Now that Cannabis is recreational and ‘legal’, I can go to my neighborhood dispensary and load up on legal weed, right? What else is there to worry about?

The truth is that there is plenty to worry about if you’re concerned about maintaining your civil liberties and you want to keep having access to the medical cannabis you’ve come to rely upon.

For the purposes of this article, we’re going to look at California’s Prop 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA) and the subsequent passing of amendment SB 94, which combines medical and recreational cannabis with language that shows why the laws, rules and regulations will be of concern to anybody who consumes, produces, cultivates, or retails legal cannabis products. Your state’s rules may differ, but California is a good state to use as an example. Here’s why:

Make no mistake about it, we're not saying that environmental protections are a bad thing. Rather, we are saying that cultivators and farmers need to be aware that new and existing governmental agencies will assume authority to change who can cultivate cannabis as well as how we do so.

For example, in AUMA, the law specifically addresses water diversion and wastewater discharge issues. Within the language of this law, up to 13 different government agencies may revoke a cultivation license in order to defend the environment, as detailed within the AUMA language in SECTION 2 - FINDINGS and DECLARATIONS paragraph (F):

Here, the ‘Devil is Always in the Details’. No one would argue that making laws, rules and regulations that would prevent water diversion and waste water runoff from illegal cultivation sites would be a bad thing. Ensuring regulated usage of pesticides and minimizing water use while also punishing ‘bad actors’ are all good things voters can support.

The problem is in the verbiage. Within the same paragraph discussing illegal marijuana growers, is also included the line about “if a business does not demonstrate they are in full compliance with applicable water usage and environmental laws, they will have their license revoked.” This language ties both the illegal and the licensed cannabis farmer together in the same provision. This was not by accident. Nothing ever is.

All a business person can do is make an informed decision with the best information and advice they have available to them at the time. If the advice they are receiving comes from respected sources such as attorneys, accountants, and industry leaders, then they are probably receiving sound advice.

But if the law is written in such a way that current wisdom can be overturned with rules or regulations that have yet to be written, would an informed business person elect to invest in that industry?

For example, within AUMA, Division 10, Chapter 1, General Provisions 26001(2)(dd), there is a warning to investors that if they choose to invest in our industry, the regulations and measures, many yet to be defined, may in fact make the entire endeavor “Unreasonably impractical”.

What attorney or financial advisor would ever advise their client to sign a contract where there was language warning them that they may be potentially entering into a contract unworthy of being carried out by a ‘reasonably prudent business person’? Has there ever been a law passed in any other industry whereby this type of language was included?

If I were a business person considering investing in your community’s cannabis industry, I would want the following questions to be answered:

1. When passing city or country ordinances, what peer reviewed papers were used as the basis for determining the number of licensed dispensaries allowed?
2. In regards to retail cannabis businesses, how will medical or recreational cannabis products will be made available to the public and how will they be taxed?
3. Since licensed dispensaries will be the only form of retail distribution for cannabis products in your community, what economic model was used to determine the number of licensed cultivators necessary to meet the local demand?
   1. For example, if I were investing in a cultivation license in the City of San Diego, I would need to know how many cultivators (and/or square footage) would be necessary to be able to supply the 36 licensed dispensaries that will be opened within the city.
   2. If we continue this example, City of San Diego is licensing 40 cultivation sites. A regulatory commission must calculate both the low range of production for those cultivation sites as well as the high range and see if it fits the potential demand for products.

Now some might argue that the city is not in the business of restricting the square footage of the licenses for cultivation. I would say that is not true. By controlling the number of licenses available, cities could put themselves in a advantageous position over the industry. A city with heavy restrictions would raise the price of products until customers turn to alternative, unlicensed suppliers. Licensed cultivators, have to compete with both licensed and unlicensed cultivators in the city and from around the state. Severe restrictions in a city may give other cultivators the advantage of lower operating costs and thus a competitive advantage.

So how economical is Prop 64 in a given city? Let's take a look at San Diego.

1. San Diego is licensing 36 retailer sites (dispensaries).
2. The best industry averages estimate that cannabis retailers sell about 1 pound of cannabis per day, or 454 grams.
3. If we assume that the retailer is open 365 days out of the year (x365), then on average they will sell nearly 165,710 grams per store per year.
4. With 36 licensed stores (x36), that comes out to 5,965,560 grams of cannabis flower required for the local cannabis market per year.

So great! San Diego will probably need about 5.9-6.0 million grams of cannabis per year, or over 13,000 pounds. So how much cultivation space will we need to supply that demand? Let's do some more math!

