Hemp fibers are naturally stiff and ropy, but Levi’s has discovered a way to make it feel like cotton.
Denim icon Levi Strauss & Co. debuted garments made from a soft hemp-cotton blend in March, and head of innovation Paul Dillinger said he expects 100% cottonized-hemp products in about five years.
Hemp uses significantly less water and chemicals than cotton during cultivation. Levi’s has found a way to soften hemp using far less water than was previously used.
Dillinger said the long-term goal is to incorporate sustainable cotton blends by using fibers such as hemp into all of its products.
With the legalization of hemp in the United States last December, the industry has been exploding: Reports and Data estimates it’ll be worth $13.03 billion by 2026. While you’ve probably noticed hemp-derived CBD products everywhere, hemp also has major implications for sustainable clothing — and denim icon Levi Strauss & Co. has made significant progress in making this happen.
In March, Levi’s debuted a collaboration with the Outerknown label that includes a pair of jeans and jacket made from a 69%-cotton/31%-hemp blend that feels like pure cotton. Why’s that significant? Hemp, a cannabis plant with a negligible amount of the psychoactive chemical THC, uses significantly less water and chemicals than cotton. Unlike cotton, though, the material is difficult to work with. The cotton fibers in your shirt are derived from a puffy bud on top of a plant, while hemp fibers come from a tall, sturdy trunk.
“It’s a longer, stiffer, coarser fiber,” Levi’s head of global product innovation, Paul Dillinger, told Business Insider. “It doesn’t want to be turned into something soft. It wants to be turned into rope.” Levi’s has found a way to make hemp fibers soft and able to blend with cotton, but in a way that uses significantly less water than the process used to turn hemp plants into a rough material. “It’s great that it’s resonating with the consumer, but it’s more important that it’s helping to future-proof our supply chain,” he said.
Dillinger explained that this is a significant research project that will continue for years, rather than a project that only results in a couple of high-end, niche products. “Our intention is to take this to the core of the line, to blend it into the line, to make this a part of the Levi’s portfolio,” he said.
Dillinger said Levi’s is continuing to work on improving the quality of its cottonized-hemp, to the point where it can be nearly half of a cotton-blend for most apparel, as well as fully hemp for certain products. And in five years, he said, he expects “a 100% cottonized-hemp garment that is all hemp and feels all cotton.”
Dillinger said that the need for cotton alternatives became apparent when looking at the growth trajectory of cotton demand compared to access to fresh water required for its cultivation and processing. Since he was familiar with the nature of hemp, he did not expect to find a solution there… until Levi’s discovered cutting-edge research in Europe, where industrial hemp was already legal in many countries. Levi’s would not reveal its partners or details of its breakthroughs, except to say that it had a market-ready material after three years.
When Levi’s finds a way to make 100% cottonized-hemp clothing, “We’re going to go from a garment that goes from 3,781 L of fresh water, 2,655 of that in just the fiber cultivation,” Dillinger said, drawing from data collected by the Stockholm Environmental Institute. “We take out more than 2/3 of the total water impact to the garment. That’s saving a lot.”
Despite his optimism, Dillinger was quick to point out that he doesn’t want hype around the hemp industry to make it seem like Levi’s and its competitors are going to fully replace cotton or revolutionize the industry overnight. To do it properly, there remains many years of research and development. Plus, it’s likely hemp will be just one of several natural cotton alternatives.
The idea is that hemp clothing, whether in a cotton blend or by itself, isn’t going to be a fad. Dillinger said that while he can’t speak for the company on this point, he personally isn’t too concerned about the marketing of cottonized-hemp clothing, because the ideal down the line is that customers won’t even notice a difference.
“So often there’s the assumption that to purchase a sustainably-made product is going to involve a sacrifice, and that the choice is between something ethically made or something that’s cute,” he said. “You don’t have to sacrifice to buy sustainably.”
There were also concerns the release of information could embarrass Health Canada and expose ‘deficiencies’ in new medical marijuana regulations
A worker at Canopy Growth’s Tweed facility in Smiths Falls, Ontario.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press/File
In the spring of 2014, RCMP officers in Kelowna, B.C. prepared a press release about a big drug bust at the local airport. It described how investigators had intercepted two shipments of marijuana of “unfathomable quantity” that were bound for a couple of licensed cannabis producers in Ontario. The press release, however, was never sent.
Days went by with a virtual information blackout over what the Mounties had seized and why, even after one of the companies — Tweed Marijuana Inc., now Canopy Growth Corp. — decided to release its own public statement, containing what some RCMP members perceived to be “brutally misleading” information about the seizure.
“I don’t see how we can’t comment as we are now being put in a negative light,” one frustrated sergeant wrote to a colleague in an email. “Basic media principles state that we should confirm the obvious — Tweed has chosen to put this out there so we would be remiss if we did not comment on factual points that have been inaccurately represented.”
More than 900 pages of internal records obtained by the National Post reveal for the first time the lengthy deliberations that took place among RCMP members in B.C. and at RCMP headquarters in Ottawa over what, if anything, to tell the public about the March 31, 2014, seizures at Kelowna International Airport.
Among the “strategic considerations” outlined in emails was a concern that the release of information might affect the stock price of Tweed, which had gone public on the Toronto Stock Exchange that week — the first pot producer in the country to do so. There were also concerns that the release of information could embarrass Health Canada and expose “deficiencies” in new regulations over medical marijuana production that were rolling out that same week.
The National Post first sought access to the records five years ago through an access-to-information request. The RCMP initially refused to release any records, citing an ongoing investigation. The Post complained to the federal information commissioner, resulting in a process that dragged on until last fall when the RCMP finally agreed to process some of the records.
Asked this week about the national police force’s apparent concern over the impact of publicity about the bust on the company’s stock price and the potential political embarrassment to the federal government, B.C. RCMP spokeswoman Sgt. Janelle Shoihet said she needed more time to review the file. “Generally we can say that decisions with regards to communications will always consider impact on prosecution, timing and whether (or) not a company is publicly traded. These factors have been considered in the past and were not unique to this investigation,” she wrote.
“Impacts on partners, disclosure, potential or active prosecutions and privacy legislation must all be considered when determining what, if any, information can be made public.”
But Garry Clement, a retired RCMP superintendent, said whether a company is publicly traded or not should not have been a consideration.
