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Illinois Recreational Cannabis: What to know for January 1st

by Travis C | Dec 31, 2019 | 420, 420 Culture & Travel, 420 News, Blog, Cannabis Law, Culture

As soon as the clock hits midnight on January 1st, Illinois recreational cannabis sales are set to begin.

Illinois has been setting up regulations and requirements for recreational cannabis businesses over the last year, and it is all leading up to the first day of legal sales on January 1, 2020. The people are excited, and the state is ready to start pulling in those tax dollars.

However there are plenty of differences in the Illinois recreational cannabis laws and regulations for consumers that any would be dispensary-goer should know.

Who can buy Illinois recreational cannabis?

Just like every other recreational cannabis state, you must be 21 to purchase cannabis legally in Illinois. Out-of-state visitors will also be more limited in how much they can purchase compared to state residents, however there is no difference in price for in and out of state customers.

Illinois residents age 21 and over may possess 30 grams of cannabis flower, 500 mg of THC in a cannabis-infused product like edibles, and 5 grams of cannabis concentrate in total. These amounts are halved for non-residents.

The totals are cumulative, so an Illinois resident could have 30 grams of flower, 500 mg of infused product and 5 grams of concentrate all at the same time. The same goes for nonresidents and their limits.

Where can I buy legal cannabis?

On January 1st, there are only going to be 37 Illinois recreational cannabis dispensaries open for business. If you’re in Chicago or the surrounding area you’re in luck, because that is where 24 of the dispensaries are located.

Champaign-Urbana, Peoria and Springfield all have two dispensaries nearby, and Carbondale, Effingham, Ottawa, the Quad Cities, Quincy and Rockford will each have one dispensary. Unfortunately, the state won’t begin reviewing applications for more dispensaries until March 15. Once approved, licenses will be distributed starting May 1st. On July 1st, up to 40 grower and infuser licenses will be issued along with an unlimited number of transportation licenses for in-state transport.

In other words, it’s going to be a slow start with limited access to Illinois recreational cannabis for most residents. The state will examine the progress through 2020 to determine whether or not more licenses need to be issued.

What about the taxes?

Like any recreational cannabis industry, Illinois is collecting some hefty taxes off the sale of legal cannabis. A good way to put it is, the higher you get, the higher the tax. For example, cannabis products with a THC level of 35% or less will only have a tax of 10%, and products over 35% will have a 25% tax. Basically, flower will have a 10% tax and concentrates will have a 25% tax. All infused products including edibles will have a 20% tax.

Additionally, state and local taxes will also apply, and the state law allows for municipalities to tax up to 3%. And if that isn’t enough taxes for you, local sales taxes also apply. The Illinois sales tax is currently 6.25%.

With limited access and extremely high taxes, it’s safe to say that Illinois recreational cannabis is not going to be cheap. But if there’s anything we can take away from other legal markets with high taxes, it’s that people are willing to pay for safe, legal access to cannabis.

Lastly, consumption

One thing that Illinois holds over other recreational cannabis states is its consumption laws. While public consumption is still prohibited, and smoking indoors was banned in the states in 2008, the Illinois cannabis laws allows on-site consumption at dispensaries, as well as cannabis smoking lounges. While no lounges have yet to open, some dispensaries and growers have applied to have lounges built in their existing facilities or separately attached for consumers.

An issue that will remain prevalent in every state that bans public consumption of cannabis is the impact it has on those in public housing or those living under a landlord that does not permit cannabis consumption. While a private homeowner can do whatever they please in the house they own, a renter is limited by what their landlord allows. This will continue to be problematic, especially for medical patients that need cannabis for serious ailments.

Since repetition is key, like any recreational cannabis state, Illinois has done some stuff well and some other stuff not so well (looking at those 37 dispensaries for the first year). But the trend of starting small and slow isn’t anything new when it comes to cannabis. States want to get their feet wet before diving into the deep end and that typically means more strict regulations that will ease up over time. For now, if you’re in one of the towns with a dispensary, check it out! And if not, plan a New Year’s trip to Chicago and check out a lot more options, and probably cheaper prices.

