NCIA deputy director Taylor West on MSNBC Discussing the Trump Administration

NCIA deputy director Taylor West, discussing the Trump Administration’s approach to marijuana policy on MSNBC on Saturday, February 25, 2017.

NJ.com: Trump administration comments on recreational marijuana suggest a crackdown is coming

“It was especially disappointing to hear Press Secretary Spicer refer to the opioid crisis in relation to marijuana,” National Cannabis Industry Association Executive Director Aaron Smith said in a statement. “Science has discredited the idea that marijuana serves as any kind of gateway drug, and the addiction and death rates associated with opioids simply do not occur in any way with cannabis.”

During the campaign, Trump said he would not interfere with state laws that have allowed recreational marijuana, Smith added.

International Business Times: Marijuana Under Trump: Cannabis Advocates Warn Government Against Enforcing Recreational Pot Laws

Enforcement of the nation’s laws surrounding marijuana despite states legalizing its use in one form or another would be a grave “mistake,” one of the leading pot advocacy groups said in a statement directed at the federal government Thursday. The statement came hours after White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer announced during a media briefing that the administration of President Donald Trump would bring “greater enforcement” of federal laws for recreational marijuana.

“It would be a mistake for the Department of Justice to overthrow the will of the voters and state governments who have created carefully regulated adult-use marijuana programs,” National Cannabis Industry Association Executive Director Aaron Smith said in the statement. “It would represent a rejection of the values of economic growth, limited government, and respect for federalism that Republicans claim to embrace.”

San Francisco Chronicle: Trump may allow states some leeway with marijuana

And because of Trump and Sessions’ strong belief in states’ rights, making it more unlikely they would interfere with states whose voters have approved legalization laws, National Cannabis Industry Association Deputy Director Taylor West said, “We’re cautiously optimistic.”

Even so, uncertainty hangs over the industry, thanks to the legal no-man’s land between federal and state law that is chilling for cannabis businesses, confusing for consumers and a potential risk to the $1 billion in weed-related tax revenue expected for California in 2018.

Consumerist: Pro-Marijuana Lawmakers Form First Ever Congressional Cannabis Caucus

Unsurprisingly, marijuana advocacy groups are pleased about the Cannabis Caucus. In a joint statement, the Marijuana Policy Project, the Drug Policy Alliance, the National Cannabis Industry Association, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and others commended the lawmakers for leading the charge on cannabis policy, and said they look forward to working with the caucus members.

“The establishment of a Cannabis Caucus will allow members from both parties, who represent diverse constituencies from around the country, to join together for the purpose of advancing sensible cannabis policy reform,” the statement reads.

“The formation of this caucus is a testament to how far our country has come on the issue of cannabis policy,” the groups add. “There is a growing consensus that cannabis prohibition has failed, and it is time for a more sensible approach.”

The Hill: Legal pot sales top $1 billion in 2 states

The explosion in sales comes as the marijuana industry experiences other evidence of boom times. A trade show in Denver last month attracted two thousand vendors and exhibitors, according to Taylor West, a spokeswoman for the National Cannabis Industry Association. Another trade show in November in Las Vegas attracted 10,000 visitors.

Westword: Jeff Sessions’s Confirmation Spurs Pot Biz Pain, GOP Pleasure, Immigration Worries

Aaron Smith, co-founder and executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, among the oldest and largest marijuana business organizations, resisted the temptation to hit the panic button in his own interview with Westword on the topics of Sessions and Trump.

“Both Mr. Trump and Mr. Sessions have routinely said they support states’ rights on a number of issues, and it’s our job to hold them to their word,” Smith emphasized. “And it’s also our job to make it very, very clear that in states with some form of legal marijuana — and 60 percent of Americans live in those states — those laws don’t change, regardless of what the Department of Justice does.”

Marijuana Business Daily: U.S. Senate confirms cannabis critic Jeff Sessions as AG

Aaron Smith, the executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, said in a prepared statement, “We look forward to Attorney General Sessions maintaining the current federal policy of respect for legal, regulated cannabis programs in the states, and we will work with him to do that.

“That policy, as outlined by the Cole Memo, has allowed carefully designed state regulatory programs approved by voters and lawmakers to move forward, while maintaining the Justice Department’s commitment to pursuing criminals and prosecuting bad actors,” Smith said.

