As the 2020 election draws closer, multiple states will be voting on cannabis legalization measures: Arizona, Montana, New Jersey, Mississippi, and South Dakota. 

And while this is an exciting time for the cannabis industry, it’s also crucial that leaders in the space discuss the much-needed cannabis reform as more states make efforts towards legalization.

Canopy Growth Corp’s (NYSE: CGC) VP of Government and Stakeholder Relations David Culver attended the recent Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference to discuss the upcoming cannabis legislation and the push for diversity.

Drawing Parallels

At the recent Vice Presidential Debate, Senator Kamala Harris announced that a Biden-Harris administration would decriminalize marijuana and expunge the records of those who have marijuana-related charges.

Former State Senator Toi Hutchinson shared at the Benzinga Conference that the Illinois government identified 770,000 records to be expunged within the state.

“We’ve been making the case to both campaigns for over a year now that the electability of cannabis is very clear and we have shown them polling numbers in the battleground states,” said Culver.

During the discussion, Culver drew a parallel between the current issue of cannabis decriminalization to the discussion of marriage equality during the 2008 presidential election.
 
During their campaign, Vice President Joe Biden was more comfortable with marriage equality than President Obama was at the time. But after winning the election, the Obama-Biden administration went on to make historic strides for the LGBT community.

“We’re in a very similar situation now with Harris and Biden,” he said.

Diversifying The Workforce 

A key component that comes with cannabis legalization is making sure that companies within the industry are hiring diverse individuals. 

Once the ballot initiatives are made the industry can expect an influx of individuals looking for work and it’s important for cannabis CEOs to push for diversity within their own companies.

“We’ve got to make sure too that we’re including those people that were in prison for cannabis, that they have the ability to work in this industry,” said Culver. “This is a really important part of what states need to be looking at and also on a federal level to make sure these folks can come into this industry if they choose to.”

Culver continued on to say that while the discussion surrounding diversity in the industry is important, it’s not the press releases and the talks that are going to get it done, its action inside the company.

“So, we’re going through that process right now and I think you’re going to see some exciting things from Canopy Growth in that category at some point here soon.”