We’re talking about the privileged and wealthy opportunists (usually older white men) who opposed marijuana legalization until they saw there was money in it for them. Then they were suddenly changing minds on legalization of marijuana.

But an August 17th article from Bruce Barcott, Leafly Senior Editor and author of Weed the People: The Future of Legal Marijuana in America, allowed us the opportunity to look at this from a more positive perspective.

Meet Lifelong Prohibitionist Tom Price

Barcott found himself in a “philosophical conundrum” in mid-August when prohibitionist Tom Price won the cannabis license lottery.

If the name sounds familiar, you might remember Price as the Georgia Republican who served as Trump’s first ill-fated health secretary for a whole seven months before being ushered out for, among other things, wasting more than a million bucks of taxpayer money flying private jets rather than Delta.

Before that particular disgrace, he served twelve years in Congress doing everything in his power to defeat cannabis legalization. This included voting six times to kill the Congressional budget amendment that would protect patients in medical marijuana states, and three times against allowing Veterans Administration doctors to recommend medical marijuana to their patients.

Yet, once he left Capitol Hill, Price was suddenly on the board of Botanical Sciences LLC. Nope, it’s not a scientific research company. Rather, it’s a company new to the cannabis space and founded by the head of a chain of Georgia pain clinics with some less than stellar Yelp reviews.

So as you can imagine, Barcott as sickened by the fact that Price was one of just six who received a coveted MMJ license in Georgia.

To Make Matters Worse…

If that weren’t bad enough, one of the rejected MMJ applications came from Allen Peake’s Company. Who’s Allen Peake, you may ask?

Well, Peake risked his career as a former state assembly member, as well as his reputation and freedom, to pass Georgia’s first medical legalization laws.

As Barcott puts it, “while Tom Price enjoyed the perks of high office and turned a deaf ear to the plight of medical marijuana patients, Allen Peake personally delivered CBD oil to desperate parents whose children were afflicted by seizures.”

But it was Price who got the cannabis license.

Inadvertently Changing Minds on Legalization

The whole situation is heinously unjust. It’s difficult to argue that. As cannabis marketing experts who have been in the business since the very early days, we were certainly outraged.

But then Barcott raised an interesting point.

Three years ago in a similar turn of events, Republican Speaker of the House and longtime prohibitionist John Boehner joined the board of Acreage Holdings. This was a guy with an abysmal cannabis voting record. But his entry into the cannabis industry was a red letter day in legalization history.

“Boehner’s move turned the head of every Republican in America. He forced his former colleagues to think twice about legalization,” writes Barcott. “Was he an opportunist? Sure. But he also opened minds. One of those minds may have belonged to Tom Price.”

Such “conversions” are victories for the legalization movement who work tirelessly to gain allies, open minds, and change votes. And as much as it sucks right now, Barcott believes that “in the long game of harm reduction and cannabis legalization, it may ultimately pay off for millions of Americans.”

Still, An Apology Would Be Nice

Nobody is being Pollyanna-ish about the situation.

Barcott knows that guys like Boehner and Price didn’t become suddenly enlightened. There was the hugely motivating factor of the mighty dollar at the helm. This change of heart, or wallet (as Barcott says), doesn’t negate the stultifying damage they caused by actively propping up prohibition and the War on Drugs.

Barcott is in full agreement that folks who are now embracing a more enlightened approach to cannabis legalization needn’t be shamed or shunned. This won’t help matters. But it’s not, as he says, unreasonable to ask for atonement. It’s also obvious that we must double down on the fight for equity in the cannabis industry.

What made Barcott’s article so relevant is his previous stance on cannabis legalization. Where he once indulged the harmful stigmas and stereotypes that beat down the legalization movement, he has now written a book about his own conversion:

For decades, I was wrong about marijuana. I perpetuated the harm of the War on Drugs, including the racism and mass incarceration. My own enlightenment didn’t wash away my past actions. But I’m acknowledging them and working to make things better.

Tom Price doesn’t have to write a whole book about his change of heart on marijuana. But we do need to hear from him. It’s time to speak, Tom, honestly and openly, about your past position and the process that led you to join the board of Botanical Sciences.

It’s the least you can do. And it must be done.

Makes perfect sense to us.

We Applaud Bruce Barcott

We’re so grateful to folks like Barcott who are changing minds on legalization of marijuana. But we’re equally grateful to him for giving us a new perspective.

