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Greetings!! We hope that you have had an amazing week and that you are ready for some much-needed rest and relaxation because we sure are #is2021overyet. This week we continue with our series on the hazards of the CBD industry.
Learning the Hard Way
If there is one thing that we have learned in the last 2 years in the CBD business is that there is nothing clear in the world of cannabis. Like it or not the CBD industry is very much cannabis adjacent. It is a notoriously unpredictable environment, and the people may be friendly and fun but they can also be unpredictable and unreliable. People are very fond of blowing smoke, as they say. Everyone is excited, everyone wants to make money, but no one knows what is going on. At all. Anywhere. Ever.
The amount of contradictory information that is circulated in the industry is enough to give you whiplash. The regulators don’t know exactly what they are regulating. The laws are increasingly confused tangle of contradictions and counter-measures that appear to be put into place to deliberately stall the development of the cannabis industry. There is a saying: Do not attribute to malice that which can be explained by sheer human stupidity. But this sure is starting to feel a lot like malice.
Cui Bono?
The pharmaceutical companies are not happy with the fact that cannabis is a medically approved substitute for pharmaceuticals for conditions ranging from pain management to psychological and neurological disorders. Especially since cannabis does not come with a laundry list of potential adverse reactions. It’s a natural medicinal plant that interacts with the human body on multiple levels simultaneously.
The alcohol people are less than amused by the idea that legalized recreational cannabis is replacing alcohol as the substance of choice among the younger generations. The mellow thoughtful experiential vibe of cannabis is an appealing alternative to the wild, loud and toxic environment associated with alcohol. Many people simply prefer the thoughtful spaced out freedom buzz that that they can get from a wide variety of cannabis products to the crushing hangovers that accompany partying with alcohol.
The Enforcers
Then of course we have the DEA. The DEA is big on drug enforcement. That’s their thing and they refuse to acknowledge that cannabis has clear medical benefits. This is in spite of the fact that it has been approved in the majority of the states in the US for medical use. The body of clinical and anecdotal data that shows cannabis has many medical uses, is broad and well respected. But that doesn’t make any difference to the DEA, apparently.
The precursor to the DEA was founded on the back of cannabis prohibition, so it makes sense. Cannabis has always been the cornerstone of the war on drugs. It’s the gateway drug that leads users into the death spiral of drug abuse. Or maybe it’s because cannabis busts are the low-hanging fruit. In 2018 40% of the drug arrests that were made in the US were cannabis related.
Embracing the Chaos
All of this is combined with the regulations that vary from state to state and even county to county. It makes for a pretty wild and unpredictable landscape. So yes, the chaos is real. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the state of California. The confusing and contradictory regulatory landscape of California went into overdrive with the introduction of Assembly Bill 45 or AB45. I’d like to tell you more about AB45 but its so surreal that it deserves a blog post of its very own. So join us next week as we unravel that weirdness that is AB45 and have a great weekend!!