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Hemp "Cartel Blue" clothing line
http://cbdjeans.com/product/king-of-pot-straight-dark/
Tennessee calls for hemp farmers
http://www.wsmv.com/story/28006044/tennessee-calls-for-hemp-farmers
Oregon Farmers can Legally Grow Hemp as of Now!
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/february022015/oregon-hemp-farming-bk.php
Oregon agency accepting applications from hemp farmers
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2015/02/04/oregon-agency-accepting-applications-from-hemp-farmers/22860165/
Oregon adopts rules allowing industrial hemp crops
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/04/us-usa-oregon-hemp-idUSKBN0L803H20150204
Will Strong U.S. Dollar Lead To Canadian/U.S. Marijuana Firm Mergers?
http://seekingalpha.com/article/2848636-will-strong-u-s-dollar-lead-to-canadian-u-s-marijuana-firm-mergers
What would a Canada with legal weed look like?
http://o.canada.com/news/what-would-a-canada-with-legal-weed-look-like
With a federal election on the horizon, voters and politicians across Canada are speaking up on what’s sure to be a hot-button issue this election: the decriminalization or legalization of marijuana.
The issue is complicated and has its roots in legislation dating back nearly 100 years. But what is decriminalization? What does it mean? And who’s for it?
“Legalization includes decriminalization,” says Jodie Emery, noted marijuana reform activist. “And decriminalization is an important step towards legalization.” Emery recently campaigned to run for the federal Liberals in Vancouver East, but was rejected by the party.
The concept of legalizing something is pretty self-explanatory: something once was illegal, and is now legal. Think alcohol in the U.S. after prohibition. Decriminalization on the other hand, is a little more complicated.
Decriminalization is usually a reflection of shifts in morals and values in society over periods of time. When it comes to decriminalizing marijuana, it implies that as a society, we feel like it’s no longer the “devil weed” we once thought it was. From a practical standpoint though, decriminalization removes criminal status from an action, while still maintaining some level of regulation and penalties. So, you could still be fined for possessing over a certain amount of marijuana, but you won’t be sent to jail, and you won’t have a criminal record.
“We want possession charges to be a low priority for police, we want provinces not to enforce this law,” says Dana Larsen, director of Sensible B.C., a non-profit dedicated to ending Canada’s cannabis ban. “Decriminalization would let police stop bothering people who aren’t bothering anyone else, and would pressure the federal government into enacting legalization legislation.”
For Larsen and Sensible B.C., decriminalization at a provincial level could be a first step in that direction. Provinces can’t fully legalize marijuana as long as it’s on the federal list of restricted substances, but Larsen believes that Canadians want reform, and he’s not alone.
The front and back of a leaflet attacking Justin Trudeau for his stance of Marijuana.
The front and back of a leaflet attacking Justin Trudeau for his stance of Marijuana. [ THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO]
The politics
Justin Trudeau made waves last year when he suggested there be an official system in place for the government regulation and control of pot. The Liberals aren’t the only ones though. The NDP and Bloc Quebecois support decriminalization, but not legalization. Meanwhile, the Conservative party is opposed to all forms of decriminalization, but they might have to change their tune.
“If the Harper government is reelected, I think they will look into police ticketing for marijuana possession, their own sort of decriminalization, only because of public and international pressure,” says Emery. “If the Liberals form government, they will legalize marijuana, the question is, what does that mean?”
Photo by Kim Stallknecht/PNG
Jodie Emery addresses a crowd in Vancouver as her husband, marijuana activist Marc Emery, returns from jail. [Photo by Kim Stallknecht]
What is legalization?
In 2012, the Liberals made it party policy to recommend marijuana legalization. While there’s no current official plan on how to make that happen, Emery says the most important step is to remove cannabis from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. After that, they’ll have to look to other governments for models.
“If we had to choose an existing model right now, Colorado is the one being emulated the most,” she says. “And I know the Liberal party has sent people down to check out Colorado as well.”
Colorado made recreational marijuana use for adults over the age of 21 completely legal on January 1, 2014, but the Colorado model isn’t perfect. Until recently, banks weren’t allowed to do business with Colorado dispensaries, since the drug wasn’t legalized for recreational use on a nation-wide level. Because the state laws and federal laws don’t mesh, many banks, like J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo, have policies in place not to provide services to marijuana businesses.
Legalizing marijuana in Canada at a federal level wouldn’t look like Colorado, if only because we’d be starting the process from the other legal end.
