Legal challenges for the cannabis industry

Purpose The purpose of this paper to examine laws and regulations applicable to cannabis in the USA and the UK, including legal reforms and international treaty obligations. Design/methodology/approach This study relies on primary data from statutes and secondary data from online and offline resources, including relevant case studies. Findings Federal laws in the USA and existing UK cannabis legal regime generally prohibit recreational use of cannabis. Increasingly, various individual states in the USA have enabled the use of cannabis health-related uses, thereby challenging the status of the UN treaties on drug enforcement. As the USA struggles to reconcile the conflicts between federal law on cannabis and individual states within its borders, much of the rest of the world, including the UK, are struggling with how best to reconcile their domestic positions with their UN treaty obligations. Social implications Recent disclosures of past recreational use of prohibited drugs by several candidates vying to be the UK Prime Minister suggests why understanding the laws governing the use of cannabis is useful and relevant to the general public. Originality/value This paper provides a general but integrated review of national laws in the USA and the UK, as well as international treaties governing the use of cannabis.