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Border sales a boost for most marijuana retailers across US
Marijuana sales along state lines are key revenue generators for retail operators in the United States, and new insights suggest a similar business bump along international borders, particularly Mexico.
Data compiled by New York-based wholesale technology platform LeafLink – as well as information gathered from state agencies, quarterly reports and interviews with several cannabis companies – bear that out.
LeafLink analyzed hundreds of ZIP codes at the request of MJBizDaily and found strong links that when new recreational markets open, retailers near borders stock up on inventory significantly more than operators located elsewhere in a state.
Data from the past three years revealed wholesale marijuana products purchased by border stores jumped 140% after the launch of adult-use sales, while retailers located in more interior areas increased purchases by about 80%.
“The growth when a state launches adult-use sales at a border store in terms of purchasing activity is around double the growth of the remainder of the state,” LeafLink Strategy Analyst Ben Burstein told MJBizDaily.
Of course, numerous factors are at play – perhaps none more impactful than the marijuana policies of neighboring states.
That’s why Illinois retailers near Wisconsin, where marijuana possession is illegal, are still attracting Wisconsinites nearly four years after the launch of recreational sales.
There also are retail sales-tax implications, a big reason why St. Louis-areas operators are seeing an influx of shoppers from southern Illinois, where cannabis taxes are at least three times higher than in Missouri.
Meanwhile, border retail in New Mexico is boosting depressed economies along hundreds of miles of its shared borders, drawing stampedes of consumers from neighboring Texas and, more recently, cross-border buyers from Mexico.
Retail shakeup in the heartland
The February launch of adult-use sales in Missouri has caused ripple effects throughout the Midwest.
Missouri holds the rare distinction of bordering eight states, with only Illinois offering recreational marijuana sales.
Missouri’s 6% retail tax on recreational marijuana purchases is also among the lowest in the nation, drawing Illinois consumers across the Mississippi River in droves to buy much cheaper weed.
All in, cannabis sales taxes in neighboring Illinois eclipse 30%, second only to Washington state. And in Chicago, sales taxes can easily top 40%.
Demand is booming in western Missouri, too.
In April, Missouri retailers near the border of Kansas, where marijuana possession is also illegal, told MJBizDaily they were seeing foot traffic increase ninefold after expanding into recreational sales.
The rush of new customers, coupled with cultivation-capacity lags, has led to big spikes in wholesale flower prices and inventory shortages throughout the supply chain.
Retailers, for their part, are trying to keep pace.
To meet consumer demand, wholesale purchases per store in the Kansas City, Missouri, market increased from $97,000 in the quarter before the launch of recreational sales to $491,000 in the quarter after, a whopping 406% jump, according to LeafLink data.
In the St. Louis market, which borders southwestern Illinois, wholesale purchases per store increased nearly 57%, to $610,000, after adult-use sales began.
“The demand’s been bigger than anyone expected,” Burstein said.
A zero-sum game
In marijuana retail, particularly near state borders, it’s a zero-sum game.
The sales boom in the St. Louis market, which has more than 70 stores, has deflated business on the Illinois side of the border, where retailers have lost millions of dollars in sales since Missouri’s adult-use launch, according to quarterly reports and earnings calls.
Top executives at New York-based multistate operator Ascend Wellness Holdings, which has two shops near the Missouri border, cited revenue declines at its southern Illinois stores in recent earnings, saying it has led to suppressed margins that are expected to linger for much of the year.
Florida-based MSO Jushi Holdings, which also operates two Illinois stores near the Missouri border, reported an 8.8% year-over-year revenue decline to $66.4 million in its second quarter, partially attributing the slide to adult-use sales in Missouri.
In an Aug. 11 second-quarter earnings call, Jushi CEO James Cacioppo said total Illinois sales declined 20% from the first quarter and 40% year-over-year.
“I think we under-anticipated the pricing power initially out of the gate that retailers were going to have in Missouri,” Jushi Chief Strategy Director Trent Woloveck told MJBizDaily in an interview.
“The impact was a little bit greater than then we had thought due to that pricing for flower, vapes and infused products.”
In response, Jushi has implemented several initiatives, including adding new promotions and diversifying product SKUs (stock-keeping units) to ease the impact of declines sales in Illinois.
Northern exposure
Market dynamics in northern Illinois, particularly along the Wisconsin border, are a different story.
Wisconsin is among 10 states without a medical or recreational marijuana program.
