Miesiąc: grudzień 2022

New Weed and Concentrate Vaporizers by King Palm – Benzinga

ONTARIO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / December 30, 2022 / The King Palm brand first made noise in 2016 with their tobacco-free and natural leaf blunt cones for sale, and never stopped innovating products for smoking cannabis. They are now focused on portable weed and concentrate vaporizers and have just released a few innovative options.

The Burj, the Giza, and the Noir are three new ways to vape THC concentrate. The Noir vaporizer can vape THC concentrates and cannabis. During the initial product launch, each vape was so well-received by the cannabis community that they almost immediately sold out, but they’re back.

New THC Vaporizers

These THC vaporizers have the slightly minimalist aesthetic that the brand is known for, while still looking rich and sleek. Their performance has made them a very hot commodity among cannabis enthusiasts, from YouTubers to soccer moms, and the five-star reviews are piling up.

Electric Nectar Collector

The recently-debuted Burj is one of the best options for an electric nectar collector. At first glance, it looks similar to other electric nectar collectors on the market. Still, the construction and resulting performance separate it from the nearest competitors.

Vape Concentrates and 510 thread THC oil cartridges

The Burj can vape pre-filled THC oil vape cartridges with a 510-thread connection. The user can choose between dabbing wax and vaping, the commonly sold vape cartridge at dispensaries. It’s like a conventional nectar collector, using either a quartz or a ceramic dab straw/nail tip.

This multifunctional electric nectar collector is why customers leave many positive reviews online. It includes a glass bubbler for the smoothest dabs and can produce major clouds.

USB-C Fast Charging

The USB-C charger fills the 650mAh battery in no time, and three voltage presets help manage battery usage and flavor. On-demand mode provides 20 seconds per firing, while the super-convenient draw mode gives the user 10 seconds of button-free operation. Cannigma.com recently wrote a review about the new electric nectar collector with a lot of positive feedback.

Portable Electric Dab rig

The Giza is designed to be the most comfortable and easy-to-operate portable dab rig. The compact size is easy to drop in your pocket, bag, or purse to take anywhere.

It has become one of the best electric dab rig options for those who like to bring out the terps in their concentrates. The main reason the Giza is a primary option for those who enjoy taste is that the heating atomizer is ceramic, which provides a better overall taste profile than quartz.

The Giza has 3 options for temperature that can be quickly and easily cycled through, with a 10-second auto preheat that brings the all-ceramic atomizer to the perfect temperature for your dab. The draw is pulled through the included glass bubbler and a silicone mouthpiece tip.

One of the Giza’s simplest, though most beloved, features is the carb cap. The underside of the cap has a simple, mess-free dab scoop, so you won’t have to worry about using a separate dab tool. Simply scoop your dab on the tool, set it on the atomizer, and start the heating cycle.

The massive 1350mAh battery gives this portable dab rig the power to keep those clouds coming for quite some time. Once you’ve drained it, the super high-speed USB-C charging capabilities will be ready much faster than conventional micro-USB charging.

Electric Weed Vape

With all the press that THC concentrates get these days, it can seem like products that cater to vaping cannabis are few and far between. However, cannabis consumers who prefer to vape their bud now have an ideal solution. The Noir is a new weed vaporizer that handles vaping dry herbs easily and safely.

Smoking cannabis is nearly impossible to keep discrete. Not only do you have to consider the smoke itself that occurs from combustion, but you have the smell of freshly-smoked cannabis, and that is not easy to keep hidden. That’s why the Noir is such an elegant solution.

The Noir lets users load up the oven with their favorite cannabis strain, or blend of strains, and take it almost anywhere. The magnetic mouthpiece keeps the perfect seal. The beautiful display, easy-to-read temperature, and heating icons, and one-button operation have the potential to make this the leading weed vaporizer.

The Noir was almost immediately sold out upon initial release, along with the Burj and the Giza. It is available again, however, and the reviews confirm that the Noir is one of the best portable vaporizers available today.

Online Smoke Shop With Hundreds of Weed Accessories

There’s an entire category for grinders, featuring everything from the ultraportable grinder card to the high-tech electric grinder. Visitors can also choose from dozens of rolling tray options, like gorgeous glass trays and socially-responsible Last Prisoner Project partnership trays.

