The governor of Delaware announced on Tuesday that he has vetoed a bill to legalize marijuana that the legislature sent to his desk earlier this month. Gov. John Carney said the law wasn’t in “the best interest of the state” despite the issue’s popularity within his own party.
In a statement, the Carney said that he supports allowing people to access cannabis for medical purposes and feels that “individuals should not be imprisoned solely for the possession and private use of a small amount of marijuana.” But he doesn’t believe Delaware should go beyond its current policies, according to Marijuana Moment.
“I do not believe that promoting or expanding the use of recreational marijuana is in the best interests of the state of Delaware, especially our young people,” he said. “Questions about the long-term health and economic impacts of recreational marijuana use, as well as serious law enforcement concerns, remain unresolved.”
The legislature could still override the governor’s veto of HB 371, which is sponsored by Rep. Ed Osienski, as it’s already received more than three-fifths of the vote in both chambers that would be required to overrule Carney’s decision.
While there are three bills in Congress competing to legalize marijuana, there are also many obstacles.
By Timothy S. Donahue
For the second time, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act (HR 3617), a bill that would end the federal prohibition on cannabis by removing it from the list of banned controlled substances. The MORE bill that passed the House with 220 “yea” votes to 204 “nay” votes would end the federal ban but leave legalization up to the states. The last time the House passed the MORE Act, the Senate did not take it up for a vote.
The current MORE bill is also expected to face strong headwinds in the Senate. This is partly because there are currently three bills floating through Congress competing to legalize marijuana on the federal level. The second bill, the States Reform Act (SRA), was introduced last year by Representative Nancy Mace. The SRA is the first comprehensive Republican version of legislation to end cannabis prohibition. It’s expected to have its own hearing in April (but had not at press time). Mace voted no on the MORE Act.
Mace’s legalization bill is primarily aimed at having the federal government treat marijuana in a similar manner to alcohol, and cannabis would be removed from the Controlled Substances Act, with retroactive effects for people previously punished. Prior federal cannabis convictions would need to be expunged within one year.
The third marijuana legalization bill is out of the Senate. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden and Senator Cory Booker introduced the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act in 2019. It was read twice and has been in committee ever since. The main features of the legislation largely align with what advocates and stakeholders expected. The bill (S. 1552) would federally deschedule cannabis, expunge prior convictions, allow people to petition for resentencing and maintain the authority of states to set their own marijuana policies.
While all the action marijuana legalization bills are receiving lately is exciting, it doesn’t mean that the U.S. is close to decriminalizing delta-9 THC. Rod Kight, founder and principal of Kight Law Office and a prominent global expert in marijuana law and legislation, said that he doesn’t expect any of the legalization bills to pass this year. Currently, cannabis is legal for adult use in 19 states and for medical use in 36 states. The legal marijuana industry generated $25 billion in sales last year, a 43 percent increase over 2020, and is expected to hit $65 billion in 2030, according to Forbes.
In an interview with Vapor Voice, Kight shared his insights into the various bills.
Vapor Voice: Do you think the MORE Act has a chance to get passed in the Senate?
Rod Kight
Kight: I think it has almost no chance whatsoever in the Senate for a couple of reasons. One is that there are competing bills. I think we may have some political showmanship as to which bill can get passed. Additionally, the Senate doesn’t get a whole lot done to begin with. It’s become an “obstructionist” legislative body, but that’s a topic for another day. So, with respect to the MORE Act, I would call this a symbolic vote by the House that, disappointingly, is almost certainly not going to pass in the Senate or even come close.
If you thought one bill had a best chance to pass, which one would you choose?
If a decent bill came from the Senate to the House, then it may have a good chance. In that scenario there, a bill is much more likely to pass than one coming from the House to the Senate. I think the hurdles the Schumer/Booker bill are going to face are that it’s competing with a Republican bill in [the] House. Additionally, it’s also just still competing with old-school prohibitionists. This is important since it will need 60 votes. I’m not sure that Schumer even has the full Democratic caucus, much less Republicans, who would either presumably say no and vote against it to continue prohibitionist policies or to vote for the Republican bill sponsored by Mace.
We talked about two of the bills; what is your opinion of Mace’s legislation?
