Fluresh Grows as Prices Drop

 

Fluresh Grows as Prices Drop

 by Ben Horner

In October 2021, Fluresh invited us to tour its two cultivation and processing facilities in Adrian and Grand Rapids. This year the Michigan Marijuana Report came back out to see what was new at Fluresh and how Michigan’s second-largest producer of safe and legal cannabis was adapting as prices around the state have fallen and more facilities have come online. Our guide was OG Bob Schwartz, a twelve-year cultivation expert and VP of Cultivation and Operations at Fluresh. 

Tissue Culture

Tissue culture is the most advanced technique for mass producing sturdy stock of a particular strain of cannabis. Our visit to the Grand Rapids Fluresh cultivation facility began with a tour of the tissue culture lab. Amanda Forner, graduate of Grand Valley with a degree in biochemistry, runs the state-of-the-art lab. The purpose of cloning from tissue culture is to create plants that are free from viral diseases, mold, and bacteria. To do so, a cutting from a female cannabis plant is put in a “hot box” that kills all contaminants as well as any weakened parts of the plant. The tiny sections of plant tissue that are still alive are then cut from the sample and placed in sterile containers with a proprietary growth fluid.

After some time, the material begins to grow. When the tissue has grown to a few centimeters, it is transferred into small boxes that help the tissue develop into a plant with tiny leaves. Eventually the tiny plant that started from just a flake of cannabis tissue is ready to be dipped in root compound and placed in a sponge cube, just as if it were a simple cutting. The finished specimen is a totally clean female plant. 

“These plants are not only free of contamination,” explains Forner. “The girls are more robust plants. The weaker plant material dies and only the strongest survive.” 

All the time and energy that goes into keeping the plants clean at the earliest stage is present throughout the entire process. All staff working in the facility must wear shoe coverings, gloves, and hair covering, and pass through a wind box room before entering. When growing thousands of plants, a single contamination outbreak could destroy millions of dollars of weed.

Price Drop

This year has seen a steep drop in the cost of medical and recreational marijuana. Commercial pounds are now wholesaling for as low as $700 per pound for high-quality flower. “We have seen this in other states,” stated Schwartz. “Hopefully we are seeing the bottom and prices will stabilize. To be competitive, our products are priced as competitive as they need to be and our quality has to be superior to [that of] our competitors.” 

To do this, Fluresh has lowered its prices, even on their premium Carbon line of products. The Kitchen Sink by Fluresh, a cross of GMO Cookies and Sunday Driver, tests at over 30% THC and has a dynamic terpene profile that matches up to the level of product produced by smaller boutique growers. Facing the dropping prices and the high-quality level, home growers—a large part of the so-called gray market—cannot keep up. Rather than legislating the caregivers out of the market, they are running for the hills and looking at new avenues to make a buck.

Flureshing Futures

Using his experience with cultivators in the emerald triangle, Schwartz is on the hunt for new exotic strains to add to Fluresh’s portfolio. “We want to find strains that have specific qualities. For example, we have found a breeder that has genetics that are particularly good for solventless hash extractions.” According to Schwartz, having unique strains is the future of success not only for flower, but also for extracts, edibles, and other products. 

In recent news, Fluresh has been able to acquire a credit line of over $40 million in liquid capital, which has allowed the company to reduce the cost of capitalization by paying off higher interest loans from private investor funds. Some of this money is being used in the research and development of products as well as the building of two new retail locations in Michigan. One will be in Adrian and one will be in Big Rapids. Fluresh will continue to provide top brands from other licensed facilities to offer the variety of products that Michigan cannabis consumers demand. 

As Fluresh grows, the company will grow its talent base, which now has almost 300 employees. One way this is done is through the company’s social equity accelerator program that anyone can apply to. More information can be found at

https://fluresh.com

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Free The Weed #130

 

Free The Weed #130

A column by John Sinclair

Hi, everybody, and welcome to the July edition of Free the Weed, my monthly column for the Marijuana Report. I’m in the process of establishing my personal institution, the John Sinclair Foundation, and I thought it might be good to explain what it’s all about.

Inspired by Allen Ginsberg, who formed and operated the Committee on Poetry to assist him in pursuing his mission, I’m forming the John Sinclair Foundation to support my artistic and cultural projects presently and in perpetuity, to make them available to the public and preserve them for posterity, and to ensure the preservation and proper presentation of my voluminous creative works in poetry, music, performance, journalism, editing, publishing, broadcasting, and record production, and my contributions as a cultural and political activist and organizer. 

The John Sinclair Foundation will hold all copyrights to my creative productions of every sort and will share royalty and advance payments from licensing these copyrights equally with my family and designated heirs, with the foundation set to receive 50% of any and all revenues, the heirs sharing the other half.

The foundation shall conduct its operations with funds secured through royalties, advances, performance and personal appearance fees, record and book sales, commissions on artworks, donations, gifts, memberships, grants, and other public sources.

Expenditures will be made from the foundation’s accounts for expenses associated with ongoing and prospective projects undertaken by the foundation, including facility rentals; building operations and maintenance; establishment and maintenance of an artist in residence guest living space; staffing and associated costs; insurance; travel costs; grants, fees, and honoraria for contributing artists and consultants; and other costs of doing business.

The business of the foundation is directed by Executive Director Steven Pratt in Amsterdam, supported by a board of directors comprising Beyonce Sinclair, Adam Brook, and Jamie Lowell, and backed up by a steering committee of 15 people. The foundation will be assisted in its development and activities by an advisory board made up of persons sympathetic to the goals of the foundation who will agree to serve as consultants and advisors with respect to operations, fundraising, and project development.  

Our immediate projects include the operation of our internet radio station, RadioFreeAmsterdam.org; the establishment of meeting space/gallery/performance/office spaces in Detroit and Amsterdam as a new project of the foundation; the consolidation of several existing websites under the umbrella of the John Sinclair Foundation; making a uniform digital edition of the poetry and prose of John Sinclair; and registering copyrights and publishing the creations in music and verse of John Sinclair as the property of the John Sinclair Foundation.

 Our internet radio station is a grassroots broadcasting project founded in Amsterdam on January 1, 2005. The Radio Free Amsterdam program hosts are radio veterans who produce weekly blues, jazz, or free-form programs for college or community stations or expressly for Radio Free Amsterdam:

• John Sinclair produces our flagship program, The John Sinclair Radio Show, plus other series exclusively for Radio Free Amsterdam, which he founded with Larry Hayden and Hank Botwinik in 2005, and continues to serve as Program Director. He is a veteran of WNRZ-FM and WCBN-FM in Ann Arbor, WDET-FM in Detroit, and WWOZ-FM in New Orleans, where he was voted most popular deejay for the last five years of his residency there.

