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Thursday, August 4, 2022

Proposed Law to Stop Limiting Number of Dispensaries


 

Proposed Law to Stop Limiting Number of Dispensaries

by Ben Horner

Bipartisan bill HB 6337, and companion HB 6336, that was introduced in late June would prevent cities and villages in Michigan from allowing a petition question that would limit the number of dispensaries that could be licensed within its jurisdiction to be placed on the ballot. Local ballot initiatives have been the precursor for legalizing both medical and adult-use marijuana in Michigan. 

This move is seen as a way to curb smaller cities and villages from being able to use the petitioning process to allow citizens to set certain limits on the number of dispensaries. Small cities and villages may be less likely to opt in to the Michigan cannabis program and claim the potential tax revenue if there are too many dispensaries. Regardless, this seems like another legislative attack on Michigan home rule laws and direct democracy.

Representative Julie Calley is a sponsor on both bills. She was an active sponsor of HB 5512, which passed recently with bipartisan support. HB 5512 allows drug courts in Michigan to prevent medical marijuana patients in Michigan from being able to use cannabis while part of the court program. This bill gives judges, probation officers, and prosecutors the power to set aside the decision in many cases involving MMJ patients. 

These new bills relating to dispensaries are only in their very early stages, but with the lame duck period coming up after the November elections, it is possible that the bills will get bundled into a package of bills that seek to change the rules and laws related to marijuana in Michigan.

View this article on our website.

Weed Found Growing at New Mexico Public Beach

 


Weed Found Growing at New Mexico Public Beach

by Amy Wilding-Fox

Just when it seems that cannabis is becoming as American as apple pie, something happens as a reminder the United States has not reached that level yet.

In early July, an eagle-eyed local news crew spotted what was thought to be a wild marijuana plant growing at Tingley Beach in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Located along a walkway near a pond, the shocked crew immediately alerted authorities of their find. Staff did not take long to respond to their call, and quickly removed the ill-fated cannabis plant.

Upon removal from the earth, the roots had shown evidence of being transplanted from a pot. Therefore, the authorities determined an unknown perpetrator purposely planted the cannabis in that spot.

The park officials issued a statement regarding the surprising discovery of the rogue cannabis plant, claiming that such incidents can be just as disruptive and harmful to the park as littering or stealing park amenities. The Botanic Garden and Heritage Farm manager said, “We really encourage our guests to come and recreate responsibly, certainly not plant their own plants of their choosing.” He went on to say, “Everybody’s actions definitely contribute to keeping Tingley so beautiful.”

Beach and park officials also ask if anyone knows anything about this incident, or if they see anything like this happening, to please alert authorities.

 View this article on our website.

Lume Shuffles the Deck

 


Lume Shuffles the Deck

by Ben Horner

With more retail locations in Michigan than any other retail cannabis store chain, Lume is the self-proclaimed largest single state operator in the country. Funded by the owners of Belle Tire, Lume has a solid footprint around the state. As the market prices of cannabis fall dramatically around the Great Lakes State, retailers are facing stiff competition to draw in and retain customers. In July, the company closed four stores in Bay City, Christmas, Cheboygan, and Southfield. Employees at the location report that they were not given advance notice, however they were offered a severance package and an opportunity to apply at other company stores.

The new Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids Lume locations opened in July. Lume is a vertically integrated cannabis company, so it makes many of its own products. This brings the new total of stores to 29. Lume is represented by Byrum & Fisk and is a member of the Michigan Cannabis Manufacturers Association (MCMA). Members of the competing cannabis lobby group, Michigan Cannabis Industry Association (MICIA), have called for a boycott of Lume, stating that they support legislation to attack the cannabis caregiver program that allows MMJ caregivers to grow up to 72 plants for their patients. MICIA has supported legislation that limited people’s right to make certain forms of hash oil extractions that patients use for cancer treatments.

View this article on our website.

