# Mj news for 07/10/2015



## 7greeneyes (Jul 10, 2015)

http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthony...arijuana-facility-cannot-deduct-its-expenses/






*Ninth Circuit: Legal Or Not, Marijuana Facility Cannot Deduct Its Expenses*​





Legalized medicinal marijuana is yesterdays news; legal recreational marijuana is the way of the world now, and with each passing year, additional states are considering the legalize-and-tax regime first instituted by Colorado and Washington. While state law is becoming more and more accepting of the idea of free-market marijuana, however, a decades-old provision of the federal tax code remains firmly in place, threatening to administer a painful amount of tax on marijuana facilities, and serving as a greater barrier to entry into the industry than any outdated notion of moral or ethical impropriety.

The IRS has been wielding a little known Code section  Section 280E, to be exact  to wage war on medicinal and recreational  marijuana facilities. Section 280E provides that no deduction  other than the cost to purchase or grow the marijuana inventory, or Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)  shall be allowed for any amount incurred in a business that consists of trafficking in controlled substances. And while marijuana may have been legalized in several states for medicinal or recreational purposes, because the drug finds itself on Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, the IRS has the ammunition necessary to deny all non-COGS deductions  things like rent, utilities, wages, supplies, etc  of any facility that buys and sells the drug.

While Section 280E is very clear in requiring denial of all non-COGS expenses of a marijuana facility, in the seminal case on the matter  Californians Helping to Alleviate Medical Problems (CHAMP), 128 T.C. 173, (2002 )  the taxpayer actually achieved a partial victory against the IRS. In CHAMP, while the Tax Court agreed with the Services position that Section 280E was applicable to a medicinal dispensary despite the fact that the facility was legal under state law, the court acknowledged that a marijuana facility can have multiple lines of businesses, only one of which is trafficking in a controlled substance, and thus Section 280E should be applied only to the one offending line of businesses.

The taxpayers in CHAMP were able to effectively argue that only a portion of their business involved the trafficking of marijuana, with the rest of their business focusing on counseling customers on which type of marijuana would best treat their particular ailment; as a result, they were able to salvage the deductions attributable to the counseling business.

The decision in CHAMP has served as a model for other facilities to emulate. In 2012, another California medicinal shop found itself in front of the Tax Court defending its deductions in the face of the Services application of Section 280E, and in doing so, attempted to duplicate the multiple lines of business argument that was successful in CHAMP.

*Tax Courts Decision in Olive*

In Olive v. Commissioner, 139 T.C. 2, (2012),  however, the taxpayer wasnt so lucky. The Vapor Room  established as a sole proprietorship by its owner, Martin Olive  was a California facility whose sole source of revenue was its sale of medical marijuana. Patrons went to the Vapor Room to relax and smoke or inhale vaporized marijuana; but that was not all they did. The Vapor Room is set up like a community center; with couches, chairs, and tables located throughout the establishment. Games, books and art supplies are available for patrons general use. The Vapor Room also offers services such as yoga, movies, and massage therapy. Customers can drink tea or water during their visits, or they can eat snacks including pizza and sandwiches. Importantly, however, all of these additional amenities were provided free of charge.

Upon audit, the IRS hit Olive from all angles, asserting that he 1) understated the income of the Vapor Room, 2) overstated the cost of goods sold, and 3) was not entitled to any operating expenses under Section 280E. Olive and the IRS split on the first two issues. The Tax Court agreed with the IRS that Olives shoddy records  in his defense, Olive bragged that the industry shun formal substantiation in the form of receipts  did not adequately substantiate his revenue. As a result, the Court required Olive to include in income the revenue reflected on one of Olives ledgers, which was significantly in excess of the amounts reported on his tax returns.

With regard to the cost of goods sold, the Tax Court refused to side with the Services assertion that because Olives records were lacking, he wasnt entitled to any deduction for cost of goods sold. Instead, the court looked to the testimony of industry insiders to determine that on average, the cost of goods sold of medicinal marijuana facilities were approximately 75.16% of revenue. The court then reduced Olives COGS to account for the fact that he gave away some of his product for free, reasoning that because he gave it away, it wasnt held for sale and thus couldnt be included in cost of goods sold.

Lastly, the Tax Court agreed with the IRS that the Vapor Room was not entitled to deduct any of its operating expense pursuant to Section 280E, refusing to afford Olive the wiggle room it showed the taxpayer in CHAMP. Despite Olives contention that his business was similar to the one in CHAMP  equal parts the sale of goods and the provision of additional services  the Tax Court was unconvinced:

_Petitioner asserts that the Vapor Rooms overwhelming purpose was to provide caregiving services, that the Vapor Rooms expenses are almost entirely related to the caregiving business and that the Vapor Room would continue to operate even if petitioner did not sell medical marijuana. We disagree. We find instead that petitioner had a single business, the dispensing of medical marijuana, and that he provided all of the Vapor Rooms services and activities as part of that business. The record establishes that the Vapor Room is not the same type of operation as the medical marijuana dispensary in CHAMP that we found to have two businesses._


In reaching its decision, the Tax Court established a precedent that it will hold a medicinal marijuana facility to a strict standard in establishing that it offers multiple lines of business.

