Four men are facing a slough of criminal charges after federal authorities said they robbed a series of trucks in the Philadelphia area, including one carrying a shipment of dimes from the United States Federal Reserve.

According to an article by the Associated Press, the Federal Bureau of Investigation recently unsealed an indictment against four Philadelphia men who allegedly broke into and robbed several trucks in the Philadelphia area before stealing just over $234,000 worth of freshly-minted dimes on April 13 of this year.

The alleged thieves reportedly left dimes scattered all over the roadway from quickly trying to bag and transfer a portion of the cargo, which weighed more than six tons in total, from the truck to their getaway van according to the AP. Federal authorities said the four suspects they arrested for the theft of the dimes were also believed to have robbed several other trucks in the area around the same time. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that several other cargo loads containing shrimp, frozen crab legs, meat, beer and liquor were suspected to have been stolen by the following suspects:

25-year-old Rakiem Savage, 31-year-old Ronald Byrd, 30-year-old Haneef Palmer and 32-year-old Malik Palmer who all reside in the Philadelphia area have been charged with a laundry list of felony crimes related to these incidents, according to a recently unsealed federal indictment. Charges filed  included robbery, theft of government money, conspiracy and more.

The Philadelphia Inquirer said that the crimes all carried a similar mode of operation where the men would find trucks resting in parking lots or rest areas, forcibly remove drivers from their trucks and use bolt cutters to gain access to the cargo – which would then be removed and loaded onto a white box truck. The stolen goods were later put up for sale via various internet-based mediums.

Authorities alleged that Savage stole 60 cases of Jose Cuervo from a truck in March. Following that incident, authorities alleged that six refrigerators were stolen just two weeks before the dime theft by Savage and the Palmers. During this incident, the suspects reportedly pulled the driver from his vehicle and made him lie under their white box truck while they unloaded and reloaded the stolen refrigerators. Additionally, after the April 13 dime theft, messages were sent from Byrd to several others via the internet explaining that Byrd had stolen shrimp for sale, the market rate for which was not immediately clear.

Philadelphia police told the Inquirer they did not believe the accused thieves were aware of what was in the truck on April 13 when they stumbled upon just over $750,000 in dimes fresh from the Federal Reserve. Surveillance video showed six men in gray hoodies approach the truck, which police said had pulled over in a parking lot to rest while en route to Miami. The men broke open the truck’s cargo area with bolt cutters and began transferring the dimes to their box truck. Surveillance video also showed the men stealing recycling bins as they made their way out of the area, presumably to help unload the stolen coins.

The AP article said that after the April 13 dime theft, thousands of dollars in conversions of dimes to cash were recorded in Coinstar machines in Maryland. Equally large deposits of dimes were also made to at least four Philadelphia bank branches, according to a federal indictment obtained by the Associated Press. However, the value exchanged at the coin machines was only a small percentage of the value of the total haul of dimes, meaning the vast majority of the dimes remained unaccounted for at the time this article was written.

“If for some reason you have a lot of dimes at home,” Philadelphia police spokesperson Miguel Torres told the New York Times in April, “this is probably not the time to cash them in.”

If convicted of all the charges they have been indicted on, the four suspects could collectively face decades behind bars, according to the article by the Philadelphia Inquirer. Legal representatives for all four men did not immediately respond to requests for comment by either the Associated Press or the Philadelphia Inquirer. All four men were reportedly still in FBI custody but were scheduled to appear before a judge on Monday.

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An estimated 113 million viewers watched Super Bowl LVII to see if the Philadelphia Eagles or Kansas City Chiefs would win this year (the second-most watched since Super Bowl XLIX in 2015). Among those viewers were countless cannabis consumers, but cannabis sales took a slight dip in comparison to last year.

A cannabis checkout purchase averages at around $84.61, but sales from this past weekend saw a 4% drop in sales.

According to data collected by Chicago-based Fyllo, pre-rolls were the most popular products purchased this weekend at 37% of sales. In a statement to Forbes, Fyllo founder Chad Bronstein explained that the reason pre-rolls sold so well is because they are “the cheapest product in dispensaries.”

