US cannabis lobby breaks records and now relies on Amazon

The United States of America reached a record number, during the second quarter of 2021, of companies that declared lobbying regarding cannabis. Among the influential companies are not only large multinationals in the sector, such as Canopy Growth or Curaleaf, but also other technological giants such as Amazon.

On the House of Representatives page there are 168 records related to cannabis, the highest number ever of companies carrying out activities of lobbying in the cannabis sector. In addition to the record number, the big surprise at the end of the second quarter was the participation of Amazon, which publicly announced its support for legalizing cannabis at the federal level last month and spent about $5 million in the second quarter doing it. LOBBY on this and other issues.

According to Business Insider, this is the first time that Amazon has LOBBY regarding the legalization of cannabis. It is difficult to know the exact amount spent specifically on the LOBBY of cannabis, as companies only need to disclose their total expenditure, grouping together the various areas in which they exert influence. However, this external push for legalization has come not only from cannabis companies, but also from alcohol and tobacco interests, which also want a share of the market.

Curaleaf, one of the largest cannabis companies in the US, has signed a contract with the LOBBY Cozen O'Connor Public Strategies, whom he paid $70 for services during the second quarter. Altria, the tobacco giant that owns Philip Morris, spent nearly $3 million on LOBBY. Altria has a significant interest in the Canadian company Cronos Group.

Susan Platt, who was President Joe Biden's chief of staff for two years and is one of Altria's longtime lobbyists, began talks with lawmakers on cannabis regulation this year, said the Business Insider. Morgan Stanley paid Crossroads Strategies $100 in the first half of this year, contracting out the LOBBY in cannabis banking matters.

The financial sector wants Congress to change the status quo in which most federally licensed banks are unwilling to work with US cannabis companies because cannabis is still illegal under federal law, although some banks have already begun to lend capital or work with these companies. Crossroads Strategies has made LOBBY regarding banking matters for four other clients, including the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies and the Credit Union National Association.

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