Brownies are an OG weed edible across North America. We've given the recipe a little (vegan) upgrade, just in time for late summer fun.
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The cannabis industry is seeing a need for unions as more workers are hired and more states legalize. There is an increasing call from workers for better conditions, wages, and benefits, and unions are getting interested.
Cannabis is continually bringing in more money for the U.S. economy. In 2020, the industry brought in a total of between $17.5B and $21.3B and provided between 240,000 and 321,000 full-time jobs. It is projected to reach $41B by 2026. As more states come on with legalization these figures could be even higher.
And already, we are seeing unionization pop up. Modern Cannabis dispensary in Chicago unionized in 2021, and many other businesses in the city have done the same. The first cannabis union contract in Chicago was ratified in March 2022.
“We’re trying to make these careers for the long term, not just one that is a turnover establishment,” says Alex Suarez, who works at Modern Cannabis. “I think the upswing in organization in this country right now is astonishing and we need to keep going over that energy.”
Tonya Townsend, who worked at a Green Thumb Industries cannabis facility in Rock Creek, Illinois when they pioneered unionizing in 2018 and 2019, saw some backlash to the movement. They failed to unionize, as the vote missed by a 26-30 margin.
“There was a lot of union busting. They hired the top union avoidance firm in the country,” she says. “We took them on for about a year. It was a lot. It was mental, physical, verbal, daily abuse from these guys – they fought us tooth and nail the whole way. These workers are reaching out to us for help, so that’s unusual. It used to be we were seeking them out and now they’re coming to us. Our phones are ringing constantly with workers who want protection, higher wages, better benefits and accountability from these companies.”
Unions have also been seeing an uptick in general. Retail has experienced gains in recent years, as 18 of 26 union elections that happened in 2021 are successful. Most of the cannabis unions are from The United Food and Commercial Workers and Teamsters groups, and they are leading even more union campaigns as more legal states and businesses come online.
“There are plenty of people who are having to choose between feeding themselves and putting gas in their car to get to work, which is just kind of mind-boggling, considering it’s a multibillion-dollar industry,” says Maddi, who worked at Ayr Wellness in Massachusetts in 2018, before unionizing. She is now an organizer at UFCW Local 1445 in Massachusetts.
At this time, six states have statutes that require or encourage labor peace agreements for licensed medical or recreational cannabis businesses.
When recreational cannabis was legalized in New Jersey in February 2021, the law included agreements to protect workers’ union organizing efforts. The UFCW represents most of the cannabis workers.
“We were the first organization and labor union to step up to the plate and say this is a valid industry and these workers should not be treated like criminals,” says Hugh Giordano, organizing director of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 360 in New Jersey. “We hope to have 100% union density before the adult use conditional licenses are up and running.”
Beginning in 2021, 500 workers in the cannabis industry have formed unions with the Teamsters.
“When more states legalize recreational cannabis, we can’t let them simply make more minimum-wage jobs available,” says Teamsters general president Sean O’Brien. “We’re demanding careers, backed and safeguarded by Teamster contracts.”
As of today, the industry is literally growing as we speak, and with an uptick in union activity along with this growth means we will see more unions popping up in the future.
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On the hunt for Runtz in Beantown? Look no further. Ayr Wellness, leading vertically-integrated multi-state cannabis operator, has announced its new partnership with flower brand, Lost in Translation (LIT for short) to bring the finest of West Coast genetics to the Massachusetts market via legacy seed breeders and pheno-hunters, Tahoe Hydroponics. Acquired by Ayr Wellness in June 2021, the six-time Jack Herer Cup winners boast famous cultivars such as Sundae Driver and Gelato 45, with Tahoe Hydro co-founder and CEO Ray Schiavone at the helm of the new Massachusetts cultivation facility.
The indoor operation, according to Schiavone, “is grown [with] the highest level of … hydroponic equipment, Athena nutrients and the latest and greatest lighting.” Running new, unreleased strains like Red Velvet Runtz, Miami Vice and Watermelon Sugar alongside tried and true flagships like The Soap—an Animal Mints cross—he continues, “Our model has always been to innovate with unique terpene profiles and fill specific consumer demands and trends within our menus.”
Eighths and quarters of the midrange-priced flower are currently available in select strains at their two newly-opened greater Boston Ayr Wellness Dispensary locations in Back Bay (for adult use and medical) and Watertown (adult use only), as well as wholesale. When asked about their lower-than-normal price point for typical indoor-grown products, Schiavone says, “Massachusetts consumers are now going to have access to these new high-quality options at a price better than the competition.”
