For over 15 years, Aaron Pelley has stood at the forefront of the evolving landscape of cannabis regulation. Aaron is a champion of emerging markets and an ardent advocate for cannabis industry entrepreneurs, businesses, and investors. He has crafted key cannabis legislation and established himself as a leading authority on cannabis law and practice.
A Tradition of Excellence For thousands of years, Native tribes across North America have harnessed the benefits of the hemp and cannabis plants. These plants have held sacred and significant roles in many Indigenous cultures, deeply intertwined with spiritual practices, medicinal applications, and traditional ways of life. It’s no wonder, then, that Indigenous people are
As states slowly but inevitably continue to legalize cannabis medically or recreationally, we often need to be reminded that cannabis is still illegal on the federal level. Due to this widespread, ineffective prohibition, the cannabis industry and its many operators must follow a very extensive and strict set of parameters to ensure that they remain
Mississippi’s Initiative 65 Easily one of the biggest legislative surprises of the 2020 was the passing of Mississippi’s Initiative 65, a medical cannabis bill with an extensive qualifying conditions list. In arguably the reddest and most socially conservative state in America — where only one Democrat has served as Governor since 1992, and where Republicans
Throughout the course of both of his initial candidacy and eventual presidency, the businessman-turned-reality TV star-turned-President and Republican frontrunner for the 2024 election, Donald Trump, had a rollercoaster of a political relationship with cannabis reform. From previous supportive comments to appointing people who were perhaps the physical embodiment of the failures of the drug war,
With every election season that comes, it’s become almost inevitable that at least one or two more of the states will legalize cannabis for either fully recreational usage or at least medical reasons. Even if it was but a midterm election, the 2022 election season still resulted in two more states legalizing cannabis for recreational
Similarly to many career politicians who now support criminal justice reform after decades of supporting the most unjust policing and sentencing laws, President Joe Biden has been notably lacking in keeping the pro-cannabis and criminal justice reform promises he ran on in the contentious and chaotic election that was 2020. Along with still referencing the
As America celebrates and commemorates Black History Month, it’s important to remember exactly how Black Americans have been disproportionately impacted by the criminal justice system in our country. From the crack vs. cocaine sentencing disparities to the fact that Black Americans are on average four times as likely to be wrongfully convicted of a serious
