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The Future of Legal Cannabis in Florida

The Future of Legal Cannabis in Florida

by | Dec 9, 2020 | 420 News, Blog, Cannabis Law, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Culture

legal cannabis in Florida

The passing of the MORE Act in the House has gotten Floridians talking about their future.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday voted to decriminalize marijuana. Most Democrats supported the bill that would enact that change. Most Republicans did not. The bill is unlikely to gain traction in the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate.

Was Congress’ historic vote an early sign of momentum to legalize marijuana across the United States? Or is was it a low-stakes move on a splashy issue that’s unlikely to go anywhere?

Florida is home to plenty who are interested in the answer.

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“We talk all the time on the right about the need to empower people and empower states,” U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, said in an impassioned speech on the House floor in support of the bill, the MORE Act. “Right now, the federal policy on cannabis constrains our people. It limits our states.”

Gaetz, who helped author Florida’s very first medical marijuana program as a state representative in 2014, was one of just five Republicans to support the bill. Another Florida Republican, Brian Mast, R-Palm City, also voted for the measure. Mast’s office did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

In addition to essentially legalizing marijuana at the federal level, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act establishes a federal tax on cannabis products. That tax money would be set aside in a trust fund for people and businesses that have been affected by the federal war on drugs. A 2020 study by the American Civil Liberties Union showed that Black Americans are nearly four times more likely than white Americans to be arrested for marijuana possession, despite using the drug at a similar rate.

The MORE Act, if signed into law, would also start a formal process for expunging federal marijuana convictions. People serving federal sentences for cannabis-related crimes would get review hearings.

It’s unclear how many Floridians are in federal prison for marijuana-related crimes. But FBI data showed that in 2018, 40 percent of all state and local drug arrests were for marijuana-related offenses. More than 90 percent of those arrests were for possession, according to the Pew Research Center.

Read the full story from Tampa Bay Times

How Oklahoma Became the Nation’s Hottest Weed Market

How Oklahoma Became the Nation’s Hottest Weed Market

by | Dec 8, 2020 | 420, 420 Culture & Travel, 420 News, Blog, Cannabis Law, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Culture, Politico

How oklahoma became the largest cannabis market in the country

Oklahoma entered the world of legal cannabis late, but its hands-off approach launched a boom and a new nickname: ‘Toke-lahoma.’

WELLSTON, Oklahoma—One day in the early fall of 2018, while scrutinizing the finances of his thriving Colorado garden supply business, Chip Baker noticed a curious development: transportation costs had spiked fivefold. The surge, he quickly determined, was due to huge shipments of cultivation supplies—potting soil, grow lights, dehumidifiers, fertilizer, water filters—to Oklahoma.

Baker, who has been growing weed since he was 13 in Georgia, has cultivated crops in some of the world’s most notorious marijuana hotspots, from the forests of Northern California’s Emerald Triangle to the lake region of Switzerland to the mountains of Colorado. Oklahoma was not exactly on his radar. So one weekend in October, Baker and his wife Jessica decided to take a drive to see where all their products were ending up.

Voters in the staunchly conservative state had just four months earlier authorized a medical marijuana program and sales were just beginning. The Bakers immediately saw the potential for the fledgling market. With no limits on marijuana business licenses, scant restrictions on who can obtain a medical card, and cheap land, energy and building materials, they believed Oklahoma could become a free-market weed utopia and they wanted in.
Within two weeks, they found a house to rent in Broken Bow and by February had secured a lease on an empty Oklahoma City strip mall. Eventually they purchased a 110-acre plot of land down a red dirt road about 40 miles northeast of Oklahoma City that had previously been a breeding ground for fighting cocks and started growing high-grade strains of cannabis with names like Purple Punch, Cookies and Cream and Miracle Alien.“This is exactly like Humboldt County was in the late 90s,” Baker says, as a trio of workers chop down marijuana plants that survived a recent ice storm. “The effect this is going to have on the cannabis nation is going to be incredible.”Oklahoma is now the biggest medical marijuana market in the country on a per capita basis. More than 360,000 Oklahomans—nearly 10 percent of the state’s population—have acquired medical marijuana cards over the last two years. By comparison, New Mexico has the country’s second most popular program, with about 5 percent of state residents obtaining medical cards. Last month, sales since 2018 surpassed $1 billion.
To meet that demand, Oklahoma has more than 9,000 licensed marijuana businesses, including nearly 2,000 dispensaries and almost 6,000 grow operations. In comparison, Colorado—the country’s oldest recreational marijuana market, with a population almost 50 percent larger than Oklahoma—has barely half as many licensed dispensaries and less than 20 percent as many grow operations. In Ardmore, a town of 25,000 in the oil patch near the Texas border, there are 36 licensed dispensaries—roughly one for every 700 residents. In neighboring Wilson (pop. 1,695), state officials have issued 32 cultivation licenses, meaning about one out of 50 residents can legally grow weed.

