By Michael Solomon, Forbes on December 22, 2022

The cannabis industry had high hopes for 2022. When the year began, 18 states had legalized recreational marijuana with 37 allowing medical use—and several more were expected to follow.

And while three states legalized recreational use this year—Maryland, Missouri, and Rhode Island—the federal government did nothing to ease the punitive banking and tax policies that have crippled small entrepreneurs and publicly-held cannabis companies alike.

Some states were also part of the problem. In February, Forbes’ Will Yakowicz reported on how New York City had become the Wild West of Weed thanks to a legal loophole in the Empire State that allowed unlicensed dispensaries to flourish as long as they operated under a membership or “gifting” model. By December, New York’s new mayor, Eric Adams, had pledged to snuff out the countless gray market shops that were openly selling weed across the five boroughs, including in Times Square itself.

– Read the entire article at Forbes.