Washington – A new organization featuring former Speaker of the House John Boehner as honorary chairman is launching a national campaign to reform federal cannabis laws. The National Cannabis Roundtable will advocate for a rational legal framework for cannabis reform in the United States.
“As the cannabis industry grows and matures, it’s vital that we work together for a common-sense legal framework for cannabis policy,” Speaker Boehner said today. As membership grows, he says, NCR will be comprised of growers, processors, retailers, wellness centers, investors, entrepreneurs, and publicly traded companies.
With strategic guidance from Speaker Boehner, NCR’s public policy team, which includes The Liaison Group, Squire Patton Boggs and HDMK Public Affairs, will advocate for a multi-faceted reform agenda:=
- Remove federal restrictions that prohibit medical research involving cannabis. Encourage the development of solutions that will improve the lives of veterans and patients and combat the opioid epidemic in the United
- Allow companies operating legally in the cannabis industry to utilize traditional institutions for transactions and access to financial
- CorrectflawsintheUStaxcodethatserveasbarrierstolegalcommerceinthecannabisindustry and prohibit the development of solutions that can improve Americans’
- Build support for, and secure enactment of, federal legislation allowing states to set and enforce their own laws governing
“The legal cannabis boom promises to contribute billions of dollars to the US economy over the next decade – creating jobs, advancing new health science and adding momentum to criminal justice reform,” Speaker Boehner said. “With all that potential, the time is now to take action and reform U.S cannabis laws,” he added.
U.S. consumer spending on legal cannabis reached $10.4 billion dollars in 2018. Even if no other states reformtheirlaws,cannabisspendingisexpectedtotop$26.3billionby2025.Ifcannabiswerelegalinall 50 states, it could create 1 million new jobs by2025.1
In late 2018, a Gallup poll showed two-thirds of Americans support the legalization of cannabis in some form. All this momentum underscores the immediate need for sound policy prescriptions to fully realize the potential for cannabis in the American economy.
Visit www.nationalcannabisroundtable.orgto learn more.
1 Source: New Frontier Data, “State of the Cannabis Union 2019” report.