On 3/16/2024 at 3:11 PM, X said:

Geez, they can't even hold off on the strawmen arguments till the body of the article.

 

"Advocates promised decriminalizing marijuana would cure all our problems"

 

I don't think you could come up with a clearer textbook example of a straw man argument than that! 😆

On 3/16/2024 at 2:02 PM, GCrites said:

They are such whiners about people not going to church. Too much Republican influence on the economy created a nation of night and weekend work that made people unable to go. It's the Republican's own fault -- not weed's -- and they want to blame something else. It makes people stay home and smoke weed because their schedules are so bad that they can't participate in the rest of society including church.

It’s even funnier because many of them are alcoholics or pop pills all the time. Bunch of idiot old ass morons, just go and enjoy retirement age and shut the hell up.

On 3/16/2024 at 2:02 PM, GCrites said:

They are such whiners about people not going to church. Too much Republican influence on the economy created a nation of night and weekend work that made people unable to go. It's the Republican's own fault -- not weed's -- and they want to blame something else. It makes people stay home and smoke weed because their schedules are so bad that they can't participate in the rest of society including church.

Unless they're Rastafarians and for them, Cannabis use is considered a sacrament in their religion. Weed gets blamed for everything wrong that's happened to Humankind since the beginning of time. Not surprisingly, the harshest critics are almost always those who have never taken a toke and would be terrified if somehow they had to. Cannabis is a convenient scapegoat because its been a societal boogeyman since the 1930's. I still can't get over the asinine arguments about potency, but again it's usually those who know little to nothing about Cannabis and it's effects who are most concerned. Those who feel a little too elevated after smoking just need to sit calmly and chill because usually within 1-3 hours the effects will have diminished almost entirely. An exception is edibles which take considerably longer to metabolize. As previously stated, THC is a natural organic compound that starts to break down the minute the plant is harvested. Anyone who's had Cannabis around for any length of time knows the potency declines fairly rapidly. It helps to keep it at freezing temps but that merely slows the breakdown, but doesn't stop it.  The Ohio legal Cannabis  limit by weight is set at 2.5 ounces (unless that too has changed?) but imagine if alcohol had weight limits? You'd go into a liquor store and might be told: "Only 22.5 pounds of beer are legally allowed, Sir, so please put down that extra six-pack and put the rest on the scale." Of course, alcoholic beverages are a liquid, so you could have a distillery's worth of Booze piled up in your basement and it would still be OK and legal. 

 

Then there's the addiction or dependency problem (the aforementioned esteemed anti-pot crusaders claimed we are a nation of addicts and applied that rationale to Pot) I have known people who did appear to have a dependency problem with Pot. Usually, they were younger (25 or under) and had a history of excessive consumption of alcohol as well as Pot. For my own sense of psychological well being, I periodically perform a Cannabis "stress test" where I totally abstain from any use for at least two weeks duration, occasionally longer. I did so ending last week and, as usual, my "party" time is reserved for weekends only. Remember the golden rule of consumption-moderation in all things. Even if I worked in a dispensary, I would never smoke and go to work-I've known some who did but under the influence they are more easily distracted and prone to (sometimes stupid) accidents.

 

I think it's somewhat humorous to read about the medical benefits of Cannabis for treating female orgasmic disorders yet I've seen several articles on the topic in recent weeks. I also recall reading in the 1930's when politicians were looking for reasons to institute a Prohibition on Cannabis, one of the arguments being made was that it's use led to "loose" women and thus, was a threat to our nation's moral fabric. The Marijuana controversy won't go away anytime soon but perhaps in time a more educated, enlightened understanding will make it more acceptable. Poor little female Cannabis plants are secreting the sticky THC-rich resin so they can attract the male pollen and secure the next generation. One can only speculate what led to this but other plants produce fruit or flowers to help propagate their kind by them being beneficial to animals and humans for food. Cannabis's genetic playing card was to create sticky resin in their flowers with psychoactive effects that were attractive to animals and humans. A recent article from New Orleans cited that rats had invaded the basement evidence room at the local PD and according to the spokesperson, "The rats are high all of the time".  Can't say I've ever seen a stoned rat. Have you?

On 3/16/2024 at 1:26 PM, John S. said:

As Cannabis-Pot-Weed legalization continues to spread across our country, two veteran anti-Drug crusaders, former U.S. Attorney General, William P. Barr (R) and former director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, J.P. Walters, (who worked under George Bush) Have written a familiar anti-marijuana legalization op-ed jointly for The Free Press, titled: Weed is Dangerous-Legalizing it was a Mistake. They compare and correlate the decline of America with Pot legalization. If solving all of this country's societal ills was so simple, why wasn't Pot causing the decline before it was made legal in many states? Be prepared for the same old scare tactics, weed scape-goating, stereotypes, and controversial arguments. Some things never seem to change... (article link courtesy of Marijuana Minute, an online advocacy blog) https://www.thefp.com/p/weed-is-dangerous-legalizing-mistake-barr

While perhaps a bit melodramatic, the article does bring up some good points. I voted for legalization, and my mind hasn't been changed, but I agree that in some ways the zeitgeist has shifted too far. A lot of people are starting to view Marijuana as healthy, when at best it runs in the same pack as cigarettes and alcohol. Drugs that have some positive upsides, but are still on net negative, both for the individual and society. (For the record, I love me some bourbon and dark beer, and I occasionally smoke weed).

 

In part due to it being illegal, the long term negative side effects from marijuana aren't well studied, as the article mentions, it has been linked to heart disease and stroke. It hasn't yet been linked to cancer, but smoking marijuana has been shown to cause tar deposits equal or greater than cigarettes. I'm guessing cancer links will be established eventually, though of course I can't know that for sure. (Inhaling smoke, even from wood burning fires, isn't good for your lungs).

 

The effects on developing brains are pretty well documented, and also mentioned in the article. There are also some weird links between marijuana and schizophrenia, again more research is needed. 

