Industry rarely calls out for more regulation, but a new marijuana startup sees creating nationally standardized rules as key to the future of the pot business.
The National Association of Cannabis Businesses wants to help its members—numbering about 30 so far—navigate balkanized rules from states, counties and cities by providing the closest thing it can to unified national regulation, even as pot remains illegal at the federal level.
The group already has put out a labeling standard and are working on others for advertising, pesticide use, manufacturing and bookkeeping. “You would not believe the shoddiness of the records of most of the industry today,” said Joshua Laterman, NACB’s chief executive.
It isn’t clear that what the NACB envisions—a government-sanctioned self-regulatory organization—is the answer. But state governments and companies are in rare agreement that a standardized, nationwide approach would help a lot.
Top photo courtesy of Adobe Stock
