With its rise in popularity, what comes next, and how will it impact each person in the country? Here is the cannabis outlook for 2023.

Legalization of Cannabis Throughout the Country

When discussing cannabis legalization, it’s essential to differentiate between the levels of legal use. Since cannabis use is illegal on the federal level, individual states have their own laws about whether and in which ways cannabis is legal.

One type of legalization is for medical use. This allows people to use cannabis products as a form of medication. State residents usually receive a medical card, similar to a prescription, allowing them to buy cannabis products.

Another type of legalization is for recreational use. This allows adults to use cannabis products without a medical card while following local laws and guidelines for smoking in public areas.

Five states had recreational legalization measures on their ballots in November: North Dakota, South Dakota, Missouri, Arkansas, and Maryland. The push for legalized use is at an all-time high heading into 2023, with 68% of Americans saying they support legalizing marijuana, according to a poll conducted by Gallup.

In a sign of changing attitudes, President Joe Biden granted a federal pardon in October that restored full political, civil, and other rights to any person previously convicted of minor marijuana possession charges, according to the White House. This action may indicate that state-level pardons and federal decriminalization is around the corner.

The Cannabis Industry

The federal legal status and state-by-state patchwork regulations have left many investors wary of cannabis businesses and products. However, as public and legal acceptance grows, many expect the same for the industry. In fact, cannabis data company BDSA projects that cannabis sales will grow from $30 billion in 2021 to $57 billion in 2026, according to a news release.

“Over the next 12 months, I predict that every major institutional investor in the U.S. will make an investment in this industry,” equity company Privateer Holdings co-founder Brendan Kennedy told Yale Insights.

Social Equity

When legalizing cannabis, many states consider the need to reconcile the wrongs done by the War on Drugs, the name for U.S. efforts to combat illegal drug use with harsh penalties.

“Public opinion has shifted dramatically in favor of sensible reforms that expand health-based approaches while reducing the role of criminalization in drug policy,” according to Drug Policy Alliance.

Because the War on Drugs disproportionately affected minority groups, 13 states have created regulations that require some of the money from cannabis sales to benefit those groups, according to the Cannabis Industry Journal. For example, these regulations require assigning a set number of cannabis business licenses to people previously charged with marijuana possession, investing in community programs, offering financial aid, or funding educational efforts.

“The goal of social equity laws is to ensure that people from communities disproportionately harmed by marijuana prohibition and discriminatory law enforcement are included in the new legal marijuana industry,” according to the National Association of Cannabis Businesses. “Policymakers are working to address criticisms that outsiders are setting up legal cannabis businesses and profiting by doing the same things their less fortunate neighbors were arrested and given jailtime for just a few years ago.”

Bank Access

One of the hurdles to growth in the cannabis industry is that federal laws prevent cannabis businesses from using the country’s banking system. However, if legislation passes, it would give legal cannabis businesses banking access.

“Proceeds from a transaction involving activities of a legitimate cannabis-related business are not considered proceeds from unlawful activity,” according to the bill summary.

With growing legal acceptance, expanding investment opportunities, and more changes on the horizon, 2023 is looking to be a positive year for the cannabis industry and the number of people who have access to marijuana products.

By the Department of Cannabis Control

Cannabis equity businesses can now request a license fee waiver from the Department of Cannabis Control. 

Cannabis entrepreneurs affected by the War on Drugs can have their license or renewal fee waived, following the approval of emergency regulations issued by the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC). These regulations implement Senate Bill (SB) 166, signed into law on September 23, 2021, which outlined broad criteria for the waivers and mandated that DCC have a fee waiver program in place by January 1, 2022.

“Access to capital is the number one challenge for equity operators, and the approval of these regulations puts much-needed financial support into the hands of businesses immediately,” said Nicole Elliott, DCC Director.

Fee Waiver Eligibility

The cannabis business must meet the following criteria:

• Equity ownership: Individuals who meet the equity criteria own 50% or more of the business.
• Gross revenues: The business has gross revenue of $1.5 million or less per year. If a new applicant, the business expects gross revenue of $1.5 million or less for the first year.

Equity owners must meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Cannabis conviction or arrest: The owner was convicted of or arrested for a cannabis offense before November 8, 2016.
• Household income: The owner’s household income is less than or equal to 60 percent of the Area Median Income for the local jurisdiction where they live.
• Neighborhood: The owner lived for at least five years between 1980 and 2016 in an area disproportionately impacted by past criminal justice policies implementing cannabis prohibition. Learn more about qualifying neighborhoods, or use our map tool to see if you lived in a qualifying area.

