Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) celebrates 25 years of fighting to eliminate harsh sentencing laws.
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Thursday 31 March 2016
FAMM Celebrates 25 Years of Fighting to Change Mandatory Minimum Laws
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Vermont Cannabis Hearing Draws Supporters, Opponents
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — Vermont lawmakers heard differing views Thursday on a bill to legalize marijuana, although a majority of those who testified before legislative committees said they support the measure.
"I'm a normal, nonpsychotic guy," said Bruce Kimball of Essex. "I consider myself a law-abiding citizen, but my use of pot over the years has made me an outlaw. Do I like that? No. ... What I would like is the option to purchase pot from a safe, regulated, well-maintained dispensary."
He was one of several people testifying at the hearing who sought to emphasize the normalcy of their lives — families, jobs, community service — despite regular marijuana use.
The House Judiciary and Government Operations committees heard testimony on a Senate-passed bill to legalize possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for people 21 and older. Sign-up sheets for those testifying showed 34 favored legalization, 19 opposed and five were undecided. The bill also envisions a system of licensed growers and retailers.
Some of those who opposed the bill said they weren't opposed to legalization but were concerned it would keep homegrown marijuana illegal and set up fees and other requirements favoring big business over small farmers and entrepreneurs.
Emily Amanna, who operates a small farm in the southern Vermont town of Athens, said she and other small farmers had hoped marijuana would be a cash crop that could help support often marginal operations. But Senate Bill 241, as currently written, would "take a multi-million-dollar industry out of the hands of good, hardworking Vermonters," she said, and put it in the hands of a "corporatized, monopolized industry."
Among other opponents, a doctor and a psychotherapist testified about the dangers of marijuana to brain development in young people, and studies linking it to the onset of mental illness.
Catherine Antley, a Burlington physician, told the committees that Colorado has seen an 8 percent increase in the number of 12- to 17-year-olds using marijuana in the first year after that state legalized pot. She said one study found that those people who begin using the drug heavily in adolescence dropped an average 8 percent in performance on IQ tests by the time they became adults.
Some of those testifying said marijuana legalization could help dampen demand for heroin and other opioids, which President Barack Obama this week labeled an epidemic.
Maria D'Haene, a clinical social worker from Barre Town, told lawmakers she had seen opiate-addicted clients switch to marijuana and see big improvements in their lives. Opiate users are more likely to lose their children to state custody than marijuana users are, she said.
House Judiciary Committee Chairwoman Maxine Grad, a Moretown Democrat, says the panel hopes to finish its work on the bill next week. She says it's unclear whether the committee will vote to support the measure.
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https://www.leafly.com/news/headlines/vermont-cannabis-hearing-draws-supporters-opponents
A Cannabis Advocate's Case for Bernie Sanders
Last year the cannabis industry donated $18,500 to presidential candidates. Only $1,000 of that went to Sen. Bernie Sanders.
If the evidence stacks Bernie up as the only pro-cannabis candidate — and it does — why hasn’t the industry done more to support him?
That’s a bit of a misleading question. It’s true the National Cannabis Industry Association and Marijuana Policy Project donated more to Rand Paul than Sanders, but cannabis PACs historically don’t donate to presidential campaigns. This is partly because they don’t expect cannabis reform to come from the executive branch, and partly because they don’t have the cash to spare.
Donation records show that a number of budtenders have made individual contributions to his campaign, but it’s hard to account for the myriad of industry jobs that aren’t as obviously cannabis-related: jobs like policy analyst, lawyer, researcher, writer, sales representative, and my own title, photo editor.
This still doesn’t address my titular point, though. Why should cannabis advocates support Sanders?
For one, he’s the only candidate who will push to federally legalize cannabis.
All three remaining Republican candidates are on-record as supporting states’ rights to choose, but none of them advocates federal rescheduling. Sen. Ted Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich openly condemn adult consumption. Donald Trump has changed his position so many times, it’s hard to know where he stands on this (or any other) issue.
Hillary Clinton wants “more research.” She supports moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule II. That would open up opportunities for meaningful medical studies within the U.S. and would ensure certain patients access, but that access would be “severely restricted.” Clinton, in other words, would be a mild step in the right direction.
