XPost: alt.drugs.psychedelics, alt.drugs.pot, alt.hemp.politics

Drug War Chronicle, Issue #1064 -- 5/2/19
Phillip S. Smith, Editor, psmith@drcnet.org https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/1064

A Publication of StoptheDrugWar.org
David Borden, Executive Director, borden@drcnet.org
"Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Drug Prohibition"

Table of Contents:

1. MARIJUANA WITH A MISSION: BROTHER DAVID'S QUEST TO TURN THE CANNABIS INDUSTRY TRULY GREEN AND GOOD [FEATURE]
Applying cutting-edge regenerative agriculture practices to the emerging
legal marijuana industry may be just what the planet needs. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/apr/29/marijuana_mission_brother_davids

2. MEDICAL MARIJUANA UPDATE
No medical marijuana for South Carolina this year, a Mississippi medical marijuana initiative signature-gathering campaign is rolling along, New Hampshire could see a home grow option, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/may/01/medical_marijuana_update

3. THIS WEEK'S CORRUPT COPS STORIES
An NYPD narc gets busted for lying to create drug cases, a former
Philadelphia cop heads to prison in a scheme that also saw eight
Baltimore cops jailed for drug stealing and dealing, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/may/01/weeks_corrupt_cops_stories

4. CHRONICLE AM: MS MEDMJ PETITIONING ON TRACK, KAMALA HARRIS ON PARDONS
FOR DRUG PRISONERS, MORE... (4/25/19)
Texas decriminalization gets walked back a step, a Mississippi medical marijuana initiative already has lots and lots of signatures, Kamala
Harris talks pardons for drug war prisoners, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/apr/25/chronicle_am_ms_medmj

5. CHRONICLE AM: VT LEGAL SALES COMPROMISE BROACHED, MI FORFEITURE
REFORM PASSES, MORE... (4/26/19)
Vermont could yet end up with a regulated marijuana market, Iowa gets
ready to grow some hemp, asset forfeiture reform advances in Michigan
and North Dakota, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/apr/26/chronicle_am_vt_legal_sales

6. CHRONICLE AM: HOUSTON DRUG CASES DISMISSED AS SCANDAL GROWS, WA HEMP
BILL BECOMES LAW, MORE... (4/29/19)
A fatal botched drug raid continues to reverberate in Houston, hemp
bills advance in Louisiana and Washington, North Dakota legislators vote
to lower penalties for marijuana possession, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/apr/29/chronicle_am_houston_drug_cases

7. CHRONICLE AM: TX HOUSE APPROVES NO JAIL FOR POT, HI BILL TO END CIVIL FORFEITURE GOES TO GOVERNOR, MORE... (4/30/19)
There's too much pot in Oregon and the Senate is doing something about
it, the Texas House passes a quasi-decrim bill, a study of an
underground American safe injection site finds good things, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/apr/30/chronicle_am_tx_house_approves

8. CHRONICLE AM: TX GOPERS PRONOUNCE POT DECRIM BILL DEAD, OAKLAND
PSYCHEDELIC RESOLUTION COMING, MORE... (5/1/19)
Texas Republican leaders move to squash a cannabis decriminalization
bill, the Oakland city council will consider a resolution to effectively decriminalize the use and possession of psychedelics, global NGOs use
the International Harm Reduction Conference to launch a call for human
rights, health, and drug decriminalization, and more. https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/may/01/chronicle_am_tx_gopers_pronounce_0

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1. MARIJUANA WITH A MISSION: BROTHER DAVID'S QUEST TO TURN THE CANNABIS INDUSTRY TRULY GREEN AND GOOD [FEATURE] https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2019/apr/29/marijuana_mission_brother_davids

With the advent of legalization, the marijuana cultivation industry is
being transformed -- and not always for the better. What was once an
illicit lifestyle with mom and pop growers hiding in the hills and
playing cat and mouse games with prohibition enforcers is now a legal, above-board economic sector that increasingly resembles industrial
agriculture, complete with massive indoor grows the size of football
fields that gobble up energy, suck up water, and require large inputs of nutrients and pesticides.

These sorts of practices are not exactly environmentally-friendly and
they turn a blind eye to the climate change crisis that is already
having an impact in this country, whether it's ever-more-drenching
downpours during hurricanes, more frequent and intense tornados,
shorelines inundated by rising sea levels, or -- closer to home for the
legal marijuana industry -- drought and forest fires in California and
the Pacific Northwest.

Now, some stalwarts of environmental and drug reform activism are
partnering with one of California's most environmentally and
socially-conscious cannabis distributors to try to tip the industry and marijuana consumers toward embracing ecologically-aware best practices
that protect family farms, produce highest-quality product at
competitive prices, and are good for the planet.

David Bronner, grandson of the founder of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps and
the company's CEO (Cosmic Engagement Officer), is joining forces with
small, sun-grown farmer champion and sustainable cannabis supply chain
company Flow Kana to create Brother David's, a nonprofit marijuana
company for consumers who value where their weed was grown and care
about how it was produced. The venture will also promote a "beyond
organic" Sun + Earth certification (https://sunandearth.org) that all
its products will carry.

Because marijuana remains illegal under federal law, pot farmers who
wish to demonstrate their commitment to sustainable,
environmentally-sound organic agriculture practices cannot avail
themselves of the label "organic," which is a federal program operated
by the US Department of Agriculture. Sun + Earth certification seeks to
fill that gap, and then some.

