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A coalition of 22 state attorneys general is calling on Congress to address “the glaring vagueness” that has led to legal cannabis products being sold over the counter across the country — including sometimes from vending machines or online.

letter dated March 20 addresses the consequences of Republican lawmakers’ choice to legalize hemp production in the 2018 omnibus Farm Bill — a decision that perhaps inadvertently led to a multibillion-dollar market in intoxicating cannabis products that are arguably federally legal.

Now, the attorneys general want Congress to shutter the market it helped create. In the new Farm Bill, they want the legislature to enshrine in statute the idea that intoxicating cannabis is not federally legal — contrary to what the law currently states.

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[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 125 points 7 months ago (5 children)

They don't want to raise taxes on the rich. Here's a massive way to raise taxes that won't affect the income of rich people unless they want to buy a shit ton of weed.

And yet they're still against it.

They pretend like a 100% tax free nation is a possibility.

[–] Stern@lemmy.world 58 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

When Kansas under Brownback, (with full control of the statehouse), went all-in on supply side and it was a objective failure that really shoulda been the end of the idea that R's had any savvy regarding improving the economy.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 38 points 7 months ago

Magical thinkers do not respond well to concrete examples.

[–] paddirn@lemmy.world 18 points 7 months ago

They pretend like a 100% tax free nation is a possibility.

Well sure there are, Haiti probably isn’t collecting any taxes right now, so they’ve got that going for them…

[–] GroundedGator@lemmy.world 14 points 7 months ago (1 children)

They pretend like a 100% tax free nation is a possibility.

They know this isn't possible. They want no income tax for the wealthy and increased taxes on goods and services, which will mostly affect the working masses.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 18 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Then shouldn't they want highly-taxed cannabis?

I think you're giving them too much credit. They're ideologues that think taxes = bad. They just don't care so much when they hurt the poor because they think the poor deserve to have bad things happen to them.

[–] negativenull@lemmy.world 16 points 7 months ago (2 children)

To prove your point, Colorado has collected over $1.5 billion is cannabis tax since it was legalized. That's just a single state, and not a huge one at that.

Here's even republican/wealthy friendly article talking about it: https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthoban/2021/05/23/the-success-of-colorados-marijuana-tax-dollars/?sh=14e60c79529d

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 8 points 7 months ago (3 children)

Illinois got even more. $1.6 billion in 2020 alone. That's where I buy from, although I cross the border from Indiana.

Is it expensive because of the tax? Yes it is. But I'm fine with that because legalizing and taxing it should be the model everywhere and I'm happy to support it.

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[–] paddirn@lemmy.world 85 points 7 months ago

Wow, imagine Republicans getting worked up about the wording of a law being twisted in ways it was never intended when it was first drafted. That’s wild.

[–] octopus_ink@lemmy.ml 77 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

The party of taking things away from others. That's the only way I can think of them anymore. For years now. It's their entire platform.

[–] Empricorn@feddit.nl 31 points 7 months ago

Except obscenely rich people and giant corporations!

I prefer to think of the moral right side of any issue: Republicans are almost always against it.

[–] Today@lemmy.world 65 points 7 months ago (16 children)

I get an ounce delivered to my mailbox on a monthly subscription and occasionally order extra when something goes on sale. I keep trying to share about legal weed on lemmy whenever the topic comes up, but i just get downvoted. I don't know if people think it can't be real or just want something to bitch about.

[–] themadcodger@kbin.earth 14 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Possibly because I'm from a legal state and wasn't paying attention to it, but I'm not sure what you're talking about if you care to expound?

[–] tarmac@lemm.ee 19 points 7 months ago (13 children)

Look up thca. Essentially cannabis doesn’t have thc until it’s burned, which the law targets. It’s technically full of thca which is generally referred to as thc. So companies are selling thca products with tests showing thc itself below the 3% limit because it’s technically legal.

[–] Today@lemmy.world 10 points 7 months ago (1 children)

The total THC test is early enough that it isn't yet present. After that, only ∆9 is tested. It's all the same thca you would get in a dispensary. DEA asked courts to change the testing requirement and limits. Court said the law is written as intended. There are many farms that sell online through their own websites or through other vendors. I'm in Texas and I've had so much delivered without a single problem. I had 5 lb delivered to my porch in one order– it was in big plastic bags in boxes. That order was mostly CBD and CBG, but still smelled weedy. I'm more worried about the neighborhood kids stealing it than I am about the USPS or FedEx.

