Monterey County Weekly: MMJ: It’s Not Just Weed Jobs

The cannabis industry is attracting big money from everywhere. At the National Cannabis Industry Association’s giant business conference in Oakland last week there were rich folks from all over looking to get into the game. The cannabis business conference industry is booming. I bet the hotel and convention industry is very happy about all this weed legalization talk. Weed creates all kinds of jobs, not just weed jobs.

Inc.: The Sexiest Story of Taxes and Marijuana: The History of Tax Code 280e

If you’re unfamiliar with tax code 280e, you probably are not in the marijuana industry. Marijuana businesses that are operating legally under state licenses across 25 states and Washington, D.C. pay effective tax rates of 70 percent under the tax code. Under 280e, entrepreneurs can deduct costs associated with growing the plant, but nothing related to the retail business. (Some businesses, due to poor financial structuring, pay tax rates of 100 percent or more on their profits, Levy explains.) While the marijuana industry has accomplished a lot by reforming state laws, the road to profitability and sustainability is still far away and requires changing federal law, which has been resilient to the legalization movement.

During a panel on taxes at the National Cannabis Industry Association business summit and expo in Oakland, California last week, Wykowski, Thorburn and Levy said that marijuana businesses might want to just pay their high taxes and continue with their business, but more companies need to stand up against the IRS. Currently, Wykowski is representing Harborside, one of the nation’s largest dispensaries, in its current battle with the IRS to get 280e repealed.

CNN Money: California Among 8 States to Vote on Legal Weed in November

“This is really a watershed year for marijuana legalization, so I’m hoping that we’ll see some big changes in November,” said F. Aaron Smith, co-founder and executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association.

Smith said he’s “especially excited” about California. It’s the most populous state in the country and the sixth largest economy in the world, surpassing France.

National Public Radio: California to vote on legalizing recreational marijuana

Voters rejected a similar measure, Proposition 19, by a narrow margin in 2010. But as the Los Angeles Times reports, advocates “say the new measure has a better chance because it adds more regulation at the state level rather than letting locals dictate what happens, and comes after the state has approved a regulatory system for medical marijuana growing, transportation and sales.”

And since the 2010 vote, several other western states have legalized recreational marijuana use. “This is six years later. We’ve already seen legalization pass and be successful in other states. So it’s a different world in talking about his issue than it was,” Taylor West, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, tells the Times.

Read more: http://www.mprnews.org/story/2016/06/29/npr-california-to-vote-on-legalizing-recreational-marijuana

Christian Science Monitor: California to vote on recreational pot again: What’s changed since 2010?

A March poll suggests a diverse majority of Californians is in favor the legalization of marijuana. The bump from the 53 percent who said “no” to the 2010 ballot measure comes not only from the predictable demographics (younger, Democratic), but also surprising ones. The wider support shows a shift in attitudes toward marijuana in the country’s most populous state, as Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska have shown how a state and its counties and municipalities can oversee the legalization of marijuana.

“This is six years later. We’ve already seen legalization pass and be successful in other states. So it’s a different world in talking about his issue than it was,” Taylor West, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, told The Los Angeles Times.

Read more: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2016/0629/California-to-vote-on-recreational-pot-again-What-s-changed-since-2010

Associations Now: CANNABIS ASSOCIATION INTRODUCES INTERACTIVE POLICY MAP

A new interactive policy map from the National Cannabis Industry Association will make it easier to find up-to-date information on marijuana laws and regulations across the 50 states.

“The cannabis industry is highly regulated and incredibly complicated, but our new map hits some of the most critical categories to give cannabis entrepreneurs and policymakers a valuable primer on markets across the nation,” NCIA Executive Director Aaron Smith said in a statement.

The map, which will be hosted and updated regularly by NCIA member CannaRegs, will present the current status of marijuana regulations and markets state by state, including medical- and adult-use laws, fee structures for applications and licenses, residency requirements, and qualifications for medical marijuana cards, as well as counts for cannabis cultivation licenses, dispensaries, manufacturers, and testing labs. New Frontier will provide the financial information and sales estimates based on its annual report covering legal marijuana markets in the U.S.

