Aug 12, 2016 | Marijuana Legalization
According to the data collected by Gallup, 1 in 8 Americans over the age of 18 participate in “smoking marijuana.” The number is even higher for adults aged 18 to 30, with 1 in 5 taking part.
Though it was just denied rescheduling as a Schedule 1 substance by the DEA, there seems to be no signs of slowing as the numbers steadily increase. This could be due in part to the state’s willingness to legalize weed regardless of Federal restrictions.
The most interesting part of this data is how it correlates with states that have recently legalized recreational marijuana for adults. It is found that participates from the west coast were more likely to acknowledge their use of the popular plant. Washington and Oregon have passed recreational usage and California is set to vote on it’s own legalization in November.
Participants who live within states that have already legalized marijuana had less of a problem admitting that they smoke.
4 in 10 Americans say they have tried Marijuana
43% of American adults say that they have tried marijuana in their lifetime. Though this is not much of a change from last year’s 44%, it is up slightly from 38% reported in 2013. This overall percentage started at a meager 4% in 1969 and has been on the rise since.
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Aug 12, 2016 | Marijuana Legalization
The English poet Hilaire Belloc wrote, ‘The flightless Dodo used to walk around, and take the sun and air. The sun yet warms his native ground. The Dodo is not there!’ The DEA seems equally unable to adapt, but it did skip and hop across a marijuana field the other day in a fruitless attempt to take to the air. They stubbornly rejecting calls to reschedule marijuana. However, it did make a decision and this may prove its undoing in the end.
Probably the biggest challenge the marijuana lobby faces, is the inability to do decent research and prove its point. The only federally legal marijuana farm is on the grounds of the University of Mississippi, and it does not produce sufficient legal samples to go around.
This leaves researchers with two choices. Do they hold back, or risk ending up in the slammer for the night, for having an ounce of what could better a patient’s life in their possession?
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Aug 9, 2016 | California Marijuana Laws, Collective Operations
One of the most common questions we get is “What does it cost to open a medical marijuana dispensary?” This is really a tricky, almost impossible question to answer. It is possible to give ball park estimates but even these can be hard to pin down. To cast a broad net, let’s say $50K at the lowest end to $1M+ for a high end sleek retail location.
Opening a storefront dispensary typically comes at a relatively high cost, especially when compared to a cultivation operation or delivery service (where you can start small and expand as necessary). The location is the biggest factor to consider and what tenant improvements/upgrades are needed. Also, with applications becoming so competitive, you may need to hire a professional consulting team to better your odds – this alone could cost above $50K (depending on location complexity of the application). The stakes are higher with a storefront and you could lose out if you open in the wrong place (and don’t plan properly).
The Major Expenses, and How to Manage Them
– Legal Compliance The Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act created a spider’s web of things to do before the first joint or edible slides across the counter. We recommend you find an experienced consultant to help you.
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Jul 30, 2016 | Marijuana Legalization
You could be doing that real soon on the north coast of California, in Mendicino County where rivers meet, and redwood forests, vineyards, and marijuana plantations bloom. The noble weed contributes one-third of the economy thanks to the Mediterranean climate, and it is generally a good place to be.
The locals have been protecting wine brands with appellations like Caymus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon for decades. Stop the Drug War just let slip that you could be savoring the likes of a nice 2014 South Mendocino County Sour Diesel in your pipe up there too. No. this is not a joke, this is for real.
The country with the famous ‘Skunk Train’ steam loco connecting Willits and Fort Bragg through forests alongside Pudding Creek and the Noyo River, has hit on the idea of preserving its marijuana brand in likewise fashion. It plans on designating denominations of origin, and policing these to preserve famous cannabis brands that have been the delight of pot epicureans for decades.
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Jul 21, 2016 | California Marijuana Laws
Metallurgist and assayer Matthew Stevenson coined the famous phrase, ‘There’s gold in them thar hills and there’s millions in it’ in 1849, when he tried to dissuade workers at a branch of the United States Mint from absconding to join the California Gold Rush. History does not record if he was successful. His words do however make a useful introduction to California’s latest real estate investment break.
Writing in Marijuana Business Daily on July 20, 2016 Omar Sacirbey reports a surge in interest in leasing marijuana farms. This is great news for emerging entrepreneurs currently unable to afford land, but with agricultural skills to turn over a good profit. Omar describes how the demand for leased property ‘is large and growing, fueled by increased demand for cannabis and the need for land to grow the plant’.