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[–] SupraMario@lemmy.world 9 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I think people are still scared especially in states that have a hardon for locking up anyone that remotely does anything but otc drugs.

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[–] Restaldt@lemm.ee 11 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Republicunts did not read or maybe comprehend a bill they passed during the Trump years which accidentally legalized THC products derived from hemp or products that technically are hemp and not cannabis because the delta 9 THC concentration is low enough.

From my also limited understanding cannabis can be harvested early before the delta 9 thc crystals form... from the precursor THCa already present in the plant

THCa on its own is not psychoactive however it breaks down into normal THC when exposed to sunlight ... or heat when you smoke/vape it

So you can buy legal (for now) basically weed in the form of high thca flower online and have it shipped to your mailbox.

Im considering anonymously buying some online and having it shipped to my states AG office because fuck that dude needs to smoke some weed

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[–] Ultragigagigantic@lemmy.world 8 points 7 months ago

They're probably tired of viral marketing teams pushing their shit

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[–] Sekrayray@lemmy.world 56 points 7 months ago (2 children)

I think the loophole is going to stay in place. The hemp lobby has exploded since 2018, and has done a lot to keep the loopholes from closing in even very Red states. In the real world money is what talks, and I think there’s too much money at this point to put the genie back in the bottle.

But that’s my two cents. I could be wrong. Hope I’m not.

[–] ShepherdPie@midwest.social 27 points 7 months ago

Besides that, the winds have changes with regards to weed as half the country has already legalized it while something like 38 states have some sort of MMJ. The genie isn't going back into the bottle and the sky hasn't fallen in the states that legalized.

Hilarious that their argument is that "these products are unregulated" when their solution is an outright ban which just shifts everything back to the unregulated black market. You know where these type of products are regulated? In states that have legal weed.

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[–] ChicoSuave@lemmy.world 42 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Even the worst Roman emperors knew not to fuck with what makes the crowd content. If those right wing motherfuckers think they can touch our bread and circuses without consequences, they will find out.

[–] frezik@midwest.social 13 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Here's the thing: this was a super irresponsible way to legalize. It encouraged the creation of an industry using dubious extraction and synthesis technologies that are not well studied for safety. We know the effects of delta 9 THC on humans, and it's relatively safe. Much of this new stuff are analogs of delta 9 that might be safe, but might not. You have to search out stuff that has accredited lab test results (which exist in California and some other legalized states). Rando stuff being sold at gas stations all over is sketch as hell.

The solution to that is to legalize delta 9 and bring it under a proper regulation framework for testing, not go backwards.

[–] treefrog@lemm.ee 41 points 7 months ago (7 children)

Started buying Farm Bill hemp products over COVID. I'm surprised really that it took them this long to start pushing to change it.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 13 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

So many hemp products available these days. You can get hemp dog chews! My dog loves them! No, they don't get her high.

I guess these AGs don't want those businesses anymore.

[–] ptz@dubvee.org 9 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I fully expected my state AG to have been one of the signatories on that (they've made a big stink about this in the past), but surprisingly they weren't.

Our legislature did outlaw D8 last year, but somehow it's still being sold (yay).

There are two companies in-state that rely on this law (Blue Ridge and Thrax). Blue Ridge is ran by veterans, and both would have been affected (read: shut down completely). I don't know the details, but I want to say they lobbied and I guess are allowed to continue?

My AG is a complete scumbag, but I guess shutting down a family / vereran-run business was too much bad press even for him. The tax revenue is probably just a bonus.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 11 points 7 months ago

As far as outlawing delta-8, I that's going to be a losing battle, especially since there's already delta-10. They can't outlaw hemp because of the farm bill and, while it does take a lot of hemp, it's pretty trivial to extract THC from it.

Unfortunately, my AG is a much bigger scumbag than yours. I live in Indiana. Guess which AG has the very first signature on this letter?

Todd Rokita may very well be the worst AG in the country. And he's constantly wasting taxpayer money on things like taking trips down to the southern border, as if Indiana had something to do with it.

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[–] 3volver@lemmy.world 27 points 7 months ago

Steal from the poor to give to the rich. They're focusing on it again because they're being told the money isn't going to the correct people.

[–] Ultragigagigantic@lemmy.world 10 points 7 months ago

Legalize all drugs you shitters

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