In the wake of the November elections, the cannabis industry is taking stock of legalization and regulatory efforts across the U.S. There is hope of more ballot success in 2016, and in Arizona, the state legislature has found that legal marijuana could lead to as much as $48 million in new tax revenue. But there’s also the reality of a fractured regulatory landscape, as a cannabis-focused credit union in Colorado considers a potential workaround for a federal insurance mandate, and a marijuana information service seeks to market itself without relying on forbidden paid ads. Arizona Could Earn $48M Yearly by Taxing Legal Marijuana, Legislative Analysis Shows. Phoenix New Times: “Arizona could generate an additional $48 million in revenue by legalizing and taxing marijuana, an analysis by the State Legislature shows. The Joint Legislative Budget Committee produced a report in September on the estimated impact of legal marijuana, but didn't release the data publicly. Prepared in response to a legalization bill proposed earlier this year by a group of Democrats, the JLBC report shows that Arizona could enjoy a large boost in revenue for schools, health care and other services simply by taxing people who already use marijuana. By comparison, a JLBC report last week on the impact of a proposed tax on e-cigarettes estimates an increase to state revenue by only $283,000 to $13.5 million.”

Colorado Pot Credit Union Might Have Lifeline if Feds Balk on Insurance. Denver Post: “If federal regulators deny them critical insurance coverage, organizers of the world's first credit union for the marijuana industry may have an ace in the hole. By rule, Colorado-chartered credit unions must have deposit insurance from the National Credit Union Administration— but it's a requirement that can be waived by the state's financial services commissioner. That means if Fourth Corner Credit Union can't get NCUA insurance for its pot-only deposits — a possibility given that marijuana is illegal under federal law — it could ask the Colorado commissioner to reverse the 11-year-old rule that prevents state-chartered credit unions from obtaining the same coverage privately.”

Boulder County Proposes Cannabis Carbon “Tax”. Triple Pundit: “According to one industry source, it takes about 5,000 kilowatt hours of electricity to grow about 2.2 pounds of good-quality pot. Compare that to the bill for an average Boulder home, which takes about 900 kWh to power a rambling 2,400-square-foot house for one month. The very light sources that are used to warm and nurture the plants through mile-high winters are part of the problem, says the county, which has seen electricity usage spike just as enthusiastically as weed sales. To offset the impact, the county plans to levy a charge of 2.16 cents per kWh. The interesting thing is this isn’t designed to offset the electricity costs – Boulder City and Xcel Energy regulate and charge for the electricity. The county sees this as a carbon tax of sorts that would offset the impact of carbon emissions from cannabis. What is more, city businesses and residents already pay a carbon tax per year for general energy usage.”

The March Toward Marijuana Legalization: 2016 And Beyond. The Weed Blog: “Since 2012, voters in four states and DC have been asked to legalize marijuana. They’ve now said yes in all of them. And now, eyes to turn to 2016 and beyond. There are excellent prospects for more victories in the West, as well as in the Northeast. And there could be some surprises lurking out there in the middle of the country. California, of course, is the big prize, and efforts are already well underway to ensure that legalization is on the ballot in 2016 — and that it actually wins this time. Arizona and Nevada are also on the radar, and the Nevada initiative campaign has already turned in twice the number of signatures needed to make the 2016 ballot.”

These Weed Snobs Show Why Pot Can Be Just as Snooty as Wine. Adweek: “Weedmaps, a Yelp-like service focused on pot, wants to show that marijuana can be just as sophisticated as alcohol. But it's hard for a company named Weedmaps to buy ad space, and it had to get a little creative with its marketing. That's why it hosts WeedmapsTV on YouTube where it has more than 100,000 subscribers, and it just put out its latest video. It's a bit of content marketing from a company that can't buy ad space on Facebook or Twitter because its mission is to rate all the legal places to buy pot in the country, which is slowly embracing the weed industry with pro-marijuana laws.”