Read the rest of Chip Baker’s feature in POLITICO here!

How Weed is Measured: A guide to quantities and labels

How Weed is Measured: A guide to quantities and labels

by | Dec 7, 2020 | 420, 420 Culture & Travel, Blog, Culture

Understanding the most common weed measurements

Cannabis has come a long way since it was made illegal in the 1930s, with new methods of growing, cultivating, and manufacturing sprouting up over the years.

There is one thing about cannabis that has changed very little over the years, however, and that is weed measurements.

While the different names for different weed measurements may have been upgraded since the 20th century, the actual amounts and measurements of weed sold in dispensaries today are very similar to those once found on the prohibition-laden streets of America. But what are the most common weed measurements and what are the terms to know before you go asking your local budtender for “hella weed”? 

Let’s start with how weed is measured before we jump into all the different names.

Fun fact; measurements of cannabis start low in grams from the metric system, but move into ounces from the US or imperial system as weight increases. Confusing, right? Just how we like it here in the states!

Basic Weed Measurements

The lowest amount you can purchase (although most dispensaries don’t go this low anymore) is what is commonly called a “dime bag”. A dime bag almost always equals a half of a gram and costs on average $10, hence the “dime” in the name. However nowadays most dispensaries will sell one whole gram for around $10, reaching up to $20 for top shelf cannabis.

So, a gram is the most common small amount of cannabis that you can purchase at most places in a variety of ways, whether in flower form or pre-rolled joints. Simple enough, right? Well, this is where weed measurements can get confusing.

From a gram or two, we jump up to an eighth, or one-eighth of an ounce. This comes out to roughly 3.5 grams, and prices range from $15 on the low end to $60 for top shelf quality cannabis. Most people who don’t want to run to the dispensary every day for a gram will pick up an eighth at a time to last them through the week. For those that want more, we move up to a quarter in the weed measurements scale.

Commonly known as a “Q”, a quarter is self-explanatory. It equals a quarter of an ounce or seven grams. Prices vary on quarters anywhere from $20 for very low-end shake up to around $90 for the highest quality bud. When you want a larger quantity that will last a while longer than a quarter, you can purchase a half ounce or an ounce.

Twenty-eight grams make up one ounce, so fourteen makes up a half. Most people won’t go above this range as 28 grams is plenty to last one person quite some time, ranging between $80 for low end product to over $200, though some places may charge more for their top shelf ounces. Common names for an ounce are “O” or “zip”, which comes from the old days when an ounce would usually take up a whole zip-lock bag. Luckily in recreational places like Denver, just asking for an ounce is perfectly acceptable.

There is always more that can be purchased, although the most one can buy in Colorado is an ounce per visit. This isn’t to say you can’t just go to three different dispensaries and pick up three separate ounces, but a single person won’t need much more.

Quantity vs Quality

So, we’ve covered the amounts and names for the most common cannabis purchases, but what about how weed measurements regarding actual THC content? There is a plethora of different chemicals that make up the cannabis plant, but THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is the main psychoactive ingredient that gives users the euphoric and relaxed feeling that is commonly associated with cannabis. 

The measurement of THC content in any given cannabis plant is taken as a percentage that the compound makes up of the plant’s flower compared to the other lesser known compounds. Average THC content in Colorado varies between 15% and 30%, with more potent strains being created every year. 

When it comes to concentrated forms of cannabis like wax, shatter, hash and edibles, the weed measurements switch from a percentage to milligrams. A gram of concentrate such as shatter may be 80% THC, but it is labelled as 80mg of THC per dose. Similarly, edibles are given a THC per mg dose, with the average dose for edibles begin 10mg. Suffice to say, concentrates are much stronger and work much faster than an edible, but the effects of an edible can last much longer.

Now you’re ready to stomp into the dispensary and ask for whatever amount you want to match your desired price point, whether its flower or concentrates.

