The 5 Most Interesting Things I’ve Learned in 2023 from Doing Research for Work
Something I love about my work is that it requires me to read and learn new things.
Here are the five most interesting things I’ve learned so far this year as a result of research for work.
1. The US is the only “developed” country in the world that uses a citizenship-based tax system.
While writing for Nomad Tax
What I learned: The US and Eritrea are the only two countries that use a citizenship-based tax system. Everywhere else uses either residence-based or territory-based tax systems.
Why I find this interesting: I admittedly know very little about tax systems, but writing for Nomad Tax has helped me learn a lot more. This is yet another thing that the US does differently than the rest of the world. I think it makes a lot more sense to be taxed where you are versus where you come from, but what I’ve also learned is that very little about the US tax system is fair.
2. “Sativa,” “Indica,” and “Hybrid” are not accurate predictors of cannabis effects.
While writing for Clearly California
What I learned: The classifications “Sativa,” Indica,” and “Hybrid” are just botanical terms and don’t truly indicate the effects a cannabis plant will have. Cannabinoids and terpenes are the chemical compounds in cannabis that will more accurately determine the effects each cannabis strain will have.
Why I find this interesting: I have been a cannabis consumer for over a decade. When I started consuming, the working knowledge was Sativa = high energy, uplifting strain, Indica = relaxing, sleepy strain, and Hybrid = a mix of the two. I’m so glad that research has progressed to a place where we have more reliable intel into cannabis effects. I was also introduced to this incredibly cool resource detailing cannabis strain chemical compounds.
3. Almost half the US population now lives in states with legal adult-use cannabis access.
While writing for Cocannco
What I learned: New Frontier Data found that 48% of the US population now lives in states having legalized adult-use access, and 26% of the population lives in states where medical cannabis is legal. That means 74% of the US has access to legalized cannabis, and only 26% of the US population lives in illegal states.
Why I find this interesting: I didn’t realize that so many US Americans had legal access to cannabis now. But I guess when you consider that most people live in cities (83% of the US population), and most cities are more liberal, and mostly liberal US communities have prioritized cannabis legalization, it makes more sense. We’re at a tipping point and it seems like it won’t be long until federal legalization.
4. El Salvador is the first country in the world to legalize Bitcoin as a national currency.
While researching for a client’s blog (not yet live)
What I learned: 70% of Salvadorans do not have bank accounts, and the nationalizing of Bitcoin as legal tender was justified as an attempt to help bring them into the formal economy.
Why I find this interesting: This is essentially an experiment to see if cryptocurrency is capable of uplifting struggling economies. It would be amazing if it worked, but I am highly skeptical because of how it was implemented and how the President has ingratiated himself more to crypto entrepreneurs than he has to Salvadoran people. Plus, Bitcoin has a pretty significant carbon footprint.
5. New Zealand was the first country to institute restorative justice.
While reading for work with the American Ethical Union
What I learned: Thanks to the Māori people, New Zealand was the first country to institute restorative justice practice into their justice system.
Why I find this interesting: I went to a humanist conference in Auckland, New Zealand in 2018 but I didn’t learn about this while I was there. I read about this in The Little Book of Race and Restorative Justice by Fania Davis, which was published in 2019. But the Māori people had been practicing restorative justice for centuries before the European colonizers showed up and started implementing retributive justice practices. I’m currently working to educate more humanists about restorative justice. Most humanists have not decolonized their minds enough to think about alternatives to retributive justice.