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Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Joint commission hears roadmaps for Virginia's retail cannabis rollout
Cannabis plant. (Photo by Getty Images) Virginia's long-delayed path toward a legal cannabis marketplace took another step forward Wednesday as the state's new bipartisan commission convened for its second meeting at the Capitol, listening to hours of presentations on taxation, equity, and the role of small businesses in shaping what could become a billion-dollar industry. The joint commission — created this year by lawmakers after Gov. Glenn Youngkin once again vetoed legislation establishing a retail system — is charged with building consensus around a plan to launch sales by 2026. On Wednesday, it heard from national experts, equity advocates, fiscal analysts, and small business owners whose livelihoods may hinge on the rules Virginia adopts. The political stakes remain high in an election year when three statewide offices and all 100 seats in the House of Delegates are on the ballot. In a stark contrast to Youngkin, former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee for governor, has already signaled she would sign cannabis retail legislation if it reaches her desk. 'I support a legal marketplace for cannabis,' she told The Mercury in an interview earlier this month. 'I want to ensure that it is fully regulated, people know what they're buying, and revenues go towards education.' Virginia first made headlines in 2021 when lawmakers voted to legalize possession and home cultivation of small amounts of marijuana, making it the first Southern state to do so. But while residents can grow plants at home, retail sales were never authorized. Lawmakers attempted to fix that earlier this year with a bipartisan proposal to create a regulated market starting in 2026, complete with microbusiness licenses, a seed-to-sale tracking system, and projected revenues of $87.8 million annually by 2031. The bill would have steered 40% of tax revenue to early childhood education, 30% to equity reinvestment, 25% to substance use treatment, and 5% to public health. Youngkin vetoed the plan, warning it would endanger public safety and expose children to harm. He also struck down companion measures to expunge old marijuana convictions and shield parents from custody challenges based on legal cannabis use. Advocates blasted his vetoes as shortsighted. In response, lawmakers created the Joint Commission on the Future of Cannabis Sales through House Joint Resolution 497 — a move that did not require the governor's signature. The body will operate through 2028 as a venue for public input and legislative planning. Its first meeting in July was mostly organizational. Wednesday's session — its second — was the first chance to dig into the policy choices facing Virginia. Andrea Jimenez, a policy specialist with the National Conference of State Legislatures, opened the meeting with a survey of how 23 states have structured their cannabis markets. Taxation, she explained, varies widely — by percentage of price, product weight, or even potency. Jimenez pointed to Maryland, which recently raised its marijuana tax from 9% to 12%, directing most revenue to the general fund and the Community Reinvestment and Repair Fund. Colorado, by contrast, splits its 15% excise and 15% sales taxes between schools, local governments, and general funds. New York and Connecticut have experimented with potency-based taxes and earmarked large shares of revenue for equity programs. But even states with established markets have faced challenges. 'There's just simply too much product for the amount of demand that exists,' Jimenez warned, noting falling marijuana prices in California, Colorado, and Michigan that have depressed revenues. Equity was a recurring theme throughout the meeting. Chelsea Higgs Wise, executive director of Marijuana Justice, reminded lawmakers that legalization in Virginia was driven not only by economics but by racial justice. 'In 2020, JLARC confirmed what many Virginians knew — that Black folks in Virginia were being arrested 3.5 times more and received marijuana convictions 3.9 times the rate of white Virginians,' Wise said, referring to a study by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee published that year. That disproportionate enforcement inspired lawmakers to pass the 2021 law ending criminalization. Wise urged the commission to uphold the commitments made then, including the Cannabis Equity Reinvestment Program and Loan Fund. 'An adequate investment in a strategic rollout that considers these issues will give us the best chance that we have for a successful, long-term market,' she said. Projected revenue under Virginia's current framework — about $74 million to $94 million annually — could fund scholarships, workforce training, and community reinvestment. But Wise cautioned that opt-out referendums could allow localities to ban sales until 2026, weakening both revenues and equity goals. Rodrigo Soto of The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis offered a broader fiscal context. His group modeled how cannabis revenues stack up against other revenue options the legislature might consider in 2026, from income tax changes to corporate levies. Creating a retail cannabis market could bring in about $61.5 million under the current bill, Soto said. But if taxed at 20% to 25%, as JLARC recommended, revenues could range from $122 million to $254 million annually by the market's fifth year. 