A Federal Bill Would Permit Small Cannabis Growers to Sell to Customers Directly from States Apart.

by Therin Miller | September 23, 2022

According to Marijuana Moment, U.S. Representatives Jared Huffman (D-CA) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) submitted a bill on Wednesday to assist small-scale cannabis growers in competing with more established market participants by shipping and selling products directly to customers across state lines.

The Small and Homestead Independent Producers (SHIP) Act aims to ease worries that when the federal cannabis prohibition finally ends, the industry could easily — and to the detriment of small business owners — be consolidated under the multi-state operators that already control many of the state markets. Small producers may save money by dealing with merchants directly or allowing small-scale operators to use a direct-to-consumer business model.

Conforming to the legislation, "small cultivators of marijuana and small manufacturers of a marijuana product may ship and sell marijuana or a marijuana product to an individual located in that State or another State in which that individual's possession of marijuana or the marijuana product is lawful."

Operators with up to one acre of outdoor cannabis canopy, up to 22,000 square feet of cannabis canopy in a greenhouse, or up to 5,000 square feet of cannabis canopy indoors are considered modest farmers under the law. Those who produce manufactured cannabis goods like salves, tinctures, edibles, or concentrates on a small scale are those whose gross yearly income is less than $5,000,000.