If you participate in your local jurisdiction’s equity program, you can show you meet the equity criteria through an attestation on the fee waiver form. If you don’t participate in your local equity program or are in a jurisdiction without an equity program, you can submit documents to show your eligibility. 

Resources for Equity Businesses:

New Web Pages

The state cannabis website, cannabis.ca.gov, has two new pages that explain the eligibility criteria and steps to request a fee waiver.

• Eligibility criteria: Describes criteria that businesses must meet to receive a fee waiver. This web page includes:
  • An interactive map to help owners determine if they meet residence criteria
  • A chart of area median income, by county of residence, to help owners determine household income limits
• Apply for an equity fee waiver: Outlines steps for new license applicants or existing licensees to request a fee waiver

Guidance Document

DCC created a guidance document that describes the equity fee waiver program. The document includes:

• A description of eligibility criteria
• A list of documents that can be used to demonstrate eligibility
• Steps to request a fee waiver

Request Form

Download the fee waiver request form. The form will help you submit information needed to evaluate your eligibility.

By  ISABELLA VANDERHEIDEN | ivanderheiden@times-standard.com |

For the last year, Humboldt County’s cannabis farmers have struggled to make ends meet as the price per pound of cannabis continues to fall as a result of massive overproduction across the state.

Many agree that decreasing the costs of production and eliminating the state cultivation tax would be the quickest path to immediate relief for cannabis farmers. Some say the key is branding and developing a marketing strategy that will help secure Humboldt County’s name as a world-renowned producer of high-quality sun-grown cannabis. Further integrating the cannabis industry into the local tourism industry is yet another strategy that could uplift small farmers.

While there is no silver bullet to saving the industry, one thing is clear: The legacy must be preserved.

Leveling the playing field

The Humboldt County Growers Alliance, a trade association that represents 275 licensed cannabis businesses in Humboldt County, recently joined the Origins Council as a regional partner for state and federal cannabis advocacy. The Origins Council, which also represents the Mendocino Cannabis Alliance and the Trinity County Agriculture Alliance, is the largest membership-based cannabis advocacy organization in the state representing nearly 900 licensed cannabis businesses across California.

By unifying the three Emerald Triangle counties with other major cannabis producers across the state, Natalynne DeLapp, executive director for the HCGA, said Humboldt County will be in a better position to advocate at the state and, ultimately, federal level.

Budtenders show patients different strains of marijuana in jars at a local dispensary. (Shaun Walker/ Times-Standard)

“One of the biggest costs of production is the state cultivation tax, which is a set fixed rate that recently went up which only added insult to injury,” DeLapp said. The cultivation tax for flower per dry-weight pound will increase from $154.40 per pound to $161.28 beginning Jan. 1, 2022, according to the state Department of Tax and Fee Administration. “Sun-grown farmers that are only getting $300 a pound are being disproportionately impacted whereas indoor operators are getting a much higher rate per pound. We need to deal with that discrepancy.”

Julie Benbow, executive director of the Humboldt County Visitors Bureau, echoed DeLapp’s call for immediate tax relief. “The difficult situation right now is that the legal cannabis farmers in Humboldt County, not only have their prices tanked but they are taxed a huge amount of money per pound,” she said.

Ken Hamik, operating partner of the Ganjery cannabis dispensary in McKinleyville, chair of the Arcata Chamber of Commerce and chair of the Humboldt County Visitors Bureau’s marketing committee, agreed that “tax relief should be at the top of the agenda.”

“Just write them off, give the farmers a pass this year. Prices have been historically low and it’s no fault of theirs, it’s a big fault of the regulations,” he said. “We are who we are because of our small farmers. If we do not give small farmers the proper pathway to viable business, then Humboldt County is in trouble. Legacy farmers need to be protected immediately.”

Keeping the legacy alive

As the 1960s drew to a close, hippies looking to start anew headed to Humboldt County in what would later become the back-to-the-land movement. Once there, they erected little houses in the hills and many began growing cannabis. These are the people who would lay the foundation for Humboldt County’s cannabis legacy.

