The Clinton Courier
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With cannabis sales already underway at its stores in Cayuga and Seneca counties, the Cayuga Nation plans to begin growing the plant commercially by the end of the year.
In a news release Monday, the nation announced that it will grow cannabis at an indoor, 15,000-square-foot building on its Gakwiyo (Cayuga for „good food”) Garden property in Seneca Falls.
Architectural firm Bergmann, of Rochester, will oversee development of the facility, and Jake Brewer will oversee development of the nation’s cannabis businesses. Brewer previously served as head grower for a cannabis company in Colorado, the nation said. It is now finalizing blueprints for the facility with Bergmann, and construction will begin this year.
The facility will „likely” open by the end of the year, the nation said.
“As a sovereign nation, the Cayuga Nation can grow and sell cannabis within its reservation’s boundaries,” the nation said in a statement.
„Similar to the Nation’s other economic development initiatives, cannabis presents an opportunity to generate economic growth for the Nation and its members, while creating jobs for the community. Developing our cannabis business is the next step in expanding and diversifying the Cayuga Nation’s economic opportunities and providing long-lasting benefits to the community. Our vision for the future of the Cayuga Nation remains focused on bettering the lives of our members, our community, and our neighbors. As we venture forward in our economic development, we remain committed to working closely with local governments to ensure the health and safety of our community.”
The nation received approval from the USDA to grow and sell hemp (cannabis with .3% THC content or less) on its land in 2020. Last week, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation allowing the state’s hemp farmers to apply for conditional licenses to grow cannabis in order to „jumpstart the safe, equitable and inclusive new industry we are building,” she said in a press release.
The nation began selling untaxed cannabis at the Union Springs and Seneca Falls locations of its Lakeside Trading business last fall. Though the state has yet to begin licensing retail dispensaries — a process that possibly won’t begin until 2023 — the nation is already able to sell cannabis due to tribal sovereignty, the state Office of Cannabis Management has affirmed.
The state’s Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, passed in March 2021, prohibits holders of dispensary licenses from also holding cultivation, processing or distribution licenses. The rule is one of many in the law meant to prevent vertical integration in the state’s new cannabis industry. However, the nation said „as a sovereign entity (it) is not limited or bound by local prohibitions.”
Hoping to avoid a legal battle with the Cayuga Nation, the village of Union Springs has revised its draft of a local law opting out of parts of the state’s Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act.
The revision proposes the creation of a new zoning district that contains Lakeside Trading, the gas station and tobacco shop the nation operates in the northern part of the village. The new district would be zoned highway commercial. Its allowable uses would include marijuana dispensaries and consumption sites, and with a special permit, wholesale growth and distribution.
So while the rest of the village would opt out of those parts of the state law, the highway commercial district would not, Union Springs Mayor Bud Shattuck told The Citizen on Thursday.
The village made the revision in hopes it will encourage the Cayuga Nation to decide to conduct any marijuana business at Lakeside Trading and not elsewhere in Union Springs, Shattuck said.
Specifically, the village believes the nation plans to open a dispensary at the former Gus’s Pizzeria at 121 Cayuga St. The nation closed its purchase of the property in June. Feeling a dispensary there would cause heavy traffic in the village and negatively affect youth because of its proximity to a school, the village introduced its local law in April, days after the passage of the state law.
After the nation suggested it could challenge the local law on the grounds of tribal sovereignty, however, the village revised it with what Shattuck described as „a compromise.” He has yet to communicate with the nation about the zoning proposal, so he doesn’t know whether it will change the nation’s plans. But he believes it makes sense for the nation to do so.
A third Cayuga County municipality has made known its plans to opt out of parts of the state’s new marijuana law, and will hold a public heari…
„They now have a place where they can legally (sell marijuana), without having to fight the state,” Shattuck said. „They can stay out of our downtown and stay out of our school district.”
Asked about its plans to sell marijuana, a nation representative offered only the following statement: „As a sovereign Indian nation, the Cayuga Nation commerce in the village of Union Springs would not be limited by a local law prohibiting retail marijuana sales. The nation continues to explore such opportunities throughout its historic 64,015-acre reservation.”
On Thursday, the local law was determined to have no intermunicipal impacts by the Cayuga County General Municipal Law 239-l, m & n Review Committee, clearing the way for its passage by the village board of trustees at one of its next meetings. But first, a public hearing about the law will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 20, at the Union Springs Village Office, 26 Chapel St.
Shattuck doesn’t anticipate much opposition to the local law. At a public hearing for its first draft held in April, 19 of the 23 people who spoke voiced support for it, he said. Two of the opposed cited their use of marijuana and two cited the tax revenue its sale would offer. When they begin in April 2022, sales will be taxed at 13%: 9% for the state, 3% for the municipality and 1% for the county.
Because the Cayuga Nation doesn’t pay taxes, Shattuck said, Union Springs would not see revenue from its sales. But he believes that allowing the nation to sell marijuana at Lakeside Trading could save the village the cost of a court battle. And there’s room within the proposed district for other businesses to open dispensaries or consumption sites that would generate revenue, Shattuck noted.
„So this sort of makes it so we don’t opt out,” he said. „But most of the community wants (marijuana) out of the school zone and the downtown business area.”
Two municipalities in Cayuga County are moving forward with local laws opting out of parts of New York state’s Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act.
The town of Brutus and the village of Union Springs intend to opt out of allowing marijuana dispensaries to open and consumption site licenses to be issued within their limits. The state law, signed March 31, lets municipalities do that. They cannot opt out of allowing people to possess up to 3 ounces of marijuana, grow up to six plants at home or use marijuana in private and select public spaces.
The Brutus Town Board decided to opt out at its June 14 meeting for a few reasons, town Supervisor James Hotaling told The Citizen on Wednesday.
The board felt the community has „enough problems,” Hotaling said, and wondered „what kind of signal we’d be sending.” Some members „felt very strongly” about marijuana with regard to the town’s youth, he continued. Brutus also doesn’t have many commercially zoned properties where a marijuana dispensary or licensed consumption site could open.
With those reasons in mind, the board decided to opt out knowing it can opt back in later. The state will not let municipalities do the opposite, Hotaling noted. The deadline for opting out is Dec. 31.
„I suggested to the board to have a vote by the people in the community, but the more we discussed it the more we decided to opt out and see what happens down the road,” he said.
The town’s attorney will draft the law and the Brutus Town Board will look to pass it at the board’s next meeting on July 12, Hotaling said.
The law would not apply to the village of Weedsport, whose mayor, Tom Winslow, told The Citizen Wednesday that the village board wants to solicit more input from residents before making a decision. The matter was also discussed at a board workshop meeting on Thursday, where Winslow presented information on the state law he collected at a conference of the New York Conference of Mayors.
Auburn City Council took its first public step toward deciding whether to opt out of parts of the state’s law legalizing recreational marijuan…
Meanwhile, the village of Union Springs has altered its plans to opt out. Mayor Bud Shattuck told The Citizen on Wednesday that the original draft of the village’s law, written in April, has been revised. He declined to share the revisions, as the members of the village board have yet to hear them. He will present them at a special board meeting sometime in the next few weeks.
The law will then be presented to the Cayuga County General Municipal Law 239-l, m & n Review Committee in July to determine any intermunicipal impacts. If the committee finds none, the village will look to pass the law at its next meeting on July 20. Shattuck said the village will then host a public referendum on the law within the 45 days required by the state.
Anyone registered in the last local election will be eligible to vote in the referendum, Shattuck said.
„It’s fair to the people who are against opting out, and some people in the community are,” he said. „It seems like the reasonable thing for the village board to do.”
The revisions were made to the village’s law for the same reason the board is moving quickly to pass it: the possibility of the Cayuga Nation opening a dispensary at 121 Cayuga St. The nation closed on the property, formerly Gus’s Pizzeria, for $225,000 this month. The board has voiced concerns that a dispensary in that location would create traffic jams and negatively influence youth.
However, the village is also concerned the Cayuga Nation could challenge the local law on the grounds of tribal sovereignty.
A spokesperson for the nation confirmed to The Citizen that while it is exploring the possibility of opening retail marijuana dispensaries, „the local law would not impact the Cayuga Nation’s decision.”
Under the revisions to the village’s law, Shattuck said, the nation would be able to sell marijuana outside the historic district, such as Lakeside Trading. He hopes the Cayugas take that opportunity.
But if the nation indeed tries to open a dispensary at 121 Cayuga St., Shattuck acknowledged that the matter could go to court. In that case, he hopes the state would serve as the village’s „legal guardian,” since its law would be the origin of the conflict. Whatever happens, Shattuck said, he believes the village has made the effort to accommodate both sides.
„We’ll do whatever we have to do and they’ll do whatever they have to do after our law is passed and the votes are in,” he said.
The town and village of Skaneateles will each hear from the public one more time before making their decisions about „opting out” of parts of the state’s new marijuana law by the end of the year.
Each municipality will hold a public hearing this month as the Dec. 31 deadline looms for opting out, or passing local laws that prohibit marijuana dispensaries and/or consumption sites there.
The town board’s hearing will take place at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 6, at the town hall at 24 Jordan St. Due to COVID-19, those who can attend by Zoom are encouraged to do so.
The village board’s hearing will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 21, at the village hall at 26 Fennell St. Phone and video conferencing will also be available for that hearing.
While members of each board have introduced local laws for consideration, both town Supervisor Janet Aaron and village Mayor Mary Sennett are declining to speculate what the boards will decide.
Aaron told The Citizen that the town’s law, introduced by board member Kevin McCormack, may or may not be voted on after the Dec. 6 hearing. The outcome of the hearing, and the law itself, are both wide open. It will be the third public hearing on marijuana for the board, and if it’s anything like the first two, it will see passionate comments on both sides of the issue, Aaron said.
„We’re hearing from both sides not only by letters and meetings, but also out in the public,” she said.
„The members of the board are doing a lot of research. They’re very prepared to understand what they have to consider.”
Sennett, meanwhile, declined comment to The Citizen except to confirm that the village board will vote on opting out after the Dec. 21 hearing.
Both the town and the village have introduced two local laws each, one for marijuana dispensaries and one for consumption sites.
Under the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act passed by New York state in March, municipalities can opt out of those two parts of the law only. They cannot prohibit use, possession or, eventually, commercial or home growth of marijuana. While they have until Dec. 31 to opt out, municipalities that do so can reverse the decision by repealing their local laws at any time. Residents of municipalities that opt out also have 45 days until the local law takes effect to petition for a permissive referendum that would put it up for a public vote at a special election.
In the Cayuga County area, the towns of Brutus, Fleming, Locke, Mentz, Niles, Scipio, Sennett and Springport, and the villages of Aurora, Fair Haven, Port Byron and Union Springs have opted out or are in the process of doing so. The city of Auburn will not opt out. The state is expected to begin licensing marijuana dispensaries and consumption sites sometime after April 1.
After another tense public hearing where more than 20 residents spoke, the Skaneateles Town Board voted Monday to „opt out” of marijuana consumption sites, but not dispensaries.
The latter decision provoked outrage from the packed room at Skaneateles Town Hall, where attendees shouted „unbelievable,” „this is pathetic,” „you all should be voted out” and more at the board.
Councilor Kevin McCormack, who introduced the local law prohibiting marijuana dispensaries in the town, walked out of the meeting in disgust after his motion to pass it went unseconded.
The remaining board members then unanimously passed the local law prohibiting consumption sites in the town. As the meeting concluded, Councilor Mark Tucker asked if the dispensary law could be reconsidered at the board’s next meeting Dec. 20. He was told by town attorney Brody Smith that it could, as the law had effectively been tabled, not defeated.
Municipalities in New York state have until Dec. 31 to „opt out” of dispensaries and consumption sites, or pass local laws prohibiting them inside their borders.
The deadline, which comes from the state’s Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act passed in March, was criticized as „rushed” by several of the town residents who spoke Monday. Speaking before the board’s vote, McCormack said the town should wait until it receives the final rules and regulations for licensing marijuana businesses before committing to allowing them there.
Those who spoke in favor of opting out also claimed that allowing those businesses would compromise the moral character of the town.
„I wonder what message this would send to young people,” said Dessa Bergan, a former teacher. „What we put our penny on is what we value. Do we want to tell our children, go ahead and use pot?”
Another resident, Patricia Carroll, argued that Skaneateles should be „above” collecting tax revenue from marijuana businesses. As many residents pointed out, municipalities that don’t opt out will collect a 3% tax from marijuana sales there, while counties will collect a 1% tax. Carroll went on to say that she doesn’t believe the town would collect a significant amount of tax revenue.
Though the village of Skaneateles is not affected by the town’s decision, sales that take place there could send additional tax revenue to the town if it doesn’t opt out.
