Tank
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bh2WXGyBGa9/?taken-by=hightimesmagazine
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bh62mo9Bebo/?taken-by=hightimesmagazine
This Epic Joint
https://hightimes.com/news/dankest-things-saw-cannabis-cup/
TRTC partnered with Cultivar growing IVXX last Sept
So it sounds like the Vandevedre's Gro-Rite company was thinking about trying to compete for the same growing facility in Salinas, California.
TRTC found out about it when they saw Kenneth Vandevedre's Gro-Rite email then started investigating them ?
Terra Tech Corp. Signs Second Craft Cultivator in State of California
September 19, 2017
COMPANY SIGNS CANNABIS CRAFTSMAN TO CULTIVATE ALL-NATURAL, SUSTAINABLY PRODUCED CANNABIS
IRVINE, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 09/19/17 -- Terra Tech Corp. (OTCQX: TRTC) ("Terra Tech" or the "Company"), a vertically integrated cannabis-focused agriculture company, today announced that it has signed its second Craft Cultivator to grow the Company's proprietary high grade "IVXX" cannabis flowers and oils. The farm, Cultivar Inc., is located in Salinas, California and is approved for up to six acres (approximately 244,000 square feet) of cannabis cultivation, to be grown in high tech, climate-controlled greenhouses.
This new partnership follows the launch of Terra Tech's "Craft Cultivation" model in May 2017, when the Company signed its first Craft Cultivator, an experienced cannabis cultivator in Honeydew, California. By partnering closely with these carefully selected teams of experienced and trusted cultivators, Terra Tech can ensure its IVXX cannabis is grown and harvested under the safest and most beneficial conditions, while effectively managing costs.
Derek Peterson, CEO of Terra Tech Corp., commented, "We selected Cultivar to be our newest Cannabis Craftsman as it uses an all-natural cultivation methodology that upholds the high standards associated with our proprietary IVXX brand, including sustainable farming practices and the production of pesticide-free cannabis products. The cultivators at Cultivar, Inc. have their cultivation, nursery and manufacturing operations all on site to ensure quality-control, and its shipping logistics infrastructure already in place to support an immediate ramp in IVXX production."
Mr. Peterson concluded, "California is a major emerging market for cannabis consumption, with adult-use sales expected to begin in 2018. Developing our craft cultivation business model through partnerships such as this agreement with Cultivar, Inc. enables Terra Tech to expand its cultivation footprint and product supply while maintaining control over costs, with a view to driving improved margins. We are moving rapidly to grow market share and to improve patient access to high-quality and effective medical cannabis products as the market continues to open up."
The partnership with Cultivar, Inc. is fully compliant with the Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act ("MCRSA") and will allow Terra Tech to expand its cultivation footprint throughout the state of California. Terra Tech uses a responsible and environmentally sustainable cultivation methodology to ensure its proprietary IVXX strains are carefully selected and grown to minimize risks to people and the environment. IVXX cannabis is grown and harvested free of toxic pesticides, harmful molds and chemical residues. All products are thoughtfully produced, rigorously tested and certified to the highest standards of potency and purity.
https://www.terratechcorp.com/news-media/press-releases/detail/204/terra-tech-corp-signs-second-craft-cultivator-in-state-of
It's just for laughs
The pictures in my posts don't always match the story.
https://twitter.com/FargoPolice
Wow, so EG stands for Evil Gardens now ?
What a mess ! I heard Vanvedre's were running a side business and billing TRTC for expenses.
Sounds like that busted on the job show. TRTC prolly hired a private detective to check into it.
Police dept offers prize for the most weed
Police Department Offers Prize For Possessing The Most Cannabis
The Fargo Police think they’re so clever when the police department offers prize for possessing the most cannabis.
By Tim Kohut
Cops have been buckling down ahead of this year’s 4/20, as the toker’s holiday has become more and more of a cherished tradition amongst the cannabis community. This has led to police everywhere doing everything they can send out stringent warnings to those that celebrate the plant. Even if they have to get a little creative about it. The Fargo Police department decided to try to go the funny-route, and to the amusement of, most likely, absolutely no one, they posted a TOTALLY hilarious status in which the police department offers prize for possessing the most cannabis.
n North Dakota, qualifying medical marijuana patients can obtain up to three ounces of herbal medication, and their medical marijuana program has garnered increased attraction of several cannabis companies.