Michigan Cannabis Off to a Green Start

by Travis C | Dec 12, 2019 | 420, 420 News, Blog, Business, Culture

The first few recreational dispensaries have begun legal sales in Michigan, and the numbers are starting to roll in.

Michigan legalized cannabis in 2018, but took an entire year to plan and establish a legal marketplace. On December 1, 2019 the first recreational dispensaries were allowed to begin sales. Suffice to say the people of Michigan were ready.

While Michigan’s first day of legal sales was pretty different from other legal states there’s no way to deny that it was a success.

First Day of Legal Michigan Cannabis

Michigan cannabis consumers were definitely a little worried when December 1st rolled around, mainly because of the lack of locations to visit. The entire state had only five dispensaries for the entire population, three of which were in Ann Arbor.

But that didn’t stop the people of Michigan from lining up around the block and buying every last gram of cannabis that was available. Over 2,200 people spent over $220,000 at the three Ann Arbor stores alone, each averaging over $100. For only three stores in one day, that’s pretty good.

With over 200 people still waiting out in the cold until the stores closed at 9 PM, there were high expectations the following days as well. It’s safe to say those expectations were met.

Michigan Cannabis Makes Big Money

In the first eight days of recreational cannabis sales in Michigan, the state pulled in over $1.6 million, with over $162,000 being collected from the 10% sales excise tax and another $106,000 from the 6% state sales tax. The numbers are pretty big, especially for only five stores across the whole state, but keep in mind that’s over the first week of sales.

To put that in perspective, when Colorado legalized began recreational cannabis sales in 2014 the state sold over $1 million in cannabis just on the first day. However keep in mind that Colorado also had 24 dispensaries open on the first day of sales compared to Michigan’s 5. And taking tax dollars into account, Michigan is on a good track right now.

The state is projected to pull in close to $300 million in total tax dollars by 2023, with most of the money going to roads, schools and the state’s general fund.

Are More Dispensaries Coming?

The short answer is yes. But like any legal cannabis market, it won’t be without its roadblocks. The state began accepting applications for recreational marijuana business licenses on November 1 and has since awarded 21 licenses and pre-qualified another 73 applications.

But more than 1,400 of the state’s 1,771 communities have said they don’t want marijuana businesses in their towns, so finding a city that’s amenable to legal weed has been a challenge for businesses. With just a little more than 300 towns so far accepting legal cannabis businesses, it might be some time before there is a dispensary in close driving range for every Michigan resident.

Nevertheless by the end of 2020 there should be close to 100 dispensaries in Michigan. While still not a great amount compared to other states, it has become a common tactic among new legal cannabis states to start out slow and avoid a market crash from too many dispensaries and cannabis supply. It may mean overpriced cannabis and cannabis products for now, but it also means more quality products and prices that will drop in the future.

Lowell Farms: A Cannabis Cafe Review

by Travis C | Nov 19, 2019 | 420, 420 Culture & Travel, Blog, Business, Culture

The world’s first legal cannabis cafe is now open in the United States. Does it meet the hype?

Cannabis culture has grown exponentially since cannabis was first legalized recreationally in Colorado in 2012. With more states starting their own legal cannabis industries than ever before, the stigma surrounding cannabis is finally being broken down piece by piece.

As cannabis becomes more culturally accepted into the mainstream, so grows the cannabis consumer base, looking for a place to enjoy their cannabis. Unfortunately, a lot of states have laws on the books preventing public consumption, which means that you can only consume cannabis on private property. For a lot of people that rent, it just isn’t possible.

While some attempts at cannabis consumption businesses have popped up, they are very limited in their permissions, with all of them only allowing vaping, edibles or dabbing, with no smoking of flower allowed. That is, until now.

