Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue. Last week was an absolute trainwreck, folks. To top it all off, I went and mixed up my Soros with my Bezos with the pudding what goes in the Jello and hey hey hey. Seriously, though, my bad. I take the accuracy of the info I provide very seriously and I'm, like, super-embarrassed about the whole thing.
But why do we fall, Master Bruce? Precisely. So here's your NEWS, triple-checked and quadruple-coffeed:
Maryland
The MMCC put out an advisory to patients that our vape carts might be contaminated with lead last week. I got mine Monday along with a sorry note for it being late. Bugger all.
The Sun already has a big story about it, but between their article and the MMCC's advisory & FAQ, the Gentleman still has serious concerns. Like, they acknowledge that the problem wouldn't appear prior to vape usage- so how is adding lead testing prior to sale going to help?
Why aren't they testing used vape carts from every brand?
Why not tell patients which brands came up positive for contamination?
You can read more here. MMCC suggests ceramic coils are ok so we'll try to round up a list of who's using that type of hardware for ya.
Don't make the mistake of thinking this is specific to Maryland. What are the chances the fake vape carts running around DC that sell for $30 retail in Cali's Prop 215 medical collectives are using high-quality hardware? This affects vape carts everywhere.
Virginia
Virginia's Attorney General Mark Herring has come out in favor of statewide cannabis decriminalization and, down the road, legalization. It's got the media in a positive tizzy! Tons of reaction pieces from local advocates, politicians, and bloggers alike. Fauquier Now even put up a poll.
While there is serious support from both sides of the aisle, including the state's Republican Senate Majority Leader, the whole thing reeks of a Hail Mary to move past Herring's admission (along with current Gov Northam) that they costumed in blackface during college.
It's a damn smart play, though. If the AG campaigns on real cannabis justice reforms- expunging the records of those convicted of MJ-related offenses as he intimated in remarks to reporters, and ensuring licenses for black ganjapreneurs- that could get voters focused more on the future of Virginia than the candidate's past.
Washington, DC
There's excellent news out of Congress. This week the House voted to include an amendment to a large-scale appropriations bill that would bar federal law enforcement from interfering with state-legal cannabis businesses. The amendment would extend this umbrella to DC, too! Tom Angell, as usual, offers some excellent insight in his piece for Forbes.
But the local news is terrible. WaPo is running a story about what strongly appears to be an I71 brand-related murder on Capitol Hill. One man, Richfield Chang, was killed on June 16. An unnamed woman was also injured in the attack. The suspect, Peter Nhek Neth, was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot during a standoff with US Marshalls at his home in Loudoun County. The Capitol Hill apartment where the murder took place had been “set up as an area for retail marijuana sales,” according to the affidavit WaPo reviewed.
Despite the fact that "Police said they do not believe drugs were a motive in the shooting," it is precisely these kind of optics that the gifting market can not afford. More than any media attention, violence is what's gonna finally get it all shut down.