“Is Southern Humboldt the birthplace of American cannabis culture? I would say so,” said Rio Anderson, owner and operator of Lady Sativa Farms in Southern Humboldt. “The intellectuals that left San Francisco in the 1960s decided to create a land-based living that was anti-industrial and communal and took care of its citizens. I actually don’t think they’re really viewed as our legacy farmers. The legacy farmers that we talk about are the sons and daughters of those back-to-the-landers.”

As legacy farmers, Anderson said it is critical to keep local history intact.

“We’ve got to evolve, but we also can’t lose sight of who we are and who we were,” he said. “But we have to be real about our history and how it was in the 70s and through the 90s when it was very anti-cannabis here. That’s got to be a part of the story, too.”

To keep the legacy alive, legacy operators must be protected, DeLapp said.

“My mission is to preserve, protect and enhance Humboldt County’s world-renowned cannabis industry. Right now, we need to preserve as many of our legacy operators as possible,” she said. “We have not lost them, there are still thousands of them that have held on through this crisis, but we don’t know how many we might lose in this next year. We need to preserve as many of our legacy operators as possible because we’re not creating a new batch of them.”

DeLapp likened it to environmental conservation.

“We need to protect and ensure that our county and state policies are not detrimental to their health and habitat — I think of this like endangered species,” she said. “… We need to make sure that the habitat is conducive and not actually detrimental to their health, which is questionable at both the state and local levels. Then we need to enhance them, which means helping promote their stories, promoting their brands and it’s not just the people who are still part of the industry.”

If legacy cultivators are able to hang on, Humboldt County’s cannabis industry might have a fighting chance. “The legacy is important for the future, not the past,” Hamik said.

Integrating cannabis into local tourism

Matt Kurth, owner of Humboldt Cannabis Tours, said the best way to protect the county’s legacy is to bring people here.

“We all know that this magical place truly has to be experienced,” he said. “How do you take a photo of the Redwoods or a video of a cannabis farm just before harvest? People must be present to experience these things. Cannabis tourism is the only option for Humboldt County if we are to remain economically and culturally relevant into the future. I say this after much thought and soul searching about my motivations.”

Matt Kurth (Times-Standard file)

Kurth started Humboldt Cannabis Tours, California’s first cannabis tour company, ahead of statewide legalization in 2015. He offers tours to legal cannabis businesses across Humboldt County. To date, he’s conducted more than 400 tours with more than 1,000 guests.

“Everyone is really worried about the consequences to our community of the market continuing to collapse. They are leaning more into tourism as it provides a diverse income stream and more stability,” he said. “… We need to move away from selling pounds and shift towards selling experiences.”

Kurth envisions Humboldt County becoming the France or Napa Valley of cannabis.

 “Napa and France wine economies are heavily reliant on tourism. Wine tourism is a $5 billion industry in France and accounts for 25% of wine’s economic impact. In Napa, wine tourism contributes about $2.23 billion to their economy, that is about 30% of wine production’s impact,” he said. “A large part of what makes France France is tourism.”

Benbow agreed that cannabis tourism “has the potential to be a really strong player” in the future of the cannabis industry.

“There is quite a bit of cannabis tourism already. Humboldt Cannabis Tours, the owners of the Scotia Lodge and Humboldt Bay Social Club offer consumption at their hotels, Papa & Barkley Social is a new cannabis lounge in Eureka, there’s really a lot going on already,” she said. “…I’d say that as a major player in tourism it’s a nascent industry, but so was craft beer 10 years ago.”

Benbow also underscored the importance of Humboldt County boosting marketing efforts.

“Humboldt cannabis was a brand long before Humboldt cannabis was legal and we need to push that message forward. We’re running on fumes right now,” she said. “There some amazing farmers throughout the county and they all have incredible stories to tell. That’s what the tourists want to buy, the history and the story of it.”

Laura Lasseter, director of operations for the Southern Humboldt Business and Visitors Bureau, said her main mission “has always been tourism marketing and destination development inclusive of the cannabis industry.”

“For us, integrating cannabis and tourism is nothing new but everchanging,” she said. “We have embraced the cannabis industry with open arms and do our best to help showcase what we can with our events, external marketing and networking to help advance the integration of cannabis and tourism through our partnerships in the hospitality and tourism industry. We’re making a concerted effort to work towards destigmatizing, normalizing  cannabis with education.”

Lasseter emphasized the need to preserve the cannabis culture, heritage and legacy craft farmers that made Humboldt County world-renowned.

In addition to being an economic driver, cannabis tourism also has the potential to build bridges between industries, DeLapp added.