 

Again, I'm pro legalization, but we shouldn't move so far as to assume that just because it should be legal it is thus perfectly safe or even healthy. 

It does keep people from overusing cigarettes and alcohol though. Inhaling any kind of smoke is indeed not good for you. Overusing anything is of course bad for you -- even things that your body otherwise needs daily such as food and sodium.

The issue for me is the completely contradictory ways we treat alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana.

 

The studies that found that "drinking 2 glasses of wine a day is good for you!" are now being called into question, and more recent studies have found that there is no "safe" amount of alcohol to consume (any amount of alcohol consumed increases your risk of cancer). And yet, alcohol ads are constantly shoved in our face and all we made them do is add a "please drink responsibly" tagline. Imagine if we made alcohol producers cover their packaging in warning labels the way we make tobacco producers do so. Or banned alcohol brands from sponsoring concerts/events, advertising on radio and television, using terms like "light" on their packaging, having mascots/packaging that could appeal to children, etc.

 

Politicians also freak out about "marijuana products being marketed to kids" (THC-infused candy, etc.) and flavored tobacco, yet they don't seem concerned about fruity alcoholic seltzers, alcoholic iced tea, etc.

 

Many of the major risks @Ethan mentioned are specifically related to smoking marijuana. Are there any long-terms effects to consuming THC in edibles or other ways? There hasn't really been enough research done to know.

Yeah the "2 glasses of wine a day" thing is probably more about being around others rather than sitting at home by yourself watching TV like people do without alcohol. Like the best results are seen from being around others that much but without alcohol.

From I can find online, the best estimates suggest there actually have been many studies conducted around the Cannabis plant. Some were skewed or flawed because they solely set out to prove that some aspect of the plant was harmful. I don't think I'm being inaccurate by describing that Cannabis has no known lethal dosage level although depending on the potency, it can create anxiety and uneasiness in some people. I've tried to contribute to this thread because of my long experience with Cannabis. I wholeheartedly believe it fosters and stimulates creativity unlike alcohol, which dulls the senses. I've tried to share both pros and cons and let you decide where you stand based on the available information. I do think there are many misconceptions surrounding Marijuana. Any inhalation of smoke can be detrimental to your health. That's why the original Ohio Medical MJ program made it illegal to smoke unless a vaporizer was used. I do think the voter approved No 2 initiative is on the whole positive but deliberately or otherwise, the State's glacially slow rollout of sales only benefits those who the initiative was intended to put out of business. It doesn't seem to bother politicians over all of the tax revenue stream being missed because purchases made without a medical MJ license either have to come from out of state or from underground (illegal) sources. I urge the regulators to open up the legal supply the initiative was supposed to create. A small ray of hope is that those with green thumbs (or lots of dumb luck) can grow a few plants at home although they wouldn't be ripe for harvesting for several more months.

According to a TV news article from NBC Channel 4 in Columbus, https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/columbus/timeline-updated-for-recreational-marijuana-sales-in-ohio/        applications for permits to sell recreational Marijuana will be ready by June 7 and retail sales are expected to begin in September. The article mentions much of the delay is because the bill has yet to be approved by the Ohio House chamber but now that we're past the March elections, one spokesman opined the chances of its passage are improved. Doubtful the voters back in November expected a rollout of legal adult Marijuana sales would take this long but those are the facts being stated by authorities. In the meantime, the street sellers and Michigan pot shops continue to do a brisk business with Ohio consumers and the state is missing out on additional available tax revenue had swifter legislative action had been taken. Wondering how those doing their home grown thing ate doing? They will likely be the very first in Ohio to obtain legally cultivated Marijuana. Not sure if any tax would be collected for home grown or would tags/permits be required as commercial growers are required to do.

33 minutes ago, John S. said:

Michigan pot shops continue to do a brisk business with Ohio consumers and the state is missing out on additional available tax revenue had swifter legislative action had been taken.

I was at one of those shops back in December and there were over 30 cars in the parking lot, all of them but one had Ohio plates. 

Marijuana THC% Potency being questioned

 

One of the most controversial issues in Marijuana regulation pertains to THC levels. The flower of the Cannabis plant contains the highest concentration of the psychologically active ingredient. The popular theory being tossed around by so called pundits is that THC levels today are much higher than in the past and thus this makes today's Marijuana far stronger (and more "dangerous") than what was around in your Dad's day, thus requiring stricter legal caps on THC levels.  This article,  courtesy or Marijuana Moment, an online blog covering legal and legislative activities state by state as well as nationally and internationally, shows how flawed the potency cap proposals are: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/study-shows-colorado-marijuana-products-are-overstating-thc-potency-with-researcher-citing-possible-lab-fraud/?  As I've stated many times, THC is an unstable organic compound because in nature the sticky THC resin the plant secretes around the flower, only lasts long enough for pollen to get captured and pollinate the female plant to produce seeds. After plants are harvested and dried, the flower buds are trimmed and packaged for sale and it goes along the supply chain until it is eventually sold to either a medical MJ patient or in places where legal adult use is permitted, to the consumer. A number of months have passed by this time since the flowers were harvested. Whatever THC levels are stated on the packaging, they are likely to be slightly overstated. If not kept in ideal (cold, dry) conditions, the THC levels will steadily continue to decline over time.

