Issue 38: What the Hell is Going on in Massachusetts? I Attempt to Explain.
I accidentally became part of the story after the Cannabis Control Commission puts me in a bizarre spot. I finally talk about it here.
Welcome to Issue #38 of Burn After Reading! You can check out last week’s issue here. If you haven’t subscribed already, you can do so here.
My Response to the WGBH story about Curaleaf, the Cannabis Control Commission and…Burn After Reading?
Sorry to start the newsletter with homework, but you have some required reading before we can proceed. If you haven’t already, please go read Tori Bedford’s piece, “Cannabis regulators putting out ‘a series of fires’ involving a Russian oligarch and data breach." It’s alright, I’ll wait.
…
Okay. Now you’re probably asking yourself: What the hell is going on?
Good question. I’ll do my best to explain the situation as I’ve witnessed it.
This whole incident is probably best understood as two separate items: the datasheet, and the rest of the release.
1) The datasheet
I already covered this aspect of the story last week, so I’ll be (somewhat) brief.
When I first saw the datasheet, it took me a while to even process what I was looking at (all the filenames in the release were a bunch of random letters and numbers). When I finally realized what it actually was, I still thought that I must be missing something and that it had to have something directly to do with the Curaleaf investigation.
After all, why else would it be included in the release?
To be incredibly blunt, I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea that the datasheet could have been accidentally disclosed to us, because it seemed like that would require an unprecedented level of clumsiness.
I don’t know how else to put it. My knowledge of the history of public records requests isn’t expansive, but this type of “accidental disclosure” doesn’t exactly appear to be a common occurrence. I didn’t really consider the idea that every single document in that file wasn’t closely combed over before being released. I mean, take a look at the Commission’s own website:
In responding to a public records request, public agencies must redact personally identifiable information and prevent unwarranted invasions of privacy. Documents containing such information must be reviewed carefully before they are produced in response to a public records request, which increases the time needed for production.
I want to make this as clear as possible to everyone who had concerns after the Commission released the email about this accidental disclosure, so I’ll be extremely concise with my language here:
I can attest to you that I deleted the datasheet immediately upon being asked when it was made clear that it was not intended to be released. I can also attest to you that Grant told myself and the Commission that he also deleted it, and I have absolutely zero reason to believe otherwise.
Obviously, one of the main reasons I’m upset with the Commission at the moment is they’ve put us in this impossibly awkward position. You can’t prove you deleted something, but as a former medical dispensary employee whose personal information was also included in the datasheet, you have my word that I did.
I also have no reason at this time to believe the Commission sent the release or datasheet to anyone else. I think we’ve seen enough to have reasonable concerns about the way they are handling sensitive information, but I also don’t have any evidence to suggest that this particular document has fallen into anyone else’s hands, let alone the wrong hands.
I came to the conclusion that the biggest news angle of the datasheet story was the fact that it was accidentally given to us in the first place. The rest of the release was going to give us plenty to work with anyways. I felt it was best to just delete the thing.
So I did, and I thought that would be the end of me getting sudden phone calls from the Commission’s legal team.
2) The Rest of The Release
That was not the end of me getting sudden calls from the Commission’s legal team.
The next day, my phone rang again. It was the Commission…again, and despite this chat being billed as a follow up to our previous conversation, it wasn’t quite that.
This time they were asking me to delete basically every quote and screenshot from the public record release that made the Curaleaf story an actual story.
I can confirm the details in the WGBH piece that there was an obvious sense of urgency and concern to the call. They also acknowledged how unusual their request was. Obviously, I was not inclined to cooperate with this request unless they gave me a very good reason.
I asked the reps from the Commission’s press and legal team a very direct question: Was the continued existence of this piece directly threatening someone’s personal safety? When they told me that the answer to that question was yes, I agreed to take the story down until they could provide an updated release.
