Say Yes to Joe?

 

“Like The War On Some Drugs?  Thank Dems’ VP Pick Senator Joe Biden!”

-Headline from the NORML blog, September 7, 2008

Feathers are just asking to be ruffled.  Begging for it.  Parading around on soap boxes, shouting in glee, writing articles and posting on social media, all in an effort to get someone to be the feather ruffler.

Because they sure as hell can not actually support Joe Biden.  Not without being gratuitous hypocrites.  Not without back peddling on decades worth of quotes and articles, all branded and still sitting on websites and in publications for everyone to see. 

Surely, like an unconscious cry for help, they must want someone to point this out?  To remind them of who Joe Biden, in their words, truly is?  That must be it.  No one would actively present themselves as blatant hypocrites for the sake of a political party, over the community of marijuana smokers they claim to stand for, would they?  Certainly not any organization or individual that is actually politically unbiased.

Welcome again to Tinfoil Hat Time, where ruffling feathers is normal.

Let us begin with the aforementioned article written in 2008 by Dominic Holden, then member of the NORML Board of Directors.  The tone is clearly set from the start as he begins with, “Obama selecting Biden is a punch to the gut.”  Continuing, he explains why, “I am anything but a single issue voter, but I’m also a die-hard zealot against the drug war.  Everything that could have gone wrong has been an unbridled catastrophe: Drug epidemics and cartel routes breeze across the continent, privacy laws are gutted for sport, kids try drugs younger and younger, our prisons are stuffed with young black men… And it’s Joe Bidens fault.  As former chairman for the Senate Judiciary Committee, Biden is the person most responsible for passing a package of laws in the mid-80s that we think of as today’s drug war.  Biden presided over the mandatory-minimum sentencing guidelines that required judges sentence dealers’ girlfriends and small-time peddlers to decades-long terms in state and federal prisons, where thousands are rotting to this day.”

It’s an excellent read.  It finishes by pointing out how Biden would mislead the public and colleagues on drug policy by only allowing police, prosecutors, and DEA officials to speak while any opposing voices were kept silent, effectively controlling the narrative.  A move that appears to have grown in popularity and spread to all facets of his life, including presidential elections. (https://norml.org/blog/2008/09/07/like-the-war-on-some-drugs-thank-dems-vp-pick-senator-joe-biden/)

Moving on, let’s jump to one month later, November 23, 2008, to an article posted by former NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre (this article does not credit a second author).  Written as a reference to Obamas’ cabinet picks and what they mean for drug policy the headline reads, “So Far, Not So Good”.  Scrolling down to Joe Biden’s section, it tells the same tale, “The pick of Joe Biden to be Obama’s running mate was my first sign of digestive tumult regarding the prospect of ‘CHANGE’ for drug policy reform.”  It too then lists a summary of well known facts, “Biden was at the center of creating the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), mandatory minimum sentencing, civil forfeiture laws, the Rave Act, funding for DARE in public schools and the ad campaigns for the Partnership for a Drug Free America.”  Rounding things off nicely, the author adds a quote from the man himself, “When asked in Connecticut this past May of pain management, Biden exhorted that ‘There’s got to be a better answer than marijuana.’” (https://norml.org/blog/2008/11/23/so-far-not-so-good/)  

The legalization movement was so adamantly against Biden that on January 6, 2013, NORML
posted a link to a White House petition urging Obama to listen to “the voters of Colorado and Washington about the future of cannabis legalization, not the famously anti-cannabis/pro-drug war architect Vice President Joe Biden.”  At the time the petition only needed 7,000 more signatures.  The petition has since been removed but the post remains. (https://norml.org/blog/2013/01/06/tell-obama-to-just-say-no-to-joe/ ).  

Flash forward to July 9, 2020, and to a blog post about Biden’s plan to decriminalize and reschedule marijuana.  Dropping the historical portrayal of Biden as the “most responsible” “architect” “at the center” of a list of horrifying drug policies, NORML now refers to his plans as being “out of step with public opinion.”  It just rolls off the tongue like molasses, doesn’t it?  Quoting NORML Executive Director Erik Altieri the article states “It is impractical at best and disingenuous at worst for the Biden campaign to move ahead with these policy proposals.  Rescheduling of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act would continue to make the federal government the primary dictators of cannabis policy, and would do little if anything to address its criminal status under federal law.”   

