Geoffrey Lawrence
Research Director, Reason Foundation
Geoffrey Lawrence is research director at Reason Foundation.
Lawrence has been a financial executive in both the public and private sectors and has served as chief financial officer of publicly traded, growth stage, and startup manufacturing and distribution companies. He was CFO of Players Network, the first fully reporting, publicly traded marijuana licensee to be listed on a U.S. exchange, CFO of C Quadrant, a startup manufacturer and distributor that was subsequently sold to Lowell Farms (LOWL), CFO of Apex Extractions, a manufacturer and distributor based in Oakland that he helped take public, and, most recently, CFO of Claybourne Co., a top-3 flower brand in California by market share. Through these roles, Lawrence raised capital, planned capital expenditure, prepared financial forecasts, implemented systems for accounting and inventory control, designed internal control processes, managed monthly and quarterly closings and reporting, managed compliance with state and local regulations, negotiated contracts, and prepared filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Lawrence also served as a senior appointee to the Nevada Controller’s Office, where he oversaw the state’s external financial reporting. Prior to joining Reason Foundation in 2018, Lawrence had also spent a decade as a policy analyst on labor, fiscal, and energy issues between North Carolina’s John Locke Foundation and the Nevada Policy Research Institute.
Lawrence is additionally the founder and president of an accounting and advisory firm with particular expertise in the licensed cannabis industry and public markets.
Lawrence holds an M.S. and B.S. in accounting from Western Governors University, an M.A. in international economics from American University, and a B.A. in international relations from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. He lives in Las Vegas with his wife and two children and enjoys baseball and mixed martial arts.
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How the FDA can safely approve a promising but controversial mental health drug
The FDA’s existing processes may be able to address the advisory committee’s worries about the previous tests.
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Marijuana rescheduling is good news, but California still needs to reduce state taxes and regulations
California lawmakers need to do their part by reducing taxes and unnecessary regulations on legal cannabis products.
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California should legalize psychedelics and learn from its marijuana regulation mistakes
The state’s high cannabis taxes and burdensome regulations make legal marijuana products expensive and keep the illicit market thriving.
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Ibogaine treatment for opioid use disorder
Policymakers should consider ibogaine as a potential alternative treatment for opioid use disorder.
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Florida’s attorney general challenges marijuana initiative with spurious arguments
Florida voters have the chance to vote on a marijuana ballot initiative, but Florida politicians are trying to keep that from happening.
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Survey shows stereotype of the lazy, lefty marijuana smoker doesn’t reflect reality
Marijuana users come from all different backgrounds and are not restricted to a particular political affiliation, education level, income bracket, career position, or location.
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A policy framework for personal psychedelics licenses
Psychedelic licenses for consumers have advantages over the current approach in two U.S. states that rely on professionals to dispense and facilitate services.
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The Breakthrough Therapies Act could spur research and improve access to life-saving drugs
The Breakthrough Therapies Act would pave the way for more accessible and innovative mental health treatments while also enabling state-level adaptation.
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Marijuana social equity programs should be redesigned to focus on restorative justice
Social equity should not simply be a false mantra for politically connected and well-capitalized opportunists to distort new marijuana markets or exploit the public purse.
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New study of psychedelic ibogaine could motivate policy reforms
A recent study could help remove barriers to the development of ibogaine as a promising treatment for opioid addiction.
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Wisconsin Republicans propose state marijuana monopoly
Wisconsin Republicans appear set to propose one of the most restrictive medical marijuana programs in the nation.
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Drug prohibition has failed, it is time to legalize drugs
A legal and regulated market for drugs—even hard drugs—could better address the underlying concerns of every relevant party in the drug debate.
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California law would create arbitrary and questionable bans for cannabis product labels
The bill passed by the state legislature and headed to Gov. Gavin Newsom would add to California's overregulation of legal marijuana products without resolving any problems.
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The long road to Kentucky’s limited medical marijuana legalization
Participants in the new Kentucky medical program will face limitations not typically found in most states, including a continued ban on smoking marijuana.
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That SAFE Banking Act for legal cannabis companies stalls in the Senate, again
The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act has been billed as the answer to banking woes for cannabis companies and a version of it has been introduced in every Congress since 2013.
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New Hampshire Gov. Sununu pushing state-run marijuana stores
A government monopoly not only violates the basic tenets of free enterprise, but it would also invite federal authorities to arrest state workers.
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Social equity programs are failing to help victims of the drug war
In many cases, the parties benefiting from social equity programs are wealthy, connected political insiders and large commercial cannabis companies.
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California’s social equity programs are failing victims of the drug war
California must remove regulatory barriers preventing people ensnared in the failed war on drugs from participating in the state’s legal marijuana market.