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Is cannabis licensing corrupt already?

shaggyballs

Active member
Veteran
Dispensary Lawsuit in Massachusetts Alleges Favoritism

http://mmjbusinessdaily.com/lawsuit-filed-in-massachusetts-dispensary/

A dispensary applicant in Massachusetts has filed a lawsuit alleging the state’s Public Health Department used political favoritism and not merit in awarding provisional medical marijuana licenses.

The business, 1Releaf Inc., did not win one of 20 provisional licenses for medical marijuana dispensaries.

The suit – filed in Boston on Wednesday – comes two weeks after it was revealed that former state Congressman William Delahunt’s company, called Medical Marijuana of Massachusetts, received three of the 20 licenses. Other successful business applicants – including one run by Harborside Health executive Andrew DeAngelo – allegedly misled the health commission about support from public officials on their applications.
Bob Carp, the lawyer for 1Relaf Inc., pointed out a number of discrepancies with Delahunt’s application, and said that favoritism was to blame. Delahunt’s application, for example, said the business would grow its plants hydroponically, which Carp said is illegal under Massachusetts’ provisions.

Carp also said Delahunt’s financial structure does not meet the state’s non-profit standards. Under the business plan, Delahunt would be paid $250,000 a year, and half of the operation’s revenues would then be turned over to a separate management company, which is overseen by Delahunt and his partners.

Finally, Carp pointed to Delahunt’s relationship with Public Health Commissioner Cheryl Bartlett, who previously raised political funds for Delahunt. Bartlett has said she withdrew from the agency’s medical marijuana decision-making process 10 days before the licenses were decided.

One of Delahunt’s business partners, Jonathan Herlihy, denied Delahunt’s political connections landed them the licenses.
 

shaggyballs

Active member
Veteran
Political Contribution Controversy in Nevada

http://mmjbusinessdaily.com/politic...al-contribution-controversy-brewing-in-nevada

A controversy over political contributions made by prospective cannabis entrepreneurs could be brewing in Nevada’s budding medical marijuana industry.

The Las Vegas Sun recently reported that prospective marijuana companies in Clark County donated funds to three county commissioners who are currently overseeing the licensing process.

Commissioners Chris Guinchigliani, Mary Beth Scow and Susan Brager received 14 total donations from cannabis entrepreneurs after Clark County announced early in March that it would allow medical marijuana businesses. Since March 1, the total amount donated by these companies is $56,900. Nearly 40% of the donations came from one venture, CW Nevada.

The three commissioners received an additional $45,500 during this time from 12 different law firms, according to the Sun. Law firms are not required to disclose their clients, however many firms in Southern Nevada have at least one client applying for a license.

All three commissioners justified the donations and said that the contributions would not sway them in deciding which companies will receive 18 dispensary licenses for Clark County. The hearings for those licenses are occuring this week.

Still, the donations are raising eyebrows across the marijuana industry. Cannabis entrepreneurs are still reeling from the licensing process in Massachusetts, which became embroiled in controversy after it was revealed that former state Congressman William Delahunt received three of the 20 provisional licenses.
 

armedoldhippy

Well-known member
Veteran
is it corrupt already? probably. getting a license to print your own money is expensive, and the process is such that (like politics) if you were honest when you started, you will be morally depraved before it is over. money is attracted to itself, it all wants to pile up in the same place, it just aint possible to spread the shit around like you might think. if you gave everyone in this country fifty thousand dollars, ten years from now there would be a bunch of millionaires & a shitload of poor people. guaranteed...:ying:
 

shaggyballs

Active member
Veteran
is it corrupt already? probably. getting a license to print your own money is expensive, and the process is such that (like politics) if you were honest when you started, you will be morally depraved before it is over. money is attracted to itself, it all wants to pile up in the same place, it just aint possible to spread the shit around like you might think. if you gave everyone in this country fifty thousand dollars, ten years from now there would be a bunch of millionaires & a shitload of poor people. guaranteed...:ying:

I agree!
But:
This states a perfect example of why legalization can go bad fast.
Is this what the people want?????
Then vote NO!!!!
Until it is what we all want!...not BIG BIZ. $$$$$$$
Is this country not run by the people anymore.....WTF
 
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armedoldhippy

Well-known member
Veteran
I agree!
But:
This states a perfect example of why legalization can go bad fast.
Is this what the people want?????
Then vote NO!!!!
Until it is what we all want!...not BIG BIZ. $$$$$$$
Is this country not run by the people anymore.....WTF

wrong. vote "yes" and keep working toward the goal. keeping it illegal & allowing people to go to jail because you don't like the way it is being done currently just means more people with ruined lives. work TOWARD a positive end result. myself, i think that fewer people getting arrested is a GOOD thing. obviously, some people disagree...:ying:
 

shaggyballs

Active member
Veteran
Ok, have it you way I will follow the pack.
Be right back I have to go to the cop shop to pick up my medicine???:biggrin:

DPDsplash.jpg


Weird, it seems all of the strain names start with BLUE???
:laughing:

