Filter THIS! Freedom.

Today”s filter is… Freedom.

Janis Joplin tells us that freedom”s just another word for nothing left to lose. To the first American generation, freedom was about what we could keep.

America”s founding generation thought we must determine our own freedoms, that freedoms granted to us are not freedoms at all. The right to self-determination, the rights of property ownership, the right to our beliefs and the right to be left alone. Now, many generations later, these have become luxuries which we enjoy when convenient to whomever is administering them. 

With Colorado allowing recreational use, along with Washington state and soon many others, is the trend changing again? Don”t get too excited, yet. Perhaps this is just an anomaly, or a temporary permit, that we”re being allowed greater freedom over what we put into our own bodies, and over what we sell and buy between each other.

Actually, Janis, freedom”s just another word for responsibility, and for opportunity. Now, Joplin”s drug culture economy is being legalized. Does a couple of generations in time and the ability  to trade stocks ensure that we will be more responsible with the freedom? It should.

Being a chartist, this week”s WeedStock presentations weren”t influential to me. But I was very impressed on a different level by the CEO of Abattis Bioceuticals, whose talk during Tuesday”s brunch included a pitch for responsibility. His plea was directed toward other companies for exercising best practices. But everyone in the room — not just  entrepreneurs and innovators, but  investors and traders — has a stake in the industry”s viability. And the viability of this business is only as secure as the perception of it being conducted responsibly.

This movement is an awesome opportunity on so many levels to reclaim our individual rights to self-determination, to our beliefs, to be left alone. Rarely do we lose our freedoms for not defending them. More often it is because we did not exercise them responsibly. That will be threatened by many high-profile negative stories which will follow inevitably. But we can limit them by creating, praising and sharing endless examples of responsible best practices.

There is so much growth potential here. We have the awesome freedom to shape this industry for generations to come. Those generations will share our freedoms to the same degree that we enjoy those freedoms responsibly.

So, here”s to our freedom… Happy responsibility day. Happy opportunity day. Happy Independence Day.

Filter THIS! …is a pre-open missive that tells you one thing, the most important thing, if you had to filter your view of today”s marijuana stocks price action through just one thing — okay, sometimes two — what would that one thing be?