Due to federal illegality, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office refuses to register trademarks for products that contain cannabis.

As cannabis makes itself safely at home in 28 different states now, federal illegality has remained the biggest thorn in the side of the recreational and medical marijuana industry. Not only have unchanged federal laws prevented cannabusinesses from obtaining adequate banking services, they also caused problems for those seeking to register trademarks for their marijuana-based products. 

When it comes to branding marijuana lifestyle products such as apparel (like hats and T-shirts), cannabis companies haven’t had much trouble trademarking them. In terns of cannabis products, however, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has refused to approve trademark requests for these same brands. 

As long as cannabis is still illegal on the federal level, the Patent and Trademark Office will continue refusing to register trademarks for marijuana retailers or cannabis-based products. This issue...