OCT 27, 2022 - "If you find yourself in a legal jam, Pine Cone readers recommend calling Jennifer Rosenthal. Her passion for justice is in her DNA – she comes from a family of attorneys..."

JULY 21, 2022 - "As the cannabis industry continues to thrive across California, Monterey County growers have faced a dilemma: pay a hefty cannabis business tax, or face potential closure. Meanwhile, the county Board of Supervisors also faces a dilemma..."

JULY 12, 2022 - "In a joint appeal, Monterey County cannabis growers demanded an immediate tax freeze for a minimum of one year, Tuesday.Growers are also calling for a payment plan to make up for two quarters of delinquent taxes. Payment is due in full by July 31..."

JUNE 1, 2022 - "Monterey County elected officials on Wednesday again cut taxes on cannabis growers while trying to walk a fine line between helping a struggling industry without hurting county revenues during a time of budget deficits..."

MAY 18, 2022 - "A Monterey County civil grand jury report determined the Monterey County Cannabis Program has lapses in transparency, oversight and analysis that need to be addressed, concerning the crop that has an estimated $484 million market value."

MAY 16, 2022 - "After the Monterey County Board of Supervisors lowered its cannabis cultivation taxes earlier this year, the board will receive a report Tuesday on focus groups on the cannabis industry commenting on the county’s legal cannabis prograM..."

FEB 17, 2022 - "Monterey County’s Board of Supervisors are preparing to vote March 1 on an overhaul of the county’s cannabis taxing structure. Joann Iwamoto, the county’s cannabis program manager, says it would be the most..."

JAN 31, 2022 - "With local cannabis businesses reportedly facing permanent closure, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors at its meeting Tuesday will consider taking the first step in providing them relief by cutting commercial cannabis business tax..."

DEC 22, 2021 - "Days after California cannabis companies warned Gov. Gavin Newsom that the state’s legal cannabis industry has been pushed to the breaking point — urging cultivation tax cuts and an expansion of retail shops statewide..."

NOV 2, 2021 - "If you haven’t heard, the cannabis industry across the state and in Monterey County is experiencing some growing pains that are resulting in shrinking value. During the pandemic summer of 2020, the cannabis market was riding high..."

OCT 6, 2021 - "Some growers have had to cut production by 50% because of the huge number of wholesale cannabis operations in the state. With that increasing supply and a stable demand, there will be pressure on prices..."

OCT 1, 2021 - "California's Department of Cannabis Control DCC created a new grant program to help local government transition businesses from provisional licenses to annual licenses..."

SEPT 7, 2021 - "Bob Roach, executive director of the Monterey County Cannabis Industry Association, says a market that is already oversupplied in the summer paints a grim picture for the fall. “The big outdoor crop...."

SEPT 7, 2021 - "According to a press release by the Monterey County District Attorney's they have been targeting unlicensed cannabis cultivations in northern, central, and southern Monterey County...."

JULY 30, 2021 - "At first glance, Monterey County’s annual crop report for 2020 appeared to spell good news for the county’s cannabis industry—in only its fourth year on the recreational market, cannabis production jumped in value to $484.1 million..."

JULY 20, 2021 - "In this same year, local cannabis tax revenues provided $20.5 million that was used to provide disaster and pandemic relief for all the communities of Monterey County...."

MAY 28, 2021 - "The agriculture industry in Monterey County reports a milestone 42,000 COVID-19 vaccines have been administered to more than 70% of its total farmworker population since vaccination efforts began earlier this year...."

MAY 27, 2021 - "Its asymptomatic nature makes it difficult to catch and its effect on cannabis plant yield and potency goes unknown until the end of the growing process. The plant disease, called the hop latent viroid, has joined the..."

MAY 14, 2021 - "The 2019 cannabis report published by Monterey County shows that its crop value was roughly $450 million. To put that in perspective, if it were included along with the county's other big crops..."

APRIL 2, 2021 - "Sand City is in the process of taking the temperature of its citizens on the subject of commercial cannabis activity. The results from a recent survey are being tabulated and two future workshops are planned to gather more..."

MAR 25, 2021 - "Monterey County Cannabis Program is in the process of assessing how communities have been impacted by cannabis prohibition and the War on Drugs and exploring how to more equitably develop this new industry."

MAR 4, 2021 - "Monterey County has released its cannabis revenue allocation report, and it shows that more than $38.8 million went to programs across the county between 2018 and 2021."

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FEB 28, 2021 - "California’s proposition system takes a lot of heat, including over confusing wording written by regular people, then approved by voters and enacted into law. Consider section 26152 of Prop. 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, which included this prohibition..."

FEB 26, 2021 - "The city of Monterey this week disclosed the results of a survey that shows a significant majority of residents support the concept of cannabis operations in the city..."