“When you see something like that, how can you say the RCMP is being objective? They’re playing in the hands of the company. Investors may have made a decision differently had they known the facts, he said. “It doesn’t give the impression of being upfront.”
In September 2015, Tweed was renamed Canopy Growth Corp. Jordan Sinclair, Canopy Growth’s vice-president of communications, said in an email this week the seizures happened more than five years ago when the Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations were in their infancy.
“The company believed then and now that it acted in compliance with regulations. Today, we are focused on the next five years and continuing to build a global cannabis leader creating thousands of jobs in Canada, investing hundreds of millions of dollars into the Canadian economy, and providing the highest quality cannabis products to medical and adult-use customers around the world.”
Mettrum Health Corp, the other Ontario producer whose shipment was seized that day, was acquired by Canopy Growth in early 2017. A former spokesman for Mettrum did not respond to an email requesting comment.
The seizures happened against a backdrop of dramatic change in Canada’s regulatory landscape. New rules took effect on April 1, 2014 that restricted production of medical marijuana to licensed commercial producers. Tweed and Mettrum were among the first to be licensed.
Prior to the transition date, individuals who had possessed personal-production licenses under the old regime were able to sell their starting materials — namely seeds and plants — to one of the new commercial producers, as long as they had Health Canada approval. Tweed and Mettrum received those approvals, Health Canada confirmed to reporters at the time.
But according to internal RCMP briefing notes, the items Tweed and Mettrum told Health Canada they would be importing from B.C. did not match what was seized at the Kelowna airport on March 31.
On paper, Tweed and Mettrum said they planned to transport 2,071 plants and 730 plants, respectively. But when RCMP examined the shipments, they instead found harvested marijuana buds that were packaged for resale, the records say.
“It was packaged bud that was seized, which is materially different from ‘plants and seeds,’” one RCMP investigator wrote.
“At best what has been seized are clippings,” a summary report stated. “The (regulations) do not allow for the sale of marijuana in this form.”
And there was a lot of it — more than 700 kilograms of B.C. bud stored in 55 hockey bags and 40 boxes.
A draft press release prepared by the Kelowna RCMP’s media relations officer on April 1 noted that the seizure was of a quantity “rarely seen in the central Okanagan.”
“Several local growers had pooled their products for transfer … but the shipment fell outside the parameters of the legislation and was subsequently seized by police,” it said, adding that the size of the shipments was enough to create 2.1 million single doses based on 0.3 gram cigarettes.
But senior officers, including the Kelowna detachment’s commanding officer, decided to hold off on the release, citing the lack of any charges.
Tweed chairman Bruce Linton told Postmedia in 2015 that the seizures may have been the result of “confusion.” Darren Brown/Postmedia/File
A couple days later, on April 3 — the day before Tweed was listed on the TSX Venture Exchange — the company put out its own statement. Tweed said it had completed the acquisition of “seeds and plants” from a number of licensed growers, ensuring a “wide variety of choices” and sufficient inventory to meet demand.
The company acknowledged that one shipment had been held by the RCMP “while it confirms the details of the shipment.”
“In an effort to be transparent,” the statement continued, the RCMP was informed of the shipment and “invited to examine the material.”
Tweed chairman Bruce Linton told Postmedia at the time the seizures may have been the result of “confusion” over the old and new regulatory regimes.
“When you call police to say, ‘Come look at this,’ you believe you have everything in order,” he said.
In internal emails, RCMP officers wrote that it was “painful” to not be able to respond and that the company’s version of events was “a long way from what transpired.”
“I find their language very interesting/misleading considering there were no ‘plants,’ ‘seeds,’ or ‘in-production material,’” Const. Kris Clark, Kelowna’s media officer, wrote to colleagues.
Officers also balked at the company’s assertion that it had invited the RCMP to inspect the shipment. Briefing notes indicate that in the week prior to the seizures, RCMP received “several calls” from airline charter companies enquiring about the “legitimacy of transporting 1500 lbs of marijuana.”
“Tweed never came to us, the airline did,” Const. Shane Holmquist wrote to colleagues.
Insp. John Ibbotson told a colleague in an email that although the company’s statement may appear to be a standard press release, “it is in fact a news release intended to inform investors of a publicly traded company of a significant event surrounding a company’s activity.”
Noting that some of the information in Tweed’s release was “factually incorrect,” Ibbotson suggested there had been a violation of section 400 of the Criminal Code — related to making a false prospectus — and wondered if the Ontario Securities commission should be notified.
Yet for several more days, RCMP communications officers declined to set the record straight, trotting out the standard line that they could not confirm nor deny an investigation.
“With some luck the media may dig up the facts and print them without the RCMP having to go public with any details and face the complications that would create,” Sgt. Duncan Pound, then a federal policing spokesman in B.C., wrote to a colleague.
Other emails reveal some of the reasons for the hesitation.
“The heart of the problem is that Health Canada has gone on record as saying they authorized the shipment, which has and will continue to cause us grief trying to set the record straight,” Pound wrote.
“Ideally,” he continued, Health Canada should issue a statement saying the shipments contravened regulations and were not what they had authorized. “If Health Canada says nothing it looks like two Ministries working against each other, which is a lose/lose for both of us.”
Jolene Bradley, the RCMP’s director of strategic communications in Ottawa, presented a briefing document to the deputy commissioner for federal policing on April 10 advising that the force should continue to decline comment. Among the reasons she cited: going public “would likely bring criticism on Health Canada’s part as it would highlight the deficiencies in the transition to the new regulations.”
The same document also stated that “any comments by the RCMP could impact stock prices” for the producers.
Dawn Roberts, an RCMP communications strategist in B.C., similarly wrote in an email to colleagues that Tweed “is a publicly traded company and any comments could impact on stock prices.”
Pressure, however, was starting to build “from higher up to proactively correct the story,” RCMP emails say.
The force eventually issued its first public statement about the March 31 seizures on April 11. But the press release was whittled down considerably from a draft version. The draft included the size of the seizure (705 kilograms) and the reason: regulations allowed for a pre-determined number of plants to be sold, but the shipments consisted of “harvested marijuana in lieu of plants.”
The final version of the statement did not mention the size of the seizure nor the specific reason, simply stating: “The marijuana did not match what was authorized to be transferred.”
