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U.S. Cannabis Tax Revenue Tops $3 Billion In 2020

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Business.

Cannabis legalization in the United States at the state level has been a smashing success by virtually every measure. With New York, Virginia, and New Mexico having passed legalization measures via legislative action in 2021, the number of legal states is now up to 18. Washington D.C. has also legalized.

Obviously, not every state has fully implemented its legalization reform measure that was passed by voters or lawmakers. However, several have, with Colorado being the first state to allow legal adult-use sales starting in 2014.

2020 was a banner year for cannabis tax revenues in the United States, with total revenue topping $3 billion. Below is more information about it from our friends at NORML via a recent news release:

Tax revenue from state-legal cannabis sales rose significantly in 2020, according to an analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

Authors reported, “Powered by an expanding legal market and a pandemic-driven boost in cannabis use, excise and sales taxes on cannabis jumped by more than $1 billion in 2020, or 58 percent, compared to a year earlier. In total, these taxes raised more than $3 billion last year, including $1 billion in California alone.”

Transactions specific to the commercial market in California were responsible for over one-third of the nation’s total cannabis tax growth in 2020. Year-over-year, cannabis tax revenue rose some 40 percent in the state.

Significant growth in revenue also occurred in 2020 in states with more established markets, such as Colorado and Washington.

Overall, the report acknowledged that cannabis-related tax revenues still comprise only a small percentage of states’ overall budgets. However, authors emphasized that these tax revenues are among “states’ fastest growing revenue sources.”

Full text of the ITEP analysis is online. Additional information is available in the NORML fact sheet, “Marijuana Regulation: Impact on Health, Safety, Economy.”

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Is Spain On The Verge Of Regulating Cannabis Clubs?

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Business.

As a monumental challenge to the current law loses in Strasbourg, organizers including political parties are challenging the government to regulate the sector (as well as fully legalize it).

Things are continuing to bubble in Spain over the regulation (and by definition legalization) of the entire Spanish cannabis club conversation.

As Albert Tió now spends his nights in jail for the foreseeable future after losing his case in Strasbourg, a call has gone out for a new federal discussion about the role and formal acceptance of cannabis as well as the infrastructure and industry that has grown up here in between the weeds. Namely, a senator, Geroa Bai, has now introduced the idea of the regulation of the industry, as well as the legalization of limited home grow.

The introduction of the same is far from its passage. The battle here has been particularly nasty for several years and on the legal, federal level. With a losing case at Strasbourg, it is also clear that the entire access conversation will have to go through the legislature rather than the courts – which is perhaps the biggest takeaway of the Tió case.

With the activist now serving active jail time (even in a Pandemic) the entire conversation has taken another turn. The industry does not need any more martyrs (and is hardly short of them at this point to begin with). Free Albert Tió, however, is a bit more visceral a slogan than a faraway club closing or tangling with the fuzz over supply.

Post-Pandemic Economic Activity

Given the prevailing winds in Europe, including successful court challenges from the commercial and patient side as well as a map for recreational reform in three countries (Holland, Switzerland, and Luxembourg), there is zero-way Spain can sit this out much longer. The reality is that legalizing the entire infrastructure would also create a legitimate source of taxable income that every government coffer is absolutely starved for.

Just like in other places, the economic benefit argument (don’t forget the employment question beyond this) is increasingly stronger every day the pandemic stretches on. And in the interim, important legal cases are starting to show up on the map (including in Germany). 

In the meantime, expect national legalization and regulation bills to start showing up all over the map. And even if, as in Spain, they might fail for the next few years, the inevitable dawn is beginning to break in a systematic way over the cold, bleak landscape of prohibition in Europe.

Be sure to book your tickets to the next International Cannabis Business Conference events!

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European Cannabis Association Is Working Towards A Harmonized Regulatory Framework

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Business, Medical, Politics.

Cannabis is medicine. That is a phrase that has always been true, yet was not always reflected in public policy. The cannabis plant was prohibited across the globe for many years and subjected to a tremendous amount of negative propaganda and stigma.

