Oregon, Colorado and California have enjoyed kinder, gentler growth through their cannabis industries. Even ultra-conservative Colorado Springs raised $700,000 last year according to the NY Times via Cannabis News:
Oregon closed a budget gap last year in part by raising the annual fees it charges people with doctors’ notes to join the state’s medical marijuana program. In October, the state doubled the fee to $200 a year — with reduced fees available to people on food stamps — to raise an estimated $6.7 million a year to pay for other health programs.Cherished reader and contributor, Bill Dithmer, believes cannabis could bring needed revenue to tribes:
Legalizing the growing of hemp and the industries that would come as a result of that one act would make huge strides on the Pine Ridge Reservation. What we are doing is not working, hasn’t worked in the past, and history is a guarantee that it wont work in the future so why not perpetuate change now?Deadwood and tribal gaming are inextricably linked: would revenue from the sales of cannabis require a change in the state's constitution, too?
Larry while I wont even try to wrap my double digit IQ around the changes that might or might not have to be made in the states constitution to allow the sale of cannabis and the taxing of that substance I do know where you could get some of the answers that you are looking for.
ReplyDeleteI for one would very much like to know how Bickering Brothers Blended Whiskey (BBB came into existence. It would be a very interesting interview to read “hint” and I'm sure it would shed some light on the subject. In particular, when, how, and who.
When did they start trying to get distilled whiskey made in South Dakota legalized?
How did they go about doing the above?
And who did they talk to about legalization?
This might not seem like much of a connection but you have to remember that SD had a very productive wine industry before prohibition. Those vineyards were completely farmed under and didn’t start their resurgence until twenty years ago. Now we have world class wines, Maybe soon it will be would class whiskey, who knows? I haven't gotten my hands on any of their hooch yet so I don’t know.
My point is that the baby cannabis industry would face some of the same hurdles that the wine and whiskey industry faced in their infancy.
If I remember right Mike Rounds came to bat for the Bickering brothers and just waved his magic wand and the legislature passed a law and shaazam the distilling of whiskey was legal in the state of SD.
South Dakota is a regressive society, not for everyone but for the leaders of our state. And yet we continue to elect the same type of people to go to Pierre to legislate for us. Let me state my position here so that I make myself perfectly clear. There are some in Pierre right now that know which end of the bong you suck on to get high. Being ignorant is one thing, at least you can learn and you have an excuse. Being a hypocrite is something else entirely, you know but continue to think that the laws that you are imposing on others don’t relate to you. Nuff Said
The Blindman