No charges were ultimately filed against either company due to the challenge of proving criminal intent, RCMP briefing notes say. The seized marijuana, which caused a rotting smell in RCMP storage, was later destroyed.
The use of cannabis is a very controversial topic in the medical community. Some well-respected doctors say that it should be used in some treatments and other doctors are against it and are concerned about its long term effects. The next case is a proof that that the first group of doctors were right.
Jayden David was perfectly born child. He didn’t have any problems at all, but at only four mounts old he began having seizures. Sometimes he had up to 500 seizures a day. Imagine how he felt and how his family felt seeing this little innocent boy struggle every day. Sometimes he even waked up in the middle of the night crying and screaming from pain and hallucinating. That’s why they did everything to help him.
Jayden and his father visited a lot of doctors and had a lot of consultations and one day his dad decided that this torture needs to stop. With a consultation with some well-respected doctors he decided to try helping his son with medical marijuana.
Jason David was willing to try anything to save and help his son get through his pain. He didn’t have more money and the insurance companies weren’t helpful.
The same day they started using cannabis oil there were visible results. It was the first day after 5 years that Jayden didn’t have any seizure at all. Days passed and Jayden was all cheered up and his father could have seen the relief in his eyes.
Jayden started swimming. Before that, any temperature change would have caused seizure, but this time Jayden was all happy playing in the water. He even started chewing his food.
This little boy was taking really strong medications that weren’t recommended for 5 year old boys and his father took him off of them when he discovered the cannabis oil.
After a landslide vote of 101-11 this week in the Florida House SB 182 gets signed into law today by Governor Ron DeSantis at 2:40 PM
Gary Stein of Clarity PAC and other sources in Tallahassee, confirmed that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed SB 182 into law today at 2:40PM. This can be confirmed according to a Florida 1st District Court of Appeals filing, Govoner Ron DeSantis has signed SB 182 into law. The repeal of the smoking ban on medical marijuana is now official.
From the 1st District Court of Appeals
Earlier this year DeSantis put a deadline on this process himself by pressuring the legislature into establishing legal verbiage by March 15, the start of the legislative session. SB 182 will be the first bill of this session to be reviewed at the Governor’s desk.
This bill not only repeals the smoking ban that had been deadlocked by a state appeal, but it also allows doctors to order a 210-day supply of medical cannabis (opposed to the current 70-day limit). Other stipulations include submitting oneself for a data study on the effects of smoking marijuana, but also requires minors (under the age of 18) to be diagnosed with a terminal condition and get a second opinion from their primary pediatrician (or a secondary pediatrician) before receiving the prescription.
DeSantis commended the Legislature for their efforts via Twitter saying, “I thank the Florida Legislature for taking action on medical marijuana and upholding the will of the voters”, but until this signing had not released a formal statement. Having only 3 months in office, his administration is moving at a record pace.
House Speaker Jose Oliva commented after the vote earlier this week, “This is a difficult issue, and you’re going to have people on both sides; some that are happy that now this is available to them and others that feel that we didn’t go far enough,” adding “We did the best that we could do and still remain responsible.”
Rep. Ray Rodrigues was still not convinced, warning doctors with these remarks, “What I would say to the medical community is that it is incumbent upon them to do their jobs to treat this as medicine … The last thing we want to see is the pill mill crisis that occurred with opioids to occurring in this state with medical marijuana. So we’ll be watching.”
Stern words, although laden with traditional rhetoric, likening cannabis to opioids and implying that people are likely abusing the substance and questioning its medical validity. It is unfortunate that these sentiments are still so common when more and more medical research is being conducted showing the immense healing properties associated with cannabis in a multitude of different ailments. Advocates are encouraged to reach out to representatives with testimonials and personal experiences with cannabis in an effort to remove the stigma placed on the canna-community.
Nikki Fried, another new contender in the Florida political landscape and current Agricultural Commissioner, mentioned after the vote, “Today’s action to finally allow smokable medical marijuana brings four words to the lips of people across our state: It’s about damn time.” Fried not mincing any words also stated, “It’s long past due that the State of Florida honored the will of the people and allowed doctors to determine their patient’s course of treatment.”
Not only are lawmakers and advocates ready to welcome this new wave of products to patients, they are also excited about the possibility of bringing more jobs and increasing Florida’s agricultural potential.
Many advocates and patients are saying this is only the beginning, noting that HB 1117 has already been filed to legalize recreational, or responsible adult-use cannabis, although it has not received a hearing thus far. The bill was filed by Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith, who also raised issues regarding affordability and law enforcement training, specifically so that legitimate patients aren’t harassed or arrested.
Now that smokable whole-flower cannabis has been approved by the Governor, law enforcement’s ability to make a distinction between medical cannabis and black market cannabis is more pertinent than ever. He says law enforcement needs real-time access to the medical marijuana registry so that patients will be treated as though they have any other prescription medication.
“My hope is that with the legislation that law enforcement will train themselves,” noted Smith. “Because even the wrapped product, the wrapped whole flower product can leave a scent behind in the car which can leave a scent mistaken as smoked medical cannabis.”
Many dispensaries throughout the State including the largest distributor, Trulieve, have already stated that they are ready to roll out new product immediately and that they have been waiting for this repeal for quite some time. Jennifer Houghtaling, the manager of the Saint Petersburg Trulieve dispensary was quoted saying, “We’re waiting on the Department of Health to give the go-ahead and we’re prepared, we’re ready, and we just cannot wait. We know how beneficial it is to be able to smoke the plant. We’re very excited, and our patients are as well.”
The wait is over, and patients are ready to explore many more treatment options and possibilities.
While there are resources to make cannabis companies more sustainable, there’s little incentive to utilize them. So how can we motivate the legal industry to embrace eco-friendly practices?
The cannabis industry has a major plastic problem.
According to the non-profit Plastic Oceans International, the world produces 300 million tons of plastic every year. Half of that — 150 million tons — is for single-use purposes. While these issues clearly extend far beyond the reaches of the cannabis industry, state packaging regulations have forced many business owners to seek out the cheapest options in order to keep the lights on.
Take, for instance, a standard disposable vaporizer pen. Beyond the materials of the pen itself, California state law requires that the product arrive to the dispensary in child-proof packaging. At that point, it is then purchased, where it is placed into another child-proof bag. That’s a whole lot of plastic for 200 puffs. According to the firm BDS Analytics, sales in California for disposable vape pens nearly doubled from $3.4 million to $6.42 million between January and March of 2018.
