Tag: black market

Minnesota Marijuana Regulators Destroy Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars’ Worth Of Illegally Sold Hemp Flower

Since Minnesota began cracking down on the illegal sale of raw cannabis flower in many registered hemp retailers, its agents have confiscated a lot of product worth a fair amount of money.

According to numbers released by the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), inspectors have confiscated and destroyed 12,094 units of flower—such as bags, jars or pre-rolled joints—with an estimated retail value of $278,000. The illegal products were taken from 58 different retail locations and amounted to nearly 73 pounds of raw cannabis flower.

While it has been legal to possess and use cannabis in Minnesota since last August, it is not yet legal to sell it and won’t be until sometime next spring. And while many hemp-derived low-potency products like gummies and beverages have been legal to sell since the summer of 2022, raw cannabis flower falls into a gray area. That is, if it has low THC content, it could be legal. But most of what has been sold exceeds the potency levels that separates hemp from marijuana.

If the confiscated products have likely been illegal under both the 2022 hemp-derived products law and the 2023 recreational cannabis law, why did it take this long for the state to crack down? Blame an inadvertent gap in the 2023 law that attempted to provide temporary state regulation of hemp products while the new Office of Cannabis Management was being set up.

The Office of Medical Cannabis was given temporary say over the two-year-old hemp-derived market but was not given control over raw flower, only products made from the plant like gummies and drinks.

That gap identified by regulators late last year allowed some stores to sell the flower that looks, smells and intoxicates like marijuana. At the same time, other retailers who wanted to follow the new law were left at a competitive disadvantage.

The raw flower was often sold as a hemp plant with high concentrations of THCA (tetrahydrocannabinolic acid). The same products are offered for sale from out-of-state businesses and mailed to customers where cannabis is not legal, or not yet legal as in Minnesota.

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After Virginia GOP Governor’s Marijuana Veto, Democratic Senators Say Legal Sales Likely Won’t Happen Until 2027 Or Later

Democratic senators in support of legal marijuana sales in Virginia said at a recent event that in light of Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s (R) veto of a retail cannabis bill last month, it will likely be 2027 or later before adult-use shops can legally open their doors.

“I’m very direct, and sometimes folks don’t like to hear the harsh truth, but it’s the harsh truth,” said Sen. Aaron Rouse (D), who sponsored the retail sales bill in the Senate. “There’s a really big mountain to climb with this governor and his administration. I think he will veto setting up an adult cannabis market regardless of what we send him.”

“By 2027, there will be a new governor in Virginia,” added Sen. Adam Ebbin (D), who sponsored marijuana sales legislation this session and in years past. “It’s possible that after the 2025 gubernatorial election, that someone will take office in January of 2026 who would sign an adult-use marketplace bill.”

“That means that, whether it was in 2027 or thereabouts,” Ebbin continued, “we could expect to see more a regulated market for non-medical use or adult use in Virginia.”

Use, possession and limited cultivation of cannabis by adults is already legal in the commonwealth, the result of a Democrat-led proposal sponsored by Ebbin that was approved by lawmakers in 2021. But Republicans, after winning control of the House and governor’s office later that year, subsequently blocked the required reenactment of a regulatory framework for retail sales.

This year, with Democrats in control of both legislative chambers, lawmakers passed a new legal sales bill, sending it to Youngkin for his consideration in late February. A month later, the governor vetoed the bill, writing in a veto message that “the proposed legalization of retail marijuana in the Commonwealth endangers Virginians’ health and safety.”

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Don’t Forget To Claim Drug Dealing Income on Your Taxes

As just about every American adult knows and is dreading, Monday, April 15, is Tax Day. Each year, taxpayers scrounge together each income statement the government requires and any random receipt that may result in a modest deduction in the amount they’re expected to pay.

The IRS wants taxpayers to know that if you made money from anything illegal last year—stealing, selling illegal drugs, taking bribes—then that’s taxable, too.