“There is an incredible opportunity to partner between the cannabis trade associations, the various tourism organizations, chambers of commerce and pool resources together where we’re building each other up and not tearing each other down,” she said. “It’s time for us to put some of the past behind us and to openly acknowledge that cannabis is part of the future. If we all understand that and accept that as reality, then we can really come up with different plans and strategies for how we can work together.”

By Rebecca Olmos | TheCannifornian.com Correspondent

‘Tis the season of giving, and cannabis is a great gift to receive. A recent poll revealed that 9 out of 10 cannabis users in legal states plan to incorporate weed into their holiday festivities. But before you head over to your local dispensary to shop, here are some things to consider.

1. When in doubt, it’s the thought that counts

It can be daunting enough to buy cannabis for yourself with the plethora of items available on the menu. Just remember, everyone has unique cannabis preferences, and what is for you might not be for your loved one.

You can always check out some holiday cannabis gift guides before you go. Still, a general rule of thumb is: Prerolls are always a convenient gift, chocolate and gummies are dose-able and delicious, and wellness products like bath bombs and lotions are perfect stocking stuffers. Budtender recommendation are key if you’re not sure what to choose.

Cannabis accessories are also always a safe bet. In almost all stoner stash boxes, lighters, rolling papers, rolling trays, and grinders are necessary. Some dispensaries might even offer gift cards! 

2. Keep your gifts local

Travel is a big part of holiday culture, and it can be tempting to pack that canna-gift into your bag to take with you. If you’re driving within the confines of California and over the age of 21, you’re in the clear. Just don’t consume and drive. 

If you’re flying, it’s a different story. Cannabis remains a federally prohibited substance, and air space is technically federal territory. So it is illegal to bring your infused goods with you on a flight. TSA may not be intently looking for your stash – but If airport personnel find it, they will turn you over to authorities.

3. Don’t mail your weed gifts

It is extremely convienent to be able to ship your gifts to your loved ones out of state. But just make sure it’s not anything infused with weed.

It is prohibited to ship any cannabis-derived product through any mailing service because cannabis is still federally illegal. And if you do, there are risks and penalties, including prison. Hemp-derived products are okay, though, as long as they follow local, state, and compliance guidelines. If you’re going the hemp route, make sure you order from a trusted vendor.

Whatever or however you choose to gift cannabis, just make sure to give with good intention, don’t fly with it and don’t ship it anywhere. That way, you and your loved ones are safe to enjoy all the fun that comes with infusing the holidays with cannabis. 

By JENNIFER PELTZ Associated Press

Big cannabis companies are backing a new, celebrity-infused campaign to enlist marijuana users to pressure members of Congress to legalize pot nationwide.

Federal legalization has advanced somewhat but still faces strong headwinds on Capitol Hill. The “Cannabis in Common” initiative launched Tuesday aims to change that.

A website makes it easier for supporters to email or call their congressional representatives and push for making marijuana legal. State-licensed pot companies also plan to email their customers, put up posters in shops, add information to their apps and otherwise encourage consumers to get involved.

“Legalizing cannabis is long past due, and if we make enough noise, we can make it happen,” actor Seth Rogen, co-founder of a cannabis company and enthusiastic user of the drug, says in a kickoff video. Comedian Sarah Silverman voices another, animated promo.

Eighteen states and Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational adult use of marijuana and a voter-approved measure in a 19th state, South Dakota, is undergoing a court challenge. More than two-thirds of states allow medical marijuana.

But pot remains illegal under federal law to possess, use or sell, so many banks shun money from the cannabis industry, fearing it could expose them to federal legal trouble.

That conflict has shut many legal growers and sellers out of everyday financial services like opening bank accounts or obtaining credit cards. It also has forced many businesses to operate only in cash, making them ripe targets for crime.

Pro-legalization groups have mounted state and federal campaigns for years, and advocates are split about “Cannabis in Common,” which isn’t focused on any particular piece of legislation. Organizers say it breaks ground by extensively involving major industry players and mobilizing their customers.

“We just feel there’s a larger, untapped group of individuals that we would love to see weigh in,” said Steve Hawkins, CEO of the U.S. Cannabis Council, an industry-led coalition organizing the campaign with HeadCount, a voter registration group. The council declined to disclose the cost.

