Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we look at a company that pays for its employees’ cannabis products, the impact of rising gas prices on cannabis delivery services, CBD and sports and more. Enjoy.
Cannabis Corner
Mature consumers who think a second career in the cannabis industry might be more rewarding than spending their retirement working as a greeter at a big box store might be onto something. At least one cannabis company now offers an interesting employee benefit.
According to Graham Abbot, writing for Ganjapreneur, the cannabis wellness firm Jointly has announced it will reimburse its employees up to $150 per month for legal cannabis transactions made in the pursuit of what it calls “purposeful cannabis consumption.”
Abbot reports that as part of the benefit program Jointly employees will also be able to get reimbursed for other traditional wellness-related expenses, such as gym memberships and yoga classes.
Said Jointly Co-Founder and CDO Eric Gutshall, “This new benefit … provides employees with a budget to pursue better wellbeing, with the option of including purposeful cannabis consumption. This first of its kind program is not only aligned with Jointly’s core mission and beliefs but also helps break the stigma and start a new conversation around cannabis and wellness.”
The company’s CEO and Co-Founder David Kooi echoed Gutshall’s sentiments, telling Ganjapreneur, “We know purposeful cannabis consumption can be good for your well-being — and happy and healthy employees make for better employees.”
It’s not clear if the benefit also applies to CBD products.
What makes this decision significant is that it identifies moderate and “purposeful” cannabis use as a practice that can be part of an intelligent wellness routine, for those who choose to make it part of their lifestyle.
Down the road, it may also lend credence to the position that using legally prescribed medical cannabis should be covered by health insurance.
To learn more, we suggest you read Graham Abbott’s article in the March 21, 2022 issue of Ganjapreneur.
www.ganjapreneur.com/jointly-now-offering-cannabis-to-employees-as-wellness-benefit/
Stat of the Week
With the increased acceptance and use of both medical and recreational marijuana in numerous states it can be easy to forget that such acceptance is not the case everywhere.
That’s why this week’s magic number is 19. According to a new study released by an advocacy group called the Marijuana Policy Project, that’s the number of states where possession of a very small amount of marijuana can still get you arrested and possibly incarcerated. In some cases these penalties for adult possession, which some may consider draconian, are in place in states that have limited access to medical marijuana.
The report, titled Behind the Times: The 19 States where a Joint Can Still Land You in Jail, does a deep dive into the laws in the 19 states that, in the words of the report, “lag the furthest behind public opinion.”
More than just a state by state inventory of laws and penalties, the report also provides profiles of individuals who have experienced harsh penalties for possessing very small amounts of marijuana—sometimes just a single joint.
What makes this legal disparity significant—even if you are a mature consumer who only uses CBD products or doesn’t use any cannabis products at all but may have friends and family members who do—is that it underscores the importance of understanding the laws that govern the use of cannabis are not the same everywhere and the risks you or your friends and family can face as you move from cannabis friendly states to other states that are not as accepting.
For instance, Lukas Barfield, reporting for Ganjapreneur, describes a bill that has been introduced in the Alabama Senate that would require women of ‘childbearing’ age to submit a state-certified negative pregnancy test before purchasing medical cannabis.
Clearly, it’s not 2022 everywhere.
To learn more, we suggest you read both the Marijuana Policy Project’s report, Behind The Times: The 19 States Where A Joint Can Still Land You In Jail and the article by Lukas Barfield that appeared in the March 23, 2022 issue of Ganjapreneur.
Cannabis Quote of the Week
“It’s been 10 years since we legalized recreational marijuana through our Amendment 64 statewide citizen-driven initiative that I opposed. I didn’t want Colorado to be the experiment—the Petri dish—for one of the great social experiments of the century so far. And we legalized it even though I opposed it…..I think we’ve proven and demonstrated that there is no increase in experimentation among teenagers. There is no change in frequency of use, no change in driving while high—all the things we most worried about didn’t come to pass.” —Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO).
Senator Hickenlooper served as governor of Colorado in 2012. According to Kyle Jaeger, who profiled the Senator and his change of mind for Marijuana Moment, as governor, Hickenlooper unsuccessfully tried to convince voters to reject a ballot initiative to legalize marijuana, in large part, he said, because he worried it would encourage more use by young people.
The Senator’s comments are taken from a video message he recorded for an event organized by the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education, and Regulation (CPEAR) in which he talked about Colorado’s history with legalization and focused on clearing up misconceptions around the impact of that reform on underage consumption.
