25 years after the boxer’s most infamous fight, his cannabis brand just released some gummies in honor of the spectacle.
Did you ear? Mike Tyson’s cannabis company just released a new gummy as a nod to the prolific boxer’s fight against Evander Holyfield. You know the one. The infamous title fight that ended with Holyfield leaving the ring with a big chunk of his ear bitten off.
The 1997 “Bite Fight” lead to Tyson losing his boxing license and a $3 million fine. And now, to commemorate that infamous fight, Tyson 2.0 has come out with Mike Bites, which Tyson endorsed on Twitter.
“You might be in business because we’re going to make some holy ears,” Tyson said at the time. “Edible ears that got a bit taken out of them. Holy ears.”
Tyson has long been involved in cannabis, praising the drug and its benefits over those of drinking alcohol. “My life was just miserable, I was out of control. I was fighting with everybody,” he said in an interview recently. “If someone asked me for an autograph, I’d punch them in the face. I was just a mess, and then after I retired, I started smoking.
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“What a mistake that was — I should have smoked my whole career. I should have smoked when I was fighting because it put me in this different state of mind. I’m very relaxed and the more relaxed you are, the better fighter you are, at least in my case.”
Megan Rapinoe, Al Harrington, Allen Iverson, and so many more pro athletes have made their mark in the cannabis industry, speaking up for a plant that remains federally opposed, despite the many health perks that have been reported over the years.
Getting drunk seems to be socially acceptable these days, while others are busy fighting the stigma against cannabis when it has proven to be so much safer.
As the U.S. goes into the original green holiday, St. Patrick’s Day, could there be a change coming? American’s started celebrating the Irish Saint in 1601, when the country was still a British colony. New York City hosts the largest parade in the world and Chicago dyes their river green to get in the mood. Astronauts on board the international Space Station celebrates St. Patrick Day with notable celebrations by Catherine Coleman and Chris Hadfield.
But with those who celebrate drinking an average of 4.2 glasses per person, is change coming with the legal introduction of a more health-friendly option? A new poll conducted by YouGov reveals that more people see the health benefits of cannabis especially compared to alcohol.
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The poll surveyed 10,412 Americans and found that 27% of respondents think it would be better if people consumed cannabis instead of alcohol, but 20% said that they think it’s a bad idea. Meanwhile, 38% said that it would neither be bad or good, and 15% weren’t sure. With a 153% spike in spirits sales on March 17, this could be good news for the marijuana market and worrying news for alcohol companies.
When it comes to the demographic breakdown of participants, the poll’s results showed that Democrats were more likely to support switching from cannabis to alcohol (34%) compared to 18% of Republicans and 27% of independents. Additionally, the participants aged 30 through 44 were more likely to say that using cannabis in place of alcohol was better, while only 17% of respondents aged 65 and up said the same.
Why Cannabis Is The Safer, Healthier Option
The federal government has far too long kept cannabis illegal, and prohibition has done nothing good. They wanted us to believe that cannabis is dangerous, and should then be kept illegal no matter what. Throughout the past decades, the federal government has spread lies and funded studies that only focus on the harms on marijuana, not even mentioning the millions they have spent on television ads that only want to convince people that cannabis is a horrible drug that will turn you into a jobless couch potato.
The truth couldn’t be further especially when you compare it with alcohol.
Many of us use cannabis in the same way we consume alcohol: hanging out with friends, unwinding after work, etc. There are also those who consume it exclusively for its medicinal benefits.
The harmful side effects of consuming alcohol has been well-documented over the past few decades. Over 17 million people struggle with dependence or addiction of alcohol in one way or another, yet the government hasn’t done anything to restrict access to it.
But why would you replace cannabis for your alcohol habit?
Let’s look at the numbers: According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 30,000 deaths in the United States each year are attributed to alcohol. Meanwhile, they don’t even have an existing category discussing the health risks of cannabis. Additionally, the American Scientist reports that booze is a dangerous drug, and consuming it only 10 times could already lead to health impacts so severe it could be fatal.
