Beverage Group Vice President Jeremy Nedelka Tel : 763-383-4413 email : jnedelka @ epgacceleration . com

Editor , Off-Premise Kyle Swartz Tel : 763-383-4447 email : kswartz @ epgacceleration . com

Associate Editor Jamie Stafford 763-383-4485 email : jstafford @ epgacceleration . com

Contributing Editors Melissa Dowling , Marnie Old , Tom Shay

Sr Regional Sales Manager Mark Marcon Tel : 763-383-4456 email : mmarcon @ epgacceleration . com

National Account Director Debbie Rittenberg Tel : 763-383-4455 email : drittenberg @ epgacceleration . com

Associate Managing Art Director Nicole Siewert

Senior Product Manager , Data & Insights Marina Velez Tel : 763-383-4453 email : mvelez @ epgacceleration . com

LIST RENTAL Kris Grauer email : kgrauer @ npsmediagroup . com Tel : 203-822-7933

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Sr VP / Audience Development Joanne Juda-Prainito Corporate Operations Director Bernadette Wohlman CEO Marion Minor

RECREATIONAL CANNABIS SALES have started in Connecticut . After lagging behind our New England neighbors for several years now , my home state finally has operational dispensaries . The number of people driving across state lines into Massachusetts to purchase pot legally should drop off dramatically .

But at what cost ? This is always the question I come back to when covering cannabis ( see our story on the subject on page 20 ). And I do support legalization . Writing here as someone who covered politics before alcohol , why shouldn ’ t states make tax dollars on a controllable substance that ’ s being bought and sold anyways ? But how controllable is cannabis ? That remains the biggest issue . We still do not have a scientifically proven method for measuring marijuana DUIs . The amount of THC detectable in your system has as a lot to do with your regular consumption habits . If you are a regular consumer , you can have elevated THC levels in your system , even if you are stone sober . Hardly a reliable way to measure the intoxication of somebody behind the wheel of a vehicle .

Despite laws to the contrary , I still see legal cannabis packaging that ’ s colorful , or depicts some kind of candy or snack . Keeping children away from these products remains imperative . I would like to see packaging that looks less like treats for kids . And then there is the money problem . In states without cannabis-friendly credit unions , marijuana businesses must operate entirely in cash . This includes payroll , altogether making for monetary headaches with a huge risk for robberies . The SAFE Banking Act proposed in the U . S . Congress could solve the cash challenge . And broader federal legalization could help create safety standards implementable nationwide . But when will Washington D . C . take these steps ? Pose that question to most folks in the cannabis industry , and they foresee impactful federal legislation as years out , rather than imminent .

In the meantime , we are left with an imperfect system , where companies cannot even transport their own products across state lines . The industry is growing fast , but in an environment burdened by too many unknowns , handicaps and risk-factors . For legal cannabis to flourish safely and effectively in this country — which one day it will — proper federal legalization is needed .

BRAND ACCELERATION

Beverage Dynamics is published by EPG Brand Acceleration Editorial and executive offices at 10405 6th Ave N , Suite 210 , Minneapolis 55441 Telephone : 763-383-4400 Fax : 763-383-4499

Kyle Swartz Editor , Off-Premise

CORRECTIONS : In the Wine and Spirits Guild 75th Anniversary article in the last issue , we incorrectly identified the number of Twin Liquors active locations . That amount at the time of publication was 104 . In the same article , we also omitted Kentucky as a state containing an active Guild member .

www . beveragedynamics . com March 2023 • Beverage Dynamics 5