 

As has been found in Colorado, the stated packaging THC levels were in some cases, grossly inflated. The cited study also used DEA historical data to compare THC levels in the past with current levels and found on average they were only 13% higher in THC content than the historic strains DEA tested for THC content. Of course, the detractors want to add this scare mongering myth of super potent marijuana being around today to counter arguments about how less dangerous a plant Marijuana is than was once thought. THC is not like alcohol content which can last for a remarkable long time (centuries even) in tightly sealed containers. 110 Proof fine Scotch will remain so indefinitely but no matter how potent Marijuana is claimed to be, chances are it would test out at a lower than stated THC level on the packaging. Among connoisseurs of Cannabis, potency is only one consideration as the plant is so complex that different people have different reactions to its effects. Many years ago, I used to visit a certain magazine shop that sold the magazine "High Times". One regular feature was written by a self described Connoisseur of Cannabis who would feature a different strain of MJ he sampled in each issue. He always waxed poetically about the examined strain's mental effects. At times reading it was rather comical but it foreshadowed the idea that someday Cannabis would be so socially acceptable that even sophisticated snobs would have something to say about it. We're much closer to their being a legitimized Marijuana social culture now than we were back then. Does anyone know if High Times is still being printed? I haven't seen an issue since the early 1990's.  Side note: Moderators, please PM me if my contributions to this topic are offensive in any way, my only intent is to share publicly available information about what remains a controversial topic.

20 minutes ago, VintageLife said:

I was at one of those shops back in December and there were over 30 cars in the parking lot, all of them but one had Ohio plates. 

 

Now, why don't I find that surprising? The legislative stalling tactics are literally costing the State's coffers millions in additional tax revenue. As everyone knows, the underground sources were around long before Ohio had a medical Marijuana program and bringing Marijuana out of the shadows of dark alleys and known drugs dens was a primary goal of the No. 2 initiative. Every day of delay only puts more money into the pockets of those criminals we're fighting to put out of business so that a legal market can flourish with government oversight and public scrutiny. Alcohol was once prohibited by law and all that it did was created criminal empires. The same needs to happen now with the voter approved Marijuana legalization initiative and the sooner. the better.

It all depends on which state you live in:

In Virginia:  https://www.marijuanamoment.net/virginia-governor-says-anyone-who-thinks-hell-sign-a-marijuana-sales-bill-must-be-smoking-something/?

 

 

Use, possession and limited cultivation of cannabis by adults is already legal in Virginia, the result of a Democrat-led proposal approved by lawmakers in 2021. But Republicans, after winning control of the House and governor’s office later that year, subsequently blocked the required reenactment of a regulatory framework for retail sales. Since then, illicit stores have sprung up to meet consumer demand.

 

On the other side, in Minnesota,  Former Governor and wrestler Jesse Ventura: 

I guess Ohio falls somewhere in the middle between those two states? (info courtesy of Marijuana Moment, an online Cannabis media information blog)

 

Edited March 28, 20241 yr by John S.
missing information

Since retail sales approval is very slowly moving along (the House Chamber has yet to vote on the initiative) the state of Ohio's Department of Commerce has provided a list and map of approved Medical Marijuana dispensaries that is up to date: https://com.ohio.gov/divisions-and-programs/cannabis-control/about-dcc/licenses/what-we-do/medical-marijuana-dispensary-map

 

 

It's amazing the difference between Appalachian Ohio and Farmbelt Ohio on that map.

38 minutes ago, ColDayMan said:

It's amazing the difference between Appalachian Ohio and Farmbelt Ohio on that map.

Farmbelt Ohio has all the super crazy religious people

Oh don't worry, Appalachia has those too but it's also got plenty of people who like the cheeb

Looks like in the coming days I may swing by Buchanan in southern Michigan. I did pay for renewal of my Ohio Med MJ license today but if I have a chance to sample some Michigander Cannabis, then why not? I browsed what was available from online product menus and noticed their prices are about 25% lower than comparable products at Ohio Med MJ dispensaries so I may also have a chance to compare and see if they are any better. I urge Ohio legislators to move forward to implement the retail adult sales without additional delay but that seems unlikely considering how things have evolved since passage of the No. 2 initiative. Usually,  the awesome motivational power of money in added tax revenue would suffice, but in Ohio, who knows?

Renewed my Med MJ card for what I hope is the last time. Doctor's consultation was around $83, about half what it was last year. What was almost Bizarre in an Ohio sort of way was the one cent charge for card issuance and registration. Yes, ONE cent. Had to put in credit card info so they could deduct exactly one cent from my account. (best State government bargain, ever) The explanation I've heard is that their computerized system is not programed to create cards unless a charge for the service has been made. Now I can go to a dispensary and get my stuff but I wasn't bluffing about a trip to Michigan-I don't want to tip off house burglars, but sometime in the near future I plan to visit to a dispensary in Buchanan. MI which displays it's product offerings online. Comparing prices, they are at least 25% cheaper than in Ohio. I have some business to attend to as well so the trip is not solely for that purpose. I'll say one last time...dragging their feet about getting supply to the retail market just puts more tax money in other State's coffers. More proactive individuals would have anticipated passage of Initiative 2 and would have already had a plan in place with the resources for expansion into the legal Adult market. Maybe Michiganders needed the money more than Ohio does?

Thank you for also providing insight on what medical care costs when insurance companies and large healthcare systems aren't involved.

Michigan gets what Ohio doesn't

 