Fortunately, the truth about the cannabis plant and its wellness properties could not be contained forever. Activists across the planet worked extremely hard to cut through the propaganda and get the facts out to society regarding medical cannabis.

Myth after myth was debunked. As public awareness about medical cannabis spread, so too did cannabis reform victories and compassion and healing as patients started to gain safe access to medical cannabis.

Few if any medications are as dynamic as cannabis-based medicines. As tens of thousands of peer-reviewed studies have found, the cannabis plant can be used to successfully treat a number of conditions. Those studies are also backed up by the personal experiences and testimonials of countless patients.

Medical cannabis is now, thankfully, being embraced by more and more countries throughout the world, including and especially in Europe. The medical cannabis industry is booming on the European continent, with domestic markets ramping up, as well as imports and exports.

With that being said, Europe’s medical cannabis industry is still in its infancy by many measures. As of right now, policies across the continent are a bit of a patchwork of sorts and there is not a balanced framework in place for medical cannabis products like there is with other legal medicines.

Getting the right Europe-wide medical cannabis framework of policies, rules, and regulations in place is vital to the future success of Europe’s medical cannabis industry. Europe is home to roughly 750 million people, many of which will benefit from safe access to medical cannabis. Those suffering patients deserve to have a medical cannabis industry that helps them as much as possible, and that will only happen if entrepreneurs are operating in a business environment that is conducive to helping them succeed.

That’s where the European Cannabis Association (ECA) comes in. ECA recently launched and will focus on consulting and helping European lawmakers and regulators craft standards for the production of medicinal cannabis, among other things.

“The use of medical cannabis has a very high potential and it has become one of the most important economic topics in recent years. Nevertheless, there is still no harmonized regulatory framework that governs the trade in medical cannabis at the EU level.” stated ECA member Peter Homberg. Homberg is the Head of German Life Sciences Practice at Dentons, as well as Head of the European Cannabis Sector Group at Dentons.

“The ECA addresses exactly this area and offers support in consulting and developing uniform standards for the production of medical cannabis. In particular, the ECA informs its members about the current EU framework conditions in the field of medical cannabis, stays in contact with and influences on policymakers and regulatory bodies with the aim of achieving appropriate framework conditions in particular on a European level, represents the European medical cannabis industry in an international environment, develops and supports international networks and organizes and realizes industry conferences.” Homberg went on to say.

Getting the right medical cannabis framework in place in Europe is vital because it will steer the young industry well into the future. Initial rules and regulations will inevitably change, however, those changes will presumably be incremental and a future complete overhaul will be unlikely. Lawmakers and regulators need to get it right the first time.

A collective industry voice will be key to the ongoing regulatory framework process. Cannabis opponents and uneducated skeptics will no doubt have a seat at any regulatory table, and they will certainly have collective voices lobbying all over Europe. That lobby presence has to be met with a credible collective voice representing the medical cannabis industry.

Membership to the European Cannabis Association is open to all stakeholders in the medical cannabis industry, whether they are large companies or small and medium-sized enterprises, including start-ups. Interested parties can find out more, including how to join ECA, at EuropeanCannabisAssociation.com.

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Apply To Pitch To Cannabis Investors At The Emerge Virtual Cannabis Conference

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Business.

Being an entrepreneur and pursuing your business dreams is a very exciting thing to do. Yes, it involves long hours and a lot of sacrifices, but for many people, the pursuit of business success on their own terms is well worth it.

That is especially true for entrepreneurs in the emerging cannabis industry. In addition to the standard thrill that comes with working to launch an idea or grow a small business, the cannabis industry adds an extra layer of excitement.

By most measures, the cannabis industry is still in its infancy, and the room for industry growth is substantial. 

The thought of getting in early in what is likely to eventually become one of the largest industries on earth is very appealing, which is why so many people are scrambling to get into the cannabis industry.

