420 News Archives - Page 40 of 41 - The Real Dirt with Chip Baker

Jeff Sessions: Cannabis Enemy No.1

by Travis C | Aug 1, 2017 | 420 News, Blog

Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III. A fittingly obnoxious and frustrating name to match the unbearable character of the United States Attorney General; the same man that is single-handedly attempting to take down the recreational and medical marijuana industries.

It’s no surprise that Jeff Sessions, whom even Trump now wants to quit, would take such a negative stance on the medical marijuana industry as well as the legal market. Considering he is a conservative with ties to the private prison industry, in which almost half of the drug-related crimes for which people are placed in these prisons is marijuana-related, one can’t be too shocked that he would take this path.

Stuck in Prohibition

With restrictions on private prisons all but removed completely, Jeff Sessions has set his sights on one of the fastest growing markets in American history. Marijuana still maintains a Schedule 1 status federally, meaning it has a high risk of abuse with no accepted medical use and lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision.

Although I do agree with the last part about lack of safety for use, that is only due to its schedule status which makes it near impossible for research funding and efforts to create a safe all-encompassing set of guidelines for the industry. Ironic, I know.

What is even more ironic is the fact that a conservative government – which if I recall correctly from my gen-ed history courses in college is meant to be small and hands-off with state decisions – would want to go after states that have deemed in their laws the legal or medicinal use of marijuana. So much for respecting the states, right Jeff?

Grabbing at Straws

While we appear to be in the midst of the largest opioid epidemic in our country’s history, Sessions insists that marijuana is a growing flame that needs to be snuffed out, citing increased violence as his reasoning. Maybe I’m crazy or I’m not seeing things properly because I smoke a little too much, but I can’t recall any recent breaking news stories of someone getting stabbed or shot over some marijuana, let alone any reported death from a marijuana overdose in the history of recorded human existence.

Mr. Sessions has taken it upon himself to begin the process of rolling back the Obama administration decision that restricted federal funds being spent on efforts to counteract state’s legal measures regarding medical marijuana. To sum up this federal budget change, the administration basically told the DEA and other drug task forces to leave alone states that decided to legalize marijuana whether medicinally, recreationally or both, despite the federal status.

Jeff Sessions is Stuck in the Past

Now I can see how an old traditionalist such as Jeff Sessions might be scared and nervous that the younger generations are recognizing the vast medicinal benefits of marijuana, such as its use in aiding those with epilepsy, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and more. If only Jeff Sessions moved forward instead of backward, states could gain even more funding to research the true potential of marijuana.

I remember not long ago hearing the terrible stories of children being taken away from their parents because they tried using medical marijuana instead of harmful prescription drugs. I heard other stories of families picking up and leaving their home state to find a legal medical marijuana state to treat their children or themselves without risk of persecution.

The legalization efforts across the country are creating major waves that are reshaping the modern view on marijuana as it becomes less stigmatized and more accepted for its medical benefits. So why should we go backwards?

Can’t Stop Us

Jeff Sessions is attempting to tear down an exploding market that could be worth upward of $50 Billion by 2026. We are at a tipping point in the marijuana industry where it can continue to skyrocket at its current pace, or get knocked down a few pegs by an impeding government. Do I think the industry will fall completely and disappear like Jeff Sessions probably wants? No.

The cannabis industry has too much momentum and growing support to just die because of an overbearing Attorney General, and with most conservatives maintaining their original stance on state rights, there is sure to be some division among the party once the issue hits the senate floor. Despite this, Sessions will surely keep pushing his hard head into the concrete wall that is the cannabis industry.

The Train Keeps Moving

I think Jeff Sessions knows his time is coming. Trump has spoken out against him numerous times, as well as others in the republican party, and I don’t think I have ever met a person that claimed to like him. The guy sucks, but we shouldn’t worry.