Then there are also the dangers that it poses to society. Domestic violence and drunk driving have destroyed families and lives, yet cannabis doesn’t even come close to these dangers. In fact, it benefits societies where it’s legalized.
There was also a study in 2018 conducted by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder. They analyzed data on the impacts of cannabis and alcohol on the brain, and it also required them to assess brain images of 853 adults from the age of 18 to 55, including 439 teenagers from 14 to 18. All the study participants had varying consumptions in their cannabis and alcohol use.
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They found that consuming alcohol was linked to long-term changes on the brain’s white and gray matter while cannabis was not found to have any significant long-term impacts on the structure of the brain.
“When you look at these studies going back years, you see that one study will report that marijuana use is related to a reduction in the volume of the hippocampus. The next study then comes around, and they say that marijuana use is related to changes in the cerebellum,” explained Kent Hutchinson, one of the study’s co-authors. “The point is that there’s no consistency across all of these studies in terms of the actual brain structures.”
Another study published in the journal Scientific Reports shows that cannabis is at least 114 times less deadly compared to alcohol. Researchers studied seven drugs including booze as well as tobacco, ecstasy, cocaine, heroine, marijuana, and methamphetamines. There are also studies that show cannabis is the safest recreational drug out there but this study proves just how significant the discrepancies are.
Researchers compared a lethal dose of each of the drugs for the study, and the amount normally consumed. Cannabis tested lowest and it was the only one out of the substances that had a “low mortality risk” associated with consuming it, while others were high or medium.
The Role Of Public Policy
Keeping cannabis illegal at the federal level has not only been futile but it has also been dangerous. Meanwhile, just about anyone can easily buy and access alcohol: getting a fake ID to purchase it at a store is too easy, and kids can access their parents’ stash right at home. Getting drunk seems to be socially acceptable these days while others are busy fighting the stigma against cannabis when it has proven to be so much safer.
Thanks to cannabis legalization spreading wider and wider each year, more people have options on how they celebrate. With two thirds of Americans saying they will try weed when it is fully legal, future celebrations and parades may have a more chill look. Of course, the green of the holiday and general celebration would be a natural holiday to embrace more than a four leaf clover.
Earlier this year, advocacy group Americans for Safe Access gave Texas a failing grade for its medical marijuana program, saying it was neither accessible nor practical.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke said that if elected governor of Texas, he would pursue legalizing marijuana and that he anticipates the Republican majority in the Legislature would get on board.
“I’ll let you in on a secret: Republicans like to get high just as much as Democrats,” O’Rourke said, speaking during a South by Southwest panel in Austin on Saturday.
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“When I’m governor, we’re going to legalize marijuana in the state of Texas,” he said. “(It is) a substance that is legal in most of the rest of the country, most of the rest of the free world.”
While some Republican-led states have legalized recreational marijuana, Texas is not among them.
According to the Austin-American Statesman, O’Rourke’s comments may work as an applause line, but they may also “undersell the difficulty of winning over the legislature’s most conservative members” and the Lone Star state has some serious conservatives. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, for example, has repeatedly threatened to block marijuana reform and he sets the agenda for the Texas Senate.
O’Rourke has long championed efforts to decriminalize and legalize marijuana, including during his tenure on the El Paso City Council. In 2011, he co-authored a book, “Dealing Death and Drugs: The Big Business of Dope in the U.S. and Mexico,” which argued that ending the federal prohibition on marijuana would reduce drug-related violence.
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While Texas lawmakers did approve a slight expansion of the state’s medical marijuana program during the previous session, the rules remain among the most restrictive in the nation.
Earlier this year, advocacy group Americans for Safe Access gave Texas a failing grade for its program, saying it was neither accessible nor practical.
Nevertheless, O’Rourke suggested that Texas may not be immune to the sweeping tide of cannabis legalization.
