LAST YEAR, Oakland became the first U.S. city to create a specific tax on medicinal marijuana providers. Measure F raised the tax on dispensaries from $1.20 per $1,000 in business sales to $18 per $1,000. The increase on more than $17 million in gross receipts was expected to bring in an extra $294,000 per year to the city's cash-starved general fund.

Now Oakland city officials are asking voters for permission to nearly triple the tax on medical cannabis businesses to $50 per $1,000 in sales. Richmond and Berkeley are attempting to follow in Oakland's footsteps rushing to cash in on the booming medicinal marijuana business with pot ballot tax measures of their own in November.

insidebayarea.com

Between 35,000 and 40,000 marijuana plants have been uncovered over the past month in sparsely populated Alpine County in the Sierra Nevada, authorities said.

Undersheriff Robert Levy said the plants, with a total estimated street value of $30 million, were part of a large-scale operation and appeared to be the work of a Mexican cartel. There was evidence laborers were camping out while tending to the plants, he said.

"The cartels have been all over California, Nevada and Utah. It's just new to Alpine County," Levy told the Record-Courier in Gardnerville, Nev. "This was a huge, huge organized grow with thousands of plants at a time."

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sacbee.com

A new medical marijuana dispensary in Soquel is offering its customers a tasty alternative to smoking: enjoying a bowl of pot-infused ice cream.

At Crème De Cana, the half pints of ice cream have titles that may have Ben and Jerry taking notes.

ksbw.com
cremedecanna.com
Häagen DAZE: Medicinal marijuana shop in California offers dope-flavoured ice cream

California shop sells 'marijuana ice cream' for medicinal purposes Medical Marijuana Dispensary Offering Far Out Ice Cream Flavors Pot dispensary finds niche in expanding marketplace: ice cream

A ballot measure to make California the first state to legalize the sale and use of marijuana has won the support of one of the state’s most powerful union, officials said Monday, offering the proposition a shot of mainstream legitimacy as well as a potential financial and organizational lift.

The decision by the executive board of the Service Employees International Union of California will be announced in the next few days, according to officials who have been briefed about it but were not allowed to speak publicly before it was announced.

nytimes.com

Hip-hop trio and undoubted stoner icons Cypress Hill are looking to broaden their horizons as their native California goes to the polls this fall to ask the electorate if they want to legalize marijuana.

cannazine.co.uk

The State Board of Equalization already collects around $100 million per year in sales taxes from medical cannabis dispensaries in California. Now, the agency is laying the groundwork to collect an estimated $1.3 billion more. Legalization Nation has learned that the State Board of Equalization has convened an internal task force of about a dozen staff to research and provide options for taxing recreational use of marijuana, should it become legal. Board spokesperson Anita Gore confirmed the task force had been visiting East Bay clubs to learn more about implementing a consumer tax.

eastbayexpress.com

Jonesing for some gourmet tri-tip and a solid buzz? Check out Cannabis Catering, a San Francisco-based outfit that specializes in marijuana cuisine. The brainchild of Chef Frederick Nesbitt, a California Culinary Academy-trained chef who has worked as personal chef for Jerry Rice and John Madden, Cannabis Catering offers four and five-course meals laced with ganja.

fastcompany.com

Als erste Stadt in den USA wird Oakland in wenigen Monaten den industriellen Anbau von Cannabis erlauben

Unternehmer erwarten das große Geschäft. Die Stadtverwaltung erhofft Einnahmen aus einer Marihuanasteuer.

Bis auf die Sicherheitsleute vor der Tür und dem Metalldetektor am Eingang wirkt das Harborside Health Center in Oakland, Kalifornien, wie eine Apotheke. Die Räume sind weiß und sauber, die Produkte werden in sieben großen Glasvitrinen hübsch angeordnet präsentiert. Die Patienten warten geduldig, bis sie ihr Rezept abgeben und ihre Medizin erhalten. Nur die Namen der Wirkstoffe, die hier ausgegeben werden, sind außergewöhnlich. Die Patienten bekommen in Harborside weder Antibiotika noch Parkemed. Sie erhalten eine Tüte mit "Blue Dream" , "Grand Daddy Purple" oder "Spicy Jack" . Abgerechnet wird in Gramm.

derstandard.at