Grow Life 420

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To say that the last three and a half months have been unprecedented would probably be the biggest understatement I’ve ever penned for The Marijuana Times. The spread of COVID-19 followed by massive civil unrest across the United States and surging unemployment have made the year 2020 one that those who have lived through it will never forget.

Every industry in existence has been affected in one way or another, to varying degrees. The cannabis industry has been no different. Activists and politicians have had to adjust, as have consumers and business owners.

And while the following is not a complete rundown of all the things that have been happening in the cannabis world, it is a good way to get caught up on news you may have missed while dealing with things in your own life.

On the political front, some lawmakers have seen the pandemic and unrest as a good opportunity to point out just how destructive drug policies have been, especially to minority communities. They are urging their colleagues to support marijuana law reform as a way to lessen the ability of law enforcement to target citizens on the pretext of enforcing laws that punish people who are not infringing on the rights of anyone else.

Depending on the state they are operating in, activists trying to get marijuana law reform measures on the ballot have seen varying levels of success. Those looking to legalize adult-use marijuana in Arizona were recently able to turn in some 420,000 signatures in an effort to get their measure on the November ballot. Activists in Montana were able to clock in with over 130,000 signatures covering two ballot measures, while those seeking to legalize medical marijuana in Nebraska added almost 50,000 signatures to their efforts.

Unfortunately, voters in several states that looked like good prospects for adult-use legalization will have to wait for their chance, including Florida, Ohio, New York (which would have attempted legalization via the legislature) and Missouri. With in-person signature gathering severely hampered by efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 and state legislatures being focused on other matters, many of the hopes for marijuana law reform in 2020 have been pushed to 2021 or 2022.

A plan to put legalization before voters in New Zealand also looks like it won’t be happening due to activists having to scrap plans for a nationwide roadshow, which pushed all their efforts to the digital realm.

On the “already legalized a long time ago” front, we have the state of Maine, where officials continue to limp toward adult-use cannabis sales that were tentatively scheduled for this spring, but that have now been pushed back to (maybe) this fall. Voters who approved legalization way back in 2016 in Maine continue to wait for some semblance of their will to be implemented.

Live sports have been another industry absolutely decimated by the COVID lockdowns, and for their part, the NBA has decided not to test players for recreational drugs (including marijuana) when play resumes later this year in Orlando. While it remains to be seen how long this policy will last, it’s clear that like many, officials with the NBA are realizing there are more important problems to deal with than whether players are toking up before or after games.

June also saw the final nail in the coffin for Medmen, once the largest and most valuable cannabis company in the U.S. The demise of Medmen has been on the horizon for quite a while, making the end not much of a surprise to those who have been following the saga.

On the medical front, many of you have probably seen claims online that cannabis is useful medically either for preventing or treating COVID-19, claims that have absolutely no proof to back them up. There are, however, researchers working to find out just what cannabis can do in that regard, including two scientists in Canada who are hopeful that cannabis strains can be used to work on the receptors that allow the coronavirus into the body in the first place.

Their study, published in April, reads in part: “Similar to other respiratory pathogens, SARS-CoV2 is transmitted through respiratory droplets, with potential for aerosol and contact spread. It uses receptor-mediated entry into the human host via angiotensin-converting enzyme II (ACE2) that is expressed in lung tissue, as well as oral and nasal mucosa, kidney, testes, and the gastrointestinal tract. Modulation of ACE2 levels in these gateway tissues may prove a plausible strategy for decreasing disease susceptibility.”

It’s been a long three and a half months, and it looks like we aren’t even close to being out of the woods yet. And if 2020 has taught us anything, it’s that there are probably more catastrophes around the corner that we will have to deal with, including the unprecedented economic downturn we are in the midst of.

All we can do is take things one day at a time and stay as safe as possible, something I hope all of our readers are managing to do, whether you are doing it with the aid of cannabis or not.

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Joe Klare, KahliBuds, 420GrowLife

#KahliBuds #MMJ #CBD #THC

If you’ve been to a large retailer or grocery store in the last week or so, you’ve likely noticed that certain shelves are empty. Hand sanitizer, toilet paper, sanitizing wipes, eggs: all of these things are non-existent at my local big grocer.

Large numbers of people, fearing they will have to spend considerable time isolated from the outside world, are stocking up on what they feel are essentials. This list includes liquor, guns and marijuana in places like Los Angeles. Bulk marijuana buying has been seen at many dispensaries and retailers across the country, from Massachusetts to California and points in between.

Illicit dealers are likely seeing the same pattern from their customers, as more people decide that staying in their homes as much as possible is the prudent course. Uncertainty breeds fear, and few things are more uncertain right now than the spread of Coronavirus. For many, fear is accompanied by the urge to do something and get ahead of what they are worried about, which often takes the form of stockpiling.

Another point mentioned by multiple articles I’ve read is that with Coronavirus creating anxiety and worry in many, marijuana is what a lot of people will turn to in order to try and calm down. Using more marijuana creates the need to buy more, and customers who realize that will tend to make larger purchases.

As far as continuing supplies, I suspect things like hand sanitizer and toilet paper will be easier to re-stock than legal cannabis, for many reasons. Not only does marijuana take a bit of time to grow, but most places with legal marijuana were already experiencing various levels of shortage, especially on the adult-use side.