That’s a huge amount of plastic being discarded every day in the weed world — and it’s only getting worse.
“It’s disturbing,” says Steve D’Angelo, founder of the famed dispensary Harborside and a major figure in the industry. “It’s repugnant to the values that cannabis teaches us.”
The crux of the issue lies with the law.
California’s regulations regarding packaging stipulate that “all cannabis and cannabis products be sold in child-resistant packaging.” That means plastic tubes for pre-rolls and additional protective packaging for items like edibles, vape cartridges, and flower.
Anyone who has visited a dispensary in a legal market has likely engaged in the depressing process of digging their way through multiple levels of petroleum-based, non-recyclable plastic to get to the cannabis product within. These rules requiring child-resistant packaging are not endemic to the country’s largest cannabis market, either — nearly every state with a regulated marijuana industry has adopted similar laws. The result is lots and lots of single-use plastic being thrown away every time a customer arrives home from a dispensary.
For D’Angelo, the current situation is the antithesis of what cannabis is supposed to be about.
“One of the things that cannabis teaches us is to respect Mother Nature and to treasure her gifts,” he noted in a phone interview with MERRY JANE. “These regulations don’t do that. Frankly, it’s disgusting to see the amount of waste that goes on. I get disgusted every time I buy a cannabis product and, in order to get to the cannabis, I have to work my way through three or four levels of completely unnecessary packaging.”
While the sustainable options available to cannabis manufacturers — who represent the stage in the process where packaging first comes into play —may be limited, there are a few companies that have made it their mission to offer environmentally-friendly alternatives to the glut of plastic pre-roll tubes and flower jars that are pervasive throughout the market. But these companies are few and far between. At present, while there are resources to make cannabis companies more sustainable, it’s ultimately the lack of incentive to utilize them that prevents any change. So then, how can we motivate the legal industry to embrace eco-friendly practices?
As writer Whitney Mallett noted in a 2017 feature for MERRY JANE, there are many packaging companies that define their products as sustainable without actually making good on the promise. One especially egregious example is ABC Packaging Direct, which bafflingly suggests that its line of disposable plastic bags offer “a positive impact on the environment.” Mallett also points out that terms like “green” and “eco” are often employed as eye-catching buzz words — a tactic commonly known as “greenwashing.”
Fortunately, not every company has let its moral compass go up in smoke.
Take Denver’s Sana Packaging, for example. The business was created after Ron Basak-Smith and James Eichne, two University of Colorado Boulder graduate students, realized that few (if any) packaging companies targeting the cannabis industry had embraced sustainability as their guiding principle. Launched in 2016, Sana Packaging makes its packaging from biodegradable materials like hemp biocomposite and recycled ocean plastics.
“Our basic thing is that we no longer want to create single-use petroleum plastic packaging for the cannabis industry,” said Basak-Smith, Sana’s co-founder. “When we looked at the regulations in place, we saw that it was very difficult for anything to be made out of sustainable materials with the child-resistance [packaging requirements]. That really took out all of the current options.”
In order to offer a sustainable alternative, Basak-Smith and Eichner had to develop their own material sources. While Basak-Smith is fiercely proud of the work he and his partner have done, he conceded that in order for Sana Packaging to stay afloat, their prices are two to three times what other, non-environmentally focused packaging companies charge.
“That’s really what we’re trying to work through right now,” Basak-Smith said. “What is the willingness to pay for sustainable materials? I think we’ve got into a situation where [people] value the price — whatever that means — over the environment.”
With sustainable packaging coming in at a substantially higher price point, Basak-Smith acknowledged that many cannabis manufacturers simply employ a cost-benefit analysis and decide that saving money is their top priority.
“Companies have to make a profit,” he said. “We’re trying to get people to pay more for packaging, which is obviously not the easiest sell. At the same time, the industry does want to do what’s right with packaging. People don’t want to be wasteful.”
One such person is Kial Long, Vice President of Marketing for CannaCraft in Northern California.
CannaCraft is one of the more popular cannabis manufacturers in the state, having partnered with absoluteXtracts, Care By Design, and Satori. The company is eager to embrace sustainability when it comes to packaging. The issue, according to Long, partially stems from concerns that cannabis regulations may change yet again — a worry that leaves her uneasy about ordering packaging in the quantities required for the choice to make fiscal sense.
“Last year, we didn’t really have any insight into what [California’s] permanent regulations would be in six months,” Long explained by phone. “To make the investment at that point, we would’ve needed to buy packaging in really small increments, which would not have been a good business decision. We are a little bit more comfortable buying our packaging in bulk these days, but there’s still some hesitation about how things might pan out.”
Long estimates that child-resistant packaging adds about 10 percent to CannaCraft’s total packaging expenses each month, equating to roughly $20,000. California law currently offers no incentives or subsidies to companies for embracing sustainable packaging. In a statement provided to MERRY JANE, a representative for the California Department of Public Health confirmed the state’s current regulations do not explicitly address this subject:
“The Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) mandates that all cannabis and cannabis products be sold in child-resistant packaging,” a California Department of Health official stated by email. “Many packaging options exist that are compliant with this standard, including environmentally-friendly ones.”
Despite being one of the most progressive states when it comes to combating climate change, California apparently isn’t concerned with translating its green-friendly attitude to its cannabis industry. At least not yet.
One company that has reportedly taken initiative to become more sustainable is Dosist, makers of disposable vaporizer pens tailored to trigger specific effects. Dosist’s recycling program involves collection bins at various dispensaries where their products are sold. Customers who return a used pen receive a $5 discount on their next Dosist purchase. Working in partnership with the waste hauler company GAIACA, recycled pens are then sorted at a facility in Del Rey Oaks, CA. While Dosist was unable to provide any data on the number of pens recycled to date, the program serves as evidence that such efforts are possible if the necessary interest and resources are available.
For Nick Kovacevich — CEO of KushCo Holdings, one of the industry’s premier vendors for cannabis packaging — biding his time in hopes that the industry eventually mandates sustainable practices simply wasn’t an option.
“While a state government subsidy would be incredible and the industry would embrace that,” Kovacevich explained, “we think if history is any bearer of the future, we cannot rely on the state for guidance. We need to take the proactive step, and that is what we feel we are doing.”