Oregon Leading the Way to New Frontier of Legal Psilocybin

 


Oregon Leading the Way to New Frontier of Legal Psilocybin

by Amy Wilding-Fox

Though still illegal at the federal level, psilocybin is getting the primary green light from the FDA by naming it a “breakthrough therapy for severe depression.” Communities across the country have begun to decriminalize psilocybin, but Oregon leads the pack in the legalization of the psychedelic drug also known as “magic mushrooms.”

Two years after voters approved the initiative, Oregon has finally begun drafting the final rules for their Psilocybin Therapeutic Program. This program will create licensed facilities for people twenty-one and over to safely consume magic mushrooms at an approved site while under the supervision of the facilitator. The new rules are not without confusion and questions from constituents and business owners looking to get in on this industry at the ground floor. 

With some already investing heavily, the concern is caused by the caveat allowing counties to opt out of the new laws if voted on by constituents. This is not a new idea to cannabis advocates, as several states have enacted similar opt-out options on marijuana laws for local communities. There are already numerous counties, mostly rural, with such an initiative on the ballot for November 2022. Supporters have voiced concern on the outcome and fear having to move if they wish to continue investing in the new industry should their county get the votes to opt out.

With regard to the cannabis laws, advocates hope the counties that have chosen to opt out will eventually see the tax revenue that they will lose out on and reverse course—like many counties in Oregon did upon seeing the revenues from legal marijuana sales.

 View this article on our website.

Guam Finally Accepting Applications for Licensing

 


Guam Finally Accepting Applications for Licensing

 by Amy Wilding-Fox

In April of 2019, adult consumption, possession and personal cannabis gardens became legal in the U.S .Territory of Guam. Crossing that hurdle has been half the battle, as the exchange or sale of cannabis products is still unlawful leaving many residents without a safe and legal way to acquire marijuana.

The Pacific Daily News reports Guam will finally be accepting license applications for retail cannabis locations beginning August 29th. After three years of polishing the policy, The Guam Department of Revenue and Taxation released the general application guidelines which include these points:

  • Only a “responsible official” approved by the Cannabis Control Board can submit applications, documents, and reports for a cannabis business, including applying for a license and permit to operate.
  • Responsible officials must be at least 21 years old, own the business, or be responsible for operating the business, and cannot be convicted of manufacturing or distributing Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substances, except for cannabis.
  • The responsible official is accountable for any actions by the business owners, officers, managers, employees, or agents that violate the adult-use cannabis law or industry rules and regulations.
  • Responsible officials must pay a $1,000 fee.

Having begun the process toward a creating legal cannabis market, Guam is still trying to sort many issues out. For example, Guam—bound to uphold U.S. federal banking regulations—must navigate the myriad requirements of banking cannabis businesses. Currently, the banking and insurance commissioner is working closely with Guam’s financial institutions to create a  banking system specifically designed for the cannabis industry.

View this article on our website.

 

Uncertain Economy Hits National Cannabis Industry Organization

 


Uncertain Economy Hits National Cannabis Industry Organization

 by Amy Wilding-Fox

Founded in 2017, a short-lived Wisconsin-based organization, the National Association of Cannabis Businesses (NACB), shuttered for good on July 31, 2022. The organization was open to cannabis businesses that included growers, suppliers, and legal distributors of THC, CBD, and/or hemp products. 

Headed by CEO Marie St. Fleur, NACB was a key contributor to the advocacy for a national standard in the cannabis business. Among their areas of interest, NACB lobbied for a national standard in testing, cash management and banking, cybersecurity, sustainability, and social equity guidelines to help those most affected by the drug war benefit from the budding industry. 

They were also a proponent for creating a standard for adult-use recreational cannabis. NACB provided consultation to multiple states on the topic of adult-use, including Illinois and New York.

In a statement on their website and in an email to its members, NACB stated, “Due to current economic conditions, the decision has been made to cease operations.”

Just how this decision will affect the advancement of federal legislation and new state laws remains to be seen, but this could foreshadow a trend, should our economy continue in the direction it is going.

 View this article on our website.