There are clothing options like t-shirts, hoodies, snapbacks, dad hats, and more for both men and women. There are bikinis, dresses, tanks, and even costumes if you need more wardrobe options. Other accessories like water bottles, soap, stickers, clocks, and decor options are available.

Contact Information

Brandon Puett
Phone: (844) 899-7759
marketing@kingpalm.com
www.KingPalm.com

SOURCE: King Palm Marketing

View source version on accesswire.com:


https://www.accesswire.com/732279/New-Weed-and-Concentrate-Vaporizers-by-King-Palm

New Weed and Concentrate Vaporizers by King Palm – Yahoo Finance

ONTARIO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / December 30, 2022 / The King Palm brand first made noise in 2016 with their tobacco-free and natural leaf blunt cones for sale, and never stopped innovating products for smoking cannabis. They are now focused on portable weed and concentrate vaporizers and have just released a few innovative options.

The Burj, the Giza, and the Noir are three new ways to vape THC concentrate. The Noir vaporizer can vape THC concentrates and cannabis. During the initial product launch, each vape was so well-received by the cannabis community that they almost immediately sold out, but they’re back.

New THC Vaporizers

King Palm Marketing, Sunday, December 18, 2022, Press release picture

King Palm Marketing, Sunday, December 18, 2022, Press release picture

These THC vaporizers have the slightly minimalist aesthetic that the brand is known for, while still looking rich and sleek. Their performance has made them a very hot commodity among cannabis enthusiasts, from YouTubers to soccer moms, and the five-star reviews are piling up.

Electric Nectar Collector

King Palm Marketing, Sunday, December 18, 2022, Press release picture

King Palm Marketing, Sunday, December 18, 2022, Press release picture

The recently-debuted Burj is one of the best options for an electric nectar collector. At first glance, it looks similar to other electric nectar collectors on the market. Still, the construction and resulting performance separate it from the nearest competitors.

Vape Concentrates and 510 thread THC oil cartridges

The Burj can vape pre-filled THC oil vape cartridges with a 510-thread connection. The user can choose between dabbing wax and vaping, the commonly sold vape cartridge at dispensaries. It’s like a conventional nectar collector, using either a quartz or a ceramic dab straw/nail tip.

This multifunctional electric nectar collector is why customers leave many positive reviews online. It includes a glass bubbler for the smoothest dabs and can produce major clouds.

USB-C Fast Charging

The USB-C charger fills the 650mAh battery in no time, and three voltage presets help manage battery usage and flavor. On-demand mode provides 20 seconds per firing, while the super-convenient draw mode gives the user 10 seconds of button-free operation. Cannigma.com recently wrote a review about the new electric nectar collector with a lot of positive feedback.

Portable Electric Dab rig

King Palm Marketing, Sunday, December 18, 2022, Press release picture

King Palm Marketing, Sunday, December 18, 2022, Press release picture

The Giza is designed to be the most comfortable and easy-to-operate portable dab rig. The compact size is easy to drop in your pocket, bag, or purse to take anywhere.

It has become one of the best electric dab rig options for those who like to bring out the terps in their concentrates. The main reason the Giza is a primary option for those who enjoy taste is that the heating atomizer is ceramic, which provides a better overall taste profile than quartz.

The Giza has 3 options for temperature that can be quickly and easily cycled through, with a 10-second auto preheat that brings the all-ceramic atomizer to the perfect temperature for your dab. The draw is pulled through the included glass bubbler and a silicone mouthpiece tip.

One of the Giza’s simplest, though most beloved, features is the carb cap. The underside of the cap has a simple, mess-free dab scoop, so you won’t have to worry about using a separate dab tool. Simply scoop your dab on the tool, set it on the atomizer, and start the heating cycle.

The massive 1350mAh battery gives this portable dab rig the power to keep those clouds coming for quite some time. Once you’ve drained it, the super high-speed USB-C charging capabilities will be ready much faster than conventional micro-USB charging.

Electric Weed Vape

King Palm Marketing, Sunday, December 18, 2022, Press release picture

King Palm Marketing, Sunday, December 18, 2022, Press release picture

With all the press that THC concentrates get these days, it can seem like products that cater to vaping cannabis are few and far between. However, cannabis consumers who prefer to vape their bud now have an ideal solution. The Noir is a new weed vaporizer that handles vaping dry herbs easily and safely.

