Higher Education: The 2020 Roundup
2020 was a year of up and downs for cannabis and the world at large. Thanks to our 5000+ subscribers for tuning in. As usual, we’re rounding up the most important stories in the cannabis and consumer goods adjacent industries for you to read. Thanks for being with us for our first full year of roundups!
TOP 5 2020 Cannabis Trends:
📈During the pandemic, we saw that consumers’ purchase quantities heavily increased per visit, and weekends are no longer peak sales days for dispensaries. In addition, we saw dispensaries pivot to online ordering and delivery. This could be the new normal.
💰In 2020, we saw lobbying for cannabis reform in the U.S. Congress has evolved from a fringe issue a decade ago. This year alone cannabis has absorbed more than $3 million dollars and tons of lobbyists.
😷We learned that cannabis may be recession-proof, with multiple states shattering MOM sales records during the pandemic.
💵Cannabis sales almost reached $20 billion in 2020 and they are projected to reach upwards of $40 billion in the next couple of years. As unemployment reeled jobs, the cannabis industry was still hiring. The market supports 243,700 American jobs, which are set to multiply by 250% between 2018 and 2028.
🍃Multiple new states legalized cannabis in 2020 and we expect 2021 to be a very similar story. The most hopeful state being the empire state!
Currently, 89.3% of all cultivation licenses are located in five states: California, Oklahoma, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington.
Despite California being the biggest market, Oklahoma surprisingly outpaced California with new cultivation licenses in 2020. Oklahoma issued 2,392 while California issued 88 fewer.
Staying on the topic of issuing licenses, the DEA, is projected to be issuing up to 15 more federal cultivation licenses. These licenses are given to scientists and organizations to research the plant. More research into marijuana and its potential medicinal properties could spur more doctors to recommend medical cannabis, which could boost sales.
News on federal cannabis legalization: “Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said if Democrats control the chamber and he replaces McConnell as majority leader, he will act on legalization legislation. But even if that doesn’t play out, he predicted, there’s still opportunity for reform under GOP rule.” The house approved federal legalization last month but the Republican-controlled Senate under McConnell has declined to take it—or any other major cannabis legislation—up for consideration.
Silver Spike and Subversive Acquisition Corp., which are both SPAC’s, both announced deals that are worth more than $2 billion. They will create publicly traded companies with a combined $662 million in cash, public currencies, and stated strategies to acquire and consolidate other operators. This brings a lot of liquidity into the California market, where the companies said they are looking for cannabis-related technology companies.