 

British Columbia Expanding Recreational Delivery

 


British Columbia Expanding Recreational Delivery

 by Amy Wilding-Fox

On July 8, it became even easier for residents of British Columbia residents to obtain cannabis products. On that date, it became to legal to deliver marijuana flower, concentrates and other THC infused products via common carriers which, by definition, includes Canada Post, among other delivery services. This is an expansion of the law already in place allowing businesses to deliver personally with the province.

Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth said in a recent press release, “Since federal legalization of non-medical cannabis, we have continued to look for ways to support the cannabis industry in our province while providing safe and accessible options for British Columbians. Expanding delivery-service options not only builds equality within the market, it also gives consumers one more reason to buy legal instead of illicit.”

Retail Cannabis Council of BC executive director Jaclynn Pehota responded on behalf of local retail cannabis businesses and their consumers. “Private retailers welcome this expanded delivery regime. This is a significant tool for our members. Government heard our request and responded. Knowing that the government supports and is creating parity within the legal cannabis industry will help retailers thrive and will continue to ensure British Columbians have a choice as consumers.”

View this article on our website.

Wednesday, August 3, 2022

AG Dana Nessel Claims Expungements Victory

 


AG Dana Nessel Claims Expungements Victory

 by Ben Horner

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel in July announced changes to the Department of Attorney General expungement webpage to improve service due to a significant increase in the number of applications submitted to set aside a conviction. 

The passage of Michigan’s Clean Slate Law in 2020 greatly expanded eligibility for those seeking to expunge their criminal record. Several cannabis companies and attorneys have set up workshops to aid individuals through the process. In the first year the new law was put into effect, applications to the AG’s office more than doubled from 3,325 in 2019 to 7,037 in 2021. So far this year, the department has reviewed 5,373 and is in the process of reviewing thousands more.

The Department of Attorney General’s expungement webpage has been updated to provide a description of the application review process, the approximate timeline for review, and a webform that applicants can use to seek more information on the status of their applications. Information regarding eligibility for expungement, as well as checklists and links to applications to set aside a conviction, is now available on the webpage.

“Increased demand is a good thing because it means more eligible Michiganders are taking advantage of our state’s expanded Clean Slate Law,” Nessel explained. “My expungement team is diligently working to review every application in a timely manner, and I am committed to maximizing department resources to streamline and expedite the process.”

View this article on our website.

Could Kentucky Cave?

 


Could Kentucky Cave?

 by Amy Wilding-Fox

With 75% of the country already on board with the legalization of marijuana, a handful of states remain steadfast against the idea, like Tennessee and Idaho. Kentucky, though, might finally be on the verge of changing its stance. Current polling shows 90% of Kentucky voters believe in legalizing marijuana for medical purposes. In March, a House bill that would have legalized medical cannabis and outlined the rules in doing so passed, but the Senate failed to approve it.

To further the conversation, current Kentucky governor Andy Beshear has created a panel that he has labeled Team Kentucky Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee. In response to the inaction, the governor stated that as much as he wished the Senate had taken care of this without his intervention, he is considering using his executive powers to make medical marijuana accessible in his state. The panel will hopefully assist him in legally creating access to medicinal marijuana for patients in his state with chronic pain and other serious issues without the assistance of Senate approval. The members consist of former law enforcement, criminal justice and cannabis advocates, health care providers and specialists, and opioid addiction counselors. 

As part of their research, this panel is holding public forums and town halls in various regions of the commonwealth. Their purpose is to inform the panel of the general public’s stance and thoughts on medical marijuana, then report their findings directly to the Office of the Governor. The first meeting, held July 6, was in Pikeville, the second in Frankfort, with more meetings planned. The governor, aware that some are not able to make it to the public meetings, created a website to allow his constituents to tell them directly why the topic of medicinal marijuana is important to them personally without having to leave home.

If you are a Kentuckian interested in making your views known to Governor Beshear, or to find the schedule for upcoming public meetings, go to: medicalcannabis.ky.gov

 View this article on our website.

