What Lies in Store for the Caregivers!?

 

By Ben Horner

Politicians are ramping up fundraising efforts in Michigan this summer as covid restrictions are lifted. Many medical marijuana activists in the state are questioning whether the various factions of cannabis business associations are using this cycle to make their move to attack home cultivation and gain market share.

 

MRA, The Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency, showed potentially conflicting policy actions that have medical marijuana caregivers alarmed. An employment seminar for LUME was released on an MRA bulletin, which makes one wonder why the company that is owned by the owner of Belle Tire is getting this preferential treatment from Brisbo, the agency’s director. Then Brisbo released an advisory done with the help of DTE electric, warning home growers of the dangers of using too much power on their grows, and handed it out at Canna Con in Detroit. Then finally MRA lists new topics for a MRA training seminar that includes instructions on how to snitch on unlicensed marijuana facilities and “illicit marijuana activity”. But in a most recent conversation with Rick Thompson, Brisbo says his agency is not after caregivers right now, just Delta 8 and the Native American unlicensed weed stores. Rick avoids asking the tough questions regarding the MRA’s recent threatening actions regarding caregivers as mentioned previously. 

 

In Lansing, without input from the 30k Michigan medical marijuana caregivers, Robin Schneider under the MiCIA, along with Steve Linder under the MCMA, and SSDP supported definition changes of marijuana in four of our Michigan cannabis laws, including the MMMA of 2008. Billed as a way to streamline the four laws that legalize cannabis in Michigan this was presented as a nothing burger by Ms. Schneider and friends. On the same day the bills passed with by-partisan support the MiCIA and friends pledge not to change the MMA.   

 

Team red, which includes the largest cannabis companies in Michigan, make no bones that they want the caregivers gone. In a recent Anderson study commissioned by the MCMA, the cannabis consumption of Michiganders is analyzed. The study suggests that two-thirds of weed smoked, dabbed, eaten or absorbed is produced by the “illicit market” and that it’s just not safe for consumers.

 

On the move, team blue (MiCIA, SSDP, ASA, and several other cannabis groups) start fundraising for Democratic candidates like Dana Nessel and Jeff Irwin. Consequential to their ability to compete with team red, these groups need to get their supporters in Lansing reelected next year. And the battle for who controls cannabis ramps up. Thus, the fundraising campaigns have started.

 

Rick Thompson and Jamie Lowell, proclaimed cannabis activists, hijack a grassroots effort to form a boycott against the MCMA, who is their direct competition and adversaries in the cannabis space. This is similar to how they hijacked the legalization movement in Michigan to start the failed MI Legalize campaign in 2015 which eventually failed, and at the same time distracted activists and marijuana caregivers from the hijacking of the MMFLA, and the removing of caregivers from the supply chain of dispensaries despite the fact that dispensaries used caregiver supplies for all the years prior to the licensing of cannabis facilities, and for almost a year after under the emergency rules. Where was Robin Schneider? Silently her lobbying group allowed the caregivers to be written out. 

 

Rick and Jamie insist there is nothing to see here when it comes to the marijuana definition changes. They urged various lawyers to come out to dispel the growing concerns of caregivers around Michigan when it comes to potentially harmful legislation and direct activists to stay focused on their local communities. No lawyers chimed in to aid their argument. Meanwhile they work diligently to unify the cannabis community. Old time activists that have seen how these two operate are disillusioned.

 

”With Rick Thompson it’s all about his ego. He wants to be a journalist so bad, but he has little insight and is ridiculously partisan.” One activist explains.

 

Another said this, “For the record. My ire is not pointed at Legislature, or even Snakes like Irwin, Thompson and Lowell.  A snake will always be a snake, even when it sheds it’s skin and looks all needo (neato) and shit….”

 

“Fuck Tick Rhompson and Lamie Jowell. Until people are ready to TAKE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY and get their asses off the couch en mass, it is what it is, and will continue to be.”

John Sinclair - Free the Weed #121 - July 2021

 

A Column By John Sinclair

Hi everybody, and thanks for joining me as I begin my 11th year as the Michigan Marijuana Report’s monthly columnist, accompanying the richly rewarding reports of fellow columnist Tim Beck in these pages every month.

