Virginia’s Governor Northam announced his support—and plans—for marijuana legalization.

As someone who watches a ton of cannabis documentaries for a living, I came into “Smoke: Marijuana + Black America,” a new BET documentary focusing on the cultural, social, economic, and legal impact of cannabis in Black communities around America, with a certain degree of apprehension — was this going to be just another hollow documentary banking on the plight of Black people at the hands of cannabis? 

While I was working, I got a Slack message from Weedmaps contributor Dante Jordan: “Hey, man. Watch the BET doc. I think you’ll appreciate it.” I found the link a publicist had sent me, started it, and my attention was immediately grabbed by the collar. 

Narrated and executive produced by Nasir “Nas” Jones, “Smoke” premieres Wednesday, November 18, 2020, 8 p.m. PST on BET. The two-hour original documentary provides an intimate portrait of weed’s place in Black culture and its influence on some of the greatest artists, activists, athletes, and politicians in American history. 

“Weed was in my music because it was in my world,” says Nas Jones early in the documentary. Former NFL star Ricky Williams says “One of the things that cannabis did is help me come to a kind of resolution to this inner conflict.” 

It also explains how “America’s unjust War on Drugs systematically targeted marijuana use in the Black community, resulting in racially disproportionate numbers of arrests and convictions,” according to a press release. 

While the cannabis industry is expected to grow exponentially as more states legalize adult-use and medical use, and federal cannabis legalization becomes an inevitably, projections expect the industry to generate $30 billion in sales by 2025. Much of cannabis’ popularity and acceptance comes from the art made by Black hip hop artists, comedians, and filmmakers, breaking down the stigmas of the counterculture movement of the 1960s and priming American consumers to flock to legal weed in the 90s and 2000s.  

And yet, only 4.3% of dispensaries are currently Black-owned. Legal cannabis states have largely failed to address the repercussions from the War on Drugs or craft policies that provide equity to Black cannabis entrepreneurs, effectively cutting them out of the market they helped build. 

At the same time, to this day, Black Americans are disproportionately targeted by law enforcement for the possession of cannabis, despite the fact that white Americans have equal consumption rates. As my colleague Summer Fox wrote in an explainer earlier this year:

Black people are 3.64 times more likely to be arrested for cannabis than white people, despite both groups consuming at similar rates. These disparities exist in every state across the country. Black people are also more likely to receive longer and more punitive sentences than white people for similar offenses. 

Graphic: Jaclyn Spears/Weedmaps

“Smoke” tells this story of injustice through numerous high profile interviews with Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Cory Booker, rapper B-Real, hip hop artist Ty Dolla $ign, WNBA star Cheyenne Parker, former NFL star Ricky Williams, former NBA player and cannabis entrepreneur Al Harrington, C.J. Wallace, the son of Notorious B.I.G., rapper and weed mogul Berner, and many more. 

What “Smoke” manages to express better than most documentaries is just how complicated and compromising life as a Black or brown person is in America when it comes to cannabis. We’re constantly seeing how weed is a part of the culture and a source for expression and creativity, yet it’s stigmatized and criminalized. How cannabis is a relatively safe, inexpensive medicine to help manage the fears and stressors of oppression in America, yet it leads to harsher, more severe oppression from U.S. law enforcement. How cannabis helps create and is the subject of some of the most significant works of art, and yet Black people are the last in line to profit. And, most devastatingly, how paths to changing systemic racism and inequality often lead Black people to harm the very people they intend to help in the name of cannabis. 

BET

“Most of the people I prosecuted were young Black teenagers. Mostly boys,” says Kim Fox, state’s attorney for Cook County, Illinois. “I felt like a hypocrite. I felt like I was put into this role as an assistant state’s attorney to bring safety and fairness to our communities. And in the exercise of doing prosecution of these low-level marijuana offenses, I felt like I was doing harm.”  

“What I’m a little frustrated with is the lack of urgency around these issues. Every day we wait to change these laws, more and more people’s lives are being upended and impacted in such a savagely unjust way” says Senator Cory Booker. “I get very emotional about this because this is not an academic subject for me. I live in Newark, New Jersey. These are my friends.” 

“What I like about it is that it’s not just another showcasing of like … a couple of Cheech and Chong clips, some talk about Snoop, and then Willie Nelson,” Dante slacked me. “It covers all the bases from rappers to civilians and politicians. I’m impressed more than anything, to be honest. This is really good work.” 

“Smoke” is directed by Erik Parker and executive produced by Nasir “Nas” Jones, Jason Samuels from BET, and Eric Tomosunas from Swirl Films. Swirl Films’ Tony L. Strickland serves as co-executive producer. It premieres Wednesday, November 18, 2020, 8 p.m. PST on BET.

Images courtesy of BET. 