Street Measurement Metric Equivalent About the size of a/an…
1g 1 gram Grape
1/8 ounce 3.5 grams Kiwi
¼ ounce 7 grams Apple
½ ounce 14 grams Grapefruit
1 ounce 28 grams Coconut
1 pound 16 ounces or 448 grams Watermelon

 

 

 

 

 

US House passes historic bill to legalize cannabis at federal level

US House passes historic bill to legalize cannabis at federal level

by | Dec 4, 2020 | 420 Culture & Travel, 420 News, Blog, Business, Cannabis Law, Culture, Hemp Law

US house passes historic cannabis legalization bill MORE Act

In a groundbreaking vote, the U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed a comprehensive bill that removes marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, ending the federal government’s decades-old prohibition on the plant.

Lawmakers in effect voted to legalize marijuana by approving the social justice-focused Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act by a margin of 228-164 after an hour of debate. A handful of Republicans voted for the measure.

The vote – while largely symbolic because the bill still must pass the Senate – comes only two days after the United Nations took the historic step of reclassifying cannabis as a less dangerous drug.

Opponents of the MORE Act criticized Democrats for prioritizing marijuana during the coronavirus crisis and voiced concerns about health risks for youth.

The MORE Act

The legislation could potentially open up an already fast-growing, multibillion-dollar industry to billions of dollars of additional business opportunities and interstate commerce over time.

However, the vote Friday will prove to be emblematic unless Democrats gain control of the U.S. Senate by winning two run-off races in Georgia on Jan. 5.

Even then, the more conservative Senate might be resistant to such a major change in federal marijuana policy.

“I have been waiting for this historic moment for a long time. It is happening (Friday) because it has been demanded by the voters, by facts and by the momentum behind this issue,” U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus and a Democrat from Oregon, said in a statement distributed late Thursday.

The House Judiciary Committee advanced the bill a year ago in what then was seen as a landmark development.

What’s misunderstood about the MORE Act

The measure wouldn’t create a federal licensing or federal regulatory framework. States would, however, continue to regulate marijuana as they see fit, without federal interference.

“The MORE Act decriminalizes and deschedules cannabis,” said Randal Meyer, the executive director of the Global Alliance for Cannabis Commerce.

“It would allow state-legal businesses to operate in a federally legal environment, with business-tax deductibility and access to legal processes, and permit states to set their own cannabis policy, be it total prohibition or not.”

Steve Fox, strategic adviser to the Cannabis Trade Federation, said: “The MORE Act is a wonderful piece of legislation that would end cannabis prohibition at the federal level and take some critical and much needed steps toward restorative justice. It would provide major benefits to cannabis businesses, which would become legal at the federal level.”

Businesses, he said, would have greater access to financial services and be freed from Section 280E of the federal tax code, which currently prevents marijuana companies from taking deductions for ordinary business expenses.

“The MORE Act does not, however, establish a regulatory framework for cannabis at the federal level. So, from an industry perspective, the MORE Act is just one step in a longer process,” Fox said.

Vincent Sliwoski, a cannabis attorney at Harris Bricken in Portland, Oregon, echoed Fox, noting that licensed marijuana commerce will remain in place unless changed by states or local jurisdictions.

“What the MORE Act actually does is remove marijuana from control under the federal Controlled Substances Act while adding a 5% federal excise tax and tacking on key provisions like expungement for past marijuana convictions under federal laws. As with alcohol, there will be no federal business licensing element.”

He also emphasized that there would be “a lot of benefits here for state-licensed cannabis businesses, including everything from banking options to tax relief under (Internal Revenue Service) code 280E to federal trademark availability.”

Experts also note that they expect a number of federal agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration, the Federal Trade Commission, the Department of Treasury and the Department of Agriculture, to weigh in on various issues, including health claims, cultivation standards and banking issues.

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Read the full story on MJ Biz Daily

Mexico Cannabis Legalization Could Change The Industry

Mexico Cannabis Legalization Could Change The Industry

by | Dec 1, 2020 | 420 News, Blog, Cannabis Law, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Culture

mexico cannabis legalization the real dirt podcast

The United States will soon be sandwiched between two nations with federally legalized cannabis.

The United States of America is close to becoming stuck between two countries with legal cannabis. Canada legalized cannabis in 2018, and Mexico is currently moving forward legislation that would legalize cannabis across the country.

