S04.E07: Cannabis in the United States

[Athena]

LWT returns in April 2.

Quote

Other segments: Trump Tower wiretapping allegations, United Kingdom invocation of Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, La Paz traffic zebras recap

 

Edited April 3, 2017 by Athena

[Victor the Crab]

Too bad LWT isn't on this week. Would have loved to have seen Ollie's reaction to the spectacle of Drumph, Ryan and the entire Republican party failing miserably over attempting to repeal Obamacare and replacing it with Dontgiveacare.

[sadiegirl]

Dontgiveacare is genius.

[Victor the Crab]

Dear Home Box Office. STOP RUNNING PROMOS THAT CUT DEEPLY INTO THE START OF OUR SHOWS, YOU ASSHOLES!!! Long running promos for shows The Leftovers and Crashing moved more than two minutes into the start time of LWT, resulting in cutting off a good chunk of Ollie's final segment and ruining it for those who PVR the show for the next day! Do we have to come over to HBO's main office and silly smack all you walking dingleberries until you swear not to do it again? SMARTEN UP!!!

[paigow]

7 hours ago, Victor the Crab said:

Do we have to come over to HBO's main office and silly smack all you walking dingleberries 

Has there been a regime change since Deadwood? Or are they the same hoopleheads?

Edited April 3, 2017 by paigow

[attica]

10 hours ago, Victor the Crab said:

Long running promos for shows The Leftovers and Crashing moved more than two minutes into the start time of LWT, resulting in cutting off a good chunk of Ollie's final segment and ruining it for those who PVR the show for the next day!

Being on the losing end of this very thing for as long as I've had a dvr, I have cried Uncle! and gotten into the habit of editing the stop-record time for an extra 15 minutes. For nearly everything. Live sports get an extra hour (or more). I am determined to beat them at their own game!

How cute were the Bolivians geeking out about JO's coverage of their zebras? OMG, so cute. I think as well this may have been the best green screen challenge result ever. The Shining's Zebra? The best.

Jeff Session's hysteria over weed puzzles me. Do we think maybe he was bad-touched by some high relative?

[ganesh]

Session's response was really weird, like he had somehow been affected personally. The retort about taking in the entire Ga Ga canon was brilliant. 

The thing I don't get about the marijuana stores: if you're stuck with cash and no tax breaks, then why not open a joint (HA!) store that is like a coffee shop/marijuana dispensary? 

One thing I do like with both LWT and TDS is that both hosts are calling attention to stories that aren't strictly USA/Western Europe based. 

[Traveller519]

35 minutes ago, ganesh said:

Session's response was really weird, like he had somehow been affected personally. The retort about taking in the entire Ga Ga canon was brilliant. 

The thing I don't get about the marijuana stores: if you're stuck with cash and no tax breaks, then why not open a joint (HA!) store that is like a coffee shop/marijuana dispensary? 

One thing I do like with both LWT and TDS is that both hosts are calling attention to stories that aren't strictly USA/Western Europe based. 

I think the laws require Marijuana businesses to operate as stand alone enterprises, like liquor stores in many states. Also, the bank forms ask if your business is involved in the sale of marijuana, no matter the business. So you wouldn't really be able to get around that.

Maybe it was me, but this segment felt particularly disjointed. Like it was a meandering road to get to the federal laws issue, which I think would have been better served off the top, with the examples to reinforce it.

I loved how John admitted that the Bolivian description of his show was probably it's most apt.

[meowmommy]

13 hours ago, Victor the Crab said:

Dear Home Box Office. STOP RUNNING PROMOS THAT CUT DEEPLY INTO THE START OF OUR SHOWS, YOU ASSHOLES!!! Long running promos for shows The Leftovers and Crashing moved more than two minutes into the start time of LWT, resulting in cutting off a good chunk of Ollie's final segment and ruining it for those who PVR the show for the next day! Do we have to come over to HBO's main office and silly smack all you walking dingleberries until you swear not to do it again? SMARTEN UP!!!

Somehow, without me telling it, my DVR knows about this and records 32 minutes.

John, you don't get to use having to produce this show as an excuse not to meet with 265 zebras.  You can do your show from La Paz.  

I don't know what to think about the marijuana issue.  I'm probably the only Baby Boomer who's never tried it without a religious or political reason for not having tried it.

[Jersey Guy 87]

1 hour ago, ganesh said:

The thing I don't get about the marijuana stores: if you're stuck with cash and no tax breaks, then why not open a joint (HA!) store that is like a coffee shop/marijuana dispensary? 

 

Isn't that pretty much the definition of money laundering?  Using a legit business (coffee shop) to produce funds so you can hide the money you make from your illegal business (marijuana dispensary, which in this case would be quasi-legal).  You have to explain where the money comes from at some point.

[ganesh]

I'm not saying hide it. I'm inquiring whether piggybacking onto a coffee shop allows them to get the tax breaks and not have to do everything in cash or get a bank account. They would presumably be paying the same taxes and reporting similar income. 

[paigow]

The follow up should be how Wall Street has made money on marijuana based IPO's when the product is still prohibited federally.....

