Last week was a monumental week for cannabis companies, and one of the most significant in recent history for the product. The US House of Representatives voted in favor of amending laws and regulations that would effectively prohibit the federal Government and the agencies that are under its umbrella from interfering with legal cannabis programs, individuals and companies who are compliant with state to state regulations. In addition the House passed more amendments that would see $5 million USD of DEA funding and re allocate it to opioid recovery programs, and would instruct the FDA to regulate Cannabidiol (CBD) products the same way as they regulate conventional foods and diet supplements.

Executive Director of the cannabis policy project Steven Hawkins has said in a recent interview that this is “the most significant step Congress has ever taken toward ending federal marijuana prohibition.” With Morgan Fox, who is the media relations director at NCIA (National Cannabis Industry Association) explaining that lawmakers are finally beginning to see that the legal cannabis sector is here to stay, and has a great potential to become a significant avenue for small businesses and entrepreneurial projects. Fox commented saying “Congress needs to consider ways in which the government can help support these businesses and foster opportunities in the market, particularly for people and communities that have been most impacted by the war on drugs.”

In an equally significant step, although smaller in size, lawmakers in New York have also been doing their best to relax the strict laws that have been placed on cannabis, by decriminalizing the possession of smaller amounts of cannabis and cannabis related products. Consumers of cannabis can now legally carry up to two ounces (57 grams) of flower, this comes as the state has failed to reach a consensus on recreational use just yet.
CEO of MGO|ELLO Alliance a cannabis financing and banking firm, Evan Eneman has said that New York’s failure to agree on terms of a full legalization bull is a huge loss to tax payers, decriminalization is certainly a huge step forward for cannabis companies and consumers. Eneman said in a recent interview that “The cannabis industry isn’t waiting for regulators to catch up,” and this statement can be seen through the first half of 2019 alone with over $1.3 billion USD of investments into the cannabis sector. It would seem that more and more investors are pushing cannabis companies in a big way, and the roadblocks of legalization are relatively small in the grand scheme of things. It would seem that globally things are moving forward with the cannabis industry, with Columbia’s Constitutional court overturning a ban on cannabis consumption which will pave the way for full legalization this coming year.

Henry Smith – AMT Associates