Fake Hemp & More Arrests

Plus: Everyone's mad at Hall of Flowers.

Tuesday, March 27, 2024
Time to read: About 4 minutes. Contains 818 words. 

Good morning!

I’m headed out to less cannabis-friendly territory this week for a working trip to Austin, TX. Well, not including Delta-8 THC, which is still very much a thing there. I’m going to check out a few Broccoli mag stockists to see what the flower-friendly scene is like—and I’ll be sure to report back on my findings. 

Nothing more from me for now, other than a reminder to check out Green Scenes (and to please take a pic and tag me if you see it in your neighborhood dispensary/bookstore!) and a thank you for supporting Sticky Bits. After everything Jackie Bryant’s been through in the last week—update: she did get her Stripe account restored, and her Substack is safe (for now)—I’m reminded how fleeting the comfort of successfully monetizing independent cannabis journalism can be. I’m grateful for the privilege and am here to make every dispatch count.

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A new lockable stash bag from Snugbox.

One-Hitters: Cannabis News at a Glance

• Hall of Flowers gets recapped and rehashed. Christina Wong shared a bountiful recap of brands and trends spotted at Hall of Flowers in her newsletter, Fruit+Flower Unfurled, including a link to the subsequent LinkedIn furor over Chris Brown’s presence at the event. He was there to hype a collab with LA-based brand Originals, and a lot of people aren’t happy about the abuser taking the stage. He pled guilty to abuse charges when he was in a relationship with Rihanna in 2009, and many other allegations have arisen since. It’s garnering a lot of negative commentary about Hall of Flowers’ decision to invite him, and rightly so. We’re still so far from creating spaces that feel welcoming and safe for everyone at these big cannabis trade shows, and this feels very 2000 and late. I also hope this makes everyone take a moment to question if something is cool/newsworthy simply because a celebrity is attached. 
  
  

• Japan continues to criminalize cannabis like crazy. Despite glimmers of progress in Japan for cannabis destigmatization, cannabis-related arrests have risen to a record high. Over 70% of those arrests are people in their 20s. I wonder if this has anything to do with the country trying to boost alcohol sales?
  
  

• Italy cracks down on drivers who smoke. In other bummer international weed news, Italian legislators just approved a harsher (and unfair) approach to cut down on impaired driving. Under the new codice della strada, a positive drug test will get your driver’s license revoked, regardless of whether you are actually impaired at the time of driving. Cannabis can stay in one’s system for days after consumption.
  
  

• Germany, on the other hand, is good to go! Germany’s Federal Council has approved the bill legalizing recreational cannabis for personal use, and all that’s left is for the President to sign it. Starting April 1, adults ages 18 and up will be allowed to possess up to 25 grams of cannabis for personal use.
  
  

• Progress to clear up New York’s market is slow. Another rough check-in with New York’s legal scene: currently, there are 85 legal shops, and about 2,000 illegal ones. On one hand, it’s great to hear we’ve hit 85! On the other, my god, is that a big mountain of illicit shops to deal with. It is good to see regulators have agreed to waive licensing fees for the first couple of years—they owe these new owners that much while they sort out crackdowns.
  
  

• The minefield of shopping for hemp on Amazon. The site has become a chaotic, unhinged destination for CBD and hemp products—none of which are tested and, apparently, many of which don’t contain anything at all. A recent study of hemp products sold on Amazon found that nearly half contained no hemp, several contained high doses of delta-8 THC, and more than half made medical claims. Yikes!
  
  

• A new weed biz museum in Toronto. The Cannabis Business Museum is calling for submissions of content and memorabilia from early days of recreational cannabis legalization. The Museum hopes to become “a central hub to archive the evolution of the global legal recreational cannabis industry.”
  
  

• A couple of brands that caught my eye recently. Redesigned gummy packaging by Mesobis shows a useful breakdown of effects when you consume ¼ of a gummy, ½, and so on, on the box (which also reminds me of movie theater candy in a fun way), and I love the sativa-indica-hybrid names shown in a tease of pre-roll packs from a soon-to-be-launched brand by New Jersey entrepreneur and advocate Precious Osagie-Erese (aptly named “Precious”).
  
  

• A scent-snatching, combination-locked accessory. Snugbox dropped a super chic lockable stash clutch made of buttery-smooth vegan leather. There’s an optional chain link strap for a longer leash, and a sealed zipper seam to contain fragrant hints of flower. Also—a number of their cute patterned stash boxes are marked down right now. 👀
  
  

Always down to share my stash,
Lauren Yoshiko