'The design choices really matter,' Soto told the panel. Distribution decisions — such as how much goes to pre-K, substance use programs, or public health — will ultimately shape the impact on Virginians. Perhaps the most passionate testimony came from small business owners who fear being shut out of the new market. Barbara Biddle, founder of District Hemp Botanicals, recounted how her company grew from a $2,000 investment and a six-foot table into three storefronts and nearly $2 million in revenue. But after lawmakers passed a 2023 bill restricting hemp-derived products, she lost half her business overnight. 'The bill did far more than just outlaw Delta 8,' Biddle said, referring to Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol, a psychoactive substance found in the cannabis sativa plant. 'It knocked out 90% of the market, including non-intoxicating CBD products my customers came to rely on.' Biddle warned the panel to avoid mistakes that favored large corporations at the expense of local entrepreneurs. 'Doing so will not only promote safety, but also preserve fair competition and prevent consumers from bearing the burden of artificially high prices,' she said. Her colleague, Eric Spanbauer of the East Coast Collective, echoed those concerns. 'These are not faceless corporations,' he said. 'They're your neighbors, your local employers, and your community partners.' Spanbauer urged the state to lower application fees, expand license caps, and offer micro-licenses and training for small operators. 'If we repeat the same pattern, writing rules that only billion-dollar corporations can comply with, we risk destroying the very foundation of what could be a thriving, inclusive Virginia-based marijuana industry,' he said. Wednesday's presentations underscored the delicate balance facing lawmakers: generating revenue, ensuring equity, supporting small businesses, and satisfying a wary public. Most Republicans, led by Youngkin, remain skeptical. The governor has consistently argued legalization will not eliminate the black market and could worsen youth drug use. His veto message earlier this year cited risks of 'increased gang activity' and 'adverse effects on children's and adolescents' health.' Democrats, meanwhile, are betting the politics will shift with a new governor. Spanberger has leaned into her support for legalization, framing it as a matter of regulation and education funding. 'Consumer knowledge, heavily regulated, heavily taxed, with revenues mostly going towards education,' she said in the interview with The Mercury. The commission will continue meeting, with the goal of crafting legislation for introduction in 2026. Members stressed that public input and stakeholder testimony will guide the process. For now, cannabis in the commonwealth remains in limbo: it's legal to possess, illegal to buy. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Solve the daily Crossword
IOL News
7 days ago
- IOL News
KZN anti-apartheid activist seeks to clear his name, appeals murder conviction
Gugulethu "Matiri" Madonsela was recently granted R10,000 bail pending his appeal. Image: File A former activist, who fought against the apartheid government, is determined to clear his name and restore his reputation after he was labelled an apartheid collaborator and convicted of the murder of a fellow activist. Gugulethu "Matiri" Madonsela was recently granted R10,000 bail pending his appeal. He had already spent almost two years in jail. He was found guilty in November 2023 of the February 1989 murder of his fellow comrade Siphelele Nxumalo and sentenced to ten years in prison. Nxumalo was shot dead in Chesterville. Madonsela's appeal against his conviction and sentence is currently before the Supreme Court of Appeal. Speaking to The Mercury this week, just days after being granted bail, Madonsela stated that Nxumalo was his comrade, and he was close to his parents, who were also involved in the fight against apartheid. They had been together since around 1985. 'I maintain that I had nothing to do with the killing,' he said. Giving context to his life and underground ANC activities that eventually led to the current accusations against him of murder and skipping bail, he explained that life had been difficult under the burden of apartheid. He and 18 other activists had intended to go into exile. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ In 1987, they attempted to go into exile but were arrested near the Golela border post, imprisoned, and severely assaulted. After that, he was arrested again by the apartheid regime and kept in prison, only to be released later. In 1989, he was arrested again for the murder of Nxumalo. 'I was arrested with another comrade; we were granted bail of a thousand rand. I was still intending to go into exile, so after I was granted bail, I made my plans to leave. Therefore, in the eyes of the law, I had skipped bail.' He returned to the country in 1992 and found that his family was in a desperate situation, which led him to get involved in armed robbery. He was arrested that year and sentenced to six years in prison but was released early on parole. He turned around his life and got a job at a state parastatal, where he worked until he was arrested by the Hawks in 2022 for the murder of Nxumalo. 'In all these years I have been in the country, no one ever came to me to say they were looking for me for that case. When I heard that they had been asking about me, I alerted them to where I was working.' He stated that the public statement made when he was arrested had tarnished his name.
