Regulatory FOMO in the Cannabis Industry: What You Don't Know Can and Will Hurt You

Are you a licensed cannabis business owner or an employee struggling to stay abreast of the continuous tide of cannabis industry news and regulatory changes? Are you an ancillary cannabis industry member striving to clearly communicate the latest, most relevant cannabis industry updates to your clients? Maybe you’re an entrepreneur and/or legacy operator determined to break into the legal cannabis industry and don’t want to miss important licensing opportunities in your region as they arise?

We know you don’t have the time to scour the news, sign up for every local and state regulatory agencies’ newsletters, review regulators’ websites for updates, and communicate those updates to your team each week. This is exactly why RMCC’s compliance team does the time-consuming work for you in our monthly Compliance Digest.

What do you get if you sign up for RMCC’s monthly compliance digest? The compliance digest includes regulatory changes and notable news from your state, your region, and across the country. Sign up to receive the updates you need from your region or the entirety of the United States. Each monthly digest includes a video summarizing each of the changes in addition to a text version for you to share with your team, discuss with your clients, or find local jurisdictions in your area offering new licensing opportunities.

In the absence of federal regulation, the cannabis industry as we know it today operates as an impossible patchwork of regulatory changes. This industry has undergone seismic shifts as new states legalize cannabis and attempt to rapidly address the unintended consequences of rules and regulations.

Let’s explore a few of these large-scale changes and try to put ourselves in the shoes of operators at the time. If you were in the following states at the time of these changes but were totally unaware of them, you likely found yourself behind your competitors and scrambling to catch up:

• Colorado's Marijuana Inventory Tracking System (MITS) implementation: In December 2013, the Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) gave licensees a 30-day notice of the adoption of MITS, which later evolved into Metrc, leaving businesses all over the state scrambling to tag their plants and implement operational workflows that could support the necessary data collection in preparation of the rollout.
• Washington's medical testing requirement implementation: The State of Washington implemented testing requirements for medical cannabis and cannabis products after decades of fostering a largely unregulated medical cannabis environment. With medical patients and caregivers working under minimal restrictions and no testing requirements, the state's medical industry was rocked when the state adopted permanent rules for required pesticide testing in 2017 and heavy metals testing in 2018. 
• Oregon's suspension of processing license applications received after June 15, 2018: As a result of the OLCC failing to put in place limits on licenses, residency requirements, and maintaining low application and licensing fees, combined with lower than expected demand, Oregon saw a dramatic oversupply in their adult-use cannabis industry. As a result, the OLCC froze the processing of license applications received after June 15th, 2018. This freeze expires in January, 2022.
• Los Angeles Department of Cannabis Regulations' acceptance of new license application: On October 1, 2021, the Department of Cannabis Regulation (DCR) began accepting new applications for delivery, distribution, manufacturing, cultivation, and testing license types in the City of Los Angeles.
• City of Denver's acceptance of new social equity applicant licensing permits: The City of Denver recently began accepting applications from social equity applicants for new recreational cannabis licenses in a recent major regulatory overhaul. The city has not opened up such opportunities for cannabis entrepreneurs since 2016.

What is the shared moral of all of the above stories? Put yourself in the shoes of these operators. What would’ve happened if you missed this notification? You would have left your entire business at risk of fines, penalties, or even license revocation. Or you could miss your shot altogether to enter this frustrating but lucrative new industry.

Don’t let your fear of missing out (FOMO) paralyze you and put your business at risk. Don’t let the anxiety of trying to start a business in a constantly shifting patchwork of rules and regulations stop you from realizing your dreams. Sign up today for RMCC’s monthly compliance digest and sleep easy knowing you won’t miss out on any opportunities or fail to adapt to changing regulations.

Never forget that ignorance of the law excuses no one. If you break the law, you're liable for the consequences of that action even if you had no knowledge of the law being broken. You're not alone; RMCC has your back. Knowledge is power; sign up today.