Compared to a year ago, times may seem tough for those banking on the legalization of marijuana.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who has raised “serious questions” about legalization, appears less friendly to the cannabis industry than his predecessor. Even after the District of Columbia permitted recreational use of the drug in 2015, arrests in the city for public use of marijuana are on the rise.

Yet, a panel of speakers who gathered Wednesday at Howard University said entrepreneurs – particularly women and minorities – should not fear what those in the marijuana industry call “the cannabis space.”

“It’s a good business – we’re at the start, it’s brand new,” said Lisa Scott, a former chef who runs Bud Appetit, an edibles company based in D.C. “So many minorities are locked up – white people are getting filthy rich from it.”

The panel, “Minority Leaders in Cannabis,” came together through Women Grow, a national for-profit group founded in Denver in 2014 “as a catalyst for women to influence and succeed in the cannabis industry as the end of marijuana prohibition occurs on a national scale,” according to its website.

Chanda Macias, head of the group’s D.C. chapter and owner of a dispensary in Dupont Circle, said cultivating diversity in the marijuana business is vital.

“We are the leaders – the minority leaders – in cannabis, and we make cannabis look good,” Macias said at the event.

The hurdles to people of color seeking to produce and sell marijuana products are significant, those on the panel said. The war on drugs disproportionately targeted minorities, and criminal histories can complicate applications for dispensary licenses.

Meanwhile, communities destroyed by the crack epidemic are not always eager to welcome a pot business to the block – even though those communities could benefit economically and

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MILAN, Ill. (KWQC) – What do you know about the medical marijuana industry in Illinois? You can get help in understanding the law and find out what’s available to patients at the Second Annual Medical Cannabis Expo, on Oct. 5, 2017.

In 2014, the state legalized cannabis-based products for medicinal purposes, Chronic pain, PTSD and Cancer are just a few legally allowed conditions for use of cannabis products. There are 40 conditions approved for use, without a prescription.

The Medical Cannabis Expo is a public event which focuses on the medicinal benefits as well as requirements, like a state-issued medical card, that patients.need to follow.

A fingerprinting station will be on-site at the Expo to assist in medical card applications.

The Medical Cannabis Expo is held at the Stern Center, 1713 3rd Ave, Rock Island from 3 – 6 p.m. and is open to anyone 18 years of age or older.

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Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon

ST. CHARLES TOWNSHIP – A lobbying effort against the legalization of recreational marijuana in Illinois, a prison sentence for an embezzler, and the launch of Crisis Intervention Training for law enforcement officers were discussed by Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon at his monthly media briefing Sept. 12.

In response to marijuana bills including SB316, the Cannabis Regulation and Taxation Act, McMahon said he sent a letter of opposition to 15 state legislators, and provided two pages of statistics about crime, safety and health issues related to the drug.

Citing studies in Colorado, which legalized marijuana in 2012, he noted that highway safety data shows a 145 percent increase in fatal crashes involving drivers who tested positive for marijuana between 2013 and 2016.

He said cartels involved in the movement of illegal drugs continue to operate, and there has been an increased number of drugged-driving offenses.

“I don’t see the benefit of adding another intoxicating compound,” he said.

He said he is a proponent of early childhood education, which helps at-risk kids stay out of the juvenile court system, calling marijuana accessibility counterproductive, especially for the developing brain, given the drug’s possible effects on learning and behavior.

“[Because marijuana] remains illegal under federal law, it must remain a cash business,” McMahon said, noting that has led to smash-and-grab robberies. “I think it’s early in the process. I don’t know if we’ll ever be ready for it [in Illinois]. I encourage them to wait and allow the process to play out in some of the other states.”

In the letter to legislators, he stated: “In states that have legalized marijuana, most anticipated revenue has been offset by social and societal costs such as higher crime, costs associated with drugged-driving injuries and

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Kasich a ‘no’ on Graham-Cassidy: Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper have brought the band back together to oppose the latest Republican congressional health care proposal, cleveland.com’s Sabrina Eaton writes.

Kasich, a Republican and Hickenlooper, a Democrat, were among the 10 governors who signed a letter to Republican congressional leaders opposing the plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. Notably, Republican Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval also signed the letter opposing the bill, which has the support of Dean Heller, a Republican senator from Nevada. Kasich, Hickenlooper and the other governors support a competing proposal that seems dead in the water.

But Portman is a ‘maybe’: Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, seen as a key Senate Republican on any health care reform effort, characteristically told Eaton he’s still undecided on the bill, which would allow states to opt out of Obamacare mandates, phase out Medicaid expansion and cap Medicaid spending. But he “said he likes that the bill would give states flexibility to meet their own needs, and observed that Kasich would be out of office when the bill becomes effective in 2019.”

“Our needs are different than other states,” Portman said, adding that it would give Ohio’s legislature and governor the ability to design programs to address state-specific problems, like opioid addiction.

Mom testifies for Portman’s human-trafficking bill: Yvonne Ambrose, a Chicago woman whose 16-year-old daughter was brutally killed after being trafficked for sex on Backpage.com, offered her support for U.S. Sen. Rob Portman’s human-trafficking bill on Tuesday.

