Commercial Weed is Dollar General selling E Cigarettes

Matt Kirkus 7-25-22

Presented for July 26, 2022 Planning Commission to discuss the establishment of marijuana facilities in the City of New Buffalo

Jacob Ownby describes Great Lakes Holistic as “the Dollar General of pot”.

“Michigan cannabis company aims to be the the Kirkland of weed” -Detroit Free Press

Where are the concerned citizens to challenge a multi billion dollar industry with no limit to the externalized costs simply to justify vice and degeneracy for private profit? At the New Buffalo Township meeting I was the only audience member to raise a concern. The meeting was merely a presentation by a lawyer explaining how the municipality would begin the process of allowing commercial weed. The meeting had no element of an objective debate over the issue itself.

Dollar General is a useful comparison. Morality nor cultural consequences are a deciding factor for local leaders. Just as the Constitution was created for collecting war debt and centralizing power so are these present day local decisions solely based on monetary considerations and control. The ends justifies the means for representatives who have their eye on the cash cow; Licenses and taxes from $5,000 for simply rejecting applications to $56,000 for each individual license.

New Buffalo is exceptional because its economy is based on Chicago tourism so despite the existing market saturation expensive retail weed would sell in New Buffalo. I read in the July 14, 2022 edition of the New Buffalo Times that 2 men from California were caught traveling in Indiana to the East Coast with 80 pounds of marijuana. This was about 10 miles south of me here in (legal) Michigan. This proves that despite availability the market will follow the bottom line and apparently it was worth driving 2500 miles from California to get caught 10 miles from me instead of buying it here and leaving from the east end of this State. I know this is true from my own sources; weed is getting so cheap its not worth growing yourself and it must be worth the thin profit margin to bring it from the West Coast because that is what is happening.

Dollar General, like so many other aggressive Capital centered franchises, not only fills a need in any given community it also steals the market share from any other locally owned household variety shops, not to mention countless obscure local manufacturers which distribute in those venues. Walmart began the trend of low quality products produced by foreign unrepresented labor while also creating and exploiting a desperate workforce; This is Free Trade/Market Capitalism. Just as children cannot be trusted to turn away from bubble gum flavored E-cigarettes because they don’t know what is good for them consumers happily line up at Dollar General or Lume to finish undermining any cultural capital or economic prosperity that happens to be left in their communities. My neighbors pay to eat silica sand at Taco Bell so nobody will convince me the Masses know what is good for them.

“It (DG) will drive out family owned local businesses that have remained staples of the town for generations.”,“It would be devastating for local businesses-- which I think is just unforgivable, “Jerry Brothern said. If we lose the local businesses that we have –we I think essentially lose the community” We have over a thousand signatures, we only are about a thousand people in this community. This parking lot will be empty—we will not shop here.” -Sonoita Arizona

If only that were true! We do know children will succumb to marijuana billboards as they do to candy flavored electronic cigarettes and we also know that the locals will find themselves shopping at DG. An accurate example of this is portrayed in Whats eating Gilbert Grape.

Rep. Mary Whiteford (Casco) and Abdullah Hammond (Dearborn) are using their authority to limit the dangers of drug promotions by working to ban marijuana advertisements on billboards in Michigan. But politicians with courage are the exception not the rule.

“Although dollar stores sometimes fill a need in places that lack basic retail services, there's growing evidence that these stores are not merely a byproduct of economic distress. They’re a cause of it,””Dollar General and Dollar Tree stores only employ around eight people, and small independent groceries employ an average of 14, according to federal data. Proctor, an expert at Kansas State University, told ILSR that the effects of local stores disappearing is even broader. “The problem is that if the grocery store closes, this impacts the town in a big way. Our research shows grocers are barometers for other businesses in town: as goes the grocery store, so goes other independent businesses in that community.” -Mitchell and Donahue Tulsa OK

When local leaders make an effort to regulate these Monopoly industries:

“The most important thing is not for us, as a city government, to reap crazy amounts of revenue-- that’s certainly a byproduct—the main focus for me, certainly within this legislation, is creating opportunities for equity applicants and legacy Detroiters to be able to compete for licenses and have success”

