Apr 24, 2017 | Marijuana Legalization
California was once the ‘lettuce belt’ of the nation due to its moderate climate. Nowadays, thanks to tunnel farming it no longer enjoys the monopoly. Many dilapidated lettuce greenhouses litter the ‘salad bowl’. Some have turned to growing cut flowers, but it seems the residents of the Golden State consume even less of these.
Quite fortuitously, marijuana plants and lettuces both enjoy a warm moist environment. Consequently, marijuana growers are forsaking sheds in plots for marijuana tunnels according to New York Times. This has brought new hope for isolated communities. Their sons and daughters once tended carnations and raspberries in flowerpots. Now they are happily occupied trimming leaves away from freshly harvested pot in the making
“California is destined to do with cannabis what we’ve done with every other fruit and vegetable,” Steve DeAngelo of Harborside Farms believes. “And that’s to take half of the national market.” He had better be right. His company invested in a 40-acre farm sprinkled with greenhouses like mushrooms and adding a heady aroma to the air. (more…)
Apr 13, 2017 | Marijuana Legalization, MMJ News
We are delighted we finally appear to making progress with reconciling the 2015 Medical Marijuana Regulation Safety Act, and the 2016 AUMA Proposition 64. This time, Gov. Brown is drawing a clearer line between the two marijuana industries. We agree this is a counter to any future federal interference. In simplified form for sake of brevity, here are Gov. Jerry’s main thoughts.
- The Teamsters Union proposal is set aside in favor of multiple licensing
- Hence businesses can apply to grow, manufacture, distribute, and sell
- However testing facilities will not be considered for these other licenses
- And medical and marijuana businesses may not operate on same premises
While these are the main thrusts to the draft language, could the devil lie in the detail as contained in California Norml’s more comprehensive piece? It remains to be seen what consumers are going to make of this, and how powerfully business, political and union interests lobby for or against it. (more…)
Apr 4, 2017 | Marijuana Legalization
The chief of California’s Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation Lori Ajax was clearly in no mood to mince her words when she spoke at a business forum earlier. She does not have the time to. She has to have a working model in place for managing marijuana by the close of 2017. And the federal maneuvers in Washington are not helping either. Just like a California big dipper, we believe.
Fortunately for Lori, she has a strong enforcement background. She previously served in the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control as Deputy Division Chief, District Administrator and Supervising Investigator. She listed a number of challenges she faces when speaking to the business forum. We thought it would be helpful to summarize the lengthy San Diego Union Tribune report in bullet form. So the main challenges Lori Ajax faces are as follows: (more…)
Apr 1, 2017 | Marijuana Legalization
We need to ensure we measure out our marijuana honestly to clients. Scales do go out of adjustment occasionally, and we should check them for accuracy before we use them. It is just good sense to stick to promises made in business – if we don’t, our customers go their own way. It also makes sense to pay our taxes.
The Deal the Medical Marijuana Industry has with California
Legal marijuana has its fans, and its detractors. The majority of the people are as usual in the middle. The campaign for legal marijuana did not succeed because they suddenly became marijuana missionaries. It won because the proposal to legalize, and tax the product made economic sense in these ways:
- The police could focus on more pressing matters like fighting real crime
- Medical marijuana tax would cover the cost of administering the program
- There would be money left over for publicity about using marijuana wisely
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Feb 22, 2017 | Marijuana Legalization
Cannabis has been having an amazingly good run in America despite Washington lagging behind the will of the people. Consider the facts. Twenty-seven states have followed California’s 1996 lead and regulated medical marijuana. Eight states have agreed to legalize non-medical use, and counting.
During his Reno, Nevada campaign stop Donald Trump said, “Marijuana is such a big thing … I think medical should happen – right? Don’t we agree? I think so. And then I really believe we should leave it up to the states.” Thus far, the President has stayed faithful to his campaign promises.
And so he should, given public opinion in favor of national marijuana decriminalization. Consider the facts. In 1995, just 25% approved the idea. In 2016 that had grown to 60% which is the highest ever. More and more state governments are climbing on the tax bonanza.
According to the Motley Fool, Colorado scooped $135 million in 2015 in respect of licensing revenue and tax. This is relatively small, compared to the $1 billion California expects to make from recreational and medical sales, and this sure beats the goose that laid the golden eggs. (more…)
Feb 12, 2017 | California Marijuana Laws, Marijuana Legalization, Proposed MMJ Law Changes
It is time we leapfrogged over the indecision. And got on with the business of earning tax on $2.7 billion annual sales of marijuana for the State of California. It is not the industry’s fault legislators framed Proposition 64 less than optimally. If our ancestors took as long to frame the founding statements, they could still be debating the niceties too.
And what about the mom-and-pop businesses that rely on the income? They need certainty big business with corporate advantage is not going to lever them out. Behind the scenes, recreational marijuana is selling well as it always seems to have done in the Golden State. We are trying legalize a reality not embargo it in perpetuity.
One might have thought that with two decades of regulated medical marijuana under our belt we would have at least learned something. Although granted there is still some confusion regarding what is legitimate at city and country level. The holdup is an apparent obsession with tidying these details up at the same time. For the life of me, I can’t see the problem with having two different systems for a while. Surely, this is what the population envisaged?
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