 

Leading off my column for this month, I have to note that Tim Beck has commented that the recent ruling by U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman blocking the City of Detroit from processing licenses in recreational cannabis “is very compelling.”  There is no chance Detroit will prevail in this one. The ‘poison pill’ Detroit politicians inserted into their proposed law means they must go back to the drawing board. This could mean months of more infighting and squabbling. Very sad situation.”

 

Annalise Frank quotes Judge Friedman in Crain’s Detroit Business that he had issued a preliminary injunction “because the city ordinance governing the process for obtaining a recreational marijuana retail license gives an unfair, irrational, and likely unconstitutional advantage to long-term Detroit residents over all other applicants.”

 

According to Ms. Frank, Friedman wrote that the ordinance’s “favoritism ... embodies precisely the sort of economic protectionism that the Supreme Court has long prohibited,”adding that the “defendant [City of Detroit] has failed to show that its stated goal of assisting those who have been harmed by the War on Drugs is advanced by reserving fifty percent or more of the recreational marijuana licenses for those who have lived in Detroit for at least ten years.”

Ms. Frank points out that “A lot of the talk over Detroit’s adult-use cannabis ordinance revolves around dispensaries because of a 75-license cap on licenses. But the rules actually cover licensing for 10 different sectors of the cannabis business, including:

• Medical marijuana provisioning centers
• Adult-use retailer establishments
• Growers
• Processors
• Safety compliance facilities
• Marijuana event organizers
• Temporary marijuana events
• Microbusinesses
• Designated consumption lounges, and
• Secure transporters

Under the city’s proposed ordinance that was rejected by Judge Friedman, people who have suffered marijuana-related convictions or live within low incomes would get first priority in the license review process for opening a cannabis business.  Applications began April 1—a date we know better as April Fool’s Day—but a week later a legal challenge halted that process, leaving the adult-use cannabis business in Detroit “frozen in limbo.”

Ms. Frank adds that “Despite its large medical cannabis industry, Detroit originally opted out of recreational pot when it got greenlit by Michigan voters in 2018.  Legal sales for nonmedical use started Dec. 1, 2019, with the industry reporting $341 million in sales in fiscal 2020, according to the state.”

Between 2008, when medical marijuana was legalized, and November 2018, when recreational use was overwhelmingly okayed by voters, there were 283 cannabis dispensaries that opened in the city of Detroit, but the City Council shut them all down.  The proposed Detroit law would allow no more than 75 retail licenses in the city, and at least half of those must go to Legacy Detroiter applicants. They also get priority in a tiered application review process, pay less in fees to get started and get land discounts.

As of last October only 46 medical dispensaries have been allowed to become operational in Detroit, but only four were owned and operated by Detroit residents.

The legal problem with the proposed Detroit ordinance began with a March 2nd lawsuit by Detroit resident Crystal Lowe, who argued that the preference rules, dubbed the ‘Legacy Detroiter’ program, are unconstitutional and ‘unfairly favor’ a specific group of residents, discriminating against nonresidents and those who live in the city but don’t fit the checklist.

According to Ms. Frank, Crystal Lowe wants to open a cannabis shop in Detroit and argues that her past and residency make her a prime candidate for a regulatory framework that’s seeking equity.  However, despite Lowe living in Detroit 11 of the last 30 years and her experience with marijuana—her mom was convicted in 2007 for a marijuana-related crime, and she’s been working in the cannabis industry—she doesn’t qualify for the legacy program. Thus, the lawsuit argues, she has little to no chance of getting a license.

The City’s response to Judge Friedman’s ruling, stated by Kim James, chief administrative corporation counsel for the city, is that “We will review the decision and develop a revised plan to address the judge’s concerns, [but] the City of Detroit will not issue any adult use marijuana licenses unless there is legal assurance that Detroiters will receive a fair share of those licenses.”

Local activists have observed that “obviously there are great concerns about this ordinance and whether it’s constitutional,” said Jeffrey Schroder, co-leader of Bloomfield Hills-based law firm Plunkett Cooney PC’s cannabis industry group. Right now, Detroiters seeking nonmedical cannabis must leave the city for nearby communities with numerous adult-use shops, like Ferndale and Hazel Park, or—as we have done for the past 80 years of the War on Drugs—buy our marijuana from our friends and neighbors who continue to serve the needs of our smokers despite the idiocy and mindless repression evinced by the city authorities.

