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Weedmaps Releases First Data & Insights Report

Weedmaps Releases First Data & Insights Report

by | Nov 16, 2021 | 420 News, Blog, Business, Cannabis Business, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Cannabis News, Culture, Industry News, Legalization

Weedmaps releases first report on the state of the legal cannabis industry

WM Technology, Inc. (“WM Technology” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: MAPS), a leading technology and software infrastructure provider to the cannabis industry, has released its first data and insights report, titled ‘Cannabis in America’.

This report shares current data and insights indicative of the marketplace, cannabis industry trends, cultural revelations, and the persistent questions at the center of the cannabis conversation in America today. It’s been almost ten years since adult-use cannabis was first legalized in Colorado, and the past 18 months have seen exceptional progress across the United States thanks to expanded legalization and market growth driving the industry to new heights.

View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211116005558/en/

“The insights from Weedmaps’ Cannabis in America report validate what we see every day: The stigma around cannabis is fading as it becomes more embedded in our culture and daily lives,” said Chris Beals, CEO of WM Technology. “This report highlights attitudes and trends within the industry by providing data and information directly from consumers – an important step as we work towards the goal of building a transparent and inclusive cannabis economy.”

Beals also added that, “Ultimately, this report represents the first steps of Weedmaps beginning to make its unparalleled levels of cannabis industry data available to policy makers, cannabis business holders and industry investors to help them make more informed and accurate decisions.”

Key takeaways include:

  • Cannabis delivery among Generation Z consumers increased by 125% year over year, with overall cannabis delivery increasing by 97%
  • The importance of social equity in the cannabis industry is growing, with 46% of cannabis consumers saying they want to patronize women-owned cannabis retailers, and 44% would like to give business to minority- or veteran-owned cannabis establishments
  • Cannabis use is being destigmatized, and 72% of cannabis consumers say that everyone or almost everyone knows they use cannabis
  • More than one-third, 36%, of Generation Xers believe cannabis is a good way to add tax revenue

Cannabis is big business as consumers are using and ordering more cannabis than ever before

The business of cannabis is entering a critical period as more states are backing cannabis-friendly measures, and efforts are being made towards federal legalization. The cannabis industry has become more sophisticated by appealing to new consumers and featuring distinctive brand elements often seen in more mature categories. New businesses, opportunities, and challenges continue to arise. Now, more than ever, cannabis means business.

  • Half (50%) of cannabis consumers said their consumption has increased since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. According to Weedmaps’ orders data, orders in H1 2021 increased by 55%, compared to H1 2020
  • While demand across categories remains consistent year over year, almost half (47%) of cannabis consumers believe edibles are becoming more popular. Millennials (ages 25-40) drove demand across categories for both H1 2020 and H1 2021, showing a slight preference for concentrates
  • The first half of 2021 saw a significant shift to cannabis delivery (60% vs. 40% in H1 2020)

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American Native tribes partner up to cash in on marijuana business opportunities

American Native tribes partner up to cash in on marijuana business opportunities

by | Nov 8, 2021 | 420 News, Blog, Business, Cannabis Business, Cannabis News, Culture, Industry News, Legalization

Native american tribes are teaming up to take advantage of cannabis business opportunities

American Indian communities are increasingly collaborating to get a piece of the explosive growth of the cannabis industry by offering products based on tribal medicine from their ancestral origins.

The partnerships are helping break down longstanding barriers to Indigenous entrepreneurship in the marijuana and hemp industries.

“When we all are doing this together, we all win,” said Chenae Bullock, managing director of New York’s Little Beach Harvest and the Shinnecock Nation cannabis division, which has joined with Tilt Holdings, a Massachusetts-based multistate cannabis operator, to establish a vertically integrated marijuana business on Shinnecock tribal lands.

“I call them ancient trade routes,” she said. “We’ve been doing commerce with tribes since before colonialism.”

Tribes are also joining forces to share expertise.

“In order for us to be competitive, we had to make it a collaborative, inclusive, sustainable ecosystem,” said Jeff Sampson, CEO at Everscore, an online marijuana marketplace working with the Native American Cannabis Alliance (NACA).

Collective growing

Three American Indian tribes – the Mohawk Nation and Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes – announced this fall an agreement to dedicate 500,000 acres of land to cannabis cultivation.

They’re joining the NACA, a joint initiative between Cherokee Nation’s Native Health Matters Foundation and Everscore, a direct-to-consumer, online cannabis marketplace.

