Katherine Grimm, a former corporate management consultant, is the CEO of Clever Gent Brands, LLC, a consulting company that says it is dedicated to cultivating the cannabis industry responsibly from the ground up. She is featured in CNN Original Series "High Profits," which airs Sunday nights at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CNN. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. (CNN)Opposition to marijuana legalization is rapidly decreasing -- from 60% in the mid-2000s to 44% in 2015. But it's still an uphill battle. The big question now is: In legalizing marijuana, how should we implement the details? This is where it gets complicated. There are so many debates over how much home cultivation should be allowed, which medical conditions should be able to use it, what's the best consumption methods for the average user? And who has the ultimate control over the regulations -- the state or the local municipalities? As the pot industry evolves, more and more groups are finding that they've reached their personal stopping point and are upset with those who have different ideas. Home cultivators, medical patients, recreational legalization supporters -- can't we all just get along? There are people who are upset that legalization in any form means taxes and government regulations. These guys have been privately cultivating for years, decades even. And while they'd be happy to not risk jail time for their endeavors, they are not interested in the hassles, responsibilities and costs associated with legalization. Some strong medical marijuana supporters believe that recreational use diminishes the medicinal value of the plant. They are fearful that recreational pot creates an image that is too focused on "partying" or just "getting high." They are afraid that the true medicinal value of the plant will be lost in the shuffle and that patients' rights will be diminished. Anyone who has seen Dr. Sanjay Gupta's CNN "Weed" series would agree that it's impossible to deny there are legitimate medicinal benefits to marijuana. While I'm not a patient, I consume cannabis for many different reasons and sometimes it is just to relax and have a few laughs with my friends. That's perfectly OK. Then there are grassroots individuals who believe that any hint of "corporate marijuana" is a bad thing. And others who believe that the "hippie stoner" image is terrible. The marijuana industry is constantly debating the appropriate language to use. Is it "marijuana" or "cannabis"? Do you "use" it or "consume" it? Are you "getting high" or are you "medicating"? There's no denying that language matters -- but it depends on who we are speaking to. There's a time and place for everything. I have asked friends if they wanted to go "smoke some weed." But when speaking with a legislator, I almost always talk about "consuming cannabis." One's not better or worse. They just have different audiences. In the same way that if I'm walking into a potential investor's office, I'm going to be wearing a business suit but when I'm hanging out at home it's more likely to be jeans and a T-shirt. Ultimately, in a multibillion dollar industry, there is room for all of us: the casual consumer, the medical patient, the wellness market, etc. But if those of us who are active with the marijuana movement don't learn to work together, we will be our own worst enemy. Let's not make it harder on ourselves with infighting. We need to stop arguing with each other. We need to stop campaigning for legislative measures that attempt to benefit only certain types of users. We also need to stop campaigning for a lack of regulation under the guise of "protecting patients." Let's be honest about our intentions. If the concern is the potentially prohibitive cost of licensing and regulation, then let's have that discussion. We have enough opponents already, it's time we come together. Those of us who are new need to be respectful of those who have put in the work before us. Those of us who have been championing marijuana usage for decades need to be willing to accept help from the well-intentioned newcomers. Let's not complicate the issue for supporters, consumers and legislators. Let's do marijuana legalization right; it's time to unite in our cause. http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/13/opinions/grimm-marijuana-industry/index.html
California - competing initiatives, they may not even legalize next year due to it. gotta work together to form one! Sent from my intergalactic spaceship hotbox
Get rid of all the controls. Get rid of all the restrictions. Why should the government be allowed to say how much weed someone can grow or carry on them???? Make it simple, make weed legal who can argue with that? Only the ones who are against it.
I doubt most, if not all of those initiatives that have already been filed in California will even gather enough signatures to make it onto next year's ballot. I've heard that these groups would need about 1 million dollars just to gather enough signatures, and then another 10-20 million to run a successful campaign. None of these groups have even reported that they have enough money to gather signatures. ReformCA might be able to pull it off if they really are working with some other local groups and national organizations like NORML, MPP, and DPA.
If they don't have enough money, it should be a flare signal letting them know to work together on one policy. Sent from my intergalactic spaceship hotbox
My thoughts exactly. It's a shame that they're all so stubborn and that they each think that their version of legalization is the only acceptable one. You'd think that they'd see how much more harm than good that this conflict is doing and come together on one initiative that they can all agree on and put their money behind.
