California Becomes 6th U.S. State to Legalize Recreational Marijuana
Medical marijuana has been legal in California for over 20 years. Now, the state is joining 5 other U.S. states to introduce the sale of recreational marijuana. Kris Krane, President and Co-Founder of 4Front Ventures, an investment and management firm in the cannabis industry, was with us to discuss the implications of the new law.
Krane says legalization of recreational marijuana will spark a domino-effect in the rest of the country. Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Nevada beat the Golden State to it, but Krane says California's decision will be the most impactful due to the state's size and influence on policy. Krane believes an open and legal market will make it increasingly untenable for the rest of the country to maintain prohibition.
Despite leniency on the state level, Krane still sees a hurdle on the federal level. This obstacle will make it challenging for cannabis companies to list on the major stock exchanges in the U.S., he adds. As a result, he thinks the most significant public market movement will continue to take place in Canada, where companies can access the Toronto Stock exchange and other major Canadian exchanges.
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