Interstate Cannabis Compacts: The Road to a Regional Legal Cannabis Economy

restricts, in theory, interstate cannabis commerce. 6 All cannabis (in all forms) consumed in a state must be produced in the state. 7ongressional cannabis legalization is the ideal response to Americans' growing desire for cannabis.This is because the Constitution primarily conceives of the federal government as regulating interstate commerce. 8However, the Constitution permits interstate commerce regulation by the states via interstate compacts. 9Today's Congress is inefficient 10 and struggles to pass legislation to keep the government afloat. 11Despite shifting public opinion on the issue, 12 anyone holding their breath for Congress to legalize cannabis will die waiting.Consequently, this Essay argues that interstate compacts can usher in, at the very least, regional cannabis legalization and all the advantages of interstate commerce that come with it.There is a desire for interstate collaboration.New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania held a summit on cannabis legalization in October 2019 (notably before the COVID-19 pandemic captured government attention). 13 In 2019, partisan control of state legislatures) (showing since 2002, California has had a Democratic legislature and Missouri has had a Republican legislature).6. See 21 U.S.C. 801(3)-(7) (Congressional findings about controlled substances affecting interstate commerce); 21 U.S.C. 812(c)(c)(10) (listing "marihuana" as a Schedule I drug).7.