• Steve Pratt (Steve the Fly), deejay, drummer, record producer, writer, and scholar extraordinaire, spins his Fly By Night shows exclusively for Radio Free Amsterdam and serves as the executive director for the project.

• Bruce Pingree has hosted and produced The Blues Show on WUNH-FM in Durham, NH, since the early 1970s and now has more than 500 episodes archived at the John Sinclair Foundation site.

• Leslie Keros hosts and produces Chicago Bound and Jazz at Daybreak, all archived at the John Sinclair Foundation site.

• Bob Putignano mixed soul, jazz, funk, blues, blues-rock, and more with a steady dose of musician interviews and conversations with industry insiders for years on WFDU-FM in New York City and created his current program series for taintradio.org, now heard every Friday on Radio Free Amsterdam.

• George Klein hosted the long-running Groove Yard show on WEMU-FM in Ypsilanti, MI, in the 1990s.

• Lucille Mancini, a popular club deejay known in Italy as Lucille DJ, produces The Soul Lucille Show for Controradio-FM in Florence, Italy, and features a Radio Free Amsterdam guest spot from John Sinclair each week.

• Linda Lexy, producer of the Party Train show, is a veteran Detroit deejay on the radio and in the clubs and is also a principal of Funky D Records. She has received multiple Best Deejay in Detroit citations from the Detroit Music Awards.

• David Kunian is Jazz Lunatique in residence at WWOZ-FM in New Orleans and an award-winning broadcast program producer, a music journalist, and director of the Jazz Archive at the Louisiana State Museum.

• The late Tom Morgan, a veteran of WTJU-FM (Bartender’s Bop) in Charlottesville, Virginia, and WWOZ-FM (Jazz Roots, New Orleans Music Show) in New Orleans, contributed several program series to our broadcast schedule and continues to be featured every week even though he is no longer with us.

This cast of musical characters who contribute their programming to Radio Free Amsterdam can be heard every week in regular rotation and in reverse sequence in the continuous 24/7 stream on our website.

Radio Free Amsterdam issues a monthly Program Guide with short descriptions of each offering for the upcoming month. The guide is published on our website the first of each month.

An obsessive collector and compulsive documentarian from an early age, Sinclair has created an extensive collection of materials from all the stages of his productive life and preserved the manuscripts, documents, recordings, posters, and other evidence of his activities as a poet, activist, journalist, broadcaster, record producer, and community organizer since the early 1960s.

In 1978 Sinclair donated the archives amassed by him and his first wife, Leni Sinclair, to the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan, and in 2000 made a second massive deposit of the materials remaining after a fire had destroyed his residence in New Orleans. This archive, titled “John and Leni Sinclair Papers,” can be accessed here. 

Sinclair has also donated tape recordings and other archival materials relating to his activities in the Detroit jazz community—from the Detroit Artists Workshop to the Detroit Jazz Center—to the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, where these materials repose as the John Sinclair Detroit Jazz Collection and can be accessed at http://thewright.org/archives/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/John-Sinclair-Jazz-Audio-Collection.pdf.

The John Sinclair Foundation will be the repository for all extant archival materials held by John Sinclair, including his poetry and prose manuscripts, recordings, printed and recorded products, copyrighted materials, posters, flyers, promotional materials, and ephemera relating to his activities in Europe, America, and elsewhere from 2000 to the present.

The foundation will also maintain a complete collection of the printed and recorded work of John Sinclair and make this collection available online, including a uniform edition in digital form of all his published and heretofore unpublished books to be issued by the foundation. This archive will also contain all extant programming of Radio Free Amsterdam since its inception in 2004.

In future the John Sinclair Foundation will attempt to find a home for these 21st-century archives at an appropriate institution in the Netherlands.

—Detroit,  June 14, 2022

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Russia Reefer Madness

 

Russia Reefer Madness

by Ben Horner

American teacher Marc Fogel was sentenced to 14 years in prison for possession of “Large Scale Drug Smuggling” for reportedly bringing cannabis oil into the Russia. "During customs checks, the marijuana and hash oil were found in his luggage," officials said. The incident happened in August 2021 when Fogel was arrested by customs officers after arriving from New York with his wife at Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow. Marc was a teacher in the Anglo-American School of Moscow. 

This comes after WNBA star Brittney Griner was arrested for a similar charge involving cannabis vape carts for personal use in her luggage. She remains in Russia in pre-trial detention for drug smuggling.  Griner's detention began days before Russia defied U.S. warnings and sent troops into Ukraine last late February.

Russian law defines a "large amount" of marijuana to be 100 grams (about 3.5 ounces) or more. Anything between 6-100 grams is classified as a "significant amount," the possession of which generally carries a much shorter jail sentence and, in some cases, the punishment is reduced to a fine. Fogel and Griner both possessed what should have been classified as a small amount, but are being charged as if they had smuggled a large amount. 

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Switzerland — Pilot Study for Recreational Weed in Switzerland

 

Switzerland — Pilot Study for Recreational Weed in Switzerland

 by Ben Horner

In April, Switzerland approved a pilot project that will allow recreational weed sales as they are beginning to revise their policies on pot. The country will allow recreational weed for purchase at pharmacies in the city of Basel which is located in the northern region of the country near the French and German borders. The prosed projects were brought up for discussion last fall,

The project will begin this summer and will involve the local government of Basel, Basel Psychiatric Clinics, and Basel University, will begin with 400 hundred residents over 18 years old from the city. As a part of the project, they will be interviewed for two and half years to review how the marijuana is affecting their mental and physical health. 

Selling and growing marijuana is illegal in Switzerland. Medical marijuana and CBD are legal with products being sold at a 1 percent THC content; even Swiss chocolate infused with American CBD. 

