Marijuana government regulators, trade associations and businesses are meeting for a two-day conference beginning on Monday to help chart a path forward as the state-by-state legalization movement continues to grow amid relative federal stagnation. The cannabis stakeholders will strategize about a wide range of policy considerations ranging from promoting equity in the industry to interstate commerce to creating rules around emerging cannabinoids.
Details of the closed-to-press gathering, organized by the non-partisan Cannabis Regulators Association (CANNRA), were shared exclusively with Marijuana Moment ahead of the event.
“We felt like this was an opportunity for us to more formally introduce ourselves to stakeholders and formalize some of those relationships and hear a wide range of perspectives in person, to be able to hear different views,” CANNRA Executive Director Gillian Schauer told Marijuana Moment in a phone interview.
There will be about a dozen panels, each of which are designed to inform the people in charge of regulating a medley of state and local cannabis programs as the policy landscape continues to expand and evolve.
For example, there will be a panel moderated by a representative of the Michigan Cannabis Regulation Agency (MCRA) that broadly examines the “state and federal roles in a future national marketplace.” Panelists will include members of the U.S. Cannabis Council (USCC), Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education, and Regulation (CPEAR), Council for Federal Cannabis Regulation (CFCR) and National Cannabis Roundtable (NCR).
Andrew Brisbo, president of CANNRA and the top Michigan cannabis regulator, told Marijuana Moment that he’s “very interested to hear about the perspectives of organizations that are evaluating the various proposals on federal policy reform,” especially given the direct impact those proposals will have on state regulatory operations.
Schauer echoed that point and added that the organization has a vested interest in “protecting consumer safety, on promoting equity and on creating predictability for for operators in the marketplace and licensees.”
“I think the topics that we’re going to be discussing will do a lot to give us more insight there,” she said.
Interstate commerce will be among those topics, with a panel moderated by an official from the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission that will involve discussions with groups like the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), Americans for Safe Access (ASA) and the U.S. Hemp Roundtable.
The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission will host another panel dealing with tax policy and the illicit market. RAND’s Drug Policy Research Center and Whitney Economics will participate in that conversation.
A key point of interest for regulators and stakeholders alike in emerging cannabis markets is social and economic equity—and specifically, how to achieve equity through policymaking that recognizes the disproportionate harms that minority communities have historically suffered under criminalization.
To that end, there’s a two-tier panel scheduled for Monday afternoon titled “Social and Economic Equity & Social Justice: Challenges, Opportunities, and a Reality Check.”
The first panel will be run by a representative of California’s Department of Cannabis Control (DCC), with other participants including members of the Minority Cannabis Business Association, NCIA, USCC, CPEAR and Supernova Women.
“This is another topic that we’ve had so many conversations about at CANNRA,” Schauer said. “I think every state regulator would probably tell you that there’s still a lot of opportunity for them to do better in this space. And that’s one of the reasons why there continues to be so much interest from state regulators and trying to figure out, how are we doing and what can we do better?”
“The challenge that regulators sometimes have is, this isn’t as easy as waving a magic wand and doing what’s right,” she said. “In most cases, policy, to change, has to go through legislatures and has to go through a whole process. And we all know that that doesn’t happen fast enough.”
“I think the reality check is going to be important and talking about what’s truly feasible, and what the low-hanging fruit is in the space will be of great interest to our members to try to continue to do better in the space because there’s such opportunity and such a need to do better and prioritize this,” she added.
The second panel for the equity component will involve the Last Prisoner Project and Code for America, both of which have independently worked to promote equity in the industry and hold states accountable for achieving the criminal justice reform goals of legalization through expungements, for example.
The Minnesota Office of Medical Cannabis will moderate another panel on Monday titled “Preventing Youth Access, Promoting Consumer Safety, & Protecting Public Health in State Markets,” with representatives of groups like Responsibility.org, Truth Initiative, National Safety Council, Public Health Institute and the Association of Food and Drug Officials participating.