-A Detroit Mayor Pro Tem, James Tate

“The social equity program was a component built into the recreational marijuana law Michigan voters passed in 2018. It aims “to encourage participation in the marijuana industry by people who live in the 184 Michigan communities which have been disproportionately impacted by marijuana prohibition and enforcement.” In addition to having a 20% poverty rate, based on federal guidelines, social equity status is given to cities that had disproportionately high numbers of marijuana-related arrests between 08-18, compared to the statewide average, and individuals who’ve had marijuana-related criminal convictions.” -Gus Burns MLIVE

The Social Equity Program Qualifying Criteria essentially amounts to fee reduction for licenses. Which does favor residency in an impacted community for at least 5 years (25% fee reduction), Marijuana conviction (25% Misdemeanor and 40% Felony fee reduction). I personally don’t think we should reward those who are guilty of breaking the law while those who chose to not break the law must pay full price for licensees but I am also not against expungement of non violent weed charges.

Despite any disagreement with Pro Tem Tate from Detroit on his “creative” policies I do believe he is correct in attempting to govern his jurisdiction for the benefit of his people. However “District Judge Bernanrd A. Friendman issued a preliminary injunction halting the application process that he said gave an “unfair irrational and likely unconstitutional advantage to long term Detroit residents over all other applicants.”

“Your not supposed to have a residency requirement for licenses under the U.S. Constitution Lavigne said. We can move to any state we want and open a business and get whatever licenses are necessary. Its a constitutional right to travel”.

This is that lawyer jargon that intentionally confuses a natural right to travel with the clear power of the State or Feds to regulate Commerce. But this has very little to do with reality because most of these Venture Capitalists clearly engage in Commerce and do not live in Michigan. Which is why this case matters.

Whether Detroit went too far is a valid question in that the plaintiff is a resident of 11 years which by the cities standards was not long enough for preferential treatment for a license but the legal question that arose wholly challenges Detroit’s ability to make any decisions on its own behalf. Detroit will most likely get sued again since they are still holding to some amount of autonomy over granting licenses. Meanwhile local weed shops scowl at the leaders instead of appreciating their above and beyond service to regulate the industry for the locals. Self-interested local-elite entrepreneurs care about their money now instead of about the community later.

Let’s deconstruct this logic:

“the plaintiff argues that the ordinance discriminates against out of state residents based on the duration of the residency and punishes people for moving between states.”-Frasier Trebilcock Law Firm

The logical discrepancy here is that the 2018 intention to “encourage participation in the marijuana industry by people who live in the 184 Michigan communities which have been disproportionately impacted by marijuana prohibition and enforcement.” can only mean absolutely nothing. The “Social Equity Program” does make this very point and expressly grants privileges for licensure for specific communities and duration of residency.

When a Detroit politician tries to enact the spirit of the law himself this is ignored by federal commercial laws which evidently instead force equal access of licenses for out of state and even out of country venture capitalist billionaires. We are only to believe Michael Nashat of Cananda, President and CEO of TerrAscend which recently acquired a license in Buchanan Mich., is simply a traveler who has just as much right to access the limited licenses in Detroit as citizens within Michigan’s disproportionately impacted communities. But lets make it clear; any attempts to rein in these litigious Oligarchs by localities will be met with subversion such as “grassroots” recalls such as we see in New Buffalo when the majority of the council voted to regulate vacation rentals for the benefit of citizens instead of pander to Chicago real estate investors.

“There is only one way – and one way only-- to allow (MRTMA) facilities and and not get sued, and that is no caps, strict zoning, and buffering.” -Pollicela said

For the benefit of the representatives reading this let me explain this to you: “Cities have two clear pathways to avoid getting sued. They can either allow unlimited licensing with strict zoning rules (for example limiting marijuana businesses to a certain section of the city, or prohibiting them from operating within 1000 feet of a school). Or they can allow only those businesses that have obtained medical licenses to apply for recreational licenses.” -Pollicela told Paul Demko Politco

Make sure you take that as a threat; if you try to rein in these Venture Capitalists/Drug Dealers you will go to court! Free Trade and the power of Capital will not be questioned! Once you allow these forces within the community you will not “cap” them and they will have no shortage of drug addicted entitled youth to lead protests against “systematic inequality”. Short sided profit seeking will lead you to subject the city and citizens to these global interests, in which will soon follow promotions for the use of ethnogenic plants like psychedelic mushrooms (or worse) as we see with proposal E in Detroit, as well as in Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, and in Senate bill 631.