Politico: Congress mellows on pot crackdowns

The marijuana industry is closely watching debate over the proposal, which could still be enacted in an omnibus spending bill later this year. “This is more than a symbolic effort; this can have a very real policy impact,” said Taylor West, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association. “It is simply an unsustainable situation for a 5½-billion-dollar industry to continue to not have access to banking services.”

U.S. News: Marijuana Businessman Denied Life Insurance

Taylor West, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, says she hasn’t heard of issues quite like Peterson’s personal life insurance rejection but that it’s not unusual for cannabis businesses to run into problems dealing with financial entities, such as in setting up employee payrolls or retirement accounts. The Marijuana Policy Project, an advocacy group, last year was asked to move its retirement plans elsewherewhen the word “marijuana” caused concern.

Associated Press: Pot-Shop Killing In Aurora Raises Security Fears

Still, the Aurora shooting has people who work with cannabis anxious. The industry has difficulty accessing banking services, forcing many businesses to require cash payments.

“We’ve been saying for a long time that if we don’t fix the banking issue, somebody’s going to get killed. Unfortunately that appears to have happened,” said Taylor West, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association.

CannabisRadio.com: Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom Marijuana Support Explanation

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom delivered the keynote speech for the opening of the 2016 National Cannabis Industry Association’s Cannabis Business Summit (listen here). Following his address, Newsom spoke to members of the media. Cannabis Radio News correspondent Kaliko Castille asked the Lt. Gov. how he came to be such a strong supporter of marijuana legalization. Listen to Gavin Newsom explain what makes him so passionate about ending marijuana prohibition.

Marijuana Business Daily: Newsom: California Marijuana Measure Has Anti-Monopoly Safeguards

That’s the message California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a big supporter of the legalization measure, gave marijuana business professionals on Tuesday.

Speaking to roughly 1,000 attendees gathered at a conference here hosted by the National Cannabis Industry Association, Newsom clearly tried to allay fears within California’s cannabis sector, and beyond, that a small number of corporate interests will dominate the state’s market.

“We have got to protect the small cultivators” as well as entrepreneurs who don’t have access to millions of dollars, said Newsom, featured in the photo.

San Francisco Chronicle: Newsom warns marijuana legalization in California no sure thing

With the Adult Use of Marijuana Act expected to qualify for the California ballot in the next week or so, and the possibility of cannabis measures going before voters in eight other states this fall, “we’ve never had so much at stake in one election night,” Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association told those attending the opening of the organization’s convention Tuesday in Oakland.

“If we don’t win California and at least half of the other states in play right now, the public narrative around our industry will dramatically change for the worse and for quite some time, setting us back a decade or more,” Smith said.

East Bay Times: Country’s largest cannabis business summit lands in Oakland

Roughly 3,000 people flocked to the Marriott Oakland City Center this week for a business conference that, in many ways, was just like any other. Businesses set up booths in a vast expo room, and business executives hosted panels about marketing, funding, business policy and leadership.

Unlike the countless other business summits that come to the Bay Area each year, every one of these attendees and presenters wanted to talk about marijuana.

Welcome to the largest cannabis business summit in the country. The Cannabis Business Summit and Expo, hosted by the National Cannabis Industry Association, is in its third year but first in the Bay Area, having touched down in cannabis-friendly Denver the past two years. It runs through Wednesday.

San Francisco Business Times: Four tokeaways from the Cannabis Business Summit (Video)

If you’re looking for proof that the cannabis industry is lighting up the business scene, look no further than the Cannabis Business Summit and Expo, held this week at the Marriott Oakland City Center.

Hosted for the first time in Oakland by the National Cannabis Industry Association [NCIA], the third annual summit attracted nearly 3,000 attendees, 100 “cannabusiness” vendors and a keynote speech delivered by California Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom. Panels covered such typical business topics as investment, marketing and scalability. But unlike other business sectors, the main topic of conversation in this industry is legalization.

