The past few years have seen a tremendous boost in the US cannabis industry, as 36 states have legalized the substance for medical or recreational use, or both, and several others have decriminalized it. At the Federal level, cannabis remains an illegal narcotic – but Federal law also prohibits prosecution of users who are in compliance with local state laws.
The industry is facing a number of headwinds, however, with the most serious being political in nature. Like so many headwinds these days, this originates with the partisan deadlock in Washington. Congress and the Biden Administration are finding it difficult to get major legislation passed into law, and so second-tier priorities, such as legalization of cannabis, are taking a back seat.