For the Culture By The Culture
Weed shops profit from cannabis culture while refusing to hire the people who shaped it. Insurers, compliance officers, and corporate rules punish cannabis users even in legal states. Testing myths, background screening, and liability fear filter out anyone with real experience. The result is a workforce designed to exclude the culture that keeps the industry alive.
Congress inserted language into the shutdown bill that threatens to eliminate a 28 billion market relied on by veterans, older adults, people living with chronic pain, and those avoiding alcohol. The Hemp Beverage Alliance and NORML warned that this crisis is the result of political maneuvering rather than safety concerns. The next 365 days will decide the future of these products.
The New York Times has finally admitted that legal cannabis is eating into alcohol consumption across the country, after years of fear mongering that painted the plant as a public threat. Anyone inside weed culture saw this shift long before the paper caught on. As people replace booze with a calmer, less punishing option, the old narrative collapses and the Times scrambles to catch up
Congress slipped a hemp ban into a shutdown bill and triggered a nationwide fight that threatens farmers, small operators, veterans, and a twenty eight billion dollar market. Hemp Industry Strikes Back exposes the misinformation behind the vote and the yearlong battle now forming in courts, statehouses, and rural communities across the country.
Cannabis may be legal on paper, but online it is under siege. From shadowbanning and deleted accounts to financial chokeholds by Stripe and PayPal, Big Tech is quietly erasing weed culture. This hard-edged feature exposes the hypocrisy and asks if cannabis will reclaim its voice before algorithms choke it out for good.
Legal cannabis has generated nearly $25 billion in tax revenue, with $4.4 billion collected in 2024 alone. States benefit significantly, funding various community programs. However, equity issues remain, as many who contributed to legalization are still marginalized. The promise of justice is overshadowed by bureaucracy and economic barriers for legacy growers.