However, recreational marijuana is still highly illegal, and the state possesses some of the strictest marijuana laws in the country. For example, a first offense possession of a single joint is punishable by up to a year in prison and a fine of up to $2,000.
The state’s Marijuana Policy Project’s has clamored for decriminalization, but there the prospective timeline remains murky, but participants are eager to see a lower penalty for cannabis users.
It’s safe to say the Fargo Police department do not follow that demographic.
Final Hit: Police Department Offers Prize For Possessing The Most Cannabis
Although the members of the Fargo Police department might think they’re clever, they’re far from the first, or last Police department to make ill-attempts at the whole ‘humor’ thing.
Cops have long been tweeting dad-jokes and corny barbs at the marijuana community, several of which, has caught the ire of many.
For 420, things have particularly ramped up. Earlier in the week, the Lawrence Police department in Kansas tweet it’s only little shot at prospective participants in the holiday.
“Hey potheads planning to toke up on 4/20, stay off the roads,” the tweet warned. “Stock up on Cheetos and Mt. Dew BEFORE you spark. Saturation patrols to find drugged drivers to occur.”
While it might be hard to fault the police for trying to keep high driving to a minimum, the could have delivered their message in a way that doesn’t perpetuate tired stereotypes about those who consume cannabis. That’s just lazy writing.
With full-legal marijuana remains far-off in North Dakota, so it’s no surprise its police are looking for ways to get marijuana ‘off the streets.’
It’s just the lame attempts at pseudo-entrapment, on our favorite holiday, nonetheless, that really grinds our gears.
https://hightimes.com/news/police-department-offers-prize-possessing-most-cannabis/
Charges do sound serious
It's hard to believe the Vandevrede's would do all that stuff and still hope to get their old jobs back ?
I think TRTC usually tries to settle these things out of court. They file charges to show they mean business. Then let their lawyers work things out.
Going to court is not good business. The court case could go on for years. And, it looks bad for the company even if they win.
7 years for 2 joints Now he's free
Seven Years Behind Bars for Two Joints — And Now He’s Free
Bernard Noble, whose case became a symbol of harsh drug laws, walks out of a Louisiana prison.
By NICOLE LEWIS and MAURICE CHAMMAH
Bernard Noble, who became a national symbol of harsh drug laws after he was sentenced to 13 years of hard labor for carrying about two joints worth of marijuana, was released from prison early Thursday morning.
Noble, 51, was freed on parole after his lawyer and a team of advocates — including billionaire New York hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb — spent years pressing courts, governors and lawmakers to reverse the long sentence. He ultimately served seven years in prison.
“I really felt special, seeing my family and everyone waiting for me,” Noble told The Marshall Project by phone after he walked out of Bossier Parish Medium Security Prison, where his mother, sister, and other family members awaited his release.
“I cried a lot of times in prison silently because you can’t do it out loud in a treacherous place like that. But I always said, ‘one day it’s gonna get better,’ ” he said.
His freedom marked the end of a convoluted and high-profile legal journey that began in 2010, when he was arrested while biking in New Orleans, where he was visiting family. Police said they found about three grams of marijuana in his possession.
Noble was sentenced in 2011 under what were then some of the toughest drug laws and sentencing practices in the country. Because he had been convicted of having small amounts of cocaine and marijuana multiple times in the past, Noble was sentenced to 13 years of hard labor, without the possibility of parole, under Louisiana’s “habitual offender” law.
Amid growing unease over the nation’s high incarceration rate, the case became a rallying cry for revising tough drug laws dating to the 1980s and 90s. Noble’s sentence seemed especially unfair when other states were legalizing pot for medical and personal use.
“There is plenty of data and evidence that suggests harsh drug sentences are not effective, and we can argue those talking points until we are blue in the face, but most people need to see flesh and blood,” said Kevin Ring, president of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, an organization advocating for more lenient sentencing.
Media including Newsweek, VICE, and The Huffington Post (as well as marijuana-centric websites such as HERB and The Cannabist) wrote about his story. His mother, Elnora Noble, collected nearly 75,000 signatures on a Change.org petition for his clemency. People took to Twitter to call on then-President Barack Obama to issue a pardon, using the hashtag #freebernardnoble. (A federal pardon would not have helped, however, because the case was in state courts.)