There is so much opposition against Sessions both on the republican and democrat side as well as from the majority of the American public on this issue. It will always blow my mind that the government has yet to learn anything from alcohol prohibition or the war on drugs. When will they just accept their fault and work to make a safer and more accessible market? Colorado and other recreational states have already shown it can be done to great success and effectiveness. Just look at their decreasing opioid use rates and excess taxes going toward schools.

The evidence in favor of legalization and medicinal use of marijuana is growing more and more every day, with new studies revealing effective medical uses, and legal states showing the potential revenue and job creation that can be achieved with a monitored and regulated market. Despite Jeff Session’s best efforts to reverse the progression of the marijuana movement, the train can’t be stopped.

Marijuana saves lives, creates jobs, builds communities, and makes people happy. Jeff Sessions will never be able to take that away.

Cannabis Research in Israel

by The Real Dirt | Jul 20, 2017 | 420 News, Blog, Science & Technology

While the United States makes great strides in medicinal cannabis research, Israel has been doing the same for nearly 35 years.

Israel has become the recognized leader in medicinal cannabis research and innovation. In the US, legal states like California and Colorado opened the door for scientific and medical research in the late nineties. Israel, however, has a nearly 35 year head start.

Unlike in the US, the Israeli government has supported medicinal cannabis research, despite its prohibition among the general population. Israel’s recent decriminalization and pledge to support cannabis initiatives marked a shift in global attitudes toward cannabis and has drawn new investors looking to get into what could be a transformative industry for the nation.

A History of Cannabis Research in Israel

Israel has played a major role in the modern history of cannabis. It was an Israeli scientist, Dr. Raphael Mechoulam, who identified CBD and THC in the 1960’s, allegedly from a piece of Lebanese hash he obtained from police. His research served as the basis for Israel’s own medical cannabis distribution program that went into effect in 1992, years before California followed suit.

Along with decriminalization, Israel has announced its intent to provide additional funding for research with the goal of helping new cannabis products find their way to the market and to develop a further understanding of cannabis’ role in medicine.

Expanding and Progressing

The announcement made it clear that Israel is intent on greatly expanding the medical marijuana market. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development plans to invest approximately $2.1 million dollars into thirteen new cannabis projects including medicinal applications, biochemistry and improving cultivation techniques.

One of the more exciting projects on the horizon is the development of national catalog of strain genetics. Mapping the cannabis genome and developing the ability to identify specific traits associated with genetic markers could have incredible implications for the development of new strains that target specific ailments.

The main difference between the US and Israeli cannabis research field, is that scientists in the US have struggled to work around federal law which has always had a strict prohibition on cannabis. The federal government’s inability to see past the politics of the drug war has set the US back decades in cannabis research.

Israel’s approach, while socially prohibitive, allowed researchers to do the work they needed to do to fully understand the potential health benefits of the cannabis plant. The result is that they are now the recognized world leader in cannabis science.

American Investor’s Dream

A medical marijuana market that has the full support of the government is an investor’s dream. In the US, the uncertainty of a future national market has held back large investors. Knowing that politics won’t get in the way of making a dollar in Israel’s medical cannabis industry, American investment firms are believed to have sunk at least $50 million into companies actively working to develop new products for the burgeoning market. Many involved in Israeli’s cannabis industry believe that it will grow to become a $100-million-dollar industry by the end of 2017.

With the past distribution system limiting the number of legal consumers to the 23,000 or so medical marijuana card holders, the industry itself was limited to around $20 million dollars on the high end.

The shift in public policy and investment in the industry as a whole will undoubtedly help the country reach its goal of $100 million dollars in sales, which itself seems like a conservative estimate. The industry’s recent developments come after decades of cutting edge research, which ultimately forced the government to recognize not only the incredible health benefits but the economic advantages to legalization as well.

Cannabis Retailers Compete in Denver: Survival of the Fittest

by The Real Dirt | Jul 10, 2017 | 420 News, Blog, Business

Colorado’s cannabis industry hasn’t fallen short of record breaking, even three years after the first recreational sale. In fact, the industry continues to grow, surpassing the previous revenue records each year.