“The Detroit facilities are hamstrung right now,” Schroder said. “They’ve invested a lot of money, [but] now the city’s saying you cannot get an adult-use license ... unless you follow this process.”

Ms. Frank also cites Rebecca Colett, founder of the Detroit Cannabis Project and CEO of wholesale cannabis brand Calyxeum, who has been helping cannabis entrepreneurs create businesses under Detroit’s legacy rules.

Ms. Colett, who is a Legacy Detroiter and helped lobby to get City Council to pass the legislation starting the program, insists that “The ordinance, as it was designed, I think really promotes diversity and provides opportunities for people who are not multimillionaires to enter into the legal cannabis industry.”

The Detroit Cannabis Project has trained a cohort of 35 certified Legacy Detroiters starting in early April and continues despite the halted application process mandated by the courts. While the city cannot take any applications now, nearly 400 Legacy Detroiters have pre-qualified to apply.

“So many people are interested in investing in Detroit,” Colett said, and she maintains that regardless of when, adult sales will become legal in Detroit. She wants the businesses her incubator helps to be ready.  ”Nobody knows the day or the hour, but we know it will come,” she said.

Good luck to the messed up City of Detroit, its dysfunctional City Council and self-blindfolded legal establishment.  Millions of dollars are waiting to leap into the coffers of Detroiters who will sell weed to the people, but the City continues to try to hold back the flood of cash and dam up the river of marijuana waiting to refresh the city’s hundreds of thousands of smokers.

 

DOPEBRIEFS: Commerce giant Amazon said it will stop drug testing many workers for marijuana and will also actively lobby Congress to pass a federal legalization bill. The move to treat cannabis “the same as alcohol use” from one of the U.S.’s largest employers is likely to have a large impact.

 

The California Senate approved a bill to legalize possession of psychedelics like psilocybin, LSD and MDMA. It now heads to the Assembly.

 

SenayBoztas reports in DutchNews.nl that Amsterdam has launched its first 2021 campaign to encourage tourists to return – the right kind of tourists, that is. This is a campaign to ‘stimulate desired behavior’—in other words, to make it clear that Amsterdam is no longer a destination for no-strings-attached partying. The message of increasing policing and on-the-spot fines for unwanted behavior has been welcomed by city councillors.

 

Talk about sticking your head way up in your ass! Good luck, Amsterdammers!  Free The Weed!

—Detroit

June 25, 2021

© 2021 John Sinclair. All Rights Reserved.

Michigan News - July 2021

 

MI Electric Providers Partner with MRA, Others

Michigan- The Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency, Michigan Public Service Commission, Bureau of Fire Services, and the Dept. of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy are working with electric providers such as DTE and Consumers to provide tips and assistance when it comes to home growing.  Fires, safety, and the impact growers have on the electric grid are chief among their concerns.

According to the MRA’s website “Since the energy demand for growing marijuana is so intensive - often requiring nonstop grow lights, ventilation systems, and other high-demand equipment - it is essential residential marijuana growers understand the impact the increased energy usage in their homes may have on their safety, the safety of their communities, and the safety of electrical workers and first responders.”  The agency suggests growers become familiar with local rules and ordinances, hire a licensed electrical contractor, and contact their local utility to ensure they have the proper equipment for the increased energy demand, which the MRA estimates “growing twelve plants in a home can increase that home’s energy demand by 2.75 times.”

For more details visit michiga.gov/mra and follow the link “Electrical Safety: Residential Growing”. https://www.michigan.gov/mra/0,9306,7-386-79572-562532--,00.html

Michigan Senate Approves Redefining of Marijuana

Michigan- Five separate bills were passed by the MI Senate on June 24th that redefine marihuana to be more in line with the Michigan Regulate and Tax Marijuana like Alcohol act of 2018.

HB 4740 introduced by Rick Outman (R) seeks to change definitions in the Medical marijuana facilities licensing act.  HB 4742, by Tenisha Yancy (D) looks to alter the marijuana tracking act. Republican Julie Calleys’ HB 4743 wants to redefine marihuana in the public health code and Republican Jim Lilly sponsored HB 4745 which changes the definition in the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act.  Democrat Richard Steenland’s HB 4744 would redefine parts of the industrial hemp research act.  The bills now move on to the governor’s office for approval.