Other residents voiced concerns that dispensaries and consumption sites in the town would increase the amount of impaired driving in the area, but the validity of that claim was questioned. Some asked why the same concern doesn’t extend to alcohol, with one resident telling the board, „If you opt out, my opinion is that you need to close the bars. Let’s have a dry town.”
Resident Skip Lockwood said marijuana licenses would likely be issued more stringently than liquor licenses. Dispensaries, he continued, look more like Apple stores than bars or liquor stores.
„We’re talking about a product that is safer and more highly regulated than ones you all use regularly,” he said, adding that dispensaries will probably be limited to a handful per legislative district.
Along with Josh Allyn, owner of hemp farm Tap Root Fields in the town, Lockwood also said that opting out disregards the agricultural benefits of marijuana’s legalization.
„Much like our wineries, breweries and distilleries, growing marijuana will be a key product in our area and something we should embrace,” he said.
Before the hearing began, town Supervisor Janet Aaron said the board has researched marijuana extensively, even touring growing facilities. Councilor Courtney Alexander later raised the little-known issue of microbusinesses, which appear to be a loophole in the opt-out process. Such businesses would likely be able to sell marijuana even in municipalities that opt out, Smith confirmed.
The board has also solicited public opinion on marijuana at two previous town hearings, Aaron continued, along with receiving several calls and letters, and actively reaching out to the community.
„This board has done more public involvement (on opting out) than any other board I know,” Aaron said.
As municipalities in the Cayuga County area decide whether to „opt out” of marijuana sales and consumption sites in response to New York state…
SKANEATELES — The town of Skaneateles held a somewhat heated public information meeting Tuesday about New York state’s recently passed law legalizing recreational marijuana.
A little-known aspect of the law was the focus of much of the meeting, which eventually saw residents sharing a wide range of opinions about the law and the substance itself.
Presenting at the meeting was attorney Michael Balestra of Hancock Estabrook, who took the 30 residents in attendance at the Austin Park Pavilion through the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act signed into law March 31 by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The reason for the meeting, Balestra explained, is that the town and village of Skaneateles can opt out of two parts of the law: allowing retail marijuana sales at dispensaries and allowing consumption sites. If so, their boards must draft local laws, which would be subject to referendums if enough residents petition for one.
Municipalities have until Dec. 31 to opt out, Balestra said, but can repeal their local laws any time afterward. Every other part of the new state law will be in effect in Skaneateles regardless, Balestra continued. That includes the legalization of possession of up to 3 ounces of marijuana, use of the substance and, eventually, growing up to three mature and three immature plants at home.
„This is something that most people don’t see in their lifetimes. We’re literally taking a new product that we’ve never been able to legally have and now we’re saying to everyone, 'This is a new commodity. We can make it, we can sell it, we can use it,'” Balestra said. „The state already decided where we’re going. You can’t keep marijuana out of the town or the village.”
As residents began raising their hands with questions, Balestra stressed that the particulars of the state’s law have yet to be finalized. The new Office of Cannabis Management, which will oversee the substance in New York, is currently „a shell,” he said. Until its board is appointed and its regulations are drafted, the timetable and other details of licensing marijuana businesses is unknown.
Hoping to avoid a legal battle with the Cayuga Nation, the village of Union Springs has revised its draft of a local law opting out of parts o…
That includes growers, dispensaries, consumption sites and microbusinesses — which would become a recurring subject of questions at the meeting. Microbusinesses, Balestra explained, are licensed to grow, process, distribute and dispense marijuana. But municipalities cannot opt out of allowing them the way they can with traditional dispensaries, effectively making microbusinesses a loophole.
Due to the lack of regulatory language from the state, however, Balestra couldn’t provide more specifics on microbusinesses Tuesday. For instance, it’s uncertain whether they can be operated out of residences, but he believes zoning laws will likely make that question moot. The amount of marijuana a microbusiness is limited to growing and processing is also unknown, he said.
Another microbusiness question the attorney was unable to answer involved tax revenue. Dispensary sales of marijuana will carry a 4% local tax on top of the state’s 9% tax: 3% for the municipality and 1% for the county. Municipalities that opt out of allowing dispensaries will not see that revenue, Balestra said, but it’s unknown whether they will see revenue from microbusiness sales as well.
About halfway through the meeting, questions about microbusinesses and other aspects of the state’s law gave way to comments on the possibility of the town or village of Skaneateles opting out.
Among the most vocal supporters of the village allowing dispensaries and consumption sites was Joshua Allyn, owner of area hemp farm Tap Root Fields.
„I think about the school that we’re building right now, and this would be a great resource,” he said. „Really, by saying 'no’ to this, you’re turning down a lot of money that would be potentially generated for the town. And it’s here. There’s really nothing that you can do about taking it back. Really, you’re deciding on collecting money or not. And I’d hate to see you not.”
Several Skaneateles residents who work in health care also commented at the meeting. After one praised its medical applications, another health care provider, Kira Fiutak, disagreed.
„We can always opt in in the future. We can never opt out. We don’t have regulations that are defined. Why rush into it?” she said.
Timree Williams, a nurse of 15 years, countered with an endorsement of marijuana based on personal experience.
„It’s incredibly sad the patients that I get who abuse alcohol and opioids. I have never once had a patient who abuses marijuana and has any kind of significant medical issues,” she said.
As residents continued sharing opinions about marijuana, town board member Chris Legg reminded them that the substance is already legal in the state.
„We really only have two things we can act on. The others are not within our control and they can happen regardless,” he said. „Those are done deals. The state has already communicated to everybody precisely how they want to see this industry grow and develop. We only have two very simple decisions to make that have consequences outside of just those two decisions.”
Town Supervisor Janet Aaron ended the meeting by telling residents the board will consider the feedback it received that night as it looks to make its decision by Dec. 31.
„We have a lot to consider and look at,” she said. „We’ve got to try to make the best decision for the community.”
As more municipalities in the Cayuga County area „opt out” of parts of New York state’s marijuana law, two local towns have joined the short list of places that will „opt in.”
The towns of Owasco and Sterling have decided not to „opt out,” or pass local laws prohibiting marijuana dispensaries and consumption sites from opening there, officials told The Citizen.
Owasco town Supervisor Ed Wagner said the town decided to opt in for two reasons. First, because the town doesn’t have a business district, any marijuana dispensaries or consumption sites would have to go through Owasco’s planning and zoning boards for approval. So public hearings on those businesses would take place at that time, Wagner said.
Second, Wagner believes Owasco residents support opting in. The supervisor said he has heard no concerns about marijuana businesses from residents or other town board members.
„The casual comments that residents have made to me personally have been in favor of letting sales of marijuana in Owasco,” he said. „I have not heard one negative comment.”
Sterling town Supervisor Scott Crawford did not respond to requests for comment, but town Clerk Lisa Cooper confirmed to The Citizen that the northern Cayuga County town is also opting in.
Meanwhile, the towns of Scipio and Elbridge, and the village of Moravia, have opted out or plan to, officials told The Citizen.
After a public hearing Wednesday, Scipio will likely vote to opt out Dec. 29, town Supervisor Gary Mutchler said. The majority of the town board feels the benefits of opting out outweigh those of opting in, he continued, including the 3% tax municipalities will collect from marijuana sales there. Counties where sales take place will collect revenue from an additional 1% tax.
For Elbridge town Supervisor Vern Richardson, the benefits of opting out include waiting to see New York’s final regulations for marijuana businesses. The state has yet to release them since passing the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act in March. After delays in the appointment of officers to the state’s Cannabis Control Board, marijuana sales aren’t expected to begin until 2023.
The Elbridge Town Board unanimously passed its local laws opting out on Thursday. Richardson said three people attended the public hearing before the vote, and only one of them spoke.
„There are just a lot of questions that we need answers to, and the state hasn’t come up with those answers yet,” Richardson said. „The state has made it unclear how it’s going to operate.”
The village of Moravia will hold its public hearing at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 13. Mayor Gary Mulvaney told The Citizen the village will likely opt out later this month, but the decision ultimately depends on the feedback it receives at the hearing. He pointed out that municipalities only have until Dec. 31 to opt out, but they can opt back in by repealing their local laws at any time afterward.
„I don’t think we know enough about what the rules are going to be,” Mulvaney said. „I think that’s the sanest way, to keep our options open.”
Scipio, Elbridge and Moravia will therefore join the towns of Brutus, Conquest, Fleming, Genoa, Ira, Locke, Mentz, Niles, Sennett and Springport, and the villages of Aurora, Cato, Elbridge, Fair Haven, Port Byron, Weedsport and Union Springs on the list of municipalities in the Cayuga County area that have opted out or are in the process of doing so.
The city of Auburn, the towns of Moravia and Victory, and the village of Cayuga will not opt out.
The town of Skaneateles has opted out of marijuana consumption sites but not dispensaries, and the town of Sennett will hold a public hearing about opting out at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 16.
As municipalities in the Cayuga County area decide whether to „opt out” of marijuana sales and consumption sites in response to New York state…
Despite its name, the village of Weedsport does not plan on becoming a place where marijuana can be legally purchased.
In response to New York’s Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, the Cayuga County village has drafted a local law that will prohibit marijuana dispensaries and consumption sites from opening there. The state law, which took effect March 31, allows municipalities to „opt out” of those two parts of it. They cannot opt out of any other parts, including the use, possession and growth of marijuana.
Before it can be passed, Weedsport’s law must be reviewed by the county’s General Municipal Law committee at its Nov. 18 meeting. The committee has found no intermunicipal impacts of similar laws from other Cayuga County municipalities, making Weedsport’s likely to clear its review. The village board would then pass the law at its Dec. 8 meeting, Mayor Tom Winslow told The Citizen Friday.
Winslow said Weedsport decided to opt out after receiving the results of a survey mailed to residents with their water bills. About two-thirds of those who responded were against the village allowing marijuana dispensaries and consumption sites to open there. The board received „a lot more” survey responses than it expected, Winslow added, giving it reason to believe the law accurately reflects the wishes of a majority of residents. Those who object to the law have 45 days until it takes effect to petition for a permissive referendum that would put it up for a public vote at a special election.
The board also believed opting out was the best decision, Winslow said, because the state has yet to release its final rules and regulations for dispensaries and consumption sites. When the state law was passed, those businesses were expected to begin opening as soon as April 1. But delays in the appointment of officers to the state’s Cannabis Control Board have likely pushed that date back.
The decisions of neighboring municipalities and potential revenue from marijuana sales didn’t influence the village board much, Winslow said. The town of Brutus and village of Port Byron have opted out, decreasing competition for would-be marijuana businesses in Weedsport. But while the village would collect a 3% tax on their sales, the mayor believes they could come with new expenses, too.
„Would it require more police presence? Would the revenue support the resources it would take to monitor the marijuana industry?” he asked. „We didn’t know if it was going to be enough.”
New York state municipalities have until Dec. 31 to opt out of allowing dispensaries and consumption sites to open there. Municipalities that do can opt back in at any time by repealing their local laws.
Along with Weedsport, Brutus and Port Byron, Cayuga County municipalities that have opted out, or are in the process of doing so, include the towns of Fleming, Locke, Mentz and Springport, and the villages of Aurora, Fair Haven and Union Springs. The towns of Sennett and Victory are the only municipalities that have declared they will not opt out. Others have yet to announce a decision.
Now that the Dec. 31 deadline for „opting out” of select marijuana businesses has passed, the decisions of almost all municipalities in the Cayuga County area are known.
According to The Citizen’s reporting and a tracker maintained by the Rockefeller Institute of Government, the decisions of all but two area municipalities — the towns of Sempronius and Throop — can be confirmed at this time. Emails and voice messages left with officials from those towns by The Citizen this week were not returned.
Recent confirmations include the towns of Venice and Scipio, and the village of Jordan. All three „opted out,” or passed local laws prohibiting marijuana dispensaries and consumption sites.
Venice Supervisor Stefan McGonagle, Scipio Supervisor Gary Mutchler and Jordan Mayor Casey Brim told The Citizen they made their decisions based on a combination of feedback from residents and concerns that the state has yet to issue final regulations for marijuana businesses. Venice residents who attended board meetings unanimously supported opting out, McGonagle said. Scipio residents at a Dec. 8 public hearing said they believe marijuana is addictive and a „gateway drug,” Mutchler said. Jordan held a public hearing, Brim said, but no one attended.
As Mutchler noted, municipalities could only opt out before Dec. 31. But they can opt back into allowing marijuana businesses at any time by repealing their local laws. Additionally, residents of a municipality that opts out have 45 days before the local law takes effect to petition for a permissive referendum that would put the law up for a public vote at a special election.
Municipalities cannot opt out of allowing marijuana use, limited possession and, eventually, limited home growth and other businesses, such as cultivation and processing.