O’Rourke is facing an uphill battle in his quest for governor though as he challenges the two-term Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, whose campaign boasts a massive war-chest and has promised a “knock-out, drag-out fight” against O’Rourke.
Are you looking for answers to the question, “is marijuana a depressant?” If you have ever felt sleepy or sedated after using cannabis, you might have wondered, “is weed a depressant?”
This article answers the questions “what is a depressant?”, “is weed a depressant?”, and “is cannabis a CNS depressant?” We will also discuss whether weed is an upper or a downer, and why this is such a common question.
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What is a Depressant?
Depressants are drugs that slow down the activity of the brain. The Alcohol and Drug Foundation defines a depressant as a class of drugs that decreases stimulation and arousal. At a basic level, depressants “do not directly reduce arousal in the brain; they enhance the activity of a neurotransmitter that reduces arousal in the brain.” This neurotransmitter is GABA. In mammals, GABA is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter and glutamate is primary excitatory neurotransmitter, and their balance controls “the brain’s overall level of excitation.”
Depressants work by enhancing the activity of GABA, which has a “calming influence on anxiety and acute stress reactions.” Depressants can cause a range of effects from calming you down, to making you drowsy, and “extending progressively to sleep, unconsciousness, coma, surgical anesthesia, and…fatal respiratory and cardiovascular depression.”
Fortunaely, cannabis does not lead to fatal respiratory and cardiovascular depression. If you want to know why you can’t fatally overdose on weed, read this. Some common depressants include alcohol, prescription benzodiazepines like Xanax, prescription sleep medication like Ambien, and cannabis.
Is Marijuana a Depressant or Antidepressant?
Many people wonder if marijuana is a depressant or an antidepressant. That makes sense given that in some states, doctors can recommend medical marijuana to patients suffering from depression. Additionally, animal studies indicate that cannabinoids like THC can have antidepressant effects. However, cannabis can help you relax or fall asleep. The sedating effects of cannabis suggest it also acts as a depressant. So, is cannabis a depressant or an antidepressant?
If you recall, the definition of a depressant is a drug that slows down brain activity, which is why depressants are also called central nervous system depressants, or CNS depressants. The opposite of a depressant is not an antidepressant, but a stimulant, or a drug that increases CNS activity.
At a basic level, an antidepressant is defined as “anything, especially a drug, used to prevent or treat depression.” For example, SSRIs and MAOIs are two classes of antidepressants with different mechanisms of action. SSRIs affect serotonin levels by inhibiting the reuptake of serotonin into the synapse, while MAOIs block the breakdown of neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine.
In the United States, cannabis is federally illegal and classified as Schedule I Drug with no medical benefit. As a result, the FDA does not consider cannabis to be a treatment for depression. Please note that we are not advising anyone to replace prescription drugs with cannabis. Anyone who feels they may be suffering from depression should consult their healthcare practitioner to determine the best course of treatment.
The question “is marijuana a depressant or antidepressant” is based in the misconception that depressants and antidepressants are opposite. Depressants refer to the effect of a drug on the CNS, not how it affects mood. In fact, many depressants induce euphoria. So, is weed a depressant? Let’s find out whether marijuana is an upper or a downer.
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Is Weed a Depressant?
The answer to the question “Is weed a depressant?” is “yes, cannabis is a CNS depressant at some doses.” Cannabis is a biphasic drug. For an in-depth discussion of this idea, check out Does Weed Help With Stress? Remember how the levels of GABA and glutamate determine the overall excitation of the brain? Cannabis is known to significantly increase GABA levels. However, cannabis also increase glutamate and dopamine, which means that weed is a stimulant as well.
Is Weed an Upper or Downer?
Evidently, the answer to “is weed an upper or downer” is a bit complicated. Cannabis is both an upper and a downer. There isn’t a simple answer, which is why this question persists through the years. Beyond the effects of THC, there are other compounds in cannabis that can sedate you. For example, if you consume a strain with moderate to high myrcene, linalool, or terpineol terpene content you may experience calming and sedative-like effects. As we discussed in Is Cannabis Good for Sleep?, cannabis was historically classified in medical textbooks as a hypnotic and sedative, two types of drugs that are depressants. In short, cannabis is a depressant.