You right this is much better than what I had imagined!
What was I thinkin' :shucks:
shag
 

catbuds

Member
Shaggy, I agree with Aoh. Legalize first, then iron out the wrinkles through amendments untill its made right. Nothing ever starts out perfect where governments involved. Its the people pushing for perfection with amendments that finally get things fixed. I think keeping people out of prison is a good place to start.
- BTW, I'm glad you two are friends. You seem to agree to disagree without coming to blows! :)

- P.S. Shaggy, feeling as you do about 'big biz', you must hate MONSANTO as much as I do! Those evil, greedy Mo Fo's! They're now an enity too big to wipe out! How the hell can we stop them!?!?! How the hell do we escape them!?!?! As a (retired) professional horticulturalist, I've hated them for many many years!
 
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shaggyballs

Active member
Veteran
Shaggy, I agree with Aoh. Legalize first, then iron out the wrinkles through amendments untill its made right. Nothing ever starts out perfect where governments involved. Its the people pushing for perfection with amendments that finally get things fixed. I think keeping people out of prison is a good place to start.
- BTW, I'm glad you two are friends. You seem to agree to disagree without coming to blows! :)

Ya know deep down I think I agree also!

But:
I see the rug being pulled out from under so many everyday in the name of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ (my new thing $$$)

I see big Biz moving in for the kill, once they take hold like walmart....you just never get it back....scares me.

Yes, I would say the hippy is a good guy, we just see thing a little bit different.
You might say I am a armed old hippy too
One thing for sure...You just gotta admire a guy that stands strong for what he believes in, as he does!:tiphat:

Can we have legalization without walmart and monsanto???...PLEASE
I hope we all agree on this?
Or do some still believe they are necessary to legalization.


Legalize YES!!!

No rug pullin'
No walmart/monsanto...big biz. CRAP
Give it to the people.
Let them have Farmers markets and the like.
Only my side...but it sounds better than all I have heard, the world over.

My plan is very simple!!!!
But you just won't make any money with my plan.
That is where the flaw is....NO MONEY=NO legalization!
Why?
 
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monsoon

Active member
I think you are spot on with your licensing assumptions here, shaggy.

As long as there's big money to be made in cannabis, big money will see a way to get their slice of the pie...and more. As long as there is big money to be made, corrupt people, both little and big will chameleon into whatever situation is needed to get their slice of the pie. We've seen it play out in person here ala med pot...and now via rec pot as well.

Where your 'logic" breaks down here for me is the same place it broke down for Armedoldhippy and that is when you fail to separate the personal from the commercial and see that they are 2 completely different things here.

Do you really think that just because they legalized retail sales for licensed entities that all of the folks cultivating gardens here who have long-standing connections or customers would simply direct them all to "legal sales"? Without a doubt, legal pot has put a damper on illegal profits here (more pot = less sales/lower prices/etc), but in no way, shape, or form has it ended "the Black market" here. Far from it.

The people I know who knew people before both 20 and 64 still have the same basic set up as before (although with less fear) and the people who never smoked/never had any connections/were never into weed before they were told it was OK pay the Gov't to smoke it and shop at the retail outlets. (and pay the standard prices from 10 years ago + 30% tax)

IMO, only those folks who haven't been paying attention/who have no real understanding of how business truly works could ever believe that weed/weed legalization would >somehow< be a different creature and would remain a cottage industry with HUGE profits, no liability, and no limitations...or that when they open the licensing up for all residents of the State of ___________...cops and judges and all the other pussies who had no involvement in weed will come out of the woodwork en masse' in support of filling their own wallets with cash.

In the end none of it matters if you take the $$$ out of the equation and grow only for personal stash. Sadly, many folks want it BOTH ways...no laws, no limits/no penalties/no regulation/no licensing/open sales AND the same big money profits they receive for their wares now in an illegal market...which if we're looking for "logic"...uuuhhhummm....is seemingly nowhere to be found. (have you seen/think such a place will ever exist...and what do you think pot would be WORTH there if it were to exist?)
 

shaggyballs

Active member
Veteran
I think you are spot on with your licensing assumptions here, shaggy.

As long as there's big money to be made in cannabis, big money will see a way to get their slice of the pie...and more. As long as there is big money to be made, corrupt people, both little and big will chameleon into whatever situation is needed to get their slice of the pie. We've seen it play out in person here ala med pot...and now via rec pot as well.

Where your 'logic" breaks down here for me is the same place it broke down for Armedoldhippy and that is when you fail to separate the personal from the commercial and see that they are 2 completely different things here.

Do you really think that just because they legalized retail sales for licensed entities that all of the folks cultivating gardens here who have long-standing connections or customers would simply direct them all to "legal sales"? Without a doubt, legal pot has put a damper on illegal profits here (more pot = less sales/lower prices/etc), but in no way, shape, or form has it ended "the Black market" here. Far from it.

