Gray Market Crackdowns & Resorts
Gray Market Crackdowns & Resorts
Plus: Sketchy studies.
The Broccoli Report
Monday, December 19, 2022
Time to read: 3 minutes, 55 seconds. Contains 785 words.
Good morning!
I commend you for opening this email and taking a moment to catch up on the news—actually, I commend you for opening any emails and for getting anything done in the next few days. We’re so close to the end of the year! Things are winding down in terms of launches and legislative activity, but there are still a few news stories and creative collaborations worth having on your radar.
I’ll be offline this Friday, so I wish all of you who celebrate a Merry Christmas and a happy holiday weekend! Your support in continuing to read and subscribe to the Broccoli Report is the best gift this writer could ever ask for. Thank you for being here and sharing the Report with your cannabis-inclined colleagues. 🌸I’ll see you next Monday for a lil’ check-in for you to enjoy over coffee.
One-Hitters: Cannabis News at a Glance
In New York City, Council Member Gale Brewer’s team surveyed 61 bodegas, delis, smoke shops, and newsstands across the Upper West Side and found 26 businesses illegally selling cannabis. Brewer cited concerns about underage use, contaminated product, and other side effects of the state’s current loosey-goosey cannabis scene. Right now, the New York Police Department has directed precincts not to enforce gray market operators, while the New York State Office of Cannabis Management only regulates already-licensed retailers. Brewer called on the NYC Department of Finance, Sheriff’s Office, and Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to use their authority over unlicensed tobacco sellers to get illegal cannabis products off shelves.
New York Mayor Eric Adams addressed this issue head-on in a speech last Thursday, announcing that he and the Sheriff’s office will be taking action to curb the gray market ahead of licensed retailers getting established.
The LA Times investigated financial ties between institutions conducting cannabis studies and Big Cannabis. In one example, MIT and Harvard disclosed a $9-million donation in 2019 by Charles Broderick, an alumnus of both schools and an investor in Canadian cannabis businesses. On the one hand, we do need research to better understand how this plant works, and private industry funding drives most biomedical research. On the other hand, a Yale School of Medicine study showed that industry-funded studies were 3.6 times more likely to produce outcomes favorable to their sponsors. It’s hard not to see parallels to Big Tobacco funding favorable tobacco studies in the 1950s and ‘60s.
The highest restaurant in the world is about to re-open. Il Rifugio sits at 12,456 feet above sea level in the Arapahoe Basin ski area in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. In winter, the only way to get there is by ski or snowboard. How long do you think it’ll be until a cannabis content creator sneaks weed up that lift for a very, very high dinner?
I love flower in every form, but when it comes to portably vaping flower, my options are limited. Many handheld vaporizers are built for concentrates, and the latest innovations often focus on high-tech temperature control and customized functions geared toward those who dab via vape—and they’re priced accordingly ($$$). So I’m stoked to see new brands like Auxo creating well-made, flower-focused vaporizers at super-accessible prices.
If you, too, are already dreaming about a vacation in warmer climes, here’s an idea: A new, cannabis-friendly resort in Koh Samui, Thailand, is opening in early 2023. The Beach Samui is a boutique resort with 21 suites and an in-house licensed medical dispensary providing a range of retreats and immersive wellness experiences, including some with edible, flower, or topical cannabis elements.
Cannabis storage container company Cubbi dropped a luxe marble version of their airtight sesh kit. The top of this heftier, pricier edition can be flipped and used as a rolling tray, and it comes with a five-piece premium grinder and two smell-proof glass jars with matching green marble lids.
Curious about how to go about hosting a creative, pot-centric party? The founder of cannabinoid and wellness-oriented e-comm hub Poplar is offering 1-on-1 weed party planning to create the cannabis moment of your dreams. The consultation is $500, but party materials are extra.
Sundae School’s Taiyaki Pipe is back in stock, cuter than ever, and now available in a lovely jade color. Modeled after the beloved Japanese fish-shaped cake, the first version of this ceramic pipe—made in collaboration with zero-emission ceramic studio Farbod—basically sold out in five minutes. (Never underestimate a cannabis lover’s eternal affinity for baked goods.)
Laptop-worthy sticker alert: Diana Lynn VanderMeulen’s Swampy Sticker Sheet features three scenes of her magical, 3D swamp designs featuring an otherworldly weed plant or two.
To the weed grown in all dimensions 👽,
Lauren Yoshiko