Unfortunately, those with compromised immune systems seem to be the most vulnerable to the effects of Coronavirus, and many people with compromised immune systems are also medical marijuana patients. They will feel the effects of shortages more than others.

The next few weeks to few months could be unlike anything we have ever experienced. The balance between remaining calm and being cautious and vigilant will be a hard one to maintain. Just try to remember that while it is a cliché, all of us have to face this together. Some have it tougher than others, and everyone is deserving of a chance to be healthy.

Perspective, while always important, seems even more important now.

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Joe Klare, KahliBuds, 420GrowLife

#KahliBuds #MMJ #CBD #THC

You’ve likely seen the recent uptick in articles and videos about cannabis and coronavirus (COVID-19). Large smoke sessions and a lot of sharing of paraphernalia like bongs and joints are discouraged and the sanitization of implements like bongs and pipes is suggested. Caution abounds, and this is often a good thing, especially when faced with something we have so little information about.

But as anyone who has spent some time in the cannabis community knows, large gatherings are an integral part of the culture. And the number of these gatherings tends to trend upward as we approach April 20^th. For those unaware, this year presents the rare opportunity for a month-long celebration; 4/20, as in April of the year 2020. Four-twenty day will be 4/20/20. You get the idea.

So for those of you reading this, this will be the only time in your life 4/20 will be an entire month long. Sure, August of 2040 (8/40 aka double 4/20) could be something I guess, but it will just feel forced to us oldies.

With large festivals like SXSW being cancelled, it’s likely many cities will err on the side of caution and not allow large-scale celebrations like we normally see in places like Denver, San Francisco, Vancouver and Toronto on 4/20. This would be disappointing to be sure, but sometimes you have to look at the big picture. No one wants to get sick and no one wants to be responsible for continuing the spread of this new health concern.

As I’ve said before, I’m not here to tell you how worried or not worried you should be about coronavirus. Do your research and decide for yourself. But don’t be surprised if 4/20 – the month and the day – look much different than you had envisioned when you first realized 4/20 would be a full month.

Events will be cancelled, cannabis stocks will (still) be volatile and many will be stocking up on marijuana, whether the legal or illegal kind or a little bit of both. Adversity will be faced and most of us will come out the other side and go on with our lives. And it may seem shallow to some to worry about a 4/20 event while people are dying, but tragedy for others doesn’t mean what you are going through isn’t tough on you. Many things suck, they just suck to varying degrees depending on your perspective.

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Joe Klare, KahliBuds, 420GrowLife

#KahliBuds #MMJ #CBD #THC

Cannabis is not for everyone. Legalization has never been about getting everyone to use marijuana; it’s always been about giving adults the choice to use marijuana without fear of repercussions from the state. So when I see stories about “marijuana addiction”, it’s a fine line for me. On the one hand, people should know that some marijuana users simply don’t function well while using. Most people react favorably to marijuana use and their quality of life improves. But – much like everything else – marijuana is just not for some people.

On the other hand, whenever attempts at education veer even slightly into “we shouldn’t legalize” territory, I will call foul. Some people not being able to handle cannabis use is in no way a reason to keep the choice from adults. Some people suck at driving a car, but that’s no reason to keep all adults from driving. Some people become addicted to video games, but that’s no reason to criminally prohibit all adults from purchasing and playing video games.

I’ve used cannabis with a lot of people and I can tell you that each one reacted differently. Some of them probably shouldn’t have even been smoking. But it’s not my job to babysit adults as long as they don’t infringe on my rights. Some people should use less marijuana; some should use more. None of it is my business or the business of the government.

I feel for those who believe they are addicted to marijuana and that it has adversely affected their lives. I hope they get the help they need, but nothing that happens to them is a reason to make others criminals for marijuana use.

Having said that, if a friend or family member tells you they think they have a problem with cannabis, hear them out. Don’t dismiss someone’s problem just because you have never experienced it, whether it be about marijuana or something else. It’s almost impossible to see things from another person’s perspective with any kind of accuracy, so it’s important to listen and talk things through with them if you care about their well-being.

Making choices is tough, but that’s not a reason for others to make those choices for us. No choice comes without consequences, and those consequences often lead to better choices. That’s part of being an adult, and your problems don’t mean others should be denied their choices.

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Joe Klare, KahliBuds, 420GrowLife

#KahliBuds #MMJ #CBD #THC

The U.S. Presidential Election in 2020 seems to have come down to President Trump on one side while Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders battle it out for the Democratic Party nomination. Obviously this makes many of us wonder about various scenarios and what they mean for the future of cannabis law reform.

It’s no secret how important federal legalization is. Joe Biden has never been a fan of legalization and built most of his career being Mr. Tough-On-Crime. He has tried to slide toward a more liberal stance on the issue, but no one really expects him to make any effort at federal legalization. In fact, it would be easy to imagine him vetoing a legalization bill for some small reason, or him forgetting where the bill-signing ceremony was.

Trump is, well…Trump. Unpredictable and prone to emotional responses, Trump has played both sides of the issue his entire presidency and there is little reason to think he won’t continue to do so unless Congress forces his hand.

