Cannabis 101
Posted by Pam Arnsberger
January 21, 2016
Announcements and Reminders
Doug Deaver announced that we still have no speech contest contestants but are expecting two from Aptos High. He reminded us of our volunteer responsibilities on February 4th.
Richard reminded us of the Beach Clean Up on February 20th. He’ll send around a sign-up sheet next week. It’s a chance to get to know people and do community service.
Stan reminded us of our detective sign-ups.
John Fisher presented Dr. Art with his ‘eighth plus’ Rotary Foundation pin.
Cannabis 101 The economic implications of a changing policy
Pam Goodman introduced Gavin Kogan who is an attorney and VP of INDUS holding company. In 2015 he launched ALTAI and brought well -known brands of marijuana to the recreational marijuana market.
He travels throughout the state and speaks about this issue.
Cannabis 101 The economic implications of a changing policy
Pam Goodman introduced Gavin Kogan who is an attorney and VP of INDUS holding company. In 2015 he launched ALTAI and brought the well -known brands of Dixie and julu joints to the recreational marijuana market.
He travels throughout the state and speaks about this issue.
The CA legislature has decided on a new policy to tax and regulate marijuana rather than make it illegal. The new law is set to regulate the industry as a medical product. The real purpose behind all this, Mr. Kogan explained, is that more that 70% of Californians are in favor of legalization in cannabis, we need to have legislation in place to control the production and manufacture of products once it is made legal.
Mr. Kogan provided the club with a brief history of the cannabis issue. In 1996 as a results of the AIDS epidemic, a law was passed to allow people to possess cannabis if they had a recommendation from the MD. In 2004, the legislature created the marijuana program act which allows patients to get together share cannabis. Since then people have been setting up collectives to operate without profit (in theory). However money has been made supplying needed goods to growers.
Later regulations prohibited federal marijuana policy from being enforced within the state. The Medical Marijuana Safety and Regulation Act (MMRSA), similar to the Colorado law ,was passed in 2014, but still applied to medical marijuana only.
MMRSA is regulated at the local level. One of the unexpected consequences of the law is that cities thought they have only to March 21st to maintain local control, which is incorrect. As a result many have been passing restrictive legislation So far in our area, Scotts Valley said no, City of Watsonville no, and Monterey no to marijuana propagation and dispensation. Salinas will be the first area to pass pro cannabis regulations and people are purchasing land and greenhouses to grow. Property values in the Salinas area are skyrocketing.
Mr. Kogan pointed out that half of all marijuana sold was consumed in CA. CA also produced 65% of all marijuana sold. 70 million tax dollars from the cannabis industry have been generated in the two years since legalization passed in Colorado. California should generate much more, given our higher growth. Lots of related services and products would also produce jobs and taxes, including software.
Challenges with pot are that it is politically unstable. He thinks though that feds are probably not going to convince states to give up this revenue source. Also, there are high compliance costs and very little data on the marketplace. Another challenge is no access to banking. Finally there are public safety and legal issues eg fear of robberies and IRS tax evasion issues (you cannot write off expenses related to controlled substances).
Mr. Kogan feels that the recreational marijuana law will pass in September. He sees this as a cultural change happening over many years with history being made. Here is an opportunity to participate on the ground floor in a new industry. For questions and further information you can go to www.gavinkogan.com