Sam is an award-winning screenwriter of “Are You Glad I’m Here” on Amazon Prime. His passions include helping people understand purposeful cannabis consumption. He is the content Director at Jointly, a cannabis wellness company powered by a proprietary data platform to help people reach their full potential. The company was created on the premise that purposeful cannabis consumption is the key to unlocking a better you.
Since all the philosophies and treatments in Ayurveda are intended to balance the body while promoting wellness, it isn’t surprising that they don’t encourage long-term use of cannabis.
Ayurveda is an ancient medical system originating in India, dating back to over 3,000 years ago. At the very core of Ayurveda, the treatments and lifestyle recommended are meant to promote good health while preventing illness. Some of the practices that are recommended in Ayurveda include using herbal remedies, massages, yoga, meditation, and following the specified diet.
Additionally, Ayurveda sees the five elements of nature—water, fire, air, space, and earth—combine in the human body as doshas, or components. These doshas are the pitta, vatta, or kapha, all of which relate to the elements of nature. Ayurveda states that for optimum mental and physical health, all the doshas should be well balanced.
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In India, Ayurveda is the most widely accepted type of medical care the way we accept western medicine here. Professional ayurvedic practitioners should undergo institutionalized training in order to be able to practice.
Many westerners look to Ayurveda to counter illness and even as a substitute for western medicine as a whole. Just like naturopathy, homeopathy, and other more eastern-types of medical systems, Ayurveda has many benefits for those who want to veer away from conventional pharmaceuticals and the western medical system – which has failed many.
The uses of cannabis in ancient Indian medical texts has been traced to thousands of years ago, as it was written about in the Atharva veda, the traditional sacred literature that is part of the Vedas, stating that it’s one of the earth’s five sacred plants together with soma, sugar, darhbha grass, and barley. There are also certain ayurvedic names that refer to cannabis which are Vijaya for one, meaning, one who conquers; the other is siddhi, which means achievement and subtle power.
It wasn’t until the Middle Ages that cannabis was mentioned in ayurvedic texts where it was referred to as Bhang (leaves of female and male marijuana plants, and a name for hemp), charas (plant resin), and ganja (flowering tops of the female plant), among others.
Ganja is more widely used to refer to marijuana plant parts and in some Indian regions, they use Bhang to refer to a drink made out of cannabis.
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How Ayurveda Recommends Cannabis Usage
Since all the philosophies and treatments in Ayurveda are intended to balance the body while promoting wellness, it isn’t surprising that they don’t encourage long-term use of cannabis. They believe that doing so will dry up the body; ironically, they also think that long-term use will cause anxiety, depression, reduction in testosterone and infertility in men.
However, they do promote moderate use which they believe will warm the body, stimulate the nervous system, sedate, and act as an aphrodisiac. According to Ayurveda, the properties of the plant are heat-producing, penetrating (quickly spreads around the body), sharp, pungent, and light.
When making medicine out of cannabis, they use the flowers, resin, seeds, and leaves. Bhang made from leaf powder is usually given at a dose of 125 to 250 mg, for ganja 50 to 125 mg, and resin, 30 mg. They believe that the resin and the flowers are a powerful narcotic that has many spiritual and physical benefits.
The benefits of cannabis in their medical text is covered in multiple ways:
Bhang is recommended for the temporary treatment of high blood pressure. It’s intended to be used for the short term only since high blood pressure is treated also using other types of ayurvedic practices.
Bhang is also recommended for treating glaucoma.
It stimulates the nervous system and provides relief from nervous exhaustion, convulsions, neuralgia, delirium, and headaches
Sikh in the north of India occasionally take a mixture of bhang together with pistachios and almonds as well as rose petals, saffron, and black pepper among other things with cow’s milk to help them concentrate especially after tiring all-day practices. It’s also used to help them efficiently digest food.
