The Cole Memo

In this episode, I’ll be playing a speech that was given by attorney Rod Kight. The speech was entitled “A New Vision for Cannabis Reform”. During the speech, Mr. Kight discusses a new vision of cannabis reform to address the current failing system in the US. You might recognize Rod from episode 76 of The Cole Memo.

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Links mentioned during show

• A New Vision for Cannabis Reform – Rod Kight, original video of speech can be found here
• Episode 76 featuring Rod Kight can be streamed here

The auto-generated transcript is available below.

this is the Cole memo I am your host Cole Preston in this episode I’ll be playing a speech that was given by attorney Rod kite the speech was entitled a new vision for cannabis reform during the speech Mr Kite discusses a new vision of cannabis reform to address the current failing system in the United States you might recognize rod from episode number 76 of the C memo every episode of the co memo is released in audio video and transcript format to find the transcript audio or video version of any episode please refer to the description of the episode that you’re listening to now within that description you can find a link that will take you to our website which will display the transcript for this episode and platforms where you can find this episode in audio or video format if you’re unable to locate the episode description on whichever platform you’re listening from Simply take note of the episode number and visit the memo.com from there you can use the search functionality to find the corresponding episode and then you’ll be able to access the audio video and transcript version of that episode you might also find any links that I reference during this episodes so that you might be able to do your own research for example I’ll have a link to the episode that I mentioned that Rod appeared on in the past I’ll also have a link to the video that I’m displaying itself if you’re not listening to this episode of the Cole memo on patreon then you are listening to this episode later than our patrons to become a patron go to the memo.com patreon it’s a great way to support our show it only costs $3 a month and it allows you to get immediate access to our episodes as they release another great way to support our show is by going to the memo.com support you can make a one-time monthly or yearly contribution of your choosing and I just want to give a shout out to Tom G who recently made a contribution once again you can go to the memo.com support to make that contribution this show is brought to you by listeners like you it costs a lot to do this show between equipment fees hosting fees traveling fees Etc I’m hoping to do some traveling uh this summer so if you’re able to help in that once again the memo.com ssupport I want to be clear though one of the best ways to support our show is absolutely free subscribe to or follow our show leave us a positive review from wherever you’re listening to us from favorite this episode give it a thumbs up leave a comment or share it with your best friend your engagement and support is appreciated today is April 24th 2024 for enjoy this episode of the Cole [Music] memo cannabis is on the wrong path I’m going to present a new vision for cannabis reform one that’s informed by hemp I’m going to discuss what I call the three pillars approach to hemp policy and regulation but I want to make it clear that this approach is useful for the Canabis and cannaboid Industry as a whole including what we now divide into the hemp and the marijuana sectors the three-pillar approach will enable the HP industry and If eventually taken to its logical extreme the entire cannabis industry safely legally and efficiently produce and distribute cannabis products throughout the US and the world to AR rapidly expanding Market of canvas consumers now importantly the three-pillar approach provides a path forward from the seemingly intractable issues regarding in toxication Access by Miners and quality control that are passionately debated everywhere from LinkedIn to legislative floors throughout the country this approach is going to do so without getting mired in the industry stifling overregulation and complexity that we see with the current marijuana industry or with the prohibition Focus direction that we see many states taking with respect to hemp right now my message today is that the future of cannabis exists right here right now um we just have to open our eyes and see it the three-pillar approach that I propose is going to support and nurture the rapidly expanding cannabis industry while providing appropriate protections for consumers now throughout to my talk today I’m going to be speaking about hemp but it’s important to understand that I’m ultimately discussing the future of cannabis itself let’s make sure we’re clear on this hemp is cannabis it’s not the different plant and under the law federal law and the laws of 50 states cannabis has been divided arbitrarily into two categories legal hemp and illegal marijuana now this artificial distinction has served an important purpose to be sure the most important of which has been to legalize cannabis at the federal level and also to normalize cannabinoid use but this division will eventually cease to exist and we have a fleeting opportunity again in right now to steer the direction that can cannabis policy is going to take as a whole for the next several decades so while I’m talking today keep in mind that hemp is cannabis and that what’s good for hemp now is good for cannabis tomorrow as a cannabis lawyer of often asked hey Rod when is cannabis going to be legalized to which I usually respond it already is cannabis in the form of industrial hemp was legalized in 2014 and cannabis legalization was expanded in 2018 when Congress dropped the industrial prefix and