In this politically divisive climate, it’s too easy to feel hatred, disgust, and disdain for hypocrisy. Barcott allowed us a glimpse at the potential silver lining. And these days, that’s gold.

Speaking of which, if your cannabis business revenues are less than golden, contact us today. It could be time to reconfigure your marketing strategies.

The post Inadvertently Changing Minds on Legalization appeared first on GROW Cannabis Marketing.

In case you slept through your Government 101 class, the attorney general is the country’s highest-ranking law enforcement official. And that means Garland is likely to be at the helm of shaping federal cannabis policy.

Given that he’s a Democrat, this begs the question – could legalization under Merrick Garland actually occur? Well, first, we have to answer the following question:

Who Is Merrick Garland?

Who is any of us, really? But existential questioning aside, Garland is a US Appeals Court Judge. If his name sounds familiar, it’s because he was Obama’s pick to fill the empty Supreme Court seat back in 2016.

You remember 2016. The year when things started turning south and eventually culminated in the year 2020.

Back then, Mitch McConnell blocked the nomination until the end of Obama’s term so that current and now up twice for impeachment president could fill it with Neil Gorsuch instead.

So Could Legalization Under Merrick Garland Become a Reality?

It’s amazing to think that half the country has embraced legalization, while the other half still lives under prohibition. Then again, since we could more accurately be called the Divisive States of America these days, it’s not that amazing.

At any rate, it’s hard to say what this new attorney general might do. Garland has been relatively silent on the issue of cannabis legalization throughout his career. Even so, he was part of a three-judge panel who denied petitioners’ challenge of the scheduling of cannabis in the Controlled Substances Act of 1970.

This was eight years ago though. And he heard the case prior to the election of November 2012 marijuana legalization in Colorado and Washington.

These days, more than two-thirds of Americans support legalization for adults. And though Biden still remains opposed to legalization at the federal level, perhaps Garland’s view has changed.

Does It Really Matter Though?

Now, with the recent passage of the MORE Act in the House and Democrats soon holding majority in the Senate, that piece of legislation may no longer be a pipe dream.

Cannabis advocates remain hopeful that Biden won’t veto popular legislation passed by his own party.

Whatever the case, it’s hard to deny that the prevailing shift in the country is from prohibition to legalization. As such, the role of law enforcement and the attorney general continues to diminish in the cannabis arena.

On Obama’s clock, US Attorneys merely directed individual enforcement actions against legal cannabis business while allowing the industry to evolve and legalization to bloom.

And consider this.

Even one of Trump’s previous marijuana-hating attorney generals Jeff Sessions wasn’t able to do much damage. He spoke openly and fallaciously (of course) of the evils of marijuana. But in the end, he was only able to revoke an Obama-era policy statement that offered guidance to states that chose to legalize and regulate marijuana. And to almost no real effect.

Of course, when William Barr followed Sessions as attorney general, he played it dirtier. He went so far as to instigate a number of unwarranted harassment investigations of completely legal cannabis companies on antitrust grounds.

For Now, Look to the Senate

Previously, the words “look to the Senate” for resolving any issues around cannabis would be akin to saying “run straight into a wall.”

With the Georgia run-off last week giving the Senate to the Democrats though, there’s hope for the aforementioned MORE Act now. If the Senate passes it as well, we could be looking at a real chance for federal legalization – regardless of Garland’s position.

And with a Democratic President and Congress, there’s even the prospect of de-escalating the federal War on Marijuana that’s been raging since the Marihuana Tax Act in 1937.

Brighter days are on the horizon…

Let Us Give You a Brighter Future

Regardless of whether federal legalization under Merrick Garland becomes the reality, you want to ensure you have the best cannabis marketing plan for your business NOW.

As the field continues to grow and you’re up against more and more competition, it’s crucial you stay out ahead of the game. So contact us today to get expert guidance on the best ways to market your cannabis business.

The post Will Legalization Under Merrick Garland Happen? appeared first on GROW Cannabis Marketing.

Adult-use passed by 54%, while 70% of voters supports the medicinal marijuana initiative – pulling South Dakota out of the dark ages and into the 21st century.

But it seems Sheriff Kevin Thom and Highway Patrol Superintendent Rick Miller would prefer to keep the state enshrouded. Thus, they have formally filed a law suit to throw out the latest legislation.

Why Are Cops Against South Dakota Marijuana Legalization?

The answer is fairly obvious. Ignorance.

