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Cannabis Industry Out of Banking Limbo
Elizabeth Warren Wants to Get the Cannabis Industry Out of Banking Limbo
Sen. Elizabeth Warren is leading a new effort to make sure vendors working with cannabis businesses don’t have their banking services taken away. (AP)
BOSTON (AP) — As marijuana shops sprout in states that have legalized the drug, they face a critical stumbling block — lack of access to the kind of routine banking services other businesses take for granted.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, is leading an effort to make sure vendors working with legal marijuana businesses, from chemists who test marijuana for harmful substances to firms that provide security, don’t have their banking services taken away.
“It’s just a plain old safety issue. You don’t want people walking in with guns and masks and saying, ‘Give me all your cash.’”
It’s part of a wider effort by Warren and others to bring the burgeoning $7 billion marijuana industry in from a fiscal limbo she said forces many shops to rely solely on cash, making them tempting targets for criminals.
After voters in Warren’s home state approved a November ballot question to legalize the adult use of cannabis, she joined nine other senators in sending a letter to a key federal regulator, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, calling on it to issue additional guidance to help banks provide services to marijuana shop vendors.
Twenty-eight states have legalized marijuana for medicinal or recreational use.
Warren, a member of the Senate Banking Committee, said there are benefits to letting marijuana-based businesses move away from a cash-only model.
“It’s just a plain old safety issue.
You don’t want people walking in
with guns and masks and saying,
‘Give me all your cash.’”
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THE STRONGEST STRAINS ON EARTH 2016
So if you’re looking for a strain with a knockout punch, one that will get you high when you’re feeling low—you’re in the right place!
Notes:
The Emperor Cookie Dough, a cross between Emperor OG and Girl Scout Cookies, was entered into the Denver US Cannabis Cup by the Greenwolf LA crew and is one of only two strains ever to cross the 30% threshold for THC. The other strain to do so? Keep on reading….
Karmasutra, a collaboration project, is a hybrid of the Karma OG crossed with Rockstar. Rockstarhas two known versions: The Canadian version is a Bubba Kush x Lemon OG, while the European version is Rockbud x Sensi Star.
Veganic Strawberry Cough has been included in our “Strongest Strains on Earth” compilation (hereafter, The List) for three out of the five years that HIGH TIMES has been running it. In 2012, the VSC maxed out at just over 20% THC. Meanwhile, veganically grown strains (using KyleKushman’s Vegamatrix line) have made The List seven times over the course of those five years.
Notes:
It’s no surprise that this year’s strongest strain—and the new record holder for the highest potency ever recorded at a High Times Cannabis Cup event—is none other than Chem Dog. Reaching 32.13% THC, the Chem has achieved what most of us thought was impossible and leaves us asking one basic question: Just how high can a flower go in terms of potency?
The Brotherhood was another organically grown entry that hit nearly 28% THC. Propagated from seed, her lineage stacks up like this: (Willie’s Wonder x Grape Krush) x (Bubba ’91 x The White).
The Sour Kush was grown under a purple LED light, and she still went over 26% THC. Does this mean that limited-spectrum LED lamps are healthy for plants—or that the plant was stressed, producing more resin to attract pollen in order to ensure its survival? And if the latter, do you care? The debate continues ….
The Ghost Train Haze appeared in our very first “Strongest Strains on Earth” feature, taking the prize for the most potent strain of 2011 at 25.49% THC. In 2014, she was our THC champion again at nearly 27.46%. Entered last year by the fine grow team at Greenman Cannabis in Denver, the Rare Dankness–bred strain dipped slightly, but we suspect she’ll be back again next year looking for the top slot.
Notes:
Chiquita Banana, a relatively new name in the fruity strains, is likely a backcross of the BananaKush (or Banana OG) out of NorCal, with her potency derived from one of her parents, the epic Ghost OG cut.
Appearing twice on The List for 2015, the Strawberry Banana also was named one of “The Strongest Strains on Earth” in 2014, coming in at 22.51% THC. Additionally, she recently showed up in our “Best-Tasting Buds” feature (March ’16) boasting a very prolific terpene profile. A cross between Bubblegum and Banana Kush (OG), the SB goes nine weeks in flower.
Gorilla Glue #4 has been steadily gaining in popularity over the past few years, combining a unique flavor with a very potent high. A super-cross of Sour Dubb x (Chem’s Sister x Chocolate Diesel), she’s a sativa-dominant hybrid that’s been making her way across the country, and has reportedly even been seen on a menu or two in Dutch coffeeshops.
Notes:
The Sunny Days doubtless gets her potency from her father, the Ghost Train Haze #1. This particular sativa-dominant hybrid is a GTH backcross whose lineage is represented as (Grape Stomper x GTH #1) bx GTH #1. This entry, hitting nearly 27% THC, was organically grown.
Death Star has been around for a while, but the Sour Diesel x Sensi Star cross has never quite lived up to initial expectations. This pheno, however, achieved new heights when grown in all-natural soil and organic nutrients from the Detroit Nutrient Company. See a trend?