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Puerto Rico Seeks to Freeze New Licensing

 

Puerto Rico Seeks to Freeze New Licensing

 by Amy Wilding-Fox

 

Puerto Rico is five years into their medicinal marijuana program and already seeing what experts are calling a saturation of the market. While the government collected 65 million in taxes, one study by the Association of Members of the Medical Cannabis Industry (MICaM, in Spanish). looked beyond the tax revenue and measured the impact on established dispensaries.  Having grown nearly 53% in 2021 to 277 established dispensaries, the ratio of patients to dispensary is running thin. With just under 120,000 medical marijuana patients registered, that averages 432 patients per dispensary, a very low number when compared to the average count per dispensary in the Continental United States is over 1,500. Upon factoring in the drop in marijuana prices dropping over 40% from this time last year due to the abundance of product, the monthly average sales per dispensary fell from over $69,000 to less than $39,500.

Trying to curb this trend and help decrease the chances of closures, MICaM is asking that there be an instant freeze on any new licenses granted. On top of that, they are asking that there be an overhaul on the current marijuana policy. Requests include

• Creating an Advisory Council made up of representatives of the cultivation, manufacturing and dispensary segments that facilitates the visibility of vital statistics of the industry and produces the annual report required by the medical cannabis regulations;
• Developing regional and municipal criteria for issuing new licenses;
• Adopting an economic policy that recognizes and promotes the industry’s potential so that Puerto Rico becomes a regional and hemispheric player, including the granting of economic incentives to the industry;
• Opening the market for adult use; and,
• As an emerging industry, the government should consider supplying incentives like those provided to other industries, such as manufacturing, tourism, and agriculture.

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Half Ton of Weed Bound for Ireland Intercepted

 

Half Ton of Weed Bound for Ireland Intercepted

by Ben Horner 

A lettuce truck loaded with 500 vacuum-sealed bags of weed mixed into the crates of more traditional greens was intercepted on its way to a ferry crossing from Spain to Wexford, Ireland.  The 575 kilograms was valued at 3.7 million euros. This weed salad export is very similar to the California phenomenon in the U.S. Just like California’s production for the U.S., Spain produces a significant amount of the fruits and vegetables for the EU, as well as high-quality cannabis. 

In May, Spanish police brought down a major drug trafficking gang that involved 43 people from Ireland, the United Kingdom, Colombia, Spain, and Morocco. The international drug smuggling cartel has been using Spain’s abundant marijuana supply to bundle with South American cocaine to be hauled by mules to distribute throughout Europe. 

Organized crime groups in Europe such as British Firms, Turkish mafia, Milieu, Penose, Jamaican posse, Irish Republican Army, and Galician clans rely on cannabis as a staple commodity.

View this article on our website.

Israel and The Cannabis Connection

 

Israel and The Cannabis Connection 

by Ben Horner

The Israeli government announced in the spring that they making the way to fully decriminalizing recreational cannabis, as well as expunging criminal records for possession of pot. CBD was just removed from the Israeli dangerous drug list in the spring of this year, but it is not permitted in supplements, cosmetics, or food. 

Medical cannabis is legal in Israel, and there is a growing market in the country for it. Over half of the medical cannabis produced is imported.  Recreational marijuana is still illegal.

Raphael Mechoulam, an Israeli chemist from Hebrew University who specializes in studying of cannabinoids, was the first to isolate THC. Today, the Israeli science community and cannabis businesses (there are over a hundred of them) still are developing new strains and growing techniques. 

According to Jewish religious laws, cannabis is not kosher for Passover in some sects because it is considered a legume.

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South Africa Corporate Cannabis Takeover

 

South Africa Corporate Cannabis Takeover 

by Ben Horner

In 2018, a South African Constitutional Court case effectively decriminalized cannabis for private use and home cultivation. This has resulted in the South African legislature introducing a bill that seeks to create a regulatory framework to build a new cannabis industry, but it is not clear how the commercial industry will be allowed to proceed. 

Critics include Umzimvubu Farmers Support Network (UFSN), which represents traditional farmers and cannabis-only growers in the Pondoland region who are concerned that they will be cut out of new cannabis industry. South African president Ramaphosa specifically mentioned the UFSN in a recent state of the union address in which he showed support for the Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill. Ramaphosa expressed that the hemp and cannabis industry was a major priority for the country because it could create an estimated 130,000 new jobs. 

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) supports the legalization of cannabis for private, commercial, and medical use in South Africa. While COSATU said it broadly supports the objectives of the bill, it noted that more work still needs to be done on the bill, as it was “unrealistically bureaucratic and cumbersome” in some ways.

As of last June, Republic of South Africa Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Acquisitions LLC (RSAMMDA.LLC) has closed on the acquisition of Protext Mobility Inc., in a share exchange whereby 100% of capital stock in RSAMMDA.LLC will be exchanged for preferred stock in Protext. The deal was reportedly started around the same time as the Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill. The merge unites retail locations with over a thousand hectares of hemp and cannabis cultivation facilities utilizing seed-to-sale tracking software and proprietary extraction technology. 

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Malta Leads Cannabis Legalization in Europe

 

Malta Leads Cannabis Legalization in Europe 

by Ben Horner

In 2021, Malta became the first country in the European Union to legalize cannabis for adult use. The law allows citizens age 18 or older to possess up to 7 grams of cannabis and grow four plants at home, and keep up to 50 grams at home from their harvest. 

Since the passing of medical marijuana legislation in 2018, several Maltese companies have entered the cannabis space; however, the process of being selected for a license to produce is very cumbersome. 

Materia Malta, the leading medical cannabis distributor in Europe, has shipped medical cannabis products to Germany. This is the first such batch shipped outside of the country, Worldakkam reports. Materia GmbH, a subsidiary of the company, facilitated the shipment and is already selling the cannabis to German pharmacies, according to the report.

“We are proud to be a company that establishes a new frontier for the Maltese and European cannabis industry,” said Nick Pateras, managing director of Materia in Europe.

Similar to the various state laws in United States, each EU country has different marijuana laws, but there is an EU standard for hemp products like CBD that has allowed brands and logistics to form. Countries are allowed to import and export to reciprocal medical marijuana EU countries, unlike the U.S., which has yet to allow any non-hemp cannabis to cross state lines.

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Bermuda — Legalization for Recreational Marijuana Up for Vote

 

Bermuda — Legalization for Recreational Marijuana Up for Vote

by Ben Horner

In March, The Cannabis Licensing Act of 2022 was introduced into to legislation in Bermuda’s House of Assembly. The legislation calls for the legality to possess, grow and sell, and export marijuana in the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. Smoking pot in public places, and not being able to sell to anyone under 21 years old, will be remain illegal with the new law. 

In 2021, legislation for legalization was introduced and did not pass in the Senate. To date, it is illegal to possess 7 grams of the cannabis in Bermuda. 