Detroit Legacy Considered "Likely Unconstitutional"

Michigan- On June 17th U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman presented his opinion on the Detroit Legacy program, stating that it “gives an unfair, irrational and likely unconstitutional advantage to long-term Detroit residents over all other applicants.”  Licensing efforts in the city have been halted since April 1st of 2021.

Detroit City Council spent long hours crafting the Legacy system, and officials in the city seem unphased by the court’s opinion.  Kim Rustem, head of Detroit’s department of civil rights, inclusion and opportunity, told the Detroit Free Press “In the meantime, one thing is for certain: The city will not issue any recreational licenses unless there is legal assurance that Detroiters will receive a fair share of those licenses.”

Activists Alarmed by Republican Led HB 5129

Michigan- Adding to the five bills that will redefine marijuana in Michigan law, an all Republican squad consisting of Julie Calley, Ken Borton, Joseph Bellino, Bradley Slagh, and Daire Rendon have introduced HB 5129.

The bill seeks to ban the smoking of marijuana in places that serve food, much like tobacco.  Michigan activists have immediately sounded the alarm, as this would destroy any notion of Amsterdam style cafes and social clubs opening in the state.

Also included in the bill is a change from the word “resin” to “extraction” that would ban certain methods for making concentrates in public places, in motor vehicles, and “within the curtilage of any residential structure.”

Many other subtle changes to home growing and processing are in HB 5129 as well as changes that have future implications on what could and could not be allowed in marijuana social clubs.  To see the full bill visit: http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2021-2022/billintroduced/House/htm/2021-HIB-5129.htm

Ypsilanti Caregiver Defies Order to Remove Plants

Ypsilanti- Medical marijuana caregiver Judith Pontius is still engaged in her years long battle with a local Ypsilanti ordinance.  

The 79-year old grows sixty-two plants in her home, which according to local law, is no longer appropriately zoned for growing more than twelve.  Pontius took her case over the 2012 ordinace that bans caregivers from growing in residential areas to the courts, both the local judge and the Michigan Court of Appeals agreed with her, but the Michigan Supreme court ruled otherwise, stating that the township had a right to change local law.

Pontius was told she had to remove her crop by June 21st, but she is standing her ground.  Her attorney, Barton Morris Jr., told the Detroit News, “She’s being stubborn but principally stubborn.”  He went on to say, “Just because the law passed doesn’t mean it’s right.”.  It is also the opinion of Morris that the state legislature needs to stand up for caregivers as they are “under attack.”

Pontius only plans on keeping this crop until it is ready for harvest in September.  After that she plans to quit growing marijuana, citing old age.  She could face fines of up to $7,500 or up to 93 days in jail.

Will Weed Be Delivered By An Amazon Drone?

 

On June 1st, Amazon CEO David Clark set the cannabis world buzzing when he announced that Amazon’s 1.3 million plus employees will no longer be tested for marijuana, in order to get a job at the famous online retailer. 

That was not all. 

Mr. Clark went on to say: “because we know this issue is bigger than Amazon, our public policy team will be actively supporting ...federal legislation that would legalize marijuana at the federal level, expunge criminal records, and invest in impacted communities. We hope that other employers will join us, and that policymakers will act swiftly to pass this law.”

Amazon is the third largest employer on the planet, outpaced only by “Walmart” and “China Petroleum & Chemical Co.” Until his recent divorce, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, was the world’s richest person. Amazon’s business and political reach permeates most every aspect of American life.

Reaction from the nation’s top drug policy reform organizations was unanimously positive. “Americans for Safe Access” (ASA) said this was “exciting news.”  National NORML’s Paul Armentano proclaimed “this decision reflects today’s changing cultural landscape.” Steve Hawkins,”Marijuana Policy Project” (MPP) leader declared: “Amazon’s public commitment to end this harmful practice is the latest example of the private sector realizing the American people support full legalization.”  Kassandra Fredrique from the “Drug Policy Alliance” proclaimed Amazon’s action was a “huge step forward” and urged other companies to “take note.”

When the news broke, marijuana stocks such as Canopy, Tillray, and Sundial surged in value.

Ripple effects were felt almost immediately in Michigan. 

On June 12th, a headline in the Detroit Free Press read: “GM struggles to hire hundreds of temps, union boss says drop drug tests.” The story described how Flint UAW Local 598 Shop Chairman Eric Welter and Fort Wayne Assembly union leader Rich LeTourneau demanded General Motors raise wages and drop drug tests for marijuana in order to fill a huge labor shortage. GM management spokesman Dan Flores refused to comment on the story except to say “that’s an issue being discussed internally.”