Smoking cannabis is nearly impossible to keep discrete. Not only do you have to consider the smoke itself that occurs from combustion, but you have the smell of freshly-smoked cannabis, and that is not easy to keep hidden. That’s why the Noir is such an elegant solution.

The Noir lets users load up the oven with their favorite cannabis strain, or blend of strains, and take it almost anywhere. The magnetic mouthpiece keeps the perfect seal. The beautiful display, easy-to-read temperature, and heating icons, and one-button operation have the potential to make this the leading weed vaporizer.

The Noir was almost immediately sold out upon initial release, along with the Burj and the Giza. It is available again, however, and the reviews confirm that the Noir is one of the best portable vaporizers available today.

Online Smoke Shop With Hundreds of Weed Accessories

King Palm Marketing, Sunday, December 18, 2022, Press release picture

King Palm Marketing, Sunday, December 18, 2022, Press release picture

There’s an entire category for grinders, featuring everything from the ultraportable grinder card to the high-tech electric grinder. Visitors can also choose from dozens of rolling tray options, like gorgeous glass trays and socially-responsible Last Prisoner Project partnership trays.

There are clothing options like t-shirts, hoodies, snapbacks, dad hats, and more for both men and women. There are bikinis, dresses, tanks, and even costumes if you need more wardrobe options. Other accessories like water bottles, soap, stickers, clocks, and decor options are available.

Contact Information

Brandon Puett
Phone: (844) 899-7759
marketing@kingpalm.com
www.KingPalm.com

SOURCE: King Palm Marketing

View source version on accesswire.com:
https://www.accesswire.com/732279/New-Weed-and-Concentrate-Vaporizers-by-King-Palm

Cannabis Trends to Watch for in 2023 – Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

Cannabis trends in 2023 and the course that marijuana measures take at the federal level will be largely decided by the actions of the Democratically controlled Senate and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky). 

Congress failed yet again to pass the SAFE Banking Act – a bill to improve cannabis companies’ access to finance – in 2022. For many observers, the signs for 2023 point to factors creating different market conditions across the industry. Cannabis news could be defined by a tale of two industries in the new year, with mature markets resetting after ongoing issues with a supply glut and new markets facing limitations set by state regulators, like in New York.  

The failure to pass a form of the SAFE Banking Act will likely have a massive influence on cannabis news and investment activity throughout the industry. The last few years of inaction in Washington D.C. on federal cannabis reform has generally muted the interest of angel investors – a group that has supported the launch of the legal industry since 2015. Without banking reform and further federal protections, strategic acquirers have remained on the sidelines. 

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As it stands, the exits that many entrepreneurs and investors envisioned from mainstream strategics have not materialized. Without these exits and corresponding investor returns, many angels are expected to remain on the sidelines, leaving companies scrambling to complete financings from a dwindling pool of professionally managed funds. The future of the industry without SAFE is challenging to predict. The bill would have provided basic banking needs for smaller and ancillary cannabis businesses. It could have boosted capital flows and created the opportunity for several large multi-state operators (MSOs) to list on the major equities exchanges alongside other marijuana stocks.   

For now, one can reasonably predict more of the same – an industry meeting the demands of consumers spending $26 billion annually on cannabis in 2022, while managing growth to $46 billion by 2026. If history has taught us anything about the legal cannabis industry, it’s that where there’s a will, there’s a way. Cannabis founders will persevere. Investors with conviction will continue to invest, understanding this is a long-term opportunity and not a quick flip. 

Flat, down, and more structured rounds will become the norm across private companies.  Painfully, we will likely see more cannabis businesses fail. This culling will thin the competitive herd and hand more power to the established incumbents – increasingly MSOs – with their lower cost of capital and a growing footprint of assets and operations. We see this cycle finally coming to a head as the tight capital markets have persisted for so long, along with onerous cannabis taxes, deflationary cannabis prices, inflationary costs and a Congress unwilling to recognize cannabis as part of the American economy. This cycle was well on its way, and COVID interrupted it, like in many other industries. Smaller companies are going to see most of the stress. 

