Cannabis industry

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The cannabis industry is composed of legal cultivators and producers, consumers, independent industrial standards bodies, ancillary products and services, regulators and researchers concerning cannabis and its industrial derivative, hemp. The cannabis industry has been inhibited by regulatory restrictions for most of recent history, but the legal market has emerged rapidly as more governments legalize medical and adult use. [1] [2] Uruguay became the first country to legalize recreational marijuana through legislation in December, 2013. [3] Canada became the first country to legalize private sales of recreational marijuana with Bill C-45 in 2018. [4] [5]

Contents

Market value

The world economic market has been broken down as follows, showing that the cannabis industry can be considered a multibillion-dollar component of a larger pharmaceutical industry. The exact value of cannabis sales worldwide remains unknown as the vast majority of the market remains illicit. With movement around legalisation of Cannabis, it is attracting more investments from alcohol and drug companies. [6]

MarketOrder-of-magnitude value
Drug Non-medical drug ("recreational")hundreds of billions
Medical leaf and flower tens of billions
Refined pharmaceuticalsBillions
Hemp food-fiber Oilseed hundreds of millions
Fiber tens of millions
Biomasshundreds of thousands
Other Phytoremediation tens of thousands
OrnamentalThousands
From Small (2016) [7]

United States

Marijuana (drug) sales in North America reached $6.7 billion in 2016, representing 30% growth year-over-year. [8] According to a report by university researcher Jon Gettman, cannabis is the United States' largest cash crop and "a pervasive and ineradicable part of the national economy". [9] [10] [11] A 2015 ArcView Group report stated that it was the fastest growing industry in the United States. [12] The industry in the United States is expected to grow from $2 billion in 2014 to as much as $10 billion in 2018, depending on legalization outcomes. [13] By one estimate the industry in the United States could be $35 billion in 2020. [14] The legal market is estimated to be more than $10 billion as of September 2020, [15] and a report by Morningstar predicts, "nearly 25% average annual growth for the U.S. recreational market and nearly 15% for the medical market through 2030." [16]

According to GQ magazine in mid-2017, it was the second largest cash crop in the U.S., after corn, and worth over $40 billion. [17]

The national (non-psychoactive) hemp market was $600 million in 2015, [18] : 3  Accurate predictions of potential future legal markets for hemp are deemed impossible to predict due to "the absence since the 1950s of any commercial and unrestricted hemp production in the United States". [18] : 7 

In a Huffington Post interview, Mark Kleiman, the "Pot Czar" of Washington state, said he was concerned that the National Cannabis Industry Association would favor profits over public health. He also said that it could become a predatory body like the lobbying arms of the tobacco and alcohol industries. Kleiman said: "The fact that the National Cannabis Industry Association has hired itself a K Street suit [lobbyist] is not a good sign." [19]

United States financial institutions, CPAs, and lawyers struggle with conflicting advice from NASBA and Treasury over their risks to provide services to the legal cannabis industry.[ citation needed ] The contradiction between the federal Controlled Substances Act and local or state legalization is called "the single most defining characteristic of the [cannabis] industry". [20]

Uruguay

Cannabis in Uruguay was legalized for adult use in December 2013. Sales of marijuana are regulated through government distribution with a state-mandated price of $1.30 per gram. [21] Access to marijuana is legal through four sources: medical marijuana through the Ministry of Health, home-grown marijuana, membership clubs, and sales to adults in drugstores. [21]

Canada

Canada became the second country to legalize cannabis for adult use on October 17, 2018 Cannabis in Canada. As of December 2017, there were 79 licensed marijuana producers in Canada with most concentrated in Ontario and British Columbia. According Deloitte, the base retail market is valued at $4.9-$8.7 billion annually. [22] Including ancillary opportunities, Deloitte estimates a market worth $12.7-$22.6 billion annually, demonstrating an upside of more than $20 billion. [22]

Ancillary products and services

The cannabis industry is supported by a network of ancillary products and services that do not "touch the plant". The most common ancillary services are professional services followed by information services, banking services, and security solutions. [23] Cultivation structures, installments, and equipment are the most common ancillary products followed by consumption devices, paraphernalia, packaging, processing equipment, software, security equipment, and laboratory supplies. The addition of ancillary products and services amounts to an economic impact that is estimated at four times the value of direct sales of cannabis. Based on this multiplier, the total economic impact of the cannabis industry in the United States was $16-$18 billion in 2016 and is expected to reach $47.6-$68.4 billion by 2021.