Since I had some business to attend to  in downtown Chicago this past week, I renewed my Ohio Med card and took it with me to Michigan where I stayed for two days.  The nearest town with a dispensary was Buchanan, to the east. I took my Ohio Med. MJ license to the dispensary, showed them my credentials, and was welcomed into the primary sales area in the back. There, I witnessed a busy beehive of activity with multiple customers coming and going with rapid sales of products. And this was but one dispensary in the heart of Buchanan Michigan's downtown that is bringing prosperity back into the faded small town central business district. I was able to replenish my supply with Michigan grown equivalents for about 70% of what Ohio Medical MJ dispensaries charge.  I urge Ohio's elected officials not to keep delaying the  implementation of  Initiative No 2 passed by Ohio voters last Fall. We've taken the big step of legalizing (responsible) adult Cannabis use in our state. It's time now to set things up for routine Cannabis sales in our state and not in the meantime sending millions of Ohio dollars in tax revenue to neighboring states by frustrated Ohio Cannabis users who can now legally access Cannabis, but there are no outlets to buy from unless they are registered Med. MJ cardholders.  As for product efficacy, I've found that it t performs well,  helps the patient to retain great mental clarity as some of what I've written here was Cannabis inspired. Before I forget, Happy April 420 everybody! In Michigan, there were roadside billboards and posters popping up for local 420 (April 20th) "festivals". I envision it is inevitable for the national government to listen to voters and bend to their will and finally legalize the darn weed. I'm reading a lot of positive peer reviewed Scientific information coming in about how Cannabis has intriguing health benefits involving the promise of reversing declining mental abilities in older Americans. By the way, I'm a 73 years young, educated and degreed,  hip, younger minded, widowed, aspiring Rock guitarist seeking to reinvent myself, find myself a new soulmate, and keep on truckin'.  Please, everyone should remember, to smoke, vape, consume edibles responsibly as the greater American society is closely watching all of us in this new social-cultural legalized Cannabis atmosphere. I got a quick glimpse of what Ohio's Cannabis culture  might look like, say, ten years from now In Michigan and Illinois.In those states, the buying and selling of Cannabis has become normalized, culturally accepted, and no one, even law enforcement officials,  gets excited nowadays over it.

 

I had to share this: on the way back from Chicago using cell phone directed navigation that invariably takes you down isolated country roads , my neighbor-navigator, a decorated Vietnam Coast Guard vet, suggested that we stop for dinner at a local steakhouse which we did. However, that indulgence made us drive the rest of the way back to our hotel in the dark. I very seldom drive in the dark and after the trauma of full immersion driving down Chicago's highways, I did not realize that I had neglected to turn on my tail lights so a township deputy sheriff parked silently out besides a dark country crossroads, turned on his bubblegum machine as we drove by. I dutifully signaled and pulled over, turned on the interior lights and somewhat nervously, got out my driver's ID, proof of insurance, and so on. The officer asked the standard routine traffic stop questions took the license back to his squad car to run an outstanding issues report and then he returned about 15 minutes later, shined his light on the turned off light switch, and said he was just giving us a warning this time but cautioned me to drive slower and watch out for Deer at night crossing the empty roads.  The officer's conduct was the epitome of professionalism and I almost felt privileged to have  been pulled over on a dark country Michigan road by him late at night. He didn't ask me about Cannabis and I didn't mention it either.

One perk I received was a 15% first time customer discount

Edited April 14, 20241 yr by John S.
Typos greater clarity

Graphic evidence of how Michigan is profiting from Ohio's slow rollout of retail Cannabis sales

 

Here's graphic proof of Michigan's booming retail and medical Cannabis sales over the past month. (courtesy of the Marijuana Minute media blog) I opined I thought perhaps the folks in Michigan needed the tax revenue from Cannabis sales more so than Ohioans. I did witness an alarming number of pot holed, fractured pavement roads driving around Southwestern Michigan last week so maybe they can use our tax revenue until Ohio gets it act together and finally opens up the retail market voters approved last November. I hope those who are proud of their legislative stalling tactics are aware of how many millions their inaction is costing the Buckeye state in lost tax revenue. Let's also not forget, those Ohioans unwilling to travel out of state, are buying their Cannabis from the illicit street market with those profits going to who knows who or where. Initiative 2 was supposed to suppress this underground Cannabis market, not encourage it to thrive and expand. I hope the picture in Ohio improves in the months to come and some genius won't come back then and tell us how disappointed they are at the paltry retail sales numbers when they finally do begin to come in. But hey, it's only money... 

A Different kind of D.A.R.E.?

From the online Marijuana information Blog, Marijuana Moment, (based in Washington, D.C.) comes an article about a top Drug Abuse Resistance Education officer who grudgingly seems to admit the anti-drug group may have gotten some things wrong when it comes to fighting Cannabis. https://www.marijuanamoment.net/top-d-a-r-e-officer-says-medical-marijuana-helped-his-brother-in-law-treat-cancer-pain/?

He also reveals U.S. government involvement in the Cocaine trade in decades past. (that's been public knowledge for a while)  I wholeheartedly support the aims of D.A.R.E.; my son and daughter both had programs taught by D.A.R.E. officers in their classrooms. Neither one ever did, and do not now, use drugs, including Cannabis. I'm glad at this late stage of the War on Drugs story that they are recognizing Cannabis isn't the great evil it was once thought to be and in fact, contains substances recognized as having medical therapeutic value. Ohio is inching it's way to implementing voter  Initiative No 2 with the earliest legal recreational Cannabis sales scheduled for June of this year. The entire formal rollout is likely to last until well into 2025 and is of course, still subject to changing political environments after the November elections.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The idea behind it wasn't bad; the execution was. And the narcing on your parents.

 

"If you smoke weed you die."

16 hours ago, GCrites said:

The idea behind it wasn't bad; the execution was. And the narcing on your parents.

 

"If you smoke weed you die."

As I mentioned some time ago, our teenaged daughter came home one day from Middle School and told her Mom and I that in her D.A.R.E. class that day the officer had recommended if any of the students knew someone in their family who was using drugs (generic, not just Pot specifically) to come up to her desk at the end of class and talk to them so the officer could get them some help. Our daughter giggled when she looked at us and said, "I was tempted to tell her (the officer) about you guys smoking Pot but I decided not to". My wife and I had a very long conversation with our daughter and afterwards, between ourselves and decided that the risks just weren't worth it because children in Texas had been removed from parents and put into foster care after getting busted.  Over five years passed before I took another toke. Fast forward to the present and I'm older, (much older) and now actually have a legal right to light up whenever I'm in my own home. A day long effort to tame my front yard a couple of days ago caused a flare up of lower back pain (congenital and inoperable) and Cannabis definitely helped. I'm glad the DARE officer mentioned in the article was open minded and sensible enough to understand while Cannabis misuse can still be a problem for some, for others it can alleviate pain and help those with other medical conditions. As for recreational (I really don't like that term) responsible adult use, Cannabis is still evolving culturally in American society. It will probably take another generation or two before society as a whole finds Cannabis use normal and acceptable.  After all, it looks like the DARE officers did their jobs pretty well over the years and one cannot expect them to come out now and state that as far as Cannabis, we got it wrong.  