[mjc570]

My theory is that weed will become legal - on the federal level - sooner rather than later once the NFL starts pushing it more openly.  My understanding (based on knowing someone in the NFL) is that the players are in a lot of pain, and marijuana is how teams prefer they deal with it, as opposed to drugs or alcohol.

I'm not suggesting of course, that any team is actually supplying marijuana or doing anything illegal or improper!

Edited April 4, 2017 by mjc570
Didn't mean to imply anything illegal!

[stillshimpy]

11 hours ago, ganesh said:

The thing I don't get about the marijuana stores: if you're stuck with cash and no tax breaks, then why not open a joint (HA!) store that is like a coffee shop/marijuana dispensary? 

 

Dispensaries are heavily regulated and people can't actually consume products in them, just buy them.  Plus, in a lot places in Colorado and California (can't speak to other places where it is legal in either a medical or recreational capacity) there are tons that simply don't allow dispensaries, at all.  

So even if they were able to open a coffee shop, the only thing patrons would be allowed to imbibe or ingest would be those coffee-related products.  

Jeff Sessions histrionic response to weed -- it doesn't get more melodramatic than invoking Lady Gaga as gospel, does it?  -- is puzzling as hell.  I can't honestly believe a grown man who hasn't led an entirely sheltered life, would truly believe the things he says.   

[peeayebee]

It's absurd that marijuana is a Schedule I drug. It DOES have medical use. My heart broke as that vet testified how it helps him deal with nightmares and carry on in his life. 

[ganesh]

I wasn't saying that you could have the stuff there. Just buy it as part of a legit business. 

[ahisma]

In states where it is legal, it is highly regulated. It's like if the coffe shop started selling alcohol. Either they get a permit to sell alcohol and the government knows that they do, or they are selling alcohol illegally. If the coffee shop wanted to sell marijuana, they would have to become a licensed dispensary or they would be selling it illegally. Once the government knows that you are selling marijuana as part of your income, that is federally illegal even if state legal, and you can't open a bank account.

[wknt3]

23 hours ago, ganesh said:

The thing I don't get about the marijuana stores: if you're stuck with cash and no tax breaks, then why not open a joint (HA!) store that is like a coffee shop/marijuana dispensary?

 

21 hours ago, Jersey Guy 87 said:

Isn't that pretty much the definition of money laundering?  Using a legit business (coffee shop) to produce funds so you can hide the money you make from your illegal business (marijuana dispensary, which in this case would be quasi-legal).  You have to explain where the money comes from at some point.

You are correct. Regardless of the other issues pointed out with the strict state regulations if you are the Ultimate Benificial Owner (UBO) of a Marijuana Related Business (MRB) you will find it very difficult to open a bank account once your involvement becomes known. And your existing accounts will likely be closed. Even for another business that is perfectly legitimate and legal. If John had had more time he probably would have covered some of the absurdities, but basically penalties are harsh, enforcement is arbitrary, and the feds have provided mixed messages and even if you want to comply it is very expensive and still risky. States have tried to charter financial institutions just to work with dispensaries and the Federal Reserve has stopped them by denying them "master accounts". Basically the situation with banking is as screwed up as it is with everything else and he probably could have done just as long a piece about only the financial regulations.

[Danny Franks]

What the hell is the problem, John? You're complaining about federal laws, but they surely don't matter when the party of small government, states' rights and personal responsibility is in complete control of Washington. Right?

Oh wait, up pops that dessicated zombie, Sessions, to remind us all that Republicans generally only give a shit about states' rights when it comes to things they don't want to see enforced. And Obama, the big government, 'filth librul', is the one who said, 'the states are creating these laws, and that's fine. We won't persecute people who adhere to them.'

Sessions is the guy who 'joked' that he was fine with the Ku Klux Klan, until he found out they smoked weed. And he's the guy who, I'm sure I read, has pharma buddies who are developing a synthetic marijuana drug and might just stand to make a lot of money as long as the real thing is illegal. So not only does he have an outdated, 'Reefer Madness' style view of the drug, he also has a vested interest in trying to prevent it from becoming legal.

The complications of states implementing their own laws was really highlighted with the Kentucky example. Where it's fine to smoke pot, but it's not fine to obtain it in any feasible way. This bizarre, colonial period hangover that Americans have about individual statehood really does seem to cripple their chances of doing anything progressive and having it work.

You have people like that veteran, who legitimately need the help that marijuana provides, and they're being forced to struggle and suffer, because it's too much of a polarising issue for a lot of people who have probably never smoked it, and who have certainly never gone through the sort of things he has. You have experts who have testified about the properties, effects and side-effects, yet you still have politicians who believe they know better. Ludicrous.

[peeayebee]

50 minutes ago, Danny Franks said:

Sessions is the guy who 'joked' that he was fine with the Ku Klux Klan, until he found out they smoked weed. And he's the guy who, I'm sure I read, has pharma buddies who are developing a synthetic marijuana drug and might just stand to make a lot of money as long as the real thing is illegal. So not only does he have an outdated, 'Reefer Madness' style view of the drug, he also has a vested interest in trying to prevent it from becoming legal.

Interesting, but I just googled a bit and didn't find a connection betw Sessions and cannabis pharmaceuticals. One of them, Insys Therapeutics, did fight against legalization in Arizona, but I don't know about Sessions being driven by any pharma buddies.