Oral cannabis was recommended during Tibbi and Ayurvedic rituals for the treatment of rheumatism and malaria
Bang was consumed by newlyweds to help increase their libido
Marijuana was mentioned by the Bhav Prakash Nighantu for treating nasal congestion, diarrhea, pain relief, and respiratory disorders among many others
During the Holi, or Indian spring color festival, they prepare a drink called Thandai which has some variants, one of which is made with Bhang. Since the Kapha dosha tends to get imbalanced during the spring, they believe that drinking Bhang will help restore balance and treat seasonal congestions including coughs and colds
These are just some of the many recommended uses of cannabis in Ayurveda.
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It’s also interesting to note that preparing marijuana requires purification first. In many cases they boil it first in Acacia arabica, a decoction known as Babbula. Other detoxification methods involve mixing cannabis in milk.
The philosophies of Ayurveda include right and wrong ways to use cannabis, but when used correctly, it’s effective in treating the conditions listed above. Primarily, it’s widely known to be effective in treating digestive and respiratory disorders and other disorders requiring the use of a tonic.
It also has spiritual properties as there are some scriptures indicating that it was cultivated and prepared for spiritual use. It was also a valuable plant for Lord Shiva, the god of transformation. There are no mentions in ayurvedic scriptures where it’s used for recreational purposes or intoxication, though many people in North India as well as Nepal use it regularly these days for recreation and as part of religious rituals.
If the research were to be successful, this tool could be used in a variety of situations, whether measuring intoxication in commercial drivers, or as a tool for law enforcers.
The U.S. Department of Transportation is en route to make an important change that could influence workers who use cannabis. The department recently proposed a new rule that gives employers the choice to include oral cannabis tests for their employees. While a drug test is still a drug test, there are a variety of benefits associated with these, especially when compared to urinalyses.
The transportation industry might be among the few industries where a cannabis drug test is actually useful, judging whether or not a worker is equipped to drive. Still, the use of urinalysis is invasive and doesn’t provide an answer on whether or not a person is intoxicated with cannabis; it only shows if the person consumed cannabis at some point in the past month. An oral saliva exam could provide a more accurate reading, showing if the person consumed THC at some point in the past 24 hours.
Aside from all of this, oral tests are less likely to result in cheating, since they’re usually provided on the spot. “This will give employers a choice that will help combat employee cheating on urine drug tests and provide a more economical, less intrusive means of achieving the safety goals of the program,” reports the notice.
According to a new labor report conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the transportation and warehousing industries lead in terms of requiring drug tests from their employees. While jobs have become more lenient as cannabis earns its legal status in a variety of states, drivers with commercial driver’s licenses (CDL) can face serious penalties if failing a drug test, being stripped of their work, and facing suspensions.
There’s yet to be a test that measures whether or not someone is currently intoxicated with cannabis, but a saliva test is the closest thing there is. According to an ongoing study, researchers discovered a way of measuring whether someone is currently intoxicated with cannabis or not, using a technique called functional near-infrared spectroscopy that measures brain patterns. If the research were to be successful, this tool could be used in a variety of situations, whether measuring intoxication in commercial drivers, or as a tool for law enforcers.
The public has until March 30 to submit comments and propose additions to this new policy.
The very specific requirements for qualifying applicants, and the system for selecting dispensary locations and assigning applicants to these locations, may complicate the application process.
It is an exciting time in New York, as there is finally momentum towards the first sales in the adult-use cannabis market. Just weeks after Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill to permit qualified hemp farmers to start growing the first batch of adult-use cannabis, the Cannabis Control Board has released draft regulations that would award the first 100 retail licenses to applicants that meet certain requirements, most notably that an individual applicant or an immediate family member have a past conviction for a marijuana-related offense in New York.