Last year, Americans spent 6.5 billion hours doing their taxes, which translates to roughly $260 billion in lost productivity. That’s in addition to the $104 billion they spent in direct costs on the actual tax filing and preparation.

Much of that complexity stems from the amount of deductions and carve-outs the tax law allows, as well as the types of revenue required to be treated as taxable income.

IRS Publication 17 “covers the general rules for filing a federal income tax return.” In its most current edition, the IRS advises, “Income from illegal activities, such as money from dealing illegal drugs, must be included in your income on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 8z, or on Schedule C (Form 1040) if from your self-employment activity.”

In other words, even if you engage in activity that the federal government is completely opposed to, like selling heroin on the corner, Uncle Sam still expects you to kick up a percentage.

The IRS advisory also includes a section about “stolen property,” which similarly cautions, “If you steal property, you must report its fair market value in your income in the year you steal it unless you return it to its rightful owner in the same year.”

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NHS hippy crack heists: Hospitals are warned thieves are now stealing nitrous oxide ‘laughing’ gas to order – after law change made the canisters illegal

Nitrous oxide suppliers have warned the NHS to review their security after a spike in incidents of thefts since the gas was banned and reclassified as a class C drug.

BOC, the UK’s leading supplier of medicinal gasses, sent a letter to NHS staff revealing they have ‘received a number of reports of thefts related to medical nitrous oxide cylinders in recent weeks’.

The firm warned: ‘In light of the recent reclassification of nitrous oxide under the Misuse of Drugs Act, we feel it is important to draw your attention to the possibility that legitimate users of medical nitrous oxide may become a target of further thefts.’

In the letter, which MailOnline has seen, the supplier urged NHS hospitals and their customers to review their medical gas cylinder security to deter any potential misuse or theft.

It comes after a new law introduced in November classified nitrous oxide as a Class C drug and made it illegal to possess it for the purpose of getting high.

But youngsters were undeterred and vowed to carry on using it, with their demand now fueling cannister thefts from NHS hospitals across the country.

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E.U. Regulations Created a Port Wine Black Market

People have been making wine in the verdant hills of northern Portugal’s Douro Valley for nearly 2,000 years. Nowadays, the region is home to more than 19,000 grape farmers and 1,000 companies tending terraced vineyards that tower above the Douro River below.

Hundreds of these vineyards are small, often family-owned, properties called quintas, many of which produce port: a syrupy, sweet fortified wine. As a European Union–protected designation of origin product (similar to French Champagne or Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano), the production, labeling, and sale of port are heavily regulated—sometimes to the detriment of the small-scale operators keeping the cultural practice alive.

When I visited the Douro Valley this fall, one quinta owner shared that she couldn’t officially sell port because of burdensome government regulations. All port sellers are required to keep at least 75,000 liters in reserve at all times, she explained—a standard that large producers can meet, but one that might bankrupt a small quinta like hers. In effect, she could only participate in this important cultural heritage as a black market seller.

Francisco Montenegro, owner of the Douro Valley–based Aneto Wines, notes that would-be port sellers have to grapple with several regulations that make it difficult for them to enter the market. On top of the 75,000-liter stock minimum, port producers are allowed to sell or market only one-third of their output, “thus forcing the producer to let [two-thirds] of their wines age.” They have to register under a specific tax status “as they work with spirits,” which requires them to “pay more customs taxes.” Government regulations also mandate that producers “wait at least 3 or 4 years if they want to bottle a normal tawny” port, Montenegro says.

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Delaware Treasurer Promotes New Marijuana Banking Bill To Provide State-Level Protections

Delaware’s treasurer is promoting new legislation that would provide state-level protections to banks that provide services to licensed marijuana businesses.

The bill was filed by Rep. Ed Osienski (D) and Sen. Trey Paradee (D) in partnership with state Treasurer Colleen Davis (D). It comes amid mounting pressure on Congress to enact federal cannabis banking reform.

