ST. LOUIS — Michael Correia, a D.C.-based lobbyist with the National Cannabis Industry Association, had a thing or two to say about the front page of USA TODAY when he spoke to several hundred members of Missouri's emerging medical marijuana industry Monday.

The newspaper's Monday print edition carried a prominent headline on the story: "High risks: As marijuana gains acceptance, opponents point to its dark side."

"It’s amazing today that in 2019, people are still talking about the high risk associated with marijuana," Correia told the approving crowd.

He went on to tell an anecdote about a fellow parent at his child's school, who referred to the aroma of marijuana as "the smell of failure."

"Do you feel like failures?" he asked the crowd. "To me, there’s still that mindset, that this is bad and that’s still out here."

Then, he gave the crowd an overview of cannabis dynamics on the federal level and told Missouri's would-be marijuana entrepreneurs about his industry group's plans for more marijuana reform, particularly when it comes to banking and tax issues.

"We care about legalization," Correia said. "That’s the light at the end of the tunnel."

The 8-year-old national association now counts 2,000 marijuana-industry members, and, Correia said, politicians who once shunned the cannabis industry are now seeking its endorsements and campaign donations.

President Donald Trump, he said, appears to be eyeing the issue with a view toward his 2020 re-election prospects.

"I know they’re thinking of 2020," Correia said. "I know they’re thinking of the road map. Michigan (which was key to Trump's 2016 victory) is an important state that just passed legalization."

Recently, the lobbyist said, a Republican legislator told him privately that the lawmaker would have done more to advocate against marijuana reform, but he felt pressure "from the White House and above" to hold back.

Could Congress pass some version of the STATES Act, a bipartisan bill introduced last year that would allow states to make their own marijuana laws? Could the feds even legalize?

"I think stranger things could happen," Correia said. Congress, he said, lags three to five years behind public opinion.

"Congress does two things well: nothing and then overreacting," he said. "Right now, Congress is doing nothing on cannabis, until they need to."

With the Republican Party in control of the U.S. House from 2011 until early this year, Correia said it was difficult to get traction on any pro-marijuana bills.

He believes that changed when Democrats won a 235-seat majority last fall. On Feb. 13, the House Financial Services Committee, chaired by California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters, held a hearing on the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act.

Thus far, banks generally won't touch any business activity tied to cannabis, and sometimes even CBD, for fear of getting into money-laundering trouble for violating federal marijuana laws.

The lobbyists are also moving to get Congress to allow marijuana-related businesses to take advantage of tax breaks that other businesses may already use, Correia said.

"If you’re touching the plant, and you're a small business and paying this tax (without any tax breaks), it is very hard to make money," Correia told the audience, many of whom hope to make money through some type of activity tied to Missouri's emerging marijuana market.

"At the end of the day, it is something that will affect your bottom line."

The cannabis association tried to get some marijuana-related tax reform into Trump's 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act but wasn't successful. But the future could play out differently.

He said his group's political action committee donated to GOP politicians in the 2018 election cycle, to no avail, other than a hemp provision inserted into last year's farm bill.

"After a while of them doing nothing, I just said (expletive redacted)," Correia said. "It's time, they're not helping issues. They've had five years to come around to our issue."

So the cannabis lobby spent its PAC money on Democratic candidates challenging about 30 "vulnerable" Republicans. About 20 of those Dems won their races last November. Correia thinks cannabis is one reason why the U.S. House flipped.

Correia said "90 percent" of Americans accept or support medical marijuana. "It's sort of like the 4th of July and puppies, everyone loves it."

He believes that the issue is increasingly less partisan than it is generational. Still, he said, cannabis reforms could make it through a "progressive" Democratic-led House, then stall in a "reactionary" Republican-led Senate.

Getting reform bills to the president's desk would be "really tough," but, he said again, "stranger things have happened."