Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we look at a fast food ad campaign built around 420, the economic impact of the cannabis sector, inaccurate labeling of legal cannabis products and more. Enjoy—and a happy 420 to those who observe.
Advertising and 420
When it comes to promoting its products as part of the cannabis holiday called 420, one well-known Southern California-based fast food chain is certainly not shy. Jack in the Box recently became the first quick service food chain to make a media buy on a popular website where cannabis consumers often go to research cannabis strains, locate dispensaries and set up deliveries.
Jack in the Box’s digital storefront on the Weedmaps website promotes the return of the company’s popular Pineapple Express milkshake and the addition of a pineapple-infused Red Bull drink as part of a 420 promotion. In addition, a pineapple-chicken sandwich will join the menu for a limited time at locations in Los Angeles and —also for a limited time—there will be food trucks with Jack in the Box products throughout Southern California. Locations of the trucks are available on the Weedmaps website.
According to T.L. Stanley, writing for Adweek, this is not the first time Jack in the Box has mined the cannabis sector for customers. The Southern California-based chain aired what some considered a notorious ad in the mid-2000s that featured a driver who appeared to be “under the influence” and was confused by the choices available in the drive-through. He eventually ordered 30 tacos and went on his way.
Ryan Ostrom, Jack in the Box’s CMO, told Adweek, “Some brands dip their toes into 4/20 with a lighter execution—something with a wink and a nod. We want to put a stake in it and own the moment for quick-service restaurants.”
Stanley notes that Jack in the Box aims to top previous 4/20 efforts in 2023, by leaning into its late-night clientele. This group of customers drives a significant percentage of the chain’s business and—one might suspect—includes a noticeable number of cannabis consumers.
While Jack in the Box may be the first quick service food chain to use 420 in its promotions, it is not alone. Another quick service food chain with SoCal roots, Carl’s Jr., is offering what it calls its $4.20 Snack Sack. The six piece snack assortment includes jalapeno poppers, onion rings and a small order of fries for the princely sum of $4.20.
You can learn more by reading T.L. Stanley’s article in the April 14, 2023 issue of Adweek.com.
To learn more about the Carl’s Jr. 420 promotion, click on the link that follows.
twitter.com/CarlsJr/status/1647378024898400262
The Cannabis Sector and the Economy
While much is made of the tax dollars generated by the sale of cannabis in states where cannabis is legal, the cannabis industry’s impact on the broader economy involves more than tax revenue.
That’s the word from Andrew Long, writing for MJBizDaily. According to Long, for every $10 consumers and patients spend at marijuana retailers or dispensaries, an additional $18 will be injected into the economy, much of it at the local level.
Long notes that the folks at MJBizDaily came up with that calculation after analyzing similar industries, consulting with economists and applying a standard multiplier of 2.8 on projected recreational and medical marijuana retail sales.
Part of that multiplier effect is derived from the fact that the economic impact of the cannabis sector involves more than the over-the-counter sale of a particular product. Long makes the point that marijuana businesses encompass a range of agricultural, manufacturing and retail operations as well as related companies such as lighting suppliers and law and accounting firms that are not directly involved in the production or sale of cannabis.
Long also writes that real estate values often receive a boost when new cannabis-related retail, manufacturing and agricultural businesses move into an area, or established companies expand. Experience has shown that such activity can increase broader demand for commercial properties in a neighborhood.
All of which leads to the bottom line, which for 2023 is projected to be quite healthy. Long reports that according to the latest edition of the MJBiz Factbook, the total amount of U.S. adult-use and medical cannabis sales is expected to reach $34 billion in 2023. That’s up from a revised $30 billion in 2022.
At the same time, the total economic impact generated by those cannabis sales is expected to top $100 billion in 2023, up more than 12 percent from last year.
To learn more, we urge you to read Andrew Long’s excellent article in the April 12, 2023 issue of MJBizDaily.com.
mjbizdaily.com/cannabis-industry-will-add-100-billion-to-us-economy-in-2023/
For more information on insights contained in the 2023 edition of the MJBizDaily Factbook, simply click on the link that follows.
insights.mjbizdaily.com/factbook-2023/
Cannabis Factoids of the Week
As we just mentioned, in 2022, Americans spent an estimated $30 billion on legal marijuana products. What we didn’t mention is that’s more than they spent on chocolate and craft beer combined. That’s also more than they spent on opioid medications ($22.8 billion) and topical pain relief ($2.8 billion) combined.