There is not one mention of Bidens role in creating the policies that this article speaks out against.  Not one mention of him being the cause of the racial and societal injustices pointed out in this blog post.  Not one. (https://norml.org/blog/2020/07/09/bidens-marijuana-plan-is-out-of-step-with-public-opinion-would-do-little-to-mitigate-the-failed-policy-of-federal-prohibition/)

Only a tiny sampling of writings were chosen for this column, and all from NORMLs blog (they made it too easy).  It barely scratches the surface of the material that exists written by the marijuana community, legalization activists, civil rights groups, and criminal justice reform advocates calling Joe Biden out for what he has done, naysaying any hopes that he will change, and then turning around and downplaying his role, lending support, and even celebrating him.

It makes no logical sense for anyone in the marijuana community to support Joe Biden.  Zero.  The community itself has done more over the years to out Biden for his crimes, yes crimes, against the people of this nation than Trump’s campaign ever did, by far.  A man who led the charge in creating all of the policies that we find ourselves revoking equal protection laws, side stepping discrimination laws, and instituting ‘equity’ laws in order to fix.  Terribly unjust, and often perceived as racist policies that were turned into law under the leadership of Joe Biden before many of the African Americans sitting in jail today for drug crimes were even born.  To mislead these victims of Biden into thinking the reason they sit there is also the solution to their problems is an underhanded assault on ethnic minorities for the sake of political gain, and a blatant use of ethnic minorities as tools.  A double dipping for the same corrupt politician.  Anyone involved should be ashamed of themselves.

To support the cause of the problems we are trying to solve is madness.  Bat shit, straightjacket, madness.  If a very well known anti-drug politician can suddenly become a pro-drug politician smack dab in the middle of a huge effort to correct for his drug policies, just because it is politically advantageous, then these are not the sorts of people we want leading the legalization effort.  This eagerness to flip flop along party lines, rather than marijuana lines, probably speaks as to why it has taken so long for actual change to take root.

Any notion that Joe Biden’s ‘win’ is a win for marijuana is a laughable effort at pretending marijuana is what one cares about.  A wishful afterthought at best.  Joe Biden winning, or Trump losing, rather, is all that was cared about.  To the insane point of electing a vile fourty-seven year career politician who was openly called out as an enemy of the community decades ago, and whose plans will not solve for the problems he created.  

The marijuana world is better served thinking for themselves and sticking with the truth than they ever will be listening to fake ‘marijuana advocates’ who inject party bias into everything they say and do.  Supporting Joe Biden, or even covering for Joe Biden, is a slap in the face to the community and one of the most disappointing displays of hypocrisy for the sake of politics in history.  

John Sinclair - Free the Weed #115 - January 2021

 

A Column By John Sinclair

Happy New Year everybody, and welcome to a whole new cycle of days called 2021, a welcome relief after the awful nightmare known as 2020 where the one good thing that happened was the rejection of Resident Rump and election of a new democratic government, even though the Rump is ever so reluctant to let it go as the people have decided.

If I live another 10 months I’ll be 80 years old, and in all my life I’ve never experienced anything so lame and uncalled for as Rump’s opposition to the overwhelming vote of the people against him and in favor of his opponent, our new president, Joe Biden. We thought Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan and the Bushes were terrible, but the Rump topped (or bottomed) all of these previous criminals.

The next two days will settle this question as well as the control of the U.S. Senate. Rump supporters are urging the Republican Party not to certify Biden’s selection by challenging the outcome of the vote in various states, but it seems apparent that this effort will certainly fail since there has been absolutely no showing of voter fraud to any degree in any sector of the U.S. electorate.

As I write this, a run-off election in Georgia tomorrow will determine whether the state’s two U.S. Senators will be Republican or Democratic. If both Democratic candidates win the run-off, the Senate will be split 50-50, with Vice-President Kamala Harris holding the deciding vote.

It’s impossible to say today what will happen in these two important instances, but if progressive Georgian voters turn out in sufficient measure they can change the direction our government will take for at least the next four years.

