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Brazil allows for medical cannabis products, but bans cultivation.
Brazilian regulatory agency ANVISA approved the formal regulation of cannabis-based products, but did not approve domestic cultivation, which brought criticism from patient advocates. Cannabis Wire will follow up for more details on the implications of this regulation.
A major medical cannabis research agreement in Argentina.
This week, the governor of the Argentine province of Jujuy announced a medical cannabis research initiative between the National University of Jujuy and the province-run cannabis company Cannava. The effort has the support of Argentina’s Minister of Science, Technology and Innovative Production, Lino Barañao, who participated in the announcement.
Governor Gerardo Morales said in the announcement, which you can read here, that “The State has a duty to guarantee access to health and the improvement of the quality of life.” Further, the announcement made clear that the “local production of cannabis-derived drugs” was a job creator at a time when rural farming alternatives are sorely needed.
New Zealand reveals draft legalization bill.
New Zealand voters will decide on legalization next year as a binding referendum. And yesterday, they got a sense of the framework that would guide the industry, and consumers.
The Cannabis Legalization and Control Bill, if passed as written, would legalize cannabis for adults and establish a system for cultivation, manufacturing, and sales. It would also create the Cannabis Regulatory Authority to, among other things, oversee licensing, compliance, and THC limits.
Tilray appoints new president for Manitoba Harvest.
Tilray acquired Manitoba Harvest, one of the world’s largest hemp food manufacturers (you can find their products in the checkout like at Whole Foods), earlier this year. Now, Tilray has named as its president KatyDickson, formerly a SVP at global toy company Mattel (and president of American Girl). Dickson has also worked at NewsCorp, where she was the global chief marketing officer.
Harvest expands its board.
Arizona-based multistate operator Harvest Health and Recreation has added to its board of directors Ana Dutra, CEO of Mandala Global Advisors, and Eula Adams, CEO of Neuromonics Corporation and advisor to U.S. Congressmen Jason Crowe and Joseph Neguse (both of Colorado).
Harborside files an appeal in its ongoing tax battle.
In October, after a years long battle with the IRS regarding Revenue Code Section 280E, which does not allow cannabis companies the same deductions as other businesses, a US Tax Court finalized its ruling that Harborside owes $11 million (for years 2007-2012). The California-based company is one of the oldest cannabis brands and shops in the country, was previously looking at $36 million.
Harborside said then that it plans to appeal some aspects of the ruling. Yesterday, the company announced that that appeal has been filed.
The company’s interim CEO Peter Bilodeau said in a statement that “Harborside believes that the Tax Court misapplied the law as it relates to dispensaries,” and general counsel Jack Nichols added that the court’s opinion, “provides an abbreviated and misleading discussion of the critical tax accounting issues regarding cost of goods sold.”
Harborside’s founder Steve DeAngelo also said in a statement, “There is an increasing realization that Section 280E as applied by the IRS is tax imposed without regard to income and violates the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution which requires that the federal tax must be measured by income, not sales.”