While cannabis companies have done individual lobbying, this new effort “reaches across all the peccadilloes that every weed interest brings to the table” in hopes of getting past the patchwork of state legislation, said Jeremy Unruh, a senior vice president of PharmCann Inc., which has dispensaries in six states.

More than two dozen companies have signed on, including the vaping brand Pax and such publicly traded corporations as Canopy Growth, Curaleaf Holdings and Cronos Group.

The effort quickly drew criticism from a national anti-legalization group, Smart Approaches to Marijuana. CEO Kevin Sabet, a former Obama administration official, called the campaign “an egregious example of profit over public health.”

Some nonprofit, pro-legalization groups are joining the “Cannabis in Common” initiative. But others are steering clear.

The Drug Policy Alliance sees the campaign as overly corporate and not dedicated enough to expunging past marijuana convictions and helping communities and people who have borne the brunt of pot arrests.

“For us, it’s not just about getting federal legalization over the finish line,” says Maritza Perez of the alliance, which convened the nonprofit-focused Marijuana Justice Coalition in 2018 to push for legalization coupled with other reforms. “We have a very specific constituency that we are fighting for, and that’s people who have been impacted by prohibition.”

NORML, one of the nation’s oldest legalization groups, is sitting out the new campaign and focusing on specific congressional proposals to make marijuana federally legal, political director Justin Strekal said.

A proposal to decriminalize and tax marijuana, expunge federal pot convictions and direct pot tax money to communities beleaguered by the “war on drugs” passed the House last year. The measure was reintroduced in this year’s new Congress and recently passed a key committee again.

President Joe Biden has said he supports decriminalizing marijuana and expunging past pot use convictions, but he hasn’t embraced federally legalizing the drug.

A Gallup poll released last week found 68% of Americans favor legalization, including 83% of Democrats, 71% of independents and 50% of Republicans. The survey of 823 adults had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Pointing to such polls, the new campaign casts legalization as an issue that crosses political divides and has new potential in the Democrat-led Congress.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D.-N.Y.) in July became the chamber’s first leader to back legalizing marijuana, pledging to “make this a priority in the Senate,” where Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Ron Wyden of Oregon have drafted legislation.

And legalization advocates hope to have a champion in Vice President Kamala Harris, who said before her election that making pot legal at the federal level is the “smart thing to do.” But legalization opponents note that it’s not clear that all Senate Democrats would vote for marijuana legalization, let alone find enough Republican supporters to avoid a filibuster. Congress is otherwise occupied with massive legislation on social services and climate change ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

By ISABELLA VANDERHEIDEN | Times-Standard

Proposition 215 celebrates its 25th anniversary this month. Proposition 215, known as the Medical Marijuana Initiative or the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, enabled cannabis to be a recommended medication by doctors to their patients and also allowed the plant to be grown and sold in California. Proposition 215 sparked a new era for cannabis and since California’s landmark legislation, 35 more states have adopted similar laws.

Prior to Proposition 215, possession or cultivation of marijuana for medical treatment was prohibited by the state and considered a criminal offense.

“The War on Drugs was upon us. Proposition 215 signaled an end to the police state and the oppression we were under,” said Sunshine Cereceda, founder of Sunboldt Grown in Southern Humboldt County. “The biggest change was we were protected, we were no longer oppressed, but it took us a while to feel comfortable and to put our plants just out under the full sun.”

Dennis Peron, one of the co-authors of Proposition 215, pursued the legalization of medical cannabis in San Francisco in the early 1990s because his partner was suffering from AIDS.

“I did Prop. 215 because my lover had AIDS,” Peron told the Times-Standard in 2016. “He ultimately died, but then I did Prop. 215 for all the people who couldn’t get treatment. We had people going to jail who had AIDS. People were intimidating cancer patients. I wanted them to be able to defend themselves, but it turns out I wrote 215 for a sick nation that was being swallowed up by prohibition, a nation that created fear toward anyone who would dare to talk about marijuana.”

Cara Cordoni, an anchor on the Cannabis Cooperative Economics Group, was a close friend to Peron before he died of lung cancer in 2018. She said Peron was tired of seeing people criminalized “for seeking a remedy for their suffering.”

“He was instrumental in the creation of a really big dispensary on Market Street that was sometimes called the ‘Five-Story Felony’ that not only provided cannabis to patients, but it was a place of social healing,” Cordoni said. “People who had AIDS were stigmatized and they were abandoned by their families, their communities, by society in general. The dispensary on Market Street was really a gathering place where people sat together and were company for each other.”

