If marijuana is descheduled, retailers will be ready to offer cannabis for sale alongside tobacco products.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – If the federal government ends up descheduling cannabis, convenience stores are ready and willing to start selling marijuana alongside tobacco products, The Street/Real Money reports.
“The idea is that you want to have a level playing field for selling legal products. What we are looking at is, if there is a legal framework, how there could be a situation for those that want to sell, and that they will be able to sell it legally,” said Jeff Lenard, vice president of strategic industry initiatives at NACS.
If that happens, the federal government would likely regulate the marijuana industry much like it does tobacco and alcohol. “We’ve got years of experience checking IDs for alcohol and tobacco already,” Lenard said. “This is just another product along those lines.”
Mark Singleton, owner of Singleton Investments, said such a move would be the death blow for cannabis dispensaries. Federal regulation of marijuana “will kill dispensaries,” he said. “And the cannabis industry is either unaware of it or in denial.”
Meanwhile, Kroger is adding CBD products in nearly a thousand locations, CNBC reports. The supermarket chain joins CVS, GNC, Walgreens and Vitamin Shoppe as retailers with CBD products for sale.
Kroger will offer hemp-derived CBD topical items in 17 states. “Like many retailers, we are starting to offer our customers a highly curated selection of topical products like lotions, balms, oils and creams that are infused with hemp-derived CBD,” said Kroger spokeswoman said.
NACS has prepared a fact sheet (for members only) to help you navigate what’s legal and what’s not for CBD retailing. Don’t miss the just-added Federal Cannabis Legislation Tracker covering bills that have been introduced in Congress in 2019 pertaining to marijuana legalization that may affect retailers.
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