“According to the Cannabist, Mountain High Suckers’ products tested positive for imidacloprid and myclobutanil, pesticides Hickenlooper has called a “threat to public safety” and that the state has banned for use on marijuana.

Back in November, Colorado’s Gov. John Hickenlooper ordered the destruction of any marijuana treated with unapproved pesticides or any product made with that marijuana.

Nearly 100k packages of edibles present threat to public health.”

“Big Data is the new IT buzzword. Companies are spending on Big Data, but how do the use it to make better decisions, work more productively and take better actions? How does a company go from spending on big data to making it a competitive advantage for their business?”

Checkout this Forbes article on the big deal about big data. As pioneers in the medical marijuana industry, it is up to us to collect and maintain the data and information needed to best build the success of the industry.

Read more directly from the Source: The Big Deal About Big Data And What It Means For IT And You – Forbes

“Online applications become available Jan. 4 for recreational marijuana outlets. This includes six types of permits, from growers, processors and wholesalers to retailers and laboratories.

The number of applications are unlimited, Mark Pettinger, Oregon Liquor Control Commission spokesman said, unlike Washington which capped its retail licenses.”

“The whole focus of this it to have a dialogue between the two parties, essentially us and the applicant, because we want them to be successful,” Pettinger said. “It won’t be enforcement, it will be education and compliance we will be focusing on.”

“Once recreational marijuana stores begin opening, possibly by October 2016, the tax rate will drop from the original 25 percent rate. The state will collect 17 percent, and there’s a 3 percent local option.”

Read more from the Source: Oregon Local News – New year brings changes to state marijuana program

 

“Compared to our recent dramatic electoral victories in 2012 and again in 2014, 2015 was a slow year. We made some modest gains, but nothing dramatic.”

“The one most significant statewide victory during 2015 came in Delaware, where the state legislature decriminalized minor marijuana offenses ($100 civil fine for possession of up to one ounce), the 19th state in the country to stop arresting marijuana smokers. The new law became effective on Dec. 18th.”

“Much of the progress made in 2015 came at the municipal level. In East Lansing, MI 65% of the voters approved a local ordinance eliminating penalties for the possession or transfer of up to one ounce of marijuana on private property. Lansing is the seventeenth Michigan city to approve an initiative de-penalizing minor offenses. ”

“In Philadelphia, where marijuana was decriminalized by municipal ordinance in 2014, marijuana arrests for simple possession dropped from 3,700 in 2014 to just over 1,000 in 2015, a drop of 73%.”

“As the authors of the latest Gallup Poll concluded: “These trends suggest that state and local governments may come under increasing pressure to ease restrictions on marijuana use, if not go even further like the states of Colorado, Oregon, Washington and Alaska in making recreational marijuana use completely legal.”

“As we look ahead to 2016, the best news for those who support marijuana legalization is the agreement reached by most of the major players in the nation-state of California to coalesce behind one legalization initiative. California is the big prize, and a win there will add significant momentum to the legalization movement nationwide.”

“Other states that appear poised to approve full legalization via voter initiatives in 2016 include Arizona, Massachusetts, Maine, and Nevada. Needless to say, were all five states to approve full legalization, 2016 would truly be a break-out year, and would set the stage for several additional states to adopt legalization in 2018. But even if we fail to win them all, it promises to be a banner year for legalization around the country. ”

 

See more from the source here: A Look Back at 2015; and Ahead to 2016 | NORML Blog, Marijuana Law Reform

“Since states have risen restrictions on marijuana, the demand for Mexican drugs has gone down significantly. The LA Times reports that in 2008 two-thirds of all marijuana consumed in the U.S. had been imported from Mexico, and now it’s less than one-third.”

“…since higher quality American product is now much more accessible, people are “[turning] their backs on imports.”

Source: Mexico’s Marijuana Industry Takes a Hit as U.S. Loosens Restrictions – Fortune

These are the political battlegrounds in the U.S. that await in the next year in the effort to legalize pot.

Source: Marijuana Legalization 2016: Which States Will Consider Cannabis This Year?

One of five companies approved to grow and sell medical marijuana in New York got the Orthodox Union’s stamp of approval.

Source: New York State Will Soon Have Medical Marijuana That’s Certified Kosher