completely revamped the definition of hemp to include the cannabis plant and quote any part of that plant including the seeds and all derivatives extracts cannaboids isomer acids salts and salts of isomer with a Delta 9 THC concentration not exceeding 3% by dry weight most people in this room can probably cite that definition from memory right sitting here today all cannabis containing no more than 3% Delta 9 HC has been removed from the federal Controlled Substances Act the DEA and several courts have confirmed that this this descheduling includes cannabis products provided that their Delta 9 levels did not exceed 3% illegal marijuana which used to include all cannabis except for the stalks and the non-germinating seeds is now relegated solely to cannabis and cannabis products containing more than 3% Delta 9 this is not much of an obstacle since the cannabis plant itself does not produce much in the way of Delta 9 THC in fact it’s not a stretch to say that the 2018 Farm Bill almost completely descheduled cannabis for example in my home state of North Carolina which is a very good hemp state but one with literally zero marijuana reform I can legally purchase any type of cannabis product that one could want in fact I have a wider array of choices for both the products themselves and the distribution channels that sell them in North Carolina than here in Colorado or in any state on the west coast all of which are commonly associated with Progressive cannabis policy so consider this as you watch the entire country breathlessly awaiting the possible rescheduling of marijuana from schedule one to schedule three so yes all cannabis needs to be completely descheduled at the federal level but what people fail to realize is that we are for all intents and purposes almost there and our challenge now is to preserve what we have obtained by which I mean the functional descheduling of cannabis through hemp while charting a path forward that’s going to serve all interests including the industry consumers researchers policy makers regulators and even concerned parents and Educators and to that end I propos the three-pillar approach to hemp regulation which I believe will unite and steer not only the hemp industry but eventually the entire cannabis industry now a solution necessarily presupposes a problem so before discussing the pillar solution I’m going to articulate the problems IT addresses the hemp industry is widely and routinely called out about a number of problematic issues some are real and others are red herrings according to detractors the hyp industry aggressively takes advantage of an unextended legal loophole to produce and distribute poorly manufactured intoxicating cannaboid products many of which are synthetic throughout the US to uninformed individuals including kids at gas stations and online and that this has caused a Public Health crisis and placed the legal cannabis industry by which they mean the marijuana sector um in economic distress while placing the legitimate hemp industry by which they mean the Fiber and grain sector in Jeopardy of having the current hemp laws rolled back and thus losing all of the hardfought ground they’ve achieved now does that description adequately capture the sentiment that the hyp industry fa faes today by many sectors now although widespread most of these claims are patently false to begin with hemp companies by and large produce Safe products and in fact many of those companies are represented here today Additionally the term synthetic is used as a proxy for bad or toxic products but the reality is that the plant itself creates the Cascade of canabo it prod produces through biosynthetic processes you may be aware that much of the caffeine we consume in the United States and products such as sodas and energy drinks is not from the Coffee Bean but rather is synthetically manufactured in China in mostly unregulated circumstances using dangerous chemicals but you don’t see breathless media reports about that or passionate legislators denouncing it and as for the argument that the farm bill did not intend to legalize intoxicating hemp this claim is totally unsubstantiated and from a legal standpoint it’s irrelevant since the intent of a lawmaking body comes into play only if the statute is ambiguous the farm bill is anything but but its definition of hemp is plain and clear in fact if Congress only intended for hemp to be used for industrial purposes then why did it dropped the term industrial from the name in 2018 and why does the definition use a Litany of Highly specific scientific terms regarding compounds including ones that cause intoxication that we ingest and what about those marijuana companies that are complaining about unfair competition they have the same right to enter the hemp sector as anyone in this room many are doing just that and moreover why would we want to take down the hemp industry which is now larger than the marijuana industry just to support entrenched interests and to prop up failing policies and finally no one is trying to curb the production of hemp fiber or grain in fact most legislative proposals at the state and federal level seek to increase and to incentivize it now all that being said some of the negative claims about hemp and the hemp industry are undeniably true there are Bad actors bad products minors with access adult taking product that they know nothing about um having bad experiences hospital visits and an overarching concern about a lack of regulation for a growing industry and the fact is that the hemp industry has problems that need to be addressed even with the unsubstantiated claims that are more in the nature of reer Madness hysteria than real issues the hemp industry is losing a public relations War a proper regulatory policy going forward will solve both the real problems and also the public relations problems that the HP industry