An example of a big win in 2019 occurred when Illinois became the first state in the country to legalize recreational marijuana cultivation and sales through its Legislature.
But the news from New York and New Jersey was not as good, as those states did not move marijuana legalization forward.
California marijuana companies also struggled with a very challenging business and regulatory environment, and headlines around layoffs resulted.
The vape crisis also sent sales ripples across the industry, both in the U.S. and Canada.
MJBizDaily takeaway: Walsh made several predictions about what marijuana businesses around the world will watch for in 2020. They included:
- Potential state crackdowns around taxes, corruption and safety.
- Headwinds in some international markets – possibly Colombia and Latin America.
- The California market could get worse before it gets better.
- The Canadian market will stabilize before the end of the year.