Peron often made the point that the movement wasn’t just about cannabis, “it was the love, the community, the connection, and the camaraderie that was part of the healing for people,” she said.

The passage of Proposition 215 was a gamechanger for cannabis, not only in California but across the United States.

“Prop. 215 enabled cannabis to be seen not as a drug, but as a plant medicine that had positive impacts,” Cordoni said. “It got more medical people involved in studying it and it really illuminated the history of cannabis. This is a plant that has been part of our cultures, our societies, our medicine cabinet for thousands of years.”

Cereceda said she had never really considered the medical benefits of cannabis before the passage of Proposition 215.

“It just really brought it to my knowledge the medical qualities of cannabis,” she said. “It became clear that medical was a pathway to end prohibition, of course, it never should have been prohibited in the first place.”

Mariellen Jurkovich, director of the Humboldt Patient Resource Center dispensaries, said she originally joined the organization to lend a hand with the business but became increasingly interested in the medical benefits of cannabis.

“I still believe that anytime you use cannabis, it’s medical,” she said. “Whether you’re using it when you get off work and you just want to come home and relax instead of maybe drinking alcohol or you’re using it for your for your health or you’re kind of shy and it helps your social anxiety, I find those all of those scenarios to be for our health.”

Jurkovich remembers Proposition 215 being promoted as a way to help people with chronic illness find comfort.

“They billed it as something that people were using for AIDS or for cancer,” she said. “The advertisements were like, ‘Your grandmother is using it because she has cancer, we should legalize it so that she can still use it.’ The War on Drugs, the ‘just say no’ campaign really made people look at cannabis like it was heroin. I think leading up to and the passage of Prop. 215 is when people began seeing it differently. Dennis Peron was instrumental.”

However, Cordoni said the legalization of recreational cannabis with the passage of Proposition 64 in 2016 changed the way the medical benefits of the plant were viewed.

“Before, it was based on compassion and based on well-being, which is unique even now as we look at legalization sweeping the country and the world,” she said. “I think Dennis Peron’s greatest resistance to Prop. 64 is that there was no compassion in it. There’s been no room for people to give medicine away, for patients to have access to low-cost or free cannabis. That that was his biggest fear and heartbreak of seeing the way that we were going about legalization when Prop. 215 had really worked so well.”

Peron argued that legalization, specifically with Proposition 64, was all about money and regulation.

“Money. It’s always money. It’s so cynical,” he told the Times-Standard. “They say they want to help us but they actually want to hurt us. For some reason, they feel like we have to pay taxes because we use marijuana, but if they increase the costs, they limit access to medication.”

Cordoni said the notion of medical versus recreational didn’t resonate with Peron.

“His point was if you’re taking it to alter your consciousness as in to get high, to feel happy to feel more spiritual — that’s all a medical application,” she said. “The loss of that perspective has been a detriment to our more medically challenged patients because now many dispensaries often are not focused on medical applications.”

Legalization has also left behind many small cannabis farmers, she added.

“Legalization has really not taken care of our legacy farmers and we’re one of the only states that really have a history of a legacy community of farmers,” she said. “Especially as we did it here, there was very little to protect them or grandfather them or help them make that transition. As a result, we’re seeing an extinction event of small mom-and-pop or legacy farmers That’s a huge cultural loss for all of us.”

Jurkovich agreed, adding that “We’re losing our story.”

“We used to know the makers of our product we used to bring them in here, we used to tell their story,” she said. “I can’t go to a farmer and say, ‘Hey! I love your stuff, I would love to get it.’ That’s not legal anymore. I have to go through a distributor. I think that’s what’s killing us. I don’t think we will be able to make it in Humboldt County because we don’t have a story anymore.”

Cordoni said she holds out hope that Humboldt County’s small farmers will be able to pull through in the long run.

“I’m working with Cooperation Humboldt on a cooperative cannabis economy group looking at creating a solidarity economy that includes our cannabis community, that doesn’t exploit the land or the people,” she said. “We haven’t given up. You know, Dennis failed many times before Prop. 215 passed. He held that as a message of persistence, of hope, and of doing it for the reasons of being a service to the community and to the plant. That’s the beautiful, lasting legacy that he leaves all of us.”

October 19, 2021 at 3:30 p.m.

