Introduction

Welcome to Workshop 2, where we take a deeper dive into the complexities of the current cannabis market.  As we mentioned last week, we essentially have two different markets operating simultaneously.  The marijuana market with recreational and medicinal products available for retail services, and the hemp market with industrial, recreational, medical, and retail markets.  Each side has their own challenges, but only hemp has been descheduled from the Controlled Substances Act, and only hemp has technically been legalized at the federal level for interstate commerce.  For quite some time, tribal nations have been cautious to adopt cannabis policies within their sovereign lands, for fear of losing hard fought victories against the federal government, but in the past 2-3 years, we are starting to see more and more cannabis businesses emerging.  As we dive into how each side is developing, it is important to understand this current distinction when you develop your own strategic plan and market analysis.  How does your business fit into this very complicated puzzle?

Let’s start by introducing the legal and regulatory challenges that face marijuana businesses at both the federal and state level.