Did the Coronavirus Finally Solidify the Cannabis Industry?
The coronavirus completely changed the entire Cannabis industry almost overnight.
I don’t think it could be more clear — cannabis has officially arrived at the forefront of mainstream society in America.
Never before in my life have I seen the perception of an entire industry completely change so quickly for the better. We’re not accepted by everyone, but it’s telling that “two-thirds of Americans say the use of marijuana should be legal,” according to a 2019 survey from the Pew Research Center. Further, the number of American adults who oppose legalization has fallen from 52% in 2010 to 32% in 2019. Now that local governments have declared cannabis to be an essential business, allowing dispensaries to stay open when so many other businesses were forced to close due to the pandemic, I imagine those numbers are even more favorable now.
The essential business declaration is a huge win for our industry. Not only has revenue continued to flow — considerably with record breaking sales in many locales in part because of coronavirus-related shelter-in-place mandates — from a perception standpoint it’s like official recognition that for many Americans, cannabis is as necessary as milk and bread.
It wasn’t that long ago that anyone who cultivated and sold cannabis faced the risk of being arrested, prosecuted and jailed. Now, Governors for Illinois, Michigan, California, Colorado, Oregon, Nevada, Washington and Michigan designated cannabis dispensaries as essential because “they provide services that are recognized to be critical to the health of their cities,” according to a recent piece from ABC News.
Sure, people rely on medical cannabis for chronic pain, seizure disorders, muscle spasms, depression and other conditions. But these recent shifts in perception likely have been helped by health officials acknowledging that cannabis can help to reduce anxiety and stress. Right now, given the new and frankly surreal environment we’re currently living in, having access to cannabis products is vital to help alleviate stress on an already overly burdened healthcare system.
The Coronavirus pandemic has only helped the case for more federal legalization.
The pandemic — and the essential business stamp that followed — has increased the likelihood that we will see full federal legalization coming in the near-future. It’s very encouraging to see practical public policy finally catch up to what a vast majority of Americans have been thinking for years. Recognition from government officials that cannabis is not only here to stay, but is an essential part of millions of Americans lives — particularly in the patient community — could not have come at a better moment for those who are trying to maintain their quality of life during these trying and troubled times. To be clear, I don’t think the positive impact of the coronavirus will push cannabis legalization forward at the federal level in the next month, or even the next year.
Yet, it is undeniable that during these challenging and uncertain times, numerous law makers at various levels of government have stepped up to make legalized cannabis use available, and in many cases “essential.” It didn’t take much, which leads me to suspect that perhaps they were leaning in this direction all along, and it had been of interest to them for some time. It’s truly unfortunate that it took a health crisis — and all of the complexities and distractions associated with the coronavirus — to move the cannabis industry’s agenda further down the line.
Nevertheless, we’ll take it. However we got here, we are grateful and appreciative that we’re rapidly moving beyond these signs of industry maturation and positive recognition. The old taboo is lifted, and it’s gone beyond what we imagined. During a time of crisis, whether it be recreational or medicinal, we are open for business. These developments emphasize the importance of cannabis in today’s society, as well as the need to reconcile differences in state and federal cannabis laws.
The situation is far from ideal, but we still have to celebrate this win: Cannabis is “essential.”
Joe Ori. Trial Lawyer | Cannabis Advocate | Entrepreneur |Father of four Doing “the right thing,” my way.