It remains to be seen what President Biden and V-P Harris will do about legalizing marijuana in the United States, but as I’ve preached for the past several years, when 2/3rds of American voters adopt legalization as their chosen course of action, the politicians of both parties will stumble all over one another in their hurry to embrace legalization as public policy for all.

I’ve given quite a bit of coverage over the past few years to the state of marijuana legalization in Detroit, where it’s been apparent for a long time now that the vast majority of residents are in favor of freeing the weed for all public purposes.

After fumbling around for more than two years since marijuana use was legalized in the State of Michigan, the Detroit City Council has finally come up with a set of rules and regulations under the listing Detroit Adult Use Recreational Marijuanathat have some very progressive qualities.

Detroiters interested in obtaining one or more of the 10 Adult Use Recreational Marijuana-related licenses can take the first step on January 19 by applying to be certified as a “Legacy Detroiter,” in advance of the license application window opening on April 1.

Detroit’s Medical Marijuana Facilities and Adult-Use Marijuana Establishments ordinance gives preference to longtime Detroit residents seeking licenses that will include discounts on land, reduced application fees, technical and financial assistance to Detroit-owned marijuana business start-ups.

The ordinance also guarantees that no less than 50% of all newly created recreational marijuana business licenses for retailers, growers, processors, microbusinesses, designated consumption, and marijuana event organizers issued in Detroit will be awarded to Detroit Legacy applicants.

To qualify for the Detroit Legacy program, you must currently reside in Detroit, and be able to document that you have lived in Detroit for 15 of the last 30 years, or have lived in Detroit for 13 of the last 30 years and are low income, or have lived in Detroit for 10 of the last 30 years and have a marijuana conviction or have a parent with a marijuana conviction.

For more information about the adult-use marijuana ordinance, the Legacy Detroiter application or the social equity program component: DetroitMeansBusiness.org.

Meanwhile, on the West Coast, politicians and voters in the vanguard state of California and the City of San Francisco, where medical marijuana was first legalized in 1996—a quarter of a century ago—have been dealing with a proposed ban on tobacco and cannabis smoking and/or vaping in residential buildings of more than three units, including houses, apartment buildings and condominiums: 

The good news for potheads is that tobacco lost and cannabis won. The ordinance would have taken away the only legal place to smoke cannabis, since it is illegal under state law to smoke it in public places. (Some dispensaries have consumption lounges but they are now closed due to COVID-19.)  

The City/County Board of Supervisors voted 8-3 to exclude cannabis from the residential smoking ban. This was due to evidence presented that second-hand smoke from cannabis is not dangerous, augmented by a fast and strong response by cannabis activists who mobilized in little more than a week to call and email to the supervisors.

Smoking cigarettes and cannabis is still banned in common spaces such as stairwells and hallways, and many landlords ban tenants from smoking inside altogether. Offenders could be fined $1,000 a day, but could not be evicted for a violation. 

Speaking of social use lounges, Michigan’s Rick Thompson reminisces that “When looking back at Michigan’s cannabis history, many a friendship and partnership was begun at an old cannabis farmer’s market amid the swirl of smoke, the boasting of vendors and the smell of French fries. 

“The MMFLA led to a shuttering of almost all the markets in Michigan, but the legalization law created several license types which could work together to bring back this treasured feature of the medical cannabis period.

“The most important license type created by the MRTMA for a farmer’s market is the designated consumption lounge, where people can gather and smoke together at a place which is not on the road, not in their home and not on the job. 

“But having a place where people bring their own cannabis and sit for a bit doesn’t generate any income. That accounts for the slow rollout of this license type.

“It seems the formula for a successful designated consumption establishment includes location and relationship. ‘I’ve seen some interesting ideas,’Marijuana Regulatory Agency Director Andrew Brisbo offered. ‘Obviously, pairing with retail establishments and putting them in close proximity.”

“This is the tasting lounge model, where a designated consumption lounge is next to or close by a retailer, and people leave the retailer and go to the lounge to sample the product—or, product is delivered to the social use lounge from the retailer.”

“Cannabis retailers of both medical and adult-use licenses are allowed to deliver cannabis, a service that has become more popular and essential during the Covid pandemic.”

