Geneva prosecutor agrees to close investigation into HSBC in return for the financial settlement

HSBC has been ordered to pay a record 40m Swiss francs (£28m) and been given a final warning by the Geneva authorities for “organisational deficiencies” which allowed money laundering to take place in the bank’s Swiss subsidiary.

The settlement means the Swiss will not prosecute HSBC or publish the findings of their investigation into alleged aggravated money laundering. But Geneva’s chief prosecutor, Olivier Jornot, cautioned that the bank was on notice, saying: “This is an excuse which will only apply once.”

With weed now permitted in some form in 23 U.S. states, the flow of cannabis out of Mexico has slowed and, to a degree, reversed

The street lieutenant fidgeting in a Ciudad Juárez pizza parlor deals drugs for Barrio Azteca, a gang that emerged from Texas prisons in the 1980s to control a chunk of illegal shipments from Mexico into the U.S. Southwest. Think No Country for Old Men—secret nighttime drops, murders, and a lucrative sideline in human trafficking and prostitution. Meeting with a reporter while his heavyset boss circles the block, the Juárez dealer is preoccupied with his hottest new product: handcrafted American-made pot.

Cannabis and technology — two of the Bay Area’s biggest exports — are about to become even more intertwined.

One thousand of the cannabis industry’s leading technologists, investors, and media professionals will gather for the world’s first technology, venture capital and media-focused cannabis industry conference, the New West Summit Friday and Saturday, November 20th and 21st, at Parc 55 San Francisco.

Benjamin Rasmussen didn’t set out to become “the pot photographer.” It just sort of happened.

Rasmussen became something of a visual authority on the burgeoning marijuana industry after shooting a story for The New York Times in 2010. His direct, almost clinical photographs depicted legalized marijuana with candor and respect. The images were not what you’d expect when thinking about marijuana, and attracted the attention of one media outlet after another. In the years since, he has documented everything from medical dispensaries to manufacturing facilities.

One night last year, Karyn Wagner, founder of Paradigm Medical Marijuana, smoked a joint before having sex with her partner — a fairly unremarkable move in terms of foreplay, but this time the results were something special. “After I smoked this one,” she remembers, “I said, You know, honey, that was perfect. Save it for next time.” Her partner dutifully labeled the bag “Sexpot." And inspiration struck.

Sexxpot, derived from a low-THC strain called Mr. Nice, has been grown, packaged, and branded (with an extra x) by Wagner’s company as an "aphrodisiac weed" — the first to specifically target women.

Since some American states started to legalize marijuana last year, many gamblers are very keen on cannabis shares. After the initial euphoria ended, the green gold rush seems to have regained some of its popularity in the stock market.  

Marijuana is a controversial issue, but it is now legal, with restrictions, in Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and in the District of Columbia. In 23 states the medical use of marijuana is allowed.

Other states are debating intensely the partial opening of the market and, according to polls, a majority of the U.S. population is now in favor of decriminalizing cannabis.  

The Costa Rican Health Ministry outlined its expert opinion on a pending bill to legalize marijuana and hemp for medical and industrial use in Costa Rica. On Tuesday, the Health Ministry outlined how the medical marijuana bill would be implemented with some restrictions for users.

Ruling Citizen Action Party (PAC) lawmaker Marvin Atencio presented a bill in August 2014 that would legalize the growing, processing and sale of cannabis for medical and industrial use. Costa Rica would be the first country in Central America to legalize medical marijuana if lawmakers decide to pass the proposal.

The subject of management companies has been cropping up a lot lately. Hilary Bicken and I were at a NORML conference in Aspen last weekend, and a number of the attorneys there, especially those with roots in the California medical marijuana community, had questions about dealing with management company structures. On a side note, we really like that NORML is still chugging along. A lot of voices for industry are popping up as different states legalize, and it is nice that NORML continues to be a voice for legalization and consumer advocacy; it is a good check on the corporate side of the industry. But back to management companies — what are they and why are they risky?

The rise of cannabis oils has been one of the biggest and most surprising drivers of the total cannabis industry. Cannabis oils, related consumer devices, and derivative edibles now take up a good portion of the retail space in your typical dispensary in legal-use states, such as Washington.

“Being local is one of the keys to success in this industry” says Cary Senders, who along with his brother Eric are the managing partners of FSS Hydro LLC of Beachwood, Ohio and manufacturers of iGROW. iGROW is an agricultural lighting technology company using induction lighting as its light source.

iGROW induction is an alternate light technology that has gained a significant foothold in the cannabis industry, in no small part due to the company’s strategy of having local offices in every major market. “Being headquartered in Ohio, currently a non-medicinal state, was a challenge for us, since all the major markets are located out west. It also became clear as we got heavier into this industry that growers prefer to work with locals.”