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Sen. Bracy says the irony isn't lost on those in prison that, while one form of marijuana landed them behind bars, another form is making people rich. ....
At the Orlando high school where I was once a school administrator, a distraught young man stood before me. He had sought me out for advice on a decision he was about to make, the consequences of which would be devastating, no matter the course he followed. The 18-year old had been arrested, and was facing a misdemeanor pot possession charge. The prosecutor was offering a deal: Plead guilty and go home, or face jail time. I told him to reject it. “Later on, it’s going to hurt you,” I said. He took the deal. In Florida, too many kids have taken deals like these. As they quickly learned, that longing to go home turns into an unbreakable ball and chain, anchoring them to a rap sheet for the rest of their lives, and following them into higher education, careers, credit ratings, housing applications and even insurance rates. ....
BRADENTON – Cultural realities notwithstanding, the federal prohibition of marijuana hasn’t budged an inch since the plant was blacklisted as a Schedule 1 drug half a century ago. Which meant, among other things, that banks handling accounts linked in any way to cannabis transactions could get busted for money laundering. But with the winds of medical science and consumer demands at his back, Bradenton entrepreneur Todd Kleperis is nudging banking institutions into the 21st century. His platform is called PayZel, and the network allows state-licensed cannabis operators nationwide to gain access to an expanding array of legitimate financial services – loans, mortgages, payroll and more. ....
Article content Kazan points out that many people convicted of non-violent cannabis offences are serving hard time while many cannabis businesses continue to operate and states are raking in cash by deeming those businesses as essential. “The magnitude of this growing yet still federally illegal industry is massive as U.S. consumers spent nearly US$18 billion on cannabis in 2020 while 68 per cent of Americans support legalization,” he writes. Parker Coleman hugging his mother. / Photo by Supplied “As someone who strongly believes in law and order, I ask that you see pardoning him as an action in the best interest of society, justice and the American taxpayers,” he notes. Parker’s family “should not miss one more Christmas or birthday together.” ....
Article content Cox and three other men had planted seedlings in the forest and on the nearby property of Cox’s father. The plan, he told Rolling Stone in 2017, was to “grow some really good buds” and “to sell and smoke the weed after harvesting.” But things didn’t work out that way. According to Rolling Stone, a neighbour called the National Forest Service to report ATV tracks cutting across his property, which led to rangers discovering some dead plants in the forest and additional seedlings on Cox’s father’s property. Cox, fearing the possibility of imprisonment, went on the run for three years. ....