The Citizen has also recently confirmed that the town of Montezuma decided not to opt out. The town joins the city of Auburn, the towns of Aurelius, Moravia, Owasco, Sterling and Victory, and the village of Cayuga on the list of local municipalities that will allow marijuana dispensaries and consumption sites to open inside their borders.
The list of local municipalities that have opted out is longer. There, Venice, Scipio and Jordan join the towns of Brutus, Cato, Conquest, Elbridge, Fleming, Genoa, Ira, Ledyard, Locke, Mentz, Niles, Scipio, Sennett, Springport and Summerhill, and the villages of Aurora, Cato, Elbridge, Fair Haven, Moravia, Port Byron, Skaneateles, Union Springs and Weedsport.
Union Springs opted out with a caveat, rezoning the part of the village containing Cayuga Nation business Lakeside Trading so marijuana sales could take place there. The nation has begun sales there already. The town of Skaneateles is the only municipality in the area to split its decision, opting out of consumption sites but allowing dispensaries to open there.
According to a recent Q&A with Tremaine Wright, chair of the Cannabis Control Board created by the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act passed by New York state in March, marijuana dispensaries should be licensed to operate by summer of 2023. Delays in appointments to the board pushed the date back from its original plan of April 2022.
The regulations that gave municipalities pause about opting in should be finalized in the first quarter of this year, Wright added.
As the Dec. 31 deadline approaches for municipalities to „opt out” of parts of New York state’s new marijuana law, several in the Cayuga County area are choosing to do so.
The village of Aurora and the town of Fleming recently joined the towns of Springport and Brutus on the list of area municipalities that have passed local laws prohibiting marijuana dispensaries and consumption sites from being licensed to operate there. Municipalities cannot opt out of any other parts of the state law, including the use, possession and home growth of marijuana.
Additional municipalities have drafted local laws, but not yet passed them. The town of Locke and villages of Cato and Fair Haven recently joined the village of Union Springs on that list. Those three municipalities had their drafts reviewed by the county’s General Municipal Law committee at its Oct. 21 meeting. The committee found no intermunicipal impact, clearing the way for the laws’ passage.
Most local municipalities with significant commercial areas have yet to make a decision, including the city of Auburn, the town and village of Skaneateles, and the town of Aurelius. The Skaneateles Town Board, which has received and read several letters at recent meetings calling for it to opt out, has scheduled a second public hearing on the matter at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 15, on Zoom.
Meanwhile, one municipality with a significant commercial area has become one of, if not the first in the Cayuga County area to say that it won’t opt out: the town of Sennett. Municipalities that choose not to opt out can simply do nothing, as the state law will permit the licensing of marijuana dispensaries and consumption sites by default when that process begins sometime after April 1, 2022.
A representative of the Sennett Town Board told The Citizen that it decided not to opt out because it believes the city of Auburn, with whom Sennett shares the commercial strip of Grant Avenue, won’t opt out either. That positions the town to collect tax revenue at a rate of 3% from sales at any dispensaries or consumption sites that open there, with an additional 1% going to the county.
While municipalities can only opt out of allowing dispensaries and consumption sites before Dec. 31, the state’s Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act lets them opt back in at any time afterward.
Residents who object to their municipality’s decision to opt out also have 45 days before the local law takes effect to petition for a permissive referendum that would put the law up for a public vote. At least 10% of the municipality’s residents who voted in the last governor’s election (2018) would have to sign the petition. It would then be filed with the clerk in order to call for a special election.
However, the new state law does not provide further details about the operation of dispensaries and consumption sites. Those will be finalized by the state’s Cannabis Control Board, which only held its first meeting Oct. 5 due to delays in the appointment of its officers. Without those details, like how close two dispensaries can be located, the village of Aurora decided to opt out.
„We just thought we’d wait and see what happens,” Aurora Mayor Bonnie Apgar Bennett told The Citizen. „It just seemed to make sense, until we have a little more information.”
The village passed its local law at the Sept. 15 meeting of its board of trustees. Bennett said the board held a public hearing on the law but, to her surprise, received no feedback. Other factors in the decision included the scarcity of parking and commercial spaces in the lakeside village. Bennett said the presence of Wells College there had no bearing on the board’s decision.
The town of Fleming passed its local law, 4-0, at its Sept. 13 board meeting. Locke Town Clerk Melanie Funk said its board will discuss its local law at its next meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 4. A representative of the village of Cato could not be immediately reached for comment by The Citizen, and no recent meeting agendas or minutes are available from the village’s website.
The Fair Haven Board of Trustees discussed opting out at a special meeting on Aug. 25. According to minutes from the meeting, the trustees shared the Aurora board’s questions about the details of dispensary and consumption site operations. Those questions included the number of marijuana businesses the state will license and, given the value of the product, the security they’ll require.
As the Dec. 31 deadline approaches, two villages in the Cayuga County area have decided to „opt out” of parts of New York state’s new marijuana law, and two towns have decided not to.
The villages of Skaneateles and Moravia passed local laws „opting out,” or prohibiting marijuana dispensaries and consumption sites from opening there, at recent meetings.
The towns of Aurelius and Moravia, meanwhile, decided not to pass similar laws, and will therefore „opt in” to allowing those businesses to open inside their borders by default.
Skaneateles opted out after a Dec. 21 public hearing, Mayor Mary Sennett told The Citizen. The village board of trustees was split, ultimately passing its local laws 3-2. Though some trustees felt the new Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act makes the substance a right the village can’t take away, the majority felt marijuana businesses aren’t „appropriate” for Skaneateles, Sennett said.
Neither the 3% marijuana sales tax for municipalities nor the state’s lack of final regulations for dispensaries and consumption sites were major considerations, the mayor added.
In the village of Moravia, the lack of final regulations was the major reason its board of trustees voted to opt out Monday night, Mayor Gary Mulvaney told The Citizen. As he noted, municipalities that opt out can opt back in at any time by repealing their local laws, but they can’t opt out after Dec. 31. So he believes it’s wise to keep the village’s options open until the regulations are finalized.
„What’s the big rush?” Mulvaney asked, noting that marijuana sales in New York aren’t expected to begin until 2023 due to delays in the appointment of officers to the state’s Cannabis Control Board.
Mulvaney added that Moravia held a public forum on the matter earlier this month, and only two people attended. Both supported the village opting out of dispensaries and consumption sites.
Moravia and Skaneateles now find themselves in the unique position of being villages that have opted out and are located in towns that haven’t completely done the same. The town of Moravia decided not to opt out in November, while the town of Skaneateles only passed a local law prohibiting consumption sites, not dispensaries, to the consternation of residents at a Dec. 6 meeting.
The town of Aurelius also recently joined the short list of local municipalities that aren’t opting out. Town Supervisor Edward Ide told The Citizen that because the neighboring city of Auburn isn’t opting out, the town will be „burdened with the negative effects” of the state’s marijuana law regardless. The town shares heavily commercial areas on Genesee Street and Routes 5 and 20 with the city.
„We might as well get the revenue if we are going to (bear) the negative effects anyway,” Ide said in an email.
Along with Auburn, Moravia and Aurelius, the towns of Owasco, Sterling and Victory, and the village of Cayuga, are the only municipalities in the Cayuga County area The Citizen can confirm will not opt out of marijuana dispensaries and consumption sites. Municipalities that have opted out, or plan to before Dec. 31, include the towns of Brutus, Cato, Conquest, Elbridge, Fleming, Genoa, Ira, Locke, Mentz, Niles, Scipio, Sennett, Springport and Summerhill, and the villages of Aurora, Cato, Elbridge, Fair Haven, Port Byron, Weedsport and Union Springs.
As municipalities in the Cayuga County area decide whether to „opt out” of marijuana sales and consumption sites in response to New York state…
With its mayor and city councilors unanimously opposed to doing so, Auburn will not „opt out” of allowing recreational marijuana retailers and consumption sites in the city.
Mayor Michael Quill and City Councilors Jimmy Giannettino, Terry Cuddy, Debby McCormick and Tim Locastro each told The Citizen this week they do not support passing a local law that would prohibit those businesses from opening in Auburn. The Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act signed into law by former New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo last spring gives municipalities until Dec. 31 to pass such local laws. But with none of the city’s five deciding votes in favor, it’s all but certain Auburn will not opt out before that deadline.
Giannettino noted that municipalities cannot opt out of any other parts of the state law, which legalized possession of up to 3 ounces of marijuana and use of it in most places using tobacco is legal in New York. Limited home growth of marijuana will also be legal after the state’s new Office of Cannabis Management releases the law’s final rules and regulations.
That reality of the state law must be considered before deciding whether a municipality should opt out, Giannettino said.
„Marijuana is being decriminalized. Whether or not we allow the sale of it is the only thing we can control,” he said. „Whether we allow the sale of it or not, we’re going to have it.”
What must also be considered, Giannettino said, is that municipalities stand to collect a 3% tax from marijuana sales there. In Auburn, that money could offset any local expenses created by the state law, like the training that former Auburn Police Chief Shawn Butler told The Citizen his officers will need in order to test drivers for marijuana impairment.
„With larger municipalities within driving distance of Auburn,” McCormick said, „it just makes sense to be able to reap the economic benefits of local sales.”
Giannettino said the city is listening to concerns about increased driving while impaired and other potential consequences of legal marijuana. Following an April review of the state law, city council has received feedback from the public both for and against opting out. But Giannettino struck down any suspicions that the city’s decision is related to marijuana company Terrapin’s plan to build a 100-job production facility in Technology Park. Municipalities cannot opt out of allowing such facilities, he said, and Terrapin doesn’t plan to open any retail or consumption sites.
Cannabis company Terrapin’s plans to build a production facility in Auburn took a step forward Wednesday.
Democrats Giannettino, McCormick and Cuddy also shared their confidence in New York state’s ability to regulate marijuana. They expect the Office of Cannabis Management to regulate it the way the Liquor Authority does alcohol, meaning the number of retailers and consumption sites that the office licenses should be limited. When the state law was signed, licensing of those businesses was expected to begin around April 1, 2022, but delays in the appointment of officers to the state’s Cannabis Control Board have likely pushed that date back.
Locastro, the lone Republican on city council, agreed with McCormick that opting out would only redirect tax revenue from Auburn to the municipalities that surround it.
The town of Sennett, which shares the commercial strip of Grant Avenue with Auburn, will not opt out of allowing marijuana retailers and consumption sites there, its board told The Citizen. Officials with both Sennett and the village of Weedsport told The Citizen they made their decisions about opting out with the belief that Auburn would not. Weedsport is opting out.
In Cayuga County, the towns of Brutus, Fleming, Locke, Mentz and Springport, and the villages of Aurora, Fair Haven, Port Byron and Union Springs have opted out or are in the process of doing so. The town of Aurelius, where Fingerlakes Mall and Fingerlakes Crossing are located, is still „working on it,” Town Supervisor Edward Ide told The Citizen on Oct. 28.
Whatever Aurelius and other undecided municipalities in the Cayuga County area do, Locastro would prefer to see as much tax revenue from local marijuana sales go to Auburn as possible.
„I think there’s more to gain and less to lose,” he said. „I’d like to give it a shot.”
New York state is still months away from allowing recreational marijuana retailers to open, but one business in Cayuga County apparently doesn’t need to wait.
The Cayuga Nation has begun selling marijuana at its Lakeside Trading business in the village of Union Springs. Spokespeople for the nation did not answer The Citizen’s questions on the matter, but an Oct. 26 Instagram post by the business said „we have cannabis” at its Union Springs and Seneca Falls locations. The former location also has a neon cannabis leaf sign in its window.
Though The New York Times called the subject „a legal gray area,” the legality of an Indian nation selling marijuana before other businesses isn’t as hazy as it may seem.
Those businesses will need to be licensed by the Cannabis Control Board created by the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act the state passed this spring. While the act legalized marijuana use and limited possession effective immediately, retail sales were instead given framework for legalization in the near future. The board must now turn that framework into final rules and regulations.
The board was expected to do that in time to begin licensing marijuana retailers by April 1, 2022, but delays in the appointment of its officers have likely pushed that date back.
Regardless, the Cayuga Nation doesn’t appear to need a license to sell marijuana due to its tribal sovereignty. That constitutional right to regulate themselves is the reason other Indian nations in New York have already begun selling marijuana on their lands, including the St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council in Franklin County and the Seneca Nation in Cattaraugus County.
In a TV report on the Seneca Nation’s sales, a spokesperson for the state Office of Cannabis Management confirmed that selling marijuana on federally recognized tribal lands in New York is legal.
Cayuga County Sheriff Brian Schenck told The Citizen he is aware the Cayuga Nation is selling marijuana at Lakeside Trading, but declined further comment.