Sunshine #4, an OG x Cherry Pie x Pink Panties cross, first made headlines in our “Best-Tasting Buds” feature this past March, boasting 2.2% total terps, with myrcene heading the roster. Combine that with nearly 26% THC, and you get a potent flower that took home first place in the Best Hybrid category.
Notes:
The Jamaican Cannabis Cup featured entries grown only in Jamaica, with the categories divided into Indoor, Outdoor Sativa and Outdoor Indica for flowers. The average indoor flower potency was 15.5% THC. Out of 53 total flower entries, the average outdoor potency was 10.1% THC forindicas and 10.4% THC for sativas. These averages represent the values for activated (decarboxylated) THC.
Each province or parish of Jamaica is represented by a primary ganja growers’ association, and many of the entries were supplied via these organizations. Rastafarians comprise a majority of these growers and have been cultivating some of these strains for many decades. They were central in organizing this Cup competition.
St. Bess Ganja Growers, which provided two of the most potent entries in the Jamaica Cup, as well as the St. Ann’s Botanical & Agro Processing Cooperative and the Orange Hill growers (of Westmoreland), were among the top associations of island cultivators.
The True OG was grown from seeds purchased from Elemental Seeds.
Eight of the 26 entries in the Best Indica category, or 31%, tested for high CBD levels (over 3%). The highest was 9.2% CBD, in a strain called Black Willy from the Accompong Maroons, Jamaica’s oldest indigenous people.
Strongest CBD Strains
As THC potency rises, so too come increasing CBD levels. We never thought we’d see the day whenCBD actually catches up to THC, but that sentiment is now being challenged as we witness CBDstrains crossing the 20th percentile for the first time ever.
In comparison with the results in the THC category, the CBD strains were tested by three different labs across four separate competitions, with values coming back between 15% and 21%. The topCBD strain, a Cannatonic phenotype that’s been circulating in the northern US for the past several years, also hit 19% CBD at the Michigan Cup in 2011.
Mile High Has Record High
This feature has been running annually in our hallowed pages for five years now. The previous high mark for potency was 28.35% THC for the Bruce Banner #3, set in 2013 at the Denver Cannabis Cup. Since that time, we’ve discussed at length just how high a cannabis flower could go, physiologically speaking, in terms of THC. We’ve also discussed the various lab-testing methodologies used by labs in different states. We asked the experts if we would see an end to these skyrocketing values, or would cannabis simply continue to progress until we had buds testing at over 50% THC? The truth is, there has to be a ceiling at some point: After all, a flower can’t be 100% percent THC.
In 2015, we reached a new milestone in the Mile High City, crossing the 30% threshold for the first time ever at a High Times Cannabis Cup competition. Sure, we’ve heard rumors about strains climbing as high as 35%—we’ve even examined reports submitted by growers and prepared by no-name labs. But these reports won’t be considered valid until we can certify the lab and its testing protocols, as we do for each Cup competition we hold.
In Denver, we had not one but two flower entries break the barrier and cross into a new realm of cannabis potency. And while both were entered in the same Cup, they were grown in different states, by different growers, using different genetics and techniques. Still, it’s important to remember that while we validated the testing methods used, we had only one lab running samples at this Cup, as opposed to our normal protocol of two separate labs running the samples independently.
Greenwolf, a celebrated LA dispensary, brought to the Denver Cup their Emperor Cookie Dough, which tipped the scales at 31.1% THC—an impressive number, to say the least. And then we have our good friends at Next Harvest, a perennial contender from Denver, whose Chem Dog cut surpassed the 32% mark and set the bar with a new all-time high of 32.13% THC.
This comes as no surprise to anyone who’s ever smoked a pure Chem Dog, which just happened to originate from seeds found in a pound of cannabis grown in Denver in the 1990s (and known simply as “the Dog” back then). Today, we no longer question the results, but instead celebrate the unknown. And one day, sooner or later, our questions will finally be answered as to just how high this precious plant can take us.
We’d like to pause here and thank our partner labs for providing such excellent and thorough lab results for our Cannabis Cup competitions in 2015:
LA Cannabis Cup: Lab-testing results by CSA Labs, Los Angeles, using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS).
Denver Cannabis Cup: Lab-testing results by Charas Scientific, Denver, using high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC).
San Francisco Cannabis Cup: Lab-testing results by Steep Hill Labs, Berkeley, using HPLC.
Michigan Cannabis Cup: Lab-testing results by Iron Labs, Walled Lake, using GC-MS, and by PSI Labs, Ann Arbor, using HPLC.
The World Cannabis Cup: Lab-testing results by CSA Labs, Los Angeles, using HPLC.
Jamaica Cannabis Cup: Lab-testing results by Steep Hill Labs, Berkeley, using a QuantaCann-2 (IR-referenced technology), and in conjunction with the University of Technology, Kingston, Jamaica.
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PHOTO BY GETTY IMAGES
In 2015, a similar bill found the support of the General Assembly, but it was ultimately vetoed by Rauner based on a few items that he felt would make the law too conservative toward the cause. The Governor was worried that high possession limits and low fines would create a less than appetizing environment for many of the state’s citizens, suggesting that legislative forces consider a more restrictive policy. Of course, that is exactly what they did.
