Tag Archives: NORML

By Aaron G. Biros

Happy 4/20! The cannabis holiday with unclear origins is today and with it comes hundreds and hundreds of marketing and story pitches landing in every journalist’s inbox. Some of those pitches are impactful, some lack substance, some celebrate anniversaries, most offer discounts and sales and some are truly bizarre.

Every year, April 20th marks the cannabis holiday that people around the world celebrate with copious amounts of cannabis, concerts, festivals, deals, sales and marketing gimmicks. This year, here are some noteworthy (and weird) happenings going on as we celebrate the wonderful plant that brings us all together:

Leafly rings in the holiday on the NASDAQ: Leafly CEO Yoko Miyashita, surrounded by her colleagues, rang the opening bell for the NASDAQ Stock Exchange. The company began publicly trading on the NASDAQ as ‘LFLY’ back in February.

Smoke em if ya got em: Leafly CEO Yoko Miyashita, surrounded by her colleagues, rang the opening bell for the NASDAQ Stock Exchange

Americans for Safe Access (ASA) turned twenty on April 19: The policy, action and advocacy organization has been influential in passing medical cannabis laws throughout the country for twenty years now. The organization has trained thousands of public defenders, worked with thousands of incarcerated medical cannabis prisoners, organized protests all over the country, worked with regulators in dozens of states to pass safety rules, published reports, launched their Patient Focused Certification program and much more. Happy birthday ASA!

Emerald Cup and SC Labs celebrate thirteenth anniversary: The couple has been together now for thirteen years, with the Emerald Cup heading into their eighteenth annual competition next month. For the past thirteen years, Santa Cruz-based SC labs has worked with the Emerald Cup as their official testing partner, verifying COAs for potency and purity, gathering data on terpenes and classifying products and strains. Happy anniversary you two!

Smoking’ sandwiches: The cannabis-inspired, Arizona-based sandwich shop chain Cheba Hut celebrates the holiday with $4.20 “nugs” (pretzel nuggets) served on a frisbee and two PBRs for $4.20.

NORML stays busy: Executive Director Erik Altieri called for reforms in a press release: “While we have undoubtedly made immense progress in recent years, hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens are still arrested each year for simple possession of a plant. That is why we are calling on all Americans to take time out of their day on 4/20 to help us finish the fight, both at the federal level and in those states that still are living under the dark ages of prohibition. We have an overwhelming mandate from the people and we intend to make sure that elected officials abide by it.”

New Jersey, a day late and a dollar short: The Garden State will begin adult use sales on April 21st at thirteen dispensaries. The delays, licensing process and regulatory hurdles have created confusion and frustration for the industry, but the state is moving forward with their plan and dispensaries will serve adults over 21 tomorrow, a day after the holiday.

Cannabis-infused Mac and cheese, a dangerously cheesy combination.

Sluggish Senate: The SAFE Banking Act has passed the House six (six!) times so far, most recently in February of this year. Sen. Cory Booker has long said he opposes the cannabis banking bill without wider legalization legislation (say that six times fast). Sen. Chuck Schumer also announced last week that his cannabis bill introduction is delayed. The CAOA won’t come until August now he says.

Cannabis Cuisine: Celebrity chef Todd English curates a “cannabis-curious cuisine” with infused Mac & Cheese via LastLeaf.

Erotic infusions: This CBD company offers 20% off their infused lubes, massage oils and products with code oOYes20. OoYes! CBD Lube is a female-founded formulations company focusing on the sex positive, “cannagasmic” hemp-derived CBD products space.

Backwards down the number line: Phish plays their first night back at Madison Square Garden in New York for a four-night run. Correctly guess the opener for tonight in the comments below and win a free beer and a burger with me at this year’s Cannabis Quality Conference & Expo.

That’s all folks! Thanks for reading and blaze on!

Blast from the past: Here’s a little treat if you’ve made it this far. This is me ten years ago today (back in college), smoking a joint on April 20, 2012. Time flies.

September 9, 2021

Organizations Submit Comments on CAOA

By Cannabis Industry Journal Staff

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Earlier this summer in July, Senators Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden and Cory Booker held a press conference where they introduced the first draft of the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA). During the press conference, the Senators laid out the foundation for their comprehensive cannabis legalization measure, emphasizing the need to address social equity and social justice matters, while also asking for support in revising the draft bill.

In response to that call for input on the draft legislation, a number of nonprofits and trade organizations last week submitted comments. Among the organizations to submit comments on the new legislative proposal to end federal cannabis prohibition were a lot of cannabis advocacy organizations: The National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), the Minority Cannabis Business Association (MCBA) and the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education, and Regulation (CPEAR). To refresh your memory, CPEAR is a controversial trade organization founded in March of this year by corporate interests in big alcohol and tobacco.

