Here's the thing. Our Mayor and her Council stood up on our behalf and that of good, common sense to proclaim cannabis would be legal in the District of Columbia, damn what a failed, corrupt Congress says. I will forever be grateful. What I've yet to see- from the government, from the media, from the activists- is a blueprint for what should happen next. So I took a dab and figured it out. DC Scroger kept saying to me, "economic empowerment from a seed." Here's what I think that could look like. I believe that cannabis is medicine. That it can, BY ITSELF, remedy ailments that require daily regimens of dozens of pills. That the pharmaceutical companies have lied and suppressed this knowledge to push their own lethal products as the ONLY option. Products which poison even the fish in our waters, a price we pay whether the pills work or not. I believe it's a safer alternative to alcohol for our young people. A safer alternative to prescriptions for our seniors, veterans, and people with chronic illness or disability. These are the facts our movement has been touting, the tide that has raised us all. And now, in the Nation's Capital, I tell you that a tremendous responsibility has fallen upon us. We have the most unique opportunity in the U.S. where cannabis legalization has occurred- possession is legal, but there is no regulated form of obtaining it (unless you're a medical patient). So people have sought to profit, and I don't begrudge them- this was a logical, inevitable response. But what if I told you that you could make money, take the moral high road, build your legacy, fight gentrification, secure a future for your company in the coming LEGAL recreational industry, and economically empower the poor all at the same time? This is unprecedented. It's not up to the government to see that cannabis is regulated and subsequently choose where the money goes. No, in the District of Columbia, WE get to decide. Initiative 71 states that every person can cultivate up to 3 mature plants at a time. Some of you already have found a group of people near to your heart to donate to, which is amazing- we need to expand on the pop-up giveaways and create spaces to get free cannabis into the hands of those that need it most. Hold on, folks. I'm running out of steam. I'll take another dab and be right back... ...that's better. That Hitman OG is excellent stuff (Secret Cup Entry #4). Where was I? Right, we need a permanent, private house to serve as the FREE dispensary. You show up with your military ID or you're over 65, you're on the list. Otherwise, you submit your medical or financial paperwork along with your application. The House will randomly choose as many patients as it can support. "Hold on," I can hear you say, "this idiot thinks I'm going to give this primo cannabis I grew away for free." Just some, but yes- and here's where the payoff is for YOU. First, let me ask- what do you really want? You've seen the police draw the line on publicized social consumption events this Memorial Day weekend. Do you just want to take advantage of the laws as they exist to make as much money as you can until they fix it? Or do you want to do the opportunity to do this LEGALLY for the rest of your life? Let me tell you, the stories you've read about the lack of diversity in the cannabis industry are true. Heck, I went on a job interview at a dispensary out West where the owners didn't even smoke! Is that who you think should be charge of cannabis? Rich, white dudes that don't even smoke? What we need is a program that incentivizes people to donate to The House by rewarding their donations with percentage points for Recreational Cannabis Business Licenses, for the high rollers in the program, and Recreational Cannabis Employee Licenses for anyone interested that doesn't have the money to get involved at that level. There's a second opportunity here, and that's to brand and package your products for gifting- so that people remember your fire meds when your business is legal. That's it. We all go back to how things before "gifting" at events got out of hand, keep things smaller, private, for now. Our City leadership- the folks who went out on a limb for OUR rights- get to save face and not look like they enabled a bunch of profiteers. And you get a chance like few others- to do what you love for the rest of your life; to prove that cannabis users are responsible adults to the rest of the country; to prove that the herb is, as Bob said, for the healing of nations; to both economically empower the poor and throw off the shackles of Big Pharma. I've read that dreams are the burden of poets. But could this work?