Jonathan Weinzapfel, the Democratic Party’s nominee for Indiana attorney general, called for the legalization of cannabis for adults in the Hoosier State on Monday, saying the move would provide a needed economic boost while increasing funding for public education and helping reduce law enforcement costs.

“As Indiana works to come out of this pandemic stronger than before, legalizing cannabis for adults just makes sense,” said Weinzapfel in a statement posted to Twitter. “Not only will it help bring in much-needed tax dollars, it will also relieve unnecessary burdens on police and the court system while reducing jail overcrowding across the state. This will allow law enforcement agencies to focus on serious crimes and keeping our communities safe.”

Indiana currently has some of the harshest cannabis prohibition laws in the nation, with jail time possible for possession of even small amounts of pot. The state is also one of only 17 that have no provisions for the legal use of medicinal cannabis. 

Noting that neighboring Illinois and Michigan have already legalized recreational marijuana, Weinzapfel called for similar reform in Indiana, saying lawmakers should legalize cannabis for use by adults and create a regulatory system for commercial cannabis production and sales. 

“As Attorney General, I would work with the Indiana General Assembly to create a well-regulated system and advocate that tax dollars generated from the sale of recreational cannabis be directed towards public schools and giving teachers a raise,” said Weinzapfel. “I also would push for a portion of those new dollars to be invested in supporting and improving public safety.”

AG Candidate Also Seeks Criminal Justice Reforms

Weinzapfel’s statement also called for several criminal justice reforms, including the establishment of statewide use of force guidelines for police and providing body cameras to every officer. The proposals also include increased training for police and the establishment of new protocols to identify problem officers.

“I look forward to working with leaders of both parties to advance this plan and better fund education and public safety,” said Weinzapfel. “We cannot remain stuck in the past, while the states around us are moving ahead. We can create a safe, well-regulated system here that will benefit our children, families, and communities for years to come.”

However, legalizing recreational cannabis is likely to be a hard sell in the Hoosier state. Cannabis writer and Indiana resident Mike Adams said that as a farming state, it would make sense to include a legal cannabis industry in Indiana’s “plow and pick repertoire” as a way to stimulate an economy ravaged by the coronavirus. But he isn’t convinced that will happen any time soon.

“Unfortunately, the chances of it being taken seriously in the Indiana General Assembly aren’t very good. Not as long as the Republicans continue their reign of terror,” Adams wrote in an email to High Times. “And Governor Holcomb is still dead set against it — although he admits to using pot back in college. Even if the voters give Holcomb the boot in November, it still doesn’t seem likely that Weinzaphel will be a strong enough force to convince some of the legislature’s naysayers to take a different stance.”

Adams does, however, see a path toward limited cannabis reform in Indiana if the Democrats in the state make a strong showing in next week’s election.

“The best-case scenario is if Democrat Woody Meyers beats Holcomb,” he said. “At least the state will stand a fighting chance at legalizing for medicinal use and perhaps even statewide decriminalization. Sadly, Meyers does not favor the legalization of marijuana for recreational use. So it could be a long time before we join the ranks of Illinois and Michigan.”

Source: https://hightimes.com/news/indiana-attorney-general-candidate-calls-cannabis-legalization/

Leaders in Detroit on Monday will reportedly unveil a plan to bring recreational marijuana sales to the city.

Two years after Michigan voters legalized pot for adults, residents of the state’s largest city may finally get to take advantage. The Detroit Free Press reported that city councilman James Tate was set to offer up a proposal under which “sales would be allowed and at least half of all new licenses would be issued to what he is calling ‘legacy Detroiters,’” and that those “Detroiters would be given first priority for the licenses, in addition to discounts on application fees and city land,” with the aim to “ensure Detroiters who have been disproportionately impacted by the nation’s so-called ‘War on Drugs’ will have an opportunity to sustainably participate in the state’s legal adult-use marijuana industry.” The plan is endorsed by Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan.

“In the past when licenses for marijuana businesses become available, they tend to go to non-residents, rather than those who live in this community,” Duggan said, according to the Free Press. “What Councilman Tate has crafted here in partnership with our law department ensures that longtime Detroit residents will have the opportunity to build real wealth as part of this lucrative new industry.”

Tate said that the council has “taken the necessary time to craft legislation that is not aimed at excluding anyone from their goals to succeed in this market but to ensure that we legally provide a pathway towards inclusion and opportunity for residents of our city, which has been disproportionately impacted by marijuana convictions.” 

“Many are now profiting from the same plant that has led to countless criminal convictions which devastated countless families within our city. The time has come for equity currently not present within Detroit’s cannabis industry,” Tate said, as quoted by the Detroit News.

Marijuana in Michigan

In 2018, Michigan passed a ballot measure legalizing recreational marijuana use for adults, however, a number of cities such as Detroit opted out and imposed bans on weed sales in their respective communities. The first dispensaries opened in December of last year. 

It was Tate who advocated for a temporary ban on marijuana sales in the city last year, saying at the time that he wanted to create a program through which native Detroiters would benefit from the newly legalized industry. Tate and other members of the city council had been facing pressure to unveil the proposal, after a series of postponements to marijuana sales in the city. Tate said in June that it was a matter of the council doing its due diligence before taking the step. And he said that, as with any proposal, the council had to “make sure the community who oppose it and those who support it have time to review and chime in.”

“There’s no unreadiness to pass the ordinance to allow it,” Tate said at the time, as quoted by Metro Times. “There is unreadiness to just pass any ordinance without proper deliberation and consideration for what’s being proposed. “This is a marathon, not a sprint.” 

In anticipation of Monday’s announcement, Tate said that the “time has come for equity currently not present within Detroit’s cannabis industry.”