Multi-state operators (MSOs) are historically good at providing decent, if not quality products at reasonable prices—the typical result of master planning and proper financial backing. Holding some level of care for the plant, the environment, and the people taking care of the plant normally takes a backseat, but as founder, chairman, and CEO of Ayr, Jonathan Sandelman says, “LIT flower is a testament to our commitment to taking the best ingredients – facilities, people, genetics – and cultivating excellent cannabis at scale throughout our organization.”
When asked why he felt so strongly about working with an MSO like Ayr, Schiavone explains that “I really respect and appreciate Ayr’s commitment to quality and willingness to incorporate our management and methodologies into their platform.”
Ayr and LITs commitment to their customers and team is evident in conversation with Schiavone, who says their strain selections are based on consumer demand and feedback. He also mentions how much he looks forward to working with Massachusettsans and gushes, “I have personally spent a lot of time not only meeting Ayr’s retail team but visiting many other operators such as Nova Farms, Caroline’s and North East Alternatives. Everywhere we have [gone] we have had a warm welcome and everyone is excited to experience a West Coast flower brand. Not only does everyone enjoy great flower, it’s humbling to see how many people enjoy wearing our hats and clothing that haven’t even tried our flower yet. It truly is amazing to see.”
He continues, “I think with any brand you have to treat [it] … like your own child. I take tremendous pride in making sure that everything from the clothing, flower and derivatives are all of the highest quality with the intent of having a lasting relationship with whoever it comes in contact with.”
The future’s looking bright for the brand family, as they make plans to expand, which includes a pheno-hunting passion project from Schiavone. What does he hope to bring to Massachusetts besides decades of cultivation experience and a smile? The master grower says that the East Coast needs some good purps. “I think something the Massachusetts market needs is a high quality purple flower with lemon terpenes, which is something I’ve been working on in R&D for years, so I’ll be excited to introduce that to the market eventually.”
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Reuters reports this week that “several” such cannabis cafes have opened in the capital city of Bangkok since Thailand decriminalized pot in June, becoming the first country in Asia to do so.
When the government removed cannabis from its list of banned substances earlier this summer, officials were adamant that they were not legalizing recreational pot use.
“It’s a no,” Thai Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told CNN when asked if recreational use would be permitted. “We still have regulations under the law that control the consumption, smoking or use of cannabis products in non-productive ways.”
But that isn’t exactly how it has played out.
The new law “has led to an explosion in its recreational use,” according to Reuters, “something that government officials – concerned about negative effects on health and productivity often linked to uncontrolled use of the drug – have retro[s]pectively tried to discourage.”
“The law does not cover recreational cannabis use… and so tourism promotion is focused on medical (aspects),” the national tourism authority’s Deputy Governor, Siripakorn Cheawsamoot, said, as quoted by Reuters.
According to Reuters, a “parliamentary committee is now debating a bill to regulate cannabis use that is expected to finalise in September and could impact the cannabis cafes.”
The “pushback against the way the new policy is being interpreted has caused some confusion, with authorities resorting to issuing piecemeal regulations such banning public smoking of cannabis and its sale to under 20s,” Reuters reported.
CNN reported in June that the new law meant that it “is no longer a crime to grow and trade marijuana and hemp products, or use parts of the plant to treat illnesses,” and that “cafes and restaurants can also serve cannabis-infused food and drinks — but only if the products contain less than 0.2% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the plant’s main psychoactive compound.”
“We [have always] emphasized using cannabis extractions and raw materials for medical purposes and for health,” Charnvirakul told CNN at the time. “There has never once been a moment that we would think about advocating people to use cannabis in terms of recreation — or use it in a way that it could irritate others.”
“Thailand will promote cannabis policies for medical purposes. If [tourists] come for medical treatment or come for health-related products then it’s not an issue but if you think that you want to come to Thailand just because you heard that cannabis or marijuana is legal … [or] come to Thailand to smoke joints freely, that’s wrong,” he added. “Don’t come. We won’t welcome you if you just come to this country for that purpose.”
Tourists have not heeded his warning, however.
Reuters this week spotlighted one such cafe called RG420, located in “Khao San, an area of Bangkok popular with backpackers.”