The NACA was established in 2020, when the partners were working to develop a fulfillment center in Oklahoma as a way to get tribes involved in the cannabis industry, said the organization’s creator, Tim Houseberg of Stilwell, Oklahoma.

Because the supply chain was so fragmented, the effort turned into something much bigger.

“We just heard story after story about farmers who had the experience and wanted to participate, but they felt like the risk to actually commit to planting was too great because they couldn’t access markets,” Sampson said.

“We facilitate the connection between a customer and a brand. We felt like we could facilitate a connection between a brand and a grower – in this case, Indigenous farmers.”

Read Full Story on Marijuana Moment

Luxembourg becomes first European country to legalize cannabis

Luxembourg becomes first European country to legalize cannabis

by | Oct 22, 2021 | 420 News, Blog, Cannabis Law, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Cannabis News, Culture, Legalization

Luxembourg legalizes cannabis for consumption and cultivation

In an effort to combat the illicit drug market, Luxembourg will legalize home cultivation and consumption of cannabis.

The country of just over 650,000 will permit home cultivation and consumption of cannabis, and allow the sale and purchase of seeds through local shops and from ordering abroad. There will be no shops to purchase cannabis flower or other cannabis products.

The law specifies that cultivation can only be done “in the four walls of your own home,” and the same goes for consumption. Which means there won’t be any sort of consumption lounges, and consumers cannot do so outdoors.

The leaders of the Greens – one of the three coalition partners in government along with the Democratic Party, and the Socialist Workers’ Party – said the move “represents a fundamental reorientation of Luxembourg’s drug policy”, as the government aims to tackle drug-related crime with a more “holistic” approach.

“The war on cannabis has failed,” the party said in a statement on Friday.

“The announcements of the Minister of Justice, Sam Tanson, represent a fundamental reorientation of Luxembourg’s drug policy. At last, the use of cannabis is being regulated and a legal alternative to the black market is being created.”

The Greens added that the main objectives of new legislation on cannabis would be to exempt production, purchase and consumption of a given amount of cannabis from punishment, keep users away from the black market, reduce the mental and physical dangers associated with it, and combat acquisitive crime.

With this new law Luxembourg will become the first European country to legalize cannabis for recreational use. While multiple other countries have decriminalized or legalized medical cannabis, and many have legalized hemp production in some form, none have fully legalized it for recreational use.

Even in a country like Holland, famous for Amsterdam which many consider a legal cannabis haven, cannabis is not technically legal.

While the Luxembourg law may be restrictive and lacking plans for an operational commercial industry, the government isn’t ruling out the domestic production of seeds for commercial purposes.

Switzerland to legalize cannabis use and cultivation

Switzerland to legalize cannabis use and cultivation

by | Oct 21, 2021 | 420 News, Blog, Cannabis Law, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Cannabis News, Legalization

Switzerland cannabis legalization has passed

Switzerland has moved closer to a legal cannabis market, an article by local news outlet Blick said on Tuesday.

According to the report, The Social Security and Health Commission of the Council of States (SGK-S) has carried out an investigation on cannabis, concluding that current laws should be updated. Their findings and recommendations for new legislation were supported by forty members of the National Council, who signed the initiative, giving the proposed reform backing from across the Swiss political sphere. As a result, the bill, which will allow the production, cultivation, trade and consumption of cannabis, was passed by a vote which ended nine votes to two in favor.

The new regulation was launched by the SGK-S’s National Councillor for Bern Centre, Heinz Siegenthaler with a parliamentary initiative which states “cannabis should be regulated in Switzerland in order to control the cannabis market for better youth and consumer protection”. The bill goes on to say that “the cultivation, production, trade and consumption of cannabis containing THC to be reorganized by law in accordance with the recommendations of the Federal Commission on Addiction (EKSF).”

Specified within the bill are ways to control the production and trade through the use of state bodies, with particular attention paid to the protection of minors, quality control and the availability of information.

Another important intention of ending prohibition is to make an impact on the cannabis black market by allowing the cultivation of plants at home for personal use.

Although cannabis will remain illegal until the new bill comes into force, Switzerland has been working towards a regulated cannabis market for some time. Earlier this year leafie reported the country was planning to launch a recreational cannabis trial involving 500 participants as a means to collect data on the impact of a fully legal recreational cannabis supply chain.