Regardless of the interests behind the organizations, all of them seemed to have comments that aligned with one another. All of the comments submitted by those organizations had a common theme: social equity. Even CPEAR submitted comments highlighting the importance of “providing substantial opportunities for small and minority-owned businesses.”

The NCIA’s comments are perhaps the most comprehensive of the group, outlining an equitable, state-centric and small business-focused plan for federal cannabis reform. The MCBA’s comments reflect its mission and focus on things like restorative justice, minority participation, equitable access and inclusion.

The MPP’s comments are noteworthy because of their concerns regarding a number of regulations. Karen O’Keefe, state policies director at the MPP, says certain aspects of the regulatory scheme need clarification. “Our two major areas of concern are: the possible upending of state licensing and regulatory systems — driving sales underground — and the impact on medical cannabis access, including for those under the age of 21,” says O’Keefe.

NORML’s feedback is also particularly poignant. They ask to leave medical cannabis markets exempted from the federal excise tax proposed and for the federal government to balance roles shared between the FDA, TTB and ATF to ensure that individual state markets won’t be adversely affected by federal regulation.

To learn more, take a look at the draft legislation in its entirety here.

April 6, 2021

Political & Corporate Lobbying Influences Emerge in Cannabis

By Cannabis Industry Journal Staff

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In a press release sent out this morning, a new coalition announced their launch to “end the prohibition, criminalization, and overregulation of cannabis in the United States.” The Cannabis Freedom Alliance (CFA) says their core values include federal descheduling, criminal justice reform, “reentry and successful second chances,” promoting entrepreneurship in free markets and reasonable tax rates.

Who’s Behind the CFA?

The organizations that founded the CFA are Americans for Prosperity (AFP), Mission Green/The Weldon Project, the Reason Foundation, and the Global Alliance for Cannabis Commerce (GACC). Take a look at that list and see if you recognize the names. AFP is a well-known conservative and libertarian political lobbying group founded and funded by the Koch brothers. The Reason Foundation, another Libertarian think-tank and an advocate for prison privatization, also listed the Koch brothers as some of their largest donors in disclosures filed in 2012.

The Koch family business, Koch industries, makes hundreds of billions of dollars a year in the oil and gas industry and has held massive political influence for decades. They regularly donate hundreds of millions of dollars to Republican campaigns. Historically, they’ve played a major role in opposing climate change legislation. They’re widely known as conservative advocates for lower corporate taxes, less social services and deregulation.

Interestingly enough, prominent criminal justice reform advocate Weldon Angelos and rapper Snoop Dogg appear to have joined forces with the Koch-backed group, CFA, following a Zoom meeting where Charles Koch told them he thinks all drugs should be legalized, according to Politico. “We can’t cut with one scissor blade. We need Republicans in order to pass [a legalization bill],” Angelos told Politico. The tie between cannabis legalization and traditional Republican and Libertarian values is obvious: their free market, personal liberties and small government ideology fits well within the legalization movement.

Big Oil, Alcohol and Tobacco, Oh My!

The Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education and Regulation (CPEAR) is a group that was founded in March 2021. Two of the founding members are Altria, the company that makes Marlboro cigarettes, and Molson Coors, a multinational alcohol company. The CPEAR website says that they want to work on responsible federal reform. “We represent a vast group of stakeholders — from public safety to social equity — focused on establishing a responsible and equitable federal regulatory framework for cannabis in the United States.”

Founding members of CPEAR also include: The Brink’s, a private security firm, the National Association of Convenience Stores, the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers and the Convenience Distribution Association. In other words, the group is made up of large and powerful corporate interest groups that represent the alcohol, tobacco, insurance and security industries.

Both NORML and the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) have spoken out against CPEAR. Erik Altieri, executive director of NORML, says it’s a matter of corporate interests coming in and working to change laws for their companies to capitalize on legalization. “We’ve seen how big corporate money and influence have corrupted and corroded many other industries,” says Altieri. “We can’t let the legal marijuana industry become their next payday.”

The DPA also released a statement opposing CPEAR. Kassandra Frederique, executive director of the DPA, says that she urges caution to elected officials in taking counsel from these corporate powers. “We have long been concerned about the entry of large commercial interests into the legal marijuana market,” says Frederique. “Big Alcohol and Tobacco have an abysmal track record of using predatory tactics to sell their products and build their brands – often targeting low-income communities of color and fighting public health regulations that would protect people.”

While their motives and desired outcomes remain unclear, it is apparent that we’re reaching a new age in the cannabis legalization movement, one where powerful corporations outside of the cannabis space want in. Whether its oil and gas, insurance, security, tobacco or alcohol, these groups are using their power and money to influence cannabis policy reform.