RG420’s owner Ong-ard Panyachatiraksa told Reuters that his cafe has had “hundreds” of visitors every day.
“Europeans, Japanese, Americans – they are looking for Thai sativa,” Ong-ard said. “Cannabis and tourism are a match.”
The new marijuana law has been fraught with controversy since it was enacted earlier this summer. Last month, more than 850 doctors in Thailand came together to speak out against cannabis decriminalization, warning that it posed dangers to young people.
“Cannabis was removed from the Public Health Ministry’s Narcotic list on June 9, but no policies have been launched to control the use of cannabis for personal pleasure,” a spokesperson for the group of physicians said. “This lack of [legal] direction makes cannabis more accessible for children and teenagers.”
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Vaping weed is supposed to be a safer alternative to smoking, but is it really? Learn about the VAPI outbreak, and new studies on vaping.
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Arkansas state officials announced last week that a proposed ballot measure to legalize recreational marijuana has received enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. Activists with the group Responsible Growth Arkansas, which is headed by former Arkansas Democratic House minority leader Eddie Armstrong, submitted the petitions to the secretary of state’s office last month, saying at the time they had collected more than twice as many signatures necessary to qualify the proposal for this year’s general election.
Kevin Niehaus, a spokesman for the Arkansas secretary of state’s office, said after signature counters reached 90,000 verified signatures on Thursday night they notified the Responsible Growth Arkansas campaign that the constitutional amendment initiative had been approved for the November ballot. State officials will now concentrate their efforts on verifying signatures for a separate measure to amend Arkansas’ casino gambling statute.
“Because of the time frame to get this done, they stopped at 90,000 verified signatures and now have moved on to the casino petition,” Niehaus said on Friday. “Knowing how many signatures they still had left to go and with it already reaching 90,000 signatures, they felt comfortable saying they made it.”
If the initiative is successful at the polls in November, it would legalize cannabis for use by adults 21 and over. The proposal would also allow the state’s existing medical pot growers and dispensaries to apply for adult-use cannabis licenses. Another 40 licenses, to be awarded through a lottery system, would also be issued for recreational marijuana operations. The total number of licenses statewide would be limited to 20 cultivation and 120 dispensary licenses, including those for existing medical marijuana businesses.
In July, Responsible Growth Arkansas submitted petitions containing 192,828 signatures of voters supporting the legalization amendment. Under state law, the group needed 10% of the number of votes cast in the last gubernatorial election, or 89,151 signatures, to qualify for this year’s ballot. Officials with the campaign said that support for the initiative effort was strong across the state.
“It was across the entire state, and it really shows a broad level of support geographically,” said Steve Lancaster, counsel for Responsible Growth Arkansas. “To get that many signatures from Arkansans it can’t be all Democrats, or all Republicans, or all Independents. You need a large swath of Arkansans to get that many signatures. The people want to vote on this and make this decision themselves.”
“We are really grateful for the voters who signed our petitions and appreciative to the secretary of state’s office for verifying our signatures,” Lancaster added.
Before the measure is officially approved for the ballot, the proposal’s ballot title and popular name must be approved by the Arkansas Board of Election Commissioners. Lancaster said that a meeting of the panel is expected to take place on Wednesday.
The effort by Responsible Growth Arkansas is one of two proposals to legalize adult-use cannabis in the state. A separate measure from activists to qualify the Arkansas Adult Use and Expungement Marijuana Amendment for the ballot has been pushed back until 2024. Under that proposal, the number of business licenses would be set as a proportion of the state’s population. The proposal also includes provisions for the home cultivation of cannabis, expungement of past pot-related convictions, and assistance for low-income medical cannabis patients.
Patient advocate Melissa Fults, who opposes the Responsible Growth Arkansas measure, hopes that voters will wait until 2024 to legalize recreational pot. She is also skeptical of the number of signatures submitted by the campaign.
“It’s kind of strange,” she said. “We were told by supposedly very reliable sources they only had 79,000 signatures at the start of June. In 30 days they got 120,000 signatures during one of the hottest summers around. I am really concerned about how valid those signatures are.”
But Niehaus noted that the secretary of state’s office uses software that goes through the submitted petitions page by page to verify the number of signatures.
“It verifies if they are a registered voter and makes sure they didn’t accidentally sign a petition two or three times,” Niehuas said.
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Crack open a jar of the dankest in top 40 flavors.
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