So Long 2020! Let’s Talk About Cannabis Growth in the New Year…

Here we are! 2020 brought unique challenges and changes providing a multitude of learnings to bring into 2021.

Cannabis politics experienced major progress as more states and countries began exploring options for their medical marijuana systems, recreational cannabis, dispensary protocol, and relaxing outdated weed laws. Earning the essential business recognition was huge! No matter how the new year unfolds, one thing is certain…cannabis is here to stay! Undoubtedly, there will be an increased demand for more cultivation and extraction of cannabis. We expect many more people to be growing their own medicinal marijuana, as well as an increase in cannabis growing operations including everything from small hydroponic gardens to large-scale cultivation facilities. There will be a lot of growth (pun intended...we guess) for cannabis in the future and we are excited to see what happens next!

Let’s start here: 2020 saw the historic passing of the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act bill in the House. TL;DR - this essentially decriminalizes cannabis by rescheduling it on the Control Substances Act and ending prohibitions on the federal level: aka a HUGE step in the right direction towards cannabis legalization. Beyond a legislative win - the MORE act guarantees the continued growth of job creation in cannabis as well as a new revenue generator for struggling states by regulating marijuana as they (and hopefully their residents) see as most beneficial. Five states in the US have passed “marijuana legalization” bills this year, including: Arizona, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, and South Dakota. Progress is made every year, but it is a long journey to the end of marijuana prohibition.

H.R.3883 – MORE Act Summary: The long of it

This bill decriminalizes marijuana.

Specifically, it removes marijuana from the list of scheduled substances under the Controlled Substances Act and eliminates criminal penalties for an individual who manufactures, distributes, or possesses marijuana.

The bill also makes other changes, including the following:

• replaces statutory references to marijuana and marihuana with cannabis
• requires the Bureau of Labor Statistics to regularly publish demographic data on cannabis business owners and employees

• establishes a trust fund to support various programs and services for individuals and businesses in communities impacted by the war on drugs

• imposes a 5% tax on cannabis products and requires revenues to be deposited into the trust fund

• makes Small Business Administration loans and services available to entities that are cannabis-related legitimate businesses or service providers

• prohibits the denial of federal public benefits to a person on the basis of certain cannabis-related conduct or convictions

• prohibits the denial of benefits and protections under immigration laws on the basis of a cannabis-related event (e.g., conduct or a conviction)

• establishes a process to expunge convictions and conduct sentencing review hearings related to federal cannabis offenses

• directs the Government Accountability Office to study the societal impact of cannabis legalization.

Decriminalization

Let’s get one thing straight. Trim Daddy takes a stance against the incarceration of cannabis users and specifically the racial biases experienced by BIPOC in cannabis including by not limited to: incarceration rates, access to permitting for cultivation and dispensary operations and inclusion in “big” canna. 

Medical marijuana is legal in more than 30 states, and recreational cannabis is legal in more than 10 states. Most of the population of the United States lives in a state where cannabis is available on a state-legal level. Having the current Schedule 1 classification on the CSA simply does not match up with the opinion held by the majority of the population in this country. This might be “preaching to the choir” but it is important to emphasize the effects of prohibition and punishment of people enjoying cannabis.

We’re looking forward to a year where tax dollars spent on enforcing outdated marijuana laws are reallocated for improved budget health and to see an end to being jailed over a joint. 

Research

Let’s talk bill H.R.3797 – The Medical Marijuana Research Act, which aims to direct the DEA to allow for more expansive cannabis research and facilitate federal clinical trials. Allowing scientists to research this miracle plant is a commonsense change that could go a long way in learning more about all the benefits and future improvements to be gained from ganja. We look forward to tracking the progress of this bill and seeing more action towards removing the federal barriers in place that prevent scientists from studying cannabis in a practical way.

Banking

Allowing banking opportunities to be made available for cannabis businesses would be a welcome change. This is currently something that is being fought for in the form of the SAFE Banking Act. This is a standalone piece of legislation that has previously passed by the House of Representatives in 2019 but has yet to be approved by the Senate. While this has not yet been signed into law, the need for sensible banking for cannabis-based businesses is undeniable. A change in the current financial support structure is inevitable. Hopefully, this bill passes in a way that can help protect the banks and allow them to offer their services for cannabis businesses unhindered.

Advocacy

If you would like to learn more or stay up to date on the latest in cannabis happenings on the political, state, and federal levels, then register, support, and follow NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) and NCIA (National Cannabis Industry Association). These are amazing non-profit organizations doing really great things for marijuana reform. Check out their sites to learn more about how you can help!

NORML

https://norml.org/

NCIA

https://thecannabisindustry.org/

And now…Trim Daddy Updates for 2021

Despite 2020 being natural disaster after political disaster - we still saw an amazing harvest season for so many home and commercial cannabis growers. We truly enjoyed witnessing the journeys of our customers and deeply appreciate each and every order we processed in 2020. In a year where budgets were tight across businesses and households, thank you for shopping with Trim Daddy. 

With the success we saw, we were able to invest in ourselves and are excited to share that we’re bringing back an upgraded zippered case for every Trim Daddy purchase! In addition to the elevated cases, we’ve designed two new blade designs and have decided to include them at no-cost to each trimmer kit. You heard right - EVERY trimmer now comes with THREE blade types and our price stays the same.

Looking for new ways to help growers trim easy while saving time (and money) is kind of a big deal around here. 

And we’re just getting started. We’re looking forward to another great year for cannabis with all of you “green thumbs” out there! Don’t forget to subscribe to Trim Daddy’s newsletter and email updates to stay tuned in all year long.