NCIA Accepting Nominations for Board of Directors Election
The National Cannabis Industry Association’s annual board election begins April 30. As the only national trade association for the cannabis industry, NCIA prides itself on the democratic system it employs to select the Board of Directors who are tasked with overseeing the organization’s budget and strategic plan.
Any current Sustaining NCIA member may run for a seat on the board with the nomination of any other member. Nominations for board candidates are being accepted through this online form.
NCIA’s Board of Directors is made up of 20 elected positions and the executive director, who is hired by and reports to the board. Elected members serve two-year terms and elections are staggered with eleven of the 20 seats open this year. A list of current board members is available online.
The online ballot will open to members from Wednesday, April 30 until midnight Eastern Time on Friday, May 16. NCIA utilizes a weighted voting system. Each member business can cast one vote. That vote is then weighted according to membership status. A Sponsoring member’s vote carries twice the weight of a basic member’s vote and a Sustaining member is weighted at five times that of a basic member.
More information about the board election, including a voter guide with candidate information, will be made available to our membership in the weeks ahead.
NCIA Announces National Cannabis Business Summit – June 24-25 in Denver
NCIA is launching its first national conference, The Cannabis Business Summit, June 24-25 in Denver, Colorado. The summit will offer cannabis business leaders a national stage to discuss best practices and business developments from around the industry. The summit will include more than 35 sessions, more than 800 attendees, and an exhibition floor featuring more than 30 leading cannabis businesses over the course of two days.
This will be the largest, most exciting event NCIA has ever hosted, and we’re thrilled to invite you to join us in Denver.
Confirmed speakers include NCIA board members Jessica Billingsley of MJ Freeway, Troy Dayton of the ArcView Group, Steve DeAngelo of Harborside Health Center, Tripp Keber or Dixie Elixirs, Christian Sederberg of Vicente Sederberg, Ean Seeb of Denver Relief, and many more in NCIA’s cannabis industry brain trust.
You can read our press release about it here and find out more about the Cannabis Business Summit at www.CannabistBusinessSummit.com.
Sponsorship opportunities for NCIA member businesses looking to advance , please email Sponsorship@CannabisBusinessSummit.com.
NCIA’s 4th Annual Lobby Days Take the Hill by Storm
On Wednesday, March 12, more than 60 cannabis industry professionals from across the country descended on our nation’s capital for NCIA’s 4th Annual Lobby Days. Led by NCIA director of government relations Michael Correia, these members spent two full days meeting with Congressional members and their staffs to talk about the critical federal issues facing the cannabis industry.
At a standing-room-only briefing on Capitol Hill Thursday morning, Representatives Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), and Jared Polis (R-CO) explained their support for cannabis policy reform, and prominent national pollster Celinda Lake shared up-to-date research showing that Americans’ support for legal marijuana has grown dramatically in recent years.
More than 60 official meetings with Congressional staff gave the visiting NCIA members a chance to make a personal case about the need for banking and tax reform for the industry and show the nation’s policy-makers what the true face of the legal cannabis industry looks like.
In addition to the busy schedule of meetings, NCIA’s Lobby Days garnered an impressive array of media attention from national news outlets, including the a front-page story in the Washington Post, as well as coverage from USA Today, and Yahoo News.
A Day in the Life of a Marijuana Lobbyist – Yahoo News
Marijuana Industry Delegation’s Pitch on Legalized Pot: It’s Just Good Business – Washington Post
Medical Marijuana Stores Blocked from Federal Tax Breaks – USA Today
NCIA Lobby Days Photos from Kim Sidwell of Cannabis Camera
2014 Northeast CannaBusiness Symposium Presentations
NCIA’s 2014 Northeast CannaBusiness Symposium was held in Boston on March 15, 2014. The presentation slides for each of the symposium’s speakers are provided here.
2014 Northwest CannaBusiness Symposium Presentations
NCIA’s 2014 Northwest CannaBusiness Symposium was held in Portland, Oregon on February 1, 2014. The presentation slides for each of the symposium’s speakers are provided here.
NCIA Blog Guest Post Guidelines
NCIA encourages member companies and allied nonprofit organizations to submit educational guest posts for the Members-Only Blog.
- Guest posts are educational in nature and directed toward an audience of cannabis business professionals.
- Guest posts are 200-800 words and may contain external links, images, video, and other forms of content.
- While it is assumed that members writing guest posts will reference their member company and provide resources created by the company, the NCIA blog is not a forum for company advertisements. Pitches and advertisement-heavy posts will not be accepted for publication.
- All posts are subject to editing by NCIA staff and become the property of NCIA upon publication.
