It’s a fascinating and amazing thing that the last two elections have given the U.S. (among other less desirable things) a strip of cannabis legalization that runs from southern Oregon alllllll the way out to the tip of the Aleutian islands, within spitting distance of Russia.
I can’t imagine there are going to be too many “Mr. Doobees” stores out there on the islands. But in a vast stretch where once ruled the hysteria of Harry J. Anslinger, a new legal business is taking shape. Now all we need is for British Columbia to join us and the north coast weed freedomization will be complete. (And yes, yes, yes, I know that state-controlled legalization isn’t Libertopia; can we just stipulate that and not quibble?)
I’m still trying to wrap my brain around the fact that legal pot is affecting rural areas even more than urban ones. Makes sense, of course. Ag product. Cheap land. Small towns hungry for development. But still.
Even my little area is poised to benefit, and with that in mind our local Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Council pulled together a terrific panel discussion earlier this week to answer questions from us locals.
At first I wasn’t so sure of how it was going to go. The panel seemed larded (in a couple of cases, literally) with Authoritah. A high school principle. A police chief from a nearby city. The county sheriff. A retired superior court judge. A guy from one of the multitude of state environmental regulatory agencies. A county commissioner. Only one marijuana industry rep sat on the panel (though it turned out that the back of the room contained a half dozen more).
The final panelist and only woman was the EDC rep. I got such a smile out of her. If you saw Reefer Madness – The Movie Musical, picture chirpy, upbeat Mary Lane as she might have been 10 years later (had Demon Weed not destroyed her, of course). That was the person who’d organized this once-unthinkable event. She had also researched and was designated to answer all the general business-related questions.
And she was so pleased. You could just see how excited she was. Not only because the meeting drew a great crowd (which it did) but because — wow! — cannabis is going to kick economic backside!
Lots and lots of good information, all based on questions submitted ahead of time by area residents. Questions covered everything from the tax implications of cannabis legalization to air-quality issues at processing plants to how to get a job with a grower to whether the feds are likely to raid to how many retail stores we could eventually expect to see. A number of people wanted to know if they’d be able to take tours of grows and processing plants (like winery tours).
With all the Authoritah on the panel, I expected an overload of negativism, a lot of “Anslinger lite.” But surprisingly not. The school principle and the sheriff basically shrugged and said they didn’t see much impact at all and weren’t the slightest bit worried. When every panelist was given a chance to answer a question about “how do we tell our children?” (as if people hadn’t had to tell their children about drugs ever before) they all said the same thing they’d have said 10 years ago — but refreshingly without the D.A.R.E.-style threats: “Be involved with your kids. Talk to them. Educate yourself so you can educate them.”
Only the one police chief seemed concerned, and his big thing (repeated a couple of times) was that kids might get ahold of cannabis edibles that “look like Gummi Bears” or drinkables that “look just like soda.” (A legitimate concern, of course, but he seemed rather over-attached to it.)
Everybody else appeared completely down with the new pot order. A good time was had by all and great information was exchanged. The audience — ranging in age from early 20s to doddering — seemed as upbeat and open-minded as Ms EDC.
Even that one cop wasn’t a total downer. After the environmental regulator answered an involved question about odors from grows and processing plants, the cop waved for possession of the microphone.
When the mic was handed to him, he said, “It smells a lot better to me than all the seafood plants we have around here.”
The room burst into laughter and applause.
After being an ec in the war on some drugs for over 40 years and living deep in a state where pot will never become legal, you could have titled this one “Great News from Libertopia”. We’re the home of 3 pharma-giants and may smaller ones, plus a gov who wants to be the next president. As long as lobby dollars keep rolling in, our legislators are unwilling to even consider legalization.
Like giant pharma, for the enforcers of the prohibition, its all about the dollars. Almost a million people a year get arrested for simple possession of pot in this country. Jail is unusual, but fines between $250 and $1000 are standard. Simple math, pot arrests bring somewhere around a half a billion dollars a year to local police and municipal courts. Its hard to give up that easy revenue.
The times they are a changin’.
I haven’t heard of development of industrial hemp in the states that have legalized medical and recreational cannabis. THAT is what Harry Anslinger was really fighting, protecting William Randolph Hearst’s forest holdings from a much cheaper source of fiber for paper. When do we stop worrying about trees when we throw away paper and just say, “It’s made from a weed.” And I want my cheap, homegrown hemp clothing and edible seeds.
…the sheriff basically shrugged…
That’s good to hear.
Industrial hemp! That’s what I want to hear about! Is there some reason why the states that have legalized it aren’t selling all manner of hemp industrial products? Or is it that hemp isn’t as miraculous as I’ve been hearing for all these years?
And there’s also the news of the Kettle Falls Five (Three?) – It’s partly good. Mostly it shows how petty the feds are – http://www.thedailychronic.net/2015/41551/federal-judge-rejects-doj-effort-to-imprison-kettle-falls-five-defendants-pending-sentencing/
I’m no expert on industrial hemp, so take this FWIW. But the states that have legalized cannabis have done so specifically for medical or recreational purposes and their regulations & policies are based on that. So legalization =/= an okay to grow hemp.
I do expect — in fact I consider it a certainty — that industrial hemp will eventually be widespread. (Maybe not here in the Northwest where governments have so many timber interests to protect! Or maybe the timber companies will get in on the hemp-growing act.)
jc2k — Thanks for the very good news. But jeez, it’s creepy how the DoJ won’t let go of this.
jw — I hope you can get out of that socialist hell very, very soon.
It’s clear you really “get” the good of what’s happening here.
I know the Libertopian purists aren’t satisfied with all this super-regulated legalization — and neither am I for that matter. But actually living with it is tremendously refreshing and a great relief after decades of idiot “reefer madness” policies. Just walking into a retail store and discussing normal things with normal people, rather than having to be covert, is amazingly liberating.
And anyone who has lived in distressed rural areas that have gradually lost their traditional livelihoods (e.g. forestry, fishing) is likely to see the new industry as a bright light on the horizon.
Merely attending a meeting where neighbors, friends, and officials are talking about cannabis as a perfectly ordinary thing … is extraordinary.
Being able to get good quality Hemp Rope, made in the USA, would be nice. I too am more intersted in the industrial uses of Hemp and byproducts than medicinals or recreational ingestion.
MJ is one area where my opinion and my survival needs run contrary to each other. You see, I am deathly allergic to cannabis! Even the residue on someone’s clothes an hour after they smoked it, is enough to trigger a reaction. I once identified a look-alike as being “not cannabis” based on the fact that it didn’t try to kill me.
I’m very glad that so many places are relaxing the rules about it.
I’m very glad I don’t live in such a place.
Yikes, Ellendra! I know people can be allergic to a multitude of things, but I’ve literally never heard of a cannabis allergy. How difficult for you — and how reasonable of you to hold your convictions despite your personal perils.
I suspect in most legalized places you wouldn’t actually be subjected to much more cannabis than you already are. But definitely if you lived around growers or processors, you would!
In regards to industrial hemp, Oregon has legalized it and has issue 4 licenses to grow it ($1500 for a three year license). The problem is they need an import license from the feds to get seeds. http://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/2970537-151/hemp-navigating-state-law#
Thank you, jc2k. Interesting. And yeah, relying on the feds …
Sorry to hear that Ellendra. I’ve heard of people suffering from cannibanoidal hyper-emesis, which doesn’t sound pleasant, but never anything more serious than that.