faces so let’s turn now to the three pillars approach to hemp regulation as this name suggests this model focuses on three distinct zones of Regulation one controlling access by miners two quality control and three proper labeling and marketing you’ll notice that none of the three pillars addresses intoxication and this is because ATT tempting to regulate hemp products based on the capacity to intoxicate is the wrong approach it’s a classic Fool’s errand to begin it’s impossible to define intoxication in a way that’s workable from a legal or a regulatory standpoint I mean what does it mean to be intoxicated we all sort of know right but attempting to actually Define it is necessarily impossible and in doing so creates all sorts of unintended consequences focusing on intoxication is in fact what perpetuates the reer madness hysteria of the 20th century it promotes a phobia of cannabis intoxication is somehow different in kind or form and more dangerous even than intoxication by alcohol or caffeine or tobacco or sugar or any number of commonly used medications from a legal and a policy standpoint attempting to eliminate or control intoxication by redefining hemp or prohibiting an entire class of hemp products or by limiting the allow of milligrams of THC and all other compounds is unworkable and it amounts to a nanny State method of addressing an issue that should instead be based on an adult’s personal preference so rather than regulating hemp and its products on intoxication hemp regulation should be focused on the three zones that I mentioned earlier controlling access by miners quality control and proper labeling and marketing and as you’ll see it addresses the intoxication issue without having to focus on it or even to Define it pillar one we should strictly control access by miners to hemp products now should the age be 18 or should it be 21 should a minor be able to obtain hemp products with parental consent what are the best ageg gating practices these are all good questions these are the types of questions that are appropriate for us as an industry and as a society to debate and eventually resolve through legislative and Regulatory actions but the thing that we can all agree on is that miners should not have unfettered access to hemp products you might ask but what about non- intoxicating hemp products they should also subject to ageg gating this is an across theboard issue to begin with we do not yet have sufficient information about any specific canabo to know how it develops how it affects developing brains the fact that a cannabinoid may or may not be intoxicating might or might not have any relevance to its effect on developing brains we simply don’t have that information yet and also distinguishing between based on intoxication drags us right back into the M of Regulation based based on intoxication rather than the more straightforward approach that I’m proposing so if you believe that miners should be able to access hemp products with parental consent something that I personally believe in then that’s something that we can address in regulations but all hemp products should be subject to age gating because ultimately if a company’s profitability in market share is based on selling hemp products to miners well then maybe that company should rethink its Market plan aside from hemp seed and hemp seed oil all hemp products that people ingest are in should be subject to ageg gating it just makes sense pillar two we should require quality control for production and manufacturing of hemp and hemp products by this I mean manufacturers should have to comply with GMP and other objective quality standards experts are currently drawing up discussing and promoting these types of standards and contrary to shrill news reports many of the best hemp companies in the world including people who represent those companies here today um are regular a themselves in this way and already meeting objective quality standards the specific standards we eventually land on and Implement are up for discussion of course but the need for objective quality standards is non-negotiable this will ensure that products do not contain contaminants that they’re consistent in their ingredients and formulations and most importantly that they’re safe objective quality standards will also help the industry overcome its reputation for promoting so-called synthetic products so for example Delta hthc has been studied clinically since the 1980s the primary issue with delta8 is not delta8 itself or even the fact that it’s created synthetically from CBD as I mentioned earlier most of the caffeine we ingest is created synthetically rather the issue is that many delta8 products on the market were not properly manufactured leaving behind an array of other compounds and solvents in the final products and similarly there are no overarching regulations about hemp production with respect to the use of pesticides fertilizers and the presence of mold mildew mot toxins Etc in the flowers and biomass objective production and Manufacturing regulations focused on consumer safety will ensure that no one ever has to worry about their hemp products being contaminated just as we don’t have to worry right now about other products that we commonly consume being contaminated pillar three we should require informative appropriate and standardized labeling and marketing of hemp products this will ensure that consumers are adequately informed about the products they’re purchasing and using consumers should know exactly what ingredients are in a product and also the concentrations of those ingredients additionally consumers should know if a product will likely cause impairment and or fail a drug test by the way this is where the issue of intoxication is properly addressed not in prohibitions not in milligram Caps or convoluted definitions but rather via a straight for disclosure