- Posts may be shared more widely by the author or NCIA through social media, email, or external media.
Send guest post submissions that meet these guidelines to bethany@thecannabisindustry.org.
NCIA Member Profile: Edible Events
About: Edible Events Co. is a full-service event-planning company specializing in cannabis event production. They are currently producing monthly, ticketed cannabis-friendly “BYOC” all-inclusive catered events, held in high-end, private spaces throughout Denver.
Cannabis Industry Sector: Corporate Cannabis Event Production
Founded: 2013
NCIA Member Since: 2014
Led by: Jane West, LLC
Edible Events is one of NCIA’s newest members. We caught up with founder Jane West to talk about her involvement in the industry and her vision for the future of cannabis events.
NCIA: What makes Edible Events Co. unique?
West: There are many companies now selling multi-day cannabis tourism packages in Colorado. Edible Events Co. instead produces singular events that are unique experiences including responsible, adult use of cannabis. With over 15 years of corporate event management experience, we are also a full-service event-planning company capable of large-scale fundraisers, festivals, and conference production.
Since its inception just 4 months ago, Edible Events Co. has received extensive press coverage spanning five continents, including an editorial by Maureen Dowd of the New York Times and excellent video coverage at The Telegraph (U.K.), covering our first event, which was held on January 24th.
NCIA: What’s on the horizon in 2014 for Edible Events Co.?
West: With ski season upon us, our private, discreet Après Ski packages are currently drawing the most interest. They are fully catered affairs created by our Executive Chef, Melissa Parks, that begin with a THC infused amuse’. Our next ticketed Denver event is cheekily entitled “A Threesome with Mary Jane” and will be held at Space Gallery at 765 Santa Fe Drive on Valentine’s Night.
While these events are the foundation of the company, Edible Events Co. is seeking out new endeavors in corporate cannabis event production. We have recently begun promoting our Executive Ideation Retreats to business news outlets.
NCIA: What drives your entrepreneurial passion?
West: I have been producing and directing events large and small my entire professional career. After completing a successful five-day conference held for 6,000 attendees of Obama’s 2013 inauguration, I decided it was time to work independently and create something truly unique. Edible Events Co. was created with one goal in mind – to maximize the cannabis consumption experience and stimulate attendees’ heightened awareness of taste, smell, sights, and sounds, via artfully choreographed events that are incredible experiences. We showcase the very best Colorado has to offer in the culinary, cannabis, and art scenes. That’s what I love most about my job; I get to interact daily with passionate cannabis professionals, artists, and chefs to produce sophisticated events. I love bringing people together.
NCIA: Where do you see the cannabis industry in 5 or 10 years?
West: I think the possibilities are endless. With more professionals joining forces to support our industry, I think we are truly changing perceptions and stereotypes of cannabis consumption and consumers. For me personally, I would like cannabis to eventually be seen as a widely accepted alternative to alcohol consumption within my demographic.
Florida Medical Marijuana Constitutional Amendment Clears Final Hurdle
Yesterday, the language of the constitutional amendment to allow Floridians access to medical marijuana was approved by the state Supreme Court, placing the ballot question in front of voters this November, where it is expected to be approved given the strong support it already enjoys from Florida voters.
The initiative itself is quite brief in comparison to other laws which have recently passed and leaves most of the details of implementation to regulatory bodies. Importantly, patients with conditions such as PTSD, dementia, and other conditions aided by cannabis but not typically included in medical marijuana qualifying conditions will have the opportunity to legally access cannabis as the law allows patients to be qualified if their “physician believes that the medical use of marijuana would likely outweigh the potential health risks.”
Additionally, the measure defines a “medical marijuana treatment center” as an “entity that acquires, cultivates, possesses, processes (including development of related products such as food, tinctures, aerosols, oils, or ointments), transfers, transports, sells, distributes, dispenses, or administers marijuana, products containing marijuana, related supplies, or educational materials to qualifying patients or their personal caregivers and is registered by the Department.” The Department of Health is required to issue regulations within six months instituting “procedures for the registration of Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers that include procedures for the issuance, renewal, suspension, and revocation of registration, and standards to ensure security, record keeping, testing, labeling, inspection, and safety.”
Importantly, the measure’s presence on the ballot could set the stage for the first election with national prominence where safe access to medical marijuana is a critical issue for candidates. As Reuters reports, a strong majority of Florida voters support the measure including a majority of Republicans. However, in what is expected to be a closely fought battle, Florida’s incumbent Republican Governor Rick Scott is opposed to the measure while his challenger, Democrat Charlie Crist, openly supports it. Marijuana policy advocates watching this race should expect to note a distinct increase in conversations — both publicly and privately — about the merits of legal medical marijuana among those interested in the race.