It is estimated that around 500,000 adults in Switzerland consume cannabis. The country has already removed criminal prosecution for small scale possession as of 2012. Anyone caught with less than 10 grams will not be prosecuted, but instead will face a fine of 100 Swiss Francs (£78). The country also allows the sale of ‘light’ cannabis, containing no more than 1% THC, which can be legally bought over the counter from tobacco stores.

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Washington DC Marijuana Laws Could Be Changing

Washington DC Marijuana Laws Could Be Changing

by | Oct 20, 2021 | 420 News, Blog, Cannabis Business, Cannabis Law, Cannabis Law and Compliance, Cannabis News, Culture, Industry News, Legalization, Politics

If the current Washington DC marijuana laws confuse you, you aren’t alone.

If you went to Washington DC today in search of cannabis, you might struggle to find it. Despite Washington DC marijuana laws allowing the possession, cultivation and consumption of cannabis for recreational use, there isn’t a single retail recreational cannabis store where you can legally purchase cannabis.

Cannabis is still attainable in DC just like most places in the country without legal access to cannabis, but the methods can vary with different levels of success.

Washington DC Marijuana Laws

Washington DC legalized cannabis nearly seven years ago in February 2015. While the legislature legalized everything necessary to begin the process of opening up a retail cannabis industry, there was one major roadblock.

Rep. Andy Harris, a Republican, included a rider in the bill that including language preventing DC from implementing any sort of recreational cannabis industry, by not permitting district funds to be used for the process. In other words, Washington DC is unable to have a recreational cannabis industry because they are currently not allowed to fund a regulatory commission, establish licensing processes and design a regulated industry framework.

So while Washington DC marijuana laws resemble that of every other state that has legalized cannabis, there is still no legal industry. With all that said, finding weed in DC is relatively easy these days thanks to a thriving grey market.

The law in DC permits any one person to give any cannabis they have or have grown to any other person as long as they do not charge for it, as selling cannabis is currently illegal under the rider. This has led to the creation of a gift/donation system that has helped bloom a massive underground industry in DC.

This can work in various ways; from “donating” $40 for a T-shirt in a hydroponic store and being “gifted” a few grams of cannabis, to full-blown delivery services where you donate for a single sticker (that happens to cost about $200) in exchange for a gift box with cannabis flower, edibles and cartridges. Unfortunately for the consumer, this market is still completely unregulated since it is being done through a loophole in the bill’s language.

Consumers constantly run the risk of over paying for low quality cannabis from a shady shop or service, and there are so many different delivery services, finding one that doesn’t rip you off can be a real challenge. But that could be changing thanks to a new adjustment to the Senate budget proposal for 2022.

Washington DC could have legal cannabis for sale soon

Washington DC marijuana laws are particularly complicated due to the nature of Washington DC itself. It is considered the Capitol of the country, but it is not actually a state or a city, and its Mayor is also the Governor, among other peculiarities. Due to the nature of how DC works, it creates complications when the district has differing opinions on legislation compared to the federal government that is housed there.

When Joe Biden released his 2022 budget proposal it still included the Harris Rider, leaving many advocates disappointed. The Democrat president has expressed consistent opposition to cannabis legalization on the federal level. However the House voted to remove the rider back in June, and now the Senate Appropriations Committee seems to be moving that sentiment forward.

In a new text of legislation released by Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, a budget proposal to fund the federal government for Fiscal Year 2022 is presented, which among other measures, purposely fails to include the Harris Rider.

The legislation also contains several other cannabis provisions, including to continue an existing protection for state medical marijuana laws, call on the federal government to reconsider policies that fire employees for cannabis, criticize the restrictive drug classification system that impedes scientific research and encourage the development of technologies to detect THC-impaired driving.

It is very common for legislators to attempt and slide in additional changes to legislation in most cases, but also regarding cannabis. Some advocates blame this practice for why a lot of cannabis legislation does not pass, saying that if legislators focused on one issue at a time that has more broad support, they would see more success.

A long fight may be ending

It is too soon to say if the final Budget Proposal will be approved, and more changes could occur before it is. The fight to change Washington DC marijuana laws has been long and fraught with disappointment.

The latest proposal appears to be a large step in the right direction, with House and Senate support for removing the rider. The 2022 Budget Proposal has a deadline of December 3rd, with Democrats eager to get everything finalized before then. However it is still unclear whether the spending panel or full Senate will take up the new revised proposal before then.

Yet again, the further progress of cannabis legalization depends on the slow moving legislature, notorious for “extending” deadlines as an excuse for just missing them. Only time will tell the future of cannabis legalization in Washington DC now.