_Petitioner essentially reads our Opinion in CHAMP to hold that a medical marijuana dispensary that allows its customers to consume medical marijuana on its premises with similarly situated individuals is a caregiver if the dispensary also provides the customers with incidental activities, consultation or advice. Such a reading is wrong. Petitioner also has not established that the Vapor Rooms activities or services independent of the dispensing of medical marijuana were extensive. We perceive his claim now that the Vapor Room actually consists of two businesses as simply an after-the-fact attempt to artificially equate the Vapor Room with the medical marijuana dispensary in CHAMP so as to avoid the disallowance of all of the Vapor Rooms expenses under section 280E. We conclude that section 280E applies to preclude petitioner from deducting any of the Vapor Rooms claimed expenses._

*Ninth Circuits Decision in Olive*

Yesterday, the Ninth Circuit finally got around to deciding Martin Olives appeal in the Tax Court decision. The subject matter was limited to the application of Section 280E to the Vapor Rule; specifically, did the Vapor Room have additional lines of business in addition to selling marijuana, which would escape the denial of deductions required by the statute?

The answer was a resounding no. The Ninth Circuit quickly concluded that providing additional services to patrons  the freedom to relax, use a vaporizer, and have a bite to eat  without charging a fee did not constitute an additional line of business.

_An analogy may help to illustrate the difference between the Vapor Room and the business at issue in CHAMP. Bookstore A sells books. It also supplies some complimentary amenities: patrons can sit in comfortable seating areas while considering whether to buy a book; they can drink coffee or tea and eat cookies, all of which the bookstore offers at no charge; they can obtain advice from the staff about new authors, book clubs, community events, and the like; they can bring their children to a weekend story time or an after-school reading circle. The trade or business of Bookstore A consists of selling books. Its many amenities do not alter that conclusion; presumably, the owner hopes to attract buyers of books by creating an alluring atmosphere. By contrast, Bookstore B sells books but also sells coffee and pastries, which customers can consume in a café-like seating area. Bookstore B has two trades or businesses, one of which consists of selling books and the other of which consists of selling food and beverages._

CHAMP, the court concluded, was Bookstore B. The Vapor Room, on the other hand, was Bookstore A.

_The income-generating activities in which the Vapor Room engaged consisted solely of trafficking in medicinal marijuana which, as noted, is prohibited under federal law. Under Section 280E then, the expenses that Petitioner incurred in the course of operating the Vapor Room cannot be deducted for federal purposes._

Whats the lesson? The relevant case history provides the precedent that a recreational or medicinal marijuana facility can have multiple lines of business, with only the business engaged in selling marijuana subject to the harsh disallowance provisions of Section 280E. The taxpayer in Olive, however, shows a facility exactly what not to do if it wants to successfully argue that more than one business exists. While offering services and products to customers for free is perhaps good business practice and undoubtedly a nice gesture, one cannot argue that it is a separate line of business, because by forgoing a fee, it is clear that there is no intention to make a profit, which is the primary trait of any true business.

Its a strange dichotomy of authority the marijuana industry finds itself governed by  blessed by state law, but persecuted by the IRS. The industrys only saving grace is that it is so insanely profitable, it appears that it is able to survive a draconian tax regime under which its members are taxed on 100% of their gross profits.


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## 7greeneyes (Jul 10, 2015)

http://www.philly.com/philly/health...arijuana_Study_Counters__Gateway__Theory.html






*Marijuana Study Counters 'Gateway' Theory*​





FRIDAY, July 10, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Marijuana may not be the "gateway drug" some believe it to be, a new study contends.

Instead, teens smoke pot for very specific reasons, and it is those reasons that appear to prompt their decision to try other drugs, researchers report.

For example, kids who use marijuana because they are bored are more likely to also use cocaine, while kids using pot to achieve insight or understanding are more likely to try magic mushrooms, according to findings published recently in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse.

"We found that marijuana use within itself wasn't a risk factor for use of other drugs," said lead author Joseph Palamar, an assistant professor in the New York University Langone Medical Center's department of population health. "People do generally use marijuana before other drugs, but that doesn't mean marijuana is a cause of [using] those other drugs."

The researchers based their conclusions on data gathered from Monitoring the Future, an ongoing study of the behaviors, attitudes and values of American high school students. Roughly 15,000 high school seniors are assessed each year.

The analysis focused on high school seniors surveyed between 2000 and 2011 who had reported using marijuana within the past 12 months. Researchers also analyzed the teens' self-reported use of eight other illicit drugs, including powder cocaine, crack, heroin, LSD, other psychedelics, amphetamines, tranquilizers and other narcotics.

Nearly one-third of the teens said they use marijuana to alleviate boredom. Those teens also were 43 percent more likely to try cocaine and 56 percent more likely to try a hallucinogen other than LSD, the researchers found.

About one-fifth said they used marijuana to achieve insight or understanding, and this reason also made them 51 percent more likely to try a hallucinogen other than LSD.

Finally, one out of ten reported using marijuana to enhance the effects of other drugs, a reason that appeared to indicate across-the-board openness toward using any of the eight additional drugs.

Those teenagers who said they used marijuana "to experiment" actually had a decreased risk of using any of the eight other drugs, the researchers found.

Palamar warned this doesn't mean that experimenting with marijuana protects kids against other drug use. Instead, it means that those who say they're trying it just to try it -- rather than to meet some other need -- are often at low risk for moving on to other drugs.

