Legally, what does the future hold for the cannabis industry?
“We’ve made tremendous progress and I like to say we’re getting closer,” said the US representative. david joyce, a Republican from Ohio said Tuesday Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Chicago.
As co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, Joyce is fighting for federal cannabis reform. Joyce’s efforts were recognized this year with the Benzinga Cannabis Industry Friend Forgive.
“Losing the war on drugs”
What drew Joyce to the marijuana industry and fighting legislation was his experience as a prosecutor, he said, adding that he quickly realized “we’re losing the war on drugs.”
“Here we now have 47 states and counties where cannabis is actually legal in some way, shape or form. Yet, nationwide, we still treat it as if it were fentanyl or, even worse, opium. And that’s why we need to change,” Joyce said Brady CobbFounder and CEO of Sunburn Cannabis, at the conference.
According to Joyce, states should be allowed to do the things they are doing now, but getting the federal government out of the way is important to create an industry where the cannabis business is honored by the tax system and the banking system.
To achieve that and to shape the bills that can actually be passed, listening to the other side is crucial, he said.
Optimistic outlook
John SullivanExecutive Vice President of a vertically integrated, multi-state cannabis company Cresco Laboratories CRLBFHe said: “For the first time I have to say that I am optimistic about the prospects.”
What makes it an exciting time for the cannabis industry in terms of legislative progress, Sullivan says, is that senators, both Republican and Democrat, are “actually talking about getting something done.”
“There is broad grassroots recognition that some of the more moderate additions like CLIMB and HOPE are mutually palatable,” he said, adding, “Republicans and …
