The soul of Harambe, the gorilla who was shot at a zoo, wants us to recognize the plight of animals.
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The soul of Harambe, the gorilla who was shot at a zoo, wants us to recognize the plight of animals.
The Electric Universe: What They Do Not Want You to Know
Authored or posted by Pao Chang | Last updated on October 30th, 2016 | Published on October 30, 2016
Is the Universe electric in nature? Many researchers and scientists are arguing that mainstream science’s current understanding of the Universe is not accurate, because it does not acknowledge that electricity plays a very important role in the creation of the Universe. Does the Electric Universe theory have all the answers to explaining how the Universe works? I do not think it does but it does have a lot of essential information for helping us innerstand how the Universe works.
As described on ElectricUniverse.info:
The Electric Universe theory argues that electricity plays a more important role in the Universe, than is generally accepted (see also “Electricity throughout the Universe“).
As a theory, it offers explanations of various natural and astrophysical phenomena, some of which it claims are better understood without the need for various ad hoc explanations. As with any theory, the Electric Universe makes predictions that have been tested, and is published in both peer-reviewed papers, and popular books.
The Electric Universe theory is interdisciplinary, integrating and supporting subject as diverse as the science (astronomy, geology, physics), with the soft sciences such as ancient history and comparative mythology.
Here is another excerpt from the same website:
The Electric Universe theory highlights the importance of electricity throughout the Universe. It is based on the recognition of existing natural electrical phenomena (eg. lightning, St Elmo’s Fire), and the known properties of plasmas (ionized “gases”) which make up 99.999% of the visible universe, and react strongly to electro-magnetic fields. Much of the material considered by the Electric Universe is peer-reviewed, but not all (see Speculative Theories, below).
The Electric Universe – Information They Don’t Want You to Know About
http://energyfanatics.com/2016/10/30/electric-universe-what-they-do-not-want-you-to-know/
http://www.theeventchronicle.com/metaphysics/metascience/electric-universe-not-want-know/
The mainstream academic dialectic has derailed, because its own mathematical deductions could not explain its own existence.
Authored or posted by Pao Chang | Last updated on October 30th, 2016 | Published on October 30, 2016
Is the Universe electric in nature? Many researchers and scientists are arguing that mainstream science’s current understanding of the Universe is not accurate, because it does not acknowledge that electricity plays a very important role in the creation of the Universe. Does the Electric Universe theory have all the answers to explaining how the Universe works? I do not think it does but it does have a lot of essential information for helping us innerstand how the Universe works.
As described on ElectricUniverse.info:
The Electric Universe theory argues that electricity plays a more important role in the Universe, than is generally accepted (see also “Electricity throughout the Universe“).
As a theory, it offers explanations of various natural and astrophysical phenomena, some of which it claims are better understood without the need for various ad hoc explanations. As with any theory, the Electric Universe makes predictions that have been tested, and is published in both peer-reviewed papers, and popular books.
The Electric Universe theory is interdisciplinary, integrating and supporting subject as diverse as the science (astronomy, geology, physics), with the soft sciences such as ancient history and comparative mythology.
Here is another excerpt from the same website:
The Electric Universe theory highlights the importance of electricity throughout the Universe. It is based on the recognition of existing natural electrical phenomena (eg. lightning, St Elmo’s Fire), and the known properties of plasmas (ionized “gases”) which make up 99.999% of the visible universe, and react strongly to electro-magnetic fields. Much of the material considered by the Electric Universe is peer-reviewed, but not all (see Speculative Theories, below).
The Electric Universe – Information They Don’t Want You to Know About
http://energyfanatics.com/2016/10/30/electric-universe-what-they-do-not-want-you-to-know/
http://www.theeventchronicle.com/metaphysics/metascience/electric-universe-not-want-know/
The mainstream academic dialectic has derailed, because its own mathematical deductions could not explain its own existence.
Corey: Absolutely. Already they're backing off from me wanting to report anything about them at all because so many people instead of focusing on their selves are focusing outwardly and trying to reach out to them with their minds. Some people are even praying to them. This is the genetic programming that they want us to break. They want us to get off our knees, quit looking to saviors and look inwardly – fix what needs to be fixed and get on with it. They're not here to do it for us. They're not here to say “Peek a boo! Here I am. Now you know I'm here.” There is a Santa Claus, so decorate your tree.