"Most teens who use marijuana don't progress to use of other drugs, and we believe this is evidenced in part by the fact that nearly two-thirds of these marijuana-using teens did not report use of any of the other illicit drugs we examined," he noted.

These results show that educators and counselors would do better to prevent drug use if they focus on the reasons that students give for trying illicit substances, Palamar concluded.

"We need to address the reasons why people use, the drives that lead people to use," he said. "The majority of adults in the U.S. have at least tried marijuana, and we know the majority has never gone on to use another drug, yet we tend to treat all drug use as pathological."

Marcia Lee Taylor, president and CEO of the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, agreed that the reasons kids use drugs should be considered an important risk factor.

"No matter what drug we're talking about, motivations are really important," she said. "We need to understand what is motivating a teen to use if we want to know how to prevent it."

However, Taylor said some people are genetically or psychologically predisposed to addictive behavior.

"I wouldn't want a parent or a teen to say, 'I'm not using for these purposes, so therefore I'm in the clear. I don't have a risk of getting addicted,' " Taylor said.

In addition, counselors should be cautious about using broad generalizations drawn from survey data to try and uncover the problems of any particular child, said Michael Taffee, an associate professor with the Committee on the Neurobiology of Addictive Disorders at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif.

"Potentially, counselors could use the reasons that kids give them about their marijuana use to know something about their likely future course," Taffee said. "But using broad population statistics to predict what this kid sitting in front of you is going to do in the future is very, very flawed."

Paul Armentano, deputy director of the pro-marijuana group NORML, said the study findings weren't surprising.

"Science has consistently shown that environmental factors, such as ready access to other illicit substances, and personal traits, such as a propensity toward risk-seeking behavior, are associated with the decision to move from marijuana to other illicit substances," Armentano said. "But marijuana's drug chemistry likely does not play a significant role, if any role, in this decision. "

More information

For more about marijuana, visit the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse.


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## 7greeneyes (Jul 10, 2015)

http://www.forbes.com/sites/juliewe...ies-meet-shark-tank-with-10-million-at-stake/






*On 'The Marijuana Show' It's Cannabis Companies Meet 'Shark Tank' With $10 Million At Stake*​





Two hundred applications in just two weeks came flooding in when Wendy Robbins and Karen Paull put the call out for marijuana entrepreneurs interested in entering their internet-TV business competition, The Marijuana Show. Most  were very small enterprises or just in the idea stage Robbins said. The wide variety of concepts included a cannabis country club, a line of hemp butter products, and a marijuana delivery phone app. We couldnt believe the amount of interest, said Robbins.

The two hundred entrepreneurs were whittled down to twenty-two, based on their business viability, scalability, founder personality and potential interest to a viewing audience. To make it to the next round each was given a specific challenge. One was told to raise $5,000 in seed money (investment money, not cash for cannabis seeds.) Another was asked to call on 100 marijuana retailers to sell them her product, while a third was told to do three things on her bucket list to get her motivated to keep achieving things. Some were business challenges and some were emotional challenges, said Paull, because running an enterprise manifests both.


From the twenty-two semi-finalists, ten were invited to Bud Camp (like boot camp) and tested on their knowledge of marijuana laws, compliance issues, marketing tactics and accounting methods. Mentors worked with each to improve their business plans.

At the end of the season, the ten finalists presented their hopes, dreams and business plans to investors. Half walked away with a portion of the $5 million dollar funding pool. Comic book author Jeffrey Peterson received $25,000 to develop his Cali Chronic Comix.  Another finalist, Kyla Hill, was introduced to a national distributor who she is now working with to sell her line of hemp-infused butter and balms.

The show was lucrative for the producers as well.  Along with splitting the advertising revenue generated by the internet services that stream the show, including Comcast, Verizon and xBox, Paull and Robbins gained partial ownership of each of the ten finalist companies in exchange for their participation on the show.

Fast forward now to season two and many of The Marijuana Show applicants are fully fledged enterprises ready to expand. Like the maturing industry itself, The Marijuana Show season two entrepreneurs are bringing more experience and professionalism to their endeavors.  The show creators are now only working with established businesses that have revenue and all the permits and licenses they need to try to scale nationally . In season one we would have someone with an idea to open up a dispensary, said Robbins, while in season two wed have a contestant looking into how to expand their existing dispensary business or bring their brand name into another state.  Starbuds Dispensary in Denver is sponsoring the show and helping with contestant travel expenses for fall filming in Colorado.

Along with bigger business opportunities, season two of The Marijuana Show brings a new format. Because there are more advanced companies now, we are matching them with an interested investor before we start shooting the show, said Paull. The investor and the entrepreneur will work together to move the business forward with strategies, ideas, and plans so the filming portion of season two can focus on pitching to additional investors. Its like a Shark Tank for Cannabusinesses, said Robbins. There will also be a test kitchen will be available for those who want to develop their edibles.

Ten million dollars of funding is available to contestants, twice the amount last years winners shared.

The growth in the contestants businesses mirrors growth of jobs in the industry according to the recently launched Cannabis Jobs Board www.cannabisjobsboard.com which tallies up data on marijuana-related job availability by searching the web for postings. The number of jobs in the industry is growing said Matt Jones, President of THC University which publishes the information on the Cannabis Jobs Board.