Holden Sproul, sales manager for The Growing Kitchen looks at marijuana plants in Lafayette, Colorado on October 23, 2014.
Holden Sproul, sales manager for The Growing Kitchen looks at marijuana plants in Lafayette, Colorado on October 23, 2014. [Ivan COURONNE/AFP/Getty Images]
What will it look like?
If marijuana were legalized tomorrow, not too much would change immediately, says Emery.
“The industry won’t exist right away, the stores won’t be there, but taxpayers would benefit immediately,” she says. “Before we’re able to sell pot, or make tax money off of legal pot, the first benefit will be reduced police spending, and Canadians protected from unjust legal penalties.”
Larsen believes in something he calls the “wine model,” which isn’t too far off for the kind of theoretical regulation that Trudeau has mentioned in interviews. Essentially, the wine model calls for marijuana to be federally controlled and provincially regulated the same way alcohol and tobacco are.
“We would like to see that model, where an adult could go to a store and buy properly labeled, high quality cannabis products,” say Larsen. “If the federal government takes cannabis out of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the provinces would end up having to create legislation for cannabis.”
The end result, Larsen says, would be slightly different regulations and sale laws in every province, just like tobacco and alcohol.
“Alcohol is legal in Canada, from coast to coast. But each province regulates it the way they choose to, and we should do the same with marijuana,” says Emery. “That way we would have a number of models in place, and over time we could abandon the models that don’t work, improve the ones that do work, and maybe find the best model of them all.”
Dana Larsen outside a cannabis dispensary in the 800 block E Hastings,Vancouver.
Dana Larsen outside a cannabis dispensary in the 800 block E Hastings,Vancouver.
[Gerry Kahrmann / PNG staff photo]
To see what decriminalized or legal marijuana in Canada would look like, you don’t need to look very far. British Columbia has the same federal marijuana prohibition as the rest of the country, but Vancouver police tolerate recreational use, and smoking out in the open is far more common than anywhere else in Canada.
“Right now in Vancouver, it looks what California or Colorado might look like,” she says. “There are 50 plus dispensaries, which is shocking to me, but they’re operating without any problems from the city.”
Emery says that the dispensaries that do have issues, like selling to underage customers, are addressed by the police.
“It’s a perfect model of police and city government allowing activity to continue, because they aren’t causing any harm,” she says. “The concern over lack of regulation of dispensaries falls on the federal government.”
Emery says that B.C. is in a grey area. The rest of the province is far more strict than Vancouver when it comes to enforcing marijuana laws, but she thinks that’s changing.
“I have a lawyer friend, and he’s hardly getting any calls these days about pot arrests, which is a good sign,” she says. “We’re in a strange time, but Vancouver is a great model that Canada can look at. It does still need improvement, we’re definitely in that grey zone were it’s still a little wink-wink, nudge-nudge.”
What about medical marijuana?
Legalizing marijuana for medical use has had a long and troubled history in Canada. Since 2000, there have been multiple court cases that have resulted in medical marijuana laws having to be fixed, or government positions having to be altered. The issues mostly stemmed from the fact that the government’s marijuana ban didn’t have an exemption for medical usage, which makes it unconstitutional.
Dave Warden, a bud tender at Private Organic Therapy (P.O.T.), a non-profit co-operative medical marijuana dispensary, displays various types of marijuana available to patients in Los Angeles, California.
Dave Warden, a bud tender at Private Organic Therapy (P.O.T.), a non-profit co-operative medical marijuana dispensary, displays various types of marijuana available to patients in Los Angeles, California. [Photo by David McNew/Getty Images]
One of the primary problems that cropped up was that in 2007, the courts found that there was nothing written in to law that forced the government to supply the medical marijuana they had said they would after writing in the exemption. It turns out that if the government wants to control access to marijuana, they actually have to force themselves by law to do it.
These days, marijuana isn’t an approved drug in Canada, despite the Canada College of Physicians having guidelines on how to prescribe it, and the fact that courts require reasonable access to marijuana when a physician authorizes it.
“I like the idea of being able to go get your cannabis, if you’re sick or healthy, at the same place,” says Emery. “But I’m pretty certain that with Health Canada, and the new regulations, patients prefer a more health-focused delivery.”
Emery says that she thinks the recreational marijuana industry could grow out of Health Canada’s existing medical marijuana system.
“The two sectors could operate separately, or the Liberals could let Health Canada expand the current medical system to the adult recreational market,” she says before laughing. “But who knows what will happen.”