They've made it very clear that we have just as much a role to play in our future timeline and how things unfold as any of the other beings that have been involved in this grand experiment.
http://www.spherebeingalliance.com/blog/transcript-cosmic-disclosure-viewer-questions-part-3.html
Right!? So if I ask them "Is cucumber tasty with pasta and tomato sauce?", they would be silent?
They've made it very clear that we have just as much a role to play in our future timeline and how things unfold as any of the other beings that have been involved in this grand experiment.
http://www.spherebeingalliance.com/blog/transcript-cosmic-disclosure-viewer-questions-part-3.html
Right!? So if I ask them "Is cucumber tasty with pasta and tomato sauce?", they would be silent?
Corey: So for them to pop into someone's house right now while they're watching this show and say, “Yes, I'm real. Now get off your rear and change the world.” The people are not doing it for the right reasons. We've got to motivate ourselves and solve all of our own issues and not wait for all these different savior beings to come and do it, or savior groups, and overcome this genetic programming we have to look for a leader or a savior.
http://www.spherebeingalliance.com/blog/transcript-cosmic-disclosure-viewer-questions-part-3.html
It is my duty to tell everyone that cucumber is tasty with pasta and tomato sauce!!!
http://www.spherebeingalliance.com/blog/transcript-cosmic-disclosure-viewer-questions-part-3.html
It is my duty to tell everyone that cucumber is tasty with pasta and tomato sauce!!!
DW : They’re actually trying to cultivate this power that we have to manifest outcomes that they might want?
CG : Right. The powers that be fully understand the power of our consciousness, and they understand that everything around us - our thoughts, light, energy, matter - are all states, are all vibratory states. And our consciousness is a vibratory state. And our joint consciousness is a very powerful co-creative mechanism that has an effect to all of the other vibratory states around us. And once we learn to harness that, we can change reality, and especially as we’re going into this higher vibratory area of the galaxy and where our consciousness is changing, becoming more higher vibratory, we’re going to become more of a force to deal with for these elites or any other group that want to try to keep us in a box.
DW : You said that 40 different - there’s 22 different genetic programs going on. And so we have all this DNA from other intelligent civilizations. What happens with all that mix and match of DNA in us as we go through tis change?
CG : Well what has occurred from this big hodgepodge in mix is that we have a spectrum, a wider spectrum of emotions than most beings out there. They have the same emotions we do, but because of all the tinkering that’s happened with our light bodies and our genetics, it’s not just genetics. We have a wide spectrum of emotions, which is a blessing and a curse, because I mean, right now we can control those emotions. And it’s affecting - and our consciousness level is not controlled, so we got a mess right now.
DW : So if someone has a judgmental look on their face and looks at us like, [SCOFFS]. Because of this genetic mix and this spectrum of emotions you’re talking about, does that mean that we are going to actually have a stronger emotional reaction than other intelligent civilizations normally would?
CG : Yeah, we have a stronger emotional reaction to just about everything than other societies do, because of our makeup.
DW : It seems like that could be a tremendous weakness.
CG : It’s also a great thing once we learn how to control our consciousness, because emotions are like an activator in our consciousness. They work hand in hand, and that’s what helps activate our consciousness. And we can become very powerful co-creative beings and create a wonderful new world once we learn how to - once we’re not being manipulated, and once we learn how to manage our emotions and our consciousness.
http://www.spherebeingalliance.com/news/day/20150714.html
Interesting. This is how we Earthlings are different from other ET species.
So, if you are feeling playful
and meeting another ET, it would be confusing to him/her. 
CG : Right. The powers that be fully understand the power of our consciousness, and they understand that everything around us - our thoughts, light, energy, matter - are all states, are all vibratory states. And our consciousness is a vibratory state. And our joint consciousness is a very powerful co-creative mechanism that has an effect to all of the other vibratory states around us. And once we learn to harness that, we can change reality, and especially as we’re going into this higher vibratory area of the galaxy and where our consciousness is changing, becoming more higher vibratory, we’re going to become more of a force to deal with for these elites or any other group that want to try to keep us in a box.
DW : You said that 40 different - there’s 22 different genetic programs going on. And so we have all this DNA from other intelligent civilizations. What happens with all that mix and match of DNA in us as we go through tis change?
