The end of a year is often an excellent time for lists, rankings and mining for factoids that seem to provide some meaningful insight on trends, both social and financial. The cannabis industry is no exception.
To help prepare you for the coming year, the folks at the investment hub Benzinga—working with the analysts at New Frontier Data—have put together a list of cannabis factoids. Here are a few examples.
• 2019 U.S. Legal Cannabis Sales—$13.6 Billion
• 2019 U.S. Legal Cannabis Jobs Created—258,437
• 2019 U.S. Federal Tax Revenues Generated by the Cannabis Industry—$1.41 Billion
• Increase in U.S. Hemp Cultivation Acreage, from 2018 to 2019—479 percent
The compilation, which appeared in the December 16, 2019 edition of the website also had a number of infographics with a wide variety of industry statistics. Here are a few.
• 223 million Americans—that’s about 68 percent of the population—live in states that allow access to medical or adult use marijuana.
• Legal cannabis sales in the U.S are projected to grow to $30 billion by 2025. As a result, legal sales are expected to cut into and reduce the illicit market by 11 percent.
• It’s projected that by 2025 the number of cannabis jobs in the U.S. will grow from 258,437 to 743,196.
To learn more, visit the article “Ten Intriguing Cannabis Statistics From 2019” in the December 16, 2019 edition of Benzinga. The article first appeared on the website of New Frontier Data. The company’s mission is to provide unbiased vetted information about the cannabis industry in order to educate stakeholders so they can make informed decisions.
www.benzinga.com/markets/cannabis/19/12/14993047/ten-intriguing-cannabis-statistics-from-2019
Legislative Spotlight
While some characterize Congress as a do-nothing body that is certainly not the case when it comes to marijuana-related bills. The U. S. Senate was very active in terms of rejecting proposals made in the House to modify federal laws governing the use of cannabis.
Writing for Newsweek, Blake Dodge reported on a number of maneuvers in the Senate to eliminate amendments or riders to other bills that would have lifted a number of restrictions on cannabis use.
Specifically, Dodge reported there was a rider to the spending package the House sent to the Senate that would have prevented the U.S. Justice Department from using taxpayer dollars to stop states and territories from implementing their own laws authorizing possession, distribution or cultivation of marijuana. That rider was rejected in favor of a long-standing one that protects only medical marijuana.
Citing an article in Marijuana Moment, Dodge also noted that another proposal rejected by Congress was designed to make it easier for companies to access capital markets by shielding U.S. banks that service those businesses from federal regulators.
Again acknowledging reporting by Marijuana Moment, Dodge wrote that House and Senate negotiators also eliminated a provision to protect veterans who are legally employed by the cannabis industry from discrimination at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs when applying for home loans. That proposal also would have allowed those with single, low-level marijuana offenses to re-enlist in the military.
At the same time, the Senate added an anti-cannabis provision that prevents Washington, D.C. from legalizing marijuana or even reducing the criminal penalties associated with its possession, use or distribution. The District relies on Congress for funding.
You can learn more by reading Blake Dodge’s article in the December 24, 2019 edition of Newsweek.com. You can also visit Kyle Jaeger’s article in the December 20, 2019 edition of Marijuana Moment.
CBD Update
It’s been said there’s many a slip between the cup and the lip. That seems to be the case when it comes to Coca- Cola and CBD. As might be expected with a company that keeps the formula for its flagship beverage under lock and key, there appears to be a bit of confusion—if not misdirection—over whether or not Coca-Cola plans to enter the cannabis market.
Writing for Bloomberg News and MSN Money Brandon Kochkodin and Deena Shanker reported that back in 2018 Coca-Cola acknowledged it was keeping a close eye on the cannabis market and was said to be in talks with Canadian marijuana producer Aurora Cannabis to develop beverages which, one assumes, would contain CBD.
A more recent rumor comes by way of a YouTube video where an individual known as “Gabor the Blind Guy” holds up a Coca-Cola can with a childproof lid. He then says that Coca-Cola has plans to introduce a new line of its classic drink in Canada that will contain CBD extract.
Coca-Cola responded by sending an email to Bloomberg News that said, “These rumors are untrue. As we have stated many times, we have no plans to enter the CBD market.”
So, those who favor conspiracies, get their news from sources such as Gabor the Blind Guy and hold out hope for a Mad Men reunion, can say, “See, they felt the need to deny it, so it must be in the works.”
The rest of us can take a deep breath, buy the world a Coke and wait to see what happens next.
To learn more, you can read Kochkodin and Shanker’s reporting in the Bloomberg News article which appeared in the December 26, 2019 edition of MSN/Money.
www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/video-fuels-speculation-coca-cola-plans-to-offer-a-cannabis-drink
Marijuana and Taxes
A report by the California Legislative Analyst’s Office seems to put a whole new spin on what is meant by the term value added tax.
According to an article by Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee, rather than taxing cannabis by weight after it is harvested, and then again at the retail level, the proposal offered by the analyst’s office is to tax marijuana by its THC content. The higher the THC level, the more it’s taxed.
Sheeler points out that California would become the first state to tax cannabis based on THC content. However, Canada does so for concentrates, edibles and other cannabis products
As one might suspect, the proposal has received mixed responses from the cannabis industry. Zachary Pitts, owner of Ganja Goddess and founding president of the California Cannabis Delivery Alliance, said that it is difficult to get an accurate measure of THC content, which would be critical for taxation purposes.
Said Pitts, “It’s not just creating a regulatory burden. It’s an inappropriate and ineffective way to measure something. Doing something like potency, it’s just not going to work.”
Pitts did agree with the report’s recommendation that the state drop the cultivation tax. There are many who contend that the double taxation, at harvest and at sale, contributes to a higher market price which, in turn, helps to prop up the black market in marijuana.
You can learn more by reading Andrew Sheeler’s reporting in the December 20, 2019 issue of the Sacramento Bee.com.
www.sacbee.com/news/california/california-weed/article238508593
Senior Cannabis Digest is compiled and edited by Joe Kohut and John Kohut. You can reach them at joe.kohut@gmail.com or at 347-528-8753.