State touts credentials of new pot consultant
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OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Green thumb? Check. Extensive knowledge of the black market? Check.
Throw in impeccable academic credentials and decades of experience with government agencies, and you have Washington's marijuana consultant - a team advising officials on all things pot as they develop rules for the state's new industry in legal, heavily taxed marijuana.
The Washington Liquor Control Board introduced Massachusetts-based BOTEC Analysis Corp. as the presumptive winner of the consultant contract during a news conference Tuesday. The team is led by a University of California, Los Angeles, public policy professor and includes the former chief executive of the company that is the sole licensed supplier of medical marijuana in the Netherlands. It also includes researchers with the RAND Corp. who will help figure out how much marijuana state-licensed growers should produce.
"These are, by far, the top consultants available," said Randy Simmons, who oversees the implementation of the legal weed law for the board. "We're serious about doing this the right way."
Washington and Colorado last year became the first states to pass laws legalizing the recreational use of marijuana and setting up systems of state-licensed growers, processors and retail stores where adults over 21 can walk in and buy up to an ounce of heavily taxed cannabis. Sales could begin at the end of the year.
The votes left state officials with a daunting task: figuring out how to build a huge pot industry from scratch. The state's Liquor Control Board must determine how many growers and stores there should be, how much pot should be produced, how it should be packaged, and how it should be tested to ensure people don't get sick.
The board is doing a lot of its own research, with buttoned-up bureaucrats traveling to grow operations in California and Colorado as well as within Washington state. But the consultant's advice will also be important. The state is aiming to produce just enough marijuana to meet current demand: Producing too little would drive up prices and help the black market flourish, while producing too much could lead to excess pot being trafficked out of state.
BOTEC - it stands for "back of the envelope calculations" - is a 30-year-old think tank headed by Mark Kleiman, a UCLA public policy professor with a doctorate from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. The firm has evaluated government programs and provided consulting relating to drug abuse, crime and public health. It studied the results of an effort to crack down on heroin dealers in Lynn, Mass., and in the early 1990s advised the Office of National Drug Control Policy on drug-demand reduction programs.
Kleiman has written several books on drug policy and crime, including "Marijuana Legalization: What Everyone Needs to Know," and he has argued that states can't legalize marijuana - federal officials would never stand for it.
"Pot dealers nationwide - and from Canada, for that matter - would flock to California to stock up," he wrote in an opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times in 2010, when California was considering legalizing marijuana. "There's no way on earth the federal government is going to tolerate that. Instead, we'd see massive federal busts of California growers and retail dealers, no matter how legal their activity was under state law."
For that reason, some marijuana advocates questioned how committed his team would be to carrying out the will of the voters. But Alison Holcomb, the author of Washington's new law, said the choice of a consultant who isn't a pot cheerleader sent a message that the state is taking its responsibilities seriously.
That's a crucial concern because state officials are trying to persuade the federal government not to sue to block the law from taking effect. Gov. Jay Inslee has said he stressed to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder that Washington will have the best-regulated system possible, but the Justice Department still has not announced its intentions.
Steven Davenport, BOTEC's managing director, said that with more than 30 people involved, the team comprises a wide range of opinions on marijuana legalization, but none is relevant to the task at hand: figuring out how it can best be accomplished, balancing the needs of a working marijuana distribution system with the interests of public health.
"We understand the significance and the size of the task in front of us," Davenport said. "Our intent is to make sure the board does this correctly."
Other team members include Michael Sautman, former CEO of Bedrocan International, the international affiliate of the only company licensed to produce medical marijuana for patients in the Netherlands; the company is overseen by the Dutch Ministry of Health, according to BOTEC's bid for the contract.
Sautman "has consulted lawmakers and regulators in Canada, Israel and several U.S. states regarding how medical marijuana is produced and distributed in the Netherlands," the bid reads.
Beau Kilmer, co-director of RAND's Drug Policy Research Center, said RAND is already under contract with the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy to develop a new approach for estimating the number of marijuana users across the country and how much pot they consume. His group will build off that work to estimate use by county in Washington state, and that it could involve Internet-based surveys asking people to detail their cannabis use - to the extent of asking them to explain the size of their most recent joint, as compared with a photograph of a joint next to a credit card or ruler for scale.