Rick points out that “Smoking cannabis while shopping for more cannabis while surrounded by multiple cannabis vendors under one roof? Sounds like a good old-fashioned farmer’s market.”

“’I think there are some creative ideas,’Brisbo chuckled. ‘Folks will figure out how to make it work.’”

True dat!  Free The Weed!

—Detroit

January 4. 2021

© 2020 John Sinclair. All Rights Reserved.

Michigan News - January 2021

 

Whitmer Commutes Four Drug Sentences

Michigan- Upon recommendation from the Michigan Parole Board Governor Gretchen Whitmer
has approved requests for clemency from Michael Thompson, Lawrence Cadroy, Lorenzo Garrett and Larry McGhee, all sentenced for drug crimes.

Thompson was sentenced to 40-60 years in prison in 1996, and has served 22.  He was set up by Flint Area Narcotics Group (FANG) on a deal for four pounds of marijuana.  No weapons were found on his person, or at the time of the sale, a search warrant later revealed the firearms in his home.  

Cadroy was sentenced in 1999 to life in prison, having served 21 years.  According to documents on law.justia.com he was arrested after more than a pound of cocaine and more than 100 pounds of marijuana were discovered on his truck.  Initially arguing the narcotics were illegally seized, the court disagreed and sentenced him to life in prison.

Garret had received a sentence of 29-170 years in 1999, he served 22.  According to the Michigan Department of Corrections public notice on his parole hearing, he was charged with two counts of manufacturing and delivering 225-649 grams of cocaine.

McGhee was sentenced in 2004 to 20-30 years in prison, he served 16.  According to documents on caselaw.findlaw.com he was labelled a fugitive when his home was raided in 1992, 1995, then again in 1998 and more than a pound of cocaine, less than 50 grams of heroin, an unspecified amount of marijuana, a firearm and a financial ledger were discovered.  He was apprehended by the FBI while running under a different name in Georgia, and returned to Michigan for trial.

MRA Drops Marijuana-Infused Drink Guidance

Michigan- Released on January 4th of this year, the “Process to Obtain Agency Approval for
Production of Marijuana-Infused Beverages” Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA) technical bulletin details the requirements for submission and approval for weed drinks, as well as provides guidelines for the creation and production.

Same as with many other MRA announcements, the bulletin consists mostly of future promises from the MRA, and a laundry list of hoops one must jump through in order to apply for approval.  Obvious general safety and commerce principles are outlined as well, such as all water must be potable, and any marijuana-infused beverage must be shelf stable.

Also typical with MRA rules come stipulations that require a future promise of action.   Any producer engaged in the creation of marijuana-infused beverages must provide to the MRA a complete research proposal telling the state exactly how the producer plans on continuing to research the product they produce.  How this requirement will affect smaller operations who may not have the resources to commit to ongoing research remains to be seen.

To read the full bulletin visit: https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mra/Marihuana-Infused_Products_and_Edible_Marihuana_Product-Process_to_Obtain_Agency_Approval_for_Production_of_Marijuana-Infused_Beverages__711833_7.pdf

Animals Get Medical Marijuana Love In New Bill

Michigan- A bill introduced by Rep. Gregory Markkanen (R) and signed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D) will allow veterinarians to offer CBD and medical marijuana as a treatment for animals.

The American Veterinary Medical Association admits that these treatments have shown to reduce things such as seizures and inflammation, but hinges most of it’s opinion on the lack of FDA approval for such treatments.  It cites the one cannabis based drug with FDA approval (Epidiolex), and states that it can be used in an extra-label fashion in accordance with the Animal Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act.  This act, passed in 1994, allows veterinarians to prescribe approved animal and human drugs when the health of an animal is threatened, when it is suffering, or when lack of treatment will result in death.

According to many surveys, most veterinarians consider themselves to be fairly knowledgeable about cannabis as a medicine, however about half of them are still reluctant to discuss it as a treatment option with clients.

Regardless, it is now legal for them to advise the use of these medicines, so initiating the conversation from the patient side could potentially lead to more open discussion of these treatments, and as always this may open more avenues into research.