Cleveland.com’s Eaton has the details, including Ambrose’s tearful testimony. In other testimony, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children endorsed the bill, but a law school professor from Santa Clara University said the bill may make Internet companies stop their efforts to moderate

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PRINCETON — The Bureau County grand jury returned 11 indictments on Sept. 8.

Dawson E. Coughlin, 18, of Bureau was indicted the Class 2 felony of burglary. He is accused of entering into a motor vehicle of another with the intent to commit therein a theft. An officer from the Princeton Police Department testified before the grand jury. Coughlin is free from custody after posting 10 percent of his $10,000 bond.

John V. Nyegran, 54, of Cleveland, Ohio, was indicted for the Class 1 felony of unlawful possession with the intent to deliver cannabis. He is accused of possessing, with the intent to deliver, more than 2,000 grams of a substance containing cannabis. A sergeant from the Illinois State Police testified before the grand jury. Nyegran is free from custody after posting 10 percent of his $100,000 bond.

Azkan M. Syed, 23, of Hicksville, N.Y., was indicted for the Class X felony of unlawful possession with the intent to deliver cannabis. He is accused of possessing more than 5,000 grams of a substance containing cannabis. An agent from the Tri-DENT Task Force testified before the grand jury. Syed is in custody in lieu of a $250,000 bond.

Danial S. Syed, 25, of Vidalia, Ga., was indicted for the Class X felony of unlawful possession with the intent to deliver cannabis. He is accused of possessing more than 5,000 grams of a substance containing cannabis. An agent from the Tri-DENT Task Force testified before the grand jury. Syed is in custody in lieu of a $250,000 bond.

Kane L. Smith, 44, of Tucson, Ariz., was indicted for the Class X felony of unlawful possession with the intent to deliver a controlled substance (heroin). He is accused of having in his possession, with intent of deliver, more than 900 grams of a

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Robert Connelly The Register-Mail RConnelly_

GALESBURG — A San Francisco man made a video court appearance Tuesday on allegations that he had about 22 pounds of cannabis in his luggage on a train.

Sean D. Cashen, 30, San Francisco, is charged with Class X felony charges of cannabis trafficking and possession with the intent to deliver cannabis more than 5,000 grams along with felony possession of cannabis more than 5,000 grams.

The trafficking charge is the most serious of the offenses and carries a sentence, if convicted, of between 12 years and 60 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

The trafficking charge alleges he brought more than 5,000 grams of cannabis into Illinois with the purpose to deliver.

Knox County Assistant State’s Attorney Jonathon Schlake, reading from a police report during Tuesday’s proceeding, said local officials were called by Nebraska authorities about suspicious duffel bags on an Amtrak train headed to Galesburg.

That made it to the local Amtrak stop on South Seminary Street at about 3:10 p.m. Monday where local authorities were able to locate the suspected bags, which Cashen claimed ownership of, Schlake said in court.

A search warrant was obtained for the luggage and about 22 pounds of suspected cannabis was seized, which also field-tested positive for cannabis. Additionally, law enforcement also seized $1,410 from Cashen.

The street value of the approximate 22.2 pounds of cannabis seized is $100,000, Schlake said.

Circuit Associate Judge James Baber set bail for Cashen at $100,000, the same as the street value of the cannabis, which means Cashen needs $10,000 to get out of jail.

Baber also appointed the California man a public defender during Tuesday’s video court appearance. Cashen returns to court for a preliminary hearing at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 10.

Robert Connelly: (309) 343-7181, ext. 266; [email protected]; @RConnelly_

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The saga of the Bottled Blonde took another turn Tuesday morning, as the hearing to revoke the club/restaurant’s liquor license was pushed back another week because the 72-year-old attorney representing the club was jailed over the weekend in Michigan on drug charges. Bottled Blonde has since fired attorney Timothy Fitzgerald and the bar’s owner pled with city officials at Tuesday’s hearing to reschedule the proceedings so they would have time to hire a new lawyer.

They’ll reconvene next week on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at City Hall to — hopefully — wrap up the proceedings, according to DNAinfo. Residents who live near the Bottled Blonde have complained to police and city officials for two years saying that the establishment doesn’t take security seriously and they over-serve alcohol to patrons. The drunken customers leave the bar then allegedly vomit on homes, drive home drunk, and cause traffic problems in River North, residents have testified.

As for Fitzgerald, the grey-haired attorney has represented Bottled Blonde since this summer when the hearing began in June. DNAinfo reported that on Friday he was charged by the Berrien County (Michigan) sheriff’s department with two counts of delivery and manufacturing of marijuana and maintaining a drug house. Berrien County contains several touristy towns for Chicagoans, including New Buffalo and St. Joseph.

Bottled Blonde was also subject to Internet outrage over a racist dress code for customers that’s since disappeared. The dress code is not part of the hearing process. The conflict is over if Bottled Blonde lied to city officials and residents over how they were going to operated the place. They described the place as an Italian restaurant. But when staff moves seating to make room for DJs and dancing, it feels more like a club with a focus on alcohol sales.

