This month, as we watch nine states vote on cannabis-related ballot initiatives on Election Day, we’re highlighting NCIA member CannaRegs, the company that is responsible for the data that appears on NCIA’s online State Marijuana Policies Map. Co-founder Amanda Ostrowitz prepares now to handle a flood of incoming data as new states begin to implement cannabis laws in the coming months and beyond.

Cannabis Industry Sector: Legal/Technology
NCIA Member Since: 2015

Tell me a bit about your background and why you founded CannaRegs.

Prior to launching CannaRegs in May 2015, I was an attorney specializing in banking regulation. While serving in my position at the Federal Reserve Bank, I was engaged in several conversations regarding the issues of banking and cannabis. With just a few questions in mind, I began to research the rules and regulations of the cannabis industry. Although the questions seemed simple, it required several hours of research and more importantly, I noticed the answers varied by location, and at the state, county, and municipal levels. At that point I realized that I probably would not be able to fix the banking problem, but I had an idea to simplify researching the regulations into a user-friendly online database – CannaRegs was born!

What unique value does CannaRegs offer to the cannabis industry?

CannaRegs offers a unique value to the cannabis industry as the only cannabis-specific comprehensive research platform that aggregates state-, county-, and municipal-level law. Notable features of CannaRegs are:

• Searchable Cannabis Rules and Regulations: The law on CannaRegs is searchable using three unique search functions—browse, smart search, and search laws. These search features were created by attorneys to address the difficulties encountered using conventional legal research tools. What previously took hours of research has been reduced to minutes.
• No longer do you have to compile binders full of ordinances: CannaRegs’ technology and team of attorneys are constantly monitoring the law, keeping the database up to date. As new regulations and ordinances are adopted CannaRegs is the reliable source for a current amalgamated version of the law.
• Rule-making Event Calendar: CannaRegs provides a consolidated schedule of rule and policy-making events happening around the U.S. In the month of October 2016, CannaRegs covered 82 municipal, county, and state-sanctioned meetings specific to marijuana.
• Access to Official Publications: Where most databases provide access to the law, CannaRegs goes beyond by providing quick access to any official publications including forms, official guidance documents, industry bulletins, position statements, product recalls, etc.
• CannaRegs Resource Tools: CannaRegs provides additional resource documents to help navigate the intricacies of cannabis rule-making.
• CannaRegs & NCIA State Policy Map: This resource is the result of a collaboration between NCIA and CannaRegs that provides a detailed summary of each state’s cannabis market and regulations. This interactive resource is free to the public and is a great starting point for learning the basics about each state. CannaRegs keeps this map updated so that viewers are always looking at current information. Click on the map to see this unique member benefit or to sign up for a demo of CannaRegs.

With nine states voting for either adult-use or medical cannabis ballots on November 8, what does this mean in the larger scheme as it relates to your work?

The CannaRegs team of attorneys is prepared to begin monitoring laws and regulations for the nine state-level votes and more than 50 local marijuana ballot initiatives on November 8. It will be a busy time for the team, but it has also been exciting to see the growth in the number of CannaRegs users in anticipation of legalization.

In the larger scheme of things, the results of this election are likely to inform the trajectory of legalization for years to come. It is not just the number of states voting that is key, but also the states themselves.

• California has the largest population of any state in the U.S., with nearly 12% of the entire country’s population living there. The results of California’s adult-use vote are likely to have a ripple effect throughout the country.
• If California, Maine, Arizona, Massachusetts, and Nevada all approve adult-use, then nearly 25% of the U.S. population will live in states with adult-use cannabis.
• If the medical initiatives in Arkansas, Florida, North Dakota and Montana all pass, then approximately 64% of the U.S. population will live in states with robust medical cannabis programs.
• If the Arkansas initiative passes it will be the first state in the South to have a robust medical marijuana program. Combine that with the more limited program in Louisiana and it will only be a matter of time before the rest of the South embraces medical cannabis.
• Three of the four states voting on medical cannabis are historically red states (Arkansas, North Dakota, and Montana). This is notable because up until now only two historically red states (Arizona and Alaska) have created robust medical marijuana programs. Louisiana has a more limited medical cannabis program than other red states.

Why did you join NCIA? What’s the best part about being a member?

CannaRegs joined NCIA to be able to connect with industry leaders and other cannabis organizations that are committed to best practices in the regulated market. NCIA offers several ways to support the industry in its efforts to legalize marijuana federally. As the most important trade association to the cannabis industry, NCIA has helped CannaRegs to connect with industry peers at annual conferences, networking events, or quarterly caucuses. CannaRegs was also excited to collaborate with NCIA on the creation of the State-By-State Marijuana Policy Map. We always look forward to connecting with other NCIA members, and provide a 15% subscription discount to other member businesses.

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