[Cover Story] Family of Three Builds Massachusetts Microbusiness

It’s no secret that cannabis laws throughout the country are complex and ever-changing, and policy is even more complicated at the federal level, where cannabis remains a Schedule I substance.

Recent state-level legislation is changing the cannabis landscape once again, as Thompson Coburn LLP Partner Barry Weisz outlined this week in a guest column.

The prospects for federal cannabis decriminalization remain somewhat dim, according to Weisz, even in the wake of President Joe Biden urging his administration to reexamine how cannabis is scheduled under the Controlled Substances Act. And, Weisz added, even if federal prohibition is lifted, state and municipal laws would likely still govern cannabis for the most part.

So, which pieces of recent state-by-state legislation should cannabis businesses be watching right now?

Don’t miss Weisz’s insight into the bills to watch in California, Massachusetts, Nevada, North Carolina and more.

- Melissa Schiller, Senior Digital Editor

Our December 2022 issue is now live on our website!

From a family of three building Massachusetts’ first cannabis microbusiness to tips on the hiring process, how to properly pot your cannabis crop and how to keep dried cannabis fresh, and a whole lot more, be sure to check out this digital edition of our print magazine.

In addition, here are a few words from Editor-in-Chief Michelle Simakis:

‘Walking This Journey Together’

While slow news days don’t exist in the cannabis industry, the seven weeks leading up to the Cannabis Business Times December press date have been particularly lively.

It began with President Joe Biden’s surprise three-step cannabis reform plan announcement Oct. 6, which included pardons for simple cannabis possession at the federal level and a review of cannabis’s Schedule I status in the Controlled Substances Act. Then, on Nov. 8, there was the Election Day excitement over Missouri and Maryland legalizing adult use, only to be tempered by the ballot losses in Arkansas, North Dakota and South Dakota. The following week, a committee and subcommittee in the U.S. House organized a hearing titled “Developments in State Cannabis Laws and Bipartisan Cannabis Reforms at the Federal Level,” and Congress passed the bipartisan Medical Marijuana Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act, keeping cannabis in the national spotlight.

The mix of highs and lows has been a lot to unpack, and editors at CBT have been publishing news updates as they are available.

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