New bill says small U.S. cannabis companies can sell directly to consumers

A bill introduced Wednesday in the U.S. House of Representatives would allow small cannabis growers and producers to sell directly to customers, which could give them a boost when competing with larger companies. Rep. Jared Hoffman, a California Democrat, is leading the legislation, called the Small and Homestead Producers (SHIP) Act. The bill, co-sponsored by Democratic Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, would only take effect after marijuana is legalized at the federal level. The bill defines a small grower as any person who grows up to one acre of marijuana outdoors, up to 22,000 square feet in a greenhouse or up to 5,000 square feet indoors. A small manufacturer is defined as a business that produces an ointment, tincture, food or concentrate and has annual gross revenues of less than $5 million. Under the bill, growers can use the postal service or other private or commercial interstate carriers to send their products.

Information source: mjbizdaily.com/