Shipping Vapes
According to MJBIZ, an unusual delay on a U.S. ban on shipping vape has companies preparing for shocks to their business models or proceed as usual and hope the ban never takes effect. The ban was supposed to kick in last spring, the result of a 2020 law that prohibits the U.S. Postal Service from shipping vaping products. The ban included products without nicotine and could eliminate direct-to-consumer vape shipping. But in April, when the USPS said it planned to publish details on enforcing the ban, the agency said it needed more time to review public comments. “Despite our best efforts, in order to ensure thorough and thoughtful consideration of the complex issues and voluminous comments by industry, individual and governmental stakeholders, the Postal Service is unable to publish a final rule” by the April target date, spokesman David P. Coleman wrote in an email to MJBizDaily. The delay is frustrating for marijuana operators who ship vape products. (Marijuana products can’t legally be shipped in the U.S., though empty cartridges and batteries are commonly mailed to businesses and consumers who then fill them with liquid THC.) “We sell empty hardware. We’re not a cigarette. But we all got swept up in this,” said Dana E. Shoched, owner of O2Vape in Lambertville, Michigan. Shoched and other vape manufacturers say they have pivoted to private delivery to continue business without using the mail. Large private delivery services such FedEx and UPS have already stopped vape components shipments in response to the law, forcing vape manufacturers to find niche transport operators. Earlier this month, roughly 400 vape companies appealed to FedEx to reverse its delivery ban, but to no avail.
Ohio Rec Bill
Ohio will attempt to legalize recreational marijuana for the first time. The bill was drafted by House Reps Terrence Upchurch and Casey Weinstein, who are both Democrats. They are seeking more cosponsors to expedite t due to getting the bill into the house. Unfortunately for Ohio, Republican members dominate legislature as the state population has a slight tilt right. Weinstein states that Ohio is at a critical point: the state will trailing behind other states if the house does nothing about legalizing marijuana. He hopes this proposed legislation will be a bi-partisan victory that will enable conversations that will lead to full-blown legalization. The new bill is drafted after the style of the Michigan legalization bill with a proposed 10% excise tax which will go towards infrastructure.
Charles Koch: Why Cannabis Should Be Legal
Charles Koch says he last consumed marijuana in the 1980s by accident when a chef in Canada brought out some brownies. Although Koch isn’t big on consuming it himself, he’s going public now with a long-held belief: Cannabis should be legal nationwide. He has put nearly $25 Million of his fortune to influence politicians towards legalization. “It should be the individual’s choice,” says Koch from his office. “Prohibition is counterproductive. It ruins people’s lives, creates conflict in society, and is anti-progress. The whole thing never made sense to me.” In April, Koch's PAC joined forces with other groups to form the Cannabis Freedom Alliance who has already started lobbying congress. As a lifelong libertarian, Koch believes that prohibition is a basic infringement on personal freedom. The US should have learned from the nightmare of alcohol prohibition nearly a century ago.