Her position on cannabis has marginally improved during the latest election cycle, but it hasn’t always been so sympathetic. Moreover, that recent improvement can be attributed almost entirely to Sanders’ success.
Clinton has demonstrated essentially zero commitment to cannabis reform. In the 1990s she was a vocal proponent for President Bill Clinton’s crime bill, the one that massively expanded America’s drug incarceration rate.
In a 2011 interview with Televisa, she said she wouldn’t consider legalization because “there is just too much money in it.” She further argued there was “no alternative” to continuing the bloody fight between Mexican law enforcement and the cartels. Apparently she wasn’t aware that criminalization is not only one of the least effective methods of countering drug addiction, according to the RAND Corporation, it’s also the second most expensive.
Hillary is nothing if not adaptable, though. She’s recently changed her tune to favor a (somewhat) treatment-based approach to criminalized drugs, but she still won’t consider removing cannabis from federal scheduling entirely, which would put the plant on par with alcohol and tobacco. Her call for “more research” — which ignores the literally hundreds of studies that show both cannabis’ medical promise and its limited risks — could be heartfelt concern over the well-being of Americans. Or it could be an example of money talking.
According to Open Secrets, Hillary Clinton has accepted over $2 million in donations from the pharmaceutical industry so far in the 2016 election cycle. Between her Senate bids in 2000 and 2006 and her 2008 presidential campaign, she accepted nearly $1 million from drugmakers. Donors to her 2008 campaign included Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Bristol-Myers Squibb, among others. These companies boast a wide portfolio of prescription drugs, including many that treat the symptoms of Alzheimer’s, arthritis, anxiety, inflammation, hypertension, asthma, glaucoma, generalized pain, and more — conditions and symptoms that also have seen varying degrees of success when treated with cannabis.
If pharmaceutical companies are among Clinton’s enemies, as she has claimed during this election’s democratic debates, why does she keep accepting their donations?
Bernie Sanders, by comparison, is a longtime champion of the cannabis cause.
More than 20 years ago, he co-sponsored HR 2618, which would have amended the Controlled Substances Act to authorize medical marijuana federally. In 1997, he fought for medical cannabis again by co-sponsoring the Medical Use of Marijuana Act. He co-sponsored the States’ Rights to Medical Marijuana Act in 2001 and 2005. He co-sponsored the Industrial Hemp Farming Acts of 2012, 2013, and 2015. Last year, he co-sponsored the Marijuana Businesses Access to Banking Act.
Sanders’ resolve has only strengthened since announcing his presidential bid. In October 2015, he publicly announced his intention to completely remove cannabis from the DEA’s schedule of controlled substances. He even introduced a Senate bill to that effect, the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2015.
He won’t stop at cannabis legalization. Sanders is committed to re-enfranchising those who lost their right to vote after serving felony drug time, banning for-profit prisons, eliminating mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenses, giving cannabis businesses and industry professionals equal access to banking, and stopping local governments from using criminalization as a source of revenue.
Hillary Clinton is touting a good number of these policies too — or at least she started to once Sanders began gaining supporters by openly embracing them.
Is Sanders electable? You might be surprised by the answer.
A lot of media coverage has suggested that Clinton appeals to more people than Sanders. The evidence doesn’t support that claim. The most recent aggregation of public polling shows favorable Clinton ratings at 40.7 percent and unfavorable ratings at 54.7 percent. Sanders’ ratings are, by contrast, 49.5 percent favorable and 41 percent unfavorable. Clinton’s public approval ratings have been slowly declining since 2011, and rapidly declining since late 2012. By April 2015, more people felt unfavorably about her than favorably. By contrast, Sanders’ approval ratings have been consistently increasing since March 2015.
Source: Huffington Post
Critics often claim Sanders isn’t electable in November’s general election, but the numbers say otherwise. Recent polling not only suggests he’s electable, it also shows he’s actually more likely to win against Trump or Cruz than Hillary Clinton would be.
