Cannabis Smoking Board Game is Released for Retail

1/28/2016

by

A social board game inspired by the cannabis community is introduced to the market, made by designer and entrepreneur Gary Schwartz. Roll-a-Bong, a cannabis smoking board game, is now available for all cannabis consumers and gamers.

Roll-a-Bong is a board game dedicated to the community of marijuana smokers who enjoy smoking while playing board games. Roll-a-Bong is designed for smoking fun and should be used by choice. Players can jump in and out of the game as desired since no one needs to win or even finish the game.

Why a marijuana board game now?

The first year of legalized cannabis in the U.S. recorded $699 million in combined sales. $76 million in combined tax and licensing revenue. Colorado’s marijuana businesses have a cash flow problem: too much cash is flowing in and they have nowhere to put it. Most banks refuse to work with marijuana businesses, which are legal in Colorado but remain illegal at the federal level. There are 284 dispensaries now operating in Colorado. According to a Huffington Post story from 01/26/2015 there are now five states boasting marijuana markets larger than $100 million. More than 1,5 million people purchased legal marijuana from dispensaries (medical or recreational) in 2014. In Colorado and Washington, the first U.S. states to open retail marijuana shops, consumers bought marijuana products for $370 million in 2014. Oregon and Alaska are projected to add a combined $275 million in retail marijuana sales in their first year of operation. Needless to say, business is booming and it’s an ever-growing market.

A story in the Boston Globe from 11/26/14 heralds that “Board games are back” and that “The biggest problem after some of these companies go through Kickstarter is they don’t have the connections to sell [their game] into the hobby market.” A good example of the state of the gaming industry is the company Game Salute. They help indie designers with sales, distribution, warehousing, and even Kickstarter consulting. Its business has grown from representing a dozen clients in 2008 to more than 100 active clients today, and now the company sells and distributes more than 250 products. “Every year, we’re just seeing huge growth,” they say.

The marijuana industry is seeing historic growth. The board game industry is seeing huge growth. Roll-a-Bong positions itself to profit from both markets. With thousands of new legal smokers each month, a cannabis smoking game could really satisfy this new market. Roll-a-Bong is not just a cannabis smoking game – it is a community building game that helps people get to know each other and have an entertaining time while smoking pot.

Visit the Roll-a-Bong website
Pre-order Roll-a-Bong
Like the Roll-a-Bong page on Facebook
Follow Roll-a-Bong on Instagram
Follow Roll-a-Bong on Twitter

End

Florida Medical Cannabis Ballot Proposal Meets Required Number of Signatures

1/28/2016

by

A medical cannabis proposal has met the required number of signatures to get on the ballot in Florida. The proposal, entitled “Use of Marijuana for Debilitating Conditions,” has garnered more than the mandatory 683,149 signatures, and will appear on the November ballot as Amendment 2.

The amendment has already been approved by the Florida Supreme Court by a 7-0 margin.

John B. Morgan, an Orlando-based attorney and chairman of United for Care, the organization that helped fund the signature-gathering campaign, said that “compassion is coming. This November, Florida will pass this law and hundreds of thousands of sick and suffering people will see relief. What Tallahassee politicians refused to do, the people will do together in this election.”

Florida voters defeated a previous attempt to legalize medical cannabis by the ballot box in 2014, in large part because of an anti-legalization push by casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. Morgan said this time will be different:

“Our language is stronger than in 2014 and it shows. Pam Bondi didn’t challenge us this time. The Court approved our language unanimously. The people of Florida are compassionate. We will win this election for the really sick people in our state.”

Morgan is also banking on a high voter turnout in 2016, a presidential election year, to help the ballot get approved. “The more turnout there is in the state of Florida, the better chance this has. And turnout in a presidential election will be gigantic,” he said.

 

End

D.C. Committee Approves Permanent Ban on Private Cannabis Clubs

1/28/2016

by

In 2014, Washington D.C. voters passed an initiative to legalize recreational cannabis with a higher rate of approval than any of the four U.S. states that have also opted out of prohibition — yet the District’s recreational law remains the most intangible and restrictive in the country.

Buying into over-blown fears rooted in prohibitionist ideals, a D.C. City Council Committee approved a law this week that would make permanent the current ban on cannabis use in private clubs — a provision that is set to expire April 15. The Committee appears to have relied on a perfidious strategy to secure the vote: very little notice of the markup was provided. In fact, the public found out only a few minutes beforehand, and participating council members were given less than 24 hours notice, which is against the Committee’s own rules.

The bill would prevent establishments from providing a space for the consumption of marijuana, except in a private residence. It would also require the Mayor’s office to revoke the business license of anyone who violates the ban on their first offense.

“Initiative 71, which was overwhelmingly approved by District voters, sought to remove marijuana from the criminal justice system and did not restrict marijuana use by adults,” said Kaitlyn Boecker, policy associate for the Drug Policy Alliance. “The bill passed today ignores those principles.”

Boecker said that, by making the current ban permanent, the City Council was “tying its own hands” and it would effectively cripple any hope for the District to one day actually establish a regulatory framework for legal cannabis. This is due to a Congressional rider attached to the 2015 omnibus spending bill, which would prevent the Council from “enacting future legislation to revise or alter the ban down the road.”

Meanwhile, District voters continue to support moving forward with the regulation of cannabis in the city. According to a poll of D.C. residents published this morning, 66 percent of respondents believe that Mayor Muriel Bowser should be working to implement the taxation and regulation of cannabis. 63 percent consider cannabis legalization to be a statehood issue for the District. 61 percent would support creating regulated places for adults to consume cannabis outside of private residences, such as in private bars or clubs.

Current Washington D.C. laws allow adults who are 21 and older to possess up to two ounces of cannabis. Such individuals can also grow up to six plants in their home. The commercial distribution of cannabis remains illegal, but it is allowed to gift up to an ounce of marijuana to a friend.

Bill Piper, Senior Director of National Affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance, said that “The Council and Mayor should listen to residents and take a stand for District autonomy by using reserve funds to tax and regulate marijuana, or at the very least allow the creation of regulated venues where people can legally consume marijuana without fear of arrest or eviction.”

End

Canadian Medical Cannabis Producer Cuts Prices to $5 Per Gram

1/27/2016

by

A subsidiary of the biggest medical cannabis producer in Canada released a statement announcing that it will lower its prices for each of its six strains to $5 per gram. The average price for a gram of medical cannabis in Canada is currently about $7.50.

Bedrocan Canada, a subsidiary of the Ontario-based Canopy Growth Corporation, has launched a new price structure that it calls “True Compassionate Pricing,” under which system Bedrocan claims it will offer the country’s lowest-priced products. Marc Wayne, Bedrocan’s president, said the firm’s fully-automated production facility, manned by just five employees, is running at full capacity.

“We’re very comfortable with lowering the price based on what we’re seeing on our yields and our production efficiencies,” Wayne told the Financial Post.

The firm’s new pricing system is also part of an attempt to increase its market share, according to the Post. Bedrocan is one of only 27 licensed medical cannabis producers in Canada, and the firm may be able to use its scale to undercut rivals.