The Cayuga Nation has also cited tribal sovereignty as grounds to continue operating its Lakeside Entertainment gaming center despite a Union Springs ordinance prohibiting it, and a federal appeals court sided with the nation on the longstanding issue in July. But when it comes to marijuana sales, the nation has the approval of the village — with some conditions.
At its November meeting, the Union Springs board passed a local law „opting out” of allowing marijuana retailers and consumption sites to open in the village, Mayor Bud Shattuck told The Citizen. In a special amendment to the law, however, the village rezoned the district containing Lakeside Trading to allow marijuana businesses to operate there, and only there.
Shattuck called the amendment „a compromise” with the nation. The board conceived it in hopes of preventing the nation from opening a marijuana retailer at 121 Cayuga St., the former Gus’s Pizzeria, in the heart of the village. The nation, which purchased the property in June, previously told Shattuck that it planned to sell marijuana there, he said.
Though he no longer communicates with the Cayuga Nation, Shattuck hopes that is no longer the plan now that marijuana sales have begun at Lakeside Trading.
„They may be able to do whatever they want wherever they want, but we’re giving them an opportunity to sell marijuana where they’re selling it now,” he said.
„And not move it down onto our sidewalks in our commercial district, where schoolchildren walk back and forth.”
Municipalities in the Cayuga County area are weighing the pros and cons of opting out of parts of New York state’s law legalizing marijuana.
The Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo March 31, legalizes possession of up to 3 ounces of the drug, and public and private use of it, by New Yorkers 21 and older.
Municipalities cannot opt out of that part of the law, which has already taken effect. However, the law allows them to opt out of letting cannabis retail dispensaries open, or on-site consumption licenses be issued, within their limits. Municipalities that decide to opt out must pass a local law by Dec. 31. Retail marijuana sales in New York state are slated to begin on April 1, 2022.
Though municipalities have about nine months to make their decisions, several in the Cayuga County area are already preparing to do so.
This week, The Citizen reached out to the elected leaders of more than 15 municipalities in the area. Those that responded indicated that their legislative bodies will discuss opting out soon, including the city of Auburn and the village of Skaneateles. Their respective mayors, Michael Quill and Mary Sennett, otherwise declined comment because those discussions haven’t begun yet.
The leaders of two major Cayuga County law enforcement agencies do not support the legalization of marijuana in New York state.
Two other Cayuga County mayors, Bonnie Apgar Bennett in the village of Aurora and Tom Winslow in the village of Weedsport, shared some thoughts on opting out, and the new marijuana law in general, with The Citizen. For both mayors, the discussion of allowing retail sales and on-site consumption comes down to economic rewards versus public safety risks.
Under the law, municipalities will receive 75% of the local tax revenue generated by retail marijuana sales, with the remaining 25% going to the county. The Association of Towns of the State of New York praised the size of the share for municipalities, and its legislative director, Sarah Brancatella, told The Citizen that they should keep that revenue in mind as they make their decisions.
„However, every town in New York is unique and has its own sense of community, and ultimately towns will act in a way they feel is best for their residents,” Brancatella continued. „If towns want to get a better sense of how their residents feel about cannabis dispensaries or on-site consumption sites we’ve recommended that the town hold a public hearing or a series of community roundtables.”
Brancatella also noted that town decisions about opting out will not apply to any villages within their limits. So Aurora and Weedsport will make their own decisions regardless of Ledyard and Brutus.
That was one of the questions Bennett and Winslow had as they prepared to discuss their villages opting out.
They had more rhetorical questions, too. Bennett, for instance, wondered if it would be better for her village to have a dispensary for its residents, Wells College students, Inns of Aurora visitors and more. That might help keep people under the influence of marijuana off the road, which she said is one of her biggest concerns — especially considering the amount of teenagers who rely on driving in a rural area like hers. But at the same time, Bennett could see how not having a dispensary in the village might decrease the temptation of the drug.
Those questions, not money, will be on Bennett’s mind as Aurora decides whether to opt out.
„I don’t think it’s a decision that ought to be made on revenue. It feels like much more of a safety issue to me than any revenue we would get,” she said. „You have to think about the consequences.”
In Weedsport, Winslow described a similar dilemma. He feels certain someone will try to open a dispensary in the village given its name, he said with a laugh, so he wants to make the right decision.
Both he and Bennett said the decision-making process will also involve seeing what other municipalities in the Cayuga County area do. That will help tell them not only what their own constituents may want, but how much revenue they stand to collect. A municipality surrounded by others that have opted out might see more incentive not to do so, and vice versa.
As his village prepares to make its decision, Winslow added that he’s consulting with the New York State Conference of Mayors and Municipal Officials. The association said in a statement that it believes „each community must have a voice in whether the adult-use cannabis industry operates within its boundaries, as the impacts of the cannabis industry will be most directly felt at the local level.”
Preempting a possible attempt by the Cayuga Nation to open a marijuana dispensary, the village of Union Springs has drafted a local law prohibiting sales of the drug there.
The law would make Union Springs the first municipality in Cayuga County to opt out of parts of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo March 31.
The law, an amendment to the village’s 2013 zoning law, would prohibit marijuana dispensaries and consumption sites, as well as the sale of tobacco and tobacco products, including vaporizers and e-cigarettes. Wholesale growing and processing of marijuana and marijuana products would also be prohibited everywhere but the village’s agricultural residential and commercial zoning areas, where it would be allowable by special permit. The law says its purpose is to prevent „the negative secondary effects of cannabis and nicotine use, cultivation, processing and sale.”
Union Springs Mayor Bud Shattuck told The Citizen on Friday that any businesses in the village that sell tobacco and tobacco products, namely the Cayuga Nation’s Lakeside Trading store, would be allowed to continue those sales through a grandfather clause. The law will be reviewed by the county’s General Municipal Law committee April 15, and the village plans to pass it in May.
The village is moving fast on the law, Shattuck said, because it believes the Cayugas intend to open a marijuana dispensary at a property they’re purchasing, 121 Cayuga St., in the middle of Union Springs. Officials worry that would create overwhelming traffic in the village, similar to past lines at Lakeside Trading, as well as a negative influence on local youth.
Municipalities in the Cayuga County area are weighing the pros and cons of opting out of parts of New York state’s law legalizing marijuana.
„To move something like that into our community — we’re concerned because students walk by that block to get to school. It didn’t seem like a good thing,” Shattuck said. „But if they hadn’t bought that property in the village, if they decided to dispense out of (Lakeside Trading), then we probably wouldn’t have started this.”
Clint Halftown, the Cayugas’ federally recognized representative, confirmed to The Citizen that the nation is purchasing the property, which is currently the home of Gus’s Pizzeria. But he said there are no plans to open a dispensary there. The Cayugas are simply making the purchase, he continued, because they want to acquire any local commercial properties they can.
Still, Halftown asked why the village would opt out of allowing marijuana sales.
„I just don’t know why they’re opting out of something that could bring them more revenue,” he said. „If they don’t need it then good for them, but I do.”
Two Union Springs residents also cited potential revenue when they objected to the local law at a public hearing the village held last week, Shattuck said. Under the new state law, municipalities that don’t opt out of allowing marijuana sales will receive 75% of the local tax revenue they will generate when they begin April 1, 2022. The county will receive the remaining 25%.
But, as Shattuck explained at a meeting of the village planning board on Thursday, he doesn’t expect that would be the case in Union Springs.
„We know if the Cayuga Nation’s doing this, there is no tax revenue because the state’s only going to kick back what they receive, and the Cayuga Nation doesn’t pay taxes,” he said.
Shattuck said at the meeting that he was told the nation intends to open a dispensary in the village by Lee Alcott, the nation’s attorney at the firm Barclay Damon, though the mayor didn’t mention him by name. Asked to confirm that, Alcott sent The Citizen the following statement: „As with its right to conduct gaming in the village, the Nation will pursue any and all opportunities it deems appropriate.”
Alcott likewise did not respond to a question asking whether the Cayugas would challenge the village’s law. Shattuck said he believes they will, but he further believes it should be the state, not the municipality, that shoulders the burden of defending the law because it is a result of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act.
Halftown also did not directly say whether the Cayugas would challenge the village law.
„They do what they feel is right for their people,” he said. „We’re a sovereign nation, so we have to do what we feel is right for our people.”
Shattuck does feel confident the village is doing what is right for its residents. Last week’s public hearing saw a total of 23 people speak, he said, and all but four supported the local law. The other two objectors cited their own use of marijuana. The mayor clarified that Union Springs is not against the drug outright, and residents will be welcome to possess their 3 ounces and grow their six plants.
„I grew up in the ’60s,” he said. „We don’t care.”
A third Cayuga County municipality has made known its plans to opt out of parts of the state’s new marijuana law, and will hold a public hearing on the matter next week.
The town of Springport will hold the hearing at 7 p.m. Monday, July 12, at its town hall at 859 Route 326. The subject of the hearing will be the town’s Local Law No. 1 for the Year 2021, which would prohibit retail dispensaries and consumption sites for marijuana within the town. The full text of the law is available at the office of the Springport town clerk during normal business hours.
New York state’s Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, signed March 31 by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, allows municipalities to opt out of those two parts of the law. They cannot opt out of most other parts of the law, which allows people to possess up to 3 ounces of marijuana, grow up to six plants at home and use the substance in private and select public spaces.
Springport joins the town of Brutus and the village of Union Springs on the list of county municipalities moving forward to opt out of the two parts of the law. The deadline for doing so is Dec. 31.
Springport Town Supervisor Dave Schenck told The Citizen on Wednesday that the town board decided unanimously to opt out.
„We didn’t think it’s a positive thing to do for our communities,” he said of the state’s marijuana law. „We just think the unintended consequences could be additional unsafe communities.”
The board, Schenck continued, believes the state law decreases the power of law enforcement to police marijuana abuse and the legal consequences for it, which is „not a good combination” with the legalization of dispensaries and consumption sites. Additionally, Schenck said the town does not have many commercial areas where those businesses could open and generate tax revenue. There are several in the village of Union Springs inside the town, but Springport’s opt-out law would not apply to the village. Union Springs is moving forward with its own opt-out law.
With those factors in mind, the town board felt it was prudent to opt out and see how the state’s marijuana law affects other municipalities, Schenck said. The town can opt back in at any time.
But first, the board wants to know what the Springport public thinks.
„That’s basically why we’re having the hearing, to listen to everyone who wishes to weigh in,” Schenck said. „Then the board will decide.”
A Cayuga County town may have changed its mind about „opting out” of parts of New York state’s marijuana law.
The town of Sennett has drafted a local law prohibiting marijuana dispensaries and consumption sites from opening there, Supervisor Tom Gray told The Citizen on Tuesday.
The town board will hold a public hearing on the law at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 16. It has until Dec. 31 to pass the law. As a condition of the state’s Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, municipalities cannot opt out after that deadline. However, municipalities that do pass local laws prohibiting marijuana businesses can opt back in by repealing their laws at any time.
Those conditions led the board to reconsider opting out, Gray said. Earlier this month, he told The Citizen the town wouldn’t, as the board believed marijuana would be sold down the commercial strip of Grant Avenue in the city of Auburn anyway. That belief was confirmed last week, when Auburn’s mayor and city councilors told The Citizen they are unanimously against opting out.
Gray said Sennett’s incoming supervisor, Tom Blair, asked the board to reconsider opting out so the town can study the issue more carefully.
„The key is if you don’t opt out, you never can. And if it’s a failure, then you’re in trouble,” Gray said.
Local laws opting out of marijuana retailers and consumption sites are subject to the state’s permissive referendum process, which gives residents who object to the law 45 days before it takes effect to petition for a public vote. At least 10% of the municipality’s residents who voted in the last governor’s election (2018) have to sign the petition.
Municipalities that don’t opt out will collect a 3% tax on marijuana sales. The county where the municipality is located will collect an additional 1% tax.
It is not yet known when marijuana retailers and consumption sites will be able to open in New York. When the state passed its law, licensing was expected to begin April 1, 2022, but delays in the appointment of officers to the Cannabis Control Board have likewise delayed the finalization of rules and regulations for those and other marijuana businesses.
Following an Oct. 31 report on Cayuga County municipalities „opting out” of parts of New York state’s marijuana law, The Citizen has learned of more municipalities that have made their decisions.
The village of Port Byron and the town of Mentz have opted out, which is shorthand for passing local laws that prohibit marijuana dispensaries and consumption sites from operating there. Municipalities can’t opt out of any other parts of the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act signed into law on March 31. It allows the limited use, possession and home growth of marijuana.
The fellow northern Cayuga County town of Victory, meanwhile, has decided not to opt out.