The Amazon bombshell however, was not met with a unanimous amen chorus. 

Project SAM (Smart Alternatives to Marijuana), a virulently anti cannabis organization announced its dismay and surprise with the Amazon decision. SAM cited data from drug testing giant “Quest Diagnostics” purporting to show triple digit increases in workplace marijuana positivity in legalized states such as Nevada and Oregon. According to SAM, Amazon’s action will only make this alleged problem worse.

Alarm bells also sounded for some members of the cannabis community.

A column appeared in the June 2nd issue of the cannabis trade publication “Leafly‘’ entitled “Yes, Amazon will sell weed. Stop worrying and start acting” Senior Editor Bruce Barcot articulated some of the darkest fears among marijuana business persons and activists longing for a decentralized, democratic playing field in the post legalization world to come.

“Amazon’s support for cannabis legalization is a big deal,” wrote Mr. Barcott. “The company employs nearly 1.3 million people worldwide, and this announcement knocks the legs out of the prohibitionist fable that people who enjoy weed on their own time can’t be healthy, happy and productive workers. But it also raises the specter of Amazon, post legalization, eating the cannabis industry’s lunch. The idea of Amazon Prime drones dropping weed on America’s front porches doesn’t just scare old time prohibitionists. It sends shivers through cannabis retailers too.”

Mr. Barcot went on to describe Amazon as a political powerhouse. In the post legalization world most experts believe cannabis will be strictly regulated like alcohol, on a state by state basis. “That’s where the industry’s national and state frameworks will be constructed. Amazon’s lobbyists are already shaking hands and forming relationships.”

In social media postings in Michigan, some cannabis activists expressed their contempt for Amazon as a company. In so many words they described the move as a cynical ploy to take over the marijuana business. Others declared the company to be a greedy, abusive employer interested only in working its employees to death in order to squeeze every dime of profit they can. Another criticized the move as flawed, because it still does drug and alcohol testing in the event of accidents on the premises and complies with Department of Transportation directives to drug test all drivers.

Are fears that the “Death Star” (Amazon’s nickname in certain Wall Street analyst circles) will prevail and destroy marijuana businesses like it did all the mom and pop bookstores that used to be around justified?

Mr. Barcot’s answer is NO. He cited the little known fact that Amazon has been in the liquor distribution business since 2017 when it bought out “Whole Foods.”  When that happened, the headline in the liquor industry trade publication “Drync” screamed: “Did Amazon just kill liquor retail as we know it?” Drync went on to say “overnight, Amazon gained more than 330 new liquor licenses across 41 US states. This will undoubtedly shift the way consumers acquire and engage with beverage alcohol.”  Drync’s prognosis never came true.  Amazon simply did not have the political muscle to beat the liquor industry at its own game in the halls of the various state legislatures across the USA.

I vividly remember the day several months ago, when my shares in pharmacy giant CVS crashed, as news hit the financial wires saying Amazon was getting into the pharmacy mail order business.

However, the pain was only temporary. CVS and other pharmacy stocks rebounded to even higher levels when it became obvious that consumers still prefer to go to an actual pharmacy and deal with real people to get their meds and other ancillary sundries.

Reflecting upon the doomed mom and pop bookstores destroyed by Amazon, Mr. Barcot was pithy in his assessment of the situation.  ”When people think of Amazon crushing an industry, they commonly think of Uncle Jeff putting America’s bookstores out of business. But bookstores are the wrong analogy. Cheap pre-rolls and top shelf eighths are not best sellers or itty bitty book lights.”

World News - July 2021

 

Hemp Housing Us

World- Hemp is derived from different kinds of cannabis sativa and has less than .3 percent of THC. Now you can find shoes, clothes, jewelry, candles, paper products, furniture, and skin care products made from hemp. But can hemp be used to build houses?

