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The [Thursday] Papers

By Steve Rhodes

“Perhaps the only thing in shorter supply than weed at marijuana shops when they began selling to the public Jan. 1 were state-badged employees to work behind the counter,” Crain’s reports.

Some marijuana shops have closed or reduced hours for recreational sales because of shortages of marijuana. Cresco Labs and PharmaCann closed dispensaries Monday to give employees time off after five days of long shifts, not because they were out of weed.
“On Saturday, the leadership of our company was working registers because we didn’t have enough employees,” said Cresco spokesman Jason Erkes. Ben Kovler, CEO of Green Thumb Industries, could be seen working the counter and behind the scenes at the company’s Rise dispensary in Mundelein on New Year’s Day.

Dispensary workers have to be licensed by the state’s Department of Financial & Professional Regulation – after undergoing a background check.
DFPR says it’s working as fast as it can to get folks licensed. You’d think they would’ve been prepared for this, but, well, you know.
“The department currently licenses about 2,000 cannabis dispensary agents,” IDFPR said in a statement Wednesday. “With Illinois’ adult-use program going into effect, the department received an influx of new agent applications.
“The department is working as quickly as possible within the statutorily mandated timeframe to process those applications and ensure applicants undergo a background check and meet the requirements for licensure.”
Road Trip
“As long lines and limited recreational supplies have persisted in Chicago since sales began Jan. 1, some are looking beyond the city’s limits to buy marijuana,” the Sun-Times reports.

Linda Marsicano, a spokeswoman for Green Thumb Industries, said the company has seen customers traveling from Chicago to its Rise dispensaries in suburban Joliet and Mundelein – and even to its location nearly 200 miles away in Canton outside of Peoria.
Marsicano said the three dispensaries have been able to meet demand and not had to suspend their recreational sales, like some Chicago shops have done, in the busy first week. She did not immediately have details on the stores’ wait times, but said the stores’ supplies can be viewed online.

The Sun-Times did not provide a link to do just that so I will: Scroll down this page for the location you are looking for.
Pot Stocks
“[Multi-state operators] already in the Illinois market have first mover advantage in this market of 13 million residents and 117 million tourists annually. In addition, the companies with the most cultivation capacity have the potential to thrive while others lack inventory,” says TipRanks.
“We’ve delved into these three U.S. cannabis MSOs with a strong market position in Illinois that will benefit from the opening up of the adult-use market. According to TipRanks’ Stock Comparison tool, all three currently have a Strong Buy consensus rating and over 70% upside potential.”
Click through to find out who they are!
The College Football Pot Report
“Big food-and-drink companies are slowing work on products containing cannabidiol after regulators sounded a note of caution making space for smaller players to capture more of the budding market,” the Wall Street Journal reports in “Adding CBD To Food, Drink Was A Hot Trend, Until FDA Chimed In.”

The Food and Drug Administration told consumers in November that there isn’t enough research to ensure cannabidiol, or CBD, is safe to consume. It isn’t clear the cannabis-derived compound helps curb anxiety, facilitates sleep or conveys other benefits some producers and consumers ascribe to it, the agency said in an online post.
Unlike THC, the compound in marijuana that imparts a “high,” CBD isn’t psychoactive. Still, the FDA said people should consider risks associated with it, such as liver damage.
The FDA is concerned that people may mistakenly believe that trying CBD can’t hurt, the
message read.

The money quote is from Beachwood college football correspondent Mike Luce, who is also the co-founder of Chicago-based cannabis market intelligence firm High Yield Insights:
“It was all gas on one foot from the consumers’ interest,” Luce said. “Now there’s a very strong foot on the brakes from the FDA.”
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So no cannabisque anytime soon? And you can forget about starting your mornings with Cannabisquick.
The College Pot Report
“Although Illinois recently legalized cannabis, University administrators have continued to say they still prohibit the use and possession on campus,” the Daily Northwestern reports.
Well, that hardly seems fair.

Although the possession of cannabis for recreational use remains prohibited on campus, some have questioned if the University will change its policy on medical cannabis. Senior Associate Vice President Luke Figora said it is unlikely that the University will change its policy any time in the near future.
“I don’t think there are any plans to change the approach toward medical marijuana,” Figora said. “AccessibleNU has a process in place to work through any accommodation needs for students and so that’s the kind of home for those requests.”
Figora said the University is subject to federal laws, such as the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act which requires a drug-free campus community.
“As long as the federal laws haven’t been changed with respect to the status of marijuana as an illicit drug, the University doesn’t have much flexibility in terms of the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act,” Figora said. “And so, from that perspective, until there’s a federal law change, there’s not much the University would do in terms of its own policy changes.”

I guess Northwestern will remain pot-free!
Brand Extensions
* Beyond Cannabis.
* Impossible Cannabis.
* Meat-Based Cannabis.
* Can O’ Bis.
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ChicagoReddit

Coyotes have had an interesting few days in Chicago. Here’s some reliable info on coyotes and humans. Please use facts when discussing coyotes and don’t give in to fear-mongering. We can all live together in harmony. from r/chicago


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ChicagoGram


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ChicagoTube
2020 Chicago Artist Watch List | iLLANOiZE Radio

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BeachBook
Elizabeth Warren’s New Bankruptcy Plan Is A Big Dig At Joe Biden.

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The Surprising History Of McDonald’s And The Civil Rights Movement.

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TweetWood
A sampling of the delight and disgust you can find @BeachwoodReport.


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The Beachwood Coyote Line: The howling wind wails.

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Posted on January 9, 2020