Recreational Cannabis and Homelessness, Not Connected
Recreational Cannabis and Homelessness are not Connected (Research Report)
A research report by the Institute of Cannabis Research concluded that there is no direct or even casual relationship between cannabis legalization and homelessness. Of course, the Sheriff and others in the community are up in arms, but the researchers could not find one shred of evidence of the claim. Instead, it was because people were spending 87% of their income to keep a roof over their heads. Can you imagine? They are one paycheck or emergency away from being homeless. Instead of blaming the economy and policies set in Washington, they were quick to blame recreational cannabis.
The Ruling Capitalists Running the Economy
Don’t be fooled. The economy is not doing great. There are opportunities, but you really have to be lucky. For most people, they are stuck in the “Gig Economy”. According to Chris Hedges, the “Gig Economy” is the new term for serfdom.
Companies like Uber and Lyft are killing jobs that used to provide people with a livable wage. But these companies have cut prices so much that many of the “old school” yellow cab drivers are driven to suicide. According to Hedges,
Corporate capitalism is establishing a neofeudal serfdom in numerous occupations, a condition in which there are no labor laws, no minimum wage, no benefits, no job security and no regulations. Desperate and impoverished workers, forced to endure 16-hour days, are viciously pitted against each other. Uber drivers make about $13.25 an hour. In cities like Detroit this falls to $8.77. Travis Kalanick, the former CEO of Uber and one of the founders, has a net worth of $4.8 billion. Logan Green, the CEO of Lyft, has a net worth of $300 million.
So, that is the reason there is homelessness, not recreational cannabis. I would go as far as to say that all of our problems start with Fed. It has destroyed this country since its inception over 100 years ago, but that subject is beyond the scope of this post.
Federal WeedUpdate
Last week, President Trump signed the Omnibus bill which includes protection for states that have legalized medical and recreational cannabis. The protections are in section 538 says, “None of the funds made available in this Act to the Department of Justice may be used, with respect to the States of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island , South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin, to prevent such States from implementing their own State laws that authorize the use, distribution, possession, or cultivation of medical marijuana.”
However, we do not see any provisions for states that have approved recreational marijuana. Let’s hope this loophole is not used to fund crackdowns in California, Colorado, and other states that have legalized recreational cannabis. California is already a cannabis sanctuary state, and Massachusetts is thinking about it. And because of this legal loophole, the “marijuana friendly” states have asked for a meeting with Jeff Sessions. He seems like a reasonable man, so it should be a good meeting.
Furthermore, in the national news on cannabis legalization, read this article from Civilized for a nice overview of individuals in the federal government that are preventing cannabis legalization. And even though Mitch McConnell is on that list, he is leading the effort to legalize industrial Hemp.
WeedUpdate from Around the Country
California
The city of Riverside is thinking about banning legal cannabis businesses, despite the voters overwhelmingly passing Prop 64 legalizing recreational marijuana. But it’s going to be that easy for the city council to pass such legislation. The CEO of the California Cannabis Coalition says that his constituents want cannabis in Riverside and that voters have the last say.
Kansas
The comprehensive medical marijuana program was shot down (no surprise), but there is support for a bill that supports selling industrial-Hemp CBD products. So even though Kansas is still one of 13 states that have no laws legalizing cannabis, it is slowly but surely changing.
New Jersey
Governor Brown is still aggressive to get cannabis legalized in the state, and is planning on getting it done before the end of the year. There are however 10 cities and townships that have already banned the legalization of the plant. The towns that have already said no to legal weed are Berkley, Cranbury, Garfield, Hasbrouck Heights, Hazlet, North Caldwell, Old Bridge, Point Pleasant Beach, Spotswood, and Wall.
South Carolina
A medical marijuana bill passed the state Senate Medical Affairs Committee and is now sent to the Senate floor for final approval. However, it probably won’t be passed this year, according to the Senator that sponsored the bill, Sen. Tom Davis (R).
Tennessee
The Tennessee Medical Cannabis Trade Association (TMCTA) pulled its support for a medical marijuana bill that is very close to becoming state law. The bill was edited and changed so much that they are not comfortable in supporting such a bill. Although the TMCTA is not happy with the bill, we believe this is a step in the right direction. It’s better than having no laws at all regulating cannabis. Nonetheless, the bill was approved on March 28th, 2018.
Utah
A new law passed that will allow approved farmers to grow medical marijuana for a limited state program designed for researchers and patients that have very little time to live. There are also other laws and programs in the state senate, such as one that authorizes a state medical marijuana program, a hemp cultivation law, and a Cannabidiol (CBD) registry. Utah is one of the states with no laws regulating marijuana, but it looks like that should be changing by next year.
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