Tuesday, August 2, 2022

Battle Creek Seed and Spores - The Art of Mushroom Science

 


Battle Creek Seed and Spores - The Art of Mushroom Science

by Ben Horner

While commercial fishing in Key West, Bobby Adisano recovered a fifty-pound bale of weed floating in the ocean. Often, smugglers will drop a decoy bale of marijuana to distract coast guard patrols, and Bobby assumed that this bale was just that. This random occurrence not only gave Bobby and his friends a year’s supply of smoke, but it also provided a stereotypical snack for their dog, Helix. A seed germinated from the weed poop and produced the first of many unique strains in a line that the founders of Battle Creek Seeds and Spores would go on to provide to cultivators around the world. 

As with many folks in the early medical marijuana space, the founders of Battle Creek Seeds and Spores did their research and discovered Michigan was a safe place to create a cannabis start-up company. So, they packed up their families and moved north, settling just outside of Battle Creek. Mike Garretson partnered with Bobby and Sara Adisano, and soon realized there was a huge void when it came to high-quality cannabis seeds and strains. Purple Helix, the dog poop strain from the mystery bale, aka Caribbean Decoy and Gulf Stream Grouper, was one of the first, which produces strong purple indica buds. 

The Michigan Marijuana Report discovered Battle Creek Seeds and Spores when the small brick-and-mortar store posted a sign in March 2021. The publication dropped off some magazines in a plastic bag at their door. “When we saw the building for sale we knew this was where we should make our company headquarters,” Bobby explained. Inside their store and on the website are huge varieties of both cannabis seeds and psychedelic mushroom spores.  

The social media and website are run by Denny Kline, who does not live in Michigan. One of the hardest parts of being a seed and spore breeder/producer is dealing with other breeders that troll the internet to stake claims on strain names and denounce other breeders. The Battle Creek Seeds and Spores seed brand is Helix Genetics, named after the late, loyal dog, Helix. Helix Genetics is crossed with several classic strains, and is also partnered with other companies like Elev8 Seeds. 

With the emergence of psychedelic mushrooms for medicinal applications, Battle Creek Seeds and Spores has developed a healthy stock of spores for purchase. Most of their clients are reporting life-changing results when treating PTSD. “We talk to so many vets that tell us that micro-dosing psychedelic mushrooms have saved their lives,” Bobby reported with enthusiasm. “I feel what we are doing is a game changer for so many people.” He went on to explain that seeds and spores are completely legal in all 50 states, but users must adhere to their local laws. Decriminalize Nature, which seeks to legalize all plant and organic produce, is spreading interest and demand.

Mike Garretson showed us round petri dishes with fully developed mushroom mycelia grown on agar. These dishes contain the stocks used to load syringes with a multitude of mushroom strains. Also available are the mushroom kits, which give you everything you need to cultivate at home, including a tote and sterilized substrate bag with a self-healing injection port and sterilized manure compost. According to Battle Creek Seeds and Spores, anyone can cultivate mushrooms as long as one has a clean, dark place and can keep the temperature in the right zone, 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit.  

Just like with cannabis, different mushroom strains give different medicinal effects. Some are more uplifting and some are more relaxing, while others have strong visual effects.   

Family and friendship are highly valued and staple trademarks of Battle Creek Seeds and Spores. The founders have young children and the store is family-friendly. Priding the company on its customer service and 100% seed germination guarantee, Battle Creek Seeds and Spores is dedicated to going the extra mile to see folks have initial success. “We know that if we help our customers with any issues they have, regardless of if it was their mistake or not. If we help them learn and succeed they will be loyal to us for life.”

Philly Golden Teacher is a YouTube channel that has some excellent tutorials on the cultivation of mushrooms and is highly recommended to first-time customers by the helpful and friendly staff at Battle Creek Seeds and Spores. 

https://youtube.com/c/PhillyGoldenTeacher

 View this article on our website.

Free The Weed #131

 


Free The Weed #131
A Column by John Sinclair

From the introduction by Ann Arbor magazine (February 1987): Probably no one person more exemplified Michigan's unrest in the '60s than did John Sinclair. Depending on one's age, the mere mention of his name caused tempers to flare or cheers to ring out. This retrospect on John Sinclair's life in those turbulent times is presented by a first-hand witness to the events—his mother.

“The Politicization of John Sinclair”

by Elsie Sinclair

"Politicized? You bet! Wouldn't you have been, had our so- called 'justice' system treated you the same?"

JOHN SINCLAIR is my son, a son considerably wiser now than he was in the '60s. He and his cohorts actually thought they could change the world! He thought that if everything were free it would eliminate greed and war, for at heart all people were good! 

"It's the system that corrupts the people," he said. "Disrupt the system by refusing to participate in it and convince the youth of the nation that by not participating, the system will crumble." I don't know what he thought would replace it: the greatest good for the greatest number, I guess.

John started out as a poet, writer, and scholar, but he was eventually politicized, and it is that politicization I want to tell about. It's been gnawing at my innards like a termite ever-widening its territory for lo! these many years. Each time he was arrested I thought, "Now the truth will out," but it never came to pass. And the thousands and thousands of tax dollars that were wasted in the process!

Picture a couple of solid citizens living in a small town in Michigan, both working in order to put their three children through college, me as a teacher and my husband, a life- long Republican, as a minor executive at Buick Motor Car Company in Flint, Michigan. 

Imagine our horror on learning that our eldest offspring had been arrested in Detroit on a marijuana charge. We were in court when he was put on probation. Over to the probation officer we went: we wanted to do everything we could to cooperate. Such babes in the woods were we! 

The officer seemed to talk in circles, giving us veiled warnings of what could happen to our son, how "they" would be out to get him. "My god," we thought, "our son is in the hands of the Mafia!" But was the officer warning us of the machinations of the underground? No! He was warning us of the police! And get him they did! 

He was living commune-style near the Wayne State campus, busy attending graduate classes, writing poetry, encouraging musicians, etc. I guess you'd have labelled him a beatnik. He thought the marijuana laws had been used discriminately for years by the police, and he was working hard to challenge the laws by publishing tracts, speaking, etc. (The newspapers later called it "guerrilla theater.") But he was not dealing.

So what did the police do? They sent an undercover agent — a minority person, of course, because they knew John was on the side of minorities — who sat around day after day pestering John to get him some pot. Evidently he knew John abhorred the effects of alcohol, because he told John he was hanging around bars to get his kicks but he really preferred a marijuana high as being less damaging.

 Finally, in order to get rid of him, John rode across town with him in the other fellow's car — John didn't even have a car — where he purchased some stuff from a dealer he knew and accepted $5 from the undercover agent for his trouble. Did they arrest the dealer? Oh, no! 

As soon as they got back to the house on the John C. Lodge service drive, police were waiting to arrest John. The charge? Sale of marijuana. The penalty? Twenty years to life!

Anyway, John needed $500 to raise bail, which we lent to him. He got a job in a parking lot to pay us back, but we paid the lawyer, who assured us it was a clear case of entrapment. Everytime we talked with the lawyer he demanded more money, $500 at a time. We paid it—I can't remember just how much. We certainly were not affluent, but our son's freedom was at stake, so what alternative did we have?

The day of the trial came. We sat in court with our hearts palpitating like the terrified parents we were; but what confidence, in all our innocence, we had in our lawyer. Do you know, not once did he bring up the fact of entrapment! Evidently he had taken the easy way out and made a deal with the prosecution: he told John it was too dangerous to chance conviction for which the penalty was so severe, so he should plead guilty to possession.

The verdict was six months in DeHoCo [the Detroit House of Correction], plus three years probation. I'll never forget the judge's saying, "There must be something about this case I don't know," or words to that effect. I wanted to scream, "Of course there is lots you don't know. Just let me say my piece." But I was too intimidated or too dumb to say anything. To this day I am ashamed of my naiveté.