When discussing electability, it’s also important to consider how states vote in the general. The majority of Hillary’s delegate leads come from red states, states that historically vote Republican in presidential elections. Right now, Hillary has only won four blue states, one of which was nearly a tie (Iowa: 23 to 21). Bernie has won six. She has won more swing states than Bernie (four to his one) but there’s no guaranteeing how those states will vote in the general election.
This means Hillary’s strongest support is coming from states that usually vote Republican anyway. Sanders has outright won more states that tend to vote Democrat, and the blue states he’s lost have been by mostly insignificant margins. Clinton’s lead isn’t as big as it might seem.
What about delegate math? Is it true that Sanders can’t mathematically catch up to Clinton?
No. She has a lead, particularly among superdelegates, but that lead isn’t “all but insurmountable.”
Right now, neither candidate has an insurmountable majority of pledged delegates. Clinton has 1,243 delegates, Sanders has 980. In other words, Clinton has 56 percent of current delegates, and Sanders has 44 percent. Twenty-two states and territories have yet to vote, with a total of 1,747 pledged delegates up for grab.
While a majority of superdelegates have expressed support for Hillary, their backing isn’t guaranteed. If Sanders continues to win states outright while also winning relatively equal numbers of delegates in the states he loses, superdelegate support could very well shift to Sanders by the time the Democratic convention convenes in July.
As Nate Silver pointed out at FiveThirtyEight, “Superdelegates are mathematically relevant when a candidate has 41.2 percent to 58.8 percent of elected delegates.” Both candidates are currently in the range where superdelegate votes matter, and Hillary’s lead isn’t strong enough to knock Bernie out of the running.
Source: FiveThirtyEight
Illustrates how many superdelegates a candidate would need to win the nomination with a given percentage of pledged delegates.
So which candidate should cannabis advocates back this election?
When choosing whom to lend their vote (and financial support) to, I ask all cannabis advocates to ask themselves: Do you want a candidate with a 20-plus year track record of fighting for federal cannabis legalization, sensible drug policy, and criminal justice reform? Or do you want a candidate who openly opposed cannabis reform until it became politically untenable (and even then only avowed tepid leadership), who supported policies that further institutionalized mass incarceration for cannabis consumers, and whose campaign is, at least partially, funded by the pharmaceutical industry?
To me, the answer is clear.
#JustSayKnow #FeelTheBern
Image Source: Todd Church via Flickr Creative Commons
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The Shake: Michigan Cops Want Your Stuff, and Mail Carriers Aren’t (Supposed to Be) Narcs
Michigan cops take stuff illegally and don’t give it back. But apparently that’s not theft. Every time we read another story about civil asset forfeiture, we shake our heads and wonder how such a wrongheaded, un-American, out-of-control policy remains legal. Washington Post reporter Christopher Ingraham, one of the paper’s rising stars, penned a compelling feature that ran today about yet another cannabis bust that led to an enormous civil asset forfeiture by local police. This one occurred in Michigan, which is nominally a legal medical marijuana state but remains an illegal state whenever local police feel like stealing people’s stuff. In 2014 they arrested a husband and wife who operated a dispensary in St. Clair County, northeast of Detroit, and cleaned out their house. Like, they took everything. Last month a district court judge threw out all charges, stating the couple essentially had been entrapped by local officials who’d signed off on their dispensary permit. Now they’re fighting to get back their stuff. “Since the charges have been dismissed, the Drug Task Force has returned some of her property,” writes Ingraham. “But much of it is damaged. Electronic items are missing power cords and remotes. Her and her husband's phones were smashed. They returned her husband's guns and the safe he stored it in, but they didn't return the key. Two of the kids' insurance cards are missing. Shattuck says her marriage and birth certificates haven't been returned, and since the Task Force does not itemize seized documents in its paperwork, it has no record of taking them in the first place.”
Lawmakers to U.S. Attorney General: Mail carriers aren’t narcs. Eight members of Congress wrote to Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Monday, asking for “clarification” on the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) announcement last December that the USPS would refuse to transport any mail, including newspapers, that carries cannabis advertisements. The group of eight representatives includes Jared Huffman (D-CA), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Sam Farr (D-CA), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), and Ted Lieu (D-CA). The politicians ask Lynch to “clearly establish," in accordance with federal budget rules that prevent the Department of Justice from spending money to interfere with state medical marijuana laws, that her department will not prosecute anyone placing ads for state-legal cannabis products. Humboldt County's North Coast Journal, which has a fighting interest in the policy, has the story, and Forbes columnist Jacob Sullum has the hot take.
