California auditor calls for better cannabis permitting to prevent “corruption” • New York cannabis farmers push Gov. Hochul for support • & more …

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California State Auditor Grant Parks wrote to Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers in late March to share the results of an audit conducted by his office of cannabis permitting in two counties (Monterey and Santa Barbara) and four cities (Fresno, Sacramento, San Diego, and South Lake Tahoe). 

“In general,” Parks wrote, “we determined that cities and counties (local jurisdictions) could improve their cannabis‑permitting processes to increase public confidence and mitigate the risks of corruption.”

He continued: “Our review found that the local jurisdictions we reviewed did not always include several best practices in their permitting policies that help to ensure fairness and prevent conflicts of interest, abuse, and favoritism.” 

You can read the full letter and audit here.

+ Some context: for years, it’s been clear that California has a corruption issue when it comes to local politicians deciding who gets a permit to do what when it comes to cannabis. Local publication have written about it, lawmakers have called it out, and the DOJ has taken action. 

Here, from 2021: “Former Calexico, California, City Councilman David Romero, 37, and Bruno Suarez-Soto, 29, a former commissioner on the city’s Economic Development and Financial Advisory Commission, accepted $35,000 in cash bribes from an undercover FBI Agent who they believed represented investors seeking to open a cannabis dispensary in Calexico,” the DOJ wrote.

And this, from the DOJ in 2023: “The former mayor of Adelanto has agreed to plead guilty to a federal criminal charge for accepting more than $57,000 in bribes and kickbacks in exchange for approving ordinances authorizing commercial marijuana activity within the city, and ensuring his co-schemers obtained city licenses or permits for their commercial marijuana activities, the Justice Department announced today.” 

Another, from the DOJ in 2023: “A former Compton city councilman was arrested today on a federal grand jury indictment alleging he and his consulting client paid $70,000 in bribes to a member of the Baldwin Park City Council in exchange for that official’s votes and support for commercial marijuana permits.”

You get the picture. What will come of the audit remains to be seen.

Joseph Calderone, co-founder and acting president of the Cannabis Farmers Alliance, wrote to Gov. Kathy Hochul as a rep of the org with a “plea” and a “dire warning” about the 97% of cannabis farmers who are currently operating at a loss. 

The letter comes as the budget stretches more than a week after its April 1 deadline, though New York lawmakers are inching toward a deal. And while the Senate’s budget plan includes a commitment of $128 million for cannabis farmers, and the Assembly’s $80 million, it remains unclear what Hochul will sign off on. Time, Calderone wrote, is what cannabis farmers don’t have, and “without swift intervention from your office, we risk witnessing the collapse of a vital sector of our economy.”

“In the closing days of the budget process, we urgently call upon you, Governor, to prioritize the salvation and revitalization of our cannabis farms,” Calderone wrote. “This appeal for urgent action is twofold: we need immediate intervention to provide relief to our farmers and a long-term strategy to prevent such crises in the future.” 

A largely symbolic, but nonetheless noteworthy, legal battle is playing out in Nevada this week. The Nevada ACLU went before the state Supreme Court on Tuesday to argue that the state’s placement of cannabis in Schedule I is “unconstitutional.”

In 2022, Clark County District Court Judge Joe Hardy agreed with the ACLU, but the Nevada Board of Pharmacy appealed. 

The ACLU’s argument points to the Nevada Medical Marijuana Act, a constitutional amendment that voters approved at the ballot box more than two decades ago. As a result, medical cannabis is in the state’s constitution. Therefore, the decision by the state’s pharmacy board to keep cannabis in Schedule I goes against the state constitution, they say. 

The outcome does not affect the federal placement of cannabis in Schedule I.

You can learn more about the case here.