Recreational Marijuana Becomes Legal in California
Starting at midnight on January 1, recreational marijuana became legal in California. Cannabis for medicinal purposes has been legal for more than two decades, but this legislation signals a change for the industry.
Alyssa Julya Smith caught up with MedMen Dispensary's CMO BJ Carretta to discuss the economic impact, and where some of the tax dollars will go from an industry poised to make $7 billion in the coming years.
MedMen is one of only three dispensaries in Los Angeles that has received a license on January 1 to sell recreational cannabis products as the city and state are slowly rolling them out.
Carretta talks about de-stigmatizing the practice of cannabis use, and how that will help grow the industry to one of the biggest in the Golden State. He also says marijuana taxes will be as high as 35%, and the state is still figuring out what will be done with the tax money made off of the sales.
Disney content has gone dark on YouTube TV, leaving subscribers of the Google-owned live streaming platform without access to major networks like ESPN and ABC. That’s because the companies have failed to reach a new licensing deal to keep Disney channels on YouTube TV. Depending on how long it lasts, the dispute could particularly impact coverage of U.S. college football matchups over the weekend — on top of other news and entertainment disruptions that have already arrived. In the meantime, YouTube TV subscribers who want to watch Disney channels could have little choice other than turning to the company’s own platforms, which come with their own price tags.
President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking.
Universal Music Group and AI platform Udio have settled a copyright lawsuit and will collaborate on a new music creation and streaming platform. The companies announced on Wednesday that they reached a compensatory legal settlement and new licensing agreements. These agreements aim to provide more revenue opportunities for Universal's artists and songwriters. The rise of AI song generation tools like Udio has disrupted the music streaming industry, leading to accusations from record labels. This deal marks the first since Universal and others sued Udio and Suno last year. Financial terms of the settlement weren't disclosed.