The Sun + Earth label "certifies that cannabis brands are holistically, responsibly, and regeneratively grown for the well-being of all people, farmers, and the planet," the group's web site explains. "We set the
standard above and beyond organic." As seen in draft standards (http://sunandearthcertified.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/2018-08-21_SUN_EARTH_FINAL_DRAFT.pdf)
released for public comment last August, compliance with standards set
by the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements is just
the beginning. The standards go above and beyond organic by promoting biodiversity and preserving ecosystem health, water conservation, carbon sequestration, growing plants in natural light only, and promoting soil conservation, among other requirements.

Such standards are wholly in line with the cutting edge save-the-planet practices now known as regenerative agriculture (http://www.regenerativeagriculturedefinition.com), which its
practitioners define as following: "Regenerative Agriculture aims to
capture carbon in soil and aboveground biomass, reversing current global
trends of atmospheric accumulation. At the same time, it offers
increased yields, resilience to climate instability, and higher health
and vitality for farming and ranching communities."

That's exactly what Bronner and Flow Kana want to create in the
marijuana industry.

"The problem with cannabis production now is the same as with industrial agriculture in general," Bronner said in a phone interview last week.
"Now that we're post-prohibition, we have all the same problems as every
legal commodity crop. We're seeing huge, indoor corporate grows that
rely on chemicals and are energy-intensive and are displacing small
farmers. There's a way we should be growing our crops that is
regenerative, that builds top soil and creates biodiverse habitat for
wildlife -- not dumping huge amounts of pesticides and fertilizers on
the land and forcing farmers off the land to work for slave wages."

Flow Kana has the pot farmers Brother David's is looking for. Dedicated
to creating the first sun-grown cannabis brand while supporting the
state's small, independent marijuana farming ecosystem, the company has partnered with more than 200 Northern California growers using organic
farming practices. Not every Flow Kana partner farmer is Sun + Earth
certified, but every partner farmer whose product is destined for
Brother David's is.

"It took us awhile to find Flow Kana," Bronner noted. "We didn't know of
any distribution entity of any size that wasn't trying to integrate with massive grows. But there is a real cool family at the heart of the
company; they have really good ethics about partnering with farmers,
they're very transparent, and their top farms are all totally
regenerative organic. These are multigenerational back-to-the-land
farmers who've been growing cannabis alongside vegetables for decades."

"The Emerald Triangle's ecosystem of small farms is a rare one that regenerative pioneers like Dr. Bronner's have spent decades creating in
their supply chain. The cannabis industry already has this and we have
to fight to preserve it from the ways of industrial agriculture," said
Michael Steinmetz, Flow Kana CEO. "This movement is not only about
saving these environmental and community values but making this
decentralized model of agriculture the gold standard for others to
follow across the cannabis industry and beyond. This fight requires
everyone's involvement and careful collaboration across many operators, distributors, retailers, and brands working in tandem to preserve,
protect, and evolve our industry and world."

Veteran Washington, DC activist Adam Eidinger, who organized the
District's successful 2014 marijuana legalization initiative, is a
longtime Bronner ally who describes himself as "a missionary" for
Brother David's. He accompanied Bronner on Emerald Triangle scouting
trips looking for the right farms.

"We visited all the farms," he recalled in a phone interview. "They're
all advocate farms. They've been in the space since before it was legal,
some of them 30 or 40 years. These are well-established, multigeneration cannabis farmers. But they're also farms that can grow their own
nutrients on-site, they usually also have livestock, veggies, greens, perennials, maybe 40 crops on a small amount of land. And no-till
agriculture. You end up losing a lot of topsoil every time you till," he
added.

"Brother David's is an activist brand," Eidinger emphasized. "This is
people who have consistently been fighting for reform for 20 years, and
we're jumping in now, kind of late, because we want to identify cannabis
that consumers can trust and we want to support regenerative organic
farmers, small-scale producers who have transitioned to the legal
market. With this brand, consumers can put their money where it will do
the most good."

That's because Brother David's is not only operating under agricultural
best practices, it's operating as a nonprofit, with all net proceeds
going to support regenerative ag and drug and criminal justice reform
efforts.

"Brother David's is dedicating 100% of net profits, and a big chunk of
that will go to drug policy reform groups, and not just cannabis
reform," Eidinger explained. "David committed $5 million to the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) through Dr Bronner's, but there is still more need with more studies and
initiatives. Some of the money will go to criminal justice reform in
general, not necessarily about drugs, things like prisoner reentry and sentencing reform. If this takes off, we can do more for the community,
and that's the mission. Other companies' mission is to make money."

"The cannabis legalization movement has achieved significant victories
in the last 20 years. Now, we need to advance consumer and environmental interests by implementing regenerative organic agriculture in the
cannabis industry," said Bronner. "As society moves closer and closer
toward the federal legalization of cannabis, we need to chart a new
course before it's too late. We need to promote Sun + Earth and other
high bar standards -- because it's best for the Earth in this age of
climate crisis, and produces the cleanest, greenest and most ethical
cannabis possible."

Brother David's is rolling out beginning in May in select California dispensaries. It will offer nine strains
(https://www.brotherdavids.com/flower) from eight different Sun + Earth certified farms partnering with Flow Kana. The strains are priced to
compete in the mid-price premium market. For pot people who want to do
their share to save the planet, it's time to get woke and bake with
Brother D.

Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps is a funder of StoptheDrugWar.org, the
publisher of this newsletter.


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___________________

It's time to correct the mistake:
Truth:the Anti-drugwar
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Cops say legalize drugs--find out why:
<http://www.leap.cc>
Stoners are people too:
<http://www.cannabisconsumers.org>
___________________

bliss -- Cacao Powered... (-SF4ever at DSLExtreme dot com)

--
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"It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the beans of cacao that the thoughts acquire speed,
the thighs acquire girth, the girth become a warning.
It is by theobromine alone I set my mind in motion."
--from Someone else's Dune spoof ripped to my taste.

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