N.Y. botched its cannabis rollout
Igot involved in the legal cannabis industry in 2011. What I saw then — a wide slice of life looking to cannabis for relief, for recreation, for support — inspired me to become chief marketing officer of an edibles manufacturer. My decision was grounded in purpose: legalization was the right thing to do for our communities. But I also knew I had a responsibility to help build a safe industry, with tested and verified products, sold in child-resistant containers via licensed dispensaries.
The parent of three kids, with a wife, parents, friends, relatives in mind, I made a promise that I would work from within the industry to leave our communities better, much better, than when we started this “experiment” of legalization.
In the past few months, I have seen those promises — the vision that I and thousands of others have worked hard to manifest — practically crumbling before my eyes. There are two primary culprits: bad actors in hemp and New York.
Those of us in the legal industry have long known that hemp-derived Delta-8 and other variations of synthetic cannabinoids (Delta-10, THC-O) pose a serious threat to the legal cannabis framework; not just financially, but in terms of public health. Delta 8 is just one of many intoxicating variations on the THC molecule that can be derived from legal hemp rather than from more tightly regulated marijuana plants and it is being sold in abundance throughout the country.
These unregulated products are created via a chemical reaction with the CBD molecule (hemp’s first “sellable” cannabinoid). This reaction creates compounds other than Delta-8 or Delta-9 (the molecule found in legal marijuana), the long-term health effects of which we don’t yet understand. I have seen a half dozen articles discussing the health threats posed by these “unnatural” products masquerading as marijuana.
The groundbreaking Farm Bill of 2018, which is up for review in 2023, helped undo some of what was wrong with our federal approach to cannabis. But in just a few years, the dollars pouring into hemp have created unsafe, unregulated products that are available direct to consumers — including children — in gas stations, convenience stores, or online. This is happening due to a loophole in the bill, which neither the courts nor Congress have made any move to close. To make matters worse, the FDA has yet to produce regulations for hemp in food products.
The Farm Bill was not meant to help shady companies make millions shipping potentially hazardous hemp products to all those states that refused to legalize. These states, and Washington, need to wake up now and realize that their supposed hard line has created a less safe, less effective version of legalization and they don’t even get to tax it!
Against this backdrop, I recently took a trip to New York to better understand the market before my company launches there. What I found was shocking. Stores on every corner of Times Square, openly, brazenly and illegally selling cannabis. No ID. No testing. No child-resistant packaging. Just come in, buy your product and walk on out to the Disney store. These are stores that, six months ago, were selling those Delta-8 products, maybe cell phones and NYC keepsakes.
At least half these products bore the California THC “safety stamp,” indicating they were made within borders they are not legally allowed to cross. Granted, New York is not the only state to have an illicit market issue. California’s is still booming. However, the difference is the access to the end consumer via retail stores in densely populated areas. In addition, California has a long legacy of growing and selling cannabis. The situation in New York appears to be newcomers with a storefront selling illegally obtained product from who knows where.
I left New York dejected. I thought about the promises I made so long ago — to keep our kids and communities safe; to bring all that was good about the plant to people who need it; to educate and to be responsible. While that responsibility doesn’t only rest with me, at this point, I feel like all I can do is apologize and hope that it doesn’t all come crashing down.
We need immediate action at both the state and federal levels. The Farm Bill is up for review this year. Urge your representatives to take decisive action to close these loopholes. New York (and California) get your act together and start enforcing the law. At this point, we’re simply providing ammo to everyone who fears legalization, allowing them to stay the course with the failed War on Drugs.
How sad it would be to have come so far, only to be defeated by greed and amorality.