Meanwhile the reality is that the “1400 municipalities across the state that opted out of adult-use businesses” are likely racing as fast as this city to get their share of $56,000 per license from the state. You missed the boat; the factories are already being build! “The bottom line: Most of the biggest weed chains in the country are still losing money. But most industry observers believe its only a matter of time before federal marijuana restrictions are loosened, barriers to profitability are removed and lots of money is made from legal weed sales.”-Paul Demko Politico. I read this as -the niche profits your chasing will be short lived as barriers are lifted, the market is saturated, and Venture Capitalists successfully avoid high taxes or license fees but instead chase the cheapest rents, labor, and fees and increase the bubble gum candy marketing. In case I still haven’t convinced you of the reality of the value of “flower”, your purported cash cow,...

Zahra Ahmad writing for Bridge Michigan:

“Michigan marijuana prices hit all-time lows in Febuary 2022, which is great for retailers and customers but has small growers sounding alarms.” If a local competitor were to drop their prices, we have to match or beat them”, Palmatier said. “When prices drop, we start racing to the bottom.”Large marijuana growing operations are opening more regularly, squeezing out smaller operations, said Chris Krestchmer.””In one year, the amount of recreational pot on the market jumped from 273,354 pounds to more than 1 million pounds, state records show, creating an over saturated market.” “Operators of some farms -such as a massive one planned in Lawrence- worked with communities to change ordinances that allowed them to combine multiple growing licenses to grow even more marijuana” “When you see larger (growers) coming in and growing thousands of square foot of product, (then) releasing it for lower prices, it forces everyone else to fall in line behind that price.”Palmatier said. Palmatier is concerned that when small grow operations shut down, large companies will raise their prices when the price bottoms out and limit the market.”

If this means anything it means you wont be dealing with your upper middle class friends who recently bought some old restaurant to enter this market but instead in a few years you will be lobbied by Verano holdings $2.09B, Harvest Health $1.32B, Cresco Labs 1.04B, Green Thumb Industries $2.09B, Jushi Holdings 529.3M, the lists go on. Columbia Care, Acreage Holdings, MedMen, Trulieve, Ianthus.

Good luck getting litigious with these players!

Again it’s no surprise that 305 farms, building $110M campus in Lawrence, is funded by Valeur Group in Florida, a private equity group co-founded by vape entrepreneur (of JUUL) Jan Verleur. Isn’t it ironic than Jan finds himself fighting against Big Tobacco which seeks to squash E-cigarettes in the same way that I am fighting his industry? It is his choice to use his precious time and resources promoting nicotine infused propylene glycol instead of growing organic food. A true philanthropist!

The fact that Marijuana is still a schedule 1 federally proves our governments complete absence of legitimacy. While States are in violation of federal law there are no actual ramifications other than confusion and risk for the individual, this is further complicated my medical marijuana laws which are also not federally accepted. This recently led to Danny Trevino’s of Lansing sentencing of 15 years with this article citing “the appeals court said the states medical marijuana law cannot overrule federal law. The opinion also said Trevino did not meet the narrow legal area where he can claim lack of knowledge of the law.”Marie Weidmayer Mlive

Will CEO Michael Nashat of TerrAscend be held liable as his profits cross over the Federal Border to Canada?

Rather than deny knowing the law I would challenge anyone to claim that they do know the law!

“States are changing marijuana laws across the county, certainly that’s true, but federal law has not changed.”US District Paul Maloney said.

Another point could be made that the local government by adopting commercial weed is technically opening itself up for attacks by the Federal government and even worse directing those who are operating within a local framework to unknowingly violate federal law by granting a false sense of legitimacy. Of course some will roll their eyes and pretend the federal government will come around and not enforce tyranny on non-violent citizens. But after 16 raids and seizures by the State of Michigan Trevino won and got his property returned but instead US Attorney Daniel McGraw continued to attack and finally destroy this Michigan father who now serves 15 years in Federal Prison.

