The cannabis industry began 2017 with a high degree of optimism but also a great deal of uncertainty.
The fall of 2016 saw tremendous movement towards legalization with new initiatives in the form of full legalization in California, Nevada, Maine and Massachusetts. Four other states, Arkansas, Florida, Montana and North Dakota moved towards legalization of medical marijuana. Nevada raced towards implementing a fully regulated adult-use program and California begins the implementation of its regulated adult-use program January 1st.
Legislatures in Maine and Massachusetts went through the year trying to come up with a viable adult-use program only to face setbacks delaying implementation of the voters will, and Florida continues to struggle with the same regarding its medical program.
Canada moved towards full legalization under the Trudeau administration and the Canadian capital markets, encouraged by that and the opportunity to export around the world to other emerging regulated programs in Europe, South America, Central America, the Caribbean and Australia.
But with all of the momentum 2016 promised to bring, the U.S. cannabis industry is still mired in the uncertainty that has come with the election of Donald Trump and his mishmash of cabinet appointees and one Jeff Sessions, a prohibitionist through and through, and his cluelessness about cannabis with views that are set in the Stone Age.
An administration that has been embroiled in controversy since day one has failed to take advantage of an easy win and the support of the majority of Americans to end prohibition and right the wrongs of the War on Drugs, while creating hundreds of thousands of jobs, more federal tax revenues and providing relief to those suffering from PTSD, cancer, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, seizures and a myriad of other ailments as well as chronic pain – which in many cases contribute to the nation’s opioid crisis.
Overall, the Industry has seen positive movement in 2017 in many areas. If the excitement and attendance at this past fall’s MJ Biz Conference is any indication of its future promise, the little engine that roared will continue to build momentum even though future impediments, some seen and some hidden in the murky world of the prohibitionists who want to impose their minority position on the U.S., remain. At last count, the state of cannabis legalization through year-end 2017 is reflected nicely in the following scorecard.
Issues that rank high on the list of needing movement/progress in 2018 include banking, federal taxation, the opening of the U.S. capital markets – all of which are predicated on changes regarding cannabis regulation at the federal level.
As we embark on 2018, CBE asked several cannabis industry pioneers and leaders to share their wishes for the industry in 2018. Below are their cannabis industry wishes for the New Year.
CBE Press thanks all of you for helping us grow and serve you this year. Happy New Year 2018!
2018 New Year’s Wishes From Cannabis Industry Leadership
Amy Andrle Co-owner L’Eagle Services
Michael Bronstein Executive Director American Trade Association of Cannabis and Hemp (ATACH) and President, Bronstein & Weaver, Inc.
Avis Bulbulyan CEO Siva Enterprises
Now if you asked for a wish list, my top wishes include access to banking, regulatory protections, 280e reform, and de-scheduling, but I would also wish success for all the men and women out there grinding away, building what they’re building. Even though many of us are competitors, I think it’s better to build together today, we will have more than enough time to be competitors in the future. We are still at a point in time in the industry where there’s more than enough to go around to a point that it’s like fighting a wildfire with a cup of water. Since you can’t control it all yourself, why not have an entire industry with cups of water in their hand to first contain the fire. Then when the fire is contained, and we are a regulated industry that’s treated no different than any other regulated industry, let the competition begin. And, even more realistically, by the time we even get there, and from the business plans I see daily, most of the companies fighting today will have long had a successful exit to 2nd gen operators.
I wish for everyone to be safe and successful in the New Year.”
Vicki Christophersen Executive Director Washington Cannabusiness Association (WACA)
Jay and Diane Czarkowski Owners Canna Advisors
Bob Eschino Founder and President Medically Correct, LLC
Dustin Eide CEO CanPay
“While traditional retailers have seen large portions of their revenues shift to online sales, the cannabis industry, both due to strict state-level regulations and lack of transparent financial services, has so far been left out of this consumer-driven trend. That will change in 2018 as online payments become a reality for legal cannabis businesses.
Cannabis consumers, in states where such services are legal, will be able to order AND pay online for delivery or in-store pickup. As it has revolutionized retailer/consumer interactions in traditional industries, so to will e-commerce deliver convenience and safety to the cannabis purchasing experience.”
Marc Graboyes CEO Next Frontier Biosciences
In the coming year, we will see the industry place a stronger emphasis on research, promoting a scientific evidence-based approach that will allow us to learn more about the vast potential of the plant. Contributing to the growing body of literature on cannabis will help us build and expand upon our current knowledge while informing our future efforts. As an industry, we will continue advocating for sensible legislation so that we can turn back the damage wreaked by prohibition and eventually overcome the negative stigma surrounding cannabis altogether. In turn, we will foster an academic dialogue that elevates the industry to the highest standards of excellence and cultivate a positive nationwide discourse.”
Marco Hoffman CEO and Founder Evergreen Herbal
I wish for the end of racially skewed mass incarceration of non-violet drug offenders.
I wish for all the people who are struggling with opioid addiction, who have been lied to by their doctors and preyed upon by big pharma, are instead encouraged to find plant-based medicine giving them the ability to finally break the chains of addiction.
I wish that hemp based polymers bring an end to PET plastic bottles so we may begin to restore our oceans, and as a society demonstrate respect for the animals and their habitats that we have taken for granted.
I wish that our leaders will learn to follow the will of the people.
And finally,
To all my friends in the industry, I wish you success and happiness this year and every other.
May your 2018 be filled with peace, love and cannabis!”
Matt Karnes Founder and Managing Partner GreenWave Advisors, LLC
Tripp Keber Dixie Brands
Kristi Kelly Executive Director Marijuana Industry Group
Neal Levine Senior VP Government Affairs Livwell Enlightened Health and Chairman New Federalism Fund
John Lord Chief Executive Officer Livwell Enlightened Health
Celeste Miranda Founder and CEO The Cannabis Marketing Lab
Don Murphy Director of Conservative Outreach MPP
Allen St. Pierre Vice President, FreedomLeaf Partner, Sensible Alternative Investments Member, NORML board of directors
Jonathan Wachs Principle Offit Kurman
I wish industry operators will recommit themselves to finding the right balance of building their individual businesses while at the same time building a successful yet fragile industry.
I wish the federal government will recognize the inefficiencies and hypocrisies present in the current system and will work towards rescheduling cannabis.
I wish 2018 is viewed as the beginning of “tipping point” – the commencement of enough successful legal cannabis programs in enough states such that Americans not only believe but view first-hand how the industry can be safe, well-regulated and a lasting component of everyday life in our country.”
Nancy Whiteman Co-founder/co-owner Wana Brands
Adrian Z. Sedlin Chief Executive Officer Candescent
Rob Meagher, CBE’s Founder, President and Editor-in-Chief is a 30 year veteran of the media world. His career has spanned from stints representing the Washington Post, USA Weekend, Reader’s Digest, Financial World & Corporate Finance to the technology world where he worked at International Data Group and Ziff Davis where he was part of the launch team for The Web Magazine, Yahoo Internet Life, Smart Business and Expedia Travels before starting his own marketing and Publisher’s Representative Firm. He also ran all print and online media sales and marketing for the Society for Human Resource Management before partnering with Forbes and then Fortune to create Special Sections covering a variety of topics. Rob, who started CBE Press in 2014, can be contacted at [email protected].
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