Spiritleaf Scarborough’s Post

The new law in Maine, L.D. 40, is set to transform the cannabis retail experience by July, making it similar to alcohol shopping. The law, which will pass without Governor Janet Mills' signature, removes at-the-door ID checks, permits minors to enter stores with a guardian, allows for off-premises samples, and abolishes the requirement for opaque packaging. This shift aims to de-stigmatize the cannabis shopping experience, which has been marked by stringent security measures like cash payments and strict ID checks that excluded even those who forgot their IDs or had underage children with them. The new law will also reduce operational costs for businesses, streamline regulatory processes, and remove some criminal-like treatment of cannabis operators. It promises a more welcoming environment and higher business efficiency, although it faced initial resistance from state and public health officials over concerns about endorsing underage cannabis use. https://lnkd.in/gpK3bPqm

🌿 Addressing the Shadow: The Challenge of Illicit Online Cannabis Sales 🌿 As Canada’s cannabis market matures, illicit online sales continue to challenge the balance, outpacing efforts to curb their spread. These operations not only undercut legal businesses with unchecked product offerings and aggressive online marketing but also pose significant risks to consumer safety and public health. At Spiritleaf Scarborough, we are dedicated to promoting a safe, regulated environment that prioritizes quality and transparency. Our efforts go beyond merely competing; we aim to educate and advocate for stricter enforcement and smarter regulations to protect and advance the legal market. 🤔 How can the industry and regulators collaborate more effectively to outpace illicit markets and ensure the integrity of our legal cannabis framework? Please leave your thoughts below and support your local legal dispensary! #SpiritleafScarborough #CannabisIndustry #RegulatoryChallenges #CannabisCommunity https://lnkd.in/ghdCk-we

While on the campaign trail way back in January 2014, Justin Trudeau spoke about his plan to legalize cannabis and added some reasons why, including this one: “We are funnelling millions upon millions of dollars each year into organized crime and criminal gangs. We do not need to be funding those organizations.” Now, as Canada witnesses the sixth anniversary of its historic end to cannabis prohibition, it is evident that the legal industry is, at best, co-existing with a thriving black market. At worst, there is a clear indication that illicit cannabis has a choke-hold on cultivators, manufacturers, and retailers, who are trying to follow a laundry list of regulations, taxes, and incredibly slim margins. A perfect example of a sector in need of immediate assistance is our retailers. In theory, the presence of legal cannabis stores in neighbourhoods across the country should be a deterrent for unlicensed brick-and-mortar locations because trained eyes, such as law enforcement, can tell the difference between them. For some provinces, however, the illegal stores are not only in plain sight and openly advertised, they are eating the legal retailers’ lunch by stealing many of their customers. “It appears the number of [illegal] stores is on the rise,” said Paul McGovern, President of Vertie Cannabis, a licensed retailer at 180 Carlton Street in Toronto....

Health Canada | Santé Canada owns this problem because the cannabis being sold in unlicensed dispensaries comes from unlicensed growers. Public Safety Canada | Sécurité publique Canada owns this problem because BILL BLAIR himself told me that the Cannabis Act would be enforced. One of the many inducements the federal government made to WIISAG to invest in the legal market a their pilot project partner. Solicitor General | Solliciteur général Ontario Provincial Police Law Society of Ontario Toronto Police Service Attorney General | Procureur général in Ontario ALL own this problem. So does Office of the Premier of Ontario as one of their officials told us that the retail laws would be enforced when we were contemplating investing in the legal market. I CAN NOT IGNORE THIS ISSUE UNTIL WIISAG STAkEHOLDERS GET THEIR INVESTED CAPITAL BACK !!!!! Pressing for government accountability and justice is an issue of honour and respect towards those who believed in our vision to me. LACK OF ENFORCEMENT RESOURCES is no excuse. All levels of government, and their proxies like OCS Ontario Cannabis Store Finance Canada / Finances Canada are making BILLIONS. Enforcement would pay for itself and expand the market so that excise taxes can be lowered. LACK OF WILL IS NO EXCUSE, BUT SEEMS TO BE THE POSTURE . In my area of focus, outdoor farms on First Nations reserves with NATIONS as partners, the benefits were communally shared. I have confirmed that the First Nations in Ontario with the largest unlicensed cannabis operations have not made money, operators have made and kept it all. (Where does that money go? Laundry?) The same goes for the illicit shops on main streets off reserve that keep coming, operators pointing to 'Sovereign Rights' keep all the money, with no money flowing to First Nations. Having lived this dreadful experience and thought about it every day for 5 years I have potential solutions that should be considered. Hon. Mark Holland, PC, MP is too busy I guess. Maybe Greg Orencsak will take up the honour of the Crown when he gets into HC role? The Cannabis Regulation bureaucrats in HC today don't seem to have any sense of equity, justice or accountability for those in charge in 2019 (even though some of them were there then) Where are Canopy Growth Corporation Tilray Brands, Inc. Organigram Inc Aurora Cannabis Inc. and the legal industry? Their shareholders deserve market integrity. https://lnkd.in/drDs3jji

