Tag: Legalizing

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Business

GrowGeneration seems to be east with New York nearer to legalizing hashish

Senators say they will push pot bill in 2021

Darren Lampert, CEO of GrowGeneration, told CNBC on Thursday that the company is focused on expansion on the east coast as New York State gets just inches closer to legalizing recreational marijuana.

“You will see us shortly enter the markets on the east coast,” he said in an interview with Jim Cramer about “Mad Money”.

New York lawmakers could put a bill to legalize marijuana for a vote in the congregation as early as next week, Associated Press reports. If passed, the bill is expected to be signed by Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Next door in New Jersey, marijuana is now legal for recreational use, though the state still has rules and regulations for its sale. GrowGeneration, which operates dozen of grow businesses across the country, plans to open stores in New Jersey soon.

“We are still waiting for the licensing to confirm how big the licensing will be, how restrictive it will be,” he said. “More importantly, craft licensing … unlimited craft licensing, which is great for GrowGeneration.”

GrowGeneration operates more than 50 grow shops in 12 states. Most are in the western part of the country, many in California. The company operates a handful of stores in Maine, Florida and Massachusetts.

The company sells the “picks and shovels” products like lights and hydroponics that are used to grow cannabis indoors, Lampert said.

“What you are seeing now, Jim, is a fundamental change [in] controlled environment ag, “he said.” We sell the inputs. We sell the technologies, the solutions that control the environment in which plants live. “

On Wednesday, GrowGeneration reported total annual sales of $ 193.0 million in 2020, up 143% year over year. It was the third year in a row that the company had posted triple-digit sales growth. Executives expect business to more than double again this year.

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Business

Virginia will get near legalizing leisure weed as different states eye hashish tax windfalls

Virginia gets close to legalizing recreational weed as other states eye cannabis tax windfalls

A customer sets fire to a shop in Lowell Farms, America’s first official cannabis cafe serving farm-to-table dining and smoking cannabis on October 1, 2019 in West Hollywood, California.

Mike Blake | Reuters

Virginia is on the verge of becoming the first southern state to generate high tax revenues when it comes to legalizing recreational herbs.

A bill passed on Sunday Democratic Governor Ralph Northam’s signature awaits in both the State House of Representatives and the Senate.

Once signed, the Old Dominion would officially join 15 other states and the District of Columbia that have legalized marijuana for recreational adult use. Under Virginia law, legal sales and ownership would not take effect until 2024.

States from Wisconsin to Kansas – many of them strapped for money amid the Covid pandemic – are calling for similar measures as they struggle to balance their budgets. The governors also cite racial justice as a reason for legalizing marijuana. Black and Latin American men across the country are more likely to be incarcerated than their white counterparts for the same offenses.

Support for marijuana legalization has grown steadily over the years. Recent Gallup polls found that 68% of adults in the US think marijuana should be legalized for recreational use, up from 66% last year. With Democratic President Joe Biden in the White House and the party currently holding a majority in both the House of Representatives and Senate, federal marijuana legalization could be closer than ever.

For now, however, it remains a state-to-state decision.

New Jersey is the youngest to join the party. Democratic Governor Phil Murphy signed a reform bill in late February after voters approved the measure in November. A report by the bipartisan think tank New Jersey Policy Perspective estimates the state could generate at least $ 300 million in tax revenue annually.

For Virginia, legalizing pots could bring in $ 698 million to $ 1.2 billion annually in economic activity and up to $ 274 million in tax revenue annually, according to a study by the governors’ office.

Northam also acknowledged racial differences in drug abuse convictions in his most recent State of the Commonwealth address. “Reforming our marijuana laws is one way to ensure Virginia is a fairer state that works better for everyone,” he said.

Not all constituents are happy with the pace of change. The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia said the legislation paid “lip service” but “does nothing to address the persistent racial gaps we see decriminalizing through 2024,” reported WWBT, an NBC partner in television Richmond, Virginia.

A governor’s spokesman told CNBC: “We have a lot of work to do, but this bill will help reinvest in our communities and reduce inequalities in our criminal justice system.” The spokesman said the governor’s top priority is making sure Virginia legalizes marijuana fairly.

Other governors are calling for legalization

In Pennsylvania, Governor Tom Wolf again called for marijuana legalization in his state budget address, highlighting it as a priority for this year after neighboring states either approve or are considering legalization.

“I urge lawmakers to work with me to build a foundation to strengthen the Pennsylvania economy by legalizing adult cannabis,” the Democratic governor said in a message to lawmakers in September.