In the month of March, Colorado hit another record for the highest amount of revenue collected from licensed cannabis retailers, according to the publicly available state sales tax data, at $131.7 million. The Colorado Department of Revenue announced that they collected a hefty $22.9 million in tax revenue during the month of March alone.

Denver, the state’s Capital, is the most populated city in Colorado, home to a whopping 5,540,545 people in the 2016 consensus, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Naturally, this means that Denver has the highest concentration of cannabis retailers in the state, hosting roughly 400 of the 698 licensed businesses in Colorado.

Cannabis Retailers Compete

With such a large concentration of licensed cannabis retailers in the city, what does this mean for competition? For some of the larger brands, it doesn’t mean much. To smaller business owners, it is becoming much harder to compete with the established brands, and many owners find themselves selling their licensed businesses.

MJBizDaily interviewed the owner of cannabis dispensary 3D Cannabis Center, who went from worldwide media attention for the state’s first legal recreational sale in 2014, to selling her once widely recognized business for $2 million because of the fierce competition.

Many smaller “mom and pop” dispensaries have started to see a decline in sales, even though the state continually hits record high sales numbers. The smaller businesses are especially hurting with the rapid growth, as the prices for licensing, application fees, utilities and rent continue to rise.

colorado cannabis retailers compete for the best marijuana

Overcoming Obstacles

Another hurdle for competition among the industry is the limited advertising ability for cannabis brands due to the strict state laws. Alas, that has not hindered ads through outlets such as print magazines, radio stations and events, which target a large portion of the Denver population – millennials. Larger companies usually pay to have their brand front and center on a full page ad, or on the front cover of magazines, while smaller brands may only to be able to afford a quarter page ad, if any at all.

Some smaller companies may not have the supply or resources to be able to offer discount coupons, aimed at bringing in more business. You will often see larger brands offering product discounts such as 15% off for first time customers, making it extremely hard for smaller companies to compete if they cannot offer discounted products.

Many companies have now come up with a reward system for customers, marketing directly to their phones or email addresses. Businesses have to come up with extremely creative ways to market their products, because there is a good chance another competitor sits just a few blocks away.

Denver has seen so much growth in cannabis business that they have put a moratorium on new store fronts and cultivation centers, in hopes that they can slow down the competitive industry, and focus on responsible growth.

Cannabis Laws in Colorado Tighten: Do they Limit Industry Success?

by The Real Dirt | Jul 5, 2017 | 420 News, Blog, Business

New cannabis laws and regulations are stacking up in Colorado, making it difficult for the industry to operate. While regulations are effective, many businesses are suffering.

In 2012, Colorado was the first state in America to allow adult use of cannabis consumption through Amendment 64. Since the Amendment was adopted, cannabis laws and regulations for adult use in Colorado have continually become more strict, almost aiming for a failure of the industry as a whole.

Cannabis laws change constantly, sometimes overnight, and some business owners cannot keep up. When adult use was enacted, dispensaries did not have the harsh regulations like they do today. In fact, there were minimal limitations on how much product you could purchase at once as a consumer, which type of pesticides you could use to cultivate, and who store owners could receive their supply from.

Not So Wild West

Since Amendment 64 passed with such a short timeframe to enact the encompassed cannabis laws, there weren’t many limitations set forth that hindered a successful business. If you are new to the cannabis industry, you may not be familiar with the “Wild West” days from 2012 that ultimately gave small business owners a large chance for success, setting forth their own unique standards.

Since the success of recreational legalization, the Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) has continually come up with harsh, almost unrealistic expectations for compliance within the industry. One of the regulations, enacted with HB 1284, is that business owners must track every plant in their possession from seed to sale, and report those numbers daily through a software system known as METRC. If businesses do not track every seed and sale through METRC and confirm each night before closing, they could risk having to shut down their entire business.