It should be noted up front that state cannabis regulators have extremely difficult jobs balancing a number of conflicting interests. Regulators have tried a number of novel approaches to craft fair and equitable industries in their states, but almost inevitably there has been litigation from parties that do not feel they had a fair shake, sometimes delaying the launch of the entire industry in that state.
The new draft regulations in New York unfortunately may end up with a similar result. Every headline announcing the regulations has focused on the requirement for an applicant to have a marijuana conviction in the family, but the requirements for an applicant to qualify for these conditional licenses unfortunately do not end there. The draft regulations also require that a controlling owner of an applicant needs to “hold or have held, for a minimum of two years, at least ten percent ownership interest in, and control of, a qualifying business, which means a business that had net profit for at least two of the years the business was in operation.” This is potentially problematic for a number of reasons.
First, the stated goal of the regulators is to help families that have been significantly hurt by marijuana convictions. But if these families have been so severely impacted, would it not be extremely difficult to have owned a part of a profitable business? Outside of that potential incongruity, the practical effect of the profitable business ownership requirement is that the pool of possible applicants that could qualify for the license will decrease, to a degree that would appear to be difficult to estimate.
While most states require applicant entities to provide information about their owners and managers to state regulators, these draft regulations are exceptionally detailed in listing out the types of information and documents relating to ownership and control of an applicant entity that are required to be disclosed. The draft regulations are designed to ensure that the individual owners of an applicant that are “justice involved” (i.e. have a marijuana conviction in the family) maintain control of the applicant entity throughout the application process and during the life of the conditional license, barring approval of an ownership transfer by New York regulators.
The other significant part of the draft regulations that should not be overlooked is the insight they provide into the potential locations of the license winners’ dispensaries. New York is trying to create a $200 million fund to support license winners’ real estate requirements. The state is currently utilizing real estate brokers to find over 100 suitable locations for dispensaries, and the state intends to use the fund to enter into leases and manage the construction and equipping of these properties.
On this point, the draft regulations provide that regulators may establish geographic zones throughout the state, and link these to applicants’ scoring point totals. Applicants may be asked to rank their preferences for the geographic zone where their dispensary would be located, and then regulators would assign the applicants with the highest application point totals to their preferred geographic zone. If there are more applicants that request a particular geographic zone than there are leased dispensary locations in that zone (say, New York City!), regulators would assign applicants with lower point totals to another geographic zone.
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There is no information as to how applicants in a particular geographic zone would be assigned to specific properties, but it would presumably be a similar ranking system based on points totals.
Taking a step back, the result of this system is that there are certain applicants that may end up with dispensary locations far away from where they live. Applicants that win these conditional retail licenses may have the benefit of being the first to open their doors, and the economic support of the proposed fund, but in exchange they would seemingly sacrifice some autonomy, including selecting the location of their business.
To summarize, New York regulators have created a novel approach to the issue of equity within the cannabis industry in the draft conditional retail regulations. Unfortunately, the very specific requirements for qualifying applicants, and the system for selecting dispensary locations and assigning applicants to these locations, may complicate the application process and launch of these conditional retail dispensaries.
As is the case with many industries, the biggest financial and operational issue facing many cannabis bosses today is staffing, which likely won’t get any better with soaring gas prices.
The rising price of gas is an unavoidable reality for millions of Americans today, and it is already making many rethink daily routines and expenses. With the average price of gas climbing well over $4 per gallon, and continuing to climb, many are worried that gas prices may result in an even bigger economic fallout.
The recent ban on Russian oil importing is “boosting the prospect of higher short-term inflation while threateningeconomic growth and spending and even reshaping hiring patterns,” according to the Washington Post. It is understandable then, that many Americans are experiencing unprecedented levels of anxiety.
For those living in a state where cannabis is legal, some marijuana therapy might be an option, but how long will Americans be able to afford it? Gasoline prices are skyrocketing and inflation has not stopped. How will this all affect the price of marijuana moving forward?