Aaron Salz, an analyst with Dundee Capital Markets, said that “the tactic is both strategic in attracting patients with competitive pricing and ethical in that it sends a message to regulators to act on insurance coverage and other affordability measures.”

End

Officials Finalize Alaska’s Recreational Cannabis Rules

1/27/2016

by

Alaska’s new rules regarding legalized cannabis in the state passed review by the state Department of Law last Friday — except for two provisions regarding criminal background checks and quality testing.

The first provision, which required a criminal background check for anyone licensing a marijuana establishment, was struck down on the basis that requiring such a check must come from a state statute, not the Marijuana Control Board.

The second regulation that failed the Department of Law review is, according to Marijuana Control Board chair Bruce Schulte, a more complicated fix. Alaska’s regulations require that all marijuana sold in the state must be tested for cannabinoid makeup and microbial content — but access to testing facilities in rural areas is limited by a lack of road infrastructure, and air transportation of marijuana is still illegal at the federal level.

Defining clear language for the rule is proving difficult and in the meantime, it will remain up in the air. “Everyone involved expects these regulations to evolve and be refined over time,” Schulte said.

The Marijuana Control Board finalized the 127-page document that outlines regulations for governing Alaska’s commercial marijuana industry on Dec. 1.

So far, Alaska’s rule book is proving a good example for cannabis legalization in the U.S., and has dodged a common problem. Since smoking weed in public is illegal, there’s nowhere for out-of-state visitors to consume their legally purchased cannabis. Alaska solved this quandary by including a provision that allows for the consumption of marijuana at retail locations.

End

Arizona Lawmaker Pulls Anti-Medical Cannabis Bill After Storm of Complaints

1/27/2016

by

A Republican legislator in Arizona has pulled a bill that would have limited access to medical cannabis after facing hundreds of complaints from Arizona residents.

Rep. Jay Lawrence, of Scottsdale, had introduced a bill to remove physicians who practice alternative medicine — including naturopathy and homeopath — from the list of qualified doctors who are allowed to recommend cannabis for medical use by their patients. Only doctors of medicine and osteopathy would have been allowed to recommend cannabis.

Speaking with the the Arizona Republic, Lawrence explained his original reasoning for the bill: 

“I find marijuana is a threat and its use by young people is a threat — they are threats because they are stoned. They are threats because they are driving, they are threats because at their business … they might handle machinery and be stoned… I didn’t know what medical marijuana would do to society.”

According to an Arizona Department of Health report, more than 87 percent of medical cannabis referrals in Arizona come from alternative medicine practitioners.

The measure would also have forced patients to renew their recommendation every six months, rather than every year.

Rep. Lawrence withdrew the bill after he received hundreds of complaints by email and phone from voters and patients. He issued an apology to Arizonans, stating that he had not done enough research on the matter before introducing the legislation.

“We received so many calls,” Lawrence told the Phoenix New Times. “I had heard anecdotally that [the cards] are handed out wildly. I learned from the callers that there is a lot more care taken by naturopaths than I had originally been told.” Lawrence also said that he has no plans to introduce a similar bill in the future.

“I became more sympathetic when I learned it’s not just a gimme,” he said. Patients “are not getting a pass. [Naturopaths and homeopaths] are legitimately getting medical records.”

In December 2015, nearly 88,000 Arizonans had medical marijuana cards.

End

Lawmaker Admits to Illegally Providing Medical Cannabis to Georgia Families

1/27/2016

by

A Georgian lawmaker has publicly admitted on television to breaking federal drug trafficking laws in order to deliver medical cannabis products to patients in Georgia.

Rep. Allen Peake (R-District 141) was instrumental to the passing of Georgia’s current medical cannabis law, which is extremely restrictive and only allows patients to possess low-THC extracts that are typically concentrated CBD or THCa oils — but does not allow anyone in Georgia to grow or produce it themselves. Which means that if they want access to these potentially life-saving medical cannabis oils, Georgia patients have get them (or have their Representative do it) by traveling out of state, purchasing the products, and then illegally transferring the medicine across state lines.

When asked by TV reporter Lori Geary whether or not he was worried about any legal repercussions, the Peake said, “Maybe at some point there is a need for civil disobedience. I’d do it again if I had to.”

This year, Peake is spearheading the continued effort to expand medical cannabis access in Georgia. He recently introduced House Bill 722, legislation that would legalize the cultivation and production of medicinal cannabis oils in the state.

Americans for Safe Access commented, “Rep. Peake’s level of commitment to patients is rare and should be commended.”

End

Bubbleman: Inspiring Innovation in the World of Hash

1/26/2016

by

Marcus Richardson, AKA Bubbleman, is founder of Fresh Headies Ltd. — the international distributor of the acclaimed Bubble Bag, which both popularized and revolutionized the eight-bag hash making technique. He is also the creator of Hash Church, a growing and successful online community of hash makers and enthusiasts. Bubbleman recently joined our podcast host Shango Los to discuss his experience breaking open the international hash market in 1999 with the help of the Internet, as well as his role as a globally-recognized cannabis educator.

Subscribe to the Ganjapreneur podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud or Google Play.

Listen to the podcast

Read the transcript

Shango Los: Hi there and welcome to the Ganjapreneur.com podcast. I am your host, Shango Los. The Ganjapreneur.com podcast gives us an opportunity to speak directly to entrepreneurs, cannabis growers, product developers, and cannabis medicine researchers, all focused on making the most of cannabis normalization. As your host, I do my best to bring you original cannabis industry ideas that will ignite your own entrepreneurial spark and give you actionable information to improve your business strategy and improve your health and the health of cannabis patients everywhere.

Today my guest is Marcus Richardson, also known as Bubbleman. Marcus has been a globally influential cannabis educator since 1993. He is founder of Fresh Headies Ltd., which popularized the eight-bag hash making technique. His Bubble Bags have become the industry standard of excellence. He is also founder of Hash Church, the wildly successful online hangout of global hash makers. Over the course of the show today, we will also learn about his new inspiring projects. Thanks for being on the show, Marcus.

Bubbleman: Hey, thanks for having me.

Shango Los: Marcus, let’s start at the very beginning. A lot of our people who are listening are brand new entrepreneurs, and your hash making bags are world-famous now, but there was a day before your name was synonymous with artisan hash making. Will you tell us a little bit about the early days and prototyping your bags?

Bubbleman: Yeah. It came to me around 1998. I had some life-changing events that occurred to me and I was looking to do something different in my life. I had heard about this methodology that was being used in Amsterdam with a two-bag system, and I thought it had been out for a year or two. It had actually only been out a month or two. It was a set of bags called the Ice-o-lator bags, and I was very interested in being a distributor for this company. I went to Amsterdam, I met with the company’s owner, we didn’t really hit it off that well, and it seemed like for whatever reason, it wasn’t meant to be for me to represent the Ice-o-lator company. I came back to Canada somewhat distraught, somewhat upset about the idea of maybe being able to be a distributor for this great company. My wife, in a moment of clarity, said to me, “Why don’t we make our own? Why don’t we make our own bags?” That started us down this roll.

