By Amanda Chicago Lewis
I was deep into my second or third joint of the afternoon, lounging on a green leather Moroccan pouf in the shade, when an elegant older blonde in a bright floral dress rushed up to declare that I was urgently needed on stage. It was Susan Soares, the beloved marijuana advocate and ringmaster of the day's events: a casual and intimate southern California conference called The State of Cannabis, held a few weeks back and filled with pot insiders and political stakeholders. Apparently another journalist had flaked at the last minute, leaving a vacant spot on the final panel of the day: "Cannabis & the Media." Baked as I was, could I go sit in front of a few hundred people and comment on what New York Media Elites talk about when they talk about weed? Of course I could. Soares is the kind of affable, sincere person you just want to say yes to – even when you're high as balls and not quite sure you'll be able to form coherent sentences. And I tend to take the reason we had all come together – to do some soul-searching about the Golden State's most valuable crop – rather seriously. Along with the usual cannabis entrepreneurs, investors, and activists, there were several mayors, prosecutors, and previously prohibitionist government types in attendance. But as the biggest marijuana market in the world barrels toward a January 1st, 2018 deadline to begin accepting applications for both medical and adult-use licenses, initiating what will likely be the final phase in the state's bumpy two-decade journey toward legal pot, what is, in fact, the state of cannabis in California? "Shitshow," one prominent advocate told me. "But don't mention my name. These edibles are starting to kick in." Several other answers fell along the same lines: "Precarious." "Disarray." "Evolving." "Complicated." "Compartmentalized." "Chaotic." "Uncertainty." "Clusterfuck." "Capricious." The best thing anyone had to say? "Improving." Read more here.
0 Comments
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Corruption is rampant right now with the rush to enter the new cannabis industry. It's time to call anyone and everyone out that are abusing their elected positions to extort money from entrepreneurs that are trying to enter the industry. We have the opportunity to create a new way of doing business; a socially conscious industry. Please contact me if you have any direct evidence of corruption in your local government @ Susan@justsaycare.org.
Shea Johnson Staff Writer Posted Nov 7, 2017 at 12:01 AM Wright faces two federal charges: bribery of programs receiving federal funds and attempted arson of a building affecting interstate commerce. ADELANTO — Mayor Pro Tem Jermaine Wright faces federal charges he solicited and accepted a $10,000 bribe from an undercover FBI agent in exchange for using his political influence to assist and shield a supposed commercial marijuana transportation business, the Daily Press has learned. Wright, 41, is also accused of seeking the aid of an FBI informant to burn down his restaurant, Fat Boyz Grill, in order to collect $300,000 in insurance money, according to a sworn affidavit obtained by this newspaper. Arrested Tuesday, Wright is expected to appear in a federal court in Riverside on Wednesday, but is not anticipated to enter a plea, Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, told the Daily Press. Wright faces two federal charges: bribery of programs receiving federal funds and attempted arson of a building affecting interstate commerce. Read more here. Finally, a politician is going to bat for pro athletes who wanna use weed -- saying the NFL and NBA are treating players like 2nd class citizens for taking away their rights to get high (medically).
