(This column first appeared in the November-December issue of MJBizMagazine. To be considered as an MJBizDaily guest columnist, please submit your request here.)

Beau Whitney (Courtesy photo)

The macroeconomic environment has a huge impact on cannabis investment opportunities.

While recent years have been rough for the industry, the future looks somewhat less turbulent as macroeconomic pressures on cannabis businesses alleviate.

A few years out from COVID-19, the industry is exiting a period of abnormally high sales driven by pandemic purchasing.

Demand is more predictable, and consumers are returning to pre-pandemic behaviors.

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Still, some critical business operations will continue to be influenced by macroeconomics – and how companies respond to these factors will ultimately decide the health of their cannabis businesses.

Cost of inputs

Many companies have experienced

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Despite growing acceptance of cannabis, many state-regulated marijuana businesses say their social media pages are being hidden, engagement is being throttled and – in some cases – accounts are being shut down.

Because most states restrict marijuana ads from television, radio and print media, licensed operators have turned to social media platforms such as Instagram, owned by Meta, to spread their messages.

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“Meta updated its terms and conditions about two weeks ago,” said John Greene, co-owner of Rhode Island cannabis cultivator CMS Gardens.

“As soon as that email was sent to Meta users, thousands of accounts that were related to cannabis started going down.”

Green described Meta’s previous guidelines as “more relaxed” until the update.

Meta did not respond to MJBizDaily requests for comment.

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As more states adopt regulated marijuana programs, executives at licensed cannabis brands are seeking innovative ways to reach new markets.

Brand licensing, revenue-sharing, profit-sharing and franchising all are ways to circumvent restrictions on interstate commerce, said Avis Bulbulyan, CEO of California-based cannabis consulting firm Siva.

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“It’s all really licensing, it’s just how you go about it,” Bulbulyan told MJBizDaily.

“There are 50 different ways to split the fees.”

Under licensing arrangements, which tend to be rigid, licensees typically pay for the right to use – not own – a brand’s product or intellectual property.

Licensing often includes an upfront fee, and the licensee assumes most of the financial risk because they must pay the brand regardless of revenue performance.

However, some brands are

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