“At a time when the nation struggles to find common ground, the exceptional support for legalizing cannabis is where shared purpose can begin.”
By Adam Rosenberg, National Cannabis Industry Association
Americans just elected a new Congress after years of bitter partisan division that has left families, businesses and communities uncertain about their future. Few issues are more universally supported, and offer lawmakers a better place to start working together again, than cannabis reform.
Cannabis, particularly legal access to medical cannabis, has the unusual power to unite Americans across geographic, ideological and political lines. Nearly 90 percent of the country supports legalizing cannabis for at least medical use, a level of agreement unmatched by almost any other policy question in modern history.
That consensus already reaches across Pennsylvania Avenue where President Donald Trump ordered cannabis to be rescheduled last December, aligning him with the incoming Democratic majority in Congress. At a time when the nation struggles to find common ground, the exceptional support for legalizing cannabis is where shared purpose can begin.
Voters across the spectrum rejected prohibition
Tuesday’s results showed both blue and red states are moving out of prohibition and into regulated markets with prohibitionist lawmakers increasingly being voted out.
In Massachusetts, 10 years after a ballot initiative legalized adult-use cannabis with 54 percent, nearly 76 percent rejected a ballot question to repeal it. Support grew by more than 20 points after a decade of real-world experience.
In Idaho, voters rejected a constitutional amendment that would have stripped them of the right to legalize cannabis through ballot initiatives.
In Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton’s (R) defeat was another rebuke of prohibitionist policy.
The message from voters to lawmakers is clear: Americans prefer the outcomes of regulation over prohibition.
The people federal policy leaves behind
Through more than a decade in the cannabis industry, I have seen the diversity of people it serves, including cancer patients managing pain and regaining appetites lost to chemotherapy, parents easing their children’s seizures and veterans recovering from PTSD and traumatic injuries.
It also supports tens of thousands of businesses and raises billions of dollars per year in taxes that are invested into local communities.
Despite progress in the rescheduling process, federal law still treats most cannabis as a Schedule I substance, alongside heroin and under harsher restrictions than methamphetamine. That outdated approach inhibits research, limits access and leaves most of the roughly $100 billion in annual cannabis sales with criminal organizations rather than tax-paying American businesses.
More than 50 million Americans will use cannabis this year, including around 4 million registered medical patients, despite more than half a century in the most restrictive federal classification.
It has long since been time for federal policy to align with this reality to protect public health, keep communities safe and deliver the economic benefits to American communities instead of the illicit market.
Regulation delivers what both parties want
Even lawmakers who publicly disagree about cannabis share the same stated goals: keeping intoxicating products away from minors, safer communities and fewer overdose deaths. Data from maturing state markets demonstrates that regulation advances every one of those causes.
Strict age verification and packaging standards keep products away from minors. Legal access undercuts criminal networks and frees law enforcement to focus on violent crimes.
Expanded research and safe access offer alternatives to opioids, helping reduce overdose deaths.
Federal policy that legitimizes licensed operators, already strictly regulated under state law, would stabilize an industry that currently supports more than 425,000 American workers. Lawmakers from both parties have backed cannabis legislation on banking, research, states’ rights and criminal justice reform.
The new Congress has an opportunity to convert these bipartisan talking points into action.
What the new Congress should do
The new Congress can draw clear lines that let the industry operate like any other business through clarity on taxes, banking and access to capital, while defining the role of state markets.
As rescheduling and the federal hemp definition play out, Congress must also resolve the contradictions between state and federal law.
That includes reconciling state medical programs with DEA registration, addressing states that issue dual licenses and fixing a glaring conflict: state social equity programs were built to support victims of the drug war, yet DEA rules make many of those same individuals ineligible for the new federal licenses.
A foundation for rebuilding trust
Virtually every American family knows someone affected by cannabis policy, through a loved one’s health, the safety of their neighborhood or the strength of their local economy. Reform is about replacing a failed system with one grounded in science that saves lives, protects communities, and supports economic prosperity.
The broader payoff is restoring trust that our lawmakers can find a path to meaningful progress. Voters have made their position known, and cannabis reform can be the first step toward a more collaborative Washington.
Adam Rosenberg is Chairman of the Board of the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) and Partner at Vlasic Bioscience, with extensive experience spanning the entire cannabinoid supply chain, investment, education, and regulatory policy.