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) says it's about damn time league commissioners acknowledge that marijuana is BETTER for treating the "really terrible pain" pro athletes endure. "It's much less damaging than the opiods, the painkillers, the shots, the pills ... and it's time professional sports stops punishing them but works with them." Congressman Blumenauer says 2/3 Americans have legal access to medical marijuana -- so to ban NBA and NFL players is basically treating them like "second class citizens." BTW -- shout-out to the great people of the 3rd District in Oregon, your rep is the COOLEST DUDE EVER. We also spoke with ex-NBA player Al Harrington -- who's actively lobbying the NBA to lift the weed ban -- and asked if there's been any progress since he spoke about the issue with ex-commish David Stern. Read more here. by Benjamin M. Adams | October 30, 2017
CULTURE MAGAZINEIndividuals who smoke cannabis have more sex than those who don’t smoke cannabis, according to findings from researchers at Stanford University. The groundbreaking study, “Association Between Marijuana Use and Sexual Frequency in the United States: A Population-Based Study,” was published October 27 in The Journal of Sexual Medicine. It confirms what many had already believed—that cannabis is an incredible natural aphrodisiac. Women who smoke cannabis daily had sex 7.1 times per month on average, while women who don’t smoke had sex six times per month on average. Men who smoke daily had sex 6.9 times per month, while men who don’t smoke had sex 5.6 times per month on average. “We reported how often they smoke—monthly, weekly or daily—and how many times they’ve had sex in the last month,” lead author Dr. Michael Eisenberg told NPR. “What we found was compared to never-users, those who reported daily use had about 20 percent more sex. So over the course of a year, they’re having sex maybe 20 more times.” Twenty more times per year, many would agree, is a significant change in lifestyle. The positive association between sex and cannabis crossed the boundaries of marital status, race and gender. The researchers acquired figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual reports from 2002 to 2015. Other factors were considered including having children, religion and alcohol. Women especially become aroused while under the influence of cannabinoids, according to a past study. Strains like Sexxpot are designed specifically for women in a sexual setting. Companies like FORIA have taken notice of cannabis’ aphrodisiac properties. Others disagree whether cannabis can increase libido. Obviously, everyone’s body reacts differently to cannabis and some consumers do not notice any increased arousal. Both alcohol and cannabis have been associated with loosened inhibitions, such as people who claim they are “one hit away” from sex. The study opens the door to more cannabis-based medicines designed specifically for sex. Read more here. by Aaron Smith @AaronSmithCNNOctober 31, 2017: 2:24 PM ET
Buying legal marijuana in California could be pricey enough to keep the black market healthy.Between customers, retailers and growers, taxes on cannabis may reach as high as 45% in parts of the state, according to a Fitch Ratings report. Those high taxes may keep consumers away from legal marijuana stores once the recreational retail market goes live on January 1. "High effective tax rates on California cannabis may complicate the state's efforts to establish legal markets" said analysts Stephen Walsh and Karen Ribble in a Fitch Ratings report on California's marijuana taxes. California marijuana consumers are going to have to pay a combination of state and local taxes that vary by municipality. Growers and sellers have their own taxes, too. Consumers will pay a sales tax ranging from 22.25% to 24.25%, which includes the state excise tax of 15%, and additional state and local sales taxes ranging from 7.25% to 9.25%. Local businesses will have to pay a tax ranging from 1% to 20% of gross receipts, or $1 to $50 per square foot of marijuana plants, according to the Fitch report. In addition, farmers will be taxed $9.25 per ounce for flower, and $2.75 per ounce for leaves. The Fitch report says this combination of state and local taxes for consumers, retailers and growers could keep portions of California's cannabis industry off the grid, where it has flourished for some time. "California's black markets for cannabis were well established long before its voters legalized cannabis in November 2016 and are expected to dominate post-legalization production," said the Fitch report. Among the eight states where recreational marijuana is legal, only Washington has a higher tax rate at about 50%. Colorado and Nevada both follow with rates of 36%. Oregon has a tax rate of 20% and Alaska has a rate of up to 20%. Medical marijuana has been legal in California since 1996, but the retail markets for recreational marijuana are just now ramping up and are scheduled to begin on New Year's Day. Read more here. reposted:
Does it matter if we call it pot, or weed, or cannabis? Absolutely. Last month, I travelled to Los Angeles to speak on a diversity panel at the Cannabis World Congress and Business Expo, the same conference Roger Stone had been ousted as keynote speaker for his racist, tone-deaf commentary. The discussion focused on the work my fellow panelists have done and are currently doing to include communities of color in the cannabis industry. However, part of the discussion focused on the language used when talking about the plant. It’s no secret that cannabis has a range of nicknames, but should we use them? The words “pot” and “weed” are bastions of a different era. Using them calls forth images of lazy stoners and sketchy drug deals. On top of that, “marijuana” is racially-derived. Read more here. Image credit: Robyn Beck | Getty Images
Andre Bourque• Contributor The cannabis industry has an unusual conundrum--its collective empathy and generosity extends beyond its ability to provide it. Take the recent, catastrophic fires in Northern California as an example. Industry losses are mounting and the ability for the cannabis community to rally together is strong but has limitations. The fires"These wildfires, especially in Northern California, are particularly devastating,” said Dr. Joel N. Myers, founder, president and chairman of AccuWeather. “At this time, we estimate the economic impact of the fires is already approaching $70 billion. Based on our forecast the total costs from this disaster on the economy would exceed $85 billion and, if the fires are not contained in the next couple of weeks, the total economic impact could even reach $100 billion.” Those numbers, however, do not take into account cannabis losses. Just as Sonoma and Napa Counties have a global footprint in wine agriculture, they have a lesser-known, yet high density of cannabis farms in areas as well. These fires have created a ripple effect across the entire local and regional economies, directly impacting at least 2,000 jobs. "We estimate cannabis farmers across the affected area have lost over $40 million in product at farm prices (over $150 million in retail value),” said Daniel D'Ancona, president of California Grow Services, in a written interview. This had already been an extremely financially burdensome year for California cultivators even before the fires; efforts to move their businesses into the new compliant world claimed most of their cash-flow. California compliance costs are predicted to increase by $125,000 a year for small operations and by $310,000 a year for an average pot business. Chiah Rodriques, the CEO of Mendocino Generations, a collective of organic cannabis farmers in the county remarked, "So many of these people have literally spent their last dollar trying to get permitted." Now facing an even greater financial hurdle with loss of crops (cannabis businesses don't qualify for crop insurance or federal emergency relief), they need help to make sure their businesses will survive. Farmers moved quickly to save their cannabis crop that didn't burn. Since many of the cultivating structures were burned, several companies and organizations rallied around the community offering support.