To that end, KushCo Holdings has joined with the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, a “membership-based collaborative that believes in the power of industry to make packaging more sustainable,” whose members include corporate heavyweights like Verizon Wireless, McDonald’s, and Procter & Gamble. Despite Kovacevich’s enthusiasm for adopting the eco-friendly practices encouraged by the SPC — the organization’s stated goal is to ensure all packaging across industries is sourced responsibly, optimized for efficiency, effectively recovered, non-toxic, and low impact — he suggested that a big picture outlook, one that prioritizes sustainability for the cannabis industry, is also warranted.
“If we step back, we see the quantity of plastics our industry produces and wastes,” he said. “We also think it’s important to keep context, meaning, Amazon, Walmart and other major global realtors send thousands of boxes every day. Pinpointing the cannabis industry, as some outlets have, is a small waste target when compared to the larger retailers. Sustainability is a priority for us because it’s the right thing to do. We see our ourselves as industry change agents, and we want others to follow our lead in this effort.”
While CannaCraft’s Long said she’d be in favor of the state taking a more active interest in encouraging environmental practices, she’s also not planning to wait around.
Instead, CannaCraft developed a native 510 thread cartridge — the units that are filled with cannabis oil for vape pens — which were recently certified as child-resident under the requirements of the Poison Prevention Packaging Act.
“Prior to getting certified,” Long said, “we were adding over 100,000 plastic tubes into the market each month to make sure our vape cartridges were child-resistant. Now, with this new manufacturing process — and with the way that we’re able to seal the cartridges — we have received certification which means they are child-resistant on their own now.”
In essence, CannaCraft has removed one level of plastic from the equation by making the cartridges themselves child-resistant and thus eliminating the need to encase them in an additional layer of child-resistant packaging.
Unfortunately, many companies are unable to invest the resources necessary to develop similar, sustainable packaging. Instead, they’re hoping that the industry will pool its resources and share its innovations to ensure environmentally-sound packaging is available to all. Long said that CannaCraft is all in favor of this approach.
“I think this is bigger than our margins,” she explained. “I think the fight against the overuse of plastic is something that our company holds in higher regard than the small savings on our packaging. We’d be very interested in helping other companies get there.”
For Steve D’Angelo of Harborside, the concept of the government subsidizing sustainable packaging appeals to his nature as an environmentalist. But it doesn’t address what he believes is the root of the problem.
“I think it would be counterproductive unless the state coupled it with rather dramatic tax decreases and made the packaging regulations more reasonable,” he said. “With the imposition of taxes and the added cost of compliance — and given how easy it is to obtain cannabis in California in an unregulated way — something like 50 percent of the people in the regulated market outflow to the unregulated market. Doing anything that increases the price of cannabis in regulated dispensaries right now will threaten the very existence of a legal market.”
In other words, if companies that use eco-friendly packaging are not incentivized, they won’t embrace sustainability at a time when the black market is cutting into their profit margins at all ends.
D’Angelo also questions the logic of child-resistant packaging in the first place. He notes that other products — ones that, unlike cannabis, have a proven track record of doing serious harm — are not subject to the same level of regulation.
“I see aspirin and other over-the-counter drugs being sold in containers that are not childproof. I see tobacco being sold in containers that are not childproof. I see alcohol being sold in containers that are not childproof. Then I see cannabis — which is safer than any of those substances — being wrapped in these completely superfluous and unnecessary layers of packaging. It’s appalling.”
With morealarmingnews about the current climate crisis arriving each day, the cannabis industry is uniquely situated to lead the charge on a pivot away from petroleum-based products. And, rather ironically, it was the petroleum and plastics industries that helped make cannabis illegal in the first place. So it would only be fitting if the newly-legal cannabis industry were to push back against the corporations that are creating waste and packing landfills to the brim by making it standard to abandon plastic packaging.
How can cannabis blaze an eco-friendly path? That may mean revisiting current packaging requirements and questioning the validity of their stringency. It may also mean developing a less punitive tax structure that allows smaller businesses to use their subsequent savings or profit from increased sales on sustainable packaging. It’s possible that companies will need to consider making their proprietary environmentally-beneficial packaging designs open source for all to use, too. There will almost certainly need to be a lot more companies like Sana Packaging if the entire industry is to ultimately embrace a sustainable approach. Most likely, a combination of all of the above will be required.
Weaning an industry off non-recyclable single-use plastic is no easy task. It will take participation from every facet of the industry in order to succeed. But if the fight for access to regulated cannabis has proven anything thus far, it’s that precedent is no match for perseverance.
Hungary has taken a bold stand against biotech giant Monsanto and genetic modification by destroying 1000 acres of maize found to have been grown with genetically modified seeds, according to Hungary deputy state secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development Lajos Bognar.
Unlike many European Union countries, Hungary is a nation where genetically modified (GM) seeds are banned. In a similar stance against GM ingredients, Peru has also passed a 10 year ban on GM foods.
Almost 1000 acres of maize found to have been ground with genetically modified seeds have been destroyed throughout Hungary, deputy state secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development Lajos Bognar said. The GMO maize has been ploughed under, said Lajos Bognar, but pollen has not spread from the maize, he added.
Unlike several EU members, GMO seeds are banned in Hungary. The checks will continue despite the fact that seek traders are obliged to make sure that their products are GMO free, Bognar said. During the investigation, controllers have found Pioneer Monsanto products among the seeds planted.
The free movement of goods within the EU means that authorities will not investigate how the seeds arrived in Hungary, but they will check where the goods can be found, Bognar said. Regional public radio reported that the two biggest international seed producing companies are affected in the matter and GMO seeds could have been sown on up to the thousands of hectares in the country. Most of the local farmers have complained since they just discovered they were using GMO seeds.
With season already under way, it is too late to sow new seeds, so this year’s harvest has been lost.
And to make things even worse for the farmers, the company that distributed the seeds in Baranya county is under liquidation. Therefore, if any compensation is paid by the international seed producers, the money will be paid primarily to that company’s creditors, rather than the farmers.
A Greek billionaire and heir to the Coca-Cola fortune was arrested on the Caribbean Island of St. Kitts after a search of his private jet uncovered more than $1.3 million worth of cannabis on board, according to multiple reports.