“We see this sensitivity to pricing most significant among persons aged 25 to 75, where consumer spending this year around the Super Bowl decreased significantly,” Bronstein added. Among age demographics, Fyllo also found that Gen Z consumers purchased rose considerably on Feb. 12, especially with buyers between 21 to 24 (a 10% increase from that age group).

The second most popular product category was described as “dispensary gear” by Fyllo, which saw a 20% increase this year. This was followed by “plants” at a 200% increase, and beverages at a 39% increase. Both topicals and edibles dropped in sales, with a respective 36% and 25% decrease. Bronstein believes that this is “potentially a response to pricing, driven by higher manufacturing costs, especially for those looking to optimize the cost of their high.”

Fyllo also found that while west coast sales dipped, eastern and southern states’ cannabis sales increased. Sales in Florida increased significantly by 27%, while Maine sales increased by 17%, and Arkansas increased by 7%.

While cannabis sales dropped slightly in previous years, it didn’t hamper the cannabis-related festivities of offered in Arizona where the Super Bowl took place this year. 

Trulieve Cannabis Corp.’s recent move into Arizona led with the launch of Ricky Williams’s Highsman brand. “Our expansion into Arizona is made possible through our retail partnership with Trulieve, and Abundant Organics, whose organic living soil cultivation techniques produce some of the cleanest and most flavorful flower I’ve tried,” Williams announced last month. “Both partners clearly see the Highsman vision and share the same enthusiasm for physical and mental healing as I do. Highsman is for anyone seeking greatness, mental and spiritual well-being.”

Trulieve’s CEO, Kim Rivers, was proud to partner with the former NFL player. “Trulieve is excited to launch this limited-time exclusive partnership with legendary NFL player Ricky Williams in Arizona, just weeks before the Super Bowl will be hosted in the state,” said Rivers. “Ricky was well-known for his belief in the power of cannabis during his playing days, and the Highsman brand reflects his values and passion for cannabis. We are proud to launch Highsman products in the Arizona market.”

HARA Brands partnered with Rolling Stone Live this weekend to celebrate the Super Bowl as well. The brand’s CEO and co-founder, Bryan Gerber, expressed his excitement for what this means for the industry. “We are extremely proud to represent the cannabis community at such a high-profile event during one of the biggest weekends in sports and entertainment,” said Gerber. “It’s a testament to how far this industry has come, and we couldn’t be more excited to be part of this exclusive experience alongside some of the most successful brands and talented individuals.”

WNBA star athlete Brittney Griner attended this year’s Superbowl with her wife Cherelle Griner. Following a 10-month battle for her freedom after being imprisoned in Russia for possessing a small amount of cannabis, Brittney was recently named Arizonan of the Year by Arizona Republic.

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Until about a year and a half ago, I always said that I didn’t like “loud” music. I didn’t mind if the volume was turned up, but too much noise made me uneasy; I preferred lullaby baby music at all times of the day, or songs about fuckin’ bitches and getting money because who doesn’t like being brainwashed? And then I heard Soul Glo.

I’m not entirely sure what it was about them that made me change my mind—perhaps the fact that they’re Black, but then again, the drummer TJ is white, so that couldn’t be it. Maybe it was because they allow the listener enough time to breathe before another auditory flogging. (I’m listening to Diaspora Problems now, and no, that can’t be it either; the entire album scares me.) More likely, it’s just because they’re really talented, and I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to chat with them.

Before we get to the good stuff, let me introduce the band: There’s TJ, whom you already met. GG, the guitarist, and Pierce on vocals.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

High Times: How’d you guys meet?

TJ: I met GG a while ago. I met GG, like, over a decade ago.

GG: I met TJ at a show in New York City at 538 Johnson. And I met Pierce through band stuff. Pierce actually booked my old band’s old show in Philadelphia.

Pierce: People had been coming in, coming out. And essentially, both TJ’s time and GG’s time just came to be in the band. I’ve been in this band from the beginning, but everybody else has joined.

HT: So how does a song start for you guys? What’s that look like, going into the studio?

Pierce: It really depends. Somebody usually comes with an idea. The idea might be a full song already ready to go. Or it might just require a few little flavorings from each of us. Or one of us will only have a couple riffs, and then we kinda just play things, play the ideas over and over, talk about how we want them to sound. Or, sometimes for the digital shit, GG’ll just be making beats and sometimes I’m there and I have ideas that GG will then translate into songs.