That said, many of the POS systems used in retail stores to track the cannabis sales have a track record for crashing, which does not allow for business owners and managers to be able to track the sales if they choose to allow them while their systems are down. This sets businesses up for failure either way – whether they choose to allow sales or halt sales until the system is restored, which can cause a huge monetary loss depending on the time of day.

Cannabis Laws Hurt Small Business

As for applying for or owning a cannabis business license, the process has become so extensive (and expensive) that most small business owners cannot afford to continue renewing their licenses and are forced to sell their stores or go out of business. Currently, licensing fees can run upwards of $15,000, depending on how many licenses are being applied for and in which city. This does not even include the price of rent, which can be quadruple the base price of rent in Denver, specifically to cannabis businesses. The rent increase includes cultivation facilities and infused product manufacturers (MIPS) as well.

Additionally, these locations now cannot be within 1,000 feet of a school, daycare facility or rehabilitation center, and in some cities, another cannabis business. To date, since these new cannabis laws have been enacted, there have been about 50 cannabis businesses that have received a letter from the MED to close their doors due to being too close to one of the “off limits” facilities. In addition to the strict location laws, the State of Colorado has more recently adopted very strict pesticide laws for cultivation centers.

When the State updates their regulations, it is uncertain whether or not they will alert the public, or give you any timeline as to when these new cannabis laws will be enforced. If the MED randomly audits your facility and detects any “off limits” pesticide particles in the air, even if they have been discarded due to new regulations, they will issue a violation, destroy every plant in the facility, and cause the business owner an exorbitant loss of product.

New Laws, New World

Most recently, Green Man Cannabis was forced to destroy every plant in their facility as the MED found “residual particles” of illegal pesticides in their air system – pesticides that were legal to use shortly before the incident had occurred. The rules enacted by the MED seem to be aimed at daunting the success of cannabis in Colorado – but as we remain compliant and law-abiding, their restrictions cannot stop the ongoing success of this industry.

420 Rally Banned in Denver for Three Years

by Travis C | Jun 19, 2017 | 420 Culture & Travel, 420 News, Blog

Denver’s 420 rally has been banned from Denver’s Civic Center Park for the next three years, but does anyone really care?

The ban comes after city council members say that the organizers of the Denver 420 rally/festival left the park a complete disaster, with trash strewn everywhere. While the city’s decision may seem to put a damper on things, the reality is that the spirit of 420 will live on…just somewhere else.

Complicated Circumstances

The circumstances surrounding the banning are questionable at best. While it is true that trash was indeed left in an ugly heap all around the 420 rally venue, how the trash got there may not have been the organizers fault. As fast as the reports of the incident hit social media, so did claims disputing the announcement. Dozens of local residents who either took part in the cannabis festival or were passers by, reported that when the event was concluded trash was cleaned up and the park was, for the most part, in order.

It Wasn’t Us

According to Miguel Lopez, the rally’s organizer, the problem came about when a man with a knife, intentionally tried to scuttle the efforts of the festival clean-up crew, who had already bagged up most of the trash. Around 80 to 120 bags were cut open and thrown around by the lone individual, who when confronted, pointed his knife at the workers.

Police were called around 2am to respond, Lopez says. The Denver PD showed up, but made no attempts at taking a report on the incident, a blatant violation of DPD policy. When questioned about it, they acknowledged they had responded but “didn’t know” anything else about the incident at the 420 rally .

Was it ever about the trash?

Despite the revelations by Lopez, the city wasted no opportunity to inject their own personal views on the Denver cannabis festival and the message it permeates. The ban was an opportunity the city council couldn’t pass up, yet it had very little to do with trash. According to Lopez, the ban is the city’s way of silencing the festival’s message. He plans to fight the ban, as the rally was pulled off without a hitch, until an act of sabotage spoiled the fun for everyone.

