[5] However, cannabis companies have been a mixed investment success, with many experiencing plunging stock prices, massive layoffs, and failure to meet investor expectations.

[6] According to Maximum Yield:[7] ‘Green Rush′ is a term used to describe the burgeoning marijuana industry within the United States as well as Canada.

This applies to the growth and spread of dispensaries, the growing sales of smoking accessories, and things outside the world of cannabis culture, like marijuana related stocks and bonds, as well as trade shows and business convergences.

[9][17] 2023 Oklahoma State Question 820 was rejected by over 60% of voters, the largest margin of defeat for a legalization measure since the beginning of the green rush.

The licensing system is also designed to protect society from illicit acts such as selling cannabis to minors and money laundering.

[20][22] Upon voter-sanctioned legalization each jurisdiction has implemented its own unique systems for applicants seeking to open licensed cannabis businesses.

[28] In many cases cannabis stocks have fallen in price over 80% amidst massive layoffs and failure to meet investor expectations.

[30] The black market has created additional issues for cannabis regulators and legal businesses owners alike.

These illicit products led to the 2019–20 vaping lung illness outbreak which hospitalized many unwary consumers, including many minors, and in some cases resulted in permanent injuries and fatalities.

[33] While racial and economic minorities were often the most persecuted groups under prohibition, the primary make up of the marijuana industry leadership is white males, who compose over 70% of cannabis executives.

Commentators have claimed that by not allowing banking, the government has set the stage for money laundering and other forms of crime.

[36][37] Internal Revenue Code section 280e is a law created during the Reagan administration designed to prevent deductions of business exemptions for scheduled substances.

Because marijuana is still a Schedule 1 substance in the US, license holders have been subject to a higher tax burden than a normal business.