The cannabis industry involves a lot of moving parts and unique stresses, however, if you ask aspiring cannabis entrepreneurs what is the biggest issue they face, they almost always say the same thing – meeting investors.

Obtaining an investment at the right time for the right amount can literally be the difference between a cannabis company launching into the industry stratosphere or fizzling out.

For cannabis entrepreneurs that are looking for an investment (which is probably 99% of entrepreneurs), there’s a great opportunity to pitch your idea(s).

The Emerge Virtual Cannabis Conference is coming up March 30-April 1, and will feature a pitch contest. Emerge is partnering with cannabis business social network Leafwire and cannabis sustainability fund Regennabis to offer the pitch contest.

You can sign up online here, and also find out more about what the pitch contest involves, including important dates..

In addition to the pitch contest, the Emerge Virtual Cannabis Conference will feature a number of speakers and presentations, with the virtual event focusing on cultivation and sustainability.

The Emerge Conference is the cannabis industry’s only virtual reality event and is packed with unique offerings. For instance, virtual conference attendees get to create their own avatars and explore the conference’s dynamic and immersive virtual reality world.

The truly savvy attendees can (maybe) figure out a hack for a virtual smoke sesh on the platform! To find out more about the virtual event, it’s speakers, and agenda check out Emerge’s website.

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Basque Region Cannabis Clubs Throw Down Gauntlet To Reopen

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Business.

After being devastated by Pandemic shutdowns, clubs in the Basque region of Spain petition their government to let them reopen for business.

Basque region cannabis clubs have now petitioned their government to let them begin to plan for re-opening. The Federation of Cannabis User Associations of the Basque country or Eusfac, will meet with the state government this week to petition them to adopt “less restrictive measures in relation to the activity of the cannabis clubs.”

The situation in Spain over the operations of the clubs has been one of the most fraught in Europe, especially now with both a lawsuit pending about constitutional rights access at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and COVID-19. The Pandemic has severely strained if not shut down operations all over Spain. Clubs have not allowed to open at all and those that do, certainly do not function in the same way. Obtaining product has also been difficult.

The upshot? More people, starting with patients, but including recreational users, have been forced into the black market. While there is still no federal or even state-level regulation of the entire club vertical (akin to dispensaries in the United States), a semi-regulated industry has established itself in the country over the last decade. Most of the clubs were established in Barcelona, but there are similar entities all over the country at this point.

And many are starting to take a stand on formalizing their right to exist – at a formal level – in Spain.

Essential Operations?

In some ways, the situation in Spain is roughly analogous to the situation that led voters in two U.S. states in 2012, to vote for state control of their own cannabis industries. This has been especially true as Barcelona has become the de facto cannabis club centre of the country. However other regions have taken note, especially as the organizers of the entire movement have been prosecuted. Albert Tió currently sits in jail for his role in the same.

During the Pandemic, however, it became very clear that the situation if not the status of the clubs was no-where close to their state equivalents in the U.S. Most were instantly shut down. Many were eventually allowed to re-open, but according to one report, most have reported losing up to 60% of their membership. Curfews have also made an impact. And Covid restrictions, like mask-wearing and social distancing, have effectively killed the social aspect of the clubs.

Regardless, many of the clubs have managed to stay open somehow, despite a rise in crime targeted both at the clubs and those who frequent them. Some report that members are spending more money in the clubs than before. There is a gritty resolve here, gained by facing down authorities and the multiple obstacles required to operate such establishments. A mere Pandemic will not make that go away. 

Be sure to book your tickets now for the return of the International Cannabis Business Conference to Berlin in July 2021!

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Bangkok Embraces Cannabis Cafe Culture

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Business.

It may not be Amsterdam, but Thailand is taking a stab at infused cannabis reform.

Thailand, which enacted cannabis reform as of Christmas Day, 2018, as a “gift” to the Thai people, has slowly begun to define a domestic cannabis culture. This, also despite the rigors of the Covid-19 Pandemic, includes retail establishments like cafes and restaurants that are reaching into traditional cuisine and culture to create a host of CBD-infused delicacies, from teas to food infusions.