November 7, 2018

Midterm Elections Bring Green Wave of Legalization

By Aaron G. Biros

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On Election Night in America, pundits on the news media were reporting on the blue wave of Democrats taking back control of the House of Representatives, a less-discussed green wave made its way through the ballots in a number of states. While not as big of a tidal force as we saw back in 2016, this election still brought a handful of states on the cannabis legalization train.

Measure 3 in North Dakota failed to get enough votes, but many seem to think this was somewhat expected, as the state is still working on implementing their medical framework years later and that this new measure was less than perfect.

However, here comes the good news: Missouri voters passed Amendment 2, which legalizes, regulates and taxes medical cannabis. Very interestingly, this measure includes language allowing for caregivers to grow up to six plants. Check out Tom Angell’s article on Forbes to learn more.

In Utah, Proposition 2 passed by a narrower margin than other states, but legislators in the state are already full steam ahead on legalizing medical cannabis. They planned to pass a bill with the same language in Prop 2 if it didn’t get enough votes. Regardless, Utah will begin working on implementing a regulatory framework for legal medical cannabis, per the voters’ request.

While the 2016 election saw a handful of states legalize recreational cannabis, only one state did so this time around: Michigan. Voters in Michigan passed Proposal 1, making it the ninth state in the country to legalize and regulate recreational cannabis. According to Matthew Schweich, deputy director of the Marijuana Policy Project, Michigan’s legalization is a major milestone for the country. “The passage of Proposal 1 is a major milestone for marijuana policy reform in the U.S. Michigan will be the first state in the Midwest to end marijuana prohibition and replace it with a system in which marijuana is regulated for adult use,” says Schweich. “Michigan is going to demonstrate that regulating marijuana works, and it will set a strong example for other states in the region and around the country.”

November 30, 2016

Biros' Blog

Trump’s Cabinet Not Cannabis-Friendly, But Don’t Panic Yet

By Aaron G. Biros

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President-elect Donald Trump nominated Sen. Jeff Sessions from Alabama for Attorney General and Rep. Tom Price from Georgia as the new Health Secretary. Those appointments still require Senate approval before they are officially members of the cabinet. Neither of the picks to head the Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) is friendly to cannabis.

What’s the bad news?

Both of those agencies are at the center of any federal regulation of cannabis, including access for research. As Attorney General, Jeff Sessions would essentially have the ability to block any rescheduling efforts, as outlined in the Controlled Substances Act.

Sen. Jeff Sessions, (R), 69. Photo: Gage Skidmore, Flickr

Sessions has made inflammatory, racist remarks and showed his disdain for cannabis users on multiple occasions. He disgracefully said at a Senate hearing in April, “Good people don’t smoke marijuana.” When he was a federal prosecutor, Sessions was a prominent advocate for the War on Drugs, and perhaps even still is.

Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) Photo: Gage Skidmore, Flickr — Rep. Tom Price (R-GA)
Photo: Gage Skidmore, Flickr

Tom Price, a Republican Congressman from Georgia, has voted repeatedly against pro-cannabis legalization bills, including twice against the Veterans Equal Access Amendment as well as the Rohrabacher/Farr Amendment, which “prohibits the use of funds in the bill to supersede State law in those States that have legalized the use of medical marijuana.” NORML’s Georgia Scorecard gave Tom Price a D grade for his previously voting against pro-cannabis bills.

What’s the good news?

While Sen. Jeff Sessions is certainly no friend to legal cannabis, I believe he is not a serious danger to the cannabis industry. This op-ed on CNN does a terrific job at summing up Sessions’ potential threat to the cannabis industry, but also why it may not be cause for a total panic. The author mentions a laundry list of DoJ priorities over cannabis, but I think the larger issue at hand is states’ rights.

Republicans are historically passionate when it comes to keeping states’ rights sovereign. With cannabis’ big wins on Election Day, a majority of the country’s population now lives in states where cannabis is legal.

aaronsmithncia — Aaron Smith, executive director of NCIA

There is too much momentum behind legal cannabis for a new administration to waste precious resources and time on trying to disrupt it. States are getting too much tax revenue from regulating cannabis to just let the DoJ interfere with their economies. “Voters in 28 states have chosen programs that shift cannabis from the criminal market to highly regulated, tax-paying businesses,” says Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA). “Senator Sessions has long advocated for state sovereignty, and we look forward to working with him to ensure that states’ rights and voter choices on cannabis are respected.” Smith’s words in the NCIA statement are pointed and clear: this is a states’ rights issue at heart and they must respect that.

By forcing the states’ rights issue to the front, it is possible to put legal cannabis in a bipartisan lens, thus eliminating the possibility of a few old drug war stalwarts disrupting the industry. While rescheduling efforts could be thwarted for the coming years, I have faith that the federal government will not interfere with states that legalize cannabis.