Nesteggg Accounting

The 3 best marijuana stocks to buy right now

Since their inception, marijuana stocks attracted significant attention. Due to both investment sentiment – and let’s face it, raw emotions – the cannabis sector absolutely skyrocketed. But now, the segment is attracting attention for failing to live up to analysts’ expectations. Is the honeymoon phase over for weed?

Hardly! While cannabis firms have produced some disappointing results during earnings season, that’s no reason to abandon them. For one thing, the resurgent U.S.-China trade war is incredibly favorable for marijuana stocks to buy. Prolonged tensions will almost surely cause us economic damage. An easy fix here is to legalize weed and fully open the door to a multi-billion dollar industry.

Another reason to stay the course with marijuana stocks to buy is the medicinal-cannabis market. Currently, 33 states have legalized medical marijuana, which is indirectly an indictment against the pharmaceutical industry. As I’ve argued many times before, pharmaceuticals must take at least some responsibility for the opioid crisis. This story alone has converted many people who have realized the benefits of all-natural treatments.

Moreover, medical marijuana is becoming a popular and potentially profitable exported good. We all know that progressive Europe is receptive to cannabis-based therapies. But more shocking is that conservative Asian countries notorious for their draconian anti-drug policies have demonstrated tolerance. Thailand became the first Southeast Asian country to legalize medical marijuana, while South Korea is the first East Asian country to jump onboard.

No matter how you look at it, this development strongly benefits the “botanical” industry. Here are the best three marijuana stocks to buy right now.

Aurora Cannabis (ACB), Caopy Growth (CGC) &
Hexo (HEXO)

Special Thanks to
Marijuana News and 42oIntel for content share

LAX travelers can carry Marijuana

Los Angeles International Airport is allowing travelers to carry marijuana at the giant hub — news that sent a ripple of glee and surprise across Twitter and Reddit on Wednesday.

“Seems like so long ago when I had to hide a baggie in my undies,” one Reddit user commented.

In reality, the LAX marijuana policy isn’t new. Travelers there have been allowed to carry up to 28.5 grams of marijuana and 8 grams of concentrated marijuana for personal consumption since January 2018, when California law legalized recreational marijuana in the state, according to Los Angeles Airport Police spokesperson Alicia Hernandez.

“Based on our policy, we’re not going to arrest you or confiscate marijuana,” Hernandez said in a phone interview with McClatchy.

But travelers hoping to carry marijuana through LAX should still be aware that they have to get past U.S. Transportation Security Administration agents at LAX, Hernandez said — and at the federal level, marijuana is still very much illegal.

Planes fly through federal airspace, as the LAX policy webpage acknowledges, meaning federal law prohibiting marijuana possession is applicable.

“We are two different entities,” Hernandez said. “TSA can deny you coming through the checkpoint. The checkpoint is their jurisdiction.”

So what will TSA agents do at LAX?

“TSA’s focus is on terrorism and security threats to the aircraft and its passengers,” TSA spokesperson Lorie Dankers said in an email, adding that “TSA’s screening procedures, which are governed by federal law, are focused on security and are designed to detect potential threats to aviation and passengers.”

When a TSA agent discovers marijuana on a traveler or in luggage, agents are instructed to refer the violation to law enforcement, Dankers said. That’s the policy regardless of where the traveler is in the country, and regardless of where the traveler is headed — even if the states involved have legalized marijuana.

“Law enforcement officials will determine whether to initiate a criminal investigation or what steps – if any – will be taken,” Dankers said, adding that “whether or not the passenger is allowed to travel with marijuana is up to law enforcement’s discretion.”

Hernandez said if that law enforcement agency is the LAX police department, individuals won’t face arrest.

“We’re not going to be taking any action against you for having that marijuana,” she said.

That doesn’t mean passengers who are held up will make their flight, though — or that marijuana will be legal wherever the traveler lands.

L.A. City Councilman Mitch Englander has proposed marijuana “amnesty boxes” for travelers at the airport to drop their weed into before encountering TSA checkpoints, the Los Angeles Times reported earlier this year.

“You could be at a minimum held over and searched and miss your flight,” Englander said, according to the Times, even though marijuana is legal in the state.

There are 20 such bins at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, where marijuana has been prohibited, despite the fact that it’s legal in Nevada, according to the newspaper.