Caribbean National Weekly published the news on March 29^th.  The Weekly article stated that, Walter Roban, Home Affairs Minister, introduced the bill stating, as did Attorney General Kathy Lynn Simmons last year, that marijuana that is not legal “was “an unjust colonial legacy” and evidence of “systematic, racialized disparities” where black people were criminalized by a white oligarchy.” *

Roban continued to state that legalization, which is not being supported by England, will “provide the greatest good for the greatest number.” 

It is uncertain if the Governor will sign the legislation. 

*Sourced from CNW, a digital news site

Bermuda House of Assembly passes cannabis legislation again - CNW Network

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Minnesota Slowly Opens Door to THC

 

Minnesota Slowly Opens Door to THC

by Amy Wilding-Fox

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed a bill on June 2^nd that is slowly opening the door to full legalization of cannabis in the state by redefining cannabis laws. Local advocated find the move very promising. Soon, it will be legal for retail CBD establishments to distribute products with THC as long as they adhere to the state regulations.

Beginning August 1^st, 2022, CBD businesses can legally sell all cannabinoid edibles, drinks, and topicals containing THC as long as each dose remains under 5mg., and the entire package does not exceed 50 mgs. Products must also stay within the federal limit of .3% THC, as well.

Along with these changes, the products must go through new testing procedures, with special labeling and packaging. 

CBD Centers, a retail business of Minnesota that has weathered the changing cannabis markets while others failed, told local news affiliate KEYC they are ready for this change. They already have a manufacturing plant in Waseca, Minnesota to help meet the new demand expected and look forward to their growth in this budding industry. CBD Center owners have been noted saying that they believe this new law will “destigmatize their products and urge other states to trust Minnesota-grown products.”

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Kansas Falls Short

 

Kansas Falls Short

by Amy Wilding-Fox

The latest Kansas bill fell short yet again in its attempt to legalize cannabis medicinally for the state. Instead, new legislation was signed by the governor that will grant access to only FDA approved medicinal marijuana. That includes the CBD oil Edioplex that has been heavily criticized for its expensive costs. There are also three synthetic “cannabis-related” products that have gotten the green light from the FDA for nausea that will soon be available for HIV, Cancer, and AIDS patients. As the FDA continues to expand its research on cannabis, Kansas may eventually receive more products as they become approved down the line. 

In response to the change, Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, told reporters in that it was uncertain any of the proposals to date would have been able to get a majority of votes needed for passage in his chamber anyway. “I think the subject matter is mature and you will see it next year," Masterson said.

In a statement after the Legislature adjourned for the year, Sen. Rob Olson, R-Olathe, chair of the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee, said that "I regret and take responsibility" for the policy not passing his chamber. He went on to say that key issues still need to be addressed and resolved next year, as well.

View this article on our website. 

 

Idaho — What the Spud?

 

Idaho — What the Spud? 

by Amy Wilding-Fox

We live in a country where cannabis laws continue to rapidly change from state-to-state. It is estimated that nearly 75% of the American population live in a jurisdiction that has legalized or decriminalized cannabis in some way. Last count there are 38 states, plus Guam, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, that have legalized cannabis at least medicinally while nine have went as far as legalizing cannabis for cultivation, possession and use as recreational.

Meanwhile, there is still one state standing firm against any leniency on cannabis. That is none other than the spud state itself, Idaho.  With even the reddest states like Tennessee trying to pass decriminalization bills at the least, the very red Idaho remains steadfast that cannabis remain illegal and difficult to possess for, well, forever. First, in 2015 when the use of medicinal CBD was adopted, the then Governor vetoed the bill, only to allow the FDA approved Edioplex that comes with a hefty price tag of nearly $1000.00 for a mere 600 milligrams. Therefore, the average patients that could benefit from CBD immensely, like cancer patients for instance, couldn’t afford it even if a doctor recommended CBD as part of their patient plan.  In 2021, Idaho went as far as proposing “Senate Joint Resolution 101” that would prohibit any future possible sales, manufacturing, delivery, possessing of certain “psychoactive drugs”, namely marijuana, to protect the “virtue and sobriety of the state”. Though not ultimately adopted, the current governor, Brad Little, has stated numerous times and continues to maintain that he would never sign off on marijuana legalization. 

Brave Idahoans do attempt to make the trip to one of the bordering cannabis friendly states like Washington, Nevada, and Oregon to purchase their medicine. Then, they must risk driving back home and across heavily policed borders looking to fine and incarcerate its citizens for a 5-year sentence. Some have been noted as saying it is like driving into another country because they are so behind in the War on Drugs. Businesses that sell smoking accessories must still advertise for tobacco use only and patrons can be asked to leave if the business suspects the use will be for cannabis. In other words, no asking for a bong or blunt wraps, people.

So, is there any hope for Idahoans to ever be free of the chains built on decades of lies and false propaganda of a failed war on drugs?  There are some organizations and advocates tirelessly working to do so. This year two such advocate groups have failed the get the signatures needed to get cannabis legalization on the ballot, one reportedly getting only 10% of the 70,000 signatures needed. The future of legalized cannabis in Idaho is looking bleak, at least for another two years. But know this. Idaho has much of an enlightened country rooting for them to finally step out of the Dark, Drug War Ice Ages.

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Nebraska- Federal Judge Sides with Advocates

 

Nebraska- Federal Judge Sides with Advocates

by Amy Wilding-Fox 

Cannabis advocates in Nebraska are celebrating an important win in federal court when a judge ruled in favor of granting their request of a preliminary injunction, blocking Secretary of State Robert Evnen from enforcing a requirement for petitions to have signatures from 5% of registered voters in each of the 38 counties.

ACLU and Nebraskans for Medical Marijuana sued the state, saying the requirement violates the "one person, one vote" rule. Their theory is that it gives fewer registered voters of a sparsely populated county more say than registered voters of a more populous county 

To add to that, a major donor passed away cutting funds to hire paid canvassers. This ruling will make it so that total number of eligible signatures can come from anywhere in the state, as long as they still reach the count equivalent to that of 5% of each county. Now, the heavier populated areas can be where the majority of the signatures come from, reflecting better Nebraska’s total population.

District Judge John Gerrard wrote "the State of Nebraska is absolutely free to require a showing of statewide support for a ballot initiative—but it may not do so based on units of dramatically differing population, resulting in discrimination among voters."