The United for Care campaign, a project of People United for Medical Marijuana, has received the bulk of its financial support from prominent Orlando attorney John Morgan, whose father and brother both benefited from the use of medical marijuana. The campaign is being managed by veteran Florida politico Ben Pollara, and has the support of many local and national organizations. And, while the measure is certainly expected to pass, the Florida legislature is currently considering other bills which would bring medical cannabis to Floridians even more quickly.
President Obama on Cannabis: “I Don’t Think It Is More Dangerous Than Alcohol.”
In a wide-ranging interview with the New Yorker‘s David Remnick released last week, President Obama stated, “I don’t think [cannabis] is more dangerous than alcohol,” and spoke out in favor of the social justice benefits of ending marijuana prohibition.
“‘Middle-class kids don’t get locked up for smoking pot, and poor kids do,’ [Obama] said. ‘And African-American kids and Latino kids are more likely to be poor and less likely to have the resources and the support to avoid unduly harsh penalties.’ But, he said, ‘we should not be locking up kids or individual users for long stretches of jail time when some of the folks who are writing those laws have probably done the same thing.’ Accordingly, he said of the legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington that ‘it’s important for it to go forward because it’s important for society not to have a situation in which a large portion of people have at one time or another broken the law and only a select few get punished.'”
The president’s comments weren’t entirely positive. He called marijuana consumption a “bad habit and a vice” and said, “I’ve told my daughters I think it’s a bad idea, a waste of time, not very healthy.” He also said he thought the “experiment” in Colorado and Washington would be a “challenge.”
But President Obama’s distinct rejection of the usual official fear-mongering about marijuana caught the attention of many and set off a new round of debate in the media about the relative harms of alcohol and cannabis and the societal costs of prohibition.
It also prompted Representative Jared Polis (D-CO) to invite the president and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) – who recently spoke out in favor of legalizing medical marijuana – “to visit Colorado and join me to visit a legal dispensary and grow operation to see how the law is being implemented in the state.”
“I am confident,” Polis continued in his invitation, “that when you see Colorado’s work to implement the law while protecting children and raising revenue for our schools firsthand, we can begin to make similar efforts on a federal level.”
First Legal Sale of Marijuana for Adult Use Highlights Benefits of a Regulated Market
At 7:30 a.m. on New Years Day, dozens of members of the media, marijuana policy reform advocates, elected officials, and business leaders crammed in the cavernous lobby at 3D Cannabis Center while hundreds of eager shoppers waited outside in the snow for their chance to participate in the historic day when cannabis was first sold legally, regardless of medical status, in the post-prohibition era.
The press conference, orchestrated by the National Cannabis Industry Association, the Marijuana Policy Project, and Sensible Colorado, highlighted the social, economic, and health benefits of selling marijuana through a regulated market. Speakers Betty Aldworth, Mason Tvert, and Brian Vicente — the leaders of Colorado’s Amendment 64 campaign — highlighted some of the actual and protected benefits of Colorado’s tax-and-regulate system for adult use marijuana, including plummeting arrest case filings, significant sales contributing to a vibrant market, and the resulting tax revenue.
The press conference was immediately followed by the world’s first legal sale at 3D Cannabis Center, an NCIA Founding Member. Toni Fox, 3D’s owner, conducted the sale to Sean Azzariti, a combat veteran suffering from PTSD who knew cannabis could help him but was previously unable to access it legally.
Following the sale, NCIA members and staffers spent the remainder of the day visiting other adult-use marijuana establishments around the city where long lines full of happy customers snaked around buildings. In the first day of legal sales, it is conservatively estimated Colorado’s 37 open stores conducted well over $1 million in sales. Most observers intend to revise adult use and medical marijuana sales projections for 2014 upward from original estimates of between $400 and $600 million.
A Message from the Executive Director
Dear friend:
2013 has been a watershed year for the legal cannabis industry, with unprecedented momentum toward replacing criminal marijuana markets with regulated storefronts — from new medical cannabis states like Illinois and Massachusetts to the establishment of adult-use markets in Colorado and Washington. The industry is truly growing up, and NCIA’s membership has grown more than three fold over the last year.
Thanks to you and almost 400 other responsible cannabis professionals that make up NCIA’s network, we’ve been able to significantly increase the reach of our message in Washington, DC and in the media. We’ve also greatly expanded our educational programming within the industry to arm cannabis entrepreneurs with the latest information and to instill the core values of responsibility, professionalism, and civic engagement throughout the cannabis business community.