...and, if you were surprised by this, you were also caught unaware that there was a total eclipse yesterday (how is life under that rock?)... ...I am sure this happens a lot - it happens with bars and even with the government retailers in bev-alc, and in traditional grocery - the way it's done is more Trumpian-Cohenian, in a code that gets the point across, without being overt - but when the LCBO or LCL want you to do something, they get their point across. Legal cannabis is a dirty business - heck, most industries still have their share of dirt. It's just that legal cannabis seems to have more than its fair share. This won't make it go away - it will (a) reduce it a bit, but more so (b) make the retailers a bit more savvy in how they speak the code. https://lnkd.in/g3Ttp8C5

The state of New York must compel towns to follow the law where cannabis is concerned. It is nonsensical for towns that allow liquor stores and smoke shops in plazas in every commercially zoned area to deny cannabis businesses the right to operate in the same places. You practically trip over a smoke shop everywhere you go on Long Island! Alcohol and tobacco are demonstrably more poisonous substances than cannabis, and drunk driving (and driving unsafely while smoking cigarettes) is common everywhere, but somehow the rules for selling liquor and cigarettes are more loose than for cannabis? Anyone who claims that cannabis abuse is somehow worse than alcohol abuse is trying to sell you something (and probably has a law enforcement budget they want to pork up). If New York State Office of Cannabis Management were able to push for this change, they should ask the state to compel towns to allow dispensaries to operate anywhere they have allowed a smoke shop to open, or otherwise forbid smoke shops AND dispensaries from operating in their town at all. Then we'd see some progress!

[As submitted to First Selectman Matt Hoey] December 15, 2024 To: The Board of Selectmen, Town of Guilford Regarding Section 3 of the document titled “PROHIBITION OF RETAIL AND HYBRID CANNABIS ESTABLISHMENTS AND USE OF CANNABIS ON TOWN PROPERTY” (sixth draft) While I applaud the board’s apparent decision to allow non-retail licensed #cannabis businesses in #Guilford, I would like to point out that it is already trivial to purchase intoxicating hemp-derived THC products from at least two existing retailers in town: ·      Puff City (1250 Boston Post Road Unit 1-3) ·      Sunshine Daydream (2941 Boston Post Road) Neither of these businesses is licensed by the state as required by Section 3. Guilford’s Puff City store is also a plaintiff in an active federal lawsuit alleging the state’s redefinition of THC violates federal law. Gov. Ned Lamont, Attorney General William Tong, Chief State’s Attorney Patrick Griffin and Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Bryan Cafferelli are named as defendants. Puff City and its investors clearly have no qualms about litigating, and one could reasonably assume that any action taken against their operations by the Town of Guilford might meet with a similar response. With unlicensed de facto retail sales already occurring in town, wouldn’t it make more sense to permit licensed retailers rather than banning them? How would the board explain to residents a #policy position that bans licensed retail while simultaneously permitting unlicensed #retail? All the risk that the board is hoping to mitigate by banning licensed retailers has already been assumed, whether the board realizes it or not. I sincerely hope that logic and reason will prevail in this matter. I humbly make myself available to the board to answer any questions or clarify any points raised in this letter. Sincerely, Louis J. Rinaldi https://lnkd.in/eEXWti3G

One of the longest running data collection projects in Coeus is the illicit Cannabis Market in Canada. Here we share some findings and recommendations

Theory Wellness, Rebelle and Farnsworth Fine Cannabis Company sues Great Barrington for ~$6 million, accusing local officials of improperly collecting fees from the shops for years from Host Community Agreements (HCAs). In addition to a 3% sales tax, municipalities can charge the companies another 3% of their gross sales to offset any new government spending caused by the cannabis businesses, such as traffic mitigation or expanded public safety needs. But cannabis companies say their impact on the wider community is the same as any other business. Rather than addressing specific community impacts tied to marijuana sales, as state law requires, companies have complained the fees often go toward common municipal expenses. Some municipalities, including Boston and Northampton, have decided to stop collecting community impact payments altogether. In 2022, Boston refunded $2.86 million to nine companies it drew fees from. Explaining his decision to drop the impact fees in 2021, Northampton’s then-Mayor David Narkiewicz explained: “We haven’t seen the kinds of impacts that I know opponents of legalization were concerned about.” https://lnkd.in/e_tijkVX