Now as a U.S. senator, he’s moved from being an opponent of legalization to what Jaeger calls “a champion of the reform, touting the state’s progress and calling for federal descheduling.”
What makes his change of heart significant is that it serves as a rare example of an elected official who is willing to admit that the evidence just doesn’t support his fears.
Plus, by publicly describing his fact-based approach to cannabis policy it helps to deprive opponents of legalization of several of their key arguments—that legalization of adult use cannabis will be a threat to public safety and lead to increased use by adolescents. Research shows that has not been the case.
We also suspect the tax revenue from marijuana sales that goes to support the state’s public education system—something acknowledged by both Hickenlooper and Colorado Treasurer Dave Young—makes Hickenlooper’s change from opponent to champion that much easier for voters to accept.
To learn more about Hickenlooper’s comments and recent research on cannabis use by adolescents in Colorado we urge you to read Kyle Jaeger’s article in the March 18, 2022 issue of Marijuana Moment.
CBD Spotlight
The increased use of cannabis products by athletes and people who live an active lifestyle has led some to question if CBD should be considered a performance enhancing drug.
A recent article that appeared in Cannabis & Tech today notes that cannabidiol (CBD) has become a particularly popular cannabinoid for a number of athletes. Many believe it can aid in recovery after a workout and help to reduce inflammation. In addition, when used without THC it does not cause euphoria and does not fall under the restrictions many sports place on products that do contain THC.
In fact, many professional athletes in sports such as golf and auto racing have actually become brand representatives for various CBD products.
Tackling the issue of performance enhancement, the article cites an Australian study that looked at aerobic exercise, CBD, and key physiological and psychological responses in study participants, such as respiration, heat rate, blood glucose levels and a sense of pleasure while engaged in the activity.
The researchers found that while “CBD appears to alter some key physiological and psychological responses to aerobic exercise” it did so without impairing performance, meaning it did not enhance the athlete’s level of performance. As is often the case, they suggested further research was needed.
What makes this significant is that based on this study and others it is likely that “weekend warriors” and others who make CBD part of an active lifestyle can do so without fear that they are cheating when pursuing their “personal best.”
Those who want to learn more can read the article Is CBD a Performance Enhancing Drug? It appeared in the March 17, 2022 issue of Cannabis & Tech Today.
cannatechtoday.com/is-cbd-a-performance-enhancing-drug/
Consumer News and Notes
Since the onset of the pandemic, a growing number of mature consumers and others with limited mobility have come to rely on the convenience of having their cannabis products brought to them by a delivery service.
Now, many of those services are reporting their ability to serve customers is being impacted by the current spike in gas prices.
Writing for MJBizDaily, Kate Robertson reports that the sharp increase in gasoline prices is putting added pressure on cannabis delivery companies, many of which are already struggling to be profitable due to high regulatory fees and other operational costs.
Ari Cohen, who runs a Denver-based cannabis delivery company called Doobba, told Robertson, “I did model in a 30 percent increase in the gas prices and baked that in, but obviously it’s gone up way more than 30 percent in the last year. So now just talking about how to solve that for ourselves. Do we add a service charge to the consumer? Do we include a fuel charge? What other options do we have?”
Robertson notes an option for some delivery services may be moving to electric or hybrid vehicles. For example, Owen Allerton, the founder and CEO of Highland Cannabis in Kitchener, Ontario, told Robertson that he now has two Tesla vehicles in his delivery fleet. He purchased the Model 3 which has a number of functions that can actually make delivery easier, such as:
—Being able to punch addresses into the GPS to create a route in advance.
—The ability to limit speed.
—A feature that allows him to see the car’s location on an app in case a staff member needs road assistance.
What makes this spike in gas prices significant for cannabis consumers is that it may change the way cannabis companies deliver products to customers. It may also cut into profit margins as companies balance factors such as reducing services or passing along the pain in the form of higher service prices.
To learn more, we suggest you read Kate Robertson’s detailed and insightful article. It appeared in the March 23, 2022 issue of MJBizDaily.
mjbizdaily.com/high-gasoline-prices-undermining-cannabis-delivery-firms/
Senior Cannabis Digest is compiled and edited by Joe Kohut and John Kohut. You can reach them at joe.kohut@gmail.com and at 347-528-8753.