I had no interest in making my own bags, there was already bags that were available. Right off the bat, from my perspective and the way I think, I thought, “Well, if I’m gonna do a product that already exists, I’m at least going to try and make it a better product.” That was the mission statement of Bubble Bags and Fresh Headies from day one, that we would not ever get happy with any level, we would constantly try to strive for a better quality and a better, more efficient tool. The Bubble Bags were basically born out of that moment. It’s been a long 17 years since that day, and a lot of ups and down since that day, but it was really in that moment of my wife saying, “Why don’t we sew our own?” that really brought Bubble Bags and Fresh Headies, birthed that company into existence.

Shango Los: It’s funny how moments like that can be the coin that everything turns on. You’re right, your bags, they continually increase in quality. I bought my first pair of bags just off eBay and then my buddy came over and he brought a set of your bags, and my bags just so paled in comparison. Yours were burly and ready to be used for 10 years in comparison.

Bubbleman: Yeah, it’s a pretty simple thing. It’s not rocket science, sewing nylon bags to screen bottoms. It’s just about trying to find who else is researching using parachute thread that can be exposed to water over and over and not degrade, who else is buying the highest-grade Swiss screen, not buying any screen in Asia at all, but flying the screen that you purchased in Switzerland, which is a very high-grade screen, they make quality product there, flying that to Nepal where my partner lives and manufactures. We choose Nepal because he’s married to a Nepali woman and has four Nepali children and lives in the Nepali community, and we feel good about the relationship we have with Nepal, and that great sewing, great material, super simple.

Then after that, what do you add on? You add on really good customer service, take care of your customers, make sure you warranty things, make sure because they paid a good dollar for it, make sure that it lasts as long as it’s supposed to last. That’s been the bread and butter of our company for the last almost 20 years.

Shango Los: That’s awesome too when you get the added kudos of being able to put some money into the local economy there in Nepal. A lot of new entrepreneurs, they’ve got their new product, and they’re working their straight job, and they’re also doing their entrepreneurial thing, and then suddenly there’s a tipping point where they’re like, “Oh my god, this might actually happen.” What do you think was the tipping point where you went from trying to just sell some bags to knowing that you had a proof of concept that your bags were taking off?

Bubbleman: I was very lucky in the sense that I started in 1999. My company was born really in March of 1999 and we started selling our bags that month. What happened in 1999 was the internet had gotten to a point where cannabis sites, such as Cannabis World, Cannabis Culture, CannabisOvergrow.com, these sites were building large groups of people. Thousands of people, for the first time, were gathering on websites where people were talking about these things that were very secretive for the many, many years, decades prior, with the combination of digital photography becoming to a point where it was realistic to get a really nice camera, a digital camera, and be able to take these photos and then share it instantly. That was the combination of being able to make our own bags, have that internet presence, which was the birth of Bubbleman, and have that presence of the camera, which was the birth of my photography.

I always understood the relationship and the importance of showing the people what I made. When I first posted water hash online, many, many people thought that it was fake and they just … I’ll never forget the one guy saying that it looked like Mr. Whippy, with Mr. Whippy mouse shit. These were the things I was having to deal with, being called a fake and a charlatan, and because it was so new, people wouldn’t even accept that it was real.

That took a few years, but from the time we started until today, the business has just continued to grow and expand. It was very noticeable in the first two years when I was going to the shipping place and shipping was costing me over $1,000 each day. It was noticeable that this business was growing and it was going to soon grow outside of my home and outside of my abilities to take care of all the different components. That’s a really important part for a businessman to recognize when he has the opportunity to jump to the next level. It involves building a team and not doing things by yourself, which got you to where you are at that point.

Shango Los: Bless the internet, as an entrepreneur, because you can thin-slice the whole world. If you’re in Vancouver, Canada, and if you were making these bags and having to sell them locally and then some mail order, that is so much more difficult than doing some stuff online, reaching the whole world, and then suddenly you’ve got this huge market. Entrepreneurs now have really got an advantage over anybody who is trying to do anything before ’98.

Bubbleman: Keep in mind, the way my product works is very unique, and I set it up like this as well, that I wanted the end user to produce the most benefit from the product, so the manufacturer gets a little bit and the distributor gets a little bit and I get a little bit, and the wholesaler and the retailer, but who really benefits from Bubble Bags is the end user. They get more than everybody, and that’s a system that you can count on.

If it works like that, that the end user is the one who is benefiting from the bags the most, because the bags are impossible not to benefit, unless you put them under your bed and you don’t use them, but if you start producing your own medicine from them or you start producing a business brand or a concept that you’re going to start selling hash on the market, these are all business opportunities that you’ve given to yourself by simply buying a tool, quite different from buying something fancy, like a glass pipe, that most likely won’t pay you back the same way.

Shango Los: Another thing that’s great about them is the concept is so simple, that you can make mediocre hash and you can make incredible hash, but you don’t really ever make bad hash with the bags. They’re idiot-proof like that. I think that’s partly why, that and the quality, why your customers become so … Talk about word-of-mouth marketing. Everybody’s excited and they all become fans and evangelists for your product.

Bubbleman: It also educates them. Using these products and extracting and isolating and getting into the macro photography that I do, it starts educating them as to what is there. Most people didn’t know what types of trichomes there were and what cannabinoids were present in which trichome heads and what kind of terpene profiles were produced and all of these different things. Through the macro photography, which was … It’s very important that I mention the macro photography because it is one of the major important hinges that the success of this company has sat on. It’s been very important for the photos to represent in a quality the same way what the product itself makes. I always want the bar to be set so high that there’s an actual wow factor.

Shango Los: We are going to talk a little bit more, actually a lot more, about your education and the different ways you do that after the break. We’re going to take a break now. You are listening to the Ganjapreneur.com podcast.

Welcome back. You are listening to the Ganjapreneur.com podcast. I am your host, Shango Los. Our guest this week is Marcus Richardson, also known as Bubbleman, founder of Bubble Bags and Hash Church. Before the break, we were talking about all the various ways that you enjoy education and outreach to people. One of the biggest ways that you’ve done that is on YouTube. You are absolutely a forerunner of using YouTube to educate the masses. The thing that I first wondered from being an early fan of watching those videos is, were you concerned in the early days that you might somehow get in trouble teaching people globally how to make hash at home?

Bubbleman: I guess there was a small concern. My history is that I had just finished convincing my government, with a small group of partners, to start producing and growing hemp legally for the first time in 73 years. We did that in Manitoba. My ex-partners actually just sold that company for $133.5 million, which was called Manitoba Harvest, one of the first big-sale hemp companies that happened out there. This is a company that, pre that company, it was the activities that we did in Manitoba and convincing our government to get this plant growing.

As a Canadian, okay, I’m not going to lie, when Marc Emery got arrested by the DEA, and they came here and they arrested him and my two other friends, Michelle Rainey and Greg Williams, it freaked us out and it put a little bit of fear into us. We never really thought that it was something that was possible before. I did hold back a little bit at that point in time. Once I received my federal license to grow and process and smoke and use cannabis medicinally, my whole perspective really changed.