For the moment, there is still hope that legalization of marijuana will be on the ballot come November 2022. Signatures are still being gathered and tallied but could eventually be for naught. The ruling is now in process of appeal by the state of Nebraska.

View this article on our website. 

 

North Carolina - Medical Marijuana Up for Vote

 

North Carolina - Medical Marijuana Up for Vote 

 by Amy Wilding-Fox

 

In 2021 the North Carolina Compassionate Care Act to legalize medical marijuana did not pass, stalling in the Senate. 

As of 2022, North Carolina is one of 13 states that has not legalized medical use of pot. 72 percent of those polled in North Carolina support medical legalization. 57 percent of the population that were polled support recreational legalization. Currently, Delta 8 and CBD, with the federally regulated 0.3 percent THC amounts, are legal in state. 

It is likely the bill will be up for vote again in May with a high chance that it will be passed. 

The bill proposes that only those with specific diagnoses such as PTSD, epilepsy, cancer, and HIV, as well as patients with debilitating conditions and patients in hospice care, will be qualified for medical cards. 

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New York - Pot Helps Lower Prescription Use

 

New York - Pot Helps Lower Prescription Use 

 by Amy Wilding-Fox

A published article in April in the Cornell Chronicle reported a first-time study on how legal marijuana can reduce opioid demand, as well as decrease prescription drug usage through Medicaid programs. 

The study, conducted by Shyam Raman from Cornell, and Ashley Bradford, from Indiana University, found that in states that have legalized recreational pot in some form, there has been a decrease for drugs, especially drugs for sleeping, anxiety, pain, and seizures. 

“About 40 states have legalized medical marijuana that must be prescribed by a doctor. So far, about 20 states have legalized personal-use cannabis for all adults, but that number is likely to rise. In those states, Raman and Bradford found a meaningful change in the demand for drugs used to treat sleep and anxiety disorders but no real impact on drugs used to treat nausea. *

The research did also conclude that cannabis use can trigger anxiety and schizophrenia, as well as a lowering of doctor visits which decreases primary care. 

The research was conducted in all 50 states from the years 2011 and 2019, which was a time where many of the U.S. states began legalizing marijuana. 

*Sourced from Cornell Chronicle, digital journal 

https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2022/04/recreational-marijuana-access-reduces-demand-prescription-drugs#:~:text=Legalization%20of%20recreational%20marijuana%20reduces,Cornell%20researcher%20and%20a%20collaborator.

 

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Kansas - Hemp for Cows

 

Kansas - Hemp for Cows 

A study conducted by the University of Kansas this past spring reported feeding cattle industrial hemp may have benefits such as decreasing their stress, helping the cattle with inflammation issues, and aiding in the cattle to lie down more often. These benefits could help the steers to become healthier and also to help to prevent infections or other illnesses. 

The industrial hemp that was fed to the cows for 14 days was made of a mix of feed and hemp contained with CBD. Throughout the study, the researchers traced the movements of the cows and their biomarkers for stress. The results of the study concluded that the cattle eating the CBD mix were more prone to lying down. It also found that they had lower levels of stress hormones, and that the hemp did not accumulate into their systems. 

U.S. FDA approval would be needed for hemp to be used as a part of livestock feed if used in the future. Also, studies will need to be continued to see if there would be effects on the food chain. 

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New Jersey - First Dispensary Openings

 

New Jersey - First Dispensary Openings

by Amy Wilding-Fox

New Jersey opened its first recreational dispensaries on April 21^st.  Medical marijuana became legal in in the state in 2010. Recreational marijuana for adults over 21 was signed into law in early 2021 after a lost vote in 2018.  It is estimated the state will gain $300 million a year in sales tax revenue with the 25 percent tax. 

On April 21^st 13 dispensaries opened their doors for their first recreational sales with some reporting customers waiting overnight. 

Governor Phil Murphy wrote on Twitter on 4/20 “Tomorrow, recreational adult-use cannabis sales will begin in New Jersey. This new industry will be an engine of economic growth for our state, and play a critical role in our efforts to ensure economic and social equity.”

Priority for the opening of dispensaries will be given to those who are economically disadvantaged, diverse business owners, and owners who live in municipalities with a high unemployment rate and high rate of crimes related to marijuana. Municipalities will have the right to set laws in place such as to allow amounts of cannabis businesses in their locations, set hours and placement restrictions, and collect a 2 percent tax on the weed. Almost 71 percent of New Jersey municipalities, including Princeton, have denied dispensaries from opening. These districts are allowed to opt in at any time. 

The is still illegal to grow pot in New Jersey.

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Arizona-FDA Approved Testing

 

Arizona-FDA Approved Testing 

by Amy Wilding-Fox

It was in 1968 the first (and only) FDA-approved license for legally growing and testing Marijuana was given to the University of Mississippi’s National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) for federally funded research projects. For decades it was a for profit tool used to find ways to keep marijuana and its user suppressed by only funding projects that were designed to purposely make marijuana look bad with skewed numbers and biased researchers. It was also where the mysterious infamous G-13 was supposedly birthed and grown. 

It would not be until 2021 that the DEA would issue any more FDA-approved licenses, though others had tried throughout the decades, for-profit and non-profits alike. Through privately funded research projects over the last 5 decades, yet not recognized by the federal government, the truth about the medicinal properties of marijuana began to surface. The proverbial and literal smoke began to clear paving the way to breakthroughs so many in the counterculture already knew, marijuana is simply an herb that has medicinal purposes, like so many other herbal remedies. 

So why in 2021 the federal shift in licensing policy? In a country where 3/4^th its citizens live in a place with legal access to marijuana, the FDA and federal government can finally see the lucrative potential of the cannabis plant. The dollar signs are finally greater in a legalized world with a regulated plant than imprisoning our citizens and calling them addicts.

Once again, the FDA needs new research facilities [easily swayed by the dollar] to usher in this new era of manipulated testing. Would the masses believe NIDA research should they about face from decades of negative findings? Apparently not, so there are now five facilities across the USA with that have the coveted license, including FIDA. The issue with this, 3 of the four given new licenses are also for profit. Just like FIDA, they will be easily manipulated to skew research to the federals government’s interests. For example, research could be funded specifically aimed to harm caregiver rights to grow their own, forcing only pharmaceutical grade cannabis to be legal at a federal level. 

