Economics Puts Pressure On The Feds To Move on Marijuana

Certain industries have a huge influence of the federal government – insurance, banking, alcohol and more. And companies like Boeing have had a long a cozy relationship. Congress understands the value of money, especially if it benefits states.  Now the data says the cannabis industry is continuing strength legal growth and making a difference in government bottom lines. The economics puts pressure on the Feds to move on marijuana.

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BDSA, a leading analytics firm which covers the cannabis industry, just released their 2023 year in report.  And it shows another strong year for the marijuana industry. The reports reflects the growing acceptance of people consuming and the public becoming more accepting of medical marijuana.

The biggest news is the industry is U.S. sales totaled $29.5 billion in 2023. Global legal cannabis spending grew to $36 billion. One of the stars last year was Missouri. With over six million residents, it is the 18th most populated in the country. Yet, the state hit $1 billion in sales. There seems to a shift in public consumption as Canada now has the data of people lowering beer consumption and embracing the healthier cannabis option. Long term this is beneficial for many reasons including domestic violence.

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The bleak spot is New York and their continuing chaos with legal and illicit dispensaries.  The botched rollout has been highly expensive for the state in regards to lost sate revenue and for honest business owners, mostly mom and pops.  While New York made $174 million on the small amount of licensed shops, the state lost an estimated $1.5+ billion to the black market and its 1,500+ unlicensed dispensaries in New York City alone.  New York’s mess kept the industry from breaking $30 billion.

In their forecasting, BDSA expects continuing 12% growth in the market with additional states onboarding.  This puts pressure on the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to move on the recommendation to reschedule cannabis which will have a significant impact on the industry.

“U.S. adult-use markets currently represent approximately 56% of total global cannabis sales, and are poised to claim an even larger share of global sales in the coming years as U.S. medical markets contract,” said Roy Bingham, co-founder and CEO of BDSA.