Illinois counties bordering Wisconsin – including Lake, McHenry, Jo Daviess and Winnebago – accounted for 15.4%, or $239.7 million, of the nearly $1.6 billion in cannabis sales last year in the state, according to a fiscal analysis requested by pro marijuana-legalization lawmakers in Wisconsin.
The Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau report, which was released in March, cited annual statistics from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.
Moreover, the report estimated about 7.8% of marijuana sales in Illinois in 2022, roughly $36.1 million, were generated by out-of-state residents traveling from Wisconsin.
Under Illinois law, out-of-state residents can only purchase recreational cannabis.
Two of Chicago-based multistate operator Cresco Labs’ 10 stores in Illinois are located near the Wisconsin border: a Sunnyside outlet in South Beloit at the border and one in Rockford, about a 30-minute drive away.
The South Beloit store often draws up to 1,000 daily visitors, according to Cresco’s national retail president, Cory Rothschild – traffic on par with the nation’s busiest marijuana retailers in highly populated areas.
It’s all the more impressive, considering that South Beloit has a population of roughly 8,000 and is more than 40 miles from Madison, the nearest city and Wisconsin’s state capital.
“It’s an extremely high-volume retail location,” Rothschild told MJBizDaily.
“South Beloit and Rockford as well are probably (among the) top dispensaries in the country.”
Maryland
Maryland is the newest recreational cannabis market, with nearly 100 medical marijuana dispensaries having converted to adult-use retail in late June.
While LeafLink wholesale data suggests about a 10% increase in wholesale product purchases statewide after the launch of adult-use sales, some retailers along Maryland’s south and eastern borders are doubling orders to meet demand.
In Elkton, near the Delaware border, stores are ordering about $41,000 in wholesale products per month, up 115% since the launch of recreational sales on July 1.
In the Rockville/Germantown area – outside of Washington DC and near the Virginia and West Virginia borders – monthly wholesale purchases have increased about 42%, to $54,000 per store, since recreational sales began.
Though MMJ dispensaries opened in West Virginia in 2021, the state still has some of the harshest marijuana laws in the country, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.
Meanwhile, Virginia’s adult-use rollout has been put on ice by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
MSO MariMed’s wholesale business serving retailers in Maryland has benefited from increased demand from neighboring states, according to Jeff Jones, director of operations.
“We have retail customers that are very close to Virginia, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and I’m sure that’s driving a significant amount of their business,” he said.
The Massachusetts-based company supplies every retailer in the state with its product brands.
MariMed is planning to double its cultivation and canopy space in Maryland, with product from that expansion expected to hit the wholesale and retail markets in the first quarter of 2024, Jones said.
Its retail operation in Annapolis – the state capital is about a 45-minute drive from Pennsylvania or West Virginia – hasn’t experienced the same type of uptick from border business but is still performing well, according to Jones.
A tale of two borders
The small town of Sunland Park, New Mexico, has racked up outsized sales since the state launched recreational retail in April 2022.
The sparsely populated bedroom community is situated across the border from El Paso, Texas, and Jaurez, Mexico, which have a combined population of more than 2.2 million.
That purchasing power has helped Sunland Park’s 88063 ZIP code top the state for per-capita adult-use spending, a sales metric that divides dollars spent for cannabis by population.
Per-person recreational marijuana spending in Sunland Park was $1,044, according to an MJBizDaily analysis of data from the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department.
Its 88063 ZIP code also houses two of New Mexico’s leading cannabis stores.
Ultra Health and Everest Cannabis Co. generated nearly $6.1 million in combined sales from August 2022 to February 2023, according to MJBizDaily research.
Because business has been so strong at that Sunland Park store, Ultra Health last summer opened an adjacent location that handles only online orders for pickups.
The majority of its 42 stores were strategically aligned to capture business along New Mexico’s more than 600-mile border with Texas, the second-most-populated state.
“I would say half our business is Texas-related,” Ultra Health CEO Duke Rodriguez told MJBizDaily.
As part of that strategy, the company is planning to open an outlet in Lordsburg with hopes of drawing customers from Mexico, Texas and Arizona.
Mexico border towns share more than commerce, including family, culture and language.
Some residents own commercial properties and homes on either side of the border.
And residents tend to travel freely between Juarez, El Paso and Sunland Park to shop, dine and visit friends and family, according to Rodriguez.
Many also buy regulated marijuana, which might come as a surprise to some industry watchers, especially those unfamiliar with border business in the Southwest.
Though transporting licensed cannabis across the U.S.-Mexico border is barred under federal law, it’s fairly common, industry insiders tell MJBizDaily.
“The product is intended to be consumed within the state of New Mexico and should not cross state or international boundaries,” Ultra Health’s Rodriguez advised.