Local NAACP supports San Francisco MMJ entrepreneur. In an unusual sign of support for a local businesswoman, the head of the San Francisco NAACP publicly urged city officials to approve Tikisha Ong’s bid to open a medical marijuana dispensary in the Outer Mission neighborhood. Rev. Amos Brown, who directs the local chapter of the national group, asked city planning officials to support Ong’s effort “to bring much-needed African American community representation to the city’s medical cannabis industry.” According to SF Weekly writer Chris Roberts, 22 of the city’s 28 dispensaries are owned by white people. Roberts added that he could only “name a single black-owned dispensary in Oakland.” Brown made his point clear: “It’s time for women of color like Ms. Ong to have a voice in this growing industry.”
Oh. No. Don’t Make. Us Close. In Eight Years. Colorado Springs cannabis clubs are fighting back against the city’s recently enacted pot club ban. The city’s eight private clubs formed the People’s Social Alliance (PSA), and are organizing a campaign to put the issue on a citywide ballot. They’ve got some time. The ban, strangely, gives the clubs eight years to shut down. Most businesses in the service industry are lucky to survive eight months, let alone eight years, so this makes us wonder if there’s some sort of Stoner Sloth action going on over there in the Springs.
QUICK HITS:
- Vogue magazine gets hip to cannabis infused topicals. The magazine gives shout-outs to industry leaders at Marley Natural, Foria, and the always quoteable Ah Warner at Cannabis Basics (who explained all things topical in our recent Cannabis Craftsmanship video).
- If the U.S. Postal Service doesn’t like cannabis ads in newspapers, they really don’t like actual cannabis. In New Orleans, authorities arrested a 60-year-old woman after she received a mailed package containing six vacuum-sealed bags containing 5.6 pounds of cannabis. Sigh. Don’t mail cannabis, folks. Also: Have a peek at this poor woman’s mug shot and explain to me again why we’re arresting people for this.
- Vermont’s legalization bill continues to move, slow and steady, through the House. WaPo thinks success could be a national game-changer for cannabis. Andrew Friedman, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper’s marijuana policy coordinator, prowled the hallways of the State House in Montpelier yesterday, giving his perspective on the dos and don’ts of legalization. The House Judiciary committee takes public testimony on the bill later this afternoon. Limit those comments to two minutes, people!
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https://www.leafly.com/news/headlines/the-shake-michigan-cops-want-your-stuff-and-mail-carriers-arent-n
Feeling Worldly? 9 International Cannabis Events to Celebrate 4/20 and Support Cannabis
Aside from warmer temps, spring break, and the return of Game of Thrones, next month we also look forward to 4/20, the biggest cannabis holiday of the year. April's most prolific canna-friendly date isn't just celebrated domestically, it's spread to all corners of the globe, especially as more countries fight for legalization.
If you're traveling abroad and looking for an event to attend so you can show your support for the cannabis movement, check out these 10 options happening in April and May.
1. 4/20 in Vancouver, British Columbia
Canada has a lot going on this 4/20. In addition to events in Toronto and Niagara Falls, Vancouver is having a "Smoke Out" on 4/20 at Sunset Beach to "protest against prohibition and celebrate our love for marijuana."
Smoke Out Vancouver Event Details
2. Marcha de Maconha Curitiba in Curitiba, Brazil
Taking place on April 17th, the Sunday before 4/20, the 10th annual Marcha da Maconha Curitiba in Curitiba, Brazil, protests the illegality of cannabis and shows civil support for legalization.
Marcha de Maconha Curitiba Event Details
3. 4/20 Pro-Cannabis Rally in London, England
Hosted by several London- and UK-based pro-cannabis groups (including NORML and the London Cannabis Club), this event starts at historic Hyde Park in Westminster, London. Show your support for legal cannabis and protest the UK's antiquated anti-cannabis laws.
