This article was originally published on Hoban rights groupand appears here with permission.

Federalizing marijuana will change the landscape of the localized marijuana industry and will be the next development in the legal marijuana space. Federal legalization will certainly provide marijuana entrepreneurs with more basic business tools like banking, access to state loans and grants, interstate commerce, and so on. But what other implications will federal legalization bring? How will your current localized industry adapt? Or the question is, can it adapt?

The marijuana industry has been a major economic driver in every state that has embraced the creation of a legalized licensed marijuana market. As the industry continues to transform into a legitimate and significant economic influence, it brings with it an increase in work for subcontractors. When it comes to federal legalization, it’s important to communicate to your state legislators the importance of creating a legalized system that protects the local small marijuana entrepreneurs who pioneered it. Federal legalization means the risk that kept big corporations out of the market is gone. It was the same risk that allowed small business owners to get into the marijuana space and successfully launch their businesses with capital drawn from their personal wealth (retirement accounts, home equity loans, and savings for the most part). Banks generally don’t lend to marijuana businesses, so the businesses that now exist under the state licensing system are primarily self-funding. It’s a pretty scary concept to come to terms with as the owner of a small state-licensed marijuana business got to. Once federal legalization ensues, the competitive field suddenly becomes a lot bigger and your competitors’ pockets get a lot deeper.

Federal legalization of marijuana

Personally, I think it’s clear that federal legalization is right around the corner…