We visited John regularly in DeHoCo, of course, where he was a model prisoner. John started his incarceration on February 24, 1966, and was released on August 5th, the same year. Not yet politicized, he was still determined to do everything legal he could to challenge the marijuana laws.

But it didn't take long before he was back in the news. On January 24, 1967 — my 55th birthday, no less — John's father and I were watching the 11:00 pm news when suddenly we heard a report about the round-up and arrest of a "big dope ring" near the Wayne State campus: "And everyone was released except the leader of the dope ring, John Sinclair." We were stunned!

Following his first "bust" in 1964, John had founded the Artists' Workshop in Detroit, which was just what its name implied: a place where musicians, poets, and writers could gather to read their output, and play their music — all free to anyone who wanted to participate.

But this posed a threat to the city’s police, and they had an undercover agent and his "wife" infiltrate the group. They would ask John to get them a joint, but John didn't comply until finally one night in December 1966, the "wife" convinced John that they didn't like liquor either. So John gave her two joints free of charge. 

A month later, on the night of January 14, the police descended police cars all over the place. They arrested everyone who lived in the houses. Media coverage reported "56 Arrested in Campus Dope Raid." John was accused of "dispensing" two marijuana cigarettes to an undercover policewoman. Penalty: 20 years to life. 

I couldn't believe it, so I went into a courtroom where I'd seen a familiar-looking lawyer from the Prosecutor's office, and asked him. Instead of answering my question, he said: "You know, things were really bad over there, all those beards and such. And do you know, the woman he was living with wasn't even his wife?" (John was legally married in 1965.)

The rest is history. John was found guilty on July 25, 1969, for "possession of narcotics" and was handed a sentence of 9-1/2 to ten years in prison. He was denied an appeal bond on the grounds of "cruel and unusual punishment" because he was a "danger to society," despite his challenge to the constitutionality of Michigan's marijuana laws, and the slightness of his offense.

After a brief indoctrination period at Jackson prison, John was sent to Marquette, a prison for the most hardened criminals in our society. He finally was released in December 1971, and on March 12, 1972, the Michigan Supreme Court overturned John's conviction. 

On November 1, 1983, an Ann Arbor News analysis of the Court's action reported the following: "Marijuana is not hard narcotics. The court ruled that the conviction was the result of entrapment, that there was invasion of privacy and that the 10-year sentence was 'cruel and unusual punishment.'"

Politicized? You bet! Wouldn't you have been, had our so-called "justice" system treated you the same?

BUT THAT was more than 15 years ago, and sometimes I wish he were still raising hell with the establishment, because the current apathy is really dangerous: the acceptance of inequities in our society, the billions spent on weapons of destruction, our covert machinations in Central America, the politics of world hunger, the Iran/Contra scandal, etc. They demand some hell-raising, I think, guerrilla theater or not.

ELSIE SINCLAIR, John Sinclair's mother, lived in Ann Arbor. She passed on at the age of 88 in 2000.

 View this article on our website.

Rupert Murdoch's Long War on Marijuana


 

Rupert Murdoch's Long War on Marijuana

 by Tim Beck

On June 1, a bizarre new twist was injected into the war on cannabis by Fox News pundit Laura Ingraham. On her TV show Ingraham Angle, she blamed the outbreak of mass shootings in the U.S. on marijuana use. Her claim was quickly seconded by Fox host Tucker Carlson, followed in quick succession by Allysia Finley in the Wall Street Journal and Miranda Devine in the New York Post. The stories captured attention across the country.

“There is mounting scientific evidence of a connection between the increase in violent behavior among young people and regular and sustained cannabis use,” Ingraham declared. “These are the eyes of some of the mass killers who have reportedly been regular pot users. Look at them,” she said, as scary looking photos of various killers appeared on the TV screen.

Tucker Carlson blamed the murder of six people [ultimately seven] on the Fourth of July in Highland Park, Illinois, on social media, porn, video games, nagging feminists and young men being “high on government-endorsed weed.”

