How Coronavirus Could Speed Up Cannabis Legalization

We have just finished 4/20, the most cannabis-centric day of the year. However, this one will be starkly different than those which preceded it. What should have been a month-long cannabis-filled celebration has instead been tarnished by the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing citizens to remain at home at virtually all times. As a result of lockdowns, economic activity has slowed down to recession levels, and unemployment has skyrocketed to over 4.4%.

The cannabis industry has not escaped unscathed from the COVID-19 fallout, with enormous companies like Canopy Growth and Aurora forced to take serious cost-cutting measures to keep afloat. Then came the news that New York wouldn’t be legalizing cannabis in this year’s budget, despite the Governor suggesting otherwise. And lastly, with cannabis companies not eligible to receive any stimulus funding during these unique and difficult times, many companies are walking on the edge of bankruptcy.

Though it isn’t all doom and gloom for the cannabis industry, and in fact, there have been some real positives during this pandemic that serve as a crucial reminder that cannabis is here to stay.

The first, and most prominent good news for the industry is that 9 of the 11 states that have legalized cannabis for recreational use have deemed cannabis dispensaries as “essential,”…