Read more here. California has it's first weed czar - otherwise known as the chief of its "Bureau of Medical and Adult Use Cannabis Regulations". Just naming the new bureau has been something of a challenge. Originally named the Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation had to quickly change to the Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation because of sensitivity to the term "marijuana". Governor Jerry Brown appointed Lori Ajax to head up this challenge in early 2016 and she has risen to that challenge! Not often does anyone get the opportunity to create a new state agency and this isn't just any industry. Cannabis is a complex industry to say the least! In addition to that, while creating the agency and undertaking the daunting task of writing all the regulations, Prop. 64 passed, legalizing adult use of cannabis thus doubling Lori's workload. The bureau did a notable job getting out to the community for public comment and outreach. After the conclusion of the comment period, the bureau looked poised to drop final regs on the industry in preparation for the licensing procedure to move forward. Then Gov. Brown's trailer bill changed all that. The new rules proposed by the administration include eliminating both state-issued medical-marijuana identification cards and the requirement that pot goes through a third-party distributor, and the rules use a Proposition 64 licensing structure for both recreational and medicinal cannabis. So back to the drawing board for Lori & Co. and an "emergency rulemaking process" without the benefit of the normal public hearing phase. The new emergency regulations are expected to be published this fall and we hope they coincide with our conference. Meet and hear from Lori Ajax at The State of Cannabis: Lori Ajax is the Chief of the Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulations. She was previously Chief Deputy Director of the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) where she had served in multiple positions since 1998, including Deputy Division Chief, District Administrator and Supervising Investigator. REGISTERTHURSDAY, JULY 6, 2017 AT 8:03 A.M.
BY MARY CARREON Although cultivation is a big issue, perhaps the larger obstacle the licensed and unlicensed shops face is related to Weedmaps. Known as the "Yelp for weed," the Irvine-based advertising company provides ads for both the BB and rogue dispensaries. This not only contributes to the licensed shops losing business to the rogue stores, but it also essentially keeps the unlicensed shops open. "I've used most of my savings on getting [New Generation] built; that's why I don't spend $10,000 on a billboard and pay Weedmaps $30,000 in advertising," says Shivley. "I give them $420 a month because I literally have to in order for us to stay on the map, but I won't give them any more than that. It's wrong what they're doing. They're promoting all these other rogue guys at insanely low costs—way lower than what they offer [the licensed shops]. . . . It's bullshit." Of course, Yelp, Google, Leafly, the Yellow Pages and even the Weekly also offer dispensary listings for licensed and unlicensed shops. That said, when your business is backed by millions (and millions) of dollars—like Weedmaps—your platform automatically becomes the most effective of the lot. Longwith asserts that Weedmaps shouldn't advertise rogue shops in cities such as Santa Ana that have opened up their borders to licensed shops. "Advertise all you want with regard to dispensaries in cities that do not have ordinances on their books to allow for licensed dispensaries," says Longwith. "But with regard to those cities that do have ordinances, they should respect that and not advertise for businesses that don't have licenses. . . . Weedmaps has an obligation to respect cities that have allowed dispensaries to operate legally." Those on the rogue side who participated in the lottery feel backstabbed by Weedmaps. Kandice Hawes-Lopez, an Orange County cannabis activist and founder of the Orange County chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) told the Weekly last year that when NORML started working on an initiative to get a measure passed, they initially failed. So Hawes-Lopez and the NORML team talked to the dispensaries—all of which were rogue at the time—and got a group together to approach Weedmaps. They asked them if they wanted to be a part of the group, but Weedmaps said no because they didn't want to get political. Not long after, Weedmaps allowed OC NORML to hold its meetings at the company's office, saying it supported the initiative Hawes-Lopez and NORML