The House Of Dank says “giving preferential treatment to Detroit residents is unconstitutional”.

I wonder if the House of Dank would like to debate the Supremacy Clause with US Attorney Daniel McGraw in federal court with a 15 years prison sentence hinged on the outcome?

Venture Capitalists care for the people?

“The states largest-ever recall (in November 2021 for tested commercial weed) raises questions about what’s caught during safety testing, what slips through the cracks and what outside the systems control.”

64,000 pounds/$200M of Marijuana was recalled in November 2021. I read the 18 reports that led to the Viridis recall on Mlive; The Marijuana Regulatory Agency said “every complaint is investigated but hasn’t revealed whether investigators determined the consumed marijuana is to blame for the negative health effects”. Such as reported on 11/19/21 “I purchased all products at Lume Cannibis” and another on 11/19/21 purchased from Common Citizen. We are dealing with people who shop at Dazed and Confused and are complaining of chest pains and breathing issues! Despite if there was any real issue here, inhaling hot smoke is never good for you, but my point is about testing and the argument that the State can force safety onto products is proven false by this recall. These products fulfilled all the requirements to be shelved in commercial retailers.

In September of 2021, two months before the Viridis recall, the State wanted to force lab testing on small medical growers.

I allege Michael Nashat of TerrAscend would prefer “new licensing requirements [that] will force some caregivers to break the law and avoid licensing instead of leaving patients without medicine.”-Mike Roby a caregiver spoke to the Lansing State Journal

The Michigan cannabis safely act will help bring the huge illicit market into the regulated system to ensure all cannabis products sold in Michigan are safe, tested, labeled and taxed.” said Wendy Block “Michigan Cannabis industry is currently at a crossroads and now is the time to ensure all cannabis providers follow the same rules and standards like testing, tacking and licensing to promote safety, fairness and a level playing field.” PRN newswire Oct 24, 2021

Leveling the field or equating Venture Capitalists with “a registered primary caregiver may receive compensation for costs associated with assisting a registered qualifying patient in the medical use of marijuana” is another legal subversion for increased State control.

“The trial court held that the phrase “receive compensation for costs” was confusing, but rejected defendants claim that it was ambiguous on the ground that compensation for costs does not include profit, i.e., cost is different and distinct from profit” People vs Johnson

“WE may not ignore, or view as inadvertent, the omission of the term “sale” from the definition of the “medical use” of marijuana” State vs Mcqueen, 2013

Remember the 15 year Federal Prison sentence: “The opinion also said Trevino did not meet the narrow legal area where he can claim lack of knowledge of the law.”Marie Weidmayer Mlive

But the court of appeals doesn’t know the law either!

“Therefore, we hold that the definition of “medical use” in the MMMA includes the sale of marijuana. The Court of Appeals erred by concluding otherwise”, “Our Supreme Court, however has since held that the definition of “medical use” includes the sale of marijuana.”People vs Johnson 2013

If safety isn’t the excuse what is? Per the (Michigan Cannabis Safety Act) Medical patients would (indirectly) be limited to their privileged availability and pricing although they previously had to jump through hoops and sign legal contracts to obtain medical status as did their providers. Hippy Bob down the street who provided weed for one to five patients for years often at a great price would have to compete with new fees, licenses, and zoning and maybe even move if he wants to continue serving his medical clients.

In 2021 protesters rallied at the Capital against the proposed Michigan Cannabis Safety Act.

This bill limits the amounts of patients a caregiver can serve and raises the bar for product testing. In my opinion it is a total fabrication to allude that medical cannabis is not already of the highest quality and that the “free market” does not already make available the best quality product. Those such as Michael Elias of Common Citizen, worth 20 million and holding 45 licenses, the most in Michigan,

[“Title points to Massachusetts as a model that’s starting to show some results. In that state there are no limits on the total number of licenses, only on how many licenses any one individual or business can hold.”- Paul Demko Politco This is a bit different from “Operators of some farms -such as a massive one planned in Lawrence- worked with communities to change ordinances that allowed them to combine multiple growing licenses to grow even more marijuana” but I thought ordinances existed for a reason! I do know Bainbridge township won’t let me build a garage without a house on my land, they told me “if we granted you a variance then everyone would want one”. Private citizens interests are less important than millionaire Drug Dealers interests.]

