10 cannabis industry trends to watch for in 2023
The new year brings renewed optimism and hope for the marijuana industry, which could see a number of important trends for cannabis business executives.
The marijuana market can expect a number of things in the future.
Mergers and acquisitions have been going on for a long time. There are calls for moratoriums in mature markets. Consumers are becoming more sophisticated in their buying habits.
The top 10 marijuana industry trends to watch are determined by the staff of MJBiz Daily.
1 There is major consolidation in some markets.
The cannabis industry doesn't seem to be as recession-proof as it used to be.
The companies in Colorado and Washington state are struggling with falling prices.
Michigan and Massachusetts are both on the younger side for adult-use sales.
Ancillary and plant-touching companies are cutting employees. Many companies will fail this year, licenses will be absorbed by bigger, corporate-style businesses and only the most cost-efficient players will survive. Mergers and acquisitions cease to exist.
With reports that access to capital has dried up across the U.S., the trend is certain to continue. There was a time when MJBizDaily reported on company deals over 100 million dollars. Those are few and far between now.
There were many deals below $25 million.
The stock market has fallen along with the value of all- stock deals. That trend is not likely to change.
The cannabis industry has a burr in it.
In the past year, almost every state-legal marijuana market made some type of rule to govern the drug.
Delta-8 products were almost unregulated in states with limited or no legal marijuana markets. As long as the plant where they began met the legal definition of hemp, cannabinoids made from extract can be legal.
It is not a violation of the U.S. Controlled Substances Act to extract cannabidiol from a flower and make it into a product.
With no change to the law, the delta-8 market is likely to continue, which is a big problem for the cannabis industry.
More attention is given to cannabis obsession and lab shopping. The issue of the industry's obsession with potency will finally be addressed.
Testing laboratories were sued for misrepresenting THC numbers as well as state regulators from Florida to Nevada moved to fine and suspend labs for violating the law. Industry watchers are hoping that this will lead to less lab shopping and better consumer education on the benefits of the cannabis plant.
It could shift the focus of the industry away from cannabis cannabinoids.
There are calls for a moratorium. Some growers in mature markets are calling for help from state governments as they experience price compression and oversaturation.
Colorado and Michigan are two states where companies are asking regulators to put a stop to new licenses. It is not known what the effects of artificial market controls will be.
A few years ago, similar actions in Oregon did not solve the problem.
The retail store has a product category.
As consumers become more sophisticated, flower is losing market share to other products, but it will still grow. Frequent users are not replacing flower with other products but are smoking flower at the same rate while adding other form factors into their consumption habits. Live resin will continue to be popular as a consumer favorite, both as a stand-alone concentrate and as something infused into pre-rolls.
While not completely disappearing, the product will decline in appeal in the face of live resin preferences.
According to Brightfield Group, new consumers make up only a small portion of the market. 45% of cannabis users consume multiple times daily, 18% consume once daily, and 10% consume five times per week or more.
According to Headset, sales of infused pre-rolls have grown by a multiple of 5.
The cannabis item is now the No. 2-selling item and the e-liquid item is now the No. 1-selling item.
New York will have a hard time containing the market after the legalization of cannabis.
It is thought that it is easier to order cannabis in New York than it is to order pizza.
The licensed market has its work cut out for it because of the exuberance entrepreneurs showed this year by setting up pop-up cannabis shops, unlicensed dispensaries and vans selling marijuana out of their back doors.
The state is trying to differentiate between licensed and illegal cannabis companies, but they probably won't be able to do it on their own.
Regulators will need to make business conditions friendly and keep taxes low in order to lure consumers away from the illegal market. The testing of licensed products isn't enough. Canada's business problems might be solved soon.
In recent years, large Canadian companies have been selling cannabis at a loss with the help of Wall Street financing.
If Wall Street runs out of money, large companies will be forced to sink or swim.
Canada has produced more cannabis than can be sold. Inventory might peak and begin to fall in 2023. Some stores have begun closing in certain provinces, particularly in areas with a lot of stores.
More stores will open in other places even though retail consolidation and closing will continue. Net gains are expected in stores.
Efforts to unionize will be successful.
The marijuana industry will continue to be unionized.
The cannabis industry is one of the largest industries in the United States and is ripe for organizing.
In Canada, labor organizers say low pay and health and safety are some of the reasons why cannabis retail employees are striking.
Expect to hear more fights between workers and businesses because cannabis companies aren't always friendly to union efforts.
After a mixed success in 2022, legalization efforts are redoubled.
Marijuana legalization hit a red wall in conservative states in the South and West, but the election of 2022, which brought victories in Maryland and Missouri, gave it a new lease on life.
Industry watchers were hoping for the success of banking reform. There will be another chance this year. President Joe Biden's announcement that his administration would review whether marijuana should remain a Schedule 1 drug is going to put wind in the sails of advocates and reformers.
Delaware, Kansas, and North and South Carolina stated that failed to legalize via their legislature in the year 2022.
Keywords: cannabis, cannabis industry, industry, market
Source: mjbizdaily.com
Cannabis Researchers Published 4,300 Scientific Papers in 2022
There were more than 4,000 scientific research papers published about cannabis in the year 2022, according to a recent announcement by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Over the last 12 years, more than 30,000 research papers have been published, and an estimated 42,500 scientific papers explore cannabis.
Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, released a statement to counter the idea that more research is needed before legalization can happen. Despite claims by some that marijuana has yet to be subject to adequate scientific scrutiny, scientists' interest in studying cannabis has increased greatly in recent years, as has our understanding of the plant, its active constituents, their mechanisms of action, and their effects on both the user and society, according to It is time for politicians and others to stop looking at cannabis through the lens of what we don't know, and instead, engage in evidence-based discussions about marijuana and marijuana reform policies that are indicative of all that we do know.
Between 2000 and 2021, NORML compiled numerous scientific studies involving cannabis, exploring findings from studies on a wide variety of medical conditions such as chronic pain, Huntington's Disease, insomnia, Multiple Sclerosis, and so much more.
The scope of cannabis was analyzed in the review. As clinical research into the therapeutic value of cannabinoids has grown, so too has investigators' understanding of cannabis' remarkable capacity to combat disease, according to to NORML. In the past, researchers assessed marijuana's ability to temporarily alleviate various disease symptoms, such as nausea associated with cancer treatment.
Recent cannabis studies have been released by the scientific community.
A recent study published in the Journal of Sleep Research found that cannabis was an effective treatment for insomnia and that 80% of participants experienced an increase in sleep quality. One study found a correlation between cannabis consumption and physical activity in HIV+ patients, while another found evidence that cannabis has beneficial effects on people with mental health issues. King's College London launched a massive 6,000-person study in September with a goal of publishing early results by the year 2024.
It has never been as mainstream as it is now. The Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research Expansion Act, signed by President Joe Biden, establishes a new registration process for conducting research on marijuana and for manufacturing marijuana products for research purposes. Provisions for cannabis were included in an infrastructure bill signed by Biden in 2011. In two years, the Attorney General and Secretary of Health and Human Services must submit a report that addresses how researchers can receive increased samples of various strains, as well as an increased amount of samples for researchers.
The benefits of other drugs are also being explored. There is evidence that the drug psilocybin can be used to treat people with the condition.
The University College of London released the results of a recent study that analyzed brain images of consumers who attended a retreat. The benefits and risks of ayahuasca were explored by another person.
Keywords: PubMed.gov keyword search, NORML Deputy Director, research papers published, Director Paul Armentano
Source: hightimes.com