Why Every State Needs a Cannabis Ombudsman

As more states legalize cannabis, patient advocates across the country are asking the same question: who is actually protecting and representing consumers once legalization arrives?

In Connecticut, Erin Kirk has become one answer to that question. As the state’s Cannabis Ombudsman, Kirk works directly with patients, regulators, legislators, cultivators, pharmacists, providers, and consumers to help people navigate Connecticut’s cannabis system while advocating for stronger patient protections and smarter policy. An ombudsman is an independent, neutral official who investigates complaints, mediates conflict, and aids resolutions between individuals and organizations, such as government agencies, corporations, or universities. Derived from a Swedish term meaning “representative,” they focus on ensuring fairness, accountability, and proper administrative conduct without representing either side

As part advocate, part educator, and part legislative liaison, Kirk occupies one of the most unique roles in the American cannabis industry.

We spoke with Kirk about legalization, hemp regulation, patient access, rescheduling, and why she believes cannabis systems fail when patients become an afterthought.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

Cannabis & Tech Today: From your perspective, where are we now in the broader legalization movement? What lessons have we learned along the way?

Erin Kirk: I think we learned that the war on drugs was a joke and failure. The rescheduling and the descheduling and the legalization and the disparate state regulations goes back to what we used to say in the olden days: plant free the people. If it had been descheduled, there’d be a lot more small businesses. There’d be farm-to-table. There’d be neighborhoods. There’d be people that had been impacted [by the War on Drugs] able to just do it without going through regulatory and licensing issues.

We decided we were going to make this plant illegal. And so, I think we’ve learned that that didn’t work. We look at these European nations, we look at island nations that are changing. We look at Israel with incredible research. We look at Brazil doing shipments to Switzerland. It’s a global trade and we should be ready for the international aspect.

C&T Today: You’ve been outspoken about the proposed federal hemp ban. What do you feel like the potential impacts are going to be, particularly for consumers and small businesses?

EK: I think it’s devastating, and I think we’re throwing the baby out with the bathwater. I have spoken up and down the East Coast about gas station garbage, anything that appeals to kids and the nonsense sold in smoke shops. But hemp is a legitimate business. In the state of Maryland, you had to grow hemp until the 18 hundreds or you were fined.

Hemp was used in healthcare, it was used in sales and the making of maritime elements. It’s really detrimental to patients and small businesses who have already taken hits up and down because of changing regulations. And it’s just absurd to me that we’ve decided we’re going to now say that it’s not just the plant itself [that gets banned]. They’re literally saying you can’t have seeds. I’ve got people posting on LinkedIn saying, I’m sending my seeds overseas. I get at least five patients, maybe more a month, who call me as the cannabis ombudsman, understanding that hemp is a plant of the same genus and that this is a medicine as well.

They say, ‘Where has it gone? I can’t get my CBD-THC ratios. I can’t get any CBD. [There was a] father calling me. He’s got a five-year-old with intractable epilepsy. The child was having five to six petite mals a day and six grand mals a week. After taking a drop of this [hemp] tincture, the child had no petite mals and one grand mal every six weeks. But, the company won’t make it anymore because there’s no ROI. To take that away from patients…it breaks my heart.

C&T Today: There’s been so much debate around rescheduling and descheduling. What do you see as the biggest advantages and potential drawbacks?

EK: A lot of communities don’t trust the government. So I think there will be some issues with the government taking over cannabis. And these would include disproportionately impacted communities, caregivers, and providers. I do think it’s rough when you figure out is the DEA going to handle this. Is it going to become pharmaceuticalized? Is it going to only come in pill form?

I think rescheduling is great for banking, great for insurance. I think it’ll do a lot for people being able to have better transfers, get more financing. A lot of the friends that I work with here haven’t been able to get bank loans. One of the big media companies just announced today on LinkedIn, that Chase Bank after three years closed them down. We’re still having that stigma. And that guy is not a cannabis operator, he’s a media company.

I think rescheduling does show that cannabis has medical value. I want the state programs to be able to continue because I think we understand our locales, we understand our individuals.

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C&T Today: Many people still don’t fully understand what a cannabis ombudsman actually does. What does the role look like in practice?

EK: Ombudsman is a Scandinavian word for advocate. You’re supposed to assist patients and help folks navigate bureaucracy, help with complaints, give power to their voices. We bring as many people as we can in front of their legislators and empower them. In my particular role, there are statutory requirements, some of which include lobbying our legislators by bringing forth stories and by bringing patients to testify and submitting testimony and giving data and suggesting legislation, all of which we’ve done. Most of those that call my office are in the age of 60, they have trouble navigating the system.

I get a lot of calls from people who say, ‘I got my card, but I have no idea what to do.’  We help patients in a myriad ways. We make sure they get their medicine. We have it delivered to them. We bring in folks to help in any way they need. You can’t just open adult use and leave your patients behind. And when your medical patients constitute only a small group, the manufacturers aren’t going to make for them.They’re going to make for the limit and so patients are therefore losing the medicine they’ve gotten used to. You have the opportunity to put [an ombudsman] office in at the same time you open your adult use.

The Ombudsman does everything from lobby the legislators who work with the regulators, take in complaints, speak to certifiers, providers, pharmacists, and make sure people can get their cards easily. Here in Connecticut, we’ve gotten rid of the state fee. And last year one of the cool things we got was a two year extension, so now you can have a two year medical card, which is wonderful for patients who have trouble with mobility such as elderly folks. Yes, there’s public policy and our Department of Consumer protection, but they get overwhelmed sometimes. So let an ombudsman help, let them take stuff off their plate.

They’re doing so much else and they’re doing it wonderfully and well. They can’t do everything. So I’m here. And I think they should do that in other states. It’s a lot of outreach, it’s a lot of networking, it’s a lot of educating, and it’s so rewarding.

C&T Today: For consumers, advocates, and entrepreneurs who care about the future of cannabis policy, what’s the most effective way to stay involved?

EK: People can get involved. They don’t think they can. They should. I really encourage people to speak out and submit testimony. It’s so easy. I have a sheet on how to get involved that I pass to anybody that wants it. It has links to all the different ways you can submit testimony in person or written. And then you have to have your ten second, not thirty second, your ten second pitch ready to go. And I’m telling you, friends of mine have gotten legislation [enacted]. Research, research, research. Go to events. You can meet all these different people.

You’ll see different events you go to where people that own businesses speak and you’ll learn which part of the business you want to get in. Reach out to people, ask a lot of questions. Radical collaboration is key, it is the way. I know everybody from the plug to the president and it’s the only way to operate. You’ve got to be able to work with everybody. Don’t be a jerks.Crabs in a barrel are not cool. You are getting out, don’t be pulling somebody down because they’re getting out. Throw them up, lift them up, and then tell them, ‘Come back and get me.’

If you don’t have a seat at the table, don’t even bring a chair anymore. Bring your own damn table.