HT: Do you go in with a theme?

GG: Musically, nah. I don’t think so.

TJ: Kinda just happens a lot of the time.

Pierce: There was times where we’d ask each other, What do we want this next shit to sound like? One album I was like, I want this shit to sound like pain. And I feel like it did.

HT: I feel like there’s some comedy to the music videos. How do you feel that plays into the music itself?

TJ: I was just the subject of the music video. The music video was really a Pierce idea. I mean it is all sort of playing up minor themes in the existence of this band. Was my experience of joining the band as the drummer literally being flagellated on a rope? No. But it was painful. I got a call and it was like, do you want to play this fest with us in a week, and I was like sure. And then we practiced the set every day for a week, and I was like, I feel like I could sort of play this. And then I just had to do it. It beat me into shape, in a sense.

HT: What role does cannabis play in your music?

GG: Jesus Christ. 

(Laughter)

TJ: Well I mean, you heard the beginning of the album, right? I’ve been smoking weed every day for, like, over a decade so it has a role to play in virtually everything I do.

Pierce: The way other people drink coffee, I think, is how I smoke weed. The way other people smoke cigarettes is how I smoke weed. It really has helped me manage my anxiety and depression in a way that I needed for many years before I really discovered it. Smoking weed as a teen for the first time, I just didn’t know I could feel, like, good. I didn’t know I could not have a constant monologue that’s totally driven by anxiety. And that’s just really underrated for somebody like me. Obviously, I want to be a more well-rounded person, so I have to find other things in life that do that for me as well; and also weed helped me to realize that. They’re all, as GZA said, planets revolving around the same sun. The music, weed, and everything else that I love are the things that keep me tethered to this mortal coil.

GG: I was smoking weed as a baby.

HT: As a baby?!

GG: To join this band, one of the requirements, well not a requirement, but I was asked before I joined this band: Do you smoke weed? And I said, every day. Now I don’t do that every day anymore, because of a certain situation that I was a part of, but I did smoke weed last night and that shit was crazy.

HT: Do you smoke together, like in the studio?

Pierce: We used to a lot, like a lot a lot.

HT: What caused the change?

GG: For me, I got arrested. So it just fucked me up a little bit and I can’t do it all the time, because I get super anxious now.

HT: How do you feel about mass incarceration in relation to cannabis?

GG: It’s bullshit, off top.

TJ: Especially when you have places that are rolling out legalization. That’s ridiculous. How can you get locked up for some shit that’s not even illegal anymore?

Pierce: It’s like the emancipation proclamation came out and niggas was still slaves because no one told them. It’s like niggas will really just steal your life away, and not tell you.

HT: Why do you make music?

Pierce: I don’t really feel like I’m that good at too much other shit, for real. So when this stuck for me as a kid, it stuck. I mean, the easy answer is because I can’t skate.

GG: My dad is a percussionist and he gave me some drums because he thought it was a good idea and ha ha. He probably kicked himself in the ass several times for doing that because of how I developed as an individual. It’s just something that I stuck with. Somebody left a guitar at my crib and I just picked it up, and I taught myself how to play it as a bass, then I was like, Yo bro, there’s two more strings on it. Then I started teaching myself guitar shortly afterward. I don’t know, I just felt like I should keep doing it because it made me feel good as I progressed with the instrument. And over time I just kept meeting cooler and cooler people, which made me feel a sense of belonging.

TJ: My dad got me into punk. It’s just something I’ve always been interested in and it’s something people have been encouraging me to do.

HT: Hmm. Do you come from a wealthy family? Punk music seems like something only wealthy parents would introduce to their kids. I don’t know why I feel like that.

TJ: Not broke, but not wealthy particularly. I think it’s just because my dad’s young, comparatively, to other people my age. [He’s] still in [his] mid-50s now and I’m going to be 30 next month. He was just into cool shit and it helped me. He just had this giant pile of CDs. It was either that or go to the library. I would just take shit from the library and burn it. My mom worked at a library.