The governor also highlighted racial justice as a priority for legalization. “These are proceeds that can help criminal justice-affected Pennsylvanians gain access to restorative justice programs.”

Pennsylvania blacks are three times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites, according to the state’s ACLU chapter. Wolf’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Highlight the cons

Washington, which was one of the first states to legalize recreational herbs in 2012, made a total of $ 395.5 million in legal marijuana tax revenue and royalties in fiscal 2019, according to the state’s annual report. The legal marijuana market in the state supports more than 18,500 jobs, according to a recent study by Washington State University.

But as with many good things, there are often downsides. A University of Washington study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine showed that the legalization of cannabis in the state and a general change in attitudes towards the plant began to slow the downward trend in cannabis use among teenagers.

Study lead author Jennifer Bailey said, “We really don’t want teenage consumption to increase,” but added that it will be several decades before the effects of legalization are fully understood, as is the case with post-alcohol alcohol Prohibition was the case. She also highlighted racial justice, tax issues, and cannabis research as important benefits of legalization.

Many states are incorporating the language into cannabis legislation, according to which communities affected by racial inequalities in criminal justice will benefit most from legalization. But even guidelines developed for the benefit of color communities sometimes fail.

In Illinois, for example, a year after the state legalized the plant, there are still no minority-owned cannabis stores, even though the legislation includes language to limit pharmacies to give minority communities an advantage. The Illinois governor’s office did not immediately return a request for comment.

“There is a small fraction of the people who have cash and control over the money. If you have an industry and an emerging market and you can only join when you have cash, you’ve already eliminated the blacks,” said the Democratic La Shawn Ford, a member of the state legislature’s Black Caucus, told Politico.

Government shared roadblocks

States that have split government like Wisconsin may find it more difficult to pass comprehensive cannabis reform. Democratic Governor Tony Evers recently said he would propose legalizing recreational marijuana in Wisconsin, citing potential tax revenues of more than $ 165 million a year for the state.

“The legalization and taxation of marijuana in Wisconsin – just like we already do with alcohol – ensures that a controlled market and a safe product are available for both recreational and medical users, and can open up myriad opportunities for us to be in our communities to invest and create more just state, “he said in a recent statement.

With Republican lawmakers currently controlling the Wisconsin legislature, it is unlikely to pass.

Many southern states share a similar fate. Legislators in the Mississippi House and Senate are currently fighting over the language for a medical marijuana bill after a measure mandating a state medical marijuana program was approved by Mississippi voters.

In Minnesota, HF 600 was recently the first adult recreational use bill to stand out of the state’s committee. Minnesota’s Senate is controlled by Republicans and the House is controlled by Democrats, diminishing the likelihood of the bill being passed. Democratic Governor Tim Walz recently urged lawmakers to consider legalizing marijuana to boost the state’s economy in a briefing focused on his budget proposal. Comments from Walz’s office were not immediately returned.

Even election initiatives approved by voters can go up in smoke. A Circuit Court judge appointed by Republican Governor Kristi Noem recently ruled that a constitutional amendment approved by South Dakota voters to legalize recreational marijuana was unconstitutional. The ruling said the change would have “far-reaching implications for the fundamental nature” of the state government.

Recently, Democrat Laura Kelly, Kansas governor, announced a proposal to legalize medical marijuana in the deep red state to increase the revenue needed to expand Kansas’s Medicaid program to nearly 200,000 residents, who currently lack coverage. The Republican-controlled legislature is expected to reject the proposal, but Majority Leader Dan Hawkins did not take medical marijuana off the table. In a statement to Politico, he acknowledged growing support for drug reform but said it was too early to predict how the debate would develop.

In total, around 12 countries are currently considering some kind of cannabis reform legislation. States like New York, Connecticut, New Mexico, and Hawaii could soon see laws covering governors’ desks.

“It’s not about whether a deal comes about,” New York State Senate Democratic Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins ​​told the New York Times in January. “It’s about how and when.”

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect the University of Washington study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. In a previous version, the name of the university was incorrectly entered.

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World News

What Argentina’s New Legislation Legalizing Abortion Means for Latin America

What Argentina’s New Law Legalizing Abortion Means for Latin America

Latin America has long been hostile terrain to abortion rights advocates, even in the last few decades as legal abortion became available in most parts of Europe, North America, and other parts of the world.

But a grassroots feminist movement won a victory in Argentina on Wednesday when the Senate legalized abortion in a surprisingly sweeping vote. This made Argentina the first large country in Latin America to take this step.