After Noble was convicted, two separate district court judges attempted to reduce his sentence to five years, citing his lack of a violent record and the fact that he supported seven children. But Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro opposed the change and prevailed in state Supreme Court.
Noble languished behind bars.
The case eventually caught the attention of Loeb, a frequent donor to criminal justice reform efforts whose interest helped rally national advocates. (Full disclosure: The Margaret and Daniel Loeb — Third Point Foundation is a donor to The Marshall Project.)
In 2015, supporters petitioned then-Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican, for clemency. But the state had a rule that a prisoner had to have served 10 years before clemency could be considered. Noble hadn’t reached that threshold, so his petition was denied.
When Democrat John Bel Edwards was elected governor in 2016, supporters raised the issue again, using Noble’s situation as a chance to challenge the state’s clemency law.
“But for Dan Loeb, we would not even have known, not just about Bernard’s case, but also this administrative rule on clemency,” said Holly Harris, executive director of the D.C.-based Justice Action Network.
Harris and her team lobbied Edwards to change the 10-year rule and consider a reprieve for Noble. Noble didn’t get his reprieve, but earlier this year, the parole board voted to remove the 10-year rule. The change is now waiting to be finalized.
Meanwhile, in 2015, Louisiana lawmakers passed a bill to reduce the maximum sentence for marijuana possession, bringing the state’s laws more in line with the national average. On a fourth conviction, the maximum became eight years, down from 20. But the law did not apply retroactively.
Noble’s lawyer, Jee Park, senior attorney for public policy at the Innocence Project New Orleans, negotiated with the district attorney’s office. In December 2016, the office relented, and Noble was re-sentenced to eight years. Cannizzaro said in an emailed statement that he agreed to the reduction based on the state’s new sentencing guidelines. But he added that Noble had originally been offered a plea deal for a five-year sentence. “He declined, believing he would beat the case at trial,” Cannizzaro said. “He did not."
"We hope that Mr. Noble has been able to resolve his substance abuse issues and will lead a law-abiding life free of further involvement in the criminal justice system,” Cannizzaro added.
Noble applied for parole in June 2017, but his hearing was delayed while waiting for another legislative tweak that made non-violent “habitual offenders” eligible for release to go into effect. In December 2017, Noble again went before the parole board, but a technical glitch kept his lawyers from speaking on his behalf. Noble would have to wait two more months.
In February, the board granted Noble parole on the condition he move back to Missouri, where he was living at the time of his arrest. His lawyers protested, noting that his family, housing, and job were all in New Orleans. For two more months, Noble remained in prison while the parole board deliberated. Ultimately, Noble was allowed to stay in the state.
Now free, he is hoping to repay the support he received by helping young people stay out of trouble or joining an effort to raise the state’s minimum wage.
“I am ready to get to work,” he said. “I didn’t go through all of this just to come home, eat a hot plate of food, and work at McDonalds.”
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2018/04/12/seven-years-behind-bars-for-two-joints-and-now-he-s-free?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sprout&utm_source=twitter
They'll settle up !
They could just make up and shake hands
These are good people.
After the tempers cool down, common sense will prevail.
I don't think any of their other legal conflicts went to court.
Even that real bad one over the Las Vegas dispensary licenses.
That looked like a slam dunk of a lawsuit and they worked it out without going to court.
We got all our dispensary licenses anyway.
Credit card is safer than carrying cash around
Lady takes her stoned raccoon to fire station
This is a story about a stoned raccoon at a fire station
A fire department spokesman said, “the raccoon is going to have to sleep it off.”
PUBLISHED: APR 19, 2018, 10:19 AM • UPDATED: ABOUT 7 HOURS AGO
By Karin Brulliard, The Washington Post
An unusual pair showed up in the pre-dawn hours at Fire Station 82 in Wayne Township, Indiana, last week.
Repeatedly pressing the doorbell was a frantic woman. In her arms was a furry, masked animal that firefighters later described as “lethargic,” fire department spokesman Michael Pruitt said.
Through her panic, the woman divulged that it was a pet raccoon – and that it was severely stoned.