Amazingly enough, there are many places in the country where the law enforcement community STILL believes the hype that marijuana and other drugs are a gateway to worse drugs. They likely fear jazz too.

Add to this the fact that the governor of South Dakota could have easily just walked off the set of Reefer Madness. Though not as one of those afflicted by the devil’s weed, but rather a vocal opponent of it.

In her December 8th address to the state, she lamented the significant safety and regulatory costs that are associated with both the ballot measures. This in spite of the fact that the tax revenue generated by marijuana sales in states where it’s legal far outweighs those costs.

Fine. So be it. It’s highly unlikely they’ll get anywhere with the lawsuit. After all, the voters have spoken. And calling foul on the voting machines is bound to take them as far as the soon to be former President.

There’s one real kicker though:

South Dakota Taxpayers Are Stuck Paying the Legal Fees

That’s right. Thom’s and Miller’s legal fees for this batty case are covered by taxes payed by the very citizens that voted to legalize marijuana. Yeah. 2020 just keeps getting weirder.

Inspired by a strategy used in Nebraska to knock medical legalization off the ballot, Thom’s and Miller’s lawyers assert that the amendment to legalize marijuana in the state addressed multiple subjects and was therefore void at its inception and could not be ratified by South Dakota voters.

The problem is, if they wanted to use that approach, they should have instituted it in September… BEFORE the amendment made it onto the ballot. That’s how they managed it in Nebraska.

So now a lot of taxpayer’s money is going toward a case that’s tenuous, at best.

More Political Bullsh*t

Skip the sugarcoating because that’s essentially what it comes down to. It’s a complete lack of respect for the will of the voters and an obvious attempt at political sleight-of-hand.

Fortunately, Randy Seiler, chair of the state’s Democratic Party, along with a former U.S. Attorney, a retired and enlightened Sioux Falls police officer, and several other outraged South Dakotans have filed their own legal brief, demanding that this ridiculous lawsuit be dismissed.

It’s an out-and-out assault on democracy.

As Seiler told the Rapid City Journal, “That’s the literal definition of a democracy, where people vote and the wishes and the decision of the voters is respected.”

The question remains – why hasn’t everyone grasped this yet?

It’s Time to Give up the Fight

As cannabis marketing specialists headquartered in a state where marijuana is fully legal, we celebrate each additional state that makes the decision to move forward on legalization. Seeing cops against South Dakota marijuana legalization is disheartening.

We only hope that other states will continue to get on board and embrace all the amazing good this plant can do without running up against so much opposition.

In the meantime, we hope you’ll keep checking back with our blog for more articles covering the latest happenings in the cannabis industry.

The post Cops Against South Dakota Marijuana Legalization appeared first on GROW Cannabis Marketing.

In case you haven’t heard, one Democratic presidential hopeful is not part of that two-thirds.

Former Vice President Joe Biden does not favor federal legalization of marijuana.

So while marijuana is legal to the north in Canada – and it soon will be  to the south in Mexico – sandwiched in between is a nation of folks forced to continue to listen to politicians argue over the issue.

It’s a real hoot and a holler.

Why Joe Biden Does Not Favor Federal Legalization

To be fair, Biden didn’t just crawl out from under a rock. He’s not completely in the dark ages on this.

In fact, he IS in favor of decriminalization.

And he feels that marijuana should be classified a Schedule II drug instead of a Schedule I drug. His thinking is that this will make it easier to get funding for research.

Maybe so.

He also doesn’t believe people should be in prison for marijuana possession and that anyone who is should have his or her record expunged. “Every single right should be returned,” he says.

In addition, he contends that nobody should be in jail for a drug problem and that the country needs to invest more in rehabilitation centers than in prisons.

But having said all of this, he also holds the confusing belief that marijuana offenses should be treated as misdemeanors. And misdemeanor offenses do carry the possibility of jail time.

It’s this specific stance that distances him from nearly every one of his Democratic presidential primary opponents. And certainly from those in the lead.

Most Of The Other Candidates Favor Marijuana Legalization

Biden agrees that we need to change the way we look at marijuana. But there’s not a lot of passion behind it.

Other candidates are far more vocal.

For example, in September’s debate, Senator Cory Booker said, “There’s no difference in America between blacks, whites and Latinos for using drugs or dealing drugs—but if you’re African American, you’re almost four times more likely to be arrested and incarcerated, destroying your lives. So much of this comes down to privilege.”

“We need to reform this system and we must do it now,” he said. “Every day that we wait is too long.”

