Great column! Heâs a little off in a few places - my state doesnât limit licenses like New Jersey, but instead uses labyrinthian regulations and fees to drive the price of opening a business over 1 million dollars. In addition to unlimited rubber-stamp licensing the âplutonium modelâ of over-regulation must be eliminated as well.
And of course 20-50% taxes alone is probably enough to maintain the âblack marketâ, taxes must come down below 10% as wellâŚ
the kick in the balls for NJ⌠Between Oct 15 and Dec 15 somehow the âunlimited # of licenses for micro cultivatorsâ disappeared. There was always a limit on the Class I-V (big boys licenses, over 2500 sq ft). But micro was actually gonna be unlimited, and supposedly affordable to get into. Under $5k for the most part according to the fees they HAD published.
But Pfizer is here and getting in the Cannabis game. Go figure! Who saw that coming? (EVERYBODY)
So Disappointed⌠
âIt taints the legitimate cannabis industry . . . I call this the dark side of cannabis,â he says. âAnd as long as thereâs a black market demand for cannabis, weâre never going to completely eradicate it.â
interesting how folks that work for the government seem to be unable to remove the blinders over their eyesâŚâeducating the publicâ to eliminate the black market? Thatâs not going to change anythingâŚthe price of legal weed must come down. Lower taxes and eliminate regulations. I guess once your paycheck comes from the govt. your brain stops thinking about cutting taxes!
A refreshing display of good olâ common sense.
Unfortunately, the legal States look to cannabis as shackled cash cows.
They should (but wonât) tax ganja at the same rate as any other agricultural commodity.
It is almost as if they want to nurture and maintain a thriving black market?
uh-oh - trouble for the stoner myth of Santa being a Siberian shaman! Good article. I do think the author is somewhat missing the whole point of âmythologyâ though. We use myths to express collective ideas, not to recount a specific history of things that actually occurred.
The point of the stoner stories around Christmas are IMO to help people understand that our past culture of paganism and shamans with medicinal plants was purposely wiped out by various European kings and emperors in recent centuries. White people did have a different holiday tradition before materialistic consumerism. With different values. Most holiday traditions are fairy tales. We can make up our own stories that donât match the Roman emperor if we want!
And the author condemns how people believe anything they click on through Google. What would he prefer? The 20nth century model of government propaganda and lies about the medicinal plants? The internet opened things up. Anyone can access thousands of studies on medicinal cannabis now. For most of the 1900âs this information was restricted by the ruling class. Europe spent 1000 years in the Dark Ages because the ruling aristocrats and Vatican restricted information and literacy. Iâll take the open internet over that any day!
The âblack marketâ has been paying bribes to the politicians since 1920âs Prohibition. âBlack marketâ means money must be laundered, which is more profit for banks than regular depositors. The movie âScarfaceâ covers thisâŚ
here we go - drug war education 101 - HSBC even had a special teller window constructed to fit the bales of cash throughâŚ
Maybe not a cannabis related post âŚBut itâs a important one.
During the long geochemical history of the earth, microbes, together with fungi and plants, have been essential, and are still essential, to the very composition of the environment .
Feliz Navidad
What a mess.
From below;
California, which was one of the first states to end prohibition, has become an example of how not to legalize marijuana.
I predict the same thing in MA, just hasnât had the time to catch up to CA yet.
The voter initiated referendum in MA was fairly specific but the legislature got their hands-on it, delayed the roll-out, and munged many of the provisions that were designed to avoid similar problems as being seen in CA. Many of the redesigned provisions were entirely about the cash grab and wind fall tax revenues while, at the same time, enabling grift to occur via certain corrupt local authorities.
Weâre already seeing the same thing in NJ; just getting started as well, but itâs overwhelmingly being catered to the big companies while the politicians bask in the limelight and make campaign statements about social justice. Ask @Nagel420 how thatâs going though, heâs stuck jumping through their legal and bureaucratic hoops right now and they just keep moving the goal posts.
Its disgusting and ridiculous, and everything Iâve come to expect from our politicians hereâŚ
Move the goalposts? They changed the game entirely! One minute your playing football, next its some guy smashing you with a bat cause they changed to baseball and nobody told ya⌠sighâŚ
The way cultivators licenses is being dealt with for the next year here has ZERO social justice to it, all big pharma gonna get the licenses, at a cap of 37 statewide, you think someone with 2500sq ft of canopy permitted would be able to keep up with demand? Nope, gonna go to the walmart style homogenized grows for big pharma first. That just how NJ rolls, Politicians and Big Pharma, best buddies for life.
ok /rant off
The Boston Globe, so forlornâŚpining for the days when we were being dragged out of our cars and locked in cages - hoping that somehow those days return! Despite this bill having NO chance of passing - this is a MASTERPIECE of propaganda, a real throwback to what youâd see in the Globe and NY Times during 90 years of ProhibitionâŚ
btw I suggest we put the first checkpoints around the gates of Fenway Park - after all, John Henryâs Red Sox - the same guy that owns the Globe - releases 45,000 drunken out-of-town fans into the streets every night:
Colorado in the 70âs, I had to go get milk for my baby son. It was cold, snowing a blizzard, stoned to bliss. Didnât know if i could do it, but knew i had to. I drove slow enough to understand what was happening, dug the wipers but concentrated on the road. âKeep between the lines. Stop on the red. Go on the green. Donât hit anything.â Got me there and back safe and sound and my son had the milk. SoooooâŚif you can be cool, fine. If you canât be cool, stay home. Peace.