WeedLife News Network

Global cannabis sales are expected to surge 38% to $20.4 billion this year despite the coronavirus-induced recession, according to new research from Arcview Group. 

The market research company released the 8th edition of its The State of Legal Cannabis Markets report this week, which also predicted sales will climb to a whopping $46.8 billion in 2025. 

Other highlights from the report include insights and statistics on both new and established legal cannabis markets in the U.S.

The Garden State will be facing a budget shortfall through the end of the next fiscal year as a result of the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Can marijuana legalization help?

Registered voters in New Jersey are expected to vote in favor of adult-use marijuana legalization in November — but uncertainty surrounds the pending legislation.

“Cannabis advocates looking forward to creating an adult use regulated and taxed cannabis marketplace have reason to be cautiously optimistic as we approach the consideration of the issue in the form of a public question on the ballot for the voters in November,” says Charles Gormally, co-chair of the Brach Eichler LLC cannabis practice group.

Early polling has shown consistent support for the question. Nevertheless, Gormally said he expects to see a large influx of pro- and anti-pot advocacy on the question in the months leading to the election itself.

“Since the early 1970s, we have created a significant number of stake holders in the failed cannabis prohibition regime that continues to dominate federal and state law enforcement interest groups,” he says. “In addition, advocacy groups touting the false narrative of cannabis as a ‘dangerous gateway drug’ are well financed and powerful forces that oppose cannabis law modernization.”

California was the first state to pass legislation for medical marijuana, and it was among the first to generate a legal adult-use weed industry. After just two years of operation, the recreational dispensaries have generated over $1 billion in tax revenue, which has gone to fund childcare and anti-drug programs for the state’s youth, environmental initiatives like park maintenance and wildland restoration and public safety grants for local police and fire departments. It is amazing to see so many good things come from the simple act of legalizing marijuana.

Unfortunately, California’s tax revenues could be much higher and the benefits of legal weed greater — if only it could get a handle on its thriving cannabis black market. Currently, California’s black market for weed is more profitable than its legal one. Read on to learn more about why people are opting for illegal purchases over legal ones and what the state can do to change it.

Taxes Are Prohibitively High

Almost across the board, states with legal adult-use cannabis tax the stuff at an alarming rate. The high taxes on recreational weed serve a few purposes. First, high taxes tend to financially limit how much product a single user can accrue, which seems like an effective way to keep marijuana use in check. More importantly, however, tax revenue is one of the most compelling reasons to legalize marijuana, and it is one that pro-weed advocates tend to harp on. Thus, when cannabis does gain adult-use regulations within a state, lawmakers aren’t afraid to jack the taxes up sky-high.

California piles layer after layer of taxes upon recreational marijuana:

·       State taxation. At the state level, California charges cultivators $9.25 per ounce of flower, $2.75 per ounce of leaves and $1.29 of fresh plant material.

California was the first state to pass legislation for medical marijuana, and it was among the first to generate a legal adult-use weed industry. After just two years of operation, the recreational dispensaries have generated over $1 billion in tax revenue, which has gone to fund childcare and anti-drug programs for the state’s youth, environmental initiatives like park maintenance and wildland restoration and public safety grants for local police and fire departments. It is amazing to see so many good things come from the simple act of legalizing marijuana.

Ontarians shelled out almost $20 million in the first three months that edibles and other products in Canada's second wave of legalization were available for sale — and experts believe that number will only grow.

Cannabis vapes, topicals, concentrates and edibles such as gummies and chocolates hit store shelves in January with beverages following in March, but roughly $19.3 million worth of those products were sold in Ontario in the 12 months ending at March 2020.

The province's distributor, the Ontario Cannabis Store, said vapes were the most popular products in the second wave of legalization, known as Cannabis 2.0. About $14.8 million worth of vapes were sold in the first three months they were available.

Sales of edibles totalled $3.8 million, beverages reached $410,000, topicals hit $40,000 and concentrates amounted to $300,000 in the same period.