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FEB 24, 2021 - "The City of Monterey held its city council meeting Wednesday to discuss survey results and whether to move forward with opening retail cannabis operations in the city." 

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FEB 23, 2021 - "The City of Monterey is now reconsidering its take on commercial cannabis and is looking into whether pot dispensaries should be allowed in city limits."

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FEB 19, 2021 - "On Wednesday, the city of Monterey will release results from a public survey that tapped into the opinion of city residents on the issue of commercial cannabis operations and while the results are still being tabulated, it appears that those who generally support cannabis businesses are leading."

FEB 12, 2021 - "City officials in Sand City are seeking community feedback on the question of allowing commercial cannabis businesses within the city’s limits in a survey has posted on the city’s website."

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FEB 4, 2021 - "After Pacific Grove’s quest to add a retail cannabis store spectacularly crashed and burned last fall, Monterey City Manager Hans Uslar took note.  “You don’t have to look far when you look at the neighboring communities where sometimes the implementation went sideways because not everyone felt they were heard..."

JAN 20, 2021 - We were recently notified of an IRS “Form 8300” audit of a local cannabis client.  We have been advising our clients not to ignore the troublesome and annoying Form 8300 filing requirement for some time now. 

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JAN 15, 2021 - "Pacific Grove is not getting a retail cannabis store anytime soon. That’s the result after a new P.G. City Council last night reversed a decision made in September by the former council to bring one licensed store to the small town."

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DEC 17, 2020 - "Pacific Grove is not getting a retail cannabis store anytime soon. That’s the result after a new P.G. City Council last night reversed a decision made in September by the former council to bring one licensed store to the small town."

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DEC 5, 2020 - "Monterey City Council members signaled in a meeting on Dec. 1 that they're ready to follow a roadmap created by City Manager Hans Uslar to help the council make a decision about whether to allow retail cannabis in the city."

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DEC 4, 2020 - "MONTEREY — A highly comprehensive “roadmap” for the city of Monterey to follow as it moves forward with plans to allow retail cannabis shops in the city was presented to elected officials this week with a consensus to begin tapping public views on the idea."

DEC 4, 2020 - "The House of Representatives approved decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level on Friday in the first time Congress has acted on the issue."

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DEC 4, 2020 - "The referendum to rescind the Pacific Grove City Council’s vote to allow one cannabis retail store was short by just three petition signatures, the city announced on Dec. 3."

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DEC 2, 2020 - “It allows the 45 cannabis cultivators, all represented by two prominent local law firms — JRG Attorneys at Law and Law Offices of Jennifer S. Rosenthal — to avoid conducting independent environmental reviews for each application while identifying their cumulative impacts on traffic and energy demand.”

DEC 2, 2020 - “A United Nations commission voted on Wednesday to remove cannabis for medicinal purposes from a category of the world’s most dangerous drugs, a highly anticipated and long-delayed decision that could clear the way for an expansion of marijuana research and medical use."

NOV 19, 2020 - "LOS ANGELES (AP) In what could be a temporary victory for California’s legal cannabis industry, a judge has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to overturn a state rule allowing home deliveries statewide, even into communities that banned commercial marijuana sales."

NOV 19, 2020 - "It’s not just on Veterans Day, which just passed on Nov. 11, when budtenders are helping veterans treat issues like chronic pain, insomnia or PTSD with cannabis. Many dispensaries offer discounts for veterans year-round, usually 10 – to 15-percent off. "

NOV 19, 2020 - “...cannabis revenue jumped to $11.4 million above county program expenses and helped drive a $17.8 million discretionary revenue increase above the budgeted amount...”

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NOV 5, 2020 - "Montana has voted to establish 21 as the legal age to purchase, possess and consume cannabis by constitutional amendment, CNN projects. This adds to the growing list of states to approve marijuana-related ballot measures this year."

OCT 28, 2020 - "By a narrow margin, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday agreed to spend about $2.66 million in cannabis tax revenue over three years to cover the local cash match for a Salinas Valley well destruction program."

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OCT 26, 2020 - "Measure P, “King City Commercial Cannabis Tax Amendment,” asks voters if they support a pair of taxes. One is up to 5% on retail sale of cannabis, cannabis products, industrial hemp and hemp products. The second is a tax of up to 2% on the distribution of cannabis and cannabis products generated ..."

OCT 22, 2020 - "PACIFIC GROVE — While the city of Pacific Grove moves forward with selecting an operator to award a single cannabis license, which was approved by elected officials last month, a wrinkle is emerging that could throw a monkey wrench into the entire effort."

OCT 6, 2020 - "During its consent agenda Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors approved a Proposition 64 grant agreement with the California Board of State and Community Corrections for $996,545."

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OCT 1, 2020 - "​Pacific Grove was on its way to bringing one cannabis dispensary to town after a City Council majority voted 4-3 twice – on Sept. 2 and Sept. 16 – in favor of an ordinance allowing cannabis retail sales. The plan was to have a proposal by a dispensary company before the P.G. Planning Commission by Nov. 12."