According to the NCSL (National Conference of State Legislatures) “The 2018 Farm Bill changed federal policy regarding hemp, including the removal of hemp from the Controlled Substances Act and the consideration of hemp as an agricultural product.”  https://www.ncsl.org/research/agriculture-and-rural-development/state-industrial-hemp-statutes.aspx. Most states have their own laws regarding the growing of hemp. The Hemp Foundation has a list of states and their laws on their site: https://hempfoundation.net/a-list-of-legal-hemp-states-in-the-usa/.  In 2019, The Ministry of Hemp listed the 6 top countries growing hemp are Canada, the United States, China, France, Chile, and North Korea https://ministryofhemp.com/blog/hemp-growing-countries/.

Hempitecure, a United States company based in Idaho, resourcing hemp from the U.S. and Canada, is now creating  building materials from hemp. On their website one amazing product listed is HempWool insulation. The insulation is 92 percent hemp fiber, hypoallergenic, biobased, and non-toxic. They have another product listed on their site as well, called Hempcrete, a plant-based binder which is “a specifically formulated mineral based binder that is ideal for bonding hemp core both in spray applied and cast in place methods.” Their website can be found at https://www.hempitecture.com/.

Big Weed in Africa

Lesotho- Halo Collective, a marijuana producing company in the United States, bought a large company in a country surrounded by the country South Africa, a country with 200 days of sunshine a year, called Lesotho. When they bought the company, called Bophelo Biosciences and Wellness for $5.6m dollars, they also got a nine-year license to export and grow about 494 acres of medical cannabis. This could be the largest cannabis farm in the world. Thus far of the strains growing, more than half have THC levels above 20 percent, which is the number needed to produce medical cannabis. The company is pledging 10 percent of pre-tax profits back to Lesotho, is also running programs in the community to reduce gender-based violence and is hoping to add plenty of jobs to the country. You can read the full article at: https://cannabiswealth.co.uk/2021/04/30/halo-bophelo-lesotho-world-biggest-medical-cannabis-farm/

Ontario's Pot Retail Booming

Ontario, Canada- In May it was reported by MJBiz Canada that Ontario might have 1,000 licensed cannabis retailers by the fall of 2021. Currently, Ontario has the most marijuana locations in Canada. Competition is a concern amongst business owners. 

George Smitherman, president and CEO of the Cannabis Council of Canada said in the article, “I think overall, companies are pleased to see, at long last, the growth in access at the retail level in Ontario”  The article states that Smitherman “hopes Ontario’s increasingly competitive retail landscape “will help tip the balance towards the regulated market,”  and “…that situation of this strong number of stores does create … competitive tensions that can be very beneficial to consumers.” https://mjbizdaily.com/retail-shakeout-expected-as-ontario-heads-toward-1000-cannabis-stores/.

Positive News for CBD and Breast Cancer

World- Medical marijuana and medicinal mushrooms, when combined, worked on destroying HER2+ breast cancer cells.  These specific cells, according to a CannabisWealth article published in May 2021, cause 20 percent of all breast cancers. 

The Jamaican subsidiary of a United Kingdom based company called Apollon Formularies, along with Canada’s Aion Therapeutic Inc found when the Apollon Jamaica’s cannabis and Aion’s medicinal mushrooms were combined “…nearly 100 percent of HER2+ breast cancer cells in 3D cell cultures were killed.” https://cannabiswealth.co.uk/2021/05/24/breast-cancer-breakthrough-for-medical-cannabis-company-appollon-formularies/.  

According to the article, Apollon Jamaica grows its own medical cannabis specifically for cancer treatments by using artificial intelligence analysis of genetic strains. Always consult a doctor before using any substance as a part of a treatment plan. 

National News - July 2021

 

Live Free with Weed New Hampshire

New Hampshire- Of all the predominantly East Coast Democratic states, the majority are freeing the weed, and if not yet, talking seriously of doing so soon. Reported at the end of May 2021 the New Hampshire House passed a bill to legalize cannabis at the end of last year, but the bill did not continue in the Senate. Currently, marijuana is decriminalized in the state, and medical marijuana is legal though it is illegal to grow. Residents of the Granite State that are 18 years or older can legally purchase CBD which contains less than 0.3 percent THC on a dry weight as per the Federal Farm Bill of 2018.

If you are traveling to the East Coast this summer, it is important to know their states laws regarding legalization as they apply to visitors as well. Rolling Stone has a great map and list of laws for each U.S. state in an article published April 22, 2021, https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/cannabis-legalization-states-map-831885/.

New York for Weed and For All

New York- New York became the 16th state to legalize weed on March 31st of this year. The law and the weed are giving back to the community from tax revenues and selection of minority and women business owners.