On December 9, 2020, most of the cannabis plant, except for THC-rich flowers, has been decriminalized formally for commercial, licensed purposes. The Health Ministry is still responsible for dispensing these.

The first “cannabis cafe” has now even opened in the Thai capital, serving products sourced from an authorized local farm. 

They also have competition from another establishment – a dessert shop that plans to sell sweets infused with cannabis.

However, Bangkok is not the only city to see cannabis cuisine pop up in the country. In Prachinburi province, a new cafe and restaurant began offering cannabis-infused dishes, including deep-fried cannabis leaves and pizza.

This entrepreneurial boost is, of course, notably happening during COVID-19. When travel opens again, Thailand is sure to be ready for them, with its new cannabis offerings.

Cannabis Tourism After COVID-19

The Thai embrace of the regulated industry, albeit without the THC, is in marked contrast to the Dutch take on the same – notably in the city of Amsterdam. Pot tourism, generally, is not popular right now in Europe, in direct contrast to say, Thai efforts. 

What will happen in the aftermath of COVID-19, however, is very much in the air. In multiple jurisdictions, access to the drug has noticeably shrunk thanks to Pandemic-related measures. It is unlikely to stay stuffed in this box as restrictions lift.

This is especially true in Europe right now – where the Dutch recreational tender is still unresolved, and as Luxembourg eyes its own on-ramp to the discussion, now scheduled for the end of this year if not early next.

There is also, of course, Greece, which has hovered over the discussion for the last several years as the country continues to try to rebuild its own economy, which already cannot be entirely disentangled from at least the medical cannabis conversation.

Post–andemic, the discussion of retail establishments operating legitimately in the biz, whether they are geared to a local or visiting audience is going to be hot stuff.

Be sure to book your tickets now to the International Cannabis Business Conference when it returns to Berlin, Summer 2021.

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The Opportunity Of Cannabis Funds And Stocks On The London Stock Exchange

Written by Marguerite Arnold on . Posted in Business.

With MCG Pharmaceuticals becoming the first cannastock to list on the public exchange in London, and a plethora to follow in the coming weeks, what is the potential for a hot finance market blooming post-Brexit?

Even the Financial Times is excited about this one – the LSE is finally opening to cannabis stocks. Post-Brexit, the need to raise funds both to nourish the domestic market and to access the European one, will be critical. 

However, the question remains, despite the ability to raise money (as in Canada and the U.S.), will the cannabis firms who rush to access such equity here use it any more efficiently than say their Canadian forebears?

Undoubtedly, the forward march of progress on the legislative front means that broadly the answer will be yes. That does not mean of course, that all the froth is gone from the market. But what it does mean is that London now has a viable market in which to raise funds for the industry at home and for operations across the continent. And the exchange may well, as a result, be a serious competitor for the Deutsche Börse. The fact that London is getting going with its own canna-equities offerings is also likely to stir the still fairly dormant conversation across the Channel – namely in Frankfurt.

By anyone’s standards, in other words, this is an exciting and much overdue development and promises a healthy injection of cash into an industry now chomping at the bit to roll out new products in the wake of reforms enacted during the Pandemic.

British Equity Is Needed in Several Places

There are several places that all this equity can flow. The first is obviously to established international firms (like MCG Pharma) with a footprint and a path to entry in the growing medical market across the continent.

The second, of course, is into burgeoning start-ups that are eyeing the current environment and beginning to think about strategic next steps in a world post Pandemic.

It is highly likely that Germans will want to see greater reform and push the agenda as the country prepares to go to the national polls. It is also highly likely that other Europeans will too. Beyond Europe, there are obviously other exciting possibilities ranging from Asia to Africa. The LSE is far from as sluggish as its European counterparts generally.