While the applicants may change, some qualities remain the same. Season one or two, all the contestants are lovers of cannabis, said Robbins, They all use it, the all respect it, and they all see it as a terrific business opportunity.


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## 7greeneyes (Jul 10, 2015)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/polit...029cda-262d-11e5-b77f-eb13a215f593_story.html






*House Republicans say no to allowing federal studies of medical marijuana*​





Medical marijuana is now sold in nearly half of all states, and even one red state has legalized it for recreational use. Veterans of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are clamoring for access to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. Loosening pot laws polls better in three swing states than any 2016 presidential candidate.

But House Republicans have so far declined to keep pace with shifting public opinion. They did so again late Wednesday, when a rare bipartisan pot proposal died a quiet death in the House that would have reclassified marijuana so that national laboratories could conduct credible research on its safety and efficacy as a medical treatment.

The amendment to a bill scheduled for debate Thursday on the House floor would have encouraged the National Institutes of Health and the Drug Enforcement Administration to work together to allow studies of the benefits and risks of marijuana to treat cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma and post-traumatic stress disorder, among other conditions.


The vote is the latest action to reflect national Republicans uncertainty on how to address shifting public sentiment about marijuana use. Although the GOP has supported steps to allow state medical-marijuana programs to flourish, Republicans generally have not supported efforts to advance national policy on legalization.

When a Senate committee this year passed a measure to let doctors discuss marijuana with patients at Veterans Affairs clinics, House Republicans shot it down. When the District legalized weed for personal use, a powerful House committee chairman threatened the citys mayor with jail time.

House Republicans have defended their opposition to pot. There is no evidence, they have said, that loosening marijuana laws would do anything but destroy the brains of the nations adolescents, let alone offer benefits to veterans.

The lack of evidence, however, can be traced to congressional Republicans who have made it all but impossible for federal agencies to fund objective testing on the effects of marijuana use.

The amendment that died Wednesday was seen by some as a potential game-changer. With 23 states allowing medical marijuana  and a handful plus the District of Columbia having outright legalized it  some House Republicans (and Democrats, too) thought that it was finally time to allow more federal testing of marijuana.

For Republican opponents, the research could provide either evidence to continue holding the line or solid ground for the party to begin tiptoeing toward the mainstream.

Perhaps surprisingly was the House Republicans most outspoken critic of legalization over the past two years who co-sponsored the measure.

Maryland Rep. Andy Harris, a doctor and author of a measure in Congress that has left legalization in the District in limbo, said more science was the way to go.

We need science to clearly determine whether marijuana has medicinal benefits and, if so, what is the best way to gain those benefits, he said Wednesday before the House Rules Committee sidelined the amendment in a vote late Wednesday night.

Another Republican, Rep. H. Morgan Griffith of Virginia, pleaded with the committee in person to approve it, but for a different reason.

Whereas Harris sponsored the measure confident that the research would prove marijuana is bad, Griffith has become convinced that there are limited circumstances in which marijuana has medical benefits for patients.

We let doctors use heroin derivatives, barbiturates and all kinds of nasty stuff that I wouldnt want people to use recreationally. Why not study marijuana? Griffith, still smarting from the unraveling of the amendment, said in an interview.

Andy Harris doesnt think the research will show anything positive, but I do, and both of us feel willing to take the risk, do the research, and let us use evidence to make decisions, he said. This amendment would have answered the question one way or the other. I think it would have shown it is a valuable medical substance, but now we dont have the evidence.

Why the measure failed remains unclear.

To allow for federal research of marijuana, the amendment would have created a new designation for the substance. Marijuana is currently in a class of Schedule 1 drugs designated as the most dangerous, alongside heroin and LSD, and considered more addictive by the federal government than even cocaine.

The amendment, also sponsored by Democrats Earl Blumenauer of Oregon and Sam Farr of California, would have created a new subclassification within Schedule&#8201;1 dubbed Schedule 1R for research.

The amendment also made clear that if federal research found that the Schedule&#8201;1 designation no longer seemed appropriate that marijuana could then be rescheduled further after this research is completed.

Both Griffith and an aide for Harris pointed to the House Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over national drug laws, as interfering with the proposal at the last minute Wednesday. A spokeswoman said the committee, led by another Virginia Republican, Robert W. Goodlatte, had no comment.

The effort put advocates for marijuana legalization in the odd position of having to praise Harris, who had become a nemesis of the cause.

There are lawmakers who say they oppose marijuana reform because the research hasnt been done yet, and the reality is the research hasnt been done yet because there have been obstacles deliberately put in place, said Michael Collins, policy manager for the pro-marijuana Drug Policy Alliance.

To Mr. Harriss credit, he thinks there are benefits to researching marijuana, whether you support it or not, Collins said. I think it points to the fact that people are realizing that blanket opposition, using the old reefer-madness arguments, dont apply any more.

Indeed, even opponents of legalization said research seemed like a logical step and a path forward that even they could support.

I think thats great, anything that removes the barriers and promotes honest-to-goodness research is welcomed, said Sue Rusche, head of National Families in Action, a drug-prevention organization that has been around since the 1980s Just Say No campaign.

Rusches group, based in Atlanta, has fought unsuccessfully to keep Georgia from allowing sales of cannabinoid oils for treatment for a range of ailments.

