S64 in the News: Medical marijuana rescheduled by Feds, could open up research and tax breaks
Strategies 64 leaders hit the airwaves to discuss the Justice Department’s announcement that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a final order reclassifying medical marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act.
S64’s Christian Sederberg was interviewed for a story on Colorado Public Radio, where he discussed the road ahead for implementation of rescheduling medical marijuana and for upcoming hearings on the prospect of expanding rescheduling to include marijuana regulated for adult use.
While legalization advocates welcomed the move, there’s concern of legal challenges to the medical rescheduling and potential recreational rescheduling.
“So a lot of advocacy work to be done,” said Christian Sederberg, an attorney who helped draft marijuana legalization in Colorado. “It’s going to be a rapid and furious a couple months here for the folks that have been working on this.”
Meanwhile, S64’s Mason Tvert represented Colorado’s cannabis industry trade association, Colorado Leads, in a story on KOAA NBC Colorado Springs and an interview on KOA 850 news radio.
S64 in the News: How Trump’s order to reclassify marijuana could affect Colorado’s industry
Strategies 64 partner Mason Tvert was featured in multiple media outlets, including the Denver Post and talk radio stations 850 KOA and 630 KHOW, speaking on behalf of Colorado Leads regarding President Donald Trump’s executive order to reclassify cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III.
President Donald Trump’s executive order to legally reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug stands to benefit Colorado cannabis businesses’ bottom lines at a time when the industry in this state is struggling, local proprietors and advocates said Thursday. … Mason Tvert, spokesperson for Colorado Leads, said the change “represents an extremely meaningful step toward aligning federal policy with scientific evidence, public opinion and decades of our state’s experience with cannabis. It acknowledges what many experts have known for decades, which is that cannabis does not belong on Schedule I.” … Tvert noted that critical issues would remain unsolved, including access to banking, lines of credit and traditional merchant processing. “It just comes down to, is marijuana federally illegal? And under Schedule III, it is still federally illegal,” Tvert said, so the incentive for banks to get involved in the industry wouldn’t necessarily change.
Audio and a transcript of Mason’s interview on 630 KHOW is available here.
S64 in the News: Colorado officials react to marijuana, AI executive orders
Amid reports that President Donald Trump is expected to advance cannabis rescheduling, Denver Fox affiliate KDVR interviewed Strategies 64 partner Mason Tvert, who spoke on behalf of Colorado Leads about the impact it would have on Colorado cannabis businesses. Watch a video of the news story below.
Mason highlighted how reclassifying cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III would greatly improve tax fairness, as state-regulated cannabis businesses would no longer be subject to Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code, which currently prohibits them from deducting ordinary business expenses like other businesses can.
The president signed an executive order on A.I. last week, and he could be signing an order dealing with marijuana soon. The two moves are getting different reactions here at home.
“Marijuana would still be illegal (at the federal level), but it would simply be treated differently under the law. And that has significant political and policy implications down the line,” said Mason Tvert of Colorado Leads.
The president said he is strongly considering rescheduling marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III, classifying it as a less dangerous drug. Tvert, a marijuana industry group, said the proposed change could allow cannabis businesses to be treated more fairly under federal tax policy, pave the way for more research and signify a shift.
“The most significant change for cannabis businesses would be the tax relief it provides. Currently, legal cannabis businesses are paying 70% or more in an effective tax rate, which is far greater than other legal businesses. They might see some relief if cannabis is rescheduled,” Tvert said.
Strategies 64 leader featured on High Minded with McCarter
Mason’s conversation with the popular cannabis influencer covers his 20-plus year career in cannabis policy and advocacy, including his move to Colorado in 2005 to begin laying the groundwork for legalization and the historic Amendment 64 campaign he co-directed in 2012. They also discuss what he is up to now with S64, the current state of the legal cannabis industry, and where it may be headed.
S64 in the News: Marijuana tax collections exceed $3 billion since recreational sales started in 2014
Colorado Public Radio spoke with Strategies 64 partner Mason Tvert for its report on the latest major milestone for Colorado’s marijuana market.
Total taxes and fees collected from the marijuana industry in Colorado topped $3 billion since the first recreational sales began in 2014, according to new data from the state.
“Colorado and like many other states has generated billions of dollars in new revenue from the legal sale of cannabis that previously used to just disappear into the underground market,” said Mason Tvert, a spokesperson for Colorado Leads, a marijuana trade group. “And now it’s really important that we ensure these businesses and this industry stay afloat and thrive in this state.”
The tax revenue is earmarked for a variety of programs, including school construction, behavioral health programs, money back to cities and counties, and for regulation of the industry.
S64 in the News: ‘Secret shopper’ study finds a lot of Colorado’s weed is weaker than advertised
Strategies 64 partner Mason Tvert spoke to Colorado Public Radio on behalf of Colorado Leads for its coverage of a study that found THC was inaccurately labeled on many regulated cannabis flower products.
Mason Tvert, a spokesperson for the marijuana industry group Colorado Leads, said there is no federal standard for testing labs since marijuana is federally illegal. And consumer preferences may be leading to higher cannabis potency labeling.
“The market tends to be driven by a desire for higher potency. Companies are incentivized to submit for testing the part of the plant that is most likely to have the highest level potency,” said Tvert, who added that it’s better to have the upper level of potency on the label for consumers.
S64 in the News: Cannabis fundraiser planned in Somerville
The Boston Globe spoke with Strategies 64 partner Mason Tvert for its coverage of a local mayoral candidate who is holding fundraiser featuring a cannabis-infused meal.
Mason Tvert, a cannabis consultant and longtime evangelist for cannabis legalization, said he could see campaigns hosting more THC-laced meals in the future. Cannabis has gained more social acceptance alongside its new ubiquity in the public square, a trend he thinks would continue if and when it is legalized at the federal level.
With time, more people of voting age will have grown up in a time when cannabis sales have been legal, and for whom the chance to pop an edible in the company of a local politician is enticing.
“As it becomes more legal and more widely accepted, we’re sure to see candidates or businesses or organizations take steps to reach out to that audience,” he said. “There are some people who might be attracted to an open bar. Some might be attracted to a cannabis- infused meal.”
S64’s Mason Tvert talks Pennsylvania cannabis legalization on “Planting Seeds” podcast with state Sen. Sharif Street
The episode, “Cannabis Legalization in the Keystone State: A Candid Discussion on Legalization and Regulation,” also featured Philadelphia City Councilman Curtis Jones, who discussed his evolving position on legalization and why he believes it is critical to look at who would benefit from it and who would not.
There are currently multiple adult-use legalization bills under consideration in the legislature, but time is running out, and every day it becomes increasingly more likely that the issue will be put on hold until 2025.
S64 in the News: Denver report finds marijuana legalization did not impact crime
Strategies 64 partner Mason Tvert appeared in Fox Denver’s coverage of the City and County of Denver’s latest annual report on marijuana in the city. His comments were also included in Benzinga’s coverage of the report. Watch the Fox video below.
Industry spokesperson Mason Tvert, a noted leader of initiatives that legalized marijuana, told FOX31 that revenues have declined since the high-demand phase of the coronavirus pandemic.
“It is a very difficult time for the legal cannabis industry,” he said.
Tvert said a solution to excessive supply is necessary and the industry must be supported as it continues to bolster efforts to address needs in the community.
“They want to pay taxes and they want to be regulated and treated like other businesses, but they cannot survive if we continue to overtax and overregulate,” Tvert said.
