Some are calling it the \u201cmarijuanapocalypse of 2018,\u201d while others, namely those of us that make up the Cannabis Now editorial department, would prefer to label California\u2019s decision to destroy marijuana sacrilege. Sure, the word doesn\u2019t have the same doomsday ring as the mashed-up term snagged from the book of Revelation, but it is certainly an accurate scrap of verbiage to express the disdain felt by some of those in the cannabis industry forced to turn over marijuana to the garbage collectors. If you haven\u2019t heard about this madness, buckle up and prepare to be enlightened.<\/p>\n
After just six months of recreational cannabis sales, officials in the Golden State ushered in a new set of regulations pertaining to the safety and packaging of all cannabis products. The new rules, which took effect on July 1, were designed to hold cannabis companies to higher standards when it comes to making sure that all products, regardless of whether it is flower, concentrates or edibles, are free of pesticides,\u00a0mold and other chemicals.<\/p>\n
While no one argues that clean, pesticide-free weed is preferred, the updated regulations rendered all of the marijuana remaining on the shelves as of the beginning of July obsolete. This means that all cannabis products must be destroyed, creating a situation that stands to cripple \u201cthe whole supply chain,\u201d says Jerred Kiloh, president of the United Cannabis Business Association, according to the\u00a0Los Angeles Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n The deadline to incineration, so to speak, forced dispensaries all across the state to have mega-clearance sales<\/a>\u00a0on untested marijuana. Some of these businesses were knocking off between 50-80 percent off high-quality bud. Others were giving it away for prices as low as a penny by the time the clock ran down.<\/p>\n But even with all of the discounted doobage flying off the shelves, experts close to the scene predict that California\u2019s cannabis operations could still be forced to obliterate more than\u00a0$350 million<\/a>\u00a0worth of cannabis products.<\/p>\n It should be noted that most of this weed, which has been deemed unusable by the state, is perfectly fit for consumption. Californians have been smoking untested herb for decades.<\/p>\n A legion of cannabis businesses attempted to provide the industry with a stay of execution. Around 150 of them signed a letter to Governor Jerry Brown last week, asking for more time to make the change. Above everything else, these companies were asking for more time to stock plenty of complaint cannabis products before pulling the plug on the old. There was also the question of whether there will be enough testing labs to handle to workload.<\/p>\n These factors would undoubtedly lead to product shortages, the letter explained, and drive \u201ccustomers and patients\u201d to the \u201cillicit market retailers and delivery services who will still have an abundance of products for sale.\u201d<\/p>\n In the end, the state Bureau of Cannabis Control\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0the six-month transition period \u201cwas a sufficient amount of time to deplete stock on hand and adapt to California\u2019s new rules.\u201d<\/p>\n This means, while you are reading this article, dispensaries are busy destroying marijuana.<\/p>\n But get a load of this. While the state wants all of this old marijuana disposed of in a timely fashion, it is not lifting a finger to ensure the job gets done. Dispensaries are solely responsible for getting rid of retro reefer. Some of these products, such as bud, will be tossed into a compost heap, while others, like vape cartridges, will be smashed to pieces and taken to the landfill. Interestingly, the state does not trust the dispensary owners to do this job properly, so all activities pertaining to cannabis destruction must be videoed. The state can come back at any time and request to see the evidence.<\/p>\n Yes, it\u2019s true \u2014 the idea of destroying perfectly good marijuana is a shame. But industry leaders say this is hiccup is necessary to build a bigger, better cannabis market in California.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to remember that, yes, that is going to be a growing pain we are going to have to deal with,\u201d Josh Drayton, a spokesperson for the California Cannabis Industry Association,\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0Wired. \u201cBut ultimately Prop 64 passed through wanting to prioritize public safety and public health.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, not every member of the California cannabis industry is peeved by the state\u2019s new regulations. Some dispensary owners believe \u201cthese regulations are very necessary for consumer protections, environmental protection and public safety protections,\u201d\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0the Sacramento Bee.<\/p>\n Furthermore, a temporary supply shortage might not be the worst thing for California\u2019s cannabis market. As we have learned from other legal states, like Oregon, an overabundance of marijuana has the power to run down prices and put cannabis farmers out of business. It is something that California is at risk of, according to the California Growers Association.<\/p>\n \u201cOversupply is a ticking time bomb in California, with the potential to significantly damage the market,\u201d reads a\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0from the organization.<\/p>\n So, it could be worse. Some experts say the market is already headed there. \u201cFor the way the program is set up, the state just wants to get as many people in as possible, and they make no bones about it,\u201d Hilary Bricken, a California attorney specializing cannabis law,\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0the Associated Press. \u201cMost of these companies will fail as a result of oversaturation.\u201d<\/p>\n TELL US<\/strong>, are you experiencing a shortage of cannabis?<\/p>\n The post California is Destroying Marijuana<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Some are calling it the \u201cmarijuanapocalypse of 2018,\u201d while others, namely those of us that make up the Cannabis Now editorial department, would prefer to label California\u2019s decision to destroy marijuana sacrilege. Sure, the word doesn\u2019t have the same doomsday ring as the mashed-up term snagged from the book ofContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4188,4064,148,3471,1972,50,4864,90,687,2111],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27612"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27612"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27612\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27613,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27612\/revisions\/27613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: California is Destroying Marijuana<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"