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  • Apr 21, 2023
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THE SCUTTLEBUTT FEATURING ARTICLES ABOUT OSHA NOW RECOGNIZING CANNABIS-OCCUPATIONAL ASTHMA, SEC CRACKING DOWN ON STOCK PROMOTION SCHEMES AND MORE

In the days of the Armada, a fleet of warships, the scuttlebutt was the rumor or gossip that would spread throughout the ship. Today, Armada Law Corp presents The Scuttlebutt, a daily summery of news articles that people within the cannabis, hemp and plant medicine industries are chatting about along with links to the full articles.

In today’s news:

#psilocybin – “In September, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution urging local law enforcement to deprioritize the investigation and arrest of adult users of plant-based psychedelic substances—and calling on both the state of California and the federal government to “decriminalize entheogenic plant practices.”…..

San Francisco has decriminalized plant-derived psychedelics—sometimes called “entheogens.” Specifically, the city not longer prohibits the use of psilocybin (found in 180 species of mushroom), DMT (found in ayahuasca) and ibogaine (from iboga, a shrub native to the Central African rainforest). Of them, psilocybin—the alkaloid responsible for putting the “magic” in magic mushrooms—is likely the most familiar….

Essentially, the San Francisco Police Department has been instructed to treat the possession and distribution of mushrooms as “among the lowest law enforcement priorities.” While arrests had long been relatively uncommon, they are now actively discouraged. You may now grow, consume and “distribute”—in the sense of sharing, not selling—entheogens without fear of criminal prosecution or even incurring a citation or fine.”

https://sfstandard.com/arts-culture/san-francisco-has-effectively-decriminalized-mushrooms-now-what/

#psychedelic – “A child who had the honor of being made into a trophy head by the ancient Nazca culture of southern Peru was drugged up on a mescaline-containing cactus prior to being sacrificed, a new analysis has revealed. The same study also found evidence of ayahuasca use among other mummified individuals from the Early Nazca Period – which ran from 100 BCE to 450 CE – and therefore provides the earliest archaeological evidence for the consumption of these two psychedelic plants.

Though the use of hallucinogenic substances was common throughout South America in pre-Columbian times, little is known about which concoctions were ritually consumed during the Early Nazca Period. To investigate, researchers analyzed hair samples from 22 individuals from three separate Nazca sites.”

https://www.iflscience.com/ancient-trophy-head-child-was-high-on-psychedelic-cactus-before-ritual-sacrifice-66011

Armada Law Corp is actively working on disputes just like this. If you are involved in a dispute and need legal advice, reach out!

#californiacannabis – “A California company has asked for damages after being swindled out of $400,000 of stock by a cannabis operation that did not honor a redemption deal from earlier this year, a recent lawsuit alleges.

The Los Angeles County Superior Court complaint, filed on Oct. 27 from Tierra Holding Co. LLC, claims that defendant Saticoy Partners Inc. of Los Angeles County, formed for the purpose of opening and operating a cannabis dispensary, agreed to redeem 490 shares that it owned for $400,000.

But while Saticoy agreed to pay the $400,000 in August, the company has yet to do so, according to the suit.

“Saticoy has materially breached the Agreement as alleged above, including, but not limited to, Saticoy’s failure to pay Tierra any of the Redemption Purchase Price required by the Agreement,” the suit states.”

https://www.law360.com/california/articles/1545500?nl_pk=87a814fe-acbd-41b5-9dff-8f51227935f5&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=california&utm_content=2022-11-03&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=23

#cannabisindustry – “It looks like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has its eye on the cannabis industry and specifically stock promotion schemes. Last month, the Commission announced charges against two cannabis companies and associated individuals for their involvement in “a fraudulent scheme to promote the securities.” The companies at issue are Elegance Brands Inc., Emerald Health Pharmaceuticals Inc., High Times Holding Corp., and Cloudastructure Inc. Elegance Brands produces a product called Gorilla Hemp, a CBD energy drink.

What is a stock promotion scheme?

Stock promotion schemes involve scenarios where public companies hire promoters or marketing firms to generate publicity for their stocks, and those promoters/marketers hire writers to publish articles boosting those stocks – while failing to publicly disclose that they’re receiving payments from the companies. Those writers will post seemingly unbiased, glowing articles or reviews about the companies when they’re really nothing more than paid advertisements.”

https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=298fafe8-4054-44c5-93fe-2948d73e3e96

#cannabisindustry – “Under state and federal occupational safety laws, employers have a general duty to provide a safe and healthy workplace. That duty includes taking reasonable steps to keep it free of any recognized hazards that might hurt or injure workers. In this regard, cannabis employers and employees should be aware of a previously unrecognized potential hazard that is unique to their workplace: cannabis-aggravated asthma attacks and new onset cannabis-occupational asthma.

A recent study of Washington State workers’ compensation claims revealed that cannabis employees can, and have, experienced asthma attacks and/or related symptoms while performing a variety of cannabis jobs: measuring, packaging, weighing, trimming, or otherwise processing commercial cannabis.”

https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/employer-alert-asthma-in-the-cannabis-5564033/