Let’s check in again with how Canada is doing with its national legalization of cannabis, just four months in. It’s the largest cannabis legalization program ever undertaken, and even though Americans do terribly in learning from other countries (or from history, or in school), perhaps we can buck that trend and take away some insight […]
Smoke Signals
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New Year, New Rules
No bones about it, 2018 was a rough one for the marijuana industry. Wholesale prices for marijuana plummeted and we saw the Oregon Liquor Control Commission halt new-license application processing in June, with no certainty if or when new licensees will get the chance to enter the market. Finally, we witnessed an anti-marijuana zealot elected […]
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Prohibition Arguments Cannalyzed: On Mexico Smuggling
Happy 2019, everyone! Let’s kick off the New Year with another installment of our series “Prohibition Arguments, Cannalyzed,” in which we examine arguments used by those who are anti-cannabis. This week, a favorite often cited by those who sport MAGA hats. Argument: “If you legalize cannabis, it just helps the criminal gangs like MIA smuggle […]
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New Year, Same Marijuana Business Frustrations
Oregon’s over-supply of marijuana has been well publicized (around a million pounds of usable but unsold marijuana is being tracked by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission), and the backlog of applications with the OLCC for new producers, processors, dispensaries and wholesalers was more than 2,200 when the OLCC paused applications effective June 15, 2018. The […]
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A Cannabis Year in Review
Whereas a cannabis columnist looks back at the industry
As 2018 draws to a close, let’s follow up on some stories, assess where the cannabis industry stands—both Oregon’s and on a national scale—and what we might expect in the new year. Attorney General elf fired: Nation rejoices In January, Jeff Sessions rescinded the Cole Memorandum, which had offered states a semblance of protection from […]
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Farm Bill Puts Hemp on Par with Other Crops
Dec. 12 brought historic news for a relatively new and lucrative agricultural market when the House passed the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018, informally called “the Farm Bill.” As a result of the Farm Bill, hemp, the non-psychoactive version of the cannabis plant, will be removed from the Controlled Substances list, and federal law will […]
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High Returns: Investing in Cannabis Stocks
People frequently ask me about investing in cannabis stock. My response is on par with asking a dog their take on the intricacies of German biodynamic farming: near zero comprehension, evidenced by a tilting of the head and possibly licking the face of the person asking the question. (This ensures I am only ever asked […]
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The Commodity that is Cannabis
Three days at the world’s largest cannabis conference
I recently attended the annual MJBizCon in Las Vegas, the largest cannabis convention in the world, featuring 27,000 attendees from over 60 countries, 1,000 exhibitors, three days of speakers, break out lunches and after parties. I didn’t visit all the booths, or meet all the attendees, although “Hi, I’m Josh, that’s great, got a card?” […]
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State to County Commissioners: Arbitrarily Deny Cannabis Permits at Your Peril
Since Deschutes County has elected yet another anti-marijuana County Commissioner, it might be instructive to take a look at a recent Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals decision before you buy into the notion that pending marijuana land-use permits are dead in the water. First, a little procedural primer: When land-use applicants seek to grow, […]
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Skyrocketing Number of Cannabis Studies
For decades, cannabis research has been seriously lacking, due to fear-based, repressive prohibitionist beliefs. There’s a school of thought that believes this may be due in part to Big Pharmaceutical not wanting the public to have a more comprehensive understanding of a plant that you can grow yourself and might be able replace a medicine […]
