cannabisnews.com: State of The Weed
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State of The Weed
Posted by CN Staff on January 26, 2011 at 18:14:15 PT
By Steven T. Jones 
Source: San Francisco Bay Guardian
California -- When we did our first Cannabis Issue a year ago, the Bay Area's medical marijuana industry was booming, and there was high anticipation that California would soon legalize weed for everyone.Proposition 19 divided even those who fully support decriminalizing cannabis — partly because the existing system was working so well in San Francisco and many other cities, so people were wary of an uncertain future — and voters rejected the measure in November.
But only the most dogmatic anti-drug warrior would take that vote as a repudiation of the wonder weed, because California's love affair with its top crop today is stronger than ever. And the burgeoning industry that grows, processes, and delivers marijuana continues to expand rapidly amid a stagnating larger economy.Three new high-end cannabis dispensaries have opened in San Francisco in the last six months, bringing to 25 the number of licensed clubs, and the selection and quality of indoor and outdoor buds, concentrates, and edibles has never been greater. The industry's many opportunities are starting to attract top talent from unrelated sectors of the economy, such as Mark Williams and Nic duTemps.Williams recently quit his job at Apple to start CloudNine, which is developing a high-quality portable vaporizer called Firefly that will be assembled here in San Francisco and released this summer. Unlike current vaporizers made of plastic that use butane heaters to release the cannabanoids from the weed without burning it, Firefly is made of metal and glass with customizable wood inlays, uses advanced batteries in its heating element, and will retail for about $300."I decided now is the time," Williams, 42, said of his decision to leave the corporate cubicle world after 20 years. "The market is maturing and the users' ability to make a discerning choice about how they're going to take marijuana is maturing."DuTemps worked in public relations for many years and she also jumped ship to do something she loves a few years ago: landscaping backyard gardens. "But then the bottom fell out of the economy," she said, and people growing marijuana were the only ones who still wanted her expertise.Yet the supply of cannabis products had grown faster than the number of dispensaries and delivery outlets in recent years. "The clubs were becoming incredibly flooded," duTemps said. "People have found themselves with copious amounts of product and nowhere to sell it."So she decided to marry her PR expertise with her cannabis connections and last month started Sweeter Made, a medical marijuana cooperative and delivery service that uses an old meter maid vehicle for deliveries. DuTemps said she loves "the secret thrill of delivering medical cannabis, hash, and edibles in something that used to give people parking tickets."They're just a couple of the countless Bay Area residents involved in the pot business, an expanding and evolving sector of the economy that even cash-strapped government agencies are getting involved in.Oakland city officials recently stepped back from their ambitious plan to permit large-scale pot farms in industrial warehouses, mostly because of legal concerns, but that city and Berkeley last year moved forward with plans to legitimize and tax the industry at a higher rate. And the big next step — full legalization of weed for even recreational users — is still lingering on the horizon.Oaksterdam University founder Richard Lee, who bankrolled placing Prop. 19 on the ballot, has announced that he'll try again on the November 2012 ballot. He told the Guardian that he's currently developing his battle plan, consulting his allies, and determining what the measure will look like."We're still doing research on what went right and what went wrong," Lee told us. "There were lots of people who were for legalization that didn't like the details [of Prop. 19]."For example, the measure allowed counties to set different legal standards, potentially creating a logistical nightmare for distributing the product. Lee said the new measure will probably include statewide standards and some degree of local control, but he's still working with groups ranging from the Drug Policy Alliance to the NAACP to develop it. Meanwhile, CaNORML, the state chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, will be gathering movement leaders together in Berkeley on Jan. 29 for a daylong conference titled "Marijuana Reform: Next Steps for California."While there are differing visions for where the movement is headed and over how hard and quickly to push for full legalization, it's undeniable that the industry is thriving and here to stay.Source: San Francisco Bay Guardian, The (CA)Author: Steven T. Jones Published: January 25, 2011Copyright: 2011 San Francisco Bay GuardianContact: letters sfbg.comWebsite: http://www.sfbg.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/0T2TlqxWCannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml 
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Comment #2 posted by ekim on January 27, 2011 at 12:47:50 PT
great letter to ed
http://www.mlive.com/opinion/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2011/01/michigans_prison_industry_is_n.html
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Comment #1 posted by ekim on January 27, 2011 at 10:56:54 PT
gathering movement leaders together
lets take a look at the last 10 years of the cannabis prohibition and how it has been fought with the rec&mmj members on one side and the hemp members on the other side.how has that worked out.at a time when Pres State of the Union speech was full of asking the American People to invent our way out of the poor house.And saying that He wants to end old laws that are stopping US from creating new jobs. What about the opportunity from a plant that is valued thru out the world for its hundreds of uses that has been baned in the USA for over 70 years.please take a moment to scan over the past Hemp articals 
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/list/hemp.shtml
from the last 10 years here at C/news see what interest level there was by the sheer number of storys back in 1999
as Rainbow Farm Hemp Aid up to the present as only 2 were logged in 2010 then as to the constant decline today in informing the people of this plants value.together we stand divided we fallhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/11/thread11260.shtml
Chinese Hemp Industry has
 Xia Jingyuan, a senior official with the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture in charge of the extension of agricultural technology, said that the annual output of Chinese linen is worth over 10 billion yuan (about 1.2 billion US dollars). According to Xia, the ongoing upgrading of China's agricultural industry has given Chinese hemp a great opportunity. Boundless Phttp://www.wholefoodforhorses.com/Empower-EQ-4-Liter-Equine-Hemp-Oilhttp://www.hempplastic.com/otential 
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