Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser has alerted members of Congress of the “potential resulting disruption” that federal cannabis legalization may potentially inflict on existing state-legal cannabis markets.
Weiser’s primary concern centers around the prospect of federal legalization—should it happen—being poorly structured. Specifically, he placed emphasis on the proposed 25% national cannabis tax rate featured in Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s recently introduced bill, titled “The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act.”
According to Weiser, an extortionate tax rate in the range of 25% could starve states of valuable, much-needed revenue, something that might push legal cannabis states to slash budgets on tax-reliant programs, such as social equity programs.
“Without phased implementation, we are concerned these businesses will be pushed out of the market thus diminishing the social equity principles behind any federal market rollout,” Weiser said in his letter to congressional leaders. “In short, the federal regulatory framework will have considerable impact on state public policy goals—including equity and competition—and those impacts should be considered carefully and managed appropriately before a federal framework takes hold.”
It is imperative that a new national cannabis market be implemented slowly and cautiously to safeguard small-scale cannabis businesses from being dwarfed by Big Tobacco.
Five of the biggest and most well-established tobacco companies on the planet include Altria, British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands, Japan Tobacco International, and Philip Morris International. Although tobacco constitutes a multi-billion dollar global market, the World Health Organization (WHO) claims that tobacco kills more than 8 million people every year.
“I submit this letter in response to requests for comments to that proposed law and request that the Congress engage with the states when designing a federal regulatory system that protects public health and safety,” Weiser wrote, as he argued that the urgency of encouraging small businesses to partake in the industry is a huge priority.
By rolling out a national market, smaller cannabis corporations with tighter budgets can gain equal opportunity to contend with bigger companies that boast more financial backing. “If a national market is not rolled out carefully and in stages, large companies, particularly existing tobacco-focused companies, will be able to move into new markets immediately, displacing and pushing out smaller players,” he continued in his letter.
Schumer has also stressed the importance of restricting larger corporations’—both tobacco and alcohol companies—ability to dominate the industry. This, he says, can be accomplished with his recently proposed bill.
Another key facet of Weiser’s letter to Congress focused on the three perks that state-level legalization may offer. Outlined in his letter are the following prospective benefits of U.S. cannabis reform:
Weiser also centered his argument around the fact that states with legal cannabis laws have valuable knowledge on the industry that should not be overlooked. “We appreciate the CAOA’s efforts to preserve the integrity of state cannabis laws while simultaneously providing a path for responsible federal regulation of the cannabis industry,” Weiser said. “Given the states’ institutional knowledge, we encourage the adoption of a regulatory framework that designates the states as the primary regulatory authority.”
Based on the findings of a recently published study that was presented at the European Respiratory Society International Congress, e-cigarettes that contain nicotine may cause spikes in blood pressure and blood pressure clotting. The bold claim suggests that the mainstream tobacco market could cause more detrimental repercussions to public health than the federally illegal cannabis market.
Specifically, researchers found that nicotine-containing e-cigarettes can trigger blood clots, increase blood pressure, send the heart rate skyrocketing, and even weaken the expansion/dilation ability of small blood vessels. Some researchers also claim that long-term tobacco consumption may bolster the chances of experiencing a heart attack or stroke.
The cross-sectional survey study, titled “Evaluation of Smoking and Other Tobacco Product Habits of Ege University Faculty of Health Sciences Students,” was unveiled by Gustaf Lyytinen, a Helsingborg Hospital clinician and researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. Intensive experiments were conducted on a group of 22 females and males aged 18-45 years.
If tobacco, with its long list of health risks, is federally legal, that probably means cannabis should be as well. However, federal cannabis legalization needs to be carried out properly to ensure no industry stakeholders, such as small cannabis businesses, are harmed.
It’s safe to say that the wheels on the cannabis reform express have certainly been set in motion. As of April 2022, 47 states have legalized cannabis in some form or another. However, the plant’s federally illegal status—U.S. law categorizes cannabis as a Schedule I drug—means that businesses operating in this industry cannot conduct transactions with…
Cannabis’ former reputation as a gateway drug may have been dispelled, but it turns out that there is some element of truth to the rumor: The plant’s progressively evolving status as a normalized medicine in 37 U.S. states and a recreational substance in 18 U.S. states is prompting a wave of change across America’s statehouses….
Researchers working at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson have refined a method of ketamine use in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Specifically, the group focused on ketamine’s ability to relieve the side effects of a common treatment called Levodopa. Nicknamed “K,” “special K,” “cat valium,” and “vitamin K,” ketamine is…
Austin decriminalized cannabis possession, Vancouver is now home to some not-so-legal magic mushroom shops, and a British woman shared her life-changing medical marijuana journey. Let’s dive into this week’s cannanews. Austin Voters Pass Cannabis Decriminalization Bill Voters in Austin, Texas, have approved Proposition A, a ballot measure that decriminalizes cannabis possession and bans no-knock warrants….
Cannabis strains have a multitude of different names. The names are a way to help identify different varieties of cannabis genetics. The name of a specific line of cannabis genetics should help identify the strain for consumers and growers alike. However, this isn’t necessarily true anymore. We live in an era where people will call…
The worldwide skincare industry, which is projected to inflate to $189.3 billion USD by 2025, could soon be merging more closely with…
There’s no denying the fact that CBD is dominating the wellness landscape. Increasing awareness of the cannabinoid’s medicinal effects is going hand-in-hand…
As if losing a limb is not hard enough, experiencing pain in the part of the limb that is no longer there…