2 minute read
Advancing Equity & Compliance in Illinois
Dr. Mila K. Marshall CNW Cannabis Corner Editor
Better together
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State Representative LaShawn Ford along with six other democratic lawmakers has created a working group focused on equitable and fair cannabis policies. State Reps. Marcus Evans, D-Chicago, Barbara Hernandez, D-Aurora, Bob Rita, D-Blue Island, Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, D-Glenview, Sonya Harper, D-Chicago, and Bob Morgan, D-Highland Park will be working towards advancing social equity.
The working group comes at a time in which Illinois is facing emerging competition with maturing markets in Missouri. December 2022 record high sales of $143M dropped to $128M total in January of 2023. Dips in sales mean a decrease in cannabis tax dollars. Illinois cannabis has the 2nd highest taxes in the nation. Funding state social equity programs using tax dollars is risky. Shifts to cannabis sales lessen tax revenue and can decrease capital allocated for business grants or violence prevention programs across the state.
Lawmakers have their work cut out for them as they balance the protection of the market for consumers while removing barriers for social equity entrepreneurs.
Delta-8 count your days.
When the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill passed, agricultural communities were elated to have yet another cash crop. Most hemp processed was for the extraction of CBD, but through extraction and synthesis, delta-8 THCO rapidly became the less expensive and legal way to sell and consume THC. The low barriers to entry into cannabis through hemp is alluring. Yet the complexity of the shifting political landscape can be confusing and intimidating. This past week the DEA stated that delta-8 THCO in fact is a Schedule 1 controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The popular substance can only be obtained through chemical alteration.
Be sure with AccuSure Analytical Laboratories
Grace Analytical Environmental Laboratories has been around since 1988. Current owner and CEO Dr. Marlon Everett, Owner of Grace AccuSure Analytical Laboratories purchased the company in late fall of 2022. Dr. Everett is a practicing physician dedicated to protecting patient health through high-quality and safe medication.
Everett bought the lab to focus, specifically on safety.
“I’ve seen patients who had secondary infections from contaminated marijuana with microorganisms,” Dr. Everett shared.
“If it is legal then it should be safe and that is my whole purpose. My whole life is directed towards patient safety and marijuana is a drug just as any other we provide and people deserve to have confidence in what they are consuming to help them feel better,” Everett responded.
Of the 5 testing labs in Illinois, AccuSure is the first 100% Black owned and operating cannabis testing lab in the state and one of the few in the nation. The lab is located about 20 minutes from downtown Chicago in Berkeley, Illinois and looking to strengthen its share of the cannabis compliance market. Before being purchased by Everett the Grace had already been serving the medical hemp community as early as 2015.
The market in Illinois is still maturing, leaving companies like AccuSure to identify alternative clients outside of the industry. Everett sees compliance as highly valuable to avoid contamination. Currently, there are 5 analytical labs approved by IDOA to test marijuana.
“I think it is important for all aspects of cannabis to be diverse. Testing is an ancillary service. Traditionally the industry is dominated by white entrepreneurs and influencers, but diversity in compliance is just as important as increasing diversity in other areas of the supply chain.” - Dr. Marlon Everett.
Testing fees don’t worry Everett. He believes compliance costs will not negatively impact social equity growers’ bottom lines.
“I think the quality of Illinois cannabis is fairly good. I haven’t seen a lot of problems in the batches we test. But as we increase mass production and more companies compete there is the potential for cutting corners. We need to make sure that all cannabis products are as safe as they can be,” says Dr. Everett.
AccuSure has plans to strengthen its presence in the Illinois market. With slow-to-open craft growing companies in Illinois, compliance has to pivot and provide testing services for other industries. Everett’s team does environmental and FDA testing and looks forward to the growing cannabis testing needs as the market matures.