“The reality is some consumers cross these boundaries intentionally or by not being fully aware of the risk and prohibition.”
Sales in other border communities, such as Clovis and Hobbs – where Ultra Health also has stores – are also outpacing the field, another sign that Texans, and some Mexicans, are crossing the border to purchase marijuana from New Mexico marijuana retailers.
Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/border-sales-a-boost-for-most-cannabis-retailers-across-us/
Although there is an available and thriving market for cannabis art, most e-commerce websites and platforms prohibit artists from selling art that depicts cannabis.
Is there any section or industry without cannabis influence? It’s starting to look like there isn’t any, as, throughout history, cannabis users have displayed their creative capabilities in various ways. And now cannabis art is flourishing on Etsy
Cannabis users and enthusiasts are some of the most innovative people you’ll ever meet, and their inspiring works of art have been admired for decades. Most of the works created by cannabis enthusiasts have also sparked debate for centuries, dating William Shakespeare’s times.
Cannabis and the creative arts
Research has shown a fantastic connection between cannabis and creativity, an intriguing relationship that is attributed to the plant’s remarkable properties. Cannabis interacts with the human brain through the endocannabinoid system and receptors in the brain.
Extensive works of research show that creative prowess and imagination heighten when users consume cannabis, thus enabling divergent and distinct thought patterns. Hence the reason great men and women like Maya Angelou and Louis Armstrong celebrated the impact of cannabis on their creative careers.A more significant percentage of the creative industry is also full of trailblazers who have affirmed that cannabis is a significant influence on their success. For such artists, marijuana inspires the way they hone their crafts and showcase their ideas.
Despite such a show of artistic brilliance, some artists struggle with finding a place to showcase their works. Why is this the case? Why can’t artist showcase their cannabis-inspired art?
The problem with finding a market showcase
Although there is an available and thriving market for cannabis art, most e-commerce websites and platforms prohibit artists from selling art that depicts cannabis. Some of these merchant shops also flag items such as CBD paraphernalia and insist that such things cannot be sold.
With such restrictions, creative artists fail to get an adequate space to share their creations with the world. Artists feel shut out of the market space, and then COVID-19 happened.
The Coronavirus Pandemic made everything worse for cannabis artists and businesses to maintain operations, which created a disturbing gap in the market.
The Solution: A cannabis-themed marketplace
As the challenge became increasingly worse, two outspoken cannabis advocates co-founded an online marketplace called The Artsy Leaf. Space was set-up as a multi-vendor marketplace to make it possible for artists to display their works.
The co-founders Abbey Weintraub Sklar and Rebecca Goldberg discovered that there were many international craftsmen, women, and artists with products that weren’t shared on any platform. The artists’ products are unique cannabis-friendly items that were mostly scattered on censored tech platforms that limited their exposure to the world.
Goldberg and Skylar understood the importance of an online vendor marketplace created for creators and buyers in the cannabis industry. COVID-19 and its resultant impact was also the inspiration behind an online space.
Initially, it was supposed to be an in-person CBD marketplace, but the pandemic made physical meetings impossible for buying and selling purposes. Hence the reason the co-founders made it an online space with a highly functional website.
The Artsy Leaf
The Artsy Leaf marketplace replaces other online platforms that were too restrictive for those in the cannabis industry. Some of those unfriendly sites didn’t provide room for tagging, describing, and listing CBD products, making it difficult for artists to advertise their products.
But with the Artsy Leaf marketplace, vendors and small business owners have maximum freedom to advertise their cannabis items. The platform also incorporates advertising with SEO consulting and doesn’t hide its processing fees.
The co-founders maintain that their desire to help all cannabis vendors succeed drives the marketplace. The website launched with an initial 14 vendors, and with its viable operational approach, more vendors are expected to join this revolutionary idea.
A virtual cannabis marketplace is what the world needs right now to bridge the gap between artists and buyers. Cannabis-inspired pieces will always remain relevant globally because of how unique and disruptive they can be. The Artsy Leaf is the right incubation place for ideas, purchases, and value exchange.
The future of the online marketplace
The future of the online cannabis marketplace for artists looks promising, and why is this so important? Well, cannabis is gaining a lot of momentum in America, with more states legalizing marijuana more people will gain access to weed, and when they do, they may be inspired to create unique art pieces or be looking to purchase unique cannabis inspired works.
Either way, the cannabis world needs an outlet for artists to share their works, and this is where platforms like the Artsy Leaf become crucial. Other online platforms may start to look into adjusting their policies regarding this issue because this sector is about to explode.