Cannabis has entered the restaurant industry in certain legal markets. [24]

University involvement

Involvement from universities has increased as the industry gains legitimacy worldwide. Northern Michigan University initiated their Medicinal Plant Chemistry Program in 2017, the first undergraduate degree program preparing students for work related to the production, analysis, and distribution of medicinal plants. [25] Daniele Piomelli, a professor at University of California-Irvine, developed an interdisciplinary cannabis research program called the Institute for the Study of Cannabis with the mission to advance cannabis knowledge in academia. [26]

Green Wolverine, founded at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business in 2017, is a nonprofit corporation composed of university student organizations centered on acquiring knowledge related to legal business activities in the cannabis industry. The mission is to discover opportunities for success for university students in cannabis or related fields through education, networking, and recruiting. [27]

Hocking College (Nelsonville, OH) has an accredited Cannabis Lab Technician associate degree as part of their Lab Sciences Program. It was developed by Dr. Jonathan Cachat in 2018. [28]

Cannabis accessories

Selling accessories related to cannabis is not explicitly illegal in most countries, and such products has been gaining popularity for several decades. As legal cannabis continues to spread, accessory sales have been growing rapidly. [29] [30]

Women in the industry

Most research, both governmental and privately funded, does not investigate women's roles and placement within the extremely lucrative and growing marijuana industry. Women have been historically blocked and subjugated to "feminine" work in the cannabis industry. There is often little to no mention of women among cannabis businesses in statistical reporting or business journals unless the focus is specifically on women or minorities. Since the first states in the U.S., Colorado and Washington, legalized marijuana in 2012, the industry has undergone extreme growth both in terms of wealth, and in terms of employment. In 2017 only 26.9% of women held executive positions in the industry. [31] Also in 2017, the legal adult cannabis industry in the United States was worth around $7.7 billion and annual sales were expected to grow more to more than $24 billion by 2025. [32] Slightly more current data by Forbes Magazine's 2019 survey of 166 cannabis businesses in 17 different states across the America finds that 38.5% of employees self-identified as female. While this number clearly rose since 2017, unfortunately the number of women who held "Director" or "Executive" roles in 2017 dropped to only 17.6%. Shockingly, 74% of companies surveyed have 10% or fewer female-identifying employees. More than 12% of the 166 companies had no females in "Director" or "Executive" positions while over 41% of them only had one woman in those categories. [33] In 2021, Leafly, trusted cannabis education and location website, released their yearly job report stating that the legal cannabis industry supports 321,000 jobs with more than 77,000 new jobs created since 2020. [34] While about 38% of women suffer from chronic diseases, only 4% of research and funds are used towards women's healthcare and services. This leaves women to seek out alternative therapies. Given that women make up around 85% of all consumers purchasing and 85% of healthcare decisions, “women are central to the currently semi-legal developing cannabis market.” As females are consuming cannabis at higher rates than ever before, there is huge purchasing power related to health and wellness decision. [32] The rapid growth of the industry presented by these number demonstrates it is essential to consider women in this industry as their purchasing power is the strongest when compared to other demographics.

Circling back to the earlier years of the industry (prior to wider legalization in the US around 2010), women were commonly pushed into more "feminine" work such as tending crops, trimming, clone work, and other more tedious tasks. [35] The separation of women into these types of female ascribed work, contributed to a long history of gender-based barriers faced by women in the cannabis industry both in access to employment, raises, and equal pay. These gender-based barriers are key to examining women's place and access to the industry in present day, which is often overlooked or goes unacknowledged. Understanding women's historic and current place within the cannabis industry is key for all those a part of the industry as well as those interested in joining the industry, to combat discrimination and prejudice in the rapidly growing market.

