Columbia Care’s Post

(That's me - waiting to get sworn in for a second term to the Massachusetts Cannabis Advisory Board last Friday.) So happy to have my first meeting as Chair of the Cannabis Industry Subcommittee under my belt, and incredibly grateful to have the amazing Ryan Arias Dominguez, Frank Shaw, Kim Napoli, Commissioner Ashley E. Randle, and Tim Rooney serving alongside me. Our goal for this year is simple – **BE EFFECTIVE**. Our mandate is to study issues and make recommendations to the Cannabis Control Commission, and we already have some great ideas on deck. Common sense recommendations - some that require a little more discussion and some that we hope to make in short order. How do we make access better without sacrificing safety, how we do make it easier to operate a business, how do we improve pathways to equitable industry participation? These questions underpin what we are focused on. MA stakeholders – please don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any suggestions / issues / concerns that you think we should be discussing. Our next public meeting is on Monday, April 29 at 10am. The link will be available on the CCC Calendar in the next couple of weeks. (https://lnkd.in/eDax6hTe)

CANNABIS QUESTION: The Budtenders Ethos is about to publish multiple articles on our blog https://lnkd.in/g32NnckH. Which two should we publish first? 1. Nuisances, Misinformation, and Detriments in Modern Cannabis 2. The BTE official Dosing Guidelines 3. The Value of Effective Budtenders: The Criticality of Fair Compensation 4. Introduction to the BA & BT Guild 5. Crypto-Canna-Crossover Currently #1, #2, and #3 are at two votes a piece. **Something you'd like to see addressed in the industry? let us know here or at our blog or our website cannapros.org. You can also DM me or find me on IG @budtenderjack**

House of Cannabis. Praying for all the wrong reasons. If you really want a RELATIONSHIP with God then help feed His people. We are ALL related through our FATHER yet we live as ENEMIES. THEY are after your SPIRIT. It’s the only thing of REAL VALUE. What else can you take with you when you leave this WORLD. SAVE YOUR SOUL House of cannabis. Here’s today’s message. https://lnkd.in/gpxeHbPF

I would love to get something going with the Legal Pathway Society and your program. I’ll try my best to tune into this webinar!

Here's an 'Unpopular Opinion on 4/20' that I published on the CashoM Substack last week. I would love to hear your thoughts - The widely recognized 4/20 hallmark holiday traces back to a group of teenagers in California who regularly met after school to indulge in cannabis at 4:20. This time marked their secret rendezvous to get high. It's fascinating how this small tradition evolved into a global celebration of cannabis. However, my concern lies not with celebrating the plant, but with how the industry has commercialized it, veering away from its essence and into capitalist promotion. Cannabis, if we pause to regard it through the lens of its own essence, would likely appreciate acknowledgment rooted in thoughtfulness and gratitude, along with acts of reciprocity. What better way to honor a plant than by tending to its home—our beloved Mother Earth? Regrettably, many of the festivities within the cannabis industry tend to be extractive rather than reverential. The excessive packaging, generation of waste, and the misguided pursuit of “let’s get as high as possible” - only serve to exploit rather than honor the plant and its environment. Please reclaim this day to celebrate cannabis in a reciprocal manner. Cannabis embodies anti-extractive-capitalist principles or right relationship with money, yet those profiting the most from cannabis often fail to truly connect with it. In fact the majority don’t even consume cannabis as they sit in their high-rises with a nice glass of whiskey. I feel for these people’s worldviews and pray for them… No shame. One idea to celebrate cannabis is to go take a hit, sit in nature, and feel the presence of all life on earth. I see the cannabis plant smiling from leaf to leaf feeling honored. Maybe pick up a few pieces of trash on your way out or mend some soil.

I know a lot of people in the cannabis space are from agriculture and finance and don't know much about marketing and advertising, and I actually like that a lot of the time. But it has been difficult to explain to a lot of our clients what a co-op ad is. And that's too bad, because a co-op ad means free advertising for a lot of you. I usually explain it via the Tourneau ad you might see on the back of the New York Times. Rolex pays for that, not Tourneau. If canna companies had their act together, they'd be buying ads that point to your dispensaries. It's a simple concept and it works for everyone. This is how 99% of car ads work too. Lexus pays, not the dealership. As for those of you who have brands and products, this is a great way to get into new stores. "Hey, we are going to buy an ad with TJM that includes and points to your shop." It's a beautiful symbiotic relationship in which money goes to real media and not Meta and in which you reach actual potential customers instead of teenagers on Instagram in California. Example below of our new Highdration Kitchen ad with Ideal Craft Cannabis ICC ...

April 20, 2024, the widely-celebrated cannabis holiday, also signifies two full years in the books for our little cannabis law blog. We appreciate all the readers and of course welcome more! As we did last year on 4/20, here are some of our most read posts of the previous year. Enjoy! And for those in Vegas (or on couch tour), enjoy the remaining two shows (atmosphere and biosphere)!! #cannabislaw

learn more about cannabis regulations and the industry in Massachusetts. great job, Comms!

How important is real estate in cannabis in New Jersey? And do you need to know how to navigate local politics? All that and more in this free Rootwurks guide to cannabis in New Jersey: