Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we look at Vice President Harris’s pledge to legalize cannabis, a new type of edible, a survey that reveals the consumer archetype you most resemble and more. Enjoy.
Cannabis and Presidential Politics
Vice President Kamala Harris has announced that if she is elected President she will federally legalize cannabis, ensuring that access to cannabis is “the law of the land.”
She has also stated she will “break down unjust legal barriers that hold Black men and other Americans back by legalizing marijuana nationally, working with Congress to ensure that the safe cultivation, distribution, and possession of recreational marijuana is the law of the land.”
According to Tom Angell, editor of Marijuana Moment, the presidential nominee’s cannabis plan to legalize marijuana at the federal level is part of what her campaign calls an “opportunity agenda” aimed at winning the votes of African-American men in particular.
Added Angell, the campaign says Harris will “fight to ensure that as the national cannabis industry takes shape, Black men—who have, for years, been overpoliced for marijuana use—are able to access wealth and jobs in this new market.”
To learn more, we urge you to read Tom Angell’s article in the October 14, 2024 issue of Marijuana Moment.net.
Spotlight on Technology
There’s good news for mature consumers and others who prefer to use edibles in order to access the benefits cannabis has to offer. New technology, originally developed for manufacturing beverages that contain THC, is now being used to make cannabis gummies, with notable results.
Specifically, these new tech gummies are said to take effect within 5-15 minutes instead of the usual hour or more that consumers are used to waiting. That’s the word from Sarah Johns who recently penned an article about this development for the online publication The Fresh Toast.
This quick onset is achieved by using technology that allows the gummies to bypass the liver and enter the bloodstream through the stomach.
According to Johns, Wana Brands is introducing its new gummy to multi-state markets to positive reviews. Said Joe Hodas, President of Wana Brands, “As we uncover more information about cannabinoids and how they interact with each other, we are discovering new opportunities to create products that speak to very specific outcomes. A growing number of consumers are seeking out ways that cannabinoids can help them negotiate daily or occasional stresses, and Wana Optimals Quick Lift is a great example of how integrating three key cannabinoids can achieve results unlike any other gummy on the market.”
You can learn more by reading the excellent article by Sarah Jacobs in the October 11, 2024 issue The Fresh Toast.
https://thefreshtoast.com/culture/marijuana-edibles-make-a-dramatic-improvement/
Those who are new to edibles, or those who are simply curious, may want to examine this helpful chart created by the folks at Leafly in 2022. It provides an overview of what to expect at different dosage levels, depending on a consumer’s experience with cannabis edibles.
https://www.leafly.com/learn/consume/edibles/edible-dosing
Cannabis and Public Opinion
A new study, which was funded by the federal government, found that when it comes to cannabis, American adults typically don’t rely on information from government or medical sources. Instead they tend to get their information from friends and family.
So says Ben Adlin, writing for Marijuana Moment. According to Adlin, the survey of 1,161 adults, which received support from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and was published in the Journal of Cannabis Research, found that government agencies were the least popular source of cannabis-related information (4.7 percent in the probability-weighted results). And while health and medical care providers were also among the least common sources, at 9.3 percent, they were higher on the list than budtenders (8.6 percent).
The most popular sources of marijuana information, meanwhile, were friends and family (35.6 percent) and websites (33.7 percent).
The survey also found that those who use cannabis for medical reasons were significantly more likely to look to healthcare professionals as a source of their marijuana-related information compared to other respondents (16.4 percent versus 5.2 percent, respectively).
Adlin noted that the study concluded that most people “draw healthcare information about cannabis from friends and family or online, with very few consulting their healthcare provider or government agencies.”
You can learn more, including findings from similar surveys, by reading Ben Adlin’s reporting in the October 9, 2024 issue of Marijuana Moment.net.
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/most-people-dont-trust-the-government-for-marijuana-information-federally-funded-study-shows/?
Investor News and Notes
We have long held the opinion that until questions surrounding rescheduling and legalization are sorted out, those who are eager to invest in the cannabis sector might want to explore what are referred to as ancillary stocks.
Typically, these are companies that do not engage in “leaf touching” activities but do provide products and services that support the activities of growers and retailers. This can involve everything from producing grow lights and fans to fertilizer.
So it should come as no surprise that respected industry analyst Alan Brochstein, CFA, reports in an article for the publication New Cannabis Ventures that when compared to the performance of three other cannabis indices, the Ancillary Cannabis Index led the way in September.
For example, the Global Cannabis Stock Index, which includes Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc, Leafly Holdings, Inc. and Canopy Growth Corporation, among others, was off .59 percent for September.
The American Cannabis Operator Index, which includes leading cultivators, processors and retailers of cannabis in the United States, such as Tilray and Curaleaf Holdings, was down 2.74 percent for the same period.
However, the Ancillary Cannabis Index, which holds the stock of companies such as Innovative Industrial Properties Inc. and Scotts Miracle Gro posted a gain of .63 percent for September of 2024.
A gain of just over half a point may not sound like much, but a win is a win, particularly when other indices that include stocks in the sector were headed in the other direction.
To learn more, we encourage you to read Alan Brochstein’s analysis in the September 30, 2024 issue of New Cannabis Ventures.com.
//www.newcannabisventures.com/ancillary-cannabis-stocks-continue-to-lead-the-sector/
Consumer Corner
Mature consumers who are curious about how their pattern of consumption compares with that of others who use cannabis may be interested in a new survey.
Developed by the analysts at New Frontier Data, the survey was designed to identify the characteristics of what they refer to as different consumer archetypes, ranging from “savvy connoisseurs” to “infrequent partakers.” There are nine archetypes in all.
The survey questions include:
• How often do you consume cannabis?
• How much do you typically spend on a cannabis purchase?
• What is your primary reason for consuming cannabis?
• Do you consume cannabis socially?
• What forms of cannabis do you primarily consume?
• Which non-flower product(s) do you primarily consume?
• Do you primarily consume cannabis for recreational or medical purposes?
• What type of market do you currently live in, in terms of cannabis legality?
• What is your primary source for cannabis?
By answering these nine questions, consumers can find out which “cannabis archetype” they most closely resemble.
Relying on consumer data from nearly 4,000 current consumers across the US, New Frontier provides consumer archetypes based on demographics, location and intentions for consumption. And they believe these archetype trends are changing.
For example, in 2022, the most prominent archetype was the Savvy Connoisseur. This consumer enjoys trying a variety of cannabis products and is the top spender among the consumer groups. The Savvy Connoisseur enjoys turning friends on to new products and is more likely to be male, and younger than their other archetype counterparts. In 2022, this archetype made up 18 percent of consumers.
However, the folks at New Frontier contend that the maturing of legal cannabis markets and the settling into consumption habits, including developing brand and dispensary loyalty, led to the displacement of the Savvy Connoisseur as the most common archetype in 2023. Contemporary Lifestylers, who are more likely to report only using for recreational purposes than their Savvy Connoisseur counterparts, and using cannabis primarily to unwind, took the lead in 2023 making up 16 percent of consumers.
Just for the record, based on the survey, the Kohut brothers are considered to be “Modern Medicinals.”
To learn more about the survey and your own pattern of consumption, simply click on the following link:
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/which-cannabis-consumer-archetype-are-you/?
Senior Cannabis Digest is compiled and edited by Joe Kohut and John Kohut. You can reach them at joe.kohut@gmail.com and at 347-528-8753.