The Delaware measure is designed to clarify that banks, credit unions, armored car services and accounting services providers are not subject to state-level prosecution simply for working with cannabis businesses.

“This Act aims to facilitate the operation of cannabis-related businesses by helping to ensure that such businesses have access to necessary financial and accounting services,” the bill synopsis says.

Davis, the treasurer, said in a press release last week that “H.B. 355 will provide state-level legal protection, and a clear legal framework for banks, payment processors, and other financial service providers to follow.”

“It can also ease concerns about federal enforcement and regulatory compliance among these businesses—since it allows them to demonstrate to federal agencies that they’re following a clear legal framework, ultimately leading to a safer and more transparent marijuana industry,” she said.

A press release from Davis’s office also says that, in addition to providing the basic protections, the bill would effectively boost the economy, enhance safety and promote competition.

“Across the country, we’ve witnessed dispensaries and banks alike struggling with legal uncertainty surrounding financial and accounting services for cannabis businesses,” Osienski, the House sponsor, said. “This uncertainty not only undermines the operations of state-compliant dispensaries but also hinders their access to basic business functions such as access to banking, acquiring loans, or paying taxes.”

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Political Stupidity and Bureaucratic Bungling Created New York’s Pot Legalization ‘Disaster’

As of last June, more than two years after New York legalized recreational marijuana, just 12 state-licensed dispensaries had opened for business, falling far short of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s prediction that more than 100 would be operating by that summer. Six months later, Hochul was bragging that “nearly 40 adult-use dispensaries will have opened in 2023.” The current count is 87. Those stores, The New York Times notes, “are far outnumbered by more than 2,000 rogue head shops, the target of complaints that they siphon customers, sell to children and attract criminals.”

New York’s rollout of marijuana legalization has been a “disaster,” as Hochul conceded in January. “Every other storefront” is an unlicensed pot shop, she told The Buffalo News. “It’s insane.”

That disaster has frustrated would-be retailers, left farmers in the lurch, played havoc with tax revenue projections, and made a joke out of any expectation that New York, by learning from the experience of states that legalized marijuana earlier, would do a better job of displacing the black market. The insanity that Hochul perceives is a product of bad decisions by politicians who should have known better and obstruction by regulators who sacrificed efficiency on the altar of diversity.

Unlike states such as New Jersey, where voters approved legalization in 2020, and Maryland, where a similar ballot initiative passed two years later, New York did not initially allow existing medical dispensaries to start serving the recreational market. Its slow and complicated licensing process, which was skewed by an “equity” program that prioritized approval of applicants with marijuana-related criminal records or their relatives, is maddeningly hard to navigate.

Those preferences invited lawsuits by people who were excluded, which further delayed approval of licenses. Guidance and financial help for people struggling to jump through the state’s hoops never materialized. And as in other states, high taxes and burdensome regulations have made it hard for licensed businesses to compete with unauthorized dealers.

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Pirate Streaming Sites Cost Hollywood $30 Billion Annually

“[P]iracy involving illegal streaming services as well as file-sharing costs the US economy about $30 billion in lost revenue a year and some 250,000 jobs,” reports the far-left Bloomberg.

That estimate comes from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center. “The global impact,” the report adds, “is about $71 billion annually.”

“Ever since taking on Netflix Inc. at its own game, old Hollywood has struggled to turn a profit in streaming, with the likes of Disney+, Peacock and Paramount+ losing billions of dollars each year[.]” This has Wall Street living with the fear that streaming services will never match the massive income generated by cable TV. And that’s because they won’t.

“But the age of streaming has been a boon for some unintended winners,” Bloomberg found. Primarily “pirates that use software to rip a film or television show in seconds from legitimate online video platforms and host the titles on their own[.]” These “illegitimate services … rake in about $2 billion annually from ads and subscriptions.”

Because these pirate sites don’t share the burden of the costs associated with producing the movies and TV shows they stream for their subscribers, the Motion Picture Association (MPA) believes their profit margins reach as high as 90 percent.

