LOCAL NEWS

CALIFORNIA SURPASSES $1B IN TAX REVENUES

California has now reeled in over $1B in tax revenues from legal Cannabis operators. Netting $395.4 million in 2018 and $629.2 million in 2019, California has now collected $1,024,600,000 in its first two years of legal weed. Some estimates anticipate a mature market would generate over $1B a year. After covering regulatory costs, the bulk of those revenues have been spent on childcare for low income families, cleaning up trespass grows, public safety grants and

The testing of 25 illicit vape cartridges by San Diego’s Infinite Chemical Analysis Labs resulted in an 80% failure rate. Platinum Vape company conducted a buyback program in partnership with Mankind Dispensary and supplied the illegal cartridges for testing.

The cartridges were run through testing for potency, pesticides, heavy metals and vitamin E acetate, which was the agent identified in the cartridges that caused illness nationwide.

Most of the cartridges tested contained trace levels of vitamin E and five tested over 20%, indicating they were cut with this agent for profit. Half of the cartridges contained less than 50% THC.

For the safety testing, 60% failed for pesticides like myclobutanil, and 11 of the 25 tested positive for cyano (aka nitrile) groups, which when heated, convert to hydrogen cyanide gas. The heavy metal testing resulted in 36% failing for lead content, likely as a result of the strong acidic nature of cannabinoid terpenes leaching the lead from inferior hardware. Most of the cartridges tested contained trace levels of vitamin E and five tested over 20%, indicating they were cut with this agent for profit. Half of the cartridges contained less than 50% THC. “ Story by Michael Early

CALIFORNIA DISTRIBUTION COMPANIES BAND TOGETHER AGAINST BAD ACTORS

About 30 businesses across the state, including nearly 20 licensed distribution companies, have come together to fight against the rampant practice of non-payment. istorically, bad actors have been dealt with in a very different fashion. But in today’s legal market, businesses are seeking above board methods to help combat unacceptable behavior in the community. The Cannabis Distribution Association was formed in 2019 and includes some of California’s largest Cannabis businesses, such as Flow Kana and CannaCraft. The CDA has been working on developing a credit rating system to help keep track of which businesses are paying their bills and which are not. Several of the group’s members have already developed internal rating systems, which the CDA is now working to synchronize with their own. In addition to the credit rating system being developed, a ‘blacklist’ of businesses and brokers who have a history of not paying their bills is also being compiled. The goal of the formation of these tools is to help good actors in the community better understand the risks of doing business with certain entities, thus avoiding potentially business-ending losses. H