August 2018

California The state rolled out the Cannabis Business Owners Policy (CannaBOP), an insurance program for licensed marijuana companies. CannaBOP is designed to deliver property and liability coverage to licensed plant- touching firms in California, as well as many ancillary companies. Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said in a statement that the program “will make it easier for more insurers to enter the market and fill coverage gaps for cannabis businesses.” The Golden State’s marijuana industry incurred massive uninsured losses in fall 2017, when wildfires ravaged dozens of cannabis farms in Northern California. Colorado Marijuana sales in Colorado were flat in April on a year-over-year basis for the first time since the state launched its recreational market in 2014, reflecting a continued decline in medical cannabis sales. The data, compiled by the state Department of Revenue, show April 2018 sales in Colorado of both medical and recreational cannabis totaled $124.31 million, compared with $124.27 million in April 2017. Recreational sales in April were up year-over-year from $86.22 million to $97.29 million, but that wasn’t enough to exceed the decline in medical marijuana sales, which have been shrinking since 2017.