She says she has bipartisan support. This would again have to come out of the House, though, and go into the Senate. As I said earlier, that’s a more difficult route given the way our legislative system works. That being said, it’s really hard to predict how the Mace bill will do because on the one hand, a lot of Democrats want to pass cannabis reform at almost any cost, including by voting for a Republican-sponsored bill. And so, here’s a bill sponsored by Republicans that may actually be able to get through because of presumptive Republican support and some Democratic members of Congress who will vote for it in order to legalize marijuana. All of this is to say that the Mace bill could have some traction simply because it’s sponsored by a Republican.
On the other hand, it’s not as comprehensive or thorough of a bill and doesn’t address a lot of issues that Democrats want. And then also, it’s sort of … a pride issue … for the Republicans to sponsor and pass a cannabis bill, which forever has always been a Democratic issue. I think that would be a pretty hard pill for the Democrats to swallow.
If we really look at the Mace and the Schumer/Booker Senate bills, the more that the MORE Act seems DOA [dead on arrival]. The Schumer/Booker bill is probably unlikely to pass as it stands as well. It will probably get blocked by Senate Republicans.
If you were writing the legislation, what would Rod Kight’s bill look like?
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The most straightforward thing to do would be to just, literally, have a very, very short bill that simply removed all forms of cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act altogether. Done deal, and then it’s up to the states to regulate it, which is de facto happening now anyway. Under that scenario, it would be regulated in a similar manner to other products, such as alcohol, tobacco, kratom, etc., that are typically regulated by the states. And then the FDA [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] and other federal agencies would regulate to the extent that the various products that flow from cannabis fall within their respective jurisdictions.
That being said, and as simple as that may sound, it’s unlikely to happen. “Cannabis” comes loaded with meaning these days, from financial gain to personal liberty to health to tax benefits to social and racial equity, etc. So any cannabis law will ultimately incorporate some, and perhaps all, of these cannabis-related issues and more. So there is ultimately an opportunity for each of the different parties and many interest groups to get something that they want. Democrats want social equity, they want racial equity, they want expungement, all of which are really important and speak to a bigger set of values related to cannabis so that when it is finally legalized, we’re not just allowing big corporate interest to come in and scoop this whole thing up after prosecuting people for almost 100 years, primarily people of color. This is a major concern in a controversial medical marijuana bill in my home state of North Carolina.
On the other hand, the Republicans tend to focus more on making this thing really work for business.
For my part, and given both the history and the current state of affairs with cannabis, I favor a bill that fully removes it from the Controlled Substances Act and also addresses social and racial equity while creating a place for small businesses to thrive.
If you had a crystal ball, will a federal legalization bill pass this year? Next year?
I don’t see any advancement this year. I think the best we can hope for is some banking and potentially some tax reform as those things relate to marijuana. I don’t see any kind of legalization at the federal level. As far as when we can expect to see it, I think, at the very best, it would be next year. However, I’m starting to kind of get my head around the fact that the best opportunity is probably in a post-Biden administration setting. Biden is simply not a supporter. I think without strong support and even leadership from the executive side, [it’s] ultimately difficult to get anything through of this magnitude.
What kind of social and economic benefits would legalization bring, such as taxes, fewer people in prison, etc.? Could more money go to treating the addiction of harder drugs?
I don’t have any specific numbers, but I will say that this reform is not only good for the physical and mental health of American citizens but also for the fiscal health of the country. Taxing the products and using those taxes to fund socially beneficial programs, including expungement of marijuana convictions, while also lowering the prison population will be huge. Of course, adding an entire new industry to the market will have a huge financial impact. Finally, liberating cannabis for use by people instead of medicating with pharmaceuticals will also help. With respect to addiction and mental health opportunities, I think cannabis can play an enormous role. I think that it could help reestablish the U.S. as a leader in the world economy as well. We’re seeing Latin America beginning to legalize; we’re seeing Germany and Spain making moves to legalize. And so, if the United States gets out ahead of that slightly, then I think the U.S. retains control of what promises to be a huge sector of the economy, whereas if we allow Europe to take the lead on this, then it will be impossible for the U.S. to recover. I don’t think the U.S. could ever really gain it back.