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Legalizing marijuana doesn’t just create new jobs. It saves existing ones, too—ask 350 municipal workers in Chicago.

The post Cannabis taxes save 350 jobs in Chicago appeared first on Leafly.

An illicit cannabis industry has been working underground for decades, but the emergence of legal states and subsequent markets has created demand for hundreds of thousands of jobs. According to one estimate from financial firm Barclay’s, if cannabis were legalized nationwide today and taxed at the same rate as tobacco it would have a market worth of $28 billion, reaching $41 billion by 2028. 

Cannabis industry and accounting firm Adnant Consulting estimates that the industry has created 50,000—100,000 jobs per legal state on the retail side alone. But there’s a lot more to legal weed than budtending; think farming, accounting, logistics, customer service and managing. 

To help meet the demand for workers in an industry requiring a broad range of skills, colleges like Northern Michigan University and Minot State University, as well as cannabis-only programs like Oaksterdam University are working to educate people wanting to make a career of cannabis.  

Cannabis and university programs

For students looking to work in the cultivation, research and extraction side of the industry, the aforementioned Northern Michigan University and Minot State University offer “medicinal plant chemistry” undergraduate degrees. 

Other schools, such as Colorado State University Pueblo, SUNY Morrisville, and Stockton University offer cannabis-centered minors. One college, The University of Maryland School of Pharmacy offers a postgraduate degree, the Medical Cannabis Science and Therapeutics Programs masters. 

Cannabis training universities

There are several schools operating in this space, with a mix of in-person and online course offerings. While these programs offer course certificates, these are not degrees or credits that could be applied to training at other educational establishments. 

The most well-known cannabis university is Oakland, California-based Oaksterdam University, which opened in 2007. Though Oaksterdam has the highest tuition price tag, it appears to be the only university with an actual campus and in-person learning options (that for the time-being have moved to remote learning formats due to COVID-19). 

Here are some other training programs with varying course offerings and price points to consider: 

• THC University
• Trichome Institute
• Clover Leaf University
• Cannabis Training University

Whether or not a marijuana-centric degree or certification is needed to get a good job in the industry is up for debate. Some prognosticators say that the industry’s outsized growth simply needs workers to fill a lot of open positions. Others believe that a certification or degree may offer an advantage over candidates who don’t have them. 

Before signing up for any program, one thing to keep in mind with any online training generally is that they are for-profit ventures. So be sure to do your research on the programs before investing any of your hard-earned cash. 

Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

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Spending The Holidays Alone? Here’s How To Make The Most Of It

We’re entering a strange holiday season. Here’s how to make the most of it if you’re planning to spend it solo.

The post Spending The Holidays Alone? Here’s How To Make The Most Of It appeared first on The Fresh Toast.

Election Results Getting You Stoked About Cannabis Stocks? Here’s How To Invest

The passing of cannabis laws in five American states should lead to further “Green Waves” in the coming years and increased investor interest.

The post Election Results Getting You Stoked About Cannabis Stocks? Here’s How To Invest appeared first on The Fresh Toast.

Launched just after graduation in the summer of 2015, Hemper, the brainchild of three college friends, Bryan Gerber, Ravjot Bhasin and Henry Kochhar, now seeks to be the one stop shop for weed smokers and their smoking accessories. 

While in college, now CEO Bryan Gerber noticed a lack of supply for the demand of smoking goods like rolling papers and filter tips. He would often stock up and become the default go-to guy for such items. With stocks in limited and irregular supply from local shops and online outlets like Amazon, Gerber saw an opportunity in delivery. Combined with inspiration from his men’s Birchbox subscription, which delivers samples of cosmetics every month, the company Hemper was born. 

Today, Hemper is one of the largest companies in the game and looking to grow, as Gerber described, “We are one of the main go-to places for anything paraphernalia … we are the largest subscription service in the USA … with an eye to drop ship.” 

Here, we take a look at Hemper’s subscription box, what’s inside, and why they have grown to have one the nation’s largest subscriber bases. 

How it works

There are four total options for subscription boxes, ranging from $10—$60. While a myriad of items can be purchased through the website as single items, most boxes are not available a la carte and require signing up for an automatically renewed subscription. Old edition boxes can be purchased as single items when stock allows and are offered at a higher price than if you have a subscription. 

A nice feature for some of the boxes is that customers can choose their own shipping frequency to customize how often they receive the items. Customers can opt out of the subscription at any time by cancelling through the website. Admittedly, with so many products and tabs, the corporate design of the website can be tricky to navigate, especially when trying to cancel or order a single item. Packaging is discreet for all boxes, allowing for privacy when it arrives at your doorstep. 

• Hemper Core Box — $9.99 per month: Described as the “bare essentials,” this pack includes six everyday items like rolling papers, lighters, filter tips, and hemp wick. It  also includes a mystery item, keeping it fun even if it’s just the basics. 