(Common Citizen’s Michael Elais) wrote an opinion piece in the Detroit news against the caregivers and patients interests. “Patients deserve safe marijuana products”, as if a medical patient could not simply go to the public dispensary and access those products (and pay more) if they chose. As usual Elitists such as Michael Elias are allowed to skirt Federal Law while he enjoys his participation in the Commercial Federal Reserve scheme while he promotes further State legislation (which accompanies armed enforcement) to hinder local growers who are merely providing up to five patients with affordable “medicine”.

“the problem is the big money guys like Skymint, Pleasantrees, Green Peak, Lume, who are on the side of destroying caregivers, Bringold said. “People don’t have the income to enter the expensive licensing system, said Michael Whitty,.. the bills represent 20^th century monopolization and he fears for small growers.”

How are State profits spent?

I won’t even argue the intentional degeneracy by public schooling. I will refer you to the body of work by John Taylor Gatto. I simply hold that sending children to public school is child abuse. And finding a way to redirect the state money for schools to parents for homeschooling and private schools is just as important as this topic.

From what I can tell Administration for the weed the funds takes up close to 10% of the funds which simply amounts to more government. More unproductive labor to toe the party line!

Undoubtedly the Executive branch will (quietly) dip their hands into the coffers with the excuse of increased crime due to what we used to call “drug dealing” and “drug money”. They would likely be correct as I doubt crime would decrease! Safety is essentially another term for State tyranny. Small towns don’t need more police, more state servitors, more surveillance equipment, nor more prisons! (Pot smoking “dissenters” would rather not know that every gram of commercial weed is already tracked in a state database, METRC) State agents use threats of violence and incarceration to extort money and drum up law violations to justify their jobs. In this way Liberty to buy weed will directly contribute to Tyranny just as the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 created disproportionately impacted communities. Allowing commercial weed, especially consumption lounges, technically creates more criminals because more people will drive impaired and become subject to selective persecution. And as I stated, anybody in the industry is already currently a Federal criminal.

Morality/Ethics

“Social equity” is included in the bill but has not been defined. I am certain that it will become interpreted along the lines of victim “intersectionality” instead of simply by economic class, jurisdiction, or mere equal citizenship as in “equality under the law”.“Trigger” words like “social equity” are the latest weapons against the people by the Globalist’s Intellectual Elite to divide citizens.

“Jefferson was talking about equality of opportunity and equality before the law rather than circumstances of birth” Understanding Thomas Jefferson E.M.Halliday

“He takes exception to the doctrine that all men are created equal. This, Adams declares, is not in accord with the facts, since “nature… has ordained that no two objects shall be perfectly alike and no two objects perfectly equal… no two men are perfectly equal in person, property, or understanding, activity, and virtue.” This is a clear contradiction of the Deceleration, and even of his own earlier statements. It is to be observed, however, that Adams does not deny that all men are born with equal rights; “every being, “ said he, “has a a right to his own, as clear, as moral, as sacred as any other being has.” History of American Political Theories Charles Edward Merriam

Woke bureaucrats are in fact cunningly defining the terms in order to discriminate by race “it became clear that the broad language of the statute was not enough to address the specific issue of racial inequities… developing policy ideas to address the disparities in ownership and participation in the marijuana industry by people of color.” -Joint Ventures Pathway Program (Michigan.gov- CRA- Social Equity Program)

“Racism is not dead, but it is on life support- kept alive by politicians, race hustlers and people who get a sense of superiority by denouncing others as racist”, “When people get used to preferential treatment equal treatment seems like discrimination” -Thomas Sowell

Since the majority of my life I have been addicted to more than marijuana I speak with authority. I promote Jost Sauer’s books such as Perfect Day Plan which teaches addicts to form an hourly routine based on Traditional Chinese Medicine to control and master addictions.