Important news: DEA moves Cannabis classification from Schedule I to Schedule III

https://www.marijuanamoment.net/dea-agrees-to-reschedule-marijuana-under-federal-law-in-historic-move-following-biden-directed-health-agencys-recommendation/?   At long last, the Feds at the DEA have finally agreed to reclassify Cannabis from the DEA's most dangerous classification, Schedule I (classifying it as more dangerous than Fentanyl) to Schedule III which still makes it a controlled substance but with an acknowledgement of Cannabis also having potential medical value and uses.  Some had wished for it to have been declassified from the DEA schedule. entirely, but the Federal bureaucracy doesn't move in that manner. Full removal from the schedule remains ahead, but for now the change opens up many new doors for those legally in the Cannabis business including it being recognized as gainful taxable revenue. Banking reform for businesses involved in the Cannabis sector will come next, meaning you won't have to carry a wallet full of cash once credit/banking entities allow purchases to be made for Cannabis products. This is like a sea change from the decades when Pot was front and center in the brutal government War on Drugs. It returns Cannabis to legitimacy in pharmaceuticals as it was for almost a century until the hysteria of the 1930's pushed it into the same category as Barbiturates, Heroin, Opium,  and LSD.  The poor maligned weed has been used as a scapegoat for all kinds of alleged societal ills, ever since, and has ruined many people's careers by giving them a criminal record for simple possession. I still hope in my lifetime to see Cannabis legal in all 50 states and at the Federal level as well. Government entities can look forward now to new tax revenue streams as Cannabis is going mainstream.

Edited April 30, 20241 yr by John S.
typo

17 minutes ago, John S. said:

Important news: DEA moves Cannabis classification from Schedule I to Schedule III

https://www.marijuanamoment.net/dea-agrees-to-reschedule-marijuana-under-federal-law-in-historic-move-following-biden-directed-health-agencys-recommendation/?   At long last, the Feds at t

The most important part of this is that it will make it far easier for researchers to study the effects of marijuana.  In ten years or so we'll know a whole lot more about the safety and risks of marijuana use.

But it still keeps it criminalized on the federal level. 

 

Congress should move to include marijuana into the regulatory system for alcohol and tobacco, but I don't see that happening for a few more years.

 

 

On 4/30/2024 at 3:10 PM, Foraker said:

The most important part of this is that it will make it far easier for researchers to study the effects of marijuana.  In ten years or so we'll know a whole lot more about the safety and risks of marijuana use.

But it still keeps it criminalized on the federal level. 

 

Congress should move to include marijuana into the regulatory system for alcohol and tobacco, but I don't see that happening for a few more years.

 

 

Foraker, I completely agree with you. We must keep in mind that Cannabis/Marijuana/Pot/Weed, et al, was the main target of the Federal Government's War on Drugs. It's surely bewildering to those who vividly remember those years of frightening public service ads, (as I do) to now witness Pot becoming legal at the State level. There are still serious misgivings about legalizing Pot by the State of Ohio's legislative chambers and they are encapsulated in this Ohio State Senator's quoted statement:

“With greater access to marijuana, there will be more visits to poison control centers,” he said, adding that it’s “really important” that lawmakers allocate tax dollars to those centers as part of any amendment package. The senator additionally said he thinks “what’s most pressing is people smoking marijuana when they’re walking down the street.”

(More details available in this article from the Marijuana Moment online Blog: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/top-ohio-gop-lawmakers-struggle-to-reach-consensus-on-bill-to-amend-marijuana-legalization-law/?

 

These Statements sound rather regressive to someone who has watched and witnessed how Cannabis and the Law have interacted since 1972 when I took my first toke "over the line."  52 years later, it isn't over yet. I'm not denying that some idiots will do stupid things and they, or other members of their family, will somehow end up at such a center. But I do think conjuring up mental imagery of throngs of Pot-addled people being triaged for acute Cannabis poisoning at Poison Control centers, is a deliberately hysterical and overblown claim. It is intended to generate fear among those Ohio citizens who are non-Cannabis consumers or patients. Sadly, it also isn't far from the scare tactics used in the 1930's in fictitious "educational" movies like Reefer Madness where the actors were  berserk and maniacal in their portrayal of people high on Pot. Those amped up characters were everything but mellowed out and laid back. Anyhow, for those who voted for the initiative, this isn't the time to say the War is now over, we won, and everyone can go back to doing their own business as usual. Too many decent people have had their careers and lives ruined by running afoul of the Marijuana Prohibition laws. Perhaps a decade from now, if this commentary survives, people may read it and think how our current attitudes were so strange but for now, the Marijuana controversy is far from being settled.

On 5/2/2024 at 11:15 AM, John S. said:

These Statements sound rather regressive to someone who has watched and witnessed how Cannabis and the Law have interacted since 1972 when I took my first toke "over the line."  52 years later, it isn't over yet. I'm not denying that some idiots will do stupid things and they, or other members of their family, will somehow end up at such a center. But I do think conjuring up mental imagery of throngs of Pot-addled people being triaged for acute Cannabis poisoning at Poison Control centers, is a deliberately hysterical and overblown claim. It is intended to generate fear among those Ohio citizens who are non-Cannabis consumers or patients. Sadly, it also isn't far from the scare tactics used in the 1930's in fictitious "educational" movies like Reefer Madness where the actors were  berserk and maniacal in their portrayal of people high on Pot. Those amped up characters were everything but mellowed out and laid back. Anyhow, for those who voted for the initiative, this isn't the time to say the War is now over, we won, and everyone can go back to doing their own business as usual. Too many decent people have had their careers and lives ruined by running afoul of the Marijuana Prohibition laws. Perhaps a decade from now, if this commentary survives, people may read it and think how our current attitudes were so strange but for now, the Marijuana controversy is far from being settled.

