US Cannabis Council

We had the chance to thank retiring Congressman Earl Blumenauer in person last night for his stalwart advocacy for cannabis reform. He was a critical early voice on the issue in Congress and has continued to be a leading champion for legalization in the House. We thank him for his service and wish him the best in future endeavors.

"The US Cannabis Council hired Mercury Public Affairs to lobby on issues related to the cannabis industry. The lobbyist on the account is Bryan Lanza, who served as communications director for President-elect Trump’s first transition team."

"David Culver, the senior vice president for public affairs at the U.S. Cannabis Council, said in a news release on Wednesday that Gaetz was 'one of the most pro-cannabis?Republicans?on Capitol Hill.' 'By tapping him to serve as the nation's top law enforcement officer, President-elect Trump is signaling his commitment to make good on his campaign promises around cannabis reform,' Culver added. With Gaetz as attorney general, the U.S. could see the passing of the SAFE Banking Act, which would ensure that financial institutions are protected from being penalized by federal regulators for working with state-legal cannabis businesses. Under Gaetz, marijuana could also be reclassified as a Schedule III drug, meaning it would be defined as having a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence and could be used for medicinal purposes. As a Schedule I drug, marijuana is currently classed as having a high abuse risk and therefore no acceptable medical use."

Mercury Public Affairs, LLC signs on to provide US Cannabis Council with DC representation as Donald Trump returns to the White House, reports Kevin McCauley https://odwpr.us/48S4v82

Rep. Matt Gaetz is one of the most pro-cannabis Republicans on Capitol Hill. By tapping him to serve as the nation's top law enforcement officer, President-elect Trump is signaling his commitment to make good on his campaign promises around cannabis reform. We’ve said from the outset that the cannabis community has good reason to be optimistic about a second Trump Administration. Today's Attorney General announcement, along with other recent staffing moves, give us hope for the next phase of federal cannabis reform, including passing the SAFE Banking Act and finalizing the reclassification of cannabis to Schedule III.

"David Culver, the senior vice president of public affairs of the U.S. Cannabis Council lobbying group, tells NPR that he's optimistic the new administration will take a similar approach to cannabis. ? 'We didn't see a lot of activity from President Trump, if any at all, on cannabis reform' in his first term, Culver says. 'But I think this time is going to be different.'" Read more at NPR.

Curious how the cannabis industry is thinking about yesterday's election results? This morning, Jeremy and I check in with David Culver from the US Cannabis Council, Steve Reilly from Insa, and Jason Tarasek from Vicente LLP to hear from them about: - Prospects for cannabis reform at the federal level - The impact of Florida's results on Florida operators - If/when the Dakotas will ever legalize - What we can learn from Nebraska's (apparent) results - WTF is next? Catch the full episode (linked in comments). #cannabisnews #cannabisindustry

"'This isn’t the end in Florida. It’s just the beginning since we’ve now seen how strongly the push for legalization resonates in the state,' said Josh Glasstetter, a spokesman for the U.S. Cannabis Council, which favors legalization."

"David Culver, senior vice president of the U.S. Cannabis Council, an industry group, hailed the 'historic' and bipartisan pro-marijuana campaign but said the supermajority threshold required by Florida was too much to overcome — for now."