What about on a state level—is legalization becoming more active?
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As it stands, the states continue to be the place where all the action is happening. It’s really fundamentally important to pay attention to all the various bills regarding cannabis across the board. You know, recreational marijuana, medical marijuana, hemp, hemp derivatives, all those types of things. Watch what’s happening at the state level. I think that’s really where we’re seeing some essential changes.
Will we eventually see all 50 states with legal marijuana?
I think it is unlikely but possible that we could have some form of legal marijuana in all 50 states while it is still illegal at the federal level. This would be unprecedented. In fact, it’s probably unprecedented where we are at right now. What other issue in the history of the U.S. has been like this, where you have more than a majority, maybe even a supermajority of states that have legalized something that the feds deem to be illegal or vice versa?
Just to take things to another perspective, consider that now with respect to hemp derivatives—you have THC that’s being lawfully marketed throughout the country, and in most states, it’s legal. At what point do we even really—from a policy level, not necessarily a statutory definitional level—just consider that cannabis is, in fact, lawful throughout most of the U.S. in the sense that there are all of the active compounds in marijuana, including THC, being marketed throughout the country legally through hemp. At what point do we just say cannabis is legal in this country, either de facto or otherwise?
Times are changing. You had marijuana, which was considered the “THC world.” And then you had hemp, which was considered to be the “CBD world.” Those worlds have blended. You have interesting things that the states are doing. Ultimately, what’s happening is [that] the overall tide of cannabis legalization is continuing to move forward. We may see a situation where almost every state has legalization of marijuana. Yet, marijuana is still, quote, unquote, illegal at the federal level. That’ll be a very strange state of events, but that’s how it could play out.
Last question: Is there unity between the hemp and marijuana producers? Unlike other industries, are the segments banding together to fight potential regulations?
No, I think there’s unfortunately a lot of dissension. I think there’s dissension between the marijuana industry and the hemp industry and within each of those sectors of the industry. Then I think at the level of the farmers, the farmers are the front lines, and they’re the ones that really are often not heard. They’re the ones that struggle with massive price fluctuations and the bottom dropping out and then the mass demands. Then they ramp up for demand, and then it goes away. The farmers may be the most important factor in this equation.
A key U.S. House of Representatives committee on Wednesday formally advanced a bill to federally legalize marijuana to the floor, making in order a number of amendments and blocking others as part of a final rule. A full chamber vote is expected on Friday.
The House Rules Committee took up the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, discussing proposed revisions, mostly from GOP lawmakers seeking to insert additional restrictions into the reform measure, according to Marijuana Moments.
This the second time the MORE Act has made it to floor. Last year, the bill made it to the floor but was sent back for committee review.
The MORE Act, sponsored by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, would remove marijuana from the list of federally controlled substances, promote equity in the industry and impose a federal tax on marijuana products to fund various initiatives.
At the start of Wednesday’s hearing, Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern said that the legislation would “address our nation’s failed approach to the war on drugs” and “put racial justice at the heart of our nation’s federal cannabis policy.”
He noted racial disparities in marijuana enforcement, emphasizing that “none of us should be OK with a system that treats people differently based on the color of their skin” and “no life should be destroyed by decades of failed policy.”
“It’s past time that we show the moral courage to do something about it,” McGovern said.
The leaders of Germany’s incoming governing parties say that they have a formal agreement to legalize marijuana and promote broader drug policy harm reduction measures when they take power. Many European countries, including Germany, have legalized cannabis for limited medicinal purposes. Others have decriminalized its general use, while stopping stopping short of making it legal.
Credit: Promesaartstudio
The move would make Germany the first European country to legalize cannabis and authorize its sale for recreational purposes, according to a coalition agreement for a new government struck by three parties on Wednesday. The centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), Green and libertarian Free Democrats (FDP) agreed to introduce legislation during their four-year term to create the controlled distribution of weed in licensed shops.
“We would evaluate the (weed) law after four years for social impact,” the pact read. Policy-makers and sector specialists have said legalization could reduce activity on the black market, where there are no quality controls, according to Reuters. It could also free police resources spent on prosecuting cannabis use and raise tax revenues for prevention and therapy for addiction.
