November 9th, 2016 – A day in the history books for cannabis prohibition. Yesterday, four states legalized adult use of cannabis (including CALIFORNIA!) and another 3 approved medical use. Here’s the lowdown of the results:
Adult Use: California, Nevada, Massachusetts, and Maine
Medical Use: Florida, Arkansas, North Dakota, and Montana
This is a huge tipping point for the cannabis industry; however there is much work to be done. The thriving cannabis industry that has been growing at an exponential pace despite its federal illegality has been protected by a few memos under the Obama administration. With Donald Trump as our future president, there is uncertainty.
Here’s a lowdown on Trump Administration views on cannabis regulation:
- “In terms of marijuana and legalization, I think that should be a state issue, state-by-state,” Trump quoted in October 2015 at a rally, according to the The Washington Post.
- Vice President Pence governs a state that has some of the strictest cannabis laws.
- According to Marijuana Policy Project, which rates Trump as a C+ on cannabis reform, Trump said in 2015, “I’d say [regulating marijuana] is bad. Medical marijuana is another thing, but I think it’s bad and I feel strongly about that.”
The point:
We have a lot of work to do. With the anticipated capital injected into the market, we need to ensure that our industry has lobbying influence and power in Washington. We need to ensure that memos such as the Cole Memo do not go away until cannabis prohibition on a federal level is not longer an issue. Our nation needs to compete globally in the cannabis industry, and we can only do so with the backing of our federal government.
Published with permission from Kalogia