• Hemper Tech Cleaning Box — $19.99 per month: This box is geared toward those who regularly — or need to — deep clean their glass, with items like pipe cleaners, alcohol swabs and wipes, and some hemp wick for good measure. This box is available as a one time purchase or subscription. 

• Hemper Pack — $21.99 per month: This bundle includes items from other and past boxes like fresh wipes and accessories, as well as essentials like rolling papers and filter tips. It’s always an assortment of seven items, valued at $35 or more. 

• Hemper Box — $39.99 per month: The flagship box contains 10+ items with a total value of $100 or more. This box always includes a surprise glass piece, often seasonally themed, as well as the essentials from the core box, plus stickers, and extras like small glass pieces. 

Behind the boxes

With a mainly millennial customer base, “nostalgia plays a big role” said Gerber, noting things like “an old video game styled box, or UFO bong.” These nods to old school icons, as well as contemporary celebrity collaborations, keep the boxes fresh and fun for the majority of subscribers. Some of the most notable collaborations have been with Cypress Hill and Lil Debbie, which include limited run products. 

While mostly a product driven brand, there are occasional Los Angeles-based IRL events including release parties and burlesque shows hosted by Hemper. These days, the community events have been transplanted online, featuring live streams on their social media channels and scavenger hunts on the website, where customers can try to track down an image to win a free item or subscription. 

Beyond the boxes

In addition to a diverse team of internal leaders, Hemper is committed to larger issues of social equity and justice. They have partnered with The Last Prisoner Project on product development and have a profit sharing model in place to help benefit those adversely affected by outdated laws. Each year, they look for a new organization to work with, expanding their reach beyond the cannabis space, including past work benefiting organizations working to support those affected by domestic violence. 

What’s the appeal? 

As a large and growing one-stop shop, a la Amazon or Walmart, for smokers, Hemper is pretty straightforward, offering competitive prices for on trend products. Ideally suited for those who want to set it and forget it in terms of daily smoking accessories, the majority of the boxes will keep regular smokers fully stocked. The flagship Hemper box offers a dose of seasonal fun and a regular influx of cute glass pieces. Meanwhile, those looking for a sense of community can connect online to mingle with other like minded people — and the occasional giveaway. 

All in all, it comes down to convenience and keeping a steady supply of your basics on hand. 

Photos from Hemper’s website. 

The post Everything you need to know about getting a Hemper subscription box appeared first on Weedmaps News.

The Ongoing Cannabis Drink Boom & Its Crossover With Top Beverage Corporations

The pandemic has fueled the demand for CBD and/or cannabis-infused products even further, which includes beverages.

The post The Ongoing Cannabis Drink Boom & Its Crossover With Top Beverage Corporations appeared first on The Fresh Toast.

Here’s Why Congress May Be Forced To Consider Nationwide Marijuana Legalization

Not only has federal legalization managed to garner somewhere between 60%-65% favorability over the past few years, but the support has now grown considerably.

The post Here’s Why Congress May Be Forced To Consider Nationwide Marijuana Legalization appeared first on The Fresh Toast.

The governor of Virginia said on Monday that he wants the state to legalize marijuana and will work with lawmakers to pass a reform bill in 2021. His comments come on the same day that a legislative commission tasked with studying the issue issued  recommendations to lawmakers on how a legal cannabis market could be structured.

Gov. Ralph Northam (D) campaigned on simple decriminalization, a policy he signed into law earlier this year, but until now had never previously taken a stand on broader adult-use legalization.

“We are going to move forward with the legalization of marijuana in Virginia. I support this and I’m committed to doing in the right way,” he said during a briefing, adding that it’s “not going to happen overnight.”

“Marijuana laws have been based originally in discrimination and undoing these harms means things like social equity licenses, access to capital, community reinvestment and sealing or expunging people’s prior records,” Northam said.

That’s consistent with the analysis put forward in a report by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) on Monday. The panel made recommendations on the policy change from a number of angles—including economic, social equity and public health. Members drew from the experiences of other states that have enacted legalization, as well as existing research into the topic.

Although the panel did not formally recommend whether legislators should pursue legalization, they noted the projected tax revenue the Commonwealth could bring in and possible restorative justice policies that could help repair the damages of the drug war if the state were to enact the reform.

JLARC was tasked with conducting the study and issuing recommendations as part of a resolution approved by the legislature earlier this year.

“If Virginia legalizes marijuana, the General Assembly would need to make several policy choices,” the commission said in its report. “The General Assembly would need to determine legal limits on the amount of marijuana an individual could possess; where marijuana could legally be smoked or consumed; the legal age for marijuana use; and whether to allow individuals to grow their own plants. Legislators would also need to determine whether to adjust existing penalties for illegal distribution and possession above the legal amount.”