That’s the real important thing that people should understand, that prohibition is just a perspective that’s been put upon you, and that’s why a lot of people look at it as a negative, particularly on a federal level. Suddenly now, it’s actually something that’s respected, and you could mention it at a dinner table at a nice dinner and people wouldn’t gasp, whereas they were gasping before. It was the black sheep in the family that was talking about the Compassion Club herb that they were growing in the late ’90s or whatever, which is what I was doing in the late ’90s.

It’s an interesting transition that you’re seeing. It’s almost as though they’re allowing it to happen now. It’s being allowed to happen. Even the mainstream media doesn’t pump the same level of brainwashed news stories. They’re really putting out some quality stories showing the benefits of using cannabis medicinally, and even states that are allowing it recreationally. Who would’ve ever thought we would see the day?

Shango Los: Amen. So many of my older grower friends, they’re like, “I’m just glad I lived long enough to see this, and so that we could all trade seeds and clones out in the open,” because they’re all dealing with so many more strains than they’ve ever had a chance to their whole lives, and they’re just thrilled.

Bubbleman: It’s like Hash Church. Because we’re not afraid, because we gather every week, and because we open up a dialogue and we allow everyone to be a part of that dialogue, it becomes this form of radical openness that occurs, and the ideas start having more ideas themselves. They get together with ideas and those ideas spawn into ideas, and the way that the dialogue is moving the industry forward is a big part of that normalization. That’s one of the things I wanted Hash Church to do is to help normalize the use of cannabis in all levels.

Shango Los: You started Hash Church as an online hangout for you and several other international hash makers, and then it streams live so anybody can watch the three-to-four-hour program, and it grew really fast, and now there’s often over 1,000 viewers watching live, and then many thousands more watching the recording on YouTube. Was this explosion part of your plan from the beginning or was this all a happy accident?

Bubbleman: It’s when you’re manifesting your realities, they’ll often arrive in the form of an obstacle rather than an opportunity, so I usually see opportunities in the form of obstacles. I was building my YouTube, I was doing all these videos, I didn’t really understand why I was doing it. I wasn’t avidly promoting my company in the videos, I wasn’t avidly selling my products in the videos, because I have this integrity that I just don’t want to be shameless about things, I want to be honest and transparent and I want to share and I want to educate, and I wasn’t able to do that with flinging my product, so to speak.

When it grew and grew and grew to a point where I was getting many thousands of subscribers each month and many, many millions of minutes being listened to each month, we’re up to about 4,000,000 minutes that that channel gets viewed every month, I finally just thought, “Do you do a bunch of more self-interest stuff or do you try to translate the traction that you’ve built into something that is good for everyone?”

I started, as a total fluke, YouTube sent me an email that said, “Hey, your channel is now … ” When you build a channel and you acquire milestones of that channel, YouTube will send you little things saying, “Look, you can now do this. You can now do this, because you’ve reached this milestone.” They sent me the milestone saying that I could stream. I didn’t really have any idea what it was, but I set it all up and I called it Hash Church on a whim. It was a Sunday morning. I hit record and I invited strangers in right from my Facebook link, and soon, within I’d say three or four episodes, it turned into …

The thing that was exciting about it was the people who knew their shit, “Are you able to articulate intelligently your education, what you’re sharing here, the information that you’ve come to share with us?” I started finding people like that that I realized were really just my friends from being in this industry for so long, and people were receptive to it. They were like, “Are you kidding me? This is the the most incredible panel ever, and it’s just for free on my computer on Sunday morning or any other day of the week.”

There is an integrity, we don’t want to ruin Hash Church by squeezing the blood out of it. I think it’s important for entrepreneurs to understand that not everything is about making money, and sometimes that you’ll create things that it’s very important that you don’t muddy the waters. It was a beautiful quote from Dr. David Suzuki, who told me years ago, when I first got into the TV business doing my show, The Nature of Things. I thought that I was going to be a gem on television, and then I realized as I jumped into the cesspool that everything quickly takes on the appearance of the cesspool, even the gems.

I took that to heart and I made sure that we don’t accept sponsorship for our show, we don’t promote anyone’s company, there’s no special interests in the show, and I think that’s one of the magics that keeps it of value to people.

Shango Los: It’s so unpolished, I dare say. It really feels like you’re hanging out with whoever happens to be logged in, kicking it in your living room. You can see everybody’s rigs or bongs or whatever. People are politely waiting to take their turn to talk.

Then the beauty of it, from my perspective, is that you’re taking the magazines out of the middle. It’s not about a magazine interviewing the hash maker and then translating it for the reader. You’re actually hearing it from the artisan themselves, and the information is so much more rich and the education is there, and somebody else on the panel is going to ask a followup question and it’s probably the one that you wanted to ask.

Bubbleman: It really goes so much deeper than just the hash makers. We’ve got the historians like Chris Bennett and Rob Clark, the ethnobotanists, Rob Clark and Mel Frank, and Tom Alexander from Sinsemilla Tips has been on. We’ve had Lester Grinspoon, Dr. Lester Grinspoon on on a few occasions, and some really incredible guests that come from all sorts of different angles of this. We’ve had incredible patient stories that had the entire panel sucking back tears the entire time because the stories are just so, so heartwarming and incredible towards the positivity of cannabis being used as a medicine.

Shango Los: I shared a BnB with Robert Clark down at Emerald Cup this year, and Hash Church came up, and you should’ve seen the huge smile on his face, he’s like, “I love that new stuff!”

Bubbleman: Yeah, Rob’s great. I’ve been friends with Rob for about 20 years and been lucky enough to spend a lot of time with him in a variety of different countries, and I definitely see him as a mentor. For those of you that don’t know him, definitely get on the … You want to access and get into the cannabis industry doing your research through someone as passionate as Rob Clark. Cannabis Evolution, Marijuana Botany, Hashish, those are just three books right off the start that you should start reading.

Shango Los: If you want an easy entrée into his work, go into YouTube and search “Robert Clark Cannabis Taxonomy” and listen to his couple-part series on the new taxonomy beyond indica sativa. It’ll blow your mind. Hey, we need to take another short break. When we get back, we’re going to talk about a couple of your new projects that is stoking people out. You are listening to the Ganjapreneur.com podcast.

Welcome back. You are listening to the Ganjapreneur.com podcast. I am your host, Shango Los. Our guest this week is Marcus Richardson, also known as Bubbleman, founder of Bubble Bags and Hash Church. Marcus, we were talking earlier about some of the exciting new things that you’re up to, and I want to talk about two of them. The first one is that I understand that your company, Cannabinoid Research and Development, is in line to secure a license to grow and process cannabis in Jamaica. That’s so freaking exciting. What role will you be playing?