Hopefully, there is a light in this tunnel that goes by the name of Dr. Sue Sisley. A former University of Arizona Professor, Dr. Sisley runs the only non-profit granted the DEA’s FDA approved license. Renowned cannabis advocate, Dr Sisley is founder, owner, president and head researcher at the Scottsdale Research Institute (SRI) of Scottsdale, AZ. She has dedicated much of her career as an advocate for medicinal marijuana researching at the University of Arizona. Her position at the university made her keenly aware of the corruption in the earlier single research system of FIDA. “They’ve always been focused on cannabis for safety studies, looking at harmful side effects of cannabis and addiction potential,” she said.

Dr Sisley is looking to change that.  According to their website, SRI “supports the expansion of research efforts to determine the applicability of cannabis as medicine for any conditions for which it might prove safe and effective.” She is currently on her second phase of the only FDA approved Veteran PTSD cannabis study. She is not stopping there. She is licensed to grow her own cannabis to research, instead of getting “diluted” strains with very little medicinal principals that FIDA was known to research. And with that, she hopes to help more researchers own the road. With any excess material she grows, the SRI will make it available at cost to help with the expansion of a less biased approach of research on marijuana. 

“That wasn’t our primary mission, but we certainly care. We desperately want to support scientists across the country,” Dr. Sisley said.

View this article on our website.

 

Medical-Use on Probation

 Medical-Use on Probation

by Ben Horner

Michigan Court of Appeals decided Thue vs The State of Michigan, by reversing the lower courts decision to deny Michael Thue from using his medical marijuana while on probation in a published decision. A published opinion sets a precedent that when cited by a defendant or ones attorney, should allow the defendant to use medical marijuana while on probation. Unfortunately, probation officers, lawyers and judges in Michigan continue to deny medical marihuana patients their rights. 

“Some lawyers just don’t know what they are doing,” explained Thue. “They send requests to medical marijuana patient’s doctors for letters and send court questioner forms, often for drug court or probation violations. If they understand the published opinion, the lawyers would just insist that the medical marijuana card is enough.”

Medical marijuana patents are reporting that the court systems are ignoring the Thue decision and denying them their right to use their medicine or issuing an order against the individual based on the medical marijuana status. If a bad decision is appealed it could lead to a new published opinion that goes against the Thue decision in some way.

View this article on our website.

Ferndale Fungus?

 

Ferndale Fungus? 

by Ben Horner

 Decriminalize Nature Ferndale spoke to its City Council on May 9th, and requested a resolution to decriminalize all plants for medicinal purposes, particularly mycological and entheogenic ones. Co-founders of the group, Kelsey Taylor and Billy Horton as well as many other community members spoke in support. 

Decriminalize Nature Michigan is now circulating a statewide petition to legalize possessing, cultivating and sharing psychedelics. It is titled Michigan Initiative for Community Healing. The petition was filed by Students foe a Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) in February of this year.  If the signature gatherers acquire the 340,047 valid signatures by June first of this year the voters of Michigan would be able to vote on the issue this year. To date there is no paid profession circulators or solid polling that is typically needed for a successful statewide campaign.

Ann Arbor, Detroit and Hazel Park have all decriminalized the adult use of entheogenic plants, making Michigan a leader nationally in the movement. Oregon is the only state to legalize entheogenic plants for medical purposes.

View this article on our website.

Michigan Piss Police

 

Michigan Piss Police

Faking a Urine Test and You Might Do Time

by Ben Horner

Michigan House Health Policy Committee heard testimony largely in support of senate bill SB 134, a bill to criminalize the use and sales of fake urine and detox products designed to help people beat drug tests. As written, attempting to beat a drug test for work or anything else in Michigan would be a misdemeanor, punishable up to 1 year in jail and up to a thousand dollar fine. A distributor that delivers, sells or possesses a drug-masking product on their self would make it a misdemeanor to “distribute, deliver, sell, or possess with intent to distribute, deliver, or seal a drug masking product.” If the distributor is caught in the act of selling the products the charge becomes a felony, and which could result in up to five years or a fine of no more than $8,000, or both.

 Barry Sample, the director of Science and Technology, Employer Solutions at Quest Diagnostics (Quest), called these “insidious products” out. Michigan state senators on the committee agreed and gave examples of employees using these products and creating unsafe workplaces. 

“The anti-drug testing industry responds with the continual evolution and sophistication of the products and devices used to defeat the drug-testing process,” explained Sample. “It is a continual cat-and-mouse game.”

If the bill passes, these products will likely be available online and on shelves in Michigan. Detox products are careful to word their packaging in such a way that doesn’t state the use is intended to beat the test, rather claiming to be herbal supplements or novelty items. 

Quest and other labs routinely screen for some of the ingredients used in fake urine and herbal detox products. This is common knowledge by those who regularly use and distribute these products. 

View this article on our website.

GOP Candidate Ryan Kelley—Criminal or Hero?

 

GOP Candidate Ryan Kelley—Criminal or Hero?

MMR Publisher Ben Horner sits down with politician Ryan Kelley

by Ben Horner

Gretchen Whitmer will face one of the GOP candidates in the midterm elections this November, but first, in the August primary, Michiganders must decide what kind of Republican candidate should run against her. In May 2020, this magazine looked at Whitmer’s record as a governor from a libertarian perspective and found her to be an establishment governor who has allowed overregulation to support big marijuana, and the magazine questioned her use of power. The Michigan Marijuana Report also covered a protest in Lansing that questioned her policy. The protest was led by various groups that brought armed civilians to the capital for a peaceful protest. 

(GR Code) https://mmmrmag.blogspot.com/search?q=whitmer caption: Link to May 2020 article on Whitmer

Michigan Democrats have pushed a social equity policy on cannabis that has failed to make the cannabis industry one for small business owners and caregivers who pioneered medical marijuana here and led the grassroots movement to legalize cannabis in Michigan. Old-school Republicans have often shown brazen hostility to marijuana, but constitutional conservatives, libertarians, and Trump supporters have changed the Republican base.

In a recent upset, fraudulent signature gatherers cashed in on five GOP candidates for governor in Michigan, forcing candidates like James Craig, a Black Republican, off the ballot. As many cannabis activists here in Michigan know, always double-check the signatures on your petition against the list of registered voters and look for obvious clues like handwriting and ink to determine if the signatures aren’t being faked by a person looking to get paid to collect valid ones. When the dust settled, Ryan Kelley, a political outsider, made the cut, as well as four other candidates. This cut the choice of GOP candidate in half.