Right now we really dont know what youre getting. What we need is research to show us what level of CBD and THC should be given and whats safe.


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## 7greeneyes (Jul 10, 2015)

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/rand-...-to-legal-marijuana-businesses-034132886.html







*Rand Paul backs effort to bring banking to legal marijuana businesses*​






Less than a month after holding a fundraiser on the sidelines of a Colorado marijuana conference, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., is joining the fight to give Americas growing legal marijuana industry access to banking services.

Paul, the first major-party presidential candidate to publicly seek support from legal marijuana industry, is among the bipartisan co-sponsors of the Marijuana Businesses Access to Banking Act of 2015, introduced Thursday in the Senate.

Similar legislation has already been re-introduced in the House after a previous effort to ease access to banking for marijuana companies failed.

The Senate bill would prohibit banking regulators from penalizing or discouraging banks from providing financial services to marijuana businesses operating in areas of the U.S. where marijuana has been legalized.

It also would ban regulators from terminating federal deposit insurance at banks providing services to state-sanctioned marijuana businesses and would create a safe harbor from criminal prosecution, liability and asset forfeiture for financial institutions who provide services to marijuana businesses operating legally.

Its time to let banks serve these legal businesses without fearing devastating reprisals from the federal government, Oregon Democrat Jeff Merkley said in a statement.

*An industry awash in cash*

Marijuana has been legalized for recreational use in four U.S. states and in the District of Columbia. Another 23 states and Puerto Rico have legalized medical marijuana. Marijuana is still illegal under federal law and many businesses have reported trouble finding banks willing to work with them.

A Colorado credit union that had hoped to serve the industry has yet to receive the go-ahead from banking regulators.

Meanwhile, Americas emerging marijuana moguls are forced to use cash even for large transactions, a predicament that has led to the rise of several cannabis security companies whose focus is helping keep all that cash  and whomever is transporting it  safe.

Beyond safety risks, Merkley in a news release noted that marijuanas status as an all-cash business complicates government efforts to collect taxes on whats becoming an increasingly important source of revenue to municipalities.

*Rand Paul and pot*

It's not yet clear how much Paul's endorsement will help, but Paul has been a vocal critic of the "War on Drugs." He is backing separate legislation to reclassify marijuana according to the Controlled Substance Act and exempt from federal law people growing, distributing or using medical marijuana in states that have legalized it.

That likely helped Paul rise to the top of the Marijuana Policy Project's ranking of 2016 presidential candidates based on their stances on marijuana policy.

Paul received an "A-" from the lobbying group, which cited his support of states' rights in establishing marijuana policies and for his support of lowering criminal penalties for marijuana possession.


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## 7greeneyes (Jul 10, 2015)

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/07/10/3-marijuana-stocks-to-watch.aspx







*3 Marijuana Stocks to Watch*​





Here's a recipe for investing disaster: Buy penny stocks in a new market that many are claiming will soar in the next few years. Unfortunately, some could be headed for such a disaster with marijuana stocks. With several states fully legalizing cannabis and others allowing medicinal use of the drug, money has poured into companies that seem poised to profit from the nascent market. The problem is that investors could very well see their dollars go up in smoke with many of these stocks.

However, there are a handful of companies that bear careful scrutiny, in particular those focusing on serious medical marijuana research. Here are three marijuana stocks that investors should watch.

*1. GW Pharmaceuticals* plc (NASDAQ:GWPH)
GW Pharmaceuticals stands out as one of the most viable investment plays in the marijuana space right now. The company's Sativex, a cannabis-based drug used for treating spasticity due to multiple sclerosis, is already on the market in 15 countries and has been approved in another 12 countries. Late-stage clinical trials are also under way for Sativex in treating cancer pain.

GW Pharmaceuticals has targeted several other indications to explore the medical potential for cannabinoids. The company has two drug candidates in clinical trials for treating epilepsy. Epidiolex received Orphan Drug Designation from the FDA for treating two types of pediatric epilepsy -- Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. GW Pharmaceuticals also has studies under way with experimental drugs focusing on the treatment of type 2 diabetes, schizophrenia, and glioma.

Although the company isn't yet profitable, GW claims some financial positives that most other marijuana stocks can't. Thanks to Sativex, it has a solid revenue stream, generating over $46 million in the last 12 months. The company's cash position also looks pretty good, with $234 million in cash and cash equivalents. 

*2. Insys Therapeutics* (NASDAQ:INSY)
Insys Therapeutics' financial position looks even better than GW Pharmaceuticals, but not from any major contribution by marijuana-related products. The company made nearly $38 million in earnings last year on $222 million in revenue.

Two drugs drive Insys' financial performance currently. Subsys, used for breakthrough cancer pain in opioid-tolerant patients, is by far the company's biggest-selling product, accounting for over 99% of total revenue. Insys also sells generic Dronabinol SG, a second-line cannabinoid drug used for chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting and anorexia associated with weight loss in patients with AIDS.

Dronabinol SG isn't making a big financial impact for Insys, but the company does have two other marijuana-based drugs in development that could one day be winners. First, Insys is in phase 2/3 clinical studies for Dronabinol Oral Solution, an orally administered liquid form of the drug that looks to be more effective than the capsule version. Second, like GW Pharmaceuticals, Insys won FDA Orphan Drug Designation for its cannabidiol oral solution as a potential treatment for Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.