On the upside, we foresee a healthy return of mergers and acquisitions for many areas of cannabis, such as operators, ancillary technologies, hydroponics, etc. This will be driven by companies continuing to seek operating efficiencies, scale, and stronger competitive footprints. This year was likely a trough year for M&A deals as many groups focused on their own footprints and digesting the previous transactions in 2020 and 2021. That inward digestion period is probable to run its course, and we will see companies getting back on offense. While not strictly M&A, we also wouldn’t rule out activity with mainstream strategies, like alcohol, tobacco and consumer packaged goods. 

A meaningful return of equity capital flows was looking likely after a long protracted bear market and could still come to fruition later in 2023. The capital flows will benefit the largest companies first as equity wades in slowly where they feel there is lower risk. There is room for those flows to expand to smaller companies showing good traction, likely starting more so in 2024.

Looking at the big picture, those within the industry know more now than ever before about running a successful legal cannabis company. There are more experienced operators than ever before, and the same goes for states where cannabis is legal. The missing component is capital. At Poseidon (opens in new tab), we intend to help fill this capital void to build a sustainable and fast-growing future for the cannabis industry. 

Cannabis Control Board will try to convince law makers to eliminate … – Bennington Banner

MONTPELIER — The Cannabis Control Board soon will be recommending to legislators to remove all potency caps for cannabis products.

At its Dec. 14 meeting, the board targeted the existing caps on potency, recommending that future legislation remove all THC caps, and instead authorize consumer education programs and make safe dosage and health information easily accessible.

The board has put together an 82-page report for the Legislature on the topic of solid concentrates and the THC cap on them; THC is tetrahydrocannabinol, the chemical that gives cannabis users its „high,” and solid cannabis concentrates are products that are high in cannabis compounds such as THC. Examples of solid concentrates include cannabis oil, wax and shatter.

As it stands, there is a cap on cannabis flower and solid concentrates in Vermont. Flower can have a maximum of 30 percent THC, and solid concentrates can have a maximum of 60 percent THC. In the nation, only Vermont and Connecticut have imposed a cap on THC for solid concentrates in their retail market.

The board’s plan is to educate legislators about solid concentrates, how they’re used and how they’re made, members said. Next, board members believe that there should be a focus on consumer education to ensure safe dosing.

Health officials in Massachusetts and Colorado, both well-known for their legal cannabis programs, decided the existing information about the potency caps is not enough to draw a reliable conclusion to require limits. The argument is that a high THC concentration can negatively affect mental health, but to date federal prohibition has prevented scientific research from being done.

By forcing manufacturers to produce concentrates with a lower THC concentration, the manufacturers will have to cut the product with a filler, which might have negative effects on consumer health, the board noted.

The illicit market should also be considered when discussing a cap on THC, members said. Solid concentrates make up 4 to 8 percent of the illicit market in Vermont, and that small percentage brings $12 million to $25 million a year into the black market.

All concentrates are at about 60 percent THC concentration when they’re created, according to the board. The filler product has to be created after extraction, and there is no way to know for certain what will be used as a filler, members noted.

There is also little-to-no research about what effects these fillers will have on the body and lungs. The most likely outcome is that companies will not create concentrates, and the sales will remain in the illegal market, the board said.

“Prohibition isn’t going to eliminate the demand or the supply of these types of potency products,” said Brynn Hare, executive director of the board.

The draft report presented at the meeting is subject to change, the board said. 

In other cannabis board news

Board members noted that electronic paperwork delays are being alleviated.

“We’re finally leaving the stone age of Microsoft forms and incorporating product registration into our licensing portal,” said Board Chairman James Pepper.

Instead of using the out of date form, there is a product registration tab on the licensing portal for easy registration. If a licensee already has submitted a product to the Microsoft form, they do not have to resubmit on the portal.

In the new year, the Cannabis Control Board meeting schedule will change to one meeting per month. The meetings will be supplemented with subject specific networking events to cover specific topics, such as insurance and tax requirements. An official schedule will be determined at the January board meeting.

In hand with the board’s education-first approach to compliance, the board has been actively trying to close the gaps in policies and requirements with guidance documents, Pepper said.

While the board expected some “hand-holding” in the beginning of the process, Pepper said the board can no longer see some of the issues they’re encountering as “good faith mistakes.”

“Everyone with a cannabis license should have an intimate familiarity with our rules, our guidance and the FAQ section of our website,” he said.