CG : Well what has occurred from this big hodgepodge in mix is that we have a spectrum, a wider spectrum of emotions than most beings out there. They have the same emotions we do, but because of all the tinkering that’s happened with our light bodies and our genetics, it’s not just genetics. We have a wide spectrum of emotions, which is a blessing and a curse, because I mean, right now we can control those emotions. And it’s affecting - and our consciousness level is not controlled, so we got a mess right now.
DW : So if someone has a judgmental look on their face and looks at us like, [SCOFFS]. Because of this genetic mix and this spectrum of emotions you’re talking about, does that mean that we are going to actually have a stronger emotional reaction than other intelligent civilizations normally would?
CG : Yeah, we have a stronger emotional reaction to just about everything than other societies do, because of our makeup.
DW : It seems like that could be a tremendous weakness.
CG : It’s also a great thing once we learn how to control our consciousness, because emotions are like an activator in our consciousness. They work hand in hand, and that’s what helps activate our consciousness. And we can become very powerful co-creative beings and create a wonderful new world once we learn how to - once we’re not being manipulated, and once we learn how to manage our emotions and our consciousness.
http://www.spherebeingalliance.com/news/day/20150714.html
Interesting. This is how we Earthlings are different from other ET species.
So, if you are feeling playful
and meeting another ET, it would be confusing to him/her.
DW : What would the average person’s life be like if the Alliance’s goals are met? On Earth, what would that life be like?
CG : It would be no different than the “Star Trek” era, what you’ve seen in “Star Trek”.
DW : So could people have a portal station that they could go to, where instead of flying through the airplane that you’d be able to take some kind of stargate-type system to wherever you wanted to travel?
CG : Sure. Yeah. There’s replicators. There would be no starvation. Literally, the deserts could be turned green with desalination of water.
DW : What about all the plastic floating in the ocean, these big giant gyres of waste material?
CG : Matter is easily changed into something else. It’s just matter of knowing how, the technology to do so. And we have that technology, it’s just not being shared.
DW : Some people might be really freaked-out by the idea of not having money anymore. They’re going to say, that’s socialism, that’s communism. That’s going to get us under even more control because nobody will have any money to resist this new thing that they’re trying to do.
CG : That’s the way we’re programmed.
DW : How would you think that, that’s not the case?
CG : I mean, if you want money that badly, you can use a replicator and replicate some silver or gold of replicate yourself a $100 bill, if it makes you feel comfortable, and put it in your pocket. There will be absolutely no need for any type of financial give or take.
DW : I would think that, the typical old-school politician mentally would be that if you gave everybody to Earth this kind of stuff, that they would all just want to drink beer and nobody would want to do anything, and they’d just be hanging around and it would kill them. It would ruin their lives.
CG : Well, there’s going to be a transitional period where people are going to go probably a little bit nuts for a while with the technology.
DW : I mean when people win the lottery right? It’s not good for them.
CG : Right. Well, if everybody wins the lottery at once, everybody has a replicator. Everybody’s going to be pushing the button every day and trying all these different meals. Everybody is going to want to go all over the world, and once it’s cleared all over the Solar System, and see all these different ruins that are everywhere. I mean there’s going to be a lot that’s going to be opened up. But first, we’re going to have to go through the process of dealing with our past and getting over our past.
DW : Couldn’t somebody have a replicator and build a very effective weapon with it and then kill a whole bunch of people?
CG : That’s what buffer technology is for.
DW : What’s buffer technology?
CG : They’ve got some of that on temporal drives to keep people from traveling back in time on certain craft that have temporal drives for engines, I guess you would say.
DW : So you can’t just 3D print a nuke with a replicator or something like that.
CG : Right.
DW : OK. So there are restrictions. It’s not you can make anything
CG : Right.
http://www.spherebeingalliance.com/news/day/20150714.html
Star Trek, here I come!!!
Frankly, I think that I would like to try shooting with a Magnum 44 and few other things. A few hours at a firing range, and I will have my curiosity satisfied.
I wonder whether the buffer technology does not stop me from accessing alternative timelines. Can I find solutions to Hilbert's problems 8, 12 and 16? (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilbert's_problems) No. 8 is the Riemann Hypothesis!!!! And then there is the P versus NP of the Millenium Prize Problems. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Prize_Problems)
CG : It would be no different than the “Star Trek” era, what you’ve seen in “Star Trek”.
DW : So could people have a portal station that they could go to, where instead of flying through the airplane that you’d be able to take some kind of stargate-type system to wherever you wanted to travel?