A recent survey from the Center for the Study of Cannabis and Social Policy and Cooperation Humboldt found that the vast majority of local cannabis cultivators want more cooperative support, yet there are almost no cannabis cooperatives on the North Coast.

The survey “Corporate Cannabis is Coming: Cultivators, Are You Ready?” sought to identify what services cannabis farmers are lacking locally. Of the 82 survey respondents, 85.6% said they would like assistance in developing cooperative systems, according to Nicole Riggs, affiliate researcher for the Center for the Study of Cannabis and Social Policy.

“Our hypothesis is that the problem is due in part to regulatory roadblocks, and in part because farmers are yet to define what an ideal cooperative would look like,” she said. “In the next phase, we’ll be exploring just that. We’re interviewing many farmers to understand what their needs, their hopes are for co-ops, and simultaneously, we’re seeking advice from legal experts in cannabis to get clarity on how a particular rule will impact co-ops.”

Drew Barber, owner-operator of East Mill Creek Farms in the Mattole Valley, helped start Uplift Cooperative in 2018 – the only cannabis cooperative in Humboldt County.

“Uplift Cooperative is a cannabis producers cooperative that was founded by myself and some of my neighbors in the lower Mattole Valley between Honeydew and Petrolia,” he said. “We’re using a bunch of different tactics and strategies to do that and we’re really just trying to reduce the cost of production and increase costs of value at sales. A lot of it has to do with the complexities of regulations.”

In essence, they’re looking to connect small cannabis farmers to increase their viability in the marketplace.

“The small producer doesn’t necessarily have all the skills needed to produce their product, get their product to market at the value that they need and do all of the various compliance pieces,” Barber said. “So we’re trying to ease some of those burdens and basically work together where we can to gain those benefits. Other businesses that we’re competing against — like these larger-scale operations — have plenty of funding, plenty of staff and personnel but most small farms don’t really have staff and personnel. I get these calls, ‘Hey, can we talk to your compliance officer?’ and I’m like, ‘Well, you’re talking to him! You’re also talking to the owner and the grower.’ ”

Barber said the Uplift Cooperative is also looking to market their product together.

“That involves having a cooperative brand that all the farmers own that we can put out in the world and really share the burden of the entire marketing process from finding the right distributor, putting the product in the right bag or jar, getting it to the right shelf space at the retail shops, and then communicating with the community of people who frequent those shops as well as the budtenders who work at those shops,” he said. “Those are a lot of steps for each individual farm to handle.”

As cannabis producers struggle to make ends meet as the market tanks, Barber said it is crucial for the county and the state to offer more support to cultivators.

The Center for the Study of Cannabis and Social Policy and Cooperation Humboldt’s ultimate goal is twofold, Riggs said.

“First, we want to arm farmers with solid research and realistic options to establish formal or informal cooperatives or to go to trade associations to lobby for improved policy based on their needs,” she said. “Second, to document the process of putting at the center of decision-making the very people that will be impacted by decisions, in this case, cannabis farmers on the North Coast. This is design thinking for social innovation, an approach to problem-solving that’s particularly suited to complex situations.”

Barber believes cannabis cooperatives would serve as a significant stabilizer in the marketplace for farmers.

“Both in terms of how the entity works in that all the profit belongs to the member-owners, but it can be returned in a variety of different ways,” he said. “Some farms have big years and then small years, just based on the nature of agriculture. You might have a farm that’s not making much money this year but they’re making a lot of money next year, so they end up having these highly cycling tax burdens. If the co-op steps in and are helping to bring in the capital to the farms by holding the brand and by running sales, they’re able to mellow out those spikes and drops in income for the member farm.”

Barber noted that the process “is a little wonky” but said cooperatives are a great tool in keeping capital local and keeping quality high. Famers just need a little bit of incentive to initiate the process.

Isabella Vanderheiden | Reporter

Isabella Vanderheiden covers Humboldt County government, environment and cannabis news for the Times-Standard. Isabella earned a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Humboldt State University and has written for several Humboldt County news outlets.

By ALEX VEIGA AP Business Writer

The U.S.’ expanding legal marijuana market is helping drive strong sales and profit growth for multistate operators like Trulieve Cannabis Corp.

The Quincy, Florida-based company sells cannabis products in 11 states from Arizona to Pennsylvania. It reported $408.9 million in revenue in the first half of this year, an 89% jump from the same stretch of 2020. Its net income surged 67% over the same period.

