Replies to post #2583 on Green Thumb Industries Inc (GTBIF)

[FUNMAN]

Ordering on a smartphone and delivery by EOD is ironically hilarious for older folks.

That’s why prison reform and expungement of Cannabis related crimes has to happen faster than ASAP.

It’s just not right.

Especially when you consider California’s 3-strikes and you are out law.

There are lifers rotting away in prison for being caught 3-times for smoking a joint.

[FUNMAN]

Tennessee Republican Lawmaker’s New Bill Would Put Three Marijuana Questions Before Voters On 2022 Ballot

Glad to see a republican advancing the cannabis question.

It would help if someone could get the governor on board. - FUNMAN

Published 3 hours ago on July 12, 2021
By Kyle Jaeger

A Tennessee Republican lawmaker wants voters to weigh in on marijuana reform as part of the 2022 ballot, and he recently filed a bill to make that happen.

Rep. Bruce Griffey (R) introduced the legislation last week. It would put three non-binding cannabis questions to voters:

1) “Should the State of Tennessee legalize medical marijuana?”

2) “Should the State of Tennessee decriminalize possession of less than one ounce (1 oz.) of marijuana?”

3) “Should the State of Tennessee legalize and regulate commercial sales of recreational use marijuana?”

The questions are meant to gauge public opinion on the issue, and if voters approved them, it wouldn’t directly translate into any policy changes. But Griffey says his hope is that the results will end up spurring legislative action.

“Look, if the citizens vote in favor of it, it’s going to be hard for the legislature to not look at it,” the lawmaker told The Tennessee Star. “There’s people that are on both sides of this issue in Tennessee—and honestly I feel like we’re up there as caretakers of the people. We’re not supposed to be dictators, we’re supposed to be responsive to what the people want us to do.”

“I’d like for there to be a real, robust public debate [on this matter],” he said. “This is something that the citizens ought to decide, and not just their elected representatives.”

As it stands, Tennessee has one of the most restrictive medical cannabis programs in the country, allowing only limited CBD use for certain conditions.

Gov. Bill Lee (R) did sign legislation in May that modestly expands the program to add more qualifying conditions for CBD oil containing up to 0.9 percent THC, but it’s not the comprehensive reform advocates have pushed. The bill will also create a commission to study broader medical marijuana legalization.

The current program’s list of qualifying conditions will be expanded beyond intractable epilepsy to add Alzheimer’s disease, ALS, cancer, inflammatory bowel syndrome, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS and sickle cell disease. People would have to keep proof of their condition and a recommendation from a physician in order to possess the oil.

But in order to obtain the medicine, Tennesseans will have to go out of state or obtain it illegally, as there is currently no means to lawfully purchase cannabis within the state. In effect, the bill simply provides legal protections for certain patients under strict circumstances.

The governor opposed a broader medical cannabis legalization bill that died in committee this session after first being approved by a different panel.

A Senate committee also approved a medical marijuana legalization bill last year, but it did not advance further before the end of the session.

Polling has already indicated that Tennesseans are in favor of broader reform. Former House Speaker Glen Casada (R) released the results of a constituent survey in 2019 that showed 73 percent of those in his district back medical cannabis.

Another former GOP House speaker, Beth Harwell, highlighted her support for the policy change during her unsuccessful bid for governor in 2018, and she referenced then-President Trump’s stated support for medical marijuana on the campaign trail.

Read the text of Griffey’s bill on putting cannabis reform questions on the Tennessee 2022 ballot below:


https://html.scribdassets.com/8mkqwkbx1c8sn6bw/images/1-c6ce64addd.jpg

[FUNMAN]

Marijuana growing in the Valley
7 hrs ago

https://www.dailyitem.com/opinion/marijuana-growing-in-the-valley/article_368603f8-dff7-11eb-bca2-df9a8236c62b.html

You can’t miss the construction growing by the day or the cranes dominating the landscape in Danville. In a former factory, once vacated, Green Thumb Industries is expanding.

And that is exciting news for the borough, the Valley and the state’s increasing number of medical marijuana patients.

GTI, as it is more commonly known, has been growing — both literally and figuratively — in Danville since it was awarded one of the state’s first medical marijuana licenses in 2017. It started with an initial $5 million investment to renovate part of the Iron Town Commerce Center. The first marijuana plants were planted and harvested in 2018.

Now it is building up and out with construction underway on a new three-story attachment to expand the growing operation. The expansion, when completed in several years, is expected to add another 100 jobs to a roster that is close to that already in the borough.

Since the program began, more than 300,000 Pennsylvanians have been registered for a medical marijuana card and about 30,000 medical providers have been approved by the state to recommend the medicine to patients.

GTI has been at the forefront of the program in Pennsylvania and especially in Montour County. It was the first local grower and continues to add jobs.

More jobs mean more product, which means more relief for Pennsylvanians who have long waited for relief for 23 approved conditions.

But GTI’s impact has been beyond the walls of its expanding home on the corner of Market and Railroad streets.

A few times a year, dozens of GTI employees spread across the county to help with community projects. Earlier this year, 80 employees were scattered across Danville, from the Thomas Beaver Free Library to the Danville Area Community Center and Riverfront Park.

The employees said they missed that community outreach over the past year when the pandemic limited many social interactions.

“It’s important for businesses in the area to be part of the community and to show they care about the community they operate in,” Tommy Marks, GTI’s Community and Employee Relations Coordinator, said during the spring outreach. “We want to show our employees that there is more than what they do in an average day, it is important to be involved.”

GTI is not alone in that outreach. It has quickly joined a growing list of community partners that improve the places we live, both by creating jobs and bolstering the economy, but also by just being present in the community.

NOTE: Opinions expressed in The Daily Item’s editorials are the consensus of the publisher, top newsroom executives and community members of the editorial board. Today’s was written by Managing Editor Bill Bowman.