I was fairly confident that the Commission didn’t have legal standing to compel me to remove this story. I simply did not want to see anyone get hurt, and was fairly confident that they were being truthful with me at the time. I considered the risk that they were exaggerating or lying about the situation to be relatively low. The story we were breaking was important, but we weren’t exactly publishing the missing Watergate Tapes, so the panic didn’t seem warranted unless something bigger was at play.
I figured that even if they were bluffing, deleting the story at that point would have little impact on people’s ability to learn about this news. The story was already out there for days. It's still in my subscriber's inboxes, and there's nothing I can do about that. It’s the 2023 equivalent of going house to house and asking people to throw out an old newspaper that they read three days ago. So needless to say, manipulating two writers into deleting a story by convincing them that it was an urgent matter of someone’s physical safety would be a pretty alarming and unnecessary move, if that is indeed what happened.
All of this transpired while I was supposed to be in the middle of covering the New England Cannabis Convention. I didn’t have any specific information that proved I was under any direct threat, but when government officials urgently call you to kill a story that involves Mr. Blue and associates, it’s fair to say that even the most grounded person’s mind would wander — particularly when you’re making a well publicized visit to a large event that involves you wearing a name tag.
Walking through an incredibly empty and echoing garage on the way back to my car after the NECANN awards, I half-suspected for someone to slip a bag over my head.
It was only after checking with a few trusted voices that I felt it was at least somewhat safe to conclude there was no specific physical threat against me. Other than taking some general extra precautions, I decided the best thing would be to act like everything was normal. But while I kept on living my (relatively secluded) life, I can’t fault Grant for taking this situation a bit less fliplantly than I did — particularly when you consider the incredibly shady cast of characters that Curaleaf has been accused of being in cahoots with.
I think we should probably be skeptical of anyone who reads this story and thinks Grant or myself are the ones who deserve scorn, but unfortunately the Commission putting us in an incredibly awkward position has allowed some of the more dweebish figures in the cannabis space have already begun to use to cast doubt on the character of myself and others.
Putting that aside, I’m going to do my best to keep pushing for answers in what exactly happened here, while not letting it distract me from the larger issues that need attention. I will not be intimidated by anyone from continuing to write about bad actors in the cannabis space, whatever form they take. I’m going to continue to navigate the incredibly strange and ever changing landscape of cannabis media in 2023, and I’ll continue to call on more traditional media institutions to give this space the coverage it rightfully deserves.
I’ll also continue to weigh the options that we have in regards to the original story, particularly if the Commission fails to make good on it’s promise to provide a timely updated version of the records release.
I hope this all provides some much needed transparency. This story isn’t going away anytime soon, but for now, let's move onto something a bit lighter.
New York’s Weed Czar Says What We’re All Thinking about Mega-MSO Mids
It’s hard to argue things are going well for New York’s nascent adult use cannabis industry.
It’s also hard not to notice that a lot of shady individuals are actively rooting against the state’s efforts to create a truly equitable industry. The lawsuit filed by some of New York’s existing medical operators is the latest evidence of this.
It’s a familiar pattern at this point: Certain cannabis corporations talk a big game when it comes to diversity and inclusion, and then find a way to undermine any real world attempts at living up to these concepts.
But I’m not here to talk about all that today. Instead, I’m here to bring attention to the hilariously frank statements made by the state’s “pot czar” regarding the quality of MSO weed. From Green Market Report:
GMR: Thoughts on out-of-state brands entering New York via licensing deals, such as Theory Wellness? That seems to undercut some of the OCM’s priorities, such as bolstering small New York companies.
Axel Bernabe: Actually, counterintuitively, I would say we are hugely amenable to, and encouraging, out-of-state brands to come participate in New York, because we are looking to have the most competitive market possible on the supply side.
It goes back to what I was giving you as the vision. We don’t want you to come in as an MSO and try to build a 250,000 square-foot-average weed grow facility. If that’s the (business model) you’re in, then New York is not where you want to be, because we’re not going to let you do it.