On day two of the conference—which is being attended by members of certain cannabis coalitions and industry associations who were specifically invited by CANNRA after consultation with a seven-member board—there will be another panel of growing interest for the industry. It will tackle the “regulatory, health and market implications” of novel, hemp-derived cannabinoids like delta-8 THC.
“I think it’ll be very interesting,” Schauer said, though she stressed the importance of keeping the conversations “high enough level that it doesn’t get so scientific that we lose people” because “one of the challenges with talking about hemp-derived products is you quickly can feel like you’re not following if you’re not a chemist, and that’s not going to serve the attendees or our regulators.”
Questions that will be raised in that panel will be about “what are the considerations and challenges in drawing a line and figuring out what [cannabinoids are] impairing and what’s not, and figuring out what the end-use of a product might be.” Participants will discuss “what happens with the federal landscape” as these derivatives emerge on the market, and how that might affect legislation like future large-scale agriculture bills?
“I think we could see this topic bleeding into some other panels as well,” Brisbo said, “because it is driving conversation around broader topics about the evolution of the industry and how challenging it is to keep up with innovation and ensure that the approach that is taken both federally and in states recognizes those market evolutions.”
Other panels scheduled for Tuesday will address topics such as regulatory standardization, seed-to-sale tracking systems, the role of technology in licensing and registration systems and B2B and B2C cannabis commerce. Marijuana regulators from Colorado, Nevada and Massachusetts will be moderating panels on those subjects, and participants will include major associations and companies like the National Conference on Weights and Measure, Weedmaps, Leafly and Leaflink.
Finally, the concluding panel is called “A Regulator’s Perspective–State regulatory alignment, differences, and challenges.” CANNRA will moderate the conversation with representatives from cannabis regulatory agencies from Washington State, Hawaii, Florida, Michigan and Connecticut.
For those interested in monitoring cannabis policy, it may well come as a disappointment that an event featuring high-level discussions between state marijuana officials and representatives from many of the companies they are charged with regulating is not open to the public or media. And the fact that CPEAR, which receives funding from alcohol and tobacco interests, is participating in at least two panels may draw extra criticism from activists who feel skeptical about the organization’s involvement in informing regulatory policy.
Asked about the decision to make the conference a closed-door affair, Schauer said that, “because we are an organization of government officials, there are some parameters around who we invited.”
“We did not invite any direct licensees,” she said. “There may be some in the room representing trade associations or coalitions that they’re with—and that was a decision to try to have balance and not show favoritism to one type of licensee or one state, but to try to engage as many of the trade associations and coalitions as we could to gain that perspective.”
“We hope this event will become an annual event,” Schauer continued. “And we would certainly look to expand who is under that umbrella [of attendees] based on how things go at this meeting.”
“We’re a small but mighty organization—and I’m really proud of what we’ve done in our first year and a half,” she said.
CANNRA, which represents 40 U.S. states and territories in the cannabis regulatory space, also recently sent a letter to Congress explaining what the current lack of access to banking services for the marijuana industry means—not just for the businesses and the programs they oversee, but for the regulators navigating this federal-state conflict themselves.
Read the full agenda for this week’s CANNRA conference below:
Monday, June 6th
8-8:30 AM: Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:30-9:00 AM: Welcome and Opening Remarks
9:00-9:45 AM: An Overview of Federal Initiatives, Priorities, and Needs
Allotted time for any federal agencies in attendance to share updates on current relevant agency work.
9:45-10:45 AM: Federal cannabis policy: Coalition views on state and federal roles in a future national marketplace
Session Moderator: Michigan Cannabis Regulation Agency
Panelists:
U.S. Cannabis Council
Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education, and Regulation
Council for Federal Cannabis Regulation
National Cannabis Roundtable
10:45-11:00 AM: Mid-morning break
11:00-12:00 PM: Interstate Commerce: Impacts on markets, licensing, and consumer safety
Session Moderator: Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission
Panelists:
National Cannabis Industry Association
Perkins Coie
MPG
Americans for Safe Access
U.S. Hemp Roundtable
12:00-12:45 PM: Tax, price, and illicit market: Lessons learned and future directions
Session Moderator: Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission
Panelists:
Drug Policy Research Center, RAND
Whitney Economics
SICPA North America
12:45-1:30 PM: Lunch
1:30-3:00 PM: Social and Economic Equity & Social Justice: Challenges, Opportunities, and a Reality Check.