London 420 Pro-Cannabis Rally Event Details
4. Free Cannabis Victoria 420 Rally in Melbourne, Australia
There's even fervent support for the cannabis movement Down Under! Celebrate 4/20 with a "peaceful act of mass civil disobedience ... as a protest to cannabis prohibition." Meet other cannabis users or bring an instrument if you're a musician and want to jam with your fellow canna-friendly comrades.
Free Cannabis Victoria 420 Rally Event Details
5. Free Juana 420 Rally in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Join marchers at the Luis Muñoz Rivera Park in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on 4/20 in support of the cannabis movement.
6. 4/20 Celebration in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Of course Amsterdam will be celebrating 4/20! Did you even have to ask? Join other cannabis supporters in the notoriously cannabis-friendly city and spread the word about your canna-cause.
Amsterdam 4/20 Celebration Event Details
7. Hempstock in Glasgow, Scotland
Come hear speakers express their thoughts on cannabis prohibition and stay for a full day of entertainment and camaraderie that includes prize giveaways and raffles.
Hempstock Glasgow Event Details
8. GMM Warm Up München in Munich, Germany
If you find yourself plagued with 4/20 fever after the date passes, hit up the Global Marijuana March in Munich, Germany, on April 23rd. Join together with other Germans in support of legalization and listen to informed speakers argue their case for allowing cannabis as both a medicine and as a raw material.
GMM Warm Up München Event Details
9+. India Global Cannabis March in Bengaluru, India
Participate in one of the many global cannabis marches happening worldwide in May:
- May 7th in Bengaluru, India
- May 7th in Malmö, Sweden
- May 7th in MedellÃn, Colombia
- May 7th in Lima, Peru
- May 14th in Paris, France
Looking for some other cannabis events to attend this spring? Check out Leafly's event calendar to find a festival, rally, conference, concert, or march near you!
from
https://www.leafly.com/news/lifestyle/9-international-cannabis-events-to-celebrate-420-and-support-cann
Pot Brownie Bracketology Round 1: The Recipe Rebel vs. Julia Child
Welcome to Leafly’s Pot Brownie Bracketology, where March Madness meets reefer madness and we search low and high to discover the absolute best cannabis brownie recipe ever.
The contenders: Absolutely the Best Brownies Ever (by The Recipe Rebel) vs. Best-Ever Brownies (by Julia Child)
The story: These two competitors are making some big claims. Between Absolutely the Best Brownies Ever and Best-Ever Brownies, who do we trust? Do we rely on Julia Child, whose revolutionary recipes have shaped the world of delicious baked goods over the course of decades? Do we take a baking blogger named Ashley at her word that she can out-do Julia? Furthermore, will either recipe be amazing when infused? Read on to see which classic chocolate square is telling the truth about being the best.
Brownie A: Absolutely the Best Brownies Ever
Get the Recipe Rebel's cannabis-infused brownie recipe here
Creator: The Recipe Rebel
Original recipe contains cannabis? No
Why we picked it: We went Googling in search of the best brownie recipe out there and came across this title. Sometimes you have to take these things at face value.
What we liked best: How easy these brownies are to make and clean up. One pot + one whisk + one pan = all the love.
What we liked least: Sadly, these probably aren’t the absolute best brownies ever.
Most valuable ingredient: Whole wheat flour. It gives these brownies more character and depth than standard all-purpose would.
Judges’ notes:
“I really stretched out some muscles and wasn’t too overwhelmed by the high.” –Rocco DeVito, project manager
“More grass smell and flavor compared to [Julia Child] but otherwise normal brownie.” –Adrian Godong, developer
“Very chewy, love the chocolate chips. Dry mouth. Great head high...lasted all night.” –Lisa Rough, associate editor
Brownie B: Best-Ever Brownies
Get Julia Child's cannabis-infused brownie recipe here
Creator: Julia Child
Original recipe contains cannabis? No
Why we picked it: As the original celebrity chef, Julia Child paved the way for every other famous chef in our bracket. We’ve also heard she knew how to bake.
What we liked best: How incredibly fudgy these brownies are.
What we liked least: All of the steps in this recipe – sifting, double-boiling, folding...enough already.
Most valuable ingredient: A mix of unsweetened chocolate and bittersweet chocolate, chopped and melted in with the butter.