First it is important to understand if there is a strong connection between gasoline and marijuana cultivation. The answer is: occasionally. With marijuana still illegal on a federal level, marijuana must be grown and sold in the same states, which means no cross-country trips on gas guzzling diesel trucks, which is good news for cannabis consumers.
Some marijuana cultivation techniques, however, do use oil and natural gas. According to Slate, some cultivators “are putting in bottled CO2, or they’re burning natural gas on-site to basically get CO2 in the room,” which helps boost growth. This technique and others that use unnecessary fossil fuel usage is frowned upon by environmentalists, and is certainly not a requirement in order to grow quality cannabis.
There are several ways growers can use alternative energy sources, but they may not need to right away if price is their only motivation. While the cost of many goods are increasing as a ripple effect of rising gas prices and inflation, marijuana prices are lower this year than last year. According to a study by Headset, a cannabis analytics company that tracked sales in California, Colorado, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, the average price of flower, vapes and edibles fell more than 10% between January 2021 and January 2022.
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There are several reasons for this price decrease, and many more speculations. Supply and demand is always a factor as is wholesale pricing, and of course the competition of the illegal underground cannabis market plays a role. Just because the price of weed is low, however, does not mean those in the cannabis industry are not having the same financial difficulties other businesses are having.
As is the case with many industries, the biggest financial and operational issue facing many cannabis bosses today is staffing, and this problem likely won’t get any better with soaring gas prices.
Native Roots, a cannabis company with 20 retail stores in Colorado, told CNN about their labor troubles. “The biggest cost increases have come from labor, where Native Roots increased its wages by 14% on average to keep pace with competitors and retain employees,”according to Theresa Ekman, the Native Roots supply chain director. Ekman and other companies said they are working on ordering smarter to compensate for the increased labor cost. This might mean secure prices, but it might also mean a smaller selection than consumers are used to.
For now at least, it looks like the price of cannabis is secure. You may notice some decline in options at your local dispensary, but do not take this as a lack of effort. This sparsity of options may actually be the result of months of effort and forethought by cannabis businesses in order to keep your top selling weed products affordable in these stressful times.
The vast majority of Americans want to have legal cannabis on a federal level, there are numerous polls that support this notion. The problem, however, comes down to “how” it is supposed to be done.
For the past few years, Senator Chuck Schumer has been the most vocal about legalizing cannabis on a federal level and has been attempting to push his cannabis legalization bill which aims to remove cannabis from the controlled substance act, while also creating provisions for minority business owners to gain easier access to cannabis licensing.
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One would think that this would not have too much opposition, however, as of now, the bill has not gained too much traction. One of the main reasons comes down to taxes. While the senator might be well intentioned in his approach, his proposal of high taxation got a lot of flak from cannabis reformists.
It (federal legalization) would land at 25 percent of a federal prevailing price, charged per ounce of product sold in flower form, or per milligram of THC — a psychoactive compound known to give marijuana users a high — for edibles, vapes and other alternatives.
Tax credits would slash rates in half for the first $20 million in annual sales, creating an effective rate as low as 12.5 percent for small businesses.
However, these taxes would solely be applied to recreational cannabis. Any FDA approved treatment would be void of paying these taxes. This could mean a significant boost for medical marijuana, but many advocates in legal states claim that this tax system will only continue to embolden the black market. In fact, since Canada legalized cannabis the majority of sales have remained a black market preference.
This is due to THC caps and excessive pricing – and the same can be said of California. California has a problem where it produces too much weed to be sold recreationally, and due to federal prohibition cannot export it to other states. As a result, a lot of the weed continue to be sold on the black market and taxes is one of the main reasons why people prefer to buy from their dealer and not from a licensed store.
“As more and more states move to legalize cannabis for both adult and medical use, the federal government has an important role to play. Hundreds of millions of Americans live in states that have legalized cannabis in some form while it remains illegal at the federal level. This discrepancy leads to confusion and uncertainty and raises significant questions around criminal justice reform, economic development and small business growth, and public health and safety, all of which we believe require some type of federal answer.”