The board has been fending off common sense questions and some inaccuracies in information provided by some licensees. Pepper said it’s a “fundamental responsibility” for a business owner to understand and implement the rules of their governing body, in this case the Cannabis Control Board.

The board is happy to address any confusion or ambiguity in the rules. Licensees can email the board directly.

A high ambition: Italian Army aims for self-sufficient cannabis market – Defense News

FLORENCE, Italy — In a bid to become self-sufficient in the field of legal, medical cannabis, Italy is growing plants using secret nutrients in ultra-clean rooms managed with military precision.

No wonder it called in the Army to handle the task.

Next year, the Italian service plans to produce 700 kilograms (1,543 pounds) of top-grade cannabis to cover nearly half of the 1,500 kilograms (3,307 pounds) required annually in the country for those in need of pain relief, such as people with cancer or Parkinson’s disease.

“The next step is self-sufficiency — that’s our ambition,” said Nicola Latorre, who leads the Italian Defence Industries Agency, which oversees the operation. The agency, which is an arm of the Defence Ministry, handles the commercialization of the state’s defense enterprises.

Cannabis the Army cannot yet grow is imported from Holland, Canada, Denmark and Germany, but production is ramping up at an anonymous-looking Army facility on the edge of Florence.

“What we can do in Florence is produce a highly standardized product so the dosage is unvaried, at the same price as we are now paying for imports,” said Col. Gabriele Picchioni, the head of the facility.

Launched in 2014, the Florence-based operation managed 50 kilograms in 2020 before rising to 300 kilograms in 2022. The increase was achieved thanks to more growing rooms — up from two in 2016 to 10 today — with six harvests a year in each of six flowering rooms, which host between 50 and 125 plants each.

To reach 700 kilograms next year, technicians are perfecting lighting, watering, temperature and ventilation, and they are using a blend of secret nutrients developed in-house that are mixed in with the hydroponic irrigation.

Also in 2023, the lab aims to produce cannabis-infused olive oil, which users can take in drop form, Latorre said.

He added that five private firms are set to supply more mother plants, from which cuttings can be taken to grow the plants in Florence. However, the main operation will not be farmed out to the private sector, he explained. “The state will continue to do this to guarantee quality and price.”

Why is the Army in charge?

The Army was handed the role of Italy’s legal pot supplier for two reasons, officials have said: to produce cannabis at a secure facility, and because the armed service has been in the pharmaceutical business for decades, turning out chemical warfare antidotes and malaria pills for soldiers.

The Army also manufactures so-called orphan drugs — medicines for rare diseases or conditions that big companies ignore because of the low production rates. The service currently makes four such drugs to supply 3,000 people in Italy.

As cannabis production ramps up, the Army has registered two types of marijuana it harvests as brands: FM1 and FM2, which stand for “Farmaceutico Militare” (or “Military Pharmaceutical” in English). Each contains a different level of tetrahydrocannabinol, the compound that gives pot its high.

Latorre said his agency’s activities facilitated a growing shift toward military involvement in public health sector, a trend accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw Army personnel set up treatment tents and transport vaccines.

“COVID made us see how public health is tied to the defense of the country and its security,” he said.

Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.

Top White House Official Lists Biden’s Marijuana Pardons And Scheduling Review Among Top 2022 Administration … – Marijuana Moment

A top White House official is touting President Joe Biden’s marijuana pardons and scheduling directive among the administration’s top accomplishments in 2022 as the year comes to an end.

Domestic Policy Council Director Susan Rice said on Thursday that the president’s cannabis clemency and review moves have helped address the country’s “failed approach to marijuana” and represent key parts of the administration’s “remarkably productive year.”

Rice has repeatedly highlighted Biden’s pardons, which affect Americans who’ve committed federal marijuana possession offenses, as well as those who violated the law in Washington, D.C. She was among various officials who cheered Oregon’s governor for providing state-level relief following Biden’s call-to-action, for example.

On Thursday, Rice, who previously served as national security advisor under the Obama administration, listed the marijuana pardons and administrative scheduling review as one of 12 major accomplishments in 2022.

The administration “addressed our failed approach to marijuana by pardoning all federal and D.C. simple marijuana possession offenses, urging governors to pardon state and local offenses, and starting the administrative process of the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services reviewing how marijuana is scheduled,” the blurb says.

The White House similarly held up Biden’s cannabis moves as “top accomplishments” for the administration in a separate post last month.

Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of 29 congressional lawmakers from both the House and Senate sent a letter to the president last week, asking that he formally back federal marijuana legalization as the administration carries out the cannabis scheduling review.

The letter was sent to the president and the key cabinet officials following a pair of major setbacks for advocates, with lawmakers failing to attach marijuana banking and other reforms to either the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) or omnibus appropriations legislation this month.

While the lawmakers didn’t request that Biden take administrative action to unilaterally facilitate legalization, it does underscore an eagerness among supporters for the White House to play a more proactive role in advancing reform.

U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra, who was CCed on the letter, recently tweeted a link to a Marijuana Moment article that discusses the president’s administrative cannabis scheduling directive.

“We’re going to take a look at what science tells us and what the evidence tells us,” Becerra, who has a considerable record supporting cannabis reform as a congressman and as California’s attorney general, said at the recent overdose prevention event. “That will guide what we do—and we hope that will guide what the federal government does.”

Following the president’s October announcement, the secretary said that the department would “work as quickly as we can” to carry out the scientific review. And he’s already discussed the issue with the head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to that end.

Separately, the White House drug czar said recently that that the president’s action was “historic,” adding that there are “clearly” medical benefits of cannabis.

Like HHS, DOJ has similarly committed to quickly carrying out the separate scheduling review the president directed, which could result in a recommendation to place cannabis in a lower schedule or remove it altogether, effectively legalizing the plant under federal law.

The president also officially signed a marijuana research bill into law this month, making history by enacting the first piece of standalone federal cannabis reform legislation in U.S. history.

A series of polls have shown that Americans strongly support the president’s pardon action, and they also don’t think that marijuana should be federally classified as a Schedule I drug.

Kentucky Governor Educates Police About Medical Marijuana Executive Order As Activists Press Lawmakers To Pass A Comprehensive Bill

Photo courtesy of Flickr/Marc Nozell.

Marijuana Moment is made possible with support from readers. If you rely on our cannabis advocacy journalism to stay informed, please consider a monthly Patreon pledge.

Legal weed supply glut pushing small businesses to 'insolvency’ – The Washington Post

Comment

Gift Article

It wasn’t always Josh Keats’s job to drive the tractor.

The co-founder of Henry’s Original once had a small crew to farm his 7-plus acres of cannabis from his base in Northern California’s Emerald Triangle. But on this fall day, it’s Keats operating the heavy machinery, trundling down rows of rich green stalks, because he had to let go two-thirds of his staff to stay afloat.

Yet, he’s grateful. Other weed growers, processors and retailers have had to make more painful cuts — or have folded altogether. “We are witnessing massive insolvency,” Keats said, “especially on the West Coast.”

The legal cannabis trade, still in its infancy, is flailing in many parts of the country as the pandemic boom that sent sales soaring has tapered off. Supply is now flooding the market in several states, economists say, depressing prices and decimating already-thin margins. And competition is sure to escalate as decriminalization spreads, large growers adopt more cost-effective technologies and the illegal market not only endures, but thrives.

The turmoil is mostly lost on consumers because weed is the rare commodity untouched by the pervasively high inflation blanketing most other goods and services. In fact, retail prices have fallen 10 percent this year in California, the nation’s largest market. It also compounds the challenges unique to this industry: Because marijuana remains illegal federally, businesses must navigate a labyrinth of overlapping regulations — creating confusion and occasionally chaos.

Essentially unable to raise prices, many cultivators and vendors are slashing them in hopes of generating any cash at all. By many accounts, the industry is struggling against unprecedented uncertainty and poised for what Keats is calling the “Great Reset.”

“It’s the worst it’s ever been,” said Tamara Kislak, owner of That Good Good Farm, a small cannabis cultivator in Mendocino County, who has worked in the industry for two decades.

“We went into this year fully knowing that we weren’t going to make money.”

The ‘green rush’ that never was

Washington and Colorado kindled the recreational trade in 2012 when they legalized marijuana use for adults 21 and older. Entrepreneurs quickly moved in — growers began converting farms, retailers began searching for investors — hoping to get in on the “green rush” certain to follow as legitamcy spread.

By 2019, pot had found legal homes in 11 states and the District of Columbia, generating a collective $1.7 billion in tax revenue, according to the Marijuana Policy Project, a cannabis policy advocacy group.