Hempyreum: CANNABIS TRADE ASSOCIATION FOCUSES ON CULTIVATION WITH SEED TO SALE SHOW

The national movement to legalize cannabis isn’t slowing down in the new Trump era. NCIA, the National Cannabis Industry Association, went full-throttle with its first-ever Seed to Sale Show in Denver this past week.

The NCIA is the largest cannabis trade association representing legal cannabis businesses in the U.S., and they pride themselves on the work they do at the federal level to promote fair treatment of responsible cannabis businesses.

January 31st through February 1st over 2,000 of the nation’s leading cultivators, dispensary operators, extraction artists, ancillary product providers and infused product manufacturers convened in the Denver Convention Center.

The NCIA Seed to Sale Show brought together top industry influencers for two days of networking and education.

Westword: NCIA Director Discusses National Cannabis Priorities at Seed to Sale Show in Denver

Advocacy for cannabis at the national level is more important now than ever before, said Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, as he opened NCIA’s Seed to Sale Show on January 31.

NCIA ensures that cannabis-industry professionals have a voice and a seat at the table in Washington D.C., Smith noted as he explained not only how NCIA represents the cannabis industry in D.C., but how the organization plans to protect cannabis at the national level — and how the industry in Colorado can help.

“Now, not only are we able to get into the meetings and be taken seriously, even by those who might oppose our industry, [but] we’re at least taken seriously as a legitimate business sector in this country — and that’s because of what you have done as an industry to completely reframe and adopt the narrative around cannabis,” Smith told the crowd. “It’s no longer a culture-war issue. It’s no longer about stoners hanging out in their basements and the kind of negative stereotypes that have been out there for decades. This is about a tremendous asset to our economy, a multibillion-dollar industry that has created tens of thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions in tax revenue, and that’s being seen and recognized at all levels of power in Washington, D.C., because of you.”

The Hill: Marijuana lobby goes mainstream

On Tuesday, the National Cannabis Industry Association kicked off a two-day Seed to Sale trade show in Denver, focusing on business practices for producers and retailers. The group’s first trade show several years ago attracted 800 participants; this year, they expect 2,000 vendors — and 4,000 to 5,000 at the annual Cannabis Business Summit and Expo, said Taylor West, the group’s deputy director. In November, 10,000 people showed up to another trade show in Las Vegas.

“This industry is not slowing down,” West said.

Yahoo News: Where does Trump Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch stand on marijuana law?

“We believe that a conservative legal philosophy should be consistent with respect for federalism and state sovereignty,” Taylor West, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, wrote in an email to Yahoo News. “Voters in 28 states have chosen to establish legal, regulated cannabis programs in their states, and state lawmakers and regulators have implemented those programs. Trampling on those state initiatives would be the kind of federal overreach that conservative judicial leaders typically speak out against.”

U.S. News & World Report: Pot Industry Breathes Easy, Feels Jeff Sessions Won’t Smoke Sector

Amid uncertainty, the National Cannabis Industry Association decided not to oppose Sessions and instead launched a public education campaign. The group employs lobbyists at the Republican firm Jochum Shore & Trossevin.

“The priorities in the Cole Memo are priorities that we in the industry agree with — things like making sure it’s not sold to children or being sold by cartels,” says Taylor West, the association’s deputy director, regarding the possibility Sessions will seek more vigorous enforcement. “We have to be very involved and watchful. There’s no sitting back and assuming things will be okay,” she adds.

Stateline: As More Voters Legalize Marijuana, States Left With Regulatory Hurdles

There is often a gap between the language of ballot measures like California’s and the detailed regulations needed to get marijuana markets off the ground. And the referendums that voters approve often call for quick implementation, giving legislators and regulators little or no time to enact policies before the drug becomes legal.

“There’s no perfect implementation, there’s no perfect legalization effort,” said Michael Correia, a federal lobbyist for the National Cannabis Industry Association. “There’s going to be hiccups.”

Christian Science Monitor: Marijuana and gender equity: Why cannabis industry is a magnet for women executives

“[The data tell] a really great story about what’s happening in the cannabis industry, and it tells a really stark story about business overall,” says Taylor West, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association in Washington, which represents 1,100 businesses nationwide. (Despite the progress, though, she points out that women comprise half of the US workforce so gender parity still hasn’t been achieved in the pot industry.)

Why are women shattering the glass ceiling in some segments of the marijuana industry? Some observers say this business draws liberally minded rebels who are less likely to uphold gender traditions. Also, Ms. West notes that the legal pot business is brand new, and therefore unhampered by established business networks that in other industries seem to be navigable only by insiders.

