As more states in the U.S. legalize marijuana for medical or recreational use and the industry grows, political not-for-profit organizations, trade associations, and cannabis businesses continue to lobby for cannabis reform and legalization. Lobbyists are being paid a lot to weigh in on the cannabis reform measures being introduced in Congress, with OpenSecrets finding that 22 clients spent roughly $4.3 million last year to employ professional lobbyists to keep tabs on cannabis reform. OpenSecrets, which is a not-for-profit research group tracking political spending, found that this figure had increased from the $3.6 million recorded in 2020, noting that in the last 10 years the tally had also grown significantly. The group found that in 2011, $35,000 was spent on lobbyists focusing on cannabis issues, with the Medical Marijuana Industry Group and the National Cannabis Industry Association accounting for this total. These tallies remained in the thousands until 2017 when stakeholders in the now-growing industry spent more than $1.5 million lobbying Congress about cannabis issues. Since then, spending has continued increasing, with more than $15 million being spent in the period between 2018 and 2022.
CannabisNewsWire, 03/10/2022 04:20:00