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.
-
New Jersey’s Ill-Advised Rush to Implement Marijuana Regulations
The state should slow down and focus on a very basic framework.
-
South Dakota Officials Seek to Overturn Voter-Approved Marijuana Legalization
South Dakota should implement the new voter-approved marijuana laws with reasonable safeguards tailored to the needs of the state.
-
Montana Ballot Initiative Analysis: Amendment Cl-118 and Initiative I-190 (2020)
A voters guide to Amendment CI-118 and Initiative I-190, which would legalize the sale and use of recreational marijuana and create a taxation structure in the state.
-
Arizona Ballot Initiative Analysis: Proposition 207 (2020)
Arizona's Proposition 207 would legalize the possession, use and sale of recreational marijuana.
-
South Dakota Ballot Initiative Analysis: Amendment A
South Dakota's Amendment A would legalize marijuana for adults over the age of 21.
-
Oregon Ballot Initiative Analysis: Measure 110 (2020)
Oregon would become the first state in the nation to decriminalize all drugs if Measure 110 is approved.
-
New Jersey Ballot Initiative Analysis: Public Question 1 (2020)
New Jersey's Public Question 1 would legalize the possession and use of marijuana.
-
Watch Experts Evaluate the Various Approaches to Marijuana Taxation
A panel discussion on what states have done right and wrong as they've legalized and taxed marijuana.
-
Nevada Ballot Initiative Analysis: Question 6 (2020)
Nevada's Question 6 would double the state’s renewable portfolio standard to 50 percent by 2030.



