Must-haves in legalization bills

Some good advice from Shaleen Title, Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commissioner:

Top Ten Equity Must-Haves in Any Legalization Bill

  1. Homegrow. Allow consumers to grow a limited number of their own plants at home (in MA, it’s 6 per adult with max of 12 per residence, see law for details) and gift a limited amount to other adults (in MA, it’s one ounce). This serves as a check on monopolies, delays, and more.
  2. Automatic expungement for cannabis convictions, in the same law at the same time as legalization. Period.
  3. Ensure as a non-negotiable, never-expiring statutory requirement that people from disproportionately harmed communities are represented at the very top of the regulating agency. (Yes, there are plenty who are qualified.)
  4. Ensure that the regulating agency is diverse, independent, subject to full transparency, and appointed by different people. This is something I’m incredibly proud of in MA and I recommend adopting it. Brand new agencies take time/resources to start up, but it’s worth it.
  5. Dedicate tax revenue to be reinvested into disproportionately harmed communities. Give it teeth; do not allow that revenue to be “subject to appropriation” and do not require bureaucratic application processes that only privileged communities will be able to tap into. Sidenote: the Minority Cannabis Business Association model state bill, which I worked on before becoming a commissioner, creates an Office of Justice Reinvestment to fairly distribute such revenue.
  6. Separate from that reinvestment, invest a specific percentage of tax revenue into technical assistance, hiring programs and interest-free loans for disproportionately affected communities with a funding mechanism for initial programming and outreach as soon as the law passes. It is very important that you specify the agency(ies) in charge with specified deadlines and consequences for missing the deadlines. I think every existing equity program thus far, including the one I designed, underestimated the need for IMMEDIATE outreach and education.
  7. Require state regulators and localities to ensure diversity in the industry at ownership and employee levels, and to enforce limits, with goals, measurement, and accountability for the regulators (it may be best for them to design their own goals rather than specifying them).
  8. Institute a statutory requirement that tax revenue only flows to municipalities that have honored these mandates. Leave it up to the municipalities to figure out how to make their local laws and processes inclusive to disproportionately harmed communities BEFORE receiving any local taxes. Sidenote: my recommendation to anyone seeking an equitable cannabis program would be to not compromise an inch on this one. It could easily undermine all the rest. There are good and bad local examples throughout MA and CA.
  9. Require every business to contribute to these goals in addition to (*BUT NOT INSTEAD OF*) the government’s role. One option is to require diversity plans and positive impact plans as requirements for licensure and renewal, as in MA, but there are many ways to accomplish this.
  10. Lastly, require the regulating agency to collect data on each of these items, report the data regularly, and take remedial measures when the data is not satisfactory. Give the regulating agency broad flexibility and authority to accomplish this.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.

25 Responses to Must-haves in legalization bills

  1. strayan says:

    Meanwhile in the land down under:

    Police seek new powers to search houses and cars without a warrant

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6816837/NSW-Police-search-houses-cars-drugs-new-crackdown-festival-overdose-deaths.html

  2. claygooding says:

    NO sin tax attached to cannabis,,the sins were all on the law makers,,not the law breakers.

  3. darkcycle says:

    Sounds like she has the right idea. Washington screwed it up so bad, people noticed. Kleiman, I’m looking at you. Right. At. You. Beatch.

  4. DdC says:

    “They” haven’t changed a thing. As long as Cannabis remains a schedule#1 controlled substance. Manfraud sold out the country and gets 7 years or pardoned. Just Us?

    Life in Prison for Selling $20 of Weed
    https://t.co/FVUvGUkxiM

    2018: One marijuana bust
    roughly every 48 seconds…

    Marihuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding
    https://t.co/fR82ejQNNr
    Commissioned by President Richard M. Nixon, March, 1972

    “Our youth can not understand why society chooses to criminalize a behavior with so little visible ill effect or adverse social impact… These young people have jumped the fence and found no cliff. And the disrespect for the possession laws fosters a disrespect for laws and the system in general… On top of this is the distinct impression among the youth that some police may use the marihuana laws to arrest people they don’t like for other reasons, whether it be their politics, their hair style or their ethnic background.”

    “Federal and state laws (should) be changed to no longer make it a crime to possess marijuana for private use.”

    “State laws should make the public use of marijuana a criminal offense punishable by a $100 fine. Under federal law, marijuana smoked in public would merely be subject to seizure.”

    President Richard M. Nixon’s
    National Commission on Marihuana
    and Drug Abuse
    “Marihuana: March 1972
    A Signal of Misunderstanding”

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/D100GPoU0AACNN_.jpg

    Authorities seize 100+ cannabis plants,
    $155K from Scotts Valley home

    https://t.co/7z4G9iUDad
    This is in SC County with one of the countries first Ganja laws in 1993.

