Issue XIII
A short dispatch from Jamaica
Welcome to the 13th edition of Burn After Reading! This is my newsletter on cannabis (and other things). You can check out last week’s issue here.
Greetings from Jamaica! It’s going to be a bit of a shortened newsletter this week because (a) look at this place:
and (b) I’ll be posting a special edition later in the week with a full rundown of my experience here.
In this week’s Cannabis Confidential, I recapped my experience at the TeeHC Open, a business-to-business networking event that was *gasps* actually a fun and engaging experience!
I’ve been to more cannabis networking events than I can remember, but none had the atmosphere of this event. For one, being able to actually consume cannabis at the event was a game changer. But beyond that, it was a great crowd, full of a lot of people I hadn’t seen since pre-COVID. I’m looking forward to next year’s event.
As I mentioned before, I’m currently in Jamaica for the CanEx International Cannabis Conference. This being my first time on the island, I arrived a few days early to check out the local cannabis scene.
Contrary to popular belief, recreational cannabis remains “illegal” in Jamaica. I put that in quotes because (a) it’s everywhere, and nobody really bats an eye at outdoor public consumption and (b) it’s legal for medical and spiritual use. You can use a medical card from the states if you have one, but you can also get a doctor’s recommendation at most herb houses — the local vernacular for dispensaries.
So how’s the weed, you ask? I would say: solid. Overall, a 6 out of 10. As ganja is literally everywhere, it’s mostly only tourists that go to the herbhouses — the only Jamaicans that frequent them are looking to treat specific medical ailments that need specific products or cannabinoid profiles, and they seem to be few and far between.
So if you’re looking to get classic Jamaican strains like Lamb’s Bread, prepare to be disappointed. Sadly, the menus suggest that most tourists want the familiar strains they recognize from back home. If you want the true ganja experience, you’ll have to head to the hills of Negrill, something that I sadly didn’t have the time or resources to do.
I’ll have a full recap on my experiences in Jamaica in the coming days.
Business-focused interviews with cannabis executives can be a bit dry, but they do a great job at revealing a company’s true colors. Lots of these folks in cannabis c-suite only actively think about social equity when being directly asked about, at which point they give some canned answer about how awful prohibition is and what they’re company is allegedly doing to address the issue. When the conversation is focused on stock prices, EBITDA, and debt, you tend to get a much more blunt discussion about how these operators feel about regulators and the legacy market.
That’s why this interview with Jushi CEO Jim Cacioppo raises an important question: Is the guy you want to buy your weed from?
Sitting down with GrownIn, Jim claimed that New York’s cannabis regulatory scheme is “socialistic” (gasp!) and “one of the worst regulators in the United States of America for cannabis.”
I’d love to know what so unique about New York. The regulations there aren’t particularly different from neighboring states, with one notable exception: The state has been taking some significant steps to ensure that those who have been impacted by the cannabis prohibition a chance to get a head start in the licensing process. Other disadvantaged groups also get some benefits. Apparently this is a step too far for Jushi.
Cacioppo — a former hedge fund manager who is just one member of Jushi’s predominantly pale/male C-suite — also named Amazon and Tesla as the top two non-cannabis companies that he admires. Oof.
So I ask again, in a market like Massachusetts where you have plenty of options, is this the guy you want to buy your weed from?
Finally, fans of social equity and small cannabis farmers have a bill to champion in Congress. On Wednesday, Representative Jared Huffman (CA-02) introduced the Small and Homestead Independent Producers (SHIP) Act. This bill would allow small cannabis producers to ship and sell their products directly to consumers via the USPS as soon as federal prohibition is repealed.
From the press release:
“Too often, the federal government falls behind, and the gears of Congress work too slowly to keep up with the pace of a changing economy,” said Representative Huffman. “Under my bill, folks in our state will be able to ship their products straight to consumers when the antiquated federal prohibition on cannabis is finally repealed. As large, commercial cannabis operations squeeze out local producers from the market, this legislation is critical for farmers to survive and expand their small businesses. We cannot leave our smallest family-farmers behind under full legalization.”
The legislation has been endorsed by organizations representing small cannabis businesses across the country, and would be a major tool to fight back against corporate domination of the industry. Obviously the devil is in the details and the implementation, but this bill is a breath of fresh air compared to pretty much every other federal cannabis bill that’s been proposed. If it’s something you support, consider dropping your representative a line.
Some quick hits:
A Tilray press release last week seems to have caused some dismay among Germany's drug regulators (Tony Owusu/The Street)
Elias Theodorou, Canadian UFC fighter and cannabis advocate, dies at 34 (GlobalNewsCA)
N.J. regulators reiterate that workers can’t be fired for a positive cannabis blood test (Harold Brubaker/Philidelphia Inquirer)
Legal pot spawned a wave of corruption, threats and secret financial deals for politicians (Adam Elmahrek, Robert Lopez, Ruben Vives/Los Angeles Times)
Thailand's cannabis Bill dealt a blow after bigger parties demand changes (The Straits Times)