Alkiviades “Alki” David, 50, was arrested by the Anti-Narcotics Unit at the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport after customs officials found approximately 5,000 cannabis plants in addition to seeds and a variety of other cannabis products, according to the Vancouver Sun. He was charged with intent to supply, possession of controlled drugs and importation of a controlled drug into the federation, officials from the St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force confirmed to the Daily Express.
David claimed the plants on board were “all hemp” and were related to a new venture to start a legal cannabis business in the region. He and Chase Ergen, the heir to the satellite fortune, announced in April that they formed a consortium aimed at developing the cannabis business in Eastern Caribbean nations such as St. Kitts-Nevis, Dominica and Antigua.
Plans included purchasing agricultural land and partnering with farmers to create a cooperative entity modeled after the ones in Switzerland. David and Ergen will create thousands of jobs and also tap into the rich cultural history and cannabis know-how of the strengthening Rastafarian movement in the region. The consortium has already had its first meetings with business and government leaders across the region and will be expanding its outreach during the month of May.
David is an heir of the Leventis-David Group, which holds the majority share in Coca-Cola Helenic, Europe’s largest bottling company. The Leventis family is worth more than $388 million, according to 2018’s The Sunday Times Rich List. The UK-based publication estimates David is independently worth more than $2.8 billion.
He resides on the Isle of Man and arrived to St. Kitts on a plane with Ergen and Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Mogaznews En reported. David owns SwissX, a medical marijuana company that produces luxury CBD oils that have been endorsed by Snoop Dog.
His hologram company was responsible for digitally recreating Tupac in 2012 for Coachella performances and Michael Jackson for the 2014 Billboard Music Awards. The billionaire ran into legal trouble in April after a former female employee was allegedly fired for refusing to have sex with him, People reported. David paid $11.1 million in a harassment settlement.
David was released after paying $30,000 cash bail. He is scheduled to appear at Basseterre Magistrate Court on May 14. He’s required to surrender all travel documents and report to the Frigate Bay Police Station for daily check-ins.
Vos, Steineke say Evers’ support for full legalization has poisoned the discussion.
Robin Vos
The way Democratic Gov. Tony Evers answered a question on legal marijuana use may have given Republican legislators afraid of “pot on every corner” reasons to take no action on legalizing medical marijuana.
At a recent Wisconsin Technology Council event days after he took office, Evers made three newsworthy statements when asked about medical and recreational marijuana. First, Evers said the 2019-21 state budget he gives lawmakers on Feb. 28 will include the “first steps” toward legalizing medical marijuana. He gave no specifics about how it would be regulated, however.
Second, he said he wants a discussion – and maybe a “statewide referendum” – on whether to legalize recreational marijuana. It would be the first statewide advisory referendum since 2006, when voters overwhelmingly recommended restoring the death penalty.
Third, he said he supports legalizing recreational marijuana: “I personally would sign [that bill into law]. I just want to make sure we do it correctly.”
But Republican Assembly leaders said that, with his comments endorsing medical and recreational marijuana, the new governor may have killed any chance that medical marijuana will soon be legalized.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said he personally supports the carefully regulated use of medical marijuana. He made it clear that is his personal position, since the 63 Assembly Republicans who control half of the Legislature have not discussed the issue.
But, Vos said, “I do not want it to be a half-handed effort like in other states, where you can grow it yourself, you can get a phony doctor’s excuse… I don’t want to have medical marijuana – which I support – somehow lead us down the slippery slope to where there’s pot on every corner.”
Vos said he does not support legalizing recreational marijuana, so it was “incredibly counter-productive” for Evers to endorse both changes.
“He started out saying he’s open to legalizing medical marijuana and literally, in the same day, slid down the slope saying he would support full legalization – exactly what many [Assembly Republicans] are afraid of,” Vos told reporters, adding: “I hope he has not poisoned the conversation through his inexperience. But, perhaps, he has.”
That phrase “perhaps, he has” signals that it will be up to Evers – and not Assembly Republicans – to find a path forward on medical marijuana.
Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke said the governor’s comments “honestly played into the fears of a lot of us that support medical marijuana.” Medical marijuana “should be for people with debilitating disease, or chronic pain – things like that,” Steineke added.
Evers backing both medical and recreational use of marijuana “is a problem for a lot” of Assembly Republicans, Steineke said. “I’m not sure how we regain the trust that this is the first – and only step – when it comes to medicinal marijuana.”
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald told reporters he does not expect the Republican-controlled Senate to debate legalizing marijuana use. “I still don’t believe the support is there … to move in that direction.”
But the Democrat who will again be chief Assembly sponsor of a bill legalizing marijuana use, Rep. Melissa Sargent, of Madison, praised Evers for being the first governor to join the cause.
“It is in the best interest of our state to look toward the future and recognize the vast medicinal, economic and social justice opportunities marijuana legalization would bring to our state,” she said in a statement announcing her new bill to make that change.
Sargent said 16 local governments held advisory referendums on Nov 6 that asked voters whether medical or recreational marijuana should be legalized and all referendums passed.
That proved that “the people are ahead of the politicians on this topic, and agree that the most dangerous thing about marijuana in Wisconsin is that it is illegal,” Sargent added.
Meanwhile, the Marquette University Law School poll released last week found 59 percent of those who responded favored legalizing marijuana; 35 percent were opposed. The Jan. 16-20 poll of 800 respondents had a margin of error of +/-3.9%.
Pollster Charles Franklin said that was significant change since the poll asked the same question in September of 2014, when only 46 percent backed legalizing marijuana and 51 percent opposed.
Wisconsin is part of a national “real change over the last 10 years” in views on legal marijuana, Franklin said. Ten states — including Michigan and the District of Columbia — have legalized recreational marijuana, while other states have legalized medical marijuana.
“Public opinion has actually moved quite substantially,” Franklin said.
John Flickner, 78, waits for word on where he can go after being evicted from his Niagara Towers apartment for his use of medical marijuana. (Robert Kirkham/Buffalo News)
For hours Tuesday, John Flickner sat in his wheelchair in a Niagara Falls apartment building lobby – clutching his medical marijuana and worried about where he would go for the night.
The prescribed drug eases his chronic pain from a skydiving accident 50 years ago.
It also got the 78-year-old man evicted from Niagara Towers, sparking a debate about a tenant’s rights to medical marijuana in a federally subsidized facility.