E-Commerce Times: Microsoft Sees Fertile Ground in Cannabis Compliance

“Regulation and compliance from one state to the next is still a huge challenge,” noted Taylor West, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association.

“There is very little in the way of consistency or reciprocity between states’ regulatory programs, so a company that wants to operate in more than one state really does have to approach each one almost from scratch,” she told the E-Commerce Times.

Twenty-five states have legalized marijuana either for full or medicinal use, West said.

USA Today: U.S. Senate may ease banking for marijuana businesses

Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, said in a statement that the amendment is a significant step towards correcting the financial services challenges faced by marijuana businesses.

The next step for the amendment is to be sent to the floor of the U.S. Senate for a vote.

Sacramento Bee: Gavin Newsom to address pot industry in Oakland

Hoping to sustain his knack for getting ahead of big-ticket liberal issues, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom has presented the public face for this year’s push to legalize pot. He’ll put in some time with the true believers today, delivering the keynote address at the National Cannabis Industry Association’s big Oakland confab.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: O’Hara manufacturer sees growth potential in medical marijuana market

But industry observers said Pennsylvania should expect more marijuana-related jobs than in New York, where Mr. Sehr said tight regulations have contained direct job creation. He estimated the figure at 120 or fewer in New York’s 20 dispensing and five manufacturing operations for medical marijuana, which lawmakers there approved in 2014.

A more generous list of qualifying medical conditions should make Pennsylvania a larger market for the therapy, said Taylor West, deputy director at the National Cannabis Industry Association in Denver.

INC.: Entrepreneurs and Investors Meet in Oakland for Marijuana Business Conference

As the marijuana industry expands, the financial opportunity the market can offerinvestors like Peter Thiel and big corporations like Microsoft gets a little more apparent. This week, thousands of people and hundreds of businesses will descend upon Oakland, California, for the third-annual National Cannabis Industry Association Business Summit and Expo.

The event, hosted by the industry group at the Oakland Marriott City Center, will feature keynote speeches and workshops by politicians like Gavin Newsom, the lieutenant governor of California, veteran entrepreneurs like Steve DeAngelo, the co-founder of Harborside, one of the largest dispensaries in the U.S., and policy seminars held by lawyers like Bob Hoban, who helped Colorado’s first dispensaries open up legally. Entrepreneurs and investors looking to get into the game, which is a $40 billion nation-wide market, will have the opportunity to learn from people who have been doing it for years.

East Bay Express: Major Cannabis Conference Brings Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom to Oakland

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom is supporting the leading cannabis legalization initiative, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, and will keynote a national cannabis business conference planned for Oakland next week.

Newsom addresses the nation’s canna-business people Tuesday morning at the National Cannabis Industry Association’s Cannabis Business Summit & Expo. The trade association represents 1,000 member-business nationwide, and expects to draw 3,000 attendees to the three-day, business-to-business conference and trade show at the Marriott City Center at 1001 Broadway in Oakland June 20-22.

Denver Post: Third time’s a charm? Marijuana banking effort passes Senate committee — again

The amendment passed 16-14 and was met with cautious optimism by an industry that’s said banking is a critical need for businesses forced to operate mostly in cash.

“While an appropriations amendment isn’t a permanent fix to the banking problem, it is a significant step to correct a dangerous and unfair burden on responsible small-business owners and regulators,” National Cannabis Industry Association executive director Aaron Smith said in a statement.

Westword: New Marijuana Map Tells How Much the State You’re in Loves or Hates Pot

Marijuana laws in America vary widely from state to state — and they shift so frequently that keeping up can be a challenge.

That’s why a new marijuana policies map is so helpful.

Developed by Frontier Financials and CannaRegs.com under the auspices of theNational Cannabis Industry Association, the interactive online map provides updated basics about marijuana rules in all fifty states with just a click — and also offers some intriguing projections.

The Cannabist: Want to work with weed? Here’s the straight dope on marijuana jobs

Considering a career in cannabis?
Here’s some advice from Julie LaCroix, a career counselor based in Newport Beach, and Juliet Murphy, an executive career coach in Tustin.

