“From Illicit to Essential”: The Business of Cannabis In The Times of Covid-19 By Tahir Johnson According to Leafly’s 2020 Annual Jobs Report released in February the legal cannabis industry is responsible for almost 250,000 full time American jobs. At the present time 33 states have laws and in place for medical cannabis use and 11 states and the District of Columbia have legalized adult use. As the COVID-19 pandemic is leaving its mark on society both in the US and abroad we have seen cannabis proclaimed essential alongside businesses that provide necessities like grocery stores and pharmacies. The fact that every state with a regulated market has allowed continued access in some form is a testament to how far we’ve come. As of February 11th the New York State Department of Health showed that there are 113,755 patients that rely on medical cannabis to treat a number of qualifying conditions from chronic pain to PTSD. The current situation reinforces the need for cannabis legalization at the federal level. Because of its status as a Schedule I drug cannabis businesses are already faced with a number of challenges like reduced access to banking services and increased tax burden under 280E. Most recently as a result of this classification we’ve seen both direct and ancillary cannabis businesses declared ineligible for COVID-19 relief packages. This week Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) introduced The Emergency Cannabis Small Business Health in the US House of Representatives that if passed would allow cannabis businesses to be included in future SBA relief. It is only fair that legal cannabis businesses that are responsible for generating billions of dollars of tax revenue get the support that they need, like other businesses to make it through these unprecedented trying times. One of the things that you can do to support the movement is to contact your representative to let them know that you support cannabis businesses receiving aid. Another reality of cannabis prohibition in the age of COVID-19 is that not everyone has equal access and even today people of color are serving time for cannabis and other drug offenses at disproportionate rates. Despite making up 31.5% of the population Blacks and Latinos represent 46.9% of those incarcerated for drug offenses. The ACLU’s recently released report 14
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