It is time to change the current status quo on the other E-commerce sites not allowing cannabis artists to showcase their genius.
Bottom line
The world is awakening to the ever-increasing potentials of cannabis. Through marketplaces like the Artsy Leaf, cannabis artists and art lovers can meet, interact and sustain the cannabis industry.
Without platforms like these, cannabis-inspired art will gradually decline, and that isn’t good for the cannabis industry at all. We must all continue to encourage the establishments of platforms (online and offline) where artists can thrive. Budding cannabis artists need more places to express themselves, and the Artsy Leaf is a suitable platform.
If you are a cannabis-themed artist, an aspiring one, or a small business owner and you struggle with promoting your work, you can visit The Artsy Leaf.
Source: https://thefreshtoast.com/cannabusiness/cannabis-art-is-flourishing-on-etsy/
Bars are wondrous places full of beer, chatter, celebration, ways to get drunk and opportunities to meet friends. But they are also tricky. As with most niche scenes, there is lingo you need to know, terms you should memorize and slang with which you should show facility. What’s Imperial mean? How do you pronounce “weisse?” And how much should I tip my bartender? Hang on, because you’re about to find out the answers to all of these. Here is your beer lingo, a guide to becoming a better patron. BTW, the Slavic word ‘beer’ came from the verb ‘to drink’. Initially, beer was any kind of drink.
Hops
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Small green pine cone-like buds that grow on vines. Their oils and acids preserve and flavor beer.
Hoppy
The thing snobby people refer to about beer, and what people who hardly ever drink beer say they don’t like. Hoppy is often used as a synonym for the word ‘bitter,’ but there are plenty of beers that use loads of hops and don’t taste the least bit bitter.
Malt
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The sugars used to sweeten beer.
Malty
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That syrupy, sweet flavor in beer drunk by amateurs.
Perry
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A cider-like drink made exclusively with pears.
Imperial
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A word out in front of certain beer styles (Stout, IPA) meaning they’re much stronger.
Mead
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Beer produced from honey, water and yeast.
Ale
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Ale is brewed using a warm fermentation method, resulting in a sweet, full-bodied and fruity taste. It is a maltier, top-fermented beer.
Lager
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A beer that is effervescent and light in color and body. it is a dry, bottom-fermented drink.
IPA
Stands for India Pale Ale because it was originally brewed in the United Kingdom and shipped to British soldiers in India during colonization (which is still basically happening). It is made with more hops, to give it a stronger flavor. There’s no standardised threshold at which a pale ale becomes an IPA, though.
Cask-Conditioned
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The process in which a draught beer retains yeast to enable a secondary fermentation to take place in a cask in the pub cellar. Cask conditioned beer is the traditional drink of the British pub, and served properly, it can be among the most subtle and beguiling of beer types.
Fresh Hop
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Beer made with recently picked hops that haven’t been dried. It provides distinctively grassy, plant-like, and “green” flavor profiles without the bitterness associated with IPAs and other beers featuring copious dried hops.
Weisse
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Pronounced ‘Vice’ is the counterpart in German for “white,” most commonly used in reference to the sour Berliner type of beer, but also sometimes to the Bavarian type, as in weissbier. Weizen is the German word for “wheat,” most often applied to the Bavarian wheat beer style.
Microbrew
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Compared to macrobreweries, which produce millions of barrels per year, microbreweries produce a relatively small amount of beer—between 1,000 to no more than 15,000 barrels annually. But aside from their size, what makes microbreweries special is that they’re known for brewing specialty beers.
The type of beer you do not use for beer pong unless you make more money than your bartender.
Pint
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The size of glass most beers are served in, and also the thing you dropped and smashed when you were trying to text your Uber driver.
Dive Bar
The kind of bar you actually really like going to, unless you’re trying to impress a date or a friend. It is typically a small, unglamorous, eclectic, old-style drinking establishment with inexpensive yet strong drinks; it may feature dim lighting, shabby or dated decor, neon beer signs, packaged beer sales, cash-only service, and local clientele
BTW, the strongest beer in the world has a strength of 67.5%. It was created in 2017 by the Scottish brewery Brewmeister. The beer is called Snake Venom
Pickup Line
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The thing you should never say because it never works.
Tip
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The amount of money you give a bartender after a transaction, which should be more than you initially think to give because A) most bartenders are relatively poor and deserve dough, and B) if you tip a lot you’ll be remembered C) if you tip too little you’ll be remembered D )
How do you want to be remembered?