The German example could inspire other European countries, while the United States of America has already seen a big business opportunity in a trend for legalization of cannabis whose use increased during lockdowns. In Europe, the country traditionally associated with cannabis is the Netherlands, where its sale in coffee shops is tolerated, but not formally legalized, meaning the shops source weed from illegal growers.
“Germany would have a pioneer role,” said Florian Holzapfel, founder of German cannabis company Cantourage, which imports weed and processes it for medicinal use. “It would be important for it to be a success story as that would pave the way for other countries to implement similar legislation.”
Legalising cannabis could bring Germany annual tax revenues and cost savings of about 4.7 billion euros ($5.34 billion) and create 27,000 new jobs, a survey published last week found. The European market is projected to grow to 3.2 billion euros by 2025, up from 403 million euros at the end of 2021, the European Cannabis Report by research firm Prohibition Partners found.
Such growth could boost big U.S. and Canadian cannabis firms, as well as the fledgling German industry. Holzapfel, however, said it would hard for Germany to become a big producer nation given high overheads and inclement weather.
The new bill in Connecticut that legalizes cannabis comes with a surprise. The legislation also bans vaping in many public places. In addition to being banned in health care settings, restaurants, state buildings and more, vaping and smoking tobacco or marijuana will now be prohibited in hotels, motels and other places of lodging, as well as in correctional facilities and halfway houses.
Credit: Andy Dean
Additionally, in all places where vaping is prohibited it will be restricted not only indoors but also outside within 25 feet of a doorway, window or intake vent, according to the Hartford Courant. That means, for example, a restaurant worker who takes a smoke break outdoors will have to do so at a 25-foot distance from the building itself.
The full list of places where smoking is banned in Connecticut now includes:
Any building, rail platform or bus shelter operated by the state (with the exception of public housing)
Any health care institution
Any retail food establishment accessed by the general public
Any restaurant
Anywhere alcohol is sold
In or on the grounds of any school
In or on the grounds of any child care facility
In any elevator
In any hotel room
In any correctional facility or halfway house
In any college dormitory
Landlords and building managers will not be allowed to prohibit the possession or consumption of cannabis but will be allowed to ban residents from smoking it. Connecticut recently joined 18 other states in legalizing recreation cannabis, after a multi-year effort in the state legislature.
Marijuana possession will be legal in Connecticut as of July 1, while retail sales are likely to begin next year. The bill lets people from cities that have borne the brunt of the war on drugs qualify for expedited licenses, in an attempt to reverse disproportionate impacts of marijuana prohibition.
“We had a chance to learn from others and I think we got it right here in the state of Connecticut,” Gov. Ned Lamont said before signing the legislation. “We weren’t the first but we were the first to show we can get it right.”
The governor of Connecticut on Tuesday signed a bill to legalize marijuana—making it the 19th state to enact the reform. Last week, Gov. Ned Lamont threatened a veto over language on equity licensing that had been added, prompting legislators to revise it.
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“For decades, the war on cannabis caused injustices and created disparities while doing little to protect public health and safety,” Lamont said in a press release. “The law that I signed today begins to right some of those wrongs by creating a comprehensive framework for a regulated market that prioritizes public health, public safety, criminal justice and equity. It will help eliminate the dangerous, unregulated market and support a new and equitable sector of our economy that will create jobs.”
Connecticut is the fourth state to legalize cannabis for adult use this year alone, following New York, Virginia and New Mexico. Possession of cannabis among adults age 21 and over will be legal in Connecticut beginning July 1, 2021. Adults cannot have more than 1.5 ounces of cannabis on their person, and no more than 5 ounces in their homes or locked in their car truck or glove box.
Retail sales of cannabis aim to begin in Connecticut by the end of 2022. The sale, manufacture, and cultivation of cannabis (aside from home grow) requires a license from the state. Products that contain delta-8-THC, delta-9-THC, or delta-10-THC are considered cannabis and may only be sold by licensed retailers. Individuals who are not licensed by the state may gift cannabis to others but may not sell it. Individuals may not gift cannabis to another individual who has “paid” or “donated” for another product.