Bubbleman: I wear a few hats in this. The company is, obviously I’m partnered up with a couple of local Canadians and then some Jamaicans as well. That company together is partnered with United Cannabis out of the United States. We’ve got some really wonderful plans. They have some beautiful products called Prana that they’ve been operating for many years now. They used to own River Rock in Colorado and they did a lot of wonderful collecting of information through patients and trials of the Prana.

Basically now we want to be able to test the efficacy and the safety of those products, sublingual drops, activated and non-activated in different variations of THC and CBD and all the lovely cannabinoids. We’re very excited to do breeding projects down there, breed back the lion into the jungle, the strong landrace strains that belong there, and to process the resin. I’m definitely, my main hat will be processing the resin for the company.

Shango Los: I love the idea of bringing the lion back into the jungle. I got to say, just from a cannabis fandom thing, it must be really exhilarating to realize that you are going to be producing in Jamaica and also be able to write that off as expenses, going to Jamaica.

Bubbleman: Yeah, I’ve had a relationship with Jamaica since ’95 when I was married there. Just doing the Cannabis Cup there this last March was just incredible. I look forward to an amazing future in Jamaica.

Shango Los: Let’s talk about another one of your projects that I’m excited about. I just learned recently that Harborside Dispensary is bringing your Bubble brand hash to the market here in the U.S. I learned about this on Tony Verzura’s Facebook page. He was recently evangelizing about this hash. He was saying that it’s going to be untrimmed nugs, professionally cured, rinsed, washed with water and ice in Bubble Bags, then stored cryogenically, freeze-dried, vac-cured, then the cultivar terps are restored back into it, and then the whole thing is going to be rosin-pressed into a stable product. That’s crazy, super premium stuff.

Bubbleman: That’s just one of the products that we’re going to be making, so yeah, we’re very excited. The Bubbleman brand is almost 20 years old, I’ve never sold a product like that. I’ve only taught people how to make it. I’ve taught countless people how to start companies and sell these very products, but this is the first time I’m entering the market. We’re choosing to do it through Harborside, through the partnership there with Harborside and United Cannabis, that’s who I’ve signed my brand with. Tony is one of the very few people down there that I can trust that is able to hold the bar as high as it needs to be held for the brand. We’re very excited about the Bubbleman brand dropping this month at Harborside. You can go see Tony at the Cannabis Cup in San Bernardino this upcoming weekend, there at the end of January, the next weekend.

Shango Los: Yeah. Let’s plug Tony while we’re at it. Anybody who gets an opportunity to either hear Tony speak or visit a booth that he’s at, absolutely do it. The kind of demonstrations that he was doing at Emerald Cup were just bad-ass. You could barely get into the booth. People were bringing him slabs of hash. Then he was taking his terps, and for anybody who isn’t familiar with this, what he does is he extracts full terpene profiles from popular cannabis strains like say, Gorilla Glue, and then he puts it into a small little jar, and then you bring him a slab and he’ll paint the terp profile onto it, and your mediocre slab has just been turned into the best dabs that you’ve ever tasted. It was Eric Brandstad from Forever Flowering who turned me on to it. It is totally next level.

Bubbleman: It is next level. That’s one of the co-labs that we’re going to do with the Bubbleman brand is the Blue River Bubbleman terp rosin, the terp Bubble hash, the terp sift, because anyone that’s ever tried it, it modulates the effects of the cannabinoids to such a degree, it uplifts so much that it’s just hard not to want to add it each and every time.

Shango Los: Marcus, winding down here, we got about a minute left, you are a hero to lots of people all over the world, and I want to take a chance to ask you, what words of advice do you have to offer cannabis enthusiasts who want to pursue cannabis production and education as a career? You’re 20+ years into this. If distilling it down, what would you give them as a nugget of your experience that will help them along the way?

Bubbleman: If you have a passion, obviously following that passion is the most important key thing. Sometimes I think people are good at certain things but they’re not excited about those certain things that they’re good at because they don’t see how it might fit into the cannabis-based world. Suddenly, someone might not be very excited to work in an apple orchard, but that same person would be very excited to work in a licensed production facility growing half a million plants. I tell people that if you are good at something and it can be somehow worked into the cannabis industry, then obviously follow that path. Otherwise, like a lot of us have done for many, many, many years is straight up follow the passion. For me, it was the passion for the hashing.

Shango Los: That is a great note to end on. Marcus, thank you so much for being on the show.

Bubbleman: Thanks for having me, Shango.

Shango Los: You can find out more about Bubbleman at his website, FreshHeadies.com. You can tune in to Hash Church on his Bubbleman’s World YouTube channel on Sunday mornings, and you can also watch it recorded there. Finally, you can enjoy his incredible photography on Instagram at BCBubbleman.

You can find more episodes of the Ganjapreneur podcast in the podcast section at Ganjapreneur.com and in the Apple iTunes Store. On the Ganjapreneur.com website, you will find the latest cannabis news, product reviews, and cannabis jobs updated daily, along with transcriptions of this podcast. You can also download the Ganjapreneur.com app in iTunes and Google Play. You can also find this show on the iHeartRadio network app, bringing the Ganjapreneur podcast to 60,000,000 mobile devices. Do you have a company that wants to reach our national audience of cannabis enthusiasts? Email Grow@Ganjapreneur.com to find out how. Thanks to Brasco for producing our show, as always. I am your host, Shango Los.

End

Police Obstruct Plans for X Games 2016 Private Vape Party

1/26/2016

by

Snowmass Village police have denied a club owner’s request to bring in extra business during the X Games by holding a private cannabis vape party on his patio.

Tim Lucca, owner of Turks music club, received a request from a regional X Games promoter to rent his patio for a private cannabis vaporizer event. “I said I’d love to do it,” says Lucca. “I’d love to bring some X Games action up here.”

Lucca asked Snowmass Village police chief Brian Olson about the legality of such a party—who then reached out to the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement office, and learned that holding an event in a public space where cannabis would be consumed was impossible.

“There’s no way to make the scenario non-public,” Olson told the Aspen Daily News.  “And you can’t smoke marijuana in public.”

The refusal is symbolic of a larger problem facing Colorado since legalization in 2014. Tourists are able to purchase legal cannabis, but there’s nowhere to consume it besides private residences.

“I don’t see this (activity) coming into a public place until the state creates a licensing function that allows for a café ordinance,” Olson said.

Luckily, that café ordinance is underway. The Denver chapter of NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) is currently drafting an initiative to be introduced to state voters on the November ballot, allowing for clubs and social pot use.

End

California Lawmakers Working to Stem Tide of Cannabis Cultivation Bans

1/26/2016

by

State lawmakers, local jurisdictions and medical cannabis producers in California are wrestling with new legislation that regulates how medical marijuana producers are licensed in the state.

A paragraph in the 70-page framework makes the state the sole licensing authority unless a jurisdiction has enacted its own legislation that expressly authorizes or bans medical cannabis production. The law makes March 1st the deadline to enact such legislation, a deadline which lawmakers say was added by mistake as they sought to come to a compromise.