100% agree. if anything, work to put in place one policy even if certain folks dislike it and revise it AFTERWARDS with citizen initiatives or something. at least get something out there for that time being. Sent from my intergalactic spaceship hotbox
I don't know how all these different groups can't see that by fighting against each other they are really helping out the prohibitionists. Making their jobs easier. Divide and conquer. These different groups cannot possibly be so far apart that they can't unite and crush this issue in California once and for all. Main goal: legalize weed. Work out the kinks later. Coming from Missouri, a state where legalization is not on the horizon at all, this petty squabbling in California looks so fucking selfish.
Ask the great people of Wa how that worked out for them. Ask the great people of Wa how that worked out for them.
Can they walk into a store and buy weed? If the answer is yes, then I would say it worked out great for them.
And for the same prices as the street pretty much with a wider variety and guaranteed quality I'd say WA is doing fine.
It really is, and it pisses me the fuck off. It would probably be very easy to legalize in CA if it wasn't for these groups fighting with each other, and some even refuse to work together!
And in the end, when cannabis is legal on a federal level, CA will still be arguing over how to regulate both medical and recreational and will end up being forced by the feds (pull funding for critical infrastructure like highways) to do so, and probably to nobody's satisfaction.
Amendment 64 passed by Bi-Partisan voter support. First... You have to have an honest discussion that allows both political entities and their supporters to agree that the current situation is no longer workable because our States are dead broke. You have to honestly answer this question... is paying $50k a year per Marijuana Law breaker worth it? Second... Do we really need to have these laws in place to lock up those who disagree with a controlling position? Third... Identify items that can be paid for with marijuana dollars. Where this falls apart is Law Enforcement realizing they will not get a dime of it. You have to be firm and state... the dollars for the items we pay for will be free'd up for other areas of the budget. Stay firm that Marijuana dollars will not go to Law Enforcement. (to the cops reading this... YOU LOST IN COLORADO... You lost because you over reached.) Once you get thru these three steps... you have a chance at getting it legalized. You will still fight against jealousy, against wasted funding... and against perception. Our Newspapers have refused to support it... even to this day. It doesn't matter... it is not an experiment... it is permanently here.
great points. to not lose face it will have to look like legalization comes from somewhere (each separate state)else and not from the same source (Gov) that locked everybody up for partaking in the herbs and spices. there will and is a lot of pissed off people because it is legal in one state and they are getting locked up ( 50$ to 80K a year) the next state over for a cannabis seed found in their boot treads...
Who was the first group to cry and whine that it became legal? Law Enforcement. Until you have experienced Police inside your home "looking for a suspect" as the reason they are in the home; worried that you will go to jail over what they will see inside your home... you will never understand the joy of a police officer walking up to you and saying; "nice looking plants!" They leave your premises, and you are still a free man. When the above experience happened to me, it quickly dawned on me that just 1 year earlier I would be facing a minimum of 5 years for the plants I had growing in my closet. Trust me on this one... Find a compromise among each other, and don't worry about the control freaks demanding a punishment tax for legalization... they are just upset that since the 1960's the plant has been so deep underground that they didn't get to take the family Farm, the brand new combines, and tractors along with your limited savings for a college education for your kids. You can work out the stupid details after it is legalized, and the State has so much money that they fight over it.
idk why they can't see this... its so ignorant. many other states are gonna get legal between 2020. whole lots next year in 2016 folks count on 4+ Sent from my intergalactic spaceship hotbox
Keep Americans unemployed and out of work; as States try to obtain tax dollars from those who are no longer working... build more prisons and escape your problem temporarily. Eventually items in the budget get slashed, and taxes get raised... and whatever jobs you do have get sent to other States that "get it." Or they go overseas and NEVER come back again. Money and money alone will determine the outcome of Legalization... no POTUS is going to do the right thing and end the War on Marijuana; you would think a bonging out Obama would do so... but so far he hasn't budged.
WA may ban medical marijuana, that is not right. Regardless of the recent legalization, the medical field needs to stay in place.
CNN is evil and shouldn't be taken seriously on this one. Infighting is necessary.....if we don't fight monsanto or some other billionaire dicks are just going to write themselves ownership of this industry. And let's all drop the facade...this fight is NOT about culture, rights or even medical needs/benefits to the people. That might be what you personally are passionate about but that's not the political battle. The legalization battle is about the money and who can corner as much of it out of the industry for themselves as possible at the starting gate. We live in a crony capitalist police state.....if you didn't think suits all around weren't going to throw money at cornering themselves some profit in the pot industry on a senate/house floor you must have mistaken what legalization actually means in teh USA.