Certain cannabis-related convictions that occurred between January 1, 2000 and October 1, 2015 will be automatically erased. Those seeking to erase cannabis-related convictions outside of that period will require petitioning. The law enacts a tax rate structure on the retail sale of cannabis that includes a new source of revenue for municipalities.
This includes (1) a 3% municipal sales tax, which will be directed to the town or city where the retail sale occurred; (2) the 6.35% state sales tax; and (3) a tax based on the THC content of the product, which will be 2.75 cents per milligram of THC for cannabis edibles; 0.625 cents per milligram of THC for cannabis flower; and 0.9 cents per milligram of THC for all other product types. This means that Connecticut generally will have about a 4% lower tax rate than New York and about the same as Massachusetts.
“The states surrounding us already, or soon will, have legal adult-use markets. By allowing adults to possess cannabis, regulating its sale and content, training police officers in the latest techniques of detecting and preventing impaired driving, and expunging the criminal records of people with certain cannabis crimes, we’re not only effectively modernizing our laws and addressing inequities, we’re keeping Connecticut economically competitive,” Lamont said. “This legislation directs significant new funding to prevention and recovery services, which will be used to help prevent cannabis use by minors and to promote safe, healthy use of cannabis by those of legal age.”
Cannabis use is prohibited in state parks, state beaches, and on state waters.
The governor of New Mexico on Monday signed a bill to legalize marijuana in the state, as well as a separate measure to expunge records for people with prior, low-level cannabis convictions.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) gave final approval to the legislation, a key accomplishment for her administration after she listed legalization as a 2021 priority, according to Marijuana Moment. Although lawmakers failed to pass a legalization bill before the regular session’s end last month, the governor convened a special session to ensure they got the job done.
“The legalization of adult-use cannabis paves the way for the creation of a new economic driver in our state with the promise of creating thousands of good paying jobs for years to come,” the governor said in a press release. “We are going to increase consumer safety by creating a bona fide industry. We’re going to start righting past wrongs of this country’s failed war on drugs. And we’re going to break new ground in an industry that may well transform New Mexico’s economic future for the better.”
“As we look to rebound from the economic downturn caused by the pandemic,” she said, “entrepreneurs will benefit from this great opportunity to create lucrative new enterprises, the state and local governments will benefit from the added revenue and, importantly, workers will benefit from the chance to land new types of jobs and build careers.”
Provisions of the legalization bill and expungements legislation were initially included together in the same package that passed the House during the regular session but later stalled on the Senate floor. When the special session started, however, supporters split up the legislation to win favor from Republicans and moderate Democrats who expressed opposition to the scope of the original proposal.
With Lujan Grisham’s action, New Mexico is the third state to formally end cannabis prohibition within the span of days. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed a marijuana legalization bill into law late last month, just hours after lawmakers sent it to his desk. In Virginia, lawmakers last week accepted amendments to a legal cannabis bill that were suggested by Gov. Ralph Northam (D), giving final passage to the bill that they had initially approved in February.
Virginia became the 16th U.S. state to legalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana on Wednesday. Under the new law, adults ages 21 and over can possess an ounce or less of marijuana beginning on July 1 this year, rather than Jan. 1, 2024.
Credit: Rex Medlen
Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, proposed moving up the date, arguing it would be a mistake to continue to penalize people for possessing a drug that would soon be legal. Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, also a Democrat, broke a 20-20 vote tie in Virginia’s Senate to pass the bill. No Republicans supported the measure.
Democratic House of Delegates Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn hailed the plan, according to NPR. “Today, with the Governor’s amendments, we will have made tremendous progress in ending the targeting of Black and brown Virginians through selective enforcement of marijuana prohibition by this summer,” she said in a statement.
Republicans voiced a number of objections to what they characterized as an unwieldy, nearly 300-page bill. Several criticized measures that would grant licensing preferences to people and groups who’ve been affected by the war on drugs and make it easier for workers in the industry to unionize. Senate Minority Leader Tommy Norment also questioned Northam’s motives.
“We have a governor who wants to contribute to the resurrection of his legacy,” Norment said, referring to the 2019 discovery of a racist photo in Northam’s 1984 medical school yearbook.