 So, who is Ryan Kelley? Well, he is not a super-rich political insider supported by the old regime of the Republican party. He is a criminal, according to the FBI, which recently arrested him for attending the January 6 rally, or insurrection if you like. Cannabis activists remember just how recently we had to protest here in Michigan to protect our rights to use medical marijuana. We decided to reach out to Kelley and he responded personally, and not through a campaign person, which was refreshing.

Q: Ryan Kelley, how do you feel about cannabis legalization in Michigan?

Kelley: First off, I have to say that I don’t smoke cannabis or drink alcohol. It’s not for me, but I feel everyone has the right to choose what they want to do. I respect the voters’ choice to legalize medical marijuana and to legalize adult use. I do use a CBD topical and know it works and is safer than opioids.

Q: How would you like to improve the legal cannabis program in Michigan?

Kelley: Well, according to the Michigan Constitution, food and prescriptions are not to be taxed. I believe that medical marijuana should be respected as a medicine and not be taxed because it is a medicine, for starters. I am concerned about how recreational use could encourage minors and stoned driving, and how it is marketed by big marijuana should be regulated.

Q: How has overregulation in general hurt the Michigan economy? 

Kelley: It is very important for the Michigan and national economy to keep jobs in all sectors moving forward. I support small business and think we need to find a balance. People are very concerned about gas prices, inflation, baby formula, and know that we can do better. [Washington,] D.C., politics is not looking at what is in the best interest of the Michigan economy. 

Q: How have protests, and subsequent arrests of protesters, at the state and national capitals been used as propaganda for the Democrats?

Kelley: Well, coming from the guy that was just arrested by the FBI on a misdemeanor charge and is the front-runner for the nomination, it’s obvious to many people that D.C. politics is trying to demonize anyone that stands up to protect the Constitution and the right to peacefully protest. I am a concerned citizen, not a criminal. I think deep down everyone knows what’s really going on. 

For more information on Ryan Kelley visit: https://ryandkelley.com

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Free The Weed No. 129

 

Free The Weed No. 129 

A column by John Sinclair

A former assistant commissioner of prohibition, Harry J. Anslinger, went on to serve 33 years as Commissioner of the Bureau of Narcotics in the Dept of Treasury and is widely viewed as responsible for the 1937 law banning marijuana.

Glorified and condemned by large segments of the society, drugs such as LSD and marijuana, rightly or wrongly, are in the forefront of the war against repression, youth and age, powerlessness and power.

At a critical juncture in a generational shift in February 1970, with enormous public interest focused on the subject of cannabis and drug culture, PLAYBOY magazine brought together a number of key figures to discuss and clarify the issues at stake. They included Baba Ram Dass, Leslie Fielder, James Coburn, Joseph S. Oteri, Alan Watts, John Finlator, Dr. Joel Fort, M.D. and Harry Anslinger (ghost author of cannabis prohibition) and writer William S. Burroughs, author of Junkie, Queer, Naked Lunch, Exterminator and other novels.

Harry Anslinger (77 years old) leads off the power room chat claiming:

“Cannabis stands just where it has for 1000 years. In the West it is used by psychologically and socially maladjusted persons who have difficult in conforming to societal norms.”

Dr. Joel Fort, who received his medical degree from Ohio State University, 40 years old, immediately corrects Anslinger:

“That is not quite true,” and lists the reasons.  

The Playboy discussion follows the pattern where Anslinger “slings” drug war jingoism he invented, on the back of opium war tactics, to scare 1930s ladies groups and politicians into making cannabis culture and jazz culture illegal.

Allan Watts (55 years old) a former Episcopal minister known for his writing on Zen Buddhism, turns the direction of the conversation to the spiritual component of cannabis culture:

“It’s use as an aid to meditation and yoga has been dated to at least 700 A.D.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Anslinger responds.

“A person under the influence of marijuana can get so violent it takes about five policemen to hold him down.”

“Again, nonsense,” Dr. Fort responds.  

“There isn’t a shred of evidence that mariijana itself provokes violence.”

“I would certainly agree with Dr. Fort,” William Burroughs (56 years old) interjects, one can only imagine the sound of his Harvard educated snear:

“After seeing people using all sorts of drugs, I have no no hesitation in saying that Cannabis is the least harmful of all the drugs in common use, with the exception of coffee and tea of course. I have never seen anyone become violent while using Cannabis.”

“I would like to point out,” Burroughs clarifies, “that the LaGuardia Commission Report of 1944 reached the conclusion that it did not provoke violence, and so has every other scientific study I’ve looked at.”

“The whole mythology of the pot-razed killer or rapist is just something dreamed up in the tabloids,” Burroughs continues.

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Chaos

 

Chaos
Visa’s Cure Affects All and Many Will Not Survive 

by Bill Pilkington

Since the December 2^nd Visa memo the industry has been waiting for Visa to take action.  Most speculated that Visa would start handing out large fines and cease and desist orders to some of the larger Cashless Debit and noncompliant players and send a message to industry.  Instead, Visa has chosen a more deliberative process that will ensure that 100% of noncompliant processors, provisioning centers who use them and financial institutions that bank such provisioning centers will cease doing business with Visa and Mastercard.  

Nowhere to Run to, Nowhere to Hide

VISA will use the financial institution industry to achieve its compliance goals.  Using their own data and that of METRC, Visa can match sales with seeming ATM withdrawals AND determine which financial institution was the depository of record.  Financial institutions could weakly argue that it was a new industry, it was in transition, the sun was in their eyes but in truth the banking industry knew it was noncompliant from the beginning.  Visa will now identify which of its banks is working with noncompliant processors, give the bank a list of all transactions that flowed to the bank and provide notice that these are considered noncompliant, cease doing business with them.  First notice comes with a fine of $25,000, next month the second notice comes with a $50,000 fine, the third month comes with a $75,000 fine and notice the bank no longer has access to the payment system.   Banks that have been through this don’t let it get to the last sanction and simply stop doing business with noncompliant operators. Thank you and Rest in Peace.

For Those that Survive, It Is Not Over

You do the right thing and get in a compliant program only to find out that your financial institution is not fully compliant because it has other PCs that are not compliant.  Through no fault of your own you are left without a bank account.  The financial institution industry is not going to like this… I recommend that you ask your financial institution for third party affirmation that their program is compliant.  Attorney opinions, BIN Sponsor confirmations, indemnification commitments, the financial institutions should provide you with third party affirmations that your financial institution is fully compliant and will never be subject to third party shutdown.  If they cannot, I suggest you move on as VISA sanction is not an if, it is a when. 

