As more states in the U.S. legalize marijuana for medical or recreational use and the industry grows, political not-for-profit organizations, trade associations and cannabis businesses continue to lobby for cannabis reform and legalization.
Lobbyists are being paid a lot to weigh in on the cannabis reform measures being introduced in Congress, with OpenSecrets finding that 22 clients spent roughly $4.3 million last year to employ professional lobbyists to keep tabs on cannabis reform. OpenSecrets, which is a not-for-profit research group tracking political spending, found that this figure had increased from the $3.6 million recorded in 2020, noting that in the last 10 years the tally had also grown significantly.
The group found that in 2011, $35,000 was spent on lobbyists focusing on cannabis issues, with the Medical Marijuana Industry Group and the National Cannabis Industry Association accounting for this total. These tallies remained in the thousands until 2017, when stakeholders in the now-growing industry spent more than $1.5 million lobbying Congress about cannabis issues.
Since then, spending has continued increasing, with more than $15 million being spent in the period between 2018 and 2022. It’s no surprise that lobbying efforts for cannabis have increased at the federal level in the recent years, given the industry’s growth.
OpenSecrets also found that the majority of tribes, firms and organizations that spent funds on lobbyists to work on issues concerning marijuana also poured other monies into lobbying on other issues relevant to their backgrounds or businesses. This made it difficult to figure out exactly how much these stakeholders had spent on cannabis-related lobbying.
Players in the marijuana industry who spent monies lobbying Congress in 2021 include:
- Pax Labs, which spent $120,000 on the SAFE Banking act and other issues related to the marijuana industry
- Curaleaf Holdings, which used $280,000 to support the SAFE Banking Act, the MORE Act and other initiatives related to the federal legalization of marijuana
- Holistic Industries, which spent $220,000 on issues related to social equity, banking and interstate cannabis commerce
Other businesses that spent money in 2021 on lobbying that involved marijuana and other issues include:
- Morgan Stanley, which spent about $200,000 on marijuana–related banking
- Amazon, which spent about $10 million on various marijuana proposals, including the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act and the MORE Act
- Altria Client Services, which used nearly $12 million, with some of it going toward the MORE Act, the Safe Banking Act and hemp legislation
These are just a few of the many organizations and mainstream companies that are keeping tabs on marijuana activity in Congress as the marijuana industry continues to flourish and create lots of growth opportunities for licensed companies such as Cannabis Strategic Ventures Inc. (OTC: NUGS).
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