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High taxes, slow-moving permit process and local government resistance has stifled state’s legalization effort

California’s legal marijuana industry has been a bust, falling far short of the sales projected when voters legalized it in 2016.

With the approval of Proposition 64, Californians made clear that they wanted to end the farce of criminalizing marijuana-related offenses, and they wanted to allow a legal market for recreational marijuana to operate.

While up to 11 states could ultimately be voting on medical or recreational cannabis this fall, these three are the only guarantees, for now.

Unless you live under a rock where television and internet access is nonexistent, you've probably noticed the big uptick in political advertisements in recent weeks. That's because (drum roll)... it's an election year. Go ahead and let out that collective sigh.

To say that last year was a challenging one for cannabis stocks is an understatement. The cannabis industry had a tough time in 2019, with many companies trying to survive by relying on mergers and acquisitions.

What Happened With Tilray

A well-known name in the industry, Tilray Inc TLRY, has seen its shares fall 86.87% since September of 2018.

In December 2018, the Trump administration legalized hemp at the federal level. Hemp is a type of cannabis that contains a lower amount of psychoactive THC and more CBD. Currently, hemp with less than 0.3% THC can be grown legally. CBD helps treat various medical conditions. In June 2019, Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics estimated that the CBD market in the US would reach $20 billion by 2024.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has included cannabis legalization in his budget proposal and plans to work with neighboring states

Cannabis advocates are cautiously optimistic that 2020 will be the year that New York state finally legalizes marijuana for adult recreational use, marking a milestone for the legal business.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has included legalization in his budget proposal for the new fiscal year, projecting it could generate $20 million in revenue in fiscal 2021, growing to $63 million by fiscal 2022 and $188 million by fiscal 2025.

Brand new parks. Healthier, smarter kids. Forests cleaned up. Drugged drivers off the road. Criminal records cleared.

Those are just a few of cannabis legalization Proposition 64’s impacts after two years of commercial sales.

Passed in 2016, Prop 64 earmarks all cannabis tax revenue—less regulatory costs—for public health, the environment, and public safety. On Jan. 14, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced cannabis tax revenue social allocations totaling $332.8 million for the coming fiscal year 2020-2021.

Mexico missed the Supreme Court’s deadline to submit the final marijuana legalization bill in October 2019. The Senate received 13 proposals last year. However, lawmakers couldn’t review and finalize a bill before the October 23 deadline. As a result, they asked the Supreme Court for an extension. Now, Mexico is ready with an amended proposal before the next deadline of April 30.

To say that 2019 was not a banner year for the cannabis industry and marijuana stocks may be understating just how poor things actually went. Despite Canada becoming the first industrialized country to legalize and commence the sale of recreational pot, and momentum for legalization remaining strong in the U.S., the black market has been virtually unstoppable throughout much of North America.

I’ve been a chemistry professor for 15 years and a chemist for longer than that. Through most of that time, I paid little heed to cannabis, thinking that this plant held one main chemical of interest: tetrahydrocannabinol, its psychoactive ingredient.

I now know that cannabis contains a galaxy of unexplored compounds — cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, polyphenols, and more — that may well transform our understanding of plant medicine and human biology. I find this new territory inspiring.

At least 18 states stand to loosen their marijuana laws this year.

It looks like 2020 could be a very big year for marijuana legalization.

The year began with a bang when Illinois started recreational marijuana sales, after the state became the 10th in the country and the second in the Midwest to legalize marijuana.