"That's going to be a challenge, but I'm excited to work on it," Kilmer said.
The value of BOTEC's contract has not been set, but it is expected to exceed $100,000. The losing bidders have 10 days to contest the award.
Throw in impeccable academic credentials and decades of experience with government agencies, and you have Washington's marijuana consultant - a team advising officials on all things pot as they develop rules for the state's new industry in legal, heavily taxed marijuana.
The Washington Liquor Control Board introduced Massachusetts-based BOTEC Analysis Corp. as the presumptive winner of the consultant contract during a news conference Tuesday. The team is led by a University of California, Los Angeles, public policy professor and includes the former chief executive of the company that is the sole licensed supplier of medical marijuana in the Netherlands. It also includes researchers with the RAND Corp. who will help figure out how much marijuana state-licensed growers should produce.
"These are, by far, the top consultants available," said Randy Simmons, who oversees the implementation of the legal weed law for the board. "We're serious about doing this the right way."
Washington and Colorado last year became the first states to pass laws legalizing the recreational use of marijuana and setting up systems of state-licensed growers, processors and retail stores where adults over 21 can walk in and buy up to an ounce of heavily taxed cannabis. Sales could begin at the end of the year.
The votes left state officials with a daunting task: figuring out how to build a huge pot industry from scratch. The state's Liquor Control Board must determine how many growers and stores there should be, how much pot should be produced, how it should be packaged, and how it should be tested to ensure people don't get sick.
The board is doing a lot of its own research, with buttoned-up bureaucrats traveling to grow operations in California and Colorado as well as within Washington state. But the consultant's advice will also be important. The state is aiming to produce just enough marijuana to meet current demand: Producing too little would drive up prices and help the black market flourish, while producing too much could lead to excess pot being trafficked out of state.
BOTEC - it stands for "back of the envelope calculations" - is a 30-year-old think tank headed by Mark Kleiman, a UCLA public policy professor with a doctorate from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. The firm has evaluated government programs and provided consulting relating to drug abuse, crime and public health. It studied the results of an effort to crack down on heroin dealers in Lynn, Mass., and in the early 1990s advised the Office of National Drug Control Policy on drug-demand reduction programs.
Kleiman has written several books on drug policy and crime, including "Marijuana Legalization: What Everyone Needs to Know," and he has argued that states can't legalize marijuana - federal officials would never stand for it.
"Pot dealers nationwide - and from Canada, for that matter - would flock to California to stock up," he wrote in an opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times in 2010, when California was considering legalizing marijuana. "There's no way on earth the federal government is going to tolerate that. Instead, we'd see massive federal busts of California growers and retail dealers, no matter how legal their activity was under state law."
For that reason, some marijuana advocates questioned how committed his team would be to carrying out the will of the voters. But Alison Holcomb, the author of Washington's new law, said the choice of a consultant who isn't a pot cheerleader sent a message that the state is taking its responsibilities seriously.
That's a crucial concern because state officials are trying to persuade the federal government not to sue to block the law from taking effect. Gov. Jay Inslee has said he stressed to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder that Washington will have the best-regulated system possible, but the Justice Department still has not announced its intentions.
Steven Davenport, BOTEC's managing director, said that with more than 30 people involved, the team comprises a wide range of opinions on marijuana legalization, but none is relevant to the task at hand: figuring out how it can best be accomplished, balancing the needs of a working marijuana distribution system with the interests of public health.
"We understand the significance and the size of the task in front of us," Davenport said. "Our intent is to make sure the board does this correctly."
Other team members include Michael Sautman, former CEO of Bedrocan International, the international affiliate of the only company licensed to produce medical marijuana for patients in the Netherlands; the company is overseen by the Dutch Ministry of Health, according to BOTEC's bid for the contract.
Sautman "has consulted lawmakers and regulators in Canada, Israel and several U.S. states regarding how medical marijuana is produced and distributed in the Netherlands," the bid reads.