Our recent report on the topic of U.S. consumer sentiment on marijuana legalization resulted in widespread reporting among the news media and on social networks with regards to the topline results of our study. Among 453,653 U.S.-based adults who answered the question, “Would you support or oppose a law in your state that would legalize, tax and regulate marijuana like alcohol?” over the past 10 months, 58 percent of respondents said that they strongly or somewhat support such laws, with 35 percent voicing opposition and 7 percent having no strong opinion.
Looking at just the three most recent months’ worth of respondents, the shift continued more toward marijuana’s favor: 61 percent of respondents strongly or somewhat support such laws, with 30 percent in opposition:
If the media attention is any indication, people really seem to be fascinated by this groundswell of public opinion, but now what?
The intent of the report wasn’t to reveal topline results that are similar to poll findings by the Pew Foundation and others. Rather, it was to dig deeper into this massive sample of respondents and the millions of polling responses that have been aggregated about them over time, with the goal of finding insights that may be meaningful to marketers. But why should marketers care?
Consumer marketers should be staying on top of where their current customers stand on some of these core socio-political issues and how those stances align with their brands. Are the politics and values of your brand shared by those of your most loyal customers? Does that differ among consumers you are seeking to persuade? And how do your competitors’ fans stack up?
Not to mention that it no longer seems as far-fetched to imagine a world where advertising for marijuana-based offerings soon will be needed, similar to the marketing of tobacco, alcohol and even e-cigarette products. It’s even possible that marijuana marketing could look similar to pharmaceutical ads, due to increased documentation of medical benefits. The times, they are indeed highly changing.
Here are some of the insights revealed about marijuana legalization supporters in this study:
By gender: Men (60 percent) are slightly more likely than women (55 percent) to be supporters.
By age: We see consistent support levels across age groups, with numbers peaking at 67 percent among those aged 25-34. The only age group that opposes legalization, on balance, are those over age 65 (where 50 percent oppose and 43 percent support).
By education: Support is 3 percent higher among those with graduate degrees or Ph.D.s than those having less education but otherwise support percentages are consistent across other education levels.
By income: Here too we see that results are fairly consistent with the topline numbers across income categories.
Parental status: Supporters are less likely to be parents or grandparents than opponents; 65 percent of non-parents are in support; 56 percent of parents support; and 47 percent of grandparents support.
By region: As evident from the topline data shown in Figure 1, most respondents (63 percent) have a strong view on this topic, whether it’s one of support or opposition. The aggregate response data by U.S. region also reflects this, with most of the opposition more likely to be seen in middle America and the Southeast regions.
Political leanings: The biggest difference remains largely political, with 41 percent of Independents, 37 percent of Democrats and 21 percent of Republicans saying they “strongly support” such legalization. When it comes to those who “strongly oppose” marijuana legalization, 53 percent of Republicans say this vs. 32 percent of Independents and 17 percent of Democrats.
Beyond the demographic and political breakdowns of the different respondent segments, the report also looked at how a handful of brands rank among the strongest supporters of legalization and the strongest opponents of legalization. Respondents were asked to describe whether they loved, liked, didn’t like, had no opinion of or never heard of the brand. Those who say they “loved” or “liked” the brand were combined in the study to a group that was considered to favor the brand.
As the data shows, newer brands that tend to be more youth-leaning rank higher in favorability by those who strongly support marijuana legalization, such as Red Bull, Starbucks, Chipotle, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Apple and Mini cars. What is interesting to see, however, is that strong “American” brands such as Budweiser and The Gap are also more favored by the strong supporters. The Gap has a long history of cause-based marketing campaigns, which may explain the lift we see here but Budweiser was less expected to over-index in favorability (by 36 percent) among strong supporters compared to strong opponents.
Among the strongest opponents of such legalization, “heartland” brands like Walmart, Shoney’s, Cabela’s and Cracker Barrel still rank higher in favorability than among marijuana legalization’s strongest supporters. This correlates well with Figure 1.
Other insights that the study found, which may be of interest to certain marketers, include:
• Wine drinkers: Among those who say they drink wine “often,” 34 percent strongly support marijuana legalization and 25 percent strongly oppose it. This suggests there may be a more general liberalness toward controlled substance consumption among supporters.
• Social networking: Strong supporters are bigger social networkers, with 73 percent of them having a Facebook account vs. 56 percent of strong opponents. They are also more influenced about what to buy and what to watch based on social media recommendations or comments (40 percent of supporters say this vs. 34 percent of strong opponents) vs. TV ads or Web-based ads.
