The future of cannabis
As laws around cannabis evolve and grow, Kim said, “we’ll probably see a lot of changes this year.” That includes more states legalizing marijuana use.
Citing Forbes magazine, Kim said the states most likely to legalize marijuana in 2019 are Connecticut, Illinois, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Democrats gaining back control of the House in last year’s election will also “likely lead to greater support of marijuana reform,” Kim said.
There are already several bills before Congress related to marijuana, including the Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Act, which would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, decriminalize marijuana and regulate it like alcohol. “This is probably a long shot, from what I’ve heard,” Kim said.
She said the STATES Act (Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States) will likely be “more successful.” This would allow states to legalize marijuana without threat of federal interference, and President Trump has indicated he would sign this, Kim said.