This Week in Cannabis Investing: Weed Legalization in Germany Could Trigger Changes Across Europe
The legalization and commercialization of cannabis, adult use and medical, continue with many more projected years of double-digit growth.
Europe's first taxed and regulated adult-use market will be established in Germany. Changes for the rest of Europe could come as a result of Germany's cannabis legalization. Several EU countries, including Greece, Italy and France, have legalized medical marijuana.
The CEO of a German cannabis company said it was a big moment. Germany is the first country in the EU to allow the legalization of cannabis. Better-informed investors are smarter.
The U.S. is the largest addressable cannabis market, but the rest of the world is moving in the right direction. Europe reminds us of how the U.S. industry has evolved over time.
Europe has a more conservative approach to cannabis access compared to other countries.
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We would like to see how European retail and medical dispensary licensing works. Medical recommendations and prescriptions will be important for industry growth in these countries. As Europe seems to be in a challenging economic situation, it's worth watching how many licenses have been obtained for retail and medical clinics.
Access to legal cannabis remains constrained by federal policymakers as the illegal trade of cannabis continues. More than 70% of people in the age group of 18 to 29 use the photo-sharing site, according to data from the research center. The licit sellers reported using social media to sell their products.
Many people like us work in the legal cannabis industry and it's frustrating that the illegal industry is getting stronger. Legal operators can be affected by bad actors in the market. Legal cannabis companies have lost their social media accounts while illegal sellers keep posting. We've seen the shuttering of accounts from licensed operators that acted with bad intentions.
Highlyte by Amnesia Media is a company that helps legal operators stay above the noise. It is hoped that as legal markets become more sophisticated, it will be easier to identify and shut down illegal operations on social media.
Alcohol and sports drinks investments are being made by cannabis companies.
Several of the world's largest cannabis companies are shifting their focus to other areas.
Tilray, a Canadian cannabis company, added to its collection in November with the acquisition of Montauk Brewing Company.
The majority owner of BioSteel, a sports-beverage brand with high-profile sponsorship deals, is Canopy Growth.
The core cannabis business of Canopy had a 27% decrease in revenue compared with the same quarter a year ago. Tilray's cannabis revenue decreased while its alcoholic beverage business increased.
Cannabis operators in Canada have struggled to build profitable operations. Many industry participants have forgotten that the operators have fueled their own mistakes with excessive capital. Canadian cannabis companies are able to trade on listed exchanges and still enjoy the benefits of access to capital. Some Canadian operators are trying to buy their way to profitability by entering non-cannabis industries like beer or other consumer packaged goods. We don't see this as a distraction from the real issues because these teams are nothing like the ones that are called BRK. B.
One or a few of these companies will be winners. It will most likely be a company with a strategy and focus on execution, rather than a company that quotes the number of shares their stock trades per day. The New York'slicit market sells cannabis products.
According to a study sponsored by the New York Medical Cannabis Industry Association, unlicensed cannabis products in New York stores fail lab tests for purity and potency. There are many illegal stores in NYC that sell drugs.
In 40 percent of the illegal products purchased, there were harmful contaminants such as E. coli, pesticides, heavy metals, and salmonella. Many of the products tested did not contain the amount of THC advertised on the label and one product featured double the amount of listed THC. 100 percent of the products failed after being reviewed.
We've seen a lot of issues come out of the cannabis market. The findings in recent studies are unsurprising because the market is unregulated and doesn't seem to care about who is in it or how old they are. This is different for the legal industry.
Team Poseidon was in NYC this fall and saw several illegal doors in the market. The market in NYC is very brazen and is still going strong. It was obvious to see how bad the illegal products were, but there are millions of people that are still curious and not aware of what is legal. When this issue becomes more mainstream, we are concerned for the health and safety of consumers. We welcome the chance to remind people that buying legal cannabis is the patriotic thing to do.
Cannabis Use Among Pregnant Women More Likely With Legalization
According to a study published in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, up to 7 percent of pregnant women in the US use cannabis.
Cannabis use in pregnant women varies by different cannabis legalization frameworks. 1,992 pregnant women responded to the analysis.
The researchers found that recent cannabis use was reported by a small percentage of respondents in the group that only used the cannabinoid cannabidiol. Respondents in the medical and adult-use cannabis groups were more likely to use cannabis than those who did not. Smoking was the most common method of intake across all groups, and more than half of users reported using partial or entirely for adult use.
Increased use with legalization motivates further research on the impacts of cannabis as a therapeutic agent during pregnancy and supports the need for increased screening and patient counseling regarding the potential effects of cannabis use on fetal development.
President Joe Biden made history on Friday when he became the first American president to sign marijuana-specific reform legislation into law.
The landmark legislation, which is intended to make it easier for scientific researchers to study the plant, also calls on the federal government to look into the potential therapeutic benefits of marijuana and could thus help steer the ongoing rescheduling review Biden launched in October.
Co-sponsors of the bill include Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Dianne Feinstein, D-California, as well as key members of the House who support marijuana reform, including U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Oregon, Nancy Mace, R-South Carolina, and Dave Joyce, R-Ohio.
The first marijuana reform bill to be passed by both chambers of Congress after it cleared the Senate last month via a process called unanimous consent, the bill allows research universities – including those that receive federal funding, which, to date, have been wary of dealing with the federally illegal drug – as well as private companies to acquire U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration licenses to grow and handle cannabis for research purposes.
There are currently only seven institutions with DEA permits to grow cannabis for research.