Lowell Farms: a Cannabis Cafe

Lowell Farms is a well known name in the California cannabis industry, with their pre-roll joint packs being found on just about every dispensary shelf in the state. But Lowell is more than that now. They are also the first company to open a legal cannabis consumption cafe in the United States.

So how does the world’s first cannabis cafe operate? Well it’s not like any dispensary or cafe you’ve ever been to, that’s for sure.

The best way to describe Lowell Farms cannabis cafe is a half restaurant, half dispensary hybrid. You can get your food and your cannabis from the same place, but not from the same people. If that sounds confusing, let me dive into the full experience for you.

The Lowell Farms Experience

It’s an incredibly simple concept, that works alright in practice. When you walk into Lowell Farms Cannabis Cafe, you wouldn’t be wrong if you mistook it for your average restaurant. It has an indoor and outdoor seating area, a bar in the middle of the dining room, and hustling and bustling waiters and waitresses.

After being seated, you’re given not one, but two menus. The first is your average food and drink menu with soft drinks, tea, coffee, small plates and lunch entrees. The second menu is the cannabis menu. This menu has your pre-rolls, joint packs, concentrates, and flower to pick from.

When your first server comes to the table, you can order tea, coffee, other drinks and food off of the first menu, just like your average dining experience. But then your second server comes, who would be described better as a walking dispensary.

The cannabis server came up and took our order just like the food server did, but because the cafe is half restaurant and half dispensary, the orders are taken and paid for (and tipped) separately, which can be a hassle especially if you decide you want seconds. The selection of cannabis products is varied, and there are a lot of options to pick from, including outdoor, greenhouse and indoor cannabis flower, hash-packed pre-rolls and more.

The food came out less than 5 minutes after we ordered it, which is great. Unfortunately, we had just rolled up our first joint, and had to let the food sit while we smoked. If there was a little more delay between servers with the cannabis coming out first followed by the food, the experience definitely wouldn’t feel so rushed.

The Products

California cannabis is world renowned, and only having tried it one other time back in 2013 I wanted to take advantage. While Lowell Farms actually allows customers to bring their own cannabis for $20, buying your cannabis there gets you a rolling tray, grinder and papers that you would otherwise need to bring yourself, so we went with buying ours there. Not just to save us the trouble of bringing our own, but to really see what kind of products they are selling.

The pricing of each product seemed to vary on whether it was indoor or outdoor, in addition to brand name. Upon asking our budtender/server how the prices were structured, we were told that the prices are set according to what the cafe pays their vendors to get it all. If that’s the case, Lowell Farms must be paying a pretty penny for their product.

We will dive into the costs of the Lowell Farms Cannabis Cafe experience soon, but for now let’s dive into the actual product. We decided to keep it simple on our visit, and only bought an eighth of flower. Out of the 20-30 flower options on the menu, only the first two were not indoor-grown, and they were also the cheapest. Other than that, the prices slowly rose as you went down the menu, with the “exotic” strains being the most expensive at the bottom. We went with a middle of the road Zkittles eighth, grown indoors.

As much as I hate to say it for the price we paid, I have seen Colorado outdoor that looked better than this cannabis. That’s not to say it didn’t look good, smoke well, taste good and get the job done, but I just wasn’t impressed with the look. Machine trimmed, compact nugs with not much trichome shine on the outside, and a sweet and mild fruit smell when you cracked the bud open. Throughout our time there we rolled up four joints, and had about a gram and half left by the time we decided to head out.

That’s really it. You get some food, you get some cannabis, and you enjoy. We weren’t rushed out the door with our leftover cannabis once we were done eating, but we did feel a little odd sticking around 30 minutes after we finished our meal to keep smoking, especially knowing that servers are trying to hustle as many tables as possible. But like I said, had we had more time before the food arrived to enjoy our cannabis, it probably wouldn’t have been an issue.

Now let’s get down to the biggest pitfall of Lowell Farms Cannabis Cafe – the price.

The Price of a Good Time

Can you really put a price on a good time? At Lowell Farms Cannabis Cafe, the answer is yes and then some.