“We typically love to help, especially when it comes to animals. We have a lot of animal lovers in the fire service,” Pruitt said in an interview. “But in this case, they just recommended, ‘Hey, the raccoon is going to have to sleep it off.’ ”
The woman, whose name the firefighters did not take, said the raccoon had gotten into someone else’s pot. Marijuana use is not legal in any form in Indiana, leading Pruitt to joke that the animal had, perhaps, “moved from Colorado, and he didn’t know.”
While a baked raccoon at a fire station is unusual, pets on pot hardly are. As more states legalize marijuana and tantalizing edible forms become more available, veterinarians say they are seeing major increases in patients that have ingested it. These are most often dogs, and their trips are very rarely fatal. In most cases, veterinarians say, the firefighters’ advice is sound: Animals must simply wait it out.
The Wayne Township Fire Department’s 2 a.m. experience with the raccoon, which it posted about on Facebook, drew national attention – as well as notice from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Pruitt said. It wanted to know whether the woman had a permit to keep the critter, as is required by state law. (Regulations also state that raccoon-keepers must provide their pets with creature comforts including a “nest box or sheltered retreat,” branches for climbing and a wading pool or water container.) The firefighters did not have that information.
“We’re not in the business of policing who has permits for their animals and who does not,” Pruitt said, adding, “We do not expect her or the raccoon to come out of the woodwork to claim credit for the story.”
Raccoons can be purchased from exotic-animal dealers, and some pet raccoons have become Instagram stars. But wildlife and veterinary experts warn that they do not typically make great companions. They are not easily house-trained, and their dexterous little hands are excellent at breaking into things – like, say, a stash of weed.
Somewhere there's a guy telling his friends a story about how a raccoon ate his stash and he had to follow him around for three days with a baggie to get his stash back.
https://www.thecannabist.co/2018/04/19/story-about-stoned-raccoon-fire-station/103854/
Forest and Little Buddy like hot dogs.
https://www.gofundme.com/feed-forest-and-little-buddy
Have a good 420 !
They could just make up and shake hands
These are good people.
After the tempers cool down, common sense will prevail.
I don't think any of their other legal conflicts went to court.
Even that real bad one over the Las Vegas dispensary licenses.
That looked like a slam dunk of a lawsuit and they worked it out without going to court.
We got all our dispensary licenses anyway.
They'll prolly reach a settlement
These things can be settled out of court
Saves time and money
Listen to the quarterly conference call
They have always planned on growing weed at that New Jersey greenhouse facility as soon as it's legal to grow it there.
The profit margins are better on growing weed than growing produce.
Edible Gardens had real good earnings when they sold flowers, but the profit margins were not good so they decided to stop.
I think EG is just a backup business
Just a backup plan for TRTC in case the Federal govt tried to shut down the legal weed states, TRTC could still run Edible Gardens.
For a while I thought EG was doing great. Getting ready to expand all over the US. But lately, the earnings have been down since they stopped selling flowers. They stopped expanding too.
Now that the threat of a Federal crackdown is over, they might decide to sell Edible Gardens and keep the New Jersey facility to grow tons of weed.
Just my 2 cents....
Happy 420 !
Legal weed reaching a tipping point
Just in time for 420 !
Schumer is for legalization now too ? Unbelievable !
Top Senate Democrat Pushes Bill To End Marijuana Prohibition
Tom Angell , CONTRIBUTOR
In one of the clearest signs yet that the politics of marijuana are rapidly shifting in favor of those who support legalization, one of Congress's most vocal longtime proponents of the war on drugs is filing legislation to end federal cannabis prohibition.
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York announced on Thursday that he will soon introduce a bill to remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act altogether so that states can set their own policies.
Https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomangell/2018/04/19/top-senate-democrat-pushes-bill-to-end-marijuana-prohibition/#7eac73fd6051
FDA committee recommends CBD for epilepsy
By Susan Scutti, CNN
Updated 1:46 PM ET, Thu April 19, 2018
(CNN)A US Food and Drug Administration advisory committee on Thursday unanimously recommended approval of an epilepsy drug that would be the first plant-derived cannabidiol medicine for prescription use in the United States.
The FDA will vote in June whether to approve the drug, Epidiolex, an oral solution, for the treatment of severe forms of epilepsy in a small group of patients. The FDA has approved synthetic versions of some cannabinoid chemicals found in the marijuana plant for other purposes, including cancer pain relief.
