While the coronavirus pandemic has caused the collapse of retail businesses across the globe, there is one thing people have been buying more of during months of lockdown: marijuana.
The legal cannabis industry set sales records across the United States and Canada over the past six months, according to cannabis analytics firm New Frontier Data, which partially attributed the market’s growth to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“The evolving retail arena is increasingly competitive and requires rapid innovation,” – Cannapreneur Partners Co-CEO Todd Sullivan.
Cannabis vending machines have been gaining ground in the U.S. and Canadian markets.
In 2014, Vancouver dispensary B.C. Pain Society installed what is believed to be the first assistant-less vending option. Since then, other Canadian operations and legal U.S. markets have followed suit.
They argue legalization is a racial justice issue, but critics question the timing in the midst of a pandemic and high-stakes presidential contest.
Democrats are taking an unprecedented gamble this month: voting to legalize cannabis at the federal level.
The MORE Act would remove the penalties for marijuana, erase some criminal records and create grant programs for people hit especially hard by the war on drugs.
To quote Kenneth Morrow in his piece “What to do with Surplus Cannabis” from Cannabis Business Times' August 2020 issue:
Over the past few years, cannabis has been increasingly accepted into the mainstream as an effective therapy that can produce fewer side effects than other prescription drugs in many patients. This acceptance is reflected in the rapid evolution in legislation surrounding cannabis around the world.
However, due to current regulations, pharmacies in Canada are limited to dispensing medical cannabis via online channels. On a larger scale, even other countries where cannabis has been legalized for therapeutic purposes may be limited in their methods of legally distributing the drug.
In 2019, the bubble well-and-truly burst for pot stocks, sending many investors running for the hills. Now, it looks like we're seeing the cannabis industry rally back up.
Federal officials have approved industrial hemp program proposals for Maine and Missouri.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture last week approved the hemp plans for Maine and Missouri, bringing the total number of approved state plans to 22. For Missourians, it marks the first year that they can legally grow hemp in the state.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee announced it would mark up the Medical Marijuana Research Act this week; the bill proposes streamlining the cannabis research process.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee announced it will consider legislation to expand cannabis research opportunities on Wednesday, Marijuana Moment reports.
