When it comes to cannabis, states like California, Colorado and Oregon get most of the attention.
Cacioppo says that while California boasts the title of being the country’s largest marijuana market in terms of annual sales, he sees states like Virginia and Georgia as having the greatest growth potential.
“We view Virginia as one of the best licenses in cannabis,” Cacioppo says, explaining that his company has the exclusive right to sell weed legally in the D.C.
According to the latest Gallup poll, 68% of Americans support legalization with 83% of Democrats, 71% of Independents and 50% of Republicans being in favor of ending prohibition.
Arizona, Mississippi, Montana and South Dakota all voted to legalize either medical marijuana or adult-use cannabis, which revealed what’s been hiding in plain sight: cannabis is not a Red or Blue issue.
The bill features a few classic Republican stances, a low federal excise tax and states would still have the right to enact their own laws around the drug, but it’s further proof that marijuana legalization has support on both sides of the aisle.
“For a long time, the perception was that cannabis was a party line issue,” says Kim Rivers, the CEO of Florida-based cannabis company Trulieve.
The lion’s share of Trulieve’s business is based on the theory that cannabis is not partisan.
12, about 100 people lined up outside the first medical marijuana dispensary in West Virginia, waiting for its grand opening at 10 a.m.
Six companies, including Trulieve, were awarded the right to licenses but the launch of the program has been delayed indefinitely as regulators are now going through a process to hear complaints filed by 15 companies that lost the bid to sell weed in the Peach State.
“Georgia, of course, is our neighbor to the north,” says Rivers.
Rivers says she’ll be able to share resources, employees and supplies across state lines.