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National Cannabis Industry Association’s Women’s CannaBusiness Network to host event
Group will release report detailing economic benefits of industry in Colorado
Employers and employees to speak
The National Cannabis Industry Association, in conjunction with the Women’s CannaBusiness Network — a project it launched earlier this year — will hold a press conference at the National Press Club on Thursday, September 13 at 9:30 a.m. At the event, female business leaders from the medical cannabis industry will call on President Obama to cease enforcement actions against medical cannabis providers while the administration reviews its policies to determine whether they are in the public interest.
The women will explain the hardships – including loss of jobs, tax revenue, and harm to patients – caused by the federal government’s ongoing crackdown on legitimate medical cannabis businesses.
“In the last year alone, the Department of Justice has taken action against hundreds of medical cannabis providers, including a large percentage who were acting in full compliance with state and local laws,” said NCIA Executive Director Aaron Smith. “It is painfully obvious that the Department of Justice is not following the administration’s stated policy of respecting state medical marijuana laws.
“We are simply asking the Obama administration to put an immediate hold on all active medical marijuana-related cases so that they can be reviewed to ensure compliance with the 2009 Ogden Memo and repeated assurances that state-compliant operators would not be targeted,” Smith said.
The group will also release a report entitled, “The Colorado Cannabis Industry: A Tale of Ten Cities,” which details the sales and tax revenues generated by medical marijuana centers in 10 Colorado cities. These 10 cities alone generated close to $10 million in state and local sales taxes in 2011. Representatives from businesses that produced this revenue, but are now suffering due to the Obama administration actions, will speak.
Who: Jill Lamoureaux, co-owner, Colorado Dispensary Services (Boulder, Colorado)
Becky DeKeuster, founder and executive director, Wellness Connection (Portland, Maine)
JoAnna LaForce, R.Ph., CGP, Clinical Director, The Farmacy (Los Angeles, California)
Jamie Lewis, owner, Mountain Medicine and Good Chemistry (Denver, Colorado)
Jenifer Reynolds, employee, Colorado Dispensary Services
Aaron Smith, executive director, National Cannabis Industry Association
Where: National Press Club (in the Fourth Estate Room)
529 14th Street, NW, Washington, D.C.
When: Thursday, September 13 at 9:30 a.m.
The mission of the National Cannabis Industry Association is to defend, promote, and advance the interests of the cannabis industry and its members. NCIA publicly advocates for the unique needs of the emerging cannabis industry and defends against those aiming to eliminate the legal market for cannabis and cannabis-related products. For more information, please visit www.TheCannabisIndustry.org.