This brings us to Bernie. Whatever you may think of him, Bernie Sanders has been a vocal proponent of legalization longer than most other federal lawmakers, especially ones who run for President. He’s made no secret about his plan to legalize marijuana on the federal level as quickly as possible.

Does that mean Bernie is our only chance at federal legalization in the next few years? Maybe not our only, but likely our best chance. “The best case scenario is that someone who is committed to federal marijuana legalization is elected to the White House,” Maritza Perez, Director of The Office of National Affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance, told The Marijuana Times. “This can have a major impact on Congressional priorities, and can help shift federal resources toward the goal of ending marijuana prohibition at the federal level.”

Congress has a huge part to play in getting legalization done over the next few years, but having a supportive President will certainly go a long way toward putting pressure on members. “Unquestionably, federal legalization will happen in the near future,” Maritza told us. “At DPA, we’re working to ensure that when this happens, it is done correctly, which means any federal legalization effort will have to center [on] communities most impacted by decades of drug prohibition.”

No matter who gets elected to federal office, they are all susceptible to pressure from vocal groups. With all the noise in the political world, it’s more imperative than ever that we get our voices out there. We can’t count on the lawmakers we think are the “best” to get elected. It’s up to us to pressure those who try to control our lives, no matter who they are or what party they declare allegiance to.

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Joe Klare, KahliBuds, 420GrowLife

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Joe Klare discusses waiting in Maine, medical marijuana problems in Missouri and the latest sales figures from Illinois.

3-5-20 – Ep. 609 | The Marijuana Times      

https://www.marijuanatimes.org/waiting-in-maine/
https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/politics/2020/03/04/missouri-lawmakers-keep-bashing-medical-marijuana-rollout/4955899002/
https://www.chicagotribune.com/marijuana/illinois/ct-biz-illinois-legal-weed-february-sales-numbers-20200304-h7rtcj7zf5b7leidg7xq3rjiwi-story.html
https://nature-cide.com/

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Joe Klare, KahliBuds, 420GrowLife

#KahliBuds #MMJ #CBD #THC

Generally, the enactment of legalization laws takes time. Often, a lot of time. Progress is counted in years, with the rare exception of a state like Oklahoma.

At the other extreme we have a state like Maine. Voters there approved adult-use legalization in November of 2016. An obstructionist governor, delays and legal battles all combined to make sure Maine does not have an adult-use industry to this day. And while the news as of late has been trending toward adult-use sales sometime this spring, it’s looking like another delay will push sales even farther into the future.

Although June has been mentioned as the new timeline, predictions at this point really don’t matter. There will be excuses and reasons why licensing and reviews are taking so long. There will be claims that this is a very complicated issue that needs to be “done right”.

The clichés about the differences between words and actions are plentiful for a reason. Words can be used to delay action or justify delays almost indefinitely. But the underlying problem and the results stay the same.

When it comes to enacting laws, there is little incentive for those who oversee the enacting to do a good job. If marijuana legalization of some sort takes longer than many think it should to be put into place, what is really going to happen?

Writers like me will write articles like this, expressing outrage. Podcasts will be recorded and email blasts will go out, but in the end, the very incompetence that brought about prohibition in the first place is overseeing its dismantling.

If a government agency screws something up, you can’t just go to their competitor. If things take longer than you think they should regarding a certain issue, you have little recourse other than some vague plans to vote for someone else for an office that may have some power over what people are hired in a particular agency.

What is happening in Maine is the epitome of legalization in general: a long time to get to a heavily restricted and regulated version of legalization that in no way will allow the full potential of a legal cannabis industry.

And, as I’ve said before, most of us will accept it because it is so much better than prohibition. A little of a good thing is better than none at all, and cannabis consumers in Maine may get to put that theory to the test one of these days.

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Joe Klare, KahliBuds, 420GrowLife

#KahliBuds #MMJ #CBD #THC

A new study published this week takes a look at data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health regarding cannabis use among those aged 65 years and older. The study seems to confirm something we have known for several years – namely, that more seniors are using marijuana. 

While only 0.4% of seniors admitted to using cannabis in 2006, 2.4% said they were cannabis users in 2015, and in 2018 that number had climbed to 4.2%. Of course, some of this increase can be attributed to seniors being more open about cannabis use now that legal consequences are lessening, but there is little doubt that more seniors are using cannabis than ever before.

The combination of lessening consequences and stigma combined with the wealth of information available about the medicinal properties of cannabis has led many seniors to question what they thought they knew about this amazing plant.

Naturally, some are sounding the alarm about this trend of more seniors using cannabis. Apparently the use of cannabis with alcohol is up among seniors, and there are reasonable worries about how cannabis might interact with the mountain of prescription medications many seniors take.

Some also seem to be worried about seniors who have been away from the weed game for too long. “Weed has been getting stronger over the past few decades,” said study co-author Joseph Palamar, an associate professor of population health at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, “and a lot of these seniors don’t take dosing seriously, especially edibles. They think ‘What’s the big deal? I used to do this when I was a kid.’”

While we certainly need to be worried about how cannabis may interact with certain other meds, we must also remember that seniors take a lot of other meds. They have many ailments, ailments from which cannabis could bring them great relief. Maybe marijuana use could help them leave behind more dangerous drugs; at the very least, it is much more benign that many of the prescriptions seniors currently take.