“New York’s law stands out from other American states in its focus on social justice.”

The law would direct part of the estimated $350 million yearly tax revenues from cannabis sales to communities most affected by drug enforcement in the United States, particularly Blacks and Latinos.

The criminal records of those convicted of illegal cannabis possession will be purged, and half of businesses licenses will be set aside for minorities, women-owned businesses, wounded ex-military personnel or farmers affected by disasters.” https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-04-york-america-marijuana-hub.html

AU Legalization Moves on to Likely Signing

Connecticut- The Senate in Connecticut passed a recreational legalization bill 16-11 (with nine absent) on Thursday June 17th.  A modified version of the bill from the House, it drops a social equity amendment that restricted the eligibility of licensing to those with a marijuana conviction instead of those in a census tract disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs.

The move seems to have worked as following the news Governor Lamont took to Twitter in support of signing the bill.

Stock Up on Pot

U.S.- If you want to keep an eye on what is happening on a larger scale with the pot industry, according to a recent Kiplinger article, “many of the best” marijuana stocks have doubled in 2021. 10 companies that are growing in the investment world are:  

Innovative Industrial Properties (investing in greenhouse and industrial facilities for the medical cannabis industry), Altria (owns 43.5 percent of Cronos Group, a Canadian marijuana stock), Constellation Brands (also investing in Canadian marijuana), Curaleaf Holdings (a Massachusetts company that makes vapes for single dose medical marijuana), Cresco (low dose edible manufacturer) GrowGeneration (operator of hydroponic garden centers) Tilray (BC based cannabis producer), Silver Spike Acquisition II (a plant-based and alternative health industry), AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (a US specific focus), and AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF (focusing on the global cannabis industry). The article and more information on each company can be read at: https://www.kiplinger.com/investing/stocks/stocks-to-buy/601667/best-marijuana-stocks-to-buy-for-2021.

Tinfoil Hat Time! July 2021

 

"You can't be for big government, big taxes and big bureaucracy and still be for the little guy."

-Ronald Reagan

Say what you will about Bush’s beloved puppet Ronnie, the man had a +4 charisma roll, amazing speech writers, the cognitive ability to complete full sentences, and a point.

There has been a lot of talk about defending the ‘little guys’ against the ‘big guys’ lately.  Small marijuana entities are engrossed in efforts all over Michigan to stem the coming tide of corporate and government controlled marijuana.  The  360° circle we have been warned about for decades where those who battled against being oppressed by the powers that be are then oppressed by 1%’ers with billion dollar dreams, via the powers that be.  Meanwhile, outside our collectively egocentric microcosm, other individuals and small businesses still fight from underneath over a year of oppressive mandates and unconstitutional executive orders that did not affect the licensed marijuana industry.

Podcasts about boycotts, and old news MCMA opinions that speak to removing the “grey market”, make a lot of noise and are meant to distract from the real battles for the real little guys: individuals.  Important battles that have yet to be fought, are underway, or have already been lost.  Such as ‘likely unconstitutional’ limited licensing schemes in Detroit that lie about inclusion and opportunity and prevent the little guy from entering the market in large numbers, Ypsilanti threatening a 79-year old caregiver with jail time for growing in her home, or families losing their businesses over unconstitutional executive orders.

Because fighting for personal and property rights, and the rights of citizens to freely enter into and open their business in any market they choose regardless of skin color, criminal record, past or current address, financial status, or the opinions of government agencies, is not a single issue topic.  Liberty is not something you can pick and choose to support.  The rights of the little guy matter every single day of every single year, for every single person, not just in specific situations and in line with the opinions of podcasters and politicians.  Liberty is not a social slogan or a word trick.  It is not a marketing concept, or an issue unique to this industry.

We skipped the one year anniversary of Tinfoil Hat Time.  Although, technically, because the first instance involved calling out Whitmer for her patterns of tyranny against small business owners and individual rights on the cover (an editorial that if written today would encompass an entire issue) the argument could be made that July is the one year anniversary.  

Speaking of missed anniversaries, it was also around a year ago that MiCIA sent a letter to the Governor’s office asking for their businesses to be exempt from the revocation of civil liberty.  Did they include all the small businesses and caregivers in their thoughts?  Did they apply their influence over public office to ask that unconstitutional orders not be levied on any free citizen?  