The data was revealed in a new report the OCS published this week to offer a glimpse at the country's first full year of legal cannabis operations, which saw 35 tonnes or $385 million worth of cannabis sold during that time.

Traffic searches, a longtime tool in the War on Drugs, dropped dramatically following marijuana legalization, new data reveals.

Two weeks have passed since George Floyd was killed while in the custody of Minneapolis police, sparking nationwide protests against police brutality and systemic injustice. National organizations and lawmakers have admitted that rolling back Drug War policies is an important step to fixing inequalities that exist in criminal justice.

Sen. Cory Booker noted racial imbalances in marijuana enforcement as just one explanation for the protests. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, meanwhile, described cannabis legalization as a “civil rights” issue.

That’s because, as data shows, legalizing marijuana changes the behavior of police departments. Colorado and Washington voters approved recreational cannabis in 2012 and a 2017 analysis by the Stanford Open Policing Project examined how this affected the focus of state police. Data shows that roadside searches dropped by nearly half post-legalization, with the most dramatic decrease occurring among Black and Hispanic drivers. In addition, Burlington police in Vermont released data last year that showed traffic searches dropped by 70% after the state legalized marijuana.

According to Stanford researchers, the threshold to pull over minority drivers is lower than it is for white drivers. Though traffic stops eventually dropped by more than 50% in both Colorado and Washington following legalization, that disparity between white and minority drivers remained.

One medical research team in Israel believes they have a small piece to the coronavirus puzzle. In an exclusive interview with The Fresh Toast, Dr. Igal Louria-Hayon, head of the Medical Cannabis Research and Innovation Center at the Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa, Israel, says the healing properties in cannabis may be able to help the body fight against COVID-19.

Announced in May, Dr. Louria-Hayon and his team of researchers announced they would begin a clinical trial in studying how cannabis aids in inflammation within the body and if that could decrease the effects of COVID-19. One of the main causes of death with the disease is “cytokines” — proteins that signal cells to turn on to fight — that are released, causing the body to react in uncontrollable ways against the virus. As a part of the body’s endocrine signal process, once cytokines are turned on past their maximum, the proteins become difficult to control and can cause a shockwave of effects, leading to death.

In some studies, cannabis was proven to help regulate inflammation and cytokines, offering better signalling to the body. The goal of the upcoming study is to “examine the receptors to which these substances bond, the cellular messages that are communicated and the extent to which cannabinoids reduce the inflammatory response.”

Especially important to note, Dr. Shlomit Yehudai-Reshef, director of the Rambam Medical Research Institute, shared that her team was able to identify a key method to understanding the virus and the human body’s subsequent reaction: white blood cells. “Despite the complexity and high risk, we found a safe way to separate the white blood cells, including the immune cells from verified patients,” explained Dr. Yehudai-Reshef, clarifying that when the cells were separated, they were easier to study and manipulate.

FILE: University of Lethbridge researcher Igor Kovalchuk is leading a study on medical cannabis as a potential therapy for COVID-19. / Photo: Supplied. Summited photo

Though California legalized marijuana to roll back unjust Drug War policies, cannabis taxes help fund police operations.

California Governor Gavin Newsom discussed during a press conference last week how the state plans to fix issues of systemic injustice and racism following widespread protests of police brutality. Newsom referenced California’s efforts to roll back the consequences and policies of the War on Drugs, including mandatory-minimum sentencing and the disparity between prosecuting crack vs. cocaine drug possession.

A major act of criminal justice reform, Newsom highlighted, was California legalizing recreational marijuana in recent years. The governor went so far as to describe legalization as a “civil rights” issue.

“That’s why the state was one of the early adopters of a new approach as it relates to cannabis reform—legalization around adult-use of marijuana,” Newsom said. “It was a civil rights call from our perspective.”