Cannabidiol, also called CBD, is one of more than 80 active cannabinoid chemicals, yet unlike tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, it does not produce a high.
The committee's recommendation was delivered after reviewing data from the drug's maker, GW Pharmaceuticals PLC, a UK-based biopharmaceutical company.
"We're obviously very pleased by the unanimous recommendation in support of the approval of Epidiolex," GW CEO Justin Gover said. "It's a very important milestone in the approval process."
Epidiolex, GW's lead cannabinoid product candidate, was developed for severe, early-onset epilepsy syndromes, including Dravet syndrome, a rare genetic dysfunction of the brain that begins in the first year of life; Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a type of epilepsy with multiple types of seizures; and tuberous sclerosis complex and infantile spasms, both of which begin in infancy and cause a sudden stiffening of the body, arms and legs with the head bent forward.
One-third of Americans who have epilepsy have found no therapies that will control their seizures, according to the Epilepsy Foundation. This represents about 1 million families.
Though FDA approval would limit use of the drug to epilepsy patients, doctors would have the option to prescribe it "off-label" for other uses.
Shauna Garris, a pharmacist, pharmacy clinical specialist and adjunct assistant professor at the University of North Carolina's Eshelman School of Pharmacy, said she would be surprised if Epidiolex does not get full approval from the FDA. Garris was not involved in the development of the drug and has not used it in her own clinical practice.
Still, she said, "there's so much publicity and so much hype" surrounding the product, she's not sure it will live up to "all that hype."
Epidiolex is effective, she said, working somewhere between "fairly" and "very well."
"There have been side effects associated with it, and it appears a lot of the side effects were in conjunction with other medications, which is a concern, because most of those patients are on other medications," Garris said. There are likely to be drug interactions, she said, but "that's not uncommon for antiepileptic medications."
"Most of our antiepileptic medications have terrible side effects and interact with each other," she said. Still, this may impact potential efficacy.
In a statement, GW Pharmaceuticals said that two experimental clinical trials, one in Dravet syndrome and one in Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, showed "significantly greater reductions" in certain seizure types for patients taking Epidiolex compared with those taking a placebo.
During the public hearing at Thursday's advisory committee meeting, 16-year-old Sam Vogelstein of Berkeley, California, described himself as "the first person to try Epidiolex for epilepsy." He said he was not paid by the company to speak Thursday.
"I had seizures for 10 years," he said. "My parents tell me there were times I had seizures 100 times a day." He began Epidiolex five years ago. "I've been seizure-free for more than two years now. It changed my life."
Damage to the liver, which metabolizes drugs and detoxifies chemicals, is an important consideration during the recommendation process of any medicine.
Dr. Lara Dimick-Santos, a clinical reviewer in the FDA's Office of Drug Evaluation, reviewed the liver safety report and concluded that there were "no cases of severe liver injury" and "no deaths related with liver injury." She suggested, though, that some patients might experience some form of "unknown of chronic liver injury." Such a "smoldering inflammatory response" could "potentially cause a problem for patients further down the line."
Katherine Bonson, a member of the FDA's Pharmacologist Controlled Substance Staff, assessed the abuse potential for cannabidiol after looking at both animal and human experimental data. "Overall conclusion, preclinical data do not provide signals that CBD has abuse potential," she said.
Though the FDA stressed that review of Epidiolex will be ongoing, Gover said he feels confident about a positive outcome. "It's a breakthrough in the field of epilepsy," he said. "It's the first cannabis-based pharmaceutical to be approved by the FDA. It's the first in a new class of treatments with a new mechanism of action against epilepsy."
https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/19/health/fda-committee-marijuana-drug-epilepsy-bn/index.html
He posted on $CANN too Down 31% today
Here's what they said .....
"It's not the first time I've heard clay is like the kiss death when he comes on board "
"Clay here is NEVER good now that he has his own gang!!! "
CANN $$$$$))
FDA backs epilepsy drug made from cannabis
Staff members at the Food and Drug Administration have approved an experimental drug made from a marijuana plant that is used to treat seizures associated with two rare forms of epilepsy affecting children.