No.  They thanked her for her tyranny and requested their licensed adult-use retail marijuana establishments, for-profit entities that exist for recreational users and not medical patients, be defined as “essential to human life” in the name of patient access, while the rights of the little guys, free enterprise, and the liberty to worship and peacefully assemble were shut down and stolen.  Then they invited her and her allies to their corporate online theft of a real in-person grass roots event known as Hash Bash.  The original pro-marijuana populist movement here in Michigan, sparked by the one and only John Sinclair, who adamantly (and rightly) believes weed should be regulated no more than tomatoes.  To be sold, bought and consumed at farmers markets.  A far cry from United Nations Good Manufacturing Practices, a system of regulation where the biggest guy controls everything.  A system the MCMA and MiCIA both fully support.

In the August 2019 MM Report interview with MCMA board member Michael Elias, he was not shy about pushing GMP,  “Good Manufacturing Practice, it’s a coveted designation that the FDA uses for food and drug today.  Any mass consumable that is regulated by the FDA must be GMP, it essentially drives a significant reduction in contamination and food safety issues.  The problem with cannabis is that things are going so quickly that the state of Michigan does not regulate operators to be GMP today, which I think is a huge problem.  We are lobbying hard to change that view.” (https://mmmrmag.blogspot.com/2019/08/common-citizen-rare-perspective-by.html) 

The Winter 2020 issue of MiCIA Magazine, the official trade journal of the Michigan Cannabis Industry Association, and a Q&A with Lissa Satori simply entitled Good Manufacturing Practices, revealed a bit more of the story, “According to the World Health Organization, Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) is a system for ensuring that products are consistently produced and controlled according to quality standards.”  When asked about the Michigan market’s reception of GMP standards she replied, “Early operators were more likely to have experience in the illegal, unregulated cannabis market than in other regulated industries.  Trying to explain to an extremely talented cannabis cultivator who has been safely growing medicine for patients for years underground that GMP is needed in the commercial market can elicit an initial emotional reaction and strong resistance.  But this is quickly changing.  These days, with professionals from other regulated industries flocking to cannabis by the droves, and veteran cultivators paying attention to where the industry is going, I am encountering more business owners who understand how imperative standards and GMP are to expanding other markets.” (https://bluetoadpublishing.co.uk/publication/?i=651404&p=26)

United Nations controls, backed by the tentacle known as the World Health Organization, masked behind the tentacle known as the Food and Drug Administration (the agency targeting minorities with a menthol ban), with the tentacles known as the Republican and Democrat parties pulling the strings of the tentacles known as MCMA and MiCIA.   All in an effort to make the marijuana industry like every other industry, devoid of little guys and dominated by handfuls of bloated corporate entities all with ties to one another, all under the rule of the UN.  That does not sound like backing the little guy.  In fact, that is backing the biggest guy on the planet.  It also sounds exactly like the history of the war on drugs, with a United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs popping into existence in 1961, the U.S. Controlled Substances act of 1970 being modelled to comply with it, and politicians on both sides of the aisle backing it for personal gain with the help of news media who never mention the UN.

This is also how Whitmer and her fellow virtual Hash Bash politicians justified their attacks on individual autonomy and small business.  The United Nations’ World Health Organization sounded an alarm, the Center for Disease Control grabbed the baton, the parties and the propagandists pulled the strings, and suddenly the rights of the little guys which were won from absentee tyrants by people who literally fought through illness and poverty no longer mattered.  Big box stayed open and made a killing in 2020.  Health insurance giants still recorded billions in net profits for 2020.  Massive tech entities saw their numbers and influence skyrocket in 2020.  How did 2020 go for small business and individual rights?  Caregivers are individuals.  Their concerns are the concerns of property rights, individual autonomy and free commerce.  Constitutional issues that need to be defended daily, and that never should have been stolen. 

Entities that cheer for unconstitutional tyranny while using power to exempt themselves, that use social movements as tools to bottleneck industries while holding the will of the people like a bargaining chip, that use political partnerships to shut down and then steal real populist movements, and that champion control of everything by the massive global totalitarian corporate shadow bureaucracy that started the war on drugs, are just as responsible for attacking the little guy as entities who have no problem openly admitting their combined true intentions: the theft of marijuana from the little guy by big money and big government.