“marijuana will slowly deplete Liver Yang”,“he fell into the text book Liver Yang deficiency depression type which is characterized by ‘low-grade irratibilty, angry withdrawal and muffled agitations, which may be expressed by excessive smoking or overeating’. Leon Hammer MD, Jost Sauer Higher & Higher.

TerraAscends Michael Nashat is primarily a pharmacist investor. He is in a position to promote Kratom to combat the fentanyl pandemic but likely will merely only pretend he is a humanitarian while he collects profits from the addicts of Buchanan. His ilk would only promote Kratom when he has a patent on some form of synthetic isolate of mitragynine.

These philanthropic capitalists will work to restrict our ability for private production of marijuana and to follow up the product line with psychotropic drugs.

My interest in this issue is to lead my neighbors away from the bondage of addiction which lends itself to sin with some distant hope that it will strengthen our community. And to do this by exposing this complex snare of justifications both moral and legal which culminates in mere rationalizations and excuses. Make no mistake, not for a second do I believe politicians will stand up to the Oligarchs or turn down “free” money they could otherwise embezzle to their friends and promote their own version of the Liberal agenda. In this way I am a bit of a defeatist. It falls on the citizens not the government to preserve our culture of Liberty tempered by Morality.

Sincerely,

END

BEGIN

Submitted to New Buffalo Township Joint Meeting for Adult Use Marijuana Establishments

July 3,2022 Matt Kirkus

John Doe doesn’t care about politics until they want something. It is no different here and now. I suspect the majority of attendees are here as profit seekers in an attempt to display the overwhelming public support for commercial weed. I will easily draw a comparison between abortion supporters, the attempts to recall the New Buffalo mayor, and those who are here for private gain by commercial weed. It is not coincidental that party lines are drawn on these issues.

Capitalism cares little about morality. It views individual private profit as the greatest good. Apologists for abortion claim economic hardship as the real reason to bypass personal responsibility and established ethics. Those who wish to recall the city mayor care more about vacation rental profits for Chicago investment holders than for the common good of the city. It would not surprise me to discover that the majority of those with a finger in the pot-pie, many here now to pressure you, are not even citizens here. If you care about benefiting the community with capital, the only excuse besides Liberty, than you will consider only giving residents the permission these foreign investors ask for now.

Judge Napolitano has a bitter taste in his mouth from State tyranny. He presents that weed should have been decriminalized instead of legalized. Legalization has led to more government oversight and tax/extortion revenue for the corrupt State. St. Augustine is famous for his quote “For he serves, not one man alone, but what is worse, as many masters as he has vices.” Liberty is freedom from sin instead of freedom to sin. And drugs, no matter how much a lesser of an evil they may be, are still drugs and are still wrong.

These drugs have to go somewhere. The market is already saturated. Which means they will need more promotions, more gimmicks, more flavors, and new customers. Children! During these turbulent times of supply chain shortages and countless upheavals these elite investors, with money to burn, still have no concept of what is good or necessary for society. These people should be cultivating food with their resources or enabling local production of clothes, shoes, or tools. They rationalize their self seeking behavior with excuses about how weed cures cancer or is better than drinking. But those excuses hold no relevance any more; we already have legal weed and we can all produce our own, why do we need any more effort put into catering to these drug pushers.

Everyone is looking for easy money. They care little that drugs do cause suffering. They intend to profit from our suffering and addiction, and as I speculated they are likely not even from here. We need to pander to the addictions of docile, suggestible, citizens with unrestrained passions in this degenerate society like we need an industrial drug plant in our neighborhood!

Those who promote libertine ideals, whether pro choice, pro drugs, or free market capitalists have some valid claims within our legal tradition. But I hold that these people do not wish to take up the duty and responsibility which secures our rights but instead wish to rationalize their debauchery, irresponsibility, laziness, addictions, self-seeking, and ignorance. This is the same rationale the elite who attack a representative mayor in New Buffalo hold.

This same local government didn’t have the courage to defend its citizens against the prison industrial complex while our harmless neighbors were persecuted for marijuana possession and in the same way they waited to long to hop on the weed-profits bandwagon anyway. We have little more than an out of touch government for an out of touch citizenry. I hope you enjoy your Netflix tonight.