Booker introduced the Marijuana Justice Act – a landmark bill which would expunge arrest records and make cannabis legal at the federal level. It is cosponsored by Senators Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren.

And Mayor Pete Buttigieg openly calls for decriminalizing all drugs – emphasizing the need for counseling over convicting.

It’s all very enlightened. And yet, here we are.

Should This Be of Concern?

Well, it all depends on what keeps you up at night.

Many believe that the former Vice President is trying to diplomatically navigate the waters between young voters who want to legalize marijuana, and older voters who fondly remember his role in waging the War on Drugs back in the 1980s.

Certainly, marijuana advocates are concerned about his position. Rolling Stone has gone as far to say that “when it comes to marijuana legalization, Biden is basically the worst candidate in the race.”

That may be true. But we can still think of worse candidates for president. Far worse.

So there’s that.

Get the Latest on the Cannabis Industry

If you’re curious about more than just why Joe Biden does not favor federal legalization, keep checking back with our blog.

We’ll keep you in the know on the what’s trending in cannabis marketing, technology, politics, and business.

The post Not ALL Democratic Candidates Favor Federal Legalization of Marijuana appeared first on GROW Cannabis Marketing.

Of course when it comes to marijuana, nothing is simple.

It’s been criminalized for so long that some of the misconceptions around it are well established.

But it would be unfair to say that all of the concerns that opponents express are not legitimate.

Reasons for Opposition to Marijuana

A recent Gallup poll was conducted from May 15th-30th. It involved phone interviews with 1,017 U.S. adults.

Of those surveyed, 36% continue to oppose legalization. What did they find as reasons for this?

Well, 62% were concerned that legalization would encourage more usage, 60% felt it doesn’t “benefit society”, 54% went as far to say it’s harmful, 43% rang in with the “it’s immoral argument” and a whopping 69% are still banging the “it’s a gateway drug” drum.

Among the many reasons for opposing legalization though was an overarching concern about impaired driving.

In fact, 79% of those who oppose marijuana legalization cited impaired driving as a “very important” factor that contributed to their stance.

And it makes sense. All the ‘driving 25mph in a 65mph zone’ jokes aside, we’re still not entirely clear on how marijuana usage impacts driving. But we’re getting a lot closer.

Study Sheds New Light on Marijuana and Driving

A federal report was recently released that called into question whether THC impairs driving. And if it does, then how?

Among drivers whose blood samples included less than 2 ng/mL and up to 5 ng/mL, the authors of the study found there were “non-statistically significant increases in unadjusted risk of responsibility.”

That means that when there’s a low prevalence of drivers with less than 5 ng/mL in their blood in combination with a modest and statistically nonsignificant risk of crash responsibility, the authors suggest that the impact of cannabis on road safety is “relatively small at present time.”

And when there was a 1 ng.mL increase in THC – up to 5 ng/mL – there was only a small increase in unadjusted risk.

There was, however, “significantly increased risk in drivers who had used alcohol, sedating medications, or recreational drugs other than cannabis.”

In other words, the road safety risk associated with alcohol or with other impairing substances is higher than it is for marijuana.

It Is Still Wise to Be Cautious

This is, of course, one study that only addresses low amounts of THC in the blood. It’s not giving users carte blanche to grab a bong and joy ride.

Even many proponents of legalization don’t recommend driving while impaired.

And the authors of this study also caution that the findings don’t apply to fatal crashes where the association with cannabis might be stronger.  They’re also quick to note that the risks for traffic accidents could be higher for younger or inexperienced cannabis consumers.

Study co-author Dr. Jeff Brubacher, states it pretty succinctly. “Marijuana affects motor ability—reaction times are slower so people can’t respond quickly enough to a dangerous situation.”

“Drivers who have used cannabis may have trouble staying in their lane and tend to weave,” Brubacher says. “The ability to maintain a consistent speed is also impaired and they tend to slow down and speed up erratically. Marijuana also makes for a more easily distracted driver.”

So it seems that further studies need to be done. And as the country inches its way toward lifting federal prohibition, there is bound to be plenty of funding for such studies.

Rising out of the Dark Ages

Regardless of the opposition to marijuana legalization, there’s no doubt that the trend is moving toward lifting federal prohibition.

Every day, more states are either making recreational marijuana legal, or considering doing so through either the legislative process or voter referendums.

And nearly every Democratic 2020 presidential candidate favors legalization.

So things are definitely looking up.