I am inclined to agree with you.  I do know of a number of dogs have had to had their stomach pumped after ingesting a stash of gummies -- maybe some of that "poison control" money should go to veterinarians.  I don't recall that that was ever an issue back in the '70s.

On 5/3/2024 at 5:35 PM, Foraker said:

I am inclined to agree with you.  I do know of a number of dogs have had to had their stomach pumped after ingesting a stash of gummies -- maybe some of that "poison control" money should go to veterinarians.  I don't recall that that was ever an issue back in the '70s.

Neither did I but maybe it's because they didn't have THC infused gummies back in the 1970's? I concur that pets and animals are at a higher accidental ingestion risk because they can't read and are attracted to tastes, smells, and colors. They should provide funds for Vets for such incidents.

Attention 420 Slackers: Get Back to Work!

 

NC Senator Ted Budd (R) (gotta love that name) had harsh words to say against Marijuana claiming that the decline in Male U.S. worker participation in the U.S. is being caused by widespread Marijuana use:   https://www.askapol.com/p/sen-budd-male-marijuana      He is fighting any expansion of Cannabis legalization efforts and like many in the Prohibitionist camp, parroted the often repeated concerns about excessively high THC content levels in today's legal Cannabis. Todd Rundgren in 1982 created the perfect song to go along with this story:

 

 

Again, too much Republican influence on the economy led to too much unappealing night and weekend work and not enough good daytime jobs for entry-level workers. Remember when you could just call up a temp agency and they'd have you in an office job the next day? Most Boomers have so much money that their adult kids could live with them indefinitely as opposed to working all night and weekend in a warehouse just to afford a 1-bedroom apartment for themselves. Working those hours all they'll be able to do is play video games and arrange Magic cards. Both the kids and the Boomer parents know there's plenty of money for the kid to stay home and be able to do things like mow the grass and take Grandma to her doctor's appointments.

Edited May 7, 20241 yr by GCrites

@GCrites….fantastic commentary and spot on! Thanks! 

Agreed, GCrites, there are many factors involved in work participation rates and Marijuana usage or consumption is at most a minor factor. It is true that some more sheltered individuals do stay with their parents well past their early adult years. I also think worker expectations have changed. Working at a low level job in hopes of promotions leading to a real career has been a dead end for many. "McJobs" are far too plentiful while jobs with real career potential are less common. I also agree that in some people's minds, the War on Drugs never ended. They do score political brownie points with old school voters who still believe Marijuana is solely a gateway leading to harder drug use.  For some people, it probably is, but then those same people probably drank milk as a child, and put mustard on their hotdogs- so, is milk and mustard to blame for drawing people into hard drug use?  I did read a news brief that some confiscated illegal Marijuana did test positive for Fentanyl. That was one of the primary reasons behind Initiative No. 2:  to put illicit street dealers out of business.

Ohio to add Female Orgasmic Disorder to list of Med MJ qualifying conditions

 

Perhaps the Rolling Stones back in the '60's weren't the only ones who couldn't get no satisfaction.  From Marijuana Moment, the online news blog about Cannabis: https://www.marijuanamoment.net/cannabis-can-help-treat-female-orgasmic-disorder-study-finds-as-ohio-officials-consider-adding-it-as-qualifying-condition/?  This is such a delicate topic that I don't even know how to comment on it so you can reach your own conclusions. It does mean that women in Ohio may soon be able to obtain a Medical Marijuana license for "personal reasons". No further comments necessary...

47 Ohio Communities have enacted Moratoriums on Cannabis sales within their jurisdiction as of March 31st

 

From Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law, there's a published list of communities that have enacted Moratoriums on Cannabis businesses and sales following the passage of Initiative Number 2 approved by Ohio voters last November. In the aggregate, those  communities that have opted out represent only 9% of Ohio's population. More information from the Ohio State University article: https://moritzlaw.osu.edu/faculty-and-research/drug-enforcement-and-policy-center/research-and-grants/policy-and-data-analyses/ohio-marijuana-moratoriums

Why are Dayton 'burbs so against dispensaries as compared to everyone else? And Marysville -- do the Japanese have that much pull there? Considering Japan's hardline stance on weed.

Edited May 12, 20241 yr by GCrites

20 hours ago, GCrites said:

Why are Dayton 'burbs so against dispensaries as compared to everyone else? 

 

My theory are the suburbs view "Dayton = Marijuana" and thus want to reject that, though Trotwood is a surprise.  I'm going to assume the same for Cleveland on that map.

Many of these places have enacted temporary moratoriums to draft local legislation so they don't have places opening up before they can do something on their end. Many of these have expirations in 2024

Many of these places have enacted temporary moratoriums to draft local legislation so they don't have places opening up before they can do something on their end. Many of these have expirations in 2024.

 

That seems sensible. As those municipalities with Cannabis sales Moratoriums that opted out stand to potentially lose substantial revenue streams by doing so. I expect as the legalization program unfolds and evolves that some will lift their Moratorium and allow sales going forward that conform to their local ordinances, The Ohio State U. Moritz School of Law Moratorium article brought up some potential downsides to opting out of sales as posted below:

Just saying "500 feet from a school or church" doesn't work in a lot of towns because the schools and churches got moved out of town onto the state or U.S. Route bypasses all by themselves with no commercial structures nearby. Score one for zero walkability I guess.

From Channel 12 News in Cincinnati, an article about the fate of Cannabis sales moratoriums is being debated as well as the stated position of the Mayor of Fairfield: https://local12.com/news/local/greater-cincinnati-city-council-debates-allowing-marijuana-dispensaries-moratorium-recreational-medical-pot-cannabis-thc-weed-smoke-smoking-vaping-edibles-sell-sellers-growers-fairfield-west-chester-economic-benefit-legalization-tax-revenue-vote

The unknown is what the mayor said is holding him back from supporting dispensaries in Fairfield. Mayor Rhodus did say, however, that if the percentage of revenue for the city is high enough that it will be economically impactful for Fairfield, he will be in favor of allowing dispensaries to open.

