MJBizMag August 2021 - 12

HempNotebook | Kristen Nichols
Cannabis v. Cannabis
T
he message looked like a typical
drug war-era political appeal,
warning recipients in bold and
capital letters that cannabinoids would
find their way into the hands of children if
they didn't act now.
Only this email didn't come from
cannabis opponents. It came from legal
marijuana operators in California and
was sent to a colleague here at MJBiz.
The senders said a state bill to allow
CBD in foods and drinks amounted
to " AN ASSSAULT ON THE LEGAL
CANNABIS INDUSTRY. "
Never mind that hemp is cannabis,
just a low-THC version.
Golden State Turf War
This email underscored what I see
happening not just in California but
across the nation: unnecessary battle
lines drawn because one version of the
plant is ridiculously overregulated while
other varieties could use some basic
health-and-safety oversight.
I'm afraid California's infighting
does not bode well for the cannabis
industry at any THC level. The Golden
State turf war has left this pioneering
market without sensible CBD regulation
for years now-and as of press time,
California seemed tottering toward
another year without compromise.
California is left with spotty enforcement
of CBD policy while illicit sales
channels meet demand. Meanwhile,
consumers and legal hemp and marijuana
businesses pay the price.
Not Just California
It's tempting to consider California an
isolated head-scratcher.
But similar concerns are bubbling
up in Washington state, an even older
legal market for recreational marijuana.
Longtime marijuana farmers fear that
12 MJBizMagazine | August 2021
a glut of cheap CBD is being converted
into intoxicating THC, undercutting regulated,
tax-paying marijuana operators.
Some are calling for a new law
banning dispensaries from selling any
hemp-derived products that have been
manipulated in a lab, though it's a
mystery how such a law would work.
East Coast is Next
I'd wager the cannabis infighting won't
stop at the West Coast. And it might be
worse in the East, where legal hemp
businesses are often older than legal
marijuana outfits.
Take New York: That state recently
authorized recreational marijuana,
more than two years after the state
established a regulated hemp industry.
Understandably, many New York
hemp entrepreneurs envision business
plans on the high-THC side of cannabis.
But those same entrepreneurs
might be shocked at how high-THC
cannabis is regulated and taxed.
I suspect conflicts will inevitably arise
as New York hemp operators see the
red tape and crushing tax burden of
doing business in marijuana.
And in North Carolina, where CBDonly
dispensaries flourish, hemp retailers
already are talking about pivoting to
sell marijuana when the law allows.
One CBD retailer told a local
newspaper that he might move some
business locations to account for
zoning changes when recreational
marijuana can be sold.
I bitterly laughed. That poor guy can
only imagine the tsunami of regulations-zoning
and otherwise-likely
headed his way.
The Real Enemy
A unified cannabis industry can solve
these challenges.
Incessant marijuana-versus-hemp bickering on the West Coast is a warning for all
Business owners need to push for
regulators to stop separating low- and
high-THC cannabis. It only sets up
incentives to cut corners.
Let's also push for lower taxes and
an easy-to-follow regime of safety protocols
for cannabinoid producers. No
offense to the many fine compliance
consultants in cannabis, but this plant
is not so dangerous that folks growing
and selling it should require legal and
compliance degrees to do business.
And let's free hemp producers
working in grain and fiber products from
overregulation and start treating those
food producers more like potato farmers
and less like pharmaceutical giants.
A unified cannabis industry across
the THC spectrum can make this happen.
Stop fighting each other and work
instead toward a cannabis industry
with less red tape while preserving
essential health safeguards.
Kristen Nichols is editor of
Hemp Industry Daily. She can
be reached at kristen.nichols@
hempindustrydaily.com.
MJBizMag August 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of MJBizMag August 2021