• Online shopping: Strong supporters are also more likely to frequently shop online (35 percent of them say this vs. 25 percent of strong opponents).
What this means for marketers
Based on the data mined from these 400,000+ respondents we’ve gathered over the past several years, we can see that consumers who support the legalization of marijuana look more and more like the general U.S. population – in both sentiment and behaviors across a wide range of areas. In this time of change in both consumer opinion and legislation, marketers would do well to be aware of their brand champions’ attitudes. For example, if a network sitcom on which they have paid advertising has a pro-pot episode, do they know if they have enough marijuana legalization supporters loving their brand to feel confident that the brand will sail through unscathed? Are there persuadable fans of the competition who might disagree with publicly stated, anti-legalization positions of that brand’s leadership and who could potentially respond to a campaign hinting at an alternative viewpoint?
With nearly half of the U.S. (23 states plus the District of Columbia) having laws legalizing marijuana for medical use at minimum, it is inevitable that marketing research opportunities associated with this trend will grow, well … like a weed.
http://www.quirks.com/articles/2014/20141125-1.aspx?searchID=623124308&sort=5&pg=1
Advertising is an industry that is over $150 billion a year.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/roadblocks-to-marijuana-advertising-2014-4#ixzz3PyBBqUOz
Bill Aims To End Federal Ban On U.S. Hemp Production
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/22/hemp-legalization_n_6525106.html
CSU sets legal framework for hemp studies
http://www.cortezjournal.com/article/20150126/News04/150129899/CSU-sets-legal-framework-for-hemp-studies-
North Dakota House Bill Would Legalize Industrial Hemp, Effectively Nullify Federal Ban
http://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2015/01/north-dakota-house-bill-would-legalize-industrial-hemp-effectively-nullify-federal-ban/
Hawaii flew a hemp flag over its Capitol for the first day of its legislative session
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2015/01/22/hawaii-flew-a-hemp-flag-over-its-capitol-for-the-first-day-of-its-legislative-session/
Lawmakers Move to Legalize U.S. Industrial Hemp Industry
http://www.nutritionaloutlook.com/150125/Hemp
Why hemp could be NC farmers' dream crop
Farmers in North Carolina are being left out of the current revival of industrial hemp. The 2014 Federal Farm Bill not only distinguishes hemp from marijuana, it defines hemp as an agricultural crop. This Farm Bill authorizes universities and state agriculture departments to conduct pilot programs for academic and agriculture research.
However, North Carolina has a state law that prohibits hemp production, and as long as that law is on the books these hemp pilot programs are forbidden to our universities and to our biotech, pharmaceutical and crop research facilities.
Eleven states have legalized hemp, and many of their universities and ag departments are already managing pilot programs to determine the hemp variety that best suits their climate, soil and potential industrial demands. The industrial possibilities in North Carolina are textiles, construction, furniture and composite material for the auto industry.
Hemp is a farmer’s dream crop: low-labor, a small amount of fertilizer, no herbicide or pesticide to pollute the land and waterways, an ideal rotational crop with a plus: It reduces the soy bean nematode problem by 60 percent.
The North Carolina Farm Bureau and the State Department of Agriculture have stated that North Carolina farmers have shown little support or interest in hemp production. When British farmers, prohibited from growing hemp, discovered that hemp paper was being imported from France, the farmers marched on the Ministry of Agriculture and got the laws changed. Now hemp farmers in the U.K. produce the raw material for Mercedes door panels and dashboards and various construction components.
Companies in the Southeast are already importing processed hemp fibers from Canada. Now is the time for N.C. farmers to march. Get the state law changed. Get the pilot programs going at N.C. universities. Our farmers deserve the right to raise this useful crop, and our farmers are the perfect people to lead this hemp parade.
Gale Glenn of Durham is vice chairman of the North American Industrial Hemp Council.
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/10/16/4238982/why-hemp-could-be-nc-farmers-dream.html#storylink=cpy
New Mexico, Alaska latest states to consider legal hemp production
http://www.theindependent.com/news/ag_news/new-mexico-alaska-latest-states-to-consider-legal-hemp-production/article_e68a6032-9dc8-11e4-824e-173d69c1b055.html
Oregon moves closer to industrialized hemp production
http://democratherald.com/news/local/oregon-moves-closer-to-industrialized-hemp-production/article_a0eaf894-28c0-54c2-bb97-eda9b2a8f3b1.html
Missouri Bill Would Legalize Hemp Farming, Nullify Federal Ban
http://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2015/01/missouri-bill-would-legalize-hemp-farming-nullify-federal-ban/
The whole MMJ stock market is overpriced. Compared to other MMJ stocks with no assets, hemp's market cap is low.