Accessing equity, in a way that is far more familiar to both North American and British firms becomes, as a result, even more important. This is, in other words, perhaps one of the rocket boosters the industry has long needed across the region. 

Be sure to attend the International Cannabis Business Conference when it returns to Berlin this summer to get the hottest insights on the developing European cannabis equities market.

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Australian Pharmacies Can Now Sell CBD Without A Prescription

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Business.

Cannabidiol (CBD) is arguably the most popular cannabinoid on earth right now, even ahead of  THC. THC is obviously still very popular, however, CBD is searched for more often on Google than its cannabinoid counterpart.

CBD is being infused into just about anything and everything, for better or worse. Some CBD products make sense, such as capsules and topicals. However, some products out there such as ‘CBD firewood’ is a headscratcher for sure.

Regardless of the merits of some CBD products, the fact of the matter is that CBD is extremely popular, with more and more patients and consumers looking to CBD for wellness benefits.

In many countries, such as in the United States, CBD products can be purchased virtually anywhere. CBD-infused products are very commonly found around the world.

With that in mind, it is odd that CBD required a prescription in Australia, where reefer madness was preventing the non-intoxicating cannabinoid from being freely sold. Fortunately, that is changing. Per News.Com.Au:

Low-dose cannabidiol (CBD) can be sold in pharmacies around Australia from today, for the first time without prescription.

The chemical compound – extracted from cannabis – is used to treat a number of health issues, including pain, insomnia and anxiety, and can now be bought over-the-counter after the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved its sale last month.

While the product will only be available to adults in doses of no more than 150 milligrams per day, patients will no longer require a referral or special approval for its legal use.

Ideally, there would be no limit on the amount of CBD that people can purchase without a prescription, but for now, this move by Australia is a great step in the right direction.

CBD does not possess the same euphoric-inducing qualities that THC does, and by virtually every measure it’s benign from a risk standpoint, so it doesn’t make sense to limit non-prescription sales to low-dose options only.

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Texas’ Hemp Industry To Experience Exponential Growth In The Coming Years

Written by Johnny Green on . Posted in Business.

The hemp industry is picking up steam around the world, with more and more countries legalizing hemp production for human consumption.

Hemp has been legal for making things like paper and rope in most countries, however, there were still a lot of restrictions in place in many countries due to concerns about high-THC cannabis.

Historically, reefer madness was so strong regarding the cannabis plant that lawmakers around the world refused to consider low-THC hemp legalization for the purpose of human consumption, out of fear that it could be used to ‘disguise’ high-THC cannabis plants, which is a fear that is not based in science.

Fortunately, the rise of CBD as a medicine across the globe has changed a lot of minds, and legal hemp production is being ramped up all over the planet.

One of those places is the State of Texas, which is geographically the largest state in the U.S. among the ‘lower 48 states.’ Converting farmland in Texas to hemp will not only help local economies but will also help the environment since hemp helps pull CO2 out of the air and removes contaminants from soil (among other benefits).

Texas’ hemp industry is still in its infancy, with state law only recently being changed in 2019. With that being said, Texas is likely to see exponential growth in the coming years now that the federal government has finally issued hemp industry rules. Per KXAN:

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller says he’s pleased with the approval of federal rules for the industrial hemp program.

“This industry is booming and needs the certainty that comes with finalizing these guidelines,” Miller said. ”While hemp growers might not have gotten everything they wanted, I believe USDA has responded to the industry and is working to improve this program.”

“Here in Texas, we’ve been in the hemp business for almost a year and we’re busy building the Texas ‘hempire’ — we’ve issued over 1150 producer licenses, permitted over 5,000 acres of hemp in the ground and over 15 million square feet of hemp in greenhouses,” Miller said in a statement Tuesday.

Texas is well known for being a top petroleum and natural gas state, as well as being a national leader for cattle and other livestock. Unfortunately, both of those industries have a detrimental impact on the environment.

A strong hemp industry could drastically change the State of Texas’ future, in a great way.