National News - January 2021

 

Illinois Hits One Billion Dollars in Total Weed Sold

Illinois- New 2020 data released places the gross total sales of both adult-use and medical
marijuana in the state of Illinois at just over $1 billion.  Regulators are now touting the states cannabis industry as being both recession and pandemic proof.

Adult-use sales in Illinois steadily increased over the course of its’ first year.  January of 2021 saw 972,045 items sold, ending with a 95% increase to 1,896,941 in December, while total sales started the year at $39,247,840 and 83 cents and ended at $86,857,898 and 27 cents, an increase of 121%.  

Total year end sales of recreational marijuana, to both in and out of state customers, accounted for $669,084,410 and 12 cents.  Medical marijuana purchased from licensed provisioning centers, by way of math, made up the $331,224,389 and 88 cent gap, leaving Illinois with the reported grand total of $1,000,308,800 in legal weed sales.

Whether or not this number includes the Illinois 10-25% THC level dependent excise taxes could not be determined.

New Mexico District Judge Grants Rights to Medical

Albuquerque- A New Mexico district judge has ruled in favor of patient access, even when
the patient is incarcerated.  Sen. Jacob Candelaria (D), one of the attorneys representing the DWI case that led to the decision, stated, “While the criminal industrial complex may have pushback or some concerns - take those to the Legislature.  Because until such time as the Legislature changes the law, the law is clear: You must under existing law provide incarcerated persons with the ability to access medical cannabis free from penalty.  It’s the law.”

The DWI case in question involved a man named Joe Montaño who was sentenced to serve 90 days under house arrest on the condition that he not use any illegal drugs.  Bernalillo County lawyers argued that medical cannabis use was a violation of this condition.  The district judge disagreed.

The ruling has interesting implications, which could reach other states where marijuana is legal but still considered a violation of policy to many various government agencies.

SEC Advises SPACs on Disclosure Before IPO

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently offered guidance to
special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) on increasing their efforts to disclose information to investors.  

SPACs, also known as blank-check companies, are described on the SEC website as, “a company with no operations that offers securities for cash and places substantially all the offering proceeds into a trust or escrow account for future use in the acquisition of one or more private operating companies.  Following its initial public offering, or IPO, the SPAC will identify acquisition candidates and attempt to complete one or more business combination transactions after which the company will continue to do the operations of the acquired company or companies (“combined company”) as a public company.”  They are becoming prevalent in the marijuana industry, as well as others.

The SEC Division of Corporation Finance’s guidance bluntly states, “The economic interests of the entity or management team that forms the SPAC (“sponsor(s)”) and the directors, officers and affiliates of a SPAC often differ from the economic interests of public shareholders which may lead to conflicts of interests as they evaluate and decide whether to recommend business combination transactions to shareholders.”

This method was most notably and recently used when Weedmaps, in a deal with a SPAC known as Silver Spike Acquisition, began their IPO with a value of $1.5 billion.  This headline grabbing move may have been what prompted the SEC to urge SPACs to do a better job of disclosing conflicts of interest, as the guidance begins with “You may have heard the term SPAC recently referred to in the financial or other news.”

To read the full SEC investor bulletin visit: https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/general-resources/news-alerts/alerts-bulletins/investor-bulletins/what-you

World News - January 2021

 

UN Barely Reclassifies Pot, Still Considers Harmful

World- The United Nations (UN) Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), after reviewing
recommendations provided by the United Nations (UN) World Health Organization (WHO), voted 27 to 25 (with one abstaining) in favor of acknowledging the therapeutic and medicinal properties of cannabis and ending its 59 year run on the Schedule IV list.  The catch?  Marijuana will remain illegal for non-medical or scientific purposes and is now considered a Schedule I drug.

Unnamed Officials appointed to the UN behind closed doors were allowed to make statements on behalf of their nations after they voted.  The United States, having voted in favor of removing marijuana from Schedule IV but retaining its place on Schedule I, stated “consistent with the science demonstrating that while a safe and effective cannabis-derived therapeutic has been developed, cannabis itself continues to pose significant risks to public health and should continue to be controlled under the international drug control conventions.”

Both Chile and Japan, among others, voted against while citing tried and true arguments from yesterday.