Judges’ notes:
“A little salty between bites. Faint grass smell.” –Adrian Godong, developer
“Delicious brownie.” –Rocco DeVito, project manager
“Edibles affect me a lot, and this brownie was the right dosage for me to still go out and be social without being stoned out of my mind.” –Darren Harris, data entry specialist
“Effects: sooooo good. Heavy eyes but not couchlocked. …Ok, maybe a little sleepy.” –Lisa Rough, associate editor
Scores (Average of Two Judges):
|
|
The Recipe Rebel |
Julia Child |
|
Appearance |
4 |
4 |
|
Aroma |
3.5 |
3.5 |
|
Texture |
3 |
4 |
|
Flavor |
4 |
4 |
|
Potency/Effects |
2.5 |
4.5 |
|
Total |
17 |
20 |
Winner: Julia Child!
How will Julia Child’s Best-Ever Brownies fare in the semi-final against our editor’s mom’s brownie recipe? Find out on Saturday! See all of the matchups at our Pot Brownie Bracketology home page.
Disclaimer: Cannabis edibles should always be prepared and consumed with care. Know your tolerance, start slow, and never drive under the influence of cannabis.
Image Source: Sara Dilley
from
https://www.leafly.com/news/lifestyle/pot-brownie-bracketology-round-1-the-recipe-rebel-vs-julia-child
Blown Glass Dab Rigs: How to Make a Heady Dab Rig with a Banger Hanger
This article is sponsored by Smoke Cartel, an online retailer and head shop made up of a close-knit team of glass lovers dedicated to making sure you get the best possible smoking gear.
Ever wondered about the elegance and intricacy of a hand-blown glass dab rig? Whenever we take a dab, we often marvel over how the sophisticated instrument conveying the cannabis came to be.
Dab rig creation is a complex process requiring a great degree of precision and artistry, and it’s a fascinating journey from start to finish. Creating a heady glass dab rig – that is, one that’s unique, creative, and visually striking – is even more involved than creating a scientific, or clear glass, dab rig. To get a handle on the finer points of the methodology, the team at Smoke Cartel, an online retailer and head shop that offers their own collection of dab rigs in addition to a wide variety of other brands, shares the start-to-finish glassblowing steps for creating a heady glass dab rig.
1. Coil Pot Your Color
Coil potting is essentially piling up colored glass into a coil and wrapping that coil. It’s similar to techniques used to create pots, bowls and similar vessels in pottery.
2. Shape Up the Base of the Dab Rig
Heat up your coil pot section. Using a straw-like device, you'll blow air into the coil pot that you've created to get the desired form. The hot glass will be shaped by the force of the air you’re introducing.
3. Coil Pot Another Section of Colored Glass
Make more of your colored glass (don't forget that your original shape will break if it loses heat too quickly, so set that in the kiln while you do this). It's important to keep a consistent heat on your glass while you work, not letting any section get more hot or more cold than any of the other glass material.
4. Shape the Neck
This is done by heating up the coil pot section and stretching it out – you'll stretch the glass by using two rods or metal tools to pull it in opposite directions. This requires some wrist strength and patience!
5. Make the Banger Hanger
You’ll use a ground joint shaping tool, a metal instrument that is pressed into the glass, to create the joint. Don’t forget this most important part – otherwise, how will you take your dabs?
6. Make the Downstem
The downstem is created by heating up a small section of tubing with your torch flame and bending it. Next, you’ll pop three holes at the end with a metal poker for diffusion. Any less than three holes and you’ll run the risk of getting clogged or not having enough airflow for proper hits.
7. Attach the Downstem to the Base of the Rig
You'll need to heat up both pieces to almost exactly the same temperature in order to fuse them together. If one section is too cold, the glass could shatter or crack.
8. Attach the Banger Hanger to the Stem
Again, you'll need to heat both pieces to almost exactly the same temperature in order to fuse them together. We recommend using a quartz banger with your heady rig.