Flickner uses the drug with a doctor’s prescription, and he has carried a New York medical marijuana card since a run-in with managers last summer at the senior low-income housing facility subsidized by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“It’s a vaporizer,” Flickner said of his prescription. “It’s got a battery and a cartridge fits on it. The oil’s in it. You don’t smoke it. There’s no odor to it.”
The vapor relaxes the muscle spasms that make it hard for him to breathe, he said.
“Just a minute or two after using it, it starts to take effect,” Flickner said.
But while state law allows Flickner to use prescribed medical marijuana, federal law allowed his landlord to evict him for drug possession.78-year-old evicted for medical marijuana
As the use of medical marijuana spreads in New York State, more people could find themselves in the same position as Flickner: Use the prescribed drug and risk eviction from a HUD apartment, or steer clear of medical marijuana and stay in the apartment, but live with pain or take potentially addictive pills to kill pain.
Federal law did not require Niagara Towers to evict Flickner. Indeed, the law gives HUD building managers the flexibility to allow residents to take the prescribed drug. But the company that owns the 201-unit high-rise on Cedar Avenue was not willing to let Flickner do so.
“We don’t allow marijuana of any kind – liquid, smoking, whatever,” said Amy Styles, a spokeswoman for LHP Capital, the Tennessee company that operates the Niagara Falls facility and 56 others around the nation, including Tonawanda Towers and Urban Park Towers in Lockport.
Doctor’s prescription or not, LHP enforced its policy on Flickner, persuading a Niagara Falls judge to sign an eviction order because of Flickner’s marijuana possession.
On Tuesday, a city marshal came to Flickner’s apartment and read aloud the eviction notice. Then Flickner left the apartment and took the elevator down to the lobby holding a plastic bag with his medical marijuana and some other prescriptions.
He waited as others tried to find a place for him to go and a ride to get there. They found a place, but no one could find him a ride in a vehicle large enough to accommodate his wheelchair. So in 28-degree weather, Flickner steered his motorized wheelchair from Niagara Towers, across a Tops Market parking lot, then across Portage Road, and rolled down the sidewalk to his new temporary home: the Niagara Gospel Rescue Mission.
Calling the cops
Flickner’s troubles began June 11, when staffers at Niagara Towers making a monthly inspection found a small amount of marijuana on the living room table in his fourth-floor apartment.
“Any type of marijuana that is found, our managers are required to call the police,” Styles said.
Two Niagara Falls police detectives arrived, met with assistant office manager Wendy Brosius and confiscated the marijuana.
He had smoked the marijuana buds in his room.
“I didn’t think anything of it. It’s legal,” Flickner said. “I was getting it in Canada. I was getting it through a doctor there.”
One of the detectives told Flickner he needed a script from a New York State doctor to possess the marijuana, according to a police report. The police chose not to charge him.
The assistant office manager said Flickner would be evicted due to “their rules and regulations of the facility,” according to the police report.
Two days later Flickner obtained a New York medical marijuana card and lined up a new supply source.
But LHP began the eviction process. Flickner had lived in his apartment for two years. He had signed a lease that made it clear no drugs were allowed.
Smoking pot in his room before the inspection became a key issue in court, said Jason J. Cafarella, a Niagara Falls attorney hired to represent LHP.
Niagara Towers hoped to reach an agreement for Flickner to leave without need for a formal eviction. That didn’t happen, so a Nov. 1 trial was held, Cafarella said.
The trial lasted about an hour before City Judge Danielle M. Restaino. Flickner was represented by Kevin Quinn of the Center for Elder Law and Justice in Buffalo, who did not respond to a request for comment.
On Nov. 29, Restaino signed the eviction order, and a 72-hour notice was taped to the door of Flickner’s apartment.
At 2 p.m. Tuesday, Brosius and Rocco Zendano Jr. of the Niagara Falls City Marshal’s Office showed up to evict Flickner, while a Niagara Towers custodian changed the locks on the apartment door.
A marshal reads aloud an eviction notice in John Flickner’s apartment Tuesday. The 78-year-old was evicted for using medical marijuana. (Thomas Prohaska/Buffalo News)
Brosius told Flickner arrangements would be made for him to return and get his belongings.
Flickner, already wearing a coat, put on his hat, rounded up his marijuana inhaler and some cigarette butts, and wheeled himself to the elevator.
Search for relief
Getting around in a wheelchair is a far cry from what Flickner did as a young man when skydiving was his hobby. He made more than 50 jumps, but in 1968, near Boise, Idaho, he crashed to the ground.
“The parachute hit the ground about the same time I did, from a couple hundred feet in the air,” he recalled. “It was an error on my part.”
As a result of his injuries, he has five fused vertebrae and has undergone four surgeries on his spine and hips.
He worked for many years as a toolmaker and lived around the country before eventually moving to Niagara Falls. He was married twice and has four children, all out of state.
“It’s gotten steadily more painful,” he said of his condition.
Doctors at Complete Senior Care in Amherst sent Flickner to get medical marijuana from Dr. Barry Crawford, who is licensed to prescribe it.
John Flickner shows his medical marijuana device that provides him with his doses. (Robert Kirkham/Buffalo News)
A policy dilemma
In 1998, then-President Bill Clinton signed a law requiring landlords of federally assisted housing facilities to deny admission to anyone whom they believe to be using illegal drug, including marijuana.
But with the trend toward legalization of marijuana, landlords began to ask HUD for guidance on the issue.
As of last month, 23 states, including New York, had legalized medical marijuana, and 10 other states had legalized recreational use of the drug.
During the Obama administration, HUD issued memos to landlords that told them the 1998 law allows them to use their own judgment in whether to allow tenants to use medical marijuana in government-subsidized housing. The Trump administration has not altered that policy.
A 2014 memo reminded landlords that marijuana is still listed as an illegal substance under the federal Controlled Substances Act, and prospective tenants who use controlled substances are to be barred from public housing. But the 1998 law “affords owners the discretion to evict or not evict current tenants for their use of marijuana.”
A 2011 memo said, “State laws that legalize medical marijuana directly conflict with the admission requirements set forth in (the 1998 law) and are thus subject to federal pre-emption.”
In other words, those who want to move into public housing are barred from using medical marijuana. Those already in public housing who want the drug under a state medical marijuana law need a landlord willing to let them use the drug.