The company recently completed its acquisition of Tempe, Arizona-based cannabis company Harvest Health & Recreation in a deal valued at $2.1 billion.

Trulieve’s latest expansion bid comes as more states allow sales of marijuana in some form or another.

Adult recreational use of marijuana is now legal in 19 states, with Connecticut, New Mexico and Virginia among those that enacted such laws this year.

Even so, the cannabis industry remains constrained by legal impediments to accessing capital and other challenges stemming from marijuana being illegal at the federal level. The industry is hoping Congress will deliver on long-sought legislation, including the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, which would free up banks to do business with licensed marijuana companies.

Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers recently spoke to The Associated Press about the impact of the Harvest deal, how her company has weathered the pandemic and the need for federal pro-cannabis legislation. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: You’ve referred to your company’s expansion plan as your “hub strategy.” What does it entail?

A: What that means is dividing the country into five regions: the Southeast, Northeast, Southwest, Central and Northwest. And to capitalize not only on near-term catalysts that will likely happen at the state level, but also thinking about how our distribution platform will look as federal change potentially occurs. We started down the path of developing out the Northeast. We acquired two companies in Pennsylvania, began operating in Massachusetts as well as Connecticut, and decided to look broader as we felt that we were positioned at that time to embark on a more transformational acquisition. That’s when Harvest came into focus.

Q: How does the Harvest acquisition fit in?

A: Harvest expands on that national hub strategy by increasing our footprint in the Southeast with additional cultivation, production and retail outlets in the state of Florida, as well as the Northeast. We’ll have one of the largest combined footprints in the state of Pennsylvania, as well as adding a new state, Maryland, to our portfolio, and adding a brand new region to our combined platform in the Southwest. We will be the largest company from a retail outlet perspective. We have 149 locations as well as on the cultivation and production side of the business, we have 3.1 million square feet, which is approximately 50% more than any of our competitors.

Q: The House recently passed the SAFE Banking Act again. How important would this bill be should it become law?

A: There are significant increased costs for those of us participating in capital markets right now. But maybe more importantly is the fact that a lot of small businesses that are cannabis businesses can’t get loans at all because they don’t have that pool of capital available to them. At this point, it almost seems kind of ridiculous that a majority of our states have cannabis programs but banks that absolutely want to participate in the industry are not able to and don’t have protection because of the federal position on the industry.

Q: What impact has the pandemic had on your business?

A: We did see consumption trends increase quite significantly. We had record growth, posting like 25% quarter over quarter, so it did have a significant positive impact on the business. What we’re seeing now is a normalization, of course, post-COVID. And what’s really exciting, I think for many of us, is that we’re still seeing growth even off of those highs.

By Rebecca Olmos | TheCannifornian.com Correspondent

In 2020 cannabis thrived and is expected to continue to do so. The projected legal sales of Mary Jane by 2022 are over 22 billion dollars.

Despite the uptick in acceptance for cannabis, the money made from it, those who sell it and those who use it, people of color are still predominantly negatively affected by the ripple effects of the War on Drugs. 37 states have legalized medical cannabis, and 19 have legalized adult usage, resulting in fewer arrests across the country. However, Black people are still 3.64 times more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than white people, according to a 2020 ACLU report.

On the business end, the inequality and underrepresentation of people of color are also prevalent. While 70% of CEOs in the top 14 cannabis companies in the country are white men, only 7% identify as Black according to an insider report.

So what is social equity?

The definition of social equity varies.

Put simply, social equity is the idea and practice of “justice and fairness in public policy.” Multiple cities and states have equity programs to support people and companies in their quest to break into the legal market. Especially concerning those who the War on Drugs has impacted.

Each jurisdiction has its requirements for equity applicants. In San Francisco, an applicant must meet three of six conditions that range from household income, previous cannabis arrests to where you’ve lived.

Equity programs help to reduce some of the barriers equity applicants might face as they enter the industry. This assistance includes but isn’t limited to waving application fees, help with rent, and support with tech for their business.

How can you support equity brands?

The first step is to check the dispensary. Sometimes dispensaries will tag equity, black-owned, Latinx-owned, etc, items for you. Other times, you may have to ask your budtender. If you don’t see equity brands on the menu, ask how you can request them.

The second way to support equity in cannabis is with your voice. Word of mouth, personal recommendations, reviews, and even social media shoutouts greatly support these brands.

There are so many great equity brands out there to support. Here you can find a few to start with.

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