The new legislation, which was brought to the table earlier this year by Senator Heather Steans, allows anyone caught holding up to 10 grams of marijuana to be fined somewhere in the vicinity of $100-$200 rather than being dragged down to the local jail. This modest adjustment to the language, which previously suggested a possession limit of 15 grams and fines ranging from $55-$125, also includes a provision intended to eliminate the state’s no-tolerance policy for drugged driving, calling for a legal limit of 5 nanograms of THC per milliliter of blood – the current standard being used in states like Colorado and Washington.
Unfortunately, the concept of removing the criminal penalties for pot possession, not to mention making a significant adjustment to the state’s drugged driving law, has made law enforcement agencies nervous. Illinois Sheriff’s Association executive director Greg Sullivan recently told the Associated Press that he was not in favor of the bill because it would not be severe enough on minors caught in possession of pot. His concern is that the law will contribute to an increase in youth drug abuse because they’ll simply be allowed to pay a small fine without the knowledge of the parents. “As long as someone can afford the fines, guess what, I may never know it as a parent. I’ve got a problem with that,” he said.
It is likely these and other concerns that have prompted an upcoming meeting between Governor Rauner and the Illinois State Police where they plan to go over the proposed decriminalization law.
“Part of the review process is working with the Illinois State Police to ensure that the law can be implemented in the best interests of the public,” said Catherine Kelly, a spokesperson the Rauner Administration.
Some advocates of the bill are worried that the last minute influence of law enforcement could, once again, sabotage decriminalization from happening in 2016. But policy experts argue that the meeting is likely just political protocol intended get the police on the same page with governing forces.
“While I’d much rather see the governor go ahead and sign this sensible reform into law without further delay, I’m actually not too worried about the fact that he’s communicating with law enforcement about it,” Tom Angell, chairman of the Marijuana Majority, told HIGH TIMES. “At the end of the day, they’re going to be the ones enforcing it, and it makes sense for their perspectives to at least be considered. And, as the growth of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition shows, more and more cops are actually starting to realize that punitive marijuana laws are a failure. I doubt that this informal consultation will result in reform being derailed.”
The bill was sent to Governor Rauner’s office on June 16, giving him 60 days to make a decision on the issue. Therefore, it is conceivable that Illinois could become the 17th state in the nation to decriminalize petty pot possession sometime before September.
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GERMANY WILL LEGALIZE MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN 2017
Germany has joined the ranks of Canada and Mexico in announcing definitive actions that will legalize medical marijuana for its citizens within the next year.
On Wednesday, a proposal brought to the table by Health Minister Hermann Gröhe designed to establish a nationwide medical marijuana program received a stamp of approval by the German government. The objective of the measure is to make medicinal cannabis available to seriously ill patients all over the country by creating a system that would allow the herb to be purchased from local drug stores. It would also ensure that weed is covered under health insurance.
“We want to give the best possible care to the seriously ill,” said Gröhe in a press statement.
Germany’s medical marijuana program will not be as loose as some of those we have grown accustom to seeing implemented in the United States. The medicine will only be available to patients suffering from serious conditions (cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, Parkinson’s diseases, etc.) for which no other treatment has been effective. Furthermore, anyone interested in petitioning the government for permission to participate in the program would first need to secure a recommendation from a doctor that specifically indicates that cannabis is a last resort.
Although not a perfect plan, the proposal is a step up from the country’s previous policy on medical marijuana. For years, patients seeking access to cannabis treatment have been required to obtain special permission from the government, and pay for the medicine out of their own pockets, if approved. However, Health Minister Gröhe says that hundreds of citizens a month have been applying for permits to use cannabis medicine, suggesting a desperate need for a more mainstream policy.
Unfortunately, the new program would not come with a provision for home cultivation — so approved patients would be forced to use the German government’s marijuana in order to remain in compliance with the law. The Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices would be responsible for the cultivation of distribution of medical marijuana, but Gröhe says the nation plans to import the herb “until government-controlled cultivation can be established.”
While Germany’s parliament – The Bundestag – is expected to vote on the medical marijuana program in the near future, this action is said to be more of a formality. Health Minister Gröhe said that while he could not predict the exact outcome of the vote, “it is likely that the law will come into force in the spring of 2017.”
Some of the latest data shows that 82 percent of German citizens support the legalization of marijuana for medicinal use, while 30 percent believe it should be made legal across the board.
Interestingly, despite a number of countries moving to reform their marijuana laws, the United States remains stubbornly positioned in a state’s right attitude. So, while nearly half the nation has legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes, the federal government still considers the herb one of the most dangerous drugs in the world – a discrepancy that continues to lead to hundreds of thousands of arrests and prison time for some offenders. However, to the north and south of the nation, legal weed is being discussed at high-speed. Canada is expected to completely eliminate prohibition in 2017, while Mexico is currently working to establish a nationwide medical marijuana program of its own.
There are more than 20 marijuana-related bills currently lingering in the halls of both chambers of Congress, none of which have managed to even receive a hearing.
Story was originally featured on http://hightimes.com/medicinal/germany-will-legalize-medical-marijuana-in-2017/.
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