Moderator: California Dept. of Cannabis Control
1:30-2:30 – Achieving Social and Economic Equity in the Industry: Where are we now and where do we need to be?
Panelists:
Minority Cannabis Business Association
National Cannabis Industry Association
Social Equity & Inclusion, U.S. Cannabis Council
Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education, and Regulation
Supernova Women
2:30-3:00 – Social Justice: Following through on legalization’s promise
Panelists:
Last Prisoner Project
Code for America
3:00-3:15 PM: Afternoon break
3:15–4:15 PM: Preventing Youth Access, Promoting Consumer Safety, & Protecting Public Health in State Markets
Session Moderator: Minnesota Office of Medical Cannabis
Panelists:
Responsibility.org
Truth Initiative
National Safety Council
Public Health Institute
Association of Food and Drug Officials
4:15-5:00 PM: How Data and Technology can help future policy making: Public Health, Regulatory, and Industry Data Sources
Session Moderator: Maine Office of Cannabis Policy
Panelists:
NCS Analytics
Multnomah County Health Department
Cannabis Public Policy Consulting
University of Waterloo
5PM – Dinner
Tuesday, June 7th
8-8:30 AM: Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:30-8:45 AM: Welcome, Brief Day 1 recap, Day 2 preview
8:45-10:00 AM: Hemp: Emergence and Proliferation of Novel Cannabinoids – regulatory, health, and market implications
Session Moderator: Cannabis Regulators Association
Panelists:
Kentucky Department of Agriculture
U.S. Hemp Roundtable
American Trade Association for Cannabis & Hemp
Natural Products Association
Jazz Pharmaceuticals
Attorney General Alliance
10:00-10:15 AM: Mid-morning break
10:15-11:15 AM: Standards in Cannabis Regulation: Updates on efforts to establish common standards, challenges to the work, and ways state and federal officials can help
Session Moderator: Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division
Panelists:
ASTM D37 Committee
US Pharmacopeia
AOAC Research Institute
National Conference on Weights and Measures
11:15-12:00 PM: Regulatory Service Providers: Seed to sale and track and trace systems – Lessons learned and pathways forward
Session Moderator: Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board
Panelists:
METRC
Akerna
BioTrack, Forian
12:00-12:45 PM: Lunch
12:45-1:15 PM: Regulatory Service Providers: Technology Advances in Licensing and Registration systems
Session Moderator: Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board
Panelists:
Tyler Technologies
Thentia Cloud
Veritec
1:15-2:15 PM: National B2B and B2C Cannabis Commerce: From Data to Delivery
Session Moderator: Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission
Panelists:
Leaflink
Dutchie
Weedmaps
Leafly
Lantern
2:15-3:15 PM: A Regulator’s Perspective – State regulatory alignment, differences, and challenges
Session Moderator: Cannabis Regulators Association
Panelists:
Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board
Hawaii Office of Medical Cannabis Control and Regulation
Florida Office of Medical Marijuana Use
Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency
Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection
3:15-3:30 PM: Meeting wrap up, next steps, and adjourn
Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.
Marijuana Moment is made possible with support from readers. If you rely on our cannabis advocacy journalism to stay informed, please consider a monthly Patreon pledge.
Medical Disclaimer:
The information provided in these blog posts is intended for general informational and educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. The use of any information provided in these blog posts is solely at your own risk. The authors and the website do not recommend or endorse any specific products, treatments, or procedures mentioned. Reliance on any information in these blog posts is solely at your own discretion.