This opinion gains ground in the light of comments by the CEO of Denver-based Americann, which describes itself as a national leader of sustainable cultivation, and processing infrastructure for the medical marijuana industry. CEO Tim Keogh thinks that
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Jul 18, 2016 | Marijuana Legalization
As Colorado marijuana providers come to terms with supplying adults 21 years of age or older with their daily ounce, inevitably they have occasional administrative brushes with a system they do not know well. Marijuana Business Daily reports another instance where the federal government (via the Internal Revenue Service) is causing problems for the marijuana industry. Specifically, the spat is over the administration’s Form 8300 governing reporting single cash receipts of over $10,000 within 15 days of the event.
The wording of the regulation is a little vague where it says ‘Generally, any person in a trade or business who receives more than $10,000 in cash in a single transaction or in related transactions must file Form 8300. A “person” includes an individual, a company, a corporation, a partnership, an association, a trust, or an estate’. To my mind, ‘General’ introduces the possibility of exceptions.
If we are to take what providers have been telling John Schroyer who wrote the Marijuana Business Daily article at face value, some Colorado marijuana companies have not concerned themselves about Form 8300 until now, and they have had no complaints from IRS on the matter either. This situation changed radically following a spate of audits about non-submission of the forms.
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Jul 5, 2016 | California Marijuana Laws, Marijuana Legalization, Proposed MMJ Law Changes
Executive Director of the California Growers Association Hezekiah Allen brought a wry smile to my face when he said, ‘half of my board is third-generation farmers, people who grew up in the drug war, lying about what their parents did and wishing they were normal’ as quoted in International Business Times. I doubt very much NORML anticipated the catfights developing on the supply side of the industry, or shall I say the battle of the titans?
With the AUMA Ballot still almost half a year away, and nothing in stone yet, the industry that was relatively cohesive in the closet is now tearing itself apart in what some call seismic shifts. Like all revolutionary movements the game changers are having difficulty coming down the idea of regulation.
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Jun 22, 2016 | California Marijuana Laws, Marijuana Legalization, Proposed MMJ Law Changes
It is a funny old world we live in. American songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actor Enimem said, ‘the truth is you don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow, and nothing is guaranteed.’ On May 19th 2016, we quoted acting administrator of the Drug Enforcement Agency Chuck Rosenberg saying, ‘We can have an intellectually honest debate about whether we should legalize something that is bad and dangerous, but don’t call it (marijuana) medicine – that is a joke.’
We are delighted to confirm our thinking that you were very wrong sir. At the time of writing, we wrote you ought to know persistence pays off especially when the other party drops their guard. The proof is in the marijuana cookie. One of your own people dropped their guard. They tipped the Santa Monica Observer off that marijuana will be a Schedule Two drug effective 1 August 2016.
This is not to say the fight is over yet. We have a presidential election brewing. Some say this is a political move Hilary Clinton will support. Others suggest Los Angeles cannabis clinic owners will side with Donald Trump to shut down the idea of CVS Pharmacy, Rite-Aid and Walgreens selling THC edibles across the counter with a prescription soon. They will likely not stock raw cannabis though, because smoking is a health risk.
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Jun 20, 2016 | California Marijuana Laws, Marijuana Legalization, Proposed MMJ Law Changes
The ballot over The Adult Use of Marijuana Act on November 8 is firmly back on track, with Southern California alone providing more than the 365,880 signatures necessary to get the measure to the vote. This is not to say the initiative is bound to succeed. If it does – and we are cautiously optimistic – California will enter a new era twenty years after the use of medical cannabis became legal. Key aspects of the program would then be:
– Californians aged over twenty-one could possess up to 8 grams of concentrated cannabis, up to an ounce of marijuana, and up to six plants.
– Individuals may not consume in public, drive while under influence or provide marijuana to persons under twenty-one.
– Administratively, there would be strict control over the supply chain, which a 15% sales tax, plus growers’ tax would fund.
AUMA was ecstatic about the success, quoting Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom saying, ‘Today, the largest coalition ever formed to support marijuana reform has filed the signatures to qualify the most thoughtful marijuana policy in the nation – with the strictest child protections and billions in new revenue for important programs such as public safety.’
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Jun 17, 2016 | California Marijuana Laws, Marijuana Legalization, Proposed MMJ Law Changes