Victory Town Supervisor Michael Wiggins told The Citizen the town decided to allow businesses to attempt the state’s licensing process and present their plans to the town’s planning board for review. Dispensary and consumption site licensing was expected to begin April 1, 2022, but delays in the appointment of officers to the state’s Cannabis Control Board has likely pushed that date back.
Municipalities like Victory that choose not to opt out do not have to pass any laws, as the state law will permit the licensing of dispensaries and consumption sites there by default. In municipalities that do opt out, objecting residents have the 45 days until the law takes effect to petition for a permissive referendum that would put it up for a public vote at a special election.
The Mentz Town Board passed its local law at its Aug. 17 meeting. After a public hearing that yielded no comments, the board passed the law 5-0.
The village of Port Byron also received no public comments during the hearing it held at its board meeting Aug. 9. The board then passed its law 4-0.
Speaking to The Citizen on Wednesday, Port Byron Mayor Ron Wilson said the board decided not to allow dispensaries and consumption sites in the village for a few reasons.
Though the state law will direct 3% of sales at those businesses to the municipality where they take place, Wilson said he and the board were still skeptical the village would stand to gain much.
„The state’s going to let a small village make a lot of money on something they’re proposing? It ain’t going to happen that way, I don’t think,” Wilson said. „And we figured we weren’t going to make a lot of revenue because people are probably going to go to Auburn and buy it. Auburn’s probably going to allow it, I imagine. I don’t think they’re going to opt out.”
The city of Auburn has yet to make a decision about opting out. City council reviewed its options at an April meeting, but has not discussed the matter further.
Another reason Port Byron opted out, Wilson explained, was precautionary. Municipalities can’t opt out after the deadline of Dec. 31, but they can opt back in at any time. Before potentially giving the green light to marijuana businesses, though, the board wants to review the village’s zoning laws to ensure those businesses don’t open anywhere the board doesn’t approve.
„If we opt in,” Wilson said, „we want to have control over where it’s going to be located.”
Auburn City Council took its first public step toward deciding whether to opt out of parts of the state’s law legalizing recreational marijuana at its weekly meeting Thursday.
Though council didn’t make any decisions that night, instead hearing a presentation on the law, its members were immediately reminded of the subject’s immense public interest.
Before Corporation Counsel Stacy DeForrest’s presentation even began, two Auburn residents took the podium to share their thoughts on the law during the meeting’s public comment period.
The first, David Clifford, said that marijuana offers economic and environmental benefits. Its legalization will also lead to higher case clearance rates for police, he continued, and the expungement of possession charges that no longer exist today will help people who’ve had difficulty with employment. Clifford ended by encouraging councilors to contact him to discuss the matter further.
The second commenter, JoLynn Mulholland, is project coordinator for the Cayuga County Drug-Free Community Coalition. She shared concerns about the law affecting the area’s youth, saying the coalition’s data shows a youth marijuana rate above the national average. People driving under its influence and children accessing plants grown by their parents are other concerns, she added.
Municipalities in the Cayuga County area are weighing the pros and cons of opting out of parts of New York state’s law legalizing marijuana.
To clear the air, City Clerk Chuck Mason then noted that contrary to rumors on social media, council would not be casting any votes about marijuana that night.
Later in the meeting, DeForrest began her presentation about the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act signed into law March 31 by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
As DeForrest explained, the parts of the law that legalize possession and use of marijuana took effect immediately, and municipalities cannot opt out of them. The city of Auburn can, however, opt out of permitting retail sales at dispensaries and licensing on-site usage of the substance. The city can do so, she continued, by passing a law prohibiting those activities or placing time, place and manner restrictions on them. Any restrictions must comply with zoning regulations and cannot be „unreasonably impracticable” with respect to other permitted businesses and effects on traffic and noise.
New York gives municipalities until Dec. 31 to opt out, DeForrest said. They can’t opt out after then, but they can opt back in at any time. If a municipality opts out, residents have 45 days to petition for a referendum that would allow the public to vote on the matter. In order to meet the filing deadlines for that vote to take place in November, council would have to adopt a law opting out by June 24.
Much of DeForrest’s presentation, and the questions she would field from council members afterward, concerned limitations on the use and potential sale of marijuana locally.
Preempting a possible attempt by the Cayuga Nation to open a marijuana dispensary, the village of Union Springs has drafted a local law prohib…
Though the state’s law allows public use, the substance can’t be smoked anywhere in Auburn that tobacco can’t be smoked. The law additionally prohibits marijuana use in tobacco businesses and conventions, outdoor dining areas and automobiles. As for sales, the state’s new Cannabis Control Board and Office of Cannabis Management will license dispensaries like the Liquor Authority does alcohol vendors. There will be rules limiting the number of marijuana retailers in any given area, both DeForrest and Councilor Debby McCormick said, and the city will be privy to license applications.
„There are so many parallels between the way alcohol is regulated and the way this is set up,” DeForrest said.
The city’s corporation counsel also broke down the revenue Auburn stands to collect from marijuana sales when they’re permitted beginning April 1, 2022. Of a total excise tax of 13%, 9% would go to the state, 3% to the municipality and 1% to the county. Sales will be subject to sales tax as well, DeForrest said, and the law allows municipalities to spend the revenue any way they wish.
Councilor Terry Cuddy said that revenue could be particularly helpful in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has made balancing the city’s next budget a challenge. Cuddy then noted the social and economic justice dimensions of the law, and DeForrest confirmed that the state plans to grant about 50% of its marijuana licenses to women, minorities and other disadvantaged individuals.
Two smoke shops have opened in Auburn this month, and the owners of both hope they can add marijuana to their businesses now that the drug has…
Conversely, Councilor Tim Locastro asked DeForrest what expenses the law could create for the city of Auburn. DeForrest said she doesn’t foresee any specific ones, and deferred to City Manager Jeff Dygert. He said that aside from some zoning reviews and other legal discussions, most of the law’s regulation will fall to the state. But he did detail one change he anticipates for Auburn police.
„As this becomes more commonplace, there will be people that are offended by it, or troubled by it, and will call expecting maybe a particular course of action to be taken against people who are legally utilizing marijuana,” Dygert said. „So I think the police department’s probably going to have a large public education burden on them.”
Councilor Jimmy Giannettino said that for him, the main takeaway of the night’s meeting was a sharper understanding of what Auburn stands to gain or lose by opting out.
„If we opt out, we can’t prohibit the smoking of it in the city of Auburn,” he said. „So if we were to opt out and Sennett, Aurelius, Fleming, Owasco don’t opt out, what’s going to happen is people are going to drive to those towns, they’re going to buy it and they’re going to come into Auburn.”
Lake Life Editor David Wilcox can be reached at (315) 282-2245 or david.wilcox@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @drwilcox.
Wanda James opened the first Black-owned dispensary in Denver — the Apothecary of Colorado — alongside her husband, Scott Durrah, in 2009. The next year in 2010, the pair opened Simply Pure dispensary in Denver.
In the decade-plus since then, James says not nearly enough has been done to support the cannabis industry in her state or on a federal level. James, CEO of Simply Pure, says a bevy of issues still plague the industry, including banking and financing, ensuring social equity, and even the rudimentary step of federal legalization.
„I don’t know why this is still a battle,” James tells Cannabis Business Times. „I’m thoroughly confused, and I’m going to call it cowardice of our entire Congress—both Democrats and Republicans. The fact that we have not stood up and just said, ‘Legalize for God’s sakes and get it done.’ … It’s really only the politicians that seem to have issues with cannabis.”
Zach Mentz: What does social equity in the cannabis industry mean to you?
Wanda James: I think we forget why social equity matters in the first place and why we’re doing this. Right now, unfortunately, regulators and big business in cannabis see social equity as being able to get them more market share. That’s not what social equity was supposed to be. Social equity was supposed to be able to ensure that the people who have been most harmed by the drug war actually have an opportunity to be a part of this industry. And I gotta tell you right now, I am most pissed off at legislators. The fact that we refuse to legalize [on a federal level] is beyond me and thoroughly befuddling.
We legalized cannabis in two states [10] years ago—Colorado and Washington. Colorado is now doing on average about $2 billion worth of sales a year. [Ten] years later, we now have legislators twisting themselves into ridiculous places to be able to carve out things like banking. Why the hell are we talking about banking [10] years later? We are an industry that has passed cotton, rice, and peanuts in this country as far as agricultural product is concerned, and yet we don’t have something as simple as banking.
It is obscene to me that legislators will not legalize. And the reason for this is because the federal government is making more money than anybody off of 280E taxes in this country. And it’s obscene—obscene—that we are being levied a tax penalty that was made for drug dealers like Pablo Escobar. We are registered with the secretary of state. We have legitimate business operations now in 18 states on the recreational level, 38 states on the medicinal level—much more than three-fourths of this country now has somehow or another legalized cannabis, and federally we can’t get this done.
If we want to actually see Black and brown businesses or entrepreneurs have a place in this industry, then we need to legalize. Allow the SBA [Small Business Administration] to have training opportunities and to put loans in place so that we could actually go to a bank and start our businesses. On top of that, we can then start to look at ensuring that businesses have people of color operating from the top down. Because right now, as long as this remains federally illegal, we can’t make any of that happen. We can’t provide loans. We can’t provide carveouts. We can’t insist that businesses have Black and brown people on their board of directors, in their c-suites, and in their management teams. Right. We can’t do any of that.
WJ: I am absolutely not surprised. Black and brown people made up 85% of arrests when cannabis was illegal, and we’re still arresting four times more Black people then we are white people … Take a place like Denver, Colorado—34% of the [cannabis] arrests before legalization were Black in a city where less than 10% of the population is Black. And currently, all that I can find, because the state is having a hard time justifying its numbers, is there are two Black dispensary owners in Denver. So we can arrest 34% of Black people for simple possession, yet we can only find two Black people to own dispensaries?
WJ: Yeah, this 280E tax penalty makes absolutely no sense. It is the biggest theft by the federal government that I’ve ever seen. The fact that we are penalized in the same way that Pablo Escobar or any other drug dealer has been in America is ridiculous to me. We are registered with the secretary of state, we are governed by the same laws that any other business is governed by, and yet we can’t have a bank account, we have no deductions, and the federal government takes 40 to 60% of your income off the top every year.
Basically when the 280E tax penalty was put into place for drug dealers, it was to effectively take any of the profit that people selling cocaine and other illicit drugs on the street are making, because if we can’t get you for murdering people, we can definitely get you for tax evasion. Since I am not a criminal enterprise and since nobody else involved in cannabis that is registered with their secretary of state and operate under the normal business laws are involved in criminal activity, why are we subjected to the same types of laws that govern criminal activity?
A lot of activists are concerned that if we legalize and we take away the 280E tax penalty, that the larger corporations will become larger. Yes, that’s true. So what? Because the fact is the larger corporations in cannabis can survive 280E because they’re making billions. What can’t survive 280E is a single licensee. Anybody that just owns a dispensary cannot survive under the 280E tax penalty—cannot be done. Somebody that has a small grow facility cannot survive 280E—cannot be done. So we need to immediately end this 280E tax penalty and allow for banking.
WJ: So my background has been in politics for the last 30 years—as a matter of fact, I’m a current candidate for CU (University of Colorado) Regent—and I have worked at the federal level for most of those 30 years. The inaction by Democrats is unforgivable. The inaction by all of Congress is unforgivable. These two competing bills are simple: One allows for equity, one does not. The SAFE Banking Act has no provisions to ensure equity moving forward.
Unfortunately, both of these bills have been set up with false narratives because we can do both. It’s not one or the other. It’s like asking a carbon-based human being, would you rather breathe, or would you rather eat?
So right now my whole thing is: Small businesses can’t survive without banking, so we must get something done. And if the Democrats really believe that Black and brown people are the backbone of this party, then they need to be able to support Black and brown people. So this is why I’m saying it’s a false narrative. Do both, do it right, and it’s not a problem here.
WJ: I’m losing faith in America all the way around, and I don’t know why this is still a battle. I’m thoroughly confused, and I’m going to call it cowardice of our entire Congress—both Democrats and Republicans. The fact that we have not stood up and just said, ‘Legalize for God’s sakes and get it done.’ … It’s really only the politicians that seem to have issues with cannabis. As you know, 70% of Americans want to legalize [adult-use], and … 90% of Americans want to legalize for medicinal marijuana. And it’s funny because 70% of Americans agree on nothing except this. I’m back to that word again: It’s befuddling.
