For the Culture By The Culture
Pot Culture Magazine returns with Vol. 02 of Reefer Report Card, our new Saturday breakdown of weed-world chaos. Florida moves to strip cards from patients with past charges, a Queens dispensary submits a fake FDNY letter, Missouri wants weed sold like beer, and North Carolina takes two very different paths on policy. Grade incoming.
They said it was legal, but forgot to mention the local bans, zoning traps, and phantom policies blocking access at every corner. This is the real face of fake legalization, from small town shutdowns to legal gray zones that keep cannabis just out of reach.
Governor Josh Stein didn’t legalize weed, he just moved the goalposts. By creating a Cannabis Advisory Council stacked with experts, enforcers, and tribal leaders, North Carolina is skipping the legislature and designing legalization from the top down. This isn’t a bill. It’s a blueprint, and it might be the only way forward in a state stuck in denial.
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.
New Mexico's cannabis market faces a crisis due to water hauling bans, impacting small operators while corporate farms remain unaffected. Regulatory confusion and inadequate support threaten local growers, leading to closures and potential lawsuits. The situation emphasizes the need for proper infrastructure to support small businesses in the evolving cannabis landscape.
Texas just passed a bill that could jail you for a gummy. House Bill 3948 criminalizes THC above 0.3 percent, targeting vapes, edibles, and Delta-8 under the guise of regulation. While the nation moves forward, Texas slams into reverse, fast and hard.
