Can Marijuana Influence The Boston Culture?

Hello All. 

Just a thought to start with: I hope everyone had a nice, safe, and eventful 4/20 last week,  I think everyone is finally coming down from their high.  My main thought last week was: “wow this is going to be the last 4/20 in the state where all of the marijuana was purchased on the black market (illegally).  Think about it, next year during this time there will be retail shops over the state where it can be purchased.  From a marketer perspective, I think those shops are going to advertise for 4/20 immensely.  Weed promotions and discounts on all paraphernalia in honor of the stoner’s holiday. 

The other day, major national magazine Rolling Stone, published an article titled “The Rolling Stone Guide to Legal Pot: Massachusetts”.  I urge everyone to check this article out. Specifically focus on this quote:

“Lobster rolls, a baseball game at Fenway and some locally grown cannabis? Starting July 1st, 2018, Massachusetts will be your one-stop destination for all three. After decriminalizing personal pot possession in small amounts in 2008 and legalizing medical marijuana in 2013, in 2016, Bay State voters finally approved a ballot measure that legalized recreational cannabis. It has taken a bit of time to sort out all of the regulations and policies surrounding it, but now, almost two years later, the state is close to opening its first legal recreational dispensaries. In only a few short months, both residents and tourists alike will be able to legally enjoy a range of dispensaries, cafés and other enticing cannabis-related offerings. So what will happen on July 1st? Anyone 21-plus will be able to visit a dispensary walk inside, peruse a menu and order a couple grams, a few joints, or even an ounce of their favorite strain.”

Just looking at that first line, that could now be the culture for Boston, and considering marijuana’s growing popularity and more importantly, acceptance, marijuana is forseen to make a major splash in the city.

The full article is right here: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/the-rolling-stone-guide-to-legal-pot-massachusetts-w519336

Hey Let's Meet at The Cannabis Cafe?

Hello folks, which one of you could go for a cup a coffee right now? I know I sure can! But have you ever envisioned an area where people could meet up and participate in social consumption of marijuana? Think of a coffee cafe but for weed, where adults may gather to purchase or consume weed legally! 

According to Bob Salsberg, "The Cannabis Control Commission, the five-member panel set up to regulate the state’s marijuana industry, is expected to decide later this month whether to approve draft regulations that would allow for the licensing of social consumption establishments. The idea has received strong opposition from Republican Gov. Charlie Baker’s administration and from law enforcement officials who warn of public safety and public health risks if such facilities were to open.Baker has suggested the Commission at the very least hold off on licensing social operations until after the commercial pot industry is up and running later this year." 

This may spark up discussion as to why this could be good or bad and I'd like to know what you all think about it. Do you think there shouldn't be a place where people could come together to consume weed together, sort of like a bar? Or there should!? I know there are many people who would argue that if there are alcohol consumption establishments there should be weed ones but should one first "crawl before they try to walk" as Republican Gov. Charlie Baker told reporters. 

Everyone is wrong about marijuana: Follow Up Opinion

This blog post is a follow up to Beme News video "Everyone is wrong about marijuana" Check it out before continuing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBctl68_eoI&t=455s

Hello readers, I hope everyone is having a great week!

This video by Lou at Beme News on Youtube gives a very interesting perspective on marijuana use in the United States. Lou divides the country into two groups in the marijuana debate, Cheerleaders, and Fear Mongers.  He argues the reality has been lost in the debate. Lou talks about the history of the drug, and how the government has limited the study of marijuana. Lou talks about why the case for medical has grown, and even a nice piece about music and marijuana (check out our Soundcloud for some great tunes!). 

A great part of this video talks about how we need more studies with marijuana. Lou talks about how people moved to Colorado from all over the country to try to get help which unfortunately didn't always work. And I believe that this is the most important part of the video to discuss. Studies, as we've talked about here on RWC before, and with the studies maybe people would have made better choices before moving. Ole Miss, shouldn't be the only place in the country where this can be done. The government has to accept this and in turn, this will help people more in the long term.

What'd you think of Bemes video on marijuana? Would you be interested in follow up to videos like this in the future? Let us know in the comment section and be sure to like and follow us on Facebook and Instagram! Also be sure to check out our new Soundcloud!

Bans and Moratoriums

Hey everyone!

One of my first posts was mentioning how municipalities are voting on marijuana industries to be in their cities or towns.  Here is a link to that blog post just in case you missed it: http://regulated-weed-culture.blogspot.com/2018/03/living-near-marijuana-business.html

Let’s review, we know the Cannabis Control Commission is the agency involved with the legalization process and responsible for the guidelines that will regulate all marijuana use/business in the state.  We also know the legalization of marijuana was voted upon by the majority of the state.  However, the location of any type of establishment is decided by each town or city in Massachusetts.  The picture posted above is a map of every city and town in the state, towns are either in grey, red, orange, or blue.  Grey means the town hasn’t decided yet, red is where all retail shops are banned, blue is where retail shops will open, and orange means those towns are in a moratorium state, which means there is a temporary ban but the ultimate decision hasn’t been decided yet.  As you can see most towns are either orange or grey, meaning many local officials don’t know where they will stand on this subject yet. 

So far the CCC has released there are currently 22 medical marijuana dispensaries operating statewide, there have been 81 groups who have completed applications for retail shops in the state, and nearly 450 groups who have started their applications. 

So far twelve towns have agreed to host retail shops, Halifax, Amherst, and Salem to name a few.  My guess would be these are the towns where most of these applications are going to.  Just last week South Shore town, Scituate, announced a ban on any marijuana shops, and they won’t be the last.  Why are so many towns announcing bans on this business?  They simply don’t know what this industry will bring to their town, my guess is most towns in a moratorium state want to see how this plays out in other towns first and then they will base their decision off that.  What does this mean for state revenue?  The Boston Globe predicted marijuana retail sales would bring in about 100 million dollars in revenue in 2019, that number could change with so many municipals coming out against shops.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out, stay tuned and thanks for reading!

Picture Source: Patrick Garvin, Boston Globe Staff