[act-ma] 12/15, A meeting to consider forming a Cannabis Co-op

[R. Wayne Clark]

Fellow Cannabis enthusiasts,

 

It is coming - "legal" marijuana (or, cannabis, for those "in the know") is only
months away in Massachusetts.  Now is the time to "go co-op".

 

For a while now, I have pondered when might be the best time to propose the
formation of a "cannabis co-op".  Now that Mass voters have approved
legalization of recreational marijuana, the cannabis business is about to take
off, not only in our state, but also in the region and nation.  Every "investor"
with a few thousand dollars in their pocket is looking to cash in.  This will
put more pressure on the feds to legalize and tax it nationally.  When the
cannabis business goes national, then it will be impossible to keep big money
out of the industry.  The cannabis market will be grabbed up faster than a pot
smoker can light a joint.  But, maybe a state-wide (or, even national) cannabis
co-op can "blunt" the impact of big money a bit.

 

So, how would it work?  First, in general, a co-op is "a group of people who
work together to provide themselves with the goods and services that they want."
In our specific case, a cannabis co-op would be a group of cannabis-enthusiasts
who work together to provide themselves with the legal cannabis that they
desire.  What does this mean?  Think about it this way, the rules and
regulations that will be adopted for legalization of cannabis will be extensive.
The organizations that succeed will be those that persevere thru the layers of
legal bureaucracy.  Thus, the strength of the organization will be tested over
the long run.  I think that a co-op is an organization that can develop this
resilience.  Basically, we would sell memberships that would include a certain
amount as an equity investment and a reasonably small annual membership fee.
Then, the co-op would use this money to create an organization that would meet
the state's requirements for a legal cannabis dispensary.  We would arrange for
the production of cannabis products and for the distribution of these products
to the members.  The co-op would handle all of the legal requirements, collect
and pay any required taxes, lobby for fair regulations, and build an
infrastructure to grow and distribute cannabis.

 

Second, there could be dozens of different ways to structure a cannabis co-op.
Here are just a few possibilities:  . . . 

 

 

Well, if you want to know the details, you will have to either contact me via
email or you could come to a meeting to discuss this issue of forming a cannabis
co-op.  This will be held on Thursday, Dec 15th @ 5:30 PM in the Community Room
of Bowditch School, 82 Green St., Jamaica Plain, MA.

 

Upon request, I will provide all of the details.

 

Happily, Wayne.