Beau Kilmer, co-director of RAND's Drug Policy Research Center, said RAND is already under contract with the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy to develop a new approach for estimating the number of marijuana users across the country and how much pot they consume. His group will build off that work to estimate use by county in Washington state, and that it could involve Internet-based surveys asking people to detail their cannabis use - to the extent of asking them to explain the size of their most recent joint, as compared with a photograph of a joint next to a credit card or ruler for scale.
"That's going to be a challenge, but I'm excited to work on it," Kilmer said.
The value of BOTEC's contract has not been set, but it is expected to exceed $100,000. The losing bidders have 10 days to contest the award.
Only a matter of time before the government screws this up. Have fun, more people will be going back to the streets for their marijuana to avoid paying taxes.Â
@Isadora You won't catch me buying my smoke from an overpriced retailer. Not when I have connections to people who grow for medicinal purposes.
@Tattooed_Angel2 but i want Marijuana cookies and brownies , and all the other goodies ive seen sold. How am i going to tune in , turn on , and drop out ?Â
At least this exercise in futility will just cost Washington tax payers only $100,000. That should make it cheap and easy to repair any damage by the amateurs that were hired. Complete legalization would have been so much better for everyone.
I can't help but think the state is spending all this money getting ready and the feds are going to come in and squash it all anyway.
@achoo2 Bingo! The state of Washington has now conspired to commit a crime by profiting from the sales of marijuana.... I am curious how the state was able to provide 100% fraudulent MMC to people and profit from it....Â
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=coAEiwhejgo
Two hands of "F" you regulators. I will grow my own and deny you my hard earned money. It has clearly been been demonstrated that the state has an insatiable appetite for tax revenue. Again, "F" off aint happening.Â
Growing is really simple.
The regulators needs to put more empmasis on the derelict agencies within state government.
@Tolly371Â But growing is illegal, and what are you going to do when some heavys come over to rip off your grow , Bro ? Btw, Â did you spell Emphasis while you were stoned ?Â
@Tolly371Â Atta boy or girl..... Cut them off completely!
"Dear taxpayers, thank you for voting to legalize marijuana. We, your beloved government "employees" were running out of inconspicuous income sources, and you have provided us with a means to create more jobs for US, and more taxes, fees and legislation for YOU. This is the best thing you've done for our B.M.W. payments since you approved $30 car tabs, and as a token gesture to show you how much we appreciate your votes and pot expertise, we've decided to bring in MORE government "thinkers" to help us manage your will. We would apologize for any inconvenience or dents to your wallets this may cause, but hey......we're the government, and we do what we want."
Its a "think tank". It has no real world experience in anything. But the government just loves talking heads that have absolutely no knowledge of what they're talking about. I foresee a real mess but time will tell.
@Blindman I guarantee a real mess for them.... Many of us are organizing and getting ready for a fight with these leaches.... I am currently involved with putting a lawsuit together against Washington state and the Federal Government.........
...Certainly all the essential pot info and technology, one could ever need, is available from the "private sector" right here in Washington State....
"RAND is already under contract with the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy to the n develop a new approach for estimating the number of marijuana users across the country and how much pot they consume."
What a waste of money. Just grow The pot and if there's a bigger demand let the growers grow more. It only takes 2-3 months, depending on the strain, to grow a batch.  This would save money rather than  "develop a new approach for estimating the number of marijuana users across the country and how much pot they consume".  Don't estimate the amount ..................... just increase the supply to fill the need for the demand if need be.
Way to much thought is going into a simple market. Keep it simple or it will drive up the price and no one will buy the legal State weed.Â
Geesh, you'd think they were were planning a manned trip to mars or something !
@Seahawker They're costing as much to the public as possible.... Their open admission is to tax the Hell out of it! They might as well of said "we wish crime rates to triple" it's all about power, control and manipulation of taxpayer money to achieve making it worse than it's right now. These turds only care about money and how quick they can get their greedy hands on it!
Jay Inslee: I would like to take this opportunity to tell you, your staff and Steven Davenport, second from left, project manager for Botec Analysis Corp to get bent! I and many like me will fight your efforts of heavy taxation, control and overall BS involving legalization by supporting the Black Market!Â
Good day sir scumbags.............