The FDA briefing document, released Tuesday, was prepared before an advisory committee meeting scheduled for Thursday. The next step is for the FDA commissioners to approve the drug.
Epidiolex, manufactured by GW Pharmaceuticals(GWPH), was studied to treat Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, which are rare forms of epilepsy most resistant to other treatment that affect children 2 years old and older.
The drug is given as a syrup with strawberry flavoring and includes cannabidiol, an active ingredient found in marijuana. But it contains less than 0.1 percent of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive substance in marijuana that makes users high.
"Although CBD is a cannabinoid, it shares almost none of the pharmacologic features of the prototypical cannabinoid," the staff wrote.
The staff noted that the drug "has significantly less abuse potential" than two other forms of cannibas: THC given as 2 doses of dronabinol or a single dose of alprazola, or ALZ.
GW's drug "reduces seizure frequency in patients with drug-resistant LGS or DS while maintaining a predictable and manageable safety profile," according to FDA staff. The findings were based on three clinical studies.
The acceptable safety risks included liver injury, which it said can be managed and monitored.
Another GW Pharma drug, Sativex, derived from the cannabis plant, has been approved in numerous countries outside of the United States to treat muscle contraction in multiple sclerosis patients, according to the company website.
"Epidiolex, if approved, will mark a sea change in the acceptability of cannabinoids as therapy," GW Pharma Chief Executive Officer Justin Gover said in an interview with Bloomberg earlier this month.
Some drugs made from synthetic cannabinoids have been approved by the FDA, including Insys Therapeutics Inc.'s(INSY) Syndros for loss of appetite in people with AIDS and nausea caused by chemotherapy. Insys also is developing a cannabidiol oral solution for a severe type of epileptic seizure known as infantile spasms.
Medical marijuana has been approved in 29 states and Washington, D.C., according to ProCon.org.
http://fortune.com/video/2018/04/17/fda-backs-epilepsy-drug-created-from-marijuana-plant/
Trump breaks with Sessions and backs MJ industry
Trump vows to back law to protect marijuana industry, breaking with Sessions
by Nicholas Riccardi
Associated Press
President Donald Trump has promised to support legislation protecting the marijuana industry in states that have legalized the drug, a move that could lift a threat to the industry made by the U.S. attorney general just three months ago.
Republican Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado said Friday that Trump made the pledge to him in a Wednesday night conversation.
It marked the latest flip by the president who pledged while he was campaigning to respect states that legalized marijuana but also criticized legalization and implied it should be stopped.
Gardner has been pushing to reverse a decision made by Attorney General Jeff Sessions in January that removed prohibitions that kept federal prosecutors from pursuing cases against people who were following pot laws in states such as Colorado that have legalized the drug.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/nationworld/ct-trump-marijuana-industry-20180413-story.html
Sessions to be fired Friday to celebrate 420
It could happen ! Sessions kooky weed war is not happening. C'mon along, we're gonna roll now...
A majority of voters approved mj legalization and in our country the majority vote rules. Go green !
Everything is better with a bag of weed !!
Nobody saw this coming
Things are looking up for the good guys !
Trump To Support Major Marijuana Legislation
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/trump-to-support-major-marijuana-legislation/
Deal reached to protect legal MJ states
Trump Makes Deal to Protect States with Legal Cannabis
By A.J. Herrington
We sure didn’t see this coming: Trump makes deal to protect states with legal cannabis. What does this mean?
Ending a stalemate with a prominent Senator, President Trump makes deal to protect states with legal cannabis. The Washington Post reported on Friday that the president had reached an agreement with Sen. Cory Gardner, a Republican from Colorado.
In January, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Cole Memo, a policy enacted by the Obama administration that directed U.S. Attorneys not to interfere in states with legalized pot. Under the Cole Memo, individuals and companies complying with state cannabis laws could operate with little fear of federal prosecution.
But when Sessions scrapped that directive, he allowed individual prosecutors to decide on enforcement of federal marijuana laws. That created a sense of panic among the legal cannabis industry nationwide.
Colorado voters legalized cannabis for medicinal use in 2000 with the passage of Amendment 20. Later, in 2012, the state approved the recreational use of marijuana by adults. The regulated adult-use cannabis market began in Colorado in 2014.
Nationally, nine states and Washington, D.C. have legalized recreational marijuana. Medical marijuana is legal in 29 more states.