The MPA says there are about 130 illicit streaming sites earning five to ten dollars a month from each of two million subscribers.

“Some of these pirate websites have gotten more daily visits than some of the top 10 legitimate sites,” Karyn Temple, the MPA’s general counsel, told Bloomberg. “That really shows how prolific they are.”

Within two years, starting with 2022, the cumulative losses will climb to $113 billion.

The article gives some of the two million illicit subscribers the benefit of the doubt. The pirate sites are sophisticated enough to look legitimate, so people might not know it’s illegal. Still, there is a full-court legal press to put a stop to this. Millions of unvetted illegal aliens flooding over the border? Hollywood doesn’t care. But don’t you dare not pay full price for Squid Game.

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New York Governor Proposes Repealing Marijuana Potency Tax To Reduce Costs And Combat Illicit Market

The governor of New York is calling for the elimination of a THC potency tax as part of her executive budget, aiming to reduce costs for consumers in a way that could make the regulated market more competitive against illicit operators.

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s (D) budget proposal for the 2025 fiscal year would repeal the potency tax and replace it with a wholesale excise tax of 9 percent in a way that “simplifies, streamlines, and reduces the tax collection obligations and burden for cultivators, processors, and distributors.”

Cannabis would also still be subject to the existing 9 percent state retail excise tax and four percent local retail excise tax. The changes are estimated to effectively drive down the total tax rate on marijuana from an average 38 percent to 22 percent.

For vertically-integrated medical cannabis operators and microbusinesses, the new wholesale excise tax would accrue on the final retail sale to consumers and be imposed on 75 percent of the final retail sales price, the governor’s proposal says.

The briefing book for the budget says the tax changes would “promote and support the expansion of the legal adult-use cannabis market” and also result in a “net positive impact” of $6.5 million for localities.

But by reducing costs for consumers and businesses, the tax policy reform could also help the administration and regulators address one of their top priorities: driving out the illicit market.

While licensing of legal marijuana businesses has rolled out slowly amid litigation, New York has been dealing with a proliferation of hundreds of unregulated cannabis shops with prices that are generally lower because the operators don’t concern themselves with excise taxes and abiding by other regulations that increase costs.

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Minnesota Officials Form Interagency Plan To Rein In Sales Of High-THC Marijuana Being Sold As Legal Hemp

Minnesota’s cannabis regulators say they have a plan to fill a gap in state law that could be letting some hemp retailers sell marijuana flower without consequence.

Charlene Briner, the interim director of the new Office of Cannabis Management, said Thursday that she is working with other agencies to provide a temporary method to inspect and test raw cannabis flower to make sure it does not violate current law.

She said the agency will look into using inspectors from the Office of Medical Cannabis and the Department of Agriculture to exercise the Office of Cannabis Management’s authority to stop the sale of cannabis flower that is illegal marijuana masquerading as legal hemp.

“OCM is evaluating how to leverage existing enforcement capacity at the Office of Medical Cannabis to act on OCM’s behalf and how we can develop capacity to test raw cannabis flower,” Briner said.

“We’ll be sharing more about those plans as we put them in place,” she said.

To be legal to sell now, hemp flower must contain only 0.3 percent delta-9 THC or less. Such hemp plants do not have enough THC to be intoxicating when eaten or smoked. But by processing the hemp for edibles and beverages, the THC content can be enhanced to produce an intoxicating effect.

Some hemp retailers and smoke shops have been selling raw cannabis flower that might or might not exceed those legal limits. Hemp inspectors have not acted against such sales—or even to test the flower—because while the Office of Medical Cannabis regulates hemp sales, the law doesn’t give it any authority over unprocessed flower.

The loophole became public late last year when former Office of Medical Cannabis director Chris Tholkes discussed it on the national podcast Weed Wonks. She said her inspectors have seen sales of raw cannabis flower that the stores claim is legal hemp but that the inspectors suspect is not.

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