Here are some of the forces behind the drive for change in Argentina and some of the questions that arise from it.

The women’s rights movement has taken on a new urgency across Latin America in recent years, nowhere more than in Argentina.

A movement that emerged in 2015 over the murders of women – including the gruesome murders of a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old – grew over the years into a broad national campaign for rights called Ni Una Menos or not one woman less. Legalizing abortion became its primary political goal, largely driven by young activists who have become well organized, vocal, and staged repeated demonstrations.

The #MeToo movement, which broke out in the US in 2017 and spread around the world, has stepped up these efforts.

In some countries, such as Mexico, the focus was on violence against women. But efforts from state to state in Mexico to make legal abortion more accessible there have also gained ground. The state of Oaxaca was the second after Mexico City to legalize the procedure last year.

Increasing secularism in Argentina and many other countries, especially among young people, has also lowered the barriers to liberal ends.

A major factor in Argentina was the election of President Alberto Fernández last year, one of the most socially liberal leaders in Latin America. He campaigned for abortion rights, gender equality, and gay and transgender rights, and last month legalized the cultivation of marijuana for medicinal purposes at home.

About two dozen countries around the world have laws that not only prohibit abortion but make no exceptions, according to groups that closely monitor access to abortion.

These countries, especially in America and Africa, include Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica and Suriname. The ban was zealously enforced, with women whose pregnancy does not end with the birth of a healthy baby sometimes coming under suspicion and those sentenced to decades in prison for abortion.

From Mexico to Chile, a predominantly Roman Catholic region, most countries prohibit abortion early in pregnancy, but make exceptions if pregnancy puts a woman’s life at risk.

Some countries also allow abortions up to a certain point in pregnancy if the pregnancies are due to rape or incest, or if there are serious fetal abnormalities. Chile joined these countries in 2017 when it reversed one of the world’s toughest abortion bans.

Paraguay caught international attention when a pregnant 10-year-old girl who allegedly had been raped by her stepfather was unable to perform an abortion because her life was not in danger. The case led to calls for the Conservative government to liberalize the law, but it was not changed.

In all of Latin America, only three countries have legalized early pregnancy abortion for any reason, and all three countries are small and outliers in other important ways as well.

Ruled by the Communist Party for more than 60 years, Cuba legalized abortion in the 1960s. Guyana, a former British colony with a large non-Christian South Asian population, took this step in the 1990s. And Uruguay, where around 40 percent of people say they have no religious affiliation, did so in 2012.

Historically, more than 90 percent of the people in Latin America have been Catholic, and the Church, which strongly opposed abortion, exerted a powerful influence not only on religious beliefs but also on governments and ethical and social norms.

But the Church’s influence has steadily waned since the 1970s, and by 2014 less than 70 percent of Latin Americans called themselves Catholic, according to the Pew Research Center.

The sexual abuse scandals that rocked the Church have hit Latin America as hard as they have in many other parts of the world, driving some people from the Church and weakening their moral authority. A growing number of people who still identify as Catholic, especially young people, are not paying attention and are comfortable when they violate the teachings of the Church.

But evangelical Protestants, who are often more conservative than many Catholics on social issues, are on the rise and now make up about a fifth of Latin Americans. This explains why Central America, where the evangelical churches are strongest, has some of the strictest abortion laws.

At the same time, the number of people who have no religious affiliation and are more liberal on social issues has risen, although their ranks are still much smaller than those of the Protestant population.

Despite being the home of Pope Francis, America’s first Pope, Argentina is one of the most secular countries in Latin America. It’s unusual for polls to show that people without religion are more evangelicals.

The debate in Argentina has received tremendous attention in Latin America and is sure to stimulate discussion on abortion in other countries.

Recent efforts to facilitate access to abortion – successful in the case of Argentina, Chile and the Mexican state of Oaxaca and unsuccessful in the case of El Salvador, Brazil and Colombia – show that a region is emerging with changing social, cultural and political changes grapples.

The urge to change is often due to grassroots movements. Left-wing presidents who had taken power in Latin America over the past two decades showed little or no interest in changing abortion laws. These include Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff from Brazil, Andrés Manuel López Obrador from Mexico, Daniel Ortega from Nicaragua, and Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro from Venezuela.

The left Bolivian government decriminalized early abortion for “students, adolescents or girls” in 2017 – and repealed the change weeks later.

Argentine President Fernández represents a new generation and a change from his predecessors, as a leftist who has made access to abortion one of his top priorities.