Geoffrey Lawrence is a senior policy fellow at Reason Foundation.
Lawrence has broad experience as a financial executive in the public and private sectors and a decade as a think tank analyst. Lawrence was previously Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer at Players Network, Inc, the first fully-reporting, publicly-traded marijuana company to be listed on a U.S. exchange. Lawrence oversaw all aspects of compliance with state and local laws and regulations for the licensed cultivation operations across two states.
Prior to that, Lawrence served as the senior appointee to the Nevada State Controller’s Office., where he oversaw external financial reporting, covering nearly $10 billion in annual transactions, on behalf of the state. During each year of Lawrence’s tenure, the state received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Award from the Government Finance Officers’ Association.
Lawrence spent a decade developing market-based solutions to challenges facing state governments while working at the Nevada Policy Research Institute and, previously, the John Locke Foundation in North Carolina. Lawrence has also written for the Cato Institute and the Heritage Foundation, with particular expertise in state budgets and labor economics.
Lawrence holds an M.A. in international economics from American University in Washington, D.C., an M.S. and a B.S. in accounting from Western Governors University, and a B.A. in international relations from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.
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Economic Shutdowns Pose Serious Risk to Human Welfare Across the Globe
A global collapse in economic production could expose untold millions of people to conditions of extreme poverty.
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Examining COVID-19 Shutdowns and Economic Tipping Points As Unemployment Skyrockets and Supply Chains Are Broken
At some point, the shutdowns won’t be temporary because supply chains will be broken and businesses will be permanently destroyed.
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Be Worried About the Economic Costs COVID-19 and Shutdowns Are Having on Workers and Small Businesses
It’s very plausible that the coronavirus pandemic could trigger a global depression.
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Governments Eliminate Burdensome Marijuana Regulations in Response to Coronavirus Crisis
Regulators have quickly enacted some changes that make it easier for medical patients and recreational consumers alike to purchase marijuana without coming into close contact with large groups of people.
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Illinois’ Legal Marijuana Shortage Will Continue Until Original Legislation Is Fixed
Since the state legislature chose to specify many details into statute rather than through rule-making, it will take additional legislative action to make the necessary corrections.
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Detroit Continues to Drag Its Feet on Legalized Marijuana
The Detroit City Council should lean heavily on the already extensive regulation developed by state authorities and seek to pass a simple regulatory framework to license adult-use marijuana.
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Marijuana Taxation and Black Market Crowd-Out
Tax rates that elevate the price of legal marijuana significantly above black market prices prolong the presence of illegal markets and reduce government tax receipts.
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Gov. Newsom’s Much-Needed Call to Simplify California’s Marijuana Taxes and Regulations
Reducing the regulatory burden would be a big step in the right direction. Next up: lowering cannabis taxes.
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LAO Report: California’s Taxes and Rules Mean Legal Marijuana Can’t Compete With Black Market Prices
"Even if the state eliminated its cannabis taxes entirely, other costs— such as regulatory compliance costs and local taxes—likely would keep legal cannabis prices higher than illicit market prices.”