Pierce: I was also burning a lot of CDs, for sure. I was just talking last night to somebody about how I listened to Metallica for the first time on a burned CD that they made for me. It was Metallica’s Ride the Lightning on one side, then Arch Enemy’s Doomsday [Machine] on the other side. I was already listening to a lot of rock music during that time… I was in middle school, so I was probably like 12, 13. My dad was really into music also, but he was into jazz fusion mostly, and a lot of weird pop. He doesn’t really listen to metal or anything at all; that was more so my own personality. But I feel like he definitely got me on the path of listening to very, very energetic and busy music. He worked for the Census Bureau; my mom was in the military, so we were, like, middle class. We could go on vacation, not every year. And it was always through timeshares.

HT: How would you say class influences music and the bands that come out? Do you think if they come from wealthy parents, they have a better shot at success?

Pierce: Yeah, I think it can definitely make a difference. Like, my parents paid for me to have lessons for a good seven years. And that honestly led to me having a mentor who changed my life and the way I look at music and everything. And GG very decidedly did not have that experience. So I feel like it doesn’t matter, but it also can just help when it’s there.

GG: I feel like it’s dependent on your interests. The resources can definitely help, but if you fuck with what you’re doing, then you’re gonna do it well.

HT: How do you feel about the categorization of Black art? Like Afropunk, for example. Or going to a bookstore and seeing the African American section.

Pierce: Well, Afropunk is a damn-near meaningless term. I feel like the conversation that we would need to have about Afropunk, and just that term, and the festival around it, is longer than ten minutes will allow. [That term] doesn’t really represent anything that it originally was meant to. I don’t know, that’s just what I have to say.

HT: Afterlife. Does it exist?

TJ: I feel like when you die, you’re done. I think this is all we got.

Pierce: I feel like the afterlife could exist, like energy is never destroyed, it’s only transferred type-beat. Heaven to me is kind of a selfish idea. We’re already given the chance of heaven here, and we’re fucking it up. But I do think hell is real.

TJ: Damn.

(Uncomfortable laughter)

Pierce: I think reincarnation is real. It could be real. You go back into the soil, come out a whole new nigga.

HT: If I like you guys, who else should I listen to?

GG: You ever listen to :3lon?

Pierce: That shit will change your life. Spellling. Meshuggah. Cloud Rat. El Alfa. Tokischa. Tupac. Dance With the Devil by Immortal Technique. I was by myself in the middle of the night when I heard that song for the first time. I heard that shit and I just looked at the computer screen and stared in silence after that shit played. Like what the fuck did I just hear?!

HT: What do you think the future of music looks like?

GG: Spotify.

TJ: They’re just gonna start running software to generate jingles and shit. It’s gonna be an AI world.

GG: We’re gonna be able to Airdrop with our minds.

Pierce: I think everything will be… Like, genres will become much more merged together, and I think Black music will simply be a single genre that artists just do different traditions simultaneously within the same song.

HT: Will white people be able to make Black music?

Pierce: They already are.

Find Soul Glo below:
Website
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Facebook

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When the calendar flips to 2022 in a few days, most job applicants in Philadelphia will no longer have to sweat out a drug test for cannabis.

As of January 1, the city will prohibit most employers from conducting a cannabis drug test for new hires. The new ordinance, passed easily by the Philadelphia city council earlier this year, will be “the first of its kind in Pennsylvania,” according to local television station KDKA.

Recreational pot is still illegal in the state, but medical cannabis is not. The latter was the impetus for Philadelphia City Councilmember Derek Green to author the ordinance, telling KDKA that his chief focus was on medicinal cannabis.

“Cannabis is a unique product. Unlike alcohol and others, it metabolizes in your system a lot differently,” Green said, as quoted by the television station. “We’re having this conversation across the commonwealth and in the general assembly about whether we allow adult-use cannabis. But for me, those who really need medical marijuana, especially to improve their quality of life, shouldn’t be restricted from getting a job because that’s what we all want to see.”

There are a number of exemptions for the new ordinance, “including law enforcement, employees who need a commercial driver’s license, many health-care workers, and a broad category that includes ‘any position in which the employee could significantly impact the health or safety of other employees or members of the public,’” according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. 

