New Spending Record Set by Cannabis Lobbyists for the Marijuana Industry

• In 2014, the cannabis industry only allotted $80,000 for lobbying.
• The highest amount spent on lobbying was the Cannabis Trade Federation.

The push for new legislation on cannabis has come at quite a cost over the years. New reports from Gangapreneur reveal that, in the last year alone, the cannabis industry lobby spending got to $3.77 million this year. Comparatively, in 2018, the same group reached $2.76 million last year, according to reports from Open Secrets. Of that amount, the Cannabis Trade Federation managed to spend $760,500 on lobbying efforts.

The increased spending coincides with the same cycle that the SAFE Banking Act was passed by federal lawmakers This bill was the first to be introduced independently as a cannabis reform measure to be considered by the House.

Other major spenders during this cycle were:

• Curaleaf ($700,000)
• National Cannabis Roundtable ($445,000)
• National Cannabis Industry Association ($430,000)
• Parallel Brands ($420,000)
• Tweed Inc ($210,000)
• Canndescent ($140,000)
• Dana Financial ($120,000)
• Trulieve ($120,000)
• Weedmaps ($95,000)
• Acreage Holdings ($80,000)
• California Cannabis Industry Association ($56,000)
• Oregon Cannabis Association ($5,000)

Ned Levine, the CEO of the Cannabis Trade Federation, expressed that the “top priority” of the organization is the STATES Act, which is sponsored by Sen. Elizabeth Warren. With this bill, the federal government would not be allowed to interfere with the cannabis policies of individual states.

Five years ago, in 2014, only $80,000 was spent by the cannabis industry on lobbying efforts. In 2015, this amount was increased to $300,000, rising up to $430,000 in the following year. By 2017, the total spent on lobbying by the cannabis industry was $1.62 million.