The U.S. missed the opportunity to get its own markets, the NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange, involved when Canada legalized due to the Department of Justice’s leadership at the time. However a legal cannabis market in Mexico would be bigger, and likely already well-established due to the illicit markets there compared to Canada.

United States Legalization

The full blown legalization of cannabis on the federal level in the United States hasn’t even become a part of the conversation. While likely president-to-be Joe Biden has said he wants to decriminalize cannabis, and the MORE Act sits in the House aiming to do the same thing, a federal legalization that would establish an nationwide legal marketplace, tax system, etc. is not on the horizon yet.

Many don’t see an issue with the country’s lack of legalization at this point considering there are only six states left in the Union that still keep cannabis fully illegal, i.e. not decriminalized, medical or recreational. That means that the other 44 states all have cannabis laws on the books that either reduce penalties for cannabis or legalize it medically or recreationally.

The real issue is that if Mexico does indeed legalize cannabis, the country would have a massive cannabis industry. Due to the current laws in the United States, we would be missing out on a huge opportunity. Unfortunately that is looking like the most plausible outcome at the moment.

Interstate commerce in the cannabis industry doesn’t even exist in the U.S., let alone a system that would allow American cannabis companies to work alongside, collaborate or do business with Mexican cannabis companies. If the Mexico cannabis legalization passes, it should be a wake up call to the U.S. government that we are missing out on massive financial opportunities with our neighbors to the north and the south.

Mexico Cannabis Legalization

The Mexico cannabis legalization bill will establish a regulated cannabis market to allow those eighteen and older (the drinking age in Mexico is also eighteen) to purchase and possess up to 28 grams of cannabis. It also allows a personal cultivation provision for individuals to cultivate up to four plants for personal use.

While the bill is looking promising, there are still some technical requirements that need to be hammered out before outright passage, including whether or not the government should be able to track personal cultivation use. Mexico seeks to regulate and legalize the plant, put strict controls on ownership and the supply chain in place, and to engage in domestic and, most importantly, international commerce surrounding cannabis.

International commerce surrounding cannabis in which the United States likely won’t be allowed to participate. However it won’t be an easy path for Mexico either.

Mexico has a long history of drug-related crime ran by gangs known as cartels which control distribution of a plethora of narcotics to entire regions of the country and South America. Cannabis has been a staple of cartels for decades, and took a major hit when states in the U.S. began to legalize, followed by Canada’s federal legalization which did even more damage.

While it is too soon to say who will be running and operating in the industry when/if it becomes federally legal, it is likely a safe guess that some cartels will “go legal” and distribute their cannabis across the country legally in order to profit again.

The Growing International Cannabis Industry

Mexico wouldn’t be the first neighbor to our south that has legalized cannabis. Uruguay legalized cannabis for recreational use all the way back in 2013. It wouldn’t be until 2017 that the country began sales of legal cannabis, but the country has seen success.

Additionally in Latin America, some form of medical cannabis is allowed in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, and Peru. Ecuador has reformed its Criminal Code, which opens the door to developing access to cannabis for “therapeutic, palliative or medicinal” purposes. A legal market in Mexico could encourage more Latin American countries to follow suit, creating a new international cannabis industry.

The United States has been a leader in cannabis reform and legalization despite cannabis still remaining illegal on the federal level. However with Canada to the north and Mexico to the south, that could all change. As these markets develop and grow, they will be able to compete, outpace and outperform the American cannabis industries that still operate at the state level.

If Mexico cannabis legalization goes through, the entire conversation surrounding cannabis legalization in the U.S. will likely shift. We have to decide if we want to stay stuck in the past with dated, discriminatory laws that do more harm than good, or move forward with our neighbors and the rest of the world as cannabis becomes an unstoppable global industry.

The States Voting on Legal Cannabis in 2020

The States Voting on Legal Cannabis in 2020

by | Oct 16, 2020 | 420, 420 News, Blog, Cannabis Law, Culture

Updated on 11/5/20 to include results.
states voting on legal cannabis on November third

Every year there’s more states voting on legal cannabis. 2020 is no exception.

It’s become a regular trend. Each year, several states add an initiative to their ballot to vote for the legalization of cannabis. 33 states have legalized medical cannabis, and 11 of those states have legalized marijuana for recreational use.

It doesn’t mean that all of the initiatives are what we would ideally like, and there’s a couple states who have suffered from bad legislation.