In the end, if someone finds relief from cannabis, it’s no one else’s business. But for seniors – who generally have more ailments and less time left than younger folks – the need can be more imperative. If someone over 65 discovers that cannabis improves their quality of life, good for them. We need to do all we can to make their access to cannabis as easy as possible.

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Joe Klare, KahliBuds, 420GrowLife

#KahliBuds #MMJ #CBD #THC

Senator Elizabeth Warren is the latest Democratic Presidential hopeful to release a plan to legalize cannabis if they are elected. It’s similar in many ways to the plan released by Senator Bernie Sanders a few months ago, although it brings about legalization on a less aggressive timeline.

Warren plans on filling her administration with pro-legalization officials in key positions, as well as pushing for legalization on a federal level with expungements, repairing the harm done by the War on Drugs, allowing veterans access to medical marijuana and allowing banking access for cannabis companies.

Another similarity between the Warren and Sanders plans is the singling out of “Big Tobacco” for censure and banishment from the legal cannabis industry. Here’s what I said at the time about Sanders singling out “Big Tobacco”:

I’m not sure what the point of these stipulations is beyond pandering and punishing a specific industry for past transgressions. If there is a real worry about companies that make dangerous products entering the cannabis industry, why do the alcohol and pharmaceutical industries get a pass, for example?

This seems like a silly point to address a non-existent fear. Are you really worried about tobacco companies selling marijuana products? If you don’t want to buy cannabis products from tobacco companies, then simply don’t. In the age of the Internet, it’s not that hard to find out who makes and sells what.

The people who will get to choose who sells marijuana products are the people buying them. If the same company that makes Marlboro makes a great cannabis product and I want to buy it, so what? Why is that the business of Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren or anyone else who is not me?

Some people will give you various answers to those questions, but they all boil down to adults being too stupid to decide on what to buy so the geniuses in the government need to narrow down the choices and make sure they are all safe enough for you dummies to pick from.

To be frank, I’ve been buying cannabis for over 20 years with zero input from the government, and I think I’ll be able to manage the intricacies of buying legal marijuana when that day comes. If I have a question about anything, I’ll just find the answer.

I appreciate the effort to legalize marijuana on the part of all the candidates that favor that, I really do. But we just need you to rectify the screwups of your predecessors, not tell us how and where to buy marijuana and who to buy it from.

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Joe Klare, KahliBuds, 420GrowLife

#KahliBuds #MMJ #CBD #THC

As cannabis activists, we tend to spend a lot of time focused on states that have either enacted cannabis law reform or are trying to, with even more focus on bigger states like California, Florida, etc. But we must never forget those who live in states where reform is not only almost non-existent, but can still be considered a long shot, even in the current climate of favorability nationwide.

Indiana will likely be one of the last states to legalize cannabis for adult-use; I’m not surprising anyone with that statement. But while most states have at least a semblance of a medical marijuana program, lawmakers in Indiana continue to be hostile to even that modicum of reform.

“Hoosiers continue to be harassed, arrested, prosecuted, publicly humiliated, and lose their jobs for choosing to self-medicate with therapeutic levels of THC like our neighboring states get to freely use right now,” William Henry, Indiana NORML Chairman, told The Marijuana Times. “Our liberty continues to be violated, and Hoosiers are not happy.”

Even hemp has been controversial in the state. “Last session the legislature passed a restriction on hemp flower making it a Class A misdemeanor to have any part of processing, distributing, or possessing,” William said. “Some hemp businesses [that] retail in hemp flower products joined together and challenged that law. A federal injunction was placed on the law focusing on the interstate transport restriction being unconstitutional, further challenges and appeals were made as well. It is still currently in litigation. This injunction legalized hemp flower again in September 2019.”

But regarding all other aspects of reform, William told us that “[c]annabis law reform in the Indiana State House is currently at a stand-still. All the bills that were submitted to the state legislature this session for hemp and cannabis reform are dead.”

“We are at the mercy of the election,” he said. “We are encouraging all those who support cannabis reform in the state to register to vote, and vote for pro-cannabis candidates in their districts in November 2020.”

In the bigger picture, Indiana is a small state, but it is a state that is full of individuals that are suffering. They are as deserving of not having their rights violated as anyone else. They deserve to be allowed the choice of using cannabis for medicine at the very least, and this should not be a controversial stance by any standard.

And because the road is so long and tough in Indiana, it is all the more reason to get the word out as to where marijuana law reform stands in the state. If you live there, you are needed to put pressure on lawmakers and officials, either by contacting them or voting against them.

Things won’t change on their own, especially in a state like Indiana. It will take a lot of effort from the people who care most about the issue – activists and consumers and patients in the state.

420GrowLife

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Joe Klare, KahliBuds, 420GrowLife

#KahliBuds #MMJ #CBD #THC

Imagine a perfectly square box. Now imagine that the box is filled with neatly stacked Lego blocks in such a manner that every centimeter of space within the box is filled with stacked Lego blocks. Do you have your filled Lego box in your mind? Good, now turn it over and shake it until all of the Legos have fallen out and crashed to the ground, stacks coming apart and flying in every direction.

What are you left with? An empty box and scattered, disconnected Lego blocks. Now let’s say you want to get the Legos back in the box, but instead of stacking them neatly, you just start tossing individual blocks in the box. What’s going to happen as you fill the box?

