CRIMINAL DEFENSE BLOG

blog
  • Posted by
  • Apr 21, 2023
  • 2 Comments

THE SCUTTLEBUTT FEATURING ARTICLES ABOUT CALIFORNIA CANNABIS TAX CREDITS, FIVE STATES VOTING ON CANNABIS AND PSYCHEDELICS, 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:

#californiacannabis – “State legislators are calling for task forces on corruption and audits into the cannabis licensing process, following allegations that officials across Southern California accepted and solicited bribes to benefit cannabis companies or investors, the LA Times reports as part of a series of investigations into the scandal. On Oct 7, the DOJ announced that a former city councilmember, Ricardo Pacheco, and another local man accepted a federal plea deal admitting to soliciting bribes from business owners in exchange for using his position to secure their companies marijuana permits.”

https://thecrimereport.org/2022/10/17/corruption-charges-mar-cannabis-licensing-in-southern-california/

#psychedelic #cannabisindustry – “Five states are preparing to vote this November for cannabis legalization – Arkansas, Maryland, Missouri North Dakota and South Dakota- while Colorado could end up legalizing psychedelics.

Should the five marijuana initiatives pass next month, more than half the US population will have legal access to cannabis, noted NORML’s political director Morgan Fox.”

https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cannabis/22/10/29276662/these-states-have-marijuana-or-psychedelics-legalization-bills-on-the-ballot-for-november-electi

#cannabisindustry – Costa Rica –  “This new regulation grants two types of authorizations for the companies who want to develop and produce hemp in Costa Rica, for a period of six years and renewable for identical periods, which are the following:

The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock will regulate and grant authorizations for cultivation, production, and related hemp activities.

The Ministry of Health will regulate and grant authorizations to manufacture hemp derivatives and products of sanitary interest with hemp.

The second regulation for the medicinal use of cannabis aims to promote development through production, industrialization, and commercialization in the country. Therefore, from now on, it will be legal to apply for licenses for the export and import, growing, and industrialization of derivatives and medications containing psychoactive cannabis (THC) in our country.”

https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/costa-rica-who-else-wants-to-expand-the-3364167/

#californiacannabis – Los Angeles – “Los Angeles County wants to legalize cannabis sales in unincorporated areas — and, in the meantime, will ask voters to let the agency gain revenue from dispensaries.

Voters around the county will decide whether to approve Measure C, which tax cannabis businesses in unincorporated areas, during the Nov. 8 general election.

The county already plans to initially permit up to 25 storefront retail marijuana businesses, 25 delivery businesses, 10 indoor/mixed light cultivation farms, 10 manufacturing businesses, 10 distribution businesses and 10 testing laboratories by late 2023.”

https://www.dailynews.com/2022/10/17/elections-2022-measure-c-seeks-taxes-on-unincorporated-la-county-dispensaries/

#californiacannabis – “At the end of June, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 195, a broad cannabis tax relief bill. As part of the new law, California will allow two new tax credits for cannabis businesses for the tax years 2023 through 2027.

One of the credits is for “high-road” employers who meet certain employment requirements.

The other credit is for cannabis “equity” licensees. Business owners will be able to claim the credits against corporate franchise and income taxes or personal income taxes.

To qualify as a high-road cannabis employer, business owners must provide full-time employees salaries, group health insurance and retirement or pension benefits. Expenses that qualify for the high-road employer credit are: employment expenditures for full-time employees who are paid between 150 percent and 350 percent of the minimum wage; workforce development for employees; and safety-related equipment, training and services.

The high-road credit amounts to 25 percent of the qualified expenditure in the tax year up to $250,000. Taxpayers can carry forward the credit for up to eight years if it exceeds the amount of tax due for the year. The total amount of high-road credits given to all taxpayers for all tax years of the program may not exceed $20 million.”

https://calcoastnews.com/2022/10/california-offers-tax-credits-for-marijuana-business-expenses/