When Monkeys Hurl Feces

The rich get richer while the have nots tear each other apart.

So I woke up yesterday morning to this instagram post that I was tagged in, basically calling me out for posting a video that featured people that the commenter doesn’t believe deserve a voice in the cannabis community. Playing judge, jury, executioner.

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@lazy_Pharaoh “Get Complaint….OR ELSE!!!” The or else of course being Chad, Brad, Zachary, and Jonathan over here snitching to the cops on you. What a bunch of greenrush toolbags. These guys can’t grow cannabis for shit so their main goal is taking out those that can. What a bunch of fuckbois. The underground didnt lose the war on drugs, we sure as shit aint gonna lose the Battle of the Suits.. https://youtu.be/Crleo4RuxTE


@budgasm
 these guys are scumbags. Legit wieners invading an unwelcome space, while theyre attempting to pay, to control it. If they can’t win they’ll snitch on their competition. How dare you give people like them any futher spotlight.

they know how much endless money pits and legal gymnastics bullshit theyre putting oldschool people through to turn around and try to still keep em out because they arent born into being richboy douchebags like these cats.

Not knowing where to even start to respond, I rewatched the panel that I filmed, to listen to the content of the conversation while keeping in mind all the accusations that were made by @lazy_Pharaoh against the speakers.

Some of the accusations – Chads, richboy douchebags, snitches, greenrush toolbags, scumbags, want to take out people who are good at growing cannabis, weiners, trying to control / takeover the cannabis industry, and the cause of all the pain old school cannabis people are enduring in a regulated market.

Cannabis Manufacturing Compliance Panel Discussion

My general frustration is that every time I feature an expert or consultant with a specific skillset that can help the small operators I, and I assume people like @lazy_Pharaoh, care about, the brunt of frustration at how “legal” cannabis is playing out is directed at those people, rather than the lawmakers who wrote the laws, the regulators who added meat to the laws, and the big, well capitalized finance guys who are positioned to win based not on their cannabis passion or skills, but purely because they have deep pockets.

Big companies can afford to hire 10 of the guys on the panel as full time employees. Small operators watch youtube videos on things like packaging compliance, METRC, and, in this case, manufacturing compliance. My goal is to make that information affordably / freely available to those who are getting punched in the face on a daily basis trying to survive the transition to a totally f’d up, unfair regulated market.

Again, @lazy_Pharaoh and I probably agree on how unfair the new “legal” cannabis world is, but I’d like to caution against calling everybody the bad guy. So @lazy_Pharaoh here’s my response to you, which I believe is too long for an instagram comment on your post.

@lazy_Pharaoh you’re right that 3 of the 4 speakers are not legacy growers or extractors, in the same way that I assume you’re not a legacy manufacturing expert, which is the general topic of conversation. a large and growing percentage of cannabis consumption is of products that go through a manufacturing process, i.e., not flower. i prefer sungrown flower and hash, but i’m not going to look down at someone who likes vape pens or edibles.

i believe you’re being sanctimonious, hyper judgmental, and making gross generalizations and accusations that are not based on any sort of evidence. you’re name calling, labelling people, and calling for the silencing of voices. 

the panel was organized by @highzenbear, far right, who comes from the traditional market, is entering the shitty regulated market, and trying to gain some of the required skills to survive. some of those skills are boring, and in a lot of cases, reflect heavy handed regulations – METRC, taxes, accounting, compliance, human resources, legal, etc.

hate on the regulations, not the people trying to enter and survive the regulated market, nor the people who have the skills required by the regulations, oftentimes developed in other industries. 

you’re right, 100% they’re not OGs. i see some scientific, engineering and manufacturing talent sharing the stage with a guy who spent 20 years in the non-profit world and a guy who started in extraction by making bubble hash in his washing machine over a decade ago.

none of them work for Pfizer, Monsanto or Medmen. they’re not part of the big money takeover of cannabis. but you sure are accusing them of that.

while you’re shitting on these small business people the real Chads are taking over the industry and laughing at all of us throwing shit at each other. the rich sit on the sidelines while the poor and middle class tear each other apart, and then step right over the battlefield carnage and take the castle.

we’re not welcoming of scientists? or manufacturing experts? or engineers?? who else shouldn’t have a voice in the cannabis community??

“Understanding things that could introduce toxins or contaminants…and being able to track and manage those things….otherwise facilities get shut down….you get more regulatory review….you get auditors coming in. it’s a mess. it’s much more productive to stay ahead of that.” that’s around minute 28.  That’s the “or Else”. It’s not relevant to those who want to stay out of the regulated market, but very relevant to those who do want to enter the regulated market. If you’re a licensed operator, work on compliance, which is not fun, or risk running into costly problems down the line.

the purpose of the video is to help small operators that are trying to survive in a regulated market that is stacked against them. compliance sucks. but it’s a requirement for those trying to move from the traditional market to the shit show that is the regulated market.

that may not be you, or some of the people who liked or commented on your post. but there are a lot of small and old school people trying to survive a fucked up regulatory system. this video is for them. i don’t begrudge anyone trying to enter the regulated market, no matter how shitty it is. a lot of those people are tired of helicopters and are getting PTSD all over again with the raids happening right now in CA.

small companies can’t afford legal, compliance and HR resources like a MedMen or other well financed corporate giant can. but they’re required to spend money on all those things.

so imagine me featuring experts that can educate small operators. i don’t care how square or plain vanilla they are, or that they are scientists and engineers by trade. or that they’re not legacy.

can what they say on stage help one small legacy operator? two? four?? if yes, then i’ll give them a voice. call them Chad if you want. i call them helpful.

generally, i hear them talking about Good Manufacturing Practices, employee safety, environmental concerns. oh the horror. take the mic away and silence them.

and where do any of these guys ever talk about snitching on others??? that’s a huge accusation you make and not fact based, which in my view is dangerous. you got a lot of likes and comments on something that you’re projecting onto the speakers based on their physical appearance, their area of expertise, or their non-OG status. did you actually watch the video? did they mention snitching, delighting at putting growers out of business, or their rich boy roots?

you’re doing what partisan news networks do regularly, projecting onto people, creating hysteria about things that were never said or taking comments out of context to sensationalize. you’re better than that.

save the pitchforks, tar and feathers for those who deserve it.