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.

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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.

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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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Psychedelic Medicine Association is trying to bridge the gap between researchers and the public.

Michael Thompson, 87, has been in prison since 1994 for a cannabis offense—even though cannabis is now legal in his state.

How Could Joe Biden’s Administration Legalize Marijuana?

Joe Biden did not campaign on legalizing marijuana but it is possible, maybe even likely, that the federal prohibition of marijuana ends under his watch.

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Montana officials are making plans for the future of legal cannabis in their state.

Did Marijuana Prohibition Cost Trump The Election?

If you see a warm glow in the West, that is just me gloating over the results of the various state marijuana initiatives. They all won handily.

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What You Need To Know About Investing In Marijuana With A Biden-Harris Win

A Biden/Harris presidency could prove beneficial for a surging cannabis reform movement and its market after a clean sweep across five states on Election Day.

The post What You Need To Know About Investing In Marijuana With A Biden-Harris Win appeared first on The Fresh Toast.

“What if we all went in $100 on a Marijuana Handlers Card for somebody who can’t afford it?’

That was the question, Raina Casey, a Portland Death Doula, posed to her social media circle in the days following George Floyd’s murder. As the city rallied to support the Black cannabis community, Casey’s question illuminated just how undersized that community was. 

It was a straightforward question, but the cascade of responses made it clear that in asking, Casey had presented an uncomplicated solution to this particular instance of industry gatekeeping; preventing anyone who can’t afford to spend $100 from legally entering the Oregon cannabis industry. 

Casey, whose business supports the needs of those in life/death transition with cannabis advocacy, is well aware of the role cannabis plays in the criminalization of Blackness. She’s seen the community rally to support Black-owned business without addressing the dilemma of there being so few of them to even support, which gave her pause, “We need to support Black business and remind people that they need to support Black and brown people first.”

Propelled by Oregon’s first round of stay-at-home orders — which designated dispensaries as essential businesses and created a new pool of job opportunities — and following the initial wave of BLM protests, further cemented Casey’s position as a cannabis and minority activist. Soon, after she reached out to familiars with the experience necessary to expand on her central idea, Casey’s concept evolved and became the Oregon Handlers Fund, a nonprofit that covers the costs of receiving an Oregon Marijuana Handlers Card — a requirement necessary for farm, manufacturing, or dispensary work, and a major impediment to the diversification of the cannabis industry. Potential awardees and supporters alike can visit the Oregon Handlers Fund website to apply for or donate funds. 

Weedmaps spoke to Casey about building a nonprofit from scratch, overlapping the nature of death and the business of cannabis, and how — with a bit of follow-through and the support of a community — small questions can lead to big actions.

Weedmaps: What is your relationship with cannabis as a Death Doula?

Raina Casey: In 2012 I had a stroke and I couldn’t continue my line of work anymore. I was an autopsy technician and I had always been fascinated with the funeral industry. When I was in the military, I was an affairs specialist, but after I had the stroke, I had residual numbness in my left hand. I couldn’t do that work anymore. 

I got sad and depressed and I had used cannabis recreationally, but I started to find that when I used cannabis, I didn’t have to use a lot of my seizure medication. I started to research the medical benefits of cannabis, and soon after I started my research, a lady came into my life. I didn’t realize at the time that she would be my first [death doula] client. She was not only my first client, but she was also the first medical marijuana patient that I really had to advocate for legally and medically. 

Her husband had worked in law enforcement and she was a legislator — cannabis had no place in their home or lifestyle previous to this. But God put me there, put me into their lives, and that allowed me to help them realize that cannabis is very, very beneficial. And you don’t have to have to smoke it to get those benefits. 

WM: How much did patient advocacy like this inform the OHF?

Casey: [The OHF has] actually been years in the making, I just didn’t have the money or the clout or the know-how to get it off the ground. So many friends and relatives would say things like, “I want to get into cannabis. How can I get a job? Oh, the $100 is too much.” They couldn’t afford it and they didn’t have anybody in their lives that could loan them that kind of money.  

We go and support all the Black and brown dispensaries and cannabis businesses, and it’s great to support our businesses, but we need help with the barrier of getting our people into the workforce. There’s no reason why all of these people, ready to go into the workforce, pass exams and background checks and everything, are just sitting there because they say they don’t have a $100 for the permit? There is something very wrong with that picture: You have all of these people who are qualified to work but they can’t.

For as much money as you spend on two ounces of top shelf, you can change somebody’s entire life. This is what needs to be happening and this is what it should have been happening the whole time. 

WM: Even without nonprofit experience, you wasted no time letting this initiative grow into a 501c3. How were you able to pivot so deftly from your career as a death doula to the captain of a nonprofit?

Casey: I have no experience in nonprofits or sales or anything like that. This is my first go-around with any of this, and I’ve been blessed. My godmother, well, I call her my “god-diva,” has allowed me to tag along behind her and watch how she works — she is a retired consultant — to get these really major companies to give her what she’s asking for: their money!  

Anybody who knows me will tell you I’m a very humble person. I just really want to live my life as peacefully as possible, and I want to help as many people as I can along the way. When I started getting into cannabis, a lot of people gave me flak, and all the while I was building my cannabis consulting business and tying it to being a death doula. I knew I was eventually just going to use my own money and start rounding people up in the community to help me pay for these permits. 

WM: As of now, the OHF is solely concerned with getting marijuana handlers cards into the hands of those who can’t otherwise afford them, but what type of growth do see for the Fund’s future?

Casey: I would love to turn the OHF into something way, way bigger than it is. We are working to develop partnerships with the dispensaries and the companies that committed to hiring our applicants, bigger companies that have acted really excited about it when we were discussing what we were going to do. Now, we’ve been going back and hitting them up saying, “Do you remember when we talked about this? This is where you can send your money.”

Then my plan is to retire and have my son take over.

WM: Do you have any advice for aspiring changemakers facing similar social justice endeavors?

Casey: Go for it. Seriously, go for it. Because, oh boy, shit would not have happened if I had not just decided to go ahead and do it.  

WM: Last question, what are your favorite strains right now?

Casey: Runtz right now but Obama Kush is a long-standing favorite.

Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

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