It was in this environment that Kislak saw her annual harvest of bulk flowers swell to upward of 500 pounds, and many businesses were able to find their footing. More states came online, and tax revenue surged to $3.7 billion in 2021, according to the advocacy group, then shot up to $11.2 billion in the first three months of 2022. By year’s end, legal use had grown to 21 states, two U.S. territories and D.C.

But as more businesses sprouted, society was returning to its pre-pandemic ways and facing a possible recession. Many Americans pulled back on nonessentials such as weed, and sales tumbled for some retailers. Marijuana saturated the market, forcing sellers to drop prices to unload inventory.

Kislak also scaled down, opting to focus on her craft business and produce strains like Biscotti Pancakes and Acai Cherry Sherbert. She plans to sell a little more than 100 pounds, convinced it’s the best thing she can do to maintain her business. She recently filled two 600-gallon pots with cannabis, figuring it would be better served as compost.

2022 marked the first year that any state recorded a decline in tax revenue from cannabis sales, and it occurred in five with relatively mature markets, according to a September report from The Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. In Colorado, sales were down every month compared with 2021, while retail prices tumbled 22 percent year-over-year. In California, tax revenue dropped year-over-year. And wholesale prices have fallen steadily in Oregon all year.

“When the industry was so new, there was sort of a sure bet,” said Brian Lewandowski, executive director of the business research division at the University of Colorado at Boulder’s Leeds School of Business. “Anybody could walk in and make money in this business and we saw people become millionaires overnight. But now it’s competitive and you have to have a lot of business acumen.”

Lewandowski sees it as a natural settling in the market, one that is bound to be painful for some businesses.

It’s a perfect storm, said Robin Goldstein, director of the Cannabis Economics Group at the University of California at Davis. “It’s a cumulation of too much production and falling prices,” he said.

While oversupply might be the sector’s most immediate challenge, it has other, more entrenched ones. Cannabis retailers are barred from many of the tax breaks and deductions commonly used in other industries. Other small businesses, for example, can write off as much as 20 percent of their qualified income.

“It’s incredibly difficult to make money if you cannot scale at a huge capacity to combat the inability to take those deductions,” said Hilary Bricken, a cannabis business lawyer at Harris Bricken in Los Angeles.

California imposes multiple taxes as product travels from farms into the hands of retail customers. Local cities or counties sometimes levy an additional tax on top of the state payments.

After harvesting, Kislak says her crop goes to a distributor for packaging and testing, as is required by California law. By the time it’s sold, as much as 40 percent of the retail price has gone to taxes, she said.

So of the $35 a customer might pay for an eighth of an ounce of marijuana, about $12 is left for Kislak’s business. Once you subtract packaging, labeling and testing costs, as well as distribution fees and a county tax, she said her profit is somewhere between $1 and $2.

“Cannabis is right now in a situation where almost nobody’s making money and people are, in fact, losing enough every day that they’re very concerned that they may not be able to last until [the market] comes back,” said Dan Sumner, an agricultural economist at the University of California at Davis, who with Goldstein co-wrote the book, “Can Legal Weed Win?: The Blunt Realities of Cannabis Economics.”

And because the legal market is relatively young, entrepreneurs are still rushing in. “It’s a new industry and everyone wants to get into it, and everyone thinks they’ll become the leading brand of weed,” Goldstein said.

That optimism was bolstered during the pandemic, when many Americans went in search of recreational outlets or stress relief, especially in areas with shelter-in-place orders.

Revenue spiked 40 percent at Sacramento-based Kolas in 2020, when the pandemic took hold, said Eric Luchini, the retailer’s marketing director. It also sold four times as many edibles designed to help people sleep than it had the year before.

“There was always a saying that cannabis was recession-proof, and now, pandemic-proof?” Luchini recalled.

But demand waned in some areas as consumer habits shifted. Meanwhile, small operators faltered as large conglomerates with more money and resources entered the market. All the while, the illegal market remained robust, further undercutting legal sellers.

Now, “a lot of people are leaving,” Kislak said. “It’s pretty sad. There’s a lot of loss of culture.”

In California’s Emerald Triangle, where weed has been grown for decades both illicitly and for medical marijuana, and farmers have forged strong bonds, legalization brought a mixture of relief and new challenges. Kislak sees small farmers who have a real love for their craft getting squeezed and feels her community starting to fray.