*3. Cara Therapeutics*
Cara Therapeutics doesn't have any products on the market yet, so the company's financial position isn't as solid as the other two on our list. And while Cara's pipeline includes cannabis-based research, the company's future isn't as tightly linked to the medical marijuana industry as either GW Pharmaceuticals or Insys.

Pain medication CR845 is Cara's lead candidate. The kappa opioid receptor drug is in phase 3 testing for treating post-operative pain and is in phase 2 trials for two other indications -- acute and chronic pain and pruritus, a severe itching condition. 

It's worth watching Cara as a marijuana stock, though, because of its other pain drug. CR701 is a peripherally acting cannabinoid receptor agonist for which Cara owns full rights. The drug has shown considerable promise in pre-clinical testing. Cara is looking to move CR701 into a phase 1 clinical study. For the immediate future, however, CR845 will be the catalyst behind any stock movement for Cara.

*Most likely to succeed*
If you asked Wall Street analysts, they'd probably pick Cara Therapeutics as the stock with the most upward potential over the next year. And they could be right -- especially if CR845 does well in its late-stage trials. 

On the other hand, if you're looking for the stock most likely to succeed primarily because of its marijuana-based drugs, GW Pharmaceuticals is the better pick. GW's entire research effort focuses on cannabinoids. I think Sativex sales should continue to grow. Epidiolex shows considerable promise in treating epilepsy. For these reasons, GW seems to be the best pure-play marijuana stock for investors to watch closely in 2015.

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## 7greeneyes (Jul 10, 2015)

http://www.gallup.com/poll/184076/say-legal-marijuana-roads-less-safe.aspx








*In U.S., 47% Say Legal Marijuana Will Make Roads Less Safe*​





WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As some U.S. states have legalized marijuana for recreational and medicinal use, 30% of Americans say legalization will make driving in those states a lot less safe. Another 17% expect it to make driving a little less safe. Half of Americans, however, say it will not make much of a difference.

Impact of Legalizing Marijuana on Driving, June 2015

Those in states with some form of legal marijuana are no different in their assessments of its effect on automotive safety than those in states without laws legalizing the drug. Across the 23 states and the District of Columbia that have some form of legalization, 49% say marijuana legalization will not make much difference in driving safety. This is on par with the 52% in the other 27 states who say legalizing pot would not make much of a difference for road safety. Similarly, 29% in states with some form of marijuana legalization say the roads will be a lot less safe, roughly matching the 30% saying the same in states with no legalized marijuana.

Age, Pot and Traffic Safety in U.S., June 2015

Marijuana is by far the most-used illicit drug. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reported in 2013 that nearly 20 million people had used marijuana in the past month. A 2013 Gallup poll found that 38% of Americans have tried marijuana and 7% admitted they were current marijuana smokers. Legalized pot across the U.S. ranges from recreational to medical purposes, and marijuana use on the whole has increased since 2007. While in many states, medical marijuana has been legal for more than a decade, the legalization of recreational marijuana has started only in the past few years -- with four states and Washington, D.C., having laws in place that permit pot use and actually regulating it for tax revenues. Studies have shown that marijuana use affects reaction times, judgment and awareness, but there is no consensus on whether driving while high will adversely affect road safety.

The ultimate impact of marijuana use on traffic safety will be determined both by its effect on one's ability to drive and by how common it becomes for people to drive under its influence. Americans today perceive alcohol as a greater threat to traffic safety than marijuana, which may largely reflect the more widespread use of alcohol than marijuana among Americans and the highly publicized adverse effects of alcohol on driving ability.

*Urban Residents' Views Similar to Those of Nonurban Residents*

Illicit drug use is higher in metropolitan areas than in rural areas, according to SAMHSA. Yet Gallup finds that Americans living in big cities and urban suburbs are no more likely than those living in all other communities to say marijuana affects driving safety in states where it is legal.

Community Type and Traffic Safety, June 2015

For this analysis, "big city" residents are those living in the 47 U.S. counties that include the nation's largest cities, and "urban suburb" residents are those living in 107 counties that hold the "near-in suburbs" of most major cities and can have characteristics similar to those of big cities. These community segments come from the American Communities Project.

*Older Americans See Marijuana as Affecting Auto Safety*

While respondents' community type and state policies do not relate to differing opinions on marijuana's impact on driving safety, age does. Specifically, 18- to 29-year-olds (63%) are twice as likely as those aged 65 and older (31%) to see marijuana legalization as not having much effect on traffic safety in states where it is legal. For those aged 50 and older, more than half believe legalization would have some effect on driver safety, while more than half of those younger than 50 say it will make little difference.

State Marijuana Policies and Traffic Safety, June 2015

*Bottom Line*

If the trend toward states legalizing marijuana continues, it may affect millions more Americans directly or indirectly in the coming years. Gallup's new study on public views about the effect of legalization on driving will serve as a baseline to measure how these perceptions may change over time.

While the effect of pot use on driving may not be as severe as the effect of alcohol, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has stated there are increased risks associated with driving while high. States' efforts to strengthen regulations and enforcement related to driving after smoking marijuana will likely be guided by how frequently accidents can be traced to pot use. And this, in turn, will likely influence public opinion as well.