Flickner’s landlord isn’t willing.
“Our policy is that we have a drug-free community,” said Styles of LHP. “Our policies and procedures do say ‘no drugs whatsoever.’ “
“They have a policy, and they have every right to that policy,” said Cafarella, LHP’s attorney. “It’s just unfortunate, the end result.”
Search for shelter
After his eviction, Brosius advised him he could go to the Niagara Falls Family YMCA or to Community Missions. Flickner wasn’t enthusiastic about either option.
About 3 p.m., Brosius called for an ambulance and asked the crew to take him to Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center. The ambulance crew refused to take him because he didn’t have a medical reason to go to the hospital.
At about 5 p.m., Robyn L. Krueger, executive director of Community Missions of the Niagara Frontier, tried to find a van that could bring Flickner and his wheelchair to the Buffalo Avenue shelter.
No company, however, could be found with an available vehicle. So Krueger contacted the Niagara Gospel Rescue Mission, located in the former YMCA a short distance from Niagara Towers.
By then, Flickner had changed his mind and was willing to go to the shelter. So he made the trip using his wheelchair.
Waiting for word and shivering, John Flickner parks his wheelchair in a back storage room as he waits for a bed at the Niagara Gospel Rescue Mission. (Robert Kirkham/Buffalo News)
The day after his eviction, Andree Levesque, a friend of Flickner’s, picked him up at the shelter.
“We knew he was going to be evicted but there was no time to find anything,” said Levesque, 71.
He spent most of the day at the county Social Services Department and then moved into a motel room with Levesque, who was allowed to claim some of his belongings at Niagara Towers.
Long-term living arrangements are still being sought. On Thursday, Flickner was staying at Community Missions. Flickner said he didn’t mind the Gospel Rescue Mission.
“They’re nice people doing nice things,” he said. “If I have to stay somewhere, I’d like to stay there.”
With buzz building across the globe, the momentum is sure to continue into 2019, when the combined North American market is expected to exceed $16 billion.
A depiction of a cannabis bud drops from the ceiling at Leafly’s in Toronto, as midnight passes and marks the first day of the legalization of cannabis across Canada on Oct. 17, 2018.Chris Young / AP
PORTLAND, Ore. — The last year was a 12-month champagne toast for the legal marijuana industry as the global market exploded and cannabis pushed its way further into the financial and cultural mainstream.
Liberal California became the largest legal U.S. marketplace, while conservative Utah and Oklahoma embraced medical marijuana. Canada ushered in broad legalization, and Mexico’s Supreme Court set the stage for that country to follow.
U.S. drug regulators approved the first marijuana-based pharmaceutical to treat kids with a form of epilepsy, and billions of investment dollars poured into cannabis companies. Even main street brands like Coca-Cola said they are considering joining the party.
“I have been working on this for decades, and this was the year that the movement crested,” said U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, an Oregon Democrat working to overturn the federal ban on pot. “It’s clear that this is all coming to a head.”
With buzz building across the globe, the momentum will continue into 2019.
Luxembourg is poised to become the first European country to legalize recreational marijuana, and South Africa is moving in that direction. Thailand legalized medicinal use of marijuana on Tuesday, and other Southeastern Asian countries may follow South Korea’s lead in legalizing cannabidiol, or CBD. It’s a non-psychoactive compound found in marijuana and hemp plants and used for treatment of certain medical problems.
“It’s not just the U.S. now. It’s spreading,” said Ben Curren, CEO of Green Bits, a San Jose, California, company that develops software for marijuana retailers and businesses.
Curren’s firm is one of many that blossomed as the industry grew. He started the company in 2014 with two friends. Now, he has 85 employees, and the company’s software processes $2.5 billion in sales transactions a year for more than 1,000 U.S. retail stores and dispensaries.
Green Bits raised $17 million in April, pulling in money from investment firms including Snoop Dogg’s Casa Verde Capital. Curren hopes to expand internationally by 2020.
“A lot of the problem is keeping up with growth,” he said.
Legal marijuana was a $10.4 billion industry in the U.S. in 2018 with a quarter-million jobs devoted just to the handling of marijuana plants, said Beau Whitney, vice president and senior economist at New Frontier Data, a leading cannabis market research and data analysis firm. There are many other jobs that don’t involve direct work with the plants but they are harder to quantify, Whitney said.
Investors poured $10 billion into cannabis in North America in 2018, twice what was invested in the last three years combined, he said, and the combined North American market is expected to reach more than $16 billion in 2019.
“Investors are getting much savvier when it comes to this space because even just a couple of years ago, you’d throw money at it and hope that something would stick,” he said. “But now investors are much more discerning.”
Increasingly, U.S. lawmakers see that success and want it for their states.
Nearly two-thirds of U.S. states now have legalized some form of medical marijuana.
Voters in November made Michigan the 10th state — and first in the Midwest — to legalize recreational marijuana. Governors in New Yorkand New Jersey are pushing for a similar law in their states next year, and momentum for broad legalization is building in Pennsylvania and Illinois.
“Let’s legalize the adult use of recreational marijuana once and for all,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said last week.
Marijuana clone plants are displayed for sale by Interstate 5 Farms at the cannabis-themed Kushstock Festival at Adelanto, Calif., on Oct. 20, 2018.Richard Vogel / AP
State lawmakers in Nebraska just formed a campaign committee to put a medical cannabis initiative to voters in 2020. Nebraska shares a border with Colorado, one of the first two states to legalize recreational marijuana, and Iowa, which recently started a limited medical marijuana program.
“Attitudes have been rapidly evolving and changing. I know that my attitude toward it has also changed,” said Nebraska state Sen. Adam Morfeld, a Democrat. “Seeing the medical benefits and seeing other states implement it … has convinced me that it’s not the dangerous drug it’s made out to be.”
With all its success, the U.S. marijuana industry continues to be undercut by a robust black market and federal law that treats marijuana as a controlled substance like heroin. Financial institutions are skittish about cannabis businesses, even in U.S. states where they are legal, and investors until recently have been reluctant to put their money behind pot.
Marijuana businesses can’t deduct their business expenses on their federal taxes and face huge challenges getting insurance and finding real estate for their brick-and-mortar operations.
“Until you have complete federal legalization, you’re going to be living with that structure,” said Marc Press, a New Jersey attorney who advises cannabis businesses.