Because of the fragmented nature of marijuana sales in the United States, it’s difficult to precisely measure price fluctuations. But growers and retailers have seen a clear impact. Keats said that 15 years ago, a pound of outdoor-grown flower could sell for $3,500. After a temporary drop in 2017, it stabilized to around $1,200 to $1,600 for years. Now it’s worth less than half that.

Carl Giannone, the co-founder of cannabis company Trade Roots in Massachusetts, said an eighth of an ounce used to reliably sell for $55. Now he has to price it near $40.

“And the scary part is that product that’s selling for $40, I can buy from a large wholesaler for $7.50,” he said.

“The green rush has never happened,” Luchini said.

Illegal sales thrive: ‘There is only one market’

Over the summer, Oregon State Police seized 5,000 illegal marijuana plants from several greenhouses near the California border. In October, they confiscated another 8,000. Similar seizures continue across the country even as public opinion warms to weed use and decriminalization.

Goldstein estimates that two-thirds of the marijuana sold in California moves on the black market even now, nearly five years after recreational stores came on the scene. And authorized sellers must try to match illegal vendors on price despite their significant overhead, including taxes, licensing fees and testing requirements.

Cannabis still flows between markets with relative ease and snakes its way throughout the country.

“There is not a legal market and an illicit market,” said Jamie Warm, co-founder of Henry’s Original in Mendocino County. “There are no barriers. There is one market.”

Some of that movement comes from illegal distributors who transport mass amounts of product across state lines. Other times, it’s smaller grass-roots efforts.

A tech worker in San Francisco, who requested anonymity to discuss his weed practices, buys marijuana vape cartridges from authorized retailers in California and ships them periodically to friends in Ohio who can’t yet buy legal recreational weed.

He does this even as the sale or transport of weed across state lines remains prohibited. But he’s been making fewer shipments since Michigan legalized marijuana and retailers began selling in 2019; now his friends will occasionally make the hours-long drive to buy it there and bring it back to Ohio.

In New York City, one unlicensed seller said much of the product he buys through a wholesaler comes from California, sometimes packaged like marijuana sold in retail stores. The regulations seem arbitrary, the New York vendor said, who requested anonymity to discuss his operation.

“It’s illicit or non-illicit based on the goofy whims of some [expletive] dudes in suits,” he said, while smoking a sativa-Indica hybrid from a bong. “Typically humorless guys in suits.”

He’s been charging about $50 for an eighth of an ounce for much of the year. But after New York decriminalized recreational pot in 2021 and brought on the promise of more competition, he decided to diversify.

“I have a chef who makes birthday cakes,” he said.

When marijuana measures hit state ballots, advocates often equate legal sales with crime reduction — buyers could bypass dealers for reputable stores subject to regulatory oversight. But many longtime users will continue to buy from whomever they’ve patronized for years.

Stigma around marijuana persists in many settings, bolstered by its classification as a Schedule I drug alongside heroin and ecstasy, media portrayals of unsafe dealers and stereotypes of lazy stoners. Many companies still require drug tests, including for marijuana, before employment or at randomly selected times even in states that allow recreational use.

Business owners say they have to push past such perceptions and show they are responsible farmers and sellers, curating the substance in artisanal ways and encouraging responsible use.

“Federal legalization couldn’t come quick enough,” Keats said. “It is definitely the salvation for the industry in terms of opening access to the consumer and de-stigmatizing cannabis consumption.”

He and other purveyors are hopeful that full decriminalization is on the horizon, though that could also bring a whole host of new regulatory pressures.

The White House signaled a softening approach to marijuana this fall, when President Biden announced pardons for anyone convicted of pot possession at the federal level and urged governors to do the same. He also fast-tracked a review of whether marijuana should remain a Schedule I drug, the most dangerous category. Earlier this year, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) introduced a bill to decriminalize cannabis, and he has encouraged the idea of allowing cannabis companies access to banking institutions.

Federal legalization could make it less risky and more attractive for investors to fund businesses, and potentially standardize regulatory and tax burdens. But it’s unclear how quickly change could occur. In the meantime, many entrepreneurs are just trying to hang on.

The truth is, Warm said, “It’s awful.”

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