As expressed on the UN news site news.un.org, “According to news reports, the decision could drive additional scientific research into the plant’s medicinal properties.”

Canadian Gov Aims At Retail, and Home Grows

Canada- In a Canadian federal regulator’s report that covers April 1, 2018, to March 31,
2019, seven noncompliant inspection ratings were handed out, among about 300 inspections.  

The report notes around 100 major and seven critical observations.  Major issues include things that result in a risk to public safety, involve fraud, or increase the risk of diversion to the illicit market or prevent the detection of diversion to the illicit market or health risk, while critical observations are described as issues that increase the immediate risk of diversion to the illicit market or prevent the detection of diversion, or present an imminent health risk.

Two of the companies handed citations were among Canada’s largest, Aphria and Canopy Growth, both having violated multiple compliance laws.  

Providing false or misleading statements to an inspector was common among the many violations, as well as inventory noncompliance.  One company had its inventory seized and license suspended over “the conduct of unauthorized activities with cannabis”, and another was issued a warning letter, then also had its license suspended and inventory confiscated as a result of “possession, distribution and selling of product that was purchased from an unlicensed source and was not compliant with Good Production Practices.”  Other citations were issued over destruction, security measures, and record keeping noncompliance.

The Health Canada report also indicates that measures were taken over the course of the year to empower government oversight when it comes to individuals who grow for themselves.  The list includes taking a closer look at, and sharing information on, practitioners who authorized high amounts of medical cannabis cultivation, and better collaboration with law enforcement and municipalities.  Over the course of the report nine individual home grow inspections had been conducted.

International Patent Rights Battle Begins

Canada- Canopy Growth, a Canadian company, has filed suit against GW Pharmaceuticals, a
British company, in U.S. courts accusing them of using a patented method of CBD extraction involving carbon dioxide.  

U.S. Patent No. 10,870,632 was acquired by Canopy when they purchased the German company Cannabinoid Compound Co. for over $250 million.  Canopy alleges that despite offering a licensing deal (which they claim was declined), GW Pharma has willfully chosen to steal and use in England the U.S. patented method of extraction that Canopy bought from a German company.

Used primarily to make Epidiolex, an anti-seizure medication that accounts for 87% of Canopy Growths total revenue, the company claims the suit is not about limiting patient access, but about seeking justice for the use of their intellectual property.  Meanwhile in the first three quarters of 2020 Canopy reported a total revenue of $378.6 million, bringing Epidiolex’s share to $329,382,000.

A GW Pharmaceuticals representative stated that their company will be fighting the case, and feel confident in their position.

VGIP Update January 2021

 

By Ben Horner

Happy New Year to all my activist friends. Over the last two months VGIP volunteers picked up the phone and called their Michigan lawmakers to express concern about the Draft language that we released in the November issue of the MM Report, which seeks to merge the medical and recreational laws together. Thank you in a big 420 positive way for preventing this from being introduced in lame duck. But the fight is not over.

 

The Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency, led by Brisbo and the big cannabusiness interests, will be trying to introduce their bill to change the marijuana laws in Michigan this year. Front man Rick Thompson, who has been sucking Brisbo’s balls, is the biggest cheerleader of this potential legislation.  Wearing his sheep’s clothing, Thompson is painting this shitty legistlation as a great thing, by highlighting indigenous people’s rights and public consumption locations as being great opportunities. However the beauty is in the details, and from what the VGIP sees these are caveats. Horse trading and pork added to the bill that won’t really help who they think it will.

 

Rick Thompson is well known for being a liar, infiltrator, and total sleaze to his marijuana people. After being raided at Big Daddy’s compassion club, and tanking multiple publications that he wrote for and ran, Rick Thompson has been reduced to a blogger and podcaster that pretends to be a voice of the cannabis community.  If you don’t know his history of backstabbing others in the community, and his history of lying and infiltrating, you might think he’s a nice guy. Brisbo sure thinks Rick is worth supporting. 

 

The VGIP is asking everyone to connect with lawmakers and watch very carefully what Thompson and Brisbo try to sell you.  Reports are that big commercial grows are already working with law enforcement to bust the caregivers that were supplying them just a few months ago.  Be aware, be vigilant, and be prepared, because they want your homegrows to go away.