Federal Marijuana legalization is the holy grail of the legalization movement, and the idea has been getting more than a little traction. In November, there was a big victory when the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, known among its supporters as the MORE act, passed through the House Judiciary Committee with a 24-10 vote. This success is an essential step in the process of finally ending cannabis being illegal on the federal level and does a lot MORE besides.
2019 has been an exciting year for marijuana, with multiple states loosening their restrictions on marijuana through legalization or decriminalization. Louisiana, for instance, went through a very efficient process of making medical marijuana legal and having reasonable access to it in place by June of that year. With the cannabis legalization movement so well underway, its no surprise that we'll be able to deliver some incredible news regarding states seeking legalization in 2020.
Cannabis sales are seeing an explosion all over the globe, with global cannabis-based revenue soaring from $3.5 billion to almost $11 billion in the years between 2014 and 2018. The United States stands as the world's most prolific marijuana market in spite of the federal government's standing hostility towards the substance. While recent legislation moving through the House and Senate suggests that this may be changing, for the time being, pot is still registered as a Schedule I drug as of the time of this writing. This classification means that at the federal level, the substance remains illegal.