Fitzgerald had butted heads

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NEWTON, Mass. and NEW YORK, Sept. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Tikun Olam, the world pioneer in cannabis research, and MariMed Inc. (OTCQB:MRMD), a preeminent management company in the U.S. medical cannabis industry, announced an expansion of their licensing agreement for Tikun Olam products to be grown, manufactured and sold through MariMed’s network of managed and affiliated licensed facilities throughout the United States.

(PRNewsfoto/Tikun Olam)…

This new agreement brings Tikun Olam’s premium cannabis products, years of proprietary, peer-reviewed scientific research and unprecedented clinical data collection to four additional MMJ-legal U.S. states, its most expansive agreement to date. Tikun Olam and MariMed’s relationship began in 2015 with a pilot program in Delaware and marked the first time that U.S. patients had access to the world’s only cannabis strains proven to deliver symptomatic relief for specific conditions including cancer, PTSD, epilepsy, Crohn’s Disease/Colitis, chronic pain and neuropathy to name a few.

“After the great success of our program in Delaware, MariMed is excited to bring Tikun™ to our expanding national network of legal cannabis production and dispensary facilities,” says Robert Fireman, CEO of MariMed Inc. “Tikun Olam’s empirical data on clinical effectiveness is unsurpassed, and we look forward to educating healthcare professionals and offering Tikun’s products to tens of thousands of new patients nationwide.”

MariMed will introduce Tikun’s exclusive strains and products in state-of-the-art, regulatory compliant and fully operational cultivation and medical marijuana dispensaries in Rhode Island, Maryland, Massachusetts and Illinois in 2018. Tikun products will be available in flower, vape cartridges, topicals, tinctures and edibles utilizing at least six Tikun™ branded strains, including its world-renowned Avidekel™ high-CBD strain.  In addition to Delaware, Tikun™ products have launched in Nevada (March 2017) and are expected to launch

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LITTLE ROCK—Would-be growers and distributors of Arkansas’ initial medical marijuana crop flooded a state office building Monday, turning in thousands of pages of paperwork and handing over thousands of dollars in application fees.

Applicants faced a three-hour wait ahead of Monday afternoon’s deadline, as their number greatly exceeded the clerks available to review paperwork to ensure it was complete. Those hoping to grow medical marijuana had to pay a $15,000 application fee, while potential distributors paid $7,500. Unsuccessful applicants will have half their money refunded.

Department of Finance and Administration spokesman Scott Hardin said about 300 firms or individuals had submitted applications by the close of business Monday.

Clerks were staying late to handle applications from those in the office by the deadline. About 100 people or firms sought to grow marijuana, with the others hoping to distribute it.

Arkansas voters last year approved marijuana use by people with certain medical conditions. The new state Medical Marijuana Commission will review applications after the names of companies and individuals have been redacted and then select up to five growers and 32 distributors. The Arkansas Health Department has approved 1,200 people for a medical marijuana registry, making them eligible to obtain the drug.

Applications from the potential growers and distributors were about 1,000 pages long, on average. Several who dropped off applications elected not to identify themselves publicly, while others spoke openly about why they considered their applications worthy.

“If you can beat us at our game, I give you all the credit in the world,” said Chris Stone, who operates two dispensaries in Illinois. He has teamed with a pair of Arkansas pharmacists and wants to grow marijuana in the rich, agricultural lands near Brinkley and distribute marijuana at a dispensary on the east side of Jonesboro.

He said his firm

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Would-be growers and distributors of Arkansas’ initial medical marijuana crop flooded a state office building Monday, turning in thousands of pages of paperwork and handing over thousands of dollars in application fees.

Applicants faced a three-hour wait ahead of Monday afternoon’s deadline, as their number greatly exceeded the clerks available to review paperwork to ensure it was complete. Those hoping to grow medical marijuana had to pay a $15,000 application fee, while potential distributors paid $7,500. Unsuccessful applicants will have half their money refunded.

Department of Finance and Administration spokesman Scott Hardin said about 300 firms or individuals had submitted applications by the close of business Monday. Clerks were staying late to handle applications from those in the office by the deadline. About 100 people or firms sought to grow marijuana, with the others hoping to distribute it.

Arkansas voters last year approved marijuana use by people with certain medical conditions. The new state Medical Marijuana Commission will review applications after the names of companies and individuals have been redacted and then select up to five growers and 32 distributors. The Arkansas Health Department has approved 1,200 people for a medical marijuana registry, making them eligible to obtain the drug.

Applications from the potential growers and distributors were about 1,000 pages long, on average. Several who dropped off applications elected not to identify themselves publicly, while others spoke openly about why they considered their applications worthy.

“If you can beat us at our game, I give you all the credit in the world,” said Chris Stone, who operates two dispensaries in Illinois. He has teamed with a pair of Arkansas pharmacists and wants to grow marijuana in the rich, agricultural lands near Brinkley and distribute marijuana at a dispensary on the east side of Jonesboro.

He said his firm failed

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