Replies to post #809 on Cresco Labs Inc (CRLBF)

[FUNMAN]

Cresco Labs Wins Two Recreational Retail Licenses for Sunnyside*
Dispensaries in Chicago’s Prestigious Central District

Fri November 15, 2019 2:36 PM
Business Wire
About: CRLBF

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cresco Labs (CRLBF) (CSE:CL) (OTCQX:CRLBF) (“Cresco Labs” or the “Company”), one of the largest vertically integrated multistate cannabis operators in the United States, today announced the results of the City of Chicago lottery for recreational cannabis dispensary locations (the “Lottery”). Cresco Labs won two of the seven available licenses in the Central District, and one of the six available licenses in the Southeast District. Following the results of the Chicago Lottery, Cresco will have one dual-purpose dispensary in the North District of Chicago, as well as the right to open two adult-use dispensaries in the Central District and one in the Southeast District. The Company also has operating Illinois medical dispensaries in Buffalo Grove, Elmwood Park, Rockford, and Champaign that have been state approved for dual-use, with the opportunity to open two additional adult-use dispensaries outside of the City of Chicago.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191115005458/en/

[FUNMAN]

Cresco Labs@crescolabs - We are very excited to announce our win of two dispensary licenses for Sunnyside* Dispensaries in Chicago's Central District. Get ready for a new kind of cannabis store, and welcome to the #Sunnyside! Get the full list of the licenses we were awarded:

We are very excited to announce our win of two dispensary licenses for Sunnyside* Dispensaries in Chicago's Central District. Get ready for a new kind of cannabis store, and welcome to the #Sunnyside! Get the full list of the licenses we were awarded: https://t.co/dB5phsNx6t

— Cresco Labs (@crescolabs) November 15, 2019

[FUNMAN]

Senate Approves Bill Protecting Medical Marijuana States From Federal Intervention

Published 2 weeks ago on
October 31, 2019
By Kyle Jaeger

https://www.marijuanamoment.net/senate-approves-bill-protecting-medical-marijuana-states-from-federal-intervention/

When the Senate and House reconcile their MJ bills, and the bill is signed into law, it should be a big boost for MJ company PPS's.

The Senate approved spending legislation on Thursday that extends a provision protecting medical marijuana states from federal interference—but the question remains as to whether a House-passed version with broader protections for all state cannabis programs could still be adopted in the final bill that’s sent to the president.

The so-called “minibus” appropriations legislation covers funding for Commerce, Justice, Science, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, Interior, Environment, Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, Transportation and Housing and Urban Development for the 2020 fiscal year.

The vote on the bill, which also includes new hemp and CBD-related language, was 84 to 9.

The medical cannabis provision in question prohibits the Department of Justice from using its resources to prosecute individuals acting in compliance with state laws. The rider has been in place and renewed each year since 2014.

But after the House passed a Justice Department spending bill in June that for the first time would extend those protections to all state cannabis programs, including those allowing recreational use and sales, some advocates hoped the Senate would follow suit. In the lead up to a committee markup where that would have happened, however, several senators told Marijuana Moment that the prospects were unlikely, as congressional leaders made a bicameral agreement not to add new policy riders in the appropriations process unless agreed to by leadership on a bipartisan basis.

Now the only chance that Congress will send the broader provision to President Trump’s desk for 2020 is if negotiators on a bicameral conference committee agree to put the House language in the final package, though there is a chance that the larger chamber could simply approve the bill as passed by the Senate in an effort to avoid a government shutdown that would occur if no spending legislation is signed into law by November 21.

“It’s our hope that the House will insist that today’s minibus appropriations package include the provision to restrict the Department of Justice from interfering with state-legal marijuana programs that passed with bipartisan support,” said Justin Strekal, political director for NORML.

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) introduced a separate amendment to the large-scale appropriations bill last week that would have called on the attorney general to study the criminal justice implications of marijuana legalization, but the measure was not considered on the Senate floor.

The medical marijuana protections language isn’t the only cannabis-related rider that has advanced via the spending process this year. The Senate Appropriations Committee also approved legislation that includes existing policies barring Washington, D.C. from using its local tax dollars to implement a legal marijuana market, in addition to a provision providing funds to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to enact regulations for a legal hemp program.

The latter language is included in the minibus the Senate approved on Thursday, as are report provisions urging the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue enforcement discretion guidelines for CBD, encouraging the Farm Credit Administration to provide services to hemp businesses and supporting “competitive USDA grants for hemp projects.”

“The FDA has been dragging its feet to issue the guidance required following the legalization of hemp-derived CBD,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), told Marijuana Moment. “This is about helping Oregon’s hemp industry continue to create jobs, protecting consumers and putting an end to the regulatory confusion and uncertainty. This language again shows that the Senate is serious about the FDA doing its job.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who with Wyden was a leading advocate for hemp legalization, also cheered the spending bill provisions.