Why hemp could be NC farmers' dream crop
Farmers in North Carolina are being left out of the current revival of industrial hemp. The 2014 Federal Farm Bill not only distinguishes hemp from marijuana, it defines hemp as an agricultural crop. This Farm Bill authorizes universities and state agriculture departments to conduct pilot programs for academic and agriculture research.
However, North Carolina has a state law that prohibits hemp production, and as long as that law is on the books these hemp pilot programs are forbidden to our universities and to our biotech, pharmaceutical and crop research facilities.
Eleven states have legalized hemp, and many of their universities and ag departments are already managing pilot programs to determine the hemp variety that best suits their climate, soil and potential industrial demands. The industrial possibilities in North Carolina are textiles, construction, furniture and composite material for the auto industry.
Hemp is a farmer’s dream crop: low-labor, a small amount of fertilizer, no herbicide or pesticide to pollute the land and waterways, an ideal rotational crop with a plus: It reduces the soy bean nematode problem by 60 percent.
The North Carolina Farm Bureau and the State Department of Agriculture have stated that North Carolina farmers have shown little support or interest in hemp production. When British farmers, prohibited from growing hemp, discovered that hemp paper was being imported from France, the farmers marched on the Ministry of Agriculture and got the laws changed. Now hemp farmers in the U.K. produce the raw material for Mercedes door panels and dashboards and various construction components.
Companies in the Southeast are already importing processed hemp fibers from Canada. Now is the time for N.C. farmers to march. Get the state law changed. Get the pilot programs going at N.C. universities. Our farmers deserve the right to raise this useful crop, and our farmers are the perfect people to lead this hemp parade.
Gale Glenn of Durham is vice chairman of the North American Industrial Hemp Council.
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/10/16/4238982/why-hemp-could-be-nc-farmers-dream.html#storylink=cpy
New Mexico, Alaska latest states to consider legal hemp production
http://www.theindependent.com/news/ag_news/new-mexico-alaska-latest-states-to-consider-legal-hemp-production/article_e68a6032-9dc8-11e4-824e-173d69c1b055.html
Oregon moves closer to industrialized hemp production
http://democratherald.com/news/local/oregon-moves-closer-to-industrialized-hemp-production/article_a0eaf894-28c0-54c2-bb97-eda9b2a8f3b1.html
Missouri Bill Would Legalize Hemp Farming, Nullify Federal Ban
http://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2015/01/missouri-bill-would-legalize-hemp-farming-nullify-federal-ban/
Even at 3 billion shares, hemp market cap is still low compared to other MMJ stocks. Trading below moving avg which is important to some traders.
I guess the tone of voice of a guy that knows another guy makes a company a scam and apparently makes a stock crash too.
Be careful with any investment. What you were offered is called a primary offering. Nothing bad about that. All stocks go through it before they start trading to raise initial capital. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/primaryoffering.asp
Not sure what the marketcap will be after all money is raised, but at the current 3m at $4/share, that's still pretty low, only 800k in the float. Most brokerages do not take penny stocks that are under a certain amount. This one should qualify, but you should call and see for yourself before making assumptions.
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/092214/how-select-penny-stock-broker.asp
Gotta love Hemp stock...
The company owns over 10,000 domains. Marijuana.com alone sold for 4.2 mil. Might explain the high market cap? Assets could be in that range? Google their headquarters, they are right next door to Godaddy.
http://www.thedomains.com/2011/11/29/marijuana-com-sold-for-4-2-million/
Nice line up of board members, led by John Bluher... Google him...
Nice! Kim Dot Com's old buddy as Chief Marketing Guy. http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/LA05024.htm
Woah $50. 40m market cap, not bad considering other MMJ stocks...
Good buy under 4
Nice holding pattern
Marijuana industry will be good this year for 2015. Looking for some good new symbols.
$4 bid, $50 ask, what's up with that? Very tightly held shares.
Any updates on your end? Looks like they have a new team on board?
If you backed up the truck there is :)
I have a huge bid in the .02's but will it get there? It doesn't seem to want to.
I have 1m shares order at .03 and it never hits. I had to raise it to .032 yesterday to even get half a mil shares.