You’re going to go to dispensaries, you’re going to try to go around our two-tier (structure), you’re going to try to push your shitty weed because you have so much of it at shitty prices. So no, if you’re doing that, no. But if you think you have the best weed in the world, then you should come to New York. Because we’ve set up a system where you are more than welcome to compete.
Forgive me for using this overused but very appropriate gif..
It’s safe to say I’ve never heard a regulator speak this frankly about the product produced by MSOs… but I welcome it. I don’t think his comments were particularly directed at the company mentioned in the question; the reference to 250,000 square foot grows in particular seems to be a shot at some of the MSOs who have operations in Connecticut and also happen to be part of the NY lawsuit.
The whole interview is worth your time, but it’s hard not to be blown away by Bernabe’s frank assessment of the situation. I’m not sure why he decided to dish this to Green Market Report, but I applaud them for getting this interview. I’m also not 100% sure if New York regulators should be talking smack about flower quality, considering what I’ve heard about the product that’s currently available there. Still, nice burn.
While this interview was conducted a day before news of the lawsuit hit the public, I imagine Bernabe’s knowledge that it was coming may be the reason he decided to be particularly blunt with his commentary.
Sorry Boris Jordan and John Boehner, but there’s nothing in New York’s laws or regulations that says their cannabis czar can’t tell everyone your weed is shitty.
HEADLINES
New England
VERMONT CANNABIS CONTROL BOARD GETS FUNDING FOR A LABORATORY (Sasha Goldstein | Seven Day VT): “Currently, just three labs are open in the state, and only two can run the full complement of tests needed before a product hits the market. While the new state lab won’t be open to the public, it will allow the control board to run tests without gumming up the private labs that licensed growers use. Aside from investigations, the control board plans to perform random sampling of products to ensure that growers, manufacturers and retailers are following the laws.”
CANNABIS COMPANY BUYS WARWICK RESTAURANT BUILDING FOR $2.25M (Marc Larocque | Providence Business Journal): “The 8,400-square-foot restaurant building at 444 Quaker Lane, Unit 2, was sold by Quaker Real Estate Enterprises LLC, of East Greenwich, to a Chicago-based limited liability company called 444 Quaker Lane LLC, according to a copy of the condominium deed, a public record of the real estate transaction.
444 Quaker Lane LLC is affiliated with Green Thumb Industries Inc., a national marijuana products company located at 325 West Huron St. in Chicago, according to its corporate filings with the R.I. Department of State.”
MOLD IN MARIJUANA? CONNECTICUT'S RULES ARE LESS STRICT THAN OTHER STATES (Kate Seltzer | CT Public):“Mold is present wherever we go: It’s in our food, our medicine and our air. Because avoiding mold entirely is impossible, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration allows for small amounts of it in lots of consumer products. But because marijuana isn’t legal at the federal level, it’s up to states to decide how much mold in the product is too much. And in Connecticut, that limit has been in flux. It’s currently set at 100,000 colony-forming units per gram of cannabis (a measurement expressed as CFU/g). A review by The Accountability Project found that that’s 10 times higher than the threshold in most other states that have a numeric limit for mold in marijuana.”
Rest of U.S. / National
HOW AN OUT-OF-STATE POT FIRM USED A SHOOTING VICTIM IN A BID TO SCORE SOCIAL EQUITY LICENSES IN ILLINOIS (Tom Schuba and David Struett | Chicago Sun Times): “Patterson, 26, who lives on Chicago’s East Side, said she initially “thought it was a scam” when she came across the ad in February. In the end, she said she was lured by the promise of easy money and encouraged to follow through by Amanda Kilroe, an attorney for Canna Zoned. Patterson sent documents proving she was a victim of gun violence, a new way to earn social equity status in an upcoming licensing round for 55 pot shops. She later received an electronic transfer of $2,000.”