1. Statistical averages of cultivation estimate that cannabis flower yields are around 30-50 grams per square foot per harvest cycle, with an average of 4 harvests per year. So, on average, 120-200 grams per square foot per year.
2. Now if we divide 5,965,560 grams of cannabis flower by this range, we arrive at some low-end and high-end estimates of cultivation space necessary to supply demand for the city:
   1. High-Yield Estimate (200 grams per square foot per year): 29,827 sq-ft of cultivation space.
   2. Low-Yield Estimate (120 grams per square foot per year): 49,713 sq-ft of cultivation space.

But wait! San Diego also licenses the number cultivation sites. So the square footage we provided above needs to be further divided by the number of licenses that San Diego anticipates it will need:

1. San Diego is licensing 40 cultivation sites.
2. Let's use the ranges we established above, and divide by 40!
   1. High-Yield Estimate: 29,827 ÷ 40 = 745 square feet per cultivation license to feed local demand.
   2. Low-Yield Estimate: 49,713 ÷ 40 = 1,242 square feet per cultivation license to feed local demand.

That's not a lot of space needed. While dispensaries can raise prices to deal with taxes or mandatory fees, cultivators' hands are tied by what dispensaries are willing to pay and how other cultivators can undercut them. Per AUMA Section 7, Paragraph 34012(a)(1), cultivators will be taxed by the State on that flower at a rate of $9.25 per dry weight ounce and on the leaves at a rate of $2.75 per dry weight ounce before it can leave the farm.

In short, in this described scenario... it would be a bad business decision to be a cultivator in most circumstances. As business people who consider themselves to be ‘reasonably practicable’ we’d really like local governments to tell us what the total square footage of cultivation licensing is going to be in your city, how much of that will be used for medical and how much will be used for recreational and how many dispensaries is that expected to serve?

Or, as the saying goes... the devil is in the details.

Resources:

1. Want to learn more about subjects similar to those touched upon in this article? Check out our articles on subjects such as:
   1. An Introduction to Closed Loop Hydroponics - Part 1
   2. An Introduction to Closed Loop Hydroponics - Part 2
   3. An Introduction to Closed Loop Hydroponics - Part 3
   4. Using Climate Control to Prevent Disease
   5. Drain or Reclaim
   6. Minimizing Data Security Risks in the Cannabis Industry
2. Want to get in touch with 151 Farmers or Darryl? They can be reached via the following methods:
   1. Website: http://151farmers.org/
   2. Email: info@151Farmers.org

Aflatoxins are a variety of mycotoxins produced by Aspergillus parasiticus and Aspergillus flavus that suppress the immune system, mutate DNA, cause liver cancer (technical name: hepatocarcinoma), and can cross the placenta to exert harmful effects upon a fetus.

After years of research, researchers have elucidated a malignant profile for aflatoxins:

1. Normally the liver metabolizes a variety foreign substances, including pharmaceutical drugs, mycotoxins, and environmental toxins. This metabolism prepares these foreign substances for excretion.
2. After significant exposure to aflatoxin, the liver experiences a specific mutation in the p53 human tumor-suppressor gene.
   1. This mutation inhibits the liver from its normal metabolic processes. This means that harmful substances can damage DNA or other cellular processes, which can lead to cancerous growth and life-threatening tumors.

Due to this fact, aflatoxins are classified as level 1 carcinogens. Level 1 carcinogens are compounds which are known to be carcinogenic in humans, and it is the most toxic classification a molecule can have. There are five types of aflatoxins that the public should be aware of:

1. Aflatoxin B1
2. Aflatoxin B2
3. Aflatoxin G1
4. Aflatoxin G2
5. Aflatoxin M1
   1. Aflatoxin M1 is not a direct product of Aspergillus species, but instead is an metabolite produced by animals that have consumed aflatoxin-contaminated feed.

Another class of mycotoxins found in Cannabis, called ochratoxins, have similar carcinogenic and mutagenic profiles to aflatoxins. Ochratoxin A is produced by Penicillum verucosum and Aspergillus ochraceus. These fungal products are deemed mutagenic (and therefore carcinogenic) due to their ability to break DNA strands and inhibit DNA repair mechanisms.

When there is a profound aflatoxin contamination in a crop, there is little, if anything, that can be done to remediate it. Some individuals may try “mixing” or “cutting” a contaminated batch with a non-contaminated batch in order to dilute the problem. This is generally not allowed for consumable crops by FDA regulation, although there have been extenuating circumstances in the past where exceptions have made.