“In long-established industries you have generations of business that has been dominated by men, and that creates structures of advancement that are dominated by men,” she says.
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The bottom line in cannabis is that women leaders have a foothold in this young and flourishing industry, which is encouraging, says West. “The good thing is that women in an industry tend to beget more women,” who will help each other rise through the ranks.

“And that’s certainly different than the more conservative, old boys network that you might associate with a traditional industry,” says West.

The Hill: States hope Trump era will reset federal relationship

For states, legal marijuana has meant hundreds of millions of dollars in new tax revenue and millions more in cost savings that come from keeping low-level nonviolent offenders out of jail.

But Trump’s pick to take over the Justice Department, Sen. Jeff Sessions(R-Ala.), has taken a much harder line on marijuana, leading some to worry that he would overturn the guidance to U.S. attorneys — laid out in a document known as the Cole memo, after its author, Deputy Attorney General James Cole — and crack down on states.

“The current federal policy, as outlined by the Cole memo, has respected carefully designed state regulatory programs while maintaining the Justice Department’s commitment to pursuing criminals and prosecuting bad actors,” said Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association.

Roll Call: Porn, Weed and Other Takeaways From Sessions Hearing

When Leahy asked him about current DOJ guidelines on states with legalized marijuana and whether he would prosecute medical marijuana users, Sessions said that “absolutely, it’s a problem of resources for the federal government.”

The National Cannabis Industry Association executive director Aaron Smith said those statements from Sessions, “along with support for state sovereignty on cannabis policy expressed by President-elect Trump and his team, should lead Sen. Sessions to maintain the current federal policy of respect for state-legal, regulated cannabis programs if he is confirmed as attorney general.”

ThinkProgress: Huge scientific study refutes the federal government’s stance on marijuana

It is particularly significant, however, that the review states quite clearly that there is “conclusive or substantial evidence” that marijuana is effective for the treatment of chronic pain, as a tonic for nausea and vomiting in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, and in treating spasticity in multiple sclerosis patients.

“Given that our federal government still considers it Schedule I, which means there are no accepted medical benefits…this is a pretty clear refutation of that,” Taylor West, the deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, told ThinkProgress.

The Hill: Marijuana reforms flood state legislatures

Marijuana industry advocates seized on those comments in hopes of locking Sessions into maintaining the status quo.

“The current federal policy, as outlined by the Cole memo, has respected carefully designed state regulatory programs while maintaining the Justice Department’s commitment to pursuing criminals and prosecuting bad actors,” said Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association.

Bloomberg: Pot Industry Exhales (a Little) After Trump’s Attorney General Pick Testifies

The National Cannabis Industry Association supported Sessions’ deferral to Congress. “It’s time for federal lawmakers to represent the clear choices of their constituents,” Executive Director Aaron Smith said in an emailed statement. “The responsible cannabis industry has helped countless critically ill patients, contributed billions of dollars to the economy and to tax coffers, taken marijuana out of the criminal market and put it behind a regulated counter, and dealt a significant blow to international cartels and traffickers.”

Reason: Sessions’ Wishy-Washy Marijuana Comments Reflect the Ambiguity of Current Policy

Given Sessions’ ambiguous statements about an ambiguous policy, it is not surprising that reaction from supporters of legalization was mixed. “Senator Sessions indicated that the Justice Department’s current guidelines for marijuana policy enforcement are ‘truly valuable’ in setting departmental priorities,” noted Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association. “That belief, along with the support for state sovereignty on cannabis policy expressed by President-elect Trump and his team, should lead Sen. Sessions to maintain the current federal policy of respect for state-legal, regulated cannabis programs if he is confirmed as attorney general.”

9News Denver: Colorado marijuana industry worried over attorney general pick

Federal change is appealing to Taylor West, the Deputy Director for the National Cannabis Industry Association.

West says the attorney general nominee hasn’t closed the doors on the pot industry yet.

“Senator Sessions did not say that he anticipates rolling back the state legal cannabis programs that have been put in place,” West said.

USA Today: Marijuana advocates parsing Sessions’ testimony for signs of new federal approach

Legalization advocates say they worry Sessions’ nomination was a signal that Trump had changed his mind. But the president-elect’s spokesman on Tuesday morning said nominees would be expected to carry out Trump’s agenda. Polls show a majority of Americans support marijuana legalization, and tens of thousands of people are working in the home-grown industry.

