All we will say right here at CLR is..
“what a shock” former AGs who’re anti-cannabis mischaracterizing information and information, nicely, blows me with a feather who would have guessed?
Massive kudos to Bob and Forbes for calling.
Right here is only a glimpse of what Bob needed to say after studying from his letter
Within the letter, the authors appropriately cited numerous supply components and elaborated acceptable footnotes. Nonetheless, the authors didn’t attribute a fabric supply and improperly mischaracterized the outcomes from this supply.
Particularly, on this letter, the AG discusses the $28 billion marketplace for hemp-derived cannabinoids. There is just one one that revealed this quantity – Beau Whitney, of Whitney Economics. The AG can not present any correct supply quotation or credit score to this determine; but they use it freely and select to mischaracterize this quantity.
Then, after together with the hemp trade market variety of $28 billion {dollars}, with out correct quotation, the authors proceed to mischaracterize the demand class related to this $28 billion determine in consequence from a “gray market” –
“As a result of ambiguity created by the 2018 Farm Invoice, an enormous grey market price an estimated $28 billion has exploded, forcing cannabis-equivalent merchandise into our economies no matter states' intentions to legalize hashish use, and dangerously undermining rules and client safety in states the place authorized hashish packages for adults are already in place..” (emphasis added)
This suits the authors' intentions in fact (to counsel that the hemp trade isn’t regulated), however there are a number of issues with this:
(1) there was no supply of this information listed. It needs to be, at a minimal, Supply: Whitney, 2023 Nationwide Cannabinoid Report, Whitney Economics (2023); and,
(2) The characterization is imprecise. The $28 billion market isn’t solely grey market exercise. In actual fact, in his report, Beau Whitney goes to nice lengths to trifurcate this information into “authorized demand”, “restricted demand” and “prohibited demand”:
– Authorized Demand – $14.3 billion in state-regulated gross sales;
– Restricted Demand – $7.0 billion in restricted gross sales (gross sales in states which have gross sales restrictions); and,
– Prohibited – $7.1 Billion in states the place it’s prohibited.
Supply: Whitney, 2023 Nationwide Cannabinoid ReportWhitney Economics (2023)
Subsequently, to characterize this as $28 billion {dollars} in “grey market” gross sales is inflating the worth of the grey market by near 400%. For perspective, the ILLICIT marketplace for marijuana in america in 2023 was $73.9 billion (Whitney Economics), which is 10 occasions bigger than the so-called “grey” market derived from hemp.
“The truth that this failure to present credit score and mischaracterization was aimed toward political achieve threatens the integrity of my work and was not acceptable for the AG to publish,” says Whitney.
Moreover, it is very important word that the Farm Invoice's hemp provisions symbolize federal legislation that every state is sure by; both via that state's USDA-approved plan, or by or via the default USDA Hemp Grower License. And hemp and the ensuing merchandise are legally allowed to include as much as .3% Delta 9 THC. Delta 9 THC is a substance that produces a psychotropic or intoxicating impact. Thus, your entire foundation of the federal legislation, since 2014, has been to permit hashish vegetation and the ensuing derivatives that include this intoxicating compound. Are these AGs making an attempt to overturn all federal legislation? Are they making an attempt to create a state of affairs the place solely hashish vegetation with zero % Delta 9 THC are allowed? These seem to be excessive calls for and can kill a rising trade.
And remarkably, the Farm Invoice doesn’t regulate downstream merchandise, however creates a common authorized authorization for everybody derivatives and compounds that come from a federally outlined hemp plant, and this consists of Delta 9 THC, which is of course intoxicating. So, do these AGs goal different types of intoxicating hemp derivatives, resembling Delta 8 THC merchandise?
Learn the total article
https://www.forbes.com/websites/roberthoban/2024/04/08/farm-bill-hemp-21-ags-refuse-to-cite-source-material-and-mischaracterize-facts-and-data/ ?sh=41fdae7971c5