“It was a way to try to make it clearer in terms of, ‘OK, local jurisdictions. If you want to act, you should be thinking about it, working on it now. Otherwise, we will all defer to the state,'” said spokesperson Liz Snow on behalf of Assemblyman Jim Wood.

The deadline led local jurisdictions to scramble to enact bans on cannabis production. In response, Assemblyman Wood, who represents some of California’s most prominent marijuana-producing regions, is seeking to repeal the deadline.

“It is crucially important the deadline is repealed as soon as possible,” said Wood. “I am confident we will get this done soon.”

On Monday the Senate approved Wood’s Assembly Bill 21 by a 35-3 vote. The bill would slow the rush to ban cannabis production.

Although they supported the bill, The League of California Cities and the California Association of Police Chiefs still advised members to pass bans before the original March 1st deadline.

End

Ganjapreneur Podcast Host Shango Los Featured in Newsweek

1/26/2016

by

Shango Los, host of the Ganjapreneur.com podcast, was interviewed for a special Newsweek edition that focuses on what’s coming up for cannabis in 2016. The special issue hit newsstands yesterday, January 25, and is appearing alongside the regular weekly Newsweek magazine.

Newsweek reporter James Ellis reached out to Shango, and the two conducted an hour-long interview in December about best practices for launching all sorts of companies in the cannabis space. Ultimately, Ellis focuses on cannabis retail and what processes should be expected for someone starting up a dispensary.

Shango, with more than 20 years of business consulting experience and a heavy emphasis toward cannabis clients, was an excellent candidate for a true insider’s look at the industry.

“It’s not an easy industry to get into,” Shango told Newsweek.

“It’s ultra competitive, and because it is such a newly evolving industry, there’s exceptionally high risk. Some of us here in Washington thought about opening a cannabis company for $50,000. In the end, we’re finding all those people have struck out of the market. Realistically, you need a quarter of a million dollars just to get up and going.”

Go buy this historical Newsweek issue right now! 2016 is going to be remembered as the year the momentum behind cannabis reform became unstoppable, and this magazine will likely be treated as a collector’s item in the future.

Check out the images below for a segment of the article as it appears in Newsweek. 

Newsweek_Pg1

Newsweek_Pg2

*For the rest of the article, go buy your copy of this special edition of Newsweek!

 

End

Ophelia Chong: Changing Public Perceptions of Cannabis with Stock Photography

1/26/2016

by

stockpot_logo_sm_COLORWhen she launched StockPotImages.com in 2015, Ophelia Chong saw more than a business opportunity: she saw an opportunity to embrace and support the normalization of cannabis.

Ophelia, a career photographer, made Stock Pot Images to be the first stock photo agency that specializes in cannabis-related imagery. Though she forayed as a relative newcomer to the industry, Ophelia has since attended many conventions and has joined Women Grow as a member.

In her recent interview with us, Ophelia explains that the purpose behind Stock Pot Images is more than just fancy photos of weed. Rather, the company works to tell the true story of cannabis: she wants to demonstrate how cannabis is used in real life — medicinally and for recreation, spiritually and as a social engagement — and help break the cliched stereotypes that have bogged down the cannabis movement for decades.

Read the full interview

When did you first conceive of StockPotImages.com, and what were you doing for a living at the time?

I was in the shower (where all good ideas happen) on Jan. 8th, 2015. A thought popped into my head, “is there a cannabis stock photo agency?” The light bulb went off and after a quick search, I had found no stock photo agency specializing in cannabis – I was off and running. In two weeks I was funded, and six weeks later I had the LLC in my hand.

My company presents itself as the shiny new disrupter. We are a small team (me) fueled by a strong motivation: proving the other guys wrong, that stereotypical imagery does not speak for the cannabis community at large.

There’s a huge vacuum in the cannabis imagery sector. And that vacuum is the place you can tell human stories — what I think of as real cannabis. After 78 years of prohibition, the authenticity of cannabis had vanished. Stock Pot Images fills this void with real stories told in a professional presentation.

Before Stock Pot, I was a designer and photographer for two decades.

Right out of graduating Art Center College of Design, I started at the seminal art magazine Raygun as a music and fashion photographer. A creative director of Slamdance Film festival for almost a decade and four other film festivals. A Creative Director for a film company with over 30 film releases in my portfolio. Also during the last two decades I was the creative director at a major publisher, a published artist, gallery artist, and I teach at the Art Center College of Design (photography).

I split my time with Stock Pot Images and my clients, luckily I have set up my studio at home, so my commute is about 20 feet, and I am lucky that I love what I do.

How long did it take to go from your initial concept to a functioning website with a large body of content?

I launched Stock Pot Images on 4/20/2015 with 50 photographers and 2,300 images, today I have over 100 photographers, illustrators, videographers and fine artists with a collection of 7,000 images.

The idea has legs and has been received with enthusiasm from both artists and art buyers. One common refrain I heard in NYC while on a business trip to show the collection was “where have you been?” and “wow, I can’t wait to use your images.” From contributors, it’s been “okay, finally a place for two of my passions, cannabis and photography”.

Our backend is Swiss, out of Zurich. We use the same CMS as Getty and other large stock agencies. I believe in acquiring the best for the backend for the best in images, we are professionals and we have a website that is professionally run and able to grow exponentially.

How do you recruit photographers? Is there an abundance of photographers out there who specialize in shooting cannabis, or do you have to seek them out?

At the beginning, I reached out to photographers. I went and researched who was shooting and I was also steered towards artists by cannabis supporters. In the last 6 months, I am now the one who is being approached. I take on 99% of the submissions we receive.

How does the submission process work? Is each photo approved individually, or do photographers get an account that allows them to upload their work?

I launched with 50 contributors and in nine months we are now 100+ strong. I still seek out photographers that I find online, but the bulk now are artists that approach Stock Pot from word of mouth. I look at their work and we curate images that set them apart. I am a huge fan of simplicity, because it allows the viewer to create their own story. My other favorite are images that change opinions, social and political impact, those images tend to be editorial.

After the contributor signs the agreement, I set up a personal portal for them to drag and drop the images, from there I begin to process the images by keywording
and giving each one a license for rights-managed or royalty-free. Selects from each contributor then go into eighteen galleries that range from The Portrait, The Farm, The Dispensary
all the way to Youth Culture.

As a business model, how does StockPotImages.com work? Are you following roughly the same structure as existing stock photo marketplaces, or do you have a different approach?

We are set up like Getty Image, Corbis and Masterfile. We are not Shutterstock or iStock, we do not carry microstock because I believe in paying the artist the value of their art. I also pay the highest in commissions to my contributors. We have been approached by clients for a subscription package, at the moment it is on a case-by-case consideration for the packages.

Who determines pricing: you or the photographers?

I have a set pricing for both rights-managed and royalty-free. Our pricing is competitive with the major stock agencies, I price
slightly lower because we are new.

Who are your customers? Are they all cannabis industry folks, or do mainstream companies and publishers come to you as well when they need something beyond the played-out stereotypical stock photos on the major marketplaces?