    On a lighter note…

    Happy St Pattyday!

    Hungover? These Cannabis Strains Can Help
    https://twitter.com/DendeCannabist/status/1107054635674562560

    • claygooding says:

      You would think as many alleged alcoholic legislators we hear about they would be rolling a drip bag of cbd extract around to clean up their livers.
      And juicing ypung plants full of cbg to repair/replace damaged brain cells.
      That may be the problem though,,they may have already damaged too many brain cells to save themselves much less America.

  5. Gnarly McBean says:

    Well, now I understand why the 2016 Mass vote to legalize in Massachusetts has still not been implemented in reality. Too many people had to get their thumbs in the pie. Is all this required to sell alcohol?

  6. damm says:

    1. Homegrow. Allow consumers to grow a limited number of their own plants at home (in MA, it’s 6 per adult with max of 12 per residence, see law for details) and gift a limited amount to other adults (in MA, it’s one ounce). This serves as a check on monopolies, delays, and more.

    I wish; Washington still hasn’t legalized homegrows and likely will never.

  7. DdC says:

    World Sleep Day:
    Cannabis for Insomnia state laws for medical marijuana

    https://t.co/FsYSXaanhK

    The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy invoked executive privilege to block a Freedom of Information Act request seeking the text of anti-marijuana memos submitted to the office by various federal agencies.
    https://t.co/bDUm7tKoyc

    SXSW Protests Launched Against Corporate Cannabis
    https://t.co/LHJVzt1ydZ

    Anti-legalization Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) seemed to slam the Drug Enforcement Administration for refusing to reschedule marijuana during a House hearing.
    https://t.co/Z1qlVPLhvb

    “The DEA is failing the American public here
    by not letting research take place on marijuana.”

    Ohio Medical Cannabis Patients Rejoice
    As Edibles Will Soon Be Available

    https://t.co/f91UPkNN3V

  8. Servetus says:

    Homegrows are essential for guaranteeing lower retail and medicinal prices. Homegrows are what the cigarette industry feared when they considered legalizing Vitamin M, i.e., no profit here, move away…nothing the public should see.

    I and everyone else pay way too much for cannabinoids if we don’t grow it ourselves. I don’t because it requires too much onsite maintenance and other problems. As a result, my yearly THC tab is roughly $2K. CBD goes for 30 to 40 USD per half gram here on the left coast. Costly and complicated labeling, packaging and ease of acquisition sucks, and so forth.

    Federal legalization will force the health insurance companies to fund medicinal marijuana treatments, something already happening in several parts of the globe. And maybe that’s the problem, or not. Health insurance companies may well benefit from not having to pay out Big Bucks to Big Pharma for drugs less efficient, more expensive, and more dangerous than a spliff.

    It would have been simpler and far easier merely to follow the Amsterdam model for giving the public convenient access to cannabinoids. Any jerk can make something more complicated. It takes a genius to make it simpler.

  9. Uncle Albert's Nephew says:

    11. No dry counties or cities.

  10. darkcycle says:

    Fentanyl (again) identified as the primary driver behind opioid overdose crisis: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_03-508.pdf

  11. DdC says:

    Legalization Pulled from New York Executive Budget https://www.ganjapreneur.com/?p=97636 via @ganjapreneur

  12. Mr_Alex says:

    @DdC

    G2Voice Broadcast #126 – The use of Cannabis Oil with Rick Simpson 2-10-2019
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QFaDXGzoOQ

  13. DdC says:

    Marijuana and Psychosis?
    https://t.co/wy3ZqOTweE
    It is time for politicians to reject the unsubstantiated “reefer rhetoric” and fear-mongering of the past and move forward to end #marijuana prohibition.

    Urinalysis testing for marijuana fails to prove impairment in the workplace or how recently marijuana was consumed. That’s why the focus should be on impairment detection. It’s time to end the discriminatory practice of workplace drug testing!
    https://t.co/lblFlTuQzH

    No, Weed Is Not Tainted With Fentanyl.
    But That Myth Has Spread All The Way To The White House.
    https://t.co/Gbb8GeY5VY

    Michael Pollan and Tim Ferris
    discussed psychedelics and drug policy reform.
    https://t.co/71yTWvjOFa

    SurvivorNet Interviews Tom Brokaw:
    “I Just Want to Stay Vertical” — Politics Keep His Mind Off Cancer, And Medical Marijuana Helps Too
    https://t.co/rlIyzPf9bg

    Similar to other areas of Colorado’s public education system that have benefited from #marijuana tax revenues, the state’s School Bullying Prevention and Education Grant Program (BPEG), is being funded by the Marijuana Tax Cash Fund. @StopBullyingGov
    https://t.co/XXSqFmXnd0

  14. kafkaesque says:

    cannabinoid related genetic mutation means woman feels no pain.

