Tag: Joe Biden

The impact of the new Biden presidency will be felt in U.S. exports to Europe.

There is one thing to absolutely rejoice across the industry about the new Biden win. Given the European Parliament’s recent vote to raise the amount of THC in hemp that is sold here (as raw flower) from 2-3%, the signs are good that American biomass (at least) will find a ready home in Europe.

What this development means, beyond the potential for European harmonization on at least hemp, is that the European market is opening itself up to (at least) biomass of the American kind.

Beyond this, the US-EU MRA which went into effect in July last year means that American firms who meet the strictures of EU-GMP will also be able to import across a continent that is looking for sources of high-grade product as the entire conversation now trickles through the political process.

However, the reality is that the normalization of the entire conversation in the U.S. including decriminalization (at minimum for now), and the equalization of the topic in Europe will absolutely lead to greater opportunities for the American industry, finally, to expand to Europe in a much more concentrated way.

The biggest issue, as still continues to haunt the Canadians, is meeting those European certs. And that, beyond EU-GMP on the cultivation side, and Novel Food if not EU-BIO on the hemp one, also applies to labeling.

The Hurdles Are Still High

One of the biggest hurdles facing American exporters, as those who have begun to brave these new waters know, is making sure that certs match up all the way down the chain. This starts with American farmers familiarizing themselves on how to grow crops that are acceptable in the European market place, and further, how to find exporters who have the ability to translate both state and federal law to customs officials.

That in and of itself is still a shark-strewn body of water, but it is also one in which those who meet standard quality tests will win. This is a conversation that absolutely comes down to science. The calibrating tests now available and indeed required, do not lie.

For the latest trends in a still-developing market, be sure to stay tuned to the International Cannabis Business Conference blog as well as attend the conferences when they return to Europe in 2021!

Remote campaign stumps, and a flagging economy aside, one of the key issues for the 2020 presidential campaign in the United States will absolutely include cannabis reform.

So far, the Democratic Party itself, which dates back to the back door squabbling seen since 2014, has been less than progressive on the topic of cannabis. Bernie Sanders put the issue squarely in the national spotlight, but this issue alone was not enough to get him to the top of the Democratic nominee ticket.

However, in another sign that Biden is taking policies straight from the Bernie playbook, in early May, the former VP and this year’s Democratic presidential contender, appears to be incorporating certain aspects of normalization into his policies, should he become president.

Biden’s platform for racial justice released plans for modest drug reform proposals, focusing rather on decriminalization for the use of cannabis rather than full legalization. He also proposed expunging all prior cannabis use convictions which his campaign released earlier this month.

While the proposal also talks about normalizing all drug sentencing (i.e. eliminating harsher sentencing for crack rather than cocaine) as well as changing broader criminal justice policies such as mandatory minimum sentencing and diverting people with minor drug convictions to treatment rather than prison, many advocates are still hoping that he will up the ante on cannabis a bit more. If not before the election, then certainly after it.

Before he occupied the White House, Biden’s record was far from progressive on drugs, and during his time in the Senate, he both authored and supported punitive drug laws that contributed in no small part to mass incarceration, including many in the African American community. The Obama White House, in which Biden served as a Vice President, also moved slowly on the cannabis issue, although it was during the Obama Presidency that the legal state movement finally took off. Under Trump, those procedural protections for the states, known broadly as the Cole Memo, were unraveled although new states have come online during his presidency, on both the medical and recreational front.

While it is clear that Biden is shifting his position, in part due to Trump’s intransigence on federal reform and also to try to attract Sanders’ supporters, who have so far been lukewarm about the Democratic contender, it will clearly not be enough.

The cannabis industry has continued to power through the Covid Pandemic, although clearly it has also been affected by shutdowns and restrictions in every state. But five and a half years after the start of the Colorado and Washington State recreational markets, and numerous states following suit, it will inevitably be a source of jobs in a country now in the midst of the worst economic crisis in ninety years. Federal reform is necessary if only to normalize a now wide-spread industry that generates billions of dollars and creates thousands of American jobs.

Time will tell how convincing the now large and established cannabis industry will be over the summer and into the fall election in pushing Biden to take a stand Americans want and have been advocating for, for decades. That said, legalization might well be the issue that helps Biden clearly not only distinguish himself from Trump in a world where healthcare concerns are increasingly a priority for Americans, and indeed, where cannabis itself might help prevent future infections, if not help those inoculated with a future vaccine better tolerate their medicine.

For the best global updates on the state of the cannabis industry, be sure to attend an International Cannabis Business Conference event as the world starts normalizing later this year.