The cannabis industry is awaiting a legal green light, but can businesses survive?

Legal gray area surrounding the drug makes it difficult to prepare next steps, with rescheduling a perpetual threat

The Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference, which took place in downtown Chicago last week, revealed an industry tensely awaiting legal legitimacy.

At first glance, it looked like any other business conference. Men, many in formal business suits, outnumbered women. The exhibition hall was completely devoid of skunk-y smells and a free T-shirt or tote bag was easier to come by than a joint.

Many attendees were accustomed to corporate culture before getting into cannabis, with backgrounds in the alcohol industry, the medical industry or law. Many CEOs of cannabis companies told the Guardian they’d never actually tried cannabis before working with it.

Between discussions about taxes and lobbying, panelists occasionally acknowledged the hundreds of thousands of people who have been incarcerated for taking part in the illegal cannabis industry, people who would never get to participate in a conference like this one.

Most conversations revolved around the difficulties of sustaining a business in a legal gray area.

“Our stock is a risky stock by definition of investment purposes, because our industry is new,” said Robert Beasley, CEO of Cansortium, Inc., a publicly traded cannabis company that operates in Florida, Pennsylvania and Texas. [Read More @ The Guardian]