Biden Buoys Bloombergs Marijuana Prediction

It is a mixed bag for the cannabis industry.  BDSA, a leading analytics firm which covers the cannabis industry, just released numbers and data revealing the cannabis industry earned $29.5 billion dollars in 2023.  Missouri generated a whopping $1 Billion, something making everyone take a second look.  Use has become mainstream and Gen Z is moving inches away from alcohol to marijuana.  But there are underlaying problems.  Price compression in flower, the chaos in New York and California, and he federal government restrictions are crushing for the small businesses which make up the majority of the industry.  A little hope?  Biden buoys Bloomberg’s marijuana prediction in his State of the Union speech.

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Bloomberg is a leader in economic news and has been following the cannabis industry.  Due to Biden’s slow campaign commitment to help the industry, Bloomberg has been hesitant about the industry’s growth.  But with Biden’s head on mentioning cannabis, Bloomberg now predicts an 80% chance of rescheduling in the upcoming months.  This will have a dramatic upswing impact on the growing economic business community.

When the DEA reschedules marijuana, the industry will experience relief from certain tax burdens it currently faces under Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code, a needed help for the mom and pop businesses representing the majority of owners/operaters. It should make banking easier also by reducing the potential liability with a higher scheduled product.

A longer term benefit of rescheduling is it would bring many products and manufacturers more squarely within FDA’s regulatory authority, which will open up the medical marijuana market significantly and also allow larger mainstream retailers to begin consideration of carrying products.

RELATED: Science Says Medical Marijuana Improves Quality Of Life

Rescheduling would not make it federal legal, which is something this administration can do, rather it gives the legal businesses in states more traditional business rights and benefits. In the handful of full holdout states, it would still be crime.