CBA releases statement on White House comments regarding adult-use cannabis

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The Cannabis Business Alliance (CBA) has released a statement regarding recent comments from the White House on adult-use marijuana.

Mark Malone, Executive Director, Cannabis Business Alliance stated: “The legal cannabis industry takes power and money out of the hands of drug cartels and puts funds into state coffers and has the real potential to help offset the Federal Government’s budget shortfalls. The legal cannabis industry provides safety procedures and regulations that protect our youth, and states where cannabis is legal have seen a reduction of teen use. In fact, a recent study found that opioid use decreases in states that legalize marijuana. Dialing back any level of legalization of marijuana would be extremely misguided and would turn back the enormous positive progress that has occurred over the last several years. Going after the legal marijuana industry would be a direct affront to the overwhelming numbers of Americans who have voted time after time to approve legal cannabis. It would also be an affront to the Cole Memo and a misuse of energy and taxpayer funds. The Cannabis industry is compliant, a job creator, and tax engine bringing state budgets out of the red and into the black.  Republicans have core values that include belief in state rights and a free market. The same voters that have elected the current Administration continue to overwhelmingly support cannabis, as was evident in this fall’s Elections. President Trump has said that this is a State issue so we expect him to be true to his word and continue to let States regulate cannabis.”

Colorado, the first U.S. state to legalize cannabis for adult-use, reported selling $1.3 billion in marijuana and marijuana-related products in 2016, with a projected $3 billion economic impact for 2016. Additionally, Colorado’s 2016 tax revenues from marijuana sales were about $199 million in tax and fees revenue for the calendar year. These taxes fund projects including school construction, public health and law enforcement. Throughout the country, cannabis prohibition continued to be rolled back, with more states legalizing marijuana in 2016. Earlier in 2016, Ohio and Pennsylvania legalized medical marijuana, and Illinois decriminalized the plant. November’s election results found four states voting positively to approve cannabis for adult-use (California, Maine, Massachusetts and Nevada), and four states voting to allow Medical Marijuana use (Florida, Arkansas, North Dakota and Montana). These new additions mean 29 states plus the District of Columbia now offer some category of legal cannabis, and one in five Americans soon will have access to legal marijuana.

Cannabis continues to offer a positive medicinal option for patients including veterans suffering from PTSD and children with debilitating conditions such as epilepsy and spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy. A recent report from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment found that marijuana consumption by Colorado high school students has dipped since the state first permitted recreational Cannabis use by adults. The biannual poll also showed the percentage of high school students consuming Cannabis is smaller than the national average among teens. Colorado has experienced a significant economic boost since the legalization of Cannabis, accounting for sizeable job growth and tax income for Colorado.

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