“Hemp farmers, processors and manufacturers are exploring the crop’s great potential, and I’m proud to work with them every step of the way. As federal and state governments continue to develop how to best support this industry, I’ll keep working to benefit Kentucky producers and ensure hemp is treated just like any other legal commodity,” he said in a press release. “Ensuring law enforcement can differentiate between industrial hemp and its illicit cousin is critical, and I’ll continue working with the DEA and other federal agencies so hemp can be treated the same as any other legal commodity.”

Senator McConnell Press
?
@McConnellPress
Senate approves @SenateMajLdr McConnell's funding requests to:
?combat Asian Carp in #Kentucky
?implement & research Kentucky's #hemp industry
?help address #opioid & substance abuse epidemic
?support economic development & infrastructure prioritieshttps://bit.ly/2N3Fleb

4:18 PM - Oct 31, 2019

The hemp riders are timely given that USDA unveiled draft rules for hemp, which was federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill, on Tuesday. The interim final rule will be formally adopted following a 60-day public comment period.

Another House-passed appropriations bill also includes protections for banks that work with the marijuana industry, and the rider preventing D.C. from establishing a cannabis market was removed from the chamber’s version of the legislation.

While the Republican-controlled Senate is mostly sticking to the agreement not to add new policy riders to appropriations legislation, it could soon take up a separate, standalone marijuana bill: the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, which would allow banks to service cannabis businesses without being penalized by federal regulators.

The House overwhelmingly approved that legislation in September, along largely bipartisan lines, and the chair of the Senate Banking Committee said recently that he plans to take up the legislation in his panel before the year’s end. He also outlined several changes he’d like to see to the House-passed version in an interview with Marijuana Moment.

USDA Releases Proposed Hemp Regulations For Public Comment

This story has been updated to include comments from Wyden and McConnell.

[FUNMAN]

Bill to end marijuana prohibition in the U.S. passes key committee

by Ida Domingo
Wednesday, November 20th 2019

https://wset.com/news/local/bill-to-end-marijuana-prohibition-in-the-us-passes-key-committee

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WSET) -- A congressional committee has approved a piece of legislation to end marijuana prohibition in the United States.

According to a press release, the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment, and Expungement Act, better known as The MORE Act (HR 3884), would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act and impose a minor excise tax on the legal cannabis industry to pay for the expungement of criminal records, among other changes, passed with a bipartisan vote of 24 to 10.

"This is a truly historic moment in our nation's political history. For the first time, a Congressional committee has approved far-reaching legislation to not just put an end to federal marijuana prohibition, but to address the countless harms our prohibitionist policies have wrought, notable on communities of color and other marginalized groups," stated NORML Executive Director Erik Altieri, "Opposition to our failed war on marijuana has reached a boiling point with over two-thirds of all Americans, including majorities of all political persuasions, now supporting legalization. Congress should respect the will of the people and promptly approve the MORE Act and close this dark chapter of failed public policy."

In the two days leading up to the vote, over 55,000 thousand messages were sent to lawmakers by Americans in support of The MORE Act through the NORML legislative action center.

“The passage of the MORE Act represents the first time that the Judiciary Committee has ever had a successful vote to end the cruel policy of marijuana criminalization,” said NORML Political Director Justin Strekal. “Not only does the bill reverse the failed prohibition of cannabis, but it provides pathways for opportunity and ownership in the emerging industry for those who have suffered most. In 2018 alone, over 663,000 Americans were arrested for marijuana-related crimes, a three-year high. Now that Chairman Nadler has moved the MORE Act through committee, it is time for the full House to vote and have every member of Congress show their constituents which side of history they stand on."

The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, HR 3884, will:


* Decriminalizes marijuana at the federal level by removing the substance from the Controlled Substances Act. This applies retroactively to prior and pending convictions, and enables states to set their own policy.

* Requires federal courts to expunge prior convictions, allows prior offenders to request expungement, and requires courts, on motion, to conduct re-sentencing hearings for those still under supervision.

* Authorizes the assessment of a 5% excise tax on marijuana and marijuana products to create an Opportunity Trust Fund, which includes three grant programs: the Community Reinvestment Grant Program, the Cannabis Opportunity Grant Program and the Equitable Licensing Grant Program

* Opens up Small Business Administration funding for legitimate cannabis-related businesses and service providers.

* Requires the Bureau of Labor Statistics to collect data on the demographics of the industry to ensure people of color and those who are economically disadvantaged are participating in the industry.

* Provides non-discrimination protections for marijuana use or possession, and for prior convictions for a marijuana offense: Prohibits the denial of any federal public benefit (including housing) based on the use or possession of marijuana, or prior conviction for a marijuana offense and provides that the use or possession of marijuana, or prior conviction for a marijuana offense, will have no adverse impact under the immigration laws.