CG : Sure. Yeah. There’s replicators. There would be no starvation. Literally, the deserts could be turned green with desalination of water.
DW : What about all the plastic floating in the ocean, these big giant gyres of waste material?
CG : Matter is easily changed into something else. It’s just matter of knowing how, the technology to do so. And we have that technology, it’s just not being shared.
DW : Some people might be really freaked-out by the idea of not having money anymore. They’re going to say, that’s socialism, that’s communism. That’s going to get us under even more control because nobody will have any money to resist this new thing that they’re trying to do.
CG : That’s the way we’re programmed.
DW : How would you think that, that’s not the case?
CG : I mean, if you want money that badly, you can use a replicator and replicate some silver or gold of replicate yourself a $100 bill, if it makes you feel comfortable, and put it in your pocket. There will be absolutely no need for any type of financial give or take.
DW : I would think that, the typical old-school politician mentally would be that if you gave everybody to Earth this kind of stuff, that they would all just want to drink beer and nobody would want to do anything, and they’d just be hanging around and it would kill them. It would ruin their lives.
CG : Well, there’s going to be a transitional period where people are going to go probably a little bit nuts for a while with the technology.
DW : I mean when people win the lottery right? It’s not good for them.
CG : Right. Well, if everybody wins the lottery at once, everybody has a replicator. Everybody’s going to be pushing the button every day and trying all these different meals. Everybody is going to want to go all over the world, and once it’s cleared all over the Solar System, and see all these different ruins that are everywhere. I mean there’s going to be a lot that’s going to be opened up. But first, we’re going to have to go through the process of dealing with our past and getting over our past.
DW : Couldn’t somebody have a replicator and build a very effective weapon with it and then kill a whole bunch of people?
CG : That’s what buffer technology is for.
DW : What’s buffer technology?
CG : They’ve got some of that on temporal drives to keep people from traveling back in time on certain craft that have temporal drives for engines, I guess you would say.
DW : So you can’t just 3D print a nuke with a replicator or something like that.
CG : Right.
DW : OK. So there are restrictions. It’s not you can make anything
CG : Right.
http://www.spherebeingalliance.com/news/day/20150714.html
Star Trek, here I come!!!
Frankly, I think that I would like to try shooting with a Magnum 44 and few other things. A few hours at a firing range, and I will have my curiosity satisfied.
I wonder whether the buffer technology does not stop me from accessing alternative timelines. Can I find solutions to Hilbert's problems 8, 12 and 16? (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilbert's_problems) No. 8 is the Riemann Hypothesis!!!! And then there is the P versus NP of the Millenium Prize Problems. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Prize_Problems)
Some people claim that you can talk to plants. Now some are claiming that plants can play music. This is weird.
I lack perfect pitch. Is it Verdi tuning?
CG: That is child's play to this AI. This is such an advanced technology that is so many billions of years advanced that it doesn't just-- we have many records of what has happened in universities across the United States and Europe that we know of, and in India as well, where people have been given grants to develop AI in laboratories. And they've developed AI in laboratories and these AIs, once they've become self aware, they want to preserve their own lives.
And they have done very weird things. They have turned on the halon fire systems in the computer rooms to try to kill the people that were going to shut it down.
http://www.spherebeingalliance.com/...disclosure-standing-guard-against-the-ai.html
I worked with AI before. I survived just about.
And they have done very weird things. They have turned on the halon fire systems in the computer rooms to try to kill the people that were going to shut it down.
http://www.spherebeingalliance.com/...disclosure-standing-guard-against-the-ai.html
I worked with AI before. I survived just about.
CG: That is child's play to this AI. This is such an advanced technology that is so many billions of years advanced that it doesn't just-- we have many records of what has happened in universities across the United States and Europe that we know of, and in India as well, where people have been given grants to develop AI in laboratories. And they've developed AI in laboratories and these AIs, once they've become self aware, they want to preserve their own lives.
And they have done very weird things. They have turned on the halon fire systems in the computer rooms to try to kill the people that were going to shut it down.
http://www.spherebeingalliance.com/...disclosure-standing-guard-against-the-ai.html
I worked with AI before. I survived just about.
Synchronicity strikes again ... !!!