And every politician I talk to when they see me coming, ‘Oh yeah, I’m all for legalization.’ Well then fucking legalize. At this point, I’m tired of being polite and having polite conversations. It’s the old adage, ‘You can’t keep peeing on my leg and telling me it’s raining.’ And I know all this is rude that I’m saying, but there’s no other [way] that I can speak about [it] though except for in rude terms because I’m confused at what every elected official is talking about. In my mind, every single one of them is failing–even the ones who say that they are for this. If you are for it, make it freaking happen. What’s the problem here? Money is being made for the states. Taxation of the plant is going to schools and to homelessness. We are researching this, we’re saving babies with epilepsy, women with cancer, and we’re providing a better way of recreation than something that will destroy your liver and cause you to be addicted for the rest of your life. Yet we just can’t seem to allow this to happen, and I don’t know why. Nobody can tell me why we won’t legalize except for the singular fact that the federal government makes more money than anybody in cannabis. The federal government is the only entity in cannabis right now that is making more money than anybody, and this has to be the singular reason why we won’t legalize. It has to be, because there is no other reason not to do it.
And once again, remembering just because we legalize on the federal level does not mean that every state has to adopt it. But you know what you can’t do? You can’t arrest people for possessing it.
And let me tell you what I think is really rude. I think it’s rude that we are still arresting people for simple possession or for selling small amounts of cannabis when “a big MSO” made $1.3 billion last year … and we’re arresting some kid in Alabama for selling a dime bag on the street last night. That to me is what’s rude.
WJ: We decriminalize cannabis nationwide so that even the states can’t arrest people for possession of small amounts or any nonviolent arrest of folks who are working with cannabis.
[The second] thing I do is remove everybody and expunge every record for everyone who is currently in jail for cannabis possession, or the sale of small amounts.
The third thing that we do is we allow for banking to happen with any of the big banks—and when I say banking, I don’t mean just simply depositing your money at a bank. I mean all the aspects that any small business or large business has for banking, such as lines of credit, merchant accounts, and investment possibilities.
The fourth thing, which I think is hugely important, is that we empower the SBA to give loans to small business owners [and] offer training in cannabis to ensure that small business in cannabis is actually a thing.
The last thing that I would do is when it comes to licensing is that states must incorporate MBE (Minority Business Enterprise) programs, women-owned business programs, and debt-loan business programs as far as licensing is concerned, and that the people not meeting those profiles will not have the opportunity to own monopolies in states.
WJ: Honestly, it’s dismal. There will be extremely limited Black and brown ownership, if any at all. The reason why I say that is because take a state like Colorado, which is a mature state. We have now enacted social equity [10] years after the fact, and now there’s no space in cannabis for social equity. So Denver says that they are going to allow social equity dispensaries to open? There is not one single space where you can open up a new dispensary with current zoning, not one space. So therefore that means there will not be any more social equity dispensaries anywhere in Denver because we waited [10] years to allow them to exist.
And so as the market becomes mature, and what we’re seeing in other states is, the monopolies will come in, drive the price up so high to where small business owners won’t have the opportunity to get involved. It’s like saying, “Why don’t we have any Black-owned casinos in Las Vegas?”
WJ: There’s only one way to do that, and that would be legalize, allow for small business loans, and allow for the SBA to be able to give out those small business loans with low interest rates, grants, and training programs. Outside of that, there is absolutely, positively no other way to do this.
WJ: Nope. No one. Everybody is hopeful for New York. I’m hopeful for New York. I was hopeful for Illinois, but where did this lottery thing come from in Illinois? That was never a part of anything. So at the last minute, when it looked like we were actually going to be able to do some great things in Illinois, we end up with this lottery system. So I’m hopeful for New York, but we’ll see. Right now, out of all of the states that have allowed for cannabis, no, not one of them has done it properly, not one.
WJ: It absolutely has merit. All you have to do really now is even look at the SBA and see how many Black-owned businesses are able to get funding, and that number is also dismal. So yeah, that’s another deeper issue in America. It’s the whole wealth gap issue. Why don’t we have Black and brown entrepreneurs at the same levels that we have white entrepreneurs? It’s strictly an issue of access to capital.
But I want to make sure that your readers understand why this is an issue in cannabis. Our entire community across the nation, from New York to California, from South Dakota to Texas, Black and brown people have paid the price for cannabis prohibition. Mass incarceration in this country has been built on cannabis arrests and mass incarceration is about Black and brown people. So the fact that so many of us and so many of our communities have been harmed by the drug war means that we deserve and should have a huge space carved out for us in this particular industry. That’s why it’s so important that we need to see social equity work.
It is always important to talk about health and wellness, especially cannabis consumption. This article discusses a popular concoction gaining traction in the medical marijuana world: delta-8 and CBD, and how the two get combined into one potent treatment for pain relief. It’s not often that we hear about mixing products. While it is typically understood that when combining two chemicals, there will be a reaction, and the product will change, this doesn’t always have to be the case.
For example, there is no reaction when you mix sugar and water; instead, the water molecules dissolve in the sugar crystals. When you combine CBD oil with delta-8 THC oil, though, you might be in for a surprise!
With the rise of CBD, many people are looking to try CBD-infused wellness products. There is much confusion about what it takes to make a successful mixture that’s both beneficial and safe.
So, if you are wondering how to mix delta 8 and CBD, questioning if this concoction is beneficial or not, then this post is for you. This blog post will discuss everything from the molecular difference between Delta-8 and CBD to how it reacts with our bodies.
Delta-8 is a cannabinoid found in the marijuana plant, being one of the cannabinoids that bind to cannabinoid receptors. It is also known as THC-COOH; delta 8–9 tetrahydrocannabinolic acid; dl-THC, and Δ1,3-delta 8–9 tetrahydrocannabinol.
It has similar effects to other cannabinoids that bind with cannabinoid receptors, such as delta 9–tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9 THC) which attaches to the CB1 receptor. It is a naturally occurring steroid hormone. Athletes, particularly sprinters and marathon runners, take it to increase their muscle mass before performing at their peak.
The more delta-8 that exists in the body, the less acetylcholine will be available to act on the postsynaptic membranes of neurons. Causing them to remain in hyperpolarized states and thus prevent activity from occurring. However, it has a variety of medical uses, and you can use them in many medical treatments, including helping people with insomnia who have trouble falling asleep. This delta-8 product treats depression, anxiety and PTSD, and insomnia.
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Cannabidiol, better known as CBD, is a compound found in cannabis. It is non-psychoactive and can be used to treat a variety of conditions. It doesn’t cause a high, but some people use it as a natural pain reliever and feel better when they take it. It is a non-intoxicating cannabis compound that has therapeutic properties. It is famous for having anti-inflammatory, anti-anxiety, and antidepressant effects without the psychoactive effects of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9THC), the main active ingredient in most forms of cannabis.
It may have therapeutic effects on skin, anxiety, insomnia, pain, seizures, and other medical conditions. It is famous for helping treat cancer and neurodegenerative diseases such as epilepsy. It has many medically beneficial qualities and may treat various conditions. For example, CBD reduces anxiety without causing a high and may even reduce epileptic seizures naturally. It also helps with mental disorders like schizophrenia and even PTSD, decreasing stress-induced inflammation.
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Delta-8 and CBD are two essential ingredients in a cannabis product, specifically a topical. Delta-8 is the chemical that makes THC act like THC and CBD act like CBD. CBDs are a group of chemicals that are very calming and anti-anxiety. And delta-8 is a synthetic cannabinoid with a high affinity for the CB1 receptor.
Mixing delta-8 and CBD can lead to some interesting reactions. Delta-8 is oil-rich in THC, whereas CBD high in THC levels would be considered a cannabis plant extract, not the extracted oil. Therefore, mixing the two oils could lead to psychoactive effects.
Many people ask if Delta-8 and CBD can get mixed to increase euphoria.
Hemp experts point to the entourage effect. However, they also emphasize a more specific approach. The ensemble effect refers to the rising benefits of particular combinations of cannabinoids and not the more general variety of cannabinoids found in full-spectrum CBD. This approach is more beneficial, but hemp experts are equally passionate about it.
This mixing approach lets you fine-tune your cannabinoid experience to meet your therapeutic needs better.
So, does this concoction react to the body?
The short answer is yes, but it’s not a recommendation because the concoction will affect your body. So, to understand how this mixture reacts with our bodies, it’s essential to know how they work separately. Delta-8 can get inhaled while it causes euphoric effects or ingested orally while it causes sedation or drowsiness.
While CBD is the anti-psychotic cannabinoid, CBD binds to receptors in our body that activate when we consume Delta-8 THC, which reduces some undesirable effects of Delta-8 THC like anxiety and paranoia. When delta-8 THC and CBD collide, they work together to allow users higher focus and productivity. However, it is crucial to know that the effects are not permanent and that the user will eventually need to consume more delta-8 THC or CBD for the results to be present again.
But some studies say it will have an adverse reaction to CBD, causing blood pressure to rise and heart rate to drop, and side effects such as emotions and increased pain levels.
The two compounds have many adverse effects on the body, so it’s tough to know when to combine them to avoid dangerous side effects.
This article has discussed the subject of mixing delta-8 and CBD. Not only does it discuss how the two ingredients react with our bodies, but it also covers tips for those who are trying to figure out how to make the best concoction possible.
It is essential to understand that combining these two ingredients can be beneficial, as it creates a “super-cannabinoid” that has both CBD’s psychoactive and anxiolytic properties. CBD and Delta 8’s chemical combination is appropriately known as Delta 8:9 or THC: CBD can be highly potent. However, the chemical reaction depends on the individual’s body chemistry.
For example, some people may experience nausea while others do not. If you want to try mixing the two, make sure you know what kind of side effects you can expect beforehand. If you are unsure about mixing your CBD and THC extracts, you should consult a doctor before introducing them into your routine.
Is Delta-8 THC the fastest growing product of the Cannabis industry?
Greenheart CBD is relocating to the United States, with the first operations in North America launching in New Jersey.
Greenheart CBD in Ireland
Greenheart CBD performs numerous third-party lab tests on their entire line of CBD products, which are made public on the website under each individual product, or available for review below.
Greenheart CBD stands by their products and has always remained compliant with FSAI guidelines. In line with transparency and accountability, the company has willingly recalled all products to comply with the latest FSAI ruling.
Greenheart CBD products undergo rigorous third-party testing. As an Irish company supporting fellow Irish companies, the company contracted JHG Analytical Services to thoroughly test all products. Amongst others include AL-Bioservices and Source BioScience, as well as testing completed by the numerous organizations that have bestowed the company with awards for their CBD oils.
Subsequently, Greenheart CBD as an entity in Ireland will cease to exist and operations will be moved to the United States, enabling reach to a larger market.
Without exception, the company will continue to comply with local regulations. Products will be available to customers again in the next coming weeks, with the company’s continued commitment to third-party lab-testing made available publicly and in compliance with all local laws and regulations.
Irish and other customers will only need to wait for a short period of time before they can purchase Greenheart CBD products again—this time from the USA.
The Greenheart CBD Token
Operations in the USA are set to begin as soon as possible, with production facilities currently enroute to the Greenheart CBD partner in New Jersey.
The first staking pool to be launched will be the Statue of Liberty pool, with pools in South America and Thailand to follow. The Greenheart CBD Token ecosystem will continue to thrive and support CBD farmers around the world, providing full transparency and traceability to the CBD industry.
Greenheart at a Glance
Greenheart CBD asks that the mothers whose children received symptom relief from autism, as well as those who rely on their oils for pain relief and restfulness, to wait patiently as they work tirelessly to resume operations from the United States.
The company is thankful to be the recipients of numerous awards throughout the years, from The Cannavist, the World CBD Awards, the All-Ireland Business Foundation, Top 30 under 30, and so on. And while Greenheart CBD are proud to be featured in Vogue, RSVP, RTE, The Irish Times, and more, they look forward to the accomplishments that the future holds abroad.
Greenheart CBD is honored to have had the opportunity to serve the people of Ireland from their Irish facility.
The Greenheart CBD team will be available to address any questions or concerns that consumers or others may have, and the public are asked to reach out to [email protected] directly for answers.
Greenheart CBD has requested permission to share the results of this test from the public analyst lab and is awaiting their response.
Disclaimer: The products mentioned are THC-free and/or compliant with the 2018 Farm Bill.
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California’s Central Valley hosts a variety of crops, from cereal grains, cotton, and tomatoes to garlic, almonds, and grapes. But the 2021 growing season brought change to the horizon when 30-year hemp industry veteran Lawrence Serbin contracted with cotton grower Tom Pires to cultivate towering fiber hemp during trials on a slice of Central Valley acreage.
More than one industry headline declared 2021 as the year of hemp fiber. But for Serbin, the focus on fiber isn’t new. After a late-1980s college course sparked his interest in hemp’s potential, the entrepreneur envisioned a future for himself in the hemp industry. By 1991, he was the national director of the Business Alliance for Commerce in Hemp (BACH), one of the earliest activist-oriented organizations promoting the return of a legal U.S. hemp industry. Along with hemp activism and advocacy, a decision to enter the hemp fabric business followed.
