The cannabis industry has grown unprecedentedly in the world market in recent years. 19 U.S. states and the District of Columbia have fully legalized recreational cannabis consumption providing many new, excited consumers.

According to recent market research, the global legal marijuana market size was valued at USD 9.1 billion in 2020, and cannabis companies are expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26.7% by 2028. 

Many other countries have legalized cannabis during the coronavirus pandemic, causing a worldwide spike in the emerging market. In short, there’s already a solid consumer base and plenty of money to be made by tapping into the growing marijuana industry.

Black market marijuana businesses provide a level of risk that is yet to be fully addressed by the U.S. and other countries governments. Markets selling illicit products have little to no regulation, meaning they could potentially have inaccurate potency information or be harmful to users altogether. Due to being federally illegal, it is often an industry corrupted by crime, violence, and extortion.

There is a noticeable global stigma around weed in the United States due to cannabis criminalization. While we are closer to normalization than ever, we aren’t quite there yet.

Studies show that the experiences of people of color, women, and the poorer communities still deliver the results of criminal injustice and stereotyping due to using weed use or cannabis-related offenses.

Who is House of Wise?

House of Wise is a luxury CBD and wellness brand that empowers women to take control of their lives while working to disassemble the societal stigmas and double standards women face worldwide.

House of Wise is attempting to change the conversation around health and wellness, breaking stigmas, and helping women through community, content, and high-quality, trusted products. 

About Amanda Goetz

As the Founder & CEO of House of Wise, Amanda is on a mission to help women give more purposeful intention and take back control of their sleep, stress, sex, and wealth.

She has over fifteen years of experience building brands that inspire and serve women. She is a leader and advocate committed to breaking down stigmas and stereotypes surrounding CBD, cannabis, and the societal roles of modern-day women.

Origins of The Name

The name House of Wise is a tribute to Brownie Wise, the founder of the Tupperware parties that helped women earn their own money after World War II. Earl Tupper hired Wise as the vice president of Tupperware in 1951. When he sold the company seven years later, he fired Wise without notice and made millions, leaving her in the dust. 

Empowering Wise Women

House of Wise enables women to earn money selling luxury, trusted CBD products. By signing up as a #WiseWoman affiliate, you can make a commission on House of Wise products sold without hefty upfront costs, sales quotas, or recruiting. They currently have over five-hundred affiliate ambassadors.

House of Wise Products

House of Wise offers a collection of seven full-spectrum CBD products. Each product is formulated initially, specially designed, and paired with thoughtfully selected ingredients to provide more intention, motivation, and purpose to their daily lives. 

The Last Prisoner Project

• 15.7 MILLION people have been arrested for marijuana offenses in the last two decades.
• 47 BILLION USD is spent annually on the war on drugs.
• 10.4 BILLION USD legal marijuana industry sales for 2018 in the U.S.

The Last Prisoner Project is a nonprofit organization committed to cannabis criminal justice reform. As the United States slowly distances itself from the cannabis prohibition, giving rise to significant cannabis industry sales, there remains injustice in the system inflicted on those who have criminal convictions and suffer the consequences of those convictions.

The Last Prisoner Project works to address and reform our country’s unjust and ineffective drug policy through reentry programs for former prisoners, legal intervention, public education, and continuous advocacy for the expungement of weed-related criminal records by the local and federal government.

U.S. Cannabis Policy Timeline

• The 1600s: Hemp cultivation was widely utilized to make clothing, rope, and ship sails. In 1619, the Virginia Assembly passed legislation requiring all farmers to grow hemp; a few states even traded hemp legally. 
• 1840: Marijuana became widely approved in mainstream medicine and was sold in over-the-counter medications. 
• 1850: The U.S. Pharmacopeia added marijuana to its’ list. Healthcare providers use it to treat opioid withdrawal, chronic pain, appetite loss, and nausea. 
• 1862: Vanity Fair advertised hash edibles as a fun stimulant that could help others be happy and less anxious. 
• 1906: The Food and Drug Act demanded that all cannabis products state this on their labeling. 
• 1900-1930: For years, marijuana was used in the mainstream medical community for health benefits. However, that changed as it became associated with Mexican immigrants. Due to their recreational drug use, anti-drug advocates promoted fear and prejudice by labeling it the “Mexican Menace.” 
• 1914-1925: A widespread prohibition effort encouraged twenty-six states to pass laws prohibiting cannabis. 
• The 1930s: The Great Depression resulted in an employment loss for thousands of Americans. Mainstream media began to falsely report that marijuana use was linked to crime and violence. At the same Harry Anslinger began a campaign to criminalize marijuana, claiming that it led to psychosis. As a result of these combined efforts, by 1936, all states had introduced marijuana regulation laws.
• 1936: Reefer Madness debuted, and it showed marijuana as a drug that could lead to extreme violence and mental disorders. 
• 1937: The Marijuana Tax Act was passed, restricting cannabis use to those who could afford a significant excise tax. 
• 1942: The U.S. Pharmacopoeia removed marijuana from its’ list, and physicians began to discredit marijuana as having little to no medicinal use.
• 1944: The New York Academy of Medicine published a report stating that classic marijuana strains had only mild psychoactive effects. It was not received well.  
• 1952: The Boggs Act was passed to establish significant penalties for marijuana offenses. 
• The 1960s: Marijuana gained popularity among college students, activists, hippies, and more. President Kennedy and Vice President Johnson detailed reports that found that marijuana was not a gateway drug, nor did it encourage violence.
• 1970: Congress approved the Controlled Substances Act, which placed marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance. This law made it difficult to study marijuana for its’ medicinal benefits. However, Oregon, Maine, and Alaska still re-decriminalized marijuana.
• 1972: The Shafer Committee recommended the decriminalization of marijuana for personal use; however, Nixon disregarded their recommendation.
• 1976: The parents’ movement against marijuana was started.  
• 1982: Nancy Reagan founded the “Just Say No” campaign.
• 1983: The Drug Abuse Resistance Education program was created, but the government later cut the DARE program’s funding as research proved inadequate for preventing youth from using drugs. 
• 1986: President Reagan passed The Anti-Drug Abuse Act raising penalties for marijuana use. 
• 1989: President George H.W. Bush campaigned for a “New War on Drugs.”
• 1996: California approved Prop 215, legalizing cannabis for medicinal use at the state level.
• The 2000s: Thirty-six states plus Washington D.C. have legalized or decriminalized weed on a medical or recreational level. It is still federally illegal; however, marijuana advocates are fighting hard to pass legalization bills. 