 I have no idea of timing for Michigan institutions, I just know the odds of them investigating your financial institution is 100% which means the odds of reviewing your account is 100%.  Nathaniel Gurien, CEO of FinnCann.com is avidly anti-cashless debit.   He can refer you to vetted compliant processors, primarily of the ACH download app variety.  He estimates there are less than 250 financial institutions that taken together will allow VISA to review 98% of cannabis banking activity.  Conclusion: VISA review is going to be sooner than later.

A Singular Solution

I am an advocate for the Solvent Solution.  Solvent.io was  founded by a former WorldPay executive.  As a 26 year regulator I knew very well the history of the largest payment processor in North America.  When they came to Michigan, I met them at the shore and they presented their plans starting with Michigan.  Using their foundation in payments, they made adjustments to bank marijuana compliantly and, as it turns out, efficiently.  I hesitate to be so upfront as to endorse them but Solvent has passed the test, time has become critical and this is (gulp) existential.

One of the first banks reviewed was discovered having 78 provisioning centers with noncompliant workarounds, mostly cashless debit. The bank was informed its non compliant merchant had three choices: 1) Turn off their cashless ATM ASAP & go back to cash only 2) Find a new bank to bank with or 3) deploy Solvent across the cannabis portfolio.  They chose the Solvent Solution exclusively and they began underwriting them for traditional PIN debit (down to the penny)

With the BIN Sponsor bank committed to Solvent, I contacted Solvent President Adam Gifford and asked him for his take on the situation.  “We enjoy our work with Michigan cannabis banks and cannabis businesses.  We are currently working with our banking partners to create singular source banks that use the Solvent Solution exclusively whereby approved customers and potential customers know that they will not be shutdown due to someone ele being noncompliant.  Because any bank may be chosen for review any day, we are waiving early termination fees.  Our new customers will also receive our credit card program embedded in their Solvent Solution that they can easily turn on when credit card are allowed by the 4 major card brands.  

You Still Own the Future

The actions I recommend are meant to protect current and future operations pursuant to a commitment I made to the Community Bankers Association and representatives from the Michigan Credit Union League.  I do not charge for my services.  Please make sure you are compliant, your financial institution is compliant and you understand the risks.  If you need help just reach out to me at Pilkingtonllc@outlook.com while my website is being reconstructed to serve you I will do so personally..  I also welcome your calls at 734-558-7427.  If VISA walks into Michigan financial institutions this morning and you have an issue, don’t panic.  I will put you in a fully compliant account in ten business days. As the evolution of the industry continues, the future still belongs to you.

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Our Chat With Mike

 

Our Chat With Mike
MMR Publisher Ben Horner sits down with Mike Tyson

By Ben Horner

Boxing Legend Mike Tyson and his new brand of cannabis products, Tyson 2.0, was the featured cover story for the May/June issue of The Marijuana Report. 

We had a follow-up interview for The Michigan Marijuana Report with Mike Tyson in the backroom office of Liv Cannabis Company on Saturday, April 23 in Lansing, Michigan. 

Upon arrival to a scene crowded with Tyson fans and media, we presented our credentials and our host, publicist Chris Behnan, checked  “Ben Horner, The Michigan Marijuana Report” off the list. 

There were many journalists waiting to interview Tyson but fans were first. After several hours our names were called: It was our turn with Mike.

“Never disregard first impressions,” Herbert Huncke once said.  Surprisingly, Mike Tyson is a quiet man.  Soft spoken.  Respectful, when treated that way. (Journalists had been told to avoid questions regarding Tyson’s entrapment by a noxious fan on a boarding flight just days before. What is there to ask we thought? Simple solution: Don’t rudely antagonize the most recognizable heavyweight boxing champion on the planet unless you desire to get knocked the fuck out.)

It was our turn with Mike and after a quick greeting, my associate Jermome Poynton handed Tyson “The Long Count” by Mel Heimer, a book about the 1927 bout staged at Chicago Soldier Field between Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney.  The bout was controversial due to a long count on Tunney who was able to get up and  knock out Dempsey later in the match.  Tyson looked around for a pen, thinking we wanted an autograph. “For your library,” clarified Jerome. Tyson smiled and held the book close during the interview, obviously grateful for the insightful generosity.

In the backroom office at Liv Cannabis Company in Lansing, Tyson gave us these responses:

In our last interview we asked you about your connection to Larry “Ratso” Sloman who was the editor of High Times and helped write Undisputed Truth, and you said he was a good guy. Can you expand on that?

Man, that was so long ago. I remember talking about Asshole Joe and Sour Diesel, but did he have an influence, I just don’t remember. 

There are still a lot of people still locked up on cannabis charges, how do you feel about that?

That is why Tyson 2.0 is working with the Biden administration to help exonerate and get early release for people still locked up and expungement for people who have criminal records. Nobody should be locked up for cannabis, not twenty years ago, not today.

Now here in Michigan there is a politician that wants to make it illegal for people to smoke weed on probation. What do you think, should people be allowed to smoke while on parole or probation?

Listen. When I started fighting 1985 to what like 2005, I only smoked weed once, but I drank every night. I was a full-blown alcoholic, but it was okay, because it was legal. It was ok that I was falling over, kicking people in the head, falling off my motorcycle.  Once I started smoking weed and getting my life together, they said I’m a phony, he’s a pothead, he’s a stoner. They made fun of me about that. Now look at what we are doing. Who’s laughing now?  

Jerome and I then got to ask Common Citizen CEO Michael Elias about their involvement with Tyson 2.0 and other ongoing projects:

How many Common Citizen stores carry Tyson 2.0 cannabis?

We are excited about this historic cultivation partnership with one of boxing’s living legends, and I have no doubt Tyson 2.0’s safe, affordable and high-quality cannabis products will deliver a knockout for our customers. These amazing new products are immediately available in all Common Citizen retail locations, and we will continue to grow distribution throughout 2022.

What strain that you are producing in Michigan is your favorite?

At Common Citizen, all of our safe, high-quality cannabis products are designed to serve the individual needs of our patients and adult-use customers. Each Tyson 2.0 strain provides a unique experience, so picking just one would be like picking a favorite child. What I can say is the strains we chose for our first batch of Tyson products were carefully curated to give people the premium experience expected from high-quality flower like Tyson 2.0.

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