Senator Blocked DOJ Nominees
That move angered Gardner, who said it was contrary to assurances Trump made while running for office. Also, according to Gardner, Sessions had promised to respect states with legal pot during confirmation hearings for his post.
In retaliation, the Senator used his position to block about 20 nominees for positions in the Department of Justice (DOJ).
But in a phone call between the two politicians on Wednesday, they were able to come to an agreement. Trump told Gardner that despite Sessions’ announcement, legal pot businesses in Colorado will not be targeted by federal prosecutors.
“Since the campaign, President Trump has consistently supported states’ rights to decide for themselves how best to approach marijuana,” Gardner said. “Late Wednesday, I received a commitment from the President that the Department of Justice’s rescission of the Cole memo will not impact Colorado’s legal marijuana industry.”
Will Deal Lead to a Long-term Solution?
Gardner also said the President had committed to changing federal law to give states the lead in cannabis regulation permanently. Consequently, the Senator will now allow DOJ nominations to proceed through the Senate.
“Furthermore, President Trump has assured me that he will support a federalism-based legislative solution to fix this states’ rights issue once and for all. Because of these commitments, I have informed the Administration that I will be lifting my remaining holds on Department of Justice nominees.”
Final Hit: Trump Makes Deal to Protect States with Legal Cannabis
During an interview on Friday, White House legislative affairs director Marc Short said that the President “does respect Colorado’s right to decide for themselves how to best approach this issue.”
He also said that although the administration didn’t approve of Gardner’s tactics, they are happy the stalemate has ended.
“Clearly, we’ve expressed our frustration with the delay with a lot of our nominees and feel that too often, senators hijack a nominee for a policy solution. So we’re reluctant to reward that sort of behavior,” Short said. “But at the same time, we’re anxious to get our team at the Department of Justice.”
https://hightimes.com/news/trump-makes-deal-protect-states-legal-cannabis/
https://www.gofundme.com/feed-forest-and-little-buddy
States MJ legalization gets support !
Sen. Cory Gardner: Trump has agreed to support state-legal marijuana protections
By Alicia Wallace, The Cannabist Staff
Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner says he struck a deal with President Donald J. Trump that would protect states’ marijuana laws from federal interference.
As part of the deal, the Republican senator agreed to lift his blockade on U.S. Department of Justice nominees — a hold put in place following U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ rescission of Obama-era guidance on marijuana.
Gardner’s office released the following statement Friday morning:
“Since the campaign, President Trump has consistently supported states’ rights to decide for themselves how best to approach marijuana. Late Wednesday, I received a commitment from the President that the Department of Justice’s rescission of the Cole memo will not impact Colorado’s legal marijuana industry. Furthermore, President Trump has assured me that he will support a federalism-based legislative solution to fix this states’ rights issue once and for all.
“Because of these commitments, I have informed the Administration that I will be lifting my remaining holds on Department of Justice nominees. My colleagues and I are continuing to work diligently on a bipartisan legislative solution that can pass Congress and head to the President’s desk to deliver on his campaign position.”
The White House’s director of legislative affairs told the Washington Post — which broke the news Friday about the Gardner-Trump agreement — that the president “does respect Colorado’s right to decide for themselves how to best approach this issue.”
The agreement also provides a much-needed reprieve from the ongoing bottleneck of DOJ nominees, Legislative Affairs Director Marc Short told the Washington Post.
“Clearly, we’ve expressed our frustration with the delay with a lot of our nominees and feel that too often, senators hijack a nominee for a policy solution,” Short told the Washington Post. “So we’re reluctant to reward that sort of behavior. But at the same time, we’re anxious to get our team at the Department of Justice.”
This story is developing and will be updated.
https://www.thecannabist.co/2018/04/13/cory-gardner-trump-marijuana-protections/103509/
https://www.gofundme.com/feed-forest-and-little-buddy
It's a breach of contract lawsuit
What Is a Diversity Breach of Contract?
By Grygor Scott
A diversity breach-of-contract case occurs when a plaintiff files a lawsuit in a federal court claiming that the defendant failed to fulfill the terms of a contract. In general, state courts have jurisdiction over contract cases, including those involving breach of contract. Federal law, however, empowers federal courts to hear breach-of-contract lawsuits under certain circumstances.