so that consumers are properly and adequately informed about what they choose to consume the the same is true for advertising and marketing and in a similar vein individual states should not control or regulate labeling and marketing this is an important point that often gets lost in the state’s rights and let the states decide arguments that we often hear from Cannabis industry Advocates the hemp industry deserves National objective standards and labeling regulation just like every other consumer product the current situation where hemp companies must create compliant labels for every single state and where states are beginning to create their own State specific quality standards is inefficient unnecessary and fails to address the fact that well unlike the marijuana industry the hemp industry operates on a national scale the three-pillar approach allows adults to make an informed decision about the products they choose to purchase and consume while limiting access to by Miners and sidest stepping the impossible task of defining and regulating products based on their potential to cause intoxication to use an alcohol comparison an adult can purchase a low alcohol session a nice bottle of wine or a handle of hard liquor the choice of potency is left up to the adult consumer who can rest assured that the products are properly manufactured and that the label will Pro will provide sufficient information about the alcohol content and other ingredients to help her make an informed decision about what to purchase and how much to consume of course alcohol causes both intoxication and a host of other health problems and the fact that it’s lawfully and widely available across many distribution platforms including convenience stores while hemp products are being decried as a Public Health crisis is frankly insane with the exception of ageg gating which can be State specific the three-pronged approach three-pillar approach will ultimately require a federal level solution now don’t cringe I get it but with the notable exception of the farm bill itself the feds have been particularly unhelpful so far with the federal um with with the hemp industry but to be clear I’m not talking about the federal government doing anything to restrict access to Legal cannabis in the form of hemp the fact is that when it comes to quality control for the production and manufacturing of hemp products and for their labeling the hemp industry is unfairly forced to struggle with the varying laws and regulations of 50 different states and additionally as hemp becomes more and more normalized it’s incumbent for it to be treated just like any other consumer product so what will the three-pillar approach mean for hemp and ultimately for cannabis as a whole we can see glimmers of that world right now first a consumer in a hemp friendly state has typically more options than her contemporary in a marijuana state additionally people who want to participate in the Cannabis industry face significantly lower barriers and fewer obstacles to entry um in the hemp sector than in the marijuana market and importantly since hemp is federally lawful hemp businesses can sell and promote their products across state and international lines take normal tax deductions enjoy easy access to banking insurance and other Financial Services advertise their products on most major platforms and not have the heavy weight of possible Federal prosecution constantly dangling over their heads Now isn’t this a desirable version of cannabis legalization and at this point as we move towards a conclusion I’d like to comment about quickly about the sale of hemp products in convenience stores I frequently hear the claim that hemp products are sold in convenience stores used as an argument about how bad and unregulated the hemp industry is this is a red herring of all the possible distribution outlets for hemp products convenience stores are among the best think about it for decades convenience stores have been selling highly regulated products such as alcohol and tobacco that are subject to strict ageg gating now to be clear and before all my hemp dispensing clients tar and feather me um I don’t I’m not a fan um so to speak of of convenience stores what I’m in favor of is all properly regulated distribution channels from e-commerce sites to Boutique hemp health stores to yes convenience stores and other retail establishments just like my alcohol example there are many different retail options for a bottle of wine Each of which serves a different purpose the same is currently true and should remain true for hemp and hemp products don’t buy into the Reefer Madness [Music] hype there’s a war that’s raging against hemp in legislatures across the country on all major social media platforms and by misguided regulators and law enforcement agencies but this goes deeper than hemp at stake is the future of cannabis reform in the United States the ability for small businesses to thrive in an emerging market and the right for adults to make their own determination about what they choose to ingest the choices we make today will impact the Cannabis industry by which I mean both the hemp and the marijuana sectors for decades if we successfully promote regulations that address age gating quality control and proper labeling we don’t need to concern ourselves with intoxication or any overreaching regul ations and blood sucking tax regimes that are currently strangling the marijuana industry nor do we have to worry about squeezing small businesses out of the industry the hemp sector of the Cannabis industry including those here of us here today are the Vanguard for the future of cannabis policy as the DEA seems to be bulking it even a modest rescheduling of marijuana to schedule three hemp stands as the New Path forward for cannabis reform hemp is cannabis and it is the future of the Canabis industry thank you