The city council approved the ordinance in April by a 15-1 vote, with the lone vote against coming from David Oh, a Republican.

The legislation was signed into law by Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney shortly thereafter.

While Philadelphia may be the first city in the Keystone State to enact such a measure, it has been done elsewhere—including in nearby New York City, which had its own ban on pre-employment cannabis drug testing go into effect last year.

Lawmakers in Nevada, where recreational pot is legal for adults, implemented its own ban last year, and earlier this year, not long after it ended prohibition on pot, New York made the ban statewide.

Much like in Philadelphia, New York City’s ban on pre-employment marijuana drug testing came before recreational pot was made legal.

The measure passed the New York City council in 201 after it was brought by Jumaane Williams, the city’s public advocate and a candidate for governor of New York.

“Marijuana testing isn’t a deterrent to using the drug, it’s an impediment to opportunity dating back to the Reagan area—one that disadvantages low-income workers, often workers of more color, many of whom we now call essential but treat as expendable.” Williams said after the ordinance took effect last year. 

“Particularly now, as we are grappling with how to recover from the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the worst levels of unemployment in a century, we need to be creating more access points for employment, not less—and if prospective employers aren’t testing for past alcohol usage, marijuana should be no different. This is an economic recovery issue, a worker justice issue, and one that New York City must lead the way on.”

Green, the Philadelphia city councilmember, said that it didn’t make sense for employers to screen for something that is often recommended by doctors in the state.

“We’re using pre-employment testing for a product that is being recommended by physicians, for individuals within the city of Philadelphia, that’s authorized for them to be used,” Green said after it was approved in April, as quoted by the Philadelphia Inquirer. “That seems very contradictory.”

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A ballot measure calling on state leaders to decriminalize marijuana in Pennsylvania enjoyed strong support from Philadelphia’s voters on Tuesday, receiving more than 72 percent of ballots cast in a citywide election. 

Philadelphia’s Question 1 amends the Philadelphia Home Charter to call on the governor and the Pennsylvania General Assembly “to pass legislation that would decriminalize, regulate and tax the use and sale to adults aged 21 years or older, of cannabis for non-medical purposes.” The measure does not by itself change state law or substantially impact the residents of Philadelphia, which effectively decriminalized possession of small amounts of cannabis seven years ago.

A ‘Loud Message’ for State Lawmakers

As of early Wednesday afternoon local time, Question 1 had received more than 129,000 votes, or 72.73 percent of ballots cast, with more than 96 percent of precincts reporting results. 

Pennsylvania Democratic Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman, who is currently running for U.S. Senate, and has been an outspoken proponent of cannabis policy reform, visited all of the state’s 67 counties in 2019 to hold town hall meetings exploring issues surrounding the legalization of adult-use cannabis. He believes that it is time for state lawmakers to heed the continuing calls for marijuana legalization, including those expressed by Philadelphia’s voters in this week’s election.

“Philly sent a loud and clear message for legal weed, and so has Pennsylvania,” Fetterman wrote in a text message. “It dovetails perfectly with the first Republican sponsored bill to legalize weed in PA history,” referring to a bipartisan proposal from Democratic Senator Sharif Street of Philadelphia and Republican Senator Dan Laughlin of Erie. 

“To borrow their phrase, ‘it’s inevitable,’” Fetterman added.

Possession Decriminalized in Philly in 2014

Pennsylvania lawmakers legalized the use and sale of medical marijuana in 2016, but recreational cannabis remains illegal in the state. Under a pot decriminalization measure passed in Philadelphia in 2014, those possessing less than 30 grams of cannabis are subject only to fines rather than facing criminal charges. 

Philadelphia resident Damian Jorden, the CEO of Phynally, a national employment search engine that features jobs that do not require drug tests for marijuana, says that it is great to see his native city taking steps to decriminalize cannabis.

“Marijuana criminalization and the stigmas behind it have marginalized so many people for such a long time,” Jordan wrote in an email. “It’s clear Philly and its leaders want change and I believe the people do too. Cannabis is the future and with the passing of time, I believe history will reflect that we are headed in the right direction.”