In more recent years of the industry (from 2010 to 2021), some have theorized women's role within the industry is changing and argue the industry has become female friendly. This claim is disputed among scholars as some find women to be less concerned about risk factors than in the early years of the industry. As the cannabis industry continues to grow, there is evidence of higher numbers of female owners and executives compared with other United States businesses as a whole. According to data analysis expert Giadha DeCarcer, "The cannabis industry is so new that there are very few barriers to get in, especially for women [entrepreneurs]". [36] It seems that women in the industry, in some ways, are starting to perform opposite to prior literature, displaying increased appeal for uncertainty and risk which is common among this industry. [32] While the new evidence within the industry demonstrates growing numbers of women and confidence against unpredictability, which some could infer as greater access, there are still many gender-based barrier present in the industry that block women from equal treatment and acquirement.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Removal of cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act</span> Proposed changes to the legal status of cannabis in U.S. federal law

In the United States, the removal of cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, the category reserved for drugs that have "no currently accepted medical use", is a proposed legal and administrative change in cannabis-related law at the federal level. After being proposed repeatedly since 1972, the U.S. Department of Justice initiated 2024 rulemaking to reschedule cannabis to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. The majority of 2024 public comments supported descheduling, decriminalizing, or legalizing marijuana at the federal level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabis in Canada</span>

Cannabis in Canada is legal for both recreational and medicinal purposes. Cannabis was originally prohibited in 1923 until medicinal use of cannabis was legalized nationwide under conditions outlined in the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations issued by Health Canada, which regulated medical cannabis effective 30 July 2001, and was later superseded by the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations, which also permitted seed, grain, and fibre production under licence by Health Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legalization of non-medical cannabis in the United States</span>

In the United States, the non-medical use of cannabis is legalized in 24 states and decriminalized in 7 states, as of November 2023. Decriminalization refers to a policy of reduced penalties for cannabis offenses, typically involving a civil penalty for possessing small amounts, instead of criminal prosecution or the threat of arrest. In jurisdictions without penalty the policy is referred to as legalization, although the term decriminalization is sometimes used for this purpose as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legal history of cannabis in the United States</span>

In the United States, increased restrictions and labeling of cannabis as a poison began in many states from 1906 onward, and outright prohibitions began in the 1920s. By the mid-1930s cannabis was regulated as a drug in every state, including 35 states that adopted the Uniform State Narcotic Drug Act. The first national regulation was the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabis in the United States</span>

The use, sale, and possession of cannabis containing over 0.3% THC by dry weight in the United States, despite laws in many states permitting it under various circumstances, is illegal under federal law. As a Schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) of 1970, cannabis containing over 0.3% THC by dry weight is considered to have "no accepted medical use" and a high potential for abuse and physical or psychological dependence. Cannabis use is illegal for any reason, with the exception of FDA-approved research programs. However, individual states have enacted legislation permitting exemptions for various uses, including medical, industrial, and recreational use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabis in Oregon</span>

Cannabis in Oregon is legal for both medical and recreational use. In recent decades, the U.S. state of Oregon has had a number of legislative, legal and cultural events surrounding the use of cannabis. Oregon was the first state to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of cannabis and authorize its use for medical purposes. An attempt to recriminalize the possession of small amounts of cannabis was turned down by Oregon voters in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabis in California</span>

Cannabis in California has been legal for medical use since 1996, and for recreational use since late 2016. The state of California has been at the forefront of efforts to liberalize cannabis laws in the United States, beginning in 1972 with the nation's first ballot initiative attempting to legalize cannabis. Although it was unsuccessful, California would later become the first state to legalize medical cannabis through the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, which passed with 56% voter approval. In November 2016, California voters approved the Adult Use of Marijuana Act with 57% of the vote, which legalized the recreational use of cannabis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Colorado Amendment 64</span> Referendum legalizing marijuana

Colorado Amendment 64 was a successful popular initiative ballot measure to amend the Constitution of the State of Colorado, outlining a statewide drug policy for cannabis. The measure passed on November 6, 2012, and along with a similar measure in Washington state, marked "an electoral first not only for America but for the world."