"I would recommend our council tabling it again or putting another moratorium on it for another six months," Rhodus said. "Let the state figure out the parameters that they’re putting around it, and then we can make an educated decision. Until then, I don’t think we can make an educated decision."

Fairfield's moratorium is on the agenda for the next council meeting May 28. The council will decide whether to extend the moratorium or not.

 

I think that statement echoes the sentiments of many Ohio communities which are grappling with the reality of voter initiated Cannabis legalization in our state.  Medical Cannabis sales over the past 5 years in Arkansas have sold over $1.10 Billion dollars according to kark.com NBC News in Little Rock: https://www.kark.com/news/politics/medical-marijuana-sales-top-1-billion-in-arkansas-5-years-after-states-first-dispensary-opened/ Based on those numbers as well as those from other states where Cannabis sales are allowed, I would expect more Ohio municipalities will opt-in and lift the moratoriums in the coming months and years because of the potential revenue streams created by sales.

 

On a personal note, after attending a (Cadiz) Village Council Meeting and walking back home, I was somewhat surprised to walk by a "smoke" shop with flashy (almost gaudy, neon) signage that is now open directly opposite the Harrison County Courthouse. While no Cannabis sales are allowed within the Village, Hemp and Delta 8 T.H.C. products were advertised in the shop windows. The nearest Medical Marijuana Dispensary is in Wintersville, in nearby Jefferson County. Some municipalities will continue to impose moratoriums while others will opt in. Five years from now the landscape may be entirely different. We do have two (busy) liquor stores in town so why should Cannabis be excluded? The State of Ohio requires a $50,000 application fee for a class 10B license to legally sell Cannabis at retail. More information: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/ohio-marijuana-license-application-4576865/

Ohio Dispensaries Prepare for Switch to Recreational Sales

 

Ohio medical marijuana companies are gearing up to begin the process of entering the recreational marijuana business. 

 

The Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR) recently approved regulations from the Division of Cannabis Control — meaning dispensaries can start applying for a recreational license in the coming weeks and sales could begin as soon as sometime in June.

 

“We will as soon as possible put in our application for dual use operations at all of our active licenses,” said Brandon Nemec, PharmaCann’s government and regulatory affairs director. PharmaCann is a Level I medical marijuana cultivation facility in Licking County. They have three dispensaries in Ohio — Cincinnati, Hillsboro and Wapakoneta.

 

“We are prepared at the production level to submit our applications and work with the regulators to begin operations,” Nemec said.

 

More below:

https://columbusunderground.com/ohio-dispensaries-prepare-for-switch-to-recreational-sales-ocj1/

 

Cleveland.com published similar information stating that everything is in place to start retail Cannabis sales at existing Ohio Medical Marijuana Dispensaries around the State: https://www.cleveland.com/news/2024/05/recreational-marijuana-rules-go-into-effect-today-as-state-continues-to-finalize-applications-for-dispensaries.html  Mention was made that not all qualifying dispensaries will open for retail sales at the same time because the Dispensary review process is individualized and some applications take longer to process and implement than others. Noticeably silent is any information about home grown Cannabis which is allowed by Ohio law for an adult over 21 limited to six plants per adult and no more than 12 plants per household. Some places where Cannabis home grown is legally allowed have "420" celebrations (April 20th) with events like the "best in show" home grown plants kind of like those Orchid growers have. I wonder if we'll ever see them in Ohio? Michigan, which has an older legal Cannabis market, advertises such festivals taking out space on roadside billboards . I saw some of them along the roads during my visit to the area in early April of this year.

Ohio needs to learn from other states how NOT to regulate marijuana.  See: California, where greed and corruption moved the regs and taxes to "extortion-level" amounts. They basically knocked all the small mom & pop operations off the map, and for consumers the market was actually better when the dispensaries were operating illegally.   

 

California's pot economy is crashing. What comes next?

By Lester Black, June 11, 2024

 

Vince Ning has a singular perspective on California’s weed industry. He’s the CEO and co-founder of Nabis, the state’s largest pot distribution company, which interacts with every single pot retailer in the state. When Ning looks out across California’s legal weed industry, he sees a market in long, drawn-out freefall. 

 

“It’s like a wave crashing in slow motion,” Ning recently told SFGATE. “People thought the big crash was going to happen in 2022, and there was certainly a crash, but things continued to get worse in 2023. And we are still in 2024, and things aren’t looking that much better.”

 

The latest data confirms Ning’s point of view, with signs of economic trouble nearly everywhere you look: Overall sales have been falling for the past two years. The number of legal cannabis growers and brands has decreased by more than 70% since legalization first went into effect, according to the Mercury News. A recent report found that pot companies owe the state more than $730 million in back taxes, money that California likely will never see as most of those companies have already folded. 

 

https://www.sfgate.com/cannabis/article/california-cannabis-economy-crash-19492956.php

Surf Ohio,

It does appear that California's long established Cannabis Industry is lagging. In fact, Michigan's Cannabis sales are now surpassing those of California. (Thanks, Ohio!) From the Cannabis Blog and Medical Marijuana card portal, MMJ.com, is this account: https://mmj.com/business/michigan-outshines-california-in-cannabis-sales-spending-and-beyond/?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&_kx=O2wIfuL1n_dt1TGO_6bEAjBZL46FXahEPtKzFlXIjQE.UxAXkM

Speaking of Ohio, has anyone found recreational retail Cannabis available at any local dispensaries? A mirror of the phenomenon where Michigan picked up a lot of Ohio business because of the slow retail sales rollout may be played out in Ohio because Pennsylvania has not legalized recreational Pot and speculation abounds that Ohio dispensaries closest to Pennsylvania will see substantial business from the Keystone State. (of course, only when non-medical retail sales finally occur in Ohio. )

 

Drove past the Waverly dispensary Friday and Saturday and there were like two cars in the parking lot so probably not there.