As mentioned, they may have good intentions, but if they are incapable of seeing how high taxes would act contra to their intentions, this bill is pretty much dead in the water.
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GOP to the Rescue?
Who would have thought that a GOP sponsored cannabis bill would be the most comprehensive and clear cut road to legalization. Where the Democrat sponsored bill would want to raise taxes on cannabis up to 25%, the GOP bill places a 3% tax on cannabis and that way, maintain low competitive prices allowing minority business owners a fair shot at participation.
Whenever a Democratic bill wishes to “ensure social equity”, it almost always requires the creation of a new agency to handle those kinds of requests. As a result, it requires more tax dollars to fund those kinds of operations and in turn raises the price on the consumer. The consumer says, “Why buy legally when I can buy for cheaper from my dealer”. After all, the majority of the criminal penalties have been reduced to a misdemeanor meaning that even if people are buying an ounce off the streets, they no longer fear prolonged incarceration.
While I’m not arguing for longer prison sentences, I’m pointing out that when you raise taxes on cannabis and reduce penalties, you remove all incentives to participate in the legal system. I have long argued that the best approach would be to have two tiers of cannabis licensing: a small business tier and a large business tier.
Both of these would have their own tax regime, requirements, costs of operations, etc. However, I’d still argue that we should aim to keep the taxes as low as possible. With inflation reaching record highs, and the US economy suffering due to lockdowns, if the government places too much tax on goods such as cannabis we will only see a greater influx of black hat buying.
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Think about it rationally. If you could save $20-$30 per ounce by buying from the street, pretty much have similar quality as dispensary weed and in many cases can home order your weed, wouldn’t you opt in for the black market stuff instead?
I know that any person who feels that $20-$30 extra per week or month will help their bottom line would opt in for this option.
Keep It Low, Allow It to Grow!
The Democrats love taxing the hell out of everything. In this case, being a Republican is better. Sure, they both stink, but when it comes to business you want to have a system that awards entrepreneurs, creates a lower barrier of entry and maintains low competitive taxation policies to ensure that the market continues to grow until it can handle heavier taxes. Right now, the market still has to migrate from the illegal to the legal, and excessive taxation will only choke the growth.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor released a report that includes the workplace drug testing practices of businesses. Here are the results.
Drug testing in the workplace has slowed down with the passing of time — and marijuana legalization. Still, some industries are more likely to demand it from their workers, creating a problem, especially now that marijuana is mainstream and some states have legal medical marijuana programs in place.
Per Marijuana Moment, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (LBS) released a labor report that measures businesses’ responses to the pandemic. It goes into detail about drug testing practices and the types of businesses that are more likely to make these demands.
The report is the first one since 1996 to ask employers whether they conduct drug tests. Predictably, numbers have changed, with only 16% of the surveyed worksites practicing drug tests. In 1996, 30% of the surveyed worksites practiced drug tests.
The survey found that the industries that are more likely to ask for drug tests include transportation and warehousing, with far higher rates than other industries. Businesses that had the lowest rates of drug tests included the ones involved in the arts, entertainment, and recreation.
The LBS also found that drug tests were less common in legalized states, showing that the laws had an impact on the mentality of the people that lived there. Eight out of 10 states with the lowest drug testing numbers had legal cannabis programs, including California, Vermont, New York, and Colorado. Out of the 10 states that had the highest drug testing rates, none had legal cannabis programs. These include South Carolina, Kentucky, and others.
Workplace drug testing is a practice that grew popular with the Reagan administration, a time when the war on drugs took off. As the years passed and new research appeared, the outlook on marijuana has drastically shifted, with the majority of people losing their fear over it and even preaching for its legalization.
Marijuana legalization is inevitable. While the process is slow, it’s only been growing in support, with more and more states decriminalizing and working towards building a functioning industry that’s profitable and gives the people what they want. Workplace drug testing is one of the last kinks that should be resolved in the coming years. It will go away at some point, but for now, people have to be careful.
