Introduction

America’s cannabis industry is worth tens of billions of dollar and it generates tax revenues and jobs. But it is barred from accessing most financial services. This is because, while legal in an increasing number US states, cannabis remains illegal at a federal level. We hear what it’s like running a cannabis business from Ken Churchill of the West Coast Cannabis Club in California. Emily Dufton, author of Grass Roots: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Marijuana in America, explains how the US went from "Just Say No" in the 1980s to yes now. And Robert Hoban, a lawyer who specialises in cannabis, explains why two currently empty Georgia Senate seats could determine whether the Biden administration can fulfil its pledge to decriminalise cannabis.

(Picture: purchasing legal marijuana at a dispensary. Credit: Getty Images.)