February 14, 2021
Weed Week in Review publishes a weekly report of the good, the bad and the ugly about weed in the US (and other places too). We’ll provide a little commentary about what’s happening in the world of weed.
Cannabis sales records smashed or set in 2020, and insiders expect the gains to continue
California Is Closing in on $2 Billion in Cannabis Tax Revenue
The numbers are staggering. Legalized weed pays the states enormous sums of money in taxes. And it’s only going to get larger. A lot larger. One industry pundit states that the market is still 80% involved in the extra-legal sales of cannabis. I call it the black market. If the California market is accurate, it’s currently at about 5 BILLION dollars in legal sales. If that represents 20% of the potential dollars, the market there is potentially around 25 BILLION dollars as people move to the legal market. It’s the same in all the other markets where pot is legal. The most astonishing thing about it is lawmakers really never saw it coming. The states that are still holding out (see one below) on legalizing weed are missing a big tax boat. Obviously, their attitudes are rooted in the 1960s and Nixon/Reagan/Bush/Clinton/Bush eras.
Senate leader Schumer pushing federal marijuana legalization as priority
The hypocrites who want cannabis banned, and there are a lot of them, are simply parroting the horrible racist lies that were perpetrated by the government since the early 1900s. Over 100 years. Really. The Democrats who were against the legalization of cannabis for the longest time have finally and seemingly come to their senses. President Biden was one of the architects in the 1980s and 1990s of some of the harshest drug laws in the country. Hopefully, he has come around as well. We cannot overstate how important that the Senate majority leader is going to legislate the legalization of marijuana at the Federal level. Fabulous. I hope it makes it into law and our President signs it.
Lawmakers say legal marijuana in South Dakota not dead yet
South Dakota is the poster child for stupidity. Sorry to anyone from South Dakota who is reading this. The idiot governor who refused to mandate masks to protect citizens from COVID-19 now has had one of her personally appointed judges declare that a vote by the people of South Dakota to legalize marijuana was invalid. This is not good on several levels, the most important being the vote. The people voted. They voted to legalize pot. The governor didn’t like it. So the will of one outweighed the will of the people. South Dakota. “Democracy” at its worst. Let’s hope the lawmakers in South Dakota re right and legal weed is still in the offing in South Dakota.
As NJ marijuana reform slows, racial inequity of enforcement continues, advocates say
Social inequity in marijuana enforcement is a known and measured thing. We know that minority communities have taken the brunt of marijuana enforcement and arrests for decades. In November, the citizens of New Jersey voted to legalize and make pot available to any citizen over the age of 21 to purchase. Yet, the arrests in minority communities continue. What the attorney general for New Jersey should immediately do is tell the police departments across New Jersey to do is stop making arrests for marijuana and stop the prosecution of felonious and misdemeanor charges against all people. That would be a start.
Six Top Tasty Cannabis Strains
Yum. That’s all I have to say about these strains and cultivars. Yum. There are many strains that just don’t have a lot of flavor or aroma, but not these strains…usually. Sadly, the article doesn’t go into who grew the strain, how it was dried, how and for how long it was cured. Many people are beginning to believe an 8 week cure could be optimal. There are others who think 4 weeks is enough. My suspicion is that a 4 week cure is mostly advocated by the growers who would be able to sell their product 4 weeks earlier. What this is telling us indirectly, is that the grower matters. Recently, I did a review of Blue Dream from 4 states. Each version of the strain was different. Each smelled different and each had a somewhat different effect. Stay tuned to our pages for more as this is going to be a fascinating topic to explore
With marijuana being legalized in other states, watch for new exodus of NC tax dollars to flow over state lines
I live in North Carolina part time. It has not been my favorite state. Why? It is beautiful. And the weather is mostly fabulous…not today though… The diversity in this state, with the ocean on one side (East) and mountains on the other side (West) is wonderful. No, this isn’t my favorite state because most of the politicians have their heads stuck firmly up their collective keesters. Here’s one story about why. Since in North Carolina there’s no way the voters can legalize weed, it must come from the legislature. About 2 years ago, I read a story about how legislators here know that they need to legalize cannabis, at least medical cannabis, to keep up with the states around them, there hasn’t been one peep from the senate or the house. And now with Virginia legalizing cannabis, the dollars are going to flow north. Do the citizens of North Carolina want legal pot? Um, read this survey from Elon University.
Cannabis corruption: How state and local leaders are profiting off the burgeoning industry
While there’s nothing surprising here, it’s still sad. But where there’s money, there will be corruption. One follows the other. Always has. Always will. Pay-to-play is a particularly insidious gambit because those with the bux will always try to get a leg up and game the system to get the license. That just preys on politicians who might not be rich (or maybe they are and are greedy!), but could be swayed by a lot of money dangled in front of their eyes. Here’s another story that’s telling the state of Virginia to slow down, not because cannabis is a bad thing, but the regulations they’re cooking up there might deprive people of color an opportunity to get into the game.