9. Remove the Rig from Your Blow Tube and Shape Your Mouthpiece
You'll "crack" the rig off your blow tube, make some small finishing touches on your mouthpiece to ensure that it's smooth and clean, and then place your finished rig in your kiln to cool down at a measured rate. If rigs cool too quickly, they will crack, so let your rig sit overnight or for a few hours to cool, and then attach a quartz banger and you are ready to go!
Of course, it's very difficult to learn glassblowing, so if you aren't up for a long-term commitment, we'd suggest checking out our heady dab rigs at the Smoke Cartel website!
Image Source: Smoke Cartel
from
https://www.leafly.com/news/cannabis-101/blown-glass-dab-rigs-how-to-make-a-heady-dab-rig-with-a-banger-ha
5 Tips for Lowering Your 280E Tax Burden
Bob Carp is a leading tax attorney and author who first encountered the cannabis industry while teaching tax law a number of years ago at a California university. “People started coming to me with tax problems, asking for help,” he recently recalled. “At first I said no, but then it was an onslaught. All of these medical marijuana dispensaries were looking for an attorney who knew tax law. So I finally said yes.”
The problem was IRS section 280E, the infamous tax regulation that prevents cannabis companies from deducting expenses from their income, except for those considered cost of goods sold. “A lot of dispensary owners would close out their first year of operations, and they weren’t prepared for the tax hit,” Carp explained. “It was a huge surprise. Their liabilities under 280E swallowed up everything.”
“280E is a very arcane rule, or at least it was back then,” he added. “It has a very small fit. Most people, even skilled accountants, haven’t worked with it before. They don’t know how to handle it, and before you know it they’re getting audit notices.”
And before he knew it, Carp had become an expert in cannabis tax law and the strange ways of 280E. He published the Marijuana Business Operations Guide last year and will release a follow-up focusing on cannabis tax issues later in 2016. Now based outside Boston, Carp works with clients in every medical and retail cannabis state. We asked him for five tips for tax season, geared toward those in the industry faced with the dreaded 280E interpretations.
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“These tax challenges aren’t one-size-fits-all,” Carp cautioned. “The consultations I have with my clients, they’re very frank discussions. You’re always going to have to render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s. But in some instances, there are ways to substantially minimize a cannabis company’s 280E tax liability.”
Here are five pieces of advice from Carp. This is, as they say, for entertainment purposes only. Please consult your own tax attorney for advice on filing your return (or give Bob Carp a call).
1. Document Everything
“Revenue, expenses, everyone and everything has to get a receipt,” explained Carp. “Are you handing over a quarter-ounce for a $100 bill and keeping it off the books? Stop it now. Document, document, document. When the IRS comes in, they may not merely challenge you on the 280E rule, but also on how you came up with your cost of goods sold. If you can’t prove to the IRS where your money came in and where it went out, they’re going to assume you’re committing fraud. Then you’re hit with a 20-percent penalty for signing an inaccurate tax return. And they’re sticklers about collecting that penalty.”
2. Job Categories Matter...a Lot
“Let’s say you own and run a medical marijuana dispensary,” said Carp. “You have four staff members working at point-of-sale systems. They each make $15 an hour, so total you’re paying $60 an hour in wages. And it’s a 10-hour shift. Total cost: $600. Now, the IRS has a ‘multiple business rule.’ According to that rule, multiple businesses may share the same roof. As the dispensary owner, you may create a drug counseling business, or a patient advocacy business, that shares the same roof with the dispensary. Now you may demarcate your staff hours to those two different businesses. A certain number of hours those staff members are working as drug counselors or patient advocates; and a certain number of hours they’re working for the medical marijuana dispensary. The wages paid during the dispensary hours aren’t deductible as a cost to your business. But the wages paid during the other hours are deductible costs.”
It might make sense, Carp added, “to pay your dispensary employees minimum wage, and then make up the difference with a paycheck from one of the other companies sharing the same space.” Note of caution: The second business has to be legitimate, with real revenue and expenses, and documentation that can support its legitimacy.
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3. If Possible, Take Advantage of the CHAMPS Ruling
“This is kind of an extension of the previous tip," Carp added. "In the 2007 CHAMPS case, a federal tax court ruled that when you operate two businesses under one roof, it’s permissible to deduct a portion of expenses for each business. Try adding patient services such as advocacy, drug counseling, or bringing in medical speakers. As I say, the business has to have a real purpose, real books, and operate by only sharing common resources such as rent and utilities.”