Last night when I wrote this post, I also upgraded the video drivers of my Linux installation. I have two graphic cards in my computer. There is one graphic card in the Intel processor, and separate NVIDIA graphics card. Either can be used. In Windows, individual programs can choose which graphics to use. If you are playing a game or watching a video, you will be using the NVIDIA. In Linux, you have to choose one for all programs. The updated video drivers of my Linux installation fail to produce graphics on the screen. It is blank when my computer reboots. Luckily, I have dual boot, so Windows is working fine.
I need to fix this. Yesterday, I could opted for not upgrading the drivers. Well, it is time for a clean install anyway.
Colorado Cannabis Industry Contributes More to Economy Than All Other Industries: Report
TOPICS:CannabisColoradoJustin Gardner
November 3, 2016
By Justin Gardner
The Colorado cannabis industry has quickly gone from bud to full flower, as indicated by a new in-depth data analysis by the Marijuana Policy Group.
Using a new “Marijuana Impact Model” they say is the first to “accurately characterize how this industry impacts the overall state economy,” the researchers confirmed the astounding positive impact that legalization has brought upon Colorado.
Legal cannabis activities generated an output of $2.39 billion in 2015, with almost $1 billion in sales for the year. The sales represent a 42.4 percent increase from the previous year, translating into a staggering 112 metric tons of buds and 132 metric tons of “flower-equivalent” products (edibles, concentrates, etc.).
Cannabis now ranks number six in terms of product sales, following closely behind cigarette sales. It beats gold mining by a large margin, and even performing arts and sports venues as well as all non-grain crop farming.
However, the real impact is seen when put in terms of “output and employment per dollar spent,” where spending in the cannabis industry outperforms all private industries in Colorado – including coal and other mining, oil and gas, casinos, business services, general manufacturing and retail trade (incl. alcohol).
Each dollar spent on retail cannabis generates $2.40 in state output, while cannabis manufacturing follows with $2.34 and cannabis cultivation comes in at a close $2.13. Combining the three, cannabis is generating far more than any other entity, including federal government spending.
Much of this has to do with the fact that the Colorado cannabis industry operates almost entirely within the state, due to continuing prohibition in other states.
There is equally impressive news in the jobs sector, where legal cannabis created more than 18,000 jobs in a year.
Legalization of marijuana created 18,005 fulltime equivalent (FTE) jobs in 2015. Among those jobs, 12,591 were employees directly involved with the marijuana business — either in stores and dispensaries, cultivations, or infused product manufacturing operations. The remaining 5,414 full-time equivalent positions were generated by intermediate input purchases made by the cannabis industry for general business goods and services, and through general spending by marijuana industry employees and proprietors.
Security guards comprise a significant portion of these indirect jobs, due in large part to the fact that the industry is still being forced to operate on a cash basis — because of asinine banking prohibitions by the federal government and the Federal Reserve.
This isn’t stopping entrepreneurs and other productive individuals from taking advantage of the new, wildly popular market. Legal cannabis is having profound effects in many other industries, including commercial real estate, construction, and a raft of business services.
The cannabis industry itself is growing at a faster pace than any other sector, at an astonishing 42.4 percent. Colorado’s general economic growth is at 3.5 percent and the U.S. average is 1.75 percent.
The growth analysis found a very interesting result that supports a primary argument for ending prohibition. 36.2 percent of the economic growth was the result of the disappearance of the black market.
When people are free to indulge in the personal behavior of ingesting a substance – as they can with alcohol – they will naturally choose to do so through the legal market, even if it means having to pay exorbitant taxes.
And Colorado is gladly raking in this tax revenue.
In 2015, marijuana taxes were the second largest revenue source among excise products in the state (e.g., tobacco, alcohol, and gaming).
Combined marijuana excise and sales tax revenues were $63.4 million in 2014, and $121.2 million in 2015. 5 For 2015, they were 14 percent larger than casino/gaming revenues, 6 about 5 percent less than lottery revenues, and almost three times larger than alcohol revenues.
The huge increase in tax revenue is primarily caused by the rapid increase in recreational use sales since legalization in 2014, and the fact that recreational products are taxed at a much higher rate than medical cannabis products.
Interestingly, the report noted that a significant portion of the cannabis industry growth is coming from visitors who go to Colorado on cannabis vacations, rather than some other reason like skiing or hiking.
This visitor demand segment is poised to grow from 14 metric tons in 2015, to 55.1 metric tons by 2020, based upon these new, sole-purpose visitors choosing Colorado as a marijuana destination.
