Frustration

I am on vacation this week. We have made it a tradition to go away the week of my birthday. This trip is a combination of London, Cotswolds and Ireland.  It’s beautiful and relaxing. Just what the doctor ordered. More on that next week.

I am still staying on top of what is needed. Today, my birthday, we will have the opportunity to apply for two more dispensary licenses. We want to check every box to ensure we have the best bet of winning those licenses. The information was released about two weeks ago.

Yesterday morning, I read an editorial about how amazing the NY state rollout has been helping those hurt by the war on drugs, espousing the supposed $50m fund that was put aside from the state budget to help those awarded licenses under CAURD. I have never heard about anyone getting that capital, meaning most of those who have previously been incarcerated have been screwed.  

There was never a $50m fund that I know of, and to believe that amount of money would help 450 plus applicants is so ridiculous it infuriates me. Two NY politicians wrote an editorial praising themselves for the rollout. There is nothing worse than politicians living with their heads in the sand.

We have been working hard to lock down two commercial locations with leases before applying. There have been so many bumps in the road that I can’t keep count.

We were told that the lenders of the building we are working with, Chase and Wells Fargo, have deemed a problem with cannabis businesses because it is Federally illegal, although it is legal in NY State. This is one of the reasons that getting a lease is so tricky because of the lenders.

My guess after talking to a variety of “secondary banks” that can’t say who their funding is from is getting their cash from the big banks, meaning the majority of them are already in the cannabis business and not being honest about it. Even if they aren’t, the frustrations of attempting to build a cannabis business that is overtaxed yet will do over $35b this year and $70b in revenue for this country by 2028 makes zero sense. 

The Government has fucked this up on countless levels, from state to Federal. I am so angry and feel so helpless when we work hard to do the right thing.  Remember that a booming illegal market in New York City has made it incredibly difficult to compete with.

I have weaved and bobbed so often, but after hearing this news, I want to scream and curl into a ball and sob.

I wonder how many of the powers the be partake?  Will the Senate and the House do the right thing and pass the Banking Act, de-schedule cannabis, and change the taxes?  At this point, my usual optimism is at an all-time low. There is only one word to describe our Government today: incompetent.