The Problems and Solutions of Shipping Cannabis Products

The legal cannabis market is expected to grow from $52 million in 2018 to $1.2 billion in 2027. This growth is due to more states legalizing recreational cannabis, allowing more Americans to have legal access to it.

Yet, if you are contemplating starting a cannabis business, there are still many hoops you’ll have to jump through. One of the most important factors you’ll have to consider is how you’ll get your cannabis products to your customers.

If your store will also have an online presence, learning about shipping cannabis is essential.

While this may seem confusing at first, we’ve got you covered. Keep reading below to get started.

The Legality of Cannabis

The number one issue with shipping cannabis is its present legal status. While state and local regulations are constantly changing, the federal laws have barely budged.

Marijuana and hemp have different legal situations, which also means different shipping laws. Marijuana, which is cannabis that has more than 0.3% THC content, is illegal at a federal level. This includes medicinal or recreational.

Industrial hemp, which is cannabis with less than 0.3% THC content, is legal at a federal level. You’ve most likely seen hemp products in grocery stores, malls, and pharmacies, with products ranging from lotions, to iced teas, to shoes.

State and Local Regulations Don’t Match

While the federal laws are pretty consistent, state and local regulations are constantly changing and hardly ever match. While you’re looking for the rules of cannabis shipping, you cannot forget to consider your state and local regulations.

For example, while California the state has legalized both medicinal and recreational marijuana, many local regulations forbid commercial cannabis activities. Or, they may only allow storefront businesses to deliver, not just online businesses.

Along with this, even if two states next to each other have legalized marijuana, this does not automatically mean you can ship between the two. In fact, this is almost always illegal.

Is Shipping Cannabis Possible?

So, with all these varying rules and laws, can you ship cannabis? The answer is both yes, and no.

Cannabis shipping regulations allow you to ship hemp-derived products with less than 0.3% THC content. Anything over that is forbidden, so you cannot ship marijuana products, no matter what type of shipping service you try to use.

If you were to try to ship raw hemp in plant form, you’d need to be pre-approved as a contractural service that operates in the United States. Other forms of hemp, such as CBD products, can be shipped but must abide by all packaging regulations and federal and state laws that it will be traveling through.

So, while you can ship cannabis, there are many regulations and laws you must follow.

Learn Your Current Cannabis Laws

Because cannabis is a brand new industry, there are a lot of aspects that are a bit confusing to understand. Shipping cannabis is certainly one of them, but you have many options that you can use to make it work for you.

For instance, perhaps you’ll choose to ship only CBD products but will sell marijuana products in a storefront property. Just because it is more complicated does not make it impossible.

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