Other law enforcement agencies in California said air travel with marijuana remains a gray area, CNBC reports.

“We’re really not in a place to do anything,” said Sgt. Ray Kelly of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, which has jurisdiction over Oakland International Airport, according to CNBC. “If the TSA says we don’t want it [to get into the airport], we would have to intervene.”

It’s a similar situation at Orange County’s John Wayne Airport, USA Today reports.

“If the TSA calls us [about finding marijuana], we’d go up and make sure it is within the legal quantity. If it is, we’d just stand by while the passenger decides what to do with it,” said Lt. Mark Gonzales of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, according to USA Today. “TSA may not want it to fly, but that doesn’t mean it is illegal in California.”

 

Special Thanks to GFarma News and Vanessa Alvarez for content share

A Toke and a Smile: Coca-Cola Could Dip Toes in Cannabis Pool

The Coca-Cola Co. said it is “closely watching” the expanding use of a cannabis element in drinks, another sign cannabis and cannabis-infused products are getting more acceptance in mainstream culture and a harder look from long-established pillars of American business.

The statement came Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018, after reports the beverage giant was in talks with a Canadian cannabis company to create a health drink infused with cannabidiol (CBD), a naturally occurring, non-intoxicating compound derived from the cannabis plant. Shares of the company, Aurora Cannabis Inc., closed up nearly 17 percent on the Toronto Stock Exchange after the report.

Spokespeople for the companies declined to comment on the report but acknowledged their interest in that segment of the cannabis market.

CBD does not produce the high commonly associated with marijuana — that is due to its more widely known cannabinoid cohort, THC. It is believed by many to have anti-inflammation and pain-relieving properties, and numerous CBD-infused products have emerged recently.

Aurora spokeswoman Heather MacGregor said her company “has expressed specific interest in the infused-beverage space and we intend to enter that market.”

A Coca-Cola spokesperson said the beverage giant has made no such decision.

“Along with many others in the beverage industry, we are closely watching the growth of non-psychoactive CBD as an ingredient in functional wellness beverages around the world. The space is evolving quickly,” said the spokesperson, Kent Landers.

Coca-Cola’s interest is another indication of the growing acceptance of cannabis by established companies and of the importance of Canada to the development of those businesses. Marijuana becomes legal across Canada on Oct. 17, 2018. Cannabis companies from the U.S. — where marijuana remains illegal at the federal level — have flocked to Canada to raise funds and establish businesses there.

American companies interested in making a play in the cannabis space can try things out in Canada without risking doing something illegal at home.

Constellation Brands, a giant spirits company that counts Corona beer among its labels, bought a multibillion-dollar minority stake in Canopy Growth, a Canadian medical marijuana producer. Molson Coors Co. was also seeking partnerships with Canadian canna-businesses to stem a decline in its established American and Canadian beer brands.

Coca-Cola’s statement shows the company has learned from its past missteps picking up on new drink trends, said Ali Dibadj, a senior analyst at AllianceBernstein with an expertise in U.S. beverage and snack food companies.

“The company has been caught flat-footed in the past in not keeping up with trends in beverages. They missed the energy drink phenomenon, they missed — and then had to buy into — the functional waters like Vitamin Water, and coffee,” Dibadj said. “I think what they’re saying is what they should be saying on this very new and emerging beverage.”

But testing the waters of cannabis-themed drinks could backfire, he said. Many Americans aren’t intimately familiar with the cannabis plant and might not understand that CBD has no psychoactive properties.

Hemp and marijuana are both cannabis plants, and both contain CBD, which can be extracted as an oil that can be added to edibles, topicals, and more.

“I think you have to be very, very careful with this as a large brand. There are different viewpoints on a product category, and you don’t want to offend too much,” Dibadj said. “You don’t want to be too far ahead on any curve.”

Special Thanks to www.marijuana.com and Gillian Flaccus for content share

420 Money Helped Inspire John Boehner’s Belated Cannabis 180

Sure, 420 Money Helped Inspire John Boehner’s Belated Cannabis 180, but It’s Still Worth Applauding

Hundreds of thousands of Americans were locked up for being in the business the former speaker of the House is now in for himself.

After years of being “unalterably opposed” to the legalization of cannabis, former Republican speaker of the House and Ohio congressman John Boehner has changed his mind.

