In the days of the Armada, a fleet of warships, the scuttlebutt was the rumor or gossip that would spread throughout the ship. Today, Armada Law Corp presents The Scuttlebutt, a daily summery of news articles that people within the cannabis, hemp and plant medicine industries are chatting about along with links to the full articles.
In today’s news:
#californiacannabis – “A framework for permitting cannabis retail businesses throughout Riverside has been approved by the City Council, but the regulatory apparatus still awaits voter approval of proposed tax measures associated with the permitting process.
“The long overdue decision to overturn the ban on cannabis retail was the result of a multi-year effort that included intensive community and stakeholder input,” Councilman Ronaldo Fierro said. “This is the first step in a pragmatic and sensible policy process that is centered around providing benefit and opportunity for all Riverside residents.”
Tuesday night’s 5-2 vote in favor of the Cannabis Business Ordinance followed multiple public hearings and approval of the proposal by the Riverside Planning Commission on Jan. 19.”
https://heysocal.com/2023/03/01/riverside-paves-way-for-retail-cannabis-vendors-to-open-citywide/
#cannabispolitics – Florida – “The Florida Division of Elections had received 420,072 valid signatures from the political committee Smart & Safe Florida as of Wednesday, according to the division’s website.
The committee would need to submit at least 891,589 signatures to get on the ballot. Last month, the committee topped a 222,898-signature threshold needed to trigger a crucial Florida Supreme Court review of the proposed ballot wording.
Under the “Adult Personal Use of Marijuana” proposal, people 21 or older would be allowed “to possess, purchase, or use marijuana products and marijuana accessories for non-medical personal consumption by smoking, ingestion, or otherwise.””
#cannabisindustry – “The cannabis supply chain is beset by disconnects from growers to consumers and back again. There are many links in the seed-to-sale chain—breeders, nurseries (seed, cutting, tissue culture providers), growers, processors, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and consumers—with many chances for breaks along the way.
Many plant people (breeders, nurseries, and growers) are ill-equipped to understand the retail market well enough to predict trends. They often struggle in finding direction for breeding programs, deciding which cultivars to multiply in nurseries, and choosing which new cultivars to grow next. Product people (manufacturers, distributors, and retailers), on the other hand, are in closer contact with consumers and are therefore better equipped to predict and possibly even direct future trends. However, there often is a dysfunctional delay in transmitting consumer preferences up the supply chain to breeders, nurseries, and growers.
This is a highly unfortunate situation, for the burden of selecting and distributing impactful new cultivars rests on breeders’ and cultivators’ shoulders. Nurseries supply plantlets of what they anticipate growers will want to grow, and growers’ decisions are based on what they think they will be able to sell to distributors. Meanwhile, distributors make purchase decisions based on what they think retailers can sell, and retailers can only stock what distributors offer, limiting consumers to buying those products.”
#cannabisindustry – “New Jersey lawmakers approved legislation Feb. 27 that would provide tax relief to the cannabis industry, sending the proposal to Gov. Phil Murphy for his signature.
The New Jersey Assembly passed A3946 Monday in a 59-8 vote after the Senate approved it 32-3.
The legislation, sponsored by Assemblymember Annette Quijana, decouples state tax provisions from the federal prohibition on cannabis business deductions, which will ultimately allow businesses to deduct certain expenses on their state tax returns.”
#psychedelics – “Have you ever thought about the use of psychedelics by ancient civilizations? How did they know such potent substances and practices? Could our modern society miss out on the wisdom these cultures possessed through psychedelics, rituals, and death?
For thousands of years, humans have used plants, medicines, and other substances to create altered states of consciousness for religious, mind expansion, and recreational purposes. But what kind of understanding and technology did ancient cultures need to rely upon to access these powerful states of being?”
https://microdose.buzz/news/ancient-civilizations-and-psychedelics/
#psychedelicresearch – “In 2022, Australian researchers will travel to the Netherlands for a so-called Psychedelic Retreat to recruit participants for a VR study. In these retreats, interested participants take part in ceremonies in which they legally take hallucinogenic substances under controlled conditions.
Many of the guests participate in the scientists’ experiment, consuming the psilocybin contained in magic mushrooms and, when the intoxicating effect wears off, put on VR headsets. This immerses them in a soothing virtual environment with glowing stars and giant fireflies.
In this VR world, they can grab a star and use it as an audio recording device. Have them talk about what happened inside them in the last few hours at the height of their intoxication. The audio recordings then form a sparkling constellation of stars in the VR environment.”
https://mixed-news.com/en/high-in-vr-how-vr-headsets-might-positively-influence-the-psyche/
#cannabislaw – “Hamid Akhavan and Ruben Weigand petitioned the high court for writ of certiorari Friday, telling the justices that they believe their constitutional right to a fair trial was violated because their attorneys weren’t allowed to cross-examine witnesses in person as a result of COVID-19 pandemic procedure changes.
Akhavan and Weigand argued that the Supreme Court has only approved a departure from face-to-face testimony in one case, when “one-way video testimony was ‘necessary to protect a child witness from trauma that would be caused by testifying in the physical presence of the defendant.'”
“The Second Circuit, however, has defied that precedent by fashioning a sweeping exception to the rule of in-person confrontation,” they said.”