Who is the new client/buyer of cannabis products? As we move out of the shadows, the clientele will change. Our target market is the company looking to market to the above 30, from the Tesla crowd to the medicinal user, to multi-ethnics and age diverse groups; our images have a diversity that speaks to each group.

Our clients range from start-ups to cannabis media. We have graced three covers of Dope with our images, Cannabis Now and The Emerald magazines are also our clients.

My plan is to license to the healthcare, higher income, and mass media markets. Our images are of the best quality and shot professionally with an eye for composition and each photographer has their own style, making each image a standout. Art buyers know we only offer the real users and communities of cannabis which lends to each image an authenticity not found on other stock sites. We do not deal in stereotypes or objectify women, which I believe holds our industry back.

Have you experienced any “Canna-bias” or had any negative reactions to your business as an ancillary service provider to the cannabis industry?

As an ancillary business, it took a visit to the 2nd back to accept us. Even mentioning the word “cannabis” can put the brakes on any business, even when I explain that we do not “touch” the plant, we still get blow-back. However, we have been approached by investors looking to invest in the only stock photo agency in cannabis, as an ancillary business we are the only one.

What has been the most difficult aspect of growing your business?

The most difficult part of the business was explaining how appropriation was not innovation. My contributors and clients know what stock photography is,
and how it works. My issue is that the cannabis community, both large and small need to understand copyright; now that we are out of the underground we
need to follow the rules, and to acknowledge that an artist and their art has value. It is as tangible as their product, and should be valued as much.

What advice would you give to someone looking to build an online business serving the cannabis industry?

Only start a company you already know how to sell. Having come up as a curator and art director at music and publishing companies, which I was a part of from 1994 to the present, I believe that seventy-five percent of a company’s success is due to its marketing and its marketability.

Look where there are needs, I founded Stock Pot Images because of the lack of quality imagery depicting the real users and communities. I am seeing a plethora of delivery services, subscription boxes, edibles, health and beauty care, commercial growing products and other cannabis businesses, how each of these businesses stand out is the branding, great branding can elevate a similar product over another.

One of the best groups I joined early on was Women Grow, I met great mentors and found support from women I have the honor to call friend.

If you want to enter this business, go to a few conventions, read, go to a dispensary and look at the products, find a niche that you can specialize in and use the skills you have used for your clients and apply it to the cannabis industry.

 

Photos via the Stock Pot Images Collection. Portrait of Ophelia Chong © Ryan Young

End

Edibles Panel Discussion – Striking Oil

1/25/2016

by

A panel discussion featuring prominent cannabis edibles pioneers Dan Devlin, Adam Stites, Tim Moxey, and Jody Hall. This discussion took place at the Striking Oil seminar produced by the MJBA (http://www.MJBA.net).

End

The Denver Mall in downtown Denver.

Denver NORML Wants to Revive Social Cannabis Use Ballot Measure

1/25/2016

by

The pro-cannabis group NORML has formed a new Denver chapter that says it plans to work to revive a social cannabis use ballot measure that was dropped last summer.

Activists had worked last summer to pass a ballot measure that would have allowed the use of cannabis at bars and other public businesses, but they gave up on the plan in September. The Marijuana Policy Project has been working with the law firm Vicente Sederberg to convince city officials to compromise on some sort of social use bill, but said they might refile a ballot measure if that fails.

NORML’s Denver chapter is now saying they want to move forward with the ballot measure idea. According to the Cannabist, executive director Jordan Person said:

“We greatly appreciate the previous attempt to bring this issue to Denver voters, but we want to get this done. The need is obvious as residents and visitors continue to have no legal place other than private homes to enjoy a legal product with like-minded adults.”

The chapter has not yet made it clear whether a new ballot measure would take the same tack as last summer or seek a narrow proposal that would focus on allowing cannabis use in designated clubs only.

Mason Tyvert, of the Marijuana Policy Project, said in an email that he could envision the two groups working together on a proposal:

“We hope to reach consensus (with city officials) about a sensible path forward in the coming months, and at the same time we are also beginning to plan for a 2016 initiative should it be needed. We want to work with everyone we can to bring about the best possible law for Denver, so we hope to speak with the Denver NORML folks soon.”

End

Former Attorney General of Vermont Advocates Legalization in New Television Ad

1/25/2016

by

Starting Tuesday, former Attorney General of Vermont Kimberly Cheney will make an appearance in a new TV ad titled “Time to End Prohibition (Again),” advocating for marijuana reform in the state.

The ad likens cannabis prohibition to alcohol prohibition. Cheney’s voice-over tells viewers, “Prohibition was a disaster. It forced alcohol into the underground market, where it was controlled by criminals — and consumers did not know what they were getting.”

The ad launches as state lawmakers begin looking closely at the issue of legalization. Recent polls found that 56% of citizens in Vermont support ending marijuana prohibition, with only 34% in opposition.

Cheney, as Vermont’s former top law enforcement official, decided to appear in the advertisement for the same reason he became Attorney General. “He cares strongly about the safety and wellbeing of Vermont citizens,” said Matt Simon, political director of the Marijuana Policy Project. “There are a lot of current and former law enforcement officials out there who support ending prohibition and regulating marijuana.”

Cheney isn’t the only one. During a recent Senate Committee on Judiciary hearing, Windham County Sheriff Keith Clark also endorsed legalization. “By eliminating the prohibition on marijuana and the need to utilize funding for enforcing a failed policy,” he said, “we as a state can focus on what is important.”

End

Maryland Lawmakers Override Governor’s Anti-Cannabis Veto

1/25/2016

by

Demonstrating awareness of the shifting tides in public sentiment toward cannabis, the Maryland legislature overrode Gov. Larry Hogan’s veto of a bill to decriminalize marijuana paraphernalia last Thursday. The overriding votes were 86-55 in the House and 29-17 in the Senate.

Maryland decriminalized the possession of 10 grams or less of cannabis in 2013 under former Gov. Martin O’Malley.

The more recently passed paraphernalia bill was reportedly designed to offer consistency across cannabis laws, but ultimately faced opposition when it became clear that the changes — at least when it comes to public consumption — would make the law tougher on alcohol than cannabis.

The legislation will take effect 30 days after the ruling.

Meanwhile, the Marijuana Policy Project recently commissioned a poll from Gonzalez Research & Marketing Strategies Inc. to determine whether or not Maryland voters support ending the prohibition of cannabis. The poll’s results indicate that 53% of Maryland voters believe that cannabis should be legalized and regulated like alcohol. Only 43 percent opposed such a move. The poll was conducted from January 11-16, and questioned 819 registered voters via telephone. According to the pollster, the results should have a 3.5 percent margin of error.

End

Cannabis and Yoga: Normalization’s Latest Fitness Phenomenon

1/25/2016

by

You show up for yoga class and situate your mat and other belongings, beginning to feel out the day. You might talk with some classmates or your instructor before sparking up a joint (or vape) to share before the class starts. You feel relaxed, inspired, and ready to find the ultimate balance of breath; you are slowly and comfortably enfolded by the warm glow of THC.

This is definitely not your run-of-the-mill studio session. This is totally enhanced yoga practice.