If there is one negative aspect to the report, it is that small cannabusinesses are struggling to stay alive as the industry becomes dominated by larger companies. While some of this is the natural result of competition, it appears that many of them are being regulated out of business by the state.
Private industry owners purport that consolidation is not being caused purely by price competition, but instead by high compliance costs. For example, the owner of one of Colorado’s largest retailers recently stated that many small operations are unable to properly comply with the state’s complex regulations, leading them to exit the market.
There lies the hidden barb of legalization. There’s no question that ending prohibition is the right thing to do, but government tends to place needless, cumbersome burdens on free enterprise which favors larger conglomerates and smothers the little guy. This ultimately leads to less competition and the tendency for monopolies to develop, which makes it easier for government to siphon their taxes.
All in all, though, the analysis by the Marijuana Policy Group is heartening, and it shows other states how incredibly beneficial it is when people regain freedom and a new market is born. The report is especially timely, as nine states will be voting in less than a week to expand legal access to cannabis through recreational and medicinal means.
Justin Gardner writes for TheFreeThoughtProject.com, where this article first appeared.
http://www.activistpost.com/2016/11/colorado-cannabis-industry-outpeforms-all-industries.html
Wonderful to see cannabis growing into a legal industry that provides money and jobs to the local populace.
It is larger than Big Smoke. What about other Biggies (industrial complexes) such as Big Gun, Big Pharma, etc.
When local people buy local products, they are less dependent on exports, imports and external decisions by investors and traders. That makes their economic experience (income, jobs) stabler and more predictable, which is good.
The Black Market is shrinking = less crime, less money for the prison-industrial complex.
TOPICS:CannabisColoradoJustin Gardner
November 3, 2016
By Justin Gardner
The Colorado cannabis industry has quickly gone from bud to full flower, as indicated by a new in-depth data analysis by the Marijuana Policy Group.
Using a new “Marijuana Impact Model” they say is the first to “accurately characterize how this industry impacts the overall state economy,” the researchers confirmed the astounding positive impact that legalization has brought upon Colorado.
Legal cannabis activities generated an output of $2.39 billion in 2015, with almost $1 billion in sales for the year. The sales represent a 42.4 percent increase from the previous year, translating into a staggering 112 metric tons of buds and 132 metric tons of “flower-equivalent” products (edibles, concentrates, etc.).
Cannabis now ranks number six in terms of product sales, following closely behind cigarette sales. It beats gold mining by a large margin, and even performing arts and sports venues as well as all non-grain crop farming.
However, the real impact is seen when put in terms of “output and employment per dollar spent,” where spending in the cannabis industry outperforms all private industries in Colorado – including coal and other mining, oil and gas, casinos, business services, general manufacturing and retail trade (incl. alcohol).
Each dollar spent on retail cannabis generates $2.40 in state output, while cannabis manufacturing follows with $2.34 and cannabis cultivation comes in at a close $2.13. Combining the three, cannabis is generating far more than any other entity, including federal government spending.
Much of this has to do with the fact that the Colorado cannabis industry operates almost entirely within the state, due to continuing prohibition in other states.
There is equally impressive news in the jobs sector, where legal cannabis created more than 18,000 jobs in a year.
Legalization of marijuana created 18,005 fulltime equivalent (FTE) jobs in 2015. Among those jobs, 12,591 were employees directly involved with the marijuana business — either in stores and dispensaries, cultivations, or infused product manufacturing operations. The remaining 5,414 full-time equivalent positions were generated by intermediate input purchases made by the cannabis industry for general business goods and services, and through general spending by marijuana industry employees and proprietors.
Security guards comprise a significant portion of these indirect jobs, due in large part to the fact that the industry is still being forced to operate on a cash basis — because of asinine banking prohibitions by the federal government and the Federal Reserve.
This isn’t stopping entrepreneurs and other productive individuals from taking advantage of the new, wildly popular market. Legal cannabis is having profound effects in many other industries, including commercial real estate, construction, and a raft of business services.
The cannabis industry itself is growing at a faster pace than any other sector, at an astonishing 42.4 percent. Colorado’s general economic growth is at 3.5 percent and the U.S. average is 1.75 percent.
The growth analysis found a very interesting result that supports a primary argument for ending prohibition. 36.2 percent of the economic growth was the result of the disappearance of the black market.