OCT 1, 2020 - "Monterey elected officials and the public on Wednesday had the chance to weigh in on the issue of allowing cannabis operations in the city, allowing City Council members to give city staff direction on additional information needed and questions they want answered the next time the issue comes around."

SEPT 22, 2020 - "The California cannabis industry is getting a bit of a tax break, courtesy of the California Legislature. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill late last week into law that prohibits the California Department of Tax and Fee..."

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SEPT 17, 2020 - "Pacific Grove schools entered into the debate about opening a cannabis dispensary in the city with a resolution declaring the “health, safety and well-being” of kids will be affected, but on a split vote, elected city officials on Wednesday approved an ordinance that will allow a single cannabis store."

SEPT 1, 2020 - "On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors by a unanimous vote again dipped into a cannabis tax revenue fund to cover up to about $6.9 million in the county’s pandemic response, much of it planned future spending through the end of the calendar year."

AUG 4, 2020 - "After only two applicants signed up for Monterey County’s outdoor cannabis grow pilot program, county officials ware set to consider potentially easing the rules more than a year after the program was adopted."

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JULY 24, 2020 - "Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner Henry Gonzales has released the county’s 2019 Crop Report, which included an evaluation of cannabis production for the first time."

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JULY 10, 2020 - "Due to the ravaging pending and projected impact of the COVID19 pandemic on local job markets and commercial property occupancy rates throughout California, more cities and counties..."

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JULY 9, 2020 - "Linda Grant sold weed in the streets of East Oakland for 35 years before California legalized marijuana in 2016. She’s been “going through hell” trying to open a licensed business ever since."

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JUNE 25, 2020 - "SANTA CRUZ, Calif. — Santa Cruz County District Attorney announced that his office will dismiss over 1,000 marijuana cases on Thursday."

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JUNE 24, 2020 - "Cannabis farmers in Monterey County reached sales of roughly $450 million dollars in 2019 out of a total annual crop value of $4.86 billion, according to two new county reports." 

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JUNE 15, 2020 - "MARINA — More than a year and a half after voters approved cannabis businesses in the city of Marina, three applications for cannabis dispensaries were approved by the City Council last week."

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JUNE 2, 2020 - "SALINAS — Tapping reserves and cannabis tax revenue to preserve staff and programs that had been on the chopping block, the Board of Supervisors Tuesday put the finishing touches on a $1.64 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year."

MAY 13, 2020 - "(The Center Square) – Democratic leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives announced the filing of their Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act this week to further expand social safety net support for people and businesses impacted by the COVID-19..."

APR 21, 2020 - "The federal government won’t give local cannabis growers COVID-19 relief funds because they’re growing a drug still outlawed by the federal government. The growers are now turning to local lawmakers hoping they’ll give them some tax relief as they deal with a decline in revenue."

MAR 22, 2020 - "In the days just after the County of Monterey and then Gov. Gavin Newsom enacted shelter-in-place orders that saw all but businesses and government offices deemed essential shut down, local cannabis retailers report they saw a surge of activity as customers rushed to stock up."

MAR 22, 2020 - "Because cannabis is an essential medicine for many residents, licensees may continue to operate at this time so long as their operations comply with local rules and regulations."

MAR 18, 2020 - "The shelter-in-place order issued on March 17 didn’t specify, so the Weekly checked with Monterey County's Cannabis Program Coordinator, Joann Iwamoto."

AUG 10, 2019 - "Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Monterey County announced that Attorney Jennifer Rosenthal has been elected to serve as Board Chair for CASA of Monterey County."

MAY 15, 2019 - "The cannabis industry in Monterey County is ever evolving and establishing itself as one of the top growing areas in the state. It is a place where people want to come and do business."

DEC 10, 2018 - Cannabis’ past, present and future in Monterey County from Big Sur “Holy Weed” to NASA zero gravity horticulture practices will be covered by a number of local and statewide industry experts at this week’s Monterey Cannabis Summit hosted by the Monterey County Cannabis Industry Association.

NOV 28, 2018 - While medical and recreational cannabis are currently legal in 33 U.S. states and the nation’s capital, it still remains illegal at the federal level...

MAY 3, 2018 - In the unchartered territory of the burgeoning legal California cannabis industry there are bound to be glitches and one Monterey County grower claims it’s the victim of one...

FEB 9, 2018 - The Monterey County Cannabis Industry Association (MCCIA) announced today that it has elected their Executive Board to steer the association, which brings together members and stakeholders providing needed industry representation, education, and leadership in this new industry.

JUNE 28, 2017 - Aram Stoney has been operating a medical marijuana delivery business out of Carmel Valley for more than a year and he wants to scale up to a dispensary...