Is New York OK?
Plus: Hidden joint journals.
The Broccoli Report
Monday, November 21, 2022
Time to read: 4 minutes, 4 seconds. Contains 814 words.
Good morning!
To those getting ready for Thanksgiving traditions this week, safe travels, and I hope everyone reading this eats a delicious, oversized meal with loved ones. I’m about to go stock up on flower for myself, cartridges for my pops and edibles for my nana, and I will gather all CBD gummies in my apartment’s press sample archives to smooth any friction when too many cooks are literally in the kitchen.
No newsletter this Friday, but I’ll be back next Monday with news we missed while away. Happy (hopefully) short work week to all! 🌸
One-Hitters: Cannabis News at a Glance
POLITICO shed light on the state of New York’s vibrant gray market, where corner store markets sell California edibles under the counter, and soon-to-be licensed retailers are growing increasingly uncomfortable with so much unlicensed competition out in the open. Then, just days after the article was published, a company called Variscite NY One filed a lawsuit in federal court that could change how legalization proceeds in the state. A U.S. District Court Judge in Albany halted the issuance of dispensary licenses in Brooklyn and parts of upstate New York to hear Variscite NY One’s legal challenge. The company claims that the state’s licensing selection process favors New York residents over out-of-state residents, violating constitutional interstate commerce protections. Variscite NY One is based in Michigan, and while the owner has a cannabis conviction which entitles them to equity consideration, the conviction was not in New York—a requirement for this first round of licenses. NY legislators might stand by the rules and reject this claim, but that doesn’t settle the issue. In a similar decision impacting Maine’s medical market this past summer, the interstate commerce clause was enough to convince a judge to overturn residency requirements, a decision that could potentially change the scope of the fight for industry equity efforts.
The Czech Republic is looking to legalize cannabis, starting with the capital city of Prague. The hope is alignment with Germany’s program and timeline, but it’s not actually clear if German lawmakers are interested in partnering up. I imagine some experienced folks across the U.S. would not mind living in Prague for a year to help get things figured out.
You know when you’re grinding up flower on a magazine, and you move around the grounds to make a fun little weed beard on the cover model? Well, someone did that on a Playboy Sunglasses ad from the June 1982 issue and made an NFT, creating one of the few intangible pieces of weed art that make sense to me.
A very major and yet low-impact hearing on federal cannabis legislation happened on the Hill last week. The meeting—titled “Developments in State Cannabis Laws and Bipartisan Cannabis Reforms at the Federal Level”—brought together politicians from both sides of the aisle to discuss current legislative efforts (SAFE; MORE Acts), opinions on re- or de-scheduling cannabis, and a lot more. What happens next? We shall see. This information sharing will hopefully factor into how and when federal cannabis progress is prioritized. Marijuana Moment provided a thorough play-by-play, and you can watch some of it here.
Transparency always looks good. In an IG announcement, Another Room explained why they will be keeping the price of their 3D-printed Jointlockers at $24 for the foreseeable and unknowable future. Consumers love to hear the why! Not to mention seeing the real people and, yes, even the real struggles behind the slick, pretty brands we follow and aspire to own. They revealed more about their processes in a past dispatch about the creation of their floating ashtray.
A special new accessory just hit the digital and IRL shelves of Mister Green Life Store: the Ulysses Travel Diary by LuneNoire features a subtle hidden compartment with perfectly sized spaces for a few joints, a lighter, and a writing utensil for post-sesh notations. The pipes from this Paris-based “atelier of design-forward cannabis accouterments, accessories and plant-based wellness enhancements” are just as thoughtful. They come with a pair of gilded blocks to display the pipe that can double as incense burners.
In case you missed the satiny, joint-shaped purse making the rounds on social media last week: Edie Parker outdid themselves with another covetable accessory for weed gals about town. The Hit Bag’s chain shoulder strap is affixed via roach clip-styled hardware, and it comes in a variety of green and neutral shades.
Print is aliiiiiiiiiive and well. Broccoli’s sweet issue 16 is an everlasting gobstopper of delights; fellow 🥦 contributor and deputy editor Ellen Freeman just launched her own mag dedicated to secondhand fashion called Mildew; and I got the privilege of writing about the artisanal expansion happening in the cannabis accessory realm for the newly revamped Crafts magazine out of the U.K.
To smoking papers while touching real pages,
Lauren Yoshiko