The policies behind the rules and regulations that govern cannabis programs implemented at the state level often reflect past anti-cannabis biases and, perhaps erroneously, the belief that robust regulation is the only way to transition the industry from illicit-market activities to legitimate marketplace participation. Licensed cannabis operators want to believe that complying with state regulatory [...]
General
Katrina Skinner
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Tri-State Cannabis Market – Growth and Related Regulatory Hurdles
California has received more than its fair share of attention from cannabis industry participants since launching its adult-use program in 2018. However, as California licensed operators struggle to operate in the state’s heavily regulated market that imposes crippling taxes while competing against illicit operators, industry insiders are starting to focus their sights on the tri-state [...]
2022 Simplifya Cannabis Outlook
Working in the cannabis industry sometimes feels like a blur. It seems like just yesterday that states like Colorado and Washington voted to legalize recreational cannabis. Almost ten years later, the U.S. has a maturing nationwide cannabis industry that is experiencing consolidation in certain markets through mergers and acquisitions. This activity has created multi-state operators [...]
An Overview of Marijuana Compliance Laws on the East Coast: State-by-State Highlights
California was the first state to legalize medical marijuana. The eastward spread of legalization has been a slow climb, but several states have found ways to implement laws that are friendlier to marijuana users if not legalized. Currently, marijuana is legal for adult recreational use in 18 states as well as Washington, D.C. Medical marijuana […]
The State of State Initiatives: Marijuana in 2020 curbed by COVID
Written by Tyler Elder and Luke Ewing As we hear every election cycle, the election of 2020 will be the most important election of our time. But what about the importance of this election to the cannabis industry? For a while, it looked like we would have a flood of new states voting on-- and likely [...]
The Next President’s Stance on Cannabis
What will the next president’s stance on cannabis be? As the year progresses, the presidential field narrows: what was once filled with more than a dozen candidates has now been reduced to just a few. Ahead of what will be perhaps one of the most dividing elections we’ll see in our lifetime, we thought that [...]
Cannabis: Regulatory Compliance 101
Cannabis Regulatory Compliance in 2020 Staying on top of your state’s regulatory compliance is important for every licensed operator working in the cannabis industry; especially now, in the age of coronavirus when most states have layered even more stringent emergency regulations on the industry. Our regulatory affairs team recently put together a series of blogs [...]
Social Distancing Sales: Delivery, Drive-thru, and Pickup
As you may have heard in the news, governments whose stay-at-home orders shuttered millions of businesses nationwide have largely exempted cannabis operators from suffering a similar fate. While some people have expressed skepticism, cannabis is an essential need for millions of patients, whether they have a card or have to rely on recreational/adult-use sources to [...]
Coronavirus, Essential Businesses, and the Cannabis Industry
Last updated 7/09/20 Are dispensaries considered essential businesses during the coronavirus pandemic? During the current coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic, many government agencies have implemented stay-at-home or “Shelter in Place” orders, and are only allowing essential businesses to stay open. As part of those orders, some initially categorized cannabis and dispensaries as non-essential, but quickly reversed [...]
2020 Cannabis Industry Predictions
If you thought 2019 was a big year for the cannabis movement, wait until you see what’s in store in 2020. As we reflect on what did and what didn’t happen in 2019, and look ahead to our cannabis industry predictions for 2020, we anticipate that cannabis will likely be fully legalized in at least [...]