Federal Reform & the Current Administration

Drug test policies are a popular topic for 2022. The New York Department of Labor has said they will no longer drug test employees for cannabis following the state’s recent legalization efforts. Amazon has also joined in, stating they would even retroactively restore employee eligibility for those fired due to marijuana showing up during a drug test.  

The Office of Personnel Management has agreed that past cannabis use should not disqualify an employee from being hired. House and Senate lawmakers also adjusted their policies in July and October last year. However, the Biden administration has recently been accused of punishing staff members for admitting to past cannabis use. The former press secretary, Jen Psaki, said that none of these staffers were fired but refused to detail the punishment.  

U.S. Drug Testing Policies

According to EHS Today, at a certain point, the government estimated that twenty-five percent of all workers between 18 and 40 would test positive for drugs. Industry leaders and business owners should not ignore this significant figure. While fewer and fewer employers are opting into drug testing programs, a significant number of people are being asked to provide urine samples for their company’s drug-testing rules.

A study conducted by SHRM and commissioned by the Drug and Alcohol Testing Association examined businesses’ use of drug testing programs. Poll results indicate that 57 percent of employers conduct drug tests on all job candidates. Of that number, 69 percent of employers who use drug tests on job candidates have done so for at least seven years.

According to a recent study supervised by staffing firm ManpowerGroup, Vice recently reported that nine percent of over 45,000 employers worldwide had eliminated job screenings or drug tests as an incentive to hire talent. That equals around 4,050 employers in 43 countries no longer disciplining employees or terminating employment for drug use.

States with Expungement Programs

One in five black people are serving sentences in prison for nonviolent drug offenses. Prisons in the U.S. are incredibly overpopulated, and drug crimes add to the unnecessarily large prison population. Black people are nearly four times more likely than white people to be arrested for cannabis possession, despite having the same consumption rates.

There are 24 states plus Washington, D.C. that have established expungement programs for those with marijuana-related drug offenses and criminal convictions.

• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Hawaii
• Illinois
• Massachusetts
• Maryland
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Montana
• North Dakota
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• Nevada
• New York
• Oregon
• Rhode Island
• Utah
• Virginia
• Vermont
• Washington

Other Criminal Justice Advocates in the Marijuana Industry

• https://drugpolicy.org/MJC
• https://www.aclu.org/issues/criminal-law-reform/drug-law-reform/marijuana-law-reform
• https://www.nacdl.org/Content/CannabisResources
• https://norml.org/
• https://equityorganization.org/about
• https://www.mpp.org/

Women: The Future of Cannabis

A 2020 study showed that women held nearly 30 percent of executive-level positions within the cannabis industry. For perspective, the national average of female leaders for other sectors in 2020 was 13 percent. However, the 2021 Women and Minorities in Cannabis report showed that the number dwindled even further down to 22 percent of female executives within a cannabis business.

Considering the national average is now 30 percent for most U.S. businesses, that’s a disturbingly low percentage. Despite these figures, it’s essential to recognize that many female founders and leaders are currently in control of some of the most influential cannabis companies in the nation.

How does The Last Prisoner Project relate to the legalization and revenue of marijuana in New York?

The Last Prisoner Project is closely tied to the legalization and revenue of marijuana in New York. With the potential for ny marijuana revenue over a billion, the project aims to address the inequities in the criminal justice system related to past cannabis convictions, and ensure that those affected are able to benefit from the industry’s growth.

The Impact of 420 on Cannabis Reform

April 20 has become an international holiday in many locations and one of the largest gatherings for weed other than the Cannabis Cup. It’s a day that marijuana lovers can gather to celebrate and consume cannabis, and that ritual spread further each year.

Many events double as political rallies to advocate for the decriminalization and legalization of cannabis. 

• Of Seattle’s Hempfest, Vivian McPeak states that April 20 is “half celebration and half call to action.” 
• Paul Birch called it an unstoppable global movement.
• Steve DeAngelo, the founder of California’s Harborside Health Center, stated that “even if our activist work were complete, 420 morphs from a statement of conscience to a celebration of acceptance, a celebration of victory, a celebration of our amazing connection with this plant.”

How Can We Help?

We may be on the brink of post-prohibition as a global collective, but more profound acceptance and understanding will be necessary for ultimate societal normalization.
While decriminalizing marijuana may be a great step towards reform, there is still a significant overflow of adverse prohibition effects on society.

It is in the best interest of future customers and minority communities if we develop and implement specific regulations on the cannabis industry and offer expungement opportunities for those most affected by the war on drugs.

Contacting your local and statewide leadership, or finding an organization such as The Last Prisoner Project to participate in or donate to, are ways that you can get involved. Check back with Leafy Mate for the latest developments on cannabis legalization and reform efforts in prisons worldwide.