• Educate yourself on the legislation and regulations that impact the industry and stay up to date on changes.

• Join a professional association such as the National Cannabis Industry Association or Women Grow.

Cannabis Now: The Marijuana Business Boom in California

In the coming week, 3,000 of the best and brightest minds the cannabis industry has to offer will converge on Oakland, California for the Cannabis Business Summit & Expo. The third annual gathering hosted by The National Cannabis Industry Association travels west as the last two incarnations saw the event take place in the legalization mecca of Colorado. This year organizers decided to take the conference to the home of some of the world’s finest cannabis. Over the course of 30 plus sessions, summit attendees will have the opportunity to hear from 75 experts from many of the most successful companies to arrive in the burgeoning industry. Also attendees will have the opportunity to interact with many of these speakers on the sprawling expo floor of the Oakland Marriott. To get our head around this huge event for the industry, we reached out to Taylor West, deputy director of NCIA.

Read more: https://cannabisnowmagazine.com/cannabis/ncia

Marijuana Business Daily: University’s Medical Cannabis Center Could Boost Marijuana Industry

Taylor West, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association in Washington DC, welcomed the new center, saying it’s been a challenge “that the medical community has been hesitant to move forward” with the use of MMJ.

“Doctors rely on medical research, and because there’s been so little research, it makes it hard to provide doctors with the same kind of information they usually need to make a diagnosis,” West said. “Having a medical research institution really committed to demonstrating to the medical community the value of medical cannabis, that’s very helpful.”

KSTP-TV: New Minnesota Health Department Study Finds Cannabis Success

“One year into Minnesota’s medical program, nearly 1,500 patients are experiencing a better life because they have access to medical cannabis,” said Taylor West, Deputy Director of the National Cannabis Industry Association. “That’s an achievement. But it’s just a drop in the bucket.”

West said if the state of Minnesota increases the accessibility to the program the numbers of participants would increase.

Read more: http://kstp.com/medical/minnesota-department-of-health-study-cannabis-success-st-cloud-leafline-labs-/4161543/

The Cannabist: U.S. House, Senate vote to allow VA doctors to talk medical pot with patients

A study as such is just another reason for regulated, safe access, which groups like the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) continues to fight for.

“This is a policy that is long overdue, and it’s good to see such strong support for it in the House,” said NCIA executive director Aaron Smith in a news release. “Medical marijuana has huge potential benefits for many of the issues that military veterans deal with, and it’s unconscionable to muzzle their doctors from talking about it.”

BizWest Briefcase: Contracts

Beginning in June, National Cannabis Industry Association member businesses will receive free interactive access to market and category-level sales data compiled and contextualized by Boulder-based cannabis market intelligence firm BDS Analytics through an interactive set of dashboards, spreadsheets, and detailed reporting powered by the GreenEdge sales tracking software developed by BDS. Reports will cover insights such as market size and growth, dollar and unit volume, retail price trends and shifts in category mix.

The Hill: Pot advocates storm Capitol Hill

The marijuana industry is storming Capitol Hill Thursday in a push for legalization.

The National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) is demanding marijuana legalization, tax cuts and banking access as part of a fly-in lobbying day with some 150 pot business owners.

The pot business owners will speak with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle in an effort to build momentum for marijuana-related amendments in government spending bills.

They were joined by a handful of pot-friendly House Democrats, including Reps. Earl Blumenauer (Ore.), Jared Polis (Colo.) and Del. Eleanor Holmes-Norton (D.C.).

Washington Times: Cannabis at the Capitol: Marijuana industry leaders lobby Congress

Three Democratic lawmakers kicked off a two-day lobbying effort by marijuana entrepreneurs on Capitol Hill. Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Ed Perlmutter of Colorado plus Denny Heck of Washington joined the National Cannabis Industry Association for a press conference Thursday just outside the U.S. House to talk up policy and “advocate for fair treatment of the legal cannabis industry,” according to the organization.

They spent the next two days explaining their situation to as many elected officials as possible.