For example, even though Vermont and Main legalized cannabis in 2018, neither had an actual regulated marketplace for legal cannabis until 2020. In other words even though cannabis was legal, there was nowhere to buy it, and selling it was still illegal.

But states voting on legal cannabis with some issues in the legislation is better than states not voting on legal cannabis at all. With that said, here’s the states voting on legal cannabis on November 3rd.

Mississippi

There are two measures on the ballot in Mississippi that aim to legalize cannabis for medical purposes.

Initiative 65 would make medical marijuana available for people with very specific qualifying conditions, according to WJTV. Patients could possess up to 2.5 ounces of medical marijuana at one time. The initiative also sets a state tax rate. This initiative basically fully legalizes medical and recreational cannabis in the state.

Initiative 65A does not specify qualifying conditions or possession limits. Regulations would need to be set by state lawmakers. This initiative is the more restrictive option, only specifying the use of medical marijuana for chronic illnesses and terminally ill patients.​

RESULT: PASSED

Arizona

Proposition 207 would legalize the possession and use of marijuana for adults who are 21 or older. People would be permitted to grow six marijuana plants at their home as long as the plants aren’t in public view. The Arizona Department of Health Services would be responsible for regulating marijuana facilities and stores.

Four years ago, voters narrowly rejected a measure to legalize recreational marijuana. It is looking like this year’s vote will have more support and is likely to pass.

RESULT: PASSED

Montana

Montana definitely isn’t a state that comes to mind when people think of states voting on legal cannabis, but Montana actually has two different initiatives on the ballot.

CI-118 or “Allow for a Legal Age for Marijuana Amendment” would make 21 the legal age to purchase cannabis for recreational use. In other words it would amend the Montana Constitution to authorize the state to set 21 years of age as the minimum legal age for marijuana consumption.

I-190 would be the actual regulated industry proposal that CI-118 would allow for. According to Ballotpedia, the measure would legalize the possession and use of one ounce or less or 8 grams or less of marijuana concentrate by people at least 21.

It also puts a 20% tax on legalized marijuana that would flow into the state’s general fund. But that’s not all. In fact, I-90 is actually quite comprehensive. In addition to the above, I-90 would also:

  • Direct the Montana Department of Revenue to license and regulate the cultivation, transportation, and sale of marijuana and marijuana-infused products and to inspect premises where marijuana is cultivated and sold.
  • Require licensed laboratories to test marijuana and marijuana-infused products for potency and contaminants.
  • Allocate 10.5% of the tax revenue to the state’s general fund, with the remainder dedicated to accounts for conservation programs, substance abuse treatment, veterans’ services, healthcare programs, and local governments where marijuana is sold.
  • Allow an individual currently serving a sentence for a prior low-level marijuana offense to apply for resentencing or an expungement of the conviction.
  • Prohibit advertising of marijuana and related products.
  • Strictly regulate the packaging and labeling of marijuana products to prevent accidental ingestion and access by children.
  • Require that marijuana provider licenses only be issued to Montana residents.
  • Permit localities to regulate, ban, or restrict marijuana businesses within their jurisdiction.

RESULT: PASSED

New Jersey

Question No. 1 on the ballot would make pot legal for adults 21 and older. Medical marijuana is already legal in New Jersey, and the group that oversees the regulation of medicinal cannabis would also regulate recreational pot.

The constitutional amendment would take effect on January 1 and would make New Jersey the first state in the Mid-Atlantic to legalize marijuana.

Because of the economic impact expected to be brought in by residents of neighboring states, it’s believed passage in New Jersey could put pressure on other states in the region to pass similar measures. Unfortunately, Question No. 1 is very short and vague, which likely implies while cannabis could be legal on January 1, 2021, it might be some time before a regulated industry is operating in the state.

RESULT: PASSED

South Dakota

The state will be voting on both medicinal and recreational marijuana during the general election.

Amendment A would legalize recreational cannabis for anyone 21 or older. The measure would also require state lawmakers to pass laws that create a medical marijuana program by early 2022.

Measure 26 would only allow for the sale of medical marijuana to people with “debilitating medical conditions.” Patients cleared for the program could possess up to 3 ounces of marijuana and grow plants in their homes.

While strict, South Dakota is one of the most conservative states when it comes to cannabis, being one of the only in the nation to still not have passed any legislation regarding cannabis. For these same reasons many are unhopeful that Measure 26 or Amendment A will pass.

RESULT: PASSED