The people I know who knew people before both 20 and 64 still have the same basic set up as before (although with less fear) and the people who never smoked/never had any connections/were never into weed before they were told it was OK pay the Gov't to smoke it and shop at the retail outlets. (and pay the standard prices from 10 years ago + 30% tax)

IMO, only those folks who haven't been paying attention/who have no real understanding of how business truly works could ever believe that weed/weed legalization would >somehow< be a different creature and would remain a cottage industry with HUGE profits, no liability, and no limitations...or that when they open the licensing up for all residents of the State of ___________...cops and judges and all the other pussies who had no involvement in weed will come out of the woodwork en masse' in support of filling their own wallets with cash.

In the end none of it matters if you take the $$$ out of the equation and grow only for personal stash. Sadly, many folks want it BOTH ways...no laws, no limits/no penalties/no regulation/no licensing/open sales AND the same big money profits they receive for their wares now in an illegal market...which if we're looking for "logic"...uuuhhhummm....is seemingly nowhere to be found. (have you seen/think such a place will ever exist...and what do you think pot would be WORTH there if it were to exist?)

I agree you can not have it both ways!!

I have dreams of it coming true everyday!(dreams)

I think if the market was flooded.
Everybody that wants to grow, can grow, as much as they want.
That would make up for those who don't want to grow!
As far as price goes, if the market is completely full and quality is from a-z then it would be priced accordingly.
I think it is possible to see $100 oz.'s of top shelf if it growing in every yard across the USA. (still dreaming here right)

I would like to see the farmers market scene take off!
Trade no cash needed.
A lil' blueberry for some strawberry ya know....just look around and get what you like.
If you bring crap you go home with the same crap or trade for different crap..... or maybe if some one is kind enough they will take a bunch of your crap and exchange it for a little bit-o-dank....no cash!

This would not be hard at all if big biz did not see $$$$$$$$$$$

What do ya think man?
Am I really asking for a pony here?...LOL(Jhhnn knows)

Shag
 

resinryder

Rubbing my glands together
Veteran
Political Contribution Controversy in Nevada

http://mmjbusinessdaily.com/politic...al-contribution-controversy-brewing-in-nevada

A controversy over political contributions made by prospective cannabis entrepreneurs could be brewing in Nevada’s budding medical marijuana industry.

The Las Vegas Sun recently reported that prospective marijuana companies in Clark County donated funds to three county commissioners who are currently overseeing the licensing process.

Commissioners Chris Guinchigliani, Mary Beth Scow and Susan Brager received 14 total donations from cannabis entrepreneurs after Clark County announced early in March that it would allow medical marijuana businesses. Since March 1, the total amount donated by these companies is $56,900. Nearly 40% of the donations came from one venture, CW Nevada.

The three commissioners received an additional $45,500 during this time from 12 different law firms, according to the Sun. Law firms are not required to disclose their clients, however many firms in Southern Nevada have at least one client applying for a license.

All three commissioners justified the donations and said that the contributions would not sway them in deciding which companies will receive 18 dispensary licenses for Clark County. The hearings for those licenses are occuring this week.

Still, the donations are raising eyebrows across the marijuana industry. Cannabis entrepreneurs are still reeling from the licensing process in Massachusetts, which became embroiled in controversy after it was revealed that former state Congressman William Delahunt received three of the 20 provisional licenses.


No man this isn't corruption. This if muddafuckin Nevada. It's the way things get done!!! Really not surprising at all.
 

Gry

Well-known member
I recall having heard of bipartisan support for publicly financed elections with the idea of keeping this sort of thing from happening. It does not seem that long ago.
 

monsoon

Active member
This thread was about LICENSING. Budtang HAS AN AGENDA THOUGH...so here we are again...

Personal growers here are not going to jail/do not risk jail time and are not a part of the "Black market".... unless...that is... they sell weed (as you want to do) and are caught doing so.

So far, nobody (State/LEO) seems to care though, as there are many people selling flowers/wax/shatter/bubble hash and edibles openly on craigslist here.

THAT is what is key. SOME folks go on and on about WHAT LEO >COULD< DO...painting the Chicken Little picture EVERYWHERE THEY GO....but are THE COPS DOING ANYTHING TO STOP ANY OF THIS HERE? No, they aren't. The ads just keep coming...

to me it's all a moot point until this changes and they actually enforce the laws on a "street level"....which..as we all know, they just don't have the manpower to do.
 

budtang

Member
unless...that is... they sell weed (as you want to do) and are caught doing so.


That's not what I "want" to do. That's what I'm required to do by the circumstances.

If I had a choice I would choose to pay taxes on the weed I sell and put money back into the state. But, I don't have that choice. Remember?
 
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budtang

Member
i believe that she was referring to folks arrested for possession, as i was.

Nobody ever went to prison for minor possession charges. So, she was referring to something that has no barring on reality.

The only people who ever did jail time for minor possession were people in small towns with a low population. Highly populated counties never messed with putting people in prison for possession, though. So, it appears this system is only preventing small town residents from doing going to prison. As that was never a possibility with the majority of people in the country.
 
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