NEW MEXICO STATE CANNABIS CHIEF QUITS (Andy Lyman | Sante Fe Reporter): “In a March 21 letter to Teresa Casados, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s chief operating officer, Vallejos offered little else besides the fact he is leaving.“I am writing to inform you that my last day at RLD will be March 31, 2023,” Vallejos wrote. “Please note that I will be out on leave most of the week of March 27-31.”’
CURALEAF TO CLOSE NEW JERSEY GROW, LAY OFF UP TO 40 STAFF (John Schroyer | Green Market Report): “Though it’s unclear just how many Curaleaf workers will lose their jobs, NJ.com reported that a representative of the United Food and Commercial Workers union said he’d spoken to about 40 who were concerned about the closure. Workers at the Bellmawr grow were attempting to unionize with the UFCW, the union rep told NJ.com, but “management interfered,” which led the union to file a formal complaint about Curaleaf with the National Labor Relations Board roughly three weeks ago. That complaint is still awaiting arbitration.”
International
🇲🇼 MALAWI CANNABIS: FARMERS' HIGH HOPES FAIL TO MATERIALISE (BBC News): “As part of a requirement to get a growers' licence from the government, Ms Chilembwe joined hands with other tobacco farmers nearby and registered a co-operative group. Having already paid $1,500 (£1,200) to acquire the licence, Ms Chilembwe says the group paid thousands more dollars to USCA for registration, seeds and training in 2021. But she got neither the seeds nor the training.”
🇨🇦 DOUG FORD REJECTS CALL TO ‘MODERNIZE’ CANNABIS SECTOR WITH WEED LOUNGES (Kristin Rushowy | Toronto Star): ‘“I don’t like the idea of having a lounge outside and they’re smoking or doobies or weed or whatever the heck they call it now,” the premier said in response to reporters’ questions following a skilled trades training announcement in Vaughan on Tuesday morning.”
🇯🇲 ST MARY FARMER URGES GOVERNMENT TO REMOVE RED TAPE FROM GANJA INDUSTRY AND BAN IMPORTATION (Ingrid Henry | Jamaica Observer): “According to Wilson, despite freeing up the local ganja sector in 2015, the Government has not made provisions for people like him to plant, use and sell the weed unless they get a licence."Look at the big ganja farm in Nutsfield, [St Mary]. The man put in all the necessary infrastructure to plant, and export weed to Canada but him can't do that and ganja from Canada coming in. That is a height of foolishness," declared Wilson as he argued that "ganja is a green gold for Jamaica but there were too many red tape in it." During his contribution to the 2023/24 Budget Debate last Thursday, Holness joined scores of Jamaicans voicing displeasure at the decision to allow the importation of ganja from Canada.”
Welcome Distraction
Remember the concept of radios? Believe it or not, they are still very much a thing, and Radio Garden allows you to peruse a map of the world where you can listen to broadcasts from just about anywhere. Check out the latest top hits in the Caribbean, listen to Russian stations play American classics in between bursts of war propaganda, or maybe just discover a few stations in your neck of the woods that you never knew existed.
Cat of the Week
Do I have to keep pulling all the weight around here, people? Send me your cats. (Not literally, a picture and description will do.)
In the meantime, here’s Chickadee, who’s up for adoption at Baypath Humane.
Special Bulletin:
Do you know a lawyer who’s willing to offer pro bono advice to an independent journalist? Asking for a friend.
An update on something I’ve mentioned in this newsletter in the past: Boston Strangler came out on Hulu last week, and it turns out I made the final cut! You can (very briefly) see me being thoroughly unamused with F. Lee Bailey’s shtick during a press scrum at 1:09:15, and you get a great glimpse of the back of my head around 1:32:35 (I’m in the corduroy jacket). Sadly, background extras don’t get royalties, but I’ll always have my memories of the craft services table.
That’s a wrap on this issue. Thanks for reading! If you have any suggestions or feedback, let me know by replying to this email or dropping me a line on social media. Be sure to subscribe if you haven’t already, and if you can afford to support my work, please consider a paid subscription.