For the record, this kind of talk is nothing new with Carlson. On March 2, 2021, a world disaster was predicted on Carlson’s show by his guest, Dr. Marc Siegel.

Speaking about COVID, Siegel theorized that humanity could become extinct from COVID and that a big contributor to this coming apocalypse was marijuana.

“Lockdown libido occurs when everybody is shut down for too long. You know what they do? They gain weight. They get obese. You know what obesity does? Drives down testosterone and sperm count. You drink more alcohol. You know what alcohol does? It makes estrogen out of testosterone . . . cigarettes . . . vapes . . . and probably the biggest culprit of all according to reproductive health specialists I spoke with tonight is marijuana. It drives down sperm count.”

The New York Post headline screamed: “Did Reefer Drive the Highland Park Parade ‘Killer’ Robert Crimo to Madness?” The Post went on to explain, “his evil act is unfathomable, but he does fit a familiar pattern of mass killers: alienated young male stoners who appear to be in the grip of a distinctly American madness.”

The Wall Street Journal was less sensational and more pseudoscientific. “Young people are especially vulnerable to cannabis’s effects . . . a study last year found that young people with such mood disorders as depression who are also addicted to pot were 3.2 times as likely to commit self-harm and die of homicide—often after initiating violence—than those who weren’t.”

The Journal did not name the source of the “study” it cited. That does not mean a study is not somewhere.

When researching this column, it was difficult to figure out why a respected business news source like the Wall Street Journal would align itself with political hacks like Ingraham and Carlson and a sensationalist tabloid like the New York Post. What, if anything, did they have in common?

Well, they all have common ownership. Billionaire media entrepreneur Rupert Murdoch is the man.

Murdoch, now a spry 91-year-old, has long been a big voice in national politics, going back to the days of President Ronald Reagan and his then secretary of education Bill Bennett. (Bennett later became America’s first “Drug Czar,” and on Larry King Live in 1989 said he had no qualms about beheading drug dealers.) Among other things, according to published news reports, Murdoch himself worked with the CIA under the Reagan administration to create a media “perception management” program, to wean America from the “Vietnam syndrome.” This would allow the U.S. to play a more muscular role in foreign policy.

Murdoch also supported a clandestine effort to support guerrillas seeking to overthrow the government of Nicaragua in 1985.

The resulting scandal almost brought down the Reagan administration for illegally bypassing Congress to fund the insurrectionists. Among the funding sources for the plan were companies connected with Latin American drug dealers. While there is no evidence Murdoch and his team worked directly with the drug dealers in the Iran-Contra Affair, it is plausible he knew about it.

Nonetheless, like our late president and the former drug czar Bill Bennett, Murdoch has been very clear that he does not like illegal drugs, including marijuana.

In an ironic twist of fate, Murdoch’s granddaughter, aspiring pop star Charlotte Freud, 22, entered rehab for serious drug problems in May 2021. She is doing better now by most reports.

According to the UK’s Daily Mail, Freud was nicknamed “K-angel” in high school because of her fondness for the horse tranquilizer ketamine. “Cocaine made me feel sick. But after doing my first line of ketamine I thought, I’m addicted,” she explained.

So what does all of this mean, if anything?

Well, some are relieved to know that the media is not ganging up on legal cannabis. Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post have a common owner. That owner is fine with surrogates falsely demonizing cannabis. In the here and now, it gives a simple, sensational, easily understood answer to the complex problem of mass shootings in the U.S. It creates a straw man for the public to hate, along with attacking members of the Democratic Party who are more favorable to cannabis policy reform and restricting gun rights.

However, it does not have to be that way.

Nonetheless, time and public sentiment are with us. It is certain Rupert Murdoch will not be around much longer. His heirs do not seem to have his drive, ambition, and need for control. His empire could fragment not far down the road.

In any case, the voting public in most states supports cannabis legalization, and those numbers are growing exponentially. It is only a matter of time before the war on weed dies, literally and figuratively.

 View this article on our website.