Issue 52: Respectfully, I Must Ask... Who the Heck is CASRC?
I ask some basic questions about a NY-based trade organization. Plus, I give a brief report on Rhode Island's first CCC meeting, and give a few updates on stories I've been following.
Happy Fourth of July weekend, everyone! Let’s get right into it.
Respectfully, I Must Ask… Who the Heck is CASRC?
Readers of this newsletter probably know that it’s not uncommon for cannabis companies to hijack the rhetoric of activists when attempting to push for political or regulatory reform that would help their bottom line. But even in the era where we have corporations single handedly pushing ballot initiatives to legalize cannabis in states like Florida, we usually don’t see them resort to the tricks pulled by the Coalition for Access to Regulated & Safe Cannabis (CASRC) in New York this past week.
If that name and acronym rings a bell, that’s because they’re the organization that is comprised of existing medical cannabis companies in New York who are currently suing the state.
A few outlets covered the press conference, but only one (that I’ve noticed) actually put two and two together and realized that this stunt featuring two spokespeople and a group of unnamed activists was being put on by an organization that is mostly comprised of large cannabis corporations headed by a bunch of rich white guys.
I recommend you read the whole piece about the press conference written by Katie Way, a writer at Hell’s Gate, but this excerpt gets at the absurdity I’m referring to:
But Wednesday's event was less of a "rally to save the cannabis industry" than it was a surreal press conference with speakers using the language of civil rights and justice to promote an agenda explicitly backed by Big Cannabis. Foy is the spokesperson for the Coalition for Access to Regulated & Safe Cannabis, a self-described “unincorporated trade organization” made up of several of the country's largest medical marijuana companies that is currently suing the OCM over alleged violations of the Marijuana Taxation and Regulation Act, or MTRA, as first reported by NY Cannabis Insider in March.
(Read the full piece here.)
So if CARSC is mostly made up of large cannabis corporations, who were the people standing behind the speakers? Good question! None of them were given a chance to speak, and the press release issued by CARSC simply labeled them as “Community Advocates; CAURD licensees; Black Business Owners.”
I attempted to reach out to the Coalition for Access to Regulated & Safe Cannabis to get some clarity about their organization’s membership, but alas, that’s a bit trickier than you might imagine. Generally press releases come with some sort of contact information, but the only copy I could find of CARSC’s release didn’t include any. They also don’t appear to have any social media profiles, let alone a website. They’ve apparently hired Rev. Kirsten John Foy to be a spokesperson, and he’s the only one who has been quoted in any of their press releases. Similarly, the four page report they put out blasting the lack of cannabis tax revenue in New York State doesn’t contain any actual information about the organization that produced it.
Needless to say, all of this is pretty unusual for any trade organization. CARSC might not be the only shady trade group or advocacy organization in the cannabis space, but they’re the only group I’ve seen who have gone to these lengths to obscure who is actually involved.
But hey, I’m going to do a very un-journalistic thing and give CARSC the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they really are a patchwork of very concerned citizens who just so happen to include most of the existing medical cannabis companies in New York.
But even if that is the case, how do you think the power dynamics within the organization play out? Do you really think that the multi-million dollar corporations have an equal amount of sway over the goals and strategies of CARSC as the other alleged stakeholders, who presumingly have little to offer in comparison when it comes to financial or political capital?
If CARSC wants us to actually believe they are a diverse coalition, perhaps they should be a bit more forthcoming with the structure and composition of their organization. It’s within their legal rights to sue the state’s Cannabis Control Board behind the cover of being an “unincorporated trade organization,” but they shouldn’t expect to be able to try to influence the voting public without people asking some basic questions about who they actually are.
It’s absolutely fair to criticize aspects of New York’s legalization rollout – but until they show us otherwise – let’s not pretend there’s any amount of good faith in what CARSC is trying to accomplish.
Rhode Island Holds Its First CCC Meeting
Rhode Island held its first Cannabis Control Commission meeting yesterday, but you didn’t miss much if you didn’t happen to tune in. Other than a lengthy presentation from a representative from the Rhode Island Ethics Commission reminding the new commissioners not to do shady stuff, there wasn’t much on the agenda.
At least we did get some small tidbits of info regarding the upcoming regulator listening tour; these meetings will take place in late July into August, and will include both in-person sessions and a session via zoom. No word yet on dates or locations, though.
They did have public testimony at the meeting, but considering they didn’t exactly publicize the fact that this meeting was actually happening this week, only one person showed up to speak. With basically nothing on the agenda, it was a bit unclear what exactly people were supposed to be commenting on anyways. Local reporting supports the notion that there’s a lot of work to do, and that some are frustrated by the slow pace.