Breach of Contract
A breach of contract may occur when a party fails to fulfill the terms of the agreement. Remedies for a breach of contract include damages to reimburse the plaintiff, specific performance to compel the defendant to fulfill the terms of the contract and cancellation of the contract.
Federal Jurisdiction
Article III, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution gives federal courts jurisdiction in cases between citizens of different states. This power is called diversity jurisdiction because the plaintiff and the defendant have diverse, or different, state citizenship. Federal law also empowers federal courts to hear cases between citizens of a state and citizens of foreign countries; between citizens of different states in which a citizen of a foreign country is an additional party; and between a foreign country, as plaintiff, and a citizen of a state.
Diversity
Filing a breach of contract lawsuit in a federal court requires complete diversity between parties. For example, a federal court does not have jurisdiction over a case between a citizen of California who is suing two defendants, one from New York and the other from California. Federal law mandates that "a corporation shall be deemed to be a citizen of any State by which it has been incorporated and of the State where it has its principal place of business." In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified how federal courts should determine a corporation's citizenship, holding that "principal place of business" refers to the state "where a corporation's high level officers direct, control, and coordinate the corporation's activities," rather than to the state where a corporation conducts most of its business activities.
Amount in Controversy
Under federal law, diversity jurisdiction extends only to cases in which plaintiffs claim more than $75,000 in damages. If a plaintiff's claim is below this amount, he must file his lawsuit in an appropriate state court.
Removal
A plaintiff may choose to file a claim exceeding $75,000 in a state court. Defendants, however, can have the case transferred to a federal court.
About the Author
Grygor Scott has written professionally since 1991, with a focus on law, government, food and travel. His work has appeared in "New York Resident" and on several websites. The author of more than 20 nonfiction books, Scott graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina
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State Treasurers Want Marijuana Meeting
State Treasurers Want Marijuana Meeting With Sessions
Published 2 hours ago on March 29, 2018
By Tom Angell
Top officials from four states that allow some form of legal cannabis are requesting a meeting to discuss marijuana policy with U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
“In this incredibly divisive time, the issues surrounding the legalization of cannabis provide a unique opportunity for policymakers, regulators, and law enforcement officials from all sides to meet and reach a consensus,” the treasurers of California, Illinois, Oregon and Pennsylvania wrote in a letter to Sessions on Thursday.
“These states represent a true cross-section of America,” they wrote. “This is not just a blue state phenomenon, but includes purple and red states in every corner of our country. A majority of Americans now live in states where they have decided to legalize cannabis.”
In January, Sessions rescinded Obama-era guidance that has generally allowed states to implement their own marijuana laws without federal interference.
The state treasurers, who were joined in signing the letter by industry advocacy groups like the California Growers Association and the National Cannabis Industry Association, along with the Maine Credit Union League, are concerned that Sessions’s move harms public safety by discouraging banks from working with marijuana businesses.
“Whether cannabis should be legal is not relevant to the simple fact that it now is in more than half of the states,” they wrote. “With legalization taking place, there are sound public policy reasons for providing financial institutions and other entities that do business with the cannabis industry some comfort that they will not be prosecuted, or lose access to customer assets, simply for banking this industry. Among the policy positives that could result is greater public safety and more efficient collection of tax revenues.”
The letter comes as a bipartisan group of U.S. senators is pushing to hold a hearing on legislation to allow banks to serve cannabis businesses without running afoul of federal authorities.
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/state-treasurers-want-marijuana-meeting-with-sessions/
Only around $10 bid-ask spread now
Don't Get Burned By The Spread :}
https://www.forbes.com/2008/04/12/bid-ask-spread-pf-education-in_gc_0412investopedia_inl.html#11979b7cde10
Jeff's "Old Rebel" Session papers sell out
The US Attorney General believes:
"Good People Don't Smoke Marijuana"
He's wrong. We're fighting back!
General Jeff's "Old Rebel" Session Papers
(ships via good ol' USPS)
We're SOLD OUT of our initial stock, but have more on the way. Orders are 2 weeks backorderd.
We'll continue taking orders and promise to make up this delay up to you. We're grateful for each and every one of you.
https://jeff-sesh.squarespace.com/