Last year, Canopy Growth began to lobby in the United States, both at the state and federal levels, as first reported by Cannabis Wire. Now, that lobbying footprint is expanding.
While the cannabis company, one of the largest in the world, is based in Canada, some of its interests stateside are clear. Last year, Canopy Growth announced that it would establish its US hemp and CBD headquarters in upstate New York. Also last year, the company announced it would acquire US multistate cannabis operator Acreage Holdings (with the deal set to close once federal law in the US allows for it).
When Cannabis Wire dug in on Canopy’s state-level lobbying activities last year, we found the company in New York, Illinois, and Pennsylvania.
Now, we have found that the company is also active in California, Colorado, and Texas.
In California, the nation’s most populous state and largest cannabis market, the company hired Platinum Advisors, which has also lobbied for the company at the federal level. Canopy specifically focused on AB 228, a state bill that would allow cannabinoids from hemp, like CBD, in “food, beverage, or cosmetic” products.
As Cannabis Wire first-reported, Canopy is now registered to lobby in Texas, the second most populous state in the nation, where two bills signed by Greg Abbott have expanded the state’s cannabis and hemp industries. In both Colorado and Texas, Canopy hired Vicente Sederberg, one of the first cannabis-focused firms of its kind.
Canopy did not respond to Cannabis Wire’s requests for comment by publication.
