Beginning as an experiment in the laboratories of western states, adult use, and medical cannabis is now an issue of national importance. Twenty-four states, the District of Columbia, and Guam have all passed laws regarding adult-use cannabis. Medical cannabis use in some form is permitted in thirty-eight states. Canada’s national legalization creates cross-border business opportunities and offers a new model for national legality. Furthermore, the 2018 Farm Bill represents a significant federal shift but also causes confusion for law enforcement and consumers. And despite unclear and conflicting federal guidance, the trend towards complete U.S. legalization will likely continue.
State Attorneys General play a central role in enforcing cannabis laws and protecting consumers. As legalization continues to sweep the country, the interplay between state and federal law demands particular attention. For example, in May 2019, thirty-eight state attorneys general called on a bipartisan basis for Congress to pass legislation creating a safe harbor for the national banking system to bank legitimate cannabis businesses. More work is needed.
Creating robust state regulatory systems, however, presents a host of challenges: protecting consumers from harmful and contaminated products; preventing underage consumption; inventory tracking from seed to sale; preventing regulated cannabis from being diverted to the unregulated market; ensuring local and state law enforcement operate with clear guidance; and addressing barriers to entry for communities dis-proportionally impacted by the war on drugs. Within this context, the AGA Cannabis Project works towards three main objectives:
Studying legal and policy trends to identify effective legal structures and areas for improvement.
Educating the Attorney General community tasked with enforcing cannabis laws through training and information sharing.
Convening forums for discussion and collaboration within the Attorney General community and with diverse external stakeholders.
The Cannabis Project produces a newsletter with important updates, hosts forums for attorneys and their regulatory clients, and seeks information from Congress, public health officials, federal agencies, the private sector, and other parties interested in the development and regulatory atmosphere around the topic. Ultimately, the Cannabis Project allows interested parties to dialogue on how changes to state and local law might preserve public health and safety, protect consumers, and ensure the rule of law while respecting the role of states to innovate and experiment as laboratories of democracy.