“It’s time for federal lawmakers to represent the clear choices of their constituents,” National Cannabis Industry Association executive director Aaron Smith said in a statement.

Westword: Jeff Sessions “Skillfully Evasive” During Confirmation Hearing

Since guidance documents are not law, for the attorney general’s office to be bound to support legal recreational marijuana, Congress would have to pass a law making it so.

“The current federal policy, as outlined by the Cole memo, has respected carefully designed state regulatory programs while maintaining the Justice Department’s commitment to pursuing criminals and prosecuting bad actors. In return, the responsible cannabis industry has helped countless critically ill patients, contributed billions of dollars to the economy and to tax coffers, taken marijuana out of the criminal market and put it behind a regulated counter, and dealt a significant blow to international cartels and traffickers,” said Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association.

Senate hearings do not conclude for another two days, but with the support he has from other Republicans, as well as many in the law enforcement community, Sessions’s confirmation looks likely.

Washington Post: Who works in the cannabis industry? A new trade association ad campaign shows its employees.

The cannabis industry is trying to show a different face — one that is far from a stoner stereotype.

The National Cannabis Industry Association, a trade association, has launched a new website and series of digital ads showcasing the stories of people who work in the cannabis industry, including a former Marine and older woman who turned to marijuana for relief after having a knee and hip replacement. The politically-focused ads are a first for the marijuana industry and will run in the Washington, D.C., area.

Their launch coincides with congressional hearings for president-elect Donald Trump’s choice for attorney general, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) Sessions is a longtime opponent of marijuana legalization, and many in the industry fear he could crack down on the burgeoning industry, if confirmed. Pro-marijuana activists are expected to protest outside his hearing on Tuesday.

“Cannabis businesses generate billions of dollars in economic activity and support tens of thousands of jobs,” said Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association.

CEO Update: Marijuana, outdoor industry groups launch ad campaigns

The “We are the Cannabis Industry” campaign by the National Cannabis Industry Association and “Together We are a Force” campaign by the Outdoor Industry Association are each designed to reach consumers and policymakers through print and online ads.

“Cannabis businesses generate billions of dollars in economic activity and support tens of thousands of jobs,” NCIA Executive Director Aaron Smith said. “The people of the industry provide compassionate care for patients, responsible education for consumers, and cutting-edge innovation for quality and safety. We’re proud to tell their stories.”

The cornerstone of NCIA’s campaign is a website—www.wearethecannabisindustry.com—featuring profiles of employees in the cannabis industry as well as people who use the drug for pain medication. The association also will run digital ads in the Washington, D.C., area for the first time in its history.

CBS News: Three things to watch in Jeff Sessions’ confirmation hearing

The marijuana industry has been tepid in its response to Sessions. The National Cannabis Industry Association issued a statement in response to his nomination, saying it hoped to work together.

“Voters in 28 states have chosen programs that shift cannabis from the criminal market to highly regulated, tax-paying businesses,” the statement read. “Senator Sessions has long advocated for state sovereignty, and we look forward to working with him to ensure that states’ rights and voter choices on cannabis are respected.”

Forbes: Marijuana Industry Fears If Sessions Is Confirmed, Dispensaries Could Get Shut Down

National Cannabis Industry Association executive director Aaron Smith seemed resigned to the confirmation. “Voters in 28 states have chosen programs that shift cannabis from the criminal market to highly regulated, tax-paying businesses,” Smith says. “Senator Sessions has long advocated for state sovereignty, and we look forward to working with him to ensure that states’ rights and voter choices on cannabis are respected.”

Associated Press: US Sen. Warren seeks to pull pot shops out of banking limbo

Taylor West, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association, a trade organization for 1,100 marijuana businesses nationwide, said access to banking remains a top concern.

“What the industry needs is a sustainable solution that services the entire industry instead of tinkering around the edges,” Taylor said. “You don’t have to be fully in favor of legalized marijuana to know that it helps no one to force these businesses outside the banking system.”

Marijuana Business Magazine: A Look Ahead

“You’ve seen a lot of consolidation in retail partly because individual dispensary owners have found that it’s a difficult business, and they find it’s easier if you have a larger company that can scale some of the needs that you have,” said Taylor West, deputy director of the National Cannabis Industry Association.

A big issue facing dispensaries and rec retailers is whether they should try to remain small and independent, find partners with whom they can merge or even let themselves be gobbled up.

“A big question is individual operators versus consolidation and which direction works best for an individual business owner,” West said.