By Kristopher Krane, 4Front Advisors (AZ)

I’m running for the board of NCIA because I’ve spent my entire career working to bring about an end to cannabis prohibition and to help shepherd a new cannabis industry based on reason, compassion, and sound business practices. For over ten years I worked as an advocate for change on this issue. Starting as a college student when I helped found Students for Sensible Drug Policy, I dedicated my work to this cause, going on to serve as Associate Director of NORML and later as executive director of SSDP.

Unlike many who were motivated to get involved in the cannabis industry strictly by the prospect of making money, I chose to move from advocacy to industry because I saw the influence that private enterprise was having on changing public perception about cannabis and cannabis distribution. When cannabis businesses are well run, they change stereotypes of what cannabis and cannabis distribution can and should look like.

My motivation for forming 4Front Advisors was to enable as many dedicated professionals as possible to open retail facilities that their communities could be proud of. We’ve worked tirelessly to develop best practices and standards that are unmatched in the industry today in furtherance of this goal.

In my work at 4Front Advisors I’ve had the opportunity to assist clients in numerous states around the country, including Arizona, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Nevada, Rhode Island, and Washington, D.C.  As such, I have a breadth of understanding of the issues and challenges that cannabis business owners face in different regulatory environments that goes beyond your average cannabis industry entrepreneur.

Having served as a Congressional lobbyist, non-profit executive, and now leader of a major cannabis industry consulting firm, I hope to bring the skills that I have acquired to NCIA to help further the organization’s goals. As a board member, I plan to work closely with NCIA staff and board, many of whom I have known and worked closely with for years, to advocate changes to banking, taxes, state cannabis laws, and eventually an end to prohibition. I would be honored to have your vote.

See the full Board of Directors Voter Guide here.