While the effect marijuana use has on traffic safety is yet to be determined, for now, these data may defuse arguments that increased legalization across the U.S. will influence driver safety. With just 30% of Americans currently saying that an increase in legal marijuana would make driving a lot less safe, and 50% saying it will not make much difference, the pro-legalization forces may have an advantage.

*Survey Methods*

Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted June 24-25, 2015, on the Gallup U.S. Daily survey, with a random sample of 1,007 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 50% cellphone respondents and 50% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region. Landline and cellular telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods.


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## Grower13 (Jul 10, 2015)

Hope everything is well 7g.
:48:


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## 7greeneyes (Jul 10, 2015)

http://fox40.com/2015/07/09/loud-cannabis-app/







*Loud Cannabis App Connects Patients with Growers; Delivers to Doorsteps*​





SACRAMENTO 

Local app developers are putting a farm-to-fork spin on medical marijuana, connecting growers with patients and delivering to doorsteps.

Were just trying to streamline the distribution of cannabis and its derivatives from farm to table. We dont handle product, we dont handle delivery, we let you do your business, App Developer Josh Artman said.

The app, called Loud Cannabis, is currently only available on Android with Google Play because Artman said iOS does not currently allow cannabis delivery apps.

People want to know how their food is grown and where their food is grown, cannabis is the same way, Artman said.

The app provides a digital storefront for medical marijuana delivery businesses, allowing them to sell excess inventory to more people. For patients, Loud Cannabis acts as a web-based farmers market, allowing them to hand pick the specifically grown pot of their choice.

People want to know the chain of growing, what happened to it in the process from seed to sale, Artman said.

But some local dispensaries say they see flaws in the set up.

Do you want the general public to know exactly where the farm is? Because of thefts issues, dispensary director Lynette Davies said.

Davies runs Canna Care in Sacramento. She says she sees issues with delivery apps where growers may also be the ones moving their products.

Because now theyre not just a cultivator, theyre a dispensary, Davies said.

There is an intertwining and complex regulatory framework, Artman said.

That regulatory framework for cannabis cultivation and delivery varies greatly between city, county, state and federal lines. Law enforcement agencies say delivery drivers could be at risk of making potentially illegal transactions.

The city of Sacramento has an ordinance banning brick-and-mortar dispensaries from delivering medical marijuana.

The Sacramento County Sheriffs Department told FOX40 any cell phone application offering delivery there could be subject to distribution charges.

Im the guinea pig, Artman said.

Artman cultivates cannabis himself, on a farm in Medocino County. He said he would be the first one to try marketing and delivering pot with the app.

All of the things dispensaries do to verify your credentials are legit, we do that too, Artman said.

The delivery apps are still kind of shady right now. Is this app the one to help? Maybe, maybe not. Depends whether its in a responsible party, or its in the hands of someone who is going to sell a pound to whoever they have, Davies said.


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## 7greeneyes (Jul 10, 2015)

http://www.wallstreetdaily.com/2015/07/10/cannabis-industry/







*Pot Is Now a Full-Fledged Service Industry*​






If you thought getting into the marijuana business meant starting a pot farm in Seattle or selling pot infused smoothies in Denver, think again.

That was so last year. The cannabis industry has sprung anew.

You see, once the marijuana industry began to boom in 2014 due to legalization in some states, there came about, like any traditional goods-based industry, a fresh crop of for-profit service and infrastructure businesses to support it.

Since then, a successful cannabis ecosystem of financial and other services has been growing like a weed.

A Budding Industry
Here are just a few examples from a plethora of success stories:

Viridian Capital Advisors  a group of experienced Wall Street analysts and bankers that bring capital markets expertise, institutional research coverage, and strategic direction to the cannabis sector.

Cannasure  one of the leading providers of insurance in the marijuana industry.

Denver Relief Consulting  cultivates cannabis operations and progressive industry leaders committed to advancing the best practices to evolve and improve the cannabis industry.

Canna Advisors  provides licenses applications and procurement for the cannabis industry. Plus they help with business development, facility design and construction, and marketing and operations, among other services.

CanopyBoulder  a cannabis business accelerator, which is a mentorship-driven, seed-stage investment program for startups in the industry.

Mantis  has a specialty Marijuana Marketing Platform and claims to be the largest cannabis-friendly ad network, reaching more than seven million monthly readers across over 135 publishing partners in the niche.

Eaze  the Uber of pot, a marijuana delivery service that promises to help patients receive medical marijuana easily, quickly, and professionally.

Leafly  a marijuana dot-com finder for strains and dispensaries.

Aromask  an odor elimination system that helps to remove the lingering stale smell of marijuana.

Other hot trends in the industry include laboratories for product testing, as states are beginning to require product potency measurements and contaminant assurance. Data analysts that aggregate statistics throughout the entire supply chain are also a growing need, along with biotech firms working to discover strains of cannabinoid to help those diagnosed with diabetes, epilepsy, or glaucoma.

And, of course, theres a growing need for specialists in brand building, public relations, law firms, and accountancies.

The demand for these new services and more will only grow as legalization spreads.

*Heres the Buzz*
Marijuana is now legal for medical use in 23 states and Washington, D.C., with five other jurisdictions permitting recreational use. In 2016, voters in about six more states will consider legalization.