“Many are now profiting from the same plant that has led to countless criminal convictions which devastated countless families within our city,” Tate said, as quoted by the Detroit Free Press.

Source: https://hightimes.com/news/detroit-officials-announce-proposal-allow-adult-use-cannabis-sales-city/

CALGARY, Alberta, Oct. 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Sugarbud Craft Growers Corp. (TSXV: SUGR, SUGR.WT, SUGR.WS, SUGR.DB) (“Sugarbud” or the “Company“) is pleased to announce that it has signed a definitive supply agreement with British Columbia Liquor Distribution Branch (“BCLDB“) for the sale and distribution of Sugarbud’s Craft Cannabis Collection to private and public cannabis retailers in British Columbia. Sugarbud is now authorized to sell its products directly throughout Western Canada in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan.

BCLDB is responsible for the wholesale distribution of non-medical cannabis to private retailers and is the public retailer of non-medical cannabis throughout the province, under the brand BC Cannabis Stores.

“We are delighted that Sugarbud’s Craft Cannabis Collection will now be available in British Columbia and across Western Canada,” stated Sugarbud’s CEO, John Kondrosky. “With well over 800 private and public retail locations now operating across BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan, we now have access to Canada’s largest retail cannabis network and consumer access to legal cannabis,” concluded Mr. Kondrosky.

Initial purchase orders and shipments of Sugarbud’s Craft Cannabis Collection to the BCLDB are expected to occur in November 2020.

About Sugarbud

Sugarbud is an Alberta-based, consumer-driven craft cannabis company focused on the cultivation and production of superior, select-batch, craft cannabis products. Our vision and mission are to become a trusted and well-respected consumer brand renowned for providing exceptional high-quality craft cannabis products to legal markets by delighting the most discerning of cannabis consumers. http://www.sugarbud.ca/

Websites:
http://www.sugarbud.ca/
http://craftcannabiscollection.ca

Address: Suite 620, 634 – 6th Avenue S.W., Calgary, Alberta T2P 0S4

Forward Looking and Cautionary Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements. More particularly, and without limitation, this news release contains statements concerning: Sugarbud’s assessment of future plans, operations and cannabis cultivation, including sales, marketing and distribution opportunities; the Company’s ability to remain operating in accordance with developing public health efforts to contain COVID-19; product quality; partnerships and relationships, including with BCLDB; the development, production, sale and distribution of Sugarbud’s Craft Cannabis Collection; future growth; the ability to satisfy orders; customer satisfaction; and the timing and receipt of purchase orders and shipments. When used in this document, the words “will,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intent,” “may,” “project,” “should,” and similar expressions are intended to be among the statements that identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are founded on the basis of expectations and assumptions made by Sugarbud. Forward-looking statements are subject to a wide range of risks and uncertainties, and although Sugarbud believes that the expectations represented by such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will be realized. Any number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to: currently contemplated expansion and development plans may cease or otherwise change; production of cannabis may be lower than expected; ability to ship cannabis products may be lower than expected; demand for Sugarbud’s products may be lower than anticipated; results of production and sale activities; results of scientific research; changes in prices and costs of inputs; demand for labour; demand for products; failure of counter-parties to perform contractual obligations; failure to maintain consumer brand recognition and loyalty of customers; reliance on relationships with wholesalers and retailers for distribution of products and failure to maintain strategic business relationships; intense competition, including from illicit sources; uncertainty and continued evolution of markets; product liability litigation; reliance on information technology; infringement on intellectual property; failure to benefit from partnerships; sensitivity of end-customers to increased sales taxes and economic conditions; failure to comply with certain regulations; departure of key management personnel or inability to attract and retain talent; actions and initiatives of federal and provincial governments and changes to government actions, initiatives and policies and the execution and impact thereof; the ability to implement corporate strategies; the state of domestic capital markets; the ability to obtain financing; changes in general market conditions; industry conditions and events; the size of the medical marijuana market and the recreational marijuana market; government regulations, including future legislative and regulatory developments involving medical and recreational marijuana; construction delays; risks inherent in the agricultural business, such as insects, plant diseases and similar agricultural risks which can have a significant impact on the size and quality of the harvest of cannabis crops; competition from other industry participants; and other factors more fully described from time to time in the reports and filings made by Sugarbud with securities regulatory authorities. In addition, the Company cautions that current global uncertainty with respect to the spread of the COVID-19 virus and its effect on the broader global economy may continue to have a significant negative effect on the Company. While the precise impact of the COVID-19 virus on the Company remain unknown, rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus may continue to have a material adverse effect on global economic activity, and can result in volatility and disruption to global supply chains, operations, mobility of people and the financial markets, which could affect interest rates, credit ratings, credit risk, inflation, business, financial conditions, results of operations and other factors relevant to the Company. Please refer to Sugarbud’s most recent annual information form and management’s discussion and analysis for additional risk factors relating to Sugarbud, which can be accessed under Sugarbud’s profile on www.sedar.com. Except as required by applicable laws, Sugarbud does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.

Neither the TSXV nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This article was published by CFN Enterprises Inc. (OTCQB: CNFN), owner and operator of CFN Media, the industry’s leading agency and digital financial media network dedicated to the burgeoning CBD and legal cannabis industries. Call +1 (833) 420-CNFN for more information.

About Ryan Allway

Mr. Allway has over a decade of experience in the financial markets as both a private investor and financial journalist. He has been actively involved in the cannabis industry since its inception, covering public and private companies.

Source: https://www.cannabisfn.com/sugarbud-announces-supply-agreement-with-british-columbia-liquor-distribution-branch/