420 with CNW — Activists Rally Governors on Marijuana Interstate Commerce Protections
America’s state-legal cannabis industry has been on a roll for the past few years. Cannabis companies have sold billions of dollars’ worth of products, created hundreds of thousands of new jobs and provided state coffers with millions of dollars in revenue. However, marijuana’s classification as a federally controlled substance has held the nascent but lucrative industry back, preventing cannabis companies from accessing crucial financial services, placing strict restrictions on marketing and advertising, and making interstate commerce nearly impossible.
A group of cannabis activists is now urging businesses in the cannabis space to help them ask governors from key marijuana states to seek guidance from the federal government on what interstate cannabis trade between states with legal markets would look like. While this guidance would undoubtedly be provided by a federal cannabis reform bill, such legislation is likely years away, and the activists say guidance from the Justice Department would help regulate interstate cannabis trade in the interim. A sign-on letter by the Alliance for Sensible Markets campaign, a nonprofit coalition of business and advocacy leaders interested in building a sustainable legal cannabis industry, is currently circulating to drum up support for the cause.
The campaign is soliciting help by asking governors of Colorado, California, Oregon and Washington to request the Justice Department for guidance on interstate cannabis trade. Currently, most states have self-contained cannabis markets, meaning everything from cultivation and processing to sales happening within a state’s borders. However, some states, such as Massachusetts, may not have favorable conditions for growing cannabis outdoors, forcing growers to use indoor grows that use a lot of energy-intensive lighting. It would make sense for a state such as California, which has more favorable climate conditions for outdoor cannabis grows, to handle the cultivation.
A tolerant response from the federal government will help to promote meaningful dialogue on how interstate cannabis trade between producer states and states with legal cannabis markets that would benefit from high-quality cannabis and a sustainable supply chain, according to the letter to the governors. The Alliance for Sensible Markets notes that DOJ guidance on interstate cannabis trade could be game-changing for the millions of medical marijuana patients who could benefit a great deal from medical cannabis but do not have access to the best, most-affordable cannabis products. On top of that, guidance would give the thousands of small cannabis businesses in the legal market a chance to increase their market reach and boost their revenues.
It would be interesting to see how the operations of established cannabis companies such as Cannabis Strategic Ventures Inc. (OTC: NUGS) would evolve once cannabis interstate commerce is no longer prohibited.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Cannabis Strategic Ventures Inc. (OTC: NUGS) are available in the company’s newsroom at http://cnw.fm/NUGS
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the CannabisNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by CNW420, wherever published or re-published: http://CNW.fm/Disclaimer
America’s state-legal cannabis industry has been on a roll for the past few years. Cannabis companies have sold billions of dollars’ worth of products, created hundreds of thousands of new jobs and provided state coffers with millions of dollars in revenue. However, marijuana’s classification as a federally controlled substance has held the nascent but lucrative industry back, preventing cannabis companies from accessing crucial financial services, placing strict restrictions on marketing and advertising, and making interstate commerce nearly impossible.
A group of cannabis activists is now urging businesses in the cannabis space to help them ask governors from key marijuana states to seek guidance from the federal government on what interstate cannabis trade between states with legal markets would look like. While this guidance would undoubtedly be provided by a federal cannabis reform bill, such legislation is likely years away, and the activists say guidance from the Justice Department would help regulate interstate cannabis trade in the interim. A sign-on letter by the Alliance for Sensible Markets campaign, a nonprofit coalition of business and advocacy leaders interested in building a sustainable legal cannabis industry, is currently circulating to drum up support for the cause.
The campaign is soliciting help by asking governors of Colorado, California, Oregon and Washington to request the Justice Department for guidance on interstate cannabis trade. Currently, most states have self-contained cannabis markets, meaning everything from cultivation and processing to sales happening within a state’s borders. However, some states, such as Massachusetts, may not have favorable conditions for growing cannabis outdoors, forcing growers to use indoor grows that use a lot of energy-intensive lighting. It would make sense for a state such as California, which has more favorable climate conditions for outdoor cannabis grows, to handle the cultivation.
A tolerant response from the federal government will help to promote meaningful dialogue on how interstate cannabis trade between producer states and states with legal cannabis markets that would benefit from high-quality cannabis and a sustainable supply chain, according to the letter to the governors. The Alliance for Sensible Markets notes that DOJ guidance on interstate cannabis trade could be game-changing for the millions of medical marijuana patients who could benefit a great deal from medical cannabis but do not have access to the best, most-affordable cannabis products. On top of that, guidance would give the thousands of small cannabis businesses in the legal market a chance to increase their market reach and boost their revenues.
It would be interesting to see how the operations of established cannabis companies such as Cannabis Strategic Ventures Inc. (OTC: NUGS) would evolve once cannabis interstate commerce is no longer prohibited.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Cannabis Strategic Ventures Inc. (OTC: NUGS) are available in the company’s newsroom at http://cnw.fm/NUGS
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the CannabisNewsWire website applicable to all content provided by CNW420, wherever published or re-published: http://CNW.fm/Disclaimer