Earlier today, Boehner said “my thinking on cannabis has evolved” and announced his new role on the board of advisers of a large if little-known American cannabis company called Acreage Holdings, previously known as High Street Capital Partners, which holds plant-touching licenses in 11 U.S. states. Acreage also announced that former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld will join its board of advisers, and both Boehner and Weld have committed to join Acreage’s board of directors once it is formed.

“I’m convinced descheduling the drug is needed so we can do research, help our veterans and reverse the opioid epidemic ravaging our communities,” Boehner tweeted.

While Boehner’s dramatic about-face on the subject of legalization is an undeniable win for the legalization movement, it also shows how complicated progress is for a movement that has been fighting for sensible drug policy for decades and only witnessed adult-use legislation in the last six years.

As speaker of the House, Boehner fought legalization tooth and nail, writing to one constituent in 2011, “I am unalterably opposed to the legalization of marijuana or any other FDA Schedule I drug. I remain concerned that legalization will result in increased abuse of all varieties of drugs, including alcohol.” As Quartz reported this morning, more than 400,000 Americans were arrested for selling and trafficking marijuana between 2011 and 2015, when Boehner served as one of D.C.’s most powerful politicians.

But now that Boehner—who stepped down as speaker and resigned from office in 2015—is no longer one of D.C.’s most powerful politicians, he has apparently come around to the idea that legalization is the right path forward for America and the rest of the world. And not only does Boehner support reforming drug laws, he’s actually advocating for descheduling cannabis, a distinction worth pointing out as many prominent Democrats still only support the rescheduling of marijuana from its current (and absurd) position as a Schedule I substance.

I spoke earlier with Acreage Holdings CEO Kevin Murphy, who refers to Boehner as a “senior statesmen and thinker.” He acknowledged Boehner’s prohibitionist past but says the former speaker has a compelling answer to the question of his recent shift in perspective

Much appreciation to Content share  from The Daily Beast and author “Ricardo Baca” &  PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ELIZABETH BROCKWAY also THE DAILY BEAST

FEDERAL CANNABIS UPDATE: 2018

FEDERAL CANNABIS UPDATE: 2018 SPENDING BILL KEEPS ROHRABACHER-BLUMENAUER AMENDMENT

Last week, despite controversy, criticism from both sides of the aisle, and talk of a veto, President Trump agreed to sign the federal government’s omnibus spending bill for 2018. To the relief of many in the legal cannabis industry, the spending bill retains a provision known as the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer (or Rohrabacher-Farr) amendment, which provides limited protection from federal prosecution for state-level legal cannabis activity.

Given both Trump’s and Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ tough talk on drugs and threats to crack down on the cannabis industry, the continued presence of this amendment is a silver lining for those anxious about the future of legal cannabis. While this won’t mean a change in the federal treatment of marijuana – the amendment has been included in every spending bill since 2014 – it does indicate that the government intends to keep on its current course with regard to cannabis, as the provision has to be renewed every year to remain in effect.

Likewise, though the actual protections afforded by the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment are limited, its being signed into law was, and remains, an important indication of the federal government’s shift in attitude regarding cannabis: as the LA Times reported following the provision’s first inclusion in the spending bill, “Congress for years had resisted calls to allow states to chart their own path on pot. The marijuana measure, which forbids the federal government from using any of its resources to impede state medical marijuana laws, was previously rejected half a dozen times.” In this light, the amendment was a notable pivot from a top-down to a state-level approach to cannabis regulation.

California cannabis consumers and business owners shouldn’t get too comfortable, though: not only does the amendment not change anything about the federal government’s cannabis policy in and of itself, its terms only apply to medical marijuana, not recreational cannabis. So far, the government has rejected proposed amendments that would grant recreational cannabis operations the same protection from federal intervention. For the time being, California cannabis business owners’ best bet is to stay in full compliance with state and local law as the federal situation develops.

Special Thanks to MARGOLIN & LAWRENCE for Content Share

Stay Connected

Nesteggg Facebook

The Nesteggg Group ©2019
All Rights Reserved

Get in Touch

1127 St. Paul Ave
Tacoma WA 98421

1-(888) 987-NEST

accounting@nesteggg.com

Web Design & Maintenance by AquaZebra

constant contact