I get it. This is the first cannabis cafe in the history of the United States, there’s a lot of demand, and it’s in Los Angeles which is an expensive city. It should be no surprise that a cafe that advertises itself as a luxury cannabis lifestyle experience charges a premium for it. But let’s put it all in perspective.

In our time at Lowell Farms Cannabis Cafe, we purchased one eighth of flower and one pre-roll with some hash in it. Our total was over $100. Throw in the $24 for the meal we split, and you’re looking at an expensive experience just to smoke in peace and have a snack. When an eighth of cannabis costs $55 without any tax, you expect a certain quality, and frankly the flower we got from Lowell Farms did not meet that standard for me.

Is Lowell Farms Cannabis Cafe Worth It?

As a one-time experience to check out the only cannabis cafe in the country? Yes, it is worth it.

Being in a public space with a hundred other people, all just relaxing, smoking and enjoying good food is a real sight to see. It makes me so excited for the future cannabis cafes that are bound to start popping up across the country, and competitive market is going to drive down the prices for these places over time.

But for Lowell Farms Cannabis Cafe, there are still a lot of adjustments to be made before it’s a real accessible, enjoyable experience for your average cannabis consumer. The cannabis is insanely over-priced, and it all comes pre-packed. Our flower had been sitting in its jar since July 2019, and we went to Lowells in Mid-November.

In a realistic Lowell Farms Cannabis Cafe experience, the cheapest flower you’ll find will still be over $60 with tax (and that’s the outdoor), the concentrates will be over $70 (without tax) for half a gram, and the pre-rolls come small. But for a once in a lifetime experience that you can’t find anywhere else in the country, Lowell Farms Cannabis Cafe is worth a visit.

Illinois Cannabis is Legal? Why You Probably didn’t Hear about It

by Travis C | Nov 12, 2019 | 420, 420 News, Blog, Business, Cannabis Law, Culture

A major issue in the cannabis legalization movement is that every state can do it differently. Illinois cannabis legalization definitely did it different, and not for the better.

A lot of states that legalize cannabis add something new to their industry. Whether that’s limiting licensing because Oregon didn’t, or lowering regulations like Oklahoma did because California’s are so strict. Illinois is no different.

In June, Illinois became the first state in history to legalize the recreational possession and sale of cannabis entirely through the legislative process, whereas every other state has legalized through state-wide ballots. They also took a huge step in expunging the criminal records of nearly 800,000 residents in the state who possessed or purchased up to 30 grams of cannabis and were prosecuted.

With the state set to begin adult recreational sales in January 2020, all seems well and good. That is until you look a little closer at the legislation.

The Illinois Cannabis Crunch

Some states choose to be very lax with their regulations, like Oklahoma or Oregon. Both states have booming cannabis economies with Oklahoma’s in particular taking off faster than any other medical industry in the country. But both states are also facing serious over-supply issues.

Oregon has already taken the brunt of the surge, with so much more cannabis in the state than its residents consume that they had to pass a law permitting cross-border sales of cannabis to try to get rid of the excess. Oklahoma is following a similar path, with over 4,000 licensed growers and only 1,400 dispensaries for a state that is highly interested in cannabis. On top of that, there is roughly one dispensary for every 70 Oklahomans, which is not ideal for continued business traffic.

To avoid making the same mistakes, Illinois put a cap on how many dispensaries are allowed to open in order avoid cities filling up with pot shops too quickly. However at the end of 2019, the state only has 113 permitted dispensaries for recreational sales. Remember how Oklahoma had a dispensary for every 70 people? Illinois hardly has one for every 100,000.

An Attempt to Keep Big Business Out

It’s fair to say that Illinois’ cannabis legalization intentions were pure enough. The purpose of the dispensary cap is to prevent chains from taking over. The legislation limits chains to no more than 10 locations in the state, and limits the entire state to only 500 dispensaries, total.

