- Ben Livingston
- Rick Garza, Steve Davenport, Roger Goodman, and Hilary Bricken
Earlier this week, Seattle-area cannabis entrepreneurs convened on the Lake Union waterfront for a night of business networking and a panel of pontificating pot people. The National Cannabis Industry Association presented a Q&A with state representative Roger Goodman (D-45), Rick Garza from the liquor board, Steve Davenport from the state’s new pot consulting team, and business attorney Hillary Bricken. Here’s some interesting bits:
1. Rep. Goodman Predicts Revolution if Feds Nullify Legal Pot
Rep. Goodman is convinced the federal government is not going to intervene in Washington State’s legal pot experiment. If they were planning to sue, they would have done it already, he says. The current federal response is “almost a silent message to Washington State: rock on.”
Goodman thinks the feds will stand down in this pot showdown because they fear a cannabis-inspired coup—an overthrow of the American government. “One reason is fear of revolution,” he says, arguing that a lawsuit by the federal government would almost certainly result in a nullification of the state law in the context of a states-rights-supporting popular sentiment in America. “If the Supreme Court says ‘sorry Washington voters,’ that will start a revolution.”
Noting “I’m on your side in Olympia,” Goodman told medical marijuana it’s fucked. “I actually didn’t say there would be no crackdown. If the federal government does enforce its laws, it will be on the largely unregulated medical cannabis industry.” The solution is to “shrink the medical market dramatically,” he believes. “Assuming medical patients don’t need to be hoarding 24 ounces, we’re going to look at changing that law.”
His recommendation to medical cannabis companies: “If you’re in the medical business now, you can probably just go into the 502 business.”
2. Out With the Old Pot Grow Expert
Steve Davenport from BOTEC Analysis confirmed that one of the four pot consulting team leads is being replaced. Michael Sautman worked with Bedrocan, the only company licensed to grow medical marijuana in the Netherlands, and it looks like the relationship that landed him the pot consulting gig is the same relationship that ended his pot consulting gig. Both Sautman and Davenport were tight lipped on the matter, so I have to make up a reason for the departure: I think that the Dutch don’t want their cannabis trade secrets divulged to Washington State.
Admittedly ill-prepared for press, Davenport explained that their lead pot growing expert had not been replaced, despite no longer being on the team and despite another person now serving in that role. “He had some issues with a previous employer that weren’t resolved,” he said. “But he wasn’t fired.”
3. In With the New Pot Growing Expert
The state’s new lead pot growing advisor is Matthew Cohen, a Mendocino County grower who was raided by the federal government in October 2011. Most folks point to Cohen’s 99-plant outdoor grow as a model for compliance with California state and local laws, but something—perhaps his frequent media appearances—caused the local US Attorney to target the county-sheriff-approved cultivator. Meet him on PBS NewsHour:
4. Liquor Board to Slow Legal Pot Timeline
“Governor Inslee looked at the tentative schedule and said this is a bit aggressive—said whoa, let’s step back and do this right,” according to Rick Garza from the liquor control board. He suggested the timeline for licensing legal pot businesses, which has been slated for August, might be pushed out “a couple of months” by the liquor board.