Profiting from marijuana

The New England Cannabis Convention will descend upon the R.I. Convention Center from May 16-17. A colorful assortment of businesses will be purveying everything from vapors, to hydroponic devices and analytical testing, according to the website newenglandcannabisconventions.com.

Among these vendors are Cannaline, which produces an impressive array of airtight “stash jars” and camouflaged smell-proof bags; Pot Pockets, which produces carrying cases for marijuana joints; and Extracting Innovations LLC., a company involved with such processes as “decarboxylated herb preparation.”

Medicinal Genomics conducts “microbial testing for cannabis” and “pretest DNA purification,” employing the same biotechnology used in the Human Genome Project.

Kushley LLC, provides organic products that “eliminate medical-marijuana odors.” And the vendor Buried Treasures offers a “vast selection of vaporizers for dry herbs and concentrates,” along with more than 100 brands of rolling papers.   

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Clearly, the business of marijuana has become more complex than when your cool uncle puffed a joint at Woodstock ’69. 

If marijuana were to become a legal and taxable product in Rhode Island, there likely would be significant economic consequences.

Jared Moffat, director of Regulate Rhode Island, a coalition that seeks to tax marijuana as alcohol is taxed, said that, “We estimate that Rhode Island consumes roughly 25 metric tons of cannabis a year, which would produce roughly $58 million in tax revenue a year for the state once the market is fully ramped up.”

Many who support pot legalization argue that it’s the nation’s leading cash crop.

But not everyone views marijuana use as harmless recreation. Dr. Robert L. DuPont, former director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, has written about a “growing body of research” showing a link between “early marijuana use” and the onset of schizophrenia.

The convention’s Saturday program will include a talk on “green jobs,” and there will be a panel of “ganjapreneurs,” along with hiring managers. Sunday’s panel will address the “best practices for preparation and use” of marijuana edibles and concentrates.

For those interested in attending Providence’s New England Cannabis Convention, a single-day pass costs $25. A two-day pass costs $40. •

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