You will eventually run out of space and still have many blocks left over. This is a long metaphor, but one that I think is apt when it comes to the history of cannabis in the U.S. Before prohibition, cannabis was a box full of neatly stacked Legos. Prohibition was the shaking and dumping of the Legos out of the box. And now, with legalization, we are dumping Legos back in the box one or two at a time.

This is a topic I write and talk about a lot on our video news show, “Cannabis News”. To take the metaphor a step further, imagine having to get the opinions of all the people around the box as to what blocks will be thrown back in and at what intervals. And then in some cases, the people near the box elect representatives to decide on how the blocks go back into the box.

The problem, of course, is that the box should never been dumped in the first place. Now that it has, everyone around the box needs to add their two cents as to how the blocks go back in. The once neat stacks of blocks give way to randomly stacked blocks that won’t all fit in the box.

I know what you are saying: The people deciding on the blocks is democracy, the greatest system of government ever devised. Fair enough, but I submit that the problem isn’t so much the system as it is the amount of power those in the system have. Any system that has the power to allow strangers to make personal decisions about your life that are enforced at gunpoint is a system that has acquired too much power unto itself.

Why does your dumb neighbor who never returned your hedge clippers and gets the paper in the morning with his bath robe swinging open get a say in whether or not you are a criminal for using marijuana in your own home? Not only does he get a say, his say is equal to yours. You each get one vote. That seems like a fair way of doing things until everyone is voting on your personal business.

I was reading a story today about the demise of adult-use legalization this year in New Mexico. Near the end of the article, news station KOB 4 in Albuquerque showed some quotes from random people they talked to in town about legalization. One guy that was not named said, “”The state thinks they’ll get a bunch of money, but it costs a bunch of money to have marijuana legal.”

My apologies, but this is stupid. It’s a nonsensical statement with no basis in reality used to justify the continued imprisonment of innocent people. This man is as ignorant as possible about cannabis, which in and of itself is not a problem. The problem is he gets to vote on the criminality of cannabis in New Mexico, whether at the ballot box or through the moron he voted to represent him.

He gets a say on whether or not total strangers get to make a decision he will never face any consequences for, is not qualified to make and has no business making.

We have become fine with dummies throwing Legos randomly back in the box. Even worse, it’s our box of Legos. After strangers have filled it haphazardly, we’ll be left with the results as they move on to another box to post Tweets about.

The history of democracy and our Republic shows that – so far – the best way to decide things is to get everyone’s input, but when the things being decided are the personal business of individuals, democracy is just a bunch of stupid people running your life.

It is your box and they are your Legos, but you are no longer the sole decider of how your box is filled. As a result, your floor will forever be filled with stray Lego blocks you’ll be stepping on in the middle of the night.

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Joe Klare, KahliBuds, 420GrowLife

#KahliBuds #MMJ #CBD #THC

As some of you know, I was born and raised in Kentucky. I’ve never lived in another state. And it’s not that there is anything particularly special about my part of Kentucky. Cincinnati is close and the weather sucks; I’m still here because I’ve never had a need or reason to move.

Unfortunately for many in the state, Kentucky is among the dwindling list of places without medical marijuana protections for patients. It’s a subject I’ve written about and talked about several times. A mostly rural state that Trump won by 30 points in 2016, Kentucky is – unsurprisingly – not welcoming cannabis with open arms.

At least that is the case with Kentucky lawmakers. Hemp is very welcome and a recent poll showed some 90% of residents in the state support medical cannabis. But many KY lawmakers will tell you they want to take their time to get it “right”. 

The problem with this is that it’s not the job of lawmakers to get your medication right any more than it is their job to put out a fire at your house. The job of medicating is done by YOU in conjunction with whatever medical professionals you choose to consult. You face the consequences of your decision and you are not infringing on the rights of anyone else.

“There are some real benefits to it, but we need to know what it benefits – what things are there without creating bigger health hazards,” Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers said. “And that’s the same way with any drug. It’s a balancing test of do the goods outweigh the bads.”

These are all true things, yet none of them are the business of Kentucky representatives. The balancing test is up to the person taking the medication to conduct, not some stranger in Frankfort. When you go down the list of dangerous drugs that have gotten the stamp of approval from government entities, one has to wonder how lawmakers are going to ultimately decide marijuana is safe enough for people to use legally.

According to the Kentucky Speaker of the House, medical cannabis legislation that recently passed overwhelmingly out of committee could come to the floor for a full vote early this week. And while its chances may be pretty good there, the Senate is iffy at best.

All of this time and effort and discussion for legislation that is quite restrictive when compared to medical marijuana laws elsewhere in the U.S. And if it’s not passed this year, activists will do it all again next year, descending on the state capital to make the case.

Begging for a right that should have never been taken away in the first place is not something anyone should have to do, yet it’s exactly how medical cannabis is legalized.

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Joe Klare, KahliBuds, 420GrowLife

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While much of the focus on cannabis law reform in 2020 will be at the state level, there could be some opportunities at the federal level for progress amid all of the craziness surrounding the Presidential Election.

