This year has seen several advancements for the marijuana cause, with a bevy of positive legislative changes passed. Let’s look at some of the highlights of the year.
President Trump reiterates support for respecting state marijuana laws. President Trump proved an ally to the marijuana industry when he passed the Farm Bill. He has stated more than once that he supports the right of localities to enact their own marijuana policies with little federal interference.
“It’s a very big subject and right now; we are allowing states to make that decision. A lot of states are making that decision, but we’re allowing states to make that decision,” he said in August.
The Cannabis Banking Bill was passed by the House. Due to cannabis’ murky reputation, banks shied away from working with cannabis operators, forcing them to operate on a cash-only basis, which was quite unsafe. It also kept them away from credit and loan services.
This September, the House approved a bill to let banks serve marijuana businesses without fear of repercussions from federal regulators.
A lot of states decriminalized cannabis possession. Quite a number of people are arrested every day for cannabis possession, accounting for half of America’s total drug arrests. Although Illinois was the only state to pass a new marijuana legislation law this year, several other states have removed the threat of imprisonment for people caught with small amounts of cannabis.
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a cannabis decriminalization bill in April that treats possession of up to half an ounce with a $50 fine. In July, Hawaii Governor David allowed a marijuana decriminalization bill removing incarceration as a punishment for possession of three grams or less of cannabis for $130 fine.
Americans have shown support for legalization in droves. According to a poll by Gallup, two-thirds of Americans said they support the legalization of marijuana. A separate survey by Pew found that 67% of Americans wouldn’t mind seeing the end of cannabis prohibition.
Regulators have taken steps to implement a legal hemp market. For decades, hemp was a controlled substance, put in the same boat with its psychoactive cousin marijuana. However, the 2018 Farm Bill changed this, classifying cannabis with less than 0.3% THC levels as legal industrial hemp.
In October, the USDA published its interim final rule on hemp in a bid to regulate the industry and make it more hospitable to sellers and consumers.
All in all, this year has been instrumental in furthering the cannabis cause. We can only hope that there’s better to come. Experts believe that cannabis industry players like Hemptown USA and Marijuana Company of America Inc. (OTCQB: MCOA) are banking on the hope that as the new year beckons, things can only get better for the industry.
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