4. Work Within a Formula for Cost of Goods Sold
“Definitions and lines of demarcation can make an enormous difference in your tax liability,” he said. “If you’re running a dispensary, only your product (cannabis inventory) is deductible as cost of goods sold.” About the only other things you can deduct are your indirect transportation, storage, and certain other indirect costs allowable under IRS 263A. For a cultivation facility, your seeds, utilities, payroll, water and other business expenses are all deductible, because everything used in the production of the cannabis can be attributed to cost of goods sold. Another example: If you run a dispensary or retail store and also a cultivation center, as many Colorado companies do, the cultivation facility is merely selling to the dispensary. Their ‘cost of goods sold’ deductions are solidly legal. That sort of vertical integration allows your tax attorney to study your business and carefully craft a formula utilizing IRS 263A and IRS 1.471 to minimize taxes.”
5. Create a Chart of Accounts with Indirect Costs
“Under IRS 263A, you’re allowed to capitalize certain indirect costs that can be attributable to your finished product. In other words, did you install new door locks to protect your inventory? Capitalize that cost. How many square feet are used for storage of your inventory? Capitalize it. This is the sort of indirect cost that requires a simple formula, such as the number of square feet used for storing inventory divided by the total square feet of the dispensary. Add a piece of common area maintenance charge for your storage facility, the cost of the electricity to light it, cleaning costs, things like that. Many of the charges may be small, but they quickly add up and can produce significant savings.”
Now that you're armed with tips for lowering your tax burden, learn how Leafly can help grow your business!
from
https://www.leafly.com/news/industry/5-tips-for-lowering-your-280e-tax-burden
Seed to Sale: How Legal Cannabis is Grown
Starting your first cannabis garden can be overwhelming -- there are endless opinions on what equipment to use and which techniques yield the best results. Fortunately, there are a lot of ways to grow great cannabis. With a little homework, a spirit for problem solving, and some memory of your high school science classes (don't worry, just some), you'll find that growing cannabis is one of the quickest and most impactful ways to deepen your understanding of this unique plant.
Leafly visited five different gardens to get a behind-the-scenes look at how the professionals are growing cannabis. We'll bring you to indoor facilities in California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington to study the steps successful growers use to produce some of the finest flowers in the country.
Cannabis Genetics
A great garden starts with great genetics. So to kick things off, we stopped by Exotic Genetix in Tacoma, Wash., to learn about selecting the best genetics to start your garden. Mike, Exotic's founder and breeder, gives us the lowdown on how he likes to get his plants started, as well as some of the differences between starting from a clone or a seed.
Vegetative Growth
Once you've settled on your genetics, it's time to let your plants grow! For the second episode of Seed to Sale, we ventured down to Coast to Coast Collective in Canoga Park, California. Bryan, their lead grower, shows us how they give their plants a happy and healthy veg. The care they take during vegetative growth sets them up for a successful flower and harvest.
Flowering
After a healthy vegetative cycle, it is time to induce flowering. For the third episode of Seed to Sale we made the trip down to see Pangaea Organics in La Pine, Oregon – just outside Bend in Central Oregon. Joseph, owner and president at Pangaea, shows us how the plants change during the flowering phase and which methods they recommend to ensure a bountiful harvest.
Harvest
Once the plants have matured through the flowering phase, it is time to prepare for the harvest. For the fourth episode of Seed to Sale, we spend they day with the team at Medicine Man in Denver, Colorado. Medicine Man’s co-founder Pete Williams show us the process they use to harvest 25 pounds of cannabis every day. Pete also gives us some tips on when the right time to harvest is and the differences between hand-trimmed and machine-trimmed buds.
Stay tuned for more! Subscribe to Leafly's YouTube channel for the next episode of Seed to Sale. Next week we'll be visiting Royal Tree Gardens in Tacoma, Washington to learn what they do after the harvest is complete and their products are ready for dispensary shelves..
from
https://www.leafly.com/news/cannabis-101/seed-to-sale-how-legal-cannabis-is-grown
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