Yes to Cannabis! Just Not in My Backyard: An Analysis of Odor-Based Claims in the Cannabis Industry

Cannabis cultivation has had a significant and often transformative impact on the local economies and communities where it is grown. Cannabis has become a multibillion-dollar industry, which is projected to continue to expand as more jurisdictions fully legalize cannabis. By way of example, industrial hemp—which the 2018 Farm Bill removed from the Controlled Substances Act—was grown on approximately 511,442 acres in 2019, representing a 455 percent increase over 2018.¹ Though the coronavirus pandemic may curtail some of the growth projections for the industry in the short term, states like California, Michigan, Oregon, and Pennsylvania identified cannabis dispensaries as “essential businesses,” allowing sales to continue notwithstanding the lockdowns.²