“I was proud to be out in front in those efforts,” he continued. “It was about addressing the disparities. It was about addressing incarceration. It was about addressing the ills of this war on drugs.”

The months of May and June have already shown a great amount of positive gains for many leading marijuana stocks. As we continue to traverse into the summer, it looks like these cannabis stock gains are becoming more and more consistent. There are several reasons as to why the cannabis industry is showing so much upward propensity right now. For one, the cannabis industry has recorded more percentage gains and on a more consistent basis than most other areas of the stock market. This has been one of the main reasons that so many investors are attracted to the cannabis industry.

On May 20, 2020, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) held a virtual listen and learn forum on 

When I was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon cancer, I decided to get my California medical cannabis card and used medicinal cannabis products for effective symptom management. This helped me avoid taking other pharmaceuticals that could have caused further complications during treatment. There are so many things I wish I would have known then that I know now, but my expertise today helps other patients make empowered choices about their cannabis use.

My first experience in a dispensary left me feeling as though I was doing something wrong and had me fearful of asking questions. When I did ask questions, I received vague answers. In turn, I made mistakes in my self-medication and, though not fatal, at times it was uncomfortable and inconvenient.

By using this powerful anti-inflammatory, a Philadelphia cannabis company believes it can mitigate the immune response triggered by COVID-19.

A Philadelphia cannabis firm has joined the race to create a COVID-19 cure using cannabinoids. FSD Pharma announced last week that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved the company’s application proposal to conduct clinical trials around the medicine. The treatment will use a drug called ultramicronized palmitoylethanolamid (or micro PEA) that includes synthetic molecules that mimic cannabinoids.

Micro PEA is a unique drug. It’s believed to act as an anti-inflammatory and promoted between 1969 and 1979 in former Czechoslovakia as treatment for influenza and the common cold. Clinical trials conducted at the time showed PEA was an effective prophylactic in respiratory infection, with no registered side effects. According to scientists behind the research, it could act as a quick therapeutic answer should a flu epidemic occur.

Today, the drug is promoted as a prescription nutraceutical in Italy and used to treat chronic inflammation. Pharmaceutical firm Epitech Group owned the rights to the drug and sold it under the names Normast and Pelvilen. Earlier this year, FSD, which is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, purchased the worldwide rights from Epitech for $17.5 million and re-branded it as FSD-201.

“We contacted the FDA in late-March 2020 after becoming aware that several Italian physicians and scientists were advocating for use of ultramicronized PEA for patients suffering from symptoms of COVID-19, based on the drug’s mechanism of action as a potent and safe anti-inflammatory agent that reduces the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines,” Philadelphia-based physician and FSD CEO Raza Bokhari said in a statement.

It all started with a bizarre, teasing tweet on June 6th, when billionaire Elon Musk told his 35 million Twitter followers: "This will probably get me into trouble, but I feel I have to say it."

Musk has been the target of much controversy in recent months, claiming his company Tesla's stock price were too high, calling shelter-in-place orders "fascist," and calling the panic over the pandemic "dumb." All of these proclamations have come via his Twitter feed, so when Musk again turned to the platform to warn that he might be stepping in it again, the Twitterverse wondered what he would say this time. 

Speculation was rampant. Will he announce the invention of wireless seatbelts? Are Tesla stockholders about to have another nervous breakdown? Will he be saying something about the Black Lives Matter movement?

No to all of the above. Turns out his big revelation the next day was perhaps the most sensical thing Musk has said in the last few months. 

Musk became another critic of the antiquated and unjust penal system that incarcerates innocent people for non-violent cannabis crimes. Far from getting him in trouble, his tweet evoked a plethora of praise. 

A group pushing to place a recreational marijuana amendment on the November ballot is breathing a sigh of relief following an Arkansas Supreme Court ruling allowing them to collect signatures electronically.

“People can go to our website, they can download the special signature page and then they can sign the petition and then they can mail it to us,” said Arkansans for Cannabis Reform Executive Director, Melissa Fults.