Some methods of remediation, such as treatment with ammonia, are strictly prohibited, while other methods, such as heat treatment, are ineffective. Aflatoxins are chemically stable, allowing them to withstand temperatures higher than 160⁰ Celsius, well above the melting point of cannabinoids. If these mycotoxins are present in cannabis during harvest, then they cannot be removed simply. They also have the potential to become concentrated during cannabis extraction processes that yield cannabis oils, making them potentially even more potent.

The threat of aflatoxins and ochratoxins is seemingly unavoidable when Aspergillus species are present; but you can take steps to minimize their risk. Preventing aflatoxin production during harvest and storage is the most practical solution for mitigation. Aspergillus species are fungi that prefer to grow in oxygenated, moist environments.

Despite the lack of cannabis protocols from the FDA, there are some basic techniques that can be utilized to reduce or avoid the production of aflatoxins and ochratoxins. These suggestions pertain to growing, harvesting, and storage:

Growing:

1. Keep your RH well under the dewpoint to prevent fungal growth
2. Prevent wild temperature fluctuations in your growing space.
3. Do not leave standing water.

Harvest:

1. Avoid late harvesting (dense buds contain significant amounts of water and air, which promote fungal growth)
2. Maintain effective pest control strategies (according to relevant state-guidelines)

Storage:

1. Minimize lag time between harvesting and drying
2. Maintain strict hygiene of storage facilities and containers
3. Dry the product to below 14% moisture content (less than 0.7 water activity, a_w)
4. Maintain pest control post-harvest (insects can introduce extra water and heat into the environment, giving fungi and bacteria the opportunity to grow)
5. Control the gaseous environment by reducing oxygen content and replacing with nitrogen or carbon dioxide. This may also be applicable for pre-packaging processes prior to dispensary distribution.

It is crucial to understand the threats of aflatoxins and ochratoxins so that proper steps can be made to avoid their production. The most fundamental aspects are starting with a clean environment for the drying and storing processes by reducing humidity, oxygen and pest insects. When guidelines published in relation to other crops are applied correctly to cannabis, it is likely that the threat of aflatoxin and ochratoxin contamination can be significantly impeded.

Resources:

1. Want to read some of the sources for this article? Check these out:
   1. Aflatoxins. International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) 100F. Available at https://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol100F/mono100F-23.pdf . Accessed 12 Oct. 2017.
   2. Federal Drug and Food Administration (1994). FDA Mycotoxin Regulatory Guidance: A Guide for Grain Elevators, Feed Manufacturers, Grain Processors and Exporters. Washington D.C.: National Grain and Feed Association, pp.1-15.
   3. Naresh Magan, David Aldred, Post-harvest control strategies: Minimizing mycotoxins in the food chain, In International Journal of Food Microbiology, Volume 119, Issues 1–2, 2007, Pages 131-139, ISSN 0168-1605, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2007.07.034.
   4. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168160507003972
2. Want to learn more about subjects similar to those touched upon in this article? Check out our articles on subjects such as:
   1. Growers Network's Pest Profile: Caterpillars
   2. Growers Network’s Pest Profile: Fungus Gnats
   3. Aspergillus: The Most Dangerous Cannabis Pathogen
   4. Vapor Pressure Deficit
   5. A Short History of Cannabis Consumption
3. Want to get in touch with EVIO Labs? They can be reached via the following methods:
   1. Website: http://eviolabs.com/
   2. Email: info@eviolabs.com

Colorado has been leading the charge for legal cannabis since it first legalized adult use in 2012. Now, the state continues leading the way by using its cannabis sales tax revenue to fund higher education for its students.

Nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Pueblo County, CO, is breaking the mold. Its new initiative to provide higher education scholarships using tax income from the region’s cannabis growers is showing promise. Starting in 2016, the predominantly agricultural county was able to successfully trial a scheme to provide scholarships to over 300 students. On the back of this success, the program was expanded the following year, and provided hundreds of more students with college scholarships. Now, 2018 looks bigger still.

Although Colorado has already found multiple uses for its cannabis tax revenue, from funding social programs and local government. all the way to building schools and affordable housing; Pueblo County’s initiative is the first of its kind with regards to funding higher education. It’s nearly impossible to understate the value of a university education, but with the modern cost of college being so prohibitive, it often remains out of reach for many lower income students, regardless of their talent. Scholarships can make the difference, evening the gap. Now that cannabis is funding these scholarships, we have another fantastic example of how legalization can benefit us all.