were driving. But several months later, Hawes-Lopez discovered that Weedmaps had actually contributed cash to gather support for the rival, city-supported initiative, Measure BB. "Weedmaps paid $30,000 to the city's campaign instead of ours, which was shocking because we thought they were supporting us the whole time when, in fact, they jumped ship and went behind our backs, on top of still letting us have meetings there," she says. "We felt spied on." That experience soured many medical-marijuana activists about Weedmaps, Hawes-Lopez explains. "I think that's what first ignited the passion and distrust that revolves around Weedmaps and why groups of people in the medical-marijuana industry and community believe that it's all some kind of conspiracy." Read more here. By C. Moon Reed
JUNE 30, 2017 Nearly 43 million tourists visit Las Vegas every year, and they’re all looking to experience freedoms they don’t get back home. For some people, that means outdoing the most clichéd Hollywood version of Sin City excess. But even a staid conventioneer can find excitement here — like, say, a ludicrously expensive steak at one of the many fancy restaurants. On July 1, when recreational marijuana goes on sale in Nevada, one more thrill will be on offer. Fremont Street gift shops already are profiting. Shelves of green ceramic ashtrays with the phrase “High from Las Vegas” now compete with the usual gambling-themed tchotchkes. Visitors should have no problem purchasing marijuana at dispensaries near the Strip. But where will they consume it? Nevada allows for consumption only in private residences with the owner’s permission. Even if you could make the dubious argument that your hotel room is a “residence,” guess who won’t give their permission? Casino owners. As of now, that means tourists can put their new pot-leaf shaped ashtrays to use exactly nowhere on the Strip. According to the Las Vegas Sun, “Smoking outside dispensaries, at casinos or even in a parked car could result in a $600 fine.” The Nevada Gaming Commission has come out strong against marijuana. And a bill to create consumption lounges went nowhere. Or, put more cutely, it went up in smoke. Cynical locals suspect that casinos want to ban marijuana because it doesn’t create the right kind of high. Alcohol produces a devil-may-care insouciance that’s conducive to gambling. Marijuana, on the other hand, will only help the bottom line of all-you-can-eat buffets. A paranoid stoner won’t dare to gamble — he’ll think the face cards are watching him. While there might be some truth to the theory that casinos are reluctant to embrace a drug that causes giggles and sedation, the industry has a bigger reason to steer clear. Even though the American public views marijuana as (more or less) benign, the feds still classify it as a Schedule I drug. As long as it’s in any way illegal, casinos won’t hazard the ire of Big Brother. There’s too much money in the long-established vices — gaming, alcohol and tobacco — to risk everything on upstart entertainment. The grand resort chains don’t want to risk losing their gaming licenses. That would destroy this town. And if that sounds like hypocrisy from an industry that encourages risk-taking, just remember that it’s the gamblers, not the house, who take on all the risk. (It’s perfectly true that the house always wins.) But the Vegas mythology has always been about personal freedom, and my guess is that the casinos eventually will fall in line (even if only after the feds indicate they’ll turn a blind eye). This isn’t the first time our state has defied federal prohibition. In 1923, Nevada repealed its alcohol ban, and Las Vegas saloons openly served booze. Every so often, feds would come up from Los Angeles to roust the lawbreakers, but that wasn’t much of a deterrent. And so long as casino owners won’t, tourists surely will protect Nevada’s free-spirited values by breaking the rules. Many will get away with it. A suspicious skunky smell already wafts through Strip parking garages. Discrete and odorless edibles likely will be the most ubiquitous, followed by nearly odorless vape pens. Joints will pass anonymously through concert crowds, as they always have. For visitors from Colorado and Washington — and let’s face it, California, even though full legalization won’t come into effect until January — the Strip’s continued prohibition might enhance the thrill-seeking experience. They’ll come to Vegas to remember how fun it was to smoke pot when it was still illicit. Read more here. |
AuthorSusan Soares has written for Cannabis Now Magazine, Alternet, and Sensi Magazine. Archives
June 2018
|