Continuing Conversations on Capitol Hill

by Madeline Grant, NCIA’s Government Relations Manager

The National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) held its very first Virtual Mini Lobby Days with NCIA’s Evergreen Roundtable members. Before the pandemic and closure of our Nation’s Capital, the Government Relations team planned an in-person annual fly-in every spring, the Annual Cannabis Industry Lobby Days, for all NCIA members. For our first Virtual Mini Lobby Days, it was important to facilitate conversations between our Roundtable and Capitol Hill offices. The Evergreen membership tier is for leading businesses looking to make a meaningful investment in shaping policy for the cannabis industry. Evergreen members receive exclusive access to private briefings from members of Congress, inside information from NCIA’s government relations team, and many more opportunities to participate in the national conversation around cannabis policy.

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Now more than ever we’ve seen more comprehensive legislation being introduced at the federal level, on both sides of the aisle, so we wanted to focus on meetings with our cannabis champions but also educate all congressional offices on Capitol Hill. We were able to meet with representatives, senators, committee staff, office staff, and much more. Evergreen members were able to share information, stories, and data to Hill offices. 

The NCIA team, Monica Gray with Nice Guys Delivery, Khurshid Khoja with Greenbridge Corporate Counsel, and Christina Hollenback with The People’s Ecosystem meeting with Congressman Dave Joyce (OH-14), a co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus.

As we hopped on our zoom calls, our main focus was education. The Evergreen Roundtable was able to share stories from their personal experiences in the cannabis industry and directly relate these experiences to the importance of cannabis policy reform. The dichotomy around incremental versus comprehensive cannabis policy reform was a central focus in discussion. As around thirty meetings took place throughout the week, the Government Relations team and Evergreen Roundtable caught up with friends, gained valuable insight, and continued to educate Congress. We took this opportunity to show our support and gratitude for all the representatives and senators who constantly support cannabis policy reform. Furthermore, we educated congressional offices with data, testimonials, and research to highlight the necessity for cannabis policy reform at the federal level. There is no doubt that reform is needed for the cannabis community and NCIA will continue to be a resource to all congressional offices.

NCIA’s 9th Annual Cannabis Industry Lobby Days in 2019 May 21-23 2019.

As we monitor the full opening of Capitol Hill, stay tuned for updates regarding NCIA Lobby Days. The Government Relations team is looking forward to our next Mini Lobby Days later this year for all Evergreen members. If you’re interested in learning more or getting involved in our policy work please feel free to reach out to Madeline@TheCannabisIndustry.org.