Fults said when the pandemic hit it put a dent on their efforts to gather signatures.

“We had just gotten money to hire paid canvassers like two weeks before all of this hit,” she said.

Part of their initiative would allow Arkansans over the age of 21 to purchase marijuana. It would also increase the number of dispensaries to 30 per congressional district, with at least one in each county. Dispensaries would be able to grow a minimum of 200 mature plants and 200 seedlings, versus the current 50 plant limit.

Mike Tyson is known as an eccentric guy. From youngest heavyweight boxing champion, to the guy who bit another guy’s ear off, to pro-wrestler, to author… Tyson has most recently styled himself as a businessman and an entrepreneur in the field of cannabis tourism. With the help of new regulation legalizing cannabis use in Antigua, Tyson is looking to set up his next Ranch in the Caribbean.

The recent outbreak of COVID-19 has exposed critical vulnerabilities in national governments and business operations around the world.

The virus is significantly disrupting supply chains and consumer habits on a global level that will reverberate across every industry in the coming months.

The aftershocks of the crisis could last for years.

While the legal cannabis industry is theoretically recession-resistant in the same way alcohol and pharmaceutical sales have been impervious to historical downturns, cultivators must take necessary measures to safeguard their long-term financial safety.

An Artificial Boost in Consumer Spending

The recent surge in consumer spending has resulted in an artificial sales boost, and dispensaries cannot expect this influx of profits to last.

The recent outbreak of COVID-19 has exposed critical vulnerabilities in national governments and business operations around the world.

The virus is significantly disrupting supply chains and consumer habits on a global level that will reverberate across every industry in the coming months.

The aftershocks of the crisis could last for years.

While the legal cannabis industry is theoretically recession-resistant in the same way alcohol and pharmaceutical sales have been impervious to historical downturns, cultivators must take necessary measures to safeguard their long-term financial safety.

An Artificial Boost in Consumer Spending

The recent surge in consumer spending has resulted in an artificial sales boost, and dispensaries cannot expect this influx of profits to last.

Donielle Paul BSN, RN follows Dr Ben Jansen along his 500-day journey prescribing medicinal cannabis in Australia.

Dr Ben Jansen’s mission is solid: ‘to do the right thing’. Although this is his third consecutive conference weekend away in a row, he knows that this Monday morning, with his appointment book full of hopeful patients curious to try medicinal cannabis, he’ll have the opportunity to help change a few more lives for the better. Mission almost complete…well, for this morning.

Travelling around the country breaking stigmas and providing education on medicinal cannabis to the medical sector is just a small part of Jansen’s overall mission.

A new study titled Systemic review of cannabis use and risk of occupational injury has found that adults who consume marijuana are no more likely to suffer injuries at work than are those employees who abstain from the substance. The study, conducted by researchers from the University of British Columbia, was published in the journal Substance Use and Misuse.

For the study researchers conducted a systematic review of scientific papers assessing any potential links between marijuana consumption and occupational accidents. They found that few studies “employed research designs that ensured that cannabis use preceded the occupational injury outcome.” Others failed to adequately assess or control for confounding variables, such as the concurrent use of alcohol or other psychoactive substances, as noted by NORML who first reported on the study.

Due to these limitations, authors concluded, “[T]he current body of evidence does not provide sufficient evidence to support the position that cannabis users are at increased risk of occupational injury.”

Their finding is consistent with that of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine which conducted its own literature review in 2017 and concluded, “There is no or insufficient evidence to support … a statistical association between cannabis use and … occupational accidents or injuries.”

“In recent months, lawmakers in several municipalities – including New York City, Richmond, Virginia, and Washington, DC – have enacted legislation limiting the use of marijuana-specific pre-employment drug screening”, states NORML. “Both Maine and Nevada have enacted state-specific legislation barring certain employers from refusing to hire a worker solely because he or she tested positive for cannabis on a pre-employment drug screen.”