I’ll try not to judge the Commission too harshly by their inaugural meeting (it’s not like I expected them to suddenly start handing out dispensary licenses on the first day), but this first impression didn’t exactly instill me with confidence that they are going to hit the ground running. Other than extremely brief introductions from the three Commissioners where they outlined their job history, we got no insight into what their opinions are or what they think the RI CCC should prioritize.
Hopefully the pace picks up a bit this summer. It’s important the state gets this right, but right now we’re seeing no signs that they understand how urgent the situation is for existing cultivators and prospective social equity/worker cooperative dispensaries.
Updates on Previous Stories
DIDDY DEAL IN DOUBT. Remember the Diddy Deal? Well, as of press time, we’re just a few hours away from Cresco/Colombia Care’s self-imposed deadline to complete their merger, and the companies just announced that they won’t be able to get it done in time. This deadline was originally set for March 31st, and had already been pushed back once. If the deal fails to go through, that will likely mean that Diddy won’t be acquiring any of the assets that the companies were attempting to off-load to him to stay compliant with licensing limits in some of the states they operate in. The company hasn’t officially pulled the plug on the deal yet, but I would expect that news to eventually come in the next few days.
GTI INSISTS CIRCLE K SCHEME IN FLORIDA HASN’T RUN OUT OF GAS. In other “things that MSOs insist are still happening despite the lack of evidence” news, it’s now been eight months since GTI proclaimed that they were going to be putting dispensaries inside Circle K gas stations in Florida. MJBiz reports that GTI’s CEO is still insisting it will happen…or at the very least, that they’re still trying to make it happen. Back when this deal was announced, I threw some cold water on the idea that this move was as revolutionary as some were making it out to be.
MORE LAYOFFS. Reporting on layoffs in the cannabis space isn’t easy. For starters, it’s depressing. In addition to that, unless the layoffs reach the point where it triggers WARN Act provisions, they can be tough to find out about. That being said, sources tell me that Mission Dispensaries* has laid off over 100 employees across their operations in the last month.
At a certain point, it may just be easier to start listing MSOs who aren’t laying people off.
I’m also hearing word of cuts at a few medium-size companies in Massachusetts, but I’m still working to confirm details. If you’re a worker who’s been impacted in Mass., check out Jason Reposa’s spreadsheet for some leads.
(* = As always, I feel obligated to mention that I worked for Mission and its parent company 4Front from 2014-2019)
LAYOFFS HAVE CONSEQUENCES. You’ll be shocked to learn that laying off a bunch of your employees often has a negative impact on the success of your business. Trulieve may still dominate Florida’s medical marijuana market, but I’m seeing post after post after post from patients on social media complaining about extremely long wait times at their Sunshine State dispensaries. Many patients are reporting that orders using the company’s “express check-in” can still take 30-45 minutes, or even longer. For comparison, I’ve never had a trip to a medical dispensary in Massachusetts take longer than 20 minutes, and generally I am in-and-out in less than five.
I’m weary of making predictions, but given the fact that the company is making significant cuts to its operations while throwing millions of dollars into their recreational campaign in Florida, I truly can’t see the company surviving if the initiative doesn’t pass.
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New England
CONNECTICUT: LAW CHANGE PERMITTING ADULTS TO HOME CULTIVATE CANNABIS TAKES EFFECT ON SATURDAY (NORML)
Under the law, an adult may individually home cultivate up to six marijuana plants, of which no more than three may be mature. Households with more than one adult may grow a maximum of 12 total plants. The plants must be grown indoors in a locked, secured area.
ANALYSIS: I’m imagining an extremely by-the-books home grower eagerly waiting for the clock to strike midnight tonight so they can plant their first seed. Something tells me that people probably haven’t been waiting until this weekend to start planting, but props to Connecticut for finally implementing a sensible cannabis rule.
NEW HAMPSHIRE MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES CAN NOW SELL TO VISITORS FROM OTHER STATES, CANADA (KC Downey | WMUR9)
Medical marijuana dispensaries in New Hampshire can now sell their products to cannabis patients from other states and Canada. Federal law makes it illegal to cross state or country borders with marijuana, even if the patient has a therapeutic certification. But starting Wednesday, New Hampshire visitors who can show a medical marijuana card with matching identification can make purchases at Granite State dispensaries.
ANALYSIS: I would love to see some numbers in the future that show how many patients are actually taking advantage of this new rule. New Hampshire is not exactly known for having a wide selection of quality medical marijuana products, and no matter where you are in the Granite state, you’re never more than an hour or so from a state border that has better weed.