So where exactly is the money coming from exactly? The tax itself is drawn from cannabis cultivators in Pueblo County. That’s significant because Pueblo county is responsible for growing one-fifth of Colorado’s legal pot. It’s no surprise that the fund is generating massive amounts of cash. In 2015, Pueblo residents voted to introduce an excise tax that at least half of which would be used to fund education. Since then, the 5 percent tax, which is charged only once to cultivators making their first retail sale, has generated hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The Pueblo County Scholarship Fund was created by a ballot initiative in the 2015 Coordinated Election. A minimum of 50 percent of all of the marijuana excise tax collected in Pueblo County is allocated to the Pueblo County Scholarship Fund. The remaining marijuana excise tax revenue is allocated to a list of community enhancement projects.Paris Carmichael, Pueblo BOCC Community Information Manager

In fact, this year the program brought in $700,000 alone, which is matched in part by the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative, part of the state’s higher education department initiatives. This sum is expected to award at least 600 students in 2018 with individual scholarships between $1,000 to $2,000 of financial aid. And best of all, if you’re a high school senior in the Pueblo County who has been accepted into a local college or university, you’re automatically eligible. All you need to do is apply here.

With Pueblo County’s program garnering so much success, Colorado is showing the rest of us exactly what cannabis tax revenue can be used for. Hopefully, programs similar to this will be taken up by other legal states and continue to grow and provide much-needed financial assistance to students throughout the U.S. College isn’t cheap, and hopefully cannabis can ease the burden on low-income students.

One other thing -- if you’re an undergrad or recent graduate looking to get into the cannabis industry, there are also internships you can apply for, like with SHO Products. Our interns learn the ins-and-outs of the cannabis industry by working with us 20 to 40 hours a week, ensuring a full hands-on experience. You’ll leave college and our internship ready to begin working in the industry full time. What are you waiting for? Apply today!

Resources:

1. Want to learn more about subjects touched upon in this article? Check out our articles on subjects such as:
   1. Latin America: Leading the Way on Cannabis Reform
   2. The Cannabis Industry: The Effects of Big Data and Technology
   3. Women in the Cannabis Industry: Stay Strong
   4. Minimizing Data Security Risks in the Cannabis Industry
   5. Harvest Podcast: The Wonders of the Metabolism
2. Want to get in touch with Rosin Tech? They can be reached via the following methods:
   1. Website: http://www.rosintech.com/
   2. Email: media@shoproductsteam.com

Let me give you a little context as to how I got into the cannabis industry. I suffer from a condition that leaves me in ceaseless pain. As a mom of three, I couldn’t afford to zombify myself with all the opioids and other drugs out there. I needed medicine that would allow me to not only function, but have the energy to care for my children. So after learning my diagnosis, I sought out alternatives. That’s how I found cannabis. Cannabis has not only saved my life, but also my children’s lives. As much as I’m sure some of you wished your parents were catatonic when they caught you sneaking off somewhere, in the end, kids need their parents.

Because of what cannabis has done for me, I’ve worked hard to help others understand the amazing potential of this plant. As a woman, I hope to inspire other women to see our industry not as an old-boys club, but as an opportunity to make things better for others in need. Women can throw down just as hard as men can, and we can take the good with the bad. As long as you’re prepared for the bumps in the road, nothing can stop you.

I’m part of a small grow, so I tend to do a lot of different things. That includes sales, transportation and delivery, trimming, and cloning. I’ve even spent innumerable hours putting stickers on packages. I wish I could say that women aren’t treated differently from men, but the sad truth is that we are not shown the same respect, especially when we are growers. Men have frequently second-guessed my decisions or told me that I have no clue what I’m doing. I’ve heard them talk amongst each other (and even to my face), questioning why a pretty girl couldn’t be doing something better with her time.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Men have spoken extremely inappropriately to me or just completely ignored me as though I was a nuisance. When I tried to enter the industry as a budtender, I felt pressured by managers and colleagues to live up to the stereotype of a typical stoner woman, even if I knew more than my fellow employees.

Not everybody is stuck in this mindset though, and we’re not alone. Some men have been extremely supportive in my endeavors, and there are many women in this industry who have a passion to help others. From the owner and founder of Mountain Medicine Jaime Lewis, to the founders of Women Grow, and the founders of The High Ends, you can find women making waves everywhere. These women have stepped up to make the cannabis industry a safe and educational environment for women of all colors. When you are in a predominantly male-dominated industry there is always going to be the good and the bad. You just have to find the people that make you feel confident enough to enjoy what makes you happy.

I’ve learned some very valuable lessons from my time in the cannabis industry. Some were learned from the school of hard knocks, but others inspired me by showing me some amazing things. Even if some people view your presence in the cannabis industry as a nuisance or a distraction, remember that there are just as many people out there that are happy to support your dreams. If you have a passion for medicine, and a passion for caring about other people, that’s all that matters.

Resources:

Want to get in touch with Candice? She can be reached via the following methods:

1. Email: voltin66@gmail.com