To stay up to date on all things marijuana, keep checking back with our blog. Things change fast!

The post Why There Is Still Opposition to Marijuana Legalization appeared first on GROW Cannabis Marketing.

Cops were busy back then – going to elaborate measures to bust the smugglers of said giggle juice.

So what happened when alcohol became legal?

Yeah, people still talked funny.

But smuggling decreased. Because why would anyone WANT to bootleg bottles of Canadian whiskey or, worse yet, bathtub gin? Smugglers no longer stood to make money. And consumers could rest assured that their whisky wasn’t distilled from white lightning.

Legalizing marijuana lessens smuggling in the same way.

Marijuana Smuggling Has Fallen 78 Percent over Five Years

This is the conclusion of a new analysis from the Cato Institute, which looked closely at Border Patrol marijuana seizures from 2003 – 2018.

And we’re talking about marijuana smuggling across the Mexican border.

So why has it fallen?

From 2003 – 2009, Border Patrol doubled its workforce and built hundreds of miles of fences. But all of this increased enforcement did NOT reduce marijuana smuggling. In fact, each agent seized virtually the same quantity of marijuana every year through 2013. So the inflow of marijuana was virtually unchanged. Until 2014, that is.

Meanwhile, Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize cannabis in 2012 – the legal sales of which began in 2014.

“State-level marijuana legalization has significantly undercut marijuana smuggling,” wrote David Bier, an immigration policy analyst at the institute. In a published paper on the analysis, he continued, “Because marijuana was the primary drug smuggled between ports of entry, where Border Patrol surveils, the value of the agency’s seizures overall — on a per-agent basis — has declined 70 percent.”

In other words:

Legalizing Marijuana Lessens Smuggling

Plus, most American consumers would prefer to buy marijuana from licensed producers. It’s not an “America First” thing, but rather a preference to use a product that’s been tested and labeled for potency and purity. The illegal market has no such regulations.

There are now ten states that have ended marijuana prohibition. And several more are expected to do the same in 2019 and 2020. It’s already clear that as more states move to create a legal supply chain for marijuana, less cannabis is being smuggled over Mexico’s border.

Thus, the Cato paper also calls into question Trump’s push to erect a massive wall along the southern border. Because based on the analysis, a border wall would have virtually no impact on smuggling.

But ending federal marijuana prohibition certainly would.

Representative Matt Gaetz, a Republican in Florida, even urged Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen to acknowledge that ending federal marijuana prohibition would ultimately make her and her agents’ jobs easier.

“Some think that state-based marijuana is a gateway drug and makes people want illicit products more,” said Gaetz, “but the people who’ve looked at your agency—and you’ve got this very difficult job—are saying that if states have the ability to innovate and make legal, high-quality medical cannabis available to people, then we’re not going to have as difficult a job for you and your border patrol agents and for the people who live across our border.”

Of course, not everybody is concerned with making life easier for the people who live across the border – or even on this side of the border. Some are even willing to, say, close down the government to prove their insensitivity. But that’s a topic for another blog.

It Is Time to End Prohibition

There’s solid proof that legalizing marijuana lessens smuggling. Significantly.

This is no big surprise though. During prohibition, consumers would settle for bootleg alcohol when there was nothing else. The same has been true for “bootleg marijuana.”

But times, they are a-changing.

As consumers continue to seek high quality product, can your cannabis business compete? Contact us to see if your marketing efforts could use some improvements.

The post Turns out Legalizing Marijuana Lessens Smuggling appeared first on GROW Cannabis Marketing.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is currently in the midst of launching a reevaluation of cannabis. Tom Angell, publisher of Marijuana Moment recently reported in Forbes, “The WHO is currently trying to figure out what part of cannabis usage is abuse, medically useful, trafficked, and the availability for medical usage.” For the first time, we are seeing the WHO and the UN reevaluating cannabis and seeing if cannabis makes sense for the public use, internationally. By doing this, it opens up the oppurtunity for government becoming more inclined to put legalization on the ballot where they have historically been very reluctant to do.

The U.S. has been going back and forth on scheduling when to vote for legalization of Marijuana and has been consistently rescheduled due to government fearing that the vote will be for instead of against. According to MaryJane writer, Madison Margolin mentions that, “if the U.S were to vote against international rescheduling, it would also put the federal government in an unpopular position domestically, where more than 60 percent of American adults favor legal cannabis.”

The post Rescheduling the Vote appeared first on GROW Cannabis Marketing.