That may sound like a lot of dispensaries, but 500 dispensaries is just enough for every 200 people to have a shop to visit. Additionally, the state won’t be adding any new dispensary licenses until May 2020, leaving four months of extremely limited supply. Even then, the state is only issuing 75 more licenses, leaving less than 200 dispensaries by the end of May at the earliest.

Also being a more conservative state, it is expected that a good bit of Oklahoma jurisdictions will ban retail dispensaries altogether, and a lot of people are concerned that the efforts to keep big business out will result in even more solicitation of private market cannabis.

A Slow and Steady Approach

Recreational cannabis sales are set to begin in less than 2 months in Illinois. With a little more 100 dispensaries to serve the entire state on January 1, it’s going be very difficult to get everyone taken care of for some time. But the Illinois cannabis industry doesn’t appear to be in a rush.

To put it all in perspective, by the end of 2020 Illinois is only projected to have about one tenth of the amount of dispensaries as Oregon has, with the maximum allowance of the legislation only being equivalent to one quarter of the Oregon cannabis industry when the Illinois cannabis industry is fully up and running in what will most likely be a few years.

This might not be a bad thing for Illinois though. Being a more conservative state outside of Chicago, demand for cannabis likely won’t be as high as other states that have legalized. Also with homegrowing allowed under the new law, residents that can’t find a nearby dispensary will either not participate in the industry, or start growing their own.

While the latter could lead to a rise in private market distribution, it isn’t very likely due to what most are projecting will be low demand outside major metropolitan areas, where dispensaries are most concentrated. This is why the industry hasn’t sparked a lot of interest nationally. A lot of people aren’t expecting any big developments for at least two years, and even then the Illinois cannabis industry will still be a small player compared to other states that have legalized cannabis.

Illinois cannabis legalization is a great thing for the state and the country. They may be moving more slowly than other states, but they may also just be more cautious and hoping to avoid the mistakes made by Oregon or California. Unfortunately it’s much too soon to say how the Illinois industry will perform, but usually where there is legal weed, there is prosperity.

Weed Money: Capitalism and Cannabis

by Travis C | Oct 31, 2019 | 420, Blog, Business, Culture

Cannabis grew to the behemoth it is today only by the pursuits of those willing to risk their lives.

This makes it no surprise that as the industry grows and more regulation and legislation is introduced, a lot of older cannabis industry and community members aren’t too happy. But there’s a harsh reality that we all need to face if this industry is going to grow into a federally regulated industry.

America is capitalist. It’s a free market.

Follow the weed money

The cannabis industry was partially built on advocacy, but also greed and capitalistic intent. If growers in California didn’t push themselves to grow more and more, bigger and better cannabis every year to make more money and beat the competition, we wouldn’t have the massive variety of strains and cultivars.

And you can bet your ass that some people have gotten rich as hell off cannabis, with more and more rich getting involved like celebrities, bringing more money and investment into the industry.

When the medical industry first began in Colorado, it was a small community with mom and pop dispensaries. But as recreational came into the state, so did bigger investments, resulting in dispensary chains that knocked plenty of small dispensaries out of business. It’s clear why small business doesn’t like big business, and the cannabis industry was built on small businesses, husband and wife operations, small groups of friends building something together.

But that is all changing, and it’s changing fast.

Capitalism comes for cannabis

States like Colorado and California have had several years to develop their medical and recreational cannabis industries. This means that both states are also filled with highly experienced cannabis industry entrepreneurs, ready to expand.

When a state like Oklahoma legalizes medical cannabis in 2018 with legislation that actively encourages out of state entrepreneurs to get involved, people are going to hop on the opportunity. And in Oklahoma, they definitely did.

Growers, processors, dispensary owners all flocked to Oklahoma to rent their home for 30 days in order to gain residency thanks to Oklahoma’s welcoming cannabis regulations. After they got residency, it was easy to apply and get started in the medical cannabis industry in the state. After August 2019, if you want to move to Oklahoma and start a business, you must live there for two full years before you can get residency now. In other words, if you didn’t get in before August, you’ll be two years behind.