The panel made 45 recommendations and also gave lawmakers 29 “policy options” related to legalizing cannabis. They based the recommendations on interviews with more than 100 stakeholders and more than 200 prior studies on the issue.

Here are some of the main findings: 

• By legalizing marijuana, the state would see an 84% reduction in cannabis-related arrests.
• If the state enacted the reform and taxed marijuana sales at a rate of 25-30 percent, it could bring in $154-$308 million in revenue annually five years after implementation.
• The cannabis program could also create upwards of 11,000 jobs by year five.

• Social equity in the industry could be promoted using a variety of tactics. For example, Virginia could use some tax revenue to support reinvestment programs for communities most impacted by the drug war. Legislators could also prevent vertical integration and provide loans for small businesses.
• The commission said their review of studies on legalization in other states shows that more people would consume marijuana, but evidence indicates that youth use would remain the same, if not decline.
• Local jurisdictions should have “substantial authority” over how to regulate, or whether to allow, cannabis facilities. That includes allowing them to set licensing caps on marijuana retailers.
• Members agreed that the industry should be privatized, rather than having the state control it.
• Legislators should wait to set up the basic market infrastructure prior to deciding on whether to allow cannabis delivery services or on-site consumption.
• Allowing home cultivation would provide a low-cost access option for consumers and, if lawmakers provide for it, they should set a two-to-six plant limit per adult.
• JLARC also said that the legislature should establish restrictions on marijuana labeling and advertising to deter youth consumption.

“I’d like to emphasize that we were directed to look at how Virginia could legalize marijuana and create a commercial market,” Mark Gribbin, JLARC’s project manager for this report, said during a presentation on Monday. “We’re not asserting if that should be done.”

Northam’s office, in a press release, said that he is “working closely with lawmakers to finalize legislation” to legalize cannabis ahead of the 2021 session that begins in January.

He said the proposal will need to address social, racial equity and economic equity. It also must protect public health, limit young people’s access to cannabis, align with the state’s Indoor Clean Air Act and include data collection components to track implementation.

Last week, top Virginia lawmakers signaled that legal cannabis could have enough support to be enacted in 2021.

House Majority Leader Charniele Herring (D) said there is a “good chance” it could happen, and Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw (D) put the odds at “slightly better than 50-50.”

Meanwhile, legislation to stop police from searching people or seizing property based solely on the smell of marijuana in Virginia is set to take effect after lawmakers adopted recommended changes from the governor this month.

Also during the recently concluded special session, Northam signed another bill that will allow people issued summonses for cannabis offenses under the state’s new decriminalization law to prepay their civil penalty rather than having show up in court.

Together, when enacted, the two new reforms will build upon the measure to decriminalize cannabis that the governor signed earlier this year during the regular legislative session, which makes it so possession of up to one ounce of marijuana is punishable by a $25 fine with no threat of jail time and no criminal record.

But not all proposed reforms advanced.

Lawmakers were ultimately not able to reach an agreement during the special session on legislation to provide expungements for prior cannabis convictions that had appeared destined for Northam’s desk after passing either chamber in differing forms. The issue died in conference.

A bill to legalize marijuana possession was filed for the special session by a delegate who is running to replace the term-limited Northam as governor in 2021, but it did not advance out of the committee to which it was referred.

Meanwhile, former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D), who is considering running again next year, endorsed Northam’s call for legal cannabis in a tweet.

Attorney General Mark Herring (D), who had considered a run for governor but has decided to seek another term in his current office, said that the new JLARC report “just confirms what I have long been saying – Virginia needs to allow legal, regulated adult use of marijuana as a matter of public safety, justice, equity, and economic opportunity.”

During this year’s regular legislative session, the governor and lawmakers also expanded Virginia’s limited medical cannabis program in addition to enacting the decriminalization law.

Beyond the JLARC study, several executive agencies—including “the Secretaries of Agriculture and Forestry, Finance, Health and Human Resources, and Public Safety and Homeland Security—have formed a work group that is also studying the potential implications of legalization, and their report is due by the end of this month. That action is required under the approved decriminalization bill.

“It comes as no surprise that Governor Northam has announced his support for legalizing the responsible use of cannabis by adults,” NORML Development Director Jenn Michelle Pedini, told Marijuana Moment.

“Governor Northam has always been thoughtful in his approach to cannabis policy,” Pedini, who also serves as the executive director of Virginia NORML and is a member of the Virginia Marijuana Legalization Work Group, said. “NORML appreciates that social equity, racial equity and economic equity are among his top considerations for legalization. We look forward to continuing our work with the administration and the legislature to ‘get this right.’”

Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

This article has been republished from Marijuana Moment under a content-sharing agreement. Read the original article here.

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