Serbin founded Hemp Traders in 1993 and earned a respected place in hemp industry history through the years. Today, Hemp Traders is one of the country’s foremost suppliers of hemp textiles and fiber products. It’s been dependent on international markets as U.S.-grown textile-quality fiber hemp remained elusive—but recently, Serbin has taken strides to change that.
From day one, offering hemp textiles grown and made in the U.S. has been a personal goal for Serbin. He dreamed of one day seeing California fields filled with fiber hemp yielding textile-quality bast fiber and hurd. But, like other industry trailblazers, he never expected to wait decades.
As the 1990s progressed, Serbin thought U.S. industrial hemp laws would ease, but those years held surprises. Even when California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana in 1996, attitudes toward hemp lagged. “I never thought marijuana was going to be legalized before industrial hemp, but it was. Medical got legalized, then recreational,” Serbin says.
He watched as Canada re-introduced industrial hemp cultivation in 1998, and other countries followed suit. But U.S. and California hemp laws remained remarkably stagnant until 2017, when the California Industrial Farming Act and the subsequent U.S. Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (the 2018 Farm Bill) triggered a substantial change.
Serbin’s years of disappointment over not being able to grow hemp seemed behind him, but finding others to share his enthusiasm for cultivating textile-destined fiber hemp proved difficult.
Although Serbin was never a farmer himself, he had been selling hemp seeds to growers in other states through Hemp Traders. In 2019, he gave seeds to several California farmers, who agreed to grow the seed and track performance; however, none of them followed through.
“I knew if we want to grow hemp here, we really need to know how to grow it,” Serbin says. “I’d never grown it, and no one I’d known had grown fiber hemp here.” So, in 2020, he wrote up less-casual growing agreements and provided fiber seed to six people, but a similar story ensued—only one grower planted it but never tracked or harvested the crop.
After two years and no data, Serbin realized that to get fiber hemp grown the way he wanted, he needed to provide the seed and compensate someone to cultivate it. He found his answer in Tom Pires, a hemp-minded 45-year veteran of California’s cotton industry, who served as a farmer-processor representative on the California Department of Food and Agriculture Industrial Hemp Advisory Board when Serbin was the board’s chair from 2017 to 2020.
“We found out that hemp growing very fast outcompetes everything around it, including other hemp.” – Lawrence Serbin, founder, Hemp Traders
At the time, Pires was already actively pursuing hemp as an alternative annual crop for cotton farmers hard hit by water battles and high production costs. As general manager of the West Island Cotton Growers grower cooperative—and a cotton and almond grower himself—he watched California cotton dwindle from 1.6 million acres annually in the late 1970s to less than 180,000 acres by 2020.
But while most would-be hemp growers chased cannabinoids, Pires was different. “There’s nothing wrong with CBD or medical marijuana or recreational marijuana, but that’s not where I’m coming from,” he says. His interest lies in what he knows best: fiber.
With Serbin designing experiments and Pires set to grow and collect data, their 2021 California fiber hemp trials got underway. Serbin chose four varieties of Chinese hempseed based on suitability for fiber production and the site’s latitude. He expected a wide genetic variation from the seed, which was not registered or certified by any official agency. “They ended up doing incredibly well, much better than I ever anticipated they would,” Serbin shares.
Pires selected a 10-acre field on his San Joaquin Valley farm based on well-drained, light-textured, sandy-loam soil. Then, he worked the field and irrigated it with sprinklers before planting.
The team used a conventional grain drill, like that used for barley or wheat, to plant nine plots of seed designed to capture varietal performance and optimal planting densities. At four-tenths of an acre each, the plots totaled 3.6 acres of fiber hemp—a modern-day first for Central Valley.
The first planting took place March 5, 2021, as an exercise in how early they could plant successfully. Serbin and Pires planted the remaining plots April 2, 2021. Pires says seeding rates for the four March plots ranged from 40 to 75 pounds of seed per acre, but seed densities increased to as much as 180 pounds per acre for the April planting.
To Pires’s surprise, the first planting germinated exceptionally well despite the early March date and soil temperatures near 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Plots where seedlings emerged in unison engaged in healthy competition, growing tall together, and plots with staggered germination saw late arrivals die out at the feet of those that emerged early. “We found out that hemp growing very fast outcompetes everything around it, including other hemp,” Serbin says.
California’s Central Valley holds 75% of the state’s irrigated land. Though the Central Sierra snowpack was promising earlier this winter, that quickly changed. According to the state’s department of water resources, drought recovery remains tenuous. With irrigation the norm for all crops grown in the Central Valley, water requirements are crucial to any crop’s success — including hemp.
Pires opted for above-ground drip irrigation incorporating lay-flat tubing for the historic trials. Instead of a soil moisture monitoring system, he took the old-school approach: He irrigated when plants were “asking for water,” evidenced by mid-morning wilting and other signs.
Early on, he irrigated young plants at about two-week intervals. As the crop grew bigger and summer temperatures rose, Pires did short irrigation runs twice a week. He monitored and measured water use closely so the team could compare fiber hemp with nearby cotton on similar drip irrigation. Over the season, Pires found the hemp used about 20% less water than the cotton crop did.
“The total amount of water on that first March 5 planting on those four varieties was 19 to 20 inches of water, including the pre-irrigation, which is kind of amazing,” Pires shares. In comparison, he says drip-irrigated cotton uses 24 to 28 inches, depending on the soil. (Envision that depth of water covering the field.)
As cannabinoid and hemp grain growers have learned, optimal hemp production requires proper nutrition. Pires reports feeding 180 pounds of actual nitrogen per acre over the season via UN32 liquid nitrogen in the drip. He typically runs 200 to 250 pounds per acre per season on cotton.
RELATED: 10 Building Blocks to Hemp Nutrition
The team used no herbicides or pesticides, even though fiddleneck weeds typically plague the field. Serbin says the hemp grew so fast, it shut down weeds immediately. Pires saw minimal pest damage on leaves, despite reports of severe pest pressure on area CBD crops. Many birds, bees, and other beneficial insects found their way to the site.
Height proved the greatest cultivation challenge. The plants grew much taller than anticipated—Serbin estimates 20 feet on average. Not one to pass up opportunity, Serbin filed with the Guinness World Records to recognize one plant as the world’s tallest hemp plant. (The submission is still under review. There is currently no world record set for the tallest hemp plant.)
At the time of submission, the plant was 24 feet 1 5/8 inches tall, and it kept growing. Pires says some others surpassed it by harvest time.
After a small practice harvest in July, the full harvest of the March planting came in late August. A company wanting to test their equipment on fiber hemp helped. Part of the harvest involved a silage chopper, which mows and chops the stalks.
Serbin says the silage chopper worked surprisingly well on hemp, especially with hurd in mind, but not for the long fibers preferred for premium hemp textiles. “When you chop the fibers into smaller pieces, you’re lowering their value,” he adds.
The equipment company also tested a sickle bar mower that was slightly modified to handle the height and volume of the plants and accommodate the long fiber harvests that premium hemp textiles demand. Like making hay, the sickle bar simply cut plants down to dry in the field. Pires says the dry Central Valley climate was a perfect match.
The team explains their goal with fiber hemp was to harvest before flowering. Doing so improves handling and processing, and it also reduces THC levels and odor concerns. The March crop had no flowers showing at the end of August, and the April crop—harvested in late September—showed only male flowers.
Prior to the trials, Serbin researched historical records for fiber hemp yields to provide a reference point. He didn’t expect to match those records—but he says final yields exceeded historical expectations by 30% to 50%.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Serbin says. “I had [Pires] confirm it for me two or three times.”
Serbin’s research put historical yields for green hemp at 35,600 pounds per acre. That’s before drying, which results in a weight loss near 70%. But the 2021 Central Valley trial yields ranged from 47,000 pounds to more than 55,000 pounds per acre.
For dry weight—what farmers would take to market—he says historical records were around 9,300 pounds per acre. After drying, the trial crop’s yields per acre ranged from 12,400 pounds to more than 14,500 pounds.
“[The fiber] processors [that] are operating are having no trouble selling their production, which is promising.” – Seth Boone, vice president of business development, PanXchange
Pires notes the denser April planting represents the lower end of those yields, as the thinner stalks that resulted from the competitive environment fell short of the 3/8- to 1/2-inch diameter stalks desired for fiber use.
Throughout the season, Pires tracked what he calls the cultural costs of the trials to see how fiber hemp compares with cotton and other crops. He stresses that these costs include seed, planting, water, fertilizer, harvesting, and similar expenses, but exclude capital costs, including land rent or land ownership costs.
Pires put the cultural costs for growing fiber hemp in the Central Valley at $1,427 per acre by season’s end. But the crucial measure is the net profit achieved on top of those costs. For Central Valley cotton growers, he says that’s a minimum of $1,600 per acre net profit.
“In order to grow, you have to convince a farmer he can make either the same or more money growing your crop than what he’s already doing,” Serbin says.
He emphasizes that the textile market promises the greatest potential for farmers, but premium pricing demands bast fiber at least 36 inches long, 99.9% separated from hurd fiber.
Based on what Serbin calls a conservative $0.20 per pound for dried and baled fiber stalks suitable for the textile market, a grower duplicating the team’s 2021 Central Valley trials’ average results could net a $1,000 to 1,400 profit per acre. At $0.25 per pound, net profit gets competitive with Pires’s cotton: $1,600 to $2,200 per acre. But, again, Serbin stresses quality is critical for the textile market.
Seth Boone, vice president of business development for commodities platform PanXchange, says prices for “true hemp” biomass—the dried stalks—have changed little since the $0.12 per pound reported in Hemp Grower in December 2020. He puts current pricing at $0.10 to $0.15 per pound.
Boone chalks up disappointing market maturation to limited processing capacity and high prices for crops that compete with fiber hemp for land, but there’s good news. “What processors are operating are having no trouble selling their production, which is promising,” Boone says. He adds that some processors struggle to procure quality volume, settling on low-quality repurposed stalks from CBD crops, which drives lower pricing.
Boone says quality bast fiber’s effect on pricing is yet to be seen. “We are still in the early stages of how this will impact the market,” he says, adding that known quality material is typically procured quickly or already under contract.
“When people talk about anything from the flower—isolates, extracts, things like that—none of those are as complicated as making a textile,” Serbin says. It takes multiple industries working together to see hemp fibers become fabric. With much of the needed infrastructure and market now overseas, domestic infrastructure and fiber production depend on each other.
With the foundation for future California fiber crops laid, Pires plans to keep cultivating hemp and finessing the cotton gin he’s converting to process fiber hemp. “We’ve kind of got to jump on this thing I feel at this point, because we’ve already got the experience on the farming side and processing. We’re ahead of the game,” he says.
Serbin hopes to expand and work with more California farmers this season, but he hasn’t finalized his plans.
He acknowledges that a “Made in the USA” label has long been important to people, including him. “But it’s not always as important as how much something costs,” he adds. To date, most of the hemp fabric sold by Hemp Traders is imported from China, the leading textile producing and exporting country in the world—and a major importer of fiber hemp to create those textiles.
“What I’d love to do is get the hemp growing here in California, be able to separate it, sell the [hurd] here in the U.S., and send the long fiber to China to have them make textiles from that. And they want that,” he says. By shipping long fiber to China and capitalizing on that nation’s established textile industry, Serbin feels U.S. growers — and textile traders — would maximize profits at both ends.
With three decades of hemp industry expertise framing his view of the future, Serbin says it comes down to what he can do and what the industry will do.
Looking forward, he believes the data from the 2021 Central Valley trials will help California farmers be able to grow and sell fiber hemp profitably. “I anticipate there will be enough demand for that fiber that we’ll be able to grow lots of hemp around here,” he says.
As hemp cultivation increases and economies of scale set in, he expects production costs to fall. He hopes that will, in turn, open more industries and increase demand for U.S.-grown long fiber, domestically and internationally. Boone repeats that scenario, adding that taking care of hemp farmers is crucial to U.S. fiber hemp’s long-term success.
To competitively sell fiber hemp, Serbin says farmer and processor must benefit from a crop’s bast fiber and hurd. “In order for this to be profitable, you want to try to get the most for both of them,” he says. “And the way you’re going to get the most for the bast fiber is to sell it into the textile industry.”