Marijuana Business Daily is a Colorado-based business news outlet for professionals in the recreational and medical cannabis industry in the United States. The publication was founded in 2011 by Marijuana Business Media, a division of Anne Holland Ventures, Inc. The CEO is Chris Walsh. It is a privately held, woman-owned business.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabis in Massachusetts</span>

Cannabis in Massachusetts is legal for medical and recreational use. It also relates to the legal and cultural events surrounding the use of cannabis. A century after becoming the first U.S. state to criminalize recreational cannabis, Massachusetts voters elected to legalize it in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canopy Growth</span> Canadian medical marijuana company

Canopy Growth Corporation, formerly Tweed Marijuana Inc., is a cannabis company based in Smiths Falls, Ontario.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabis on American Indian reservations</span>

Cannabis on American Indian reservations was historically regulated under United States federal law. However, the August 2013 issuance of the Cole Memorandum opened discussion on tribal sovereignty pertaining to cannabis legalization. A clarifying memo in December 2014 stated that the federal government's non-interference policies that applied to the 50 states, would also apply to the 326 recognized American Indian reservations. Reservations are therefore able to independently regulate cannabis possession and sale irrespective of laws in any bordering US states.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Effects of legalized cannabis</span> Economic and societal effects of legalized cannabis

The use of cannabis as a recreational drug has been outlawed in many countries for several decades. As a result of long-fought legalization efforts, several countries such as Uruguay and Canada, as well as several states in the US, have legalized the production, sale, possession, and recreational and/or medical usage of cannabis. The broad legalization of cannabis in this fashion can have numerous effects on the economy and society in which it is legalized.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabis in Washington (state)</span>

Cannabis in Washington relates to a number of legislative, legal, and cultural events surrounding the use of cannabis. On December 6, 2012, Washington became the first U.S. state to legalize recreational use of marijuana and the first to allow recreational marijuana sales, alongside Colorado. The state had previously legalized medical marijuana in 1998. Under state law, cannabis is legal for medical purposes and for any purpose by adults over 21.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabis in Italy</span>

Cannabis is currently legal for medical and industrial uses in Italy, although it is strictly regulated, while it is decriminalized for recreational uses. In particular, the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use is a civil infraction. The possible sanctions for possession vary from the issuing of a diffida to first offenders, which is an injunction not to use the drug again; to the temporary suspension of certain personal documents for repeat offenders. Conversely, the unauthorized sale of cannabis-related products is illegal and punishable with imprisonment, as is the unlicensed cultivation of cannabis, although recent court cases have effectively established the legality of cultivating small amounts of cannabis for exclusively personal use. The licensed cultivation of cannabis for medical and industrial purposes requires the use of certified seeds; however, there is no need for authorization to plant certified seeds with minimal levels of psychoactive compounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabis in Japan</span>

Cannabis has been cultivated in Japan since the Jōmon period of Japanese prehistory approximately six to ten thousand years ago. As one of the earliest cultivated plants in Japan, cannabis hemp was an important source of plant fiber used to produce clothing, cordage, and items for Shinto rituals, among numerous other uses. Hemp remained ubiquitous for its fabric and as a foodstuff for much of Japanese history, before cotton emerged as the country's primary fiber crop amid industrialization during the Meiji period. Following the conclusion of the Second World War and subsequent occupation of Japan, a prohibition on cannabis possession and production was enacted with the passing of the Cannabis Control Law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glossary of cannabis terms</span>

Terms related to cannabis include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cannabis in Ontario</span> Cannabis in Ontario, Canada

Cannabis in Ontario is legal for both medical and recreational purposes. Cannabis in Canada has been legal for medicinal purposes since 2001 under conditions outlined in the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations, issued by Health Canada, while seed, grain, and fibre production are permitted under licence. The federal Cannabis Act, legalizing cannabis for recreational use, came into effect on 17 October 2018.

Women have been active in the cannabis industry, cannabis legalization, cannabis testing, and cannabis rights since the earliest days of commercialization, but they have also faced gendered obstacles impeding their growth in an industry worth over 12 million dollars since 2019. "The American cannabis industry accounted for $10 billion of 2018’s [global] figures, with the average U.S. dispensary pulling in $3 million a year."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green rush</span> Economic events & activities following legalization of marijuana in the U.S.

The Green Rush (2012–present) is an ongoing global economic event that began on December 6, 2012, when cannabis was legalized in the US state of Washington; Colorado's legalization took effect four days later. While still illegal federally in the United States, the actions of these two state governments signaled the opening of a market projected to be worth US$48+ billion globally by 2027. As of 2019 the cannabis industry had created over 250,000 jobs. However, cannabis companies have been a mixed investment success, with many experiencing plunging stock prices, massive layoffs, and failure to meet investor expectations.

References

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Sources

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