Another point of contention, according to Lopez, is that the 420 festival had until noon the next day to do clean-up, a deadline which was met. Lopez was also fined almost $12,000 for the incident, while according to the city, damages totaled only $190.

Here, there, 420 everywhere

The one thing that the city of Denver can count on is that the spirit of the 420 rally is not defined by its location. The 420 rally is about freedom, and embracing a culture of togetherness. It’s about loving your neighbor, and coming together as a community. The one thing that the city will never get is that cannabis unites people, and nothing will ever change that, no matter how hard they try.

The Evolution of Cannabis Strains & Cultivation Techniques

by Travis C | Jun 14, 2017 | 420 Culture & Travel, 420 News, Blog, Growing, Science & Technology

On a new episode of The Real Dirt with Chip Baker, Chip sat down in the studio with Dave Malone from Green Dot Labs, and Doug Marvin from nutrient manufacturer Botanicare.

Cannabis extracts are all the rage lately, but not all extracts and cannabis concentrates are created equal. Greed Dot Labs specializes in how to make high grade concentrates made from cannabis flower, grown using top quality seeds and the best nutrients around. But what sets Green Dot Labs apart from the competition? Dedication to quality and innovation in the grow room.

“It’s the timeless classic varietals that we’ve preserved over the years, your kushes your diesels, every so often something new and revolutionary comes out. It’s happening more and more.”

Part of Green Dot Labs’ success is attributable to the quality of their strain genetics. Besides the classics, Green Dot Labs stays on top of the cannabis world by producing some of the newest and best cannabis strains around.

Chip and his guests sampled some Triangle Mints, a cross of Triangle Kush and Girl Scout Cookies, which is just one example of the new and cutting edge genetics being grown at Green Dot labs.

“And now that extraction is a large part of the business in cannabis, we’re able to really see this plant through the different lens and ways we could breed this plant now to have as much essential oil as possible, as much terpene content as possible.”

Cannabis extracts are now the fastest growing segment of the retail cannabis world. They are inexpensive, easy to make and provide a concentrated burst of cannabinoids and terpenes without the fuss of rolling a joint. But not all plants make good extracts, or provide the right amount of cannabinoids or terpenes, leaving Dave and the team at Green Dot Labs to discern which strains are best for concentrates.

As Dave and Chip discuss, the best strains for extraction are those heavy with oils and resins. The best high-cannabinoid plants for blasting have genetics going back to many of the original hash plants like Afghani or Lebanese. These landrace genetics have gone on to play a major role in many of the strains consumed today.

“Once you’ve found out the ways of how Botanicare products can help your plants, it’s hard to go back. I’ve seen cannabis all over the world.”

In order to grow the best plants, you need the best cannabis nutrients. Doug has spent 20 years working to create some of the industry’s top selling nutrient lines. Botanicare has been around since the late ’90s and fuels the garden at Green Dot Labs. Botanicare’s professional lines of nutrients provide a wide range of supplements that pack the punch of nutrient salts for cannabis, while maintaining the fullness and essence of an organic grow.

“So to make the ultimate extract in my mind is to preserve 100 percent of the terpenes on the plant and 100 percent of the cannabinoids, and then homogenize those two and filter out every other impurity such as your lipid, your plant waxes, your cuttin.”

One of the newest trends in cannabis concentrates is called high terpene full spectrum extract. The idea is to preserve 100% of the terpenes and cannabinoids, resulting in the highest quality ‘full spectrum’ cannabis extract available. The need for full spectrum extracts comes from the Entourage Effect, in which terpenes and cannabinoids work together to enhance each other’s properties.

THC or CBD alone fail to reach their full potential if ingested alone. Only in consuming a variety of cannabinoids at once can you be sure to maximize their effectiveness. The more we learn about cannabis, the more we realize that whole plant remedies and full spectrum cannabinoid profiles, are what make the magic happen.

Find out the full scoop about extractions and the future of concentrates from Dave and Doug themselves on The Real Dirt with Chip Baker Podcast.