We are quickly approaching the most important year of the cannabis industry since Colorado began selling recreational cannabis in 2014, or voters in Washington D.C. later that year approved an initiative for recreational sales in the District.. or maybe.. ever.
The east coast is slogging through setting up their regulatory structures, with re-dos and delays in Maryland and Florida still making news.
But these aren’t stories of the industry going backwards. These are stories of adjustments, of regulators feeling out what they are supposed to do based on what their communities want, and what law enforcement wants, and what doctors want.
These are times when the stigma of the plant, while still there, is being defeated through a calm education process conducted by sober, reasonable business people with money and influence.
And there is a solid track record of what happens when cannabis is legalized that can be brought into the discussion from years of operations in Colorado and Oregon. No tragedies from cannabis. No uptick in addiction. No driving off highways.
There’s now millions in tax revenue building new schools, paving new roads, along with the occasional stunning revelation – like Colorado’s billion dollars in sales in just 8 months this year.
So with all that in the background, let’s look at the top ten events that will be happening in 2018 that will, hopefully and once and for all, prove that this industry is here to stay, no matter what Jeff Sessions says or who in Congress throws down whatever gauntlet challenging the industry’s growth:
David Hodes is based in the greater Washington DC metropolitan area. He is the former editor of seven different business magazines, and has contributed feature articles to several business/lifestyle publications and national cannabis magazines. Hodes is also a former field producer for CBS News, NBC, NFL Network, ESPN and other media outlets; worked as a news promotions producer for two network affiliates; and was the morning news editor for a third network affiliate.
He is member of the National Press Club, and deputy booking agent for the National Press Club Headliners Committee.
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