I’m sure you’ve had an exceedingly busy year — I know the last 12 months have been the most active of my professional life — but as the year comes to a close, I hope you get the opportunity to enjoy time with your friends and family, and reflect on just how fortunate we are to be doing this work at this time in history. The opportunity to create a new American industry only comes around once in a lifetime. It’s truly incredible to be blazing on into this undiscovered territory with you.
Next year will bring about even more progress for the cannabis industry and its trade association. I look forward to continuing our mutual work of creating a future when our industry is afforded the freedom and equality that it justly deserves.
All of us at NCIA are wishing you a great winter holiday and a prosperous New Year!
Sincerely,
Aaron Smith
Executive Director
Medical marijuana dispensary operator and NCIA Founding Member elected mayor of Sebastopol, CA
In another signal of the improving public perception of cannabis, cannabis consumers, and the industry that serves them, Sebastopol, CA has elected a medical cannabis advocate to be its mayor. Robert Jacob, 36, is the founder and executive director of Peace in Medicine and CEO of SPARC — both NCIA Founding Member businesses. Originally elected to city council in 2011, Jacob was selected as the next mayor in a unanimous vote of the city council.
Like many long-time cannabis entrepreneurs, Jacob entered the field through social work with people living with debilitating chronic illnesses. In addition to founding Sebastopol’s first medical marijuana dispensary in 2007, he has extensive experience at the head of nonprofits unrelated to medical marijuana and led a nationally-recognized charter school.
While he doesn’t attribute his election to his medical marijuana background, this out-front advocate identifies what’s changed in recent years in an interview with TIME: “what it signifies is that medical cannabis is no longer your whole identity. Historically, if you were a medical-cannabis advocate, that was your defining factor.” As cannabis businesses become more integrated in their communities through strong outreach and philanthropic programs, cannabis business leaders will become more integrated in traditional community leadership circles, and even elected to top positions.
“For me, to serve successfully — the organizations, communities or constituencies I represent — collaboration is key. I encourage anyone interested in getting more involved in cannabis or in local government to go for it. Starting at the local level, participation is how we shape our future” Jacob said in a statement to NCIA.
TIME has dubbed Jacob America’s “first ganjapreneur turned mayor”, but he is by no means the first to blend a career in public service with a career in cannabusiness: professionals joining the ranks of the cannabis industry now include a former DEA agent, aformer member of Congress, and former marijuana industry regulators.
View a video from NCIA’s Southwest CannaBusiness Symposiumfeaturing a talk from Robert Jacob and others discussing the importance of productive and effective relationships with government officials online.
Federal officials, financial industry representatives meet to address marijuana banking crisis
The federal Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group met December 12 for a
“frank discussion” among federal regulators, financial industry representatives, and members of law enforcement regarding the banking crisis for state-legal marijuana businesses.According to Jennifer Shasky Calvery, director of the federal Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), FinCEN and other Treasury Department groups have begun conversations with the Department of Justice. The Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group advises the Director of FinCEN on the operations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and is the means by which modifications to BSA regulations are considered. Current BSA regulations require banks to file “Suspicious Activity Reports” any time a transaction of $5,000 or more takes place if the financial institution has reason to believe that it may be connected to illegal activity. This requirement is the core policy creating an impediment to marijuana businesses securing and maintaining bank accounts.A September Senate Judiciary Committee hearing reinforced the growing consensus among federal and state officials that the lack of access to banking services is now the most pressing obstacle to ensuring governments can control marijuana sales in the states where it is legal for medical or adult use and federal enforcement priorities can be upheld. Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) was particularly aggressive in his push for a solution to the problem, urging U.S. Deputy Attorney General James Cole to fix the problem before we have a “shoot out somewhere and have innocent people or law enforcement endangered by that.”
Though little is expected to result immediately from this meeting and details remain under wraps, it clearly indicates that a growing group of lawmakers and regulators are aware that excluding a billion-dollar legal market from banking services is untenable.
Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, addressed the problem in a statement to the media, saying, “Without access to basic banking services, many legitimate cannabis businesses are forced to manage sales, payroll, and even tax bills entirely in cash. That puts their customers, employees, and fellow community members at completely unnecessary risk. Everyone agrees that the situation is untenable; the Treasury Department and the Department of Justice must act and act quickly. The tide of public opinion is turning ever more quickly in support of regulated marijuana markets and, in 2014, at least six states will be implementing new regulations for these markets. It is long past time for the federal government to stop putting citizens in harm’s way by denying legally recognized businesses access to secure banking services.”
