ABSTRACT
This chapter breaks down into categories the different approaches states have taken to regulating cannabis. There is a wide range of legal regimes amongst the states; some states, like California and Colorado, have legalized both adult-use and medical cannabis and have set up complex licensing regimes, while other states, like South Dakota, do not permit any kind of cannabis business activity, whether adult-use or medical. This chapter will focus on the categorization of states from the perspective of a business – what possibilities exist in each jurisdiction for commercial cannabis activity – and does not address the parallel phenomenon of decriminalization.