The accelerated timeline creates an unusual situation for Virginia cannabis consumers. While it will be legal to grow up to four marijuana plants beginning July 1, it could be several years before the state begins licensing recreational marijuana retailers. And unlike other states, the law won’t allow the commonwealth’s existing medical dispensaries to begin selling to all adults immediately.
Jenn Michelle Pedini, executive director of Virginia NORML, called legalization “an incredible victory” but said the group would continue to push to allow retail sales to begin sooner, according to NPR. “In the interest of public and consumer safety, Virginians 21 and older should be able to purchase retail cannabis products at the already operational dispensaries in 2021, not in 2024,” Pedini said in a statement. “Such a delay will only exacerbate the divide for equity applicants and embolden illicit activity.”
State lawmakers in New York have agreed to legalize marijuana for recreational use in a late-night session. The move positions the state to join at least 14 other states already allowing residents to buy marijuana for recreational and not just medical use. New York’s past efforts to pass marijuana legalization have failed in recent years.
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“My goal in carrying this legislation has always been to end the racially disparate enforcement of marijuana prohibition that has taken such a toll on communities of color across our state, and to use the economic windfall of legalization to help heal and repair those same communities,” Sen. Liz Krueger, Senate sponsor of the bill and chair of the Senate’s finance committee, said.
Democrats who now wield a veto-proof majority in the state Legislature that made passing the bill a priority this year, and Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration has estimated legalization could eventually bring the state about $350 million annually, according to a story in the Associated Press. Cuomo has pointed to growing acceptance of legalization in the Northeast, including in Massachusetts, Maine and most recently, New Jersey.
The legislation would allow recreational marijuana sales to adults over the age of 21, and set up a licensing process for the delivery of cannabis products to customers. Individual New Yorkers could grow up to three mature and three immature plants for personal consumption, and local governments could opt out of retail sales. The bill also sets aside revenues to cover the costs of everything from regulating marijuana, to substance abuse prevention, according to the AP.
The legislation would take effect immediately if passed, though sales wouldn’t start until New York sets up rules and a proposed cannabis board, according to the AP. Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes estimated Friday it could take 18 months to two years for sales to start.
New York would set a 9% sales tax on cannabis, plus an additional 4% tax split between the county and local government. It would also impose an additional tax based on the level of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, ranging from 0.5 cents per milligram for flower to 3 cents per milligram for edibles.
New York would eliminate penalties for possession of less than three ounces of cannabis, and automatically expunge records of people with past convictions for marijuana-related offenses that would no longer be criminalized, according to the AP. That’s a step beyond a 2019 law that expunged many past convictions for marijuana possession and reduced the penalty for possessing small amounts.
The bill allows cities, towns and villages to opt out of allowing adult-use cannabis retail dispensaries or on-site consumption licenses by passing a local law by Dec. 31, 2021 or nine months after the effective date of the legislation. They cannot opt out of legalization.
Marijuana legalization is on the ballot in five U.S. states on Nov.3, four of which are for recreational use. The financial crisis cause by the Covid-19 pandemic and potential to bring in more taxes are the motivation for the measures.
In less than 2 weeks, voters will decide on whether to legalize recreational marijuana in Arizona, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota. Mississippi will also consider a pair of ballot initiatives to legalize medical marijuana.
Despite COVID-19 risks, advocates managed to collect more than 661,000 signatures in four of those states in the 2020 election cycle to put the questions on the ballot, according to rollcall.com. Some began before the pandemic hit, while advocates with later deadlines added protective steps like using individual plastic-wrapped pens.
In recent years, 11 states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana for adults 21 years old or older, while 33 states plus the District have legalized medical marijuana for some patients.
If successful, as is likely in all the states this year except possibly Mississippi, the new legalization efforts could altogether bring in hundreds of millions in tax revenue, which could help blunt the impact of states’ plummeting revenue due to the economic collapse, according to rollcall.com.
Matthew Schweich, deputy director at the Marijuana Policy Project, said many supporters were already swayed by the revenue marijuana taxes bring in. The dire budget conditions of many states could increasingly become a strong argument in favor of legalization.
“Voters are aware of the fiscal pain that’s already here or coming down the road. I believe they’re seeing marijuana revenue as part of the solution,” he said.
