Legalizing interstate cannabis commerce could be a boon

The Alliance for Sensible Markets campaign will be pushing governors from legal and likely soon-to-be legal states to enter into an interstate compact — a constitutionally recognized agreement between two or more states — establishing a framework for cannabis to be transported and marketed across state lines.

Such an arrangement hasn't been tried before; but if the new effort succeeds in getting at least two states to sign on, the compact would then be transmitted to Congress, where lawmakers would have the choice to codify the agreement. It could be passed as stand-alone legislation or attached as an amendment or rider to a broader bill.

New York and New Jersey are the first two states being targeted by the Alliance for Sensible Markets, despite not having legalization on the books just yet. California and Oregon are the two other states the campaign hopes to bring on board.

Part of the logic in choosing these states is that California and Oregon are considered producer states with high volumes of cannabis, whereas New York and New Jersey are more traditionally consumer states, where the climate is less friendly to large-scale cultivation.

By opening a market that would allow for interstate commerce, it would "immediately increase valuations significantly for thousands of farms and businesses on the West Coast, which will spur investment expansion and jobs," says Adam Smith, Founder and President of the Alliance for Sensible Markets. "And in consumer states that don't traditionally grow their own cannabis, we have seen the length of time it takes to get state-siloed production industries up and running and supply chains stable."

Read more at MarijuanaMoment.com.

Source and Photo Courtesy of Greenhouse Grower

Source: Greenhouse Grower