The Best State for a Marijuana Practice Is ...
New Jersey.
Wait, what? How could New Jersey be the best state to have a marijuana practice?
It's about the numbers. New Jersey handed out 10,000 new medical marijuana cards the first half of 2018, growing at about twice the rate from 2017. They don't call it the Garden State for nothing.
Growing the Industry
While lawyers have been chasing the marijuana market in states like Colorado, California, and Washington, New Jersey has gone through an especially interesting transformation.
Gov. Chris Christie tried to stamp out weed in New Jersey, but there's a new sheriff in town. Gov. Phil Murphy is keeping his campaign promise to grow the industry.
The Garden State, says Forbes writer Kris Kane, is now the place to be. He covers the cannabis industry, and says lawmakers there want it to happen.
He says the legislature will likely pass a bill this year that would make "New Jersey the first state legislature in the country to fully legalize cannabis for adults with a regulated market."
New Jersey and Illinois
Another front-runner is Illinois, says Kane. He says it has the same political landscape as New Jersey because the next governor-in-waiting has made legalization a key component of his campaign.
Of course, other states have legalized marijuana for medical or recreational use. That's why cannabis lawyers are already there.
But New Jersey and Illinois are now open for new business.
Related Resources:
- 7 Best FindLaw Writing Tips of 2018 (FindLaw's Strategist)
- Trial Lesson: Don't 'Pop the Corks' Too Early (FindLaw's Strategist)
- Mississippi's Billion Dollar Bench Trial (FindLaw's Strategist)