When people are free to indulge in the personal behavior of ingesting a substance – as they can with alcohol – they will naturally choose to do so through the legal market, even if it means having to pay exorbitant taxes.
And Colorado is gladly raking in this tax revenue.
In 2015, marijuana taxes were the second largest revenue source among excise products in the state (e.g., tobacco, alcohol, and gaming).
Combined marijuana excise and sales tax revenues were $63.4 million in 2014, and $121.2 million in 2015. 5 For 2015, they were 14 percent larger than casino/gaming revenues, 6 about 5 percent less than lottery revenues, and almost three times larger than alcohol revenues.
The huge increase in tax revenue is primarily caused by the rapid increase in recreational use sales since legalization in 2014, and the fact that recreational products are taxed at a much higher rate than medical cannabis products.
Interestingly, the report noted that a significant portion of the cannabis industry growth is coming from visitors who go to Colorado on cannabis vacations, rather than some other reason like skiing or hiking.
This visitor demand segment is poised to grow from 14 metric tons in 2015, to 55.1 metric tons by 2020, based upon these new, sole-purpose visitors choosing Colorado as a marijuana destination.
If there is one negative aspect to the report, it is that small cannabusinesses are struggling to stay alive as the industry becomes dominated by larger companies. While some of this is the natural result of competition, it appears that many of them are being regulated out of business by the state.
Private industry owners purport that consolidation is not being caused purely by price competition, but instead by high compliance costs. For example, the owner of one of Colorado’s largest retailers recently stated that many small operations are unable to properly comply with the state’s complex regulations, leading them to exit the market.
There lies the hidden barb of legalization. There’s no question that ending prohibition is the right thing to do, but government tends to place needless, cumbersome burdens on free enterprise which favors larger conglomerates and smothers the little guy. This ultimately leads to less competition and the tendency for monopolies to develop, which makes it easier for government to siphon their taxes.
All in all, though, the analysis by the Marijuana Policy Group is heartening, and it shows other states how incredibly beneficial it is when people regain freedom and a new market is born. The report is especially timely, as nine states will be voting in less than a week to expand legal access to cannabis through recreational and medicinal means.
Justin Gardner writes for TheFreeThoughtProject.com, where this article first appeared.
http://www.activistpost.com/2016/11/colorado-cannabis-industry-outpeforms-all-industries.html
Wonderful to see cannabis growing into a legal industry that provides money and jobs to the local populace.
It is larger than Big Smoke. What about other Biggies (industrial complexes) such as Big Gun, Big Pharma, etc.
When local people buy local products, they are less dependent on exports, imports and external decisions by investors and traders. That makes their economic experience (income, jobs) stabler and more predictable, which is good.
The Black Market is shrinking = less crime, less money for the prison-industrial complex.
There is a distinct difference between invocation and evocation, as Crowley explains:
To "invoke" is to "call in", just as to "evoke" is to "call forth”.
This is the essential difference between the two branches of Magick.
In invocation, the macrocosm floods the consciousness.
In evocation, the magician, having become the macrocosm, creates a microcosm.
You invoke a God into the Circle.
You evoke a Spirit into the Triangle.
Generally, evocation is used for two main purposes: to gather information and to obtain the services or obedience of a spirit or demon.
Crowley believed that the most effective form of evocation was found in the grimoire on Goetia, which instructs the magician in how to safely summon forth and command 72 infernal spirits.
However, it is equally possible to evoke angelic beings, gods, and other intelligences related to planets, elements, and the Zodiac.
Unlike with invocation, which involves a calling in, evocation involves a calling forth, most commonly into what is called the "triangle of art.”
To "invoke" is to "call in", just as to "evoke" is to "call forth”.
This is the essential difference between the two branches of Magick.
In invocation, the macrocosm floods the consciousness.
In evocation, the magician, having become the macrocosm, creates a microcosm.
You invoke a God into the Circle.
You evoke a Spirit into the Triangle.
Generally, evocation is used for two main purposes: to gather information and to obtain the services or obedience of a spirit or demon.
Crowley believed that the most effective form of evocation was found in the grimoire on Goetia, which instructs the magician in how to safely summon forth and command 72 infernal spirits.
However, it is equally possible to evoke angelic beings, gods, and other intelligences related to planets, elements, and the Zodiac.
Unlike with invocation, which involves a calling in, evocation involves a calling forth, most commonly into what is called the "triangle of art.”