IOL News
07-08-2025
- Entertainment
- IOL News
For the love of Mozart
Columnist and journalist William Charlton-Perkins has penned his debut novel Meetings with Mozart Image: John Walton A Durban opera columnist's passion shines in his debut novel Meetings with Mozart about a retired opera director and his love of music. Mozart's genius, fiery energy, wonderful sense of fun and extraordinary musical output make for a fascinating life story. Meetings with Mozart taps into that with a parallel modern story focusing on Mozart's own credo: 'Neither a lofty degree of intelligence, nor imagination, nor both together, go to the making of genius. Love, Love, Love. That is the soul of genius.' In the novel Horace, a retired opera director, engages with a group of Mozart enthusiasts to help them discover his idol's profound contribution to humanity – love. Set in eastern South Africa, with its lush midlands, soaring mountains and arid bushveld, Meetings with Mozart vividly evokes the sense of time and place of its milieu: the fragrance of its flora, the music of its birdcalls, the torrential storms of its summers. The narrative interweaves the high – and the low – points of Mozart's life and his music genius, with the lives of present-day characters. The book Meetings with Mozart by William Charlton-Perkins Image: Supplied William Charlton-Perkins, a journalist and columnist, is one of South Africa's eminent opera connoisseurs. He grew up with his three siblings in the Natal Midlands, in a home that brimmed with their parents' passion for the arts - a passion he inherited. A lapsed amateur pianist who has regarded Mozart as his musical deity since childhood, it is perhaps inevitable that Meetings with Mozart is his debut novel. Charlton-Perkins explains: 'I grew up as a shy little boy who listened to classical music at an early age. For four decades, my bi-monthly Classical Notes column in The Mercury was the only one of its kind in South Africa, completely focused on the world suggested by its title. My novella, Meetings with Mozart, began life as a libretto for an opera about Mozart.' "Before setting out to write it, I updated my Mozart library with new reading matter about the composer, including an updated and invaluable edition of his letters (Mozart was an inveterate correspondent). Then the writing process began. Due to a career change, the composer-friend with whom I'd planned to collaborate never wrote a score. So, having written more than 5000 words, in what felt like an unstoppable flow, I set the manuscript aside for a while, and then decided to take the plunge and turn it into a self-standing book. "My decision was sparked when I chanced upon a Facebook post by an expat friend, Joanne Smith, who emigrated to Perth in Australia decades ago. The post indicated that Jo had started a new career as a book editor. This led to an exchange of email and phone details, and within a week, I'd started my novel. Jo turned out to be a Rolls-Royce of an editor, just the ticket to keep me on the straight and narrow, and it seemed as if my manuscript virtually wrote itself. It took about ten months to complete, and the search for a publisher opened a new phase in the experience of becoming a first-time author as a septuagenarian," he said. Meetings with Mozart was published in the UK at the end of January this year, and became available in South African outlets a few months later. Media and readers' reviews speak for themselves.
Sky News AU
29-07-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Hobart City Council rejects push to make its Acknowledgement of Country speeches optional after councillor argued they were 'ritualistic', similar to 'holy communion'
A proposal to make Acknowledgement of Country speeches optional for Hobart City Council meetings has been voted down despite the push being endorsed by a high-profile Indigenous campaigner. Cr Louise Elliot put forward a motion to remove the item from the agenda and for it to instead take place prior to official proceedings. Cr Elliot likened the practice to religious rituals like "baptism" and "holy communion". "Country in an Aboriginal context is much broader than the geographical term in English language. It's a much more spiritual setting and there's a complex set of things that underpin that. It's much more than the tangible items," she said. "This is about the central concept of consent and giving people the option as to whether they engage with the ritual or whether they don't." Cr Elliot denied the move was about erasing Tasmania's violent history. "Acknowledging history is a really good thing. I don't think we need to do it on a hourly, daily, or even weekly basis,' she said. 'We all know that Aboriginal people were here well before colonisation. We all know that terrible things happened as part of that process, which is really sad." The motion received unexpected support from local Aboriginal activist and Palawa person Nala Mansell. 'I completely agree that offering nothing but words at the beginning of every single meeting, gathering, parliamentary sitting to acknowledge all the horrible things that have happened to Aborigines, and continue to happen to Aborigines, becomes tokenistic,' she told The Mercury. 'The words end up making the person offering those words feel like they've contributed somehow, while offering no benefit whatsoever to Aboriginal people. 'It doesn't give us back any of our stolen lands, it doesn't stop Aboriginal incarceration rates from rising.' Palawa elder Uncle Rodney Dillon said Acknowledgement of Country still has a role in Australia. "As Aboriginal people we feel recognised when we do Welcome to Country. We feel that we're part of the community and the community understands us," he said. "This is not about jamming something down someone's throat. This is about love and putting our arms out and cuddling each other. It's the opposite to what she thinks it is." Uncle Dillon also criticised Cr Elliot's framing of the issue around consent. "We didn't consent to them taking our land either and we didn't consent to them locking up our kids. I know a lot about consent," he said. A council spokesman said there is no formal policy requiring the chair to deliver an Acknowledgement of Country at the start of council meetings or workshops. "However, this practice has been consistently observed since 2015 and is observed by all Tasmanian councils and all capital city councils across Australia," they said. Cr Elliot maintains she was made to feel it was compulsory when chairing committees. "I was told 'no' it needs to stay as an agenda item and my choice then was either to say something that I didn't believe in, which I can't do, or to skip the agenda item and be accused of not following the agenda," she said. "By default being put in that predicament shows that it's not optional."
New York Post
27-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Post
Liberty's Natasha Cloud returns to the site of WNBA betrayal
SAN FRANCISCO — Natasha Cloud's infectious personality was stuffed away like a winter coat when June hits. The woman who often has so many words to say had nothing. This was on a lowly day in early February, when according to Cloud, she learned on Instagram that she had been traded from Phoenix to Connecticut. Advertisement The Mercury, who Cloud said promised her she'd retire with the team, included her at the last minute to get a four-team trade to acquire Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas across the finish line. Even worse, Cloud was now going to play for one of the worst teams in the W.