That’s the word from Dominick Reuter who combed the MJBizDaily Fact Book for odd and interesting tidbits for the Business Insider.
We hesitate to attribute meaning to those numbers other than the obvious notion that the marketplace is an ongoing referendum where consumers vote with their wallets. The $30 billion figure does seem to indicate that consumers are voting yes when it comes to cannabis.
Again, attribute meaning at your own risk, particularly when it comes to comparing cannabis and chocolate sales figures. Still, the comparison can make for a satisfying conversation stopper the next time you run into a bloviating crankypants who wants to tell you how legal cannabis is a hippie plot that will be the ruin of us all.
For more interesting cannabis factoids from the MJBizDaily Factbook, we suggest reading Dominick Reuters’s article in the April 14, 2023 issue of the Business Insider.com.
www.businessinsider.com/legal-cannabis-retail-sales-eclipse-chocolate-sales-in-us-2023-4
Cannabis Quote of the Week
“I’ve changed our position from opposition to ‘that train has left the station.’ So let’s find a way to help you. Let’s give you those guardrails so that you can implement the law and the policy that you want.”— Anne Lopez (D), Attorney General of Hawaii
Ms. Lopez’s statement came during her confirmation hearing by the state’s Senate Judiciary Committee—which ultimately endorsed her nomination—when she was asked whether it would be the department’s position to “automatically oppose” legalization bills, as it has historically done.
Lopez added, “We will not flat-out oppose it. With respect to the policy, I do believe that is the legislature’s area to make those decisions.”
According to Kyle Jaeger, who covered the story for Marijuana Moment, Lopez went on to say that her office would lead an administrative task force prior to the next legislative session to develop a complete regulatory and law enforcement legislative package for Hawaii that can be attached to any bill if the legislature takes steps to legalize marijuana.
Said Lopez, “We’re going to use the summer and our experience thus far—as well as the experience of other states—to make sure that we can create a structure that will allow the state to have legal recreational marijuana with as few problems as the other states on the mainland have experienced.”
Lopez also said that she intends to start organizing a multi-agency effort, bringing together the state’s Department of Health, Department of Agriculture and law enforcement agencies “so that we have consensus that what we’re developing will be supported by the executive branch.”
Given the pace at which legislative wheels turn, Jaeger suspects the legislature and the Attorney General are eyeing the 2024 legislative session as a likely target date for the passage of a bill legalizing recreational cannabis.
To learn more, we suggest reading Kyle Jaeger’s reporting in the April 13, 2023 issue of Marijuana Moment.net.
Consumer Corner
Mature consumers need to remain vigilant and be aggressive when it comes to getting what they pay for at a cannabis dispensary. That’s a key takeaway from a study of potency claims of products sold at a number of retailers in Colorado.
So says Justin Jackson reporting for the publication Medical Express on a study conducted by a team consisting of researchers from the University of Northern Colorado and Mile High Labs, also in Colorado.
The study, “Uncomfortably high: Testing reveals inflated THC potency on retail Cannabis labels,” found that in many cases the THC content listed on product labels was not confirmed by verification tests.
According to Jackson, using high-performance liquid chromatography, Mile High Lab techs tested 23 samples of 12 strains purchased at 10 Colorado dispensaries. The strains in the study were said to have a THC percentage that ranged from 12.8 percent to 33.0 percent. Label information from each strain was recorded as it was printed on the packaging.
What the researchers found was that the average observed THC potency was 23.1 percent lower than the lowest label reported values and 35.6 percent lower than the highest label reported values. Thirteen of 23 tested samples had observed values that were more than 30 percent lower than the lowest reported value.
Jackson noted that the researchers concluded that urgent steps need to be taken to increase the accuracy of cannabis labeling both for recreational consumers, who want to get what they pay for, and for medical patients for whom accurate dosage is important.
Clearly, mature consumers should not be shy when it comes to asking dispensary staff, such as bud tenders, just how manufacturers derived the THC and other cannabinoid percentages listed on a product label and how they can be verified.
While we believe that a consumer’s reaction to and experience with a particular cannabis product should be their primary guide, having access to accurate testing and labeling is key if a consumer is to develop a complete and useful picture of what works and what does not work for them.
To learn more, we suggest reading the article by Justin Jackson in the April 13, 2023 issue of the publication Medical Xpress.com.
medicalxpress.com/news/2023-04-discrepancies-dispensaries-thc-potency.html#google_vignette
To read the study, which appeared in the April 12, 2023 issue of the journal PLOS ONE, simply click on the link that follows.
journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0282396
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.