The legislation that probably has the best chance of reaching the President’s desk before the slugfest in November is the SAFE Banking Act that was passed by the House last fall. Not only is it by far the most advanced in the Congress out of all cannabis legislation, it may also be much more attractive to lawmakers looking to show some progressive tendencies while avoiding going too far into the weeds (pardon the obvious pun).

The National Cannabis Industry Association is one of the groups working in the halls of Congress to make sure the SAFE Banking Act gets the attention it deserves. “As it stands, we are working with the financial sector and other stakeholders to educate the Senate about the need for this legislation and to allay the concerns expressed by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo in December,” Morgan Fox, Media Relations Director for the NCIA, told The Marijuana Times. “We are hopeful that we will get a markup in the near future and that we can convince the committee to move forward with the House-approved version. In terms of the rest of the Senate, it could be difficult to get much further progress in an election year, but my sense is that Congress needs to show the American people that it can still legislate and cooperate. The SAFE Banking Act has broad bipartisan support and would be a boon to small businesses across the country while improving public safety. I think that makes it a perfect vehicle for them to restore confidence in the legislature. It is also narrowly tailored to address existing issues, and doesn’t require lawmakers to openly support broader cannabis policy reform like descheduling.”

I know there are many in the cannabis community that wish legislation like the MORE Act would get some more attention, and in a perfect world comprehensive reform would come first, but that’s not the world we are in. We are in a world where cannabis was inexplicably made illegal for over 80 years by the very institutions that are now overseeing legalization.

Adding to the advantages of the SAFE Banking Act is the fact that it’s not just cannabis industry groups backing reform. A recent letter from the Credit Union National Association to Senate Banking Committee Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) read in part: “CUNA strongly believes that federal legislation providing these protections is essential to bringing revenue from state-sanctioned cannabis entities and hemp businesses into the financial services mainstream and, as a result, keeping communities safe by removing vast amounts of cash off the streets.”

In addition, some 30+ cannabis organizations, 38 state attorneys general and a number of national and state organizations representing banks and credit unions have urged progress on cannabis banking legislation in the Senate.

It’s possible that President Trump will never see cannabis law reform legislation on his desk, but if he does this year, it will most likely be the SAFE Banking Act.

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I often have to remind myself that most people don’t read dozens of articles and studies relating to cannabis on a weekly basis, not to mention watch multiple videos every day. The things I know about marijuana may not be common knowledge to most, simply because they can’t put in the time that I do on a specific subject/issue.

And sometimes I’m surprised when something that would be considered common knowledge in the cannabis community hasn’t made it very far into the “mainstream” of society.

For example, one of the first things you’ll learn about cannabis policy if you start researching it is that cannabis is considered a Schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act. This means the federal government has deemed that cannabis has a high potential for abuse and no medical value. Other substances that fall under Schedule I include heroin, LSD and MDMA.

In a recent survey of almost 1,000 people, only 37% correctly identified the Schedule that cannabis is listed under. When the numbers are broken down by generation, only 41% of millennials knew of cannabis’ scheduling.

So while most people will say they want to see marijuana legalized, many are unaware of just how ridiculous the federal government’s stance on cannabis is. To say that marijuana has no medicinal value is to move outside the realm of reality. In fact, in the same survey, 84% of respondents said they believe marijuana has medical value, beating out prescription staples like Robitussin AC, Valium and Xanax.

It would be easy to say that we need to do more to educate the general public about cannabis, but what else could we really be doing? How much more vocal and organized could we be? To be sure, there is room for improvement in anything, but the cannabis community dominates the most useful information sharing tool ever devised – the Internet – more decisively than just about any other group.

I think this poll also shows just how much information is out there. Unless someone is interested in a subject, they are not going to take too much time to learn about it; there’s just too much to learn about the things that do interest them. So the question becomes, how do we get more people interested in learning about cannabis?

I think the key is to continue doing what we are doing. The sheer amount of information that is shared about cannabis on a daily basis is producing real results, regardless of how much people know about specific policy issues. What most people know is that cannabis users aren’t bothering them and there is no reason for their activities to be illegal.

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In my daily search through news relating to cannabis, I came across an article about manufacturers in Connecticut coming out against efforts in the state to legalize marijuana for adult-use. In reading through it, an unusual number of alarm bells went off in my head, and before I was even to the end I knew I had to write about this subject.

In a nutshell, Connecticut is home to several defense contractors who admittedly make very complicated and dangerous weapons. Some of these companies have been speaking out against legalization because they don’t want their employees using marijuana. I usually don’t make a list of the problems with something – I try to be a little more creative and dynamic with my writing – but there is just too much here, so a list it is.

1. Those who use marijuana are not infringing on the rights of anyone else, therefore it is no one else’s business if they legally purchase and consume marijuana. 
2. Even under prohibition, millions of people are using marijuana. Legalization won’t make cannabis available for people to buy; it will just allow them to do so legally.
3. People are using much more debilitating substances on a daily basis, alcohol and prescription drugs being just two of the most obvious examples.
4. Not for nothing, but how many innocent people have died from the weapons these people make? The notion that a defense contractor has qualms about a substance as safe as marijuana being legalized strikes me as tragically ironic.