While the United States yoga movement was popularized starting in the 1970s, ancient Hindu cultures have long practiced the art using cannabis, or bhang, as a traditional accompaniment to the Tantric spiritual process.

Now, the trend is picking up again as the stigma against cannabis use continues to dissolve into widespread social curiosity. More people are interested in using cannabis to enhance personal health, wellness and spirituality now than ever before, and its relaxing and introspective side effects pair perfectly with those of yoga.

It’s a steadily weakening stereotype that physically healthy individuals wouldn’t smoke cannabis. Yoga, however, serves as a sort of Venn diagram demonstrating that many health-conscious people do in fact smoke pot.

Yoga is different from other activities in that the practitioner must access quiet and peaceful mental states and breathing, while in the midst of sometimes strenuous and complex strength exercises. For the typical stressed and overworked American who can’t get the worries of the day out of mind, cannabis is helping to make those peaceful states accessible, and allowing people to be acutely engaged with their bodies for the first time.

Last year, I had the pleasure of meeting Dee Dussault, the founder of Ganja Yoga, and participating in an intimate class in San Diego with some of my girlfriends in the cannabis industry. According to her website, Dee was the first yoga instructors outside of India to offer cannabis-enhanced yoga, and has taught tantric yoga classes and private sessions in the Bay Area, Portland, Toronto, Vancouver, Copenhagen, Costa Rica and Burning Man since 2009.

Dee’s class offered hands-down the most relaxing and meaningful yoga experiences I have ever taken part in. Gone were my racing thoughts and typical nervousness about the prospect of messing up a pose and keeling over.

Today, studios offering 420-friendly yoga classes are beginning to pop up in states where the adult and medical use of cannabis has been legalized, though public consumption rules make them difficult to keep open.

For now:

As far as the health and fitness industries go, cannabis and yoga pairings are just the beginning. As more athletes discover the myriad health benefits, enhancing physical activity with cannabis will no longer be a novelty, but the norm.

End

Washington Legislature May Allow Recreational Cannabis Delivery Services

1/22/2016

by

A proposal in the Washington state legislature seeks to legalize recreational cannabis delivery services, KIRO 7 reports.

Proposed by Rep. Christopher Hurst (D-31st District) and Rep. Cary Condotta (R-12th District), House Bill 2368 would, as part of a two year pilot program, allow five licensed retail cannabis stores to provide cannabis delivery services. The bill would put the Liquor and Cannabis Board in charge of establishing the program, which would establish a framework for delivery requirements, ID verification training for the drivers and method of enforcement.

With Seattle planning a major crack down on black market cannabis delivery services that have been muscling in on the legal retail market, Mayor Ed Murray and City Attorney Pete Holmes pledged their support for the proposal on Tuesday.

Holmes believes this legislature will help shut down the illegal delivery services currently operating in Seattle. “The proposed pilot delivery program, along with increased enforcement of existing marijuana laws, will better protect customers, patients and business owners, while strengthening the legal marijuana industry.”

Washington’s Liquor and Cannabis Board recently estimated that 28% of the state’s marijuana trade was conducted on the black market.

 

 

 

End

Colorado Bill Would Establish Labels Specific to Pesticide-Free Cannabis

1/22/2016

by

A bill proposed in the Colorado state legislature would mandate the creation of a label informing consumers whether or not cannabis products they purchase have been grown using pesticides.

HB16-1079, proposed by Reps. Jonathan Singer (D-Longmont) and KC Becker (D-Boulder), would require the Colorado Department of Agriculture to design a system for companies to have their pesticide-free cannabis products certified as such under a state-sanctioned label.

A significant string of recalls for Colorado cannabis products have caused more than a few headlines lately, many of which were the unfortunate results of miscommunication between retailers and growers. Some growers have admitted to using pesticides that they did not know were not allowed under Colorado’s cannabis legalization law. Most product recalls have been voluntary, which is a good sign for the industry.

Devin Liles, top grower for The Farm in Boulder, warns that — though he agrees that a pesticide-free certification would likely benefit consumers — “As [the bill] is written, it runs the risk of perpetuating the common misconception that organic is synonymous with pesticide-free. There are organic pesticides that are comprised of essential oils that are perfectly safe to use, not necessarily in… flower development.”

Marijuana cannot legally be considered “organic,” because the guidelines for such a certification are established by the U.S. Department of Agriculture — which, as a federal institution, does not recognize cannabis cultivation as a legal activity.

End

Utah Governor Supports Minor Expansions to State Medical Cannabis Law

1/22/2016

by

The governor of Utah said Thursday that two proposals to expand the state’s medical cannabis program make sense. Though this is heartening news, both proposals are relatively minor expansions that would still prohibit the actual smoking of marijuana.

Utah’s current medical marijuana program is very limited: only patients suffering from severe epilepsy are allowed to seek cannabis treatment, and only via cannabis extracts obtained from other states.

The first of the two proposals would allow patients with certain chronic conditions to medicate using infused edible products, the other proposal would simply update Utah’s cannabis oil law to grant more people access to the medicine and allow it to be produced in-state. Both bills are being proposed by Republicans.

“If there’s a medicine out there that will alleviate pain and conditions and health concerns for people, if there’s a medicine out there that can do that, we ought to see if we can embrace it,” Gov. Gary Herbert said on Thursday.

The governor has said in the past that he would consider a more inclusive medical cannabis program, but remains concerned about it leading to a quasi-recreational market.

“I’m not interested in having Dr. Feelgood out there say, ‘Yeah, yeah, que pasa, you know, here’s your doobie for the day and you’ll feel better.’ That’s probably not where I want to go.”

End

Judge’s Ruling Sets Back Anti-Cannabis Lawsuit in Colorado

1/21/2016

by

A federal judge in Colorado has ruled that Gov. John Hickenlooper and other Pueblo County officials cannot be named as defendants in a lawsuit that seeks to prevent the construction of a marijuana grow facility.

The lawsuit’s petitioners are two Pueblo County horse ranchers, Hope and Michael Reilly; and Safe Streets Alliance, a national anti-drug group. The suit alleges that federal marijuana laws supersede state ones, so the new cultivation facility in Pueblo County — operated by Rocky Mountain Organics — violates the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).

“RICO was designed to allow people to go after the mafia in civil court,” said Attorney Matthew Buck, representing Rocky Mountain Organics. “Not for out-of-state special interest groups to go after local businesses for complying with Colorado law.”

A federal judge ruled that government officials are not subject to RICO claims. Pueblo County commissioner Sal Pace called the case a “frivolous lawsuit being pushed by an ideological agenda,” and said that fighting it has cost Pueblo County over $100,000.

The “horse rancher lawsuit” is only one of three civil suits filed against Colorado’s marijuana laws — all of them funded by out-of-state interest groups. Another lawsuit known as the “sheriff’s lawsuit” is funded by the Florida-based Drug Free America Foundation. DFAF’s founders were previously involved in an organization that ran drug abuse treatment centers—all of which were shut down after former clients alleged beatings, rape, and abuse.

End