This made a lot of industry entrepreneurs happy, but pissed off a lot of Oklahoma locals hoping to have their own local industry that now have to share it with Californians, Coloradans, Oregonians and others that left their saturated markets to start fresh in Oklahoma.

It’s a double edged sword

Capitalism has always been a double edged sword in America, which is probably why there’s so much debate around whether or not we need a new system. It promotes innovation and progress at the cost of leaving behind those that can’t compete.

Those that were once competitors that had to shut down or move shop because someone bigger or better came in, that sucks. But welcome to America. That’s capitalism, and that is what happens when capitalism and cannabis intersect.

The reality is that with a nation-wide legal cannabis industry that we want to someday achieve (even though there are plenty who don’t want that), big business is going to inevitably get involved, and small businesses will be pushed out if they can’t evolve, adapt and compete. Get an insider’s perspective on capitalism in cannabis from two long time cannabis advocates and growers, Chip Baker and Jeff from Little Hill Cultivators on The Real Dirt Podcast!

The Vape Pen Controversy Explained

by Travis C | Oct 15, 2019 | 420, 420 Culture & Travel, 420 News, Blog, Broscience Mythbusters, Culture, Stranger Than Fiction

If you’ve watched the news over the past month, you probably think vaping can now kill you.

In today’s sensationalist news cycle, it has become the standard to over-exaggerate. Whether it’s about politics or a major health crisis, the media will always drive a narrative that gets people more worried, and gets them more views.

So it’s no surprise that when people started getting sick from vape pens the media would jump all over it.

The Vape Pen Controversy

It all started in September. A news story broke about someone getting some type of lung-related illness from a vape pen. At first, that was all. But then the story broke. The vape pen they were using had THC in it.

Cue the media leaping into hysteria, claiming that THC vape pens are making people sick. And if you watched the news around this time, there was a clear implication that it wasn’t something else in the pens causing harm, it was the THC. But that didn’t stop other outlets from claiming it wasn’t just THC vape pens to blame, but all vape pens.

Law commercials advocating law suits against Juul started to appear, and talks of a federal vaping ban ensued. Suffice to say, the media — and in turn the country — lost their collective shit.

The Truth

Of course all of the drama and freak out over vape pen related illnesses was based on half truths. Yes, people were in fact getting sick, and even dying, from THC vape pens. But there’s one thing that every single news story in the mainstream media failed to mention. Legality.

Out of over 400 cases of reported lung-related illnesses caused by vape pens, about 99% of them were caused by illicit vape pens. In other words, people purchased vape pen cartridges on the illicit market, and got sick. Why? Because of cutting agents.

Specifically, cartridge producers on the illicit market used vitamin E as a cutting agent. That doesn’t sound like a big deal right? We need vitamin E to stay healthy, you can eat it, you can put it in ointments, so why not a vape?

Well, it turns out that when you vaporize vitamin E, it converts to vitamin E acetate, a solid, viscous state. So these unknowing consumers would hit their pen, the vitamin E would convert to vitamin E acetate, and the residue would attach to the inside of their lungs. That causes some serious respiratory issues, and in a few cases, death.

Harmful Misinformation

There are already plenty of conspiracy theorists out there claiming big tobacco is the culprit for the major media focus on THC vape pens causing the problem. This would be an attempt to take down the vape pen industry that is the largest competitor to cigarettes. Others thought it was lobbying groups pushing to reverse the efforts of cannabis legalization.

But in all of the confusion, half-assed reporting and straight up false information, the people who really get hurt are the consumers. Not just those that are actually getting hurt by illicit vape pens because they don’t have access to safe, legal cannabis. But also your everyday cannabis consumer, and your medical user especially.

There are patients who don’t like to smoke, and choose to vape their medicine. With the rising concern surrounding vape pens, some dispensaries (and even entire states) have taken vape pens off of their shelves to make sure they are safe. Which is all well and good until the people who really need them can’t access them.