Just to be clear, my opinion on employers drug-testing prospective employees is different from most in the cannabis law reform movement. In short, I feel a company shouldn’t be forced by the government to accept marijuana users as employees. I think that if they insist on testing employees for marijuana, then they should face the market consequences of that decision: namely, a shrinking pool of labor to get employees from, which will in turn put upward pressure on the wages they have to pay the possible employees that are left. Their decision to test for marijuana will affect them in the bottom line, and if they continue to do so, so be it. Call them out, shun them, boycott them, never give them your business ever again if possible.

And while I realize you have little choice as consumers when it comes to companies like defense contractors – after all, none of you will be buying an F-35 anytime soon – in the end, whatever protections are put into Connecticut legalization for employees, companies like these will be exempt from those rules anyway.

To be sure, I think judging someone on how much THC they have in their pee is stupid, hypocritical, counterproductive and will ultimately hurt the company that chooses to do it. In any case, whether someone who doesn’t work for them has the ability to buy legal marijuana is none of a company owners’ business. It’s no one’s business, except for the person who consumes the cannabis.

Many are quick to elicit opinions from others on legalization without ever questioning why. Why should their opinion be important? I know why it is, namely, political realities – but why should it be? 

In this case, maybe defense contractors should be worried about more efficient ways of killing people they’ve never met instead of worrying about people they’ve never met smoking a joint in their own house.

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Joe Klare, KahliBuds, 420GrowLife

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It’s no secret that 2020 is going to be a monumental year in the cannabis law reform movement. While there is some hope for federal progress, most of the action is going to happen on the state level. And, as usual, the folks at the Marijuana Policy Project are going to be on the front lines in multiple battles.

When it comes to state legalization – whether it’s medical or adult-use – there is either effort on the legislative front or at the ballot box (or in cases like New Jersey, the battle moves from one arena to the other).

When it comes to the ballot box, “MPP staff are assisting the 2020 marijuana reform ballot initiative campaigns in Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and South Dakota,” Matthew Schweich, Deputy Director at MPP, told The Marijuana Times. This is taking legalization right into the heart of the country, with all of these efforts taking place between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains.

Things are going to be even more hectic in statehouses around the U.S. “MPP is playing a leading role in efforts to legalize marijuana through state legislatures in Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Vermont (in the latter, possession and cultivation are already legal, we’re working on legal, regulated sales),” Karen O’Keefe, Director of State Policies for MPP, told us. “We’re also quite involved in legalization efforts in Delaware, Rhode Island, and Maryland. Turning to medical cannabis, MPP is working closely with patients and advocates to pass medical cannabis in Kentucky and South Carolina and to improve existing laws, including by adding home cultivation in New Hampshire and expanding patient protections in several states.”

In addition to the obvious advantages to consumers and patients in each of these states should reform efforts be successful, each victory puts a little more pressure on federal officials and lawmakers to bring U.S. law in line with what most states are doing. Legalization of some form in 40+ states and continuing federal illegality is not a situation that can last for very long, relatively speaking. The discrepancies involved and the confusion caused by so many conflicting rules and statutes will eventually devolve into an incomprehensible mess that will make federal laws impossible to enforce.

For more information on state efforts by the Marijuana Policy Project, click here. And if you live in a state where a battle is going down this year, maybe it’s time to think about getting involved, if you’re not already.

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Joe Klare discusses a study on dabbing, Joe Biden and the first adult-use shop being approved in Boston.

2-6-20 – Ep. 589 | The Marijuana Times    

https://www.marijuanatimes.org/new-study-claims-dabbing-is-a-gateway-to-more-dabbing/
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/06/joe-biden-legalize-marijuana-111642
https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/mass-weighs-final-approval-of-1st-minority-owned-pot-shop/2072859/
https://nature-cide.com/

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A little over seven years ago voters in Washington approved I-502, which legalized adult-use possession and sales in the state. TV station KREM in Spokane recently took a look at how well the state has fared under legalization.

They broke down the determination of success or failure into several categories, including tax revenue and legalization’s impact on criminal justice and public health. In those categories, it seems that tax revenue is exceeding expectations, and while little has changed in terms of people actually going to jail for marijuana, certainly fewer people are being entered into the criminal justice system over simple possession.

When it comes to public health, the article rightly points out that the rise in “marijuana-related” traffic accidents under legalization has a lot to do with how long cannabis stays in someone’s system. And when the Spokane County Sheriff tries to claim that marijuana users are getting younger under legalization, the article’s authors point out that use has not gone up for teens under legalization, either statewide or in Spokane County, saying “young people are certainly more accepting of weed than they used to be, but that hasn’t translated to usage”. They even provide a handy graph to drive home the point.

All-in-all, the review was pretty even-handed and came to the conclusion that legalization has had mostly positive impacts or, at the very least, a lack of negative ones. In any case, there is no mention of the most positive effect of legalization of all: adults have a greater measure of freedom in their daily lives. Sure, there are still a lot of improvements needed in Washington’s legalization law – namely, the addition of home growing outside of the medical cannabis system. But, by any measure, the citizens of Washington are much better off under legalization than prohibition.

This comes as no surprise to legalization advocates. We have known that the doom-and-gloom scenarios proffered by prohibitionists would never come to pass for a long time now, and have been saying so for decades. And to me, while the effects of legalization have always been a secondary reason to legalize (the first being that those who possess, consume, grow and sell marijuana are not infringing on the rights of anyone else), there is a certain satisfaction that comes with being proven right.