Patron
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Someone who loves the bar they go to, not just someone who is there a lot. If you’re unclear on the distinction, you’ve never loved before.
Bar Napkin
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Where much great poetry started.
The Bar
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Don’t touch anything behind it.
Hope you enjoyed our beer lingo, a guide to becoming a better patron.
Source: https://thefreshtoast.com/drink/beer-vocab-101-guide-becoming-better-patron/
Everyone can use hints and tips on doing things better. Here is yours for today
There was a fortune made in the “For Dummies” books. Wine, Gardening, Hiking, etc. People love to learn about what they enjoy and, men especially, love to feel they are an expert. Even those new to wine love to figure out the best way to enjoy the flavor and body. So here are so here some expert marijuana hacks you need.
You know that ancient proverb: You can’t teach old dogs new tricks? Don’t believe it. Whether you are a long term consumer or just canna-curious, technology and new products open up a whole realm of fresh ideas.
Spice Jars Make Great Nug Containers
Do you have an empty cinnamon jar or garlic powder jar? You know the kind that have two separate lids, one with little holes and another main lid? They make great containers, especially if they are glass.
These little containers are excellent for keeping your nugs fresh longer. They act as a MacGuyverish humidor. Here’s how:
Get a small square of paper towel (or napkin) and get it just a little wet. Don’t drench the thing. I prefer using distilled water because it is free of any foreign particles. Place the paper between the two lids.
That’s it. Your cannabis won’t dry out.
Tip: Do NOT put the jar back in the pantry or spice cabinet or wherever who put your actual spices.
Freeze! Make Ice Cubes Out Of CannaJuice
If you are fortunate to live in states that allow the sale or cannabis beverages, this trick is great. Or if you make your own cannabis tea this will work too.
Simply pour the fluid into the ice cube tray (I prefer buying a mold that allows for 1/2 cup-sized cubes). Now you have cannabis in your freezer to use whenever you like.
Use them to make a smoothie. Or invent your favorite cocktail.
NOTE: It’s not advisable to mix cannabis with alcohol.
Variety Is The Spice Of Life — Especially Music.
Music and marijuana go together like peanut butter and jelly. Before your session, make sure you have selected your playlist. Sometimes, figuring out a playlist while impaired is not ideal. So take some time and pick your tunes.
I suggest creating multiple playlists depending on your mood: Wake and Bake List, Chilling List, Workout List, In The Bedroom List. You know the drill.
If you are stoked about your playlist, make sure to share it with friends
Eat A Mango
Eating a mango 45 minutes or so before a cannabis session will allow the THC to absorb into your body quicker and the high will stay with you longer. For some, the intoxicating feeling will be slightly more intense.
The sweet tropical fruit are packed with myrcene, a terpene that interacts with THC. Myrcene is also known to have anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-spasmodic properties. Additionally, it lowers the resistance across the blood to brain barrier, allowing itself and many other chemicals to cross the barrier easier and more quickly. Including THC.
Added bonus: Not only are mangoes delicious, they are packed with vitamins and nutrients. It’s a win-win.
Do-It-Yourself Kief Pellets
If you are an advanced cannabis consumer, you no doubt now what kief is.
Buying kief pellets can be pricy and supply can be spotty in certain regions of the country. No worries. Here is how to make your own kief pellets. All you need are kief, scissors, two pencils, a sheet of paper and tape.
A Curling Iron Is Not Just For Your Hair
Now that you have little kief pellets, you can now make some homemade hash using a hair iron. Yep, a simple curling iron will come in handy.
Using pressure and heat, you can press kief into hashish. All you need is kief, parchment paper and a hair iron. Place the kief inside folded parchment paper. Apply pressure and heat with the iron for about 5-10 seconds. The kief will compress into a more solid form. Break off small pieces and smoke it or vape it or add to tea.
Take A Walk On The Mild Side: Tolerance Holidays
Nearly every regular consumer of cannabis will notice that his or her tolerance change over time. That comfortable euphoric feeling gets harder to experience. Maybe it’s time for a “Tolerance Holiday.”
Photo by Sai Kiran Anagani via UnsplashTolerance Holidays, also known as T-breaks, allow your body and mind to re-calibrate. If you have been consuming cannabis for a prolonged period of time, your system becomes desensitized to its psychoactive effects. When you constantly put THC in your body, the receptors that bind to it become compromised. Give your system a break.
If possible, 30 days is optimal for the T-break, but even a week will do.
Added bonus: You’ll have a few extra bucks in your bank account.
Source: https://thefreshtoast.com/how-to/expert-marijuana-hacks-you-need/
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