Gov. Phil Murphy, who led the ultimately successful fight for recreational cannabis in New Jersey, added his name to a new industry effort to encourage marijuana users to buy weed from legal businesses rather than on the street.
What’s the current landscape: There are already at least five national trade groups seeking to influence cannabis policy on Capitol Hill. In addition, there are longstanding marijuana legalization advocacy groups like NORML and Marijuana Policy Project, as well as lobbyists for individual cannabis companies and larger umbrella groups such as the ACLU and Human Rights Watch. As Congress focuses more attention on cannabis policy, some have pointed out that the lack of unity could hold back legalization efforts.
Hawkins says he hopes USCC can alleviate that problem.