The lack of “problems” with legalization is being seen by voters in other states, and to some extent, lawmakers as well. It helps move public opinion and shows prohibitionists to be the frauds we know they are.

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A new study published last month online in JAMA Network Open followed the cannabis-use patterns of some 2,700 high school students over a one-year period. Researchers from the University of Southern California took a look at use when it came to flower, blunts, vapes, edibles and dabs.

In short, those who used dabs were more likely to be using cannabis at a heavier rate than others 12 months later. “It’s early exposure to the dose of THC used in adolescence that may be likely to drive continued use and increases in the frequency of use,” said Jessica Barrington-Trimis, an assistant professor of preventive medicine at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine.

“If someone picks up a vaporizer with a low level of THC, they may not be likely to keep using it,” she said. “But with concentrates, the high level of THC may increase the likelihood that they continue to use and use more frequently.”

A lot of this is common sense. There are certainly tolerance issues that will come into play if someone uses more potent cannabis on a regular basis. This will lead to them using more potent cannabis as time goes on to continue to get the maximum impact of whatever effects they were looking for initially.

Looked at another way, the headline here could be “those who use higher quality cannabis are more likely to keep using cannabis.” If THC is what is most responsible for the desired effects of the cannabis for a user, higher-THC products will produce better effects, leading users to continue use.

When people are satisfied with a product, they are more likely to keep using that product. They will return to foods that they like when it’s time to eat. They will frequent stores they like and buy more from brands they have had good experiences with.

Cannabis is no different. If you like THC and start with high-THC products, you will be more likely to stick with higher-THC products, which tend to be concentrates. I understand the need for researchers to learn more about cannabis, and I applaud that. But we pretty much already knew that people will keep doing things they like.

To be fair, concentrates are still relatively new to most cannabis users, and there is still a lot to learn about them. But we must beware of those who will use studies like this to scream “addiction” when all we could really be seeing is “preference”.

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Joe Klare, KahliBuds, 420GrowLife

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The legalization of cannabis has been unique, to say the least. There are few examples in history of a very popular product entering the legal market in such a relatively rapid fashion. Almost every other commodity in existence has started among a small group of people (either those “in the know”, or the very wealthy, or both). Radios, TVs, cell phones, cars; the list goes on.

Cannabis, however, is an established commodity with a huge customer base. So instead of a slow rollout or build-up, every geographical area where cannabis has been legalized already had a huge demand for the product in place. The repeal of alcohol prohibition in 1933 is really the only other comparable instance to this in the last century.

Long story short, there are bound to be problems, and a lot of them. There is no road map for navigating the legal cannabis market. For entrepreneurs, this makes the already difficult task of prediction even more difficult.

In the realm of hemp, oversupply has become a real problem – in contrast to the massive shortages seen in legalizing adult-use marijuana. Hemp farmers, finally able to grow this amazing crop after 8+ decades of prohibition, have ramped up production in the hopes that the growing demand for CBD would provide them a market for their hemp.

Unfortunately, many farmers have found this not to be the case, as hemp prices have plummeted in recent months. In Kentucky, two hemp companies are now facing bankruptcy due to oversupply and bureaucratic roadblocks.

In response to feedback from hemp farmers and processors in the state, Kentucky’s Department of Agriculture recently made the decision to continue their program under the 2014 hemp pilot program instead of opting into the new rules laid out by the USDA.

“The 2018 Farm Bill removed industrial hemp from the federal list of controlled substances, a move which has been a catalyst for hemp growers and businesses. Wisely, Congress also gave state departments of agriculture the option to operate state pilot programs for another year before submitting new plans to the U.S. Department of Agriculture,” Agriculture Commissioner Dr. Ryan Quarles said. “The industry has changed dramatically, but the national hemp marketplace is experiencing some real challenges. After much discussion with industry stakeholders in Kentucky, I determined our state will operate our current hemp program for another year as we responsibly make plans to take Kentucky’s hemp industry into the next phase in 2021 and beyond.”

“We lobbied hard to encourage KDA to remain a part of the 2014 Hemp Program,” Katie from Kentucky Hemp Works told The Marijuana Times. “Our biggest concern with adopting USDA rules early is that those rules are still being discussed and debated. We have some serious concerns with the USDA Interim Rule, and did not want to see Kentucky adopting those rules until we had a chance to fix them. The vast majority of KY growers and processors shared our concern, and we are collectively celebrating KDAs decision to wait.”

And overall, the folks at Kentucky Hemp Works are satisfied with the way the state has done things. “We have been mostly satisfied with the way the Kentucky Department of Agriculture has handled their hemp program,” Katie told us. “As a program participant since 2014, Kentucky Hemp Works has voiced every concern and lobbied for every change thus far. Our concerns have largely been addressed; sometimes more slowly than we would like, but so far each problem has been fixed, with the exception of the state’s ban on floral sales. (i.e., no hemp cigarettes, teas, pelletized flower etc.)”

How long it will be until the hemp industry nationwide becomes more stable is anyone’s guess. As more states get their hemp programs up and running, we’ll see more companies come and go as supply struggles to match demand. Hopefully the USDA can fix some of the problems with federal rules that states are having and allow those states to handle their programs with minimal interference.

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