The legal cannabis industry expanded 74% in 2014 to reach $2.7 billion in combined retail and wholesale sales (up from $1.5 billion the year prior) and firmly established itself as the fastest-growing industry in America, according to the ArcView Group, a marijuana research and investment firm in San Francisco.

A new trend in multistate licensing is pushing for strong national cannabis brands to find ways to emerge in a state-segmented market. And theres a bi-partisan effort to remove federal restrictions on medical marijuana in the states where its already allowed.

Other positive developments include an Adult Use Initiative in California. Should the initiative pass next year, the entire industry could rapidly double in size, according to ArcView.

And in May, a federal bill was introduced that would shield banks from potential liability for serving legal marijuana businesses.

In the meantime, ArcView projects that full legalization of marijuana nationwide would result in $36.8 billion in retail sales, larger than the $33.1-billion organic foods market in the United States.

*Get High on New Business*
While many of these new startups are in the venture or private equity stage, a whole host of companies have already issued IPOs. In fact, today there are approximately 300 publicly traded companies in the cannabis industry, up from only 13 in 2013.

Perhaps the best thing that happened to the industry from an investment standpoint is when PayPals Co-Founder Peter Thiel (via his investment firm Founders Fund) made a multi-million-dollar investment in the private equity firm, Privateer Holdings, which has raised $82 million for its cannabis business.

Privateer is known for its Marley Naturals, a Jamaican heirloom marijuana strain that the late reggae star Bob Marley enjoyed. Marelys family helped assist the firm to develop the eponymous brand.

Today there are a number of small financial firms  such as Poseidon Asset Management  that are raising money for the industry. Many high-net-worth individuals and family offices are investing in these firms as knowledge and awareness of the business of marijuana grows.

*Weeding out the Talent*
As for individual stocks to invest in, do your research and crunch the numbers. Look for top-tier management and sustainable business models.

To get an industry overview, check out MJIC, a marijuana index that tracks the performance of the industry, or the Viridian Cannabis Stock Index, which is comprised of 75 publicly traded cannabis companies categorized across 10 sectors.

http://media.wallstreetdaily.com/charts/0715_Green.png

*When to Inhale*
While there are many reasons to be bullish about the growth of the industry, as the smart money is now coming in, there are potential headwinds to keep an eye on.

Be on the lookout for fragmentation in the supply chain and the widening gap between campaign donations and opportunities to expand legalization. Most importantly, watch out for bad actors and pump-and-dump equity schemes.

Finally, theres always the possibility of an anti-cannabis presidential candidate winning the 2016 election. Check out the National Cannabis Industry Association and the Cannabis Business Alliance, for industry news and developments.

Good investing.


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## 7greeneyes (Jul 10, 2015)

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/ex-soldier-grew-cannabis-cope-iraq-9625467







*(UK) Ex-soldier grew cannabis to cope with Iraq and Afghanistan War horrors*​





An ex-soldier who set up a cannabis factory at his Birmingham home to help him cope with his horrific war experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq has escaped a jail sentence.

Police had initially gone to the 28 year-olds address in Ewell Road, Erdington, following a report of a burglary, discovered 32 plants, at various stages of maturity, being grown in an upstairs room.

Paul Prentice had also illegally by-passed the electricity supply.

Prentice who had previously admitted producing cannabis and abstracting electricity, was sentenced to eight months, suspended for 18 months at Birmingham Crown Court.

Judge Murray Creed said he had taken into account his service record and the fact he had no previous convictions.

He also ordered him to do 100 hours unpaid work and pay £240 costs.

Fergal Bloomer, defending, said Prentice had done three tours, two in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.

Mr Bloomer also said Prentice was a talented athlete and that he had also won the Sheffield half marathon when he was at the peak of his fitness.

In order to deal with that he started smoking cannabis, he told Birmingham Crown Court.

He set up a growing room in his own property.

He accepts that like-minded friends would have benefited from that cannabis.

He witnessed truly unpleasant happenings including the death of a friend and explosions.

He was in harms way on a daily basis.

After seven years he was honourably discharged and to his credit he found employment almost straight away.


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## 7greeneyes (Jul 10, 2015)

Grower13 said:


> Hope everything is well 7g.
> :48:




@GROWER13


Yes yes yes, doin reall well. My dialysis fistula is fully formed, the wifey and I are are planning a trip down south (Potland, Oregon and the Festival Supreme down in L.A. on my real birthday.

I've got three ladies outside for the first time and they're growing alright. Have to stay on top of the insecticide.


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## Dr. Green Fang (Jul 10, 2015)

Great to hear 7g :aok: 

Cheers buddy


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## Grower13 (Jul 10, 2015)

Dr. Green Fang said:


> Great to hear 7g :aok:
> 
> Cheers buddy


 
:yeahthat:


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## Rosebud (Jul 10, 2015)

7G, so nice to hear from you. Thank you for these postings.  So very happy to hear you are doing well.


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## yooper420 (Jul 11, 2015)

7g`s, Always read through these postings. Gotta thank ya for keeping us peeps informed. Thank You, sir.


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## burnin1 (Jul 11, 2015)

All the best to you 7G!

I always enjoy reading the news stories that you share with us.


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## Kreler (Nov 13, 2018)

As I know these guys from AssignCode.com are going to do the same thing. I've talked to them a month ago obout this subject.


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