Two Adult-Use Bills Pending

In addition to the adult-use cannabis bill cosponsored by Street and Laughlin, another measure from Democratic state Representatives Jake Wheatley and Dan Frankel, House Bill 2050, would also remove the prohibitions on recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania. Both proposals, however, have so far failed to advance in the state legislature. Brian Vicente, founding partner of national cannabis law firm Vicente Sederberg LLP, believes that the approval of Question 1 puts additional pressure on state lawmakers to make progress on marijuana policy reform.

“The vote in Philadelphia reflects the growing sentiment across Pennsylvania and around the nation that it is time to end the failed policy of cannabis prohibition and establish a regulated market for adult consumers,” Vicente said. “It should lend to the momentum that has been building in the Legislature, where support is growing among Republicans as well as Democrats.”

The approval of Question 1, while overwhelming, came on light voter turnout in this week’s off-year election. Patrick Christmas, policy director for the nonprofit city government watchdog group Committee of Seventy, told Axios Philadelphia that Tuesday was “one of the most quiet elections we’ve had in a long time.”

“The main driver of turnout anywhere is going to be a competitive election,” Christmas added, “and we did not have that in the city of Philadelphia today.”

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Black Cannabis Week is returning for the second year in a row between September 19-26, 2021. The goal of the event is to provide a variety of educational seminars and services for people of color, and push for improved social equity in the industry. 

“We have long been an integral part of the cannabis industry from labor to creators. These roles have garnered little to no attention or regard,” the Black Cannabis Week website states. “During this week, we will educate, celebrate and elevate Blacks in cannabis. Black Cannabis Week (BCW21) is a collective web of educational and informational experiences to empower Black communities to move toward social and political change. In collective work, we aim to educate, destigmatize and advance the efforts of social justice.”

The event is being held as a collaborative effort along with the Diasporic Alliance for Cannabis Opportunities (DACO), Minorities for Medical Marijuana and Philadelphia Cannabis Business Association, and other cannabis groups. Among the event’s offerings, it will feature a political round table with Pennsylvania Senator Sharif Street, who will speak on new cannabis regulations. An estimated 30 speakers will be present to cover a variety of educational topics, including a hempcrete workshop, free cannabis certifications, expungement services and networking opportunities.

According to Cherron Perry-Thomas, who’s also a DACO Social Impact Strategist and the founder of the Cannabis Opportunities Conference, Black Cannabis Week is dedicated to helping Black cannabis entrepreneurs stake their claim in the industry. 

“Black and Brown communities have been an afterthought in the evolving global cannabis industry,” Perry-Thomas said in a press release. “If we fail to prepare and learn now, we will be too far behind to enter into this emerging field. It’s imperative that we learn the facts about cannabis, the unjust laws that have created the stigma, explore opportunities for empowerment, and reduce the barriers to help more Black and Brown communities switch from consumers to decision makers which is our mission with Black Cannabis Week.”

Although most of the event will be held digitally, those who live in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area can visit Temple University to attend a Communities of Color Career Event and expungement fair in person. 

“The cannabis industry has been on track to grow into a favorable financial and social tool for change,” the Black Cannabis Week Instagram posted on September 7. “Entrepreneurship, jobs, innovation are just a few of the positive impacts resulting from an accessible and inclusive industry. The industry has provided all kinds of new positions, and many of them are high-paying. And as the cannabis industry grows, so, too, does the number of job openings in the field.”

Supporting events such as Black Cannabis Week is essential to cultivate opportunities for non-white cannabis entrepreneurs to participate in the industry. According to a 2017 survey conducted by Marijuana Business Daily, 81 percent of cannabis business owners are white. At the time of the survey, only 5.7 percent were Hispanic/Latino; 4.3 percent were Black, and 2.4 percent were Asian. 

Efforts to improve social equity in the United States continue to grow as well. The Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency has launched a new program called the Joint Ventures Pathway Program to improve social equity in the state. Social Equity classes have been established in Arizona for those who are eligible for dispensary licenses. 

Organizations such as the California Cannabis Equity Alliance are demanding that social equity remain a focus as the industry continues to ramp up. These are just a few of the many examples of how advocates are fighting for social equity, but there’s still plenty of progress to be made.

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For the first time, the Philadelphia Flower Show will provide information about our favorite flower.

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