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Coming To a Farmers Market Near You: Local Craft Cannabis?

Imagine visiting your local farmers market and picking up some heirloom tomatoes, homemade jam and a jar of locally grown, craft Cannabis. That’s the vision behind a new bill aimed at allowing Cannabis cultivators to sell their products at select events – like the aforementioned farmers markets – in California. Sponsored by Assm. Jim Wood (D-Santa Rosa), AB 2691 would create a process for small growers to obtain temporary permits to sell their weed wares at state-licensed Cannabis events. Slated to oversee the system is the state’s Department of Cannabis Control, the body responsible for delegating which farmer markets will qualify to host permitted pot sellers. On May 10, AB 2691 passed the Assembly Business and Professions Committee. In a statement, Wood detailed his intentions for the new bill: “The focus of AB 2691 is to help legal Cannabis farmers who grow less than one acre of Cannabis get consumer recognition for their unique products, much as has been done for craft beer, artisanal wine and other family farm agricultural products.” AB 2691 will next make its way to the Assembly Appropriations Committee ahead of a potential full vote in the Assembly and Senate.

Northern Nights Festival to Feature Multiple On-site Cannabis Dispensaries

What’s better than an on-site Cannabis dispensary at a major music festival? How about multiple dispensaries located at stages throughout the festival grounds? Come July, that’s what ticket holders for California’s Northern Nights Festival can expect to experience as the event’s organizers recently announced that their event is set to become the first U.S. festival to host multiple on-site Cannabis dispensaries. Taking place this year from July 15-17, Northern Nights is no stranger to making a bit of Cannabis history. The festival already broke major ground back in 2019 when it introduced the Tree House: an on-site area for attendees to legally purchase and consume Cannabis. Now the organizers are taking things a step further by providing multiple points of sale for their 2022 edition, which will also feature musical performances from major electronic acts like Claude VonStroke, CloZee and TroyBoi. The opportunity to sell Cannabis at festivals in California was first made possible thanks to the success of Assembly Bill 202 in 2018. Notably, the company behind Northern Nights – Northern Nights Music Group – is considered to have played an instrumental role in crafting and lobbying support for the legislation.

“TAKING PLACE THIS YEAR FROM JULY 15-17, NORTHERN NIGHTS IS NO STRANGER TO MAKING A BIT OF CANNABIS HISTORY.”

City Council Committee Nixes Sacramento Consumption Lounges FBI Relents, Returns $1 Million from SoCal Armored Truck Raids

MIKE ROSATI The dream of on-site consumption lounges in Sacramento is dead – at least for now. The culprit? Sacramento City Council Law and Legislation Committee chairman Jay Schenirer, who reportedly “refused to discuss the proposal, even though it was part of the committee’s agenda” during a committee meeting last month. City Cannabis Manager “CANNABIS Davina Smith was responsible for submitting the item for considCONSUMPTION LOUNGES ARE STILL LIMITED TO eration, suggesting during a recent interview that consumption lounges be considered akin to bars and may also help the area SMALL POCKETS to attract tourists. Presently still limited to small pockets of the OF THE STATE.” state, Smith cited lounges she’d visited in San Francisco as proof that the mere existence of a safe, welcoming space to legally consume Cannabis was enough to make out-of-towners spend potentially sizable sums. Councilwoman Katie Valenzuela – another member of the law and legislation committee – spoke with media following Schenirer’s dismissal of the item and shared that she intends to ask the full council to reconsider the matter at an upcoming meeting. Without a binding deadline to rely on, the prospects for consumption lounges in Sacramento appear bleak but far from certain. Last year, a high-profile FBI raid on armored cars transporting money for state-licensed Cannabis businesses resulted in the seizure of $1.1 million. Conducted in collaboration with San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies, the incident raised red flags as a clear example of federal interference in state-legal Cannabis operations. Now the feds have announced they’ll be returning the cash, despite initially alleging that the funds were tied to federal crimes related to drugs and money laundering. The armored trucks “THE INCIDENT RAISED RED FLAGS in question belong to a company called Empyreal AS A CLEAR EXAMPLE Logistics, who filed a court order earlier this year to compel the FBI and Sheriff’s Department to stop OF FEDERAL INTERFERENCE.” detaining its vehicles and seizing their cash without proof of illegal activity. In May, a U.S. district judge dismissed the case after a settlement was reached, though details concerning why the FBI chose to target Empyreal Logistics in the first place remain unclear. In a joint statement issued following the dismissal, San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus and Empyreal acknowledged that they “understand that each were acting in good faith when the stops were conducted.”