Waverly is not on the list of initial rec sellers. The Columbus area ones are slated to be:

 

Main Street Medical Cannabis, (DBA of GNCO 123 LLC), 3111 E. Main St., Columbus.

Ascend by Ohio Provisions, (DBA of BCCO), 3560 Dolson Court, Greenfield Township near Carroll in Fairfield County.

Verdant Creations LLC, 1243 N. Cassady Ave., Columbus.

Herbal Wellness Center Columbus, (DBA of App1803 LLC), 2950 E. Main St., Columbus.

Trulieve OH Inc., 8295 Sancus Blvd., Columbus.

Harvest of Ohio LLC, 2950 N. High St., Columbus.

Sunnyside Medical Marijuana Dispensary, (DBA of Verdant Creations Newark), 1546 W. Church St., Newark.

 

 

more info:

https://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2024/06/24/ohio-marijuana-provisional-licenses.html?utm_source=st&utm_medium=en&utm_campaign=ae&utm_content=CO&j=35821889&senddate=2024-06-24&empos=p4

Not surprisingly, those dispensaries nearest to Pennsylvania (including the Sunnyside Medical Cannabis Dispensary in Wintersville, OH which was on the approved recreational sales license list) are poised to offer adult use retail sales in the coming weeks. The situation in Harrisburg, PA is one of concern about Pennsylvania dollars being spent in Ohio. Pennsylvania State Senator Sharif Street (D) has stated the delay in legalizing recreational Cannabis in the Keystone state is benefiting Ohio dispensaries authorized to sell adult use recreational Cannabis.

 

Excepts from the online blog, Marijuana Moment article:  https://www.marijuanamoment.net/pennsylvania-lawmakers-suggest-marijuana-legalization-could-advance-imminently-as-neighboring-state-markets-add-urgency-to-reform/?

"Pennsylvania lawmakers are signaling that a bill to legalize marijuana could advance imminently—with few remaining differences between House and Senate proposals, an added sense of urgency as more neighboring state markets come online and bipartisan agreement about the need to avoid a state-run regulatory model.

At a press conference on Monday, Reps. Aaron Kaufer (R) and Emily Kinkead (D), as well as Sen. Sharif Street (D), gave a status update on the push for adult-use legalization in the Keystone State.

Kaufer suggested that there was enough alignment between each chamber’s reform measures to move them “today,” or before a budget deadline this week. “Our goal is to get this done as soon as possible,” he said, adding that legalization is “part of the governor’s budget proposal.

“I think everybody standing up here, we’ve been working diligently to try to get together something that can pass today in both the House and Senate,” the GOP representative said.

Street, along with Sen. Dan Laughlin (R), introduced a legalization bill last year, while Kaufer and Kinkead announced their intent to file a cannabis measure earlier this month. While the House measure hasn’t been formally filed yet, Kaufer said there’s “not too much of a difference” between the chambers’ proposals.

In terms of where lawmakers agree, the participants made clear that there’s a bipartisan understanding that Pennsylvania is falling behind surrounding states, with repeated mentions of the fact that about 90 percent of the state borders another state that either has or is implementing adult-use legalization.

That includes neighboring Ohio, which is poised to launch adult-use cannabis sales in short order after regulators opened up applications for existing medical cannabis dispensaries to start serving recreational consumers and began issuing provisional licenses last week.

“We are surrounded by states that have already legalized the adult use of cannabis, and they are taking advantage of the fact that we have not,” Kinkead said. “There are Pennsylvania dollars to be spent on adult use [cannabis], and they want to capitalize on it when we should be doing that.”

“We should be using Pennsylvania dollars in Pennsylvania to support Pennsylvanians, and we should be learning from all of the other states about the way to do this best and the way to best capitalize on it,” she said.  Street agreed, noting that “folks from Canada, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, are all benefiting from our failure to move forward and pass cannabis reform.”

“Our citizens are going across the state [border] and they’re buying cannabis now,” he said. “And moreover, those who don’t do that, who are buying in the illicit market, they don’t know what they’re buying. It could be laced with something. It could be laced with anything.”

“There are people who only intended to use cannabis—and use it in a way that wouldn’t have caused them any serious harm—who are being harmed today because they are getting cannabis in an illicit market where there’s no regulation and no testing,” the senator said.

 

This delay towards legalization in Pennsylvania seems similar to the long drawn out implementation of Ohio's voter initiative No. 2 from 2023 which has taken nearly a year to implement. In the interim, Ohio recreational Cannabis buyers have gone to states like Michigan to purchase adult use Cannabis. (legal on a State level but still illegal on a Federal level) As noted in my previous post, Michigan now outsells California (!) in the legal adult use of recreational Cannabis market. I'm curious to see if Ohio dispensaries experience the same monetary windfall from Pennsylvania customers as Michigan did while Ohio was implementing the provisions of voter initiative Number 2 There's nothing like huge sums of money to motivate changes at the State level although I think it's likely Ohio's Pennsylvania customer windfall will be short lived. I've also read about predicted product shortages stemming from recreational/adult use Cannabis sales. In my own opinion, in a decade, Cannabis will be viewed much as alcoholic beverages are today. I expect once full legalization on the Federal level occurs, big Pharma and Tobacco multinationals will immediately move in and consolidate national markets although niche markets for local growers will continue much as craft beers and wine makers have today. It's interesting that Ohio law allows personal home grown Cannabis (six plants per adult and up to 12 per household) but doubtful that provision will exist longer term, if for no other reason than it's difficult to monitor and regulate. For long term fans of legalized Cannabis, these are the good old days.

You know I always wondered why a town like Wintersville was getting so much action without thinking about WV and PA.