    “The first mutation the scientists spotted is common in the general population. It dampens down the activity of a gene called FAAH. The gene makes an enzyme that breaks down anandamide, a chemical in the body that is central to pain sensation, mood and memory. Anandamide works in a similar way to the active ingredients of cannabis. The less it is broken down, the more its analgesic and other effects are felt.
    The second mutation was a missing chunk of DNA that mystified scientists at first. Further analysis showed that the “deletion” chopped the front off a nearby, previously unknown gene the scientists named FAAH-OUT. The researchers think this new gene works like a volume control on the FAAH gene. Disable it with a mutation like Cameron has and FAAH falls silent. The upshot is that anandamide, a natural cannabinoid, builds up in the system. Cameron has twice as much anandamide as those in the general population”

    https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/mar/28/scientists-find-genetic-mutation-that-makes-woman-feel-no-pain

  15. WalStMonky says:

    .
    .

    Guam only needs the Governor’s signature to re-legalize cannabis intended for enjoyment. The Gov has indicated that it will happen.

    FAQ: What you need to know about recreational marijuana

    The Guam Cannabis Industry Act of 2019 legalizes the possession and use of marijuana for people 21 and older “in the interest of enhancing revenue for public purposes with the creation of a new industry, enhancing individual freedom, and promoting the efficient use of law enforcement resources.”
    /snip/

  16. DdC says:

    DeltaGate:
    Richard Nixon’s Sneaky Fight Against Delta-8 THC

    https://t.co/yt46R9SnN1

    Delta 8?

    Put a Cork in It:
    Drinking a Bottle of Wine Per Week
    Is as Bad as Smoking 10 Cigarettes

    https://t.co/NvDRQFBJi1

    The DEA is looking for someone
    to burn 16,000 ounces of weed an hour.
    Any takers???

    https://twitter.com/nowthisnews/status/1111446627212886016

    Still compounded stupidity by not giving it to legal states for tax revenue and cheaper pot for patients.

    Now with an estimated 4,000 dispensaries in the U.S.
    https://t.co/OE91woBLtu

    While it’s still classed as a S#1 substance.

    25th Annual 4/20 Protest
    Set to Bloom In the Legal Cannabis Desert

    https://t.co/hC7O5ZUuK4

    10 Things You Didn’t Know About 420
    https://t.co/9v8gtM9A9D

    • DdC says:

      DEA: Thanks, but No Thanks.
      We’re Not Gonna Hire You to Burn Weed

      https://t.co/2gs0jKj7iu
      Several recent misleading articles alleging #DEAHouston is looking for Houstonians to burn Marijuana have resulted in an influx of calls from citizens. This solicitation was targeted for a large scale licensed vendor, not private citizens.

      Stop calling the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to ask about getting paid to burn bulk marijuana, the federal agency said on March 29, 2019.

      “Although we appreciate local citizens’ willingness to offer their help, this is a complicated, large-scale government contract we’re required by law to bid every few years, and there are usually only a handful of companies with the necessary facilities and resources to help us dispose of this material,” the DEA said in a statement to Houston CBS affiliate KHOU-TV.

      I’m looking for 456 people
      who can roll 9 joints a minute

      https://twitter.com/nowthisnews

      ☛ Why don’t they just donate it to a marijuana legal state use that state can use the money for Schools, Charity or the Special Olympics. What a waste of money and resources.

      ☛ STUDIES STUDIES STUDIES! Science is in great need of supply to better study cannabis, give it to labs!

      ☛ Donate to vets battling cancer & other disease in states where it is legal

      ☛ …Why not donate it for medical use? I mean, I get that it’s illegally-obtained and probably got “blood money” on it, if it perhaps came from the cartels, but why just waste the stuff?

      Reefer Revolution LIVE! with me, Ed Rosenthal
      https://t.co/qM1ziovm2S

    • DdC says:

      THC Delta 8 Vape Pen
      https://t.co/1LxDme475y

      Delta-8 THC Research
      https://t.co/XnKOQ5lNQP
      Delta-8 is a rare form of THC. It has the same chemical formula as common delta-9 THC, but the atoms bond differently.

      Nixon’s War on Drugs
      https://t.co/mLiNwsH9sk
      The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 was introduced by Rep. Robert L. Doughton of North Carolina and was drafted by Harry Anslinger. While the law didn’t criminalize the possession or use of marijuana, it included hefty penalties if taxes weren’t paid, including a fine of up to $2000 and five years in prison.

Comments are closed.