Rest of U.S / National
ANTI-CANNABIS GROUPS SUE TO OVERTURN NEW YORK'S MARIJUANA LAWS (Brendan Lyons | Times Union)
“The biggest problem that we deal with is the public perception that marijuana is relatively harmless,” Evans said. “And the American industry is very smart and they began pushing it as a medicine. And that’s how they gained a lot of their money during the Bush administration. Then they plowed that into lobbyists and focus groups and so forth, and then began turning state after state.”
ANALYSIS: What a revisionist telling of the history of medical marijuana in the U.S. The reality is that Bush-era medical marijuana initiatives were pushed by patients, not the “industry” (which literally didn’t exist at that point). As usual, prohibitionists would rather continue their quixotic quest to turn back the tide of legalization rather than work with groups who are actually attempting to push back against corporate influences in good faith. Plus, if cannabis corporations are behind legalization in New York, then why are they also currently suing the state?
CANNABIS TOURISM IS BOOMING AT LAUGHING GRASS CAMPGROUND IN MAINE (Vivien Leigh | News Center Maine)
Hundreds of visitors are flocking to a campground in Harrison, where smoking marijuana is not only allowed but encouraged. Camp Laughing Grass, which is in its fourth season, is fast becoming a major cannabis-friendly tourism destination.
Located on the Crooked River, this campground has everything, from glamping and primitive tent sites to cabins, hiking and bike trails, and a new dock.
ANALYSIS: Starting a campground where cannabis use is allowed seems like one of the lowest cost ways that someone could start a weed adjacent business. Considering that; a) you’re not selling cannabis, b) everybody is outside, and c) it’s private property, this business model should work in most states where weed is legal, without the need for a consumption license and without running afoul of public consumption or smoking laws.* If you’re looking to get into the cannabis space but don’t have millions of dollars of cash to splash, this type of business model may be a good move.
(* = I’m not a lawyer.)
International
🇪🇸 CATALONIA CRACKS DOWN ON BOOMING MARIJUANA INDUSTRY (Horaci Garcia and Joan Faus | Reuters)
In 2017, Catalonia fully legalised the clubs, fuelling their proliferation, but courts later overturned the move for procedural reasons.
Under self-imposed rules, clubs should grow their own marijuana, only let in adults who can buy up to 60 grams monthly and take 15 days to approve memberships to put off short-term tourists.
But many clubs, which are often barely recognisable from outside, do not stick to the rules because they are voluntary, complained Eric Asensio, head of the Catalan federation of cannabis clubs.
ANALYSIS: I’m not sure the political capital is there, but I wish Spain would actually get around to codifying their current system of social clubs.
UKRAINE’S PRESIDENT SAYS LEGALIZING MEDICAL MARIJUANA CAN HELP PEOPLE IMPACTED BY ‘TRAUMA OF WAR’ WITH RUSSIA (Kyle Jaeger | Marijuana Moment)
In an address to the Ukrainian Parliament on Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that “all the world’s best practices, all the most effective policies, all the solutions, no matter how difficult or unusual they may seem to us, must be applied in Ukraine so that Ukrainians, all our citizens, do not have to endure the pain, stress and trauma of war,” according to a translation.
“In particular, we must finally fairly legalize cannabis-based medicines for all those who need them, with appropriate scientific research and controlled Ukrainian production,” he said, as Ukrainska Pravda first reported.
ANALYSIS: Something tells me that Curaleaf won’t be participating in Ukraine’s future medical marijuana market. I wonder if prohibitionists find it awkward to be on the same side of Putin regarding this particular topic.
Remember the rumor that Disney hastily repurposed the animatronics they had designed for Hillary Clinton’s appearance in the Hall of Presidents when Trump unexpectedly won back in 2016? Well, according to this Substack post I found on Bluesky, we actually have a little bit of evidence that this rumor may actually be true!
While this really doesn’t “confirm” the news (it’s based on a single anonymous source who claimed to have worked at Disney), I’m still going to continue believe this.
I don’t think I’ve actually had any success in getting anyone to adopt a cat yet, but maybe Bubba can change that. He doesn’t let his missing hind leg keep him down, and he sounds like an incredibly sweet dude. He’s currently up for adoption at Baypath Humane Society.
Special Bulletin
Pending some sort of big breaking news that I feel compelled to write about, I’m going to take a break from the newsletter next week. In the meantime, be sure to give Burn After Reading a follow on Instagram or LinkedIn. You can also catch me on Bluesky now (@ericcasey.bsky.social). Otherwise, I’ll see you on the 14th.