THE FUTURE OF CANNABIS
THE CANNABIS INDUSTRY in the United States is the future of the wellness, medical, nutritional, culinary and textile industries. Analysts project that these industries will see significant benefits from the legalization of cannabis that will either increase their product and branding cachet or offer drastic improvements for other products and services. It’s a heady thing for an industry once forced into the illicit market to suddenly be the nucleus of major investment and speculation.
Perhaps one of the most telling indicators of cannabis’s growing legitimacy is the regular news on cannabis stock valuation and the number of former politicians who have come around to cannabis as a business opportunity. However, the million-dollar mergers and trendy bars featuring CBD-infused cocktails are all banking on the assumption that legalization is inevitable and right around the corner. It’s neither.
In fact, many companies are scaling back their forecasts. Caught between federal prohibition, state regulation and competition with a rabid illicit market, many companies find themselves overleveraged and seeking infusions of capital for sustenance until the federal government deigns to end cannabis prohibition.
The cannabis market that investors and branding agencies are dreaming up doesn’t truly exist—yet. But the Global Alliance for Cannabis Commerce (GACC)—a trade organization representing over a billion dollars in international cannabis trade—is working hard to make this vision a reality through its model legislation.
The descheduling of cannabis is the baseline policy that must occur… But even if the federal government deschedules cannabis tomorrow, there is virtually no federal regulatory pathway for
