In case you haven't noticed, the legal cannabis industry is turning into a big-money business.
As recently as 2014, the global cannabis industry was just a seed that was beginning to find its roots. The duo of Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics notes that worldwide licensed-store sales (i.e., legal sales that don't include cannabinoid pharmaceutical sales and general store cannabidiol revenue) were "only" $3.4 billion in 2014.
“New Jersey is an exciting market for CB2; with over 50,000 active patients and growing across the state, and further advancements to the medical cannabis program to expand on indications and patient access, NJAM, who has already captured care of more than 25% of the market, will provide CB2 with a solid base of patients and revenue to capitalize on the growth this state will continue to see,” said Prad Sekar, CEO, CB2 Insights.
“We will also continue to operate three cultivation facilities, also the maximum that any one company is permitted to have. We are currently expanding our cultivation facility in Lincoln to 170,000 square feet, which is expected to be completed in Q4 and will provide us with a larger source for high-quality cannabis to brands serve the increase in demand expected in 2020.”
The market share leader in Illinois, Cresco Labs currently distributes its suite of wholesale brands to every retail dispensary in Illinois:
When New Jersey’s hopes of legal recreational cannabis were squashed in March, the state vowed to expand its medical marijuana program.
Lock your doors, shut your blinds and hide your kids. There’s a danger lurking about that’s menacing suburban, rural and urban communities alike: hypocritical politicians trying to get rich off the nation’s burgeoning marijuana industry.
Beware. The list is long and growing.
Cannabis stocks were mostly lower Monday, as investors digested the first reports from Friday’s regulatory hearing on cannabis and its ingredients and the news that Illinois is legalizing weed for adult recreational use.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration conducted its first-ever hearing on cannabis and its nonintoxicating ingredient CBD all day Friday with more than 100 speakers offering views, including researchers, health professionals, advocates, manufacturers and opponents.
Chemistree quickly moved to become a multi-state operator (MSO) by establishing the Sugarleaf brand in California through a strategic collaboration with a cannabis processing company in Humboldt County.
But the industry also has a dark side, according to Tilray (NASDAQ:TLRY) CEO Brendan Kennedy. In a telephone interview with MarketWatch, Kennedy suggested that marijuana companies essentially lied to investors, and each other, about how much cannabis they could produce to support inflated market valuations.
The 11th state to legalize recreational weed will be...
So, which state looks to have an inside track on becoming the 11th to legalize adult-use marijuana? Had you asked a few months ago, it looked to be a neck-and-neck battle between New Jersey and New York. Unfortunately, efforts to legalize marijuana in both states fell apart, and neither looks to be in a position to pass legislation anytime soon. Instead, the Land of Lincoln appears to be in the pole position to become the 11th recreationally legalized state.
The primary catalyst for Canopy stock's rise last month was the company's announcement on April 18 that it was buying the rights to acquire Acreage Holdings (NASDAQOTH:ACRGF), a U.S.-based cannabis producer. The deal involves Canopy paying $300 million up front for the right to acquire Acreage for $3.4 billion if and when the U.S. federal government legalizes marijuana.