Jolene Hansen is a freelance writer specializing in the hemp, horticulture and specialty agriculture industries. Reach her at jolene@jolenehansen.com
A new Research Report published by JCMR under the title Global Weed Vaporizer Market (COVID 19 Version) can grow into the world’s most important market which has played an important role in making progressive impacts on the global economy. The Global Weed Vaporizer Market Report presents a dynamic vision for concluding and researching market size, market hope and competitive environment. The study is derived from primary and secondary Research and consists of qualitative & Quality analysis. The main company in this Research is Etain, Linx Vapor, Kandypens, PCKT, PAX Labs, Vessel, VAPIR ENTERPRISES, Arizer, Dr. Dabber, STORZ & BICKEL, AtmosRx, AirVape
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Weed Vaporizer Perception | Weed Vaporizer Primary Research 80% (interviews) | Weed Vaporizer Secondary Research (20%) |
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Supply side(production) | Weed Vaporizer related Competitors | Weed Vaporizer related Economical & demographic data |
Weed Vaporizer related Raw materials Suppliers & Producer | Weed Vaporizer related Company Reports,& publication | |
Weed Vaporizer related Specialist interview | Weed Vaporizer related Government data/publication | |
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Demand side(consumption) | END-users/Custom Surveys/interviews | Weed Vaporizer related Custom data |
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Research Methodology for Weed Vaporizer industry :
Weed Vaporizer Primary Research:
We interviewed various key sources of supply and demand in the course of the Primary Research to obtain qualitative and quantitative information related to Weed Vaporizer report. Main sources of supply include key industry members, subject matter experts from key companies, and consultants from many major firms and organizations working on the Global Weed Vaporizer Market.
Weed Vaporizer Secondary Research:
Weed Vaporizer Secondary Research was performed to obtain crucial information about the business supply chain, the company currency system, global corporate pools, and sector segmentation, with the lowest point, regional area, and technology-oriented perspectives. Secondary data were collected and analyzed to reach the total size of the Weed Vaporizer market which the first survey confirmed.
Furthermore, the years considered for the study are as follows:
Weed Vaporizer industry Historical year – 2013-2019
Weed Vaporizer industryBase year – 2020
Weed Vaporizer industry Forecast period** – 2021 to 2029
Some Key Research Questions & answers:
What Is impact of COVID 19 on Global Weed Vaporizer Market?
Before COVID 19 Global Weed Vaporizer Market Size Was XXX Million $ & After COVID 19 Excepted to Grow at a X% & XXX Million $.
Who are the Top Key Players in the Global Weed Vaporizer Market and what are their priorities, strategies & developments?
Lists of Competitors in Research is: Etain, Linx Vapor, Kandypens, PCKT, PAX Labs, Vessel, VAPIR ENTERPRISES, Arizer, Dr. Dabber, STORZ & BICKEL, AtmosRx, AirVape
What are the Types & Applications of the Global Weed Vaporizer Market?
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All percent shares, breaks, and classifications were determined using the secondary sources and confirmed through the primary sources. All parameters that may affect the market covered in this study have been extensively reviewed, researched through basic investigations, and analyzed to obtain final quantitative and qualitative data. This has been the study of key quantitative and qualitative insights through interviews with industry experts, including CEOs, vice presidents, directors and marketing executives, as well as annual and financial reports from top market participants.
Table of Content:
1 Report Summary
1.1 Weed Vaporizer Research Scope
1.2 Weed Vaporizer Key Market Segments
1.3 Weed Vaporizer Target Player
1.4 Weed Vaporizer Market Analysis by Types
1.5 Weed Vaporizer Market by Applications
1.6 Weed Vaporizer Learning Objectives
1.7 Weed Vaporizer years considered
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2 Global Growth Trends
2.1 Global Global Weed Vaporizer Market Size
2.2 Trends of Global Weed Vaporizer Market Growth by Region
2.3 Weed Vaporizer Corporate trends
3 Global Weed Vaporizer Market shares by key players
3.1 Global Weed Vaporizer Market Size by Manufacturer
3.2 Global Weed Vaporizer Market Key players Provide headquarters and local
3.3 Weed Vaporizer Major Players Products / Solutions / Services
3.4 Enter the Barriers in the Global Weed Vaporizer Market
3.5 Weed Vaporizer Mergers, acquisitions and expansion plans
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16 Hispanic Artists Who Support Cannabis
A couple of months ago, we shared a list titled “12 Hispanic Power Players In The Cannabis Space To Watch In 2022.” These people, all with different profiles, are overt advocates for cannabis, its benefits and its legalization.
But advocacy takes many forms, some less obvious than others. In the past, I’ve argued that the impact of the entertainment industry (CNBC) and celebrities in general (Rolling Stone) on the mainstreaming of weed is far greater than many believe. It’s all about soft power.
Below is a list of some of the biggest Hispanic artists right now, and their views on the good herb.
Comedian and entertainer Señorita Bimbo is one of the most vocal cannabis advocates in Argentina’s mainstream media.
What I feel for marijuana is real love. It saved my life. Ever since I tried it, the only thing it did was bring joy to my heart.
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There are people who believe it’s escapism, but for me it’s the opposite: it’s connecting more, facing stuff with an open chest: Something amuses me, I’ll laugh; something hurts me, I’ll cry.
It really is a sacred and miraculous plant. It is good to know what you are smoking, what genetics, what percentages of THC and CBD… and, most importantly, find your dose. There really are people who are two-puffs kind of people.
Also stemming from Argentina, former freestyle rap champion and current superstar musician Wos has often supported legalization. He’s also managed to find balance between being a cannabis consumer and being extremely productive.
I’ve always tied cannabis to a moment of tranquility and sharing… I feel that cannabis has something similar to rapping at a park in the sense that both are a ritual… You freestyle with friends and pass the word around, just like you would a joint.
This is a plant, it’s natural. Marijuana can be used for many things, and the fact that one doesn’t consume doesn’t mean that you should stop others from enjoying its benefits, both medicinal and recreational.
Peruvian YouTuber and freestyle rap expert 321 Malena isn’t afraid to disclose her use either, even though she’s not a smoker.
I eat cookies because I have a heart problem and smoking doesn’t help me. On the other hand, cookies or brownies do work for me. At night it helps me sleep much better because I have many things to do during the day and on a mental level it is very tiring.
Another thing I love about cannabis is that I remember things from my childhood that I didn’t remember, happy and beautiful things. Usually, people consume in a group. I like to be alone because it is my own moment, very personal, I kill myself laughing alone.
Mexican-American idol Xiuhtezcatl is all about tradition.
There are so many plant-based medicines that have been exploited and criminalized as a way to oppress black and brown people. To truly understand the relationship between society and these medicines, we must abandon the colonialist visions and institutions.
There are so many people locked up for life because they got caught with some weed, because of the war on drugs, which is super racist. We have created a society based on fear.
And also hemp.
Not only do we have to keep fossil fuels in the ground and lower carbon emissions, but we also have to clean all the carbon that we have been producing from the atmosphere. And hemp is an excellent solution. It literally provides an alternative to our insulation needs, building hempcrete structures.
We need to get these resources into people’s hands, scale them up, and basically replace the existing infrastructure with hemp. Hemp yarn, clothing, plastics, fuel, ice cream, milk, you name it! Hemp everything!
It is a one-stop-shop, a unique solution. It would literally help in any area. People are scared of how effective hemp is as an alternative. Also, there’s a lot of stigma around it because of the fear of cannabis, which is silly.
One day I’ll get a hemp crib.
Catalan rapper Santa Salut is a badass. And, of course, a weed lover too.
Cannabis frequently accompanies me in the creative process, but it is not essential for it. I can write without smoking. But going to a park, smoking a joint and starting to write, it’s a cool ritual. More than the cannabis itself, the act of concentrating and relaxing is what inspires me the most. The day I need a joint to inspire me, then we will have a problem.
Musician, writer and tennis player Andy Chango is one of the most famous cannabis activists in the Southern Cone of the Americas.
I’ve had an anxiety disorder since I was 13 years old, and weed allows me to be calmer, eat more and sleep better.
Everything that’s going on with cannabis and other drugs around the world is because the United States wants it that way… My mission is ideological.
Talking about weed bores me to death. It is obvious that it’s good. I have been consuming it for 40 years and I have already argued with all kinds of idiots. The science world supports cannabis and the business world supports cannabis. I like to advocate for more important issues, like letting cannabis prisoners free… Any legalization movement that does not include prisoners does not interest me because it seems to me to be a logistical and ideological error.
Duki is one of the most listened-to artists in the world. If you don’t know of him, you’re probably missing out. And, for him, cannabis is a lifestyle.
For me, it’s a habit. And it’s not problematic. If it were, I’d reassess my use.
In my particular case I do not use it medicinally; I use it recreationally, to get high and to feel pleasure. But I don’t call it a drug because it seems like a stigma to me: if we’re going to call it a drug, yes, it’s more like a medicinal drug, not so different from ibuprofen. But compared to synthetic drugs that someone makes and you don’t know what the hell they put in them, it’s totally different.
You take care of your plant, it comes out of the ground if you give it water, it gives seeds, you can even choose what type you want it to be according to its effects. It is more like making a tea. It is medicinal, but I use it recreationally.
Snow, featured on Forbes a few months ago, is also fond of weed.
I definitely think cannabis helps. There’s been days when it’s hard to shut my brain off or focus on my family. Whether it’s CBD or a little bit of weed, it helps me to be able to have a chill day. I use it for medicinal reasons as opposed to just being high.
Hopefully it can be just legalized and normalized and decriminalized everywhere, and help out the whole world. I think we’re kind of in a f*cked up place: We need a little bit more peace.
Decriminalizing weed is definitely a huge thing. Getting everybody out that went to jail for weed. All these things that have affected people’s lives forever,” the rapper continues. In fact, a very close friend of hers went to prison in Mexico for cannabis, and the experience changed his life and limited his opportunities in ways he’d never imagined.
It’s crazy, geography plays such an impact on where your life can change or where you’re fine. So I think decriminalizing cannabis federally, and globally. That would be the start.
Argentine-Spanish rapper Sofía Gabanna has been one of the biggest up-and-comers of the last couple of years. She too, loves weed.
Since I was a little girl, I saw paintings, models, movies… all the characters that came out smoking fascinated me. Smoke always caught my attention, I always had a relationship of curiosity there… But I never liked tobacco, so weed came into play. I also don’t like alcohol, so cannabis is important in my life.
Nowadays, it really helps me write. But it’s all about finding balance in consumption. What cannabis shouldn’t be, is a vice.
Another massive stoner, also featured on Forbes, is rapper La Joaqui.
Cannabis is taboo but it helps with so many ailments… Smoking helps me a lot. Throughout my adolescence I was very anxious. All my adolescence I was medicated but, when I started smoking, I didn’t medicate anymore. Medicinally, the things it can generate are incredible.
Freestyle rapper Stuart loves Mary Jane as well.
It’s an everyday thing, something I need.
Cannabis is a vice, like rap. Not a harmful one like cigarettes. We always laugh about it: we never went a day without smoking.
In the past, we used to collect coins to get some brick weed… Now we are older, we are thinking about the crop, the quality, the color, the smell. Before we didn’t worry about that, it was just getting a hookup. Now, it’s a matter of art, that’s how I see it.
Spanish pop sensation Bad Gyal is yet another weed aficionado.
Whether for music, for outfits, for ideas for a video clip, for whatever… I have always had a close relationship with cannabis and hashish; they take me to that point of inspiration.
Cannabis has always been good for me to relax, to concentrate, to inspire me… It’s never made me lazy.
DJ Mami is a pot proponent as well.
Cannabis has always been with me. I used to smoke brick weed… But my way of consuming it changed a lot… Now, I do it during special moments.
I’ve always been a psychonaut too. There is a lot of bad information and many people exposed to unconscious consumption. I feel that, because of my age and knowing that a lot of people who are much younger than I am follow me, it is important to expose my experiences, both the good ones and the not so good ones.
It is wrong to judge the other people for their consumption or lack thereof. They don’t have to feel like they have to do something to be more accepted, we’re not all the same.
Recently featured on Forbes, rapper Dillom is also on board with pot legalization, even though he doesn’t indulge as frequently as he used to himself.
Medical… That’s not even up for debate. I’m obviously for it. What can tell someone who is having a seizure every five minutes? I’m in no position to judge that person.
Musician Sara Hebe has also moved away from cannabis while still supporting it.
I used to smoke a lot… but today I can only smoke when I’m partying hard… Or when I am very relaxed, on vacation… But, obviously, I’ll never stop thinking that it has to be legal, recreational and medicinal.
Finally, Juan Cruz is a well known streamer. He uses cannabis medicinally. He’s been wheel-chair-bound since he was 17.
I have always liked weed… And so I made a career out of it.
Marijuana has always been with me. I always had her by my side, I always smoked. I had a lot of spasms and marijuana calmed them down. It’s incredible.
I’d like to tell people: “Don’t be afraid of marijuana, but also don’t overdo it. It could become an addiction… It is something to be careful with, but it is very beneficial.
Note: All quotes not attributed to Forbes are from Latin American media outlet El Planteo.